This future story arc initially was only one chapter long, but after getting a review saying the ending seemed rushed, I went back looked over the chapter and agreed whole heartedly. Taking my time a second time around, I ended up with a chapter around 10,000 words. I decided to break it into two, so here is part one of a two part story arc explaining how Trunks and Eighteen end up together.

Of Androids and Saiyans

It was done. He was gone. How could this be possible, this man standing before her should not be this strong. He had blown her brother away like he was nothing. Now this enraged, golden haired

demi-Saiyan was standing before her, enjoying the shock visible in her eyes.

"Ho-how could you? He was my brother," the blonde beauty shouted.

"How could I? You can't be serious! What about all those brothers you took away from this world? You and your brother caused more pain than you could ever begin to understand. You took away the closest thing I ever had to a brother. Now I avenge his death," the half Saiyan was screaming, his aura violent and bright. The beautiful android realized this was her end as well, and for some strange reason she felt she deserved it. It was as if all of a sudden everything she had done had finally hit her. All the lives she had ruined, was this remorse, she thought. She looked at the young half Saiyan before her and felt she deserved what she had coming.

Trunks continued to glare at blonde android. All she could do was stare in horror. She was about to die, and that scared the hell out of her. Was there nothing she could do?

"Your time is now," Trunks screamed.

"NO!" The beautiful android screamed back. She mustered up all the strength she had and fired a blast directly at her gold haired assailant. She did not intend to and knew she could not hurt him. She only wanted a distraction. The blast hit trunks who did not even bother to dodge or slap it away. He figured he would humor her. As a blinding smoke encircled the half Saiyan, the blonde beauty took to the skies. Immediately she started scanning for hiding places, and in a few seconds found one and launched down to it. She knew the half Saiyan could not sense her, this gave her the advantage. She had no desire to fight him, she knew she would lose. The smoke cleared from around Trunks who noticed that his target had vanished.

"Hmph. COWARD! Come out and face your death with honor," Trunks screamed at the top of his lungs. The android remained still and quiet. She knew Trunks would not blast randomly for fear of hurting someone who happened to be an innocent bystandard.

"All right. You will live to die another day then." With that Trunks blasted off for Capsule Corp. When she was sure the half Saiyan was gone, the blonde haired blue eyed android took to the skies again. For the first time in her life, she hadn't the slightest idea what she was going to do next.

DBSS

"Mom, mom I'm home," Trunks bellowed through the halls of Capsul Corp. When he received no answer, his ki began to rise as well as his worry.

"Mom, mom where are you," Trunks yelled.

The door to the bathroom opened up revealing Bulma safe and sound wearing a towel in her hair, and a robe wrapped around her body.

"Stop hollering, I'm right here," Bulma said with a smile. Even after all the hardships, Trunks couldn't help but think beautiful his mother still was. He could fully understand why a man…Saiyan like Vegeta would fall in love with her.

"Sorry mom, when you didn't answer I got worried," Trunks said, his face relaxing and his ki returning to normal.

"I told you, you don't have to worry about me, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself," Bulma said with another smile.

"I really missed you mom," Trunks said quietly with a small smile.

"You just left twenty minutes ago," Bulma said touching her left hand to his right cheek.



"No, before that. I spent a lot longer away from you than you did from me," Trunks said grabbing his moms hand in his own right. Bulma remembered him mentioning the time he spent with his father in that "Time" room. It was a whole year in one Earth day. Bulma pulled her son into a tight hug.

"So did you find them?" Bulma asked as she released her son.

"Yes, Seventeen is out of commission, but Eighteen ran. I was unable to locate her. Eighteen knows I can beat her now so it would be unlikely that's he would draw attention to herself. It is only a matter of time before I destroy her," Trunks finished, the anger obvious in his eyes.

"Her?" Bulma asked questioningly. "You never referred to Eighteen as a 'her' before. You always called them 'its'." This was true. Trunks never once referred to the androids as though they were "he", or "she", always "it". Perhaps some part of him registered the remorse in her eyes (There was the "her" again), justifying a reason to call her a "her".

"After I killed Seventeen, she was in complete shock. I looked into her eyes and they were filled with fear, but they were also filled with remorse. Maybe…maybe her human side was coming to surface. Maybe she realized what she had really done," Trunks theorized.

"What do you mean 'human side'," Bulma asked cocking her head to the side.

"I found out in the past that they were once human. Gero "modified" them, turning them into the monsters that wreaked havoc on the world. There was something about them having nothing to live for as to the reason why they accepted such a ludicrous idea." Trunks said this with a most serious face.

"Well maybe then she has changed, maybe she won't kill anymore. Maybe she deserves a second chance." Trunks couldn't figure out what the hell his mother was on. She had better half the dosage or share.

"You can't be serious. 'Deserves a second chance', are you joking. She killed my dad. She killed Gohan, not to mention countless others. How can you suggest such a thing for the thing that killed your lover?" Trunks immediately realized that he was yelling at this mother and apologized for his outburst.

"It's all right. You know she may have killed Vegeta, but a part of him still lives," Bulma said with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Trunks asked smiling.

"Well if that outburst wasn't evidence enough, you're as thick as Goku. Bulma smiled and pulled her son down to her lips and gave him a kiss on the forhead. Trunks finally figured it out. His father lived on in him. "On that subject, even after all Frieza had done, Goku still gave him the option to live, even giving the tyrant some of his own energy. Everyone deserves a second chance, even if they events leading to it are extreme. Who knows, she could prove a valuable ally."

"I don't think so," Trunks said coldly.

"Come on, let's get some lunch," Bulma said as she dragged her son into the kitchen.

One Year Later

The beautiful blonde death-bringer looked at the city below her as she floated high above it, out of sight of any eyes that may make their way up. She had successfully avoided the vengeful half Saiyan for a full year now. Laying low and moving only at night made it that much easier. She rarely ventured into a city. She only did so when she needed to get water. It was the only thing she needed to survive. It had been three weeks since she last consumed the life prolonging beverage, and the need was becoming increasingly great. She didn't know how, but she had ended up above the city in which a certain purple haired warrior resided. She hoped beyond hope that she would remain undetected by him. Seeing as it was almost ten at night, she hoped he would be asleep. She touched down back outside the city a ways and walked in so as to avoid being noticed. She had grown her hair out quite a bit, it now stopped at the point where her back began to curve toward her butt. She also wore sunglasses, even at night, as well as a baseball cap. All this was in an effort to hide her easily recognizable features.



She had reached the main street for the city and began to walk it looking for the store she had "borrowed" from before. It was a simple convenience store that had the necessities, as well as bottled water. As she neared the store she spotted a woman with two kids on the other side of the street walking down the sidewalk in the opposite way she was walking. Then she noticed a group of three men walking directly at the woman and her kids. Eighteen stopped in her tracks and began to watch the scene unfold.

"Give me everything you've got missy or your kids get it," a large beefy man said as he waved a pistol in front of them.

"Oh please, I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt them please," the woman pleaded

"Cash, jewelry, NOW!" Screamed a tall skinny man behind the beefy partner.

"You know the missy here is kinda purdy, maybe we could have some fun with her," the short fan man that finished off the trio spoke.

"Heh heh, maybe you're right," the beefy man agreed.

"Oh please no," the woman pleaded again. That was enough. The blonde android couldn't take it anymore she had to help. She leapt into the air and flew across the street. Little did she know, that the local news crew had just turned the corner in their van and stopped when they noticed someone fly across the street. Only three people they knew could do that. One was Trunks Briefs, and the other two were the androids. They immediately got out and started filming what was likely to be a massacre, hey anything for a story, they thought.

Eighteen landed behind the three men who were about to violate this woman in front of her kids.

"Leave them alone," the blonde beauty said loudly, her anger evident.

"Hoo, hoo. Lookie here boys, a blonde tomboy here to save the day, the skinny one said eyeing the 'hot' blonde.

"I won't ask you again," she said her voice dripping with venom.

"Jax, knock this bitch out, we'll have fun with her later," the beefy one ordered the tall skinny one.

"You got it boss." Eighteen decided to let him throw the first punch. She thought he would hit her in the gut, instead he went right for her face. She barely flinched, but he succeeded in knocking her hat and glasses off.

"OWWWWW, what the hell is your face made out of, steel?" The man winced in pain, he was sure he had a broken hand.

"Close. Now it's my turn," said Eighteen as she sweep kicked his legs out from under him. Then she planted one in his chest before he fell to the ground sending him into the wall of the nearest building. The short fat one was now angry and launched himself at the blonde savior who punched him hard in the face, knocking him out instantly. The beefy man stood in fear as this skinny blonde girl took out both of his friends with ease, and now watched as she walked toward his now immobile self. Eighteen sank her fist into his abdomen and as his head lurched forward, uppercut him sending him flying over the woman and her children and landing behind them.

"Oh my, thank you so-," the woman cut herself off. She was walking toward the woman who had saved her until she got a good look at her savior. "You…you're the one who killed my husband," said the woman now in fear for her life again. "Why…why did you help us?" the woman asked, surprised at her own courage.

"I can't take back what I did, but I am sorry about your husband. As for those three, I couldn't stand by and watch as they hurt someone like that, especially with your kids present here. I couldn't believe that after all me and my brother did, humans would still hurt other humans." The woman didn't know why, but she believed the former murderess.



"Well thank you for saving me and my children. This may not absolve you of all your sins, but you seem to have changed. Maybe someday…" she trailed off, what do you say to the person who ruined and saved your life.

"Who was your husband, what was his name," Eighteen asked. The woman stared at her for a second.

"Gohan, his name was Gohan. And I am Videl, this is Pan, and Goku." This surprised the seemingly unflappable android.

"I didn't know Gohan had a wife."

"Not many did. Thanks again. Come on kids, let's go home." Videl grabbed her kids and proceeded toward their house.

After they were out of sight, Eighteen turned her attention to the store that she was going to have to rob.

DBSS

Hello and welcome to the ten-o-clock news, I'm Sharpner Pencil. We just got a report that the lone remaining android has been spotted here in our city, we now go live to Erasa. Yes, right at the intersection of Vegeta Avenue and Piccolo street, you can see the android has just touched down behind three men. This was all Trunks needed to hear. He bolted for the door, grabbing his sword before he took flight for the intersection he had just heard from the T.V. In less than thiry seconds Trunks was standing on a roof of a local convenience store watching the scene below. He could hear everything. He was easily able to deduce that the android was not there to fight for fun but to protect the woman and her children. Could his mom have been right about what she said a year ago. He looked on as she began to beat the men senseless. A conversation took place afterword. Trunks listened in, in a half trying manner until the question about the husband came up and the woman answered "Gohan." Trunks immediately became alert. Gohan had a life he kept from him. Why? Then he thought about it, he would not want to have burdened him and Bulma with it. He knew his mom would want to take them in, and Gohan would not have accepted. Gohan would help his family on his own. Another thought arose in his head, and that was maybe Gohan thought that the less peope knew the more likely they were to stay safe. Wait, given the age those kids looked, they would have to have been born after Gohan died, Trunks thought. Twins, Gohan would have been proud. This only managed to make Trunks madder though. That thing had taken away their father. Listening to the rest of the conversation, it appeared as though Gohan's wife had forgiven her. Some people, he thought. Well, she did just save her life. Trunks now watched as the blonde beauty headed toward the store he was standing on. He heard a smashing of glass, then a door opening. Trunks gave it a minute then floated down to the entrance and walked in. He immediately spotted the android at the back of the building putting bottled water into a bag.

"That's called stealing you know," Trunks said scowling hard. The android slowly turned around, fear obvious in her voice.

"Oh no," she whispered. This was it, he would not let her get away a second time.

"Why did you help her?" It took the beautiful android a minute to find her voice.

"I…I couldn't stand by and watch those men do what I thought they were going to do," she was able to say her voice very shaky. Trunks raised left hand, palm open and aimed it at the android. He began to charge up a ki ball, but stopped as he noticed something he thought impossible. She was crying as she coward before him. Trunks dissipated the energy in his hand.

"Do you want to live?" Trunks looked at her very seriously.

"Wha…What," the android said weakly as she slowly opened her eyes and saw that he had lowered his hand.

"Do, You, Want, To, Live," Trunks said slowly.



"Y-y-y-yes," again very weakly.

"Then put those down and follow me," Trunks said the anger slowly beginning to reduce in his face.

"Why," eighteen was able to say with a little more bravery.

"I get the feeling you don't want to be stealing. If you would like, you can stay with me and my mother," Trunks said. The anger was gone from his face now, but it still had a very serious expression.

"Why would you do this?" she asked staring at him in disbeliefe.

"You know that was the wife of Gohan, I did not know that he had a wife. Those kids have to have been born after his death. If she can forgive you, so can I. As much as I would like to kill you, I can't bring myself to do it. You are not who you used to be. You changed when I killed your brother. It is sad that is what it had to come to, but things happen for a reason. Maybe somewhere down the line you will be able to help repair some of the damage you and your brother caused. I have to imagine that wandering the Earth is wearing pretty thin after a year. So are you coming or not?" The android set down the bag and headed for the door. Trunks pulled out some zeni, laid it on the counter with a note that apologized for the door. He walked outside and took to the air, the android following closely. As much as he hated to admit it, she was very pretty.

They touched down outside Capsul Corp. a minute after takeoff. Trunks walked to the door, the android right on his heels.

"Now my mother does not know what I am doing, so give me a minute to explain it to her." The android nodded. Trunks walked toward the living room where his mother was sitting on the couch watching the news. They were still showing the footage of Eighteen stopping those guys from assaulting the woman he now knew as Videl.

"Mom?"

"Oh Trunks, did you see this, that android saved that poor girl. I told you she had changed, she does deserve a second chance," she said with what had to be a smile. Trunks couldn't figure it out. He was still unsure, but after what his mom had said about Goku, he had begun to agree with her.

"Well yea, I did see it and…,"Trunks jerked his head indicating to Eighteen that he wanted her to come over. "I think you may be right, everyone deserves a second chance. The android appeared behind Trunks, Bulma gasped in surprise, but quickly recovered.

"He-hello Miss Breifs," Eighteen said quietly. Bulma gave her the once over.

"Wow, you are a mess," Bulma said surprising both Eighteen and Trunks. "You look like you could use a shower." Bulma grabbed the android and without resisting she followed Bulma to the bathroom.

"I'll get you some of my old clothes. Tomorrow we can get you some of your own from town," The android was completely taken aback by her hospitality. Regaining her composure she began to undress. Bulma set close on the counter by the door without opening it all the way giving the android her privacy.

Bulma returned to the living room to find Trunks deep in thought.

"You know who that woman was that she saved," Trunks said nodding his head in the direction of the bathroom as he said "she".

"No, the news crew didn't get to her before she left," she said, now waiting for the answer from Trunks.

"Her name is Videl. She was Gohan's wife," Trunks expected a gasp or some other form of surprise from his mother, but he got nothing.

"I know who she is, and what she was to Gohan," Bulma said looking sad.

"What do you mean you knew, why didn't you tell me," Trunks was yelling but he didn't care, his best friend had kept something very big from him. He felt hurt. Now on top of that his mother kept it from him as well. He was not as mad at her though. Gohan had probably asked her not to tell him.

"Trunks, you need to calm down and sit. This is going to be weird to hear," Bulma said looking serious. Trunks sat down and gave his undivided to his mother.



"The first part of this story I heard from your father before his death. Before planet Vegeta was destroyed, there was a Saiyan that started to have visions of the future. He saw that Frieza was going to destroy Planet Vegeta, and told anyone and everyone. At first there was speculation, but eventually him and many other warriors rose up against Frieza only to be swatted down. This Saiyan incurred a head injury that gave him these visions. His name was Bardock, he was Gohan's grandfather." Trunks was listening very intently now, more so than he thought that he would. His mother continued. "Do you remember when Gohan hit his head one time when you two were training?" Trunks nodded. He remembered all too well having to carry an unconscious Gohan back to Capsule Corp. that day. "Well not long after his recovery he started having visions too. He saw that he was going to die which would give you the courage to go back in time and try and fix the future. He was not able to see that this would not fix our future just create an alternate timeline. Another thing he saw was you dying trying to protect Videl from the androids if he had told you about her, so he kept it to himself. But I figured it out and he confided in me and asked me not to tell you. The last vision he had was one of you fighting the androids in the future and destroying one of them, but the other would… well you can see she is here. Gohan saw that when she saw the death of her brother she would realize all the horrible things she had done, because her human side would override her android programming, obliterating it from her brain." Bulma decided to keep it to herself that in a year's time those two would be madly in love. "So now you see why I didn't push you to destroy her. She will become an invaluable asset in some time."

"Was there anything else he saw," Trunks asked he could tell she was hiding something, but it wasn't about him or the beautiful blonde taking a shower in the bathroom down the hall. No, it was about something much bigger.

"Yes, he did mention one more thing, but he told me to keep it to myself even if you asked," Bulma said sadly. Trunks would not force his mom to go against Gohan's word. Everything Gohan ever did was to protect him, his mother, or someone else. He hardly ever thought of himself. At least now he understood why he rushed off to face the androids that night all those years ago. He did it to start this whole chain of events that lead to him creating a better future for another timeline at least. Trunks shed a single tear for his old mentor.

"Do we tell her about this," Trunks asked.

"No, there is really no reason too. There is nothing that changes her fate in these words. But soon Cell should be surfacing, and she will be able to help you with him. Since you destroyed Seventeen he can't acquire his perfect form even if he were to get a hold of Eighteen." Immediately at the end of that sentence Eighteen emerged from the bathroom wearing some of Bulmas older close. Her tiny frame was swimming in the clothes Bulma had gotten her.
"Yeah, we really need to get you some new clothes, tomorrow though," Bulma said with a laugh. "I'm tired. Come on Eighteen I'll show you your room." The way this woman was treating her after all the things she had done was nothing shy of unbelievable. She had killed, murdered, ruined lives, yet she was treating her as though she was a best friend, or a daughter-in-law. She glanced at Trunks who gave her a soft smile, but it was un-complimented by his serious eyes. Bulma led her to a room that was not far from the bathroom she had just finished using.

"There are some nightgowns if you wish in this drawer," Bulma said as she opened up the second from the top drawer on a dresser. Eighteen looked at Bulma, still in shock at the way the woman was treating her.

"Thank you…for everything," Eighteen said as a tear escaped her left eye.

"I knew someone a long time ago who gave a second chance to someone who had done far worse things that what you have done. This tyrant did not even have the remorse that is so evident in your eyes now. Yet my friend gave him the option to live, but he spit it back in my friends face. He died after trying one last time to kill my friend. The way I see it you are far more worthy of a second chance." Bulma said 

with a smile. Then the android did something unexpected, she hugged Bulma. Bulma pulled away from the embrace, smiled and bid Eighteen goodnight.

Trunks tossed and turned for a good chunk of the night. So many questions were running through his head. Could they really trust her? What if Gohan had been wrong? Trunks knew he could defeat her easily, but he worried more for his mother. What if the android got to her first. Damn, brining her here was so stupid. Trunks decided to get up and head downstairs. Hot Cocoa sounded really good right now. Trunks proceeded down the stairs into the kitchen when he heard an odd sound coming from it. He stopped for a minute and listened. It wasn't his mother. This was obviously the android that he had brought here. So stupid. Trunks finished his walk down the stairs and saw her sitting at the table her arms crossed on the table and her head on them wearing a light blue nightgown. She was crying quite hard. It was at that instant he fully believed what Gohan had told his mother. He would never know what made him do it, but before he knew it Trunks was walking over to her. He grabbed her left elbow and gently lifted her up and held her against him. She buried her head in his chest and cried. Trunks just held her, he was starting to experience something he never thought possible. He felt sorrow for the thing that had caused him so much pain. The fact that she now felt the pain that was long overdue proved that she was no longer the creature that ruined so many lives, but a person a woman, a "her" that wanted to fix her past mistakes even though it was impossible. Peeking out from behind a wall, Bulma watched as her son was taking the first steps toward what would eventually become a relationship from which no Saiyan would ever walk away from. Oh how right you were Gohan. I just hope you were right about that other thing too. I want to see him again. Bulma returned to her room, Trunks and Eighteen were none the wiser.

Trunks continued to hold the beautiful woman in his arms until she stopped crying. She looked up at him, and stared at his eyes that reflected the pain she felt. She saw something else in the Saiyans eyes that she couldn't pinpoint, but it was something that would make her life worth living from here on. A second chance she was happy to obtain.

"What don't you sit down. My mom always used to make hot cocoa for me when I felt down," Trunks said as he released her. She abided by his request and sat back in the chair from which he had removed her. Trunks quickly whipped up two steamy drinks and set one in front of her, then sat down with his on the other side of the table.

"Trunks, I don't know what made me this way, but if I ever change back, promise me that you won't let me hurt anymore people. Promise me that you will end my life. I just couldn't bare the thought of ending another innocent life," She stared into her drink as she said this. At the end, she looked directly into his eyes. He stared right back and smiled.

"I won't have to, you won't change back. Even if you wanted to you couldn't. You are human now, well more so than the last few years," Trunks said softly.

"What…What do you mean?" the puzzlement evident in her face.

"Gohan..before he died, had a bad head injury. This caused him to see things, the future. One of the things he saw was the change that you would undergo when you witnessed me destroying your brother. I'm sorry that it had to happen that way, but I just found out myself late last night. When you witnessed his death, your human side of you destroyed the programming Gero had placed in you. You are now in control of yourself, not forced to do what some sick old man wired you for," Trunks explained to an awestruck Eighteen. "I just want to know why you would agree to what he did to you." Eighteen looked at him for a minute then tears began to well up in her eyes again.

"When we were younger, we were part of a family. My real name is Kristle (Crystal), my brother, his name was Brock. We lived a happy life. But one day…," Eighteen choked off a sob. "One day, men came to our house. They murdered my parents. Beat my brother within an inch of his life. And 

they…and they…they…raped me," tears fell from the angelic face of the thin framed android. Tears began to form in the eyes of Trunks now as well.

"When they left us, I crawled to my brother, he was barely alive. I was able to call 911 for help. My brother pulled through with no permanent damage, and I had to have a pregnancy test. It came back positive. They aborted the little being growing inside my fifteen year old body. Neither of us had a place to go after that. We wondered around the streets of the city barely surviving for two years till one day he found us. He promised us the ability to avenge the death of our parents. We accepted. We never knew what he really had planned for us. And one year later…well you know the rest," she began to breakdown and cry again. Trunks came to her side and held her again sitting next to her. He no longer felt hatred toward this being, but felt extreme hatred toward the men who caused her pain, including Dr. Gero. "That is why I saved that woman last night. Those were the same men who killed my parents and…and," she couldn't finish the rest of the sentence. Trunks continued to hold her as she continued to cry. "Even after what they did, I couldn't bring myself to kill them though, not after all the lives I ended." She continued to cry. "These memories came flooding back shortly after I ran from you last year. It hurt so much. It was like reliving the whole thing over again," she said still sobbing into his chest.

"I'm sorry, it never occurred to me what had caused you to do what you did was something so horrific," Trunks said sincerely. It was closing in on four in the morning. Trunks figured they both needed sleep, though then again, he wasn't sure how much sleep an android needed. He picked up her frail figure with ease. She was heavier than what any human woman would have weighed at her size, but it was none the less easy for the half Saiyan. Trunks carried her to her room. He laid her down and covered her up. She was already asleep. Trunks returned to his room and sleep immediately overcame him.

Their drinks remained untouched back in the kitchen.