Talking With a Monster

by RoxaShadow

Set in the dark timeline. Due to a chance encounter, Android Eighteen is left with a feeling of doubt that leads her to question her and her brother's way of life. In a desperate search for answers, she finds herself turning to the one man who she never expected to harbor anything but hatred towards her. Son Gohan. Android 18 x Gohan

5. Chapter 5: An Inquiry

-Gohan-

A thin frown pulled at Gohan's lips. The entire flight back he'd been looking over his shoulder and checking his peripherals. He'd been expanding his senses, reducing them, fluctuating them like a radar, and still, nothing. But his instincts continued to scream at him, telling him something was wrong.

You're getting paranoid.

He told himself after looking over his shoulder for the third time in ten minutes with nothing interesting to report. Finally he arrived at a simple brick three story structure with a fire escape on one side. Landing on the dark metallic platform extending out from the third floor, he checked all around him, one last check to make sure the coast was clear before opening the window and disappearing inside.

Gohan rarely used his front door for anything. It was far too slow, pushing the button for the elevator, waiting, pushing the top floor, waiting, and having to remember those darn keys all the time.

He much preferred his method. Leave his window open and just make sure to close it afterwards. It wasn't like too many people were going to randomly climb a three story building just to see if a window happened to be unlocked.

...not like there's much to steal anyway…

He thought passingly as he stepped further into his apartment. It was empty for the most part except for the essentials. If you were to judge it solely on the living room you might mistake the place for being vacant. In fact, you would be partially right in that assumption. Gohan never used this room. He didn't have any friends to have over so no need for a couch. His mom had always told him how television would rot his brain, so he'd never bothered to buy a television. The room was barrain, empty except for a few crumbs from food he spilled on his walk from the kitchen to the bedroom.

The Half-Saiyan questioned whether he felt hungry or not as he paused next to the counter separating the kitchen from the living room. After a few moments he shrugged. He'd eaten with Trunks earlier.

He'd already taken off his shirt by the time he'd entered the bedroom. Tossing it to the side of the room, he turned to the flat simply designed bed in the corner of the otherwise empty room. He didn't have a lot of clothes, the only one he really wore was his fighting Gi. The only times he would change this routine was if he was going to the rare gathering or was going out on the town, which he hadn't in over a year. This meant that there was no necessity for a dresser. He had 3 different changes of clothes apart from his fighting gi which he kept in neat folded piles in the corner of the room.

The only structure of any note within the room aside from the bed and the lack of anything else was a massive pile of books next to the bed. With little time outside of training and eating, Gohan had taken to reading just before bed.

That wasn't to say that he wouldn't occasionally forget to go to bed if he lost track of time.

But that's the book's fault.

If the book happened to be really good, it wasn't his fault if he lost track of time and read on until morning.

He plopped down on the bed laying on his back as he reached over with his hand and selected the novel he'd started the other night. It was about a character who'd found out his father was actually training him to be a killing machine and his rebellion against a system that supported such a treatment. It wasn't entirely original, but Gohan found he'd enjoyed the way the author wrote, rather than the subject matter alone.

He'd been a few pages in when he stopped, letting his arm fall to the side of the bed as his gaze remained a fixed upward.

...I do this every night…

He idly thought to himself. It was the truth. This was what he did every night when the sun got low. He'd get home, fix himself a simple meal, and read a book until exhaustion took him. It was nice, simple and familiar.

Gohan frowned.

Several minutes went by before the Saiyan eventually pushed himself up and off his bed, heading towards the showers.

It's time to spice things up.

---

-Eighteen-

Eighteen had been grinning ear to ear when Blondie had finally arrived at the apartment. It was smaller than she pictured it, but she guessed that he preferred to be secluded over having a lavish house for everyone to see. She'd been waiting for twenty minutes, hoping that he would go to sleep indicated by his lights going out, but concluded that it wasn't that late in the day, so it was entirely possible he was watching a show or maybe eating, suggesting that he wouldn't be going to bed for hours.

There wasn't a chance in hell she was going to wait that long.

Brushing herself off, the girl prepared to take off. She'd wanted to sneak in and take a look at how Blondie lived but she could do that any time he wasn't around. She'd noted the fact that he left his window open. A reasonable breach in security. Of course it wasn't like a locked window would stop her anyway.

Just as she began to float into the air, she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Raising an eyebrow, the woman turned her attention towards it to find Gohan, his hair wet from a shower, his clothes changed as he stepped out onto the fire escape. Closing the window behind him, he lifted into the air before taking off.

Interesting…

She smiled to herself as she slowly followed the young man.

I didn't take you as someone with a nightlife Blondie…

She trailed him for a long time, watching as he seemed to be...looking for something?

Eighteen frowned, it looked like he didn't actually know where he was going. He kept pausing and hovering over buildings with neon lights before continuing towards wherever they were going.

Eighteen growled. She was getting annoyed at this point. Fifteen minutes had gone by and he still hadn't figured out where he was going. She was just about ready to give up when finally he landed.

A relieved sigh escaped Eighteen's lips.

Finally

She thought to herself as she remained in the sky looking down. It seems that he'd chosen a location called 'The Blue Dragon'.

A bar? Eighteen recognized immediately from the aroma and music seeping out of the place.

What is he doing at a bar? Is Blondie gonna get shit faced?

Her frown quickly shifted into a grin.

This is perfect!

Alcohol was known for making people talkative. She literally couldn't picture a better scenario for this plan to take effect. Her smile was wide as she touched down around the corner and began to casually stride towards the bar. Her eyes had a predatorial glint to them.

I'm coming for you Blondie.

---

-Gohan-

What am I doing!?

He thought to himself as he entered the bar. The smell hit him before everything else. The bitter, sour scent of alcohol all about the room. The next aspect that struck him was the noise. It was everywhere. Whether it was the bland, uninspired music blasting out of the speakers in the corners of the large space, or the endless chatter of people discussing their lives, strange events or even just a funny joke.

The sound of glass clinking against the wood as it was roughly placed atop the counter, the clatter of a spilled plate of food or drink against the sticky floor.

It was a stark contrast to his quiet, empty apartment on the top floor.

He paused at the entrance, his eyes scanning across the bar, searching for where he should go, where he should be. He couldn't get over how many people there were.

His eyes landed on the bar itself, the countertop where a young woman was issuing out drinks as rowdy, drunk men and woman called out orders.

Gohan decided that would probably be the best place to start, considering he'd read in books about people walking up to the counter where they get their drinks. The young man slowly, casually made his way towards the bar. He tried to appear casual, tried to appear as if he belonged, but couldn't tell if he was actually doing a good job.

As he walked he scanned the room out of the corners of his eyes. He could see people noticing him, their heads turning towards him as he walked by.

A nervous worry began to bubble within the pit of his stomach.

Why are they staring at me? Do they recognize me? Do they know who I am?

He felt a bead of sweat form on his brow. He'd seemingly not been recognized all day. He'd gotten used to assuming that his Super Saiyan form had been enough of a disguise to let him walk around town without anyone noticing him. He didn't want people noticing him, recognizing him, pointing him out to be the 'Golden Warrior' as they called him. It was what had kept him away from big cities for all this time. Today had been an acception, and he'd been pleasantly surprised when no one had seemed to have noticed his arrival in town. No Super Saiyan meant no Golden Warrior, or so it seemed.

Had he been wrong? Now that they were closer, could they tell?

The young man slowed to a stop as he focused less of his attention on acting normal and looked down at himself to make sure he didn't have a tag sticking out or something else embarrassing.

Oh…

He realized as he studied the people closer, they weren't looking at his face, they were looking slightly lower.

I guess it's not every day that you see a man missing an arm…

Gohan sighed as he continued his walk to an open bar stool at the end of the bar. He plopped down and hunched over the bar like he'd read dozens of protagonists do in his books. This...seemed like the right thing to do. Well, there was that and the fact it meant that he didn't have to engage with any direct eye contact.

Seriously, what am I doing here!?

The young man sighed as he shook his head.

This was a mistake. He shouldn't be here. He'd only gone in the first place due to a lack of knowing where else he could go at this time of night. He only knew the stereotypes for going out from the books he read. This setting had been typical for his protagonists to wind up one time or another. He'd figured, why not? Give it a shot.

But he was quickly regretting it now. He didn't like all the people, loud and brash, it wasn't something he was used to having lived the majority of his life in isolation.

Let's go.

Gohan had just prepared to leave when a chipper voice called out. "So tall dark and grumpy, what can I get for you?"

Gohan blinked.

Talk dark and...what?

The Saiyan raised his head to see the barkeep had come over to him. She was leaning on the edge with an elbow displaying a bright and energetic smile. Her hair was brown tied in two long braids that rested on either shoulder running down her professional server attire. Her eyes were a pleasant shade of green as Gohan saw himself reflect off of them.

"Gloomy?" He asked with a sheepish smile. He hadn't thought he'd looked 'gloomy'.

Her smile widened. "Well when you come over to my bar all hunched over like that, I had to assume. Although I'm glad to see that you aren't! What can I start you off with?"

Gohan froze.

He didn't have a single clue what he should ask for.

"Uh, just a, um." He stammered trying to come up with something. They never went into detail about the drinks they got in the books he read. It was always vague terms like 'beer' or a catch all term like 'moonshine'.

Gohan panicked. He'd been sitting there staring at her for too long now. He needed an answer, any answer.

"Just a, uh, beer."

The bartender blinked once before bursting out laughing.

"Do you know what type you'd want?" She said smiling and wiping a tear from her eye.

"..." He was out of ideas.

"Um…" He let loose a deep and defeated sigh. "Look, I'm just gonna say it. I don't have the slightest knowledge on liquor. This is the first time I'm trying it. Do you have anything for a new drinker?"

The woman's smile eased into a comfortable understanding. "Yeah, I figured as much. I always love giving newbies a hard time. I don't get a lot of you nowadays. Looks like everyone is taking up drinking as of late…" She trailed off with an annoyed gaze before gently shaking her head free of the rogue thought. "But that's just good for business!" she phoned a smile.

Gohan took a brief second to look around. The bar was small, barely larger than a master bedroom, and yet it was filled to the brim with people, laughing, drinking, forgetting their worries…

Gohan turned back.

Maybe that's not such a bad idea…

"My name's Lime by the way. If I think someone is going to be a regular I like to get their name." She smiled cutely before offering her hand to shake.

The Saiyan smiled, "Gohan." As he extended his hand to shake it.

He noticed her gaze slip below for a moment, her smile twitching just a second before returning to meet his eye.

Gohan internally frowned. She'd noticed his arm.

"So you want a short list on the better side of the selection?"

The smile returned to his lips as she said this. At least she didn't ask about it. That was a kindness. He hadn't realized until he'd actually gone into the city with Trunks for the first time in he didn't know how long, but his arm, or rather, lack thereof, seemed to draw a lot of attention. It was a deep and impactful wound, signs a potential victim or survivor from something drastic, it told a story before they even met him. When he'd stopped for ice cream with Trunks, the vendor had asked him about it, and he'd noticed the conversations in the line behind him suddenly quiet themselfs. It'd been a minor drop, but enough that he figured the majority of the line would hear his story once he'd told it.

He shrugged and said he was born with it. The line resumed their activities. Trunks shot him a strange look.

"Yes please." He answered quickly.

"We got the house special Blue Dragon blood, some fireball mix drinks, a discount on the 'Golden warrior', a-
Gohan raised a hand to stop her. "Wait, the 'golden warrior'?" he repeated.

She shot him a sad smile. "Hey, even if you aren't the biggest fan of him, doesn't mean there aren't other people that believe in him. The drink is just a gimmick really, just something for people to take occasionally and pretend to be strong for a little bit for the joke of it."

Gohan smiled, they'd made a drink out of him. "No no, I actually am a fan. I was just surprised by the name. I'll take one of those."

She raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that buddy? It's called the 'Golden warrior' for a reason, it's strong."

Gohan grinned.

Well, dad always said the best way into the lake was to dive right in!

"I'm certain. I'll take a Golden warrior."

She smiled at him. "I'll get right on that."

---

-Eighteen-

She'd decided to wait a few minutes to go in as to not seem like she'd been right on his heels somehow. She still wasn't certain if he hadn't spotted her earlier and had just been playing along.

She stepped inside the bar, boring, dumb music blasting through the speakers. People all around her, some dancing, others laughing, their eyes glazed over with the scent of liquor on their lips.

She hated it. Hated it immediately. She'd never been one for bars before or after her...change. Of course there was the fact that she'd been too young to legally enter a bar before her transformation, but there were fake ID's out there for a reason.

Her eyes scanned the room, searching for Blondie before she spotted him at the end of the bar talking with the bartender. She didn't stop her gaze about the room; however, she continued all the way through as to appear like she was just getting a general layout of the room. He could see her now, she didn't need him knowing that she was watching him.

She walked forward towards the bar, she'd noticed an open seat on the other side of the long counter space. She could see out of the corner of her eye heads slightly turning her direction. They were not so much that it was blatantly obvious as their partners were often times just next to them, but enough that Eighteen noticed it.

Great, next we're going to have some raging drunk come up to me and ask to make out.

She internally gagged at the mental image.

She sat down on the stool casually as the bartender came over. "What can I get ya darl-"

"Margarita, thank you." She spoke with a sharpness to her voice, a dismissing tone. She didn't want to have a drawn out conversation with this meager human. She watched the bartender blink once as she was interrupted before a bright smile returned to her features.

"Right away." She chimed, seemingly unaffected by her rudeness.

She's been doing this for years. She knows how to put on a good smile.

Eighteen mentally reported. She hadn't liked bars but that didn't mean she hadn't enjoyed a drink or two back when she'd actually socialized with these creatures. She knew how dumb people could get when they drank just one too many.

Focus Eighteen, focus.

She told herself as she turned her head away to lean against her hand in a bored expression, but her eyes partially obscured by the thick rims of her glasses, were on Blondie.

The bartender had delivered a bronze, or was that more golden? Colored drink that had been lit on fire producing a yellow glow.

Oh my god the narcissist got a drink about himself.

Eighteen had already figured out that people didn't seem to recognize him in this form, without his golden locks and fiery aura. To be honest that was how she remembered him too, not this calm looking man dressed in normal clothes which she'd noticed were just some dark colored jeans and a collared blue button down. She questioned if he didn't have his wound if she would have recognized him.

But to see him ordering a drink based on himself? She couldn't believe it.

---

-Gohan-

He stared down at the glass with wide eyes.

Whoa.

He saw the barkeep leaning on one elbow, watching him with a devious grin. "Well? Drink up."

He smiled sheepishly as he reached out and took glass in his hand, slowly raising it to his face before pausing as the heat of the small flame warmed his face.

"...I'm supposed to blow it out right?" He asked meeting Lime's eye with a nervous frown.

The woman stifled a laugh before answering. "Yes you're supposed to blow it out, but I mean, if you want to try and drink it while it's flaming you're free to try."

"Har har," He smiled before blowing out the flames and raising the glass to his lips.

He took a sip.

The man did a slow recoil from the cup as the taste hit his tongue. It was strong, like fire, cinnamon, a warm, burning sensation as it ran down his throat.

He eyed the drink with a raised eyebrow.

"Well?" Lime asked with a bright smile.

Gohan smacked his lips once, a coy grin pulling at his lips. He pulled his eyes away from the glass to meet Lime's, a devious look spreading across his face.

Lime raised an expectant eyebrow.

And then Gohan tilted his head back, and downed the rest of the cup. Then he swallowed, having not let a single drop slip down his chin, and lowered his head back to eye level.

Both of Lime's eyebrows were raised now. An impressed smile resting on her lips.

"I quite liked it." He felt a warmth in his chest now. "I think I'll have another."

---

-Eighteen-

Well, Blondie sure knows how to handle his liquor.

She thought to herself as she watched the bartender return with an identical drink as the first. She hadn't expected him to throw it back like that.

She took a small sip from her modest drink.

She'd decided to hang back until he'd downed maybe three or four more glasses before approaching him. She wanted him talkative, but not too talkative. She also had to make sure that she didn't accidentally drink too much as well. Eighteen had always wondered why had decided to leave their internal organs intact. Despite being functional, they were effectively worthless. It'd taken her and her brother some time to realize it, but their virtually unlimited energy supply effectively provided everything their body needed to survive. It charged her cells and organs with energy to keep them alive, It hardend her skin and gave her incredible strength along with the limb augmentations. It did everything she needed it to, but that didn't mean that she still couldn't eat or drink. Food still affected her the same way as a human did, she digested and consumed just like any human. As a result, she could still drink and feel the effects of substances if she wasn't mindful.

Probably didn't need to remove my organs to complete the project.

She thought to herself. She couldn't imagine Dr. Gero maintaining her internal organs for any reason other than, it was easier to just leave them in and work around them than take them out and replace the space.

She frowned to herself, taking a sip from her glass. It wasn't all bad, she did like having the option to get drunk. She just didn't do it much. It wasn't like she had anyone but Seventeen to drink with, and for one reason or another whenever her brother would touch a drop of liquor, he'd always get violent. It annoyed her to no end when he would start destroying things just to destroy them.

She watched as Gohan claimed his second drink before bringing it to his lips with a vigor.

Perfect, looks like I won't have to wait long. I'll head over in maybe ten, fifteen-

Her thoughts froze as she felt a large hand place itself on the center of her back, the toxic scent of someone who had clearly had too much to drink on her cheek. She turned her head slightly, meeting the gaze of a gruff looking, overweight man with a mess of hair that he likely thought was a cool, refined looking beard but to her it looked like a bird had figured out how to make a nest on pure concentrated ugly.

"Hey there cutie, how about I buy you a drink eh? What would you like? Android Oil? Dragon blood?"

Eighteen raised an eyebrow, they'd made a drink out of her?

Neat.

But that didn't mean that she wasn't absolutely revulsed by the man's unwanted presence.

"No thanks, I'm good with what I got." She raised her hand, swinging the glass in his face before setting it back down. "But you go wild buddy." She used her other hand to aggressively swat his fingers away from her back.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as the man staggered back, his brows furrowed with an insulted look about him. He took a second to gather himself again before smiling, attempting to appear casual as he approached her again with hands outstretched for a hug.

"C'mon, no need to be rude, I'm just trying to make a friend-"

"Get the hint man. I'm not interested." Eighteen spoke sharply, sneering at the man as she did.

She watched as he recoiled a second time before his face contorted into a snarl.

"Hey fuck you bitch! I was jest tryin to be niace and have a good time but ya decided to be a bitch about-"

Eighteens hand was gripping her glass tighter and tighter. She really couldn't have a confrontation right now with Blondie literally sitting ten feet away. Despite this, she was finding it harder and harder to sit their as the drunk continued to rattle off insults.

"You think that just cuz you're some bitch at the bar that you're somehow better than me?"

Eighteen felt the pressure she was exuding on the glass begin to crack, a thin fracture now running down the cup. She briefly looked about the room. Eyes were on her, half of the bar even, but none were stepping in. It was just like the van, everyone could see the ruckus, but no one actually wanted to step in and help. She wondered why she'd been approached so much today, but looking about the room, she could see it now. All the other women were in groups, either with their supposed love interest for the night or a large group of girls. She couldn't find a single other girl by herself in the room.

Oh.

"You think that jest cuz ya got eh drank, you get ta just blow meh off?" She watched as he looked up at her face, down at the drink in her hand and then back to her.

...don't you fucking dare…

He swung out a drunk hand, attempting to slap the drink out of her hand. Eighteen waited until he was just about to touch the glass before she crushed it, the glass exploded in her palm, and slicing into his hand as the shards shot out.

He immediately recoiled waving his now bleeding hand like he'd just punched something really hard. She could see the other half of the bar now noticing their exchange.

She recoiled her hand below the counter, pretending she'd been injured as well.

"Heeey guys! What's going on over here? Anything a free drink might be able to sort out?" The bartender said as she quickly rushed over to where Eighteen was sitting. The panic in her eyes betrayed the easy going smile she was wearing. Eighteen could tell she was trying to deescalate the situation.

"Nah fuck that!" He raised an index finger and shoved it into the back of Eighteen's head. "This little bitch right here did that on purpose!"

I'm done.

Her patience had run thin. There was only so much she was willing to take from such a vile creature until she snapped.

The woman immediately reached up, grabbing the finger with her hand before violently bending it the wrong way.

A snap followed.

Then a howl of pain.

The man stumbled back clutching his now broken finger with his other hand, crying out that 'she broke my fucking finger' and 'that bitch!'.

The classics.

She snidely chimed to herself as she saw panic swell in the bartenders eyes, her smile fell as she continued to watch the drunk. Eighteen turned her head to watch him too, eyeing him to see what he would do now.

She raised an eyebrow when he grabbed a bottle off of a nearby table.

"H-hey! Wait a minute! Let's not be rash here-c'mon-let's-not-get-violent!" The bartender rattled off in a helpless plea for the man to stop as he came charging, or rather stumbling towards Eighteen with a bottle raised above his head.

Eighteen eyed him dangerously as he rushed her. If he tried to break that against her head, she was going to make sure that everything he had was broken.

She watched as the arm crashed down towards her, until it suddenly halted midway, a new hand having grabbed his bicep mid-swing.

"How about we leave the nice lady alone."

Eighteen's eyes were wide with surprise as Blondie stepped between herself and the drunken man, who looked up at him with surprised shock.

"Wha? Who-who the hell ah you?" The man murmured nervously.

Eighteen could see a slight wobble to his otherwise intimidating stance. She could tell that Blondie was feeling the affects of his drinks, if only a little bit. A smile pulled at her lips as she leaned back towards where Lime was standing nervously with her fingers intertwined.

"Can I get a replacement margarita please?" She asked with a knowing grin.

Lime pulled her gaze away from the conflict, a worried look on her face as she met Eighteen's gaze. "Um, would you mind waiting for just a moment? There's kinda something happening right now."

Eighteen could see the worry in her eyes looking at the two men. It wasn't hard to understand why. Gohan was wearing clothing that didn't particularly compliment his otherwise chiseled frame, and he did only have one arm. She could see why the bartender was worried.

She stifled a laugh. "Relax…Lime," She said the name slowly, reading out her name tag. Pointing a single thumb over her shoulder at Gohan, she said "Don't worry, he's got this."

---

-Gohan-

Gohan felt great.

Everything, even the man currently staring him down, was just the best.

The music, the environment, the smell, suddenly, all of it was just so enjoyable to be around.

Gohan felt happy, he felt silly, he felt…

Silappy.

Gohan snorted at his own combination of the words.

"H-hey tha hell you laughin at?"

Gohan was struggling to contain himself. "Nothing, nothing." He said while doing his best to get serious again. This man had just assaulted the woman behind him. He couldn't treat that light heartedly.

He turned and looked over his shoulder at the woman. She was surprisingly pretty with thick black frames and long black hair that cupped her face. She was talking to the bartender about getting another drink.

"Are you okay ma'am?" He asked sternly. He watched as the woman turned her head back to face him. A chill ran down his spine as her eyes fell on him. It was only for a second, but in that second he'd felt like he was staring down the fangs of a viper ready to pounce.

Man, liquor is some crazy stuff.

He smiled again.

"Oh I'm fine sir." She responded coyly putting extra emphasis on the 'sir' part. "You think you're gonna be okay with tipsy over there?"

Gohan returned his attention to the man who'd raised the bottle again before bringing it down on him. Gohan's response was immediate, almost so fast that the rest of the bar couldn't track.

Well, everyone except the girl with the black hair.

He reached out, snatchin the bottle with his hand before in the same motion colliding his shoulder into the man's chest hard. The man was knocked to the ground, his head snapping back to meet the wood floor with a crack.

Gohan frowned, had he over done it? He'd only meant to push him back a few feet for him to get the picture, but the drunk had dropped like a sack of potatoes.

"See? Told ya." He heard the girl say casually to Lime.

He raised an eyebrow. What had they been talking about?

The drunken man rolled on the floor, groaning for several seconds before picking himself up, one hand rubbing the back of his head. He grumbled as he turned around, walking away from Gohan like a child who'd just been punished. He could feel the rest of the bar looking at him now, the man with one arm who just knocked a drunk on his ass. They were eyeing him, studying him, trying to understand him. Not long after their conversations returned, their eyes fell away losing interest. The show was over, no need to watch anymore.

Good.

He thought to himself. He hadn't overdone it.

"Hey there," he heard a voice call out behind him.

Turning, he saw the woman from before smiling at him with a devious glint in her eyes. Gohan couldn't figure out what it was about her, but something about the way she was smiling at him was putting him on edge.

"Hello." He responded plainly, he was trying desperately to sound sober in that moment.

"Thanks for helping me out there. It was really kind of you to step in like that." Her words were sweet like honey. It was clear by her tone that she was trying to be friendly with him.

Gohan felt his cheeks darken as he reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Ah, it's no big deal. I'm sure someone else would have if I hadn't stood up."

He watched as she snorted. "Well, you'd be surprised."

---

-Eighteen-

She watched him with a pleasant smile as he responded to her. "Yeah well, I'm glad I could help all the same."

He was right where she wanted him. Tipsy, in a good mood, chatty, this was going perfect!

She reached out a hand. "It's nice to meet you b-" She paused, realizing she'd almost slipped up.

"It's Gohan." He answered, treating her statement like a question as he reached out and took her hand in his.

...go with it.

Her smile broadened as she gently shook his hand up and down. It was odd feeling his hands, or rather, hand. Despite being grappled and thrown countless times by the man before her, she'd never felt his hand like this before. If wasn't gripping her so tight that had she been human the skin would have bruised, but gently, firm, assuring and friendly.

It was an odd sensation.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Gohan." She said returning her hand to her side.

"And you as well…?"

She raised an eyebrow, he'd tampered off in his greeting, framing it like a question.

He laughed, "Your name."

But you already know my-

Her eyes grew wide.

A name!

She'd been so focused on making the disguise, on pretending convincingly, that she'd completely spaced out the name.

Fuck fuck! What's a good fake name!

Her instincts told her to just go with her old name, before she'd been 'Eighteen'.

No! What if he knows what my old name is? He could have researched me since then! Nothing to lead back to the real me!

A name, a name! She needed to pick one, anyone, Sam? No, too boyish, Melody? No she hated that name, it sounded tacky to her.

Just pick one damn it! It doesn't matter!

She ordered herself as she noticed Gohan raise an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

It was do or die. She needed to pick something now. Didn't matter what, just something. She spat out the first name that popped in her head, the most recent female name she'd heard in recent memory.

"Videl." she blurted out.

Videl!? Why the hell did I say Videl! What type of name even is Videl!

"Oh," Blondie smiled sheepishly. "That's a unique name."

Yeah no shit sherlock.

Eighteen sighed internally. She was 'Videl' now. It seemed that at every turn that old man in the sports shop was fucking her over.

Damn you Hercule.

"That's why my parents chose it." she joked, "Care to join me? I really should buy a drink for the man who saved me." She really hated playing the damsel in distress, but if stroking his ego was what it took to get him to sit and chat with her, then she'd accept it.

Not like it, but accept it.

He paused, a surprised look on his face. "Join...you?" he repeated.

She frowned, was something the matter? "Yes...unless you're already sitting with someone?" she looked over towards where he'd been sitting, there wasn't someone he'd come with had he? He'd seemed mostly alone when he'd arrived. It'd been odd to see someone come alone to a bar, but it wasn't unheard of.

"Oh, no, no, I'm not sitting with anyone." He quickly filled the spot next to her. She eyed him as he sat, he shot her a reassuring, pleasant smile as he sat, like a kid surprised that someone had picked him for their team in a baseball game at recess.

She turned her attention to the bar. "Barkeep! I need another one of whatever this man was drinking on me!"

"Another Golden warrior coming up! And as thanks for taking care of that drunk, This round is on the house!"

"Good." she smiled as she positioned herself facing him, her elbow leaning against the counter with her hand supporting her chin. "So, tell me a little about yourself Gohan, what do you do for fun?"

---

-Gohan-

Don't mess this up! Don't mess this up! Don't mess this up!

He internally told himself as he prepared to answer. "Well, I'm a big fan of reading haha." he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Is that right?" He watched her turn and take a sip from her colorful looking drink, a bored expression on her face.

Reading isn't fun!

He chastised himself. He should have made something up rather than admit to his boring life.

Well...I guess my day to day is.

He thought reminding himself that he did on the regular fight the Androids, but that wasn't something that he could very well admit now could he?

"How about you?" He asked with a bright smile. He wanted to appear energetic, positive, someone she should enjoy talking to. He didn't know how he'd stumbled into an actual conversation with someone, but he was desperate not to mess it up. He had zero practice making new friends, so he wanted to make sure this one worked.

"Oh me? Well I come to places like this one." She smiled motioning a hand to the space around them. "I get to meet interesting people like you." She leaned in, smiling at him with a...he didn't know what type of gaze that was. It was almost like a predator staring down it's prey but with a...different type of undertone to it.

Gohan internally frowned, he realized then that his lack of social activity had made him inept to social cues.

What's more, Gohan had no idea what to say in response.

"That's...cool." He awkwardly said as his drink arrived in front of him.

Oh thank Kami.

He immediately stretched out his hand and took it. He hadn't expected it, but for some reason every time he drank this stuff it started tasting better and better!

He took a sip.

---

-Eighteen-

Huh, well that was odd.

He'd completely ignored her seductive advance. She hadn't known how he would respond to her flirting with him, but she'd figured he do...something at least.

Maybe he's just trying to be a gentleman...or maybe he's just a dense idiot.

She smiled. She could see that. It didn't matter to her either way. She just needed him interested in her long enough for her to steer the conversation towards what she needed. She watched as the man downed the drink placed in front of him with vigor.

"You liking those Golden warriors are you?"

The man flushed as he set down the empty glass. "Yeah, I guess. They just keep getting tastier ya know?"

She had to laugh at that. She could tell by the redness in his cheeks that he was starting to get very drunk.

"Yeah, I can understand that."

"You want one?"

She shrugged. Why not? It's not like one extra drink could hurt. Besides, she needed him to feel friendly to her. "Sure, I'll give it a try."

Internally Eighteen was extremely annoyed. She wanted nothing more than to drive a straight punch into this man's nose. Who knows? With him being drunk she might actually have the upperhand if they were to trade blows.

Just pretend long enough to get your answer, and then get out, five minutes. Ten at max.

She told herself as she prepared to actually talk to the man who had been the literal bane of her existence for the largest portion of her life.

-twenty minutes later-

Eighteen was struggling to breath as she held her stomach which ached from her laughing so hard. She hadn't expected it, but Blondie was actually funny when he had a few drinks in him.

Or maybe I'm a lot easier to make laugh when I have a few drinks in me…

She thought to herself as she looked over at the counter and saw three empty glasses that she'd personally downed. What could she say? He'd been right, they did get rather tasty after awhile.

"Yup, and then, seeing his office on fire, his shirt with the nipples cut out, and a note that read 'keep it toasty' he just walked out."

"You're kidding me!?" She laughed again. It was getting harder and harder to breath around this guy. His stories were ridiculous. Somewhere deep down it annoyed Eighteen that Blondie had genuinely managed to make her laugh. She told herself it was just her pretending to find him funny, but now it was getting harder and harder to believe her own reasoning.

So he can be funny, so what?

It didn't mean that she and her brother weren't going to rip his remaining limbs off one by one until he was just a human bean with a head.

Now that would be funny.

---

-Gohan-

A big dumb grin was occupying Gohan's face as he took another sip. None of the stories he was telling were remotely true, his life was boring for the most part, nothing but training and fighting. He had however read hundreds of stories over the years with funny stories in them.

He'd only had to change them up a little bit to make them sound a little bit more believable and he had them laughing harder than he'd ever laughed before in his life.

He felt like the world was spinning as he slowly raised the glass to his lips. So much was happening all around him that he was struggling to take it all in.

I'm glad I'm sitting right now...I think standing might be too much for me at the moment.

He felt sluggish and like his head was far too heavy for his neck to support by itself.

The world started to spin faster as he sat there, watching Videl reach out and take another sip of her drink. She was smiling at him, it was a pretty, simple, genuine smile unlike what he'd been seeing earlier. Before it had seemed like she was forcing her smile for some reason, but now? It felt like how it was supposed to.

Gohan felt like he was going to fall over if the world didn't stop spinning soon.

What can I do right now to stop this?

He internally pleaded. He needed to block out the world someway visually.

His eyes widened in a drunken realization.

I can close my eyes!

Immediately the Saiyan's eyes snapped shut. The blackness did help as he felt the spinning sensation beginning to fade away.

"You alright there Gohan?" He heard Videl ask.

"Y-yeah, just...getting the world to stay still for a sec." He felt like keep his eyes closed for awhile. Of course the warrior in him also wanted to keep an eye on his surroundings at all times.

Ki sense to the rescue!

He thought to himself singing a 'da-dadada!' in his head. The man stretched out his senses, feeling the energy of all of the bar's occupants around him. It was like a small flame of energy for each of them. He could sense where they were, and had a vague understanding of what they were feeling too if he focused. He could sense Lime, running up and down the bar. Her Ki was energetic which made sense with how she had been on her feet all night. He could feel everyone, he could even sense Trunks in his bed, asleep with Bulma's ki signature closeby. She wasn't asleep, he could sense from her active energy.

Probably working on some type of fancy project again.

Then he noticed something off. His eyebrows furrowed. He couldn't sense Videl right in front of him.

He frowned as he opened his eyes, had she moved?

He could see Videl sitting in the same place she'd been before, looking over at him with a relaxed smile.

"You okay there big guy?"

"Uh...yeah, just a sec." He said as he closed his eyes again and focused.

Nothing.

He opened his eyes, confusion written on his face. Why couldn't he sense her life energy? The only people he'd ever seen before not exude a Ki charge were the Androids...which meant...that Videl had to be…

---

-Eighteen-

She frowned, noticing the suspicious look crossing Gohan's features. He looked like he'd just seen something strange and was trying to figure it out as he repeatedly opened and closed his eyes.

"Hey...Videl?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I ask you a...um, weird sort of personal question?"

Weird personal question?

A devious smile pulled at her lips.

Ah, here it comes. The advances.

Much to Eighteen's surprise, Gohan hadn't made a single advance on her or responded to any of her own flirtatious invitations. At first it had offended her, made her think that he wasn't attracted to her, but she was beginning to realize that he might just be an idiot. It made sense that he would be. But now that he was asking about 'weird personal questions' she was certain she was about to get hit on.

When's the first time you did something sexual?

What do like to wear to bed?

Want to come back to my place later?

She smirked, part of the reason she'd been trying to come off as flirtatious earlier aside from seeking her answer was the idea of building up Blondie, leading him on that she was actually interested in him, and then at the end of the night once she'd gotten her answer, leaving without a word.

It was the ultimate rejection, and if she was going to be forced to talk to blondie, she was going to have some fun ruining his night.

Let's do this.

She thought to herself as she prepared herself for the question.

"What is it Gohan? You can ask me anything." She let the word hang there for a while, it's implications clear to anyone listening in.

He smiled that same, innocent, honest, handsome smile that he always did when she responded positively to him. There wasn't a trace of any deception in it, like the concept of her message having any dirty implications in it never crossed his mind.

"Do you have any vital organs that are artificial in any way?

"..."

...What?

Eighteen's face blanked.

What!?

Had he figured her out? Why would he ask a question like that unless he'd figured her out!? Did that mean should should try to escape?

Eighteen felt herself fill with panic. How had he figured her out? Had part of her disguise messed up? Had she laughed too hard and the wig fell to the side?

She could see that he was still waiting for a response, a genuine curiosity displayed across his features. She couldn't see a single trace of someone who was playing coy with her. There was no hostility, no aura of tension about his person. He was still facing her the same way he'd been before, his shoulders relaxed, his head tilting slightly to the side as if he didn't have the current motivation to hold it upright.

His body language told her that he was curious to know her answer, not preparing for a fight.

...wait, is he seriously just asking if I have an artificial body part? Why? Who says that?

"W-What, do you mean?" She decided to play along. She wasn't sure if he'd actually found her out or if this was just some devilish coincidence even though she couldn't see how it could just be a coincidence.

"Like, you know, some people get a new kidney or like a new heart or something. You wouldn't happen to have anything like that would you?"

Should I go with it? Technically my heart has been augmented to store my unlimited energy supply, but how would he be able to tell that?

She stammered as he sat there waiting. "I-Well, you see, uh-"

To hell with it! He's taking a stab in the dark! If he doesn't know, then just go along with it until the questions stop!

"Uh, yeah actually!" She abruptly let out, hoping that would be the right answer. "I got a uh," Crap, she didn't know anything about hearts. "I got a valve replace way back when I was younger. That's um, why it took me so long to remember it hahaha…" She silently prayed that this response would be enough to satisfy his uncanny curiosity.

She watched him in silence as he frowned, seemingly considering her answer before shrugging. "Huh, well I guess that makes sense."

He guess's that makes sense? How the hell does that make sense? No, wait, how the hell could he tell?

Eighteen fought the urge to return to that topic. She wanted desperately to know how he'd figured out at least partially that she was augmented, even if to him it was on a small scale.

The annoyance of not knowing ate at her as she sat there, puzzled. She wasn't going to get an answer to this one was she?

She watched the man carefully as he called for yet another drink. He didn't appear to be pretending at all. She breathed a sigh of relief internally. That had been far too close, she needed to spin the conversation towards her question now.

A devious smile consumed her lips, she knew exactly how to do it too.

Her previous plan had involved walking up to Blondie when he'd been in 'yellow mode' as she called it. But she'd noticed as soon as they'd entered the bar that no one else seemed to recognize Blondie, then it occurred to her that of course they wouldn't recognize him. He was far different than the man she'd been fighting for all these years. Unlike Blondie, He was calm, nice, talkative, polite, and overall just someone that she actually was enjoying being-

NO!

Her internal thoughts raged at themselves.

None of that!

She looked over towards her emptied glasses, she'd had far too much to drink if she'd started having thoughts like that.

Eighteen internally scowled at herself. She couldn't believe that she'd actually thought that even for the briefest of moments. She felt like she needed to somehow bleach her mind, whatever that would be.

Let's get this show on the road.

"Hey Gohan, do you mind if I ask you a strange question now?"

He gave her a nod and smiled.

She motioned with a finger for him to come in close as she leaned forward. The man raised a curious eyebrow but complied as Eighteen leaned in, cupping her hands over her mouth before whispering. "You're the golden warrior right?"

The effect was immediate. Gohan's head recoiled, the drunk expression all but disappeared as his eyes widened, pools of white surrounding tiny islands of onyx.

Eighteen stifled a laugh.

---

-Gohan-

...What?

What!?

She knew? She knew who he was? How? When did she figure it out!?

He frowned, looking down at his injury. He supposed that if she'd seen the most recent fight, it's possible that she recognized him by the missing arm, his face didn't change when he went Super Saiyan, but he'd figured enough about him had to fool almost everyone.

He sat back stunned, his mouth slightly ajar as Videl let out a soft and pleasant laugh.

"Relax, relax, I'm not gonna tell anyone. I'm actually a big fan." She shot him a wink.

The tension in Gohan's chest eased slightly. He was glad if she really didn't plan on telling anyone. He did not want everyone to start recognizing him out on the streets if he ever did decide to go out again.

"Oh y-yeah?" He responded trying to return to normality after being revealed in such a straightforward fashion.

"Are you kidding me? When I saw you stand up to that guy in the bar I couldn't believe my eyes! I've been your biggest fan ever since the Androids showed up!" He could see the excitement in her face as she gushed over him.

He felt a blush on his face. He would probably want to go out again. He was almost surprised that he had an actual fan. He'd been under the impression that people really didn't like him much, but seeing as he had a drink named after him, and this fan was currently talking to him...maybe he was more liked than he'd assumed.

"You knew about it being me earlier?"

A sheepish grin spread from Videl's lips. "I did. I didn't want to bring it up at first because I wanted to see how you would act before you knew I knew."

"Huh...how'd I do?"

She smiled, "Well I'm pleasantly surprised to find out that the Golden warrior," She said the title in a whisper. "Is actually a really nice guy."

His blush deepened and he paused, thinking about their first interaction with one and other. She'd seen her meet his gaze. She'd looked at him, unflinching, her gaze never shifting downward even for an instant. He hadn't noticed it before, but she hadn't even made a passing glance towards his missing arm, like she was used to it, like she'd already looked past it and decided there was more to him then that singular story. It made sense now, she'd already known about the injury.

She knew the story.

"You don't mind if I ask a few questions do you? I've always wanted to know more about you." Her eyes pleaded to him, appearing like a child asking for a cookie after bedtime.

She was a fan, and not only that, but a fan that had been considerate enough to get to know him before bombarding him with questions. How could he say no?

"Sure thing, fire away."

---

-Eighteen-

Perfect.

She couldn't have asked for a more perfect opportunity if she'd wanted to.

"Alright, so, those...lazer things, and the way you fly. How do you do that? Is it because you were given those powers or something?" This question felt like the first question a fan would have. She had to get it out of the way before continuing.

The man laughed as he scratched the back of his head, a nervous tick Eighteen had picked up on earlier on in their conversation. It meant that he was embarrassed.

Cute.

Eighteen frowned.

She was too drunk for this.

""Well actually, anyone can do that if they train hard enough. Everyone has the ability to learn, it's just that it takes awhile and is sorta hard too."

She nods.

Good, he's being honest.

It meant that her up coming questions would likely be met with a similar honest attitude. Although she was curious how a mortal managed to get so powerful in the first place. Despite extensive amounts of knowledge on Goku in his earlier years, there was a large gap of information missing about they're abilities when they were off world, namely, the super Sayain. That transformation was something new all around, and despite being able to overwhelm it, had served to be a problem in the past. Maybe if she had time she would steer the conversation in that direction.

Time to respond appropriately…

She thought to herself begrudgingly.

"That's so awesome!" She squealed like how she imagined a fan would, it made her gag internally, but it was fun pretending nonetheless. "So you think one day I could learn how to fly? I've always wanted to."

Gohan smiled, "Sure, maybe we could set that up sometime. Flying is actually one of the easier techniques to learn. I bet I could teach you in a month if you really tried."

Internally, Eighteen was laughing.

It would be a lot quicker than that.

Of course she would never actually attend a class with him. This was strictly a one off deal. Get her answer and get out. No second date, no sequel.

She was ninety nine percent certain.

"Really? That would be wonderful."

He smiled, his onyx eyes staring into hers. "Ofcourse, I'd be happy to."

...ninety eight percent...

Eighteen internally scowled as she shook her head free of the rogue thoughts.

Focus you drunk! Seriously! Do you know who you're thinking about right now?

"So, second question, are those powers, or rather… techniques as you call them, what let you know I once had heart surgery?" This was a question that she was actually curious about. She wanted to know what had given her away in the first place. Did she have a tell that she couldn't see?

"Oh, that." He laughed rubbing the back of his neck. "Well actually that is a technique. Although, I don't know how this sounds to someone who's never known about this stuff."

Eighteen struggled to contain a snicker.

"Well, you see, the 'powers' that I have," She watched as he made quotations with one hand and smiled.

Just doesn't have the same effect as when you have two hands Blondie.

"It has to come from something. It's not magic, it doesn't just appear out of nowhere. It comes...from us." He made a gesture to his chest. "It's our own power brought out to use in new ways. And, well, one of those powers is being able to sense how much power everyone else has, and by association, I can feel where people are, meaning I can sense a person even if I can't see them. Their life energy. It's like its just all around me. A third eye sorta. There's a little bit more to it too. I can sense whether the energy is erratic or unstable, when someone's mad or sad. I can sense when it's getting weaker or dim, usually when a person is close to death or when they're sleeping. If they're an evil, or kind person, if they have positive or negative intentions."

Eighteen blinked.

This was something genuinely new to her. He could...sense people? She'd already known about power levels, but this was new information. Dr. Gero had written in his notes about the ability to register a person's energy signature via a radar. Of course she and Seventeen hadn't received this addition yet because when they'd been initially turned on for a test he hadn't gotten to that section of the procedure.

Then it became pretty hard to try and get him to do it after Seventeen ripped his head off.

But that had been a device, a specially designed radar that could sense and register power levels..

Was blondie telling her that you could learn how to do this? It sounded mystical, magical, even.
Maybe she didn't know as much about Ki as she thought.

"That's...incredible…" She muttered, genuinely stunned that what he'd described was possible. That was something she would actually want to learn.

Gohan laughed at her response. "Usually it's the flying and laser beams that everyone gets excited about."

Eighteen blinked.

Wait a minute…

"Wait, is that how you knew I was different? You looked at my...energy signature?" what did her energy signature look like? No, you didn't see it, it didn't have a look to it. You felt it. He could sense how her energy signature felt in comparison to others.

My 'life energy'..

He'd called it a signature. Meaning everyone's was different. Hers was different. Hers was unique. What did her life energy feel like to him? What did it tell him? What could he learn about her?

Eighteen was suddenly learning forward in her seat expectantly. She wanted to know his answer, it mattered to her now. This was something entirely new to her, and it was exciting!

"Well that's just the thing hahaha, I couldn't sense anything from you!"

Eighteen's gaze froze in an empty stare.

Nothing? He can't sense anything from me? My power? My essence? My soul, is just...gone?

Eighteen was struggling to contain her seething rage. Her fingers tightened until her hands became angry fists, her knuckles were white from the tension.

That bastard Gero took that away from us too!? He took our humanity from us! He took our lives away from us! And now I get to find out that I don't even have my fucking soul anymore!

"Uh...you okay?"

Eighteen's gaze shifted back to Gohan and immediately she realized what she'd been doing. Her gaze had been intense, her pupils dots in a sea of white as her shoulders had begun to tremble with an unsuppressable fury.

Relax Eighteen. There's nothing you can do about it now.

She took a deep breath to clear her head.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Sorry." She watched as the man raised an eyebrow to her response before shrugging and taking another sip of his drink. Eighteen was grateful he'd decided to leave it alone.

She needed to stop looking at this from an emotional standpoint,or at least, not right now. She needed an objective look on this. What it meant in the real world instead of just what it meant to her. That meant that Gohan could not sense her, he couldn't figure out where she was or if she was hiding. She'd seen that earlier today when he'd looked straight at her and dismissed her because he'd searched out for her energy and found nothing.

At least that mystery is solved.

She idly chimed to herself as she gathered her wits. She needed to get these negative emotions out of her head.

"Barkeep! Two more shots right here!" A few moments later the shots were before her. Without a second of delay the drinks were hitting the back of her throat, the bitter liquid forcing her to grimace as she took the second.

Feeling a little more tipsier than usual, Eighteen is ready to continue her questions.

"Alright, so, you said that the bigger the energy the stronger the person right?"

Gohan nods, his eyebrow raised from the way she'd shot back both drinks.

"So does that mean your energy is waaaay bigger than everyone else in this room?"

Gohan tilted his head to the side, considering the statement. "Yeah, I guess you could put it like that."

Eighteen's face tightened her words suddenly more serious than before.

She needed this to really hit hard. "So, if you can sense strong power energies…" She paused then, using the silence to form her sentence, the drinks making her mind foggy. "Then how strong is your energy in comparison to the energy the Androids have."

She already knew the answer from his previous reveal. He couldn't sense theirs. But the question did what she needed it to.

Gohan's jovial smile fell as he adopted a darker expression, a more somber, almost defeated look. He let out a slow and calm sigh before he answered. "I can't sense their energy. I have no idea how close I am to their strength."

A frown rested on Eighteen's lips now. The question had done exactly what she'd intended it to do. It both introduced the Androids into the conversation, and sobered him up. It told him that he would have to think past the booze from here on out if he wanted to answer these questions properly.

It was time to proceed.

"They've hurt a lot of people Gohan...I've seen it first hand. I've had things taken away from me, some of them made me more of a person than without them. I know the pain the Androids cause." Her frown deepened. She wanted this to sound earnest, to sound honest. She wanted this to feel like it meant something, a means to draw out an equally earnest and honest response.

So she made it about her. She made it about the truth.

"They've killed, slaughtered, and torn apart millions. I'm more changed by the Androids creation than anyone in here. I've thought a lot about them, and I know that if I could ever get a hold of the person responsible for creating them I know I would tear him to pieces, I would do the same thing they do to the innocents of this world, that they've been doing for over a decade. I would become just like them in that moment. Anything to stop…" She paused, looking down at her lap. To him, it probably looked like she was just looking down, but in reality she was acknowledging herself as a whole. Her enhanced and changed limbs. Her core power system flooding her processors with energy to use at her leisure. Her modified mind to store data in a faster and more efficient mannerism so that she would never have trouble recalling an event or important memory.

Her chest, where the very essence of the person she'd been before had been stolen from her.

"Anything...to stop the Androids from becoming what they are. I would slaughter that person if i could, nothing would stop me. But then… I would be just like the Androids...wouldn't I?" Eighteen was surprised she had to actually wipe away a tear from her eye. It had made her words convincing, this was all true for her, but she hadn't actually thought she would get emotional over it. She'd thought about these things hundreds of times before. She was over it now.

Maybe those shots are starting to take effect…

"But then again," she continued, "It's not like I actually have the strength to stop it, to kill, like they so brutally can. I'm sure that there's hundreds, thousands of people who feel the same way I do, that would brutalized the Androids and their maker without a second thought, given the chance."

Who wish they were as strong as I am or as my brother is. They all wish they could be me. That they could have the power I have. But I don't think for a second they would want if they knew what it took from me to become me.

"They don't have the power. They don't have the strength to become the monsters that the Androids are." It'd recently gotten a lot easier to use that term when regarding herself, she wondered why "...but you do…" She took a shaky breath inward. She definitely shouldn't have gotten drunk before this. These emotions were not fake. "Why didn't you become like them? You could have lived an easy life somewhere away, terrorizing a town helpless to stop you. You could have lived it easy, never having to face the androids...I guess what I'm asking is...why do you still choose to fight the Androids? Why aren't you one of them?"

She hadn't meant to give as much weight to the question as she had. The combined force of her drunken emotions followed by mixing it with her own genuine feelings had formed a powerful statement of which Eighteen had been shocked came from herself.

"I-...wow." Gohan paused, staring wide eyed, shocked, amazed even, at her question.

Eighteen smiled. Right then in that moment, he wasn't Blondie the man who'd been trying to kill her for all these years, he was an intelligent, handsome, strong young man who was staring at her with such wonder, such amazement that he had to stare. He was looking at her like she was a work of art who he'd just stumbled upon by accident.

She could get used to someone looking at her like that…

Eighteen immediately snapped out of her trance.

God damn it how much have I drunk!?

At her feet were roughly ten differently sized empty glasses.

Oh Kami.

"I guess...I never really looked at it like that…" He started his answer in a muttler, "I-uh-never really even thought of that as an option I guess. I just figured...this…" He made a motion with one arm towards the rest of himself, his scars, his chiseled, battle ready body, his years of dedication and pain, his missing arm. "Was my only option. This was what I was always meant to do... I never thought to question it."

Eighteen was staring at the man in shocked wonder now. He'd never stopped to give it some thought? That he could just live a life by himself, away from it all, safer than everyone else?

She watched the focused look on the man as he internally searched for an answer. She could tell that her emotions fueling her questions had worked too well on him.

"...I think...I went down this road...because I felt like I had too much to lose back then." he finally acknowledged.

...what?

"My mentor, my friends...they were all such amazing people...heros! Actually...They were what made me choose to become one myself. The desire, no, need to protect them, my friends, my family, the people I loved. For a long time...that was what drove me to fight. But then…" His face grew dark, she could see true pain, true sorrow in his eyes.

"That went away...when the Androids killed...everyone. It got to the point that only a few of my loved ones were left. They became everything to me. I had to protect them. Because if I lost them… it would be like I lost everything that made me, me."Eighteen watched, shocked, as he sniffled a bit of a runny nose " I...I even struggled to make new friends, new loved ones because I didn't know if I would be able to protect them if the Androids happened to attack. I closed myself off to the world because I couldn't handle letting it down...again."

Eighteen blinked. She'd never, ever thought of him like that. Blondie had always just been this goodie two shoes hero that occasionally got in their way from time to time. There'd been no depth to his character, no inner motive in her mind aside from "I'm good because I'm the good guy hurray!".

But as she sat before him, she realized her mistake. She and her brother always won. They drove Blondie back hundreds of times over the years. They'd nearly killed him dozens of times out of those exchanges. He'd never successfully stopped even one of their attacks.

Eighteen realized in that moment that she wasn't looking at this city's equivalent of a superman.

She was looking at a loser. That hero that tries and fails to save the day. That had been the reason he'd been so surprised to find out he had a fan, because who was a fan of the hero-wannabe.

A monotone, clearly forced laugh rumbled out from Gohan. "Hahaha...I guess that got darker than I meant it to be, huh?" He said as he lifted a drink to his lips,shooting the entire thing back before motioning for another, "Do you want to move onto another question?"

The question was little more than a segway to move on in the conversation for Gohan, but for Eighteen it was a genuine question. Did she want to move onto her next question? It was the question, the only one that mattered, but it would drive home the fact that Gohan had never won any of his fights more than any blatant statement could say. It would destroy him mentally, and looking at this man who she could now understand, she didn't know if she wanted to-

What the actual fuck am I thinking right now? Am I actually being serious? This is the entire point of this conversation! Kami what the hell did I drink?

She looked down at the cup she had been slowly bringing to her lips.

And why the hell am I still DRINKING IT?

She quickly set the glass down onto the counter before parting her lips for the question.

No more dancing around it. I've made it here. It's time to finally get my answer.

"So,something I've wondered to myself from time to time is this...when the Androids eventually kill everyone...what do you think they will do then? What will become of them do you think?"

When.

Not if.

When.

Even if she was ignoring how hard her message was to him, that didn't mean she was oblivious of her statement as a whole. She caught the slightest wince in his eyes when he heard the end of her question. She could see him realizing it now. The implications of what she'd asked..

Even his fan, the only one he could accept actually was a fan of him, thought he was going to fail.

"Well…" He mumbled, pausing to take a sip of his drink. It was clear that he didn't want to meet her gaze, that he was hurt and trying to hide it. He took a long time to take this drink. Clearly registering the comment, feeling the hurt, and then trying to find an answer to the question.

His drink was empty when he set the glass down.

"I guess the only way to look at it is this. When all you know how to do is destroy, what do you do when you are all that's left to destroy?"

Eighteen, froze.

His answer.

That was it. Simple, sweet, and with more weight than those short few words should be able to carry. It was everything that she needed to hear, to understand.

And it was wrong.

She hadn't wanted this, she'd wanted the other answer.

She hadn't even thought of what she would do if he'd answered her question this way. She'd only considered him somehow finding a way to agree with her. The entire night he'd been showing her how he could question things past the black and white, that he could see her side of the argument…so why hadn't he right then?

He had.

She thought to herself in a stunned stupor.

He'd thought about it, black and white and grey. He'd considered it all, and that was his answer.

She wanted things to go back to normal. That had been the plan, this had meant to be her resolution so that she could get back to the same old life that she'd loved and learned.

It was familiar, it was what was supposed to be.

But this? This answer?

It changed everything.

And Eighteen couldn't begin to imagine what that would look like.

"I-I think I need to go." She suddenly said, stumbling to her feet as she got to them. She felt dazed, like she'd just been punched really really hard, harder than she'd ever been hit in her life. She struggled to make her way towards the exit. It didn't help that it appeared the alcohol in her system was actually having a serious affect.

"Hey, let me help you there." Gohan said as he rose to his feet, offering a hand for her to support herself on.

"No...that's fine! I'm...good. I'd rather go it alone..thanks." It was hard for her to think straight. Her words, the message they contained, it all felt empty and pointless. Why was she talking to him right now? Did she have to? Why did she have to? Why had she done this? It was all wrong now.

She watched as another hurt expression washed over his face before he averted his gaze downward.

"Alright." He said trying to form a smile that didn't quite make it to his eyes. He was trying to appear as if he hadn't been affected by their exchange, but he clearly had. "It was nice meeting you Videl."

She watched as the man turned his back and returned to his seat. For a moment she felt bad, the next she remembered the fact that her entire life had been just turned on its head and suddenly she didn't give a shit about Gohan. She needed to get away, away from everyone. Away from everything that didn't make sense right now, which was effectively everything.

...damn it…

She got to the exit and stepped out to the cool night air. She started to walk, she had enough sense about her to get away from any nearby people before taking flight. Her head was spinning,and she couldn't tell if it was from the drinks or from the life changing information she'd just recieved.

But in the end it's still my choice if I want to let his words impact my life. I'm still in the driver's seat. That hasn't changed.

Despite this thought, as she walked down the dimly lit road, her eyes glued to the spot just in front of where her feet were stepping one after another, she realized she felt like she was less in control of her life than she had ever been. She felt like a child who'd just been told that Santa wasn't real. She felt like the kid in school who had decided to be an astronaut when he was five, only to find out at ten how unlikely it would be that he would reach that goal.

...Shit…

Her mind felt like it was rattling within her skull, humming with the knowledge she'd just received. How could she have blocked out something so obvious? Something that made such clear sense that it was almost dumb how simple it was? She'd missed it, completely, totally, somehow, despite being at this game for over a decade, she'd missed it all.

'When all you know how to do is destroy, what do you do when you are all that's left to destroy?'

She stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide as slow tears began to roll down her cheeks.

It didn't feel real.

It felt like she was drifting, her feet felt like they were standing on nothing as her body went numb.

If I follow down this path… the one that I've been following for all this time...I'm going to kill my baby brother...or he's going to kill me.

She'd thought it before. But at the time it'd only been her considering the thought. It was purely a concept, just a theory that had yet to be proven. But now, it was real. It felt more real than anything she'd ever felt before. Her brother, Seventeen, he was her everything. If anything happened to him...she couldn't even begin to imagine what she would do.

She'd do anything to save her brother. Whatever it took to keep him around, to keep him at her side.

But does that mean I...need...to stop?

She hadn't fully connected everything yet. Connected the fact that her killing the weak, pathetic, and the vile was eventually going to lead to the destruction of her brother. It had been a slow click of understanding. It was like the slow turn around in a horror movie, the realization that the monster was right there behind you as you crane your neck to look at him.

Her realization was the monster she was looking at now.

Eighteen's eyes widened as she could hear the gentle sound of footsteps coming up from behind her. Her head looked over her shoulder to find three men stumbling as they slowly approached her. Studying these men Eighteen realized that she recognized them.

They had been at the bar.

They had followed her out.

She suddenly felt scared, nervous even before returning to her senses.

I am Android Eighteen and three measly boys are nothing to me.

She turned on her heel, facing the approaching group with a snarl. Her cheeks were wet with the dampness of her tears. Her eyes slowly scanned their immediate surroundings, checking to see if there was anyone nearby to see.

There wasn't.

"Hey pretty lady, we saw you got pretty wasted over there at the bar, we thought it would be dangerous if you walked home alone tonight, So we thought we should be gentlemen and walk ya home instead." His words slurred, his face red from booze.

Eighteen's frown deepened.

"Don't worry honey, we're not bad guys," A different man spoke, he approached Eighteen casually, smiling in what she figured he thought was an attractive manner.

It wasn't.

He placed an arm around her shoulders. "Tell ya what, I know it might be a long way to where-ever you live, but my flat is just around the corner, what do ya say if we turn in there for the night, and then we all just say goodbye in the morning when it's daylight and safe to walk home. Whadaya say?"

She watched as the other men nodded their heads in agreement. She could see where this would go with another girl. They'd bully her into agreeing and wait patiently to bring her back to their place before they would overpower her or bully her into letting them take advantage of her until their yeses drowned out her no's. Then she would be too foggy on the nights events to recall what had even happened.

Yeah, fuck that.

She thought before grabbing the arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulling hard.

The man immediately flipped over her shoulder before slamming back first into the hard pavement. She could hear the sharp intake of air as she used a small fraction of her true strength to really swing him down. She guessed that his shoulder was dislocated from the force. His eyes clasped shut as he struggled to take in air.

She turned on the two still started men before driving into the first, leading with an elbow that buried itself into his gut in an unnatural way. Almost immediately, the man keeled over clutching his abdomen tightly before a brown stream of vomit ejected from his mouth. He fell to his side a moment later, unconscious.

Eighteen stepped around the vomiting man as she set her eyes on the final musketeer of this terrible trio. He was trembling as he began to slowly take steps backwards.

Internally Eighteen was almost grateful that these pigs had decided to follow her out. She'd needed something else to think about other than the dizzying realization that one day she might be the one to murder her little brother.

Eighteen shoved the heel of her foot into the man's knee. The joint yielded immediately as it bent inward in a painful fashion. She watched with a deep rooted hatred as he fell over, clutching his now broken leg as he began to scream out in pain.

"Shut it!" she shouted before slamming the heel of her boot against the side of his face. The force was enough for him to go still.

She paused then, the groaning shapes of these three men withering on the ground in pain. She wanted to kill them. To end them for trying to do something so horrible to her. She wanted to see their blood spill down the street as it searched for a storm drain.

She raised a hand, allowing her palm to fill with violent, rippling golden energy before turning it towards the man at her feet, the one with the broken leg. She could see his face, contorted into a tight pain stricken grimace.

Scum like you don't deserve to li-

Her eyes widened.

Suddenly, it wasn't some random drunk laying crumpled on the ground.

It was Seventeen, her brother, cowering at her feet, beaten, broken, on the brink of collapse, looking up at her with a plea of mercy in his eyes.

Eighteen's face went white.

She wanted to blow this man away as she'd done with countless others. She wanted to forget that bastard Blondie's advice and return to the way things were. She was half tempted to level this city right now, destroy it all just to prove a point.

I could probably do it now too. Blondie is way too drunk to stop me.

Her eyes widened as she realized that Blondie was vulnerable. If she really wanted to, she could go back to that damn bar and have a decent chance at annihilating him. She was certain he'd drunk several times more than herself. That and he thought she was a fan. She'd be able to get right up next to him with his guard down, level a hand with his head and blow him away. It would be retribution for her previous failure. She could go back to her normal life and forget this night had ever happened.

Her hand was still held in front of the man on the ground groaning over his broken leg. The energy dissipated.

I...I can't.

She wanted to destroy just like her old self had once done. It felt right, comfortable, familiar, and yet...she felt a different want, a stronger want.

She wanted to save her baby brother.

He was her everything, her world, without him, nothing made sense anymore.

If she had to choose between her old life, and the life of her brother, she'd pick her brother, every time.

She stared down at the man as his eyes slowly relaxed from his grimace, opening slowly as he spat. "You dumb bitch! You broke my damn leg you-"

A swift kick was enough for his head to snap back, his body relaxed as he went unconscious again.

She stood in the center of the three unconscious men. The desire to kill them was stronger than it had ever been. She hated each and every one of them, but she didn't know if she'd be able to stop once she got started. If she rationalized killing these people...would she do it again? Would she rationalize it until she was eventually back to her old ways, back to slaughtering people with Seventeen by her side until there was nothing left to slaughter?

What then?

You're thinking way too much about this Eighteen. Why would you listen to Blondie anyway? Why did you go through with this plan in the first place? This was so stupid. Just kill these idiots and go home already!
She wanted to listen to herself.

But she couldn't.

She wanted to kill these men.

But she couldn't.

She wanted to make sense of all this, to know what she should do. This was supposed to be her answer. This was supposed to be what helped her decide that she could return to evil.

But she couldn't.

Eighteen stared down at the unconscious figures, waiting for another revelation, waiting for something more to convince her to return to her old ways.

She found nothing.

---

Author's Notes:

I'm not gonna lie. This chapter took it out of me. If it's not blatantly obvious, this was a pretty critical chapter for the rest of the story. I did my best to make it as good and clean as I could. The outline alone was 16 pages of planned out scenes and how I needed the conversations to go in order to move onto the next scene. There were several scenes that got cut out because I felt like they took away from the flow of the story. There was initially going to be an ending scene where Gohan realizes that he let 'Videl' go alone at night, but it felt out of place and sorta an empty scene since all he does is chase after for a moment and find the guys she beat up.

Also, I imagine that what I plan to do here is becoming pretty obvious for some of you reading. I wasn't exactly subtle about it lol.

Anyhow, I'm absolutely exhausted after writing this beast of a chapter, I'm not lying when I say that my eyes are literally falling closed as I write this.

This is so far the largest chapter of the story and unfortunately probably going to stay that way for awhile too. I've let my other story sit on the back burner for a little while now so that I could get this story started, despite TNOR being far more successful than Talking with a monster lol. I'm still going to continue this story, I just won't be as quick with updates especially with how large these have been lately. Ofcourse, that's subject to change depending on how my inspiration works. I genuinely have 0 idea how my inspiration to write works at times, I might just pump out two more chapters, who knows?

And as always, please drop a review if you enjoyed the chapter or even if you didn't! Reviews are genuinely what keep me going as a writer. Seeing people appreciate or at the very least acknowledge what has been one of the largest chapters I've written in awhile feels good and makes me want to get to the next chapter even sooner. Plus I always respond to my reviews via PM! So if you want to pick my mind on something, you have free reins lol.

PS: As I image there will be those of you who think whole heartedly that it's stupid Android Eighteen was able to get drunk when actually it's been shown in the series that she can absolutely get drunk if she tries.

I mean, she fell for Krillin didn't she? You telling me that he didn't have a little help from ye old confidence elixir to make that happen?

Jokes aside there is definitive proof that Eighteen can canonically get drunk. Eighteen had Marron, which means that she can get pregnant and had a pregnancy period, now, anyone that knows anything about pregnancy knows that Mom's get the munchies bad since they're eating for two. This means that Eighteen would have to be able to digest and process food and drink in order for Marron to have slowly developed from an embryo into a proper baby, Eighteen can't make nutrients from herself lol. She needs food to do that.

Another question I see coming up that I should probably address now, 'why have the conversation happen at a bar?' Well, I felt that it would be the most reasonable method to have Gohan be so easily fooled by Eighteen's disguise despite her showing signs of it here and there. That and I felt like it would be reasonable for his character to search out this location considering the mental changes Gohan is currently undergoing. He wants to change up his routine, break the habit enough that he can finally overcome the Androids. Hopefully this reasoning is enough for those of you who didn't like the alcohol theme.

That's about all I have to say in regards to this chapter. I'm sure something else will come to mind when I start getting reviews and I'll go back to edit this AN again lol, but until that or the next chapter, I see you all next time!