I Surrender
The breath of fire was hot on the back of his neck, as Android 17 walked away from the crumbling building. His sister, Android 18 walked up to him, smirking at him. He smirked back. Android 16 sat on a nearby rock, knowing what would come next. Not liking to kill so much, he only closed his eyes as frightened screams filled his ears. 17 and 18 shot synchronized beams at a swarm of people fleeing them. 17 chuckled, licking his lips as 18 only smirked. 16 opened his eyes and stood.
"Are we done here?"
17's smirk broadened as he spotted a sign still standing.
"Yes."
The sign reading "Western Capital Welcomes You!" exploded at his will.
Later that afternoon, 18 lay stretched out upon a large flat rock, peering up at the clouds with her usual scowl displayed on her face.
"So what about this Cell guy?"
"What about him?" 17 replied absently, sprawled out on the grass.
"Sixteen says that he's trying to obtain his perfect form."
16 nodded in agreement with her. 17 scoffed and rolled onto his side, facing away from them both.
"Psh. Why should that concern me?"
"Seventeen!" 18 sat up angrily, "That means that he's going to try to absorb us to achieve his goal!"
"So?" He closed his eyes apathetically.
"So?! So he's already absorbing pitiful humans to gain strength! We'll be next!" She shouted at him.
17's eyes shot open and his hand absently went to his neck where his orange bandana used to be. He slowly sat up, with a serious and alarmed expression on his face.
"Get it now, Seventeen?" 18 growled, crossing her arms, glaring at him.
"Yeah. I get it." He murmured, standing up.
"What are you doing?" 18 looked up at her brother uneasily. 16 looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.
"We have to go to Southern Capital." He mumbled almost in a monotone.
"Huh? Why?" 18 shot up to her feet, and stormed over to her brother. "Why do we have to go all the way over there?!"
She clamped a hand on his shoulder about to pull him around to face her when he suddenly whirled around on his own with an enraged face that was both frightening and severe.
"I DON'T WANT ANY QUESTIONS!"
18 pulled back in shock, and 17 turned away, looking up at the sky before blasting off. 18 stared after him and growled angrily before following, with 16 following her as well.
17 flew as fast as his power could carry him to the tropical islands and landed like a meteor on the soft sand. He looked around, not recognizing any of the area and moved on to the next island where he breathed a sigh of relief as it looked very familiar. His face lightened only for a second before scowling once again as he grabbed a nearby civilian just as 16 and 18 landed behind him. He growled at the quivering man and lifted him up until his face was an inch from his own.
"Where... is she? Where is Kalikala?" His voice was low, in a violent, threatening tone.
"Kali's family lives in the suburbs of the Capital! Th-that way!!!" A shivering finger pointed up the sand, exiting the beach area. 17 growled and tossed the poor man aside as he dashed through the sand towards the suburbs. 18 grumbled to her friend,
"Ugh. What is he doing?"
16 stayed silent, almost understanding the answer to her question.
With a frantic and insane mind, 17 forced answers out of more helpless citizens until he found himself at her house. He burst through the door and searched the house, finding it empty of life, except for a woman sitting in front of the fireplace, who was obviously not who he was looking for. He glared at her with dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Who are you?" He demanded, "Where is Kalikala?"
The woman turned and looked at him with a gentle smile, and he saw something in her eyes that was vaguely familiar.
"Kalikala is my daughter... And who might you be?"
He froze, dumbstruck for a moment before he finally answered,
"A friend."
"Ah. It's so nice to have one of Kali's friend's come to visit. I'll go get us something to drink."
He sighed, keeping himself calm and followed her into the kitchen where he repeated steadily,
"Where is Kalikala?"
"She's at school." She replied, squeezing lemons into a pitcher.
"When will she be home?" He cringed impatiently, but still kept a calm and cautious tone in his voice. 18 and 16 entered as he said this and watched quietly as Kalikala's mother answered.
"She'll be home in a few months." 17 made a grunt in disbelief, about to object, when she continued,
"She went to an all girl's school on the continent. You know... West Star Private School for girls."
"Tell me where I can find this school!" He slammed his fist down on the table, shouting. 18 raised her eyebrows, surprised. There was a brief pause, and the woman simply turned and said,
"Why, Western Capital, of course."
17's eyes widened in shock as realization sunk into him, making him feel cold and numb. A scene flashed through his mind, as he watched the sign standing in front of the Western Capital explode.
"Seventeen! Where are you going now?!" 18 shouted as she tromped through the sand after him. He stopped and stood with his back facing her. "Why is this pathetic human worth such a headache?! Isn't killing all the pitiful trash elsewhere just as good? What grudge do you have against this... this weakling?!"
17 flinched and started walking again. 18 growled and grabbed his shoulder, whirling him around, despite 16 disagreeing shouts.
"DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME, SEVENTEEN!" She gripped his shirt collar, growling in his face. He roared and pushed her hard away with an extreme, insane rage in his eyes,
"STAY AWAY FROM ME, EIGHTEEN! I'M GOING AND I DON'T INTEND FOR YOU TO FOLLOW!"
Taken aback, 18 stammered vowels. Her mind was flooded with anger and confusion as she watched her brother fly away with intense, frantic speed. 16 stood, watching him disappear into the sky with a hidden knowing smile.
There's so much life I've left to live
And this fire is burning still
When I watch you look at me
I think I could find the will
To stand for every dream
And forsake this solid ground
And give up this fear within
Of what would happen if they ever knew
I'm in love with you
The wind whipped his ebony hair in his face as he soared high and fast. His mind raced just about at the same speed as his flight. Soon he saw the city they had reduced to rubble earlier that day and landed. He looked around in shock as he saw the evil own his own err. Fires and smoke still claimed much of the city, and the rest was only piles of stone and brick. With concern slapped onto his face, he stepped forward, when his sneaker kicked something. He looked down at a large burning piece of wood. This huge chunk of wood had bits of black painted words on it that now only read:
"Wes
Welco"
He looked around, hearing no one, no life, not a sound except for burning buildings. In this place, he felt helpless and horrid, and the thought that he had destroyed someone so precious to him flooded his mind. He blinked a the tears away as a few escaped down the sides of his face.
"What have I done?"
'Cause I'd surrender everything
To feel the chance to live again
I reach to you
I know you can feel it too
We'd make it through
A thousand dreams I still believe
I'd make you give them all to me
I'd hold you in my arms and never let go
I surrender
Deep in a dusty, concrete basement of a once stable, standing building, Kalikala hugged her knees, murmuring to herself in the silence of her prison,
"Didn't even see it coming."
She looked up and replayed the flashback in her head:
Walking down the street, she heard something shrieking through the air, followed by an enormous explosion that made everything around her shake. People everywhere immediately started to panic and everything went into utter chaos. She looked behind her in fear as saw a silhouette in the smoke. Everything after that seemed so happen in slow motion as a shining blue light, screaming like a siren shot forward towards the crowd she was in. Frozen, like a deer in headlights, she watched it inch closer until a man running at her pushed her out of his way, trying to escape his untimely fate. She crashed through the glass doors of a crumbling building, completely evading death by ki ball, and tumbled across the wooden floor, and into a hole in it. One hand clasped the splintering edge of the floor and she hung on for dear life. Another explosion happened outside, causing the earth to shake, making her lose her grip. She didn't even scream as she fell to the next floor, where she didn't even have time to react to the harsh impact before the weak floors collapsed, taking her down with all the dead wood and dust. She hit a wooden plank, smashing it, though it softened her fall some as she collided with the cold, concrete floor.
I know I can't survive
Another night away from you
You're the reason I go on
And now I need to live the truth
Right now, there's no better time
From this fear I will break free
And I'll live again with love
And no they can't take that away from me
And they will see...
She looked at the orange bandana lying underneath a few pieces wood after her reminiscence and shakily stood up to limp over to it. She fell to her knees and dug 17's bandana out of the rubble and held it lightly in her hands, looking down at it.
"Seventeen..." She murmured, "I wish you were here with me."
She sat like that for awhile longer before growling at her own weakness and standing, clenching the bandana in her fist. She glared up at her only exit; the tall, crumbling stone walls. The darkness upward seemed to go on forever. She folded the bandana and tied it around her head, just below her hairline. She pulled her now short and choppy midnight black hair out of it so it could hang wild and loose. She had cut her hair short before traveling to Western City, and always kept 17's bandana with her. She growled before lunging herself up the wall, beginning to climb her way up.
'Cause I'd surrender everything
To feel the change to live again
I reach to you
Halfway up, the journey became more difficult. She grit her cringed, straining hard, to reach her hand as far as it would go, trying to reach a metal hook that stuck out of the concrete wall. She saw her own hand swipe and miss, causing her whole body to go off balance and fall backward.
I know you can feel it too
We'd make it through
A thousand dreams I still believe
I'd make you give them all to me
I'd hold you in my arms and never let go
I surrender
She heard herself scream a shrill, frightened, high-pitched scream as she hugged herself, trying to curl into a ball as she hit pieces of the floor still attached where they were intended to be. Her skin was scuffed and bleeding, parts of her clothes were ripped off and she was covered in dust when she landed in a crumpled heap back on the concrete basement floor.
Every night's getting longer
And this fire is getting stronger, babe
17's eyes widened as he heard a scream. He wasn't sure, but he moved forward towards it in a stumbling fashion, hoping it was her.
I'll swallow my pride and I'll be alive
Kalikala's body shuddered with sobs of pain and frustration, wanting to give up hope and lay where she was until she died. She gasped sharply as she heard a familiar voice.
Can't you hear my call
17 came upon a building that looked like it would crumbling at any minute. Dust floated from the broken door, signaling activity inside. He shouted as loud as he could into it,
"KALIKALA!!!! KALIKALA ARE YOU IN THERE?!"
I surrender all
Despite her pain, she sat straight up and shrieked as hard as she possibly could upward,
"SEVENTEEN!!!!"
17's eyes widened and he took in ragged breathes in disbelief. He blasted himself an entrance.
'Cause I surrender everything
To feel the chance to live again
Kalikala saw sunlight pour downward after a cascade of debris showered upon her.
"Kalikala!" His voice shouted again, "Where are you?"
"I'M DOWN HERE! DOWN HERE!" She hollered back, coughing from the dust.
17 descended downward quickly, landing in front of her. She stared in awe at how he had easily gotten to her. He stared at her in silence, hoping this wasn't a dream.
I reach to you
I know you can feel it too
"Seventeen?"
Her voice snapped him out of his daze and her knelt next to her, touching her face gently,
"Are you alright?"
A few tears fell from her eyes as she smiled, nodding slightly,
"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"
She fell forward into his arms hugging him tightly. He returned her embrace gently, stroking her dusty, and tousled hair. He sighed and closed his eyes.
We'd make it through
A thousand dreams I still believe
I'd make you give them all to me
I'd hold you in my arms and never let go
His eyes shot open as he heard the walls around the two of them rumble.
I surrender
He stood up, allowing her to lean against him. She looked around in fear, not believing they would survive. He turned her face towards his with a gentle hand and looked into her cola-black eyes.
"I love you."
Her face flushed and she repeated his words to him in response,
"I love you."
Their faces inched closer together, each of them lazily closing their eyes before their lips met. Their lips locked in a deep kiss.
Right here, right now
O give my life to live again
I'll break free, take me
My everything, I surrender it to you
The building crumbling around them and upon them, but, as the kiss intensified, 17 emitted a ki shield around the both of them, protecting them. In the glowing magenta orb, they wrapped their arms around each other feverishly as 17 started floating up, through the falling rubble.
Right here, right now
O give my life to live again
I'll break free, take me
My everything, I surrender it to you
They burst through the building into safety and the ki shield disappeared. As the kiss ended, Kalikala gasped and clung tightly to 17, looking down at the ground beneath them. He chuckled and held her close, kissing the top of her head as he started flying towards Southern Capital.
Kalikala's mother handed 17 some band-aids, cotton swabs, and peroxide before leaving the room. Kalikala sat up on her bed as he kneeled on the floor next to the bed to clean her wounds.
"I'm... sorry Kalikala..."
"For what?" She tilted her head to the side.
"I was the one who... destroyed Western City. It's my fault that all this happened to you."
Kalikala stayed silent except for a few sudden hisses from the peroxide. Finally, she smiled and shook her head.
"Yes..." Her brown hand took his pale one and put it over her heart, "It's you're fault that all of this happened to me."
17 looked up at her in awe that a human could push pride away to forgive someone... something like him. She leant forward and gently kissed his forehead.
"So, you finished?"
"Oh, uh, yeah." He replied and set the peroxide and cotton swabs on her bedside table and put a few band-aids over the cuts on her legs and arms. She stood up and smiled, happy to have regained some strength from the rest on the way home.
"Wanna surf?"
He smiled and chuckled down at her.
Saltwater splashed their faces as they weaved in and out of the gigantic waves. The ocean tried to swallow them, but couldn't catch the two, darting to and fro its crushing arms. 17 surfed on his own this time and was doing quite well. Kalikala laughed and shouted over to him from her own board,
"Been practicing, eh?"
17 smirked and cut right in front of her, making them both wipe out, laughing all the way. he wrapped his arms around her while underwater and floated upward, holding her in a close and gentle embrace. She smirked back up at him and said,
"How about teaching me how to do this, huh?"
"What, fly?"
"Yeah."
He chuckled and kissed her forehead,
"Very well then... maybe someday I will."
"Seventeen!" A familiar, bossy, female voice made his eyes shoot wide open. He gazed upon his sister and Android 16. Kalikala looked at them in alarm and 17 glared at them.
"What do you want?" She hissed coldly at them.
"What do you think you're doing?!" 18 shouted incredulously, "Have you lost your mind? What are you doing with a human, Seventeen?!"
"Human..." Kalikala murmured and looked up at him, "You're not human?"
Looking ahead, keeping his cold gaze un 18, he spoke in a steady, calm voice.
"Not fully. I was one once, but parts in me now are not human." He looked at her and took a gentler tone,
"I'm an android."
She looked into his eyes for a long time and he didn't even look away. He gasped a bit as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Does that mean you have to go?"
He smiled, sighing and closed his eyes, content that she still accepted him even if he wasn't fully human. He then opened his eyes and glared ahead at his android comrades.
"I think it does."
She hugged him tightly, not wanting to let him go.
"But will we see each other again?"
He held her tightly against his chest and replied,
"Yes. I'll make sure of that."
They landed on the beach and 17 changed out of his swimwear. He kissed her before he looked into her eyes and said with a light smile,
"We have business to attend to... But don't worry." He held her close, "I'll come back. I always will."
"I believe you." She whispered.
The three androids floated up to fly away, and 17 turned to wave with a smile. Kalikala sat in the soft, warm sand, waving back with a blank expression on her face.
"Goodbye."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Weeks later, after the Cell Tournament had ended and the world was saved. 17 and 18 were wished back to life as humans.
Kalikala was working on homework from her new school. She had decided to go back to Southern Capital High School, as she didn't wish to travel away from home for awhile. She heard a knock on the front door and stood up to go answer it, grumbling all the way. She opened the door and her scowl was immediately replaced with a look of shock. She laughed happily and tackled him in a tight hug.
"Seventeen! You're here!"
He chuckled and looked into her eyes.
"Yes, I'm here. And this time I'll stay."