Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dragonball Z: The Android Threat ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

In every fight over the past few weeks I'd always known there was a risk that I, or someone I cared about, would die. I'd always known that the Earth was at risk of being destroyed if we made one wrong decision. But to be face to face with our destruction, given only one more precious minutes to live, that was when I let myself feel the fear. No more adrenaline rushes to get me through the fight, no more last minutes rescues… this was it. The end. There was nothing we could do.

 

“We're done for”

 

“No… somebody has to come up with a plan”

 

“There's nothing we can do now”

 

I could hear the arguments behind me, but they didn't really register in my mind. Nothing was important anymore, it didn't matter what they said or how much the denied the inevitable. I felt a hand grasp mine firmly and looked into the pale blue eyes of the man I'd never know as more then a friend. The only hope was that we might be end up together in the next dimension, and be able to become more then friends. My last stab at some hopeful thought while I lived and breathed on Earth.

 

I gripped his hand firmly and tried to smile. I knew that death was far from the end, that there was a place of peace waiting for me. Yet to think I'd never see another sunset, never have Chi Chi plait my hair or smell her cooking… the smallest thing's that everyone took for granted, that they thought they'd have the chance to see or do a million times over, all seemed so… impossible now.

 

“Goku?”

 

Krillen's voice pulled me from my thoughts. I don't know why, perhaps it was that fearful tone that made my stomach leap uncomfortably, but when I looked at the calm face of my uncle I knew then and there that something was about to happen.

 

“Listen, there's not much time left and I can only think of one way to save the Earth now”

 

“No!” I said, stamping my foot like a stubborn child.

 

“I think I know what you have planned, you don't have to do this!” Trunks argued.

 

But it was no use, Goku raised two fingers to his forehead and lifted his hand in a wave, “Goodbye, my friends…”

 

His eyes met mine for the briefest of seconds and I felt a flurry of emotions pass between us, then he was gone. I breathed in sharply as I turned to look at Cell, my legs almost gave way beneath me as I watched him place one hand on the monsters swelled stomach and turn to share his final moments with his son. Trunks placed an arm firmly around my waist to hold me to him, lending me the support I needed. My mind was strangely blank as I watched, I could feel my blood screaming, dying to do something but the rest of me just remained numb.

 

It was with Krillen's cry as my uncle disappeared, taking Cell with him, that I finally let out a torrent of hot tears as I realised… he was gone.

 

The man who had sat with me so patiently when I was too afraid to enter a cave, not at all bothered by the cold and rain.

 

The man that told me so proudly how he thought I could be a fantastic warrior.

 

The man I'd laughed with around a crackling fire as he told me stories of his adventures.

 

Gone.

 

The dust settled and silence engulfed us. Everything felt like a dream, my ears were ringing and my body shook. I could the salty taste of my tears as they ran freely down my cheeks. Trunks hands gripped me firmly, but I removed them slowly as Gohan's cry for his lost father echoed around us. He collapsed to the ground, sobbing loudly, as I made my way to him. The numbness subsiding as I tried to push the shock and pain away. He needed me, I could do something even if it was just as simple as holding him.

 

“He's gone… he's gone and it's all my fault”

 

“Hey, If you're going to blame someone, blame Cell” I said gently as I knelt by his side.

 

Krillen stepped forward and placed a hand firmly on his back, “Don't blame yourself, if it weren't for you the Earth and all of us would be history. You saved us. Your dad was very proud of you Gohan, and he had to do what he did because he loves you”

 

I bit my lip and stood up slowly, letting Krillen take over as he helped Gohan to his feet. The tears had stemmed and I wiped at my face roughly, removing traces of blood and dirt in the process. I moved back over to Trunks who was waiting patiently and held his hand out for me to take. But I didn't care about the small measure of comfort he was offering, I placed his hand on my back and sank my face into his chest, sighing heavily when he placed his arms around me comfortingly. I needed to feel the warmth and strength of another's body as all energy seemed to seep from my body. I was suddenly overcome with exhaustion and wanted nothing more then to sleep. I didn't care that the others were able to see as I squeezed Trunks waist, bringing him closer to me.

 

I shut my eyes to the harsh sunshine which seemed to be mocking me, I'd give anything for rain, thunder and cold winds. Something to show how miserable my heart had suddenly become. I ignored Krillen and Vegeta as they argued over what to do with Android Eighteen, it seemed to irrelevant. The wind began to pick up around us but I kept my eyes shut, unwilling to move and barely able to breath. That is, until everyone suddenly gasped loudly and the wind became even stronger.

 

Something was wrong.

 

I jumped back from Trunks' chest but remained with is hands firmly placed on my hips. I clung to his muscles arms as I twisted my head to gaze at the huge cloud being formed in front of us.

 

It couldn't be…

 

He couldn't still be…

 

Everyone was shouting, bit I couldn't hear clearly over the roar of the wind. It suddenly picked up even more speed and I closed my eyes as the dirt hit my face. Suddenly I felt like I was being launched forwards, I barely had time to bring my hands out in front of me to catch myself before I hit the ground.

 

A noise from behind made my blood run cold. A gasp. Trunks…

 

I spun on the ground just in time to see him land a few feet back from us… a huge bloodied hole in his chest.

 

An incoherent shout leapt from my throat as I pushed myself up onto my feet and ran straight for him, landing hard on my knees by his side I saw him heave as he brought up a mouthful of blood. My hands pressed to his chest but all I could feel was the sticky warmth of his blood beneath my fingertips.

 

My hands and sleeves were soon stained red, my eyes were wide as I took in all the crimson fluid that was soaking into the ground. But Trunks' face was slowly growing pale and he didn't move. I couldn't sense his Ki at all.

 

My mouth was open in a silent scream as I felt pure terror pulse through me. I didn't care about the how's or why's. All I knew was that he was dead.

 

He had pushed me to safety and taken the blow that ended his life.

 

“Shame, I was aiming for the girl… never mind”

 

My blood boiled as I heard the familiar cackles from among the clouds, but my body refused to move as I stared up at a fully formed Cell, he was back in his perfect form.

 

“It can't be!” Piccolo bellowed.

 

I felt bile rise in my throat and brought my hands up to my mouth to stop the urge to throw up, one that only worsened as I tasted blood on my lips. I'd smeared the substance across my face and into my hair as I clung to it in horror. Hands under my arms tried to pull me away but I shook them off and clung to Trunks' still body. I had to stay with him, I couldn't leave him lying there on his own.

 

Yamcha knelt next to me, he was shouting something I couldn't hear. Something was happening but I couldn't tear my eyes from his body, not until I realised Yamcha was shouting something about Vegeta… and his tone was almost… joyful.

 

Finally I looked up, Vegeta had flown at Cell and was now hovering in the air and throwing huge blasts of energy at him. Gohan had powered up again but was watching with just as much shock as the rest of us. I tired to feel some sort of emotion at the sight, but nothing came to me. My hand was clinging to Trunks' limp wrist as I looked on, uncaring of the result. Shigeru… Goku… Trunks… they were all gone, what did anything matter now?

 

It was only when the earth stopped shaking that I realised that Vegeta's attack had had almost as much force behind it as an Earthquake. The enraged Saiyan floated in the air for a few seconds, seeking Cell out, only to be knocked to the ground with one swift blow and was rendered useless as Gohan was forced to dive in and block a blast aimed directly at Vegeta.

 

“No!” I screamed, sure I'd just lost my cousin as well. But his Ki flickered in my mind as he pushed himself to his feet, his arm dangling limply at his side.

 

Now Gohan was out of action too, no one was left to fight.

 

“He needs help, throw him a sensu bean!” Piccolo commanded Krillen.

 

“There aren't any left” the man replied, his voice filled with dread.

 

Cell was laughing manically as he pulled his arms back to his side, cupped and poised for attack.

 

“It looks like there is no one left to stop me, I will live forever!”

 

A bright blue-white ball of energy appeared in his hands as he spoke words that filled me with both hate and fear.

 

“Ka…me…”

 

The sky was turning black and the wind wiped at my face relentlessly. Once again it seemed like it was over as Cell was surrounded by glowing energy, Gohan was too hurt to fight him like this and not one of us had a chance, as demonstrated by Vegeta only moments ago.

 

But Gohan wasn't ready to give up just yet.

 

He pulled his one good arm back and imitated Cell's words. Two bright beams of energy soared at each other across the scorched Earth, I ducked forward to protect my eyes as they collided noisily and felt the force of it hit my side, knocking all the breathe from me.

 

“He's going to fight him, can he do it?” Yamcha was asking no one in particular.

 

My heart thumped wildly as I watched, every second felt like a lifetime. But Cell was still a lot stronger then Gohan and his attack almost doubled in size.

 

I felt a surge of some unknown emotion course through me as we all backed up out of range of the attack. As soon as Trunks was safely on the ground I shot one last look at his pale face before jumping to the air.

 

“We need to help!” I shouted, ignoring everyone else's protests.

 

I landed behind Cell and formed a golden ball of energy in my hands, I couldn't hurt him and I knew it. But if I could distract him enough Gohan might get the chance he needed to gain the advantage. I wasn't the only one thinking along those lines, Piccolo landed beside me and formed an attack of his own. Together we fired at Cell, hitting him straight on but causing no real damage. Still, the unexpected attack allowed Gohan to push back Cell's blast and as Tien, Krillen and Yamcha all joined us to throw another round of energy beams his way I began to think that maybe we could do this…

 

Then again, maybe I was fooling myself.

 

Cell blasted us all away simply by raising his energy and creating a shock that rocketed through the air. I skid across the ground, feeling my skin break and bruise at the impact, but jumped straight back onto my feet and attacked again. If we were going out it would be like this, standing side by side and fighting together.

 

But once again we were all thrown back by Cell's power, we were no more then a nuisance to him and as I hit the ground once more I felt the ability to move leave me. All five of us lay still, unable to do anymore to help. It was up to Gohan now.

 

But with us out of the way Cell was pushing Gohan's attack back like it was nothing, we needed something… anything…

 

Out of nowhere an attack larger then all of ours combined hit Cell dead on, causing his legs to buckle beneath him. I didn't have time to register Vegeta's hovering figure in the air as Gohan's scream pierced the air. His gleaming white wave of energy rushed forward, forcing Cell's back on him… and the monster couldn't stop it. He'd lost his advantage!

 

A laugh escaped my lips as the light swamped over Cell, engulfing his entire body. I forced my mind to focus, to sense his energy as it disappeared in a flash of blue-white light…

 

He was gone…

 

The light faded and sure enough there was no trace of his body, not one single cell.

 

The Kamehameha wave shot upwards into the sky where it shone like a star before disappearing. Gohan was left to float on in the sky, miles above where the ground now lay beneath him before falling unceremoniously to the floor. But I could sense his energy, tired and weak as it was, he was still alive.

 

“It's over” Piccolo declared.

 

I pulled myself unsteadily to my feet, not quite believing that what Piccolo said could be true. I half expected Cell to appear out of nowhere again and repeat this nightmare. But I could feel it, he was really gone.

 

We'd won.

 

X

 

Yamcha held an unconscious Gohan in his arms while Tien carried Trunks over his shoulder. Krillen had even brought Eighteen to the Lookout with us. Piccolo had explained that Dende could heal Gohan quicker then any sensu bean or hospital, and Goku had collected the Dragonballs before the fight so we could wish for all of Cell's damage to be undone.

 

As we landed I felt an odd sense of calm, perhaps I'd used up all of my emotions on the battle field so now there was nothing left. A small green boy ran forward to greet us, looking thoroughly relieved.

 

“Hey little guy, you must be Dende” Yamcha smiled at him.

 

“Yes, just lay Gohan down there and I'll heal him”

 

His voice was young and gently, If I could have mustered the energy I would have been surprised but as I was, I couldn't. Gohan was showered in a light glow as his wounds healed neatly and I smiled when he opened his eyes. As he pulled himself to his feet I felt a giddy kind of happiness overtake me, he was ok, Chi Chi still had her son at least.

 

“Gohan” Dende said softly, “I'm sorry about your father”

 

Gohan's happy smile confused me to no end, had Cell caused him irreparable brain damage?

 

“Don't be, he's not. He told me himself when he was helping me fight Cell. I felt his energy all around me and I swear for a moment I could have touched him, he was by my side the entire side… that's how I was able to beat Cell”

 

If he were speaking about anyone else then I'd have stuck with my brain-damage theory, but somehow I knew that if anyone was going to overcome their own death to protect the ones they loved then it would have been Goku.

 

“Well, however you did it, you made us all proud” Piccolo smiled as he grasped Gohan tightly on the shoulder, it must have been the equivalent of a hug… only manlier.

 

Dende moved over to Android Eighteen who was being set carefully on the ground by Krillen. I wondered just what his deal was with her… until I realised the obvious. Attractive blonde… single guy… spells `duh'.

 

The minute she woke she jumped to her feet, clearly startled by the attention she was receiving. Yamcha was standing about thirty feet away and was yelling for us all to be careful.

 

“No one's going to kill anyone” Krillen said firmly.

 

Eighteen's eyes flicked from each of us in turn, trying to figure out if we posed a threat. Krillen stepped forward to gain her attention

 

“Hey, we can out they past behind us can't we… now that Gohan's beat Cell…”

 

She looked dumbfounded, “Gohan… beat Cell?”

 

“You bet!” Yamcha shouted, “He's incredibly strong so you shouldn't think about punching holes in anyone!”

 

I repressed a desire to laugh as Piccolo began to speak.

 

“You should thank Krillen Eighteen, he stayed at your side the whole time after Cell spat you out”

 

Krillen's cheeks turned a shade of pink as he scratched his head timidly, trying to speak but only managing a nervous stammer of incoherent words.

 

“I got it!” Gohan suddenly announced, “Krillen, you have a crush on Android Eighteen don't you?”

 

I slapped a hand over Gohan's mouth and made hushing noises as Krillen's blush deepened, it didn't help when Tien and Yamcha gaped at their friend like he was insane.

 

Eighteen glared angrily, “Expect me to fall at your feet now? Big strong man rescues me so I'm his forever right? Not that easy… I was wrong about you Krillen…”

 

“Oh dear…” I said under my breath as I watched my friends face fall sadly. As Eighteen took off Yamcha suddenly found his courage again and ran forward, shouting something about ungrateful women…

 

I turned to Piccolo, growing anxious to start making our wishes.. namely one that would awaken Trunks. Even though we were all safe and laughing again it felt kind of hollow to be doing it with his body only a few feet away, “Let's summon the dragon, shall we?”

 

X

 

I'd never seen Shenron before, I had only heard about him from the others. So when the dragon exploded from the dragonballs in a sea of light I was awestruck. He had a strange kind of gracefulness about him and radiated a power unlike anything I'd ever felt. It was both intimidating and comforting at the same time.

 

“What is your first wish?”

 

I was knelt beside Trunks as I waited, his hand held firmly in my own.

 

Dende stepped forward to make the wish, “Please revive all those on Earth who were killed by Cell”

 

“Your wish will be granted”

 

Red light swamped us all for a few seconds before fading, and I felt a twitch in my hand. Trunks' Ki was slowly rising… and I smiled as he opened his eyes.

 

“Hey” I smiled.

 

He frowned for a few seconds before realising what had happened, “I died?”

 

“Yep”

 

“But now I'm alive”

 

“Yep”

 

His frown was replaced with a grin, “That's good”.

 

I pulled him up right, his hand never leaving my grasp as we walked back over to the others just in time to hear Piccolo voice more bad news.

 

“As I feared, these Dragonballs can't revive someone who's died before… I can't sense Goku's energy”.

 

“What about the Namekian Dragonballs, can't we wish ourselves onto New Namek and make the wish from there?” I asked.

 

The dragon was becoming impatient and demanding we make our second wish, but just as we about to wish ourselves onto Namek another voice spoke up.

 

“Hey guys, don't I have a say in this?”

 

“Goku!” We all exclaimed.

 

“Yep, it's me! Kind Kai's letting me talk to you from here in the otherworld, so listen up. Lately I've been thinking about why the Earth is always in danger and realised that most of the guys that attacked it have been after me. It's kind of like I've been fulfilling the mission I was given as a baby without meaning too… so I think it might be better for the Earth if I stayed dead, and King Kai agrees with me!”

 

“Sort of” added a disgruntled sounding voice.

 

“I can get special treatment `cause I saved the Earth and all, I get to keep my body and can train here in otherworld, it sounds pretty exciting really”

 

I snorted, only Goku could see the bright side of death like this.

 

“I really appreciate your feelings towards me guts, but you'll have to find something else to wish for. This is my home now. Gohan's so strong now, I have nothing left to teach him”

 

“But that doesn't mean I don't need you!” Gohan called to the dark sky.

 

Goku continued on, I don't know if he heard him or not, “You had better take notes on everything that happens in your lives, `cause when I see you again I want to hear about every little thing. `Till then… Bye”

 

My breath caught in my throat as I felt his presence leave us one final time, and a memory of a broken promise he'd once made me on the roof of the Son house swam in front of my eyes. He was choosing death over his family?

 

“You know, even though he was saying goodbye I don't feel so sad about it `cause of how cheery he sounded” Krillen piped up.

 

I looked at Gohan who was staring at the ground with some confusion. Trunks squeezed my hand gently and I turned my gaze to him as he tried to look as reassuring as he could. I fixed a smile on my face, wondering if he could see right through it and down to the bubbling mix of emotions in my chest.

 

“Erm… excuse me”

 

The dragons voice made us all jump as we remembered he was still waiting for the next wish. After some arguing Krillen tried to wish for the android's to be made human, but the dragon was unable to do so. Instead he asked for their bombs to be removed and this removed the threat they could still pose if they chose to detonate them for whatever reason, which the dragon confirmed he could do.

 

With a blinding flash of light the dragon disappeared and the dragonballs shot across the sky which slowly returned to its usual light blue.

 

“What's the deal?” Trunks asked Krillen, “Why are you so bent on helping those androids?”

 

“Well.. I … I guess it's that I like that girl. De Gero's the one that made her into an android, it's not her fault”

 

“Well wish the guy back to being human if you like the girl?” Tien asked with a frown.

 

“I guess… I just want her to be truly happy. And she and that guy seem to make a good couple…”

 

“Your hopeless” Yamcha sighed, earning a burst of laughter from everyone save Piccolo, who was looking rather frustrated, but I could still see the amusement in his eyes.

 

“If that what you humans call love… count me out”

 

“Hello!”

 

We all jumped as Eighteen jumped out from behind a pillar, “Seventeen is my twin brother bonehead! But if you think you've won my heart because of that lousy wish then your mistaken”

 

She turned away from us all, preparing to take off before looking back as if having second thoughts, “Though… it was really nice of you to try and help us…”.

 

“Really, so you're not mad?”

 

“Not really”

 

I grinned, it was like watching two teenagers. Thinking of which I turned to Trunks who was still at my side. He caught my eye and smiled widely, though my own smile faltered when I realised.. Cell was gone, which meant Trunks would be leaving soon…

 

I didn't bother to hide the sadness in my eyes as he frowned, I just shook my head as he made an enquiring face and turned back to Krillen, who was looking very confused as she took off again.

 

“Whoa Krillen, you are so in there! She likes you, I can tell!” Yamcha nodded.

 

Krillen suddenly grabbed him by the collar, “Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah dude, but she's a woman! Trust me, if you stick to my advice you'll be fine. Goku may have taught you all you know about fighting but when it comes to love I'm the master!”

 

I rolled my eyes and muttered under my breathe, “Wonder what Bulma would say to that”

 

“There's no comparison” Piccolo said darkly.

 

Yamcha turned to him with a smile, “At least you're man enough to admit it… fighting's relatively easy!”

 

“Hey!” I said indignantly as they all began to laugh again. I glared at Yamcha half heartedly before shaking my head.

 

Eventually we all said our goodbye's, Tien was headed north and was the first to take off, not before wishing Trunks good luck and assuring him that we'd all be here for him if he needed out help. Then it was our turn to go back to our lives, I wondered just how Chi Chi was holding up.

 

“So what's your plan Trunks, are you heading back right away?”

 

I tried to suppress the need to grab onto him before he answered an beg him not to go. We'd let go of each others hand during the goodbye's but now I was desperate to cling to it once more and feel his reassuring squeeze.

 

“Nah… I think I'll get a good rest first. I'll head out in the morning”

 

I breathed deeply and forced a smile, “We'll see you off, ok”

 

“Cool” he nodded, holding my gaze for a few seconds longer then was needed. I had a sudden flashback to the eighteen year old version of him, before he's entered the chamber twice, as we'd stood outside Dr Gero's lab and this whole thing between us had begun. Was that day a blessing or a curse? I guess I'd find out when he was gone…

 

“What about you Piccolo?” Gohan asked the Namekian who was stood with his shoulders crossed, watching us all closely, “Are you planning on living up here?”

 

“Yeah, I think so”

 

“Then I'll come visit if it's alright with you”

 

“You know it is kid” he smiled.

 

Gohan turned to the rest of us with a wide smile, “This is it guys, this is the beginning of the rest of our lives!”

 

I couldn't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm, it seemed the kid was going to be ok. But now we had to break it to Chi Chi that she was never going to see her husband again. I'd have traded anything to avoid such an event but I couldn't leave it up to Gohan alone. We jumped from the edge of the lookout and went our separate ways. I sent a nod in Trunks' direction, not quite sure what I was trying to say but he nodded back and turned West.

 

“You ready Gohan?” I called after flying in silence for a few moments.

 

“For what?”

 

“Last one home…” I called over my shoulder as I picked up speed and rocketed forward. I heard his laugh as he overtook me easily and giggled lightly. Perhaps I could make thing's work out after all, if Gohan was strong enough then I could be too.

 

X

 

Telling Chi Chi was possibly the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Even harder then when I'd tried to hold Cell off with my binding attack and almost died. She'd cried to hard I thought she might never stop. After a long shower to remove the dirt and blood from my body and tucking Gohan into bed (who'd collapsed on it heavily and passed out in his dirty clothes) I made my way downstairs dressed in a loose white skirt that fell to my knee's and a gold tank top, I'd been desperate to wear something other then the usual pants and shirt after two weeks of the same outfit.

 

Chi Chi was sat with a glass of water at the kitchen table, looking exhausted. I pulled out a chair beside her and tried to smile comfortingly.

 

“Hey aunt Chi”

 

She nodded dully.

 

“I can't imagine how hard this is for you… but we're still here for you…”

 

She looked up into my eyes and I saw a flicker of a smile, “You know… it's strange that Goku should die today… because after he left I took a test…”

 

I frowned, “A test?”

 

“A pregnancy test”

 

I swallowed, was this good or bad?

 

“Goku didn't even get that chance to know he was going to be a daddy again!” she sniffled.

 

I dropped from the chair and kneeled on front of her, wiping the tears from her face,” Why is it strange that he died today?”

 

She cleared her throat loudly and smiled, “There's just this theory one of the scholars at the castle once told me, that when a person dies they're reborn again”

 

Part of me found the idea of Goku being reborn by Chi Chi rather disturbing, another was quite moved.

 

“I know it's a load of rubbish… but maybe this was supposed to be…”

 

I sighed, “Maybe. Goku died to protect us all, to let life continue. What better way for his sacrifice to be remembered then with the birth of his child”

 

“Oh Lani” she breathed, “When did you and Gohan get so grown up on me?”

 

I didn't tell her that even though I admired my uncles sacrifice, part of me was still angry. But those feelings were useless now, Chi Chi needed us.

 

“So er…” she coughed, trying to lighten the mood as she fiddled with my damp hair, “I guess Trunks has gone back home now”

 

“No… he's leaving tomorrow morning” I said with a sigh.

 

“He's still here? Then why are you sitting here with me?” she gaped.

 

“Huh? You need me, not him. Besides, there's not point in anything happening… I'll never see him again after all”

 

“But what do you need Lani? Tell me you don't want to be with him and I'll drop the subject, otherwise… well, I know that if I was given even just one more minute with Goku I'd never turn it down…”

 

I gazed up at her, drinking in what she'd told me. I needed to make a decision… one that I was sure would effect my life greatly, though whether it be for better or for worse I wasn't so sure.

 

I stood up and swept my loose hair from my eyes, eyeing both the front door… my way to Trunks… or the hall to my bedroom…

 

“It's up to you Lani. You're an adult now, these types of decisions are only yours to make”

 

How I wish I could have someone tell me what to do, but even though I knew it would hurt like hell either way, I had to make a choice.

 

My head or my heart?

X

 

Disclaimer: I own no rights to the series Dragonball Z or any of its characters/places etc. All right to Akira Toriyama.