Disclaimer: Once more, I repeat: I do not own this characters or places,
just a few of the situations and many of the bad jokes. I'm not making any
money from this, because if I were, I'd be knee-deep in lawsuits. So, I'm
doing this for free.
Author Note: And if anyone asks, yes, I use the movies as a part of the continuity. You'll just have to wait and see HOW much I use, though. ^_^
EVERBODY HURTS......UNTIL THEY FIND SOMEONE
CHAPTER THREE:
After what seemed like hours (which it was; SEVERAL hours to be exact), Trunks sighed in defeat. 18 looked up at him, trailing one finger along his chest.
"What is it?" she asked him, somehow maintaining that casual tone of voice she always spoke with, despite the fact that they were both still very much naked and lying in the grass.
"I'm gonna...have to tell...my mother," he said slowly, as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with the fingers of one hand. The blonde resting on his chest gave him a pouty look.
"Do you have to?" she asked, taking a loose strand of his hair in her fingers and twirling it around, taking in his face with her angular eyes. Her own hair was mussed up to a point, and she was looking less battered than before. Trunks, however, was starting to feel stiff from the beating he had taken, and made that rather clear with a small groan as the cyborg shifted her weight on top of him. "What's wrong, you big baby?" she teased him, a small smirk on her face.
"Well, unlike you, I tend to hurt a lot after a pounding like the one you gave me today," he smiled at her, as he looked over to where his watch had ended up. His eyes widened slightly as he realized that they had not only been out here for more than thirty hours, but most of that time they had spent naked and in each other's arms. "And of course I have to; it's gonna be kind of hard to hide you from her, you know?" he laughed lightly at that, picturing the reaction on Bulma's face when he introduces her to his lover.
Android 18 gave him a slightly wounded look as she propped herself up on her elbows, which dug slightly into the young man's muscled chest. "And why would you hide me? I've been told I have a perfect figure, and I'm not that bad a conversationalist."
He laughed then. "I never said anything like that was wrong with you....but you WERE terrorizing the Earth for sixteen years. That IS kind of hard to ignore," he chided softly, as though his pain and loss meant nothing to him now. The android sighed and leaned forward, so that her face was over his and her hair was brushing against his skin.
"I understand.....but it's not like it's ENTIRELY my fault," she said, and Trunks had to agree with her there; during his time in the past, he had seen Gero's lab, knew some of the truth behind his 'perfect androids.' The thought of that......'man' wasn't the right word to describe the scientist - more like 'depraved lunatic' – EVER having been allowed to begin his work on living beings made him sick to his stomach, and almost made him wish that HE had killed the man himself, instead of 17. 'But at least he's gone here...' Trunks thought, brushing his fingertips along 18's jaw line.
She looked at him and blinked, not used to seeing the contemplative look he was wearing now. "What's on your mind, big guy?" she asked, quirking her head to the left and regarding his blue eyes with her paler, ice-blue ones.
"It's just...I was thinking about...something that happened back in the past," he said slowly again, not wanting to startle her or anything. She rolled her eyes at him, and gave him a 'oh, THAT again' look. "Hey, I'm being serious here." He was a bit offended by her casual attitude towards something this important, but he let it slide, since she knew nothing of Cell, or even Androids 13-16. Not to mention that Kami-damned Super Android 13.....just thinking of that big blue thing made him want to break out in hives and go hide in bed.
"Yea, I know...which is why I'm not interested; I wanna have fun," she sighed, raising her arms up and putting them around his neck. She kissed his collarbone and smiled seductively. Trunks put a lot of effort into saying 'no', but he managed.
"I'd love nothing more than to stay here like this....but there's a very nasty bug that I have to squash in Dr. Gero's lab," he said softly, wincing internally as he watch her freeze up at the mention of that place.
She looked up at him, and nodded. "I....see. And what exactly makes this 'bug' so nasty and dangerous that you want to leave me all alone and vulnerable here?" There was still a hint of sarcasm in her voice though, and the lavender-haired saiyajin frowned.
"Well, if I let it live....it'll come after you to absorb you through its tail. And I don't think either one of us wants that, huh?" he explained to her, watching the look of disgust on her face with some small amusement.
"Okay, that sounds plain gross," she shivered at the strange image that evoked. "Okay, you're forgiven. BUT I'm coming too." Trunks gave her his own patented 'are you serious' look.
"Why?" was about all he could manage on that particular issue. She laughed as she rolled off of him.
"Because," was all she responded. He rolled his eyes as he looked up at the quickly- darkening sky.
"I asked for that one, didn't I?" he said, a slightly amused smile on his face. 18 pulled on what was left of her tights and mini-skirt, and looked over at him.
"Yeah, you did, you runt," she grinned, remembering the first time he tried attacking her when he was still a child. 'He looked so cute then....and his looks have only improved with time,' she thought to herself as she pulled on her shirt and vest, and managed to get her boots back on. 'Man, this outfit sucks; that geezer sure had lousy fashion sense.'
"Well, if you INSIST on coming, then give me back my pants," he looked at her out of the corner of his eye and whistled some random song he'd heard when he had been back in the other timeline. He waited patiently until said pants were flung at him and smacked into his face. "Okay, that was a bit much," he commented somewhat sourly as he removed his pants from his face and pulled them on, and then rooting around for his own boots in the grass. Once that was taken care of, he found what was left of his shirt, and his (surprisingly still-intact) sword, and finished getting dressed a bit quickly.
"Yeah, yeah, keep complaining; Kami, you're worse than..." she stopped then, the smile on her face fading as she remembered that her twin was....very much dead. In the excitement and passion of the night (and day) before, she had for some reason forgot about 17. Trunks sighed and shook his head, already knowing what the problem was the moment she trailed off.
"Listen, you don't have to go with me....I understand that this has all happened really fast, and I guess...." He ended there, also not sure of what to say anymore. 18 looked over at him and sighed in frustration.
"Get a move on already; I don't want to be some bug's lunch, you know," she poked him in the back, trying to get him to snap out of it.
After about twenty or so minutes later, the pair had found themselves outside of Gero's lab....which was also surprisingly still-intact. 'But then, it had been destroyed only in that other time and not this one,' Trunks reflected to himself. It was getting hard for him to tell what had happened here, and what had happened there. 'Hopefully Dr. Gero's body isn't there; it was bad enough the first time when it was new.' He shuddered at that mental image.
"Okay, now let's see..." he said aloud, removing a flashlight from a small case concealed in the pockets of his pants and looking around. He passed one free hand over a large coffin-like device and grimaced when he saw the number '17' imprinted on it. He looked around some more, and soon found a small crack in the floor. He tapped his foot on it experimentally, and it gave way a small bit, sending small pieces of stone tumbling down a long, almost cavernous drop. "Huh," he mused loudly. 18, now getting a bit bored, moved over to where Trunks was standing and looked at the slightly- wider crack.
"And this is important because...?" she asked him, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her right ear. Trunks snapped out of the revelry and went a light shade of red.
"Uh, I don't think it is; the lab where Cell should be is over here," he quickly moved over to where a large casing for one of those 'coffins' were and tossed it aside. He looked intently at the floor, comparing it to the layout of the lab that he had destroyed in the past, and charged up an energy wave. He fired it, blasting through the rocks and metal, tearing his way into the secluded lab.
Finally, he released the last of the wave and panted, a small grin on his face as he peered inside the large hole he had made in the lab's floor and wall. Floating through, he offered 18 his hand. She rolled her eyes at him again and flew past, and he merely shrugged, following her down into the depths of the secret lab.
There was a large supercomputer ticking away at one end of the room, and at the other was an almost equally large tank containing....
18 blinked curiously, seeing the small shape floating there. Even though it was only bigger than her hand, she could practically FEEL the power emanating from the thing. And the way the crest on its head was sloped and the vague contours of its not-yet developed body, it wasn't too hard to guess that this thing would end up one very UGLY bug. She shuddered at the thought of what it would look like. Then, she decided she didn't want to know, or give this thing the chance.
So, very calmly, very efficiently, she blasted the infant Cell, completely exterminating every last one of his cells and thus removing his threat. The tank exploded outwards, and she jumped back to avoid getting coated in whatever gunk had been sustaining that monster. Trunks let out a slight yelp of surprise, but he just shook his head, and blasted the supercomputer, making sure that no trace of it or its data was left to rebuild Cell in any shape, form, or fashion.
"Well, that was fun," Android 18 remarked as she turned to Trunks and gave him a look, that hint of sarcasm still present. "NOW can we go?" she asked, the mere thought of her being in this place any longer sending shivers down her spine.
"Yeah, that's all that was left to do here," he said quietly, as the two floated up and exited through the hole.
As they exited the lab, 18 looked over at the saiyajin and smiled softly, one of her new expressions.
"So, I guess I get to meet your mom know, huh?" she asked conversationally, a prospect that made Trunks both cringe and smile.
Unbeknownst to them, however, that little crack Trunks discovered was hiding yet another hidden lab of Gero's, where another supercomputer endlessly toiled away at its programmed mission: to create the ultimate android killing machine. The work had been completed long ago, but the command to activate the beings in the three 'coffins' had never been sent due to a program error that had been cause by an unfortunate lapse of maintenance on the part of Dr. Gero.
Only now, thanks to the actions of Trunks and 18, a power surge ran through the supercomputer in the other hidden lab, causing it to shut off to prevent an overload and any subsequent explosions. However, the instant the power returns to the computer, the lids of the three 'coffins' slowly begin to rise, and the three 'people' inside stepped out.
One was human in appearance, the second much too tall, and the third much too short. There wasn't enough light in the lab to make out many details, except that two of them had glowing ice-blue eyes, and the short one had on a pair of sunglasses that still managed to shimmer with a blue light.
As one, they all said one word:
"Goku."
TBC.................
End Notes: Okay, so maybe this one had its cheesy moments. But I like how it turned out. We get to see Bulma's reaction to her son's new girl, and the survivors of 18 and 17's reign of terror get to meet a new breed of Android, one much worse than the last.
Author Note: And if anyone asks, yes, I use the movies as a part of the continuity. You'll just have to wait and see HOW much I use, though. ^_^
EVERBODY HURTS......UNTIL THEY FIND SOMEONE
CHAPTER THREE:
After what seemed like hours (which it was; SEVERAL hours to be exact), Trunks sighed in defeat. 18 looked up at him, trailing one finger along his chest.
"What is it?" she asked him, somehow maintaining that casual tone of voice she always spoke with, despite the fact that they were both still very much naked and lying in the grass.
"I'm gonna...have to tell...my mother," he said slowly, as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with the fingers of one hand. The blonde resting on his chest gave him a pouty look.
"Do you have to?" she asked, taking a loose strand of his hair in her fingers and twirling it around, taking in his face with her angular eyes. Her own hair was mussed up to a point, and she was looking less battered than before. Trunks, however, was starting to feel stiff from the beating he had taken, and made that rather clear with a small groan as the cyborg shifted her weight on top of him. "What's wrong, you big baby?" she teased him, a small smirk on her face.
"Well, unlike you, I tend to hurt a lot after a pounding like the one you gave me today," he smiled at her, as he looked over to where his watch had ended up. His eyes widened slightly as he realized that they had not only been out here for more than thirty hours, but most of that time they had spent naked and in each other's arms. "And of course I have to; it's gonna be kind of hard to hide you from her, you know?" he laughed lightly at that, picturing the reaction on Bulma's face when he introduces her to his lover.
Android 18 gave him a slightly wounded look as she propped herself up on her elbows, which dug slightly into the young man's muscled chest. "And why would you hide me? I've been told I have a perfect figure, and I'm not that bad a conversationalist."
He laughed then. "I never said anything like that was wrong with you....but you WERE terrorizing the Earth for sixteen years. That IS kind of hard to ignore," he chided softly, as though his pain and loss meant nothing to him now. The android sighed and leaned forward, so that her face was over his and her hair was brushing against his skin.
"I understand.....but it's not like it's ENTIRELY my fault," she said, and Trunks had to agree with her there; during his time in the past, he had seen Gero's lab, knew some of the truth behind his 'perfect androids.' The thought of that......'man' wasn't the right word to describe the scientist - more like 'depraved lunatic' – EVER having been allowed to begin his work on living beings made him sick to his stomach, and almost made him wish that HE had killed the man himself, instead of 17. 'But at least he's gone here...' Trunks thought, brushing his fingertips along 18's jaw line.
She looked at him and blinked, not used to seeing the contemplative look he was wearing now. "What's on your mind, big guy?" she asked, quirking her head to the left and regarding his blue eyes with her paler, ice-blue ones.
"It's just...I was thinking about...something that happened back in the past," he said slowly again, not wanting to startle her or anything. She rolled her eyes at him, and gave him a 'oh, THAT again' look. "Hey, I'm being serious here." He was a bit offended by her casual attitude towards something this important, but he let it slide, since she knew nothing of Cell, or even Androids 13-16. Not to mention that Kami-damned Super Android 13.....just thinking of that big blue thing made him want to break out in hives and go hide in bed.
"Yea, I know...which is why I'm not interested; I wanna have fun," she sighed, raising her arms up and putting them around his neck. She kissed his collarbone and smiled seductively. Trunks put a lot of effort into saying 'no', but he managed.
"I'd love nothing more than to stay here like this....but there's a very nasty bug that I have to squash in Dr. Gero's lab," he said softly, wincing internally as he watch her freeze up at the mention of that place.
She looked up at him, and nodded. "I....see. And what exactly makes this 'bug' so nasty and dangerous that you want to leave me all alone and vulnerable here?" There was still a hint of sarcasm in her voice though, and the lavender-haired saiyajin frowned.
"Well, if I let it live....it'll come after you to absorb you through its tail. And I don't think either one of us wants that, huh?" he explained to her, watching the look of disgust on her face with some small amusement.
"Okay, that sounds plain gross," she shivered at the strange image that evoked. "Okay, you're forgiven. BUT I'm coming too." Trunks gave her his own patented 'are you serious' look.
"Why?" was about all he could manage on that particular issue. She laughed as she rolled off of him.
"Because," was all she responded. He rolled his eyes as he looked up at the quickly- darkening sky.
"I asked for that one, didn't I?" he said, a slightly amused smile on his face. 18 pulled on what was left of her tights and mini-skirt, and looked over at him.
"Yeah, you did, you runt," she grinned, remembering the first time he tried attacking her when he was still a child. 'He looked so cute then....and his looks have only improved with time,' she thought to herself as she pulled on her shirt and vest, and managed to get her boots back on. 'Man, this outfit sucks; that geezer sure had lousy fashion sense.'
"Well, if you INSIST on coming, then give me back my pants," he looked at her out of the corner of his eye and whistled some random song he'd heard when he had been back in the other timeline. He waited patiently until said pants were flung at him and smacked into his face. "Okay, that was a bit much," he commented somewhat sourly as he removed his pants from his face and pulled them on, and then rooting around for his own boots in the grass. Once that was taken care of, he found what was left of his shirt, and his (surprisingly still-intact) sword, and finished getting dressed a bit quickly.
"Yeah, yeah, keep complaining; Kami, you're worse than..." she stopped then, the smile on her face fading as she remembered that her twin was....very much dead. In the excitement and passion of the night (and day) before, she had for some reason forgot about 17. Trunks sighed and shook his head, already knowing what the problem was the moment she trailed off.
"Listen, you don't have to go with me....I understand that this has all happened really fast, and I guess...." He ended there, also not sure of what to say anymore. 18 looked over at him and sighed in frustration.
"Get a move on already; I don't want to be some bug's lunch, you know," she poked him in the back, trying to get him to snap out of it.
After about twenty or so minutes later, the pair had found themselves outside of Gero's lab....which was also surprisingly still-intact. 'But then, it had been destroyed only in that other time and not this one,' Trunks reflected to himself. It was getting hard for him to tell what had happened here, and what had happened there. 'Hopefully Dr. Gero's body isn't there; it was bad enough the first time when it was new.' He shuddered at that mental image.
"Okay, now let's see..." he said aloud, removing a flashlight from a small case concealed in the pockets of his pants and looking around. He passed one free hand over a large coffin-like device and grimaced when he saw the number '17' imprinted on it. He looked around some more, and soon found a small crack in the floor. He tapped his foot on it experimentally, and it gave way a small bit, sending small pieces of stone tumbling down a long, almost cavernous drop. "Huh," he mused loudly. 18, now getting a bit bored, moved over to where Trunks was standing and looked at the slightly- wider crack.
"And this is important because...?" she asked him, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her right ear. Trunks snapped out of the revelry and went a light shade of red.
"Uh, I don't think it is; the lab where Cell should be is over here," he quickly moved over to where a large casing for one of those 'coffins' were and tossed it aside. He looked intently at the floor, comparing it to the layout of the lab that he had destroyed in the past, and charged up an energy wave. He fired it, blasting through the rocks and metal, tearing his way into the secluded lab.
Finally, he released the last of the wave and panted, a small grin on his face as he peered inside the large hole he had made in the lab's floor and wall. Floating through, he offered 18 his hand. She rolled her eyes at him again and flew past, and he merely shrugged, following her down into the depths of the secret lab.
There was a large supercomputer ticking away at one end of the room, and at the other was an almost equally large tank containing....
18 blinked curiously, seeing the small shape floating there. Even though it was only bigger than her hand, she could practically FEEL the power emanating from the thing. And the way the crest on its head was sloped and the vague contours of its not-yet developed body, it wasn't too hard to guess that this thing would end up one very UGLY bug. She shuddered at the thought of what it would look like. Then, she decided she didn't want to know, or give this thing the chance.
So, very calmly, very efficiently, she blasted the infant Cell, completely exterminating every last one of his cells and thus removing his threat. The tank exploded outwards, and she jumped back to avoid getting coated in whatever gunk had been sustaining that monster. Trunks let out a slight yelp of surprise, but he just shook his head, and blasted the supercomputer, making sure that no trace of it or its data was left to rebuild Cell in any shape, form, or fashion.
"Well, that was fun," Android 18 remarked as she turned to Trunks and gave him a look, that hint of sarcasm still present. "NOW can we go?" she asked, the mere thought of her being in this place any longer sending shivers down her spine.
"Yeah, that's all that was left to do here," he said quietly, as the two floated up and exited through the hole.
As they exited the lab, 18 looked over at the saiyajin and smiled softly, one of her new expressions.
"So, I guess I get to meet your mom know, huh?" she asked conversationally, a prospect that made Trunks both cringe and smile.
Unbeknownst to them, however, that little crack Trunks discovered was hiding yet another hidden lab of Gero's, where another supercomputer endlessly toiled away at its programmed mission: to create the ultimate android killing machine. The work had been completed long ago, but the command to activate the beings in the three 'coffins' had never been sent due to a program error that had been cause by an unfortunate lapse of maintenance on the part of Dr. Gero.
Only now, thanks to the actions of Trunks and 18, a power surge ran through the supercomputer in the other hidden lab, causing it to shut off to prevent an overload and any subsequent explosions. However, the instant the power returns to the computer, the lids of the three 'coffins' slowly begin to rise, and the three 'people' inside stepped out.
One was human in appearance, the second much too tall, and the third much too short. There wasn't enough light in the lab to make out many details, except that two of them had glowing ice-blue eyes, and the short one had on a pair of sunglasses that still managed to shimmer with a blue light.
As one, they all said one word:
"Goku."
TBC.................
End Notes: Okay, so maybe this one had its cheesy moments. But I like how it turned out. We get to see Bulma's reaction to her son's new girl, and the survivors of 18 and 17's reign of terror get to meet a new breed of Android, one much worse than the last.
