Desert Shadow
Chapter 2
"Enigmatic Android"
Rain fell in huge waves, splashing the 2 androids that were now at a standoff with one another. Both were ready to battle it out to the death. The combat units had finally been encountered, and the test was to see which would survive the battle. Each determined to destroy the other by any means necessary.
At least she was anyway.
Seventeen smiled, peering at his Desert Shadow through the misty rain. She was angry, fired up, and currently abhorring his mere presence.
He...just...loved it.
Could I get any craftier? he bragged to himself.
His main objective was to scare her, but seeing as how that didn't work, he figured he could make her very, very mad. So far it was working rather well too. Seventeen's smile continued to grow as he watched her anger grow with it. He decided to toy with her, to have his fun before he took her out.
"Are you mad Desert Shadow?" he asked sweetly. Seventeen watched her brows twitch, the scowl on her face deepened.
But her eyes showed appall.
He raised an eyebrow. She may be an android with emotionless outer appearances... Seventeen tossed a wet strand of his black hair aside. But her eyes can show more emotions than any mere human could.
Another wet tendral fell over his face as he heard the thunder rumble in the distance. Desert Shadow...who are you!
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Her eyes narrowed down further, partly because of the rain and partly because of his arrogance. But mostly because she was so damn mad. How could he just sit there and enjoy tormenting her like this? By making her angry? It was insane, considering the fact that she could probably beat him if her heart so desired.
But why are you playing games? Why! she thought angrily to him.
"I thought you were going to get on with it?" he asked, smile still present on his elegant face. Eyes, half-lidded, suddenly began to rise in question. "Or shall I make the first move to get you going?"
She felt her fierce expression mold into a sneer. "Let's see if you can!"
He relaxed from his ready position and stretched. "Ready?" the android asked, and then he suddenly flickered from her view.
She shot up from her fighting stance. "What tha!"
Suddenly hands grabbed hold of her wrists and they held tight. Her head snapped around to see a glimpse of the dark hair and pale eyes...
And the smirk.
She quickly did a back kick to him but he simply leaped into the air, dodging it with incredible ease and finesse. Pain swept through her as she felt the base of his knee crash directly into her back, causing it to arch forward. Completely caught off her defensive, she gave a small cry as her head flew back. Warm breath touched her neck as she felt the android's smooth cheek touch her own, his black hair caressing it smoothly. His cheeks slowly rose into a smile against her face.
"Guess you weren't, were you?" he whispered in her ear.
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Eighteen paced around the house, which basically were the remains of an old theatre that they had nearly destroyed. But it had managed to stay upright and intact during their assault. During one of Seventeen's little joy rides, she had first brought up the idea of finding a place to live and seeing as how her brother was not paying her any attention, Eighteen had decided to go scout for one herself. The assault damage they had done was just a minimal. As a matter of fact, the theatre was the only building they had missed during their raids on the towns. It only felt the aftermath of their attacks and so she had picked it out instead.
She went into her room and began to toss some of her clothes here and there on the floor, then on the bed. Finally Eighteen decided to flop on her bed, crossing her feet at the ankles and then resting her hands behind her head. She was so bored without Seventeen around, and yet she could get bored when he was around too. She was so hard to please these days.
I wonder where my childish brother went off to? Eighteen thought. She sighed. I swear, Seventeen is just like a little kid! He always wants to go off and play his little games on some stupid human!
Her eyes fell onto the clock across the room near her bedroom door and saw that it was getting close to midnight. What's taking him so long to get back? He's usually home by now.
After a few minutes of relaxing on her bed, Eighteen quickly sat up, walked out of her room and out of the theatre only to get splashed by the rainfall. She held her hand over her hair. "Awe damn! I just washed my hair!" she cursed, then finally gave up on trying to cover her blonde hair.
Eighteen tossed a wave of wet strands away from her blue eyes and sighed. Guess I'll scout the area for him. He can't be far.
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Seventeen could feel her struggling within his grasp as he held her wrists strong. She had tried many times already to head butt him, kick back at him, and even tried to flip over him. But it was to no avail because he was too fascinated with her and with his own game that he was playing. This made him hunger for the procession of the game and how far she was willing to let it go before she lost her sense of control.
Seventeen grinned as he rubbed his cheek against her neck, smelling her scent of jasmines and also hearing her growl in anger. Let's see how long you last, Desert Shadow.
"Are you having fun yet?" he whispered to her teasingly.
The growl was more evident this time. "Bastard! How dare you!" she snapped, balling up her fists tighter against his hold.
She fought harder and harder against his own hands on her. He enjoyed pissing her off like this, because it only caused him to lust for her enduring courage. Courage, an emotion that was not suited for a killer android. But was she truly a killer? Could she really kill in cold blood like he and his sister could? Seventeen couldn't help but wonder about this, because he would've known about it earlier if she had attacked any of the cities that they hadn't assaulted yet. This also enticed him to work out that killing nature inside of her, to see if there was one, and if she truly was an android of Dr. Gero's.
Suddenly, he felt something that he shouldn't have felt from an android. It was large, and yet it was small, barely a spark.
But it was still there.
...A ki signature. Seventeen thought curiously. But, but how?
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Damn him! she cried out in her thoughts.
"Kill him." a familiar, yet strange, voice said to her.
But why? her voice answered.
"Why not? Kill him."
What would that solve? What would it prove?
"Kill him!"
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Eighteen suddenly stopped in mid-flight. She had picked up a strange ki signature, but a ki signal no doubt. She could have sworn that Seventeen and herself had killed all of the warriors of Earth. It wasn't Blondie's power either, but someone new to the area. It didn't seem like much of a power, going on and off like a light switch. But the sudden jolt of power she had gotten from it, it was odd to her. That kind of power was not normal to the area.
She feared for her brother now.
I better go get him out of trouble, because I know he's in it.
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The feeling was still there, but sort of dormant, waiting. What was it waiting to do? Seventeen continued to feel the little flame of ki inside of his Desert Shadow. What could it possibly have meant though? An android having a ki signal, it just wasn't natural. He could feel her tensing up even more, the rain gushing down on them in waves. Yet the flame still could be felt against him, it was burning.
Suddenly, Seventeen heard her hum, though barely audible to even his sensitive ears. What is she doing? he pondered.
He glanced over at the side of her face, suddenly wishing that he hadn't. My God! Her eyes! Her entire eyes are blood red!
Seventeen felt some nerve clutch at his heart. Was it fear?
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Trunks and Gohan's senses perked up as they felt an odd ki signature wavering in and out of consciousness, yet very much alive. They hadn't felt a ki beyond their own in 13 years, so what, or whom, did it belong? It seemed so surreal to them, and yet it wasn't. Their curiosity continued to rise as the ki slowly faded into its consciousness again. This time it stayed this way while it started to grow.
Trunks looked towards Gohan. "Hey Gohan? You feel that man?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I know Trunks. It's such a mystery to me, and yet something tells me I should stay put and not see what's going on."
The younger Saiyan arched an eyebrow at his mentor. "But why Gohan? Wouldn't it be better to help this person? I mean, it's obvious that this guy isn't an android. Androids don't have ki signatures."
Gohan shook his head solemnly. "I don't think I ought to Little Bro. Something just isn't right."
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"Kill him!"
But I can't.
"C'mon!"
I can't!
"Do it! Do it now!"
NO!
"You burn to kill!"
Shut-up! Just Shut-up!
"It's raging inside you! Do it!"
She felt her anger peak to where she didn't know if she could fight it anymore. NO! I won't! I won't!
"KILL! KILL!"
STOP IT!
"Kill him!"
Her vision returned to the scene she was in. The rain fell in waves but she couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel, hear, touch, or smell anything. But she could taste her hunger. It flowed throughout every vein in her body, causing her heart to pump vigorously against her chest. The hunger continued to burn inside of her until the inside of her mouth was wet with saliva. She hungered for blood.
And she wanted it...now.
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Seventeen held his breath as he felt Desert Shadow's ki suddenly grow substantially. It was incredible, and he could've sworn that her eyes had turned a deeper crimson. The sudden nerve that clutched at his heart began to deepen. What was the feeling? He couldn't place it at all.
Suddenly, he felt himself fall back and he quickly glanced down at his leg to see that she had placed one of her legs behind his calve muscle and had leaned forward with her other leg. Before he could react, she tightened her arms and broke free against his grasp, now clutching his wrist and then tossing him overhead. He gave a sudden cry of surprise and soon landed on the heel of his sneakers, just barely slipping in a large puddle. As he turned to look at her, he caught a glimpse of her black hair slowly rising off of her neck in calm waves, a bright red energy outlining the edges of her body. The ki continued to rise, but he couldn't understand why. Why there was a ki signal at all if she was an android.
"Seventeen!" said a voice from above him.
It was his sister, Eighteen. He was ever so grateful! "Sis! What are you doing here?" he questioned.
She landed on the ground and tossed her wet blonde hair to the side, pale blue eyes now narrowed. "I knew you'd be in trouble!" Eighteen snapped, then looked over at what the problem was. "So, what female did you piss off this time Seventeen?"
He scoffed. "Oh come on! She found me!"
"Really now?" she asked while arching a blonde brow. She then caught the Red Ribbon Army insignia stitched into the knees of the girl's black pants. "Is she really an android?"
"I'm not so sure. I don't think she'd be going around wearing our clothes for sport, and yet it's that ki." he complied.
"I know. That's what I don't get either. Let's just take her out."
Seventeen smiled. "I agree."
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"Good! Good! Now that's the blood I was talking about!"
I...I...I want to...
"Yes! Go on! Say it!"
I want to... I want to...
"Say it! Say you want to kill! Go on!"
...I...want...to...
"Yes! SAY IT!"
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Eighteen's eyes narrowed as she watched the red outline begin to broaden around the android. But she wasn't so sure if the girl was an android or not. One thing was for sure, she was going to pay for messing with her brother! She quickly did an attack to the android, lashing out a kick to the girl's side but she instantly reached up a hand to block it, red eyes burning at Eighteen. Eighteen lashed out another kick followed by a punch and then a knee to the stomach, all successfully blocked except for the knee to the stomach. She saw the android lean over just slightly, red eyes narrowing.
She felt Seventeen's presence behind her and she soon saw him soaring over her head, a flying sidekick aimed straight at the android's face. She raised her arms in an 'X' motion and blocked the kick, but it caused her to fly backwards and slam into a ruined building. Her eyelids covered over the red momentarily, but they only flashed open again to reveal the burning crimson. Eighteen saw the girl's lips curl up into a sneer.
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Desert Shadow. What a waste you are. Seventeen thought to himself as he watched her slide down against the building into a shallow puddle.
He sighed as her eyes slowly reopened again. It's really too bad that my sister came along. She hates it when other girls come into my view, so she kills them.
Goodbye, Desert Shadow.
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"C'mon! Say it already! You want to kill!"
I want to...I want...to...
"Yes! Say it! SAY IT!"
I...
"Say it! Kill!"
Want...
"Yes! Kill him!"
To...
"Kill! KILL!"
LET HIM LIVE!
"WHAT!"
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Eighteen heard the android moan and watched her eyes shut again. But this time, when she opened them there were the whites of the eyes and the pale blueness of them. She had fallen out of her crazed stage, that is if she was in one to begin with. The ki signature had died down till it was nothing anymore.
"Stupid witch!" she muttered.
She was about to attack again when she felt a hand grab her firmly by the wrist. Eighteen turned and glared at Seventeen. "But why!"
He shook his head. "Leave her be. She's harmless now. Let's go."
She scoffed at her brother, knowing what the real reason was. "Fine, let's go then." Eighteen muttered under her breath and then flew off, leaving her brother behind as he watched the android girl.
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She could feel the water seeping in through her pants while sitting in the puddle. Her back rested against the stone wall gratefully as she let out a sigh. Black locks of her hair clung to her face as the rain continued to fall. It was official. She hated the rain. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the female android take flight to the air. She couldn't recognize her, except for the fact that she had the Red Ribbon Army symbol printed on the back of her jean vest and that she had shoulder length blonde hair. Everything else was a blur.
But she didn't see the male.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over her weakened figure. She knew, without even having to look, that it was the male android whom she had encountered that night. His number was still a mystery to her, yet so was hers a mystery to him. The shadow grew deeper and she could see that he had kneeled down in front of her, a smirk still placed elegantly on his face. It was also official that she hated that expression. She hated it to the very core.
He reached out and touched a few wet strands of her hair, trying to push them out of her view but she simply turned her face the other way. "Listen, you brought this on yourself Desert Shadow."
Her eyes only moved to look at him, but her head was still turned away. "Don't call me that!" she snapped, the silkiness of her voice now curdled.
She felt her chin rise upward gently and then it was turned toward him to where she was forced to look at him. "Desert Shadow. That's what I'll be calling you until you give me a name." he said coolly, then the smirk broadened. "Or rather, a number."
Finally he rose, looking down at her. "In the meantime, I'm Seventeen." he said.
Her eyes suddenly widened. Seventeen! That beast Dr. Gero! He did this purposely! she thought angrily, then her eyes narrowed down severely. I hope he's damned to an eternity of suffering, the lunatic!
Seventeen winked and then kissed at her. "Until our paths cross again, Desert Shadow." he stated, then flew off into the night sky.
She watched his figure disappear into the shadows before rising off the ground. The cold was starting to find its way through, but seeing as how weather could not hinder her capabilities, it felt like nothing more than an itch. Making her way towards her gray cloak, which surprisingly didn't get blown away, she continuously tossed the night's events around in her mind. It had all happened so fast, and she couldn't remember anything after she had blacked out momentarily. It was all so strange to her, and yet she knew that it was going to occur again. But when? That was the real question.
As she slipped on the damp cloak over her shoulders and sighed, it became clear to her what she had to do. She fastened the knot where the cloak was held together. Alright then. I know what I have to do now.
Her hand reached back and slipped the hood over her head. Juu and I have to destroy those two. Then we go down too. she thought as she balled up her fist.
To finally put an end to the Red Ribbon Army.