The Ranger outpost in the mountains near North city was quiet, as it usually was. Sitting on a wooden chair with his legs extended comfortably under his desk was Lapis, or Android Seventeen if you prefer it so. He didn't mind either these days.
A magazine rested in his hands that he was intently reading. It was one of the special edition copies of Northern Rancher that almost always sold out within a few days of it's limited release. He lazily flipped a page and shifted his neck slightly to stop his bandanna from getting in the way of his reading.
His shift was almost over, and his replacements would be here at any time to clock him out. He wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to get off work, but he did want to go out and about. After all, there was a young lady he had taken a fancy to, and the two had decided on a date three days after. He wanted to pick out a nice outfit for wherever they went.
It was a nice thing, not having to kill Goku, or have the threat of Dr. Gero on his back. Cell was gone, and everything was quite calm. It was a well deserved placidity that he would attest to.
Looking up from his magazine in the large tower he sat in, he looked out over the forests to the nearby mountains. They had a certain majesty to them, and the forests beneath had a liveliness that he so enjoyed. Despite their liveliness, and the many ecosystems within, this peace was not shattered or disturbed. Android Sixteen had impressed the value of the world to him, and he internalized it. That small seed that was planted in his heart and mind had grown to a stunning garden over time, and Android Seventeen had no regrets.
Well, that wasn't completely true. Even after the Cell Games had concluded, he had been putting off something he really shouldn't. He just didn't know how to approach the situation. It wasn't something that could be realistically solved with his fists, feet, or energy blasts. It was something that rendered his immense physical prowess utterly useless.
It was his family.
Not his sister Lazuli.
No.
it was his mother and father.
He hadn't seen them since he had been kidnapped by Dr. Gero. Many years had passed under that madman, and many different forms of torture had been applied. Still, he never forgot his family. Not even once.
So why then did he hesitate? Why was he so timid in the face of such a simple problem?
He didn't know what he would say, and he also to an even greater extent didn't know what had happened to his family.
He gulped down his saliva that had been forming in his mouth and let out a long breath.
If not today, then it was likely never.
Getting up from his chair, he saw the headlights of a green pickup truck through the misty afternoon forest trail.
That was his replacement for the night shift. A good friend Kyle.
He was a man in his late forties, with a rectangular face and a strong pronounced jaw that was always covered by his thick gray stubble. His leathery light skin had been stretched tight over his face, and that was not helped by the many many hours spent outdoors in snow, sleet, and rainstorms.
As the pickup approached, Android 17 could make out the man and his beige cowboy hat bobbing his head side to side to whatever music he was currently listening to. The pickup parked near the long stairs that rose up to the tower room where Android Seventeen stayed.
Android Seventeen got up, he had already punched out and arranged all the documents and reports for easy viewing, along with checking the radios and signals. Everything was in order.
He placed the magazine into a black metal box full of other magazines and books that everyone there contributed to for entertainment outside of the television that sat unused in the corner of the room.
Clack clack clack.
The sound of the man's hard boots walking up the metal stairs rung in Android Seventeen's ears as he walked over to the front door to open it for his colleague.
Mere moments later Kyle entered, giving Android Seventeen a dip of his head as he removed his hat and jean jacket, placing the hat on a hat stand, and his jacket below it on a hook.
"Any news today?" He asked, taking Android Seventeen's hand in a firm shake.
"Nothing new. Everything is looking fine." Android Seventeen replied, shaking his hand, then letting go and turning away.
"Then I'll see you Sunday. Take care of yourself, and the young lass you're looking to get with" Kyle spoke, turning away and walking over to a seat that looked out towards the mountains.
"Right. See you then." Android Seventeen replied, before stepping out through the door and quickly descending the stairs to his own green pickup truck he owned. Within minutes, he was making his way through the woods towards the civilized world.
After he left the forest and drove down the highway towards north city, he already had his destination in mind. He had looked up his parent's address, and thankfully they were still together. They lived on the outskirts of North City in a small suburb. He had discussed this with Lazuli, and she said that she would meet them after him, as she also had her own things to work through.
He didn't put on music, nor did he turn on the radio. He just let the sounds of the road do it's own form of relaxation for him.
Pulling off the highway sometime later, he pulled into the long mazelike streets of the suburbs. He drove a few minutes before pulling into the driveway of a simple but respectable house that had a light blue and white round exterior with two cars in the garage. Opening the door to his truck, he stepped out onto the path that made it's way to the front door.
His father was likely not at work, as he started his shift a few hours later, while his mother had come home from her morning shift earlier.
He stepped up the white path to the door, and as he was about to ring the small white doorbell, he hesitated.
What would they say? Would they even recognize him?
He let out a deep breath and composed himself. He was an adult now, and Gero was gone. He didn't need to be so nervous.
He pressed the small door bell and a high pitched ringing resounded through the house, followed by the sound of his mother getting up from somewhere close to the door.
"Who is it?" She asked loudly as she walked to the door, opening it slightly. His mother, who had the image of an older Android Eighteen, with a sharper face and some wrinkles around the eyes and forehead.
Android Seventen just stood there silently at the door, and his mother looked at him oddly for a few moments before her blue eyes lit up with recognition, then shock, and her jaw dropped.
"Lapis...Son..Is that really you?" She asked, her blonde hair falling over her eyes as she began silently shaking as if she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Yes Mom, it's really me. I'm back" Android Seventeen responded, suppressing a tear that was welling up in his eye.
"I missed you so much. Son. I'm so sorry. We looked for you non stop, but we couldn't find any traces of you and your sister at all. But to think you're back to us now" She seemed to be crying as she said this, pulling the door open and hugging her son that she hadn't seen in many a year. Her son she thought she had lost.
"HUBBY COME QUICK! LAPIS IS BACK! IT'S REALLY HIM!" She shouted back into the house, and a clattering could be heard and shortly after, heavy footsteps could be heard running towards the door.
Then came the spitting image of an older Android Seventeen, who's hair was graying, and he was a bit taller with a slick moustache. It was his father.
His mother unclasped her arms from him, and his father gripped him in a tight hug.
"It really is you, Son. I'm so sorry. I missed you so much. Please forgive us." He said, holding his son like he might disappear at any moment.
"It's okay Dad. It's okay. There was nothing you could do." Android Seventeen replied, and a tear fell from his right eye, followed by another, then another.
"I missed you too." He simply said, patting his father on the back from within his bear hug. However, his father did not let go, and held him like that for three long minutes. Only then did he let go.
"Come in son. Tell us what happened to you." His father said, walking into the house. Android Seventeen followed closely, with his mother behind him.
When they entered the living room, Android Seventeen sat down at the long table, and he was flanked on either side by his mother and father.
"Son, please tell us everything that happened to you. if it isn't too hard for you." His father said, and his mother finished.
Android Seventeen spoke after a moment.
"Well, it's not a pretty story, and it will take some time" He said, before beginning.
"I was kidnapped by a madman" He began, and thus began his recollection of events that went well on into the night. Throughout the story, his parent's faces went through many horrified and disturbed looks, with them breaking down and hugging him again and again.
When everything was said and done, The three had come to a peace, knowing that the darkness was gone and that their Son and Daughter had managed to make it through. Despite the pain and suffering, Lapis and Lazuli didn't lose their humanity completely. Of that they could not be any more proud of them.
Lapis could not feel more relieved than when it was over, as if a massive boulder had fallen from his back to be replaced by a comforting blanket.
His family still loved him, and deep inside, that made him feel warm in a way he had not felt in such a long time.