AN: Here's a new chapter. Don't you all just love me?
Important: Here I am going to be responding to some questions and comments made in the reviews, as well as telling you about up-coming chapters. Be Sure to Read This. First of all, Trunks WILL be in this, but not for a few more chapters. This is NOT a Trunks/Serena romance, (SORRY!!!) but please read it anyway, I think you'll like it even if it isn't the couple you prefer. I will be writing a Trunks/Serena fic later on, so you can read that. Also, someone asked about the Z-senshi. They are not in this. This is Mirai Trunks's future, so they are all dead. HOWEVER, this is not exactly the same as it was in the show.
DISCLAIMER: YOU KNOW THE DRILL!!
P.S. I'm sorry LM! I don't mean to be evil!! You'll find out in this chapter who was watching them!
CHAPTER 4
"Shit!" Serena cursed as she sent a kick at an old brick wall. The force of the kick sent the loose bricks tumbling, and Serena jumped back just in time to avoid having her feet crushed. "Damn!" she swore. She turned back to the others who had stopped what they were doing to stare at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make so much noise," she said apologetically.
"That's alright," Mina said with false cheerfulness. "We're below ground, so probably no one heard that. And if they did, they would think it's normal. Walls collapse all the time. We're lucky we found a basement with a stable roof." She gestured to the ceiling in demonstration. "Just don't kick down one of the walls to the outside!" she joked.
"Yeah, you're right. I am just so annoyed! I want to scream and curse and kill something! Or at least destroy something." Serena sighed and started pacing for at least the fifth time that day. "We searched all day, and nothing! No sewers to go into, no subways, no where to hide except here. And they very well may find us here!"
They had stopped the search for ways to get into the sewers when night had fallen. The started looking for nooks and crannies in the rubble of demolished buildings for a place that the droids might not look. They had finally found a basement under a demolished building that was still whole. It seemed it's walls and ceiling were reinforced with something. It was totally hidden by the rubble, and Mina had found it when her foot had gotten caught between two chunks of rubble. Moving the stone, their had been a sort of stairway to the basement. They checked it out, and once they were sure it was safe, had settled in. The hid the entrance and prayed the droids wouldn't look in the rubble and that the advanced droids wouldn't scan for them.
Luckily— and a little oddly— they had not seen any trace of the droids while they were searching for intact manholes. They would have definitely known about the girls by then, if not from a signal from the droids they fought, then from the droid debris. Most other people were too scared to fight the droids, and besides, they weren't strong enough or fast enough. It had more than a year since someone other than the Moonlight Senshi had fought the droids.
Lita went back to cooking dinner. Their food supplies were low, so they ate little at every meal. This was dangerous for them, because without proper amounts of food, they were weaker and couldn't fight as well. They had also resorted to eating things that weren't exactly food. Things that they had eaten back before they were the senshi. Stuck in the city, they couldn't savage for food in the wilderness. They hadn't resorted to eating rats yet, but they knew that would come very soon if they couldn't get out. That night they were eating more roots, squashed berries, and a very small amount of salted fish. The fish was old, but they couldn't complain. The people in the city were eating rats and weed soup for the most part.
Raye was pacing with a gun in her hand at one end of the basement while Serena was pacing at the other. Ami was still scanning for droids, trying different ways to pick them up. She was also using her computer as a way to find food and gather any new information on the droids. Mina was sitting down for a few minutes, then pacing, then was sprawled out on the floor, then was pacing, then started training. She threw punches and kicks at an imaginary opponent for a few minutes before going over to see if Lita needed any help cooking. Lita had her make a sort of soup with some spices Lita had gotten on their last trip in the wilderness. She started the soup and then started asking about fresh water. How were they going to get any? Serena told her that one of them would go out and get some the next day, but it wasn't going to be very fresh. This answer satisfied Mina for a few minutes, until she came up with another question. What about going to the bathroom?
It was obvious that Mina was nervous. They had been in many situations similar to this one, but those other times they weren't trapped in a city with powerful droids. Droids they couldn't beat. Serena reassured her everything would be alright. She took a slab of rubble from the pile of bricks and started to dig holes for bathroom business while Mina went back to the "soup".
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After they had eaten, they relaxed, or tried to relax, around the fire. Since it was the only source of light in the room, the stayed close, talking about this and that. They talked about the new weapons, strategies, where they would go next, and about their pasts. Lita and Serena were attempting to make other sources of light. All they had so far were sticks of wood wrapped in rags for torches. The propped the make-shift torches between chunks of rubble and lit the cloth in the main fire. The were attempting to make the place look less gloomy, and by the seventh torch, it wasn't so bad. There was a torch in each corner and another torch in between two of the torches in the corners. All except for one wall which was closest to the fire. They were trying to think up ways to make lanterns, since all they had was one that was less than a foot tall. They only had a few candles left anyway, and no supplies to make more. They didn't have glass or metal, so the gave up on the lanterns and started making more torches. After awhile, there were fourteen torches and hardly a shadow anywhere. They were pleased with the large supply of wood they had found in the basement, as well as the old blankets.
"It's..... cheery," Serena finally managed after an assessment of the new lighting. "No, wait... it's still gloomy. Damn." She sighed and Mina giggled.
"That's alright, you tried," she said.
"And failed," Serena muttered.
"Um, Serena? Where's the bathroom?" Ami asked. At this, the other four girls cracked up; with all the tension in the air, it just struck them as funny for some reason.
"Here, just let me find other places to put the torches I stuck in the holes." She moved the torches and gave Ami some paper to use afterwards. She and the others turned around. After Ami was done, Serena made an official announcement to the group congratulating Ami on being the first person to use the toilet. The girls cracked up again. It wasn't that funny, but they didn't care. Ami washed her hands with soap and some of the creek water that they had gotten earlier that day to use for that purpose. It wasn't the best way to live, but the girls were used to it.
They settled on the ground with blankets, all huddling together by the fire to keep warm in the cold basement. They didn't talk much before falling asleep; each was much more worried about their situation than they would let on. They kept on a cheerful and relaxed face, but inside they were scared. They suspected the others were too. Slowly, they drifted off to sleep.
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Two lone figures sat among the rubble of a demolished building. They seemed oblivious to the danger of being out in the droid filled city. Their cold, emotionless eyes stared into the darkness. Even without light, you could see that they were twins, or at least you would think so.
"Time to make our appearance?" the female asked casually.
"Not yet," the male responded. "We wait 'till sunrise."
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Punch, kick, block. Serena went through her morning exercises. She had been restless all night and had gotten up early to train. The other girls seemed to be just as restless. Lita had been cooking for an hour and a half, experimenting with their meager food supplies. Raye and Mina were sparring, and Ami was on her computer once again. Each were restless from the lack of movement. Sunlight was streaming through numerous unseen gaps between the rocks, filling the chamber with light. It was comforting and warmed the chamber up slightly.
The girls were not on guard, and were badly shocked when a cruel laugh echoed through out the chamber. The spun around to face the direction the laugh had come from, but they weren't sure exactly which direction it had come from. Serena scanned the walls to crumbled rocks for the person— or thing— that had made the laugh that had chilled their bones.
"Well well, what do we have hear?" a silky male voice asked. Serena and the girls whirled around to face the intruder. He was sitting on a shelf of rubble, watching them with a smirk on his face. He leaned against one bent knee while the other was dropped casually over the side of the wall. The girls knew too well who he was. His cold, ice blue eyes watched them as their own eyes widened and they took a few steps back. All except for Serena, who was closer to the opposite wall and farther away from the Android. She let out a low growl in her throat and lifted her gun.
Android 17 almost blinked in surprise, but controlled his reaction. While four of the girls were obviously scared— and justly so— this girl still stood tall and defied him. He inwardly smirked at the gun in her hand. He knew that she knew that the gun would not stop him. But he also knew that she was saying she wasn't going down without a fight. Also, her speed surprised the android. He knew that the girls were better fighters than any other humans on the planet, but the gun had appeared in her hand as if from nowhere. His smirk broadened. This was going to be fun.
"Looks like we got ourselves some new play toys," said 18, stepping out of the shadows beside him. The girls' heads whipped around to look at her, except for the girl with the gun. She kept her eyes on 17, but watched 18 out of the corner of her eye.
"Now now, put the gun away. You could hurt someone with that thing," 17 said in a patronizing voice.
"That's the idea," she growled. He smirked; she had spunk.
"Do you really think that if we want to do something to you that gun will stop us?" he asked smoothly.
"Do you really think I would let you do anything to us without putting up a fight?" she sneered back. 17 cocked an eyebrow at her.
"I suppose not," he replied in a monotone voice. "All the more fun for us." He shifted his eyes slightly to look the others over.
The blue haired one was shaking visibly. Although he had no doubt that she was a strong and skilled fighter, he knew that once she was faced with the real power, she would succumb easily under them. She looked like she knew exactly what 18 and he could do to her. He also knew from the data gathered on the girls that she was the brains of the group. The others were very smart, of course, but she was a genius. She had figured out a lot of their droids programming, causing them to have to make new ones several times a year.
The tall brown haired girl didn't look as scared, but he could clearly see the fear in her eyes. She looked like she was on guard, but she knew there was really nothing she could do. She had another look in her eyes that was similar to the look in the eyes of the girl who held the gun. It said she wasn't going down without a fight. 17 made a mental note to break her spirit. It didn't look like it would take much. Like the other three girls around her, she was brave, but against the ones who had cause so much destruction and death? The ones that held so much power and were so strong...? They didn't stand a chance. And they were scared.
The raven-haired girl seemed about the same. Fear in her eyes, but determined not to give up so easily. What attracted his attention about her was that she kept looking at the girl with the gun with a worried look on her face. He knew she was worried about all her teammates, but this girl especially. Recalling the information he had on her, she was said to be very protective of the leader of the group; the one with the gun, he now realized. Like an older sister, the raven-haired one would always watch over the blond leader even though it was clear the girl could more than take care of herself.
The last of the four unarmed girls was another blond. She looked similar to their leader, but not as attractive, 17 decided. Again, there was fear in the girl's eyes. No matter how many times 17 saw it, he never got tired of seeing it. She was also trembling and looked like she wanted to inch away but was to afraid of being attacked. Her eyes darted around the room for escape, but there was none. 17 and 18 had silently climbed in just before dawn, move a large rock and replacing it over themselves. They had watched as the girls had risen less than an hour later and immediately started training or doing other things.
As 17's eyes moved back to the first girl, he made saw several things. First of all, this girl was stronger than the others. He didn't need the reports to see that; there was something of an aura of strength around her. Secondly, she was beautiful. He usually didn't pay attention to human appearance, but he had to admit that she was something special. He hadn't really gotten a good look at her when he and 18 where following them around the city. Third, she wasn't scared. This annoyed and astonished him, though he let neither emotion show on his face. He knew she was worried about her friends; she was said to be very protective of them and would protect them with her life if it came to that. Now she kept her face emotionless, her eyes set on 17, flickering only once to glance at her friends while he wasn't looking at her. His sharp eyesight had picked it up though.
She seemed like she wasn't afraid at all of the Androids, nor of death. The look in her eyes said that not only would she not go down without a fight, but she would do everything possible to take the Androids down with her. The said that she didn't care if she died. He knew this was probably true, but with her friends at stake things got more complicated. He smirked even more at her and she narrowed her eyes, still glaring at him. The gun was still pointed straight at him. She had good aim, he noted absently. And she definitely knew how to handle the gun in her hand. Unfortunately for her, the gun she held was not very powerful. Her other weapons were nearby, but she would never be able to reach them before she was attacked. The other girls had guns on them, but they were not as quick and would be shot if they tried to move now. They knew that. But they were still somewhat immobile with fear, so it didn't matter anyway.
All these observations were made with a few seconds. 18 jumped down from the ledge they were on and landed about 25 feet in front of the girls.
"Well, what shall we do with them?" she said. The leader stepped forward.
"Everyone get behind me," she ordered. When the other girls hesitated, she yelled "Now!" They hurried to obey. The did not reach for the weapons in their pockets, knowing that if they did so they would be killed before they could get them out. Once they were behind the girl, she took another step forward, her gun now aimed at 18. The female Android didn't seem at all worried as she laughed.
"You don't actually think that will accomplish anything," she asked scornfully, more of a statement than a question.
"No, but it will at least hurt you a little, perhaps only uncomfortable or an annoyance, but like I said before, I'm not just going to let you have your way without a fight." the girl responded. 18 snorted.
"It's hardly worth it."
The girl shrugged slightly, not moving her eyes or weapon's aim from the android. "It won't make much difference, so I might as well try and hope that I get lucky."
17 stood up on the ledge and jumped over the heads of the girls, landing behind them— a good sixty feet from where he had been sitting. He did it so quickly that none of them had time to react. As they whirled around, he sent out a low ki blast {AN: The androids have them, right? Or maybe it's something else, but it looks the same, so...} that knocked the girls back but didn't hurt them too much. They landed roughly on their backs and were knocked nearly unconscious. The leader gasped and ran to them, crouching down beside them and pointing her gun at the androids once again.
"You're going to have to go through me to get to them," she hissed. One of her companions let out a low groan, and she said "Are you alright, Ami?" without looking away from the androids. The girl that had moaned whispered something that 17 could not catch, but it seemed to be something like 'I'm fine'. He smirked at the leader who was glaring fiercely at him.
"If you shoot at us, we'll make sure your friends die slowly." 18 told her. The girl paled and glanced at her friends. They were all unconscious except the girl she had called Ami, who was having trouble keeping herself from blacking out. She slowly dropped the gun and lowered her head in defeat.
"Glad you see it our way," 17 said as he through down a gas bomb. There were coughing sounds and when the gas cleared away, all the last two girls were unconscious. 18 sighed.
"That wasn't very fun. Not much of a struggle. We should have let them run and then followed them, or something." she muttered.
"It was fun at the beginning when they were so scared," 17 said, and 18 agreed.
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Serena groaned. Her head hurt like hell. She tried to open her eyes, but quickly shut them again as light flooded her senses. After a few seconds she tried again. She opened her eys slowly and let them adjust to the light. She looked around the room she was in.
It seemed to be a mix between a cell and a bedroom. There were five beds, one of which she was in. She saw her friends in the others. She jumped out of bed and ran to check on them. They were asleep, but they were ok. But she knew they would have a big headache when they woke up; even bigger than hers, for they had been blasted by 17. She sat down on her bed and studied the rest of the room. There were two small windows high up on the walls so that all you could see was sky if you looked up at them. The had bars over them. The rest of the room was bare except for a closet. Serena went over to it and opened it. It had outfits, for her and the girls she guessed. They weren't very good; nearly rags. She closed the closet and went over to the door. It looked very sturdy and she found it was locked. She knew it would be, but she tried it anyway. Without anything else to do, she went back to her bed and sat on it again.
She knew where they were. They were at the Android's base or headquaters or whatever you want to call it. She also knew that they had been brought to be slaves. Which left her with several questions.First of all, why were they in such a fancy room? It wasn't great, but the slaves must have surely lived in a barracks or something, not a room large enough to fit five beds with space in between. They weren't small beds either; they were doubles. And they were very comfortable. They had clean sheets and two pillows each. Definetly not slave type conditions.
And why had they been kept alive anyway? Sure they were strong, but they had fought against the Androids. Anyone who opposed the Androids was said to die a slow, painful death. At this Serena's heart sank. What if they had just been brought to give them hope? And then they would die? She shuddered at the thought. If that was the case, she wished that she had killed her friends herself to keep them from a painful death. But she was determined not to show fear. Maybe they were meant to be slaves so that the Androids could take pleasure in breaking their spirit. Well, they wouldn't break Serena's.
It was said that the last defender of the Earth to fight the Androids was kept alive. He was made a slave so he would have to live with serving the ones who had killed all the people he had ever cared about. His name was Trunks, Serena remembered. Perhaps they were there for the same reason. She scowled; she hated the thought of serving those monsters. She would rather die. But she couldn't; not while her friends were alive. She vowed to live for them. To protect them. To give them hope, even if it was false. To give them friendship and love them as sisters.
Over the next two hours, her friends awoke. Lita awoke first about an hour after Serena had. Then Rei, Mina, and finally Ami. Serena told them what she had thought about why they were there. They talked a little, but soon lapsed into silence. There really wasn't anything to say at that point. An hour later, the door to their room opened...
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AN: I'll get the next chapter out soon, promise!! PLEASE REVIEW!!! You only have to type on word if you want, you don't have to sign in if you don't want, and it only takes a second!! THANKS!!!
ALSO, ON MY STORY 'BARCELONA': The current votes for who to pair Serena are as follows, if anyone is reading that:
Gohan— 11
Trunks— 11
17— 7
Please vote if you havn't already. It probably won't be 17 because I have plans for several other stories that will be 17, and this one might be... I know, but I don't want to say yet. =) If you don't like 17/Serena and are reading this, don't go away! It might not be, and if it is then I think you will like it even if you don't like the couple. Please stay, but if you really don't want to, it's your choice. *sniff*