-Eighteen-
The day was cold as she stood outside the 'Best of the West' clothing shop. The morning sun had begun to crest over the horizon, spilling light onto West City as it did. There were few people out in the early hours of the day, but those who were wore similarly warm jackets and stocking caps like those she was wearing. She let a slow breath, watching the warm air turn to mist before her. Her hands tucked into jacket pockets as she waited patiently. The cold couldn't affect her, not really anyway, but that didn't mean that Eighteen particularly enjoyed cold weather. Sure, she could stand on the snowy peak of the tallest mountain in the world without even a jacket and be left unaffected, but that didn't mean she would be having a good time doing it. She imagined she would be quite miserable, in fact. After a minute, she pulled out her phone to check the time.
She frowned when she saw that there were still ten minutes before the agreed upon meet time. She sighed, shoving the device back into her pocket as she quietly wished the two would hurry up already. Eighteen knew it was her own fault for arriving so soon. She'd already stepped into the shop twenty minutes ago, browsing for clothing she suspected would fit Gohan and Trunks beforehand. The urge to come early had been born of the frightening realization that Eighteen had never actually shopped for guys clothing before. She'd never even stepped into the guy's section of a store. She'd tried once to drag Seventeen along to give him a new look, but her brother had flat out refused. He'd never been very fashion savvy, nor had he ever shown the desire to be so. She'd come to this realization in the early hours of the day, before rushing over to better accustom herself to what the store had to offer. Now that she had, it was merely a matter of casually walking about the men's section and rediscovering the clothing she'd already picked out for the two.
She eyed a laughing couple who stepped past her into the shop, and narrowed her gaze on the man, scowling. He was roughly the same size as Gohan, and she would be furious if he happened to stumble upon the clothes she'd already selected. Once they were gone, Eighteen found her mind drifting to other topics; namely, Gohan.
...Why do I feel so...nervous?
The sensation was a strange one to her. Sure, she'd felt nervous around Gohan before, but that had always been due to the fear of her getting found out. This nervousness...was different. It made her feel queasy in a sense. It was as if there was a fluttering sensation in her stomach that wouldn't leave her be. It annoyed her as much as it left her feeling anxious for the interaction ahead of her.
Eighteen forced her mind to think about other topics. She'd continued her speculation on whether or not Cell had survived her attack and was secretly working with her brother the night prior, and chose to chew on that thought for a time. Her mind worked, but failed to produce anything further from what she knew. There was too little to go off of, and she knew that.
Finally, a voice pulled her away from her thoughts. "Heya, Videl!"
Her head turned, and found Gohan and Trunks walking up with smiles on their faces. They'd dressed appropriately for the weather, each wearing puffy purple or brown jackets with their hoods pulled up to cup their faces. Gohan's brown jacket had its left sleeve dangling uselessly at his side.
"Been waiting long?" he asked.
"Not at all. Just got here, actually." she lied. She motioned her head towards the shop behind her. "Care to get started?"
"Yup!" Trunks cheered. "You're gonna get me a cool coat like the one you wore to the camping trip, right?"
She smirked. "You do realize that jacket is for a girl, right, Trunks?"
He scowled. "I know! I meant a guy version, of course!"
She and Gohan shared a laugh before the trio entered the store. Much to her relief, the anxiety from before had entirely vanished once they'd started talking to one another.
Trunks immediately ran off to look excitedly in the young adult's section, leaving Gohan and Eighteen to browse the men's clothing. She casually led them to the pre-selected articles of clothing as she'd planned. Much to her relief, the couple from before had drifted towards the women's section. It seemed to her that this visit had been one made for the woman, and that the boyfriend was just there to watch her pick out clothes. It put a bemused smile on Eighteen's lips as she saw the bored expression on his face whenever she would disappear into the changing room to try on a new outfit.
"Thanks again for this, Videl. Really. I don't know what I would come out wearing if I didn't have you keeping me away from what's ugly here."
She smiled. "No problem. I've always wanted to dress up a guy before. I tried with my brother, but he didn't seem very interested." She noticed that they were passing by the underwear section of the shop, and grinned wickedly as something caught her eye.
"Ah, perfect." She exclaimed, pulling the package from the rack. She raised it towards him. "This is exactly what you need, Gohan."
The young man turned, putting eyes on it before his face paled.
Held gingerly in her hand was a bright yellow thong.
He immediately did a double take before stammering out, "A-are you sure, Videl?" He regarded the underwear with wide, shocked eyes. "I-I mean, this is really what you think...girls are attracted to?"
She couldn't have stopped her laugh even if she'd wanted to. "No, no. I'm just messing with you." She put the underwear back, still giggling as she did. "We're not shopping for underwear here."
Gohan breathed a sigh of relief as she did. "Phew, I thought you were serious for a second there."
The two continued as Eighteen casually pulled from the racks the clothing she'd found beforehand before draping them around her arm. Internally she wondered—had she'd pressed him—whether or not she could have actually had Gohan try on the thong. A follow up thought questioned whether or not she could have convinced him to then walk out of the changing room to get her opinion on the clothing.
Her face scrunched up, containing a laugh as she did.
"What's so funny?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing," she responded casually. "Just picturing you actually trying out the thong is all."
The blush on his face made her efforts to contain her laughter fruitless.
The two continued, and Eighteen took the time to study the clothes Gohan was already wearing as they did. His pants were baggy, closer to sweat pants in design as opposed to jeans which their fabric suggested they were. He'd since unzipped his jacket since inside the store was far warmer than outside, and Eighteen noticed that the shirt he wore was also baggy, draping past his waistline in a sagging fashion. It seemed to Eighteen that Gohan was determined to mask his godly physique at every chance he could get, when he should be doing just the opposite. She frowned, determined to put a stop to that habit today.
Having finally picked out the last article of clothing to complete Gohan's outfit, the two began to make their way towards the store's shoe selection, just as Trunks raced up to them.
"I'm done!" he announced proudly. Bundled in his arms awkwardly, was a mess of clothes arranged in such a way that Eighteen could barely tell what he carried.
"Oh, yeah?" Gohan responded positively. "Let's see what you got."
One by one, Trunks stretched out the crumpled up clothing for the pair to see. Much to Eighteen's surprise, the boy had managed to select the pants she'd intended to find for him, but the rest of the attire was...less than desirable.
"Hmm," Eighteen's lips pursed as she stared. "Some of this is good, but how about you let me take a look with you, alright?"
Trunks' excited smile faltered for a moment before he brightened. "Okay! I'll meet you over there! I actually saw a shirt I thought was cool, too, so I'll find that to show you." He raced off.
Eighteen turned back to Gohan. "Why don't you look for a pair of shoes you think will go well with all this." She draped the clothing she'd collected onto Gohan's arm. "That pair over there looks pretty good, actually." She added, pointing out a pair of sneakers she'd seen earlier.
Gohan's head turned to regard them as Eighteen made her way to where Trunks was waiting. He beamed, brandishing a long sleeve yellow shirt with a dragon design on its front. It looked terrible.
Eighteen paused, tapping a finger to her cheek as she studied the shirt. "Not bad, not bad, but how about this?" She reached out to a rack next to them, producing a dark colored shirt.
Trunks frowned as he regarded it. "You sure? But, dragons are so cool."
"Super cool." She nodded, "But, I think you'd look better with this. Plus, if you want a cool jacket like the one I wore back when we were camping, I don't think its sleeves would fit over those." she motioned towards the yellow shirt's long, baggy sleeves. She was beginning to think the boy had gotten his style of fashion from hanging out with Gohan for too long.
His head tilted to the side, considering. "Yeah, I guess you're right, huh. Didn't think about that." He put the shirt back before accepting her suggestion. "So, do you think I need something else?"
Eighteen smiled.
It didn't take long before the two had finished with the outfit she'd preselected for the boy. Afterwards, they found themselves walking towards the changing room where Gohan was waiting for them. She saw that he'd agreed with her choice for footwear from the sneakers hanging in his hand. He looked...awkward, she realized, with all those clothes slung over one arm, as well as a pair of shoes hooked in two fingers.
As they came closer, Eighteen noticed that the man looked uncomfortable standing there, his eyes darting out across the store anxiously before returning to look at them. She frowned. What was he looking at?
Her head turned to stare out at the store, realizing that the shop had filled up with customers during their time shopping. It took her a few moments to notice it, but when she did, she scowled. Several of the shoppers had taken to shooting glances their way, looking over at Gohan as they did. It took her only a moment to understand what they were looking at. She supposed that a tall, attractive young man missing an entire arm would draw attention, but it wasn't something to stare at, was it? Were amputees so rare a sight that people would actively stare at them? She frowned as she gave the question some thought. She supposed they were, she realized. During their reign of terror, she and her brother hadn't aimed to maim, they had aimed to kill. It wasn't often a victim of their abuse had been left alive—aside from Gohan, she supposed.
She waited until she managed to lock eyes with some of the gawkers—the couple from earlier—before shooting the pair a dangerous, well practiced glare. The two immediately startled, snapping their attention back to the woman's outfit as they did.
She turned her attention back to their group.
"So?" She asked with an easy smile. "Gonna try your outfits on?"
Trunks beamed, seeming to not notice the attention their group was receiving. "Yup! I'm gonna look so cool with this stuff on!" He eagerly made his way into one of the changing rooms.
She turned toward Gohan. "Well?" she asked expectantly.
"Um," He frowned, looking embarrassed. "Do you mind opening the door for me? My hands-er, hand," He corrected. "Is kinda full."
"Oh," she blinked, her smile faltering as she realized his predicament. "Ofcourse, here." she stepped over with him following, working the handle before letting him inside.
"Thanks," He flashed her a sheepish smile before she shut the door behind him.
She found a nearby bench, situating herself there before waiting quietly.
Trunks was the first to emerge from the changing room.
"Tada!" He announced cheerfully as he stood before her, striking what she could only imagine the boy thought was a heroic pose. She stifled a snicker as he did.
Before her stood Trunks clad in a jet black tank top tucked into dark grey slightly baggy pants held up by a golden belt with a white clip at its center. His boots were of a similarly gold hue, the front tip and heel made darker with a white lining at their base. He'd tucked his pants legs into them, revealing the traps binding them to his feet. Completing the outfit was a dark, navy blue jacket—not unlike the one he'd been begging for her to get for him—with sleeves reaching down to his wrists and the collar popped up.
She smiled. She hadn't intended for the boy to pop the collar up, but it seemed he liked it that way. She clapped when he struck another pose. "Very nice! I think it suits you." she complimented.
The teen's grin widened in response before he looked down at his new clothes. "Yeah...I think it's pretty good…" his lips pulled into a considerate frown before his eyes snapped open. "Wait! I think I know just the thing I need!"
He tore off the jacket, tossing it away before beginning to jog for the doors. Eighteen startled at his response, before reaching out towards him. "Wait! You still have to-"
Before she could finish her sentence, the teen passed by the two plastic sensors on either side of the door. Immediately, a loud alarm blared and Trunks stopped, pale faced.
"-pay for those." Eighteen sighed, pushing her hand to her face and shaking her head. She strode over just as the shop keep—a middle-aged, overweight man wearing an apron with the shop's logo on it—stomped his way towards the boy.
"You punks always come into my store, thinking you can shoplift my products!" He bellowed, an ugly snarl on his lips as he snatched Trunks by his collar, pulling the boy in. "I'll have the police here in a heartbeat! You hear me?! You aren't getting away this time!"
Trunks looked absolutely terrified, stammering as he tried to get out that it was a mistake, and that he hadn't meant to. The man's roaring voice drowned out the teen's attempts to reconcile the situation as Eighteen arrived.
"It was a mistake." She raised her voice loud enough for the man to hear her, turning his attention her way. "I'll pay for the clothes. Let him go." she demanded, coldly.
His face twisted into a scowl as he regarded her. "Oh no. I've had too many punks get away from my store with a slap on the wrist, or with handfuls of my store's goods!" He was shouting in Eighteen's face now, rocking Trunks back and forth by his collar as he did. She grimaced as she felt a bead of saliva collide with her cheek.
She wiped it away with a disgusted expression as the man continued his rant, beginning to drag Trunks away back and towards the register where the phone was. A part of her questioned why Trunks let this simple shopkeep push him around so much when he could easily snap the man's wrist in two if he wanted to, but it appeared that the teen's mother had instilled better morals into the boy than that.
Stupid humans and their stupid rules!
Eighteen could feel her temper rising at just the feeling of spit sliding down her cheek—even if only for a moment.
She quickly stode behind the man until she was just beside him once more. With a blurring motion, she snapped the man's hand away from Trunks' collar, pulling the shopkeep down until he was face to face with her. Trunks staggered back, gasping for breath and still terrified. It was clear to Eighteen that the boy was not used to being accused of even one crime.
Her glare deepened as she made sure the shopkeep's eyes were locked onto hers, and she could see a pang of fear in his dull brown orbs. She let her grip tighten around the man's wrist until she heard a whimper of pain slip from his lips.
"I said," She voiced in a malicious tone, one accompanied by a scowl so hate filled that she could see the pudgy man's furious expression immediately begin to melt. "That I would pay for the damn clothes." she hissed dangerously. She watched as his face paled, his eyes widening now with fear.
He swallowed hard, before nodding eagerly. "Right, it was a mistake. You can pay for them right over by the registers, ma'am. That's why I was dragging him that way, of course." He added, flashing a nervous smile as he did.
"Of course." She repeated mockingly, releasing her grip on him as she did. The shopkeep hurried over to the registers with Eighteen and a shame faced Trunks following behind. Trunks kept his eyes downcast, clearly left shaken after being accused of being a criminal. Eighteen wanted to roll her eyes at the boy's fright. Whatever Bulma was doing to raise the kid was clearly turning him into a wimp if that was enough to leave him shaken.
...He is just fourteen though…
She had to remind herself of that fact. The teen had seemed so much older in some of their conversations together; so mature. She supposed that a fourteen-year-old caught shoplifting might leave them a little rattled. Of course, she and her brother had been shoplifting by the age of eleven, so she supposed she wouldn't know.
They arrived at the counter with not so much as a word, processing the transaction with the same silence before the man flashed them a smile and thanked them for their business. She and Trunks moved away then, walking back to the double doors now with the tags on his new outfit removed.
"Thanks...Videl." He murmured, still with his head down.
"It was nothing." She shrugged, casting a smile at the boy. "That guy was a total tool."
"I seriously thought I was gonna get locked up, or something…" Trunks said in a nervous voice.
Eighteen laughed. "What, for that?" She threw a thumb over her shoulder back at the store's owner. "He was just on a power trip. Don't overthink it too much. He's the d-... jerk," she corrected before she could let the curse slip out. "Not you. Besides," She nudged him with a shoulder. "Don't you have something you were about to go and grab?"
His head raised and his eyes widened as he remembered. "Right!" he exclaimed with his excitement returned. "I'll be right back! You're gonna think it's so cool!"
"I'm sure I will." She affirmed warmly before he dashed out of the store.
She smiled after the boy, before shifting and returning to her seat at the waiting bench. She'd only just situated herself when the door to Gohan's changing room creaked open.
Took him long enough.
She couldn't fathom what had taken the man so long to exit the changing room. Had he been staring dumbfounded at her masterful selection? No, somehow Eighteen knew that wasn't the case.
He stepped out with a nervous smile. "Alright, here I go. Promise not to laugh, okay?"
Eighteen's breath caught in her chest. She'd predicted that Gohan would fill out the clothes nicely—hell, she'd even picked them for the man, envisioning what he would look like when wearing them. Still, she hadn't been prepared when he stepped out donning the new attire.
Before her was Gohan, dressed up in a shirt that was far more form fitting than his previous one, tight enough that it was clear to all eyes that could see that the man was definitely well built underneath. It was a deep navy blue, so dark in color that at night you might mistake it for black. Worn atop the shirt was a relaxed, sleeveless black hoodie, open at the front with a faint, dark orange trim running along its edges and cuffs. The shirt underneath was of a similar short sleeve nature, leaving his arm naked to reveal his muscled bicep and forearm. His legs wore a black colored, slim pair of slacks which made her eyes linger for a time.
I wish he would turn around so I could check out his- no! Bad, Eighteen!
She decided she would continue to absorb the rest of his attire instead.
His feet now wore an equally dark colored pair of sneakers with a navy blue trim at their base to match his shirt.
Eighteen couldn't pull her eyes away as Gohan stepped forward. "So?" he asked, sheepishly. "What do you think?"
She found herself having to rip her attention from the man, coughing into a fist before she could respond. "Good." she said flatly before adding, "More than good, actually. Great. You really fill that out well." She did her best to hide the color in her cheeks from being caught so unaware.
Gohan let out a short laugh of relief. "Well, that's good to hear. I don't normally wear tight clothing, y'know. I usually like…" He worked his shoulder, seeming slightly uncomfortable by how the cloth hung on so tightly. "Looser stuff."
"Well, you shouldn't. With a physique like yours, you should really be showing that off more. I tell ya, girls like that sort of stuff."
"Yeah…" He trailed off, having turned his back to her to examine himself in the mirror. Looking at his reflection, Eighteen could see a frown resting on his lips, his eyes regarding the point on his left side where the short sleeve hung awkwardly with nothing to fill it.
Inspecting him further, she noticed that he'd not tied the laces to the boots, choosing instead to tuck them into the boot itself. For a moment she questioned why, and then it hit her like a bag of bricks.
He's only got one hand, you dunce!
She'd handed the man with one hand a set of shoes with laces. How insensitive could she be?! Now it was clear to her why he'd taken so long in the changing room. She could imagine getting undressed and redressed with one hand might be time consuming.
Eighteen tried to find the words to comfort him about his missing limb, but before she could, he swung around with a bright smile on his lips. "It's perfect!" he beamed. "Definitely a step up from what I normally wear."
She returned his smile. "See? I told you I'd have you walking out looking 'snazzy', as you put it."
His lips curled into an embarrassed smile. "Not gonna let me live down using that word, are you?"
"Never."
He let out a soft chuckle before a buzzing in his pocket pulled his attention away. He dug out a phone from his pants before staring down at its contents with a concerned look.
Eighteen felt the urge to ask what was wrong before he lifted his head and asked, "So...where do you think is a good place to- um," He cleared his throat, color rising in his cheeks. "Speak to women."
Eighteen smirked. "So eager, are we?" Gohan's face flushed even further as she laughed. "Relax, just teasing again. A club is a good place to start, I think."
"A-a club?" he stammered, before quickly recomposing himself. "Right. A club. That makes sense." He nodded as if trying to appear that the concept hadn't just left the man reeling from the idea.
Her eyes narrowed on him, her mind flashing back to their experience back at the bar. "...You've never been to a club before, have you?"
Gohan let out a forced laugh, looking at her incredulously. "What? Of course I've been to a…" His voice trailed off as Eighteen shot him a flat look. "...That obvious, huh?"
"Like a man dying of thirst pretending he doesn't want water."
He sagged. "No, I've never been to a club before." He admitted with a glum expression.
"So, I'm guessing that you've never danced before, either."
Gohan sucked in a breath, his face shifting into the same incredulous look he'd displayed a moment ago, before faltering as he was met with the same flat stare. He sighed, his shoulders sagging further, defeated.
"Well, that's gotta change. Girls like guys who know how to dance, B-" She caught herself, her eyes widening slightly as she realized she'd just intended to call him Blondie. That would have definitely been a dead give away. "Buster." She finished, hoping her pause hadn't been suspicious.
If he had noticed, he certainly didn't show it. "What? But you never mentioned that in our conversation last night."
"Didn't come up before." She shrugged, rising to her feet as she did. "Besides, it's not like dancing is hard—especially once you've had a few drinks."
"Maybe for you…" He grumbled, looking away with a discouraged expression.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. Look, it's really simple. All you have to do is move your body to the music." She lifted her arms above her head, listening to the song playing in the overhead speakers. It wasn't particularly good dancing music—some pop song that was popular a decade ago—but it would do. She began to sway side to side, her arms moving and shifting with the song's slow melody as she did. "It's all in the hips. Move your hips to the music—like so." she began to shift her hips, moving to the beat of the song as she did. She let her eyes fall shut, smiling as her body swayed side to side, spinning slowly as she did. Her feet worked with her as she performed a simple dance like one she would do at a club.
She completed her circle, letting her arms fall to her sides as she opened her eyes. "See? Easy stuff."
She met Gohan gaze, and found a deep blush coloring his cheeks as he regarded her. The moment their eyes met, however, his head pulled away, his onyx eyes set to study the changing rooms instead.
She felt a smile pulling at her lips. It seemed Gohan had enjoyed her little dance for him. She decided to let it go. "It doesn't have to be much." she said nonchalantly, "It's not like you're going to a ball, or something fancy like that. Plus, everyone is gonna be drunk. Not like people will care too much if you look a little awkward while you're doing it."
"But," He began with a frown. "Why is this important? Can't I just talk to girls using what you told me? What's so important about dancing." he said the word distastefully.
Eighteen let out a snicker, shaking her head. "Well, that's an easy one. Usually, a girl can tell how good a guy is in bed by how well he dances." She paused, drawing her head back slightly as she realized just how casually she'd mentioned intercourse with Gohan.
She met his eyes, and saw that his cheeks had once again filled with color, before he turned away, coughing into a fist. "Right, yeah. That makes sense."
Her eyes narrowed to slits, her head gently tilting to the side as she studied the man. Something about how he responded to sex being mentioned so casually…
Is Gohan still a vir-
"Found it!"
The abrupt sound of Trunks' cheerful voice cut her thought off before it could finish. She turned, watching as Trunks rushed up to them with an eager expression.
"Check it out!" He thrusted a coat forward, one that was similar to that which she'd selected for him, but of a slightly lighter color.
"Um." she began dumbly, leaning either way to examine the blue jacket. "I don't really see what's so different about this one…"
"It's the Capsule Corp. logo." Gohan answered, stepping up alongside Eighteen as he examined the jacket.
"Correct!" Trunks announced before swiftly pulling the jacket on. It fit similarly to the one she'd selected, although it did show slightly more midriff than before. She imagined it might have been a woman's jacket before. Bulma's, perhaps?
I'm starting to see why he liked mine so much.
She could see the swell of pride in Trunks' face as he donned the jacket, shifting his shoulder so that he could see the Capsule Corp. logo proudly displayed on his shoulder. Despite seeming to be meant for a woman, Trunks fit it well, and, despite feeling that her choice had been the better one, Eighteen yielded that the jacket did work with the rest of the outfit.
"I like it." Gohan said with a smile. "It looks good on you."
"I agree." she added, "You rock it well, kid."
Trunks beamed as he received the compliments, grinning ear to ear. A moment later, his eyes flickered to Gohan's form, his mouth forming a 'O' shape.
"Gohan!" he called out, astonished. "You look so cool!"
The man rubbing the back of his neck in response, bearing an embarrassed smile as he did. "You think so, huh? Well, I guess it's settled then. I'm getting this after all."
"Nothing left to do but pay then." Eighteen stated simply before starting to walk past and towards the front. Trunks and Gohan followed, carrying their previous outfits in plastic bags they'd collected from the front.
Before they arrived, however, Eighteen heard her phone beginning to ring with its typical piano melody. She pulled out the device, raising an eyebrow as she regarded the number. It wasn't one she recognized.
She tensed, feeling that she knew exactly who this was.
Gohan and Trunks paused alongside her, looking over at her questioningly. "You two go on ahead. I'll catch up." she tried to flash a smile, but could tell her nervousness had seeped through from the curious look Gohan shot her. Despite this, the two pressed on, leaving Eighteen to answer the still ringing phone.
She did so, and lifted it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Eighteen?" She sucked in a tight breath. It was him.
"Sev-" She stopped herself, eyeing where Gohan and Trunks stood only a few paces away, checking out. "Brother?" She corrected in a whisper. "I don't know if this is the best time for this. I'm kinda in the middle of something."
"Oh, sorry. I just…" he trailed off. "I just felt bad about how our last conversation ended...do you mind if we meet up sometime later today?"
She felt her chest swell with emotion. She hadn't seen her brother in what felt like ages. Well over a month and a half now, proceeding a time when they'd never spend more than a day apart.
She wanted to see him more than anything, but what did he want with her? What if this—as much as she didn't want to think her brother would—was a trap? It took her only a few moments of silence before she made up her mind. She didn't care if it might be a trap, she missed her brother. She wanted to trust him like she had for all of her life until now.
"Sure." she finally answered. "Where do you want to meet?" She asked in an urgent whisper, seeing that Gohan's transaction was drawing to its close.
"I'll text you the address. I actually got a room at a motel in West City."
So, this was an actual phone he was calling from this time, not a payphone. Good to know.
"Sounds good. I'll see later, bro."
"...I love you, sister." he added, sounding uncomfortable. They rarely displayed such affection to one another, mostly because it was always implied, and also it felt weird. Regardless, she enjoyed hearing it from Seventeen.
"I love you, too."
With that, she ended the call before moving at a quickened step to where Trunks and Gohan were waiting for her just outside the entrance.
"Everything okay?" Gohan asked with a thin line forming on his lips.
"Yup!" She smiled brightly. "Better than normal, actually."
He returned her smile. "Good, good. Me and Trunks were just discussing going out to grab lunch. Want to join us?"
At first, she thought to accept, before reconsidering. "Actually, I have something I have to take care of. You guys go on without me."
Trunks seemed disappointed by her response, but nodded all the same. Gohan turned to the boy. "How about you go ahead and find a restaurant nearby you think might be good. I'll catch up."
The teen raised a curious eyebrow towards his mentor, his eyes darting between Gohan and Eighteen before he shrugged. "Okay." A second later, he was off down the street, his head snapping left and right in his search.
Gohan turned to regard Eighteen as she too questioned why Gohan had left them alone.
"Sorry, I know you've probably got other things to do today, but I wanted to pick your brain on one more thing before you leave."
Her head tilted to the side, curiously. "Sure."
He cleared his throat, his expression shifting into one Eighteen knew meant that the man was about to ask something he found embarrassing.
She smirked, wondering what it would be this time.
"You seemed to know about 'clubs'. What's a good one that you think might be open tonight?"
She blinked. "Wait," she began, surprised. "You plan to go tonight?"
He frowned. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"Just…" she frowned as well. "I didn't think you'd be so eager."
He flustered. "It's- it's not that, it's just…" He let out a sigh. "Do you know one or not?"
She grinned, did she know one? Of course she—wait. She startled, realizing that she very well might not know of one. The clubs she'd frequented had all been around over a decade ago, there was no telling if they were still around today with all the destruction she and her brother had been responsible for.
"I'll...get back to you on that." she finally said. If she didn't know of one now, she was certain that she'd be able to find one by the end of the day.
A club…
The idea left images flashing about her mind, memories from back in the days that she and her brother had attended such events. The loud music blaring overhead, the heat of people all around you, the smiles, the booze, that lack of a single lucid care in the world. Considering everything that had happened...she supposed that the idea of going to a club wasn't a particularly terrible one.
Maybe it would finally get rid of these ridiculous thoughts of Gohan I've been having.
It had been quite some time since she'd had a good, old fashioned one night stand. Perhaps the rogue thoughts were born out of feelings being pent up for too long. Yeah, that had to be it.
"Need a wingman?" she offered, suddenly.
"A…" His voice trailed off as he seemed to roll the term around his mouth, dissecting it. "You want to come with?"
"Sure, I figure you could use all the help you can get."
Gohan's face flashed with a look of being offended, before his head tilted to the side, thinking about it. "I guess you're not wrong, but what would having you there do? No offense, I mean, I just have to go up and talk to women, right?"
"Sure, sure." she nodded, before raising a finger. "But, what if a guy was already talking to a girl you thought was pretty? I bet it would be suuuper helpful to have an attractive friend to pull their attention away from her for you." She shot him a wink.
"Huh, I never thought of that." Gohan remarked, considering.
"Plus, I'll be able to steer you away from the crazies." She added while casually inspecting her nails.
"C-crazies!?" He exclaimed with wide eyes. "What do you mean 'crazies'?"
Eighteen raised an eyebrow. "What? You think that all women are gems? Not in the slightest. Some chicks are just nuts. They come across as normal at first, but get two or three weeks in and bam! Crazy town. The same can be said about guys of course. There's always some bad ones who look good on the outside."
Boy, didn't she know it.
"I...huh." He scratched his head. "I guess there's still a lot of this I don't know about. Well, I guess it would be foolish not to accept your help now." He blinked, looking over Eighteen's shoulder at something. Turning, she could see Trunks waving Gohan down a few blocks away, standing beside what looked to be some type of barbeque restaurant.
"Well, looks like I've got to go." he gave her one last, appreciative smile before he moved past her. "Seeya later, Wingman!" he waved a hand over his shoulder at her as he made his way down the road.
She followed him until he and Trunks disappeared into the restaurant, before her face fell. Her shoulder sagged as she pulled out her phone from her pocket, staring at the most recent message.
I guess it's finally time to see Seventeen again…
The anxiety she'd felt in the minutes leading up to Gohan and Trunks' arrival paled in comparison to how she felt now. What were they going to talk about? Was he going to demand his blueprints again? Would she be able to refuse him if he did?
It all left her with an unsettling feeling in her stomach. Turning, Eighteen made her way towards where she knew her brother to be.
-One Hour Later-
Eighteen sucked in a nervous breath as she stood outside the door. Room 25, the very one Seventeen had texted her. Much to her surprise, Seventeen had chosen a crummy, run down motel for their meeting place. Staring out towards the parking lot, she could see that much of the asphalt was broken, with potholes scattered precariously everywhere and a pool that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in ages. She supposed that, considering the typical clientele of such a fine establishment, no one would be paying much mind to either of them—which she predicted had been the point of choosing this location.
She'd since wiped away the makeup she used and removed her contacts for the Videl disguise, but chose to keep the wig on for the time being. She couldn't be too careful with someone recognizing her, even in a place like this.
Her hand lifted, posed to knock against the flaking paint of the white wood door before hesitating.
What if this really is a trap?
She couldn't relinquish the idea entirely. Seventeen had been livid both times they'd spoken to each other since the incident. She knew her brother's temper, and, as much as he'd sounded earnest over the phone, she didn't know if that meant he really would try and plan something to get revenge.
They had been the two cruelest creatures on the planet for well over a decade, after all. They'd never displayed such cruelties to each other outside of a typical sibling spat here and there, but of course, nothing like this had ever happened before. She supposed there was a first time for everything.
A part of her wanted to flee, to step away before he knew she was there, and fly off. that part of her didn't want to confront the person she'd wronged so deeply. It wanted to scurry away and hide and pretend that she hadn't done the things she had to anybody.
She growled at the fear swelling within her. No, she was not a coward. She would not run from this.
Her knuckles rapped against the door.
A voice full of excitement and anxiety sounded from somewhere within, "Sis?" Good. It seemed Seventeen knew to be careful about their true names.
She took a moment before she let out a response, leaning her forehead against the door as she did. "Yeah, it's me."
"It's open." he said immediately. She could hear just how perturbed her brother sounded. She let out a heavy breath to calm her nerves, before stepping inside. She pulled the wig off her head the moment she did, the light from the day illuminating the poorly lit space.
The room was small, with just one bed situated at its center right wall. The carpet was an ugly orange and brown pattern, worn in places and stained in others. The television resting atop a waist high shelf to her left seemed like it might have been designed over two decades back, and also seemed to be cracked at its corner.
Her eyes took in the room for only a moment, before coming to rest on a single figure sitting at a small round table towards the back. He rose as she shut the door behind her. His hood pulled back, revealing a face she hadn't realized she'd missed so much.
"Seventeen…" She said in no more than a whisper. Their eyes locked, and within them swirled a vast array of emotions, seeming to mirror one another as they did. Uncertainty, guilt, confusion, anxiety, loss, heartache—all wrapped up in a concentrated feeling that Eighteen couldn't separate even if she tried. It was all there, an amalgamation of all they'd gone through together, and then apart.
Without warning, Seventeen's shape was moving towards her, crossing the room in steady strides. For a moment, Eighteen felt nervous, scared even, that her brother was coming to attack her. What should she do? Should she strike before he could and gain an early advantage? Should she let him hit her first since she felt she did deserve it for taking his arm away in the first place?
Before she could make a decision, Seventeen was before her. Her shoulders tensed just as she felt an arm wrap around her, pulling her into a hug as Seventeen's face fell into the crook of her neck.
"I've missed you so much." he murmured in a trembling voice.
Eighteen was stunned. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as slowly, her arms lifted, before wrapping around her brother and squeezing him tight as he did the same.
She'd missed him too.
They stayed that way for a time before eventually breaking away. Seventeen motioned to the round wooden table he'd been sitting at before, and the two moved there to talk.
Once situated, Seventeen was the first to speak. "So, I wanted to, first, apologize for how I acted on the phone." he sighed, looking away in shame. "I got caught up in the heat of the moment. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that. It's...not your fault that I lost my arm. You asked me not to attack any cities for a time, and I broke my word." he looked up, meeting her eyes with an earnest expression. "I'm sorry for that."
Eighteen sat back in her chair, utterly stunned. She couldn't believe the words spilling out of her brother's lips. She'd expected him to launch right into another plea for her to give over the blueprints. She'd expected him to find another way to make her feel guilty for what had transpired a little less than a month and a half ago.
But she hadn't expected this.
"Are you gonna say something or…?"
She shook herself aware again. "Right, sorry. I'm just...wow. I never would have expected this from you, Seventeen." She blinked before adding. "Not that I'm not happy to hear it. It's just...a wonderful surprise I guess."
Her brother scoffed. "What? You think I can't be the mature one from time to time?"
"Not one bit. You're the biggest baby I know." She teased with a grin.
He regarded her with a flat look, although she could see a grin trying to form at the corners of his lips. "Right, because I was the one who always liked to throw a temper tantrum whenever a shop I liked got blown to smithereens by a stray blast." his eyebrows rose in an accusatory gesture.
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I've seen you throw game systems through entire walls after screaming your head off about this boss or another just cuz you suck at videogames."
"I do not suck!" He protested loudly, before frowning and looking at his lap. "Well, I guess I suck now," He lifted his one hand. "But I didn't suck back then."
"If you say so." she smirked, crossing her arms.
"Ugh," he leaned back in his chair, letting his head fall back as he did. "Why'd you have to remind me of video games. I've been wanting to play so much since the house got destroyed."
"You haven't picked out a new house yet?"
He shook his head, a reserved frown on his lips. She could tell something else was there, but before she could ask, he sat back up with an excited smile. "I know! How about we check out an arcade! Just you and me, like old times sake!"
Eighteen felt her lips pull into a frown. "Um, I don't know if that's a good idea, Seventeen."
"Why not?" He frowned.
"Well, for one, I'm not gonna help you kill everyone in the arcade just so we can have the space to ourselves like we normally do. I won't scare any people off either."
Seventeen waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, I know that. C'mon, Eighteen, give me a little credit here. I meant we could go in like normal people." he beamed. "Get a bunch of quarters, shoot some stuff on the screens, drive around on those virtual tracks, the good stuff."
She shot him a curious look. Seventeen wanted to pretend to be normal? That sounded so unlike him. He'd never wanted to go back to being normal, not ever since they'd been changed...forever. "We're pretty recognizable, Seventeen. If people see us, there's going to be a panic."
He scoffed. "Yeah, right. Don't think I didn't notice that little wig of yours you had on by the door. Besides, I have my own disguise." In a few fluid motions, the android produced a baseball cap from the table before easily tucking his long black strands of hair into it as he affixed it to his scalp. Next, he pulled out a dark pair of shades from his hoodie pocket and put them on. The hood pulled over his face next, before he flashed a toothy smile to Eighteen.
"Tada! No one is gonna be able to tell it's me when I look like this."
"You look like you're trying to sell candy to kids while sitting inside an unmarked white van." she snickered.
"Well, we are going to be needing some quarters." He grinned back. "Might not be a terrible idea there, Eighteen."
Eighteen let out a soft laugh before her face fell, a concerned look crossing her features as she regarded Seventeen with a hard stare.
"What?" he asked with a frown.
"You know what." she said sternly. "You all of a sudden want to act like we're normal people again? Why? You were so against it before. What changed?"
Seventeen leaned back in his chair, sighing. "Look, Eighteen...I'm just sorta learning that I have to accept that this is the way things have to be now. You don't want to kill anymore. You're adamant on that fact. I can't do it on my own, or else Blondie will get me." His lips snarled contemptuously as he mentioned Gohan. "I guess...what I'm saying is I'm willing to try it out— going back to the old us, that is." he shrugged, a frown still resting on his face as he continued. "I just want to have my sister back, Eighteen. If that means I have to give up killing to do it...well I guess I'm willing to make that sacrifice."
She felt a warm smile pulling at the corners of her lips as she listened to her brother's words. They'd been everything she'd wanted to hear and more for so, so long. She even felt warmth brimming at the edges of her eyes as he finished.
"Now, now." he said as he smiled at her. "Don't start crying on me. None of that."
She sniffed, nodding as she pushed a palm to her eye, wiping it away. A different part of her thoughts returned in that second, the part of her that was still sceptical of this entire situation. It all felt so...earnest coming from Seventeen that she felt it had to be true. Despite this, she still felt she needed to be guarded in some capacity, just in case it wasn't.
"You need to be on your best behaviour when we get there." She pointed a finger at his chest. "No killing, no causing a panic, and keep your temper under control. I don't want you ripping someone's head off just because they bumped into you or something."
He scoffed. "What, are you my mom, now?"
"Worse." She grinned back. "An overbearing sister."
-Twenty Minutes Later-
The arcade was packed when they arrived. Kids and adults moved in steady streams through the thin paths carved by the numerous arcade games filling the large room. The space was dark with black carpeted floors and neon lights hanging overhead. The scent was less than desirable, reeking of spilled snacks and sweat from those who had not put on enough deodorant, but tolerable all the same. Eighteen kept her eyes firmly on Seventeen as they moved their way past the unsuspecting people, never knowing that they were mere feet away from the two most feared people in the entire world. She needed to make sure that he didn't act up, and that if he did start to get annoyed at being around so many people, that she stepped in before things got bad.
For the first fifteen minutes, Eighteen felt a knot of anxiety as she watched her brother, certain that a kid would step on his shoe or some adult would say something rude and Seventeen would explode.
After those fifteen minutes, however…
The pair found themselves seated at a racing game, sitting side by side as they pushed their virtual cars to their limits.
"You should just give up now!" Seventeen taunted. "There's no way you can beat me! I've got too much of a lead! You're practically in last place—hey!"
Eighteen's free hand had reached out and shoved her brother out of his seat, granting her the precious seconds it took for him to scramble back into the chair before she took the lead and crossed the finish line before him.
The race finished, and he turned towards her with a betrayed expression, his eyes masked by the shades. "I can't believe you needed to cheat against the guy with one arm. How could you?" He asked in a mock-wounded tone, his hand rising to his chest aghast as he did.
She couldn't help but laugh.
The next game they found themselves at was some sort of railroad zombie shooter, with plastic pistols attached by a metallic cord for them to wield. For a moment, Eighteen had worried that Seventeen was growing impatient as they'd been forced to wait behind a couple who'd reached the game before them. She'd watched as his mouth twisted into an annoyed scowl, obviously not used to having to wait for anything they wanted. His hand curled into a fist as he watched, and she could imagine his eyes glaring at them hatefully behind those shades. She prepared to step in if Seventeen decided to go back on his word, but much to her relief, he didn't. Despite being clearly annoyed at having to wait, wait he did, until the young couple moved onto another activity and the siblings took their spot.
They laughed as they fired shot after shot into the onslaught of virtual zombies. Their hyper-responsive minds coupled with cybernetically enhanced aim made it so that the zombies were barely on the screen before a well placed shot between the eyes put them down. If there was one thing they knew how to do right, it was killing.
Finally, the screen forced them before what seemed to be a boss room, with a mega-zombie lurking within.
Seventeen turned to her with a serious expression. "Things are about to go down." he said in a grave tone. "It's time we start taking things seriously."
Eighteen shot him a bemused smile. What could her brother possibly mean? They'd been absolutely destroying this game so far. How could they be taking it anymore seriously?
She watched as a straight faced Seventeen stretched out his gun, gripping it tightly as it pointed towards the screen, and then, slowly, rotated it so that he was holding the weapon sideways.
She let out an exaggerated gasp of alarm at his antics. "But it is forbidden!" She began with a snicker.
"Sometimes, sis, we must break the sacred texts."
Feigning uncertainty, Eighteen's hand very nervously twisted until she too was holding the toy gun sideways.
"We 'bout to pop a cap in these zombies!" Seventeen bellowed before they began shooting again.
Eighteen had missed laughing with her brother. The pair circled the arcade, playing as many games as could be achieved when one of them only had one arm—which proved to be many. The claw machine had been fun, although they had failed to gain anything from it. The Dance-Dance-Evolution title had been a blast—with Eighteen proving to be the clear victor in that competition. Ski-ball had proved to be a trickier challenge than either of them had predicted, leading to the both of them spending far more time at the machine than it actually deserved as they tried to understand why their natural enhancements couldn't predict the trajectory of a ball rolling off a ramp into a hole. They'd quickly discovered it to be a game which solely relied on their own judgement, making it all the more fun.
It had made her feel normal, made her feel like they were their old selves once again.
Can we really do this? Can we really go back to the way things were?
The thought sounded hopeful as it rang out within her mind. At first, she'd thought that this could be little more than a pipe dream. Seventeen and her experiencing life like they had before—not killing, not hurting, just being normal people. Had she been told a week ago that this day was actually possible, she would have slapped herself silly for making up such a blatant lie. But now it was here, and it was wonderful.
Seventeen plopped down before her, setting down a box of pizza on the round metal table before them. The arcade had provided a small pizza place for them to order from, and they'd thought it would be a fun idea to try some—for old times sake. Next to it had been a small area with chairs and tables set out where other families and arcade enjoyers were eating.
"Alright, time to see what this place has got to offer for some grub!" Seventeen lifted the lid.
Their faces fell.
"Well," Eighteen began, trying to hide her grimace. "It certainly...looks like a pizza…"
Seventeen recoiled from the abomination that sat before them. "I'm not even sure it's physically possible, but I think I'm going to be sick."
She slowly reached over and closed the box. "Yeah, I don't think we're going to be eating that."
"Oh, by all means." He gestured with a hand. "If you want my half, be my guest."
She laughed before gripping the box with a hand and tossing it like a frisbee towards where a trashcan was situated a handful of feet away. It slid in perfectly.
"Ugh, and I was really looking forward to that." Seventeen said in a slump, his cheek resting on his arm. "I was hoping to get a really cheesy pizza, y'know, like the one we'd always see in that one cartoon we'd always watch as kids?" He frowned, his brow creasing. "What was it called again? Teenage...teenage mutant…"
"Teenage Mutant Hero Squirrels?" Eighteen answered in a wide grin, remembering the goofy show they'd watched together as children.
He snapped his fingers as a grin split his face. "Yeah! That's the one!" His head tilted to the side as he remarked, "Man, it's been so long since we've seen that show."
"Sure has." she agreed. They'd been no more than eleven or twelve the last time that show had been on air.
"Hmm…" He cupped his chin with his hand. "You think it still holds up today? I wonder if we could find a copy of it somewhere..." He frowned. "Ah, nevermind. I was gonna suggest we go back to the motel and see if we can't find an old rerun, but I just remembered that TV was absolute cra~ap."
She blinked, a grin forming on her lips. "You know, I happen to be staying somewhere with a pretty big TV. There's beer and room service, and I'm pretty sure the TV has Zedflix with a bunch of old cartoons on it."
Seventeen's brows rose from behind his shades, excited. "Let's do it."
-Fifteen Minutes Later-
Seventeen had whistled when he stepped through the door into her hotel room, his eyes looking all around as he did. "Damn, sis. How'd you manage to land this place?"
"Money talks." she answered simply. She stripped the wig from her head before tossing it away, enjoying looking like her old self again in front of someone. Seventeen removed his disguise as well before plopping onto the couch as if he'd done it a hundred times before.
"Wow, now I gotta get a room like this."
"I could probably hook you up." She grinned.
"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow. "I definitely wouldn't mind that. This is niiice." He said as he sunk into the cushions even further.
She walked over to the fridge on the other side of the room, opening it before reaching in and cracking open a beer. Seventeen's head snapped up as he heard the sound. She snickered before raising an unopened one in his direction. "You want?"
Seventeen nodded eagerly. "I want."
It didn't take long before they'd been able to rediscover the show they'd enjoyed as children, before promptly starting it from its beginning and deciding immediately to marathon the entire series. They laughed, pointing out their favorite parts of the show from when they'd been children. Sometimes, they'd complain about something stupid that their favorite character did—before the other pointed out that it was a kid's show. The beers kept coming as the pair continued to drink, laugh, rewind scenes they found particularly funny, and lose track of time as the hours rolled past.
Finally, Seventeen frowned, before his head fell back with a groan. "Ugh. I hate human anatomy." He set his beer down on the coffee table—which had gained a considerable collection of empty bottles—before turning to her. "Where's your pisser?"
She gestured with her head toward the door behind them, lifting her drink to her lips as she did. "In the bedroom. It's the door on the left. Don't leave a mess in there."
"I have been drinking, sis." He snickered, wobbling as he rose to his feet. "I can't be held accountable for where I do or do not pee while in the restroom."
"Like hell you can't!" She yelled after him. "You leave piss on my floor and I'm gonna kick your one-armed ass! You hear me?!"
Seventeen disappeared into the bedroom, singing loudly, "La~la~la, gonna piss on my sister's floor, la~la~la!" He closed the door behind him.
Eighteen shook her head with a smirk as she paused the show. She let out a soft chuckle as the screen had paused right when Sandro—Seventeen's favorite character—had stepped on something sharp he hadn't noticed. The animation looked all janky as the squirrel leapt up cartoonishly, and she knew Seventeen would get a kick out of it once he came back.
Her mind feeling fuzzy, she decided to pull out her phone and see if anyone had tried to reach her. Much to her surprise, someone had.
She frowned before opening the message and seeing that it had been from Gohan.
"Hey, Videl! I hope that thing you had to take care of went well. Let me know where we're going to meet up, okay?"
She checked the time. It was already 5PM.
Eighteen groaned, pushing her hands to her face as she all at once wished she hadn't offered to be Gohan's wingman. If she'd known this visit with Seventeen was going to turn out so well, she would have dedicated the entire day to the event.
I helped Gohan enough, didn't I? I gave him tips, dressed him up, and even pointed him in the right direction. He wouldn't mind if I bailed on him, would he?
Her foggy mind considered texting Gohan and telling him that she had to cancel. She could list him an old club she used to go to and just send him that way after all, couldn't she? There was still a chance it still existed, right?"
Her intoxicated thoughts continued to linger on Gohan as she waited for her brother to return. He really had looked rather handsome in that outfit she'd picked for him, minus the untied laces. She frowned, should she have offered to tie them for him? Or would that have been rude? She didn't know. She'd never considered just how many little things became tricky with one hand. She absent-mindedly wondered what other aspects of Gohan's life must have changed now that he was working with less than the average number of arms. Hell, her brother was now in a similar boat to Gohan! She wondered if he too had gone through the troubles associated with only having a single arm. He must have, she realized, considering how much time had passed. She would have to check if his laces were tied when he came out.
She sighed, feeling guilty about the fact that her brother was technically crippled now. He'd said that it wasn't her fault earlier, but she still didn't know if she believed that herself. A part of her wanted to give the schematics to her brother, but there was still that fear that—once restored—Seventeen would go back to his evil ways. She knew that this peace had been born of his injury, and didn't know yet if Seventeen would continue that way if he got his arm back. As much as it hurt her to admit it, it was still best that she keep the blueprints away from him. The blueprints which were in her-
Her eyes snapped open, wide with a sudden, chilling realization.
The blueprints! They were right there in the room she'd just sent Seventeen through to go to the bathroom!
Shit!
She scrambled to her feet, leaping over the couch in one heart beat before gripping the door handle in the next. She hesitated a moment as she could hear the sounds of running water from the bathroom. Had Seventeen not noticed them sitting on the bookshelf across the room? He had been drinking. It was possible her brother hadn't even spotted them there. Would it be rude of her to burst in, untrusting and suspicious?
I can just say I wanted to grab a sweatshirt or something.
She swallowed, nodding to herself as she formed the excuse. A second later, she swung the door open. Her head snapped to the side where the bathroom door was open.
The faucet had been left running, the bathroom empty. Her head snapped to the other side next, her eyes searching the bookshelf frantically. She scanned the shelf where she'd left them and found nothing. A handful of feet away rested a windowsill, its curtains fluttering as the wind blew in.
"No!" She screamed before she shot forward, darting through the window and ripping out some of the curtains as she did. She floated into the sky, her eyes searching frantically from left to right, looking everywhere at once for any sign of Seventeen.
She found nothing. She rose higher into the sky, searching the cloudline for even the vaguest of shapes flying away. Her eyes scanned above the city, narrowed to slits and hunting for where he could have gone.
How much of a lead does he have on me?
He'd only been away for a few minutes before she'd realized her mistake. Had that been enough time for him to discover the documents and slip away without a trace? She couldn't know. Had he found them immediately, she was certain he would be too far gone for her to even hope to catch. But, would he have snatched them so quickly? She wanted to believe that he would have hesitated, at least for a moment...knowing that doing so would be throwing away the last shred of trust between them.
She wanted to believe in her heart that this entire day hadn't been just some trick. It had felt so good to see him again. He'd enjoyed their time spent together too, hadn't he? It hurt to think that none of it had mattered to him, that all of this had simply been an elaborate ploy to steal away the schematics from her. She had to believe he'd waited a time, considering his options for a moment at least, before turning his back on her.
He still cared about her, didn't he?
She felt a pain in her chest, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as the heartbreak set in. Seventeen had betrayed her. In the end, their relationship had mattered less than going back to the way things were. She thought back to his words earlier at the motel. He'd told her...that he just wanted his sister back, that he could give up the life they'd had, tormenting the world, so that they could be a family again.
And he'd lied.
She sniffled, bringing her hands to her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. She wept, letting out a choked sob at the realization. The realization that her brother, the one person in her life whom she'd trusted with everything, the person who'd managed to slowly convince her throughout the day that things could change for the better, had betrayed her for a life that would no longer include her in it. She'd told him, flat out, that she had zero intentions of becoming that person again, and yet, he hadn't cared. He wanted all of that back, even if it meant casting her aside to do so. The pain seemed to magnify in the face of what this day had been. Things had felt normal between them, only for that comforting, warm feeling to be ripped away from her all too abruptly.
Eighteen's head lurched up as somewhere off in the distance, there was the faintest sound of a scream. She noticed others follow suit, although they were so distant that it was impossible to discern what direction they'd come from.
She sucked in a tight breath before she immediately shut her eyes, an idea forming in her mind. She stretched out her senses, searching outwards in every direction. She hadn't seen Seventeen in the sky, meaning one of two scenarios had happened. Either he'd gotten a good enough lead on her that he could no longer be seen even by her enhanced eyesight, or, he'd hesitated for enough time that he was forced to weave through the streets and use the buildings as cover so that she wouldn't be able to find him. If he'd chosen the latter with the sun still up, people would have definitely spotted him soaring through the sky. That would definitely cause screams.
There!
She could sense a massive pool of people, their ki distressed and panicked off towards the east of the city, and the number was growing. A white aura flared around her before she shot off in that direction, moving as fast as she could manage. Wind whipped at her face as she tore through the sky, producing screams from below as people recognized her. She hadn't had time to pull on her disguise, not with Seventeen having such a substantial lead. Every second counted now. She could sense that those very same people had begun to flee, moving away from whatever had frightened them.
After only a few short seconds, she was hovering over the initial group of people she'd sensed in a panic. Many were running as fast as they could away, others had wide eyes searching down the road opposite to where the fleeing mass was going. It might as well have been an arrow pointing to where Seventeen had gone. She growled as she took off that direction, and noticed immediately why her brother took this route. The buildings here stretched higher than other parts of the city, blocking even more from view than other parts of West City. She followed, going the opposite direction of the flowing mass of frightened citizens until she rounded a corner and saw the briefest glimpse of a figure weaving down a street and then out of sight. She growled, rising above the buildings separating them and cutting across towards the street she'd seen the figure take. When she found it, her eyes finally found him.
He was flying relatively low to the ground, a mere twenty feet—she assumed in an effort to ensure as many buildings as possible masked his flight. He didn't seem bothered by the screams of terror he was causing from the pedestrians walking by. In fact, he seemed to almost enjoy their response. There was a satisfied smirk on his lips as he flew, his hoodie billowing in the wind as he went. For a moment, Eighteen startled as she could not see the blueprints in his hands, before she saw the faintest hint of paper sticking out from his hoodie pocket.
She shot down towards him like a bullet.
The air whistled as she came down on him. He'd been flying fast, but it was clear to her that his power was still less than it once was by how quickly she'd been able to catch up to him. At the last second, she saw him look over his shoulder, his eyes widening in shock as he saw her snarling face approaching.
A moment later, she collided with him. She'd lead with her feet, driving both of her heels into the center of his back and sending him careening into the ground before. The asphalt shattered like glass as he drove into it, tearing straight through and into the earth below. The impact produced a massive cloud of dust that rose like a mushroom as it did.
She scowled as she glared down, searching with a narrowed gaze for when he recovered. She'd decided to remain in the air above where the cloud of dust could reach, so that she could watch every exit point and catch him before he tried to dart away again.
What she hadn't been expecting was for Seventeen to explode out from the dust, a fist cocked back and a snarl on his lips.
Her surprise left her too slow to react. Before she could bring up her guard, a fist connected with her cheek, snapping her head to the side with more power than she'd expected. The punch left her head ringing before she felt a foot plow it's way straight into her stomach. Her breath was forced out of her as she was thrown back, exploding through a cement wall and into what appeared to be some sort of office building.
She groaned, feeling a headache forming from the combination of booze and catching a haymaker straight to the jaw. She picked herself up quickly, however, regarding the terrified office workers all around her for only a moment before she blasted through the her-shaped hole and back out into the street.
Her head snapped up and down the street, searching for where Seventeen had gone before catching sight of him disappearing down an adjacent road not far off. She growled, feeling her temper rising before she took off after him. It took only a matter of seconds before she was trailing behind him again, and closing the distance fast.
Seventeen was ready for her this time. Without reducing his speed, he spun towards her, opening his palm and producing a torrent of golden energy blasts, each aimed straight for Eighteen. She weaved around the ki blasts expertly, diving in and out of the barrage while batting away those who grew too close for her to avoid. She blinked, frowning as she realized that one of the blasts she'd smacked away had collided with a nearby building. She looked over her shoulder, noticing that within the afflicted building appeared to be a family rapidly trying to pull off a wall that had collapsed onto an now unrecognizable figure.
There were tears in their eyes.
That's not good...
The conflict fading behind them had pulled her attention away for too long. When she snapped her attention back to Seventeen, two ki blasts were too close to avoid. They slammed into her, exploding into two engulfing clouds of smoke as they did. She grimaced as she accepted the attacks, one having impacted with her shoulder, the other her midsection. They both stung, but she pressed on, ejecting from the smoke cloud. She knew Seventeen had gained a lead as she'd recovered..
Seventeen was still ahead, periodically checking over his shoulder as he continued his torrent of energy blasts her direction. The wild nature of his attack meant that many of the ki blasts were far from their desired target, striking buildings on either side of Eighteen randomly and producing screams from within almost every time. Some were only strong enough to destroy the wall they struck, while others enough to cause the entire structure to start crumbling.
"Enough!" She roared as she pushed out her hands, layering them atop each other and aiming for her brother. A straight beam of golden energy exploded from her palms, tearing through the barrage of energy blast which appeared meager by comparison. The beam struck Seventeen in the shoulder, causing the android to flip wildly before he slammed into the ground, unable to regain control in time. He skidded against the asphalt with a pained grimace as he did.
The air around Eighteen whistled as she shot forward, landing with a hateful glare just before Seventeen who was rapidly picking himself up. He regarded her with an equally resentful look.
When he was to his feet, Seventeen began in a mocking tone, "Did you remember to pause our show?" He snickered, wearing a sneer. "I really wanted to finish that epi-urk!"
Eighteen hadn't let him finish, instead choosing to drive a straight right punch directly into his nose. Her brother staggered back a few feet, clutching his face in a grimace before his eyes snapped to her and he threw out an open palm. A heartbeat later, golden energy exploded from it, washing over Eighteen all at once. The intense attack lasted for several seconds, shaped like a sideways flame as it completely engulfed Eighteen in its wrath.
When Seventeen finally relinquished his attack, he snarled with distaste. Eighteen had pulled her arms and legs inward, having formed a golden sphere of energy around herself to shield her from the energy wave. The shield fell, and Eighteen raced forward. She threw out a kick meant to catch Seventeen in the neck only for her brother to slip beneath it. He drove forward, leading with an elbow which Eighteen caught with a hand before driving a left hook into Seventeen's ribcage. The android gasped, lurching to the side as his face twisted with pain. Eighteen's body twisted too, her leg snapping out in a roundhouse kick that slammed in the exact place her fist had landed moments ago. Seventeen let out a sharp cry of pain as he was launched to the slide, slamming into a building with enough force that the wall cracked with his impact. He slumped to a crouch, his hand pressing tight against his wounded ribcage..
Eighteen said nothing as she calmly walked to where Seventeen was crouching. She stretched out a hand towards him. "Blueprints, now."
"Or what?" he spat back, regarding Eighteen with a sneer. "You're gonna kill me?!"
Eighteen snarled, pausing for a moment to check that the wall behind him didn't have someone hiding behind it. Her senses told her that there wasn't.
Perfect.
She spun, lifting her boot and executing a spinning heel kick that slammed into Seventeen's chin. The android was launched back, driving headfirst into the wall which crumbled as he tore through it.
Seventeen grunted as he thumped against the tile floor on the other side, rolling to his feet a moment later.
Eighteen stepped into the building, noticing that the structure appeared to be a barber shop of some sort. Seventeen retalialiated with a roar, launching himself at her with a flying knee meant for her head. She raised her forearms, stopping the attack before his fist came down on her, slamming into her temple as it did.
Eighteen winced as her vision blurred. Despite his weakened state, it was clear that his strikes could still hurt. She recovered quickly, blinking away foggy vision just as Seventeen spun, designating a backhand for her cheek as he did. She ducked, hearing his fist whistle as it flew by before seeing his leg snapping out to catch her again in the temple. Eighteen moved her forearm there an instant later, their limbs colliding with a resounding bang that seemed to echo down the street as they met. Her arm felt numb where his attack had connected, a tingling sensation running down to her elbow as it did. She could tell that he wasn't holding anything back in this fight.
She decided it was time for her to do likewise.
She pushed the leg away with a heavy shove, forcing Seventeen to stumble as he regained his footing and allowing Eighteen the perfect opportunity to rush in. Before he'd properly recovered, she was on top of him, unleashing a savage combination of punches that rocked the android's head back as they collided with his chin, then his temple, then his ribs, and finally ending with an uppercut that met with the underside of Seventeen's jaw.
The blow picked her brother's feet off the ground, leaving him suspended in the air for enough time for Eighteen to complete a spinning heel kick straight into Seventeen's chest. She could hear the air escape his lips as he was sent hurtling back, driving into, and then through the wall on the opposite side of the room. The concrete exploded outward as Seventeen rolled, now outside on the street again.
He was coughing violently as Eighteen made her way through the new exit, looming over him as she watched Seventeen's hunched over figure, having pushed himself to hand and knees. Finally, his head raised as he regarded her with a glare so hate filled she was certain the only person she'd ever seen him use it on before was Gohan himself. Seventeen was to his feet a moment later, kicking off the ground with such a force that the street cracked from the impact. He rushed her, a fist cocked back before driving it forward. Eighteen's body didn't shift. Instead, she raised a single hand, catching the fist and stopping Seventeen's momentum entirely. His eyes bulged as he stared at where she'd casually caught his attack, as if reaching up and catching a baseball being leisurely thrown to you.
"It's over, Seventeen." She said in a firm tone. She met his gaze with a hard stare. "Give it up."
Seventeen snarled as he struggled to rip his hand free, but Eighteen's grip was iron.
"You can't win this, Seventeen!" She felt her temper rising as he continued to squirm. "You're too injured! Stop now before one of us gets hurt!"
"Fuck you!" He snapped before rearing his head back and slamming it straight into Eighteen's nose. She grunted, staggering back as she grimaced from the pain. One thing was certain, her brother definitely had a thick head. When her eyes snapped open, she saw Seventeen hoping to repay her with a kick similar to the one she used to send him through the wall. She stepped to the side, watching the leg shoot past harmlessly before grabbing it with both hands. Before he could respond, she grunted, heaving upward until he was being flung up and over her head. Seventeen let out a panicked cry before he was slammed face first back into the street. Eighteen roared as she put as much force as she could into the swing. The entire road rumbled with his impact, cracks snaked away in each direction, stretching out for several blocks before coming to their end.
Seventeen sucked in a long, raspy breath of air before another coughing fit overwhelmed him. This one was far worse than the last. His eyes were clenched shut in a tight grimace as his entire body trembled. He slowly rolled side to side, curling into a ball as he wrapped his limbs around his now battered chest. Eighteen stared down at her brother, a deep frown resting on her face. A moment later, she stepped forward, bending over and snatching the schematics out from his pocket. She took a moment to study them, ensuring that they hadn't been destroyed in the fight. They appeared a little flattened and torn in a few places, but outside of that, they were fine. She rolled them back up before stuffing them down her shirt.
Seventeen gasped slowly, and painfully pushed himself back up to his feet. He stumbled for a moment before falling to a crouch, a hand still clutching his chest where he'd effectively been bellyfloped into the street.
"Fuck that hurt!" he gasped out.
"It was supposed to." She responded coldly, staring down at him with a chilling glare.
His eyes shot to her, narrowing to slits as they did. "So, what now? You got your fucking blueprints back." he spat. "You got to beat up your one-armed brother. Anything else you want to do to ruin my fucking day?"
Eighteen was quiet for several seconds as she regarded the still fuming Seventeen. For a moment she thought he was going to attack her again, but it was clear to both of them who was the superior android now. Without his arm, he just couldn't compare—not in power, not in skill.
"I thought you'd finally come around." she said, her voice sounding quiet as she spoke. "I really thought for a moment there that you and I could be family again."
Seventeen's lips quivered for a moment, before his gaze snapped away, guilty. He said nothing.
"You know I can never trust you again, Seventeen. Not after this."
"What?!" He snapped back, turning his sharp gaze on her. "You mean like how I could trust you before? You really want to talk about trust, Eighteen? Do you really think you are in any position to be lecturing me about trust?!"
Eighteen responded with silence as she looked down at her brother. Finally, he rose, having recovered from his injury.
"Are we done here?" he demanded.
She decided to take a dangerous step forward, prompting Seventeen to take a few nervous steps back as she did.
"Are you working with Cell?" she asked in a flat tone. It had been a question plaguing her mind over the last several days. She'd wanted to ask earlier, but she hadn't wanted to ruin such an otherwise perfect day with such an accusatory topic. Now, that trust was broken permanently, so it didn't matter one way or the other. Her eyes watched his face intently as she awaited his response.
His eyes flickered with surprise, before narrowing. "No idea what you're talking about."
She frowned. She knew her brother, and something in his eyes told her that he was lying.
"He's dangerous, Seventeen." she growled. She didn't know how exactly, but her brief exchange back at the lab had told her as much. Cell's message to her had been more than enough to convince her when he'd spoken to her.
"I'll... devour you...and then…we'll become... whole."
.The memory itself sent shivers running up and down her spine. If she could manage it, she would prefer to never recreate that experience. She also didn't want whatever it was around her brother either!
Her voice raised with agitation as she continued. "I don't know what he's told you to convince you to be on his side, but it's all lies!"
Her brother remained silent as he regarded her with a hardened gaze. Finally, his head turned, looking away from her and down the street stubbornly. A moment later, they flickered upward, and his eyes wided from what he saw.
Eighteen blinked, before turning her head to see what Seventeen had. Her mouth fell agape, her eyes just as wide as her sibling's.
Floating there, only a few blocks away was Son Gohan. He'd since changed out of the outfit she'd selected for the man, donning his signature fighting Gi as golden flames writhed around him. His unblinking gaze regarding both of them. For a moment she wondered how he'd managed to find them so quickly, but immediately realized that their fight hadn't exactly been a quiet exchange. That coupled with the people caught in the crossfire of their fight...it was no surprise why Gohan was here.
"Go." Eighteen commanded in a soft, nervous whisper. She stepped forward so that she was standing ahead of Seventeen. Despite his betrayal, despite their rage fueled fight, Eighteen did not want to see Seventeen perish, not ever. He was her brother regardless of what happened. She would do whatever she could to keep him alive, despite his pig-headedness. She loved him, even if he frustrated her beyond belief.
"You want me to run away again? We can take him, Eighteen!" He urged with a clenched fist. "If we work together-"
"-Then we die." She said, cutting him off as she shot him a deep glare. "Just leave, Seventeen. I can hold him off…for awhile, at least."
She hoped that was the truth. She still remembered her last exchange with the man, and knew that a second would end just as poorly. Her senses were filled with Gohan's massive power, and she knew that hers was not nearly as much. Their powers were comparable, certainly, but it was if one were to compare a lion to that of a tiger. Both animals powerful and fierce creations of the land, but the tiger's weight and size would give it the win nine times out of ten.
She listened to Seventeen shift uneasily behind her, before the sound of his feet scraping off the asphalt told Eighteen that he'd finally taken to the air. She didn't dare pull her eyes off of Gohan, not even to watch as Seventeen left her. She hadn't wanted to let Seventeen go. She'd wanted to press him, force answers out of him that she knew he wouldn't want to give, and maybe—just maybe—try to reach a compromise with her brother. She didn't know what that might look like, but she wanted more than anything for it to be so.
Now, it looked like all that would have to wait. With Gohan here, there were bigger problems to deal with. Gohan's form shifted, moving to take off after Seventeen before Eighteen raised a hand. "Hold it there, Blondie." She raised her other hand, both palms filling with a dangerous golden glow as she did.
However, neither hand was aimed at Gohan.
"We're just about dead center in West City, Gohan." Her arms had stretched out towards either side of her, one aimed down a long road, the other pointed to destroy the barber shop Seventeen and she had just broken out of—as well as anything else alive in that direction.
Gohan's flight came up short as he regarded her with a disgusted sneer.
"If you try and go after my brother," she began slowly, her words cold as they left her mouth. "Then I destroy half the city with everything I have."
"You're taking the city as your hostage?!" He snapped, his fist tightening as his glare intensified. "I thought the mighty androids didn't need hostages to survive."
"We didn't at first, but things change." She didn't rise to his anger, instead keeping her voice calm and collected. She was trying to think this through and figure a way out of this that didn't involve Gohan tearing her head from her shoulders. She could feel the entire city beginning to evacuate all around them, fleeing from West City as fast as they possibly could. There was no doubt in her mind that word of the androids' return had spread like wildfire, likely already playing on the news considering just how serious the nature of their arrival was.
"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else." He snarled, his eyes staring daggers through her skull.
"You don't have to. I don't plan on killing anyone today." she said truthfully, "Just let me go, and no one has to get hurt."
"You seriously think I'd let you go after all you've done?!"
"You'd rather we do this here and now?!" She shouted back, feeling her temper rising despite herself. "You want to risk all the lives of West City just for your revenge?!"
Gohan's face twisted, a conflicted look crossing his features as he regarded her.
"You attack me, Gohan." She made the two balls of light intensify. "And their blood is on your hands. Is your revenge really worth all their lives, Gohan?"
"It's not just my revenge." he remarked. "It's revenge for every soul you monsters took. Don't you remember what I told you before? Not one death will go unaccounted for, not one."
She watched as his eyes flickered past her, looking above and towards where the setting sun was painting the sky a brilliant orange. Eighteen knew that his gaze was on Seventeen at that moment.
"Don't." She hissed dangerously. "You know what will happen if you do."
His eyes returned to hers. She watched as some of his anger bled away, seemingly understanding the standstill between them.
"Why now?" He suddenly asked, affixing her with a curious look that still bled with hatred. "Why now, after all this time?"
She frowned at him, not understanding his question.
"Why have you suddenly stopped being the monsters you are?!" he demanded, "Is it because you don't know if you can beat me anymore? Is that it?"
Her eyes studied Gohan's face, watching him with a considerate look. Finally, reasoning that her brother had enough of a lead that Gohan wouldn't be able to catch up with him, Eighteen dropped her arms.
She let out a soft sigh, her head slowly lowering as she regarded the ground. "No." she answered truthfully. She stared into his eyes for a short time, considering, before finally making her decision.
Cautiously, she lifted into the sky until she was level with Gohan, before affixing him with a look. It wasn't the hate filled, sneer she'd so often wore when regarding the man. It wasn't even the disgusted snarl she would sometimes use when he'd done something particularly annoying. It was a solemn, honest look.
"Not too long ago, someone told me something that made me want to rethink things. It made me want to...change...for the better." She didn't dare reveal the whole truth. She couldn't risk Gohan finding out who 'Videl' really was. If this didn't work...then that would be all she had. With Seventeen betrayal...Gohan and Trunks were the only friends she had left. The irony of that fact was not lost on her as she admitted it to herself.
"I'm not going to kill. I'm not going to destroy. Not anymore." She let the honesty of the claim bleed into her words, holding Gohan's gaze as she did. "I promise."
Gohan's hardened expression flickered, shock replacing it for a moment before he snarled again. "Is this some sort of trick? You know that neither of you can beat me anymore, so you're trying to convince me that you've finally reformed, is that it?"
She slowly shook her head. "No tricks. No games. I have no plans to continue what me and my brother started. I'm done with it all, Son Gohan." She swallowed nervously, her gaze casting downward as she prepared herself for her next sentence. "And...and...I'm sorry...for everything."
When she looked back, she could see that Gohan was stunned by her words, his eyes wide with shock. For a moment, she felt a flutter of hope rising in her chest. It was a hope that Gohan would accept her apology, see that her words rang true and maybe...just maybe he could find a way to forgive her.
In a flash, he recomposed himself, his face having returned to its hardened stare. "You've killed millions of people, slaughtered children and adults alike, and you think a measly 'sorry' is going to fix that?"
Her head fell, the hope in her heart crumbling away all at once. It had been a foolish hope. Of course Gohan would not forgive her. What he said was true. Who would forgive a monster like her?
"I don't." she answered softly, her tone crestfallen for anyone to see. "But I am sorry. Especially to you, Son Gohan." She looked up, meeting his gaze with a frown. "I'm more sorry to you than anyone else for what we've done to you."
Gohan was speechless. Although his hair was still golden, his aura fell away all at once. His eyes were two large orbs of utter bafflement. She could tell that he couldn't make heads or tails of her words. Twice he tried and failed to form a sentence in response, staring at Eighteen as if she'd just sprouted a second head between her shoulders.
Finally, he cleared his throat as his brow furrowed, still regarding Eighteen with a hostile stare. "I can't tell if what you say is the truth or a lie." he seemed to be saying the words begrudgingly, as if angered by the very thought that she was being honest. "But there's no way that I can trust you. I can't even decide if it's possible for a monster like you to change. Not truly. That's why I'm almost certain that this has to be some sort of trick. You don't want to die. That much is certain. I wouldn't put it past you or Seventeen to try and gain my trust using some convincing words. I won't be tricked." he growled.
Eighteen blinked, an idea forming in her mind. Suddenly, she knew exactly how she could prove that this was no trick, that her apology was sincere. In the back of her mind, she was still tracking the Ki signatures of those who had yet to escape West City. She knew by their pace that soon, Gohan would no longer have to worry about her threat to erase the city. A part of her was astonished at just how quickly they had managed to flee, but then realized that they likely had a lot of practice. She knew her protection was fading away, and fast. She didn't doubt that Gohan was keeping track of their ki signatures just as sharply as she was, waiting for the moment everyone was safe to strike. Despite this, she decided she still wanted to go through with her newly formed plan.
Her hand reached into her shirt, gripping the schematics resting within. Slowly, she began to pull them out, before freezing in place.
No! This is a bad idea!
The realization hit her all at once. She couldn't give Gohan the documents detailing her and her brother, even if she knew it would make for the perfect apology.
All because of Dr. Gero.
Her grip around the documents released, the blueprints returning to rest within her shirt. The hand lingered there a moment longer, now placed on a spot against her chest. The place where Dr. Gero had planted a bomb. It had been a threat meant to control them, a device which could be triggered at the simple press of a button which the doctor had always made sure to keep gripped tight in his hands whenever they were active. She'd almost forgotten all about it. Almost. Back then, the terrifying understanding that if either she or Seventeen stepped out of line for only a moment, they could be destroyed at the push of a button. When Seventeen had managed to snatch that device away from the evil doctor, the immediate relief following had been euphoric. When he'd crushed the device in his hand, the fear had completely evaporated.
But now, that fear was present once more, taking a new shape as she stared down Gohan, who was eyeing her curiously, his gaze studying the hand reached into her shirt. She withdrew it quickly, not wanting to draw any more attention to what might lie beneath her clothes. She knew that the schematics detailed the bombs within her and her brother's chest expertly, and that Bulma Briefs was one of the greatest scientific minds still left in the world. It would be she that Gohan took the blueprints to, and it wasn't hard for her to imagine the woman figuring out how to take advantage of such a device. She could perhaps even build her own remote to destroy them both.
Even if she wanted to apologize to Gohan proper, she knew giving the documents over was too much of a risk to take.
"I-I don't…" Her voice faltered. She had nothing else to offer the man, nothing else to convince him.
"Know this, Eighteen." He spoke with a malicious tone. Hate bled from every word he said. "If I didn't know there would be people hurt by our fight, I'd settle this here and now. After fourteen long years of murder and destruction, there is nothing you or your brother deserve more than a cruel and fitting death for all you've done."
She winced at his words, feeling deep down that he wasn't wrong in his assessment. She noticed his eyes dart away for a moment, seeming to stretch out towards the edges of the city…
She tensed, realizing immediately what he was searching for. She stretched out her senses, probing for just how far the fleeing people of West City had gotten. She registered their Ki signatures in an instant.
They're almost all gone!
It was a terrifying thought. Barely anyone remained within a five miles radius of where they were currently floating. Many had even managed to clear the city entirely.
Soon, Gohan wouldn't need to hold himself back from destroying her. She could see by the dangerous look in his eyes that he knew it too. He was waiting, stalling.
I need to get out of here, now!
She didn't wait another moment before a white aura exploded all around her and she shot into the sky.
She looked over her shoulder, seeing Gohan immediately give chase, his aura igniting around him as he did.
"Follow me and the people of West City die!" She threatened, building energy in one hand and facing it out towards the streets below.
He didn't stop. She watched as his expression hardened, the distance between them closing fast despite Eighteen pushing all she could into her flight. She knew that her speed couldn't compete with Gohan's. He had murder written across his features.
The sight was absolutely terrifying. For the short few seconds he flew behind her, she knew her life was well and truly in danger. If he managed to catch up...if he managed to get his hands on her…
She didn't want to finish that thought. He'd attempted to tear her limb from limb before. She had no intention of giving him a second chance.
"Fine!" she said. "Then their deaths are on you!" She forced even more energy into the sphere before unleashing it, sending it diagonally across the sky as it rocketed towards the city below. She'd made it powerful, hoping that its massive size would convince Gohan that it would be enough to liquify the city. She prayed that Gohan broke off to chase the sphere before it reached its destination. If it landed...she didn't know how many lives would be lost.
They're just humans. It's not like if they die we lost anything important.
A part of her thought, a part of herself that she was quickly beginning to resent. Even if deep down she knew that her opinion of mankind was less than appreciative, she knew that if that attack landed the result would be catastrophic, and not only for the people still lingering down below.
He'll never trust me.
If she obliterated West City before his very eyes after just promising that she wasn't going to destroy or kill anymore, then there wasn't a chance he would believe her words to be true. It was possible that simply unleashing the attack was enough to break that trust. She merely hoped that Gohan would see that she knew he could stop it, understanding that she'd acted in a moment of desperation, and nothing more.
Despite the impending threat making its way towards the city below, Gohan didn't break off.
What are you doing?! Don't you realize how many people are down there?!
She'd put an immense amount of energy into the attack, fully believing that Gohan would recognize the danger and break away immediately to stop it. If he didn't...then she knew the blast would be enough to reduce West City to nothing more than a charred crater.
He pursued her still, his glare deepening for several seconds longer. He shot a glance towards the descending blast before returning it to her. She could see in his eyes the conflict between wanting her slain, and wanting to save the city—before he snarled and turned away, shooting with all the speed he could muster to chase the orb. It had gained a considerable lead which Gohan was rapidly closing. Eighteen's flight never stopped as she made her way further and further away, but she kept her eyes locked on Gohan and his pursuit, wanting to make sure he reached the ball of energy before it touched the ground.
The entire exchange had lasted no more than a matter of seconds, the two golden shapes racing down towards West City in a race that was literally a matter of life and death. Despite this, it felt like time was moving slowly as she watched Gohan desperately chase the sphere to its destination. Despite thousands having made their way out of the city, there were still hundreds doing their best to escape still. She knew that now they didn't have time, and the amount of energy she'd put into the attack would erase all of them in a matter of moments.
She slowed, her eyes widening as she watched. She was studying Gohan and his flight, calculating in nanoseconds his speed versus the speed of her blast—the computer in her brain working frantically.
He's not going to make it.
He'd spent too much time chasing her. Had he broken off to stop the attack the moment it flew, there wasn't a doubt in Eighteen's mind that he could have caught it well before it impacted the city. It might have hurt him some, but it wasn't like she hadn't thrown even more dangerous amounts of energy at the man before. Now though...it was too late.
She could see his aura thrashing, his Ki flaring with an intensity she'd never felt before as he desperately chased the attack.
Despite this, she knew it would still not be enough. He'd wasted too much time, his hate for her, too strong.
Without thinking, she threw her hands forward, her brow furrowing with concentration as she searched for the Ki which she'd just unleashed. For a moment, she felt nothing—the distance between them being too great—before finally seizing it within her mind as she'd done with the small orbs of ki she'd trained with following Gohan's instruction. She worked within her mind to halt the blast's momentum, but this proved harder than she'd predicted. This far away, and with this much energy behind it, the ball of ki was far more than anything she'd had to control before.
C'mon, Eighteen! Focus!
Her eyes clenched shut in a tight grimace as she concentrated everything on that singular ball of ki, willing it to stop with all the energy she could muster. Her hands grabbed at the air as if wrapped around a ball before she yanked back towards herself. She could feel it fighting her as she did, pushing against her will and wanting to press forward despite her demands for the contrary. For a moment, she felt that it was too much, the energy too grand and far away for her to contain. Something within pinched, as if gripping it proper for the first time. She screamed, yanking back the energy and hoping that she'd been able to grab hold of it in time. She breathed out a shaky breath, uncertain if her grip on the ki had been enough to stop it. Her eyes fluttered open and in the vast distance, she could see the result of her efforts.
Hovering there, floating less than a few feet from the ground, was the massive golden sphere of death she'd almost unleashed on the city. Gohan hit the ground just next to it a heartbeat later, the asphalt cracking as he impacted in a crouch. Sweat ran down his brow before he turned and regarded the floating sphere with shock. His eyes flashed back to her, staring up at her distant figure with mouth agape. She knew that he could only just make out her shape, no more than a speck in the sky from just how far she'd managed to fly away before pausing. The only reason she could make out his expression at all was from the enhancements in her eyes.
She hovered there a time longer, staring down at the awestruck man. He made no move to give chase, knowing that if he did she could merely disappear into the clouds above and leave him with no hope to find her. There was too much distance to cover now, even for him. She closed her hand into a fist, and the energy dispersed into nothing. She lingered, wanting her shape to convey the message of 'I said I wasn't going to destroy anymore, didn't I?'. After she was certain her message had been received by the still astonished form of Gohan, she turned and flew off, disappearing into the orange glow of the setting sun.
-Author's Notes-
I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out. A lot of big things happened here. A lot of revelations, and conflicts confronted, as well as hints towards what will come next as a result.
Writing this was a blast, especially getting the chance to have Eighteen finally pound Seventeen into the ground. It's been a little while since I've had the chance to write a proper fight scene, ironic given this is a dragonball fic, but I just feel so much of this story can be told outside of combat.
I'm also sorry for how long it's been since an update, hopefully this 31 page chapter will make up for how long it took. It took a long time to clean up. As always, Ben Thryss is the wonderful individual who has taken the time to go through the chapter and clean up the errors yours truly fail to spot. Thankfully, he is already in possession of the next chapter, so the wait shouldn't be long now.
Either Way, I don't know if I can say much more about this chapter. Originally, this was meant to be a part of a bigger, mega-chapter, but upon reviewing the entire document's length, I decided it would be best to split these in two. That being said, yes, the next chapter is almost completely done. It simply needs revisions and some combing through to get out most of the typos and such. Hopefully, this chapter will leave you ready for more ;).
I also have something of a sad revelation, unfortunately. I have decided to enter the military, which unfortunately means that I will be going away for roughly half a year without any access to writing for this story, or any of my other stories for that entire time. Hopefully, this update alongside it's soon to be released followup, will be enough to convince you all that this story is not dead, and that I still have a lot of passion and plans for its future. I will see this through to the end.
But, other than that depressing note, I think that's all folks!
Until next time!
