A/N: I realized now that school has started back up that I am both more productive, and less productive. Having more to do has forced me to actually make a schedule, in which I have set time aside for fanfiction. On the other hand, I really only have time to write one or two chapters a month. So, Chapters will come out more consistently, just not every week.
I don't know why, but sometimes the chapter number doesn't show up accurately when I post these. This is the 53rd chapter of the story though.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z.
Chapter 53
Trunks lay on his racecar bed and stared up at nothing in particular. His expression was a surprising one to see on a child. Especially one who had all the luxuries and comforts money could buy. From the newest video games to the countless toys strewn across the floor of his bedroom, one would think that this boy would have no reason not to be happy. Nevertheless, the child maintained his despondent gaze at the ceiling above.
A goofy face beneath palm tree styled hair blocked his vision. Goten looked at his friend with a grin and held two remote controls on front of his face.
"Hey Trunks, wanna do the race cars?" The younger boy asked.
"Hn." Trunks just grunted in reply.
"Are you sure? I just made a crazy new track. Take a look!" Goten proudly pointed behind him where an elaborate toy track ran its course across the floor and up the walls.
"Not in the mood." Came the older boy's mumbled reply.
Goten dropped the controllers and looked thoughtful. "Oh… well, you wanna drive the dino carts?" He ran over to a pair of dinosaur shaped go-carts and lifted them in each hand. Trunks' Grandpa had designed these machines to go on land, sea, or air and Goten was super excited to try them out.
"You can have those." Trunks said without interest.
"Wow really!?" Goten became excited. "Oh man, I've always wanted my own…" He paused as he remembered what his mom said about manners. "I mean, n-no thanks." He dropped the go-karts and they landed with a thud. As much as it pained him, he didn't think it was right to take toys from his friend when he was supposed to be a guest. Especially when Trunks seemed so out of it.
Ever since Vegeta had not been wished back with the dragon balls after Buu, Trunks had sunk into a state of depression. He barely ate, he never played or smiled, and he hardly even left his room. At first, Bulma thought that he would snap out of it, but the more time passed, the lower the boy's mood sank. She tried to explain that his dad would be back soon. He would listen quietly but when she was done, he would go back to his room more upset than before. She was starting to get worried and even thought of asking Gohan if they could wish Vegeta back early, though she thought better of that. She was smart enough to notice Gohan stiffen up every time Vegeta was mentioned. She wasn't sure the kid was entirely willing to wish her husband back even though he promised he would. She could tell something had happened during the Buu debacle and she didn't want to push the issue. Not when they only had to wait for a few months.
She did bring the problem up with Chichi, who was dealing with her own concerns for Goten. Ever since Buu had been defeated, Goten had dedicated himself to getting stronger. He would tag along with Zangya and Gohan's training and forced Broly and Piccolo to spar with him. Several times Chichi had caught Goten sneaking out at night to train on his own. Then there were the nightmares. She knew the experience with Buu was traumatic, but she didn't know how to deal with this. The only one with similar experience as a child was Gohan. She never remembered him having nightmares though. At least he never talked about them. She wanted to bring it up, but Goten made her promise she wouldn't tell his big brother. He was so adamant that Chichi had to relent.
In light of the children having such a rough time, both mothers thought it might be good if they spent more time together to help them both take their minds off of things. Each week the boys would alternate between the Sons and the Briefs for a super extended slumber party. It seemed like a good idea to have the two friends around each other as a support system and hopefully just be normal kids. Bulma hoped Goten's natural cheerfulness would lighten her son's mood, while Chichi hoped that Trunks would be able to distract Goten from his fears and obsession with growing stronger.
As for Goten, he was excited to train with Trunks. Unfortunately, Trunks didn't want to spar. He didn't even want to go near the gravity chamber. Goten thought that if they played for a little bit, then they could work their way up to training, but Trunks didn't seem interested in playing either. The youngest Saiyan looked at his friend in confusion.
"Are you feeling alright Trunks?"
Trunks didn't answer so Goten approached the bed again. "Hey Trunks, I said are you ok?"
Still nothing.
"You ok? You ok? Trunks, are you ok? Are you ok Trunks? Trunks? Hey Trunks?" Goten poked his friend's cheek, shook his arm, and tickled him. The barrage was slowly wearing the older boy down, as evidenced by his cheeks growing redder.
"NO, I'M NOT OK YOU DOPE!" His sudden outburst shocked Goten and made him fall over backwards.
"MY DAD'S DEAD! He's gone and even the dragon balls couldn't bring him back! Mom says not to worry, that everything will be ok. But what does she know!? I'm the one who doesn't have a dad anymore! She doesn't know what that's like! I don't want to play, and I don't want to train! I just want my dad back, ok!?"
Goten sat up and looked at his friend in surprise. He'd never seen Trunks explode like that before, but after the initial surprise wore off, he nodded. "Yeah. I miss my dad too."
Trunks wiped the tears that had formed during his tirade. His anger subsided, at Goten at least. "How can you miss him. You only met him once."
"That's true." Goten admitted sadly. "But Gohan talks about him all the time. When I met him, it was super cool. I wish I could have played with him more. I always wanted a daddy. Now I have one, but I can't see him."
Trunks thought about that. He didn't know what was worse. To have a dad all your life and have him taken from you, or to never know your dad and when you finally get to meet him, he also gets taken from you.
"It's not fair." He said at last. "Our dads are supposed to be super Saiyans. The strongest in the universe. They aren't supposed to be dead."
Goten brightened up. "It's ok though. We only have a few more months and then Gohan will wish them back with the other dragon balls. We can both have daddies again."
Trunks brought his knees up to his chest. Everyone had been saying that, but he wasn't so sure. "What if… What if they don't work?"
"Huh?"
"What if the other dragon balls don't work? Shenron is supposed to grant any wish, but he couldn't bring our dads back. What if we wait all this time and the Namekian balls don't even work?"
"Well… But my big brother said they would."
"He could be wrong though. Or maybe he's lying to us."
"Gohan wouldn't lie to me!" Goten shouted angrily.
"Grown-ups lie all the time to 'protect' us. He's practically a grown up, so maybe he's just trying to make us feel better."
Goten's shoulders slumped. "I hadn't thought of it that way." He still didn't think Gohan would lie, but what if he was just trying to protect him?
Trunks sighed. "I just wish we didn't have to wait so long to know for sure."
"Yeah. Too bad we can't go to Namek ourselves."
Trunks' eyes grew wide, and he stood up on his bed. "Goten, that's it!"
"What's it?"
"We'll go there ourselves! To Namek! We'll take a ship and go wish our dads back!" For the first time in three months, Trunks actually had a smile on his face.
"Oh really!?" Goten was also excited at the prospect, but soon he deflated. "Wait a minute, Trunks. I don't think our moms will let us do that."
Trunks waved his concerns aside. "We don't need their permission for something like this."
"We don't? A-are you sure about that?" Goten sounded doubtful, but Trunks seemed to know what he was talking about.
"Of course I'm sure. We're Saiyans aren't we? It's our birthright to do this kind of thing. Our dads were traveling in space when they were even younger than us. Didn't you tell me that your brother even went to Namek when he was around our age? That's probably why he's so strong. Because he started adventuring so early. Now it's our turn."
"Hey, yeah!" The reminder that Gohan did this same thing when he was a kid served to convince the younger boy. "When we go to Namek and wish everyone back, we'll be like heroes!"
"Maybe we'll even get to fight some aliens too!" Trunks was bouncing up and down on his bed.
Goten got serious at this comment and looked at his fist. "I won't lose to them if we do."
"Our dad's will be so proud of us!" Trunks laughed.
Break
Night had fallen over West City. State of the art security drones roamed the Brief's compound. These drones came with a nearly 360-degree field of vision, and a shock attack that would put down any intruder. Of course, these drones did little to deter a shadowy figure who was observing the compound from across the street. After spending a moment analyzing the flight pattern, the dark figure allowed herself a smile.
"Too easy."
She rushed forward, vaulted over the fence and sped through the blind spots before she ducked behind a building. She waited to see if any alarm would go off, but fortunately, there was none. 18 breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to have to steal from Bulma, but she needed a ship, and she wouldn't risk no for an answer. Looking around the compound, she quickly located the capsule ship. She knew that the compound would be easy to break into, but she thought there would be a little more to the defenses considering the supernatural threats that existed. But it appeared she was in the clear, as nothing but silence hung in the air.
"Dadudauda. Dadu DaDa."
"Goten, shut up. We're trying to be stealthy."
"But this is how big sis Zangy says to sneak."
Well, not silence exactly. 18 looked as the two boys to walk as stealthily as possible to the same ship that she was aiming for. Apparently, the security system wasn't designed to stop two toddlers. Maybe she would let Bulma know to change that.
"Alright, here it is." Trunks held out his hand to stop his friend. They stood in front of the spherical ship that Vegeta used to use as a gravity chamber. Trunks took a remote from his pocket and used it to open the door. The boys looked left, then right, and finally climbed the ramp to board the ship.
"Wow! It looks so much bigger than the last time I was in here." Goten said while looking around.
"Yeah, mom tricked it out so we could go on a space vacation. It still has a gravity chamber so dad can train though." Trunks explained. "Anyway, nobody caught us. We're halfway there."
"I don't know Trunks. Are you sure we shouldn't ask Gohan to come with us?" Goten was still up for the mission, but sneakiness didn't come naturally to him. "Then we wouldn't have to steal the ship."
"We don't need Gohan for this. Were big enough to handle this ourselves." Trunks replied. "Besides, it's not stealing. This ship practically belongs to me anyway."
"Oh really?" A bored female voice drawled, and the boys froze. "I wonder if your mothers would see things that way."
Slowly, Trunks and Goten turned around and looked up in terror at the face of number 18. She looked back at them with folded arms and a raised eyebrow. "Going for a little joy ride, eh boys?"
"W-what? No way." Trunks stammered out.
"Nu-uh, nope just doing and inspecsin." Goten explained.
"An inspection you mean?" 18 asked "Aren't you a little young for that?"
Goten hesitated. "Er, I mean training. We're training in the gravity room."
"At midnight?"
"I… I-I-"
"Alright, the jig's up boys. I think it's time for you to head back to bed."
Goten hung his head in defeat and started to head back to the main house, but he was stopped by Trunks' hand grabbing his arm.
"Wait a minute Goten, we don't have to go anywhere." The older boy had finally recovered from his initial shock of seeing 18. He looked at the blonde cyborg challengingly. "The question is, what are you doing here?"
The sudden change in the toddler's behavior caught the woman off guard. "Well, I'm here to…" she trailed off.
"Ha!" Trunks shouted in triumph. "Now who's caught!? You were trying to steal from my family, weren't you?"
"I wasn't going to steal anything." 18 denied. "Just… borrow for a bit."
Understanding dawned on Goten. "Wait a minute. Do you want to go to Namek too? So you can bring back Krillin, miss 18?"
18 closed her eyes in frustration. She didn't want anybody in her business about this, least of all a couple of kids. She tried to think of a lie, then she registered what Goten said. "Too?" 18 asked.
"Goten!" Trunks growled.
"Op! Sorry!" the younger Saiyan put his hands over his mouth.
"Wait." 18 furrowed her brow. "I thought you were just going to play around with the ship or something. Don't tell me you kids were trying to fly to Namek on your own?"
"So, what if we are!" Trunks yelled defiantly. "Are you gonna tattle on us!?"
"No! Don't tell on us!" Goten begged in desperation. "Y-you could come with us! Yeah, and we'll all be good, because then we'll have a grown up with us and you won't be stealing, right?"
18 thought for a moment. She was almost tempted to accept the offer. It would be easier than having to answer to Bulma for why she was here in the first place. It might even make it easier to find the dragon balls with all three of them. Then again, was she willing to risk the safety of these kids? It was one thing for her, a grown woman, to steal a ship and travel through space. She was willing to deal with the fallout and could take care of herself. But these two were just kids. Children with mothers who would worry about them. 'And kill me if anything happened to them.' What if it was her own kid in this position. 18 made her decision. "Sorry boys, but no. Come on." She grabbed them both by the wrist.
"Wait! You can't tell on us!" Trunks said in a panic. "Y-You'll get in trouble too!"
"Look, I can't look the other way on this." 18 started to drag the boys toward the exit. "You kids will just get yourselves hurt. I'm just going to let your moms deal with you."
"Nooo!" Goten wailed and tried to pull his arm from 18. "No, you can't tell my mommy! Trunks! You said we wouldn't get in trouble!"
"Goten!" Trunks yelled. "Goten it's fine! We've lost. Our plan sprung a leak."
Goten stopped crying and looked at his friend in confusion. Then his mouth took the shape of an 'O'. the younger boy cleared his throat. "Miss 18, I need to go to the bathroom."
The cyborg rolled her eyes. "Tch, yeah right. I wasn't born yesterday kid."
"No, I mean it. I really gotta go." Goten crossed his legs and started to do a little dance.
"Fine, I believe you." 18 said thoroughly unconvinced. "You can go once we get in the house."
"I-I don't think I can make it that long!" Goten grabbed his privates and his body started to shiver. Now 18 was starting to doubt her initial skepticism. The last thing she wanted to deal with was an accident.
"O-Ok, just hold on a little-"
"I CAN'T HOLD IT!" He screamed, and broke free of her loosened grip before tearing through the ship in search of a bathroom.
"Goten! Come back here!" 18 ran after the toddler.
Trunks smiled to himself before he set off for his own part of the plan. He ran to the control panel and input the coordinates that he had heard the adults mention when they were talking about new Namek.
18 finally caught up to Goten who had made it into a bathroom. She could hear the sound of water trickling into a bowl.
"I guess he wasn't lying." 18 leaned against a wall, relieved that she had dodged a bullet. Suddenly, she felt the wall and floor vibrating. She looked out of a window and saw that the sky was speeding downward as the ship began to rise. "Oh, you little BRATS!" She dashed to the control room and saw Trunks typing something into a computer. "Come here you!"
"Gyah!" Trunks yelled and ducked under her reach then ran away. 18 turned to chase him, then something hit her from behind, nearly knocking her over.
"Can't catch us 18!" Goten jumped off her back and she started to chase him down.
"Just wait till I get my hands on you!" She had Goten cornered, then Trunks rammed her legs like a cannon ball, knocking her down, and the two demi Saiyans escaped once more.
18 looked up and blew a strand of hair from her face. "You brats want to play rough? I'll give you rough!" A red light flashed in her eyes, and she shot out from her position. She cut off Goten and Trunks in their retreat and grabbed them both by the collar. The boys were shocked, but their surprise doubled when she tossed them in the air and with both hands open, brought a barrage of painful blows onto their backsides. By the time the children fell to the ground, each of them had tears in their eyes as they held their glowing red bottoms. The cyborg stared down at her opponents pitilessly.
"I tried to be nice. Now come on."
She picked them both up by their shirts and carried them back to the main controls. "You're both going to sit completely still until I get this thing back to Earth. She turned around and looked at the controls. They seemed simple enough, they were designed for Goku after all. She hit a few buttons only to be met with a loud *BZZZ*
18 furrowed her brow. She tried a different combination of buttons, but the same sound was the result.
*BZZZ*
She turned around to see Trunks snickering at her expense. "Sorry robot-lady, but that's not going to work. See, I hacked into the system and put a lock on the current coordinates. The ship's trajectory will stay the same till it reaches Namek."
"Great." 18 stared down at the boy with menacing calmness. "Unlock it."
"No." He glared at her.
"I'm not playing Trunks."
"Neither am I." The boy stood his ground and 18 was starting to lose her temper.
"Listen you spoiled brat, I-"
"NO! I don't wanna listen anymore! You may think that me and Goten are just kids, but so what!? We're strong and we can take care of ourselves! You miss Mr. Baldy, right? Well, we miss our dads! All we want to do is wish them back! That's all! Why do we have to wait to see them just because some stupid adults say so? We deserve to do this! We shouldn't have to be without our dads, and you don't have any right to stop us! So, I'm not going to unlock the controls. No matter how hard you spank us!"
Trunks' tearful eyes continued to stare defiantly into 18's seemingly emotionless ones. Finally, she sighed and turned around. She hit a few buttons on the control board and the screen started to ring like a phone.
"Oh… Oops." Trunks' face fell.
"What?" Goten asked.
"I uh… I forgot to lock the communicator."
"You what! Trunks if she calls your mom, we are going to be in soo much trouble!"
"Just shut up, both of you." 18 ordered, and the boys went silent. The videophone didn't ring more than three times before a very angry blue haired woman appeared on the screen.
"TRUNKS YOU ARE IN SO MUCH… 18?" Bulma ceased her tirade when she saw the blonde woman. When the ship took off, it woke her from her sleep. At first, she thought it was corporate theft, but when she saw Goten and Trunks missing, she put the pieces together. She expected to see her son on the screen but couldn't fathom why 18 was there.
"Uh, hi Bulma."
"Hey."
"…"
"…"
"I suppose you're wondering what I'm doing on the ship with the boys."
"Yeah." Bulma confirmed, then waited for the explanation.
"So, I was… Planning to borrow your ship to go to Namek, but then I found these two, who had the same idea. I was planning on bringing them to you, but… the ship just took off."
"The ship just took off?" Bulma asked. "All on its own?"
"Yeah, weird huh?"
"…"
"…"
"They used the bathroom maneuver on you, didn't they?" Bulma asked with a knowing, but sympathetic tone. 18 lowered her eyes and looked away.
"Yes." She admitted through grit teeth.
"And you're calling because Trunks locked the controls to pilot the ship." 18 just hung her head. Bulma nodded. "Well, don't feel too bad, it could have happened to anyone. I can unlock the controls from here. Once we get the boys back, you can borrow the ship if you want to."
18 looked up with wide eyes. "You… you'd still let me borrow the ship? Even after I tried to steal it?"
"Sure. It wouldn't be the first time. At least you called, unlike Vegeta." She rolled her eyes. "Just make sure you wish him back along with Krillin when you get to Namek. You're not the only one who's been without a man." Bulma winked.
18 colored at the implication. Despite her embarrassment, she couldn't help but think, not for the first time, how nice Krillin's friends were. Even after these past few years, she wasn't really used to that sort of behavior. Maybe she should have just asked in the first place.
*sniff*
The boys sniffling drew her attention and she sighed. "Bulma, about the boys."
"Oh, don't worry, I'll take care of them." Came the mother's ominous reply.
"Actually…" 18 hesitated. "I was wondering if it would be ok if I took them with me?"
Trunks and Goten snapped their heads up and looked at 18 in confusion.
"What?" Bulma's eyes went wide. "Are you insane!?"
"Look, I know you're worried about them, but they've been through a lot. They just want to see their dads again. Don't they deserve that at least?"
"Oh, honey, I'm not worried about them. I'm worried about you. There's a reason why Chichi and I have been alternating who watches them every week. You have no idea what they're capable of on their own, but together? I wouldn't even wish that on Frieza."
"I can handle it." 18 said indignantly. She was slightly offended that Bulma thought she wasn't capable of babysitting a couple of kids.
"They tricked you into space travel and locked you out of the navigation system."
18's cheeks grew red.
"We won't do that again!" Trunks shouted.
"Yeah, we promise we'll be good." Goten added.
One look from Bulma and the boys moved quickly back to their seats on the floor.
"Look, Bulma, I promise I'll take care of them." 18 wasn't sure why she was fighting for this, but something Trunks had said really got to her. Fathers should be with their kids. "I think they need this. Besides, isn't it better if they're with me than if they try this again on their own?"
Bulma thought about this. 18 was right about one thing. Those boys would try this again. They were too clever for their own good. Not to mention hers. Maybe this would be good for them. After all, New Namek may have been further than the old planet, but it was still only a week away with the upgrades she made to the engine. Besides, the goal of having Trunks and Goten hang out was to get them back to normal. This might do the trick. It already seemed to be having an effect on her son.
"Alright. If you think you can handle them, I'm all for it." She finally said.
""ALRIGHT!"" Trunks and Goten jumped up and started to dance around.
"Hey!" The boys stopped their celebrating at Bulma's shout. "If you two so much as mouth off to 18, she has my permission to beat your butts like a cheap drum. You got that?"
The boys rubbed their bums and nodded in fear.
"Fine." Bulma nodded, then adopted a worried expression. "Now I have to figure out what to tell Chichi. You wanna make that call?" She asked 18 hopefully.
Goten ran to the screen. "You're breaking up KSHH Can't KSHH hear KSH Beeeeeeeeeeeep." He hit the button to end the call and wiped his forehead.
"Phew. That was close."
Break
It had been 48 hours since the journey began, and Trunks was already bored out of his mind. He didn't know why, but he thought that space travel would involve a lot more fighting aliens, and a lot less doing nothing. The worst part was that Goten kept disappearing and leaving him alone with the robot lady. It was so awkward, and her cold stare didn't help matters.
Finally, the tension became too much for the young boy. He decided to try and start a conversation while she was sitting at the table reading one of Bulma's magazines. "So… Thanks for convincing my mom to let us come."
18 put down the magazine and shrugged. "Like you said. You should have the chance to wish your dads back. Fathers should be with their kids" She absentmindedly placed a hand on her stomach.
"Er, are you hungry?" Trunks asked.
"What?" 18 looked confused. "No, not really."
"Oh, right. I guess robots don't eat food."
"Listen kid, I'm not a robot, I'm a cyborg. I'm part human."
"Really?" Trunks looked genuinely surprised. "But my dad said you were."
"Your dad's often wrong about a lot of things." 18 replied sharply and turned back to her magazine. She turned a few pages before she noticed that Trunks was still standing there, only now he looked like he was upset. "Listen kid, I-"
"How come everyone hates my dad?" The boy finally blurted out.
This question caught 18 off guard. She didn't really know how to answer this in a way that wouldn't make the kid cry. "Well… What makes you think everyone hates him?"
"I'm not stupid." Trunks rolled his eyes. "I can see how people act around him. Piccolo, Goten's mom, Yamcha. I know he's not always nice. Mom says he used to fight Goten's dad, but so did a lot of their friends. Even you used to fight them and now your 'hooking up with the midget'." Trunks quoted his father and 18 coughed at the language from a child. "So how come my dad is the only one everyone acts like is a bad guy? Even Gohan's started to act weird when we talk about him, and he never did before."
18 sighed. This kid really was observant, but it wasn't her place to disillusion him. "It's complicated." She finally said. "Sometimes people just don't get along with each other, you know?" Then she remembered something Zangya had told her. "It's like how sometimes, some flavors of ice cream don't work with some flavors of cake. It doesn't mean either one is bad, just incompatible."
Trunks nodded. "That makes sense."
"It does?" 18 asked with relief. Zangya's analogies didn't always translate.
"Yeah. I know my dad isn't bad. He just yells a lot and loves to fight. He's a proud warrior and he's spent his whole life fighting. But he still spends time training with me. He even taught me about how the ship's controls work. We even helped mom fix the engine one time. He loves mom and me." Then he added under his breath. "I know he does."
18 was a little surprised to hear all that about Vegeta. Of course, teaching a toddler how to do maintenance on a spaceship still sounded like something he would do, but in a weird, paternal sort of way. "I guess he's found the right ice-cream for him then."
Silence resumed, with neither party knowing what to say now. Finally, Trunks broke. "Ok, where is Goten?"
"I just assumed he was going to the bathroom." 18 replied.
"He never has to go this much. And never for this long. He was missing almost all day yesterday."
"The kid was raised in the mountains." 18 pointed out. "Maybe he just wants his privacy."
"Well, I'm going to find him." Trunks walked off. 18 shrugged. She was sure that nothing bad was going to happen to the little guy. Not like the ship was that big anyway. Still, she supposed it wouldn't hurt to see where he kept going. They looked in the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the three different bedrooms, but Goten wasn't in any of them. Finally, they came to a locked door.
"What is this room?" 18 asked.
"This is the gravity chamber. It's a bit smaller than the one my dad usually uses, so we're not allowed to spar." Trunks explained.
"You train with your dad in this?"
"Yep. I can't go as high as he can, but I've almost worked my way up to 50." He said proudly.
18 looked impressed. "Not bad for a kid. So, is that what this number is? To tell the level of gravity?" She pointed to a digital 100 and Trunks looked confused.
"Well, yeah. But it should only display when it's on."
The pair looked at each other, then they quickly pressed her face to the window hoping that they wouldn't see anything inside. The room inside was red, as if the light itself was struggling against the increased gravity. In the middle of the room, a small figure was face down on the ground.
"Oh no. Goten!" 18 shouted and tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge. She pulled a fist back and was about to blow the door open, but Trunks stopped her.
"Wait! You're not supposed to open the door when the gravity's on! It could mess with the whole ship!"
"How do I shut this thing off then!?" She asked Trunks in a panic.
"I don't think you need to."
"What!? Goten is lying there in 100 times gravity! He could be dead; we have to get him out!"
Without another word, Trunks grabbed the blonde's face and turned it to the window again. To her amazement, Goten was not only alive, but very slowly doing pushups.
Goten gritted his teeth and struggled to finish his set. His clothing was drenched in sweat and muscles ached all over, but he wouldn't let that stop him. Not until he was strong enough to protect his friends. A gooey pink face formed in his mind.
'What's wrong Goten, don't you want to play?'
"I'm. Not. Playing." He ground out.
'Maybe a little hide and seek? You run first.'
"I'm. Not. Running."
'You're no hero Goten. You don't stand a chance against people like me. You're always going to lose.'
"I'm not. Gonna. LOOOOOSE!" With his shout, Goten's power suddenly spiked, then like a flame in the wind, it blew out.
"GOTEN!"
The gravity went back to normal, and the door burst open. 18 and Trunks ran to the little boy's side. Goten looked up at them and smiled.
"Heheh. Guess you caught me." Immediately after saying this, Goten passed out.
"Is he ok?" Trunks asked.
18 picked the kid up and examined him. "Physically, he looks fine. He'll be better after some rest. Come on. You should probably get to sleep too."
The cyborg walked away, and Trunks stared at where Goten had been working out. How much stronger had his friend gotten? Could he also train at 100? Maybe…
"Trunks." 18 said firmly. "Let's go."
"Coming." With one last glance at the training room, he followed the blonde.
Break
After a night's rest, Goten recovered from his training. It seemed that Goten was accustomed to this sort of thing. He had secretly been working up to 100 times gravity on his own at Gohan's gravity chamber, so he didn't suffer much beyond being exhausted and sore. Of course, 18 had banned the use of the gravity room. She didn't like the feeling of seeing Goten out cold like that and she would not be the one to explain how she let these kids get hurt on what was supposed to be an easy flight.
"I'm sorry 18." Goten said meekly.
"You could have at least told me you were going to train." Trunks said petulantly. "Now we're both stuck with nothing to do because you wanted to get a head start."
"I'm sorry Trunks. I was going to ask you to train with me too, but you didn't seem like you wanted to."
"Well, maybe we still have a chance now?" Trunks looked hopefully at 18.
"No." she said while turning a page in her magazine.
"But what if-"
*BOOM*
Something shook the ship and knocked the passengers out of their seats.
"What was that!?" Goten asked in confusion. 18 ran toward a window to see what was going on. They had been hit, but by what? They were passing over a planet, but she couldn't tell if that was where the hit came from.
"Maybe it was an asteroid or something." 18 thought out loud. "Trunks, get to the controls and see if you can figure out if the ship is ok. If we were knocked of course try and-"
*BOOM*
Another impact even larger than the first knocked the crew off their feet. This time, there was no need to check if they were on course. They could all feel that they were falling, and fast.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
As the ship spiraled, Trunks and Goten were yelling their lungs out in panic. 18 grabbed hold of the boys and held them close.
"It's alright! I've got you!" she yelled. A blue force field covered the trio, and not a moment too soon. Just as 18 had erected her protective technique, the ship came to a crashing stop. 18 looked down at her charges and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that neither one was harmed. She let them go, but neither one of them let go of her.
"Hey. It's ok." She patted their backs, and they looked up at her, clearly shaken by the experience. "I'm going to go find out what hit us. You boys just stay put."
"What if what hit us was an alien attacker?" Goten asked. "Don't you want help?"
"I appreciate it, but I can handle it myself. Besides, it was probably just an asteroid or something." She tried to assure them with a smile, though neither one was convinced. Just then, a loud voice came from outside.
"In the name of lord Slug, open your shuttle and prepare to surrender!"
"See!?" Trunks said. "It was aliens! They want a beating, and we'll give it to them."
"The only thing you're going to do is stay here. I'm going to take care of this." 18 made her way to the entrance. The ship was on its side, but the door could still open. She stepped outside to see an army of men in spandex, armor, and visored helmets.
"You boys come to help get little old me back on the road?" 18 asked, and for a moment the question threw the soldiers off. Not only did it turn out that the ship wasn't manned by enemy combatants, but that also wasn't the reaction people normally gave when they had an enemy surrounded.
One of the men stepped forward and aimed his hand at the woman. "You are trespassing on the newly conquered territory of the Elysia Crispata! In the name of Lord Slug, we hereby confiscate your ship, and you, along with any crew members, will be slaves of our lord's glorious empire."
18 scanned the crowd of soldiers and tried to feel out their strength like Krillin had taught her. These guys seemed pretty strong, but she was confident that she could handle them. She heaved a sigh of relief and looked up, her eyes briefly flashing red as she did so.
"Hey, Captain, she's kind of pretty." One of the soldiers grunted. "Maybe old lettuce head would want her?"
"Nah, he's only interested in monkeys. Though maybe she could be their maid. We all know those beasts could use a good bath. Hahaha!" The soldiers all broke into laughter.
"If you morons are done."
*Shatter*
18 drew her hand out of the captain's helmet and the alien crumpled in a heap. She shook the glass and purple blood from her fist while the remainder of the soldiers stared in stunned silence.
"I'm afraid I'll have to cut things short. I've got somewhere to be." She raised her hand overhead and a yellow energy disk formed. 'I'm glad Zangya wasn't here to hear that.' "Destructo disk!"
She launched the attack, and it sliced through the enemy forces like a buzz saw.
"OPEN FIRE! ATTACK!" One of the men yelled in a panic and the soldiers all started to fire purple energy blasts at the blonde. 18 dodged the blasts easily as she guided the spinning disc through the soldiers with devastating results. Some of them were able to dodge the destructo disc, but when they did, 18 was right there to deliver a deadly blow to their faces.
"Squad two alpha, destroy that disk! Everyone else, grab the girl!" A lieutenant ordered, hoping that their superior numbers would be able to overcome this fighter.
In response to his commands, about 30 of the soldiers pooled their energy into a single bomb and launched it at the disk. The bomb exploded and the men cheered when they no longer saw the disk. Their celebration was cut short when a yellow disk shot up out of the ground decapitating one of them and then exploding, consuming the rest of squad two alpha. The others swarmed the cyborg, each one trying and failing to lay a hand on her. Now that 18's focus was no longer split, she had no trouble dealing with the attackers. She swayed and dodged their advances with the grace of a dancer, delivering crushing counter attacks without breaking her rhythm. With each soldier that fell, two or three more would take their place in the assault.
"Wow! Look at her go Trunks! She's really strong, isn't she?" Goten looked in awe from a ship window at the battle.
"Yeah, she's better than I thought she'd be." Trunks admitted. "Come on. Let's go help her. We can't let her have all the fun."
18 had just landed a knee in the visor of yet another soldier, caving in his skull, then thrust her leg back to take a second one out. As she saw that the number of those surrounding her kept increasing, she realized that they were trying to box her in and close off any route of escape. The realization made her smile.
"By all means. You can look, but don't touch." She crossed her arms, and the swarm of soldiers obscured her from view. "MORNING STAR!"
Blue energy forced the attackers back, but unlike her normal energy shield, she had modified the shape to be covered in energy spikes. The result being that the closest attackers all found themselves impaled on her energy, while the rest were painfully knocked back. She landed on the ground and swept the hair from her face. All around her were the corpses of her victims. Those who had survived were standing up slowly and backing away. They readied themselves to fight, but fear was evident in their movements.
One of the soldiers put his hand to his head. "This is Slug Alpha 6; we need back up immediately."
"What?" A gravelly voice asked at the other end. "You weaklings couldn't handle one ship? We barely planted the seed?"
"Forgive me commander. I think she's one of Cooler's forces."
"She!? Why didn't you say so, I'll be right there! This planet probably didn't have enough energy anyway. I could use some real action."
"Look, I'm happy to kick your butt's all day if you want, but let's just end this now and I'll be on my way." 18 tried to reason.
"Heheh, nice try lady, but you won't be so cocky when our reinforcements arrive."
"Then maybe she should have some reinforcements of her own!" Trunks yelled while he and Goten launched themselves at a pair of soldiers that were behind 18. The soldiers were caught off guard by the two little kids and allowed themselves to be hit. Goten sunk his fist into his opponent's gut, while Trunks landed a kick that shattered another soldier's visor.
"Gyah! My eyes!" The man grabbed his face as blood began pouring through his fingers.
"Trunks! Goten! Get back to the ship!" 18 yelled in an almost desperate voice.
"Don't worry 18" Trunks replied. "We can handle this. HYAH!" Trunks threw another kick at a soldier, though this time the attack was blocked. Goten also seemed to be ignoring the cyborgs command, as he started taking on two aliens at once.
"TRUNKS! GOTEN!"
The lead soldier saw 18's desperation and smiled. "Ok, new plan. Get the kids!" The army started to drift away from 18 and converge on the children. 18 grew furious.
"STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" She sped toward the kids and started to blast away anyone who got close. Unfortunately, she was kept so busy by the numerous waves of enemies that she was unable to kill the opponents that Goten and Trunks were already engaged with.
Trunks dodged a kick and jumped up to deliver a punch to the stomach. The soldier brought his guard up and was pushed back a few feet, but when he realized how much weaker this kid was than the girl, he started to smirk.
"Careful brat. I ain't afraid to murder a child." He aimed a knee at the still floating Trunks, but the attack was caught with two hands. Trunks pushed himself up and somersaulted to land an axe kick on the alien's face, blinding him with glass just like the other.
"GAH! You little!" the man started firing ki blasts randomly, hoping to destroy the little hellion. Trunks had no problem dodging these pot shots and he buried a punch right in the man's junk.
Meanwhile, Goten had his hands full evading the onslaught of two soldiers. Both of them were throwing a barrage of punches and kicks, while Goten backed away to avoid their flailing. Once the boy saw an opening, he jumped up and smashed his head into one soldier's sternum, then kicked off of his abdomen to throw a bicycle kick on top of the other's helmet. Both warriors were thrown to the ground by these attacks and Goten landed between them ready for more.
"Come get me you big babies!"
The soldiers growled and got to their feet to rush the kid. They both tried to wrap their hands around him, but they went right through him, and they ended up headbutting each other. They shook their heads and looked around for the missing kid.
"Hey!" They both turned to answer the boy's call. Goten was squatting with both hands cupped at one side. "Kamehame-HAAAA!" The blue beam erupted from Goten's outstretched hands and consumed the soldiers. When the light died down, he nodded to himself in satisfaction as the enemy had been reduced to nothing.
"ALRIGHT!" Trunks cheered when he saw that both he and Goten's opponents had been defeated. "See what happens when you mess with the Saiyans! OW!"
Trunks rubbed the top of his head then looked up at 18 with indignation. "What was that for?"
"I told you to go back to the ship." 18 replied angrily.
"We were just trying to help." Goten said.
"Does it look like I needed your help?" 18 made a sweeping gesture behind her, indicating the army of fallen bodies. There was not a single soldier left standing. "I had it under control. You barely took out four between the two of you. What do you think would have happened if I wasn't able to keep the rest of them off your backs? What if one of them got a cheap shot in and I was out of the fight? You two could have died because you couldn't resist playing space hero!"
Goten looked sufficiently chastised by this. He really thought helping was the right thing to do, but now he felt like a big dummy. Trunks on the other hand still looked defiant.
"Well, what do you expect? That we'll just stay on the ship while you have all the fun?"
"THIS ISN'T A GAME TRUNKS!" She yelled with more ferocity than she had ever done before, and Trunks was frightened by it. "I wasn't fighting to have a good time! I was trying to get us off this planet in one piece! The last thing I need when I'm fighting an army is to worry about two brats who can't do what they're told! If they had caught you, I wouldn't have been able to do anything against them, do you understand that?"
Despite his fear, Trunks tried to argue one last time.
"B-But we're Saiyans. Fighting's in our blood. We'd never let ourselves be killed by these goons."
18 let out a sigh of frustration. "Trunks, do you not understand the concept of a hostage situation?"
"Oh, I certainly do." A smooth voice replied from behind.
18 turned around at this new voice. Floating slowly to the ground were three aliens. One was large and orange, with a mane of dark red hair and two tiny horns on his forehead. Another was as large as the first, only his hair was smooth and braided. His skin had a reddish tint, and he had several scars on his face. The last one looked human. He had dark blue hair in a ponytail and no eyebrows. The latter two were wearing the same type of armor that the Saiyans used to wear.
As the trio landed. The one with braided hair spoke.
"So, did I hear that right? Are these brats really Saiyans?" He gestured to Goten and Trunks. 18 forced the boys to hide behind her but gave no response.
"They've gotta be Saiyans, Amond." The blue-haired one said. "At least that littler one. He looks just like lord Turles. Think it's his kid or something?"
"Heh. I wouldn't be surprised." Amond smirked. "'Specially if she was the mate. Gotta admit, the boss's got great taste. Right Daiz?"
18 was pretty new at sensing energy, but even she could tell that these three were leagues above those other soldiers. She was pretty sure they were even stronger than her, though she couldn't tell by how much. Still, their conversation presented a ray of hope, though it was a flimsy ray at best. She didn't know who this Turles was, but it sounded like their boss was a Saiyan. Maybe she could talk her way out of this.
"Look, we didn't come here to fight. Those idiots shot our ship out of the sky and tried to kill us. All we want is to continue our journey. I'm sure your boss would overlook an attack on his own kind if you helped us on our way."
"Heh, sure, they can go on their way." The orange man said with a lascivious grin. "Just so long as you keep me company."
18's face twisted in disgust.
"Doesn't look like she's interested." Daiz mocked. "Just as well Zeeun. I bet lord Turles wouldn't want someone as ugly as you touching his old mate."
"Shut up! Like I care about what Lettuce head wants." Zeeun yelled, earning him dirty looks from Amond and Daiz.
"Watch yourself Zeeun." Amond growled. "Wouldn't want your fruit privileges revoked."
"Tch, like we've gotten any fruit lately anyway. This planet has barely enough energy for a sapling."
While they were arguing, 18 whispered to the kids. "Listen, I need you both to do exactly what I say. When I give the signal, you both need to get back to the ship. Trunks, you have to get it going again."
"What about you?" Goten asked.
"I'll be fine. Just promise you'll do as I say."
Goten nodded, but the other boy hesitated.
"Trunks, I need you to do this. You know the ship better than me." 18 reiterated.
"O-ok." Trunks finally agreed.
Finally, the trio stopped arguing. It appeared that Zeeun had lost whatever exchange they'd just had.
Amond turned to 18. "It's fortunate that your brats are part Saiyan. That means you're all entitled to some special treatment. Just come quietly and I'm sure Lord Turles will have a use for you too blondie."
"I don't get used." 18 brought her hands to her face. "SOLAR FLARE!"
A bright light flashed, and the alien trio gripped their eyes in pain. "Run, now!" 18 yelled and the boys started sprinting for the ship. 18 didn't wait for the enemy to recover, and she launched three destructo discs in quick succession. Unfortunately, Amond was able to sense the attack coming and he pushed Daiz out of the way, while diving to the ground. Daiz escaped unscathed, while Amond received a long gash on his cheek. Zeeun didn't get off so easily. He let out a howl of pain as the disk severed his arm at the bicep.
"GYAH!"
"They're coming back!" Daiz cried and Amond acknowledged the warning with a nod. The red warrior began spinning at an incredible rate till he looked like a tornado. Three razor blades of energy shot out and intercepted two of the disks. 18 moved one at the last second and it sped up toward Amond. The large warrior stopped his spin as the disk was right on top of him. 18 smiled. At least she would be able to take out one of these guys. The disk was heading right for his neck, then suddenly stopped, and Amond grinned.
18's eyes went wide in disbelief. The fighter had caught the attack and halted it midair. He squeezed his fist and the energy shattered.
"Not bad. I can see why Lord Turles would choose a woman like you as a mate, even if you aren't a Saiyan." Amond started to walk forward.
18 looked behind her. It seemed like the kids were back on the ship. She hoped that Trunks would be able to get it going, and that she could hold them off long enough for them all to escape. She turned back to the three opponents and dropped to her stance.
"You're right, I'm not a Saiyan. I'm far worse. HA!" She charged Amond, who grinned and sprinted towards her. 18 covered her fist in spiked energy balls and started swinging as soon as the oaf was in range. Jab, jab, straight, spinning back hand, uppercut. The cyborg even threw in some energy infused kicks. None of her attacks connected, as Amond was able to dodge with a speed that belied his size. It almost seemed too easy for him. After swaying to avoid a right hook, the red man rammed his head into 18's face, halting her assault. He grabbed her by the hair and thrust her face into the ground. He picked her back up, ready to drive her down again.
18 grimaced and unleashed her Morningstar shield, succeeding in pushing the brute away from her, but not in doing any real damage to him.
"You fight well." Amond complimented. "Too bad it's not enough. Why don't you come with us? Turles treats his concubines really well you know."
18 breathed deeply. She was running out of tricks. "Not interested." She didn't even have a quippy comeback. Then the worst possible thing happened.
"You might want to reconsider."
Daiz, whom she had lost track of, appeared behind her, holding the struggling forms of Goten and Trunks in his hands.
"What was that about a hostage situation?" Daiz said with a smile.
"Let them go!"
"Fine, Just come with us quietly, and they'll be free to serve Turles. Or don't surrender, and we force you to come anyway. We'd just hate to ruin that pretty face. Come on, it'll be fun. A few doses of fruit and you might even be strong enough to join the Crusher Corps."
"Oh no. We're not letting this bitch off that easy." Zeeun had been gripping his stump of an arm in pain this whole time. He glared at 18 and stomped toward her. "I'll teach you to take my arm from me!" He struck the cyborg with a backhand and she went flying.
"Zeeun." Amond cautioned the ogre as 18 struggled to recover from the blow.
"What? She's not a Saiyan, so she's free game. Right?"
Amond looked at Daiz and the blue haired man shrugged, easily maintaining his grip on the struggling boys.
"Don't hurt her!" Goten demanded.
"Yeah, just let her go you ugly jerks!" Trunks yelled.
Tired of their squirming, Daiz knocked their heads together to knock them out.
Amond considered the situation and turned back to Zeeun, who was already advancing on the shaken cyborg. "Just don't kill her. Lord Turles might still want her."
"Right." Zeeun grabbed 18 by throat and rammed his head into hers.
"GAH!" she cried out. The last time she had felt this helpless was against Cell. These guys were way stronger than she expected, and now they even had hostages.
He tossed her to the ground and then started to flex his fingers. "Now, let's see what you got under that outfit."
18 grit her teeth and focused her energy. Her only hope was to try for a solar flare again and grab the kids. She brought her hands up to her face. "S-"
"SALZA!" Daiz cried and Zeeun turned away from his prey only to be met with a dozen pink lasers piercing his body.
As her hulking attacker fell backwards, 18 looked to where the beams had come from. She saw a blue cyborg man with feathered blonde hair, along with what looked like a dozen silver lizard men.
"Zis may only be an outer planet, but eet still belongs to Lord Cooler." The Cyborg said. "We 'ave already uprooted your disgusting tree! You filsy pirates will not take anozer world from 'im."
"Daiz, get the Saiyans back to Lord Turles. I'll hold them off." Amond yelled.
"Right." Daiz nodded and took off, with half a dozen Cooler drones hot on his tail.
"Wait!" 18 started to fly after him, but Amond stopped her, grabbing her by the throat and choking her.
"I didn't think you were with Cooler because you had those Saiyan kids, but I guess I was wrong. Too bad though. You woulda made a helluva mate."
18 struggled against his grip, but Amond punched her face over and over until she no longer struggled. At last, she finally succumbed to the choke hold and passed out.
"Release 'er, you scum!" Salza flew toward the larger man and fired up his ki blade.
"Whatever you say!" Amond threw 18 as hard as he could at the Brench cyborg, just as the remaining Cooler drones swarmed him. Salza caught the beautiful woman and scanned her vitals. A look of surprise came over his features.
"What 'ave we 'ere?"
Meanwhile, Amond was trying to contend with six drones all at once. While none of them could contain the same level of power as the original, each one was nearly indestructible, and worked in perfect unison with the others.
He tried to fight them off, but it was all he could do to dodge their blows. In a bid to give himself a little space, he used his special move. He spun himself into a whirling tornado and released a volley of energy blades at the drones. His plan succeeded, as now the drones were at least off him and took some damage as well. While the Cooler's were repairing their various gashes, Amond turned to beat a hasty retreat and meet up with Daiz. But when he tried to take off, his body refused to listen to him.
"I wish I could grant you a long and painful demise." Salza appeared in front of him and deactivated his blade technique. "Decapitation ees too good for pirate swine."
Then the world went black for Amond as his body fell back and his head rolled away.
Salza looked down at the body in disgust, then turned to look at the unconscious 18. "Monsieur Coolerbot." He called a drone to him.
"I've told you not to call me that." The drone said without emotion.
"My apologies. Could you transport zis mademoiselle to le big Gete Star for treatment? I believe she will be of interest to ze main body."
The drone nodded. "Indeed. Based on the data you've collected; my main consciousness is already intrigued." The drone picked up 18 and vanished.
Salza stood still for a moment, pondering on the rare find he had just made. He had never seen a cyborg like her. In some ways, her design was superior to his own. Then he thought of the other surprise he found while he scanned her body and his blood boiled.
"Salaud Monstrueux!" He growled before taking off to chase after Daiz.
End Chapter
We took a break from the main characters for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it though. I'm obviously changing a few things from the movies and cannon, so please don't get too hung up if things are not exactly like they should be. I've been a little vague on the time, but it's been about three months after the Buu saga. Trunks is around 5 and Goten is around 4. I tried not rush the chapter which is why we did not see the main characters this time. Let me know what you think.