Disclaimer-Dragonball Z is not mine

It Helps To Talk

Krillin slowly made his way off the ground and stared off into the distance she had disappeared in, stunned. He'd gotten more than he'd expected from her.

Who was Lily? Who was Maron? Who was 18's boyfriend? Krillin had thought the 18 and 17 had always been android, that is, had always been robots.

"Hey, baldy," a voice said behind him. Krillin turned around to see 17 floating in the air above him.

"Oh, Jesus," Krillin muttered. "Are you after the same thing as 18? Revenge?"

"You could say that," 17 said. "Except unlike her, I never cared for Earth. Destroying the world is something I've always wanted to do. But now, knowing how the world treated my sister…destroying the world has become more important to me. And speaking of her…I wonder why she didn't kill you when she had the chance. Twice now, she's had open opportunity to kill you, but she's let you off with a warning, to coin a phrase."

"I…I have no idea."

"I think that just now, when she flew of—I think she wants you to follow her. No matter how hard she denies it."

Krillin's jaw opened. "What the hell does she wants with me?"

"You think I have any idea? If I were her, I'd have killed you yesterday. Just go after her."

"Look, I'll make you a deal. If you stop killing until further notice, I'll go talk to 18. She'll decide whether you two will start killing again."

17 smirked. "Sure, baldy. What have I got to lose?" 17 turned. "And if you do anything to my sister, I will not only resume killing, but I will destroy you, regardless of what she says."

With that, 17 flew off, and Krillin limped off to the west.

18 landed on the outstretched branch of a tree, buried her face in her hands, and cried. She hated those memories, and she hated more telling them. And to her enemy! How could she be so stupid?

"I am pathetic," she told herself. "I let a handful of memories make me drop my guard. I am supposed to be a ruthless killing machine, and I just exposed half my past to my freakin enemy!"

"It helps to talk about it," someone said behind her.

"It never does," 18 said, without turning around, knowing that it was Krillin. "That's another tired-out Human cliché."

"Maybe it is, but I still wanna know what happened." Looking like a drunk, Krillin crawled up the tree using one leg and sat on the branch next to 18. "There, now that I've made an @$$ out of myself, I wanna know what makes you kill."

18 started to smile, but bit it back. "It's none of your business."

"18, you are destroying the people I've sworn to protect. It's every bit my business to find out why."

"I don't want to talk about it. Kindly excuse yourself."

"18, if your brother practically sent me here, I think he knew you wanted to talk about it."

18's fist clenched. She was going to KILL 17…

"And I'm not leaving. I follow you to the next planet if I have to, just to get the story out of you."

"Fine, you really wanna know?" 18 exploded. "It ain't pretty, I tell you that."

"I'm ready to hear it."

"Fine." 18 suddenly reached out and put her hand on his head. "Dr. Gero gave me Goku's cells. So, like a Saiyan, I can transfer my memories to you."

Krillin nodded, and 18 concentrated.

~ ~ ~ ~ 16 years ago ~ ~ ~ ~

"Get out of the house!"

A bruised woman ushered her twin 8-year-old children, a boy and a girl, out the door of an old Victorian house.

"But, Mama…" the girl protested.

"Irisa, don't talk back," the woman ordered. "You and Nathan just run…keep running until you can't see the house."

"LILY!!!" someone bellowed in the background.

"Go! Go NOW!!" Lily gave her twins a push out the door. In fear, Nathan grabbed Irisa's hand and started running.

Irisa looked back at the house as Nathan dragged her along. Her young eyes were never to forget her father, Thomas, stabbed Lily through the chest with a butcher knife.

~ ~ ~ ~ 7 years ago ~ ~ ~ ~

Irisa, now 17, wrapped her arms around a shivering blue-haired girl. "Maron, it's all right. They won't do anything to us."

"Why…why are we here, Irisa?" Maron whimpered to her best friend.

"I don't know," Irisa said, biting her bottom lip to keep her own tears at bay. "But we'll be out soon. I promise."

"Oh, yes, you'll be out," a voice said.

The two looked up to see two young men standing before them.

"Joe?" Irisa whispered shakily.

"Hey, Irisa. This is Henry. He's here to take care of some business." Joe gestured to Maron. "We don't need her. Henry, you know what to do."

Henry nodded silently, took his hand out of his pocket, and cocked his pistol.

Irisa screamed as Maron's eyes went wide and a splotch of blood appeared right above her heart.

Joe went forward, grabbed Irisa's wrist, and dragged her away even as she screamed and thrashed.

"Shut up, 6!tc#," Joe hissed, throwing her on a bed. "Your friend meant nothing to us. You are all we want."

~ ~ ~ ~ Back to Present Time ~ ~ ~ ~

Krillin shook his head, and her hand left his.

"That's nowhere near the whole story," 18 said. "Aside from you people killing my mother and my best friend, my foster father tried to have his way with me, and he beat me and 17. And I spent a great deal of time watching the news. Murders, biological bombs, pollution, disease, war…"

"But you're a human, too. At least, you were."

"I know that. And don't think I'm proud of killing my own race. But I plan on joining them soon."

"C-commit suicide?"

"What better way for a killer to go? I've no fear of Hell. Maybe I can find my father there and kick his @$$."

Krillin shook his head. "There is more to life than bombs and pollution."

"And what is that, Krillin?"

"Love."

"Love? Love was what made my mother marry my father. Love was what killed my best friend when she refused to abandon me even when she was scared to death. Love causes nothing but pain."

"That's not true," Krillin said. "Love is the best feeling in the world. Sure, it's a little crazy, and it might cause pain, but that's not the whole story."

"It's always been my experience that love is harmful."

"Well, maybe you need the right experiences."

"And what, Krillin, is that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see." And with that, Krillin made his way to the trunk and crawled down the tree. He hit the ground and walked off.

18 sat on the branch for a long time, watching the sunset, until she got up and used her radar to track Krillin.

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