-Bulma Briefs-
My poor baby…
To say it hurt to see Trunks in this condition felt like the understatement of the century. He was wrapped almost head to toe in bandages, with tubes running into his arms to replace the dangerous amount of blood he'd lost. The teen was laying on the same hospital bed Gohan had been placed in a little over a month ago, his eyes closed as he took a much deserved rest. A heart monitor beeped softly next to him, reassuring Bulma that her son was indeed still alive, despite the fact that he'd looked more like a corpse when Gohan had brought him to her.
Thankfully—or rather, unfortunately—all those years treating Gohan's brutal injuries from the androids had forced her to learn the skills of an expert medic. She'd known exactly what she had to do the moment she saw her son's injuries. Sure, they could have brought him to a hospital, but that would have lead to questions they couldn't answer without starting an investigation against their small family—not to mention she didn't want to rely on the chance that her baby boy might end up in the care of some incompetent doctor when she knew her own skills would save him.
Bulma's eyes were red and puffy as she brought a hand to her face, wiping away more tears as her other hand gently stroked Trunks' cheek. She still didn't know the full story, as she'd been more concerned with saving her son's life than hearing about how it had happened. Now that Trunks had finally been stabilized, her eyes lingered on each wound, questioning what type of monster could have done this to her child. There were massive claw marks raked across several parts of his torso, a puncture wound in his back as if someone had plunged a spear into her son, bruising and small cuts almost everywhere, and of course, the bloody hole where her beautiful baby boy's eye used to be.
Bulma winced when her gaze fell on that particular injury. She'd prayed that Gohan still had his senzu bean, or that Trunks had somehow forgotten to use his own…only for Gohan to reveal that both had already been consumed. She'd cursed when she'd found that out. She knew that it would likely be a long wait before more were grown, especially since they no longer had Korin around; the androids had made sure of that.
Now, that task had fallen to Yajirobe and, despite having spent years around Korin's work, he clearly did not have the same green thumb the old cat had. That wasn't to say that she blamed the man or even resented him, as she was sure that, had he not taken up the responsibility, the senzu plant likely would have died out in its entirety. Bulma knew that Yajirobe worked hard to cultivate what he could, not having the centuries of information Korin had and mostly having to teach himself about how to grow and care for the magical plant. That being said…what he was able to produce was hardly on the same scale as what Korin had once been able to offer. Under Yajirobe's care, the plant would maybe produce two or three beans a harvest—if they were lucky. Sometimes, it only managed one, and then it was an entirely other matter if it was edible at all. They'd only just received their last batch from the man a little over a week ago, meaning they still had roughly a month of waiting before they could get more.
An entire month…
Bulma closed her eyes, her hands wrapping around her son's fingers as she wept. She knew what a month's worth of waiting meant when it came to saiyans.
My baby boy is going to have to live the rest of his life without his eye…isn't he?
Had her son been anyone else, any normal person in the world, such a short amount of time wouldn't matter, but the fact that he was half saiyan made all the difference. A normal child would take several weeks to a month to heal from such dire wounds, but a saiyan? She imagined that the boy would begin to stir to life in a matter of days, his wounds closing in a couple weeks—if that. Once that was done, there was nothing the senzu bean could do to help her son. For whatever reason, the senzu could not heal scar tissue, no matter how severe the wound had been before. It was the same reason Gohan's arm or tail had never recovered from a senzu bean; if the wound closed, it was already too late.
Bulma let out a crestfallen sigh, her head hanging low before she finally released her son's hand. Knowing that there was nothing more that she could do for him except let him rest, she began to head to the door.
Stepping out, she found a small group of four people lingering just outside.
Immediately, all of their eyes were on her, each face mirroring the next with clear worry. Gohan, standing next to a frowning Videl, took a step forward. His mouth moved to speak before a smaller voice beat him to the punch.
"Is he gonna be okay?!"
Bulma's gaze lowered until it landed on a small girl with golden pigtails—one of which appeared partially singed away—her bright blue eyes staring up at her with concern. Beside her was a woman who was clearly the girl's mother. Bulma didn't remember the pair's names. She'd been too concerned with tending to Trunks' wounds to make time for introductions when they'd arrived.
Bulma tried to muster a smile for the little girl. She didn't know the full story, but from what Gohan had been able to explain in their brief interaction before she'd started work on Trunks, her son had saved their lives. She could only imagine what the pair had been through judging by how rattled and tired the girl's mother appeared. It was remarkable to Bulma that this poor child was still so lively after such an event.
She must not have seen too much of it.
Bulma breathed an internal sigh of relief that at least one of their children had been spared such a traumatic event.
She lowered herself so that she was face to face with the small girl, trying to appear like a calm, rational adult and not an emotional wreck. "He is, sweetheart. He just needs rest right now. He's been through a lot." Behind them, she watched as Gohan breathed a sigh of relief and Videl's frown eased into a smile. Her gaze flickered to the tired looking woman standing just behind the girl. "It's clear you all have. I have a guest room if you two would like a place to rest tonight."
The child's mother, a pretty blonde woman with a pixie cut and vibrant blue eyes, spoke with one hand resting protectively on her daughter's shoulder. "T-that would be nice. Thank you." She attempted an almost equally tired smile back, and Bulma realized that her eyes were red and puffy as well. Bulma idly wondered if her own face looked much like the woman's.
"Um…" The small girl frowned, looking down with furrowed brows at something in her hands. Trailing her gaze, Bulma raised an eyebrow as she found a large thermos of all things gripped tightly in her hands. In fact, she was almost certain that was her thermos, the same one she'd poured very large quantities of coffee into during one of her several late night research projects. Why did this little girl have it? She decided it didn't matter right now. "I…I don't feel very tired. I kinda feel wide awake." Her head snapped upward. "Can I visit him? I promise not to wake him! I just…I just…" Her grip on the large thermos tightened. "I just want to make sure he's okay…"
Bulma blinked, surprised by the child's request. It appeared that whatever Trunks had done had left quite the impression on this little girl. Looking over her shoulder, Bulma could see that Videl appeared equally surprised, while Gohan and the girl's mother wore looks that told her they understood.
I need to know what happened.
She smiled sweetly to the child, realizing this was the perfect way to excuse the girl from what was going to be a very adult conversation. "Sure, honey. You can go see him. Just be careful not to disturb him. He needs his rest."
Her face brightened. "I promise!" She called out before racing into the room. For a moment, Bulma was certain that the child full of energy was going to collide straight into the bed before she squeaked to a stop just before it. She watched the girl slowly and quietly pull a chair from the corner of the room before sitting down next to Trunks' bed.
"Don't worry, Trunks, I'll keep you safe from the monster if it comes back." She whispered in a voice only barely audible to Bulma. Gingerly, she unscrewed the thermos bottle, but instead of raising it to her lips like Bulma predicted, she presented it to her son. "See? I made sure it was extra hot this time." Before quickly tightening it shut, not talking a sip.
The blue-haired scientist felt a presence move beside her. Shifting her gaze, she found the girl's mother frowning as she stared into the room, silent tears trailing down either side of her face.
Bulma's attention returned to the girl at Trunks' side, before finally noticing that the child's clothes had been damaged as well. The leg of her jean overalls, as well as her long sleeve—both on her left side—were completely gone, as if something had burned them away.
Suddenly, it all clicked in Bulma's mind. The singed hair and clothes, the peculiar amount of energy the girl had despite it being almost one in the morning, the fact that her mother's emotional state appeared almost identical to her own.
She abruptly knew the reason why Trunks hadn't been given a senzu. Someone else had needed it far more than he had and, judging from how much the child seemed to care for him, she bet she knew who had made the call.
Trunks…you selfless little…hero…
Bulma felt pride swelling in her chest as tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes once more. She forced herself to blink them away before taking a deep breath to calm herself. She still hated that her son would be half-blind for the rest of his life, but at least now she knew it had been for a good reason. She could only imagine what condition that little girl had been in before they'd received the senzu. Turning to the others, she began again. "Now that Trunks is…" She paused, not wanting to use the word 'okay' since she definitely did not consider this situation to be okay. "...stable, can someone please tell me what exactly happened?"
Gohan's mouth opened to speak, before he paused, frowning as he shook his head. "I only got there towards the end of it. I can't really speak for what happened before."
Bulma's gaze shifted to Videl.
The woman frowned, turning away with a scowl. "I was stuck at Chi-Chi's. I didn't see any of it."
Bulma raised an eyebrow. Why had Videl been over at Chi-Chi's?
Before she could question further, a third voice spoke. "...I know what happened." The mother beside Bulma quietly whispered.
Bulma's gaze flickered between the blonde woman whose sad eyes were still locked on the pair within the room and Gohan, who frowned, clearly concerned.
"Are you sure you're okay to talk about it right now…?" He asked softly, his face sympathetic to whatever the mother and child had just gone through.
The blonde swallowed before nodding, her face hardening before she turned to Bulma. "Trunks saved us tonight. The least I can do is tell his mother what happened to him." She paused, her gaze flickering back to her daughter. "Although…I can't help but be scared that something else might…"
"Don't worry, Erasa." Gohan cut in, resting a reassuring hand on the woman's shoulder. "Trunks and I made sure that thing is dead and gone. And even if it wasn't, I…I can't really explain how right now, but I'm currently keeping tabs on them, even when I can't see them."
"Me too." Videl added with arms crossed, a deep scowl splitting her face. To Bulma, it appeared as if Videl was furious about what had happened. She couldn't blame her. Bulma felt that she would be seething too if it weren't for how exhausted she felt, both from crying and how much work it had taken to stabilize her son.
Erasa's brow furrowed, confused, but her expression eased as she nodded. "Okay. You are the Golden Warrior, after all. I trust you. Is there somewhere we can talk that's close? I…I don't want to be far away from Peni right now."
Bulma nodded, understanding, and grateful to finally know their names. She motioned down the hall. "The kitchen's just around the corner. I'll make us some tea, and we can leave the door open so we can hear Peni call if they need us."
Erasa smiled appreciatively and leaned her head into the room. She let Peni know where they would be. Her daughter responded by turning her head and nodding before returning her attention to Trunks, her expression solemn as she watched the boy.
Finally, the group moved away from the room, and Bulma prepared to have her answers.
-Eighteen-
The kitchen was small—nothing like the massive room Eighteen had grown used to back in her luxury apartment in West City. She could see unwashed pots and pans resting in the sink, which sat below a grimy looking window that had a crack in it. The cupboards lining the walls were mostly intact, with only one or two of the doors hanging at an awkward angle.
Why am I so pissed right now?
It was strange to her how upset she felt about the whole situation. When she'd felt the fight raging on from across the world, she'd felt worried about the little twerp that had managed to somehow worm his way into her heart. Sure, he was sometimes a know-it-all, but he was also genuine and kind, and one of the very few people in this world who'd ever stood up to her and her brother—something she could respect.
She'd expected to arrive at the Briefs residence to see a brand new 'Golden Warrior' standing proud, front and center in the living room, showing off how she knew Trunks would have if he'd been given half an opportunity. Instead, what she'd been met with had left her enraged at the certain someone, or rather, something that had left the teen in such a brutalized state. Even she had never injured Trunks so badly before, and that was saying something. It was the same kind of fury she'd feel whenever Gohan had landed a particularly devastating strike on Seventeen. It made her want—need—to exact revenge against him.
But, this time there was no one to unleash her potent rage upon. Cell was dead...or so Gohan thought. Considering how much power she'd used on the miserable little bug to destroy him before, only to discover he'd somehow survived, left her with doubts. Not only that, but the description Erasa and Gohan had given of Cell didn't line up at all with what she remembered back at Dr. Gero's lab. Was this the same 'Cell' she'd discovered before? Its Ki had certainly felt the same, if much larger than before, but then again…was it possible there was more than one?
I'll have to investigate that later…
Eighteen's eyes lingered on Bulma and her red, puffy eyes as Erasa's story continued. Watching the woman abruptly burst into tears upon seeing her son's condition had been surprisingly hard for the android. She hadn't realized it, but the sleep-deprived scientist had actually become someone she genuinely liked—if only just. Seeing her cry like that left Eighteen feeling…funny, like she'd seen it somewhere before…
Deciding to tune back into the conversation, Eighteen caught the tail end of Erasa finally finishing her story, where Gohan promptly picked it back up, filling in the final pieces of the brutal battle. The four of them grew quiet, their steaming mugs left nearly untouched before them.
"So that's why she asked for boiling water." Gohan let out a soft laugh, clearly trying to bring some levity to the situation, although his smile did not make it to his eyes. "You've got one brave daughter."
Erasa nodded, frowning deeply as her gaze continued to drill into the dining room table. "I do. Braver than me." Her head lowered, ashamed.
Eighteen watched as Gohan's eyes widened, seeming to realize the implication. Immediately, the young man stammered, "N-no, that's not what I meant. I just-I didn't expect-really, there was almost nothing you could have done in that situation. That thing was a monster. Running away was the right choice, I promise." He swallowed awkwardly.
Erasa let out a sigh, shaking her head. "I know. I know." Her expression grew frustrated, her fingers curling into fists atop the table. "I just wish it didn't have to be Peni who ran back to help Trunks. It shouldn't have been her in danger. I'm her mother. She never should have had to go through that! I should have—"
"I don't think we should focus on what should or could have happened." Bulma interrupted, her hand reaching out to take Erasa's and give it a comforting squeeze. The blonde's cheeks were fresh with new tears, her frustration with herself and how close Peni had been to death as clear as day. "Maybe look at it this way: right now, both Trunks and Peni are still alive." Her voice grew shaky as she said the last word. "Maybe things could have gone better, maybe they could have gone worse. Beating ourselves up over what happened won't change the past. Trust me—" Her eyes began to grow glossy as she continued. "I know more than anyone how it feels to wish you could protect your child, only for them to protect you instead. It's crushing, but sometimes that's just what happens...and we just have to accept it."
Erasa paused, staring back at Bulma with wide eyes, before letting out a sad laugh. "Yeah...yeah, I guess you do." She looked down, her voice now quiet. "Thank you, all of you." Her eyes reached out and found Gohan's, before returning to Bulma. "Trunks included, of course. You guys have saved my daughter and me a lot now in the past week. You've given us a place to stay until tomorrow—"
"Until you find another place to stay." Bulma corrected with a smile.
Erasa blinked. "What?"
"By the sounds of it, your place got pretty much destroyed. Unless you have somewhere else to go, I won't force you to leave tomorrow—unless you want to, of course."
Trembling, Erasa reached out and wrapped Bulma in a hug, clinging onto the scientist as she sobbed into her shoulder, muttering 'thank you' over and over until Eighteen lost count.
Eighteen felt her anger subside as she watched the scene unfold. A part of her wondered if this was how people used to respond to close encounters with her and her brother, or even when they lost someone close in one of their attacks. Was this the emotional devastation people had to overcome each and every time there was an android attack? Sure, she'd seen crying from her victims before, but it had never been like this.
...Right?
A part of Eighteen questioned if it had always been this…traumatic, and she had just chosen to ignore it until now. Was it because of the story? After Erasa had explained that she had been serving a meal out of gratitude for Trunks saving her, and that her daughter had actually managed to save the boy's life, Eighteen had begun to actually like the pair a bit. Suddenly, even if only by association, a little piece of Eighteen...cared about Erasa and Peni—the latter especially. Any person willing to charge what sounded like an absolute nightmare creature to save someone she'd really only just met was alright in her book.
A nightmare…
Slowly, her mind began to reflect on all the times she and her brother had been that nightmare; every time she had been the monster people fled screaming and crying from. Everytime she and Seventeen were the ones to cause...this. She wanted to hate Cell, and a part of her did, but another part of her couldn't help but scream at her that Cell was just doing exactly what she and her brother had been doing for years—and on a much lesser scale at that. What right did she have to turn her nose up at a monster that was even less monstrous than herself just because he'd decided to target someone she actually cared about this time? It felt hypocritical, to say the very least.
Eighteen let out a slow shaky breath, having to shut her eyes as the realization hit her like a ton of bricks.
Finally, Erasa's trembling 'thank you's' came to an end as Bulma managed to persuade the emotionally devastated woman that sleep might be the best for her and Peni. She offered to show the pair where they'd be staying for the foreseeable future. The two bid Gohan and Eighteen a good night, before Bulma gingerly helped Erasa from the table and escorted the woman from the kitchen, back to where Peni was still sitting with Trunks. Eighteen, so lost in her thoughts, was barely able to respond with a wave goodbye as they left. The door swung shut as she fell back into the abyss that was her own realizations.
Eighteen's mind began to flash through all the memories of the sobbing, horrified people she and Seventeen had tormented in their 'fun'. Every parent cradling their lifeless child, every person whose partner she or her brother had just murdered in front of them just for funsies; all of them just like Erasa, except much, much less fortunate. Before, the emotions of her victims had been so easy to ignore, irrelevant babblings of lesser beings that deserved to die for being weak. But...she didn't feel Peni or Erasa deserved to die now. They were just like any other person she and her brother had spent more than a decade entertaining themselves with, and that thought made her feel vaguely sick..
Her mind showed her Erasa and Peni's faces, and cast against the brutality of what had happened to them, her memories burned her with new context.
She could remember a boy dragging his dying sister away from the wreckage of a building she had dropped on top of them just to see how big a splat they'd make, quietly promising over and over that they were gonna be okay, tears streaming down his face—only for a beam sent by her finger to pierce his chest a moment later. She'd laughed as the sister watched in horror as he drowned in his own blood on top of her, only to die herself moments later.
Suddenly, a piece of Eighteen that had been shrieking at her from the back of her mind since all this had started grew very loud. She realized that she cared for the people she'd spent so long executing, and the flood of memory that began to assault her made her stomach lurch.
Gohan watched as the pair left before turning back to the table with a deep exhale, his gaze finding his still warm cup of coffee once more. He brought the drink to his lips as he spoke, his voice sounding tired. "Man, this has been one crazy night, right Vi—" His sentence fell away, his eyes large as they locked onto her, the mug never reaching his lips.
Eighteen's eyebrows rose, trying to appear casual despite the roaring torrent of emotions raging on inside her. "What?"
Slowly, he lowered the mug back to the table, his brow furrowing in concern. "Videl...are you okay?"
"Huh?" She raised an eyebrow, certain that she was wearing a mask over her emotions. "I'm fine. I'm not the one who's lying in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of him." She tried to laugh, but it came out hoarse and hollow.
Gohan frowned, his head tilting to the side, confused. "Videl...you're crying."
...What?
Immediately, the android's shaking hand went to her cheek, pulling wet from her palm to her fingertips. Realizing that Gohan was right, she wiped furiously at her eyes, sniffling as she said, "Sorry, I-I don't know what's come over me. I'm not usually like this. I'll be over it in a s-sec."
She began to rapidly wipe away the tears, trying and failing to make them cease, but the memories just wouldn't stop. Her cybernetically enhanced brain organized her memories like files, each one easily accessible and able to be recalled with picture perfect clarity.
A shrieking daughter cradling the head of her bloody, broken father as he gasped desperately for his last breath. Eighteen had knocked her head off like a kickball, grinning.
An old man ditching the cane he needed to walk in a desperate bid to drag what was left of his son to safety. She'd speared both of them with the cane and made a joke to Seventeen about shish kebabs..
Every face she'd seen since Dr. Gero woke her came unbidden to her, and it was almost more than she could bear as she realized that she'd killed almost every single one of them. It was like a highlight reel of all the worst things Eighteen had ever done, and all she could hear was her own sick laughter.
How did I ever find any of that funny?!
Her tears were coming down in gushing streams now, and Eighteen found herself turning away from Gohan as she sniffled. "I-I just need a second. I'm fine. I p-promise."
The world around her began to fade to the background as each memory played back in rapid succession. Each brutal murder she'd executed, every demented game she'd played with the life of some poor soul who hadn't deserved it. She tried to push the memories away, tried to force herself back to reality so that Gohan wouldn't worry, but each time she did, a new one conjured itself and she spiraled back in.
Abruptly, the faces of the people she'd massacred changed.
The young woman who'd slammed on the gas in her car, so foolishly thinking she could outrun an android became Bulma, her face twisted in terrible realization as Eighteen floated smugly over the hood, before poking an effortless, bloody hole between her eyes.
A man whose leg had been completely shattered from falling debris, desperately clawing himself away was suddenly Trunks, just before she unleashed a deadly beam of energy that melted him in half like butter.
One victim became Chi-Chi, someone who she finally felt she could understand and respect after their talk.
Another became Calen, the very first person she'd ever saved, and someone who she'd thought fondly of after he'd thanked her.
The next was Launch, the first person who'd ever done Android Eighteen a favor. Her next victim took on Joe's face, the nice shopkeep who'd gifted her an umbrella, who she'd chosen to save shortly thereafter. Each victim became someone she knew, someone she appreciated or felt gratitude for, people she cared about and would never even think of hurting now.
It all became too much to take. Eighteen felt herself trembling as her tears came in torrents, her breathing unsteady as she sniffled and sobbed. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling sick as the brutal montage of horrors consumed her mind.
A little piece of Eighteen had been holding onto her reservations about humanity, finding ways to dismiss her past mistakes by, in part, condemning humanity altogether. In order to justify such twisted actions, Eighteen realized that Seventeen and she had needed to view humanity as worthless ants, deserving of nothing but the boot that would eventually crush them. Mankind had to deserve their treatment...because if they didn't...if they weren't the weak, worthless, pathetic ants that she and Seventeen had grown so accustomed to…
Oh…God. All those people.
Eighteen cupped a hand over her mouth as she gasped for air that felt thick as soup, her eyes clenched shut and her voice shuddering with every breath.
I've killed so many people.
Eighteen was to her feet a moment later. It was clear to her now that this feeling wasn't going away any time soon and she didn't want Gohan to—...to see her. His eyes on her made her skin feel oily and burned. She couldn't bear to have him—anyone—see her right now.
Doing her best to mask her disgust and shame, she practically leapt toward the door, stammering, "I-I think I should go. I-I'm not feeling so hot right n-now." She wanted to leave, to be gone and not have to think about all the terrible things she'd done. She wanted all the guilt, all the shame from the torture she and her brother had forced upon humanity to fade away, for anything to take the pain away.
"Videl? Hold on—" She ignored his request as she quickly passed him, making a beeline for the exit. "Videl, wait!" She heard Gohan's chair squeak as he rushed to his feet. Before her hand could reach the handle, an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against his chest in the best hug that he could manage.
Eighteen stiffened as she felt his warmth seep into her trembling back, her head lowered to hide her face behind long, dark strands of hair.
"Videl…" His voice was soft and somber and rumbled in her chest as he held her tightly, his head hovering over her shoulder, letting the breath of his words warm her ear. "I'm sorry. I didn't know this would affect you so much. Don't worry—Trunks is tougher than he looks. He'll pull through this, I promise."
Eighteen squeezed her eyes shut with crushing force.
Of course he thinks this is about Trunks. What else could he assume?
"I-I know." She sniffled, wiping her face once more as the sensation of Gohan's warm body pressed against her slowly began to draw her away from the yawning chasm of her memories. Slowly, her hands reached up and clutched at the muscled forearm looped with care around her stomach. Her head leaned back until it was resting against Gohan's shoulder. "I just…I just wish I could have done things differently."
She caught Gohan's lips spreading into a sympathetic smile, his cheek a hair's breath from her own. "Trust me, Videl, that thing was a monster. You've been progressing at a frankly incredible rate, but I don't think that you would have made much of a difference even if you had come along."
She sagged, letting out a sigh. She wished desperately that she had someone to talk about all this with, instead of it all being trapped within her own thoughts. Finally, she resigned herself to responding how she knew 'Videl' would respond. "Yeah...yeah, I guess you're right."
There was a pregnant pause, and she had a few moments to guiltily enjoy being held before Gohan shifted, stepping around Eighteen until he was looming before her, his gentle hand resting comfortingly on her shoulder. Eighteen's red eyes lingered on the ground until, slowly, her teary eyes were tempted upward and met his gaze, his lips still quirked in that warm smile that made the part of Eighteen's chest that was crushing itself feel warm too.
"Progress takes time, Videl. No one learns how to do something as difficult as what you're trying to learn in a matter of weeks. I mean, I've been doing this stuff my entire life, and even I mess up from time to time. I'm not perfect, but then again, no one is. Don't expect yourself to be perfect at this when you've only just started out. You're still learning, Videl. Maybe you're not where you want to be now," He pulled his hand away before producing a small, radiant sphere of golden energy that floated above his palm, "but, in the future,if you keep practicing and don't give up, you will be. I know it."
Gently, he offered the sphere to Eighteen, whose wide eyes were glued to Gohan's as she slowly lifted her cupped hands, receiving the tiny ball of ki easily. It floated there between her hands.
"See?" He continued with a confident grin that made the slowly loosening knot in Eighteen's chest flutter. "Look how easily you were able to take that from me! I remember when you could barely even touch something like that, but look at you now. It's so second nature to you that you didn't even have to look! That's incredible! You've come so far, Videl!" His voice boomed with encouragement, his eyes gleaming with pride as he regarded her.
I've come so far...
Eighteen's puffy eyes slowly fell away until she was regarding the golden energy radiating in her hands. She could remember when energy manipulation actually had been hard. It had been at the start of this whole...journey.
"You think so?" Her eyes reached up, locking onto his once more.
"I know so." He beamed, his hand comfortingly placed back on her shoulder. "It's just like Bulma said: we shouldn't get caught up in what should or could have happened. Sure, you could have come, but realistically, you would have just been putting yourself in danger. Look at it this way: we can only see where we are now, and try our best to improve. No one starts out being the best." He let out a soft sigh. "But, one day, you'll look back on all of this training, practice and all you've learned and realize just how far you've come, Videl. You'll hardly recognize yourself, I bet." He laughed.
Eighteen's head cocked to the side as she considered his words, fighting the beginnings of a smile tugging at her lips. She wondered how it was possible that, even without the full picture, Gohan somehow still knew the right things to say. He was right, of course. She couldn't focus on what she should or could have done differently. Doing so would only drive her insane, she decided. Short of time travel, there was no way to undo what she'd already done. She'd murdered those people, and no amount of tears and self-loathing would bring them back.
All there was left was to look to the future and try to improve, like Gohan said.
Eighteen knew she was no longer the same person who stepped into that fitness shop all that time ago. She was…different now. Better. Sure, Eighteen knew she was responsible for all the pain and suffering the world had been forced to endure, but at least now…at least now it could finally heal. She would make sure of it.
"Thanks, Gohan." Letting the little smile take her. "You always know the right thing to say to make me feel better." Without letting herself second guess the decision, without hesitating to decide if it was the right choice, Eighteen pushed herself up until she was on the tips of her toes and pushed her lips to his.
It only lasted for a second, just long enough Eighteen to appreciate the taste of Gohan's lips and the warmth that bloomed through her whole body, but when she pulled away, his cheeks were scarlet.
She snickered, wiping away the last of her tears. "You're really sweet, Gohan."
"I—uh, thanks," he stammered, his hand instinctively moving to rub the back of his neck. "You're—uh, sweet, too."
She looked away, feeling heat in her own cheeks now. "Well…as much as I'd like to stay, it's getting pretty late."
Gohan cleared his throat. "Right, right. Would you like me to walk—er, fly you home?"
She grinned at him. A part of her wanted to say yes, but another, deeper part of her, the part of her that still couldn't let go of all the lives she'd personally been responsible for ending, wanted to be alone. "No, thanks. I'm just gonna go home and crash, really. I'm sure you want to do the same."
"Eh, I'm not too tired, I think—" before he could finish, a long yawn forced its way out of his mouth.
She raised an eyebrow.
"...I guess that's not true, haha."
"Get some sleep, Gohan."
Eighteen gave the young man one final hug goodbye before she turned and walked out the door.
-Bulma-
"Really, thank you again, Bulma. I can't express how much this means to us." Erasa said as she pushed open the door to the room where she and Peni would be staying.
Bulma let out a tired laugh, waving off the comment. "Oh, you don't have to keep thanking me. I'm happy to help a fellow mother in need."
Erasa flashed her a smile before taking Peni by one hand—the other was still occupied by the thermos—and leading them inside. It was a quaint guest room, with a plain double bed pushed against the wall, a dresser on the opposite wall, and a nightstand complete with a lamp on either side of the bed. No one had used the room in years, so Bulma hadn't worried too much about furnishing it. She frowned as Erasa switched a lamp on, revealing a thin layer of dust that had accumulated on the furniture over the years.
Feeling embarrassed about the state of the room, Bulma added, "I'm sorry about how dusty it is in here. I can have it cleaned tomorrow when you two are out, if you'd like."
Erasa responded with a polite smile, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it, you've done too much for us already. I can worry about cleaning it up in the morning."
Peni, now sitting on the bed let out a slow yawn, her half-lidded eyes fluttering sleepily. Erasa released a soft chuckle as she gently brushed a few strands of hair from the girl's face. "I guess that's our cue to get some sleep." Her gaze returned to Bulma. "I know I probably sound like a broken record, but thank you, Bulma. You and your son are some awesome people."
Bulma smiled, nodding as she watched the pair begin to get ready for bed. "There's pajamas in the dresser. Goodnight, you two."
"Goodnight, Bulma." Erasa echoed. Peni attempted to say the same, but a yawn interrupted her words before she face-planted into a pillow.
Bulma slowly shut the door behind her before her smile melted away, her gaze lingering on where her hand still held the doorknob in an almost crushing grip, before slowly letting it slip free.
She returned to Trunks' room for a time, just to make sure her son was still stable, before begrudgingly beginning the trudge back to her own bedroom. The walk felt longer than it ever had before, each step more sluggish than the last. Her head lulled forward and her shoulders slumped, exhausted.
When she finally managed to climb under the covers of her own bed, turning off the lights and letting her tired eyes fall closed, she found that sleep would not take her. Every time she got close, her mind would flicker back to Trunks' condition, to the horrific story Erasa and Gohan had described, and how terrible the experience must have been for her son.
He's only fourteen, for Kami's sake! He shouldn't have had to go through that!
Bulma grimaced as she tried to get her mind off the matter, but knowing Trunks' injuries, his experience and the fact that he'd be half blind for the rest of his life became too much for her to sleep through. With a sigh, the scientist slowly pulled herself from the admittedly comfortable bed, before dragging herself out and toward her lab.
Insomnia was nothing new to Bulma. Ever since the androids arrived, sleep had become little more than an evasive goal with a less than stellar success rate.
Having to worry about the people you love constantly will do that to you, I suppose.
Gohan was like an older brother to Trunks, which made him almost like an older son to Bulma. She knew that his and Chi-Chi's relationship had been rocky ever since he'd decided to devote himself to stopping the androids, so when she'd see him come over so often and feel comfortable at her home, she couldn't help beginning to feel like even more of a mom to the struggling young man over the years. Having to watch him come back half-dead so many times over...had certainly paid its toll.
With a yawn, Bulma's hand pushed open the double-doors into her lab, letting them swing shut behind her as she made her way further in. The space was no larger than a two-car garage, and much smaller than her old lab had been back when she'd been the head of Capsule Corporation, but she'd learned to make due. Countertops lined the walls, littered with her vast collection of tools and partially completed projects, resting beneath cupboards filled with much the same. There were half-finished mugs of coffee, miscellaneous mechanical parts and papers strewn everywhere. Looking at it all, she imagined an outsider would think the place was a mess—She had the self-awareness to admit that it was—but for her, everything was right where it needed to be. It was never a struggle to recall where she'd left a tool or a part because she was the one who put it there. In a strange way, the lab was organized—just not very intuitively.
Her lab had become her go-to place whenever she found herself restless, a room where she could distract her mind by working on fixing little devices that broke around the house, or on whatever solution to all their problems she'd thought up that week.
The scientist slumped into her rolling chair, groaning as she leaned forward and rested her elbows on the counter, her head in her hands.
My poor baby boy…
As she sat there in her seat, Bulma wished more than anything that she could do more for Trunks and Gohan than being the de facto nurse whenever they were inevitably inflicted with some life-threatening wound. She wished she could design something that would actually help them in these brutal battles, and yet every attempt was met with...less than desirable results.
They're just so strong.
No matter what she designed, it would never stand up to the test of an actual battle. She'd tried once to make an energy gun to help in Gohan's fight, only to be left dumbfounded when it hardly compared to one of the young man's most basic of energy blasts. Even when she'd set her mind to making a replacement limb for the demi-saiyan, the immense strain the limb had to take in combat was far more than anything she could—
Bulma's eyes narrowed, her head lifting from her hands before her gaze turned and rested on a rolled up blueprint sat in the corner of the room. After a short time staring at the paper, she rolled herself over to it, before beginning to slowly unroll the document, now feeling wide awake as she studied its contents.
Eighteen's arm…
A piece of Bulma still couldn't believe Gohan's story, that android Eighteen had actually given this to him as a way to apologize for all she'd done. It had felt bizarre, impossible even, to think that one of the androids could be trying to turn over a new leaf. Of course, Gohan had shared her skepticism, the two of them speculating on the possibility that this was some sort of trap, but looking over the blueprints...Bulma couldn't find anything that would suggest as much. There were no mechanisms within the arm that appeared to be remote controlled or programmed to fail due to some hidden switch or function. As far as Bulma could tell...it was exactly what she needed to replace Gohan's arm.
...just what I need to finally help.
A thin smile began to pull at the corners of the tired woman's lips.
-Eighteen, the next morning-
Eighteen sat at a round metal table with a modest flower display at its center on the patio of a small coffee shop. There were people all around, oblivious to her, having casual conversations at their own tables as they sipped on their overpriced coffee and enjoyed the start of their days. Eighteen, meanwhile, was sitting at her table with her head pressed into her hands, her elbows resting on the table.
The previous night had not been a pleasant one once she'd fled the Briefs residence. She'd spent most of it huddled under the sheets of her bed, weeping, trying and failing to force herself to sleep in the vain hope of an escape from the pain. All of those people, all of the panic stricken faces of her victims just kept replaying in her mind throughout the night, to the point that she eventually gave up on sleep and had decided to go out again. She wanted to don her disguise as the Ghost and go on the prowl to try and get her mind off of things. The plan hadn't worked, of course. She'd attempted to stop a common breakin—and had succeeded in scaring off the robbers once they'd recognized her—but when she'd gone to attack them like she normally would, she hadn't been able to bring herself to. Their horror stricken faces looked so similar to those of her past victims that Eighteen had found herself paralyzed, unable to do anything more.
Finally, the android had decided to return to her home to sulk on her couch, watching bad reality TV until the sun began to slip through her blinds. Gohan had left a sweet text asking if she was okay, to which she responded that she was, and that she just needed some time alone. She'd planned to make good on her word, staying at home and trying to process these new emotions she was having.
What she had not planned for was Bulma of all people asking her to meet her for breakfast to talk.
Immediately, Eighteen's mind had jumped to the worst conclusion: that the woman had somehow pieced together the truth about 'Videl' from the blueprint she'd handed over the day prior, and that this was her reckoning. That idea was quickly dashed by the realization that, if Bulma had figured something out, she would have just told Gohan, not asked her to breakfast of all things.
Eighteen released a sigh, slowly pulling her face from her hands, before her gaze fell on a small girl a couple tables away. She was young, no older than five or six, with dirty blond hair tied back in a ponytail. Her cheeks were smeared with the breakfast she was doing her best to spoon into her gleeful mouth.
Eighteen's mind suddenly flickered back to a little girl roughly the same age, her eyes pouring tears just before Eighteen had put a fist through her and her father. Grimacing from the memory, Eighteen buried her face back into her hands.
A moment later a familiar voice filled her ears. "Good morning, Videl! I hope you were able to get some sleep last night."
Immediately, Eighteen's head snapped up, pulling her arms away from the table as she forced a casual smile to her lips. "Good morning, Bulma. I slept alright." She lied.
Bulma sat down at the table with a familiar looking document rolled up under one arm, the other holding a coffee thermos which she promptly took a sip from before speaking. "Thank you for meeting me on such short notice. I hope I didn't get in the way of any plans."
Eighteen smiled sweetly at the woman and shook her head. "No, not at all." Her eyes flickered back to the blueprint. "What's that?"
"Oh, this?" Bulma raised the rolled up document with a grin. "This is a present to Gohan. You'll never guess from who, though."
I bet I can.
"Who?"
Bulma's grin widened as she leaned in. Eighteen tried to hide a frown as she noticed deep dark bags under the woman's eyes. Had she not gotten any sleep last night, either?
Well, I guess her son did almost die.
Immediately, Eighteen's mind flashed back to the vision she had of her hand laying waste to the young boy, before she winced, blinking the thought away. When her attention returned to Bulma, she found the scientist leaning back in her chair with an eyebrow hitched.
Eighteen blinked, realizing she'd missed what the woman said. "Huh?"
Bulma scoffed, shaking her head. "Man, I thought I'd get a bigger reaction out of name dropping android Eighteen of all people."
Oh, right.
Trying to recover, she quickly responded. "Oh, right. Sorry. Gohan…sorta already told me about it." She flashed a sheepish smile.
Bulma's face sagged. "Aww, I wanted to see your reaction." she pouted, then shrugged. "Either way, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Unrolling the blueprint, Bulma flashed an excited grin as she spread it across the table. "So, I've been going over the schematics, and, well, I actually think this might work!"
It was Eighteen's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You thought it wouldn't? Why not?"
Bulma's answer came after a slow yawn which she ended with a sip of her coffee. "Well, I didn't know if there might be some complications with the application of an android's limb to an actual person. That, and I didn't know if it was actually some type of trick that android Eighteen had cooked up to give herself an advantage in a fight—like blowing it up mid-combat or something."
Eighteen tried her best to conceal her disappointment that the woman had immediately assumed the gift had been a trap. Then again, why wouldn't she? "Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense, doesn't it. Sounds like something Eighteen might do."
Bulma nodded. "I thought the same, but from the look of it, it's completely safe! Crazy, right? Who'd have thought an android of all people would be able to be nice for once?" She yawned.
Eighteen winced, but forced a grin to her lips mirroring Bulma's excitement. "Yeah. Crazy."
"I mean, I doubt she's really turned over a new leaf. I'm sure this is just a way to get on Gohan's good side, or something." She took another sip.
Eighteentried not to let her shoulder collapse inward with hurt. "What makes you say that?"
"Well, Seventeen is missing an arm, so it looks like Gohan finally has the edge on them. I bet she knows that if she tries to do anything now, Gohan will destroy her and Seventeen. Now, she's trying to sweeten him up so he won't."
Eighteen paused, staring down into the table, her lips pulled into a thin line. "You…don't think it's possible she's genuinely sorry?"
"Pffft, what? After all this time? Not a chance. She's definitely just trying to save her butt now that she's the one in danger."
…Will I ever convince them that I've really changed?
Before Eighteen could respond, a tall young man wearing the business' logo on his shirt walked up to them with a pen and pad in hand. Eighteen found herself lost in thought as the waiter took their orders, and barely mumbled the words, "black coffee," before it was Bulma's turn to order. Eighteen questioned what it would actually take to finally be free of her past, to finally have repented and become someone that people could trust. Would she ever be free?
She didn't know.
Finally, the waiter walked away as Bulma's attention returned to her, releasing yet another yawn before speaking. "Anyway, I didn't bring you here to talk about Eighteen all day."
Eighteen's eyebrows furrowed. "I was sorta confused when you asked me to meet you this morning. I didn't even know you had my number."
"Oh, I got it from Trunks' phone while he's…y'know." Her gaze flickered away, her smile having dampened slightly.
Trunks has my number?
She wondered if he somehow got it from Gohan. She'd have to think about that fact later.
"Oh…Right." Eighteen cleared her throat. "Speaking of which…shouldn't you be like, with him or something…?"
Bulma scoffed. "What? So I can be constantly reminded of how hurt my baby boy is? Besides, what help am I now? It's not like he's a normal kid. He just needs rest. That's how they always recover." She grumbled, raising her mug back to her lips and shaking her head in an annoyed fashion.
Eighteen's eyes narrowed.
They…
Her mind went back to her time with Gohan and Trunks during their camping trip.
Saiyans.
So, it was true. A piece of Eighteen's mind had been resistant to the idea that Gohan and Trunks were the same as the two beings who'd laid waste to East City, solely based on how different they were to those two monsters. Then again, the proof was in the pudding. She'd never seen a single other person outside of Gohan and Vegeta go golden before, and based on what she'd felt last night, Trunks had gone gold too. Bulma's sleep-deprived comment was simply the nail in the coffin. Of course, that led to the obvious question of how the pair were saiyans if their mothers were both so clearly human. Did that mean that the pair were both…half-Saiyans? Was that possible? Wasn't there some sort of sciency rule against aliens and humans getting it on? Like, did a saiyan's package function the same as a normal human's did? Shouldn't aliens and humans have different parts down there or something?
Suddenly, the memory of when Gohan had unknowingly stepped out of a river in front of her wearing little more than his birthday suit flashed through her mind.
Eighteen shook away the memory, desperately hoping the heat she could feel in her cheeks wasn't a visible blush.
I guess I already have the answer to that question.
Before the android could dig up any more awkward memories, Bulma continued. "Besides, Gohan is with him now. He wanted to make sure nothing…else came after Trunks since we don't exactly know why…Cell," She snarled the name."Came after him in the first place. Basically, he doesn't know if he trusts that monster's word that there aren't more of him." She let out a sigh. "So, me being there would just make it that much harder to protect him if something did happen. Y'know, with having to protect me, too."
Eighteen nodded slowly, a thin frown on her lips as she watched the tired woman release yet another yawn, rubbing at her eyes as she slowly brought the mug back to her lips. She seemed more tired than a single sleepless night would leave her.
"So, why did you want to meet me today? To show me the arm?"
"Not exactly…" The scientist hastily began to unroll the schematic, spreading it across the table and nearly sending her mug clattering to the ground . Eighteen's hand shot out and caught it as it fell. "Oh," she yawned. "Sorry about that. I didn't get much sleep last night."
"I can tell."
Bulma's attention returned to the blueprint before pointing a finger down at a specific section of the forearm. "You see this?"
Eighteen leaned in, her eyes narrowing as she studied what Bulma was pointing to, but was unable to decipher it past the general shape of an arm. Too much nerd-speak.
Despite this, she nodded. "Sure."
Bulma laughed, seeming to catch onto her confusion. "To put it in layman's terms, it's referencing a very specific and very rare metal compound used in the skeletal structure of the limb. It's part of the reason why the androids are so durable, in fact."
"Huh." Eighteen leaned in closer, curious to know more about her own design. "Only part of the reason?"
"Well, it explains here that this compound is capable of channeling energy through the limb from an internal power source, reinforcing its structure. Honestly, I'm sorta annoyed that I didn't think of this myself. I'm sure Gohan has told you all about Ki, right?"
Eighteen nodded. He'd done more than tell her.
"Well, this design blends a person's own Ki into the limb, essentially compensating for the other part of the arm's strength. Does that make sense?"
Eighteen nodded once more before frowning. "And you're telling me this because…?"
"Well…" A nervous grin spread from the scientist's lips. "It also happens to be quite expensive."
Eighteen's eyebrows rose. "You're asking me for a loan?" she said incredulously.
Bulma's hands shot out, waving them frantically. "No! No! I would never! I didn't expect you to be made of money! I'm sorry. I should just get to the point." She coughed into her hand, clearing her throat before beginning again. "You see, I'm pretty sure I have an idea on where to get the material. My old company used to dabble in this sort of stuff all the time. The only problem is actually going in and getting some."
Eighteen's eyes narrowed. "Okay…? And where exactly do I come into the picture?"
Bulma stammered, looking away uncomfortably before speaking. "W-well, I know how much you've been training with Gohan and Trunks. Trunks has told me about how much progress you've been making learning about 'Ki' and all that energy stuff. I figured…if I had you with me, it wouldn't be so hard to, er…acquire some…y'know, maybe under the cover of night with very few security guards?"
Eighteen's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as she finally put it together. "You want me to help you steal it!?" She very nearly shouted, more shocked to be hearing this from Bulma of all people than anything else.
"Shh! Not so loud!" Bulma scolded, looking around at the other tables to see if anyone had noticed. Thankfully, it appeared that the other customers were paying too much attention to their own conversations to notice Eighteen's outburst. Bulma sagged, leaning her face into her hand. "Look, if I had any other way, I wouldn't even be considering this. If I were to go about this the legal way, it would take months, or maybe even the better part of a year to acquire the Zeni to buy this much." Her expression hardened. "Last night, Trunks was nearly killed by a monster we didn't even know about. Who's to say the future doesn't hold more monsters to face? I know personally that this planet has a history of attracting some of the very worst." She sighed, shaking her head. "If that's really the case, and the androids aren't the last of our worries…I want to help anyway I can, and this," she pushed the blueprint forward, "is how I can. Gohan is our strongest defender. If something else is coming, I want him to be as ready as he can possibly be."
Eighteen sat back in her seat, considering the scientist's words. The android's mind was suddenly brought back to her time at the festival celebrating her and her brother's first defeat, the people chanting 'we're still here' to the sky on the off chance that either of them could hear. Sure, mankind wasn't physically strong enough to stand up to them, but they still wanted to fight back in any way they could.
And this is the only way Bulma knows how to fight back.
Bulma's face sagged as she frowned, her tired eyes turning away as she seemed to take Eighteen's silence for an answer. "Look—I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come to you with this. I know this is asking you to risk a lot if we did get caught. Gohan would never agree to a plan like this and there's no way I would involve my son in something so criminal even if he were healthy enough to do it." She sighed, shaking her head. "This was a mistake. I shouldn't have asked you to come here. Maybe the lack of sleep is finally starting to get to my he—"
"I'll do it."
Bulma froze, her eyes growing wide as they snapped back to Eighteen. "Come again?"
"I'll do it." The android smirked. "I'll help you steal the parts you need to fix Gohan up with a new arm."
Bulma blinked rapidly, taken aback by the response as she stammered, "A-are you sure? You do realize this is a serious criminal offense if we're caught, right? This could mean prison time, potentially."
What? Me? Doing something criminal? What an absurd idea.
Eighteen had to force down a laugh. Smirking, she replied, "I think we'll be fine. It's like you said; Gohan has taught me a lot. I'm confident enough in my abilities to get us in and out no problem."
Bulma's face was alight with joy, her lips spreading into a broad, eager smile as she made the schematics disappear into one pocket before yanking out a different folded paper. "Perfect! I was hoping you would say yes! I already have the floor plans to navigate the building—not that we'll need them. I know Capsule Corp. like the back of my hand. " She giggled, before laying out the floorplans before them. "I've already mapped out a route. If we go tonight, we can—"
Eighteen held up a hand. "Not tonight."
Bulma's face fell, her head tilting to the side. "What? But you said—"
"I know, but we can't go tonight. Or rather, you can't go tonight."
Bulma's brow furrowed. "Why not? I already have everything we need to…" she interrupted herself with a deep yawn, "get started."
Eighteen rolled her eyes as she leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. "How much sleep did you get last night?"
Bulma's eyes blinked rapidly, her cheeks flushing as she looked away, embarrassed. "Uh, well, um…"
"We'll go tomorrow night on the condition that you get some rest tonight. I can't have my partner in crime making mistakes because she's tired." Eighteen shot her a wink, before offering out a hand. "Deal? I won't accept otherwise."
While her words were the truth, they were not the whole truth. The part of Eighteen that knew that she'd personally tortured, beaten and very nearly killed Trunks herself felt guilty knowing that this was what Bulma had to go through whenever it happened. Knowing her own actions had caused a person she now genuinely cared about to go through such struggles…made her want to make sure Bulma took care of herself, at the very least.
Bulma's lips opened to protest, only for her words to transition into another impromptu yawn before she could. The tired woman blinked sleepily, before finally nodding her head and shaking Eighteen's hand. "Yeah, I guess you have a good point. Thank you, Videl. I quite literally couldn't do this without you."
Eighteen smirked confidently. "Yeah, I know."
-Gohan-
Get better soon, little brother.
Gohan's tired gaze rested on the slumbering form of Trunks as he stood next to the bed, his hand gently placed on the teen's shoulder. Gohan had called off work for the rest of the week to watch over Trunks and ensure that nothing else was coming for the boy. By that time, Gohan was relatively certain that Trunks would be at least back on his feet again, even if not fully recovered.
Why did Cell come after you in the first place?
The question had been bothering the elder saiyan the entire night. The attack had felt very targeted, and Gohan couldn't determine why. Cell had sought out Trunks specifically, rather than going on some rampage across town like what the androids would have done. From what Gohan had been able to gather from Erasa's story, the monster had been gunning for Trunks and only Trunks, only changing targets once it was clear that Trunks had turned the tide of battle.
Gohan's eyes narrowed to slits as he studied the teen. What was it that he was missing? Cell had said he was one of Dr. Gero's creations, meaning he was similar to the androids in that regard, except the androids had never been the type to target anyone. Vegeta, Piccolo, and everyone else had only been killed once they'd gotten in the way, so what made this different? Not only that, but how had another one of Dr. Gero's abominations suddenly appeared after all this time? Gohan had been under the impression that Dr. Gero was dead, based on Seventeen decapitating the man. Piccolo had seen it himself, only days before his death. If that was true, then why now? It made no sense!
Gohan sighed, shaking his head as he stepped away from the bed, turning to leave the room. He knew that there was no way any of his questions would be answered unless another 'Cell' appeared, and considering how dangerous the last one had been, he was okay with never knowing more about where the beast had come from.
Gohan found his way to the living room of Bulma's home, wanting to watch something to get his mind off things for a while. He paused at the doorway when he discovered the TV was already on. Erasa was sitting on the couch, watching the news.
Her gaze found him a moment later, and her eyes widened. "Oh! Hi there! I didn't think anyone was here."
"I'm keeping an eye on Trunks for a little while." He nodded his head toward the television. "Mind if I join you?"
Erasa's eyes rolled as she waved him over. "As if I'd ever say no to the Golden Warrior. Of course! Please! Sit!" She patted the cushion next to her on the old sofa.
Gohan raised an eyebrow as he stepped into the room. "Uh, I just go by Gohan. You don't have to call me the Golden Warrior."
She tilted her head to the side. "You prefer 'Gohan' over 'the Golden Warrior'? But 'Golden Warrior' is such a cool name!"
He shrugged, a sheepish smile on his lips. "I just prefer Gohan when I'm with people in the know. It'd get pretty weird if everyone I knew constantly referred to me as 'the Golden Warrior', y'know?"
She pressed a finger to her chin as she considered his words, before giggling. "Yeah, I guess it would, huh?"
He nodded as he made his way over, noting that, while her head had returned to facing the TV, her eyes had remained glued to him as he sat down next to her.
"I actually didn't expect anyone to be here, either. How are you and Peni doing?" He asked, trying to ignore how excited she looked.
She shrugged. "We're okay. Peni woke up today her usual hyperactive self. I know what you told me about that thing Trunks gave her—a senzu bean, right?"
Gohan nodded.
"Right, well, I checked her this morning, and there wasn't a scratch on her! Those things really work, huh?"
Gohan smiled and nodded again.
"Well, anyway, I decided to call off work today because I have to look after Peni and, well, my uniform was pretty much ruined after the attack. And, you know, all my other clothes."
"Is that why you're wearing Bulma's shirt?" Gohan asked casually.
Erasa laughed, grabbing the edges of her loose blue tee shirt to present it to him. "Yup! Thankfully, we're pretty close in size. Bulma's been a real lifesaver in more ways than one." She paused, her brow furrowing before she added, "although, I guess I could say that about most of you." She let out a deflated laugh.
Gohan's lips formed a thin frown. It was clear to him that the woman had a lot on her mind despite her cheerful demeanor, and rightfully so. He could only imagine what a normal person would be feeling after an experience like she'd had.
Wanting to change the topic, Gohan's eyes wandered across the living room. "Where's Peni? I didn't see her guarding Trunks' room when I went to check on him."
"Oh, she went to refill that thermos she's been carrying around. It seems to make her feel better." Erasa's lips formed worried frown, her gaze falling.
Good job changing the topic, dumb-dumb.
Gohan mentally scolded before remembering her earlier comment. "What do you do for work?"
"Oh, I work as a waitress at a little diner in the South part of…" Her words trailed off as her eyebrows knit together, her eyes narrowing as she leaned in, studying Gohan's face. "Wait a minute...why do you look so familiar?"
"Uhhh…" Gohan's head retreated as her face grew closer to his. "You've probably seen me on the news a couple of times…?" Had she just forgotten that he was the Golden Warrior?
Did she suffer a head injury or something during the attack?
She waved off his comment. "No, no, that's not what I'm saying. Of course I've seen you when you get all shiny. What I mean is—'' Her eyes snapped open as she was suddenly to her feet, pointing a finger as she exclaimed, "You were the hot guy at the club the other night!"
Gohan blinked, before his eyes slowly grew wide as well, his mouth dropping open as he began to recognize the woman from the club.
One of his fingers pointed back at her. "You're the blonde in the black dress!"
Erasa's lips curled into a smirk, one hand moving to rest on her hip as the other flourished into the air. "That's me! I can't believe it! What was the Golden Warrior doing at a nightclub of all places?!"
"Ah, urm." Instinctively, Gohan's hand moved to rub the back of his neck. "I guess I was trying to meet women?"
Erasa blinked, before she let her head fall back, laughing.
"W-what?" he stammered, feeling embarrassed.
"Nothing, nothing. I just…" Erasa's gaze turned to study the floor, one hand rubbing an arm as a light blush coloured her cheeks. "Me and Peni are really big fans of the Golden— er, you. She even has a poster of you up on her wall! Or, at least, she did. I guess I never thought about how even superheroes have a dating life." She laughed again.
There's posters of me? Weird.
Gohan smiled, shaking his head. "Well, I don't know if I'd consider myself a superhero, but yeah, even I go on dates and stuff."
"Oh yeah?" The expression on Erasa's face shifted, a coy smile pulling at her lips now as she regarded Gohan. "How'd it go? I can't imagine anyone would turn you down."
Gohan's head tilted to the side considering. "Ehh, you'd be surprised. Long story short, I didn't end up meeting anyone there who really interested me."
"Oh, really?" The blonde said in a sultry tone. Erasa swayed her hips side to side as she took the short few steps necessary to close the distance between them before leaning in, drawing her face uncomfortably close to Gohan's before whispering, "You know, we never did get to finish our dance."
Gohan felt her hand rest softly on his thigh before his eyes grew wide. Realizing the implication, the demi-saiyan jumped up like a cat that had just stepped in water before side-stepping around the blonde and taking several steps away. A confused frown pulled at Erasa's lips as she examined him with a bewildered look.
"Uhhh, something wrong? You do realize you just hopped away from a super hot blonde, right?" She gestured a hand towards herself. "Or are blonde bombshells not your thing?" She said with a laugh.
"Sorry," he said in a sympathetic tone. "Really, I don't think you're unattractive or anything. If I'm being honest, I think you're a very pretty girl."
Erasa's arms crossed, resting her weight on one hip as she rolled her eyes . "Well, obviously. Alright, so what gives? Am I not your type? You seemed pretty interested at the club…or are you just playing hard to get?" She smirked before wiggling her eyebrows up and down.
Gohan shook his head. "No, nothing like that. It's just…" He grinned awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorta in a relationship right now…"
Erasa's mouth fell open. "What? But I thought you said you didn't meet anyone at the club?"
"It happened after that."
"After…" Erasa's brow furrowed. "But, that was only like, two days ago!" She complained.
"Uhh," Gohan looked away awkwardly before continuing, "It kinda happened last night…"
Erasa blinked, her mouth agape as she stared at Gohan in disbelief. "You're kidding."
Gohan shook his head.
"Uugghh!" The blonde pushed her hand into her face, throwing her head back as she collapsed back onto the couch. "Just my luck. I get a chance to date the Golden Warrior and my ex ruins it for me! Then I meet him again a couple days later and he's already taken!" She said, throwing her hands up into the air. "What are the odds!?"
"Um…" Gohan frowned, not knowing exactly how to respond to that comment. Finally, he found the words. "No hard feelings?"
Erasa waved a dismissing hand, shaking her head. "No, none at all. Just as long as you forgive me for coming onto you like that." She flashed him an embarrassed smile. "I don't normally act like that with guys, I just thought we had some chemistry back at the club is all." She released another sigh. "Think we can forget this whole conversation ever happened?"
Gohan let out a soft chuckle. "That's fine by me."
"Phew, good." Erasa fell back onto the cushions, wiping her brow. "I was worried I'd just made things super awkward."
Well, kinda.
Gohan shrugged. "No, it's cool. I don't want you feeling that way about things. I'm sure you'll find a super lucky guy in the future." Even if he felt the interaction had been more than a little awkward, he knew that the woman was still getting over a pretty traumatic experience. He didn't want her to have to deal with feeling guilty over this exchange on top of it all.
Erasa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Like there's another Golden Warrior out there who's cute and single." Erasa blinked, frowning before adding defensively, "Who's my age!"
Gohan's brow knit together, his mouth moving to ask what she meant by that before hearing the voice of the newscaster over his shoulder, "—and just yesterday, another sighting of the infamous android Eighteen in East City!"
Immediately, all other thoughts went out the window of Gohan's mind as he spun around, his expression hardening as he regarded the television. In less than a second, he was kneeling before the TV, watching the news story with full attention.
Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have listened to that cursed android! What a liar! How many people were hurt? How many lost their lives because I thought I could trust such a cold hearted—
"Miraculously, the incident was resolved with no fatalities or injuries of any sort."
…What?
His rage easing, Gohan slowly lowered himself until he was sitting just before the TV.
"Uh…Gohan? Everything alright?" He heard over his shoulder, but paid little mind to Erasa's question as he continued to watch the anchorman with a flabbergasted expression.
"Now, we will go to an account of the interaction from a brave individual who was there during the incident. Their face and voice have been modified to ensure their anonymity."
The scene flashed to a blurry image of a person sitting in a chair, their words distorted by a voice modifier that made them sound like a villain from a horror movie.
"It might have been the scariest and most confusing moment of my life. I've never seen one of the androids so close before. Usually, I'm already running the other direction when I start hearing the screams."
Smart.
Gohan nodded, agreeing with their decision.
"This time I heard the shout and suddenly everyone was screaming and running towards the exits, but it didn't look like Eighteen was going after anyone, for some reason." The person let out a shaky breath before continuing. "Of course, that was fine by me. I'd almost made it to one of the emergency exits when suddenly a gun went off, and a strange blonde woman started screaming for everyone not to move." They released a nervous laugh. "I thought, is this chick nuts? Doesn't she know there's an android in the store? Is she really trying to rob the place now?
Gohan's head cocked to the side. A robber? He couldn't help but mirror the person's confusion.
Then, she says that Eighteen was only there to buy something from the place, and that they weren't gonna hurt any of us." The person scoffed. "Eighteen even left enough zeni to pay for all of our stuff because she wanted to keep this quiet. As if. I swear, it was the craziest thing I've ever seen. I thought it might be some sort of cruel joke Eighteen was playing on us—like she planned to destroy the whole place once she was outside, or something." The pixelated person shook their head. "But then, she didn't. I think it was a solid twenty straight minutes after they both left before anyone even dared to set foot outside. I'm pretty sure everyone was scared she was waiting outside, or something."
The scene cut away back to the newscaster as he continued. "Now, unfortunately we have no footage of the incident, as the store's cameras and recordings were destroyed by the criminal aiding android Eighteen in this event, however, we were able to get a rough image of the woman from a forensic sketch artist. Here is the image now."
Out of the corner of his eye, Gohan noticed Erasa slowly kneeling down beside him, watching the television just as intensely as he was.
An image popped up on the screen of a woman who appeared to be in her mid-to-late-thirties, with bouncy blonde hair that tumbled past her shoulders, her eyes appearing to be a dark shade of emerald.
Gohan frowned as he studied the rough sketch.
Why does that face seem so…familiar?
-Cell-
Dr. Gero's final creation shifted uncomfortably, wincing as his eyes blinked open to find the light of the morning sun bleeding through the gaping hole in the cabin's ceiling.
What happened…?
Following Seventeen's rescue of what remained of him after his fight with Trunks, Cell's memory became a blur. He remembered explaining to Seventeen the events which left him in such a dire state as they retreated from North City, and Seventeen subsequently
calling him a dumbass for it. He could also recall the following conversation discussing whether or not he would be able to regenerate from so little like he always had. He could remember attempting to force the regeneration process once they'd returned to the cabin…and then…and then…?
"You're finally awake."
Cell startled forward, his eyes wide as his attention snapped to the side. He found Seventeen sitting reversed on a rickety wooden chair several feet away, resting his arm on the chair's back.
"S-Seventeen." Cell exclaimed, before blinking and realization set in.
The android simply nodded his response.
My body!
Immediately, his attention shifted to his open hands, turning them over to inspect himself and find that his legs and tail had reformed as well, although he did notice a thin translucent fluid—normally a mark of newly grown limbs—only this time it was coating his entire body. Once he was certain he'd regrown everything properly, he let out a slow sigh of relief.
Thank you, Dr. Gero. Your genius knows no bounds.
It was only then that he noticed that he was laying on the soft sofa of the cabin, the blanket that had been thrown over him now crumpled at his midsection. There was even a pillow where his head had been resting. Cell's head cocked to the side before turning to regard Seventeen.
"Did you do this?" He gestured towards the sheet.
Seventeen's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "Yeah. What of it?" he snapped aggressively.
Cell's brow creased. He could not remember a single time since they'd met that Seventeen had actually done something nice for him which didn't involve feeding him a new victim. Despite his curiosity, Cell decided to let it go, lest he enrage the easily angered android.
"Never mind. This location proved an adequate resting place." He shot Seventeen a nod of thanks.
The android grunted a response, before rising from his seat and beginning to walk toward the broken entrance of their cabin, a cool breeze softly blowing in from outside.
"What happened last night?" Cell asked.
Seventeen paused at the doorway, leaning against the splintered frame as he stared outside. "You passed out after growing back your…everything. Seemed like a pretty painful experience. Slept pretty hard too. I didn't know if you were gonna wake back up."
Cell nodded, his eyes narrowing as he listened. So, it appeared his regenerative abilities had been overtaxed following his battle with Trunks, to the point that he'd been left utterly exhausted. He supposed that much made sense. Having to grow back your entire body would certainly do that to a person. A part of Cell was annoyed he required rest at all after his reformation, but he was certain that once he was complete, such a requirement would no longer burden him. He would be able to reform from almost nothing with little issue—although he doubted there would be a being in the universe capable of such an impossible task once he was perfect.
"I see…" Cell muttered in response. He shifted, swinging his legs onto the floor before stumbling as he attempted to stand, only to fall back onto the sofa with a grunt.
Still feeling weak…
It appeared he was still getting used to his new limbs and body. Usually the time to adjust to a newly grown arm or leg was a brief one, then again, he'd never had to regrow so extensively before.
"Hungry?" Seventeen asked, peering over at him with a sideways gaze.
Cell's head snapped towards the android, his eyes wide. He nodded eagerly. Cell was absolutely starving after having to devote so many resources to reforming himself.
Seventeen nodded to something Cell couldn't see out in front of the cabin. "C'mon. I got you something." Without waiting to see if he was following, the android stepped out.
Cell made a second attempt to rise to his feet, this time only wobbling for a handful of seconds before managing a slow walk towards the door. Sticking his head out, his eyes squinted before his mouth fell open from what he saw.
Laying on its side in the grass was the corpse of a massive triceratops, it's neck clearly broken. Seventeen sat casually on his tree stump many feet away, looking bored as if this creature was not far, far grander than anything he'd provided in the past.
Dr. Gero's final creation paused at the door frame, studying Seventeen curiously.
Why is he doing this? Why is he being—dare I say it—kind?
There had to be some ulterior motive. Did Seventeen have some sort of objective he was not seeing? What was his game? Regardless, Cell was too hungry to let such an impressive meal go to waste. His tail embedded itself within the great beast's abdomen a moment later, and he eagerly sucked in the contents of the creature with greedy gulps. It took him nearly two full minutes before there was nothing left of the multi-ton dinosaur, and Cell was left feeling far more like his old self again.
I believe 'that really hit the spot' is the saying.
"Hey, Cell."
He turned his attention back to Seventeen who was looking off into the treeline, appearing as nonchalant as ever. "Last night, when I came back all…" He made a teetering motion with his hand. "Messed up, I…uh…" He cleared his throat, an uncomfortable expression on his face, as if he didn't like what he was about to say. "I know things could have gone differently than they did. I know you could have…" His voice trailed off, his stare gradually falling until he was looking at the grass. The implication was as clear as day. Finally, he swallowed, before continuing. "Anyway, I'm just saying…thanks for…not going through with it, I guess." Seventeen said, before returning his gaze to the treeline. Cell could tell the android was still watching him out of the corner of his eye.
Ah, I finally understand.
All of this was simply a thank you from Seventeen for sparing his life. An understandable gesture, if in Cell's eyes an entirely meaningless one. It mattered very little to him whether or not Seventeen felt appreciation for his restraint the night prior, especially because it had merely been a result of Cell not wanting to settle for a lesser prize in his journey to perfection. Still…that didn't mean that he didn't see value in feeding this concept a little further.
"You are a valuable ally, Seventeen." Cell remarked, nodding his head towards the android. "I would be a liar if I said this alliance has not been beneficial to me. I wish to continue it for a long time to come." He paused, considering his words as he studied Seventeen. He could see that the android was unstable, as if his world had been flipped upside down and he was still trying to be right side up. He was clearly vulnerable, and it occurred to Cell that he needed something to deepen Seventeen's loyalty to himself, something to build upon the sensation of betrayal the android was feeling ever since he'd overheard Eighteen's pledge of loyalty to Son Gohan. That way, once the time finally came to absorb the android into perfection, it would be that much easier to lure Seventeen into a false sense of security without endangering himself.
How curious. When did I become so aware of the feelings of those around me? Is it possible one of the doctors Seventeen has brought to me had done studies on the human psyche? How useful.
Finally, Cell felt he'd found the right words. "Thank you, Seventeen, for all that you have done for me. As you can plainly see from last night, I will not forsake you." His words were a pointed attack, a direct statement both about himself and the person who'd betrayed Seventeen so recently. To Cell, it felt like the perfect lure.
Cell watched Seventeen's face as for a moment he saw a look of surprise overwhelm his typical scowl. The android's sky-blue eyes turned towards him, wide and shocked, before Seventeen's glare returned and his eyes squinted in the suspicious way they typically did.
So close…
He needed something more, something that would fully convince Seventeen that they were indeed allies. What could he say to finally manipulate the android into believing that he meant him no harm? What to say…!
"In fact," he added, "I think it may be time to finally move forward with our plans to…restore you to your former glory."
He watched as Seventeen's eyebrows rose, his mouth falling ajar as he stared at Cell, dumbfounded.
"Really?" he said excitedly.
Cell merely nodded, a confident grin on his lips.
There we go.
It was as if he could see the final wall of distrust crumbling away before him as Seventeen eagerly jumped to his feet. "What do you need? Where do we go?" His eyes darted left and right, searching for what they needed to do as if it was just behind the treeline.
Foolish little android…
"If you'll remember during one of our previous conversations I mentioned that we merely need to access the files in your memory in order to retrieve the blueprints you lo—" He paused, considering his words. "—that android Eighteen stole." Better. "In order to accomplish this, we must first find the right equipment to access such files."
Seventeen rolled his eyes, but a grin was now pulling at his lips. "Dude, seriously, just get to the point already."
"In other words…" Cell continued, "We have to find a lab with advanced enough systems to access your complex internal computer, as well as the materials necessary to complete your arm."
"You got a place in mind, Bugman?"
"I do. There's only one place of science that ever came close to what Dr. Gero was able to produce." A sinister smile pulled at Cell's lips. "Capsule Corp.."
Seventeen's eyes narrowed. "Wait, isn't that the place owned by that Bulma lady? Won't that be dangerous if Blondie shows up?"
Drawing upon the information he'd acquired from one of the scientists within himself, Cell knew his answer immediately. "Not anymore. She was removed from the company because of…" That information was foggy. "...reasons. Either way, she is no longer the head of the company, and has no association with it. It would be perfectly safe to infiltrate the building for our needs."
Seventeen hitched an eyebrow. "Huh. How do you know that?"
Cell responded with a wave of his tail.
Seventeen's face scrunched up with a grin. "Eww, I forgot. Yeah, you drink brains and stuff, too." His eyes flickered towards the setting sun. "We could go tonight. I know where it is."
Cell considered his words for a time, before shaking his head. "Not tonight."
Seventeen frowned. "Why not?"
"I am still feeling weak and wish to recover from last night's injuries." A lie. Following such a massive meal, he was definitely not feeling weak. In fact, he felt quite the opposite.
Seventeen sighed, sagging slightly before nodding. "Fine. Whatever. We'll go tomorrow night then. Less of a chance we'll run into Blondie if it's dark out, anyway…" He pointed a dangerous finger towards Cell's carapaced chest. "And you better not be pulling my leg on this one."
Cell's eyes narrowed at the accusation, not certain what the phrase meant. Was this some sort of idiom he had yet to drink? Or, was android Seventeen actually worried about losing another body part? He decided to play it safe. "I…promise, I won't be removing any of your limbs."
Seventeen blinked before his head fell back, laughing. "Man, sometimes I forget just how weird you are. You sound so smart sometimes, and then I forget how dumb you can be." Shaking his head, the android calmly walked back into the cabin.
Cell sighed, choosing to ignore the insulting comment as he waited for Seventeen to leave, before redirecting his gaze to his open palm. He flexed his fingers before tightening them into a fist. The real reason he wanted to postpone their mission was because he wanted a night to test himself. Sure, the animals and trees of the forest served as poor substitutes for a true training partner, but they were better than going to Seventeen and revealing the truth. As far as Seventeen knew, their power was still leagues apart, and Cell planned to keep it that way.
Best to have him underestimate me…
His dagger-like pupils locked onto a saber tooth tiger creeping slowly through the underbrush. It was positioned low to the ground several hundred meters away, barely a speck in the distance to anyone without Cell's exceptional eyesight. The beast was obviously hunting a prey so small that it was concealed in the tall grass, blissfully unaware that it had just become prey itself. In a flash of movement faster than he'd ever been able to achieve before, he was beside the creature before his hand shot out like a bullet and caught the animal by the throat. Before the tiger could even release a cry of alarm, Cell's fingers closed into a fist, popping the beast's head from its shoulders so easily that the action actually startled Cell.
He stared down at his now blood coated hand, fascinated. In the next moment, he swung the same arm to the side, slashing the limb through an old spruce tree with a trunk easily twice as wide as his body. It felt almost as if he were tearing through tissue paper as shards of wood splintered and scattered everywhere before the massive tree toppled to the ground.
Cell paused, staring at the fallen tree with wide eyes.
Interesting…
He hadn't initially noticed the change when he'd awoken, mostly because he'd felt so damn hungry following such a taxing experience. Now that he had a full stomach, however, the difference was like night and day.
My power…it's grown considerably.
He could not say for certain the reason for this. Was it perhaps his saiyan biology reacting to recovering from such a life threatening conflict? Was it maybe the fact that his namekian DNA had been forced to restore him from so many near-death experiences? Maybe it was a direct result from the transformation he'd undergone, something from it having remained after he returned to his normal state. Cell realized it was even possible the cause was an amalgamation of things, much like the very nature of his creation. Either way, the reason was not so important to him. Rather, the result was what fascinated him.
It appears that, soon, the gap between you and I will not be so large, Seventeen.
A dark smile pulled at Cell's mouth.
Author's Notes
Well, it's been a little while, hasn't it?
I apologize for the long wait. I had some traumatic events occur in my life that left me feeling…rattled for lack of better words. I didn't feel confident enough to produce a chapter fitting for this story, and so it was left on the back burner for more time than I would have liked. I needed to work on myself for a while. I lost myself, and needed to find them again before I could continue writing despite it being my passion. I'm better now. That much is certain.
Either Way, moving onto the chapter!
I know there's going to be reviews in the comments shouting "That's not how senzu work!" since there's already been some. That being said, I decided to look into it to ensure I wasn't wrong. I found multiple pieces of evidence in the cannon to prove that scar tissue does not heal. For one, Yamcha's scar on his cheek has never healed despite being fed numerous senzu. The very same can be said for Tien's chest scar. Another damning piece of evidence is one I mentioned in the chapter: the fact that no saiyan's tail has ever grown back after consuming a senzu. If Gohan's arm should come back every time he eats one, shouldn't his tail do the same? Are they not both considered 'limbs'? I rest my case.
I also know I sorta retconned some cannon information with having Yajirobe save the senzu plant. I'm aware that it was supposed to have been wiped out by the Androids but…I couldn't part with such a useful narrative tool. I also just felt like it made the most sense to me. If this is something that bothers you, welp, too bad, my story ;P.
As for the rest of the chapter, I'm quite happy with how it turned out. A lot of emotions were displayed here, and it's no stretch to say that without Ben Thryss's help, it would have not been as impactful as it was. I was shaking off some of the rust that accumulated after my hiatus in the first parts of the chapter, and Ben definitely picked up the slack. He definitely deserves high praise for this chapter. Please pay him some kind words in the reviews.
I got to write a whole lot more Bulma here than I initially intended, but I feel the chapter is better for it. There was no one else I think could have been more impacted by Trunks' injuries than her, and I'm beginning to appreciate her character more and more now that I'm getting to explore it. I can't wait for her and Eighteen's outing together. I'm sure it will go perfectly.
Anyhow, that's all for this chapter! I don't want to say for certain when the next chapter will be out since every time I say it won't be a little bit of a wait, I tend to break that promise. This time, I'm just gonna say that I intend to make the wait far less than this one was. That much I can say with certainty.
Until next time!
