Disclaimer, in case it wasn't obvious. I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or really any other property. Thank you.
The Cataylst
Act VI
Chapter 95: Rapture
Android 18:
Everything had changed for 17 after the injury. It'd only been a day since his repair, and he seemed almost detached. It was more than a little concerning to her. They'd been travelling almost erratically, and now they'd made their way to some small city on the approach to Central City. Things seemed to finally normalize when they stopped flying, ironically, and landed on foot. The detached leadership was something she didn't want to see in the slightest.
The urge to help him was there as well. The sensation that she knew, that… that he was her brother, never left her now. It was something she didn't vocalize, but the familial bond, never dissipated. It felt like she was following him into something now that was uncharted territory, it felt uncertain… it felt eerily familiar.
Even with the sun still hanging in the sky as it started to push further to the west, and the expanse of nature around them seemed to leave the world open and free… it felt like she was walking through a dark hall. Dim, flickering lighting surrounded her, and she felt almost claustrophobic. Around every corner she could sense threats. The disassembled body parts… the empty tubes, each with a number on them.
18.
The outing into the world beneath this one, the world she felt she was following down, chasing after 17, came back to light for her as she felt herself internally calm down. Next to her, the giant was walking at pace, smiling as he looked over the nature around them.
"Do you enjoy the birds?" he asked.
Blinking in disbelief for a brief moment, 18 almost scoffed, before she noted the small, but noticeable smile on 16's face. For some strange reason, it was… almost as warming as the sun. There was a sincerity to it, something she'd not noticed since she'd come online. Only faded echoes of a life before this one could have called back to the gesture, but she couldn't remember them. They weren't her memories all the same. They were just ghostly echoes of a woman who'd died.
Looking towards the trees herself, she briefly considered placating him, her program ran through a series of answers that her processor was selecting, but as she scanned the treeline, she could see the birds flocking to the edges of the branches, watching them with seemingly the same curiosity which 16 was. In that splinter of a second, she almost did enjoy the sight of them, before looking back up at 16.
"They're nice," she said.
The giant just continued to smile before looking back at her.
"These surroundings are quiet. I enjoy them."
The night. The woods, the unknown, came to the fore for her, as she looked at the trees, seemingly immediately flipping her thoughts on her head.
This time, as she answered, the programmed response came. The lie, came.
"Yes, I can see that."
What was strange, was as soon as she spoke, 16 frowned, before looking ahead. The slow-witted machine, did he just pick up on her deception? It didn't seem possible to her, but before she could say another word 17 stopped up ahead, turning his head towards them, his black eye, with the blue iris, staring first at them before his entire head shifted. It reflected the injury he'd suffered from Piccolo, and she knew it. It was something deep, that seemed like it couldn't be repaired. When the alien had beaten him in battle, and maimed him, she knew it took away something from her brother… from 17, that had been a core piece of his personality. It was the fact he was the best. It was that he was the strongest, that he had control over the situation around him. That he had the control, his forerunner, had not. He wasn't wasting away in some hospital with no one to help him.
Now? She wasn't so sure.
"Looks like the city's ahead," he said, his tone almost as detached as before. "I am going to find us a vehicle."
"Again, with the bus trip?" Twenty-Three groaned. "Can't we just fly…?"
The battle worn military man paused as he saw 17 storming towards him, immediately looking cowed before her sibling even spoke.
"I want to have fun, and we're going to go on a trip, or am I not making myself clear enough?"
"Crystal clear, sir," Twenty-Two tried to diffuse, stepping in for her cohort, the other inferior model, her tone was almost gentle as she spoke, clearly trying to ease his behaviour.
The tension seemed to slowly drift back into the background as her brother stepped back, walking past her and 16, who seemed to almost be watching over her as he moved, she realized. Did he really think 17 was that erratic, at the moment?
"Now come on, I've wanted to do this for days. We're doing it now," he ordered before looking at the city in the near distance. Buildings peaked out of the valley below, along with several high rises.
"My clothes were damaged by Goku's look alike," Eighteen commented. "And I can see our twenty's series friends were also shredded. I want a change of clothes. We'll go shopping while you find us a ride."
The suggestion was more than apt, and her sibling turned, this time his white eye looking first, rather than his black one. It was odd, it was like the old 17 when he turned that way first, he smiled, happy that she was on-board with his plan no less. Honestly, she didn't want to drive either, but it seemed like it might make 17 happy, and that was more important to her right now than putting up with an annoying bus trip over a continent to get to Son Goku's house.
"I will assist Android 17 in finding an adequate vehicle," Sixteen remarked. "Without my efforts, the bus we find may not fit me."
It seemed to be well received enough.
Behind them, Dr. Gero seemed to be looking out for something, his eyes scanned the horizon several times nervously. He'd been trying to stay near the back, and she was expecting him to make a run for it, soon. The only thing was he never did. Even 17, she knew, had caught a glance at him several times. He'd been oddly quiet as well, just doing what he was told. It was 21 who seemed to brighten up however, and that made her almost want to break the other unit's neck when she smiled.
You are very special to me, 18.
The words slithered through her mind, processed from an unknown source, coming from the organic processor in the brain. She could see her, 21, older, wizened, staring at her with a feverish, obsessive joy. She felt her lips, and immediately held in a gag. The same problems unit 17 and 22 were clearly experiencing… she was experiencing. Her fist closed as the other Android approached.
"Shopping, I've not had a chance to go shopping ever," she said with a smile. "I'll help all of you pick out new clothes. I think you'll look great in green, or maybe blue. It goes with the hair."
The unit said, pointing at 22, before she gave a sly smile to 23.
"And you? Hm… You know what, we can try a few things and see what I think sticks."
Turning to her finally, 21 approached, placing it's finger on her collar bone. It was every instinct not to reach out and break her finger. The look in her eyes was almost mesmerizing, like she was looking back into a nightmare. It was like when she'd been following 17 into the darkness… or when she'd been looking at the woods with 16, only more intense.
"And I think I've got just the thing in mind for you. This can be something fun, for all of us."
It was like she was this thing's plaything, when she was the one in charge here. Her own anger started to boil, almost breaking her unmoving face, when it was 16, again, who stepped past her, causing 21 to step back, who stared at the giant with a much different look. It wasn't obsessive, or controlling, or even love… it was… regret? Sadness? Loss?
It was something 18 knew she'd experienced herself. Or, it was something… she felt she'd experienced. She could see a pair of lifeless eyes staring back at her, much as 21's had just been staring through her.
"Let's continue to the city, we must achieve these short-term objectives, in order to proceed on our mission to kill Son Goku."
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Twenty-Two:
It was quiet. She remembered cities. Or, she had files on cities and what they were supposed to be like. Beyond that, the ghosts from the abyss reminded her of what she felt were supposed to be speeding cars, or people walking on the sidewalk. But even as they came from the road, it was silent. It was like a suffocating gas, choking all the noise you would expect. Her sensors didn't pick up anything. No stray animals, no people speaking. There were a few engines left idling, but beyond that… it was completely lifeless.
The gleaming towers glinted in the light, the sun reflecting from the glass, but no movement came from within. There was a large sign at the front of the city as they approached that just said…
Welcome to Spiceton! Enjoy your stay!
When 17 ceased his march forward, they all did, the oddity of what was happening before them was lost on none of them, even the big one, 16, seemed to be unnerved by the complete silence. Looking over to 24, the one who took command, as far as she was concerned, he looked concerned as well. All of their optics scanned the area for any sign of anything.
A shirt drifted in the wind in front of her, before scattering into the trees nearby. When she turned her attention back to the street, it was still completely barren.
Where. The. Hell. Was. Everyone?
"Anyone else weirded out by this?" Twenty-Three asked, walking ahead of everyone else, placing his hands on his hips and just scanning the empty street.
Traffic seemed to have halted, even. Cars were just left in the road, or were parked. One had clearly run over a nearby face and was lodged against the side of a house. It looked like in the chaos they'd just abandoned their vehicles? Where did everyone run to? Moving forward next, 22 scanned for signs of battle. It just looked like there might have been a struggle in a few places, but beyond that… everyone was gone.
Their worldly possessions all in place, seemingly. Cars still parked outside of buildings and driveways. There appeared to even be a few fires in the city, unattended and just seemingly left to burn.
"Yea, something's wrong," Twenty-Two commented.
"Are you really worried about an empty city?" Android 20 asked, walking forward, his eyes scanning over everything just as they had. "Any threat to us in this city will be easily nullified. If anything, this is a perfect opportunity to procure the items you were seeking. Clothing, and a vehicle for Android 17's objective of driving for the first time."
Twenty-Two took note that it was Twenty that urged them further into the city, though in truth it was correct. On this planet, Piccolo and his batch of idiots were the only things that were anything approaching a threat to them. Still, she looked back at the others, and 17 seemed to press forward, though even their detached leader seemed brought back to earth, expecting this place to be bustling with people.
"Sixteen, you're with me, we're going to find the truck. The rest of you, do what you want, or follow 18, I don't care."
Follow.
It felt like that was all she'd done. In truth, of course, it was all she'd done, but it seemed to dig deeper than that. It felt like she'd just been following people around for years, even if this was only a few moments in time. It didn't have the same mechanical purpose it was supposed to.
Twenty-One and 18 moved forward, dragging 23 in tow. She looked back to 24 who regarded her briefly, before she exchanged a glance with the giant 16, who towered over them all as he followed 17, the pair moving on foot. This was their little quest now, wasn't it? The journey into the abandoned city. Looking down, she noticed a discarded pair of shoes, they belonged to what appeared to be an eight-year-old, and nearby a woman's set of shoes as well.
Who throws away their shoes when fleeing?
When she looked up the street, she caught subtle hints that didn't make any sense. There were more shoes, and she realized that a few dresses and shirts drifted in the breeze. Looking to the other side of the street, she could see clothes piled up against the bottom of a small townhouse complex.
They threw their clothes away?
Her scanners immediately looked for some kind of biological toxin, or examples of cleaning agents used in some kind of outbreak, but nothing came up as she continued ahead, following the others.
"You alright, soldier?" Twenty-Four asked.
Soldier, it seemed like she was just wearing the skin of one. Well, in truth, that was the case, wasn't it? The processor inside the body that was operating, creating… her… was just inside a host body. This reheated corpse, was the soldier. Looking at her hand, still bruised from where she'd beaten Vegeta, it suddenly felt very distant, like it didn't belong to her. It belonged to someone she never really knew.
"Fine, sir," she responded. "Just trying to put together what happened here. You notice the clothes?"
"Yea," he answered bluntly, his own expression filled with concern. "Not that I care about casualties, but this just seems off. Where the Hell did everyone go in such a hurry? And why'd most of their leave their clothes behind? No blood, no bodies, nothing."
"I was thinking chemical or biological attack. No sign of it. No sign of cleanup crew."
"No sign of logistics either," he followed up. "No bodies. It's like everyone just vanished."
"It's like the rapture," Twenty-Three called back to them, smirking as he did. "Perhaps all of these wonderful people got saved."
Rolling her eyes, 22 just stalked forward, her arms moving mechanically with her stride as she kept up with the two people who should be nowhere near one another given the obvious disdain one held the other in. Eighteen and 21 showed the obvious differences in body language. The blonde was tense, like she was about to rip the other's throat out, while the redhead was strutting like she was the one in charge, like some project she was an expert in had just been plopped in her lap.
It's just clothes. We're machines, why should I care?
Walking past the glass towers only a few minutes later, lead to a strange oddity. Their footsteps seemed to echo down the road.
"Look, a store," Eighteen commented, walking towards some high-end women's fashion establishment, which made 22 roll her eyes.
"With all due respect, sir, maybe we should find somewhere that's going to give everyone a bit more of a durable set of clothes."
Eighteen turned and glared at her momentarily, even 22 did a moment later, before she just looked away. Fine, they could go into the dumb place and look, it's not like it was going to yield results. Out of the corner of her eye, 22 thought she saw something. Turning her head sharply, she listened and looked for any sign of anything. All that she saw was the breeze pick up a scattered piece of clothing. It drifted into the air and carried down the street, reflecting in glass as it went. Its image followed in the face of a thousand windows.
This place is a horror show, not a city.
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Android 17:
This place is so boring.
His mouth was to one side as 17 walked forward, moving past another set of parked cars. First, they'd found a city bus, problem? Short range, and it was a municipal vehicle. Next, they'd found a big van, main problem? Not gonna fit the two big guys in it at the same time. Realistically, he wanted another tour bus, but that idiot Vegeta blew the last one up. He was still mad about that. He was going to sic 22 on him again for that the next time he saw him.
When he turned to look at another small bus, this time a shuttle to a local airport, he saw his reflection in the mirror. Scarring around his eye, and a single eye as black as death itself.
And I'm going to choke the life out of Piccolo…
It reminded him every second he saw it that he wasn't normal. It reminded him that he couldn't just do what he wanted. But worst of all, it reminded him that he couldn't pretend to be something he wanted to be. He was just… this. This was his life now. It made him angry, and every time he thought about it, it made him angrier.
The big guy seemed to be in a world of his own on their search.
"Hey, you find anything?"
Sixteen didn't respond, instead, he seemed zeroed in on a building nearby, his eyes critical, as if looking for a threat. A threat? In an empty city?
"Something wrong?"
Turning his eyes away from the windows above them, 16 began walking towards him.
"No, I am just noticing the absence of everything here. Not just the humans. Most terrestrial animals appear to be gone as well. I also believe that my sensors detected movement. I was mistaken."
"Well, that's a relief," Seventeen joked. "If someone had been up there, we'd actually have met someone today."
Hell, if they met someone, they might actually find out what happened here. The others all seemed low-key worried or weirded out. He thought it was strange, but it was interesting. Where did everyone go? Did they just disappear? Did they run away? Did someone blast them but leave everything else behind somehow? It was a mystery, and one he didn't care to solve, but it was still interesting at the very least.
Finally, though, he looked past the immediate surroundings and saw the tour bus he'd always wanted to operate. It was even less tacky than the one Vegeta blew up. The orange and black bus was just sitting there as he started to walk towards it.
"So, what do you think happened to all these people? Think it's like 23 said? Did a divine power come and swoop them away?" Seventeen asked, his tone mocking.
"That is highly improbable. The most likely answer is that they were displaced by an event, though it is questionable as to why they left their vehicles and personal possessions behind. Human behaviour does not support this kind of action."
"So, they all charged into the woods naked?" he asked in response, his tone continuing to be light.
"Unlikely," Sixteen responded bluntly.
When 17 stepped into the intersection leading to the bus he froze in place. Sixteen, next to him, seemed to freeze as well. He heard something. It came from the building sixteen had been looking at. The pair of them turned, but there was no sign of anything. Nothing was moving, he didn't detect any signs of an energy source. There was no voice, or breathing, or anything his sensors were tuned towards.
This place was creepy as Hell, that was his new deduction. It felt like he was a kid again on Halloween, when his parents used to say the King Piccolo was in the darkness… His thoughts strayed to the Namek who'd just stolen his eye from him, his face flinching with anger before it turned to something else. He didn't have parents.
"What are the odds we've got someone looking at us from up there?"
"My sensors detect no movement, and don't see any human retinas making contact with our direction. I am also unable to see anything on thermal imaging that would lead me to determine that anything is watching us. The noise is peculiar, though it is improbable that it is anything."
Well, they might as well get back to their job of specking out this bus so they could leave creepy-town.
"I must say this has been fascinating," 20's voice appeared from behind him.
"Ah!"
Seventeen nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to face his creator harshly as Android 16 calmly turned to face him. Breathing angrily, 17 almost attacked on the spot.
"Apologies, number 17, I had been investigating the source of this strange occurrence. The city appears to have been completely depopulated, and through mysterious means. I had been investigating, for research purposes."
It was impossible not to still be mad, he looked like an idiot when this old fool snuck up on him. Looking at 16, he noted the big Android hadn't been scared or concerned, so he detected the old man first. Well, it was good to know he was so in-tune with his sensors, and didn't bother to warn him at all.
Composing himself, and returning to his calm demeanour, 17 just stared back at the old man, with his restored features.
"Did your research come up with anything?" he asked in response.
"Unfortunately, I believe I would need more time on this site to come up with a proper hypothesis as to what occurred here," Twenty confirmed, showing again he'd been wasting time. Well, that was just great, wasn't it?
"I thought you were with the others."
"After their first store, exposing their vanity, I had little time to indulge such self-indulgences. This city offered a much greater source of information and distraction," he said bluntly. "Though I must say, it is truly fascinating."
"Yea, save it," 17 remarked before turning to 16.
"Let's check out the bus," he ordered before the trio, or the duo with an old man tacked on, made their way to the vehicle of choice.
"I think you'll need to get in the back," 17 remarked. "But it looks like it does open. You and 24 hope in the backdoor, everyone else stays classy and uses the side door. This will be great."
Popping the emergency door of the vehicle, 17 was met with a sight he didn't believe. There were clothes, sitting in the chairs. Hopping into the bus, he slowly started to walk down the isle. This thing had been packed. Purses, pants, dresses, shoes… it was like only the people had left. A few were scattered down the isle. The bus driver's chair even had a uniform sitting in it. It was then 17 realized… the window was out? Reaching his hand through the open air, he cursed quietly before sighing. No one would want to ride around in a bus without a wind-shield…
Looking at an identical, but much uglier bus, a purple one next over, he realized the wind shield was still in-place. It looked like some tour bus or some nonsense.
"The wind-shield appears to be missing," Gero observed.
"Yea, I'm fixing it," Seventeen said with annoyance, grabbing the bus driver's cap off the floor and placing it on his own head.
They're all laughing now, but once we've got my bus up and running, it's going to be great.
Appraising the windshield, he was reasonably sure he could remove it, and mount it on the bus of choice.
Without realizing it, he began to quietly murmur a song to himself.
"Hail the bus driver, bus driver, bus driver…"
Opening the side door without any hesitation, ripping it off the bus no less, 17 walked up, seeing the clothes of another bus driver, though this uniform was less formally dressed it appeared.
"Hail to the bus driver, bus driver-man… he screams and he-"
He heard a noise next to him, turning his head just as he placed his hand on the glass, 17 saw something moving from behind one of the seats. His own eyes widened with complete surprise as a trembling figure collapsed to the floor of the bus. It looked like someone with reddened eyes, and all too recently shed tears. That had little impact on him, but the complete terror written on her face told him enough. These people ran for their lives…
"R-R-Run," she whispered. "Run while you can. R-Run. P-p-please. B-b-b… bef-f-fore… it…"
Run?
The brunette-haired woman started to tremble more, her expression shifting to complete shock as her voice hitched several times.
"Hey, mind telling me what it is? I'm not really… hey, are you there? You okay?"
She went out. Really, he just wanted a window, did he really need to dig any deeper with this? Esepcially with someone who could barely stay awake? Regular humans were only interesting if you made them interesting, as far as he was concerned. But still, this person had the answer
"Hey Sixteen, come get this window," he shouted. "I think we've got another passenger."
Looking at the bus, he noted several other sets of clothes, and on the side of the bus where there should have been a window, there was a poster with four people on it. Two guys and two girls.
"The Metal Band. Tour for a Better Tomorrow?" he read aloud.
Looking over the names, he associated them quickly with the different figures, even as he read it backwards. The two males were Nafe and Fok, the latter name he thought was incredibly amusing just because it only took mispronouncing it to make him sound like a total asshole, which he might add, the guy looked like. The females appeared to be Lade and Cale. It looked like the only one on the bus appeared to be…
Odd. The clothes of the other people on the poster, appeared to be on the bus.
The window popped out a moment later as 17 turned his head back, smiling as he did.
Hey, looks like I'm getting Lade today. Hah, that's amazing. That name alone makes this worth-while.
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Android 18:
These were all things she never really got to have. That was what she thought as her optics scanned over the dress on the hanger she was looking at. It was nice, a deep purple, form fitting, something she'd have expected someone much better to do than herself, to wear. Idly, there was a brief stop in her processing as it corrected the language in the previous thoughts.
It was something a human would wear if they were in the disposition to have a higher income. Instinctively, she still turned it over to look at the tag price, which almost made her gawk for a moment before she hung it up.
More than just grabbing clothes, this place had become a strange window into the familiar, yet alien. She quietly cursed that 22 had informed her that they needed practical attire, and so much of her second store of choice so far, seemed to be rife with the things she had wanted… the things she wanted, she corrected, rather than the things that were needed. A design came in front of her vision of basic pants, either jeans or something of sturdy quality, as well as a top. It was plain. Even her former attire, that of a punk kid, had more flavour than what her processor was coming up as practical. Even the core code of her system seemed to rewrite itself to make adjustments to move away from something so drab.
"This one would look great on you," Twenty-One commented, the hair on the back of 18's neck raised as she heard the voice and the insinuation of a recommendation.
Turning her eyes to stare at the other Android, she saw her holding a black dress in her hand.
"Not the most combat effective, but I think black definitely suits you."
It was best not even to respond, 18 decided, who stared at her dimly before looking over to see 22 just looking over the shop, herself, clearly not interested in the options they had.
"This is a good place to waste money," Twenty-Two observed. "It's never worth it to waste this kind of cash on this, unless you've either got too much of it, or you're willing to get the lead discount."
It was something 18 seemed to agree with, before blinking and continuing her futile search. She stopped at another dress, another reminder. Then there was another, and another. When she paused finally at the last one in the establishment, she pulled it from the rack. It was a deep blue, something she didn't normally associate herself with.
"I'm going to try this one on," she remarked, feeling like she wasn't the one steering her own path at that point.
There was no need to walk into the change-room. There was no reason to conform to human judgements about nudity or privacy, but she moved towards it all the same. The door closed behind her, as she discarded the torn and burnt attire from her fight with the Saiyan, Turles. The entire time he'd played her until he finally overstepped his bounds, it was more than frustrating to think of. Shooting him through the chest had been more than acceptable to her, though it didn't seem to wipe the smug look off his face. By all calculations she doubted he survived his injuries. It meant they'd only have one Goku to worry about, at least.
"Please hurry up," Twenty-Three urged, calling from the store's exit.
Quiet.
The instinctive response rescinded as she looked at herself in the mirror again, looking at the familiar, and looking at the foreign, seemingly, all at once. The skin that adorned her body was bruised in some spaces, but otherwise unblemished. Her face had been spared, which she was oddly thankful for. Slipping on the dress she affixed it to herself before looking back at herself. For a few seconds, she considered going outside, though she didn't want the audience. She didn't want to indulge 21, and she knew 22 and the others didn't care.
Instead, her hand reached to the change room mirror, pressing her fingers against it, like she was reaching out to someone who reaching out to her on the other side. Like she was somehow touching the ghost in the machine.
Who are you?
There was no response as she looked intensely into her own eyes, before looking down at the dress. It was striking, it was beautiful… and it wasn't her. It took only a few more seconds to change back, before she emerged once again.
"Not going to let us see?" Twenty-One asked.
"No," she answered bluntly.
Though she did notice 21 had changed her attire. It was almost the same, except now it was a pure white top, lacking the red and blue from before. There was a sly smile on the other woman's face… on the other Android's face.
She didn't like this shop anymore. She didn't like anything about it. Walking outside, she looked around, seeing a more generalized store.
"That one," she said, pointing towards it.
Twenty-One walked past her, holding her head up, irritated at being snubbed. The others soon followed, with 23 being the last one out. Without a second thought, 18 pointed her hand into the shop and fired. The bottom floor of the building exploded outwards in a fireball. Glass scattered through the air and cut into nearby cars. Flames ripped up to the higher levels of the skyrise. She looked at the fire, watching it for its birth, before the inferno started to spread.
"Was that really necessary?" Twenty-One asked, sounding disappointed, placing one hand on her hip as she spoke. "I was thinking of coming back for another dress before we left."
"I don't see any loss here," Twenty-Two yawned, before walking towards the last shop on their destination, stepping through the propped open door.
Eighteen stopped, and so did 24 as 21 and 23 followed 22. It was an odd sensation. It was the sense of being watched. A shoe rolled down the street on its way towards them, before stopping on the flat of it. When her optics looked around, there was nothing. There was nothing in the high rises, nothing in the streets. It was completely empty. For a brief second however, she felt… dread… the same kind of dread that… someone felt before. An impending doom. Like she was…
Walking down the corridor, into the unknown, and into the darkness.
"You feel that?" Twenty-Four Asked.
Feel.
It was such a strange way for him to say it. When she turned and looked at him, she could see his optics staring across the city, peering at a skyscraper, his intensity rising with every passing moment.
"I don't know what you mean. I had the sensation that we were being watched."
"Yea," he responded quickly. "Some of my memory engrams remembered was being under fire. A sniper, we couldn't pick out where he was, but we all had an idea. I remembered him being up in a hill, covered by brush on the ground. Or, the soldier I have memories from, remembers. It was just to the left of where he thought it was."
"My sensors don't pick anything up," Eighteen pointed out.
"Neither did mine."
A flash of golden light later emerged from 24's lens as a beam of pure energy tore through the right side of the tower in the distance. Concrete, glass, and office furnishings exploded out of the side of the towering building in a tremendous blast as the fore scorched through the air.
Twenty-Three ran out, wearing a new, set of dark blue pants, and a tanned shirt. He'd found some punk's set of new, black boots as well.
Turning his head in the direction of the shot he looked at the two of them, while 22 trailed out after him, sporting a new tank-top of her own, and a new pair of cargo pants. The top was green now, instead of blue, and her cargo pants had changed to a black set.
They had no sense of style.
"A target?" Twenty-Three asked.
"It's called just being sure," Twenty-Four remarked. "Better safe than sorry. I don't like the feeling of being watched."
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Android 20:
The blast rocked the nearby building that had stood ominously overhead. The others, even 21, were oblivious to what all of this was. In truth, he didn't believe it could be true. He saw the discarded elements of clothing, the brief, but small signs of scuffles. There were broken windows and torn through walls, but none of them facing to the outside world, always as if a predator was stalking its prey. It was all too familiar to him, as it was exactly what he had envisioned. The ultimate predator.
When he'd broken off from the others, he had done so knowing that as he was a majority mechanical device, the threat to him was minimal. His scanners gave him no identifiable power source, though he didn't need it. He knew the signs to follow. He analyzed which streets and roads were taken first. Each one of these creatures, these humans, were now just a piece of a greater whole. They had transcended their petty lives to become one with a being which had been designed to achieve more than any naturally born creature could ever dream of.
He briefly flew through the air, scanning every window in every tower, but he only could see glimpses of its majesty. He wanted to see it, but it was doing as it was designed. It was staying hidden. It was lurking in the shadows as it was always meant to be. Its design was not yet perfect, and it was not yet powerful enough. But he knew it was aware of their presence, its very nature had made it such. It was assessing its prey. The consumption of Androids 17 and 18 would be magnificent. It was something he never believed he would live long enough to see. Their bodies would be sucked into his form, their parts, integrated, like cogs in the ultimate machine, their biological and mechanical functions intertwining with their greater whole. If he were fully organic, the excitement he'd have felt visibly would have been impossible to conceal.
Even now as he stood near the piece of the machine, he delighted in what was going to take place. He delighted in what he was going to see. It wouldn't be now, no. It would happen once Androids 13, 14, and 15 engaged and overtook the models here.
Then this world would die. Even if he, died along with it, he would watch as it cracked apart and exploded with a smile on his face. This wretched place has stolen the most important things in the world from him, and had robbed itself of an enlightened next generation. His androids were a failsafe in many ways, if project Cell had never been completed. They would have punished this world for as long as they were operational. But now? Now his ultimate revenge on this world could be realized.
Idly, he watched as his son… he watched as Android 16, mounted the new glass into the obsession of Android 17. The worthless bus that would hold his amusement perhaps for hours, rather than days or weeks. His heralds would arrive soon, and he would need to make plans for his own evacuation from the situation. Ideally, he would need to leave beforehand, and make his return only after he had secured his secondary laboratory. Android 21 would also be a valuable asset. But at the top of his desires was in fact, to see Android 16 placed back into stasis.
Even if this world was destroyed, he didn't want the effigy of his son to see it. This world stole his son from him, but he knew, even in what was left of the pits of his soul, that his son had loved so much of this world. It was always the people that were the problem.
A sole survivor seemed to be dragged out of the bus by 17, and 20 was already planning on eliminating her with given the opportunity. Hopefully that opportunity would come before she woke up. There was nothing more important than keeping this situation under control. That was by keeping information, under control.
The humiliation had ended. Now… now was once again his time to rise above all things.
When he approached the bus, he turned to 16, who had just finished affixing the glass.
"Are all of your operational functions intact, 16?" he asked.
Sixteen instead looked towards the fire, burning in the tower nearby. One of the Androids had undoubtedly attacked it out of amusement, or boredom, rather. It was of little consequence. Something was off however. It couldn't be another malfunction? Sixteen's programming was so primitive, it was straight forward compared to all the others.
"Is something wrong, 16?"
"The building on fire, had been a location where I had sensed an anomaly earlier," Sixteen remarked. "I am scanning it further to track any movement."
"Unnecessary," Gero was quick to state. "It is time to enter the vehicle, as per 17's orders."
The giant remained unmoving, clearly concerned? He turned back and looked down at him, brandishing the smile he'd programmed him with. The soft, friendly smile his son had always given him, even at the worst of times. It was hard to stare at. His eyes averted from it a moment later. The pain of seeing it, reminding him of everything he had paid to come to this moment. It reminded him of what he had been, before he had become who he was.
"Is this what he would have wanted?"
There was a freeze. Gero couldn't move as his eyes widened for a brief moment, before he turned his optics towards the voice of his… son.
Turning his attention back towards him, Gero felt challenged before he saw him. It was sincere, a machine, no, almost a child intelligence, asking a question of him he never would have considered answering. Though there was a fear that he had somehow detected his ultimate creation, or his prior movements.
"What do you mean?" he asked bluntly.
"The destruction of the roads earlier. The destruction of whole mountains. Now the destruction of this city. Is this what he would have wanted?"
It was something Gero never wanted to reflect on. Even now, he was reluctant to do so.
"It doesn't matter," he answered, probably with the most honest answer he could have. "You were not programmed to care what he wanted. He's not here, not anymore."
To their right, there was the now re-clothed Androids approaching them. It hardly mattered what they wore, but he did give a further glance to the body of his late wife. The woman who'd indulged in revenge, together at his side, until her own time came. Just as his time would come. She looked as beautiful as the day they met now, at least. But it was always her mind, it was always her willingness to push their research to the next level, that had made Dr. Gero so enamoured with her. The corpses of the other two women were striking as well, but did nothing for him. He had no fond memories of them, he had no respect for their intelligence, or who they were as people before hand. They were meat, just as 23's corpse had been repurposed, as well as the others. None of them mattered before he turned them into a new form of life.
None of them, except 21.
"Well, took you long enough," Seventeen commented. "We have a guest, by the way."
"A guest?" Eighteen asked, sounding irritated as she thrust a black shirt and jeans into the other Android's hands. "Did you find a pet?"
"I've not put a collar on her yet," Seventeen laughed. "But it looks like one of the humans survived out here. I want to know what she knows about what happened. After that, we'll figure out what to do with her."
"I'll get the answers," Twenty-Two was quick to say.
"How about someone who's not going to break all her bones?"
With an irritated sigh, it would be 18 who rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips as she walked past her brother in her new jeans.
"Fine," she responded. "Once this…" she looked into the bus before turning back to 17. "Sleeping beauty wakes up, I'll be sure to find out what she knows. I promise, I won't put a mark on your girlfriend."
"Very funny," Seventeen scoffed as he walked towards the entrance.
It was highly improbable that 17 was in fact, infatuated with anyone, 20 was fully aware of that. Moving behind Dr. Rossa, he looked towards 16 again before stepping onboard, as the two larger Androids got in the back.
The only question on his mind was a simple one.
How was project Cell completed so soon?
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Cell:
The slices of the world came together in its bifocal vision. The chaos of the building being blasted to pieces around it had left the creature more paranoid. The large blonde one, an undetermined Android of bio-mechanical and cybernetic construction had guessed where he was to an almost precise calculation. The previous Androids, the large red head and Android 17 had been only mildly in-tune with the signs of its presence. Its tail twitched in the air of the open wind as Cell slowly regressed further into the side of the building.
Its lungs filled with air as it breathed in and out, relieved that it had managed to tuck itself away at the last second before the bolt had made contact with the build.
Even as it'd been stalking them, he recognized them as Androids immediately. There were two figures it knew right away, as if it had always known who they were. Androids 17 and 18. The last pieces to the puzzle. The components it needed to collect to make itself whole. Its hunger had been sated for only a short time. It would return again until it had the Androids in its possession. The numerous other units however, complicated things. Would they intervene? Did they understand their roles in all this? Its instincts told it no. They were primitive models, compromises, trying to keep elements of humanity within them. They would struggle, but they would all face the inevitable.
The less sophisticated models would be disposed of when the time came, should they interfere. Even now he could see them boarding the bus below, which was an odd behaviour. It wasn't nearly strong enough yet. It would require more bio-material to supersede its prey. Reluctantly, it was going to need to watch them disappear and hunt elsewhere. Even now, its missing components would likely defeat and destroy it in battle. It would need to consume more, and more, until its power was sufficient to destroy any opposition. So far, it had too few examples of a comparable force to be put against them. The Earth's warriors were nowhere to be seen, yet.
His senses could detect brief, significant powers flashing around the world, but only one seemed to be truly significant. It would have annihilated it as well. It was all too aware of that. Which meant it needed time. This world had many familiar tastes to the ki it sensed. Krillin, Tien, Vegeta, Gohan, and Piccolo all had their powers in some way mixed into the air, even if he hadn't yet determined who was the strongest. Then of course, there was Trunks, the pitiful boy he was already all too familiar with.
There was no signs of Son Goku… that was no surprise to it, however. There were two other significant powers though, that it didn't know. They weren't apart of him, or rather, what it would become. This timeline had been altered, that much he knew already, but how deeply it'd been changed.
Crawling through the burning structure around it, Cell came to the top of the building, smoke billowing up from below. It perched itself on the railing, its large, three toed foot grasping the edge as it watched the bus leave its reach. It purred as it barely held itself back. Self control as essential. Now was not the time to pounce on its prey.
Soon. Soon we will be reunited, my brother and sister. Then we will achieve something no organism in the history of this universe has ever known.
The slits for its eyes turned in its head, shifting towards its next meal. Another community it had destroyed in the future, or at least the remnants of it. Nicky Town, was its name.
Perfection.
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Author's Notes:
I hope everyone liked the first showing of Cell. :)
Also, thanks for the big response to Chapter 94! I'm still working on Chapter 100, which is concerning to me, as it means I'm gonna slow down releases a little just until I get that done. I'm thinking between Chapter's 105 or 108, I'll finally have most of the parts that take the most effort done, then I can switch focus back to TLR for a bit. As that plot's gonna be really heavy over the next few chapters.
For those wondering, Gohan in TLR basically is back to life now, but the scars of everything he went through while dead are a plague on him, and that's before you take into account him being reunited with the others, and having to deal with consequences, as well as finally seeing Pan again. That's of course also not counting the plot with the new villain in the story, who will be having her saga's events slowly rise up in the background of all of this. Poor Gohan. Lol
As for The Catalyst, I'm genuinely excited to get to the big conclusion I'm working towards. I've got the development leading to its logical point in terms of how I've mapped things out in my head. I'm trying not to hype it too much, but I think I'm as excited for it as I was when I wrote Raditz trying to extract his revenge on Vegeta. I think you guys will know exactly what I'm excited about when we get there.
Plus, there is going to be tons of fun on the way there too. I'm just wanting to make sure I write it efficiently as well, otherwise the Android Saga will be like, 100 chapters long, which I really want to avoid, lol.
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Reviewers:
Blades of Fury: I've enjoyed Vegeta being an asshole, but that ship is starting to turn now too. Turles doesn't give a single fuck about the humans, for instance, outside of his sister-in-law. I don't think that'll even change. I think he sees Piccolo as a tool right now, but I think he has real contempt for him deep down. Oh, and he 100% reviles Goku, lol
RulesofNature626: Oh, Raditz is the star of the show at the moment. His turn started before the Androids arrived. Just time to reflect, and realizing where he was in life.
AngryShadow-yt: I don't wanna spoil anything, lol. I think Turles and Raditz definitely realize family is important, though in different ways than the average person does.
Thomas-The-TMC: Everyone loves Turles, except for the Z Fighters, lmao.
Pyromania101: The Lobster King shall lead the Red Lobster Revolution!
Guest1: Thanks. I thought so too. ;)
Trusen: Future Gohan feels like he needs a shower, but he'll never be clean, after seeing how Turles operates.
Warga: Yea, it's really creepy, and the fact that so many people are down with it really reflects poorly. It's like 50 Shades of Grey, or other garbage like that. A lot of people hop onto these really toxic things, and it's sad.
Mystic919: I love it as well, lol. Thanks!
Guest2: I really wanted to draw lines between him and TLR Gohan, where TLR Gohan more or less lives in an even more empty space, that's more lifeless, Turles instead attempts to impersonate a regular space. Like a chameleon. Raditz never went to see King Kai, and Goku, I'm not sure, would want to teach him, lol.
Uraqt393: The 3 brothers have some great moments coming up, both Goku and Turles, as well as Raditz, Goku, and Turles. I'm looking forward to it.
ILiekFishes: I have no idea who that is, lol.
Bestezrealeuw: I think I answered by PM.
Red Power: The characters largely don't behave like it's a different time period, barring Miroku, lmao. But as a whole, I've explained it a few times on Reddit, it's just a really disturbing thing to push into the show. All to appeal to a group of people who really push anime itself in a really bad direction. Also, Turles just reads Manga, and of course, ships Rin/Sesshoumaru from his study. All the other books there are just for show.
TheItchyCocoon: It's impossible! Lol
SimpleNarrator: I think I've gotten better at writing him, but as a whole I've always said writing Goku's been very hard for me. I would say his seriousness does go up a bit just due to the changing environment around him. And I think his interactions with Piccolo in the fight chapter weren't exactly him acting like the world was coming to an end, lol.
Guest3: Yea, I'm basically gonna ignore it. It really does harm the franchise I think, as right now tons of the hard-core fans are eating it up like 50 shades of grey, but I don't think the casual audience will be as appreciative of it as it comes along. Being someone's guardian for 2-3 years, then showing up all the time to hang out until they're an adult, followed by engaging in a romantic relationship with them, is all kinds of wrong.
Super Mystic Gohan: Raditz has a lot of big development and growth coming over the next 10 chapters. I've said it before, he's really the focus of a lot of this Saga's development. :)
UltimateSavior: Well, they're definitely not Mary-Sues, given they both lose all the time, are generally reviled, and make mistakes all the time, lol. I think people like them because they're characters with complex motivations and problems. The best characters are the ones who struggle.
Perfect Carnage: Krillin / Raditz is coming. Friendships in a genre? Never. All paths lead to pairings! Lol
Guest4: You'll have to wait, lol.
Red Hunter87: I think I answered by PM.
Guest5: And you'll note, he's still Goku's dark double, despite evolving as a character. It's very important to keep someone true to themselves, all while you're still developing them. A character's nature doesn't necessarily change, but they learn. Gohan's acting like a loser because he's become a loser. He lost to Cooler, Trunks died, he couldn't get Vegeta to help Trunks when he might of died, he's been very ineffectual overall. He's mad, he's frustrated, things aren't working out for him. But the character will get an arc, and he will be getting development.
ThePowerfulKira: I dunno about Father, but I think Raditz understands Trunks.
Luke: I think 22, 23, and 24 are in a strange space. Are they OC's? 24 is, definitely. I actually think of 23 being General Blue in most senses, and there are explanations for that, but he's still not general Blue. And for Violet? I think it is and it isn't. It's a new organism with her memories, but that doesn't make it Violet, even if the Android might even respond to that name.
Guest6: Trucker. Hat. Incoming. :O
Instinct: I agree with this on our Earth, but Dragon Ball humans are shown to largely be more chill than Earth's humans are, despite things like the Red Ribbon Army.
Silas: It's all good. I was just really confused, because I also saw tons of people read chapter 93, like, more than usual. So it was like "errrr, okay… did people just not care? Did they hate it?" lol
Kimberly Pilgrim: Answered by PM.
OuterSpaceHooker: Hey, thanks for the review. I don't think Turles would be bringing many girls home, as I don't think he'd be that interested in most human women.