-Gohan-
The young Saiyan felt a...strange sensation washing over him as he easily slipped past the awkwardly placed punch, driving into Seventeen's guard and slamming a bone rattling punch into the Android's rib cage.
"Tricky fighting with one arm isn't it?" Gohan taunted as Seventeen staggered back gasping from the impact. "Takes awhile to figure out your balance again and how you need to distribute your weight with every attack."
It wasn't a feeling that he'd never experienced before, but rather, a feeling he wasn't used to feeling in this specific situation.
"Shut the fuck up loser!" Seventeen snapped before throwing out a kick designed to drive the Saiyan's head back. Gohan easily caught the foot inches away from his face before violently shoving the limb back and watching as Seventeen stumbled, attempting to catch himself on the ground before realizing all too late that he wouldn't be able to support his right side, and clattering to the ground.
He lifted his single outstretched hand, a building yellow light centered in his palm.
He watched as Seventeen's eyes bulged, a panic washing over him.
Gohan smiled as he let loose the energy, forcing it collide with Seventeen and sending the Android flying back from the resulting explosion.
It was a feeling that was tying itself to the sense of euphoria currently flooding his body.
For the first time in years, Gohan felt certain that he was going to win.
A part of him thought that this had to be a dream, but then again, his dreams were never this nice to him. A part of him felt like it was going to all come crashing down, that Eighteen would pop up and ruin all of his hard work. He'd felt that way for the entire fight leading up to Seventeen's injury, he'd felt certain that he would get rushed before he had a chance to do any real, substantial damage.
But that hadn't happened.
And now Seventeen was down one arm.
Gohan could tell that the Android had no idea how to fight missing such an essential limb. His attacks were all off balance, his blasts weaker due to being used to channeling his power into both hands, over all, Gohan knew that he could take him out now if he wanted to.
But that lingering fear in the back of his mind, the lingering fear that Eighteen would still pop out and stop him prevented him from fully committing, from pushing his reserves to do the actual deed.
Part of him still couldn't believe this was actually happening.
And another part of him, a part of him that he didn't want to admit he was listening to right now, wanted to savor this moment.
Seventeen picked himself off the ground, snarling once more before stretching out his open hand and firing a barrage of blasts towards him.
The barrage was slow and left the Saiyan with more than enough time to sway between the blasts, pushing forward as he nimbly dodged or deflected the projectiles..
Gohan had to admit he could see the logic of such an attack, is was designed to push the opponent away, and with two hands he could see it working.
But with one?
The son of Goku shot forward, batting away the final blast before ramming his elbow into Seventeen's cheek. The Android staggered, stepping back with a single foot before throwing out a wild hammaker in response. Gohan's forearm stopped the blow before the Saiyan slammed his forehead into Seventeen's nose.
"Grrk!" The twin grunted as he closed his eyes in a tight grimace.
Gohan's smile was wide now as he leapt off the ground and threw out a kick that imprinted his foot into Seventeen's face.
Then his eyes widened in surprise.
Seventeen's hand had raised and was aiming a golden ball of energy roughly at his chest. Eyes still closed and with a foot currently obscuring his view, Gohan realized that this was a gamble.
And it worked.
Without time to dodge, Gohan felt the energy collide with his chest. The young man was sent flying back, all the while he attempted to push his energy to the point where he could feel the attack burning away at his torso. The effort granted him a slight relief to the pain before he felt his back slam straight into a concrete wall and an explosion washed over the rest of his body.
Damn it!
The attack had hurt, but it was only one in a long list of injuries he'd accumulated during this battle.
This battle that had spanned over years.
A battle he felt determined to finish.
The Saiyan rose, his shirt in shambles, as he stared across what had once been a city filled with people. He'd checked earlier, but knew that no one was around anymore. It had allowed him to cut loose and not worry about damaging buildings with people in them. Buildings could be replaced, life could not.
But that didn't stop him from checking again, just to make sure.
You should be focused on the fight moron. No one is going to be-
His eyes widened.
His head snapped to the side where he could sense a familiar presence within a nearby structure, one of the few that hadn't fallen yet.
Inside he could faintly see a blue set of eyes looking back at him.
Damn it Trunks! What will get you to finally listen to me!?
He'd almost shouted the boy's name in frustration, but thought against it considering that Seventeen was slowly rising as well, having been launched away from the force of his kick. He didn't want the Android trying to take a hostage in the middle of the fight.
'Leave.'
He quietly mouthed towards the window he could see Trunks lurking behind, the top of his face only barely peeking out enough for his eyes to be visible.
Much to his surprise, he saw the boy raise a single thumb up and nod.
Gohan arched an eyebrow, surprised at the boy's immediate compliance before he felt something.
It was energy.
Trunks's energy, and a drop of...something else.
...Videl?
A brighter smile pulled at his lips before eventually he started to laugh.
"The fuck is so funny asswipe?" The Android hissed as he stared daggers at him.
Gohan did note that he hadn't approached him however, seemingly content with staying where he was several meters away.
Gohan had to stifle his laughter. "You ever get those days where everything lines up perfectly for just one moment; Where it's like the universe itself is all but ordering you to complete a task?"
Seventeen chose to glare at him in response.
He glanced over to the teen, who he could see was staring over at Seventeen with wide, shocked eyes. He waited until he caught Trunks gaze and held it, his stare silently telling him to leave.
Trunks caught the look immediately and backed away, obviously making an effort to retreat quietly.
"Well," He continued with a dark smile, feeling the last of Trunks and Videl's reserves pour into his own. "This whole fight, I've been looking at this like it wasn't real, like something would arrive and stop me, to get in the way of me finishing you off once and for all. But I just got the final sign that told me that fear isn't going to be realized." he let the sentence drift before continuing, "Seventeen,Today nothing is going to stop me from killing you."
-Eighteen-
Finally!
She silently exclaimed as she felt the boys energy bleed away and Gohan's rise a similar amount. She waited only a few moments longers as she sensed Trunks's presence growing farther before shooting straight upward, blasting through the cracked remains of the building's roof.
Her hair flew back as her petite frame shot through the sky, creating a sharp boom as she split the air. A moment later, she was there, floating above where she could feel Gohan's waning energy below.
Just hold on a little longer Gohan, I'll figure a way out of this for-
Her eyes slowly absorbed the sight before her..
For a moment, she was entirely baffled, so much so that her head tilted to the side in confusion.
She watched as her brother shot forward, a tight grimace pulling at his features as he threw out an elbow meant for Gohan's chin.
His only elbow.
….what?
Gohan rapidly fell back narrowly avoiding the strike, his knees pulled to his chest before both shot out and collided with Seventeen's chest.
Eighteen watched her brother's eyes bulge as he gasped before his body ragdolled, sent flying back like a ballistic missile before tearing into an unfortunate pickup truck at the end of the road.
Eighteen felt the heat of the explosion on her face a moment later.
Seventeen…
She watched as her brother staggered out from the car several seconds later, tearing himself free from the burning wreckage with weary, exhausted movements. All the while Eighteen's eyes were on the massive gaping hole where Seventeen's arm used to be. She could see a red, black liquid splattering in irregular bursts as he rose from the burning scraps of metal, all the while his face couldn't hide the amount of pain he was in.
...Seventeen...is losing?
Her eyes slowly pulled away from her brother's ragged, beaten form to inspect Gohan.
He wasn't in much better shape by the looks of it, she could identify a number of bruises littering his upper body and face as well as several cuts where his Ki had failed to shield him for only an instant. The entire top of his Gi had torn away, revealing years of deep, dark scars.
She'd seen them before.
She was half responsible for them being there.
Then she realized that she wasn't the only one staring. Her gaze rose from the man's chest and met with wide, teal colored eyes. He was staring at her with a look that resembled worry.
"Eighteen!"
The woman's head snapped towards the call of her name. She saw Seventeen, looking up at her with a joyful expression on his face.
"Took you long enough!" His voice had a mixture of rage laced into it now, she could already figure out that he partially blamed her for the loss of his arm.
I mean...is he wrong?
She wasn't sure.
Her head turned back to where she'd last seen Gohan, except-he wasn't there.
Where'd he-?
Eighteen's eyes snapped to the far side of the street where she could see Seventeen's attention had pulled away from her and was now on the raging bullet of yellow flame streaking down the road towards him.
Fuck!
She quickly thought before her own aura exploded around her and she shot towards Seventeen.
Meanwhile, Eighteen's senses were overloading with energy. She could feel it burning off of Gohan like a blazing inferno as he raced towards her brother. His aura had erupted all around him, snapping at the air above in violent thrashes. She could feel the last of Gohan's ki burning away like a flash fire as he sped towards her only family. His arm was pulled back as within his palm was a rapidly growing orb of blue energy, swirling within itself as it continued to siphon the last of the fighter's strength.
He's trying to take out Seventeen before I can stop him!
She could see ahead of her Seventeen was preparing himself, rapidly raising a shield in defence, but she could already tell that it was a frail one. She could see in his face that his concentration was divided between ignoring the immense pain she had to assume came with losing an entire arm and trying to gather his energy properly. A golden shield flickered weakly to life around him.
She could already tell it wouldn't be enough.
Eighteen continued to push as hard as her systems could accommodate, racing towards her brother to intercept the man who, just an hour ago had taught her how to sense energy for the very first time.
Time felt slow as she pushed towards her sibling, despite them each moving speeds faster than the standard naked eye could even perceive. She could see that she was gaining on Gohan, his energy was too low to compete with her's anymore, but he'd picked his moment well. She bet he'd moved the moment she'd taken her eyes off him, knowing that he'd gain the best lead if he had.
He'd gained a significant lead.
One she was uncertain she'd be able to make up in time.
No,no,no,no,NO!
Her eyes filled with panic at that moment, he mind filled with the images of what would happen to her brother if that sphere of energy connected.
She didn't know if it would kill him, but Gohan seemed to think it could.
Just past Gohan, she could see the look in Seventeen's eyes.
There was terror there, suppressed by the desire to appear fierce, but still easy to decipher.
He believed it could kill him too.
Eighteen desperately surged after Gohan, her mind filled with terror as she finally grew close enough to reach the fighter. She stretched out her arm, hoping to grab him before he could reach her brother.
Then they impacted.
Eighteen felt her hand grasp a hold of the man's bicep in that moment as the blue orb slammed into Seventeen's hastily crafted energy shield. She could see the golden energy protecting her brother waver, beginning to buckle to the presence of this new force.
She responded by immediately violently tearing Gohan's arm away from her brother, pulling with all the strength she had to give.
Then her world went white.
She felt the Gohan's violent, destructive energy wash over her, burning away at her skin from all sides before she rapidly pushed her Ki to surround her, shielding herself as she felt the apex of the blast ripple through her body.
Her face contorted into a painful grimace as she was launched back. Her arms pinned to her chest from trying to raise a guard at the last second, she found herself helpless to stop her momentum until a powerline decided to solve that issue for her.
The woman was immediately scrambled back to her feet, shooting into the air a moment later as she rocketed towards where she could see the crater where Gohan's attack had detonated.
She saw the man lying on his back, his aura gone, his hair back to its normal jet black complection. She took a second to stretch out her senses and feel for the man's Ki. After a few moments she tell that he was indeed still alive, even if his Ki was barely strong enough to fend off Trunks at this moment.
Eighteen didn't know if she should be relieved or angered by the fact that he was still alive.
She chose to ignore him for now as her eyes searched desperately for her brother. Her eyes lingering on the spot she'd last seen him before searching behind it towards where she assumed he'd been blown back.
She found him in a pile of rubble that had once resembled a small coffee shop.
His body was lying awkwardly in the brickwork, his face revealing utter exhaustion as he continued to stare up towards the slowly darkening sky making no movements to free himself.
She landed beside him a moment later.
"Are you okay?" She said struggling to mask the panic in her voice.
His eyes slowly turned to her. "...I want you to take one hard look at me and tell me how well you think I'm doing."
She watched as the remains of his right shoulder sent out a violent electrical shock.
"...fair enough." She muttered as she took hold of his hand and slowly began to pull him out of the rubble. She winced as she watched his face adopt a tight grimace from the act.
"He really messed you up good…" She said taking a step back and inspecting her brother. 'Messed up' was an understatement to say the least. The entire upper half of his shirt was gone, revealing a torso covered in scrapes and other substances, she assumed most being a result of being sent through a car.
Of course, his arm, or lack there of however was what concerned Eighteen the most. Neither of them had ever suffered an injury as serious as this, hell, neither of them had ever suffered a serious injury of any sort when facing down goldilocks.
They'd always viewed the man as an inferior, something to be played with, but never as a legitimate threat.
And now he'd done this.
She could tell by the worried look on Seventeen's face that he was just as useless as she was when it came to what they should do next. It was clear by his demeanor and ability to rise and move about that he wasn't going to die from the wound...probably. The fluids that had been bleeding out of him seemed to have cloted, likely a design choice from Gero himself, so that the only lasting affect was the occasional electrical discharge from his shoulder. It was a bizarre sight to see she quickly realized as she stared down at the open wound. Neither of them had ever seen what their internal organs looked like before, a part of her had even chosen to believe that she was still mostly human. Now that she could see the metallic components uselessly hanging out from her brother's stump...she knew she was not. The sight also raised a single other question that she knew must have been running through both of their minds now.
Is there any way to fix this?
Was this the way her brother was going to be now? Down one arm, forever hindered in a fight? Forever broken at least to some capacity? What did that mean for his overall lifespan? Would those fluids he'd lost regenerate or had he lost something important to his system?
There were so many questions she realized neither of them had an answer to.
It wasn't like either of them had the phone number of any genius robotic scientists or 's level of expertise.
Eighteen blinked, the face of a familiar blue haired woman pushing to the forefront of her mind.
"Is that asshole actually still alive?" She heard her brother snarl.
She turned her head in response and saw that Gohan's arm had shifted so that his hand was over his face, covering his mouth for some reason.
"I think I'm gonna see to his death personally this time Eighteen." He said as he eyed her with a narrowed glare.
The woman didn't meet his gaze as he did. The accusation was clear as day. A part of her was worried about what her brother was thinking of her right now, of what conclusions he was coming to about her involvement in this whole fiasco.
But that was only a small part.
A much larger part of her mind was internally worrying about how she was going to get Gohan out of this situation now that he was basically KO'd. Another part of her felt that she shouldn't be caring about the man who'd critically wounded her brother and moments earlier nearly killed him outright had it not been for her involvement. Her senses stretched out and felt for Gohan's power once more. It was calm, and weak now, but she could still feel it, feel the energy of the man who'd been kind enough to teach her this magical ability only hours before.
The woman felt a knot of anxiety forming in the pit of her stomach.
There was a pregnant pause between the two as Seventeen waited expectantly for an answer that Eighteen knew he wanted. He wanted an explanation for why Gohan was still breathing, why she'd told him that the man was dead, why his arm was now missing because of it.
"...You're really gonna stand there and not tell me what the fuck is going on here?" He snapped, pointing a finger out towards Gohan.
If only you knew…
She thought with a grim sense of humor. Electricity suddenly spat out of his arm in a violent surge as he did.
Eighteen could see his face wince every time he did it, was it from him trying to move an arm that wasn't there? She couldn't tell.
However, she had noticed one thing upon her arrival…
"Seventeen," She frowned. "Is your power...weaker?" A part of her response was concern, another was to attempt to change the topic.
She'd noticed it from the way he'd struggled to bring up a shield in time for Gohan's attack, something that neither of them should have struggled with given the situation.
She noticed her brother smother a bristle at the comment, looking away with an irritated glare as he did. He chose to respond to her question in the same way she had to his, in silence.
Even so, he'd answered her enough. His response told her that the damage had made him weaker, and he knew it. A result of power surging to a non-existent limb? The loss of whatever that strange blackish, reddish fluid had been? The reason could only be speculated.
Damn it…
But maybe that would make things easier. The way things were, Eighteen knew she had to be stronger than her brother. She'd definitely be able to fend him off in his current state if-no-when he decided to walk over and finish the man who'd been her mentor.
She watched as Seventeen wordless walked past her, his eyes trained on the man still lying on the ground. She could see that he'd let his hand fall to the side. It looked like he was saying something to himself now, his jaw motioning up and down.
...or is he chewing something?
What in the world would Gohan be chewing on in the middle of a fight? Did the Golden Warrior have a favorite brand of gum or something?
Eighteen internally chimed to herself as she immediately caught up with her brother. As they began to travel the short distance to where Gohan was still lying on the ground, the woman began to internally panic as she tried desperately to come up with a plan that wouldn't involve fighting her own brother now.
Should I just let him do it? He was almost killed by Gohan...doesn't that mean that he should get to kill him now? Why am I even debating this right now!
She thought angrily to herself. Seventeen was her brother, not Gohan. Seventeen had nearly been killed by Gohan. Why then, was this such a hard choice for her to make?
This is so stupid!
It was obvious what the right answer was, that she should be siding with her brother and let this man who nearly murdered her only family die.
Except...she didn't want to side with her brother.
He'd told her that he was going to take a break from killing. That he would wait for her to explain things to him.
He broke that promise.
Meanwhile, Gohan had merely done what he'd always done, fought to protect, to save the last survivors of his pathetic race. He'd fought to save everything that they threatened to take away. He hadn't sought out her brother and attacked him maliciously, in fact, he'd never even attempted to hunt them down.
He fought because he had to fight.
Because if he didn't rise up to the challenge...no one would.
How could she resent him for that?
"...Seventeen, hold up a minute-" she began just as she felt it.
Her brother looked back at her, snapping as he did. "What! You gonna tell me why this asshole is still-" He paused, his anger subsiding as his eyebrows furrowed. "What? What's that look about?"
He couldn't feel it, but she could, she could feel all of it.
Her wide eyes pulled away from his and towards where she could feel an immense amount of power emanating several feet away.
But how? How is he doing this?
She watched as Gohan slowly pushed himself back to his feet. The bruises, the cuts, everything that had been previously littering his upper chest and face were gone now. It was as if he'd miraculously healed in a matter of moments.
And his ki was skyrocketing.
Finally, Seventeen's head snapped towards Gohan, noticing his rise at last. Sneering, the Android began. "Oh, so looks like your ready for round two huh? Well guess what, this time you won't be-"
"Seventeen get out of here now." Eighteen's eyes were serious, her fingers curled up into fists.
Her brother paused mid sentence, his brow furrowed as he looked back at her. "Huh? Why? There's two of us and he's been fighting me all day. Let's just kick his ass old school." He was bearing a confident grin as he spoke.
He didn't know.
But of course he didn't know, how could he? Gohan was still covered in soot and blood from where his wounds had just been. The only way she'd noticed it was the massive spike of energy that Gohan didn't know she could sense yet.
She had no idea how, but the man was back to top form, reflecting the energy she'd felt back at in the desert...and then some.
"Seventeen if you're going to listen to anything I have to say, listen to me now. You need to get out of here as fast as possible." The woman hoped that the serious tone to her words would get her brother to listen. Gohan at full power she was rapidly realizing was a huge problem. She and Seventeen rarely fought each other, but when they did, it was Seventeen that usually came out on top. She knew that between the two of them Seventeen was ever so slightly stronger, and if Gohan had managed to bring her brother down to where he was now...She didn't know if she would be enough to stop Gohan from outright killing Seventeen in his current state.
Then...it'll be my turn.
Seventeen stared at his sister for a short time before a flash of golden light exploded out in front of them. A torrent of wind picked up in that moment, lashing at their clothes and faces forcing the Android to squint.
She could see that Seventeen was beginning to realize something was up, his eyes narrowing between her and Gohan with a frown tied to his lips.
"...You and I need to have a talk after all of this." His eyes were staring into her own with a serious tone. She knew her brother wasn't outright stupid, there were likely many questions arising in his mind now. All of them no doubt surrounding her.
"Granted." She gave. She knew that things would need to be discussed. "Now leave."
"You aren't going anywhere!"
Suddenly, Gohan was beside Seventeen, a fist cocked back ready to strike.
Seventeen staggered, his responses panicked as he feebly threw up his arm in a pathetic defense.
Gohan's fist shot forward.
Only to be stopped by Eighteen's forearm.
"Go Seventeen!" She roared urgently before gripping Gohan's fist and attempting to drive her other elbow into the man's throat. The attack failed to connect as Gohan pulled his head back, narrowly avoiding the strike before driving a knee into the woman's rib cage.
The Android winced in pain, staggering to the side from the impact before Gohan spun, swinging out a roundhouse kick that cracked as it connected with the side of the woman's face. An instant later, Eighteen's form shot to the side, carried by the momentum of the attack and into the decrepete remains of what appeared to have once been a gas station.
A second later, Gohan was in front of Seventeen, driving a punch strong enough to level cities into the Android's gut. Seventeen gagged, doubling over as his eyes bulged from the attack driven deep into his abdomen.
A low sweeping kick knocked Seventeen's feet out from under him before Gohan flipped, slamming the heel of his boot into the Android's sternum and sending him straight into the ground with an impact that shattered the concrete below..
Gohan's hand began to rapidly fill with energy as he faced his open palm to the injured Android.
Seventeen's eyes grew large, a fearful expression consuming his face as he stared at the blue light so close he could actually feel it's hum of power.
Eighteen's foot slammed into the side of Gohan's face a moment later before the woman followed up the attack with a ball of energy that had been building in her hand. The golden sphere impacted with the man's chest, carrying him back before exploding in a massive cloud of dust.
Eighteen snarled as she pushed out both arms towards where the explosion had erupted. A torrent of energy blasts surged out, shooting in rapid succession resulting in a chain of explosions that created a bigger and bigger cloud of smoke as she fired.
Seventeen meanwhile lay still in a daze as he looked up at his sister.
"What are you doing!? Get the fuck out of here already!" She hissed as she continued to fire her barrage of Ki blasts. She could already tell that Gohan had managed to throw up a shield within the cloud of smoke, but she was determined to keep the man back for as long as she could.
She watched as Seventeen scrambled from the small crater he'd formed in the concrete and took to the air, turning the opposite direction from Gohan as he flew.
She watched out of the corner of her eye as he flew...before coming to a stop. Seventeen turned back, looking down at her with a concerned expression.
Damn it Seventeen! We don't have time for this!
"Are you going to be-"
"I'll be fine! Now Go!" She shouted, already feeling that Gohan had begun to move from within her barrage, beginning to bat them away harmless as he started to make his way towards her.
Fuck!
Seventeen swallowed, shooting one last conflicting look into the smoke before turning and shooting off into the sky.
Eighteen felt a wave of relief hit her in the chest as she watched her brother depart.
Then she felt a wave of energy hit her in the chest that sent her on her own type of departure, one that ended with a giant crash and a burning sensation in her chest.
She groaned as she pushed herself back to a sitting position. She was getting seriously tired of getting sent flying into buildings..
She was barely back to her feet and noticing that she'd crashed into what appeared to be a fast food chain of some type before Gohan appeared at the entrance her body had formed.
He was staring down at her with a that signature glare that she'd grown so accustomed to over the years.
...funny, it felt odd to look at after seeing how he his gaze was normally. Cheerful, friendly, kind…
Now there was murder written clear as day in his eyes along with...something else.
Her eyebrows furrowed, there was some sort of...confusion there.
Curiosity?
"Eighteen." He spoke sternly, a hint of disgust and resentment in his tone.
"Gohan." She said flatly, doing her best to return the glare. All the while she was curious as to why he'd chosen to speak rather than continue the fight.
Silence filled the room as the two stayed where they were, Gohan's golden aura illuminating the otherwise dark fast food chain. Eighteen could tell that the man was debating with himself over something, almost as if he wanted to ask a question, but was conflicted. She meanwhile was debating as to whether she should attempt to take advantage of this moment, attack him while he wasn't prepared.
She decided to wait, and see what was to come.
"Why did you spare me the last time we fought?"
Eighteen blinked, she certainly hadn't expected that question.
She stared up at the man wrapped in golden flames. His eyes were narrowed, but his eyebrows were furrowed.
"What's it matter to you?" She called back, not sure what position she should take here.
Gohan grew silent as he slowly took a step into the room, eyeing her dangerously. Eighteen felt nervousness creep into her chest as the distance between them closed. She knew she couldn't win this fight on her own.
"...I guess it doesn't matter." He answered quietly to himself before saying much louder.
"I'm going to destroy you either way."
-Gohan-
Something was...different about her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about her attitude felt...forced. It was so subtle that the half-Saiyan felt that he might be imagining it himself, but at the same time...he kept noticing it.
He launched a kick designed to cave the Android's chest in only for the attack to be blocked. Eighteen snarled as she retaliated, throwing out a vicious flurry of punches to push him back, all of which he managed to narrowly avoid as he moved out of her range.
He could see it there again, that look that didn't seem quite right. He'd grown to know Eighteen's expressions over the years and subsequently had grown accustomed to the typical sneer she would send his way whenever they engaged each other. He could sense the undeniable hatred she held for him during those encounters, the sincere disgust she felt for him whenever they would battle. He didn't blame her, he returned the sentiment.
Gohan grimaced as he slipped a punch only to be met with boot that caught him in the jaw, snapping his head back. He managed to open his eyes just as Eighteen leapt up, pulled back a leg clearly aimed for his head. He fell into a crouch, feeling the attack split the air above harmlessly as he gathered his energy into his palm.
"Masenko!" He bellowed as his hand surged forward.
An enormous golden mass emerged from his arm before colliding with the Android before him. The Saiyan pulled his knees to his chest, covering his eyes with his forearm as the attack detonated, exploding and partially clipping him as it did.
When the smoke cleared he could see that Eighteen had narrowly managed to pull her defences up in time, her arms crossed in front of her face as tendrils of smoke rose from various spots of her now burnt clothes.
Even now, even as she was glaring at him, he could tell that the look was somehow...different. Still intense, he could see that much…
It was almost as if part of that hatred she felt for him had been removed. Gohan knew that was a ridiculous idea to believe that she'd miraculously stopped hating him for no apparent reason. He knew that it was most likely all in his head, but still…
Eighteen shot forward, driving a knee into the center of his chest. The man brought up his forearm, slamming it against the woman's shin before spinning to her outside, preparing a kick that collide against her waiting forearm with an impact that he felt rattle the bones in his leg.
The half Saiyan pulled back his other leg, telegraphing a kick to the side of her face as he did. He watched with a grin as Eighteen responded predictably, attempting to position her other arm to stop the attack as he thrusted an open palm aimed for her midsection.
"Hah!" A small ball of Ki drove into Eighteen's stomach, prompting a cry of pain from the Android as it carried her backward. A few seconds later he watched her petite frame spin, stopping her momentum before backhanding the blast of energy into the ground.
Their eyes locked onto each other's once more.
The half-Saiyan's battle sense was telling him to push her, to try and overwhelm her the same way that he'd done with Seventeen. He certainly had the power to do so now, certainly had the resolve and the rare opportunity to fulfil this wish.
But...there was a nagging question lingering in the back of his mind that he couldn't quite shake. He'd tried to ask it earlier to...a luke-warm response.
Why did she spare me and Trunks.
She'd been given the opportunity to kill both of them and had decided against it. That was just not something an Android would do!
Shut up! That doesn't matter right now! What's important is that you have another Android alone! All that matters right is that you put her down for good! Everything else is irrelevant!
His thoughts rages against themselves as he stared down his opponent. His duty and loyalty to humanity, the side of him that wanted this misery, this nightmare to finally end was urging him to take his shot. Pleading-no, demanding that he blitz her and don't stop thrashing the woman until her head had been removed from her shoulders.
...But then there was his curiosity, the part of him that demanded to know more, to satisfy the thirst that he so often felt when he didn't understand something. It was the part of him that made him learn coding from Bulma when he'd noticed her at her console one day, typing away using some mysterious language. It was the part of him that had been secretly excited when as a child he'd unwrap his birthday gifts and find a massive book covering a dense scientific or historical subject from his mom. The others upon seeing his gift would groan, so he'd learn to act as if he didn't like the gift to better fit in with the gang...but the secret truth was that his mind had always yearned to learn more.
It was a selfish desire, and one that he was quick to push to the back of his mind.
...but then it kept coming back.
"...After our last fight, you fought Trunks by yourself without Seventeen and spared him as well."
He studied her face as he spoke, looking for anything that might explain away these acts of mercy. Her expression was unmoving as she listened.
"Why!?" He demanded with a roar.
Silence.
He could see movement in her eyes, as if she was thinking of her response.
"..."
"Earlier Seventeen told me that I was 'Supposed to be dead'. Which means that you told Seventeen you killed me." His eyes narrowed to slits. "Why?"
He watched her expression long and hard, awaiting a response. He saw her mouth twitch slightly, almost as if she'd considered answering before quickly deciding to remain silent.
But why?
What had she narrowly decided not to tell him? What had she considered in the first place? It told him that there was further depth to these actions, reasons past 'oh, I just didn't feel like it.'.
He didn't know what to do with that information.
He let out a slow sigh, relaxing his face for a moment before opening his eyes once more.
He'd have to live with not knowing.
Because he was not going to let her get away like Seventeen had.
He charged forward, cocking back a fist as Eighteen's eyes narrowed.
His knuckles shot out a moment later just as the Android spun around the punch, wrapping around his right before delivering an elbow that snapped his head to the side. Eighteen's momentum carried as she continued the spin, catching Gohan in the back of the head with a violent left hook.
Finally behind him, the woman hovered both hands at the man's hips, her palms collecting with energy before she grinned wickedly.
"Catch ya later Blondie!"
The half Saiyan felt the lower part of his spine begin to burn from the savage energy before the beam collided and he felt his back begin to violently bend the wrong direction. He was carried off his feet as he was forced forward, the lower part of his back beginning to burn away from the intensity of the attack. The man was carried into a wall on the opposite side of the room which did little to stop his momentum as he was carried through it.
It took several moments for him to gather himself, to work through the painful sensation and actually do something about it. Gritting his teeth he roared, forming a bead of Ki at the center of his back before rapidly enlarging it resulting in an explosive wave that blasted out in all directions.
He let out a ragged breath, duly noting the burning sensation lingering in his lower back as he turned back towards his opponent.
...only she wasn't there. He looked through the hole he'd made only moments earlier to find the restaurant entirely vacant.
His brows furrowed as his head snapped to each side. Where had she-
His neck stiffened as teal eyes locked on a blonde silhouette disappearing into a large office building far off in the distance. It had only been a speck, but Gohan had seen her disappear into one of the few buildings left standing after his fight with Seventeen.
Wait...is she actually...running away from me?
He blinked, confused by the concept of an Android fleeing from him. For one...he'd never thought Eighteen to be a coward, or rather, he never thought either of the Androids would ever even entertain the thought that they even slightly weaker in a fight. They were insufferably arrogant like that.
...she thinks I'm stronger than her...she's afraid of me…!
He felt a devilish grin pull at the corners of his mouth. A part of him, a darker, malicious part of him loved the beautiful irony that was playing out before him. He'd be lying if he said he didn't have a deep, dark hatred for the pair of monsters personally responsible for brutalizing him on a regular basis. He remembered every time he'd retreat into a lone building, terrified of the Androids finding him, horrified at what they would do to him now that he was drained of all his power.
On more than one occasion, all that had been standing in the way of him and a savage end was the walls of lone building and his rapidly developing hiding abilities.
Ofcourse, he'd never gotten the chance to be the hunter in their games of hide and seek.
But that didn't mean that he wasn't eager to try.
The Saiyan's aura pulsed as he tore through the sky towards the structure. He was floating in front of it a moment later, his hand at his chin as his eyes narrowed on building. It looked to have three floors.A mind who knew how to hide immediately went to work as he dismissed the first floor knowing she wouldn't be there. It was closest to where a normal person would enter, and if she was thinking about her hiding spot, she would assume that would be likely place for him to start. He also didn't think she'd chose the top floor, it had an obvious entrance for someone who could fly down to it.
He eye'd the center floor, splintered but not yet broken full length windows allowed him to peer into the structure revealing several rows of cubicles and office material.
He took a moment to wonder if she'd assume he wouldn't break anything to get in. That he'd choose one of the traditional entrances to preserve the building.
He'd already felt inside and detected no living energy signatures.
He chuckled to himself as he raised his open palm to the window.
-Eighteen-
The woman felt like she could hear every movement she made as she huddled down beneath the desk within the many cubicles. Her knees pulled to her chest to make herself tinier, internally the woman was furious that she'd been forced to hide like a cowardly human!
She sneered at the comparison.
...but at the same time it wasn't inaccurate she quickly realized. She was in a fight she both didn't want to win or believe she could win in the first place. Gohan had managed to get the better of Seventeen. Whether that had been by fluke or not, it meant that he could very well do the same to herself if she wasn't careful.
Which unfortunately meant that the best course of action for her at that moment was to hide.
It had hurt her pride to climb on all fours under the desk before pulling the chair in to better conceal her form.
But she knew it had to be done.
...I wonder how many times Gohan has been in a situation like this…
"..."
For a time, nothing happened. She hadn't been certain if she'd actually managed to distract him long enough to get away without him seeing her, but every second that nothing happened reinforced the comforting idea that she was actually safe.
Then she heard all the windows explode on her floor and jumped. She internally prayed her head hadn't made an audible bump when it had slammed against the top of the desk.
She listened closely in the dead silence, trying to pick out where he might be before closing her eyes and focusing on his energy.
She heard the crunch of feet stepping on shatter glass.
He was right there.
Right at the end of the room, not forty five feet away from her!
She internally cursed. Why the hell would he start with the second floor!?
"You're feeling that dread right? That terrifying feeling of knowing that 'he's' nearby? That 'he' might know where you're hiding because 'he's' so close?" She heard him let out a dark laugh, a resentful, hateful laugh. "Yeah, trust me, I've been there."
His footsteps began to slowly march forward, crunching loudly through the glass.
She realized that he was doing that intentionally, giving away his position for the same reason that she and Seventeen would when they would so often hunt him down.
It sent a message.
It told her, 'You are my prey'.
It told her that he was the one to be feared now.
Her fingers curled into tight fists as she grit her teeth, her body trembling with rage. How dare he try that on her. She was not prey! She was not to be hunted!
She was the apex predator, the one to be feared, the one to be fled from.
...right?
She listened as his feet continued to crunch through the glass, slowly drawing near.
"You're torn between running now before I find you, getting a headstart before it's too late or committing to your hiding place and praying that you hid well enough." A slow darker, more resentful laugh drifted out. "Yeah, been there too Eighteen." He hissed the words.
Eighteen felt a shiver run down her spine. She could tell that this was very much personal to Gohan, but of course it was.
They'd taken everything from him.
"And then...you have that slow… terrifying realization…" He sounded like he was walking down the aisle, drawing closer.
"That they've found you." His words were in a quiet, malicious tone. A whisper than anybody not right next to the man wouldn't have been able to understand.
But...Eighteen had managed to hear him loud and clear.
She felt her eyes grow wide with fright. There was no way he could have found her already! She hadn't made a sound-
Pain.
Pain everywhere.
Eighteen felt like her body was being sent through a raging inferno as she was bathed in a massive blue light that blew her back and through the floor of the building, she let out a sharp cry of pain as she slammed into the first floor, hard concrete and sharp rubble having cushioned her fall.
"How the hell did he find me?' She groaned before rapidly picking herself up,
Only to be slammed face first back into the ground.
Fuck!
Eighteen's head was spinning as she felt the bottom of Gohan's foot driving into her neck, pushing her face into the floor..
She growled as she whipped a hand back, readying a ki blast only to feel Gohan's hand grip her wrist. Her blast fired off harmlessly to the side, impacting with an unfortunate desk which promptly exploded.
She immediately attempted to throw her other hand behind her back, hoping to take advantage of her one armed opponent only to feel Gohan pull her arm back hard. The woman gasped in pain as her opposite shoulder was forced to the ground, her body bending painfully to the forces pulling it.
This is bad! This is really bad!
She thought as she realized he basically had her pinned to the ground, his foot digging into the back of her neck as his hand bent her straight arm towards the center of her back.
"Your chair gave you away." His voice was cold now, malicious, and especially dangerous. "The rest had rolled out of position from the shockwaves of Seventeen and I fighting, all except yours... although I guess that doesn't really matter now." His grip around her arm tightened as he began to push. "All that matters is what comes next."
"W-what? Is taking a-arm's off your 'thing' now?" She said through a pained grimace; trying to make light of the situation to dampen the fact that she was absolutely fucked.
Gohan responded by bending the arm back further, prompting a cry of pain from the woman.
Eighteen's eyes were filled with panic now. For the first time in her life since changed her, Eighteen felt fear for her life.
She was pushing all of her Ki into pulling the arm away, towards freeing herself, but Gohan's strength was just as much if not more than hers she was finding. Her arm trembled from her efforts.
"For my friends." He pulled a little harder, Eighteen let out a cry of pain.
"For every person you've tortured, for every person you've killed." His voice was gravelly and hate filled as he pressed down harder and Eighteen let out a whimper. Struggling to twist her torso with her shoulder due to the foot digging into the back of her skull, she could feel her arm's tendons beginning to tear. It was a slow agonizing pain, she was almost certain an inch more would result in permanent damage.
"For every-"
"Wait!" She exclaimed in a desperate breath. "You want me to tell you why I fucking spared you right!?"
She felt him pause.
The tension on her arm eased slightly.
"..."
"I'll fucking tell you just don't fucking rip my arm off!" She called out, desperate for any way out of this mess.
Gohan's grip on her didn't lessen, but he also didn't push any harder on the now sore limb.
"Speak."
Her mind raced for an answer, both to the question and to her current situation. She couldn't move, not without him tearing her arm off, and then she was just as screwed as Seventeen had been. She knew that he wasn't going to release her if she told him the story, at most, she'd bought herself the handful of seconds it took for her to give him a reason.
Damn it! This is why we always fight together! If Seventeen was here, he would just blast him off of me and-
Her eyes widened, an idea popping into her mind.
That's it!
"You want me to tell you why I spared you and that kid huh?" She repeated the question in an effort to buy time.
Gohan responded by twisting her arm again.
"Ow! Fuck! Stop it already!" The Android fired off several blasts of Ki that soared past Gohan's head, hoping that it looked as if she was just firing off worthless Ki in frustration.
Several of the balls of ki impacted the ceiling behind him.
But not all of them.
"I'll tell you! Just, ease up alright!?" She felt the pressure on her shoulder ease, but only just.
"Asshole." She hissed as she began to focus, her eyes squinting as she concentrated on just behind Gohan's head.
"..." He didn't say a word as she felt his grip tighten around her wrist, a clear indicator for her to get on with the story.
"I spared you because I realized I had a question for you, one that I felt only you could answer." With her face pinned to the ground, she could only see out of one eye behind her opponent. She felt her will double as she struggled to maintain focus and talk at the same time.
"I thought I'd get you alone by luring you out. Killing a building's worth of people usually does the trick, bet you can picture my face when the brat came instead. I didn't kill him because I figured that you wouldn't be in the best state of mind to answer my question grieving the loss of that spoiled shit!"
She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding as she got it in position.
Finally!
"...What's the question?" His tone was low and serious, but he still hadn't lessened his grip on her wrist.
She felt a grin pull at her lips.
"Are you really this stupid?"
"...!"
"Seventeen! now!" She shouted, indicating with her eyes that she was shouting at something behind him.
She watched Gohan's head snapped back with shock.
Only to see a massive golden ball of energy floating several feet behind him. Of course, she didn't have the mastery of her Ki to actually shoot the balls of Ki with enough force to hurt him. That would require them to move at a speed faster than drying paint, which was basically the only speed she could handle at the moment. To anyone who took more than a second to examine the ball of energy, they would have easily been able to distinguish that no one was behind the energy source and that it was just floating harmlessly in the air.
But to a fighter that felt he only had milliseconds to respond to an attack in a pitch black building?
She smiled.
-Gohan-
"Shit!" Gohan hissed as he immediately released her, spinning around as he pulled his arm and knees up in a hastily formed defence.
He was vaguely aware of Eighteen scrambling to her feet behind him, but his mind was more focused on pushing his Ki out to meet the oncoming blast.
He stiffened, closing his eyes in preparation for the attack.
And then…!
He heard glass shatter somewhere.
"...?"
His eyes slowly opened, his brows knit together in confusion. He could see the ball of energy he'd spotted a moment, still floating in place no closer than it had been before.
What…?
A moment later the energy flickered and died, revealing no one behind it.
"...!" Immediately Gohan spun around, his head snapping side to side as he searched for Eighteen. His head jerked to his left where he'd heard the sound of breaking glass. He could see that one of the full length windows had been shattered.
Damn it!
His aura flared as he shot outside in an instant, his eyes scanning around him in a desperate attempt to catch her a second time.
His eyes narrowed, searching through the rubble and debris as best he could with the limited light.
He did not find her again.
"Shit!" He cursed as he slammed his hand back, creating a splinter in the building's side that shattered its remaining windows. He knew that there was nothing he could do now, with her speed coupled with the setting sun and the fact that he couldn't trace her like he could Trunks…she was as good as gone.
A part of him was furious that they'd both managed to slip fact that he'd gotten the opportunity to destroy both of them only to fail again, only to lose-.
He paused, blinking.
He hadn't lost though.
His head slowly turned, looking out at the broken remains of what had at one point earlier today been filled with life. He began to float through it as he began to remember the fight he'd had with Seventeen.
He'd fought Seventeen, one on one, and won. He'd even managed to critically wound him on top of that.
He could see the edge of where their battle had taken place, where the buildings were still standing and homes were no longer rubble. When looking at the rest of it...the area he and Seventeen destroyed didn't look so big, only a few blocks all in all.
...Now that he thought about it...he hadn't lost to Eighteen either. She'd fled from him, in other words he'd forced her to retreat. He'd even had her at the throat so to speak...even if he had hesitated too long.
He stared out towards the rest of the West City, towards what the rest of the Androids would have destroyed if he'd actually lost.
It was...strange.
He didn't know what to do now.
Usually after a conflict with the Androids, he'd be hurriedly flying back with a severe injury to be treated at Bulma's or narrowly escaping as he heard them continue their rampage behind him.
But none of that was happening now.
It was peaceful, in an eerie way he admitted. All of the City had been ordered to evacuate by now, assuming that their homes and businesses would most likely be leveled by the end of the day. He began to fly through the rest of West City, its silence like a ghost town as he flew down the empty streets.
Then he heard the sound of something reving, like a car that wouldn't start.
He decided to follow the sound. Zooming around a corner, he found a small four door car with a humble trailer hitched to the end of it. Gohan could see a middle aged man inside frantically pushing on the pedal as he turned the key, prompting the car's start to rev into action and little else.
Gohan watched the older man quietly from above for a short time. He knew that the man was still trying to evacuate, likely having taken longer to pack some things into his trailer before he left his home to be potentially destroyed.
...I guess I'll go tell him that he doesn't have to go?
The entire situation felt entirely bizarre for some reason.
He landed beside the driver which prompted the man to jump in fear. He stared at Gohan with widening eyes before immediately turning back to his key, trying at the failing ignition with newly born vigor.
"Uh, excuse me sir?" Gohan felt his lips move awkwardly. He rarely conversed with the public in his 'Golden Warrior' persona as they put it. He didn't know if he should put on a voice or not. Was he technically a superhero?
"S-Shit they're here! I-I know I'm supposed to be gone!" His voice was frantic, his eyes wide with panic as he turned to look over his shoulder as if expected Eighteen or Seventeen to appear.
"Uh, no sir that's not-"
He watched the man immediately spill out of his car, his arms and legs scrambling to find purchase as he attempted to dash down the road.
"Please! Just hold them off a little longer!" His terrified voice screamed as he ran.
Gohan frowned, his brows furrowing.
...alright let's try this again.
In an instant Gohan appeared in front of the fleeing man, raising a hand for him to pause.
"You don't need to evacuate anymore. The Androids aren't on their way."
He watched as the older man came to a slow stop before him. The panic in his eyes slowly being replaced with a confused uncertainty.
"...They left?" He asked while sparing a secondary look back towards where he'd left his car door open.
"I…" Gohan blinked as he realized what he was about to say. "I...drove them off."
His eyes were wide as he said it. The words felt like a new food, like something his mom would make and he would stare questioningly at before trying for himself.
He was finding that he liked it.
The man's eyes were wide as well. "...W-wait," A nervous smile was beginning to form at the corner of his lips. "Are you saying… that you won?"
Gohan found himself pausing in his response. It wasn't an all out victory by any means. They were both still alive. Eighteen was still a dangerous threat to the world and one that Gohan knew that he would have to deal with later. Seventeen was still alive and still dangerous even if he was seriously injured. This wouldn't be the last battle, Gohan knew that much.
But it was the first battle in this long war that he'd actually won.
The young man felt a confident, bright smile form on his face.
"Yeah," he beamed, "I won."
The words felt good to finally say.
Author's Note:
Yeah I had this chapter ready the whole time, I just wanted to trick you all into thinking you were gonna have to wait a few more days for the end of this segment.
Back to back updates! WOOOO!
It felt good to give Gohan this mini-victory here, the poor guy deserves it honestly. And no, it's not an all out victory, but I'd still call that a victory all the same.
This chapter is going to lead into some very interesting developments later on. It was a major moment, and the dominos set in place are finally beginning to fall. I'm actually impressed that we're at this part of the story already, this fic is still relatively young in my eyes, but my enjoyment of the story has pushed the progression far faster than I could have predicted.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It took me AGES to finish haha, so I'm happy I finally got it out.
Please drop a review telling me what you thought of the chapter! I still intend to respond to reviews to the last chapter but I just didn't have time today due to the release of this chapter haha.
The amazing cover art of this story was designed and completed by the wonderful:Upstart Psycho! If you'd like to check out their instagram where you can see all their other amazing work, please look them up saintswakeart. They appreciated the story enough that they wanted to add their touch to the tale, and I absolutely love it! Their commissions are currently open, so hit them up using the previously mentioned tags if you want more incredible artwork!
Until next time!
(PS: is no longer pinging some people's emails when they get a pm, happened to me and a few others I know, so if you rely on your email to stay up to date on your pm's you may be behind on a few!)