Game Saga – Part 2: Shattered

In the wreckage of the battlefield – if one could even call Frieza's slaughtering a battle, that was – Vegeta stood, his aura ablaze. The cyborg twins abreast him still seemed apathetic toward him, a matter of which infuriated him. How did they know so much about him? About Kakarot? It didn't make any sense!

"I'll get what I need to know out of you little brats by force," Vegeta announced, pointing at the blonde opposite him. "And I guess we're starting with the girl, are we?"

"Do you really need to draw this out?" Eighteen half-smirked, her fists still raised to her waistline. Vegeta couldn't help but scowl at how careless her defense was. "Are you maybe waiting for Goku to show up? I wouldn't blame you if you are. Not being a 'Super Saiyan' or whatever you call it means you don't have a chance."

She was before him in an instant, but failed to attack. Vegeta was met with the blonde on an eye to eye level; she slightly floated in the air to match his height. He didn't know what infuriated him more—the fact that she was able to move at such speeds, or that she gave him an innocent smile instead of capitalizing on his weakness. "Believe me yet?"

Vegeta met his opponent's mocking with a hard right hook aimed for her cheekbones. Yet the woman lazily blocked it, laughing. "You have really soft hands. Almost like a girl's. Not what I'd expect from a so-called destroyer of worlds."

"That's enough!" the prince roared, thrusting both his legs forward and dropkicking the girl a few inches back. "I'll break you in half! And your brother will be next!" He raced toward the cyborg with an intensity he had only reserved for Kakarot and Frieza, throwing a quick round of strikes that, both to his surprise and delight, put Eighteen on the defensive.

That delight, however, soon went away when he saw the amused grin on Eighteen's face as she began to parry Vegeta's strikes with seemingly no effort at all. "You know, I was really hoping for a better fight from you. But I think watching you flail around like this is some of the best entertainment I've had in a long while."

Something was set off in the prince at that very moment, and he ceased his efforts to attack. He dropped back and folded his arms. "I think I get it now," he started cautiously. "You want me off my game for whatever reason. You haven't thrown a single punch at me yet—there has to be something you're hiding."

"Honestly, no," Eighteen calmly replied, putting her hands on her hips. "You're just entertainment until Goku shows up. And since we have a few hours before he actually will show his face, we should slow down and make this more interesting." Her eyes glimmered knowingly. "Unless you'd like to put this fight off? Maybe you could ask your little friends up on that cliff for help, if you felt so inclined."

"You seem to have me mistaken for someone else," Vegeta spat. "They are not my friends. Much like you, I myself have been waiting a long time to see Kakarot again. I will understand how to unlock the power of a Super Saiyan if it's the last thing I do!"

"Mister Piccolo, what are they saying?" asked Gohan intently. He was confused by the sudden break in the action; it was quite unlike Vegeta. "Are they calling off the fight?"

"Far from it… in fact, the girl even gave Vegeta the chance to ask us for help. These two must be the real deal."

"We kinda are," came an unannounced voice.

Almost as one, the Z-Fighters pivoted and gasped at the bandana-wearing man standing behind them, his arms folded. He wore the same unsettling smile that his sister did. "Look, I'm not here to stop you. If I was, I would've struck you down minutes ago when I got here. I was just hoping that I could get to watch the fight from here as well. It's so quite lonely up in the air, after all."

"Who in the hell are you?" Tien asked, growing closer to lashing out with each step the new arrival took. "You two can't keep playing games with us like this! Either fight us or leave us alone, I don't care which!"

"Well, for starters, my name is Seventeen. Yes, like the number," the black-haired man cordially introduced himself, offering out a hand in a mock gesture. "And I'll give you more of an answer in due time, but suffice to say… we've been looking to meet Son Goku for a while."

"You've said as much," Piccolo retorted, throwing off his turban. Seventeen could sense the Namekian's preparation for battle. "With my hearing abilities, I picked up everything you and your sister said to Frieza and his father. But that's not enough. Why did you kill them?"

Seventeen shrugged. "They were in our way. I could hardly care what happens to this planet, one way or another, but I came here with very specific intentions. If Frieza and his father had blown up the planet, then I wouldn't be able to fight Son Goku. So we disposed of them." A smile once again took hold of his face. "Any other questions?"

"Are you here to kill my dad? Or take over the planet?" Gohan asked, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "If you are… I'll stop you!" he boldly declared.

Seventeen kept a stoic demeanor on the outside, but inwardly couldn't help but draw a snicker. 'So… Son Gohan, the only one who could really put up a fight against me, looked like such an awkward little brat? Hard to believe he turned into such a formidable fighter in the future.'

"Hey!" Piccolo's shout snapped Seventeen out of his slight trance. "Answer the kid. Are you here to cause us harm or not? We won't stand around and let you harm innocent people!"

"You're welcome to attack me if you feel so inclined," Seventeen responded, walking to the front of the pack and folding his arms. "But my business is only with Goku. Your interest might be better served with my sister. Vegeta might run into some trouble with her."

"Well then, Vegeta, whenever you're ready." Eighteen assumed her lackadaisical fighting stance again, finding amusement in the prince's look of bewilderment. "I'll let you make the first move again. Try to use it wisely."

No sooner than she had finished her sentence, Vegeta appeared to vanish into thin air. There hardly seemed to be a trace of him, and she couldn't sense energy. But the power difference, she knew, left her in no real danger—her primary concern was getting the fun out of Vegeta that she hadn't been able to manage with Frieza.

Her advanced senses allowed her to feel Vegeta's re-emergence behind her, and it took little effort for her to pivot around and dodge the prince's knee strike that had been intended to hit her in the back of the neck. "Paralysis, huh?" Eighteen gripped the prince's khaki-covered leg and slammed him down to the ground with it. "You really do have a gift for fighting. It's just a shame you're not on my level."

Vegeta growled, the sound slightly muffed from his face being buried in the dirt, before he sprung up and charged a ki blast at the cyborg within point blank range. But to his dismay, the cyborg reached out and grabbed his hand before he had the chance to fire it.

"Sorry," Eighteen casually apologized, as if this wasn't a fight to the death. "I'm all for letting you struggle, but energy blasts are kind of a no-no for me. I don't have any more sets of this outfit, and I can't risk you ruining them."

"How dare you imply that the best I could do is scratch your clothing?!" Vegeta hissed, trying to yank his arm free of his opponent's grip. Yet, much to his surprise, she held him firmly as her expression turned dark. "What is it you're doing here?"

Eighteen could feel the energy pulsating from Vegeta's hand still entrenched within her own palm. The sensation was equivalent to that of a gnat—noticeable, but ultimately harmless. "I'll make you a deal. I'll let go if you promise not to use any more energy blasts. Deal?"

The prince was horrified by Eighteen's proposal. "You'll treat me with more respect than that, you bitch!" With his other hand, he prepared a sphere of golden energy. Before he had the chance to throw it, however, he found himself being thrown into a nearby rock formation and buried under a rubble of debris.

"I guess Eighteen's finally decided to pick things up," Seventeen remarked. "Your offer to help your friend is still on the table, you know."

Nobody dared utter a word, to which Seventeen mock pouted. "Oh well."

It was futile.

Every time Vegeta jumped back up, Eighteen would put him right back down. It was almost comedic at first, to see the prince struggle, but it was now starting to border on downright annoying.

Eighteen blocked the prince's roundhouse kick with a forearm, punching him hard in the sternum and sending him flying. Though to Vegeta's credit, this time he was able to stop his involuntary flight backward and dash right back toward her. This did not, however, change the end result.

Vegeta went high with a full out charge, but Eighteen saw it and went low, sweeping the prince off his feet with a quick arc of her legs and forcing him onto his back.

"Stupid Vegeta," Eighteen shook her head, crossing her arms as the prince howled in pain. She faintly heard her opponent string together a violent storm of curses, but they were drowned out by her inner subconscious. 'What makes him so driven to fight battles he can't win? Even in my world… he had chance after chance to escape, yet he never took it.'

At least she could respect the Gohan and Trunks of her world for trying to run from her. At the same time, however, it exemplified the human cowardice that she had so grown to hate. Vegeta was an enigma, however—he would sooner die knowing he had exhausted every option possible to achieve victory.

She wasn't sure if she liked that or not.

"Hey," Eighteen cut off Vegeta's rage-filled speech, not even having fully realized what he was saying to her. "I just have a quick question. Are you used to this?"

That certainly seemed to catch the prince off-guard. "Used to what, woman?" There was almost an unspoken acceptance between the two that Eighteen had won this fight, as the Saiyan had made no attempt to stand back up.

"This cycle you seem to go through. You make some huge leap in power and seem so confident in yourself. Then you brag about it to all your little fighter friends that will actually listen to you, and you'll even fight them to prove it. After that—"

"You know nothing about my—GAH!"

"Don't interrupt me!" Eighteen hissed at him icily, having taken out his left leg with just one swift stomp. He roared in pain as he fell to his knee, only to find himself forced to look at the cyborg beauty once again as she lifted his chin with her index finger. "After that is usually when someone far superior to you, such as myself, comes along and humiliates you singlehandedly. Does that describe your life in a nutshell?"

"I-I'll… kill… you!" That sheer, burning anger allowed Vegeta to ignore the crippling pain in his left leg and flip back up to his feet, headbutting Eighteen with literally all of his might. It was to the point where he actually stumbled forward after doing it, clearly disoriented…

…and then he fell on the ground, fully and finally defeated.

To the prince's credit, Eighteen had been forced to stagger back for a moment. Nevertheless, "Sure you will, Vegeta," Eighteen dryly laughed. "I know whenever I want to kill someone, I just lie sprawled out on the ground. Poor thing. You're so helpless and completely at my mercy." She extended a palm out, beginning to charge a violent pink hue of energy in her hand. "Maybe you just need to beg a little? I might be feeling a little generous today."

What was to come was far more humiliating to Vegeta than any plea of mercy would have ever been.

Vegeta could sense it before it had even happened. Because how could it not have? Every single time Vegeta had found himself in peril, he had arrived.

The outfit may have been different this time, but his spiky jet-black hair remained all too disgustingly familiar. His cheery expression haunted him far more than any Super Saiyan related nightmare he'd had in the past year.

'There's no denying it,' thought Vegeta as he faded in and out of consciousness. Before darkness gripped him completely, he had the time and coherence to manage one last thought:

'Kakarot… you've done it again, you bastard…'

"I don't know who you are, but leave Vegeta alone!" Goku's voice rang through the battlefield with an unbridled intensity seen only a few times before. "Your fight's with me now!"

The woman before him stood in shock for the briefest of moments before chuckling to herself. "Well, that's another thing the boy didn't tell us would happen. You got back a lot sooner than we thought you would."

"W-What are you talking about?" Goku questioned, perplexed by this woman's apparent knowledge of him. "You knew I'd be here? …What about Frieza and his father?" he asked, clearly unsettled. "I was hoping I'd make it here before they did, but then all of a sudden their energies just vanished. Are you responsible for that?"

"Technically, we both are," came a male voice that soon touched down next to Eighteen. "I've been a big fan of yours for a while, Son Goku. I'm Seventeen, and this is my sister, Eighteen. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"So wait…" Goku scratched his head, clearly confused. "The girl over there isn't about to kill Vegeta? Could've fooled me."

Eighteen rolled her eyes and reabsorbed her energy back into her body. "Hardly. We're quite good friends now, I'd say," she laughed at Vegeta's fist unconsciously twitching, trying to form even the slightest bit of defense. "That said…"

"No, Goku," Seventeen cut his sister off, much to her surprise. But that surprise was only about to be amplified. "I'm not here to kill you. In fact, I'm here to warn you. Something's after your life, and believe it or not, it's not a person. It's a disease."

"Seventeen, what are you—?" Eighteen was cut off by the harshest glare her brother was capable of mustering, effectively coercing her into silence. 'Just what is he thinking…?'

"We had a deal, Eighteen. You would be wise to hold your end of the bargain." Seventeen turned his attention back to Goku, who still seemed completely lost with this whole series of events. "There's a virus that's going to bring you down, but luckily, I've got the cure to stop it." From his jean pocket, he produced the antidote he had been protecting this whole time, handing it to Goku.

"This small thing… is going to save my life?" Goku looked at the small capsule with wonderment for a moment, before he narrowed his eyes. "One thing doesn't add up. How do you know I'm going to get sick with this exact virus?"

"Quite frankly, Goku, you're right. I shouldn't have knowledge of these things." Seventeen closed his eyes and ran his left hand through his hair dramatically, before reopening them. "The reason I know this is because my sister and I have traveled from the future."

"W-What?! The future?" Goku gasped.

"Seventeen!" Eighteen hissed, only to be shut down again by another harsh glare from her brother. She knew him better than she knew anyone, and yet she couldn't understand what was going through his head at the moment. Yet, despite his insistent glare telling her to be quiet, she could see the devious glimmer of a plan in his eyes.

"Forgive my sister. We didn't want many people to know about our origins before you did. I had to take the liberty of knocking your friends out as well, just in case they had proven hostile." Seventeen motioned toward the cliff he had once been standing on, where a pile of unconscious bodies lay except for Bulma and Puar, whom he knew lacked the same kind of advanced hearing that the Z-Fighters had. "They're not harmed, just unconscious. You were the only one I trusted with this information at the moment."

"All right… I guess. You did kill Frieza, so you can't be that bad," Goku concluded. But his attention turned to the fighter laying next to Eighteen's boots. "But what about Vegeta? Why fight him?"

"Training purposes," the lies continued to flow smoothly off Seventeen's tongue. Eighteen had to admit, she was almost impressed with how effortlessly her brother had been pulling off this facade. "Because here's the part that you don't know—there are going to be two androids that attack an island about nine miles off of South City, and they're going to destroy everything. Once you die of that heart virus, everyone else in your little gang follows."

"You're kidding…" Goku murmured. "How strong are these guys?"

Seventeen couldn't help but smile there. "Vegeta made allusions to the fact that you can turn your hair gold. Well, he did that in the future we come from, and he went down rather easily."

"So even being a Super Saiyan wouldn't be enough…" Goku frowned. "Man, these guys sound like a challenge if I've ever heard one!"

"They most certainly are. And… I apologize for this, Goku, but they were made in our image. The doctor who modified us from original human beings made far more advanced models than us. They look exactly like us, except they are far stronger and far more merciless." Seventeen took a brief moment to look back at Eighteen, who was still stunned so heavily by this development that all she could do was nod her head. "We've come back in time not only to help you beat this virus, but to help you fight these androids in three years' time."

"Awesome! Having two training partners as strong as you guys are should be a major help!" Goku couldn't help but smile at the face of the oncoming threat, which in turn prompted a grin from Seventeen himself. "I can't wait to test my power against you guys!"

"Likewise, Goku. I've wanted to fight you for the longest time myself." Seventeen grinned, extending his hand. "I look forward to training with you."

"Seventeen, a word?" Eighteen remarked, her teeth grinding against one another in frustration. "Now?"

"I apologize for my sister. She's not exactly a… people person," Seventeen remarked. "Meet me here in about three days' time. Go home, get settled in. I'd like to gauge your power verses theirs when you're fully ready to fight."

"Got it. I'm looking forward to it." Goku gave Seventeen a thumbs up. "Thanks for the help. I have a feeling that having you guys around is gonna be a real difference maker in this fight."

"Likewise, Son Goku." Seventeen turned his back to the Saiyan, an evil smirk crossing his face. "See ya later." He then blasted off into the sky, zipping out of sight in just a few short moments.

Goku was awestruck at Seventeen's speed, feeling the wind ripple and shudder even a full minute after his departure. He then turned to look at Eighteen, who, for some odd reason, held an intense scowl on her otherwise pretty features. "So can you fly as fast as—WHOA!"

He'd been cut off by Eighteen rocketing off after her brother, nearly forcing him onto his backside from such a similarly frightening force. The full-blooded Saiyan took a moment to process everything he'd just been told as he peered around the destroyed environment. "Hehe… well, at least things won't get dull around here, at least!"

Hello everyone, and thanks for reading the newest installment of Future Reborn!

I'm sure a lot of you have questions about Seventeen's motives, and rest assured, they will be answered in due time. There's been a reason that the twins' interactions have primarily been through Eighteen's lens, so to speak. We don't really know a lot of what's going through Seventeen's head right now, but one thing's for sure – such an elaborate ruse isn't befitting of him normally. So what could've sparked it, and why is he committing to such a long facade? We'll find out when the siblings interact next chapter.

As far as the Vegeta and Eighteen fight went – I originally planned to make it longer, but I ultimately realized that there was no point in extending such a beatdown(that's not to say that later fights won't be lengthier - just that this one didn't serve a purpose in being thousands and thousands of words). Like I said, I'm here to tell a story, but I'm also not keen on dragging things out unnecessarily any longer. In fact, it actually served the narrative I was trying to pitch with Vegeta stubbornly throwing himself back into the fight time after time. There will definitely be ramifications related to Vegeta being handed such a humiliating loss at this point in his life, some of which might even show up in the next chapter or two. This is where Vegeta really starts to come into focus as one of the main characters of this story.

-Cerric: I'm wondering what conditions, if any, will arise on Earth to force Goku to make the immediate jump. Although considering he was happy to let a complete stranger kill Frieza and King Cold in canon, his tolerance for shenanigans might be pretty high.

The answer: feeling Vegeta's power plummet. I imagine something similar happened in the future when Frieza might've given Tien or someone else a close call. And with how Eighteen was growing irritated with Vegeta's continued defiance, it was probably for the best that he did so.

-Anonymous: King cold if I'm not wrong was in his second form
What would've happened if he transformed to his third form, or even better his final form considering his third form was on par with frieza's final form in a relaxed state?

I'll be honest – I know that Dragon Ball Multiverse had King Cold transform, as do a lot of other mediums… but I don't really care about that. Part of me feels like if he could have transformed, that he would've outright done it when his back was against the wall verses Trunks. But really, it doesn't matter; King Cold's part in this story was very minimal. I used him and Frieza to help put over how violent and careless the cyborgs could be while maintaining a typical brother-sister feud/relationship(which might be more important than you think).