What Could've Been

Chapter 6: Incomplete Transformation

The future cyborgs watched with great trepidation as the screen slowly regained its color, neither sure of what they were about to witness.

It had better be us murdering that mad bastard or killing some humans. Oh, how fun would it be to watch us destroying some cities, to watch those pathetic creatures scurry around as we wrecked their homes...

But then again what if that trickster decided to show us how that sick scientist slowly cut us opened and then stitched us back together? What if he's only interested in showing how we suffered? Thank kami I couldn't remember what happened during Gero's experiments...

When it was shown the next scene indeed took place at the laboratory evident from its rocky walls, the place both could recognize even in their dreams as where their old lives were stripped away, Future Eighteen couldn't help but held onto her own shaky arms with her dear life. For the frightened blonde, it wasn't a matter of keeping up appearance anymore as her fingers traced a few scars carefully hidden under her clothing and wondered if she'll be forcibly given the origin stories of these unsightly wounds that had persistently lingered to that very day.

Future Seventeen felt his sister's unease before he even saw her trembling body and quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, his fingers gently massaging her rigid form.

"I'm here for you sis," He said in a comforting voice then turned to the seated ass who he guessed was probably enjoying himself too much watching them suffer, "Hey King Kai, you aren't planning on showing us how that psycho mutilated our bodies are you? Cause if so we are leaving!" he made sure to call the deity by his proper name least they suffered even more.

The blue guardian stared at them through his thick shades that while covering his eyes, still couldn't conceal how sorry he was for them, "Don't worry, I didn't take you guys here just to show how you two got wronged."

Yeah right, as if you hadn't reminded us amply of how we got here...

"I've made sure to cut off those parts, don't worry,"

Good, then just let us see how we took revenge on that Gero and those humans...

"But I'm afraid I must still show a few...unsettling segments of how you two finally lost your old selves completely so bear with me alright?"

Both swallowed a gulp without uttering a word of protest.

In front of two pairs of frightened eyes laid Lapis on an operation table, or perhaps they should call him Artificial Human Number Seventeen. In either case, the young man was dressed in a simple white boxer, exposing the many scars on his pale skin that Future Seventeen swore were almost identical to his deceased yet very much affected body. Also hooked onto the unconscious form were wires that led to a variety of beeping machineries displaying complex numerical data and charts. The boy's eyelids were firmly closed and his body unnaturally stiff, a sharp contrast to the near frantic Dr. Gero who was checking his instruments and typing lines after lines of command.

Oh, please no! What the hell is this? The asshole lied to us!

It was Future Seventeen's turn to shudder despite himself and his sister returned the favor by grasping an entire arm of his to ease the built up tension.

"Good, this is going much better than anticipated," Gero's ear-piercing chuckle had the cyborgs cringing, "what did I tell you my dear? I said you are special didn't I?" he traced his finger through the chiseled body.

"Hey don't you dare touch me you freak!" The raven-haired cyborg shouted, leapt up from his seat, and attempted at firing a blast but had his gathered energy stripped from him before he could let loose.

"I need you both to calm down; I promise I won't show you two getting dissected alright?" King Kai raised his voice, his authoritative side forcing Future Seventeen to sit back down who crossed his arms contemptibly.

Gero meanwhile had taken out what looked like a remote control; its sinisterly crimson button emitting a dreadful shine. Immediately, a revolting sensation cascaded from the cyborgs' brains down their whole body that had their stomachs turning, almost forcing whatever was inside out their mouth.

You won't get to control us with that stupid device much longer old man. Oh yea we'll soon make you regret it...

Control his test subject lying motionlessly Gero did, as it was with a simple click that those cat-like eyes slowly revealed themselves. In spite of them retaining their gorgeous blue shades, there was something wrong and almost unnatural about those orbs, like something had been lost. It was a sight the future cyborgs hated from the deepest parts of their being, even if they were accustomed to seeing their own mechanical glare from reflections.

"Ahh, I see you've awakened as I commanded. Good, very good!" Gero clapped his hands, his pale gray orbs glistening excitedly as the boy's stiff back lifted itself from the flat surface in a robotic fashion, "now tell me my dear, what's your name? Who am I? And what's your purpose?"

For a while, his eyes hardly if ever blinked as they stared blankly up ahead, seemingly not registering anything.

"Well? Speak up my creation! Or are you a mute? I did give you a voice box you know!" The mad scientist asked, his fingers tapping on the operation table impatiently.

No you didn't give me a voice box you sick bastard! I am born with functional vocal chords, given to me by my loving parents!

"I am...I am...," the teenager uttered in half monotone much to the cyborg's horror.

"Yes that's right, speak up my creation. What is your name?"

"I am...La...La...,"

Future Seventeen snickered seeing Gero visibly paled.

"I am Lapis...yeah, I am Lapis and you are..." Lapis turned to look at the wrinkle-filled face, his confounded eyes narrowing as if trying to figure out who the person was before widening. The youth then lowered his gaze at his own body and gasped in horror, "THE HELL? What have you done to me old man? And where's my sister?"

Gero took a step backward as Lapis ripped off the many chords latched onto him, one connecting to a heart monitor that began beeping when the showed drastic spikes representing Lapis's heartrate receded into a flat line.

"Where am I and what have you done to me?" Lapis asked vehemently again, his personality returning in full swing.

When all he got was bewildered glare, the boy took a giant swipe that sent a nearby device weighing probably an inhuman amount flying into another one, the resulting impact scattering both into metal scraps.

"W-what have I done? And since when could I do that?" Lapis muttered fearfully to himself and, as if to test out his newfound strength, gave another machinery several times his size a light push that saw it toppling over, generating a another loud crash.

What are you good old me? Simple, you are now a killing machine without a shred of humanity left in you...

"That's enough you doll! I didn't wake you up just to destroy my lab. Guess it's time to reprogram some of that disobedience out of you!" Gero shouted, displaying his twisted personality the future cyborgs were all too familiar with. Raising his remote held hand, he waited until Lapis noticed the device before pressing the crimson button.

Future Seventeen and Eighteen cringed watching those feline-like blue orbs that, while no longer pools of sparkling ocean it once were but nevertheless was still a sight to behold, suddenly had all colors drained from them. Before paralysis had completely overtaken him, Lapis opened his lips but not a word came out, resulting in an o shaped mouth frozen in time, seeking for answers yet unable to progress.

S-so that's what we looked like after getting deactivated? It's like our life was sapped from us without our consent...

Falling face first into hard concrete floor, the turned off teen laid there motionlessly, not moving an inch even when Gero used his foot to flip him over like some fallen toy.

"If you can hear me behind that dumb expression of yours, this is what you get for being a disobedient brat. Now here's hoping you'll be more agreeable next time!"

Thank kami neither one of us knew anything once you pressed that darned button you monster! As a matter of fact, it would've been a nice nap had we had a say in when to take it...

The future cyborgs' shaky fingers were entwined tightly underneath the table as they watched Gero dragged Lapis's limp body back onto the operation table, even going as far as shutting those wide-open blank eyes and mouth and giving his cheeks some condescending slaps. Despite the boy's seemingly unresponsive, almost tranquil exterior, the heart monitor showed otherwise, its green line spiking up and down, sometimes going completely off the screen.

The elder cyborg sister was holding onto her brother's trembling form with all her might, no longer caring if King Kai could see their distress. For the younger brother, he had his head pressed against his sister's shoulder, barely able to bring himself to look at the mad scientist at work on his computer that, while not intrusive at first glance, cut deep into his core.

I'm being programmed on like a machine and my very being, my personality, my character is at stake...

Truth was that no matter how hard they tried denying it, both could still recall vivid imageries of someone tinkering with their brain. The reprogramming, or perhaps it was better to address it for what it was, brainwashing and memory wipe, often took on the form of dark entities with tentacles and other cliché traits. No matter how hard they fought in their sleep, these monstrous forces never failed at overpowering them, rendering them helplessly immobile much like Lapis.

By kami, we had better not have to fall asleep as spirits...there's no way we can survive another one of these nightmarish experiences...

On the screen, Gero had finished typing and, after snickering coldly at his experiment, took out a scalpel on one hand, his other hand caressing the unresponsive body as if deciding where to cut.

"No! Don't you use that thing on me!" Future Seventeen screamed.

Thankfully, for the cyborgs, they didn't have to look at the boy suffering for long as the colors soon faded into King Kai's interior.

"Wow, thanks for remembering your promise of not forcing us to watch grotesque stuff!" Future Eighteen remarked coldly.

"No problem and I know I shouldn't apologize to you two but...well sorry but I believe I had to show you guys your transformations." King Kai said in a sincere tone.

"Hmph, I bet you have to don't you? Anything to prolong our suffering and keeping us from the good stuff." Future Seventeen spat as he straightened his disheveled looks, the iciness returning like nothing wrong had happened.

I'll just have to endure these stupid segments until we start seeing us letting our anger on those humans, then it'll be years' worth of fun...

With his newfound reassurance, Future Seventeen prepared himself as the room's interior transformed into the darned laboratory only this time, his sister was lying beside him on a separate operation table hooked onto machineries. The elder twin was wearing no more than he did, those simple white bra and panties left much of her skin exposed.

Future Eighteen was covering her face with her hands by this point, not willing to look at herself with those tiny yet very distinguishable scars.

Kami knew why I was so fashion conscious. Sure, I love a well-stocked wardrobe, but have you seen how hideous I am underneath those clothing? Not to mention every time I was reminded of how that freak touched my skin during those experiments made me sick...

For the time being at least, that freak had all his attention trained on her brother as he typed line after line of code, the sound of keystrokes almost in unison with the beeping monitor, showing accelerated heartrate whenever new programs were being processed inside what the future cyborgs thought must be poor Lapis's head.

"Good, this should do. Now let's see how my creations respond to me now." Gero wiped a few sweats off his forehead then pressed on the dreaded crimson button.

Lapis awakened to the command of Gero, sitting up akin to a machine bending itself. Unlike last time; however, there were no confusion in his expression. In fact, there were no emotion whatsoever and those crystal blue eyes the cyborg twins loved seeing, those eyes with so much expression and dare they say, humanity in them had also taken on a stone cold hue.

Gero couldn't be any more satisfied witnessing the change in his behavior though, as he began to snicker, "You know the drill by now. Tell me your name and objectives and of course, your relationship to me."

The raven-haired boy turned toward the scientist in white coats and nodded obediently, "Of course Dr. Gero, I am Android Seventeen and you are my creator. My objectives are to follow your every order and to seek revenge on Son Goku and his friends."

No, not like this, not like this...

Future Seventeen was grasping his jeans so tight he would've torn them had they been real clothing made of fabrics. The sight bothered Future Eighteen who wanted nothing more than to wrap him in her arms once more except she was shaking unbearably violently herself, wondering how she'd react when seeing Lazuli turning into Android Eighteen.

So my brother is an android heh? Machines trying to imitate human behavior? For crying out loud we are cyborgs at the very least you sick bastard!

The sick bastard meanwhile cracked up in pure amusement, his hands clapping clearly enjoying his own handiwork.

"Good good! It's about time you followed my command. And here I was beginning to think my creation was but a failure. Now let's see if my modifications on Android Eighteen had been successful."

Future Eighteen watched anxiously as Lazuli, or should she say Android Eighteen, was awakened with a press of the button. Much like her brother, she sat up with her back perfectly straight but where it differed was her slightly puzzled eyes.

Gero smirked, seemingly not realizing the different look, "Your name, relationship to me, and objective my dear."

"I...where am I and...ahhh! Just what am I wearing?" Lazuli screamed weakly covering her own body with her hands, "and Lapis, what's happened to you? Why the blank look?"

Gero let out a disgusted snort, "Tsk, what are you a woman? You are a machine, my creation and clothing shouldn't be your concern. Ah well, guess my experiments never behave properly the first time did they?"

"W-what do you mean?" Lazuli looked at the man in a mixture of fear and resentment.

Future Eighteen held onto her body and cringed. Luckily, her brother was there for her, wrapping her shaky form in his arms.

What he meant was you aren't a living being to him...

For the future cyborgs, Gero's next reaction wasn't hard to predict. The man would only accept obedience and any signs of malfunctioning was immediately answered with a deactivation, which was what he did as he pointed the device at the frightened girl, whose gaze widened, seemingly sensing the simple looking device was more than meets the eye.

Right before the mad doctor could press the button though, a firm hand clasped around his remote held arm.

"Android Seventeen, what are you doing? I didn't give you the order to touch me now did I?" Gero shouted trying to yank his arm away but to no avail, not even pounding against the young man's naked chest did him any good for that Lapis merely glared blankly at him.

"D-don't touch my sister." He stated.

"Your sister? What are you babbling about? You have no sister, that's Android Eighteen!" Gero screamed showing fear for the first time.

The future cyborgs were now cheering triumphantly, especially when Lapis apparently squeezed so hard on Gero's hand that sounds of broken bone could be heard even from the other side of the screen. The obviously still human brother was glaring daggers at the doctor now, his other fist rising ready to deliver a punch that no doubt would've shattered the fragile old man.

"That's right, kill him brother! Kill the sick bastard and win your freedom!" Future Eighteen shouted while her younger self got off the operation table, looking ready to assist her sibling.

W-what if in this timeline me and my brother really did kill Gero before he had completely changed us? Will we still go onto killing rampages?

Amidst loud cheering form his audience, Lapis's fist sailed toward Gero, whose only source of protection was his remaining good arm as he tried shielding himself, his other arm dangling limply. The old man looked positively frightened, so much so the future cyborgs almost felt bad for him, almost, as both were now beginning to replay memories with murderous grins of how they had turned on Gero in their timeline.

Their self-satisfying daydream didn't last much longer; however, as Lapis abruptly paused in his track, his icy blue orbs blinking a shade of artificial red.

"W-what's happening to my eyes? Why am I seeing all these charts?" The boy let go of Gero's broken arm and covered his eyes, streams of tear were soon pouring down his cheeks.

"Brother, you alright? Hang in there!" Lazuli immediately rushed toward her sibling and held him in her arms, "what have you done to him you bastard? What...ack!" the blonde girl screamed, her own eyes flashing like ambulance lights.

Loud cackles escaped the mad scientist's mouth, his one good hand now pointing the remote at the suffering duo, "Simple my dear, you and your brother are no longer humans, and you'll soon learn that hard lesson in a peaceful slumber!"

A click was all it took to silence Lapis's groans and whatever Lazuli planned on saying, for both went limp and collapsed onto the ground. The twins' eyes may be wide opened, but neither made so much as a grunt, their soulless stares pointing at the ceiling betraying not a glimpse of emotion as Gero began landing anger induced kicks after kicks against their bodies, filling the space with loud resonating thuds.

"You monster!" both future cyborgs shouted, their glowing fingers raised at that anger vein filled balding head but a warning glance from King Kai prompted both to lower their hands.

"You two should feel lucky that it was a lot of effort finding bodies able to undergo my procedure. Otherwise I would've thrown you lots into trash cans." Gero panted after exhausting himself of energies.

The last visual shown before it all faded to black was that of him hauling the unconscious duo onto operating tables and hooking them with wires. The heartbeat monitor beeped as the line bounced drastically up and down even while neither were responsive, only getting more violent when lines of code was being inputted.

"Okay that's it, time out, time out. I don't think I can take any more of this!" Future Seventeen shouted as he got onto his feet.

King Kai turned to look at the troubled cyborg, "You need some tea? I've got plenty here."

Future Eighteen let out an unlady-like snort, "What made you think we'd want anything from you? Do you think we'll accept anything Gero has for us?" she shouted, her murderous glare blinking blood red.

The guardian of northern galaxy shook his head.

"That's what I thought cause you are just like him, vile and despicable. Now if you don't mind, we'd like to go outside thank you!" The blonde cyborg girl said coldly, her brother already heading for the door.

"Fine, I'll give you thirty minutes of break."

Both twins spun around with killing intent radiating from their bodies, "Excuse us?"

"I said thirty minutes. While I'm sorry for such unhappy viewing, you two are here for your punishment and I expect you two to be back here in a timely manner." King Kai stated matter of factly.

W-who does he think he is? He's just like Gero, holding our lives in his hands without regard for us...

J-just like what we did to all those humans who never had a say...

"Fine, we'll be back in thirty minutes but only cause we don't need that much rest, let's go sis!" Future Seventeen claimed proudly having completely regained his icy exterior.

King Kai wore a bitter smile observing the duo slamming the door shut, the eyes behind those circular-rimmed glasses glistening a peculiar glow.


The sky above King Kai's planet was as purple and unnatural as back then when the cyborg twins first set foot on it and yet the two hardly found it unsettling but rather a source of relief. For them, it was a good change of pace to say the least, to be out in the open, breathing real air, and recomposing their thoughts.

"How you holding up brother?" Future Eighteen asked caringly behind her sibling who was stretching his limbs.

Future Seventeen didn't respond immediately as he spent a few precious moments in silence.

"Hey, if it makes you feel better, seeing myself all exposed in front of that sick bastard makes my blood boil. I can never look at my body the same way." She said after seeing the burning rage in his eyes gradually subsiding.

"That's not it," The younger brother spat, pausing to gather himself before continuing, "that blasted remote, anyone can shut us down with a push. Hell, any pathetic human could've rendered us useless. It's like we are lesser than them."

The elder sister didn't bothered responding verbally, her murderous eyes blinking dangerously spoke on her behalf.

"And every time he puts us to sleep, we ended up as something different the next time. It's like we aren't even us anymore. Not even that obese god of this blasted planet probably knew what iteration we are currently in,"

"Perhaps it's the best we've lost our memories," She stated in a deep thoughtful voice.

The younger brother's eyes widened in surprise like saucers then returned to their natural shape, "Yeah I get you sis, not knowing how we changed along the way certainly made being us much easier."

Future Eighteen smirked in satisfaction, her heart fluttering that sister and brother could be so alike in their thoughts, "I'm right aren't I? It sure is a lot easier wiping out humanity not knowing what we were like."

Two pairs of sinister icy orbs met, their owners soon began snickering.

"Now that you've mentioned it, I'm almost glad King Kai made us watch our past. All those humans with their dirty treacheries, not to mention what Gero did to us; really they are a dirty bunch that deserved to die." The raven-haired cyborg said wearing an accomplished smirk.

"Even Ms. Poule and Coral?" The blonde asked mischievously, if not slightly jealously especially when mouthing latter name.

Again, a small pause ensued, then the unexpected happened as Future Seventeen began whistling out of the blue.

"What?" Her tone carried a duality of amusement and irritation.

The whistling only grew louder, its tune swaying with enthusiasm as Future Seventeen had closed his eyes, putting all his energy into the seemingly pointless act.

Ah brother, you'll always be you, whether we are human or cyborg. I guess we did retained part of our old selves even now...

A short distance away, the z-fighters could be seen sparring restlessly, their shouts and cries hammering on the future cyborg woman's eardrums like a sledgehammer, cracking her consciousness and evidently disrupting her sibling's peace from his furrowed eyebrows.

"Hey boneheads, keep it down will you? No one's interested in hearing you filths grunt!" She let loose of the pain and rage that had been building inside of her in one bellow.

Soothing quietness overtook the tiny planet much to the blonde's relief, only to be plunged back to hell as curious chatters grew dreadfully louder. Before long, the despicable humans, brainless Saiyans, and worthless Nemakians had surrounded them, all of whom sporting curious or even hateful stares.

Great just what have I done...really it's no fun that I couldn't kill them and get their despicable eyes off of me...

"Wow, you sure bark a lot for a bunch of androids who couldn't stand the memories of their other selves," The pathetic warrior bearing ugly scars known as Yamcha stated with contempt and was met in kind by Future Eighteen's death glares.

"Don't bother looking scary you two, you are both dead and to be honest, you the man droid is pretty hilarious whistling like a little brat." Tien taunted folding his arms in front of him.

Future Seventeen's eyebrows furrowed, "Hey don't you make fun of me you low life. I'm just happy that with what you human scums had put me through, neither one of us should feel even the slightest bit guilty at what we've done!"

Earth's former special defense force looked at one another curiously.

"Oh? And just how far along have you two gotten with the viewing?" Piccolo inquired plainly.

The future twins hesitated, their mouths pursed and face tense.

"Well? What is it? Too hurt to share? You want to play secret victim now? Well we've all seen it and to be honest, it's not much compared to what we've suffered at your hands so don't think for a second just cause you two had endured some tragic events you are entitled to anything alright?" Gohan took over, his stern gaze trained on the cyborgs who for the first time saw clear signs of pain.

He...he's got the same look as us when facing Gero, Crimson, and those human scums...

Still...how dare he mock us? There's no way that he could possibly comprehend our pain. No one can and you guys owe us!

"We..." The brother grinded his teeth together unable to express himself no matter how hard he tried downplaying the remark.

"Fine, if you must know, we are in the Gero's laboratory section. Now tell us you smart asses! How'd you feel now? Having a blast watching us getting tinkered with huh?" The sister spat standing in front of her brother in a protective manner.

"Oh...oh wow!"

The displaying of empathy from their foes gave the future cyborgs a sense of relief if not entitlement at first and then their gazes hardened.

Now hold on a minute...we are Seventeen and Eighteen...we don't need sympathy from lesser beings such as these fools...

"I'm sorry to hear that...it must be hard seeing what the bastard did to you," The half-Saiyan, the cyborgs' sworn enemy admitted, accompanied by his friends nodding their heads.

"Hmph, well save it for yourself Gohan, cause once Gero's part ended, we'll be enjoying ourselves watching you guys getting eradicated!" Future Seventeen spat between snickers.

Bewildered gasps rang throughout King Kai's planet. In between the time it took for the male cyborg to finish his sentence, the atmosphere had changed from sympathy to outrage.

"Wow, you really are cold blooded aren't you? And I was hoping you'd change somehow after the viewing. After all, you were once a human child," Tien said slightly trembling.

"It's no use Tien, what Gero did to them had filled their hearts with hatred. Not even dying can make them see their mistakes." The floating dwarf known as Chiaotzu remarked.

Snickers escaped the future twins' mouths, only this time, there was a clear indication of sadness no matter how hard they tried to act as if unaffected.

"Tell me this then you two, if given a chance to start over, would you done things differently? Do you think your lives could've ended differently given your backstories?"

The firm tone came from the pure-blooded Saiyan Goku, whose understanding brown eyes seemed to drill into their hardened souls.

"I'm only saying this cause I was an alien sent to Earth to eradicate its population but through knowing the people, I've come to love them. Do you two think your fates could've been changed given another chance?"

Suffocating silence filled the space seeing no one could so much as open their mouth given the weight of the question.

"No, that's impossible and we'd rather watch you guys burn. Besides, you are just weak for getting transformed by these pathetic nobodies Goku." Future Seventeen and Eighteen spoke in perfect unison.

"I see, well enjoy yourselves then." Goku turned his back toward them.

"Hey stop!" Future Seventeen yelled.

"Yes?" Earth's adopted Saiyan prodigy turned his face slightly to give the cyborg male a side-glance.

"We never get to fight you in our time Goku, but I'll be looking forward to seeing us taking you down from this timeline. It ought to be a much more satisfying conclusion having gotten rid of everyone!"

"I see." The reply was plain and emotionless.

Getting rid of everyone...yeah that would've been something to take us to the afterlife...killing them all...

Including that bald noseless midget...what was his name again...speaking of which, where is he? How come he hadn't come out to meet us?

Future Eighteen couldn't help but scanning the gathered warriors one last time, taking special care to check all the baldies were indeed not who she was looking for. For reasons unknown, memories of how the little man begged for his friends' lives reminded the blonde of a rare trait of decency shared by a selected few.

He's just like Coral, Ms. Poule, or Slate in his final moments...surely it wouldn't be a miss to let him live would it?

"Hey blondie, looking for someone?" The disturbingly scarred man's words shook the blonde cyborg from her trance.

"N-no of course not, this blasted place is crowded with losers already!" She rebuked.

Her eyes may be playing a trick on her, but if she wasn't mistaken, Yamcha actually had the audacity of flashing a smirk at her.

Hmph, snicker for all you want, we'll soon be laughing in your faces and telling you how your other sorry selves met their ends...yeah that would be perfect development after all the sufferings we've been through...to rub salt on your wounds before we head to hell!


King Kai was sipping tea at a leisurely pace, savoring the soothing sensation of warm drink going down his throat when the future cyborgs barged into his room. Arching an eyebrow, he checked the time on his watch, "Wow, you two are really eager to get this started aren't you?"

The future cyborgs crossed their arms indignantly.

"That we are but none of what Gero had done to us!" Future Eighteen started.

"Oh?"

"That's right King Kai. No more of that programming stuff, I don't care if you didn't show how he dissected us. No more tortures, mentally or physically," Future Seventeen continued and his sister nodded in agreement.

"Or else?" The deity asked as nonchalantly as possible right before taking another seep of his tea.

"Or else we'll simply close our eyes and cover our ears. You can keep us here but you can't make us watch your shit without our permission." The livid blonde spat, walking right in front of King Kai and putting her hands onto the surface.

The guardian didn't bothered responding at first. As a matter of fact, he didn't even bothered looking at her, taking his time to finish the cup and then leaned back onto his chair.

"Well King Kai? Your answer?" Future Seventeen asked while trying to suppress the goosebumps creeping up his form, his brain fighting hard to keep those imageries away, imageries of him lying on an operation table and hooked onto devices informing him of his fluctuating heartbeat.

"If the answer is no then you'd better send us to hell now! Cause you'll just be wasting your precious time trying to get us on board viewing your torturous material." Future Eighteen managed to regain her frosty demeanor and forced those words out before her trembling throat made speaking impossible.

There's no way this ass of a god will risk sending us to hell after what he had forced us to endure...he'd rather have us enjoy a few episodes of slaughtering the humans before showing how we met our ends at Trunks...

Still, there was no response from King Kai who had helped himself to another cup of tea. Minutes ticked by during which the future cyborgs got increasingly uneasy, once again feeling like they were unable to control their fate in front of this overarching lord of afterlife until finally, the seated bastard gave a near indistinguishable nod.

"T-that's a yes?" The future blonde cyborg said, frowning internally at her anxious induced stutter.

"Yes, I grant your request. Now let's get seated shall we?" King Kai said calmly.

Score! Once again we've managed to turn the situation to our favor!

The raven-haired and blonde duo nearly gave each other a high five but opted to conceal their glee.

This time though, the screen remained dark for considerably longer and its audiences had to focus on what's in front to realize for whatever reason, the lights in the lab hadn't be turned on. Furthermore, there were no movements on screen whatsoever with only indication of time passing being eerie humming of machineries.

"Just what the hell is going on here?" Future Seventeen murmured quietly searching for signs of himself.

Suddenly, sound of heavy door creaking opened was followed by a line of light cutting across the dark rocky floor and then a figure darted into the lab.

"Blast those fools! I can't believe I have to resort to waking up Androids Seventeen and Eighteen!" The figure turned out to be none other than Dr. Gero, his eyes panicking and breath erratic as he turned on the lights.

Oh wow! He looks different. So this Gero also turned himself into a cyborg heh? Even as a half machine, he still couldn't fix his ugly appearance unlike me who's always a sight to behold...

And wow, looks like someone had taught him a hard lesson with all those dirt on him...and is that one of his arms missing?

Future Eighteen chuckled, already enjoying herself as she took in the disheveled look of the mad scientist. For the first time in her life, she didn't mind setting her eyes on the man responsible for their misfortunes.

Her smile didn't last much longer; however, as the whereabouts of her and her brother was soon revealed, standing inside metallic capsules bearing the numbers 17 and 18. Normally, seeing themselves immobile was enough to make electric currents dance around her frame but the sight was even more despicable due to the blank stares they sported, even during their so-called rest.

What are we? Barbie dolls stuffed inside toy boxes? The bastard didn't bothered putting us to sleep properly...

"Good morning Dr. Gero, thank you for waking me!" Upon awakening, Lapis had greeted his tormentor cordially much to Future Seventeen's horror. The boy's face was stone cold and his voice monotone, his body more rigid than ever not exhibiting a sign of natural motion that came with being a human.

Great...now I'm truly Seventeen...

On screen, Seventeen was seemingly enjoying, or at least not objecting to a small chat with Gero, not even flinching when being called Android Seventeen.

"Good morning Dr. Gero, how was your day?" Lazuli behaved exactly the same as her brother if not more polite, her lips curved upwards as if genuinely glad to see freak.

"That piece of shit King Kai tricked us again." Future Eighteen cursed under her breath.

By kami, we were never this obedient, and here we are acting like Gero's lackies...

"Android Seventeen and Eighteen, I need you two to kill Goku's friends. We will seek revenge on the rest of humanities later." Gero ordered authoritatively.

"Yes Dr. Gero." Seventeen said affirmatively, his future counterpart covering his face, unable to bear the sight of such display of debasement.

"Understood." Eighteen bowed her head while Future Eighteen balled her fists.

On the brighter side, we get to watch us kill Goku's pathetic friends...yeah those nobodies won't be so cocky once we told them their gruesome demise...

The future cyborg duos tried coming up with an excuse to calm their nerves.

On the screen, thunderous bangings that dented the heavy steel door were ringing throughout the space by now, but still the present cyborgs didn't show any interest in the commotion, their stares resting on what the future cyborgs soon made out to be none other than the remote and both broke into wicked smiles.

"Seventeen, what are you doing?" Dr. Gero gasped as Seventeen had snatched away the remote in one swift motion. The mad scientist's look of fear was clear as day, his terror-stricken face twisted growing more frightened when the raven-haired cyborg crushed the device in his hand, resulting in an ear-pleasing crash so satisfying Future Seventeen let out a playful whistle.

"Hah! Now who's in charge now?" Future Eighteen yelled triumphantly.

The two mass murderers, whose emotions had long been low since viewing their tragic past, were shaking their fists in excitement, their minds chanting "Kill! Kill! Kill!" repeatedly. So emotionally high they were that neither even took note of the steel door crumbling from what was undoubtedly a blast, both training their eyes on the brain exposed scientist who they predicted must be nearing his end.

"There, those are Goku's friends and our sworn enemy. It goes without saying I need you two to take care of them." Gero muttered.

"As if we'd listen to you old man? Without that remote you are nothing!" Future Seventeen spat.

Not listening they did, as the blonde cyborg had made her way to a capsule bearing the number 16, checking the large guy sporting orange Mohawk lying inside.

"Sixteen? Hey sis, do you remember a Sixteen from our time?" The future raven-haired cyborg asked.

Future Eighteen shrugged, "No idea brother," she paused to think, "do you think he could be another victim of Gero?"

The brother stroked his chin, "Possibly, in any case I hope they let the poor guy out."

"Yeah, no one deserved to be confined in a box, rotting their life away." The sister nodded empathically, her lips broke into an ear-to-ear grin when her present counterpart elbowed their tormentor in the chest, sending him sprawling on the ground.

"That's it, I'm turning you bunch into scrap metals once this is over! You two are nothing but failures like Sixteen!" Dr. Gero threatened but Present Eighteen didn't seem to care one bit as she began working on the control panel.

"Are you deaf? I said do not release h...ack!" The ear piercing voice was interrupted by none other than Present Seventeen's hand, which had gone through Gero's left chest.

For the future cyborgs, the next several seconds went by blissfully slow as if lasting longer than hours, as their tormentor, whose expression was a perfect combination of bewilderment, anguish, and fear, tried turning around to face his attacker. The decrypted old man, who couldn't so much as fix his own wrinkled ugly face, reminded them of many of their victims, spending their last moment getting a glimpse of their executioner. From the looks of it, Present Seventeen was in no hurry of ending his victim's sorrow anytime soon either, as he waited till those blood vein filled eyes had given him one last good hard look before bringing his leg through that fragile neck, sending the disembodied brain case rolling on the floor.

"About time you meet your end bastard! Die!" Future Seventeen sprang up and shouted in unadulterated bliss, his murderous eyes blinking bloody red nonstop, recording the segment to be played later to his amusement.

I can't believe it! No matter which time line, that bastard always died by my hand!

Showing no less enthusiasm than his future counterpart, Present Seventeen had leapt forward, his right leg extending forward in a telegraphed sequence of execution.

Death by getting your head crushed like an ant! Yeah this ending suited you just fine you body tinkering filth!

With a resonating crash and it was all over as Gero's regretful look disintegrated under Seventeen's foot. Not a recognizable bit of the twins' tormentor remained, not even his brain, which had splattered under tremendous force, the resulting loud crash music to the future cyborgs' ears.

"Way to go brother! That's some master work there!" Future Eighteen clapped enthusiastically.

"That's right sis! And now that Gero's taken care of, it's time for the rest of you pathetic worms to go meet your maker!" Future Seventeen began laughing manically, his icy blue eyes surveying the assembled z-fighters, taking note of how frightened most of them are.

Future Eighteen was shaking in uncontainable blood lust too, her brain already replaying how each one of the losers assembled met their ends.

Heh, I wonder just exactly how we are going to deal with these trashes. I still remembered snapping that loser Namekian's neck like a twig and punching through the disgusting triclop's torso. Seventeen also had his fun blasting that cocky Vegeta into nothing and then we...

Then we killed that Krillin...

The future blonde cyborg's gaze shifted onto bald warrior monk on screen. The little man appeared positively frightened, refusing to fight the other version of her brother who had beckoned him over with his finger.

Huh, pathetic, and I thought he was pretty brave standing up to us in our timeline, begging us to let those fleeing human scums leave! Ah well if that's his true color then the little wimp deserved to die...

"Hey look sis, it's that Trunks. Why's he showing up so early? I thought the punk wouldn't rear his ugly head years after we started our rampage." Future Seventeen had recovered from his killing lust, even showing signs of fear from his panicking voice.

"Y-you are right...it is Trunks! What's he doing here?" Future Eighteen couldn't help but stutter, recalling how the half Saiyan had opened his palm and let loose a frightening golden light that obliterated her.

"Do you think King Kai agreed to skip Gero's torturous transformation because we lived painfully short lives here?"

"I-I don't know brother, but that had better not be the case. What kind of injustice would it be if neither one of us get to enjoy ourselves before meeting our ends?" The blonde sibling assured.

The raven-haired twin forced out a wavering smile, "You are right, there's no way we are going down that easy! I bet we at least killed a few of them before going to hell."

"Exactly, we aren't that weak!" The sister replied icily, her frozen glare travelling back to the dotted head.

Sorry Krillin, but if we have to die today than hopefully I get to kill you. At least this way you get to die by my hand...


The scene that followed couldn't possibly disappoint the murderous future pair as both watched their enemies fell before them gleefully. Lying on the ground unconscious were four of the five warriors, their battered bodies covered with bruises. The most injured of these low lives was no doubt the entertainingly cocky Vegeta, whose two arms had been broken by Present Eighteen all the while her future counterpart cheered. Even Trunks, who the twins feared would terminate them in the blink of an eye, laid defeated amongst the rubbles, his dreaded Super Saiyan aura having long dissipated.

"Hah! So even Trunks is no match for us in this timeline. What's there to stop us from ruling the world then sis?" Future Seventeen exclaimed joyfully, his body inclined against his chair comfortably akin to enjoying a movie.

"We haven't seen Goku, Yamcha, or even that Gohan though bro. You think one of them could've killed us?" Future Eighteen remarked worriedly, her troubled gaze resting on the z-fighters whose chests heaved up and down, an undisputed sign of life.

Something's not quite right with these other us, why hadn't they delivered the killing blow? Don't they want these humans to suffer like they had?

And why's that Sixteen playing with birds? It's like their hearts aren't in the fight. Don't they know their enemies will only grow stronger like what Trunks did if they leave them alive?

"I dunno sis, but if Trunks couldn't kill us, what can? That Yamcha is a third rate fighter who doesn't even dare showing his scarred face, stubborn Gohan is no match for us if we team up on him, and I'm willing to bet Goku is no different so just relax alright?" Future Seventeen reassured, giving his tense sibling gentle pats on the back.

I sure hope so brother...

The future sister gave her partner an unsure glance.

"But I'm wondering why hadn't we killed these punks. Look at me, why am I telling that bald midget to give his loser friends senzu beans or whatever the hell those are? Shouldn't this other me simply put a beam through this pathetic human's heart or better yet decapitate him like what I had done to Gero?" The future cyborg male admitted, showing hints of unease for the first time since the destruction of the z-fighters began.

His slbing nodded.

Brother's right, besides this Krillin is a total disgrace and didn't even dared fighting us. He's better off dead than alive!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen, the still standing mechanical trio was discussing what to do with their newfound freedom, eventually coming to the conclusion, much to their future halves' relief, that they'd like to hunt down Goku.

"Wait, don't go!"

Out of nowhere, Krillin's determined voice had rang out, the weight of his words resonated throughout King Kai's room. There wasn't a hint of fear in him and Future Seventeen snickered disapprovingly while Future Eighteen couldn't help but feel her mouth curved up in a small smile. The present cyborgs were no less surprised too, as Seventeen stopped in his track while Eighteen turned toward the approaching warrior, giving him her full attention.

"Why are you after Goku? What's Goku ever done to you? Tell me?" More words followed and Future Eighteen couldn't help but shook her head.

No way, is he really trying to reason with us? You should've ran away while you had the chance...

Reasoning with the three fighters clearly leagues above his own the warrior monk did, his resolute expression never wavering for one moment, even as Present Seventeen told him coldly they weren't about to change their minds. When it looked like no matter what the cyborgs said could possibly sway the stubborn warrior, Present Eighteen walked toward the man whose bravery finally showed signs of cracking but nevertheless didn't budge from his spot.

This is it for you Krillin, can't believe you are the first person I killed in this timeline but unfortunately you must go just like the rest of your disgusting race...now kill him, other me, and prove that you aren't a disappointment!

Future Eighteen's hands were gripping her shirt tightly, her steely orbs glued onto the scene wishing to save the memory for later viewing.

But at least make it quick for him alright? I know me and my brother killed him with a combined finger blast in our time so hopefully he wouldn't have to suffer for long here...

Instead, clear and audible sound of lips pressed against the departing human cheek reached Future Eighteen's ears.

Wait, what?

"See you later little guy!" Present Eighteen said playfully the moment her mouth left Krillin's blushing face.

Future Eighteen sat stiffly on her seat, her frosty eyes thawed by the incomprehensible scene before her. While any other person, including her brother would've missed it, the now pink cheeked female viewer could've sworn this other version of herself was flushing too from the faint near invisible rosy shade on those pale cheeks, not to mention the momentary sparkle on those ocean blue eyes that almost resembled Lazuli's caring eyes.

Just what the hell is wrong with this other me? She should be Eighteen the killer by now, not Lazuli the human girl!


A/N: Thanks for the wait for this chapter and I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know I didn't dive too deep into the conversion but that was due to several reasons, chiefly amongst them being the past several chapters had been very depressing and I don't want this story to sink any lower as well as a reader pointing out that it would be odd for Future Seventeen and Eighteen to be willing to sit through their transformation. Nevertheless, I hope what I had included here didn't disappoint. Originally, I was hoping to go right into present timeline from the start but decided to show more of the twins' hardship.

I also hope you all enjoyed Gero's demise and the K18 moment near the end. I chose to end the chapter after the famous kiss partly due to me believing the story progression is a bit too slow and that it would be a good way to tie this chapter together.

Lastly do let me know what you guys think of the names: Present Seventeen and Present Eighteen. I know I always referred to the future cyborgs as Future Seventeen and Future Eighteen so strictly speaking, simply addressing the present cyborgs as Seventeen and Eighteen should be fine but I thought it'd be good to be careful, seeing this is the first chapter Lapis and Lazuli start to take on their other names.

Thanks for reading once more and until the next chapter!