Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z, just this story.
Author's note: Alright! Chapter 5! So far, we've seen Trunks and 18 get slowly used to each other. But, at the end of the last chapter Trunks managed to really tick 18 off. While they tend to get a little OOC towards each other, Trunks usually get's things back to where they should be.
Well, let's see what happens in this chapter, shall we?
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
18 watched as the desert rolled by. She was still irritated by Trunks's behavior the night before. She hadn't said much to him all day, which was fine with her.
It was fine for Trunks too. He felt much better without having to talk to her. That weird feeling he'd been getting lately was gone. He felt that things might be back to normal between himself and 18. None of that, 'we're getting used to each other' crap. Hopefully, they could return to hate and hate alike. He decided to voice his thoughts.
"You know," he said, "I think I finally figured out what kind of relationship we have."
"Yeah?" asked 18, not taking her eyes off the landscape.
"You ever hear of a love-hate relationship?" asked Trunks. 18 looked up.
"Yes," she said, "Why do you ask?"
"We've got something like that," said Trunks, "Only instead of love-hate, it's hate-hate. So where the 'love' in a love-hate relationship is, we just have a level of contempt that's low enough to allow us to talk to each other civilly."
"Hoo-rah," said 18 unenthusiastically, looking back out the window.
"That explains any pleasant conversations we've had," said Trunks, satisfied with his logic. 18 smirked.
"You don't think you've been thinking too much about this?" she asked, baiting him.
"What do you mean?" asked Trunks.
"Are you sure you aren't just trying to convince yourself that you don't like me?" asked 18.
"Oh, shut up," said Trunks. "I am not trying to convince myself of anything."
"Are you trying to prove that to me or to you?" asked 18, enjoying her little mind game. Trunks's eye twitched.
"Just knock it off," said Trunks. "I'm not trying to prove anything. I'm just trying to explain what's been going on."
"Whatever you say," said 18, smirking as she got the last word in. It was fun messing with Trunks's mind. However, her mind games hadn't affected Trunks as much as she had hoped. He soon brushed it off as nothing. He knew he was right. He also knew what 18 had been trying to do, which allowed him to add 'manipulative' to his list of 18's negative traits.
They were quiet for a while. 18 started thinking about the last few days. In her opinion, they'd been progressively worse. For the most part, they'd gotten off on the wrong start each day. Today had been just as bad, as she'd started off the day angry at Trunks. She usually tried to hold off on that until midday. It was going to be a long trip to Trunks's house, and it was going to be longer if they didn't start getting along.
'Maybe,' she thought, 'I can just try being nice to him. At least we can try and talk or something. It'll probably make this trip go by faster. Yeah. I'll try that come lunch time.' And so, Android 18 added one more item to her to-do list: be nice to Trunks.
Trunks kept driving, thinking of what to do next. 'Mom is probably worried,' said Trunks. 'Cell's attack was all over the news. I'll find a phone when we get to the city and give her a call. Wish I'd thought of it yesterday.' They drove for quite a while, eventually stopping for lunch. Trunks and 18 got out of the truck. They looked around. There was a lot of desert plants around.
"Go see if you can find something to make a fire with," said 18. "I'll set up everything for lunch." Trunks nodded and headed off to look. 18, meanwhile, started setting up the cooking equipment. They had picked up some supplies in town yesterday, so they were good on things to eat. By the time Trunks came back, 18 had managed to use the tarp and the Truck to create a lean-to.
"What is this?" asked Trunks, seeing what she'd done.
"It's for shade," said 18, now get under here. Trunks got under the tarp. "Plus, it's getting cloudy out, and it looks like rain. Hand me the wood, I'll make lunch." Trunks was surprised by the offer, and he handed 18 the wood. Soon, she had a soup going(they'd picked up some Ramen in town as well). Trunks sat back and watched her work, trying to figure out what she was up to. When it was done, she handed him a bowl and sat down herself and began eating. Trunks ate slowly, not trusting the food. 18 noticed.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Did I mess it up, or what?"
"No," said Trunks, slowly taking a bite.
"Then why are you eating so slow?" asked 18. "It's not poisoned."
"..." Trunks said nothing for a moment. He finally looked at her. "It's just... why are you being so nice?"
"Huh?" asked 18.
"What are you up to?" asked Trunks. "You're never this nice. You're never nice at all."
"Hey," said 18, offended, "Do I have to be up to something to be nice?" Trunks nodded. "Oh, real nice. Look, I just decided that we're gonna be stuck together for a while, so why not try and get along?"
"I doubt that," said Trunks. "That's not the 18 I know. You'd never do something like this without an ulterior motive. What are you up to?" It got darker out, and 18 saw out of the corner of her eye that the dark clouds she'd seen earlier had rolled in rather quickly.
"I'm not up to anything!" exclaimed 18. "I know I haven't ever been nice to you, but given the circumstances I thought it would be a nice time to start." Trunks narrowed his eyes. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that people can change?"
"Oh no," said Trunks, "I believe that people can change. But, that doesn't apply to you."
"And why not?" asked 18, irritated.
"Because," said Trunks coldly, "You're not a person." 18 froze. Trunks, satisfied that he'd gotten the message across clearly, went back to eating. Next thing he knew, he was flying out of the lean-to, skidding across the ground. 18 had hit him so fast he hadn't even seen her preparing to attack. She stomped out after him, fury written onto her face.
"I dare you to say that again you little punk!" yelled 18. Her face was illuminated by a flash of lightning, followed quickly by a crack of thunder.
"Fine," said Trunks. getting to his knees and wiping a hand across his cheek. He spit out a bit of blood from the cut the inside of his mouth had received do to his cheek going up against his teeth. A few drops of rain began to fall. "You're. Not. A. Person." 18 rushed forward, kicking at Trunks. He caught her leg and threw her. She righted herself in the air and went right back for Trunks. Her punches and kicks flew hard and fast, and it took Trunks all he had to block or dodge everything.
She landed a blow on his left cheek, and then caught him by the shirt. "Take. It. Back." she demanded. The rain started falling faster.
"Why?" asked Trunks. "It's the truth." 18 kneed him in the gut and dropped him. Trunks looked up at 18. She was shaking with fury.
"I thought that I told you yesterday," said 18. "I-"
"Doesn't matter," Trunks cut in. "So what if you used to be human? So what if you're still mostly human? It wouldn't matter if you were almost completely human! You're not a person! You're nothing more than a monster, Eighteen, and that's all you'll ever be!" 18 snapped. She kicked Trunks as hard as she could, and Trunks had no time to block it. She grabbed him, only to have him kick her off. She sailed through the air, then righted herself.
18 was so angry, she completely forgot hiding her power. She started blasting away at Trunks. Trunks dodged as many as he could, finally blasting back. He fired harder and faster than 18, forcing her to block. He disappeared and reappeared behind 18, hitting her in the back with a Ki blast. She dropped to the ground and didn't move. Trunks landed next to her.
"Had enough?" he asked. She didn't move. Trunks kneeled down to inspect her. He hoped he hadn't killed her on accident. He looked closely. Suddenly, her hand shot up and grabbed Trunks by the throat. She jumped up and punched him in the face with her free hand. She let go, only to grab him by the shoulders. She kneed him in the stomach, and Trunks gasped in pain. She pushed his shoulders down and kneed him in the face. She dropped him and walked away.
Trunks got up, his face and stomach now in a considerable amount of pain. Even the rain hitting his face hurt. He looked for 18. He saw her and was prepared to go and attack, when he noticed that she was just standing there, facing the other direction. He walked cautiously over to her. As he got closer, he noticed she was breathing heavily. He got within a foot of her when she spun around and slapped him as hard as she could. He was sent back several feet, and landed hard on the ground. He looked at 18. She was looking at him, but still not moving. Trunks looked back at her. To Trunks's shock, she had tears in her eyes. It had looked like rain running down her face, but when he looked harder he realized that the water was coming from her eyes.
Despite everything, Trunks actually felt bad. Sure, she'd done a lot of bad stuff, and he didn't really think of her as a person, but something about this whole thing didn't sit right with him. She was Android 18... but she was still a girl. He'd made a girl cry. There was no honor in that, and his honor was a source of pride for him. Hadn't that been what his father was all about? Pride? And Trunks had gone and done something like this. He got up, slowly and painfully. He walked over to where 18 was standing.
"E-Eighteen," he said. "I... I'm sorry, I-" he tried putting a hand on her shoulder. 18 slapped it away.
"Get the hell away from me!" she shouted. Trunks stepped back. "Take one step near me, and I'll rip your damn head off! You got that!?" Trunks nodded. 18 turned around and took a few steps away towards the truck. "I'm going to get in the truck," she said. "When you get in to drive, don't talk to me. Not a single, word." She got into the truck, ripping off the tattered remains of her vest, and slammed the door shut.
Trunks sighed. He went to pick up their stuff. 'Nice,' he thought to himself. 'I really, really screwed up there.' Not only had he angered 18 again, their battle had involved Ki blasts. They had to move fast now, as Cell may have sensed it.
Trunks got in the car and started back on the road. 18 looked out the window, not wanting to look at Trunks for as long as she could manage, and not wanting to let him see her cry.
888
In the frozen north, Cell was too far away to sense the battle that had just taken place. He felt energy, but assumed it was from the small town he'd passed.
'Where could they have gone?' he thought. 'Android Eight told me that they came up this way. I don't think he was lying. Of course, if I find out he was I will destroy him and his village right away. But that doesn't help me at the moment. Trunks is smart enough not to use Ki, and all of this searching isn't getting me anywhere. I'll never find them at this rate.' He suddenly had a thought. 'Maybe Dr. Gero had something in his lab that can help track an Android. Hmm. I'll go check.' With that thought in mind, Cell flew off towards the lab, hidden deep in the mountains very far from where he was now. It would take a while, but he could be there by tomorrow.
888
Trunks and 18 drove on in silence. It had been over an hour, and not a word had passed between them. The rain kept up, not showing any signs of stopping.
"I hate you, Trunks," 18 said suddenly. Trunks said nothing for a moment.
"Huh?"
"I hate you," said 18. "I really do. I tried being nice, I really did. But, you threw it back in my face. See, I didn't really hate you before." This caught Trunks off guard. "Sure, we're enemies, but I didn't hate you. At least, not your level of hate. I disliked you pretty strongly, but I never actually hated you. I do now though. Congratulations." Trunks didn't know what to say to that, so he kept his mouth shut.
Was he really that bad? And how had 18 not hated him before this? They'd fought so many times that it didn't seem possible. As he started thinking about it more, he realized that it had really been himself that was doing the hating. It was one thing to protect someone you hated, but it was another thing to protect someone who now definitely hated you back. He'd actually managed to make his life more screwed up then before, a feat he thought impossible.
They made it to town that night and checked into a motel. 18 didn't speak to him the rest of the night. As Trunks lay in bed, starring at the ceiling, he thought about the day's events. 18 had really caught him off guard. He turned over on his side. He really should have expected it. What had he been thinking, telling her that?
He turned over again. No, that was dumb. She wasn't a person as far as he was concerned. After all she'd done? After showing no remorse? She couldn't be a person anymore. Like he'd said from the beginning, she was a monster.
He turned over once more. But... Did monsters cry? He had really hurt 18 today. He didn't think that had been possible. The anger he should have seen coming, but the crying... He felt the guilt building up in the pit of his stomach. 18 or not, Android or not, he'd made her cry. He sighed. She really had to be a person.
He turned back onto his back. Fine, he could accept that she was a person, then. He had to grow up and realize that. But, she wasn't a good person. In no way was she a good person.
18 was also in bed, looking up at the ceiling. She was actually so mad that she was beyond using angry words, even in her thoughts. 'What Trunks did was uncalled for,' she thought. 'Even considering what I've done, I'm still a person.' She looked to her clothes, hanging up on the room's clothes rack. 'He ruined my vest, too. He owes me for that.' She looked back up at the ceiling. If anyone was the monster in this situation, it was Trunks. She'd never even done anything like that.
'Trunks,' she thought. 'Why did I try being nice to him in the first place? I should've known he would react badly.' She sighed. 'Okay, maybe not. I don't actually know that much about him. Seems kind of pointless now though.' She looked out the window of her room. 'I'm going to keep talking to him to a minimum. If he actually tries to apologize, I might forgive him and try being nice again. I can change, if I want to. Trunks has no right to decide that I can't. He doesn't know what I've been through, what my life has been like. He doesn't know anything.' She sighed once more. 'I can't expect him to apologize. At least, not really sincerely. He'll do it as a matter of course, but he won't mean it.' She turned over and tried to get to sleep. Things had been getting progressively worse. How much worse could it get?
888
As Trunks dialed his mother's number on the motel's phone, he remembered an old phrase he'd heard somewhere before. "Hell hath no wrath like a woman scorned." Oh yes, his trip with 18 was bound to get rougher after yesterday's events.
"Hello?" came Bulma's voice on the other end of the line.
"Mom?" asked Trunks. "It's me."
"Trunks!" Bulma exclaimed. "It's you! You're alright!"
"Yeah," said Trunks. "Listen, Mom. It's gonna be a while before I get home."
"Why?" asked Bulma.
"It's complicated," said Trunks. "But the point is, I pretty much have to drive home. So, it'll probably be a couple of weeks."
"Alright," said Bulma. "Just tell me why after you get home, and call me every so often, okay? I got worried when I didn't hear from you."
"I know, I'm sorry mom."
"That's alright," said Bulma, "We all make mistakes."
"Alright," said Trunks. "I'll call you in a few days. Goodbye Mom."
"Goodbye Trunks." Trunks hung up the phone and sighed. 'We all make mistakes,' he thought. 'I sure made one last night.' He shook his head. 'I can't believe I'm thinking this, but maybe I should try and apologize to her.' He thought about it a bit more. He had realized she was a person last night, so apologizing was the only course of action possible, at least if he wanted to keep this unpleasant journey at a tolerable level of unpleasantness.
18 had finished breakfast and had stepped out of the dining area. Trunks was standing there waiting for her. He was looking down at the ground.
"Hmph, what do you want?" asked 18.
"I, uh," began Trunks. "I wanted to, um, apologize for yesterday.. I, uh..."
"You what?" asked 18.
"I... it's hard to say..."
"If it's so hard to say it," said 18, "Then don't. Don't go through all that effort if you aren't going to mean it."
"No!" exclaimed Trunks, "You don't get it! I... I really crossed the line yesterday, and I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have said that you weren't a person. You... you are a person. I really upset you yesterday, and I'm sorry." 18 was shocked.
"You... you mean it?" asked 18
"Yes," said Trunks. "I'm sorry." 18 hadn't expected Trunks to apologize. At least, not like this. He actually seemed really sorry.
"Well," said 18, "I might forgive you. But, you owe me some new clothes."
"Huh?
"You destroyed my vest yesterday," explained 18. "You owe me."
"Fine," sighed Trunks. "Whatever." Trunks and 18 left the motel and took off down the road. It would be a few days until they reached another town. However, Trunks had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He hadn't sensed Cell at all. Where was he, and what was he up to? He had a feeling that it wouldn't be long until he found out.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Chapter 5, done. Well, Trunks certainly managed to piss 18 off. She says she might forgive him, but who knows how long that'll take?... I knows... ha! You guys are gonna have to keep reading if you wanna find out.
And, Cell is heading back to Dr. Gero's lab. Will he find what he's looking for? And if he does, how long will it be until he catches up with 18 and Trunks? Tune in next time, and find out.