Things were about to go horribly wrong.
Eighteen and her brother Seventeen soared upward like avenging angels, ready to eliminate their strongest foes on the planet once and for all. Once this was accomplished, there would be nothing between them and fulfilling the mission dictated by Dr. Gero's programming: the complete annihilation of humanity. Eighteen should have been relieved, but suddenly something was off. Way off.
The first indication that anything was wrong didn't come from any of the likely sources. Her threat sensors read nil, her motion sensors didn't even read a flying bug, and the power levels of her two opponents were almost zero. All data told her that the battle was won, and she should just finish the job and go get her hair done to celebrate. That was until her weather sensors started going nuts.
The sky above Bridgetown was still sunny and blue, but the crazy sensor was telling her that a major storm front was coming through in a matter of seconds. She glanced up and sure enough, black clouds began rolling in. Her immediate thought was something along the lines of "what the f…?", but she shook it off and prepared, with Seventeen, to eliminate the annoying half-Saiya-jin. No storm was going to stop her. In fact, she thought with glee, it would make just the perfect setting.
Then the thunder crashed, shaking heaven and Earth. It overwhelmed both Androids' audio receptors and forced them to stop. The clouds were like Charybdis, churning in the sky, and then rain began to fall, in heavy, soaking sheets. Eighteen's mood darkened as she realized that her perfect looks were now beyond screwed up, between the battle that wrecked her clothes and hair and now a rainstorm that would just make her miserable.
"C'mon Seventeen," she called out over rising winds, "let's just get this over with!"
"Right!" He called back.
They began to charge their energy, and approach the power threshold for their attack, but they never made it. The attack was automatically called off as a gigantic power spike flooded every threat sensor in their beings. Eighteen snapped to attention and began analyzing the data crossing her bionic mind. This power level was big, and getting bigger, increasing at a phenomenal pace that would soon surpass her own. She looked around frantically for the source of this radical energy signature. As one, she and her brother turned, and their eyes fell on the Saiya-jin.
If they had taken the time to check their meteorological readouts, the Androids would have seen that the storm was centered directly over the fallen boy. As it was, though, their attention was completely taken up by the sight before them. The boy was still unconscious, but he was floating several feet above the ground. The rain was not striking him nor were the winds whipping over him. He appeared to be totally isolated from the world around him.
Suddenly, the boy's eyes snapped open. Brown eyes locked with theirs, and they were full of hate. The boy's fists clenched and his muscles bulged, cords standing out on his neck and arms. His chest was heaving and his teeth ground together. This was the source Eighteen was looking for.
Suddenly, his power spiked even higher, going beyond his fighting power at the beginning of the battle, and he began to glow, his aura flaring out in all directions. She had no clue what was happening, because Gero's data was incomplete, and therefore she had no way of knowing how much trouble she was in.
Robbie's aura flashed from white to gold, and his eyes went from brown to turquoise.
Away from the scene, Trunks was beginning to stir. His eyes immediately snapped open as his senses engaged. He sensed power, and a huge amount of it. And there he saw Robbie, cloaked in gold. Trunks knew immediately what was happening to his friend. The strange boy who came from another Earth, traveled to New Namek, traveled across time to Earth 40 years in the past, and wished on the Dragon Balls to become a Saiya-jin, was about to become the next level of power: the legendary Super-Saiya-jin.
Robbie's body, along with his power level, began to rise. Each passing second took away more of his self-control, and his hair, eyes, and aura were shifting wildly between gold and black, brown and aqua, and gold and white. When the last of it slipped away, all of his features made their final shift. Robbie's power level crashed through the ceiling, soaring to its maximum height, and a monolithic flash of gold exploded through the heavens in a spire, splitting the clouds in two. The boy was screaming now, hands held high.
Eighteen fought to keep her place in the sky, but it was no use. She and Seventeen half-landed on, half-crashed into the ruined city below. There, all they could do was hold their ground until the storm of the century was over. Eighteen realized that the battle situation had changed drastically, and not for the better.
The air around the boy had become a maelstrom of flying debris. Whole buildings were being ripped from the blasted earth and flung into the sky. Smaller debris flowed upward in a never-ending river. Even chunks of the ground were being lifted. Nothing was spared.
While the storm raged, Trunks had found the strength to get to his feet, his presence unknown to his Android opponents. He had no intention of continuing the fight, of course, but he did want to find some better shelter. A Super-Saiya-jin, even if he was your friend, was nothing to screw around with. Moving as fast as he could, he crawled into a twisted cave formed from chunks of concrete and rebar. Just as he did, a traffic sign came whipping past the entrance at hurricane force, scraping the entranceway and filling the tiny chamber with sparks. Trunks crouched low and covered his head, and waited for the storm to end. As he did, he spoke a silent prayer for his friend.
Go for it kid, this is your fight now.
The storm raged on for ten more dizzying seconds, and then abruptly stopped. The inky clouds leaked away, the winds died, and rain ceased to fall. Silence once again descended on the city of the dead.
Eighteen had managed to keep her feet the entire time, but was forced to shut her eyes. Now, she opened them. The boy, the Saiya-jin, was there, standing over 100 feet away. He was no longer screaming, and his hands were now fisted at his side, but he was far from back to normal. His hair was now spiked straight up, and was burning like a golden torch. Power flared around him of an identical color, setting his body on fire, and his eyes shined with an eerie aqua light. He was not only transformed, he was transfigured.
The boy still held her gaze, but his own eyes lacked his earlier hate stare. He seemed calm, and it appeared that his raging emotions were finally in check. In contrast, though, Eighteen's heart rate was far above its normal level. In awe of his complete transformation, she could only stare in wonder, and he only stared back.
In the next instant, the tableau was broken. The Saiya-jin's image shimmered strangely, and then he was gone. No dematerialization. Eighteen looked to her right, where Seventeen was standing, and he was clearly perplexed. She didn't see any sign of him, until she turned around.
The boy was there, staring at her again. He was on the other side of her, but he had closed the distance to fifty feet. Now she was beginning to get annoyed. Was this asshole going to just ogle her to death?
"Seventeen." She said.
"Yeah?"
"Is this kid starting to piss you off?"
"Yeah, kinda."
"Want to do something about it?"
"With pleasure."
Without another word, Seventeen leapt from his position and charged the Saiya-jin. The fifty feet were gone in seconds, and Seventeen raised his fist to connect, but it never hit. The Saiya-jin simply vanished without warning.
Eighteen looked up and around, trying to home in on his position, but it was all in vain. Seventeen was doing the same, but somewhat more frantically, turning around like a wild animal. He turned towards her briefly, puzzlement written all over his features. Then the Saiya-jin reappeared behind him. Eighteen barely had time to warn him before a strong hand wrapped around the back of his neck. Shock replaced puzzlement, and Seventeen was instantly yanked from the Earth and pulled up into the air.
The Saiya-jin had a firm grip on Seventeen's neck, but the Android fought in vain to get free. They were now hundreds of feet into the sky, with no sign of slowing down, until the Saiya-jin doubled back and began to spin. Eighteen watched helplessly as her brother was being swung around like a rag doll in a spin cycle, unable to escape. Then the Saiya-jin let go, and Seventeen went soaring toward the ground.
The flight lasted less than a second. The android's body plowed into the ground, sending a plume of dust and debris into the sky. His helpless form skidded several hundred feet, and then came to a stop near the place where Trunks was hiding. The android didn't so much as twitch.
Eighteen's heart stopped. Emotions such as shock and grief didn't last very long in her android body because her electronic sensors quickly equalized all of her biological functions, but even they could not dispel the disquiet in her mind. No one had ever gotten the upper hand on her brother like the Saiya-jin just had, and no one had ever brought him so close to destruction with the amount of damage he had taken. She was beyond worried.
In full view of her opponent, Eighteen flew to her brother's side. What she found was a mass of blood, flesh, and cloth with black hair. She shook him and called his name, but there was no response. She sensed some energy left in him, but he was effectively out of the fight and, by extension, out of reality. If both of them were to survive this fight, she would have to fight the Saiya-jin by herself. For the first time in her life, she would be his protector, not vice versa.
Tears…a child's sadness…angelic innocence marred by scars and fresh blood… Don't worry sis, I'll make sure he never hurts you again.
Now it was her turn. Eighteen dropped her shredded denim vest and tore the sleeves from her shirt, reveling slim, muscular arms; beautiful and strong at the same time. She stared upward, stabbing a glance at her enemy who still watched her with an equal hate stare. With teeth gritted and fists clenched, she leapt from her brother's side and tore into the sky like human lightning, flying faster than ever before.
Just before she struck her enemy, he disappeared again, just as Eighteen expected, and she was ready. She spun around and sent her senses out in every direction, but something was wrong. The boy had not dematerialized; that much she could figure out, but that left only one possibility: the boy was moving with only physical speed. This took away her only advantage. But Eighteen was still not ready to give up. She found his position and quickly unleashed a barrage of energy. The boy moved to the side, and she fired more. Every direction he went, she followed, and finally a huge salvo struck home, and he disappeared behind a hail of fire.
Eighteen's senses could not reach into the inferno, and so she was unable to discover her opponent's fate until after the smoke cleared. Several tense seconds passed until gray smoke gave way to blue sky. Eighteen experienced one half-moment of jubilation, but it was quickly cut short by a fleck of black fur waving in the sky. The Saiya-jin still lived. His eyes continued to stare at her like nothing had happened.
Eighteen growled to herself in frustration and raised her arms for another strike, but she was cut off by a crushing pain at her throat. Crushing, because her windpipe was now constricted by the Saiya-jin's hand. She panicked, realizing that the he had just closed a large distance without her being able to see it.
Hard, thin lips parted to reveal gleaming fangs brought together in a predatory grin. Eighteen's own face was a mask of utter shock. The hand gripped tighter, and she began to lose oxygen. In response, her mind ran through a sequence of counter moves to break the hold, and Eighteen tore at the hand around her throat with all her might using one of the suggested techniques, but nothing worked. She was too weak, and he was too strong.
The savage fangs spread apart wider, and she could almost hear him chuckle at her torment. Her hands dropped to her sides as her body went slack, and her eyes fell. She was completely helpless, unable to stop her enemy from killing her. Just before she lost consciousness, he released her, only to drive his fist across her face and send her sprawling into the dirt. She could breathe now, but her head was a knot of pain. She began to crawl away on her hands and knees, but the lifted her up by the back of her neck and slammed her face-first into the ground. She tried once more to rise, but a solid heel to the middle of her back forced her down once more.
Her body, bionic and biological, screamed in pain. She was beaten and broken, unable to move, let alone fight. The Saiya-jin's foot pressed down harder, and she could feel her metallic skeleton begin to bend. More pain flooded her mind.
…stop it, daddy…
She began to hope frantically that Seventeen would come to her rescue, but remembered that he was in worse shape than she was. Even her vainest hopes were crushed. All she had left was her inevitable end. Then a thought crossed her mind.
I deserve this.
Eighteen thought back to the past few years of her life, everything that she and Seventeen had done, and why. She didn't stray too far into the darkness, to the days before Gero, but stayed in the immediate past. She thought of burning cities, screaming people, chaos, fire, and of course, the oceans of blood…She became sick. These were her sins. Those people didn't die from hurricanes or tornados or rampaging armies; they died from her. Her unholy power and strength, her malevolent will; that's what eradicated hundreds of thousands of souls from the Earth.
She killed them all, her and her brother that she loved so much. They had once been good people, and now they were monsters. She was looking at herself in her mind's mirror, and she hated what she saw. She never wanted to be like this; she only wanted to be free…Now she was damned, and she knew she deserved the worst punishment Hell could give her.
She was flipped over onto her back forcefully, and the sun burned her eyes until the Saiya-jin blotted it out with a sea of black hair. His face was shrouded in darkness, but she knew he was smiling, savoring the taste of an imminent kill and final victory. She saw that his right hand was glowing with golden power, and his aura was flaring hotter than ever before. She could barely stand to be in his presence. She knew it was over.
Years of pain and loss had brought her to this point in a godforsaken metropolis she had destroyed. They welled up, filling her like black sewage, closing off every channel of her body. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't feel. She had gone numb from sheer anguish. Her life had been nothing but pain since the day she came into the world, and now it would end finally.
The Saiya-jin raised his hand, a golden sphere of power resting in his upturned palm, and she cast her eyes upward. The sight of it burned her eyes, but she couldn't turn away. Eye to eye with her inevitable end, she became overwhelmed again, and a single tear slipped down her face. Android Eighteen closed her eyes.
She sat in the darkness, waiting for death to take her. She was suddenly a little girl again, waiting for the terrors that the night would surely bring. But she also realized that this time would be different. There would be no torment, only release, and this time she deserved her cruelest of fates. Before Gero, she was innocent and blameless, but now she was guilty to the fullest.
The seconds ticked by, but after ten had slipped into oblivion, she began to grow impatient. She knew it didn't take that long to power up an attack, and if she was him she'd have been dead 5 seconds ago. She continued to wait.
Outside of her shut eyes, another sat waiting. He stood, surveying his enemy with feral glee, noting the volume of blood and dirt covering her clothes and face. All seemed right in his animalistic mind, overtaken with fury. Her pain and her torment was music to his ears. That was, until one tear left her eyes and cleared a pathway through the accumulated muck on her cheek. That, somehow, didn't seem right.
Robbie's mind suddenly cleared. Coming back to his senses, he realized that the impossible had happened: he was a Super-Saiya-jin. He would have been shocked, but he had already been one for several minutes, and was well-adjusted. As it was Robbie's attention was focused completely on the android at his feet. She was beaten, that much he could tell. In the darker recesses of his mind came the command: kill her.
That was his Saiya-jin voice speaking, the one that had coached him along to his current level of power, the one that urged him to become stronger, and the one that screamed in fury when he was transformed. That voice had been a part of him ever since he had woken up on that mountain plain with a new life. Every day since, he had listened to that voice in all things, trusting it and believing that it would lead him to the power he sought. It had, and he was victorious, so what now?
His enemy lay before him, helpless. The voice again gave him only one command, and desire burned in him to obey. But there was another part to Robbie's mind, one that had held on to his old human thoughts and desires, and through it Robbie remembered that he had never killed anyone. Ever. He remembered that he never even wanted to hurt anyone, only these Androids, and only because they were an obstacle to saving those he loved. Yet somehow he had lost sight of his true goal and had wandered too deeply into his Saiya-jin side, delving in primeval lusts and hungers, becoming more beast than human. Robbie, too, was looking into himself, and was as equally disgusted as his opponent was. Looking away from Eighteen, he stared at the city around him.
Everything was gone, and even the ruins had been blasted into dust. There wasn't even enough left for the crows to feed on. It was a wasteland, a desert. The Androids had been the ones to attack first, but he and his comrade couldn't escape blame either. They had all come to this field of battle possessed by their own purposes, and nothing had resulted except more death and more loss. Robbie looked around, and became weary.
Across the field, he saw some rubble shifting, and then watched as Trunks freed himself from his hiding place. He was about to call out, but he saw that Trunks was intent on something else. So intent that he was clutching his sword in a white knuckle grip. Robbie looked harder, and saw what he was after: Seventeen.
The android was as beaten as his sister and unconscious besides. Trunks apparently was about to take advantage of the situation and finish his opponent once and for all. His face, like his opponent's, was streaked with blood and his normally lavender hair was nearly black with accumulated dust. In Trunks' eyes, he saw the same glow that was surely being reflected by his own eyes. That glow was pure hate. Trunks wanted one thing, and that was to kill Seventeen.
It suddenly felt wrong again; all wrong. He considered, though, his own intentions. Hadn't he wanted to kill Eighteen and have it done? Wasn't he still planning to? He looked down at the golden fireball blazing in his hand, then at the broken girl at his feet, then to her brother, equally broken, and finally to his comrade-in-arms, consumed by hate. The fireball glowed at his side, but the girl didn't move. The sword-wielder marched on, his victim unaware.
Oddly, Robbie found himself thinking of a fanfic he had once read called 'Falling Angels.' It was a simple fic, only a couple of pages, but significant because it provided insight into Seventeen's and Eighteen's lives before they were Androids, when they were human. Robbie realized he had never considered their origins. They were simply villains, worthy of hate. Of course, Eighteen eventually married Krillin and had a child with him, but that was another Eighteen in the past. This particular woman only had one destiny ahead of her: death, when Trunks returned from the past. This woman would never see the error of her ways, never know regret or guilt. She would die never knowing true life. Seventeen would do the same. Robbie believed this to be the greatest wrong of all.
Across the field, time had run out for the black-haired Android. Trunks brought his sword back, tip pointing directly at his heart, and rammed it home. Robbie released his blazing energy in a rush, raising a dust cloud into the air like a plume of volcanic ash. There was a crash of thunder, a raking metallic squeal, and then silence.
The dust took an eternity to settle. Even after it had, nobody moved. A choice had been made, and it changed everything. Trunks gaped in shock. Robbie's eyes stared ahead at him, his emotions mute. Trunks' sword was buried to the hilt in the earth, turned black by Robbie's energy blast.
Time slowed for a second, but did not stop this time. Trunks turned at Robbie and screamed.
"What the hell did you do that for!?" looked toward him, but he said nothing. Trunks only continued to glare, his face twisted in anger and fists clenched. "I was about to kill him! I was going to end this! What the fuck is wrong with you!?"
In a second, Trunks' hate stare was turned from Seventeen, and to Robbie. His fists clenched, his teeth gritted, and he began to run. Things were about to become unpleasant.
Trunks swung at Robbie, but he dodged effortlessly and took hold of Trunks' wrist. In two more motions, the young half-Saiya-jin was subdued on the ground.
"Why…?" He mumbled into the dust. Robbie was silent for a moment, unable to respond. Then he looked up.
He was able to see Eighteen laying sprawled out a few feet away from him, as motionless as when he left her. He looked also at her brother, equally motionless farther across the field. And now his comrade was lying in the dust as well. Every being on the field had fallen, and it was all his doing. His sense of wrongness only swelled greater.
"Trunks…I'm sorry."
"You'd better be sorry…traitor!"
"Stop! Don't you get what's happening here?"
"Yeah, you can't finish this. You're weaker than I thought."
"Please, get over yourself. That's not it."
"Then what the fuck is?! We've won; they're beaten! Why can't we just finish this and get it over with? Do you want more people to die? Do you want us to die?"
"No…I don't want anyone to die. I want it all to be over. Right now."
"Then kill these bastards!"
"No.
"What?"
"I said no. There's been too many deaths today. There's been too many deaths altogether, because of them and us. I don't want one more human life to be lost, and I'll make as many sacrifices as I can to ensure that it isn't. These two are no exception."
"These two aren't even human!"
"Yes they are. Don't you think there's a brain in their heads? Don't you think there's a heart beneath all the metal? Of course there is. They're as human as you and I are, but they've been brainwashed, turned into something they're not and forced to do something they never wanted to do. They probably deserve to die for it anyway, but I'm willing to give them a second chance. All I'm asking is for you to calm down and give me a few minutes. If things don't go the way I want, this'll be over quick, and you can get your revenge, but if they do, I want your promise that you won't harm either of them. Now what do you say?"
"I don't know what the fuck you're thinking, but I'll give you a minute. You'd better not let me down."
"I won't, pal. Watch the girl. If she wakes up, make sure she knows I have very thin patience."
"With pleasure." With that, Robbie pulled Trunks to his feet. Turning his back, he set his sights on the black-haired android across the field and leapt to his side. The android stirred, but no other sign was given. Robbie crouched down next to him and shook him lightly. The android rolled onto his back, but didn't otherwise respond.
"Hey, you awake?" Nothing. Robbie tried to sense his power level, but quickly remembered that he couldn't, since they were mostly mechanical. All he could do was sit here and hope the Android woke up sometime this millennium, if at all. Robbie also realized that if Seventeen was dead, then Eighteen would be less than pleasant to handle. To Robbie's relief, the android groaned again and shifted to his side. His eyes remained closed, though, so Robbie decided to start with the other sibling.
With one leap, Robbie was at Eighteen's side again.
Eighteen felt the ground shift under her, and became afraid.
…she heard the door creak open…heavy footfalls…no warning…fists like steel blocks…pain…no peace…leave me alone daddy…brother, where are you…
She tensed, ready for more punishment, but none came. Instead, a rough voice spoke, only a foot or two from her ear.
"Hey, wake up." It was the Saiya-jin. Her blood froze, and she knew she would soon have to give up the possum charade. She hoped for just a few more minutes of peace in the darkness, quiet…
A hot, rough vice gripped her neck, and her eyes shot open in shock. There he was, staring at her with the same hate-filled turquoise eyes she saw when she had closed her own. As she was staring, though, eyes wide with panic, she noticed a change. His eyes, fully locked with hers, began to soften and as they did, so did the hand at her throat. In a moment, she could breathe again, and the Saiya-jin had moved back a little ways from her. His face no longer full of hate, he looked almost sorry.
Eighteen sat up, pain jabbing her in every conceivable place, and tried to put on her bravest most defiant face. She still didn't feel confident, though, as she stared down her opponent-turned-assailant.
Robbie staggered backwards from the female android, trembling. His Saiya-jin instincts were harder to control than he thought. Why was he so violent? Why was he so full of hate? These were questions that gnawed at him.
Eventually, he regained control and approached Eighteen, whose face was set in a look of defiance. She didn't waver so much as an inch as he approached, and he felt a small kernel of respect appear in him. Despite her tattered clothes and broken body, she still managed somehow to project her usual aura of supremacy, and she would even continue to fight if the opportunity arose. In Robbie's mind, though, he hoped that wouldn't happen.
"Can you stand?" He asked, looking down at her.
"What do you think?" She shot back.
"Fine then." He said, and settled to the ground a couple of feet in front of her, legs crossed. He motioned to Trunks, and he followed suit. "As is probably obvious to you by now, we don't plan on killing you," he said conversationally, "yet. However, that could change if I don't get the answers I want, or if you decide to play cute. Cross me and there won't be enough left of you to make a toaster. Capice?"
Eighteen said nothing, only continuing to glare.
"Okay, I see this won't be easy, but I'm a patient man and I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. You see, I have a problem, and I'm looking for friends to help me take care of the matter. Unfortunately, I need strong friends and the only strong people left on this world are the four of us."
"Is Seventeen alive?" She asked, completely devoid of emotion.
"He's banged up, but he's still breathing. He should wake up soon, and when he does I'll give him the same proposition I'm giving you. So that brings me to my ultimate question. Do you and your brother want to live?"
"We won't be anybody's slaves. Go fuck yourself."
"You little…" Robbie's aura began to rise and rage began to flow. He drew his hand up, a charged ki-ball floating in his palm, and prepared to strike her down. Eighteen's mask cracked, and he could see the bitter fear beneath. This made him stop. Regaining control, Robbie pushed his instincts down into the pit of his stomach. He was really beginning to hate this…
"Now listen here, I want this to be a civil conversation. I just nearly lost my cool there and I really don't want to do that again. Keep the expletives to yourself, and we'll move on. What I'm offering you is a second chance; a new lease on life, if you will. You've proven your power and now I want to put that power to some good use. My problem is that there's another android out there, and he happens to be heading for my home. His purpose is the same as yours: the complete destruction of humanity. Obviously, I don't want that to happen, so I'm asking for your help."
"What? You need our help?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"You just beat us. You've proven you're the strongest, so why keep us around? Why can't you just destroy him yourself?"
"Maybe I can, maybe I can't. The point is that I don't want to go back unprepared. If I can win on my own, fine, but if not, I'll have three more fighters to back me up. So again, will you agree?"
"I'm not saying anything until I know Seventeen is alive."
"Fair enough."
"Speak of the devil…" Trunks said suddenly. Robbie looked up and saw Trunks staring across the field. Following his gaze, he saw Seventeen begin to rise from the rubble. He looked up, staggered, and fell back to the ground, then began to crawl on hands and knees toward them.
Robbie was up in a flash and went to the android's side. Seventeen was beaten and bloody, and could barely move at all, let alone swiftly. Seeing an opportunity to demonstrate some form of good will, he stretched his hand out to his beaten opponent. Once he accepted, Robbie picked him up and rushed him to his sister's side.
Then a curious thing happened, something that forever changed in his mind, as he suspected in Trunks' mind as well, his view of them as villains. Once together, the twins embraced. Not in a cold, emotionless manner as would have been expected of killers, but with as much warmth and affection as Robbie had ever shown his parents. Robbie knew then that the bond they shared went beyond that of mere partnership or camaraderie. It was love, pure and simple.
Though he didn't believe that the author of Fallen Angels had it right, he did believe there was a kernel of truth. He believed that they had been through tough times, and that in all the years of their life the only place they ever found comfort was in each other. They were best friends, they were family, and they were one. Without one, the other had no reason to live, and this made Robbie's plan all the harder to set in motion.
Seeing that the twins were still otherwise occupied, he motioned to Trunks and pulled him aside. He began to tell him of his plan, speaking at a whisper so only he could hear.
"Listen, we've still got about 9 months before I can go back home, so we've got to get ourselves ready."
"Aren't we ready now? We just won the battle."
"I know that, but now we've got two more team members."
"You really think they'll join us?"
"I'm almost positive. These guys have nothing to lose. I'm a little suspicious, but I'll take my chances to save Earth."
"Okay, now what do we do with them?"
"Um…you're probably not going to like this idea."
"I haven't liked any idea you've had so far."
"Fair enough. I think we need to consider splitting them up."
"What?! Are you freaking crazy? I don't think anyone stands a chance of pulling those two apart now! Besides, splitting them up means splitting us up. If we do that, we're both toast."
"I don't think so. You've seen that I can handle them both on my own. For your part, I know you'll gain a major power boost once you recover from your injuries, therefore I don't think we'll be in too much danger. Besides, if one gets in trouble he'll just send out a mental call to the other. Piece of cake."
"Okay, that explains how, but why?
"These two were designed to be halves of a whole. Strong apart, unbeatable together. They're a team, just like we are, but they don't know how to fight with us, and neither of our teams trusts the other. There's a gap here that needs to be bridged and I think it can be done if all of us take a little risk."
"That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard."
"Yeah, I know. Get used to it."
"Whatever, I can't believe you want me to fight alongside my worst enemies."
"I know. Listen, buddy, I can't say I know what your going through, but I want to tell you a little story. A little while back, before you were born, Earth was attacked by two powerful enemies. These enemies came to Earth for the same purpose as the Androids: to extinguish all life on the planet. Earth's only defense were its Special Forces, comprised of the strongest fighters on the planet. One of the invaders alone was able to completely annihilate Earth's fighters, and all seemed lost until Earth's greatest hero arrived to fight the enemy. He defeated one and challenged the leader himself, but fell against his awesome strength. In the end, though, the hero's friends joined the fight and finally brought the invader to his knees. The invader was helpless as one of the hero's friends stood ready to strike the deathblow. But he was stopped."
"By who?"
"The hero himself. The hero had lost all his friends to this enemy, but he still pleaded for his life. He wanted to show that he and his friends were better, in that they understood mercy, and didn't need to take life to prove their superiority."
"That's a good story, but what does it have to do with me?"
"The hero was Goku himself."
"And who was the invader?"
"Your father."
Trunks was silent and hung his head. "Okay, I'll let them live." Was all he said.
"Good. I'll go tell our new teammates."
And with that Robbie walked back to the twins, still holding on to each other for dear life. His heart was heavy and he anticipated challenges, but nothing could compare to the hope he felt in his heart. For the first time since this whole nightmare began, light was beginning to break forth through the dark. Things were looking up, and it seemed like victory could be within his grasp.
He took heart at his new strength, and at his new personality. Already he could feel himself growing up faster than ever before. He could think, he could solve problems, and he could plan better than he ever could as a human, and though he would never hear it from their lips, he was becoming someone his parents would be proud of. The suburban boy was now a warrior, and a man.
And the long-awaited battle is over! Hope you weren't looking for a bloody ending…Anyway, here's the shout-outs.
Fireyone233: Okay, you were right about the ssj thing. Of course it was bound to happen. I'm sorry if I bored you with the flashback, but it was necessary, both for insight into Robbie's almost nonexistent past and to trigger his transformation.
Thomas Drovin: Sorry I lied! I said a week and it's, well…not. I'm sorry, but things just piled up on me again and I lost track. It's almost to the point where I'm going to stop promising updates because I never get it right anyway. Besides that, I hope you like it.
Chaosbardock: The simple explanation for the lack of martial arts skill is because the character can't know more than the author. I'm only a yellow-belt green-tip in Tae Kwon Do, thus I can't write about moves I don't know. However, I did take your advice on the choke and added it in to a couple of places. Thanks for the advice.
Hopeful Wings: Don't worry, this story is as alive as I am, and unfortunately about as active. But I do intend to continue and I will get this thing finished.
Zion17: Thanks for the accolades. I know a lot of general knowledge so I just try to apply it wherever I can. I'm also a college student and I took Electronics for a year, so I know a little about that, too.