The Darkness Within

This is the story of the past of Android 17 and 18 and how love saved them from the darkness within. K18, NSFW, TRIGGER WARNING

Disclaimer: I do not own DB/DBZ/DBS or any of its characters. Please take the trigger warning seriously!

Chapter 2

She had checked every location she could remember. Maybe android 17 remembered more than she did and went to one of those places from their human past. Try as she did to remember more than just those five years in the mansion she couldn't. She wanted to remember more about Lamel. She figured out that her previous name was Lazuli and 17's was Lapis. But after Gero put them to sleep she could only remember the most recent stuff Gero had done to them while converting them into androids.

Left with no options 18 started searching the islands around the main city. There were hundreds of them, including that one with the pink house that they went to go search for Goku. 17 could be on any of those islands.

For days she searched every single island thoroughly and avoided blasting each one when she didn't find 17 because of the animals. 16 loved the animals and she couldn't kill them just because she was angry.

She was on her thirty-forth island when she actually ran into another person. It was the short bald man Krillin, except he wasn't so bald anymore. He had a thin layer of black hair growing on his head. He was shirtless in just his orange go pants sitting cross-legged, floating above the ground with his eyes closed.

18 watched him for a while. He was focused and peaceful. What was he doing? It was nearly three in the morning, not even the animals were awake.

She remembered briefly the fear she felt when she saw that control in his hands. The control that Gero used to submit them time and time again. There was only one other time that she felt that kind of fear.

XXXXXX

11 years ago

The storm was raging. The rain pelted the roof of their little shack and four-year old Lamel wouldn't stop crying. The thunder rumbled so loudly that the whole shack was shaking and the lightening flashed right through the cracks.

The cold hit their skin like thick layers of ice and still Lapis slept. He shared the mattress with Lamel and she slept on the other mattress alone but the guy could literally sleep through a natural disaster.

Lamel kept crying continuously and Lapis didn't even flinch. Lazuli got up picked him up into her arms. She was only 14 years old herself and just as scared as he was but she put on a brave face and cradled Lamel into her arms.

"Little bro," she said softly caressing his back. "It's okay you're safe here. Every time there were storms like this mom used to come into our room and kiss us on the cheek. She would say that the kiss would keep us safe from any harm, and then we would go back to sleep without fear." Lamel looked up at her tearfully.

She gave him a gentle smile and kissed his cheek. "There now you're safe."

Lamel smiled and cuddle into her bosom as she laid back down on her mattress and cuddled him close. Lazuli sighed deeply and closed her eyes to get some sleep.

"What was she like?"

"Hmm?"

"Mom," Lamel said. "What was she like?"

"Beautiful."

They both looked to the other mattress where Lapis was sitting up, his blue eyes glooming in the darkness. "She had beautiful long black hair like you and me Lamel," he continued softly. "And brown eyes but they shined bright like diamonds. And her smile was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. Our sister has that smile."

Lapis stood up and walked to the other mattress and laid down so that Lamel was in between the both of them. "Our dad was the one who had the blonde hair like Lazuli's and the icy blue eyes we all have. He was strong and powerful. A firefighter. He was a hero. He died being that hero. I hope one day I can make a sacrifice so noble as that."

"I wanna be a hero too!" Lamel said cheerfully.

"Sleep twerp, tomorrow we have long day of work ahead of us," Lapis said. Lamel cuddled into his chest and closed his eyes. Lazuli reached over Lamel's head and grabbed Lapis' hand.

Lapis smiled and squeezed it tightly then shut his eyes to return to sleep.

XXXXXX

18 staggered back at the impact of the memory and stepped on a branch that crunched loudly. Krillin immediately jumped out of his meditation pose and searched around in the darkness all around him.

"Who's there?"

18 didn't respond or move. He couldn't sense her so there's no way he would find her.
Krillin sighed deeply and focused his mind. "I can hear your breathing."

18 froze and held her breath. He's been heightening his senses. Her database clearly said that the z fighters sensed purely ki, that's why Gero created them to exude no ki at all even though they had infinite energy and great power.

Krillin looked in her exact direction and said, "right there. I can hear you breathing but I sense no ki so you must be one of the androids." Now he looked nervous and backed away slightly. "What do you want?"

18 sighed and stepped out into the clearing not seeing the need to hide any more. He tensed and visibly gulped but did not crouch into a fighting stance or power up any ki. He stayed totally still and waited for her to do something.

"I was looking for my brother," she said. "You happened to be here."

He nodded. "It's been a few months now. You haven't found him?"

"If I had why would I be looking!" She snapped with a sneer.

Krillin flinched at the harsh tone and immediately raised his arms in defense. "I'm sorry! I'm just trying to help."

"I don't need your help!" 18 snapped.

Krillin nodded and said, "I'm sorry."

18 huffed. "What are doing here?"

"Meditating," Krillin said. "It's too loud at the Kame House."

"That's where you live?"

Krillin nodded.

"What does meditating do?" 18 wasn't sure why she was asking so many questions but she couldn't seem to stop talking to this little guy.

"Cleanses the mind, sharpens senses," Krillin responded. "That's how I was able to sense you even though you have no Ki."

18 nodded once then turned to leave.

"Wait uh..."

When he trailed off 18 snarled at him. "What?"

"I, uh, come here every single night around this time," Krillin said. "If you wanted to...m-meditate with me, you cou..."

"No," 18 snapped with a huff. "Why the hell would I do that?" Krillin opened his mouth to speak but 18 shot up into the air and flew towards the shack she had remembered.

XXXXXX

The village had taken a bit of damage. Apparently Cell made a pit stop there. The village people were rebuilding places and cleaning up debris. 18 went straight to the outskirts of town where she found the shack. It was even more run down then how she remembered it. The door was completely broken off and one of the walls was on the ground.

The mattresses were still in their same spot on the ground but they were destroyed by water damage and rats had infested them. Roaches covered the old cabinet and refrigerator.

This didn't phase 18 who just looked for any sign that 17 had been there. There was none. 18 sighed. Where else could he be?

XXXXX

15 years ago

"Mama!" Lazuli cried running over to her holding a small dandelion. "Look what I found!"

The fair-skinned woman, who looked even more pale then usual, grinned and said, "That's beautiful Lazuli."

Lapis ran in right after holding a model airplane. "I made this for you."

The woman smiled. "Thank you son."

"Dad says that when people are sick it's always good to give them a gift," Lapis said.

"Thank you both my sweetlings," she said taking the dandelion and the airplane and putting it on the night stand. She rubbed her large belly and said, "your new baby brother is just giving me a hard time is all. That means he's gonna be a strong and healthy boy."

"I can't wait to play with him!" Lapis cried.

Lazuli squealed. "We're gonna have so much fun."

Their father entered then with a doctor in white lab coat and his doctor bag...

XXXXXX

18 gasped. "Dr. Gero! That doctor who came to deliver Lamel was Dr. Gero! He said she died of natural causes but he murdered her! He looked different then no beard or mustache, black hair, that why I didn't recognize him! That son-of-a-bitch!" 18 kicked over a nearby old chair that shattered into a million pieces. "He had his sights on us from the beginning! My only regret is that I couldn't kill him myself!"

With an angry huff she zoomed off towards her childhood home in search of 17.

Her father supposedly died during a rescue. He had become an alcoholic and struggled financially without their mom's paycheck. He took extra shifts and died when he ran into a burning building.

What if that was a lie? What if Gero killed him too? 18 felt an anger consuming her she almost ran into the village it and blasted it all away like the mansion.

"Clears your mind, sharpens senses..."

Krillin's words rang in her ears. All the hate and anger rumbling inside of her like a poison could benefit from this...meditation thing right?

"I, uh, come here every single night around this time. If you wanted to...m-meditate with me, you could..."

18 shook it off as she arrived to her childhood home. It wasn't abandoned like the other places. A new family lived there now. They had remodeled the house, made it much large to a size that rivaled the mansion. The fountain remained the same except for a miniature statue of Hercule Satan.

Of course 18 knew who that was because even in her childhood he owned half the country. She glanced into one of the windows and saw said Hercule Satan sitting at a tea party with a small girl who looked around Gohan's age. She was a pretty girl with long black hair tied into two ponytails.

With her advanced hearing she listened in to see if any of them mentioned her brother.
"That golden boy was the one who defeated Cell wasn't he?"

"What!" Satan cried. "N-no no! I did! I'm the champion of the world!"

The girl narrowed her eyes at him not believing a single word of it, but said, "whatever you say daddy."

18 backed away from the window and searched all around and over the house. No sign of 17 anywhere.

18 felt her anger build up again. She created a Ki blast and pointed it at the house ready to blow it to smithereens. She paused when she saw the giant patch of dandelions outlining the side of the house.

The Ki blast disappeared and she lowered her hand. She levitated in the air for a moment tempted to take a dandelion with her then zoomed away.