Chapter 1: Awakening
He lay on his back, his cold icy blue eyes staring up at the midday sky. He
couldn't remember how he got in this place.
He sat up and looked around, trying to recall how he had gotten here. He was
in a canyon which was pockmarked with giant holes as if a monstrous battle
had taken place.
Not far from him was a large man who looked as confused as he was. The other
man was tall and bulky, his head shaved except for an orange-red mohawk. He
was dressed in a black body suit with green armor that wrapped around his
upper torso and rose to a crest around his neck.
He brushed a strand of black hair out of his face as he closed his eyes in
reflection.
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Life had always been a game to him. True it was a dangerous game, but he
loved the thrill of life on the edge.
He had traveled around the world with his sister and their large silent
friend. He had enjoyed stealing the van for their search for Goku. It had
made the game so much more interesting. He didn't mind that it annoyed his
sister either.
She was such a no nonsense type.
He remembered how she looked with her short blonde hair flying as she climbed
out the window of their stolen van to blow the forest they were bouncing
through away.
Annoying her always made the game fun.
They had arrived at the Son residence and promptly trashed it for having the
audacity of being empty of inhabitants.
Then they had headed for an island where 16 had sensed Goku's energy. They
had arrived only to be challenged by Piccolo.
The fight had just been getting good when that monster showed up. It had
tried to get to them but Piccolo intervened.
He had watched in amazement as the strange insect looking creature smashed
Piccolo into the ground repeatedly. The creature had lifted Piccolo's
battered form to it's face, it's stinger like tail whipping around behind it.
"I could absorb you Piccolo," It's voice was rasping and cruel, "but I
already have enough of your cells, You are just a waste product."
An energy beam cut through Piccolo's chest and the creature dropped him into
the cold ocean waves.
He had thought he hated Piccolo, but the monster's calloused treatment of
Piccolo stirred an unexpected rage in his chest.
"YOU MONSTER"
The battle which ensued was a frantic attempt to save himself and his sister
from certain death-----or worse. Just when he thought all was lost 16 had
stepped in and turned the tide. He had gotten overconfident when 16 was
winning and had not heeded his warnings.
He did not realize the monster was behind him until it was too late. He
turned in time to watch the monster's stinger like tail open out like a bell
as it descended over his head. He had struggled vainly for a few futile
minutes before darkness engulfed him.
***********************
'I don't understand. I was absorbed by Cell. I shouldn't be here.'
17 slowly pushed himself off the ground. He was stiff from his battle with
Cell. He walked over to the other person.
"16, are you all right."
"Yes." As always his voice was slow and mechanical.
"What happened? How did we get here? Did you and 18 defeat Cell?"
"No. We did not. After absorbing you Cell became twice as powerful. I was
no longer able to fend him off. Vegeta and his son arrived to fight him..."
in his slow monotone voice 16 filled him in on the fight with Cell up to the
point where he was destroyed. Silence ensued for several minutes.
"So you don't know what happened to Cell?"
16 didn't answer. In the moments of silence several birds had descended
to settle on his armor and he didn't wish to startle them. He had already
told 17 everything he knew and it was a rhetorical question anyway.
"Essentially that brat, Gohan, blew Cell into the next dimension and they
used the Dragon Balls to wish everyone he killed back to life. You two must
have qualified as dead." As always her voice was cold and indifferent, but he
could tell she was amused to have snuck up on them.
His expression never faltered, "And you didn't qualify?"
"No. He spit me out when Gohan beat him badly enough."
"Well, we are all together now so we should complete our programming."
"We can't."
"Why not?"
"Goku is dead. Cell killed him and he wouldn't allow them to wish him
back."
"Hmmm...so what did they wish for?"
"They used the first two wishes to bring back everyone he killed and
repair the damage done to the planet. After Goku refused to come back they
tried to use the wish to turn us into normal humans but the dragon couldn't
do it. Then--"
"They tried to do WHAT!?" 17 stared at his sister in shock. "Why would
they want to do something like that?"
"Uh...never mind..." she looked flustered andt...was she blushing!? She
hurried on, "When they couldn't do that they used the wish to remove our self
destruct devices."
"They what!? 17 felt a little insecure knowing that he no longer
possessed the last resort self-destruct device...not that he let it show of
course... and it had not been of much use against Cell. "Why did they go
meddling around with our programming?"
18 ignored the rhetorical question.
"Well, what should we do now?" he asked. "With Goku dead we don't have a
function anymore. And from what you say we wouldn't last long if we got into
a scrap with the Z senshi."
"I think we should try to get lost."
He just looked at her. (It was the android equivalent of 'Huh'.)
"We don't want to meddle with the Z senshi if we can avoid it, and with
Goku gone we don't have a reason to...so maybe we should find a quiet place
and get lost so they don't come looking for us."
"Good idea. I still don't get why they tried to make us human though. The
three androids turned and vanished into the desert. 18 had to fight to keep a
smile from turning her lips up at the memory of Krillin stammering to his
friends about what a good couple she and 17 would be, and how he wanted her
to be happy. He really was kind of sweet. She could fight the smile all she
wanted, but she could do nothing about the blush that crept onto her cheeks.
Fortunately 17 had his back to her.
A/N: Sorry psymaster13, can't do it. If you knew who she was I wouldn't have much of a story left to tell. ^.~