Part Four

Days past. Hours got longer, every minute got colder. Eighteen didn't talk much, even though they had tried to start conversations with her. Both Trunks and Bulma thought it might be because she showed a sign of weakness, but Quara told them otherwise when she wasn't around. It was something else. Something much more...

Quara said that one time when they were outside at a picnic and tea party, on one of the warmer days, she had asked Eighteen what was wrong. She had been acting strange ever since she told her about her problems, and seemed different all the sudden. When Eighteen did not respond, she asked if it was about Trunks, how he had shown some heartfelt kindness to her. Eighteen said it was that, or anything to do with it. She stated, as Quara put in, "in a very mad tone", that she didn't feel like she belonged, that she...was never meant to be. It made her feel so much like a child, she said, that she had broken the hard plastic teacup in her hands. And that was when she stopped talking, even to Quara a little. She just kept everything to herself, as was expected from her from the start.

But one day, when Quara had been out by herself, Eighteen had gone to sit on the porch, just staring out blankly as she thought deeply. Trunks decided to finally put an end to all this silence, and since he had time for a break from working in the lab, went outside to sit next to her. She seemed surprised by it, but did not turn to face him.

"So what's up with you, huh?" he asked, and that seemed to turn her a bit annoyed.

"What's up with me?" she repeated his words in question.

"Yeah. You've been acting strange lately."

"Since when am I not strange?" she inquired, irritated.

"Uh...Since a month and a half ago."

"Really? Is that what you think or what others do?" she said, almost as if she knew the answer.

"Both, um, actually," he stated, rubbing the back of his neck in slight embarrassment.

Her eyes widened slightly, surprised. She turned her head to face him, and he stared down at his feet. "So, you now think I'm different."

"Um...I suppose you could put it that way." He shrugged. "Look, if you really want to try to be human I'm not going to stop you. You know what you did and I can see now that you're sorry for it. The rest of the world's gotten over it and it's about time that I did too."

Eighteen smiled happily, Trunks nodding his head and smiling back. And then came that one unanticipated moment where enemies turned to friends, the most hateful thing became the most trusted. In that abrupt moment, also, something else happened. The wall which seemed to separate man from Android seemed to dissolve, creating a whole to aspect on what life was now.

But that moment ended in an instant...and in a disaster. Quara came running up, bruises on her arms and face as she cried all the way into Eighteen's shoulder. She quickly pulled her away, and Quara spoke in a most choked voice.

"They threw rocks and cans and branches at me!" she sobbed, rubbing the sores on her face.

"Who? You mean the boys from before?" Eighteen asked. Quara nodded. She looked to Trunks, narrowing her eyes. He nodded, the both of them standing up.

"Quara, why don't you go in and have Aunt Bulma check on you while we go tell those boys a thing or two."

Quara nodded, running into the house. With it, both Eighteen and Trunks hurried along, going to the park where Quara had just come from. When they got there, though, first off they were wondering if they were still there. Apparently they were, for two of them were in a fight.

Luckily Trunks was able to step in and pull them apart, the one, who had been the leader before, having a bloody nose. The other, who had been sticking up for Quara the other day, gritted his teeth and keeping his fists clench just incase the other came forward again.

"What's this all about?" Trunks questioned angrily, the leader boy pointing to the other.

"He started it!"

"Did not! You were the one pickin' on Quara!"

"Yeah, but what do you got protecting that diseased rat!"

"Hey! What gives you the right to say that!" Eighteen shouted, crossing her arms.

"'Cause that's exactly what she is! How come she got the right to live when all our friends and families died because of it!"

"You forget that hers did too!" the other boy stated. "She's only immune to it because her ma had it when she was born. Both her parents died of it too, and at least we got some family where she had none!"

"So? She's still got it, so what's to say she won't give it to us by getting near us?"

Trunks scratched the top of his head, knowing this kid was only trying to make up excuses, pointing in the other direction. "Just get out of here, kid, and be sure not to come back for a while."

"Yeah, whatever," he brushed off, taking off into the other direction. The others who had been watching followed after him, but the one who had fought also remained.

Eighteen got in front of him, kneeling over slightly to get eyelevel. "So, what's your name, kid?"

"Jim. Why?"

"We'll it's always nice to know the boy who helped Quara out."

"Yeah, well, it was nothing."

Eighteen grinned. "Sure it was. Now get along, I'm sure your parents are worried about you." The boy nodded, doing what he was told.

With that, both Trunks and Eighteen went back to Capsule Corp., hoping to find Quara was fine now. But what they found was she as more than happy, strangely. And, oddly enough, something very suspicious, which may or may not be a good thing.

When they walked in, Bulma was sitting at the table with Quara, with a woman whipping off the dirt from her face. She got up and ran to Eighteen, though, hugging her and soon stepping back with a smile. Eighteen looked down at her quickly but stared back up to the woman who was now standing there, her hands folded quiantly in front of her.

"Did you get them?" Quara asked with joy.

"Yeah, we got them" she smiled. "But, Quara, who is this."

Quara turned around to face the woman, smiling still. "This is my long lost sister!"

Eighteens eyes widened, as well as Trunks's, in surprise. Trunks looked to Bulma, who just shrugged, looking like she didn't know about it either. AS he looked back, he found that she curtsied, a blanked, almost dollish look on her face with her hair looking plastered flat on her head.

"Yes, I am her older sister, Shika. Nice to make your acquaintance, sir, miss," she said, an eerie smile peeling onto her pale face a second after...

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to be continued....