In the large hall by the main door, most everyone had gathered to brief on the next plan. Bulma was instructing Vegeta (more or less) on what to focus on finding and retrieving. Tien and Krillin stood nearby just to keep updated as Piccolo stood outside from the circle as he usually does. Gohan had of course followed him, leaning against the wall with a small stack of books in arm.
"You don't have to stand here and wait with the rest of us." Piccolo nearly whispered.
"I have questions for Bulma anyway about the reading." Gohan answered back.
"Is she supplying you with homework now?" Piccolo teased.
"A little, though it's mostly self-inflicted. It's nice to learn something new and if I can catch up near to her experience, I might be able to help with dad." Gohan admitted. "She said it would help keep my head and hands busy, so I don't get trapped in other thoughts."
"Like after the dinner?" Piccolo's eyes scrunched slightly at the memory. He turned more to Gohan and away from the crowd though his arms remained crossed.
Not a second after that Gohan could spot Tien suddenly reaching into the room behind him and grabbing an arm. He pulled Yamcha from his hiding spot and dragged him down the hall and far from the others. No one said anything and with only an odd glance and a shrug they returned to their conversation.
"Did you catch what that was?" Gohan whispered.
Piccolo softly grunted and somehow without any movement leaned closer to Gohan. "A bit of it."
Gohan looked up to Piccolo's face trying to read him. "Are you ok?"
"I… might talk to Tien." Piccolo said, struggling not to sigh.
"I think that's a good idea. From what I know of him he's quiet and can keep things to himself like you." Gohan nodded.
"It's a bit more than that but yes." Piccolo said before placing a hand on Gohan's head. After a cautious glance around them, he moved his hand down to Gohan's cheek and smiled at him. Gohan blushed under the caress and tried not to grin too big or draw attention. Piccolo then removed his hand and began to head to the door. "I won't be gone long."
"Alright." Gohan said, rubbing the back of his neck to try to remain neutral looking.
Tien practically threw Yamcha into an empty but rather large closet only occupied by linens and rags.
"Did you have to drag me like that?! You could have just said-" Yamcha started as he rubbed his arm.
"What did you promise the other night?" Tien asked as he held the door shut.
"Hey, I-" Yamcha began to defend himself.
"What was your promise?!" Tien interrupted again. "I heard what you muttered down there. You've been muttering the last two days about anything to complain about them. I know you're not stupid, so what is the reason you're so focused on this?"
Yamcha turned his eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry. I won't say anything again."
"No. You have to talk about it now. We're getting to the root and cutting it out right now." Tien crossed his arms and stood to block the door.
"Really? It's a bit dark here. Shouldn't we-?" Yamcha stopped speaking when Tien held a sphere of energy, casting the room in light. "I'm sorry. I know you just wanted this time to finally relax and let things settle."
"But you keep getting weird whenever you notice them do anything together, which of course they're going to do. They're best friends; they deserve time together. That's what we planned on doing while we have this chance right?" Tien asked.
"We're different. I'm not an emotionally traumatized kid and you have a basic understanding of how friendships work." Yamcha argued.
"Oh, you mean like how you struggled to survive in the desert with only Puar for company and crushed on the first girl you met out there or how I idolized an assassin and needlessly destroyed your leg during our fight? Is that how we're different?" Tien asked with narrowed eyes.
"No, I meant-" Yamcha began.
"Is it because of us? Is it because he knows? Do you regret us?" Tien asked.
"No." Yamcha quickly replied.
"Are you worried about Puar? Is it just the stress of everything?" Tien followed up. He watched Yamcha struggle to form an answer. "What you're doing is unearned and causing unnecessary stress on them. Do you realize it's what anyone could literally say about us? Pulling bullshit theories and whispering about us?"
Yamcha slowly exhaled as he ran his hands over his head. "Fuck… I just..."
"You're beside me just as often as Gohan is with Piccolo." Tien said. "Is the situation too familiar to us? Do you worry we might be too obvious and need to distract everyone with them?"
Yamcha was silent a moment. "I… it might be some of that. But also, we owe Goku so much already and that's his kid. What have we actually done for Goku? To help him or his family? I think I just snapped a little too hard on Piccolo being firm against Gohan fighting like his father, and with how everyone seemed to glare me down after, I felt maybe I had to prove any of it had substance."
"If Gohan was going to choose to fight with us, Piccolo would have just been quiet. I'm very certain he wanted to shut the topic down because he doesn't want to have to picture Gohan going into a fight again." Tien said. "You died earlier on and didn't have to watch it get as bad as it did. Having to watch a child go through that is just wrong; and Gohan is an adult now and can make his own choices, but I don't want to see him become like us either. You remember how I was with Chiaotzu after that fight right? After I had to watch him blow himself up?"
Yamcha closed his eyes and nodded. He approached Tien and pressed his head into Tien's shoulder. In a defeated whisper he said "I'm sorry. I didn't think to see it that way."
Tien put a hand on the back of Yamcha's neck. "Do you want to talk about how it might be some of the other things?"
"I know technically we have more room and personal time here than at the church when we were struggling to get any sleep between fights, but it also feels busier and like the chance of someone finding out just increases with each day. I… I just miss us before all of it. No Krillin popping up every now and then talking about 18 or Vegeta yelling about whatever rubbed his tail the wrong way."
"Are you saying you're jealous that no one is bothering them? Because Gohan is probably still struggling with Goku's coma?" Tien rose a brow at the thought.
"Oh sure. Make me sound so low." Yamcha sunk further into Tien, forcing his shoulder and back to the door.
Tien chuckled. "So, everything basically caught you down and you're affectionately starved?"
Yamcha grumbled. "Possibly..."
"Promise you'll talk to me next time you feel like this?" Tien asked.
"Alright." Yamcha agreed.
Gohan sat in the lab office with Bulma, reading further material and trying not to watch 18 and Krillin standing at the entrance of the last room. 16 was still strapped to the machinery and nearly done charging.
"You can watch if you want." Bulma smirked.
"I am curious but he's not just a marvel of science." Gohan whispered. "18 seems to care for him so he is at least a friend of hers, if not another brother, and I shouldn't disrespect that by getting all wonder eyed at the cogs and wires."
"True." Bulma nodded as she changed out one slide for another on her scope. "I can let you peek at my father's notes about his repair later if you like though."
Gohan's eyes almost gleamed. "I would love that."
They both turned to the room at the sound of a few loud beeps and the clicking of buttons. Krillin remained where he stood as 18 stepped closer to 16 who was sitting up on the table.
"Let me know when you're comfortable pulling out the charging cords." the old professor said. "I can't guarantee that you're at a completely full battery. Took a while just to figure out what kind of cord to match your port."
"Gero would have built everything custom himself and make things harder for anyone else." 18 muttered.
"You could say that about any of us old scientists. Too much pride in our individual work, we don't like making it easy for our competitors." the professor laughed. "This technology is also still too new to earth and not even known or recognized by most people. There isn't a standard yet."
16 blinked his eyes a few times before looking up to 18. He then turned to the professor. "Thank you for repairing me."
"Happy to." the professor smiled before leaving.
"How do you feel?" 18 asked.
"I'm still running a diagnostic, but everything seems to be functioning just fine." 16 stated. He glanced to Krillin standing behind her. "You are their ally… or prisoner?"
18 didn't answer immediately but when she did, said "Ally. They helped me and you. So, I'm doing what I can to help them too."
"Good." 16 said.
"Good? You aren't going to take me back? Why did you help me escape last time?" 18 asked quietly, doing her best to ignore that there were others just outside the room.
"I was designed to get revenge on Goku, but Gero couldn't build my strength up fast enough to match Goku's progress. So, he relied on a new design, and I was designated to protecting his work. You are safer here than with him." 16 stated.
"But you always said you couldn't just override the codes and commands." 18 grit her teeth.
"I can't and I didn't. The circumstances have changed. Gero is different." 16 said.
"Yes, I saw just how different he is." 18 replied, venom in her words and eyes. After a moment she decided she no longer wanted any answers from him about why or how. "What information do you have on Gero's formula to put 17 and I into stasis?"
"I have the entire file of ingredients and process." 16 answered.
"What about the formula that woke us up?" 18 asked.
"I was not entrusted with that information. I was only to catch and sedate after any attempts to escape." 16 explained.
"Then sit here and charge." 18 huffed as she turned to leave.
"Why did you come back for me?" 16 asked.
18 froze for a moment, glaring at the floor. "Because I'm not Gero and I'm not what he wanted me to be either."
She quickly walked out of the lab to any other part of the building. Krillin didn't follow her knowing there wasn't anything he could say to help.
After a glance to Gohan and then Goku in the next room, Krillin asked "you said you were made to kill Goku? Is that still like an active code or whatever?"
"No. Once Goku excelled far past my strength, Gero no longer felt he could risk losing me. He terminated most of my original directive and re-wrote me to assist him with other projects." 16 answered.
"Other projects? You mean 17 and 18?" Krillin asked.
"Yes. There were others built before me, which all broke down, and a few following after 17 and 18 in design who are all dead." 16 explained.
Krillin gulped. "Dead? The ones after you… weren't all machine like you, were they?"
"No." 16 said.
Krillin forced himself to take a deep breath and move on from the topic. "What… did Gero actually do to 17? Did he just drain his energy and perhaps left somewhere thinking he was useless to him?"
"No. He drained 17's energy and fluids. Both 17 and 18 have a compartment inside them where Gero kept the first base of the formula that transformed him. It is what gave them their strength and abilities. Gero needed it to develop his DNA further." 16 explained. "17 would not be able to survive even for minutes afterwards."
After a hard moment Krillin let out a sigh. "Thank you."
Gohan tried not to overhear, but at the imagery he clenched the shirt over his chest. That could have been me. If Piccolo didn't break Gero's arm… I would have been dead for sure.
"Gohan?" Bulma asked softly. "You alright?"
"Yeah." Gohan gave a weak smile before turning to a new page in the book before him. How is dad going to fight someone like that? Will he be strong enough?
Piccolo pulled open a couple cabinet doors glancing over the glasses inside.
"Don't bother with any of those. Bulma has plenty." Vegeta instructed.
"I'm checking to see if any are full of possible solutions." Piccolo explained. He moved a few flasks aside to check those in the back. "What color were the tubes when the twins woke up?"
"Gold. It glowed too like when Goku and I power up." Vegeta explained as he tapped away at a computer. "What do you predict the bastard's password is?"
"It wouldn't be 'kill Goku' would it?" Piccolo joked, earning a short laugh from Vegeta. "It's all anyone we fight seems to want."
Vegeta only received the short buzzer of failed entry. "Damn."
Piccolo turned to a filing cabinet and flipped through the pages for any key words. He halted when he heard something fall in another room. Slowly he peeked out and saw a body slump down by the front door. Hearing the moans of pain, he approached closer but remained ready to fight them off. His heart nearly stopped when he recognized the person. "Videl?"
"Oh good. A familiar face." Videl winced with a small smile before slumping down, her hand falling from her stomach to reveal blood seeping through her shirt.