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His teacher	By : AwesomeIncarnate Category: Dragon Ball Z > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 6480 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: You know how you can tell I don't own DBZ? By the way I don't make any money from writing this, and have to have a real job.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
I'm going to spare you all my pedantic bullshit for once. Enjoy.

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Chapter 9: Legend

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Bulma was grumpy. She had finally given in and plugged in the backup time machine that afternoon; the one Trunks had come home in wasn't beyond repair by any stretch, but it would take several more days. She wasn't in a hurry to get rid of Gohan or anything, but the kid did have to go back to his own time soon.

And though she didn't have a problem with Gohan in and of himself—on the contrary, she was thrilled to have the chance to see him one last time—he was, indirectly, the largest reason for her bad mood.

He sitting across the table from her, laughing at something Trunks had said with his fork in his hand. He was wearing a red Capsule Corp. t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants that Bulma had dug out of the attic, since he hadn't really had anything to wear. Trunks was perpetually embarrassed that Gohan was wearing his old clothes, which the boy seemed to find funny. For all that he had woken up in a post-apocalyptic hellscape, Gohan was finding a fair amount of reasons to be cheerful.

So was Trunks, who hadn't stopped smiling since Gohan had woken up. It was pretty obvious that he was cheerful for one reason only, which was the problem. Gohan was not their Gohan, and he had to go home eventually, Trunks would go with him, they would fight the androids and then Trunks would come back. By himself. Bulma wasn't sure if he'd thought that far ahead yet. To be honest, she wasn't sure if Trunks realized that this Gohan wasn't his Gohan.

She was happy that Trunks was happy. She was happy that Gohan was happy. She wasn't happy that neither of them could possibly be happy at the end of all this. Bulma very much wanted for them to be able to be together, but it just wasn't going to happen and that was that.

"Mom?"

"Huh?" Bulma started. Trunks had been talking to her while she'd been contemplating. "Sorry. What is it, dear?"

"Are you okay? You're not eating."

"I'm fine." She said automatically, looking down at her untouched dinner, now undoubtedly freezing cold. "I'm just thinking about something, don't worry. What is it that you were trying to tell me?"

Trunks looked at her uncertainly, but dropped it, thankfully. "Do you think it would be okay if I took Gohan to see the city tomorrow?"

"No, I don't think that's a good idea." What was there to see? It was just a city, and a half-demolished one at that. "Gohan, you've only been out of bed for a few days. I don't think you should try to go anywhere yet."

"Aw, but Bulma!" Gohan whined, sounding like the ten-year-old he was. "You're the one who said I was okay! Why do I have to be stuck inside all the time?"

Because the androids would kill him if they found him, that was why. "Young man, you had a very serious disease. It's important to rest after something like that or you could hurt yourself."

"But I'm fine. Please?"

"Maybe she's right, Gohan. Why don't we just stay here tomorrow? I can help you with homework; your mom will be mad if she finds out you went so long without studying."

"Trunks! Come on, it's not like I want to go to the moon, just for a little while?" And now that he wasn't talking to her, Gohan's eyes got wide and his hand came to rest on her son's wrist. Bulma wondered if Trunks even recognized how tightly the boy had him wrapped around one finger.

Here it comes... Because Trunks couldn't say no to Gohan at all, he turned on her with the sad puppy face, obviously not caring that it looked ridiculous on a nineteen-year-old man.

"Mom? Just for a while? We'll only be gone for an hour and I'll keep an eye on him to make sure he's okay."

"Fine!" She supposed that the chances of anything dangerous happening were pretty slim. She just wished it didn't seem so much like they were going on a date. "Fine, you can go out tomorrow. For an hour only! Eat your carrots, Gohan."

"What's wrong, Gohan?" Trunks said, ignoring Gohan's celebratory fist-pump as he looked down at the boy's plate. "I thought you liked carrots."

"I...do." Gohan lied, very badly. Politeness had always been one of his virtues, but he sucked at deception—Except when it came to her son. "I was saving them for last." He picked up his fork and started putting them into his mouth, one at a time, clearly trying hard not to make a face.

Bulma sighed and started shoveling down her own frigid vegetables. She wished this could last. If it could, everything would be perfect. Knowing that would make it all the worse when it came time to separate their happy family.

---

"Goodnight, Trunks."

"Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow, kiddo."

"Don't call me that." Gohan got up on his toes and gave Trunks a quick kiss before running off down the hall to his room. They would have to stay in their respective rooms until Bulma stopped feeling the need to check on Gohan at all hours of the night.

Trunks closed the door, sat on his bed tried really hard not to think about why Gohan hadn't eaten his carrots until he'd been prompted. They were his favourite vegetable; when he was a kid Gohan would always eat them first and make sure to say how much he liked them. It had taken Trunks a few years before he developed a taste for the things, and he never really knew what Gohan saw in them.

Thinking about that was upsetting for some reason, and Trunks really didn't want to delve into the reasons right now. Instead, he tried to decide what to do tomorrow with Gohan. The boy wanted to go outside, but there wasn't really that much to see—a lot of wrecked buildings and that was about it. It wasn't safe to go anywhere away from the city either. He guessed they would just have to walk around for now.

He was content with that, to be honest. Any excuse to spend time with Gohan, doing anything, was fine with him. He was just so happy that the boy was healthy again, and speaking to him again, that he really didn't care what else happened.

Trunks almost wished that they didn't have to go back to the past, that they could just stay here together forever. But he wasn't stupid. Things were happy right now, but soon enough the androids would attack again. Then what? Gohan wasn't strong enough to fight them and it wasn't fair to expect him to. No, they had to go back. It wasn't fair for him to expect Gohan to fight the androids of his time either, but at least that was where his family and friends were. Gohan hadn't said anything, but he must be worried about Goku and everyone else.

But he wasn't going to worry about that too much right now. After all, it wasn't like they could go back right this minute anyway; the time machine was still being repaired. Trunks secretly hoped that it took his mom a few weeks to fix it, and he didn't feel too guilty doing so. It wasn't like they would miss anything in the past. It wouldn't kill either of them to just be happy for a few days.

Trunks looked out his window as he undressed. He would have to make sure to take Gohan to the less destroyed parts of the city tomorrow. He didn't want to upset the boy.

He went to sleep, excited for tomorrow. He dreamed that the younger Gohan was trying to run away from the Gohan of Trunks’ memories because the older was pelting him with carrots.

---

West City grew steadily larger on the horizon as the sun set behind him. He was in no hurry to be there; he didn't want to attract too much attention. It didn't seem like Seventeen and Eighteen were in the city—he judged such by the lack of smoke rising from the city's skyline—but they weren't the only ones who could cause problems if they found him.

He was a predator, right now. One with a very specific prey. That prey was skilled, however, and the roles could be easily reversed with a single wrong move. He had to be careful. The last thing he needed was for the one called Trunks to become aware of his presence too soon. At this point, the element of surprise was the only thing he had in his favour.

He was weak, he could admit that. For now. Not strong enough to defeat Trunks in combat and most certainly not strong enough to survive against Seventeen and Eighteen for any length of time. But he had no option left. He could kill humans from now until the end of the universe and never become complete. Never become perfect.

Every day he cursed Dr. Gero for this. He needed those two androids to become perfect, but both could kill him easily if he tried. What madness had possessed his creator to devise him so cruelly? Why not just make him perfect to begin with?

No matter. He had a plan. He would surprise Trunks, kill him and take his energy. That would make him strong enough to match Seventeen or Eighteen, at least long enough to absorb one of them. It was flawless, provided he could catch Trunks unaware.

He would go to West City, and wait. Kill people, enough that Trunks would come out to investigate, and then strike when his back was turned. As soon as that happened, nothing would be able to stop him.

Cell would become perfect. If he had to kill every other life form on this planet and beyond, he would.

---

The sun shining through the window woke Gohan up early. Apparently there were no curtains in the future. After a few seconds of squeezing his eyes shut really tightly to try and stop the light from coming in, Gohan gave up and got sat up in the bed.

He looked around the room—his room. There was almost nothing in it. Hadn't the future version of himself had any stuff? Or had they just put it all away when he died? But his clothes were still in the dresser drawers and pictures still hung on the walls. It made him a little sad to think about the room, so he tried not to.

One knock was all the warning he got before Bulma opened the door and strode in, as she did every morning. "Oh! You're awake already." It was always a shock to see her so much older than he remembered her. She was the same person Gohan knew, but she was different. More than anything, she always looked tired, no matter what time of day it was.

"Good morning, Bulma." Gohan was still sitting in bed with the blankets covering his legs, which he had done on purpose. Bulma coming into his room wasn't the only thing that happened every morning.

"How are you feeling?" She came over and put a hand on his forehead, then checked his pulse on his wrist.

"Fine."

"Are you sore anywhere?"

"No."

"Tired?"

"I just woke up."

"You don't feel weak at all?"

"No, Bulma." She asked him these questions every morning. He knew she just wanted to be sure he was healthy, but he wished she would just decide he was fine and move on. He had been off his medicine for the last three days and he'd been feeling perfectly fine since then.

"Good. Come on downstairs and get breakfast." She would insist on making it for him, as if he couldn't make his own toast. "Yell at Trunks to wake up on your way by, and don't forget to make your bed." Bulma turned and walked out of the room, swinging the door shut behind her. It didn't close all the way. Gohan heard her walk down the hall and bang on Trunks' door. "Trunks, dear! Get up!"

Gohan snickered and finally got out of bed. He looked quickly down at himself, not that he needed to. He wasn't hard anymore. Even though Gohan knew it happened to everyone, it was a little bit embarrassing and he didn't want Bulma to know about it. He should just start sleeping with underwear on again, but it was too uncomfortable. He was wearing a black t-shirt that had belonged to, well, himself, and nothing else. The shirt came down to his knees—he had been tall as an adult. Which was a weird thing to think.

He stripped off the shirt, tossing it behind him on the bed and crossing the room to the dresser to get some clothes. They had piled all of Trunks' old clothes that they had found in the attic on top of the dresser, in three neat piles—shirts, pants and underwear. The clothes he had been wearing in the past were there too, which he thought he would wear today since they were going outside.

The dresser was beside the door, on the other side of the small room from the bed. Gohan was about halfway across the room when the door opened and Trunks came in. "Good morning, Gohan! I—"

"Trunks!" Gohan covered himself up with his hands. Didn't anybody in this family know what a closed door meant? "Close the door!"

"Ah! Sorry, Gohan." Trunks hurried backwards, pulling door shut behind him.

Gohan's face was on fire. He didn't really know why. Being naked had never bugged him before and besides, Trunks had seen him that way already. But for some reason the idea of being naked in front of Trunks made Gohan want to hide. Or giggle like a kid.

Shaking his head, Gohan dressed quickly, and sighed when he realized that his thing had gotten all hard again. A few seconds of rearranging fixed that and then Gohan quickly made the bed and left the room.

Trunks was standing in the hallway, just outside the door, red as an apple. He was still just wearing the t-shirt and boxers he'd slept in. "Sorry, Gohan. I didn't know you were..."

"It's..." Gohan blushed again himself. "Just knock next time?"

"Yeah, sure." Trunks swallowed, then laughed. "Thought I'd be the one to jump on your bed this morning. Guess that didn't work out."

Gohan stood on his tiptoes and pulled Trunks downwards a bit to kiss him. "You've got to get up earlier than that! Come on, let's go have breakfast."

They started down the hallway towards the stairs. "So, you decided to wear your own clothes today, did you?" Trunks always made fun of him for wearing the older man's old clothes. But for all that he did...

"Well, I'm wearing my own shirt and pants." His own underwear too, but Trunks didn't need to know that. Not when thinking something else made his head catch fire like that. Gohan laughed now. "Come on, I'm hungry!" And he ran down the stairs, leaving Trunks to make his way down slowly, trying to calm himself down before he got downstairs.

He was still a little red in the face when he got to the kitchen a minute later and sat at the table. Gohan offered to help make breakfast as he had every day the last week, and Bulma said she could do it herself, as she had every day the last week. So he sat at the table beside Trunks and waited for the eggs to be ready, playing with the napkin that was in front of him.

"So when you go out today," Bulma said, distracting him in the middle of counting how many times he could fold a napkin, "don't go to far from here. And we agreed on an hour. If you're gone for sixty-one minutes you'll never leave this house again, you hear?"

"Yes, Mom." Trunks said, putting on a monotone. "Should we also pack a lunch and a change of underwear?"

"Hm, that might not be a bad idea." Bulma came over and put plates in front of them, grabbing hers from the counter and coming over to sit.

"Mom! I was only joking!"

Bulma laughed and Gohan swallowed a mouthful of eggs before saying, "Trunks, why do you make it so easy?"

"What? I don't!" Bulma laughed again and Gohan just stared at him, and Trunks lapsed into a huffy silence and busied himself buttering his toast.

"Anyway, Gohan, I want you to understand something before you go out." Bulma said, turning to him. "We don't live in the world that you remember. The city's a mess and you probably aren't going to like what you see. I know you're old enough to handle it, but just be warned."

Gohan nodded. "I understand, Bulma. I just want to see the outside." He wanted to know, to really know, what kind of world Trunks lived in.

"One more thing." She pointed at him, and then at Trunks, including both of them. "If there is any trouble, at all, you will come back here immediately. I will not have either you getting hurt while you're still recovering, got it?"

"I've got it. I promise not to get into any trouble."

"Good." Her expression said she didn't quite believe him. "Trunks, if anything does happen the first and only thing you need to do is get Gohan home safely. Our ideas of 'trouble' don't always match up, as I recall."

"Not a problem." Trunks downed some orange juice with a serious expression on his face. Gohan supposed he didn't have a problem saying that. He probably would put Gohan's safety above everything else. Gohan felt his face heating up just a bit thinking about that.

"Excellent. You can go after lunch."

"Lunch? But, Mom—"

"No. You can wait until it warms up a little bit. It's only warm in here because the heater is stuck on. That will give you lots of time to shower and get dressed before you go, too." Bulma looked significantly at her son, the only person at the table who wasn't already dressed.

"But..."

"It's okay, Trunks. By the time you get out of the shower it will be lunch time anyway."

"Gohan! That's not true!" Two-thirds of the table started laughing again and Trunks once again focused on his plate. The rest of breakfast passed in relative silence.

After breakfast Trunks stayed behind to clean the kitchen while Bulma went outside to work and Gohan went upstairs to have a shower. He would have preferred to take a bath, but the faucet for the bathtub had something wrong with it and dirty water always came from it, so Gohan showered.

When he was done he got dried off and dressed again, taking the hair dryer off the bathroom counter as he left the room. He carried it down the hall and knocked on Trunks' door, which was open anyway. The older man was laying on his bed staring at the ceiling. "I'm finished."

Trunks jumped a bit and nearly fell off the bed as he tried to sit. "O-okay. Thanks, Gohan." Gohan wondered what he'd been thinking about.

He went down the hall and plugged the hair dryer in beside a mirror that hung between his bedroom door and a closet. He showered first for two reasons: Trunks took forever in there every day, but also because Gohan's own hair took ages to dry even with the hair dryer.

Gohan watched Trunks out of the corner of his eye as the older went past him and into the bathroom at the end of the hall. He had found that he couldn't help doing that; whenever Trunks was in the room with him he wanted to watch the man, to see him and when Trunks wasn't in the room Gohan wanted to find him. It was a strange feeling. Was this what love was supposed to feel like? Did Chi-Chi feel that way about Goku? If so, no wonder she was always mad at him. If Trunks had been away as often as his dad was, Gohan would be crazy all the time too.

He was still unsure how he felt about the fact that he loved Trunks. He wasn't denying it to himself anymore; he knew that was what it was. But why? Because they had played doctor in a field three years ago? That couldn't be it. He had felt something for Trunks before that had happened; that was why it had happened. There was something more than that to it. It just felt...right. Like he was doing what he was supposed to be doing.

Realizing that he had been drying the same spot on his hair for the last several minutes, Gohan shook his thoughts away and tried to focus. He really didn't like having such long hair, but he was afraid to ask him mom to cut it. Last time he had done that, she had put a bowl over his head.

After he finally finished, Gohan took the hair dryer down the hall to leave outside the bathroom, like he always did, so that Trunks could use it if he ever got out.

As he approached the door something evil occurred to him and Gohan smiled to himself. He put a hand on the door handle and slowly turned it. The shower curtain in there was transparent, and Trunks had barged in on him naked, after all. The door opened silently and Gohan popped his head in the bathroom, hoping Trunks wouldn't see him yet.

The man didn't seem him; his eyes were closed, his head raised up into the stream of water. He wasn't washing himself. Trunks' hand was down between his legs, his hardness, pumping it so hard Gohan was surprised it didn't hurt.

Gohan fell out of the bathroom and pulled the door shut behind him as quietly as he could. He just sat on the floor for a minute, still looking at the mental image that had been left in his head. His entire body felt hot and he was hard himself again. He put the hair dryer by the door like usual and practically fled the upstairs. He stuck his hand down the front of his pants to hide himself before entering the kitchen, but Bulma wasn't there anyway.

He had to put it out of his head somehow or else he wasn't going to be able to look at Trunks for the rest of the day. Gohan sat in the living room in front of the coffee table and looked at the big jigsaw puzzle he'd been doing with Trunks the last few days. He tried to look at the pieces and figure them out, but it was hard to think.

His hand was in his pants again before Gohan had realized it, grabbing his own dick and rubbing it like Trunks had done. When he realized what he was doing Gohan tried to stop himself, but he couldn't.

It took him less than a minute to orgasm, the electric pleasure exploding through his body and blocking out the rest of the world for a few seconds. Gohan tried not to cry out, because Bulma might hear, but couldn't stop himself from making a straining noise as he rode the feeling out.

When it was finished he lay on the floor in front of the couch for a second before sitting up. Fortunately he still wasn't able to actually make a mess. It would have been hard for him to explain to Trunks why he had decided to change his clothes.

Now feeling a little less distracted, Gohan sat up again and looked down at the puzzle. Hopefully by the time Trunks got out of the shower he would be back to normal.

One errant thought did stay with him, though. Had Trunks been thinking about him earlier?

---

Bulma stood beside Trunks at the front door of the house, waiting until Gohan was out of sight before speaking. He was going to the washroom before they left; she wanted to talk to Trunks in private before they went outside. "Trunks, be very careful."

"I know, Mom. Don't worry. We're only going..."

"I know what you're only doing. I'm not worried about that." Well, she was, but for different reasons. "What I mean is, be careful what you let Gohan see. I know he wants to know what our world is like, but he's just a kid. He doesn’t need to see the tent cities or the cemeteries. Keep him away from any parts of town that are too damaged and don't leave the centre of the city." The outskirts of the city were less organized than the centre, and there was more crime the further away from the public kitchens one got. She wasn't worried for either of their safety from ordinary people, but Gohan didn't need to see that level of desperation and the anger it inspired.

"Ah." Trunks' expression told her that he hadn't thought of any of that. Of course he hadn't. They were normal things for him. "Right. I'll make sure we don't go anywhere too bad. We'll try to stay close to this area."

"Good. And remember, one hour!"

"Yes, Mom. I remember."

Bulma nodded as Gohan ran back into the room. "Okay, now can we go, please?"

"Yes, now you can go. Have fun." That was unlikely. What fun was there to be had in a destroyed city?

They said their goodbyes and left, and Bulma stood in the doorway and watched them walk away. She couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Something was going to happen. That was foolish, of course. She knew better than to think that a feeling could tell her the future. She was a scientist. But...

But she'd had the same feeling when Gohan had left for the last time. When he'd died. The exact same feeling.

---

Gohan held his hand as they walked. Trunks was having a hard time noticing anything else because of it. It was just so...normal. Something that they should be doing. It felt right.

Neither of them had spoken since leaving the house. Gohan was looking around the street at the crumbling buildings and the abandoned cars, the cracked street and the stumps of trees long torn down.

"You okay, Gohan?" Trunks was starting to think this may not have been a good idea. He often walked through the city without even seeing the destruction, but it was all new to Gohan. After the talk with his mother, he wasn't sure he wanted Gohan to know what this world was like. He was so quiet, which was so different from normal that it was making Trunks worry.

"I...I'm surprised that there are so many people." Gohan looked up at Trunks briefly before turning back to watch the city. "I guess I thought nobody lived here anymore."

"Capsule Corp. synthesizes food and builds shelters for people whenever we can. In some ways it's easier to live here than anywhere else. Lots of people prefer to live out in the country because the androids hardly attack out there, though."

Gohan continued watching the people. Most wore dirty clothes, none looked particularly well-fed and all were quiet and downcast. "They all look like ghosts."

Trunks didn't have an answer to that. Knowing that death could happen on a whim did that to people. "We can go back, if you want."

"No." Gohan shook his head slowly. "I want to see more. I want to know."

"Want to know what?"

"What I have to stop when we go back. I can't let this happen, Trunks. We can't let it happen again."

"Gohan..." Trunks was angry all over again at the androids for doing this. For putting that deadened tone in Gohan's voice. For making him feel like he had to fight. Didn't he deserve a childhood?

Some people coming out of a building across the street noticed Trunks and waved. He waved back. "They know you." Gohan said.

"Most people know who I am. There's only one flying, half-alien superhero in the city."

Now Gohan smiled. "You should have a superhero name, and wear a costume to hide your identity. I bet Bulma could make you one."

"I don't think I'd look good in tights and a cape."

"Sure you would. And I could be your sidekick."

Now Trunks was picturing Gohan in tights and a cape, striking some ridiculous superhero pose and calling out catchphrases like in the old comic books in his attic. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "I don't think I'd make a good superhero."

"Sure you would. The Golden Prince and Saiyaboy. I think you should wear blue..." Gohan seemed to be taking this very seriously. He had to make sure the boy didn't go to his mother after they got home and convince her to make those costumes...well, maybe some tights for Gohan.

Trunks was so busy laughing to himself that he almost didn't hear the dull thud of an explosion in the distance. "What was that?" Gohan asked, looking in the direction it had come from. A plume of smoke was rising over the skyline.

"Oh, no." Why now? Why today? Gohan. He had to get Gohan back home. "Gohan, we have to..."

The boy stepped out into the empty street and turned back to face Trunks. "Trunks, we have to go help."

"No. You need to go home where it's safe."

"So you can fight them by yourself? Not a chance. Come on!" He lifted from the ground and headed in the direction of the explosion.

"Gohan!" Trunks raced after him, grabbing his arm.

"Trunks, people are hurt over there!" The look in Gohan's eyes made Trunks let go of him. He was right. "Come on."

"Okay, but stay low. We don't want them to see us if we can avoid it." Trunks hoped it wasn't the androids. Maybe it was just a regular collapse. It happened, sometimes.

And maybe the sky was purple and the sun was cold. They sped off towards the site of the explosion.

Helping people was important, but they couldn't fight the androids. Not with Gohan there, they'd both get killed. He had to make sure Gohan didn't die, even if he had to knock the boy out himself.

---

"Was it really necessary to blow up that building?"

"Shut up, Seventeen. I'm mad."

The two androids stood in the middle of the street, waiting for the dust from Eighteen’s attack to blow away. Seventeen looked amused and Eighteen was clearly read to chew bricks.

"If you blew up a building every time you got mad...oh, wait. Does it really matter that much, Eighteen?"

"Yes! Do you know how hard it is to find jewelry these days? I can't go the rest of my life with one earring."

"I offered you one of mine."

"I don't want yours, I want the one I lost. This is the only place I haven't looked yet. I must have lost it when we were here pummeling that idiot the other day."

Cell crouched behind a pile of rubble, watching the androids. He hadn't been expecting them to come here today. This could ruin everything if he wasn't careful. If they discovered him, Cell would be finished.

On the other hand, if they were to separate for just a few moments...this could also turn out to be the greatest stroke of luck he'd ever had.

As long as he remained hidden, Cell was safe. They couldn't detect his energy signature, which would help him hide. Of course, that meant they also didn't know about the other two that were on their way here. Trunks and...someone whose energy was almost exactly similar to the information he had on Gohan. A relative of some kind? Either way, there would be fighting soon enough. Cell would use that to his advantage. He was currently hiding his energy so that the Saiyans didn't sense him when they arrived.

Patience was the key to any victory. Cell had been patient for a long time, and in a few more minutes that would all pay off.

---

Trunks made them land about a street away from the explosion and they ran the rest of the way there. Gohan thought that made sense; the androids wouldn't know they were there as long as they weren't seen. They rounded the corner to where the explosion had sounded and older man dragged him behind a flipped-over car.

There was a pile of rubble just off to their left, and another up the empty street from them. That second one was still smoking; it was pretty clear which one was recent. Smoke and dust filled the air, obscuring everything beyond where the explosion had taken place. All of the buildings that still stood were broken-down and crumbling, with empty window frames and cracked bricks. If anyone lived in any of them, they had almost definitely ran away already.

Gohan was angry. The buildings here were a little more beat up than in the area of town that he and Trunks had been walking in, and he was pretty sure Trunks had avoided taking him anywhere like this on purpose. That was fine, but it wasn't okay that there were buildings like this, that were ready to fall right over. Even if the androids didn't come, they would collapse on their own eventually and kill people. In his world nobody would be allowed to live somewhere like this. Perhaps nobody lived in those crumbling buildings themselves, but it didn't matter. The world shouldn't be like this. It wasn't right. It was...

The street wasn't as empty as he'd thought. "I can't see a damn thing." Called out a frustrated female voice. Gohan felt cold and he felt Trunks go rigid beside him. Even though they were both hoping it had been a coincidence, Gohan knew that on some level they had both expected this.

"Gee, if only someone hadn't destroyed that building." A second voice answered, also from inside the dust cloud. Seventeen sounded amused. Trunks grabbed Gohan's hand as they watched the cloud. The older was shaking.

They emerged from the cloud, seeming to materialize from nothing. Death incarnate, appearing from shadow to steal life from the world. Eighteen seemed to be scanning the ground and Seventeen was watching his sister boredly.

Trunks' grip on Gohan's hand tightened, but he didn't move. Gohan suspected he would be dragged away if the androids got too close. In all honesty, he was okay with that. The androids weren't hurting anyone right now and it seemed like they wouldn't as long as nobody bothered them. The only reason he wasn't running right now was because they would be seen. Trunks wasn't the only one who was shaking. Anger and fear warred inside Gohan, both trying to take over his body.

"Come on, Eighteen, it isn't here. We were here last week. Do you really think that, if you did drop it here, someone wouldn't have picked it up and made off with it? You're never going to see it again." For just a second it looked like Seventeen glanced over at where their heads just barely poked over the top—bottom—of the car and the world seemed to freeze, but then he looked away, back to Eighteen. "Let's just go."

"Shut. Up. Seventeen." Eighteen gritted, clearly getting madder. "I swear, if I have to kill everyone in this city...did you hear that?"

Gohan was sure it was them she had heard and prepared to flee, but she turned back towards the still-billowing dust cloud. It took Gohan a second to hear anything his own heart pounding, but the sound of someone coughing became audible, just before a little brown-haired girl in a pink dress stumbled out from the cloud, falling to her hands and knees coughing.

He didn't breathe as Eighteen walked over to the girl and put out a hand. "Are you alright, dear?"

"Uh-huh." The girl saw the hand, took it and stood. And then looked up. She screamed and tried to run right back into the cloud, but Eighteen grabbed her collar and lifted her from the ground, bringing them face-to-face.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Eighteen was even more frightening when she was trying to sound nice. "Promise. I just want to ask you something, okay?"

"O-okay." The girl managed. She was terrified and couldn't stop crying.

"I lost something here the other day. An earring, like this one." She flipped her hair out of the way to expose one ear. "Have you seen it?"

Gohan watched, feeling like a coiled spring. Promises aside, he knew first-hand that Eighteen wouldn't think twice about hurting that girl, and maybe even killing her, if she decided she didn't like the answer. Or even if she did, probably. Maybe she would let the girl go. Maybe. Gohan didn't think so. He wanted to run, but couldn't. He felt like his whole body was on fire from the effort it was taking him to stay in place.

"N-no, I ha-haven't seen it..."

"Are you sure?"

He could see her, feel her tensing, preparing to strike. To reach out and crush bones. To systematically break the girl, piece by piece, as she had done to him. Nothing in the android's appearance visibly changed, but Gohan could tell. She was like a storm about to break, a tiger about to leap on its prey.

"I'm s-sure, Ms. Android."

"I don't think I believe you, sweetie. I think you found it and you don't want to give it back to me."

"No, I-I didn't, I swear!"

"Hm..."

Now. It had to be now. Gohan knew that she wasn't going to hold herself back any longer. She about to start hurting the girl, just for fun. He couldn't let that happen, no matter how scared he was of the android. He wrenched his hand away from Trunks and leapt over the car, ignoring the man's shout and blasting towards the android.

He headbutted her arm, causing her to drop the girl, and threw a ball of energy upwards at her face. Eighteen batted it away and grabbed Gohan's ankle, slamming him into the ground before dangling him upside-down in front of her. "Where the hell did you come from?"

She raised a hand after the fleeing girl and her own energy ball shot out after her. Gohan threw another one after it, as fast as he could, but it didn't matter. Trunks had jumped out as well and blocked the blast. "Run!" He shouted at the girl, who did. Eighteen ignored Trunks and punched Gohan in the forehead.

Dazed, he threw his hands up to protect from any more blows, but none came. "Hey, Seventeen, this kid looks kinda like Gohan, don't you think? Did Goku have another kid?"

"Don't be stupid, Eighteen. Goku died almost twenty years ago. That kid is way too young. Must be Gohan's kid."

"Huh. I guess." Now she looked over at Trunks. "I always thought Gohan was hot for that one, but I guess not."

Gohan took advantage of her distraction. His hands were still up at his forehead and he flattened them out, crossing one over the other. "Masenko!"

Eighteen leaned to the side to avoid the blast, which kept going and hit a building across the street. The whole front of the building's first floor blew apart, and the building itself started to collapse under its own weight. Gohan told himself that there had been nobody inside; they had all fled when the androids had appeared. Eighteen looked up at the crumbling edifice as it fell on them. "Oh, for pity's sake."

Gohan used his free leg to kick her in the wrist and she dropped him, and he covered his head just as many tonnes of cement landed on their heads. As soon as the collapse was over Gohan leapt from the rubble, taking advantage of the dust cloud to charge at the spot where Seventeen had been standing.

He couldn't sense Seventeen, but the android couldn't sense him either. Gohan kicked at where Seventeen's head had been and made contact, eliciting a shout. He jumped back and dashed around behind Seventeen and lobbed energy at his back before running to be in front of him again.

Crouching low for a blow to the android's stomach, Gohan felt a kick whizz over his head. "Damn you!" Seventeen shouted. Gohan headbutted him in the middle and the android fell back. He heard the android take off, up into the air and out of the cloud. Gohan stayed put, trying not to cough.

He couldn't sense Seventeen, but he could sense his energy attacks. Gohan dodged the first blast easily, and the second, and the third, using them to figure out where Seventeen was before launching another attack of his own, which drew forth another cry of frustration.

Just because his enemy was infinitely stronger than he didn't mean he was going to just roll over and die. Gohan had started this fight and he was going to do his best to win it.

---

Trunks shouted out as he watched a building fall on Gohan's head. He knew the boy was okay—he could sense him in the dust cloud—but it was an automatic response. He charged forward.

This was all his fault. He should have known that Gohan would do something like this; should never have let him come near this place. They should have gone home like his mother said, should have stayed home like she'd wanted, should have...

There was no time for what he should have done. Eighteen emerged from the cloud, covered in dust, and Trunks powered up to Super Saiyan, preparing an energy wave as he flew right at her.

She didn't give him time to attack. Eighteen vanished, appeared right above him and kicked him into the ground. Trunks' forward momentum dug a trench into the street for several feet before he could get up. He could still feel Gohan in there, apparently fighting Seventeen.

"Now, didn't I tell you I'd kill you if I saw you again?" Eighteen asked, sounding angry. "I meant that." She raised a hand and pointed at him, light glowing at the end of her finger.

Trunks fired energy at her and jumped up, flying backwards into the dust cloud and out the other side. Seventeen was up above the cloud, firing wildly towards the ground, near where Gohan's energy was. One blast flew up as Trunks watched and hit him in the face.

Appreciating Gohan's intelligence would have to wait. Trunks charged up another blast in both hands, launching it into the dust cloud with a shout in the direction of where Eighteen had been standing. He made contact; there was an explosion, way too close to be anything other than the android.

The force of the blast blew away the worst of the dust for the moment, exposing Eighteen to him, her arms crossed in front of her, sleeves torn to shreds. And, Trunks realized a second later, also exposing Gohan to Seventeen.

Stupid! Trunks tried to get to the boy, but Seventeen appeared on the ground right beside him, crouched down, and kicked Gohan square in the chest. Gohan went flying back, hitting the car they'd been hiding behind, which tore nearly in half but did stop his momentum. He fell to the ground and immediately started getting up. "Gohan!"

Trunks raced towards him, but Eighteen caught him arm, spinning him around to face her and forcing him to his knees with a hand on his shoulder. "Alright, Goldilocks." Seventeen said, coming over and sounding annoyed. "Here's the deal. One of you's going to die today. You get to pick who." He raised a hand, energy lighting in his palm, and pointed it over at where Gohan lay, not looking at the boy but at Trunks. Eighteen did the same for him, her own arm bent back nearly to her shoulder.

"No..." They couldn't. They couldn't kill Gohan again.

"You or him. Three seconds." Seventeen said. "Or I decide for you."

There was no decision to be made. This was all his fault. He could feel Gohan powering up behind him. Neither android was paying attention to the boy. It wouldn't matter. He was a new toy; they would beat him up but leave him alive. He could go back to his time, where there were other people to protect him.

Trunks would do what he had to do to protect Gohan.

---

Cell crouched just behind the wreckage of the car. The boy whose energy felt like Gohan's was getting up. The androids were both distracted with Trunks. Now was the time to strike.

The boy wasn't as strong as Trunks, but by Cell's estimation he should be more than enough for him. With his energy, Cell would be able to take on Seventeen and Eighteen, maybe even right now while they weren't paying attention. In less than five minutes he would be complete, the perfect being.

Pseudo-Gohan's energy was fluctuating somehow. He had to do it now before the boy decided to launch some foolish suicide attack to save Trunks.

Cell's pointed tail snaked through the destroyed car, seeking Gohan's energy. Seeking Gohan's life. It was time.

---

No.

This was all wrong.

Gohan got up shakily, not really hurt. Seventeen's kick hadn't been that hard, just enough to knock him away. He looked over at the androids, both completely focused on Trunks. The older man was kneeling. His Super Saiyan form vanished as Gohan watched.

They were going to kill him, Gohan knew. Just as they had killed everyone else. Piccolo, Krillin, Vegeta. Him. All those innocent people in the world. The cities, towns. All of civilization. Gone.

He was angry, furious. More so than he had ever been, even at Frieza. What kind of monster just destroyed for no reason? For fun? What kind of person made a monster like that in the first place?

Gohan's breathing was shallow. He could feel his heart pounding through his whole body. No, he wasn't angry. He hated them. He had never truly hated anything in his life until now. They had done all this, killed all these people, created this world that was just so wrong. And they got away with it because they were strong. Stronger than anyone who wanted to stop them. They would keep getting away from it until someone else was stronger.

He needed more power. Gohan needed to fight them, to defeat them. To stop them from killing anymore. He needed to be stronger.

All his fury, his hatred raged inside him, filling him to bursting. Somewhere, a reflection of himself sat on the floor in an empty room, holding a cracked bottle. Gohan could feel the cork being taken out of the bottle, letting the contents free.

Power filled him, like water, seeping into his every pore. His rage bubbled over and with a shout Gohan released all of his hatred into one blast, two-handed, towards Eighteen as she prepared to kill Trunks. Yellow energy flared all around him, blowing everything away from him. The blast hit eighteen and kept going, exploding some ways behind her.

She was still alive, and stared at him for just a minute, before realizing that there was nothing where her right arm had used to be. She shouted, shoved Trunks out of the way. Seventeen moved in front of her to fight. Trunks was staring at him.

The world's newest Super Saiyan stared down the street at his enemies. "I'm going to kill you. Get ready."

---

End Chapter

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