Author's Note: What's this? An update so soon after my departure? Stay tuned, friends. I will explain all after the chapter. Until then, enjoy.
-Eighteen, the next day-
Her head shifted to the side just before a fist drove through that space a split second later. She decided to throw out a calculated jab into her opponent, testing to see if they were still sharp.
Her fist was blocked by a forearm, telling her that yes, he was still alert. The sound of a roaring waterfall filled her ears from the right, making her almost deaf except to its noise as a knee raced towards her face, prompting Eighteen to pull her head back to narrowly avoid it.
In a second, her long black hair fluttered out in all directions, many strands wrapping around her face in the process. For a moment, she was stunned. How was this happening despite having made her hair into a bun shortly before the fight?! It appeared that the hair tie had given out at an inconvenient time. The strands of darkness blocked her vision, obscuring her opponent from her, somewhat. That, coupled with the roaring sounds of their chosen battle ground, forced Eighteen to sacrifice precious seconds to push the hair out from her face before seeing a fist heading straight for her.
She raised both arms, crossing them before her to meet the attack. Trunks' fist slammed against her guard a second later, producing an impact that spat out air all around them, causing the water within the pool below their floating forms to ripple.
That was a strong punch.
She raised an eyebrow, looking over to meet Trunks' eye and could tell that he was serious.
He's fighting harder than last time. Why?
She was still considered 'new' to this whole 'flying combat' thing, so why was he engaging her with such ferocity? What was wrong?
She spread her arms out in both directions, slapping Trunks' hand away in the process before pushing out her hands, cupping them over one another and forming a small ball of light within her palms. Both of Trunks' eyes widened at the sight, before she let out a shout that was drowned out by the rushing falls and unleashed the orb of dangerous energy.
Trunks barely had enough time to pull his arms in, drawing his knees in as well to brace himself for the impact.
The sphere of power incarnate crashed against Trunks' guard an instant later, and detonated.
It just sorta ...popped.
Sure, there had been an explosion, but only one so small that it didn't even produce enough smoke to properly cloud Trunks.
For a moment, the teen appeared stunned, blinking as if confused by the puny nature of her attack.
Eighteen internally sulked.
... was my power…
She'd decided to push everything that was her own true essence, left untouched by Dr. Gero's hand, into that little ball of ki. She'd wanted to see just how strong she truly was.
Apparently, not very.
Trunks slowly recovered, clearly trying to conceal a smile as he fell back into his fighting stance. Eighteen did likewise, her stance almost mirroring Trunks'. Gohan had taught her just as he'd taught Trunks, and this stance was supposedly important to his teachings. She idly questioned where Gohan was right now. She scanned their surroundings, finding the jungle-like terrain wrapping around them like a cage, their tall and viridescent leaves hanging high in the sky—even above where they were floating. Vines crawled all around them, up boulders, trees and the likes. Some even reached up the cliffside just beside them, where the overflowing rapids threw a thrashing torrent down a sheer drop and into the pool below. She couldn't see him, but she imagined he was somewhere off to the side, studying their process like he normally did.
Eighteen smiled. She wanted to perform a little better today than normal. She liked how impressed he seemed to be whenever she would make a 'breakthrough'. She wanted to maintain that reputation.
Once again, Trunks launched his assault. He led the barrage of blows with a spinning heel kick which transitioned into a wild haymaker once Eighteen avoided it. She raised her arm, meeting the fist with her elbow before driving a hook straight into Trunks' midsection. Her knuckles met ribcage, and Trunks winced, his eyes tightening into a grimace as he lurched to the side, one hand pressing where she'd struck.
He recovered a moment after, growling lightly as his face tightened. Eighteen readied herself. She knew he was going to be coming at her very seriously now. She had to do this right.
Trunks suddenly blurred.
The teen exploded into motion, moving at speeds Videl wouldn't be able to see, but she could easily track. She watched as Trunks continued to move about all around her, pausing slightly in places and moving on a heartbeat later. He continued this practice until he had made a circle around her, placing what he believed were afterimages all around her, posing in some of them in silly ways.
Eighteen smirked. She remembered this little move. Gohan had tried it once or twice before in his youth. It was cute, really. He'd thought himself fast enough to replicate something his father used to do against clearly weaker opponents. A decisive stab to his lower stomach had been her answer to it then, having pretended to be confused before ultimately seizing the boy by his throat and driving a hand shaped like the point of a blade straight into his stomach. After that, Gohan had never tried this trick again.
The android paused, reflecting on that memory. The pleasant memory suddenly didn't feel so pleasant.
She remained stationary, forcing her eyes to grow wide, as if shocked and bewildered. She made the proper motions, letting her head snap side to side, trying to discern which was the real one, but never being able to tell which image was 'truly' Trunks.
She sighed as the illusion wore off and Trunks leapt forward from over her right shoulder. Eighteen knew that she had to take this hit. It wouldn't make any sense if she miraculously figured it out, given the speeds Trunks was using.
That didn't mean she had to like it, though.
She felt Trunks' foot impact with the back of her head, sending her flipping forward and 'almost' losing control of her flight entirely.
She slowly turned back to where Trunks was grinning confidently. She rubbed the back of her head, wincing. "C'mon. That was a cheap shot."
"You're gonna have to get used to guys like me being a lot faster than you, Videl. It's something I've had to deal with against the androids. If you ever fight them, you're gonna have to deal with speeds like that, too."
Eighteen raised an eyebrow. Was Trunks...lecturing her? It seemed he still saw himself as the 'mentor's prized pupil', which she guessed was true. She didn't know why that annoyed her so much, though.
"I'm gonna do it one more time." He said, raising a finger as if he was an instructor himself. "Try not to focus too much on the afterimages. Those are just distractions. If you look at the flow of motion outside those images-"
"Yeah, I get it." She snapped, growing annoyed at the boy's ability to sometimes sound so pretentious.
Trunks shrugged. "Just trying to help." He grinned wide. "Here we go!"
Just like before, Trunks 'blurred' from sight, once again wrapping around her in a series of ever mocking poses as he continued to race all around her. She growled, feeling that sensation she'd had for Gohan at the time he'd used this technique magnify. She'd felt insulted that the boy would use such a juvenile tactic against her of all people. Sure, he'd been something like, twelve at the time, so she imagined he'd still held some immaturity, but to think he'd trained to learn that little trick, most likely for days, or even weeks thinking it could ever actually work on her, only to have it fail immediately, all that time wasted,enraged Eighteen more than the initial insult had.
She wanted nothing more to let out some of that anger. Don't they say that it's healthy to let off a little steam every now and again?
Trunks suddenly appeared off to her left this time and posed with his arm pulled back to punch. She growled, her eyes narrowing to slits as they tracked his painfully slow movements towards her. She twisted abruptly, her right hand forming a dagger just as she'd done on that day, her other hand reaching out to snatch that insufferable little brat out of the air. She would collapse his windpipe for insulting her with such a pitiful technique, and as he was starved of breath, she would do just as she did before and stab her hand deep into his abdomen, feeling his body jolt with pain just before he let out a little whine of suffering that she so dearly loved-
What the fuck am I doing?!
The clawed hand reaching for the teen's throat suddenly relaxed, veering off course at the last second just as she narrowly slipped her other arm off to the side, the pointed blade formed by her nails just barely avoiding the teen's stomach.
That was too close!
Then, she felt her head hit something hard.
The impact actually dazed her, causing her vision to fill with black spots as she moved a hand to rub her now sore forehead. She blinked rapidly, feeling a pounding in her head that wasn't there before.
"Ugh." She groaned as she shook her head gently, finally ridding herself of the temporary headache.
When she looked back to where Trunks had been, she found the boy with both hands on his forehead, hunched over with a trembling frame.
"T-that," he began, struggling to keep the pain from his voice. He failed. "W-was an...interesting...technique."
Realizing he had yet to look up and see her, she immediately brought her hands back to her head, tightening her face and letting out a much louder moan of pain. "Your head is really hard, Trunks." she complained. That much was true. None of his other attacks today had really hurt her, but that one had actually made her dizzy, if only for a few seconds.
"Yours, too." he grimaced. "You wanna take ten or...maybe twenty? Ugh."
She forced a strained smile. "Sounds good. Water break?"
He nodded as they broke apart, floating down to opposite ends of the large pool at the area's center. Her shoes—athletic footwear designed for running, she believed—crunched as she set down on the lumpy, uneven soil. The dirt was damp with precipitation, its earthen lumps covered almost entirely by moss and other small plantlife. She made her way to her backpack, subtly scanning all around to see where Gohan was.
She was worried the far more observant man would have noticed what she'd been mere moments away from doing to the young boy. Would he have recognized that specific answer to such a specific technique in his youth? A part of her thought yes, if he had been paying close enough attention.
Damn it, Eighteen! What the hell was that out there?! Are you crazy? Why the actual fuck would you go for that move against a fucking kid.
Her rage filled thoughts paused for a moment, realizing that this was the first time she'd ever had that thought.
...And that this was the second time she'd tried to do that to a child. Her first victim had actually received her answer to his afterimage attempt, and he'd been several years younger than the boy currently sitting at the edge of the water, having pulled his boots off to let his feet soak in the water.
She closed her eyes, her body tightening as she bore a grimace.
Eighteen...what the hell happened to you?
She wrapped her arms around herself, letting out a soft sigh as she reflected on that question. Where had it all gone so, so wrong?
After a time, she forced herself out of that depressing line of thought, remembered that she'd had an objective. She needed to find Gohan and determine if he noticed anything...odd. Her feet immediately began to crunch forward as she set out to find her mentor.
I'll figure out why I almost did that to Trunks later.
She needed to figure that out. If she had a moment like that again, and didn't catch it in time…
No. She would not think about that. Find Gohan, first.
Finally, after scanning the treeline with a determined expression, she found the one-armed wonder—no, Gohan, sitting on a large rock big enough for several people, his head downcast and looking at his phone.
Oh, thank God.
So, it appeared he'd been busy texting someone during her little...episode. He didn't notice anything. Perfect.
Except for his face appearing...troubled.
Uh-oh.
Maybe he really had noticed something. She decided it would be best to investigate. She casually made her way towards the young man until she was standing just next to him on the rock.
"Hey, Videl." He said blandly, not looking up from his phone. A definitive frown pulled at his lips.
"What's up?" She asked, trying to keep the anxiety at having been found out from bleeding into her tone.
"Not much." He sighed, pocketing the device before sagging, resting his arm on his knee as he did. "It's nothing. Just something I have to do later this evening."
Eighteen raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
Gohan let out a short chuckle, shaking his head. "Nothing you have to worry about. Trust me. It's nothing serious."
"Seems pretty serious if it's getting you so down."
It was Gohan's turn to cock an eyebrow at her now. "You're not gonna leave this alone until I tell you, are you?"
"Nope." She grinned, mischievously.
He let out a slow sigh, his lips curling into a grin as he patted the spot of rock just beside him.
Eighteen accepted his invitation, folding her legs beneath her as she sat down. "So, what's got ya down, Master?"
Gohan blinked, before letting out another soft chuckle. "Not used to people calling me that. It felt...strange for some reason."
"Really?" Slowly, a devious idea began to form in her mind. "Is it because it sometimes has...other connotations, Master." she placed extra emphasis on the word, drawing it out in a smoky, and almost seductive manner.
Immediately, Gohan's face went scarlet.
Eighteen couldn't contain her laughter as she cupped her mouth, turning her head away as she tried her best not to laugh too hard.
"Yes, yes, very funny, Videl." Gohan said in a tired voice. "You got me."
"Okay, okay. Sorry." She sighed. "I just thought you could use a good joke."
He smiled with an exhausted expression. "Thanks. I guess it was pretty funny, huh?"
She frowned, her eyebrows furrowing with confusion. What was happening that was getting the young man so down?
"Let's hear it, Smiles." she nodded her head, gesturing for him to speak.
He flashed her another half smile and shrugged. "I'm just having dinner with my mom tonight. That's it." He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "See? Nothing big."
Eighteen's head cocked to the side, studying Gohan with a curious gaze. That truly did sound like something very minor. In fact, it was something she had always envisioned for herself, one day. Being an orphan meant that she had never gotten to experience a dinner with a mom or a dad. In her earlier years, she'd always hoped that maybe one day she and Seventeen would get adopted and then maybe...but sadly, due to bad luck or the fact that adopting two children is a much larger commitment than adopting one, it never came to be.
So, why was Gohan dreading something she had only ever gotten to fantasize over? What was so terrible about his mother, or maybe her cooking, that would put him in such a slouch?
"You wanna talk about it?"
Gohan shot her a confused expression. "Talk about what? I already told you."
"Talk about why you're sulking so much." She said in a flat tone.
Gohan's eyes flashed open wide before relaxing. "That obvious?"
"Like a flushing toilet at night." she smiled.
Gohan paused for a short time, his eyes falling away from her as he seemed to decide whether or not he wanted to give her an answer. Eighteenly idly questioned if this was a boundary she should press if he said no.
Thankfully, she wasn't forced to make that decision.
"My mother is...a very stubborn person." He sighed, subtly shaking his head. "The reason I'm dreading this dinner is I already know how it's going to go. You see, my mom doesn't exactly...see eye to eye with me in regards to the life I've lived."
Eighteen blinked, needing a second to process the information, and then double check that she'd just heard him correctly. "What?" she asked. "You mean she doesn't approve of you fighting the androids to, you know, save humanity?" She waved her arms out, gesturing as if baffled. "I feel like that's a pretty important goal."
Gohan snickered, shooting a toothy grin her direction that Eighteen realized she very much liked.
He shrugged, the tension from before slowly beginning to bleed away. "Yeah, as you can probably tell, I feel the same way. It doesn't change the fact that she doesn't, though." He leaned back, resting his weight on one arm. "But hey, it's not like I can just magically change her mind, or something." he paused, his head cocking to the side slightly. "Maybe that might have been a good wish for the dragon…"
"The what now?" Eighteen said.
Gohan startled, his eyes fluttering with realization before flashing a sheepish smile. "Uh, nothing. Just a little, um, in-joke my family once had."
"Riiight." Eighteen shot him a flat look that said she didn't believe him, but decided to move on nonetheless. "So, what're her expectations of you like? Does she expect you to go to college and get a degree or some crap, instead? You know, while the entire world was collapsing all around y- er, us?"
Shit!
"Basically." Another shrug. It didn't seem he'd noticed her little slip. "She's always wanted to see me married, with kids, and a stable job and a nice home. You know, motherly things."
"Yeah." Nope.
"I just know that, without even one of those little categories she always likes to check in my life, there's no way she's gonna just leave it alone. She'll just keep bringing it up again and again in these little passive-aggressive ways and...ugh." He fell forward, letting his face fall into his hand. Slowly, he lifted. "It's gonna suck, is basically what I'm saying."
Eighteen nodded understandingly. So, his mom was basically gonna bitch at him all evening because he spent his life saving lives instead of balls deep in some other bitch while nose deep in books getting a little college diploma. What a great idea! And what happens when she and her brother swung around and blew up the little college he was staying at? Would his credits transfer over to another college? Assuming his transcripts and important paperwork weren't completely annihilated by the huge explosion, that is.
Yeah, I think I got a pretty strong picture of the situation here.
"Just don't go, then." She stated flatly. If his mom didn't want to respect him, then screw her. She could eat alone and bitch alone for all Eighteen cared.
Gohan let out a sigh that seemed to radiate a feeling that was too personal for her to understand. Somewhere between sorrow...and guilt?
"I can't." he finally answered. "I've done that a lot already. I feel...bad about dodging her sometimes, telling her that I'm busy patrolling the streets, or that I'm investigating an attack when I'm really not. I can't just keep avoiding her forever. She is my mom, after all." He leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand, before grumbling, "Too bad that club idea was a bust…"
Eighteen's eyes snapped open wide. "Wait." she said, studying Gohan intently. "You're not trying to tell me that the only reason you wanted to go to a club was so that you could have a lady to present to your mom, the day after?!" Her mouth fell open slightly.
Gohan's face grimaced, recoiling back dramatically before peeking out of one eye. "Pretty bad, huh?"
Eighteen's head fell back and let out a singular, "Hah!" before returning her attention to him. "You were gonna pick up a chick, and then the very next day introduce her to your mom? Are you kidding me? I mean, the androids are evil, but that's true evil."
Gohan snickered, before adopting a sinister look. His voice came out deeper as he said in a dark tone, "Yes, all along it was I who was the truest evil in this world!" He raised his single hand, forming a claw before releasing a mock cackle. His voice fell back to it's normal tone as Eighteen's hand raised to cover a snicker. "Now that you know my secret, you know I must kill you."
Eighteen let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. "I won't tell anyone. Promise."
"Hmm," he grinned in that way she liked, before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess that works too."
His gaze returned to stare out at the rushing waterfall, a wistful, bleary-eyed expression on his face.
Eighteen watched him quietly, studying him out of the corner of her eye. So, not only had he regularly had to torture himself by challenging herself and her brother, but his own mother hadn't supported him in his efforts.
How dare she?!
Eighteen felt an overwhelming rage that such a pathetic, weak woman would dare look down on someone as powerful and significant at Son Gohan. Did this woman not know just how insignificant she was in comparison to a man like Gohan, or beings like herself or Seventeen? Her existence meant nothing past her relationship to Gohan. If she disappeared, say, tomorrow, the world would barely notice. But, if one of them were to be gone all of a sudden, the world would recoil from the shock.
In fact, it already was.
Eighteen had an overwhelming urge to meet this woman, some way. If only to tell her just how stupid her opinion was, or perhaps to prove to her just how little she truly mattered in the grand scheme of things.
But how? She couldn't just find her as android Eighteen. That would be terrifying, and definitely tell Gohan who she really is. So, what options did that leave her?
An...interesting idea began to form in her mind, born of what Gohan had mentioned earlier in regards to the things his mom was looking for.
"Hey, Gohan?"
"Hm?"
"I've got a crazy idea."
"Yeah? Lay it on me."
"What if you took me to your dinner date with your mom?"
Gohan's eyes grew as wide as they possibly could, turning to her abruptly with an expression that could be only described as complete and utter bafflement.
"What?" he said.
"Take me. Pretend we've been in a relationship for, like, two weeks, or something. Nothing serious. We have a little dinner, talk to your mom, who will see that you're moving on with your life, and then you tell her we broke up, like, a week later." she shrugged. "It happens."
Gohan's shocked face eased until his eyes narrowed, his brow now furrowed. She could tell that he was considering the idea. He looked back at her. "You think that would work?"
"Why not?" she shrugged. A part of her questioned why she had offered such a bold plan. A part of it was very much to potentially confront the mother on her viewpoints, but, of course, there was also still a little piece of her that...yearned to experience what a nice, small family dinner was like, even if it wasn't her family.
"What's the worst that could happen?" Gohan laughed, shaking his head.
I could kill her, I guess.
She supposed that was the worst thing that could happen, but she highly doubted it would. She imagined killing Gohan's mom would probably make him just a little bit upset with her.
She could control herself. That little episode with Trunks had just been a fluke.
Right?
-Cell, the day before-
His eyes were narrowed as he sat on the opposite end of the room, next to, but not on, the small sofa within the cabin. His mind was focused on the open book before him, his torso hunched over the words like a hawk inspecting its kill.
He rapidly deduced that he'd ventured too far above his level with the subjects this book had to offer in detailing the current human knowledge of biomechanics. He grew annoyed by this revelation before pushing the book aside, his fingers tightening into fists.
He breathed out a deep sigh. It frustrated him how he'd learned how to read and write so easily with the incredible aid of Dr. Gero's genius, only to falter on these deeper talks regarding the inner workings of complicated mechanics. He'd gained a grasp of the more basic properties of mechanisms, such as programmed doors and other simple devices, but it appeared deeper topics evaded his grasp.
How very annoying.
He decided to take a break, letting his mind wander to other thoughts. He idly wondered about Seventeen and how his mission was going. He'd stretched out his senses to get some idea of the fight when it seemed Gohan entered the conflict—a damning detail if ever there was one that Seventeen had not succeeded in his mission. This had brought forth both rage and worry within Cell, surprisingly. The rage was from the knowledge that they were no closer to understanding how to fix Seventeen so that he may come one step closer to becoming a true perfect Cell.
The worry…was something that even Cell did not fully understand. Was it perhaps due to the nature of their relationship? He supposed that since meeting Seventeen, he had grown in strength and mental development more so than ever before in such a brief time. Cell was even willing to bet he was almost as strong as that brat Trunks was, if not stronger already. So, losing Seventeen now would mean a massive setback in terms of resources and allies—something Cell never thought he would need. If Seventeen really had gotten himself into trouble with Gohan, then he doubted he would be seeing the android again.
A mighty loss.
That loss slowly bubbled into concern as the hours ticked by with no indication of Seventeen's return. The fact that he was actually concerned bothered Cell, as he returned to the book he'd shoved away with a renewed drive—to distract himself.
The sun fell below the horizon as night began to seep in through a cracked window to Cell's left. His yellow eyes turned to regard the star filled sky with interest, noticing a few moments later that it was almost a full moon tonight.
His lips curled into his best imitation of a smile, although twisted and ugly through the effort. It would be most interesting when the full moon finally rose. He'd never understood why, but during his earlier stages of life there would be very specific nights when his power would suddenly increase to insurmountable levels. This wild transformation would lead to nights of fruitful and terrifying hunts, where every inch of him would often be coated in blood from all of his victims, be they animal, or human.
When he'd been small and stupid, he'd merely assumed that this was a part of his master's design, giving him a strange, wild boost that would allow for a more prosperous time hunting. Now that he was further developed and wiser, he knew otherwise.
Intrigued by the moon above, he rose from his sitting place before finding the exit and stepping outside. He raised his chin until his eyes were trained on the moon, lightly obscured by clouds. He realized now that he was outside, that the moon truly was almost full tonight, likely only needing a week or so until it would be again. He could feel something curious within him stir. His tail began to shift, moving as if its own independent being as it swayed side to side, seeming to react with the moon's rays.
Cell's sinister grin returned. Yes, he certainly had a better idea now of what had been happening all those nights before. It appeared that his saiyan heritage gave him some unique qualities that even he didn't think of. His databank was flawed in some areas, but his knowledge on the saiyans was excellent, and growing every day as he absorbed new victims and more of his memory was unlocked. He recalled a discussion of Vegeta's transformation back during his conflict with Goku. It had been quite the strange phenomenon when the spybots saw it. Their audio feed had been choppy due to how loud the confrontation between the two saiyans was, but Dr. Gero had been able to deduce that it had something to do with the moon.
He immediately felt something stirring within himself, a powerful, primal strength bubbling to the surface of his pool of energy. The energy came with a price, however. Cell could feel his ability to think and rationalize starting to slip away, his focus and attention fading to the background of his thoughts as his body slowly began to grow in size. He breathed deeply, feeling his ki swell with newfound strength, multiplying itself many times over as his thoughts rapidly began to fall away entirely.
He very much wanted to explore this transformation further, to discover just how much of a blessing and a curse it could be. Instead, he forced his eyes closed, turning away and rushing back through the broken entrance of the cabin. He collapsed to the hard floor a moment later, his breathing labored as he felt the moon's energy begin to slowly drain out of him. After several minutes of strained breathing and some involuntary body convulsions, he felt back to normal. He crawled to the wall across from the door, wiping sweat from his brow as he slumped against it.
How very interesting…
A part of him was surprised he'd been able to resist the transformation at all. From all accounts, the sight of the moon was completely hypnotizing to a saiyan, to the point that almost nothing would prevent them from transformation—save cutting off their tail. He proposed that perhaps the reason he was able to resist was due to the other parts of his DNA, diluting the effect.
The woods were quiet as he remained slouched against the wall, listening attentively for any movement. Finally, after what felt like hours, he heard a sound.
His heart began to pound excitedly in his chest, his eyes snapping to attention before he stood, regarding the doorway stiffly. He listened closer. It sounded like the wailing cries of a man pleading for his life!
Cell sucked in a sharp breath of air. Had Seventeen really…?
A moment later, Seventeen appeared with a man dressed in a comfy looking sweater and khakis held with one arm. Seventeen's scowl was more pronounced than ever as he tossed the middle aged man, balding and bawling, onto the cabin floor before Cell.
The man slowly pushed himself up so that he was on hands and knees before he lifted his head to regard the room, still sniveling. When his eyes found Cell, he screamed. He scrambled back until his back hit the wall, all the while crying out, "D-don't eat me! Please! I'll do anything!"
Cell very slowly lowered himself to a crouch, his yellow eyes never leaving the man except for a brief moment when he looked to Seventeen. The android gave Cell a simple nod which told him that this was the scientist Cell had asked for!
The trembling man pulled his knees in tight as Cell moved up closer to him, slowly, so as not to frighten the terrified man any further. His unnaturally long arm reached out as he passed the sofa, scooping up the book he'd been struggling with as he did.
Finally, he reached the scientist who remained in the fetal position, his arms raised up over his head defensively.
Cell reached out and gently placed his hand on the man's shoulder, causing him to jump in terror.
"P-please," he whimpered, "Don't d-do this."
"I mean you no harm." Cell said, seeing horror on the scientist's face at finding out that he could talk. Cell raised the book in his other hand. "I merely request a teacher. You will not be harmed, nor any of your family as long as you teach me the contents of this book."
The scientist blinked, his pale blue eyes turning to regard the raised book and read its title. "R-really?"
Cell nodded, trying to appear docile as he lightly smiled. "Really. I am sorry for my colleague's roughness in bringing you here, but I know that it is unlikely you would accept my peaceful request had we met in any other fashion. Do you understand?"
Cell noticed the tension slowly begin to bleed out of the scientist as his breathing calmed. Slowly, he reached out an open hand. "May I see the book, sir?"
"Cell." Cell corrected as he gently set the book into the scientist's hand. "You can simply call me Cell, and you are?"
"O-oh!" The man seemed startled by the question, having already opened the book to read its contents. He met Cell's eyes before saying, "I am Doctor Hibble." He slowly presented a hand. "It is nice to m-meet you, Cell."
"I highly doubt that." Cell said, accepting the handshake before using it to pull the Doctor to his feet. "I imagine you're quite terrified. But, now that you know you are perfectly safe, I imagine you will be able to focus on teaching me?" He said the words with an edge that he could see Dr. Hibble directly understood.
"Y-yes! Right away, Cell. Is there a table we may work on?"
"Right this way." Cell said, moving over to a desk where a child's drawings were strewn about. Cell casually brushed them off before presenting a seat to the Doctor. "Shall we begin?"
Cell waited patiently beside the Doctor, hovering over his shoulder as the man explained in great detail what was being said in regards to the biomechanical section. It took over an hour and a half before Cell could tell that Dr. Hibble was no longer fearing for his life, too wrapped up in exploring a topic he'd spent years of his life dedicated to to recognize his precarious situation. Cell slowly shifted his head until his eyes met with Seventeen's who was leaning casually against the doorframe without a door. He raised an eyebrow when their eyes locked, and Cell shot him a subtle grin—letting the android know that the show was about to start.
Cell detected the faintest hint of an interested smile threatening to overcome his scowl, but failed. Nonetheless, he shifted, standing upright and more attentive as his pale blue eyes trained themselves on Dr. Hibble.
Cell returned his attention to the book and notes scattered about across the table, tuning back into the conversation they'd been having before.
"-And so, you see how the joint functions despite the limitations of the mechanisms controlling the front most limb, understand?"
"Partially." Cell answered untruthfully as he leaned down, squinting at the words. He'd already fully understood from the Doctor's first explanation. He'd understood every explanation without fail, however he still chose to regularly ask questions as to fully engross the man's thoughts in the matter. "I still do not fully understand how the weight distributes in such a fashion that doesn't cause the entire frame to collapse."
Dr. Hibble cocked his head to the side, considering before his lips contorted into a bright smile. "What an excellent question! I wish my actual students would have asked me questions like you do. I was a professor once, you know."
"I can tell. You're a great teacher." Cell complimented as his tail slowly began to shift behind them, arcing so that its dangerous point hovered over the Scientist's head.
Dr. Hibble laughed. "Oh, I'm sure I have some students who would say otherwise. I must say, at first, I was quite terrified of what tonight would entail. But now, I am having a delightful time."
"As am I, Doctor. I've always had the mind for science. I like to suck it up, like a sponge. If only there were such a way to drink your whole mind. Then, we wouldn't have to bother with such an arduous process of teaching me everything bit by bit."
The doctor laughed, waving his comment off as a joke. "Such a technology would indeed allow for quite the breakthrough in science. Too bad no such device exists. Either way, let me answer your question. To begin, we must look at the joints again and exactly how they are configured, as most of the direct strain applied by the extension of the limb is distributed there."
The scientist rambled on about the topic, explaining it so deeply that Cell was certain a toddler could understand it. A part of Cell listened, but another part of him was focused entirely on keeping his tail completely and utterly still, so Dr. Hibble wouldn't notice.
"-And so, we arrive at the conclusion that without a properly secured-"
"Doctor." Cell interrupted. "I have something of an experiment to test, in regards to this topic of course. Would you care to partake?"
Dr. Hibble blinked. "Why of course, anything to strengthen your grasp of the subject matter. What do you need me to do?"
"Simply begin to read the next chapter. I think I have a way to absorb what you're teaching me in a faster fashion."
The Scientist cocked his head to the side, curiously, before shrugging. "Very well. I will begin now." His eyes fell on the words as he began to read aloud.
Cell let his eyes close. He drank in the words of Dr. Hibble. The last words he would ever say.
Without another second of delay, his tail plunged downward and straight into the Doctor's skull. Blood began to spit through the wound as the man grew stiff in his seat, his eyes wide with horror. Before that terror of what was happening fully processed, Cell began to drink. He sucked in deep, hungry gulps from the Scientist's cranium, draining Dr. Hibble's face until he hardly resembled who he had been moments before, instead looking as if he was nothing more than an empty skull, until even that was absorbed.
He continued to drink from the Doctor until nothing remained but his clothes, crumpled on the floor.
He shuddered as the Scientist's essence began to form within his body, and his mind.
"Ew, gross." Seventeen commented, snickering dryly by the door. "You drank him like a roll up gogurt."
For the time, Cell ignored Seventeen's comments. He instead focused deep within his thoughts, searching for the experiences he had gained from his most recent victim. He always gained something from those he absorbed, even from the already dead—although those experiences were far more diluted than those he gained from living victims. He had never seen a connection between what he learned from his meals and if such a method existed to manipulate that. He had always assumed the experience and knowledge he gained was random, or, perhaps the final thoughts that person had before they died. This line of questioning led him to extrapolating that perhaps he actually could influence what he learned from his victims. What if their thoughts were on a very specific topic just before he absorbed them? Would that be the information he learned from them?
As he found the essence that had once been Dr. Hibble, he discovered that his hypothesis had been correct.
"So," Seventeen began, taking a step into the room. "Did it work?"
"Oh, delightfully so." Cell let his head fall back, his hands spreading out to either side of him. "It seems that much of the juicy information within Dr. Hibble's mind now resides within my own." He righted his head before letting his hands fall to his sides. He looked over to Seventeen, his eyes snapping open. "Fascinating, wouldn't you say?"
Seventeen's response was to roll his eyes at Cell. "Sure. Whatever. Now can you fix my arm, or what?"
Cell shot the android a coy grin. "I believe I can, Seventeen. With the documents you claimed from your sister, I should have almost no trouble interpreting them into a new, fully functioning arm for you."
Seventeen's eyes widened before narrowing. His face shifted from excitement, to a subtle rage. He snarled, cursing under his breath as he looked away.
Cell's eyes narrowed to slits. "You did retrieve the essential documents regarding your arm, right?"
Seventeen spat to the side, grumbling something unintelligible.
"I did not hear what you-"
"I didn't get them!" Seventeen snapped, slamming his fist into the wall, causing the entire cabin to shake as the wood splintered. "Eighteen and Blondie got in the way. I barely escaped with my life." He grumbled the last part, appearing annoyed by that fact.
Cell slowly breathed in and then out, doing his best to calm the rage building inside him. Rage at Seventeen's incompetence in succeeding in a simple mission. All he had to do was get the blueprints. Was that so hard? Just how incompetent is this android?!
He is the android dumb enough to be missing an arm right now.
He supposed he might have made allies with the mental lesser of the two androids Dr. Gero had fashioned for him.
"Very well." He finally said, slowly walking about the room as he did. "I guess there are other options to explore…"
"Other options?" Seventeen demanded.
"Yes…" Cell's gaze shifted until he was studying Seventeen with a cocked head. "Did you get hold of the blueprints? At least for a time?"
Seventeen grunted his reply, clearly still frustrated at losing them.
"Well then, did you take the time to look them over? To make sure that they were the correct ones?"
Seventeen's eyes narrowed, thinking, before he met Cell's gaze again and nodded.
Cell felt his lips curl into a wicked grin. "Then it seems not all is lost. If my memory of the monster that was Dr. Gero is correct, then I believe that he installed both you and your sister with memory cards so as to report any significant events back to the Doctor. Do you recall this type of activity?"
Seventeen's eyes widened at the revelation, excitement in his posture as he began to understand. "You're saying that we could maybe access the images from my memory and stuff? Like, pull it out of my memory chip, or whatever?"
Cell nodded, a plan forming in his head. "Precisely."
-Eighteen-
She'd decided to spend the rest of the day picking out the right dress for the evening after she and Gohan eventually settled on the plan. They would meet at his place, and then fly to where his mother lived. They would have a short dinner, introduce her to 'Chi-Chi'—she believed that was her name—and then leave. Simple, right?
So why then was she fussing so much over picking out a damn outfit?!
She kept going through her clothes, pulling up an outfit from her closet and pressing it against her chest to see what it would look like, only to see a flaw that wrote it off the list. Too flashy, too revealing, too dramatic, too formal. The list went on and on before she was eventually pacing within her hotel room, having dug through all her clothing and not found anything appropriate for the occasion.
Why the hell is this so hard?!
Was she actually going to have to go out and find something entirely new to wear? It was rare that she didn't have something in her closet that fit the affair. The fact that she did not for this one left her dumbstruck.
Have I never met with the parents of a guy I was dating?!
She paused to think about it, realizing soon after that she had from time to time met the parents of some jerk she was currently sleeping with. Of course, those times had often been during the frantic seconds she was running out of the house, half clothed and not sticking around for conversation.
Huh.
She supposed that explained it. Without another thought, she retrieved her purse and pulled on her shoes. It looked like she was going shopping!
A part of Eighteen grew very excited as she reached out for the wig hanging on a neat rack by the door.
Then, she felt a wave of ki roll over her. Her senses were completely drowned by the overwhelming presence, before intense, powerful discharges of energy began to explode off in the distance.
She tightened her focus, and immediately identified the ki signature.
Gohan?!
What was happening? Was he fighting? The only person Eighteen could imagine requiring the young man to release this much energy was if he was fighting her brother!
She cursed under her breath, angry that her sibling had so foolishly gotten himself in trouble again! Immediately, she turned, racing towards the door. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she burned away the onyx contacts with low-level beams focused from her retinas. She didn't need Son Gohan noticing her with black eyes on top of everything else. She paused for only a moment, hovering there as her eyes found a small page on the stand she kept for keys and other small items next to the entrance. She reached out and seized it, folding it up before slipping it into one of her jean's pockets. She'd since changed out of the workout attire she'd worn in her earlier training session, thankfully.
Without another second of hesitation, she blasted off into the sky and started racing towards where she could sense Gohan's power pulsing so strongly that she could feel the very air rumble.
-Seventeen-
The android leaned casually against the wood planks forming one of the cabin's walls, observing Cell as the bug-man drank a cow he'd just recently grabbed for him.
"So, like…" Seventeen began, prompting Cell's sharp gaze to instantly snap to him, although his tail continued to swallow chunks of the dying animal in deep, greedy gulps. "Can you taste stuff with that tail of yours? Or is it just like, all the same to you?"
Cell finished the exchange, ripping his tail free once the animal was no more. "Actually," he began in that sickly raspy tone, "They all taste very different from one another."
"So, you got a favorite then?" he asked, trying to feign nonchalance while actually feeling very curious. Cell's tail and how it worked had been one of the absolute strangest things Seventeen had ever seen, and he was definitely curious to know more.
"Hmm, that's a good question." Cell began, crossing his arms in a very human like fashion. It seemed the creature stole the mannerisms of those he devoured, as well as memories. "I think my absolute favorite victim is a very, very fat person."
Seventeen recoiled. "Ew. Why?"
Cell grinned, sinisterly. "I love how long I can devour them so that they remain alive, experiencing the process of my development for so much longer than others get the privilege to. They are granted the opportunity to understand what's happening to them for that much longer until they're actually gone, often screaming all the while—well, until their lungs are gone too.." Cell shivered. "It's a wonderful meal when that happens."
"You're one sick freak, you know that?" Seventeen commented, scoffing. "I don't think you could have given a creepier answer. I really don't."
"Hmmm." Cell grunted, displeased, before turning and sitting down to read.
"Hey, don't you already know all that stuff since you ate that guy-"
The ground at their feet rumbled.
"What the-?" Seventeen questioned, stumbling for only a moment.
Cell's eyes snapped open wide, before his narrow pupils turned to Seventeen. "Gohan is in combat."
Seventeen frowned. What? "How do you know that?!" he demanded.
Cell appeared unwilling to answer before he slowly began. "I can...sense him."
Seventeen's brows furrowed. "What? How?"
"It is a technique in energy manipulation."
"Energy manipulation…! You knew how to do this all this time and you didn't mention it?! You don't think that would be helpful for me to know?" Seventeen took a dangerous step towards Cell, his fingers clenched into a fist.
"Wait!" Cell exclaimed, waving a hand out in front of him. "You're not seeing the point! If Gohan is in combat, then who do you think he's fighting?!"
Seventeen froze, his face growing pale as he understood. "Eighteen!"
"Exactly. I fear that our sibling-"
"My sibling!" Seventeen snapped.
"Fine, yes, your sibling is currently fighting Gohan—for whatever reason. I do not think her power alone will be enough to stop him, not with how powerful he's grown now."
Seventeen nodded, gritting his teeth and knowing he was right. "I know what you're saying. You think I need to go out there and save her, right?"
Cell nodded.
Seventeen cursed under his breath. He understood the logic. If Eighteen was really challenging Gohan, then she would need his help in bringing the man down. He'd suggested as much the last time they'd interacted, right? He'd told her that if they worked together, they'd be able to finally kill the annoying pest that Gohan had been in his life as of late. This opportunity could be his ticket back to his old life if Eighteen really had decided to challenge Gohan.
"Which way?" Seventeen said.
Cell pointed a finger. "West City. Considering how much power is being thrown around, I'd say you won't be able to miss it."
Seventeen nodded, barely taking the time to rush out the doorway before his aura enveloped him and he was abruptly flying faster than the speed of sound straight towards West City.
Just hang on, Eighteen. Your brother is coming!
-Gohan-
His teal eyes scanned the sky coated in a brillant golden glow as the sun slowly began to eclipse the horizon. He let his arm finally fall to his side, only slightly exhausted by ki blasts he'd unleashed. His fingers curled into a fist as he remained alert, scanning all around him for who would come first.
Now, all he had to do was wait.
-Eighteen-
When the android arrived, she was met with a strange sight. None of the buildings had even been scratched. Not a single new crack had appeared in the road. If there really had been a battle here, it had been the cleanest fight Eighteen had ever heard of.
Plus, where were all the people? Normally, there would be an ocean of people screaming and running by now. Were they all hiding in their homes? She let her eyes fall shut for a moment, focusing. She spread out her senses, and found that none of the structures below contained even a single Ki signature.
What?
"So, you've arrived." Said a voice that immediately startled Eighteen. Her eyes flashed open, alert, before she found Gohan slowly rising into the air so that he was level with her, but still maintaining a good distance away from her.
Eighteen felt a chilling sensation in the pit of her stomach. Was this a trap? She immediately prepared herself, tightening her hands into fists as she lowered herself into a battle stance.
"I'm not here to fight." Gohan stated firmly. "I'm here to talk."
Eighteen blinked, before remembering her conversation with the man a night prior.
Her posture relaxed, but only just. She still couldn't rule out the possibility that Gohan might try to destroy her, even if a part of her felt she could trust him.
"I've been doing some thinking since the last time we spoke. I have questions that you will answer." His voice came across as stern, and serious. His golden aura flared all at once as he said, "Do you understand?"
She gulped. "Yes." she answered.
"My first question has already been answered by you coming here."
"And what was that?"
"If you and Seventeen are still working together. Since you came in the first place, that means that you likely thought I was fighting Seventeen. If you two had been together, there would have been no point for you coming here so urgently." He smiled in a way that looked more like a sneer. "Is that correct?"
She let out a shaky breath. Gohan had certainly done his homework. How much more had he figured out? She had to be careful with what she revealed. "Yes."
"Good." he stated plainly, resembling nothing of his former, easygoing self back at the waterfall. "So, on to my second question. I need to know why you've suddenly decided not to commit genocide on the entire human race." he said the words dripping with a barely restrained loathing.
She sucked in a nervous breath before exhaling an equally nervous sigh. There was the big one. She found herself unable to produce an answer as she remained there, stiff and motionless, trying to come up with something to give the man.
Finally, she found her words. "I ran into someone who told me something that has been bothering me ever since. It was shortly after that that I decided I wanted to change."
Gohan's eyes narrowed to slits as he studied her, suspicious of her answer. For a long time, he said nothing, before he subtly nodded. "Fine. I'll take that answer, even if I don't know if I accept it as the truth. My next question is: what do you plan to do now?"
Eighteen felt the weight of that question collapse atop her. Her eyes stared blankly at Gohan as she considered it. What was she going to do now? Continue to train with Gohan and Trunks until one of them eventually finds her out? So far, that was the only thing that came to her. Once that was over, what then? What would she spend her life doing if she was not, in so doing, ending the lives of others?
It was a serious question, one she understood the reasoning behind his asking. And in regards to her answer, her brutally honest answer?
"I have no fucking idea." she admitted, sagging slightly as she did.
She watched as he analyzed her for a second time, his lips never adjusting from a deep, hateful scowl.
Finally, he spoke. "You deserve to be executed for all the wrongs you've committed, all the people you've slain. Nothing will erase that. Nothing. A part of me very much wants to be the one to enforce such a fate. I would suggest trial by jury, but I think you and I both know there isn't a single person in this world that would be swayed to let you live. I would just be wasting everyone's time by not ending you right here, right now."
Eighteen slowly began to hover back, nervous that her answers had prompted a fatal judgement from her normally peaceful mentor.
She watched as Gohan's fury lessened, visibling struggling to do so. "But, you claimed that you have no such desires to harm anyone anymore. Is this true?"
"Yes." she answered quickly.
There was another long pause as Gohan contemplated for a time. His eyes turned away for a few moments, lost in thought before snapping back to her. "Never show your face to these people again. You've tortured them enough to fill several lifetimes. That is my condition so that I am not forced to kill you. These people deserve to believe you and your brother are truly gone, forever. If they see your faces, it will only instill fear and worry, no matter if you are going about a peaceful, pedestrian life. Every single soul still left alive will continue to fear the android threat so long as they still believe you exist. Find your brother and disappear. I don't care where. There are plenty of ruined cities and towns to choose from. You two have made sure of that. But, if I see either of you again after this day, I assure you I will not be so lenient. I will make that lie that the public believes into a reality. Just give me the chance, because I promise, I want it."
Eighteen felt a cold chill run down her spine, knowing his words to be true. That desire to end her in the most painful way possible was definitely present and eager, even.
She considered the deal. It was a fair one, she had to admit, and made sense. She didn't know why she expected anything less, considering all the things she and her brother had done to these people. The fact that Gohan was willing to spare their lives at all was a testament to his desire to finally see this conflict end. She doubted she could do the same if she were placed in his situation. She would want her dead too much to even entertain the idea.
Despite all this, Eighteen was forced to shake her head. "I'm sorry. I can't accept this deal."
Gohan growled. "I should mention that I've had the entire city evacuated hours earlier. There's no one here you can hold hostage like last time." So, that was the reason she couldn't sense anyone. A clever move on Gohan's part, and a very dangerous situation for her to find herself in. Gohan continued. "If you do not accept this offer, I promise that the alternative will ensure that the people of this world still never have to see your face again."
"What I meant to say," She began quickly, raising her hands out in a gesture for him to calm down. "Is that, as you previously mentioned, me and Seventeen aren't exactly on speaking terms. I can't just tell him to never return, because he's not gonna listen." She sighed, her face falling. "Trust me, I've tried before."
Gohan took a few moments to absorb her words before saying, "Back when I fought Seventeen alone...you weren't with him because the attack wasn't planned. He acted on his own?"
She nodded. "I didn't even know there was a fight going on until I felt the tremors." she lied.
"And earlier this week...when I arrived, it didn't look like the two of you were destroying the city… were you?"
She shook her head. "Nope. I was trying to stop him, actually."
Gohan grew silent, his mouth slightly agape as he regarded her with a new, considering look. "You were trying to...stop him." he repeated, as if the mere notion was unbelievable.
She sighed, resting her hands on her hips as she did. "Yup. Not a fun time."
Gohan growled. "If you were trying to stop him, then why did you stop me when I tried to chase after him?"
"Because I don't want my brother dead, Jackass!" she snapped.
The pair grew quiet once more.
"Fine." Gohan said. "You figure things out with your brother, and then the two of you leave to—I don't care where, forever. Understood?"
Eighteen slowly nodded, feeling the terms were as lenient as they were going to get.
"Thank you." she said, feeling she should say something in appreciation of the man somehow willing to look past all the wrong doings in his life she'd been personally responsible for in the pursuit of a better life for his people.
Gohan sneered, disgusted and shook his head. "Do not thank me. I'm not doing this for you." he spat before adding. "Know that if I catch either of you killing again, I will not stop until you are destroyed. Do you understand?"
"I do. I promise that I will not be killing anyone anymore."
He studied her for a long time, trying to discern if she was lying, she bet, before nodding. "Good." she watched as he posed to blast off.
"Wait!" she exclaimed, raising a hand and prompting Gohan to flinch before dropping into his modified fighting stance.
He snarled. "What?!"
"I-I wanted to say that I will help out with Seventeen, too. If he's attacking somewhere and I notice it, I'll stop him, okay?"
Gohan let his head cock to the side, before his eyes narrowed. "I don't trust you. If you arrive in a battle that I've already begun with Seventeen, I'll see you as an enemy just as much as he is."
Eighteen swallowed. "That's...fair. I won't attack you though, I can promise that much."
"Even if I'm trying to kill your brother?"
Eighteen fell silent, unable to answer that question.
Gohan shook his head. "Thought so."
Before he could lower himself to take flight again, she reached into her pocket, producing the small paper she'd pulled off the table just before leaving. "I also have something for you."
Gohan raised an eyebrow, curiously looking down at the slip of folded paper in her hand.
"What is that?"
"Schematics to a robot arm like mine." She motioned up and down with her free arm, before nodding her head towards Gohan's left side. "Figured you might be able to use it considering your, uh, recent injury."
Gohan's entire face went blank. His scowl, the intensity of his glare, all washed away in complete surprise.
"W-what?" he questioned.
"It's not my entire system or anything." she shrugged, trying to appear as if this gift was not as significant as it really was. "I had to cut it out of the full thing, but I think I got all the important bits so, if you know anyone brainy, I think you could get them to make something like this for you." she pushed out the slip of paper further. "Here. It's yours. I guess...Consider it a part of my apology to you."
The golden flame that had been previously enveloping the young man had all but vanished, his arm at his side, his eyes glued to the little slip of paper.
Seeing that Gohan was in a stunned shock, Eighteen very slowly began to hover over until she was floating just before the young, stupefied man. She reached out and presented the paper once more. Very slowly, and very much still in a daze, Gohan reached out and plucked the slip of paper from her hand. She watched as he seemed to do away with all of his cautions around her, opening the paper there and then before regarding the contents of its small section with absolute wonder.
She'd been completely truthful in what was written there. She'd spent the better half of an hour meticulously cutting out the left part of her diagram, making sure that any bullet points attached to the limb in question was included with the paper slip. She'd also made sure to check and then double check that she hadn't accidentally included anything about the massive bomb in her chest.
She watched as his eyes flickered to his left side, where his arm should be, before returning his attention to the page. Finally, his gaze shifted up to meet hers, his eyes wide with confusion.
"You're...actually giving this to me?" he asked, seeming to not fully accept what he was being told.
She nodded, before smiling at how she'd managed to reach the real Gohan, even like this. "All yours, Blondie. I hope you like it."
He said nothing as he continued to stare at her, holding the piece of paper tightly as if it might disappear if he let go for even a second.
She saluted with two fingers against her eyebrow. "Ciao." A moment later, she blasted off into the sky, flying away and knowing without looking, that she was not being followed.
She smiled. For some reason, she felt extremely happy with how that exchange went.
Time to get ready for dinner.
She flew in an arc, preparing to find a clothing store to ransack.
-Seventeen-
He snarled as he watched Eighteen fly away. For several moments longer, that bastard Blondie remained there, stunned that Eighteen had given him something that rightfully belonged to him!
He'd heard everything, having slipped within the upper floors of a building not too far away from where they'd been speaking. His enhanced hearing made up for the distance, and let him tune into the conversation just as that Blond bastard had begun laying out the conditions for what sounded like their surrender.
Like fucking hell am I gonna just dissapear forever! That's not happening, ever.
He waited until Gohan left before he drove his fist into the wall, collapsing it. He stepped out from the rubble, looking across the entire city and its lack of destruction. His eyes glazed over, his mind considering what all this not destroyed city meant for him.
It looks like Eighteen...really has turned against me.
He'd held out so much hope that this really had been what he'd been expecting. He'd been praying with every fiber of his being that this had really been a fight, that Eighteen had finally found reason to repay her brother by killing the man who'd taken his arm in the first place.
Now, he knew it was just the opposite. Eighteen had even offered to help take him down if ever Seventeen decided to go for a night on the town—so to speak. He didn't have her to rely on anymore. If things got hairy, he only had himself to depend upon.
He let his eyes close, stopping his vision from blurring as he felt warmth from behind his eyes. After several seconds, he pushed down those feelings and took to the sky, returning to the last place he actually knew someone who didn't want him dead...or so he thought.
Author's Note:
That was a fun chapter to write, although admittedly it was only the first half of what I initially had planned to fit in this update. Considering chapter 22 is already 18 pages done as of this posting, I'd say pausing it here was a good choice. A lot of plot happened in this chapter. I imagine many of you are quite excited for the dinner coming up in the next chapter.
Aside from what happened in the chapter, I imagine there are some of you curious as to why I have returned after such a short break. To put it simply, things between myself and the military didn't work out. I was there for a time, and during that time I had all the time in the world to think about this story, as well as others. I'm even considering writing my very first original book soon. I'm comfortable with recent events and confident in what I want to do with my life.
Moving on, this chapter was cleaned up by none other than the wonderful Ben Thryss himself. Thankfully, he didn't need to work too hard here as I've done my best to clean up my own work before he gets to it, but his hawk eye still spots mistakes I don't. Many thanks to the man in the reviews please!
And lastly, chapter 22 is still in the works, but progress has been consistent so, look out for it soon! I plan to release that update and then work on my other projects for a little bit, but I'll make sure not to let this story fall on the back burner!
Thank you all so very much for reading and reviewing this chapter! I'll be sure to answer each and every review so, make sure to log in before you post!
Until next time!
