Author's Note: So, I typically don't do these at the beginning of the chapter, so I'll make this quick. In the previous chapter, just before the scene where Eighteen is flying above Trunks waiting to touch down, I accidentally put 'several weeks later' instead of 'several days later'. It's since been corrected, but I wanted to ensure that those of you who read the chapter before I caught the mistake aren't confused on the timeline. Now, without further ado…

-Eighteen-

Her head fell back into the plush pillows arrayed atop her king-size bed, the luxurious blankets and mattress cradling her like she was lying on a nice, fluffy cloud. She'd since slipped out of her disguise, changing out of the wet clothes and into an extra-large, extra-comfy T-shirt, instead. Her wig sat peacefully on a head mannequin next to the contacts case she'd decided to keep on the bedside table.

Her piercing, sky-blue eyes stared past the four post bed frame and trailed the small, intricate, swirling details marking the ceiling. She let out a slow breath of air, her mind replaying the events of the last few hours.

She could still picture it, crawling across the floor, approaching her with that strange, thick tail slithering behind it's unnatural form.

"I'll…devour you."

She felt a shiver run down her spine.

"And then...We'll become...whole."

Eighteen folded her arms behind her head, frowning as she mulled those last words over. It had been such a specific answer to her question. What more, he'd been able to see through her disguise mere moments after meeting her, despite the fact that she was absolutely certain she'd never encountered the creature before in her entire life.

I would definitely remember a face like that.

Slowly, her head shifted to look towards the bookshelf in the corner of her bedroom. Resting on the second-to-top shelf were the rolled up blueprints she'd taken from Dr. Gero's secret underground lab. She eyed them curiously. For one reason or another, Cell had chosen to hang them up all around the lab, no doubt spending considerable amounts of time examining them. Was that the reason he'd been able to identify her so fast? How long had it been studying her design on the wall?

But why?

That was the question, wasn't it? He knew of her and her brother, had completely surrounded his living space with pictures of them, and had been able to distinguish her through a disguise she'd managed to use to fool even Gohan of all people. Coupled with the unsettling knowledge that he'd wanted to eat her, it made her curiosity intensify twofold.

It was clear to her that Dr. Gero had been planning something, something beyond herself and her brother. What that something was...she realized she would never know. A part of her wished she hadn't jumped the gun, had waited and probed for just a few more answers before she'd let her attack go. It had been her nerves that gave out and ultimately let loose the ball of energy. Had the damn thing not been so absolutely horrifying, she presumed she likely would have kept her cool and gotten answers for the questions currently plaguing her mind.

Unfortunately for the Android, that wasn't her only concern.

She grabbed her phone and reread the message she'd received from Gohan moments after she'd discovered Cell.
'Great! Meet us two miles south of West City tomorrow around noon. Also, remember to bring a full water bottle and a change of clothes!"

Eighteen's brow furrowed as she reread the message. The water bottle made sense, she was training after all, but a change of clothes? Why? What lesson would require her to change out of her clothes to learn? She frowned, questioning for a moment if his training would damage whatever attire she was wearing at the time, thus requiring the extra set. That, of course, could prove to be a problem if somehow her disguise was damaged during this potentially dangerous training regime.
Moreover, why the sudden change in scenery? So far, their lessons had taken place exclusively in the desert Gohan so often frequented. She'd decided to investigate exactly where they'd be meeting on her way back to her suite, only to find it was the border to a massive forest stretching as far as she could see. Why go there, of all places?

The two trains of thought took turns occupying her mind, each plaguing her psyche with worry and doubt as she felt herself grow restless. Finally, Eighteen pushed herself off the bed as she began to get dressed. She knew she wasn't going to get any rest today.

I need to go for a walk.

-Sesame Street, 2:00 AM-

The road was empty as Michael sat rigidly inside a discrete grey van parked outside a jewelry store. Its unlit sign read: Goldmine Jewelry. The indoor lights had been turned off for the night. He was in the driver's seat, the sliding door behind him aligned perfectly with the currently open glass door, the alarm having been disabled minutes earlier by Jay, one of his two accomplices currently inside.

They'd agreed to all wear the same outfit, black ski masks paired with dark long sleeves and slacks, ensuring that they were indistinguishable from each other, just in case an unnoticed camera caught a glimpse of them, although Jay insisted that there were no cameras still running after he'd taken down the system.
Michael felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck as he watched down the street. His task was to be their lookout, and to radio them if he saw anything suspicious going on. So far, his view had been an empty road stretching out on either side of him, street lamps illuminating the sidewalk of the sleeping city.

Thankfully, there hadn't even been the rogue pedestrian passing by. He could hear the faint sound of his friends, Jay and Hector, drilling through the medium-sized safe where the jewelry had been locked up overnight. Otherwise, the night had been entirely silent.

Unfortunately, that hadn't calmed the jumpy thief's nerves. His mask was beginning to soak through with sweat..

Anxious eyes darted back and forth down the road, using his side-view mirror to focus on the places he couldn't see by himself. He squinted at the dark areas where the street lamps couldn't reach, where anything could be hiding.
He swallowed, taking a deep, shaky breath before letting out a calming sigh. It felt like his heart was beating a mile a minute!
Relax, Michael, you're being ridiculous. Everything is going to turn out fine. Jay and Hector will be done in a few minutes, and then we'll be on our way.

They'd done plenty of jobs like this, and all of them had gone off without a hitch. Why would this one be any different? Those things he'd heard had only been rumors, and hardly believable ones at that. There was absolutely no way they could be true. He tried to reason with himself, letting himself relax slightly into his seat before going back to focusing on the road.

His eyes glanced into his side-view mirror again, pulling away before frowning and looking back. His eyes narrowed, brow furrowing as he stared at a point just above one of the street lamps a block back.

He couldn't be sure due to just how dark it was in the moonless night—a deliberate choice made by Hector to ensure they had the most discretion possible—but it looked almost like there was a...figure resting atop-

Michael jumped as he heard the passenger side door suddenly jerk open. He let out a short squeak before scrambling to grab the pistol he'd kept in his pocket for this specific occasion. A moment later, the barrel was pointed in the direction of his disturbance.
"Relax, Mike! It's just me."

The tension in his shoulders eased, letting out a sigh of relief as he put away his weapon. "Damn it, Hector, you scared the shit out of me!" he half whispered, half yelled.
"Yeah, I can tell." The bulkier man commented before climbing in beside him and closing the door. "It looked like you were just about to blow my head off."

"You'd deserve it after freaking me out like that." He frowned, raising an eyebrow towards his friend. "Wait, why are you back here? Shouldn't you be inside with Jay?"

Hector scoffed. "That prick was getting on my nerves. Kept talking back to me. Yadda yadda this, yadda yadda that, as if we haven't all been doing this for the last five months. Seriously, I know what I'm doing, man!"

"You were getting in the way again, and he told you to sit in the car, didn't he?"

Michael smirked as his friend shot him a dirty look.

"Yup." Michael confirmed to himself with a nod.

"So, smartass, what's got you so jumpy? It's not like you to pull your gun like that. Something up?"

Michael let out an annoyed growl, his head falling back against his seat. "It's this stupid rumor that's been floating around. It's got in my head and now I'm all paranoid."

"Rumor?"

"Yeah, there's been this rumor about some weird thing that's been targeting criminals in West City. They call it 'The Broken' since it leaves all it's victims only just barely alive, aka, broken."

"Broken…?" He watched his colleague cock his head, confused, before his eyes lit up in recognition. "Ohhhh, you mean the 'Nobody' rumor, right?"

"Nobody?"

"Yeah, that's what I heard it was called since no one can ever see what it looks like. From what I've heard, all people see is a swirling darkness, then it's lights out." The larger man leaned in slowly towards his friend, his fingers moving like the legs of a spider as he adopted a more sinister tone. "Rumor has it that it's the lost soul of a guy who was murdered by some muggers in an alleyway in West City. Now, his angry ghost scours the streets, searching for his killers and attacking any crook unfortunate enough to stumble upon his path...!"

Michael felt a shiver run down his spine, his old fears all reaffirmed as his eyes grew wide with terror.

Immediately, Hector broke out into a quiet laughter, slugging a playful punch into Michael's bicep. "Nah, man, I'm just fucking with you. Yeah, I've heard the rumors too, but it's not like any of that is real. Probably just something the police are trying to spread around to keep wimpy guys like you from trying anything."

"You sure? From what I've heard, it sounds pretty real."

Hector rolled his eyes. "C'mon man, think realistically. What's more likely, a struggling police force desperately trying to flood the streets with creepy rumors, or an actual ghost terrorizing West City? Besides, why would a ghost target criminals of all people? You ever heard of a ghost with a moral code? In the movies they would always be killing innocent people who happened to move into their old home n' shit."

"...Yeah, you're probably right." Michael admitted, letting out a low, nervous laugh. "I'm just being paranoid."

"And a pussy." Hector smirked.

"Y'know, I'm beginning to regret not shooting you a minute ago."

Suddenly, their radios burst to life, Jay's voice on the other end.

"BZZT- Hector, get your fat ass in here, there's more to carry than I thought there'd be.-BZZT"
"I guess that's your cue, fatass." Michael repeated with a grin.

Hector shot him one last dirty look, then got out of the van and disappeared into the dark jewelry shop.

Feeling slightly less anxious than he had before, Michael returned to watching the road, his gaze carefully inspecting ahead before glimpsing into his side-view mirror for the umpteenth time.

He blinked, remembering that he'd thought he'd spotted something just above one of the lamp posts a ways back. His eyes immediately found that spot again. Squinting, he realized that there was nothing actually there.

Hector's right. It's all in my head.

He stared forward once more, before frowning as he noticed something odd. Down the road, a ways ahead, one of the lamp posts had suddenly gone out.

Shitty city can't even afford proper lights anymore.

He scoffed, shaking his head. Whatever, it wasn't like that a broken lamp post meant anything, just some old lightbulb-

He went rigid as the next light in line died too.

On edge again, the thief swallowed, slowly raising the radio to his mouth as he dared not even blink. He suddenly jumped as yet another light went out.

His thumb jammed down on the button. "Guys, it's time to go. Now."

The response was immediate. "BZZT-What's going on? You got cops?-BZZT" Jay asked, a hitch if fear in his voice.
Michael swallowed, his body trembling as he stared at the dark stretch of road he'd been able to see clearly moments ago. What did he tell them? That some lights just went out suspiciously?

"Just get out here, guys. Something's not right." He couldn't help the tremble in his voice as he spoke.

Another light went out.

"BZZT- Is this just you pissing yourself over that ghost rumor getting to your head?-BZZT" He heard Hector ask. He could hear his incredulous smirk over the radio.

Michael growled, "Just fucking get out here guys! I'm being serious!"

He could hear the faintest sounds of laughter from the back of the shop.

"BZZT- Chill, alright? We'll be out in five minutes. Just getting everything loaded to go.-BZZT"

"Damn it!" He hissed as his hands tightened around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white as he stared terrified at the road ahead. A part of him wanted to start the van now, not risk whatever was out there, and peel out, leaving his friends behind. Sure, he appreciated them—he was here for them, wasn't he—but that didn't mean he was about to risk his life for them, either. Another part of him was sure he was being childish. Sure, some lamp posts had gone out, but that didn't necessarily mean that there was anything to worry about.

Right?

Michael let a sharp breath of air spill out of him as yet another lamp post abruptly went out. There were only a few more lamps separating him from complete and utter darkness.

Fuck this.

He could feel in his gut that something was wrong, and there wasn't a chance in hell he was going to stick around to find out. His fingers immediately turned the key before the van's engine roared to life. He shifted the gear into reverse, slamming his foot on the gas pedal as he suddenly shot backwards, his head turned to see out the back of the van. After building up some speed, he suddenly and violently twisted the wheel, shifting out of gear expertly as he spun, retaining his speed as he righted himself. He'd certainly been chosen to be the getaway driver for a reason.
He pushed the pedal down to the floor, the Van revving loudly as it struggled to accommodate his orders. He glanced out of his rear view mirror, seeing both of his partners racing out of the store moments later, their arms thrown up in the air as they watched him speed down the road.

"BZZT- Michael! What the actual fuck are you doing right now? Get back here-"

Then, he watched as the final few lights leading up to his friends all went dark.
"...What the fuck…?" He could finally hear concern creeping into Jay's voice.

He could no longer see their figures as they were completely shrouded in darkness, but he could imagine that they were likely looking around, confused at having their source of light suddenly extinguished.

A moment later, it was drowned out by their screams, followed by frantic gunfire. The radio went dead, and the distant sounds of terrified men reached his ears before they were silenced, too.

"F-fuck!" He stammered, realizing that he'd definitely made the right call as he turned sharply to the left, hoping that he'd managed to put enough distance between himself and whatever had just gotten hold of his friends. He zigzagged down the streets, taking random, sharp turns in an attempt to ensure that he couldn't be followed. Finally, he turned onto a main road, cars zooming past him as he merged onto traffic. A second later, he pulled off the ski mask and tossed it to the passenger seat as he tried to slow his breathing down. He was trembling as he forced himself to follow the speed limits, his eyes brimming with tears as he realized he'd just left his friends for… whatever that had been. He felt guilty, but at the same time, he knew that all he could have accomplished by staying was to be another victim.

I warned them.

He reminded himself, trying to push down the nearly overwhelming sense of guilt.

I warned them and they didn't listen.

He could hear his heart as it pounded against his chest.

Michael turned off the road some time later, feeling safe as he began to make his way back home. He'd shaken it, whatever it had been.

Then, he heard a peculiar knock on the passenger side window.

His eyes shot open as he turned his head, his body trembling as he saw it.

A mass of swirling darkness hovering just outside.

N-no way-

Suddenly, the glass exploded inward, showering him in cuts as he pulled his hands up to cover his face from the shards.
A moment later, he saw the darkness rush towards him.

-The Next Morning-

Eighteen hummed quietly to herself as she sat patiently, having found a smooth, round boulder to rest atop as she awaited Gohan's arrival. She'd chosen to come earlier, the massive stretch of woods awaiting behind her.

She couldn't help but think about the night prior, congratulating herself on a job well done. It had been a spur of the moment idea to start busting the lights out towards the car, but she found it had worked out excellently in execution. She'd been able to feel his nervousness increase with each bulb, his energy growing erratic and panicked as she drew closer.
In fact, it had been the man's initial nervousness that had lured her towards their little heist in the first place. She doubted she would have noticed anything if there hadn't been a beacon of fear leading her straight to them.

She grinned, recalling the terrified looks on their faces just before she'd slammed them straight into the wall. She'd left them alive, although she'd also left them beaten badly enough that she was sure they wouldn't be thieving again any time soon. Certainly not for several years at the very least. She'd even called the police on the location shortly after returning the driver to the scene of the crime, his body too smashed up to even attempt to flee. Even if she no longer killed the humans, that didn't mean she didn't still enjoy striking fear into their eyes. There was still a part of her that relished the feeling of being feared, of being seen as the god she still very much was in comparison to the weak.

A finger idly played with a strand of black hair as she waited, the medium-length ponytail draped over her shoulder. A part of her felt that her recent comfort with this wig was because it was nothing compared to her most recent purchase. The concept had been simple, the result? Extraordinary.

She'd needed a method to obscure her face. At first, she'd thought of purchasing a mask—something generic that wouldn't get in her way. But then, she'd overheard some of the rumors spreading around. It appeared that whoever that man had been back at Joe's corner store had definitely spread word of her arrival, although, it seemed that his tale had certainly gone through some variations.

She smirked, recalling the absurd rendition she'd overheard from the two men in the van, her enhanced hearing allowing her to listen quite easily. Despite its ridiculous nature, she'd decided that, rather than pick up a mask and assume a new identity for the criminal underground to latch onto, she would try and play into the rumors she was certain were spreading rapidly across the city in light of her most recent attack.

They'd called her a swirling mass of darkness—less a person and more of a general shape, like an entity, like a ghost. She'd been forced to search out an old horror-themed shop in order to acquire a wig with hair long enough to fit the descriptions going around. The jet black wig fell so long that it reached past her thighs, completely obscuring her face and petite body within it's dark tendrils. That, coupled with the rest of her attire—a pair of dark, form-fitting leggins with a long-sleeved top to match—meant that no one would be able to distinguish anything about her. At first, it'd been difficult to move around in her new outfit, the hair often getting in her way and tripping her as she tried to move about stealthily. Thankfully, her cybernetically enhanced mind rapidly made the necessary adjustments in order to ensure she didn't make the same mistakes twice.
Eighteen's gaze shifted upward a moment later, her mind clearing of the previous night's events as she felt a familiar set of power signatures coming her way.

About time.

She stood before lifting into the air as she moved to meet them. A few seconds later, she could see the figures of Gohan and Trunks approaching.

"Hi, Videl!" Trunks waved.
Her lips curled into a subtle smile as she made a small wave back. She pushed her hands into the pockets of the coal-colored leather jacket she'd chosen to wear for the occasion, cropped short to show off her midriff. Beneath was a velvet shirt she thought matched nicely with the rest of the attire, a set of black shorts that she found emphasized the shape of her hips nicely, as well as a pair of combat boots she'd never had an occasion to wear. When she'd stepped in front of the mirror before leaving, she'd felt like she belonged in a biker gang.
Although, she also knew the only reason she'd gone with this outfit was to make the set of sunglasses mounted to her face seem less suspicious.

I still don't know if he noticed my eyes that night…

This had been her temporary solution to the matter until she could decide what she wanted to do.

Her gaze shifted to Gohan's as they closed the distance between each other.

"Hey, Videl. I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long." He smiled pleasantly.

She tried to detect any significant glances from the man, any indication that he was trying to investigate her eyes for any reason. Thankfully, she found no such look.

"No, I left early because I thought I'd have trouble finding the place." She lied. "I wasn't waiting long."

"Whoa!" Trunks exclaimed, his eyebrows rising as he motioned to her jacket. "Cool outfit! Where'd you get the jacket?"

She sent an appreciative smile towards the boy. "Thanks, I got it from a little shop in South City. I'll have to show you some time."

Someone seriously needs to teach that kid about style.

He'd chosen some simple grey sweatpants that paired terribly with the white and blue long sleeve Capsule Corp. shirt he seemed to so often wear. She supposed that the teen likely didn't have someone to teach him about clothes, considering Gohan wore the same orange and blue fighting gi almost every time she saw him, including now, and she doubted the strung out looking Bulma Briefs cared much for fashion either.

"Sweet, I definitely want one like yours." He paused, frowning. "Uh, but, for like—a guy."

Gohan let out a laugh, shaking his head. "Well, before Trunks starts trying on women's clothing, maybe we should get a move on?" He grinned as the teen shot him a dirty look.

"Speaking of which…" Eighteen shifted, turning her back to them and pointing to the small backpack she'd stuffed a change of clothes and water bottle into as per requested. "Why do I need this stuff? And why are you guys also carrying packs?" She'd noticed the brown straps on each of their shoulders, although Gohan was only using one loop.

She'd had to hide a frown when she'd noticed that.

"Well, for today's lesson, I thought it would be nice to train surrounded by nature."

"Uh," She raised a brow. "Can I ask why?"

What was wrong with their typical training grounds?
"It's a tradition!" Trunks exclaimed suddenly, clearly excited.

"Tradition?" She repeated, frowning. A tradition to train in some dingy woods?

"It's not a 'tradition' like Trunks says, or…at least, not exactly." Gohan began to explain. "When I was just starting out as a fighter, my own master left me out in the wilderness to toughen me up. I told Trunks about it and well, he's sorta turned it into this 'initiation' process, I guess."

"Hey!" The teen called out, upset he'd been outed so openly.

Eighteen let out a short laugh as Gohan continued. "Don't worry, I don't plan to leave you out in the woods to fend for yourself. I figured camping out for a night would suffice." He paused, his eyes widening as if only just realizing something. "Of course, you don't have to stay overnight if you don't want to. I brought an extra tent, but I know I didn't exactly warn you ahead of time." His arm reached to scratch the back of his head, an embarrassed smile on his lips. "Sorry about that. I guess I wasn't really thinking!"

Eighteen slowly nodded. Camping had never been very appealing to her, although she had been on several trips due to Seventeen's appreciation of the outdoors when they'd been younger.

She supposed spending just one night out under the stars couldn't hurt.

"Well, that certainly clears things up." Placing her hands on her hips, she shot the man an expectant, teasing look. "Lead the way, master."

It had taken them less than a half-hour to find an appropriate spot to set down. She figured they could have arrived sooner, but Gohan and Trunks had slowed down significantly. For her sake, she figured.

The trio set down at the center of a small clearing where the trees weren't too plentiful and the grass not too high. Upon touching down, the Android immediately noticed a firepit already dug out, old ashes within from past flames.

Looks like they've been here before…

She examined as the teen and Gohan each set down their packs. She followed suit as Gohan turned to Trunks.

"Go find some firewood for tonight, okay?"

The teen frowned, clearly disappointed. "Aww, but I wanted to go look for the dinosaur."

"There will be plenty of time for that afterwards. Now, go on. I've got to start the lesson with Videl."

She watched with a raised eyebrow as the boy turned and disappeared into the thicket. "He won't be joining us?"

Gohan smiled, shaking his head. "He's already learned this. I need to catch you up before the two of you can start learning together."

Oh. That makes sense, I guess.

It was odd for her to acknowledge it. Despite their clear gap in strength, Trunks likely did know more about Ki control than she did.

"So, for today's lesson, you'll be learning how to harness your Ki into a defensive or offensive force around your body." He raised a finger, meeting her gaze with a serious expression. "This is the most crucial piece of knowledge to know in a fight. If you're ever in danger, this technique will save your life, so listen closely, okay?"

Eighteen nodded, the back of her mind acknowledging how much it felt like she was back in highschool again. For a moment, she tried to picture Gohan as a teacher, or perhaps a college professor. She realized that she could form the image quite easily. She imagined he might have been one of the teachers she actually listened to. If only just to look at him.

"Now, the human body is pretty frail, normally. A fall from just five feet is enough to break just about any part of your body if you land the wrong way. This is where Ki comes in to change that. Now, you know how you wrap yourself in your own energy in order to fly?"

She nodded, silently feeling her prior excitement melting as she realized she was being taught how to do something her body already did naturally.

"The same occurs when fighting, the only difference is that you have to concentrate your power to the specific body part you want protected."

She raised an eyebrow at this new piece of information.

"For example..." He turned, moving to a nearby boulder before continuing. "Obviously, rocks are typically stronger than hands. What I'm doing when I strike is I'm rapidly concentrating my Ki into my fist, strengthening it so that it's strong enough to break through the stone." His fist suddenly shot out, snapping the rock in two with a violent crack. "Ki is versatile. You can use it to strengthen your limbs to attack and block or make yourself fast enough to dodge out of the way. It's up to your judgement to decide what fits you best in any given situation."

She frowned. That didn't seem right. Her entire body was constantly surrounded by her energy—protecting her, strengthening her. "Wait, you only push your energy to certain parts of your body when you fight? I thought that it was always surrounding you. Isn't that what's happening when your Ki spikes?" Did Gohan's energy not work like hers did?

The man made a side to side motion with his hand. "Yes and no. When I'm in a fight, I do raise my Ki level, and that does make my body stronger to an extent. However, I'm not throttling all of my Ki out when I do. You see, you can push your energy to protect your entire body if you really have to. However, that takes a lot of energy to do and would drain your reserves rapidly if you left your Ki on like that all the time. It's far better to position your energy where you need it, when you need it. Unfortunately, that also means that if you're not paying attention or get caught off guard, you can raise your defenses too late, and well..." His hand gestured to the left side of his torso. "I'm sure you can see what I mean."

Eighteen slowly nodded, her gaze shifting away in guilt. Suddenly, she was even more grateful that he couldn't see her eyes.

The man paused, his stare casting across the ground before he leaned over and picked up a smooth, round stone and offered it to her. "Here, I want you to practice with this rock. Try to reinforce your hand and shatter it."

She hesitated for only a moment before reaching out and accepted the stone. She frowned, staring down at it. Should she break it right away? Or should she struggle for a little bit to seem convincing? How difficult was this for someone normally?

She decided to play it safe. She tensed her fingers around the rock, making sure to appear that she was struggling before looking up, 'distraught'.
"That's okay, it's hard the first time you try." He smiled reassuringly. "Try to focus on the muscles in your arm. Imagine your arm is a flowing river and the rock is a dam. Now, the Ki you have is the water you need to add to that river to make it strong enough to push through. I know you have the power, your flight skills tell me that much. You just need to direct it."

Eighteen nodded before redirecting her attention to the stone. She considered snapping it in two now, showing him that his direction had been enough, before another thought occurred to her.

What if...I actually try this?

Her mind pulled back to that little piece of herself she'd encountered during her first flight lesson. It had been small, and it had been weak, but it was hers.

"..."

Her brow furrowed, her lips tightening in concentration as she searched within, looking for the piece of her that Dr. Gero had not touched. It took her some time, but now that she knew it was there, it was impossible for her to lose it. Looking within herself, she could see it: Her Ki, her essence, hiding behind the mass of energy provided by her augmentation.

...Why does it seem...bigger?

It had appeared smaller the last time she'd searched it out. She was certain of it. It wasn't as if the change was massive. The source was still quite pitiful compared to what she truly had to offer, but it had definitely grown since the last time she'd used it.

Interesting…

She thought to herself as she quickly reached out, latching onto the small pool of power before forcing it to move through her body. It felt...strange. She realized quickly that she'd never actually used her own power before. The only time she'd even interacted with it was to give it to Trunks that one time.
It was completely unlike what she was used to.

It felt alive as it washed over her skin and arm, fueling the limb with power as her grip tightened around the stone. Much to her surprise, the rock remained whole within her palm. She found that Gohan's words were helpful, but controlling her energy without Dr. Gero's programming naturally doing it for her was difficult. It was as if the life source didn't know exactly what to do, its chaotic nature spilling out and wasting away within the air itself.

She growled, her face twisting into a frustrated snarl as she redoubled her efforts.

C'mon, stupid rock, break already!

She could feel the pitiful pool of energy beginning to drain rapidly. She knew that it wouldn't be long until it was completely tapped. A part of her felt that this was a pointless endeavor, that she was making this needlessly hard for herself.

Another part of herself wanted to double, triple, and quadruple down. Her eyes snapped shut, gritting her teeth, she forced her energy to cooperate with her. A moment later, she could sense the energy drawing to a refined point as she began to collect it, the Ki coalescing around her fingers before-

"CRACK!"

The noise made her jump in surprise, her eyes snapping open in bewilderment.

She looked down at her now opened hand. Each half of the rock rolled away from the other, balancing on their new axis within her open palm.

Her eyes grew wide with astonishment.

"I did it!" She exclaimed, looking back at Gohan with an excited smile. Immediately, she could tell that something was wrong.

Did he not expect me to succeed?

His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape as he stared back at her with a look of seeming bewilderment.

A moment later, his face relaxed as he flashed her a supportive smile. "Well done! I knew you could do it. Now, let's take a break. I can sense Trunks getting back with the fire wood." The man turned on his heel, moving towards the form of Trunks stepping out of the tree line holding a massive pile of sticks standing taller than his head.

She watched her teacher as he walked away, her brow furrowed in confusion.

What was that look about?

-Gohan-

As he stepped away from Videl, he rapidly replayed the last several seconds in his mind. It had only been a moment, a flash that occurred right when the stone had broken. It had been gone in an instant, but it had been unmistakably there.

Did I just sense Videl's Ki?

-One Hour later-

After the fire had been properly started, and Videl showed Trunks her new trick, the group had agreed to set up their tents before the sun started to fall too low. Gohan had struggled to set up his own. The simple frame repeatedly collapsed as he attempted to put them in place with one hand, until finally Trunks noticed and moved to help him.

Gohan had been grateful for the assistance.

Finally, the three shelters were up, and the trio had positioned themselves around the fire, each sitting atop their own log pulled over by the elder Saiyan.

"So," Videl began, "do you guys do this often?"

"Not too often." Gohan answered. "We've camped here a handful of times. Although, I never like pulling myself too far away from the big cities, because…" He trailed off, not wanting to bring down the mood by mentioning the Androids. This had been his treat to Trunks, a get away from the ruined cities and destroyed lives that so regularly occupied their day-to-day lives. The teen had always seemed so excited to go camping in the past, but he'd never been able to fully commit to the experience, constantly pausing to check up on the cardinal cities, ensuring another attack wasn't on its way. Now that the Androids had gone into hiding, he felt he could finally give his young friend the attention he deserved.
"Because of work." He lied.

Can I consider the Androids a 'job'? It's my 'job' to stop them, right?

He supposed that wasn't entirely inaccurate. He stole a glance towards Trunks, trying to see if the boy had caught onto his deception. If he had, he certainly hadn't shown it. Quickly directing his gaze back towards the fire, he caught a glimpse of Videl in his peripherals, looking down and frowning at his comment.

She definitely caught on.

He supposed he wasn't the best liar.

The air between them grew silent, the only noises coming from the sharp crackling of the fire between them.

"Anyway!" He exclaimed in a cheerful tone, hoping to raise the morale of the group. The young man pushed himself to his feet before resting his hand on his hip, looking between the two of them expectantly. "Let's get back to it. Videl, are you feeling rested?"

His new pupil shot him a curious look, an eyebrow arching behind her sunglasses before she rose. "Sure, what's next?"

"Well, I thought it would be interesting if Trunks got to train against a partner with both their arms." He grinned, trying to make light of his injury, although his comment was also very true. He knew Trunks was developing bad habits from sparring solely with him, learning to leave his right side unprotected at times since he didn't have to worry about a left hook any time soon.

Trunks shot him a confused look, his brows furrowing. "What? But she's only just learned how to use her Ki."

"I'm not expecting you to go all out right now, Trunks. This is as much an exercise for Videl as it is for you. I want you to show restraint and focus on form rather than power. No flying or Ki blasts, either. This match will rely on footwork and proper technique this time around." He turned his attention towards Videl. "I want you to focus on pushing and moving your Ki to block and protect from his attacks. It'll be tricky at first, but I know you can do it."

The teen slowly rose to his feet, frowning as he shot a concerned look towards Gohan before looking to Videl. "Are you up for this?"

Her hands fell on her hips, a confident smirk pulling at her lips a moment later. "What? You nervous I'm gonna wipe the floor with you in front of your teacher?"

Gohan couldn't stop the laugh that came out. He grinned, appreciating her tenacity despite knowing that she was clearly the weaker of the two.

Trunks grumbled before walking away from the fire, standing within the short field adjacent to their campsite and turning back towards them. "Fine, let's do this." He dropped into his stance, one that was slightly modified from the one he'd taught the boy, but nonetheless a strong, defensive fighting stance.
Videl calmly followed after him, moving out into the field before Gohan called out. "Um, Videl?"

"Hm?" She responded, turning her head back towards him.

Time to finally check.

"Your sunglasses. It's probably better you take them off before you start. Otherwise, they might get broken." He offered out a hand to hold them for her.

He'd planned this fight to test Videl and teach Trunks, certainly. But, he'd also wanted to check something that he'd noticed on the night Videl had encountered him in the desert.

What color are your eyes now?

He watched her pause for a moment, surprised by his comment. "Oh, right." She finally said before removing the shades and handing them to him. His gaze never left her irises.

Black again…

So, what had he seen that night in the desert? Why had they been so...blue? He began to doubt his own memory as he reflected. Was it possible that he'd simply seen it wrong? A trick of the light? It had been dark, could that have had some affect on his vision?

Why does this matter? It's only her eye color. It's not like that's important.

He knew it was a very slight oddity, but something inside him...felt like it did matter.

The demi-Saiyan decided to squash the thought, ridding it from his mind for the time being as he focused on the fight ahead.

He watched as Videl turned away, walking confidently towards his first pupil before raising her arms, assuming the same stance he'd seen her adopt before in the desert. Much like last time, she bounced on the balls of her booted feet, moving side to side like a boxer would.

This should be interesting…

He watched she began to slowly close the distance between them, moving cautiously as Trunks eyed her. The younger boy then threw a painfully slow punch towards Videl's head.

Gohan resisted the urge to bury his face into his hand.

C'mon, Trunks, I didn't mean go that easy on her!
Then, something unexpected happened. Videl turned, her back facing her opponent as the punch sailed over her shoulder. Her arms wrapped around the limb an instant later, her body shifted forward as her opponent lurched, his eyes growing wide as he was suddenly airborne. Trunks was hurled over the petite woman, before his back slammed against the grass with a hard thud. Videl's grip on his hand released before she hopped several steps back.

"C'mon, Trunks, you're going to have to try harder than that." She taunted, a smug grin on her lips as she watched the teen scramble to his feet.

A bright red blush stained his cheeks as he shot the woman a dirty look.

"Fine, then." He responded coldly, his eyes now filled with a flustered determination. This time, it was Trunks who closed the distance between them.

Gohan noticed the boy's Ki rise.

Easy, Trunks.

He knew that the teen likely didn't know it yet, but if he wasn't careful he could easily kill someone of Videl's level, if not significantly maim them.

I'll have to step in if his Ki grows too much…

He mentally noted as he quietly watched the fight continue.

Trunks shot out a jab that whistled as it split the air, narrowly avoided by Videl as she stepped to his right, moving out of his range as the teen threw out another punch, but struck nothing but air.

The teen gave chase, darting forward and driving a knee into her midsection, stopped at the last second by Videl's crossed forearms in a hasty defense.

Good.

Gohan could tell that attack had come with a little bit of extra force in it. He knew that if she'd not channeled her Ki into her arms, she would have been knocked to the ground.

Videl responded quickly, pushing the knee to the side before throwing out a right hook only just blocked by Trunks' ready hand. Her left fist shot out two more jabs, the first missing entirely as he stepped to the side, the second realigning and grazing his cheek as he did his best to dodge.

Gohan grinned. He could tell the teen wasn't used to fighting someone equipped with a left hand yet.

Then he felt the boy's Ki rise again. His grin slipped away.

He's starting to get serious...

He watched as Trunks spun, whipping around with a right elbow that just barely missed Videl's head as she crouched below it, before immediately following it up with a left hook that moved too fast for the woman to respond. Videl grimaced, her head snapping to the side as she staggered back several feet.

The elder Saiyan felt his body tense as he watched the attack land. His immediate instinct was to chastise the boy for not taking it easier on his relatively novice opponent, but he caught himself before he did.
He could hear his old master, Piccolo's words in his head.

"You don't get stronger by being coddled. You get stronger by being pushed."

Trunks was pushing her—he needed to remind himself of that. It had been his entire reasoning for throwing Videl into a fight after learning about Ki control barely an hour ago. Sometimes, throwing someone into the deep end is the most effective route. Piccolo had been sure to hammer that lesson into him at a very young age.

Relax, Gohan. This is just a part of training.

"That hurt." The woman commented, her hand massaging her cheek before she raised her fists, signalling that she was ready again. "I'll have to get you back for that one." She grinned.

"I told you you'd have a rough time, didn't I?" Trunks responded, grinning back confidently as he began to move towards her.

Gohan's eyebrow rose. He didn't remember the two ever having that conversation. Had they talked at some point since their last training session? He'd have to ask.

The two shot towards each other in a burst of speed. Trunks led with a straight kick meant for her chest, and Videl pulled her arms up at the last second, stopping the attack and pushing him off balance as she dropped low, sweeping out with a kick to knock out his remaining leg. Trunks responded by moving with his backwards momentum, flipping away with a back handspring before immediately charging forward again, his fist cocked back and ready.

Gohan watched, impressed with Videl's performance as the two engaged once more, each attempting to gain an edge as they traded blows. It was clear that Trunks had the upper hand. He was definitely landing more hits than he was taking since he'd raised his Ki, but that wasn't to say that Videl wasn't holding her own. Gohan watched her movements closely, her milky white thighs shifting as she darted out of the way of a sweeping kick. The motion caused her shirt to catch the wind, revealing her toned and unblemished midriff.

Hmm…

He found his eyes beginning to wander. The hop of her step caused her chest to bounce beneath the tight shirt. Her hips, cupped by the cute shorts she'd decided to wear, pulled his attention away from the fight as his head began to slowly cock to the side. His eyes lingered on the round, plump shape of her-

Immediately, his head straightened, his eyes snapping open wide as he tried to hide a blush.

Focus, Gohan! You're supposed to be paying attention to the fight!

The young man forced his eyes to study their form, rather than...other things.

The petite woman was retreating where she could, creating space and forcing her opponent to come to her.

It was a smart strategy. Wearing down her opponent by making them use their energy to try and catch her. The only problem was, Gohan could tell the match was drawing close to its end.

Trunks moved in close, driving into her guard as he slipped past a desperate jab attempting to push him away. He rose, feinting an uppercut as Videl responded appropriately, raising her guard to stop the attack. Before she could respond, the boy shifted, twisting his body into a spinning heel kick that landed centered in his opponent's stomach. Gohan could hear the air wheeze out of her as the attack connected, sending her flying back and into the now flattened grass.

"Alright!" His voice boomed, turning the teen's head towards him. "That's enough."

The grass crunched beneath his feet as he moved to where Videl was lying, her arms sprawled out in opposite directions as her widened eyes stared up towards the clear blue sky. He could see her breathing heavily from the exchange, although he couldn't see any visible bruising anywhere.

Good. She managed to push her Ki to defend herself at the last second.

He offered out a hand, which his friend slowly took before being pulled back to her feet.

"You did well for your first fight. I was very impressed." He complimented, before returning the pair of shades to her.

"Yeah! I never knew you could fight like that." Trunks commented with a bright smile as he walked over, offering out a hand. "Good fight! We should do it again some time."

Videl's eyes stared at the extended hand for a few seconds before a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "Thanks." She accepted the handshake. "We definitely will—and next time, I'll be the one laying you out in the grass."

-Eighteen-

Fighting had never been especially appealing to the Android. Sure, the programs and hardware installed by Dr. Gero had given her all the strength, speed and knowledge she needed to outmatch any martial artist, but being good at something wasn't always the same as enjoying it.

Despite this, as the trio began to make their way back to their camp, she couldn't help but feel…excited at the prospect of challenging the young man again.

That was… actually pretty fun.

It'd been an interesting engagement. Having 's programming instantly tell her the most optimal route to stop and retaliate against Trunks' strikes, only to actively ignore them and allow herself to take hits that normally would never touch her. Not only that, but the fight had felt different than anything she'd ever experienced before. It wasn't a battle of blood, where the ultimate objective was to kill her target, as her engagements with Gohan had so often been. It had been a friendly, good natured spar with no stakes to speak of. It had felt like a pickup game of basketball—like a fun sport where each side was trying to test the other's game.

She supposed the only difference was that, making a mistake in this sport meant you were getting a punch to the nose. But it wasn't like his attacks actually hurt her, so all she had to do was act like they did. She'd thrown the match knowing that it would be suspicious if she'd beaten the boy after just one lesson. However, she could also tell that the fight had meant a lot more to Trunks than it had to her. Looking over, she could see that the little guy was walking with an iota of pride in his step, looking up at Gohan, who was commenting on his technique and praising him for his strategy, while also giving him tips on how to improve next time.

I gave him a chance to prove himself.

Eighteen smiled. She realized that the young man had likely not gotten many chances to show Gohan that his teachings weren't being wasted. Considering the fact that she was apparently Gohan's second ever student, it was likely the teen hadn't ever really fought anyone else..

Her eyes widened, feet coming to a halt behind the two fighters as she came to a sudden realization.

Gohan paused, turning to look back at her as she stopped. "Hm? Something the matter?"

It took a moment for Eighteen to shake off her stunned stupor before she shook her head, immediately falling back in step. "No, sorry, just remembered something a, uh...friend told me once."

"Yeah?" Gohan asked, displaying a polite interest. "What was that?"

Her gaze fell slightly as she dredged up the memory.

"...He was talking about something different, but he told me once that he'd once wanted to lose a fight, that he'd have been more happy to lose." She frowned at the memory. "I hadn't understood at the time. It's not the same, but I get that now...being happy about losing."

"That's a good outlook to have, I think. I mean, everyone has to start somewhere, right?"

Eighteen's head snapped up, her eyes meeting Gohan's as she registered his words.

...Everyone has to start somewhere…

She knew that the young man was only referring to her being 'new' and learning how to fight. He thought that she meant that she was happy about learning, which a part of her was. However, as she walked alongside him, a man that only a few months ago she wouldn't have thought twice about slaughtering before she started down this new path, she found that the old saying meant more to her than it ever had.

She smiled back. "Yeah, you're right."

"Guys! I'm getting hungry! Can we start looking for food, already?" Trunks' voice called out from the camp, having pulled ahead of the two.

Wait, looking for food?

She frowned, looking to Gohan as she asked. "You guys didn't bring food with you?" While she knew she didn't need food to survive, the concept of going camping without something to eat sounded absurd to her!

"Well…" Gohan flashed an embarrassed smile, his hand instinctively reaching to rub the back of his head. "That's sorta part of the training."

She raised an eyebrow.

"It's a part of tradition!" Trunks corrected excitedly as they reached the camp. "Gohan's old master had him do the same thing when he was just starting out. He had to fend for himself, so we have to do the same."

Gohan leaned over, whispering into her ear as he elaborated. "It's a rule Trunks likes. I tried to bring food one time and he wouldn't accept it when he found out that's how my original training went." He shook his head, chuckling as he pulled back. "Now, it's just sorta how we do things. Don't worry, I'll find something for you if you need me to."

"Hey!" Trunks interjected, his hands on his hips in an annoyed expression. "Videl is a new student just like I was—er—am. She should get the same treatment you and I did!" He crossed his arms, nodding as if his word was final.

Gohan rolled his eyes, his lips curled into an amused smile as he said. "And who put you in charge? I thought I was the 'master' here."

The boy's confident demeanor immediately faltered. "I—uh, well, I just thought-"

"No, I like it. I think it's a good rule." She suddenly added. It wasn't like it mattered for her considering she quite literally didn't have to eat. If this made her an official 'student' in Trunks' eyes, she couldn't see the harm in it. "So, do we all go out hunting or…?"

"Well, we all have to…" The teen paused, his eyes flashing to Gohan for confirmation to continue.

Gohan sighed, smiling like a parent would with an overenthusiastic son. He motioned to continue. "Go ahead. You're the one enforcing this rule, after all."

Trunks nodded, the smile returning to his face. "So, we all have to go out and find whatever we can and bring it back to camp for the night. No pairing up! We only eat what we catch. No exceptions!" He proclaimed, his hands on his hips, clearly pleased with his ruling.

"We'll meet back up at sundown." Gohan commanded, looking at Trunks. "Also, I recommend flying over the tree line when you look." He added, turning to Videl. "These woods have a lot of dangerous predators, and for someone who's still new to Ki, it may be dangerous for you to explore at ground level."

She smiled, finding his concern for her well being cute. "I think I'll be fine."

-One Hour later-

She could see the sun growing ever-closer to setting as she calmly walked through the dense forest, the leaves rustling as the wind picked up, creating a low howl as it passed between the trees.

She hadn't found anything edible aside from some dark-colored berries that she wasn't sure she trusted. Although she wasn't certain she physically could be poisoned, that wasn't something she planned to test any time soon.

Her feet continued to crunch through the untamed grass as something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Squinting, her enhanced vision could just barely make out the rough shape of a relatively small, brown, log cabin.

Curious, the woman decided to see if anyone still lived inside. She floated off the ground, moving swiftly through the trees as she approached. Eventually, she cleared the tree line, reaching a large stretch of flat land where the cabin was centered. She could see a laundry line hung up between two wooden posts just outside the structure. A few shirts had been clipped to the wire, with a small basket full of clothes sitting next to it. Moving closer, her nose caught the musty smell of mildew from the basket. The clothes inside were half-covered with dead leaves, packed down and stuck together by rainfall.

She frowned when she noticed another pile of clothes sitting only a few feet from the basket. She could tell just by looking that they had once belonged to a small child.

Odd.

Turning her head, she saw another, slightly larger pile of clothes sitting only a handful of feet away, clearly having once belonged to a young girl judging by the frilly, bright pink shirt.

Eighteen frowned when she saw a large dried blood stain, brown and dried, married the shirt, with a hole punched through the middle.

"..."

The wind grew silent, the air around her feeling almost sinister, as she began to sense that something very wrong had happened here.

She turned her attention towards the cabin, noticing that the door had been torn off its hinges some time ago. A part of her wanted to investigate further, to enter the cabin and see what was waiting for her within.

Another part of her was screaming at her to run. Her nerves were telling her that whatever this was, was definitely not her business.

Her eyes scanned the cabin, searching for any signs of life inside. A second later, she allowed her senses to pulse out, searching for any life energy as well. As far as she could tell, there was nothing.

"..."
Not today.

Without another word, the Android turned and took to the air, flying away faster than she needed to. Any other day, she might have investigated the creepy looking home, but today? Today she was spending time with Gohan and Trunks, and she didn't want to ruin it by uncovering what her gut was telling her were likely dead bodies within. If she did, what would she do? Tell Gohan and ruin their trip out into the woods? Trunks was clearly enjoying himself. She didn't want to ruin it for the boy.

Maybe another time.

She continued to fly, her thoughts clouded with what could have been lurking within those wooden walls. She didn't know why that had bothered her so much.

"Hey! Videl!"

Eighteen flinched as she heard the name call out from below. Turning, she caught sight of Trunks, who'd turned the hem of his shirt into a makeshift basket for a large pile of apples.

"Any luck?" He asked, smiling up at her.

She took a few moments to collect herself, shaking off the sinister feeling she'd encountered back at the cabin. "Nothing yet." she answered honestly.

She watched the boy frown, look to his massive stack of apples and then back to her. "If you want to help me carry some of these back, I'm willing to share!"

She smirked, amused by his generosity. "I thought you said 'no pairing up' and 'no exceptions'." She taunted as she landed beside him.

Trunks flashed an embarrassed smile. "Maybe I was a little too harsh. It's starting to get dark, so it might be hard to find anything if you haven't found something yet. Here-" He raised his shirt-basket a bit higher for her. "It'll be our little secret." he whispered.

Eighteen stared down at the pile of apples. She supposed he was right that it was starting to get late, and she definitely didn't want to return with nothing to show Gohan. She'd been excelling at every task he'd presented her with so far, and she didn't want to let him down now.

"Alright, thanks." She grabbed a small portion of the teen's stash before falling in step beside him as the two began to make their way back towards the camp.

"There's a bunch of apple trees back there I know about." He motioned with his head towards where he'd come from. "It's where I usually go when we go out camping."

"Smart." She commented. "I can tell you really enjoy it."

He nodded, a sad smile gracing his lips. "Yeah, we hadn't been able to go much because Gohan was so worried about the Androids popping up again. I was really excited when he mentioned it to me the other day."

"Hm." She responded simply. She averted her gaze, choosing to study the dense foliage rather than the boy. The kid was smarter than he let on at times, having so easily seen through Gohan's poorly made 'work' excuse back at the camp. Or perhaps he'd always known that was the reason, and never let Gohan know he knew. Whichever was the case, Eighteen could tell that he understood more about the world that Gohan thought he did.

The teen slowed to a stop beside her, his head turning to look out through the thick tree line.

"Y'know, we're near a pretty cool spot if you want to check it out."

She raised an eyebrow in interest. "Yeah?"
He nodded, a smile slowly forming. "Yeah! C'mon, I'll show you!"

She watched as the boy turned, moving over to a tree before depositing the apples at its base. "They should be fine here for awhile. We'll be back before anything finds them."

Eighteen nodded, following suit before the teen began to slowly lift into the air, lavender strands of hair fluttering in the cool breeze before he turned and blasted through the sky. Eighteen quickly followed after.

-Ten Minutes Later-

She could see the sun beginning to slip behind the horizon as Trunks slowed to a stop, his eyes looking out towards the massive stretch of wasteland that appeared to go on for miles.

"We're here." He commented before allowing gravity to carry him to the ground.

Eighteen frowned as she followed suit, her head turning as her eyes slowly scanned the area. What made this place so special? As far as she could tell, it was just another massive wasteland filled with nothing but craggy cliffs and flat, grassy fields.

She followed the boy as he moved forward, his feet crunching against the dry dirt as she noticed his jovial demeanor slowly bleed away. His face eased, his eyelids half-closed as his expression became more somber.

"What is this place?" She finally asked as he came to a stop, staring down at the dirt before them where she could see the ground had dipped in a trench that stretched out for a hundred feet. She could tell the formation was unnatural as she studied it.

"It's called the Paprika wastelands by the locals. It's also the place Gohan helped hold off the Saiyans before Goku got here."

Saiyans?

The term was foreign to her.

Eighteen blinked, before her eyes grew wide. Now that she was looking, she could definitely see evidence of a massive battle all around her. Spots where the earth had been cratered, places where the grass had been scorched away to the point that nothing could grow there anymore. She turned back to the massive indent in the ground before them. At first, she'd interpreted it as the start of a poorly crafted path to nowhere. But now, it looked more like the ruins of a massive energy attack that had cut through the earth as it barreled towards whatever opponent it had been aimed at. She knew what the level of power meant. Whoever these 'Saiyans' had been, they'd been a serious threat.
"Oh," she responded, not certain what she was supposed to say. "Gohan told you about this place?"

Trunks shook his head. "No, I found it on my own. I don't think Gohan wanted me to know about this fight." He stepped away, moving towards a large crater and staring down at it.

"I'm not clear on all of the facts. There's only so much you can dig up on a fight that happened over eighteen years ago."

Eighteen years?

Her brow furrowed at the number. If this fight had really happened that long ago, that would have put Gohan at age five.

Her head snapped back towards the massive crater in the ground. She tried to imagine a toddler dealing with whatever had managed to put that in the Earth. She could barely even recall when she'd been a five-year-old. It seemed like so long ago, now. She'd been busy dressing up the few dolls she'd been able to keep away from the other kids, and running around playing tag with her brother. She couldn't imagine having to handle something like this at that age.

"Why do you think Gohan didn't want you to know about this place?" She asked, puzzled that the man would withhold something so...impressive from his youth. Why not share something like that?

She watched the boy pause, clearly choosing his answer carefully before he responded. "I don't know, exactly." She frowned. She could tell there was more there than he was telling her. "I do know some of the fighters that were a part of it though. Krillin, Piccolo-"

The Demon King?

She raised an eyebrow at the name, but didn't interrupt. So, he'd been fighting on their side since all the way back then?

"-Yamcha, Tien, and I think someone named Chitzu?" He frowned, his eyes narrowing as he shook his head. "I don't know exactly, but I know a lot of them died in this fight. Gohan's master fought here, too. They all struggled here to fend off the Saiyans before Goku arrived."

She watched as the teen slowly walked over to a rock before sitting down, a disappointed expression consuming his face. "I wish I could have met them. I did as a baby, or, at least, that's what my mom tells me. Now, I only know them from the pictures up on the wall at our house. From what I can tell, they were all heroes."

Eighteen nodded. "Sounds like it."

She knew the names too, although not personally. Dr. Gero's files had listed them as allies of Son Goku, alongside physical descriptions, basic knowledge, information on how strong they were and how they generally behaved in a fight. Outside of that knowledge, the Doctor hadn't programmed her with much else, deeming any other information as unnecessary.

A part of her was curious about the mention that many of them had died in this fight, since she and her brother had been personally responsible for killing them several years later, as well. Of course, she couldn't reveal that information since she was 'Videl', the normal human girl who was hearing all of this for the first time.

She replayed the names she had on file in her head. Krillin, Tien, Piccolo, Vegeta-
She paused as her mind went over the files on that name. They were less extensive than the others, seemingly because that individual had joined their group later in Goku's life. In fact, it had that person listed as a potential threat to son Goku for whatever reason.

She continued to reflect on the man's face as she went over his file. Something about him seemed… familiar.

She recalled combating him all those years ago. He'd done the same trick Gohan could, his hair shifting to that golden color before his body had been enveloped with flame. At first, she'd thought this meant the two were related somehow, although her files also reported that Gohan's father was definitely Goku, so that wasn't a possibility. He'd certainly been one of the more difficult fighters to put down, actually managing to land a few decent hits on her, but he'd fallen like all the rest, despite his best efforts.

She frowned. Something about his face, the armor he wore in their fight, coupled with this place...made her thoughts linger on the man…

Her eyes flashed as wide as they could, the realization hitting her on just where she'd seen his face before. It had been before Dr. Gero had found her, before he'd tainted herself and her brother with his machinery.

She remembered it. The destruction of East City had been breaking News, the story interrupting almost every channel on TV at the time to report the massive tragedy. She'd been sitting at a diner at the time, Seventeen, or rather, Lapis had been across from her, the two of them preparing to leave quickly without paying the check when they'd noticed the TV reporting the horrible incident in the corner of the room. She remembered the entire diner growing silent as they all watched, shocked at what was being shown. From what had been reported, two figures had emerged from mysterious pods that fell from the sky, from space, before a massive portion of East City had been immediately obliterated.
With the aid of helicopters, several very brave or very stupid sets of news crews had followed the duo out to a wasteland, this wasteland, she was rapidly realizing, as their live feed televised the two beings responsible for the attack. The incident had been so jarring, so terrifying that she could still remember clearly what they had looked like all those years ago.
She remembered their clothing being bizarre, clearly alien in design, as they stood there, confidently looking back at the cameras. The transmission had only lasted a short time before the larger of the two had waved a hand, exploding one of the helicopters, before the rest had fled for their lives. That one had been a goliath of a man, bulky and bald with a handlebar mustache resting over a smug grin. The other, a more vertically challenged individual, had hair that rose like a fire from his widows peak, unmistakably Vegeta, himself.

She recalled hearing on a news bulletin that the larger one had supposedly broken off on his own for a time, confronting the rapidly building military forces of the world over before laying waste to them all.

She blinked, realizing that those two had been considered aliens by the public despite their human-like appearance. If Vegeta and Gohan both shared that strange transformation they went through to get stronger, did that imply that Gohan was…?

She shook her head, deciding that now was likely not the best time to speculate over the matter. There were too many pieces to this puzzle that she didn't know.

"How'd you find out about this place?" She asked, genuinely curious how the teen had managed to learn about an event that happened so long ago.

"Old news articles, mostly." He answered. "I was trying to learn more about…one of the fighters." He frowned, his eyes glazed over as he stared out towards the horizon. "I was sorta disappointed when I did."

"Were they one of the people who died?"

He looked away, appearing almost ashamed as he answered. "No."

She could tell that any more questions as to who this person had been was going to be met with similarly guarded answers. Instead, she decided to ask a different question.
"Why did you want to show me this place?" The boy had described the area as 'cool' before, but this hardly qualified in her eyes. The battlefield on which a bunch of people were killed trying to defend the earth sounded more tragic than it did 'cool'.

"Well, it's not like I can take Gohan here, since I think he would be upset if he knew I knew. That, and I at least want someone else to know about what these people did to protect the planet. Not a lot of people know what they sacrificed to protect this world. I figured, I could at least honor them a little bit by telling you." He smiled a sad smile, looking over towards her. "So, thanks for listening, even if it was a little bit depressing."

Eighteen nodded. It was a good reason.

"...I'll make sure to remember."

"Thanks, I'm sure they'd appreciate that."

She felt a pang of guilt in her chest.

Yeah, the person who murdered them will remember what they did to help save the world. I'm sure they're really appreciative of that.

She told herself in a sarcastic tone.

Suddenly, she noticed his eyes snapped open wide, his pupils locking onto something behind her. She whipped her head around, frowning when she didn't immediately see what the boy had spotted.

Trunks was beside her a moment later, his entire body animated as he exclaimed. "Over there! Behind the cliff, I just saw one!"

"Saw what?"

"A dinosaur!" He shouted, elated. An excited smile lit up his face. "I've been looking for one all day!" Immediately, his feet started to move towards the cliffside far off in the distance before he paused, frowning and turning back towards her. "I just remembered, we left the apples back there…" He sighed, his shoulders sagging as he spoke in a defeated tone. "They'll get eaten by the wildlife if we don't go back soon…"

Eighteen could see the disappointment in his eyes before an idea came to her. Smiling, she motioned with a hand towards the cliff. "You go and find your dinosaur, I'll go and take our stash back to camp."

"Really?!" He exclaimed. She could see the child in him slipping out again as he bounced with delight.

"Really. Now, get going before you lose it."

The boy immediately turned, taking off into the air as he waved back. "Thanks, Videl! You're the best!"

She let her smile slip away as she watched the shape of the boy grow smaller and smaller. It only took a minute before he'd disappeared behind the cliffside he'd been pointing to.

She sighed, her eyes staring down at the battle scarred ground—the remnants of a battle for the world that happened eighteen years ago.

"...No, I'm not."

-Twenty Minutes Later-

When she returned to the camp, it was noticeably empty.

I guess Gohan is still out hunting…

She deposited the apples into her backpack before floating into the air and setting the pack on top of one of the higher branches of a neighboring tree. She still remembered the time her brother had told her about wild animals and the proper way to store food when camping. He'd taught her a number of things—how to set up a tent, how to dig a fire pit, and what to do if she ever did encounter a wild sabertooth lion, to name a few.

She felt a sigh escape her lips as she reflected on the memory.

Simpler times.

What she would give to go back to those times, before they'd been tricked and forced to become the monsters Dr. Gero had designed for them to be. She doubted Seventeen felt the same way. For him, this had been a dream come true. Suddenly, nothing was off limits, and everywhere was their playground. It was a selfish, wish-fulfilling fantasy they'd gotten the chance to fully immerse themselves in as the years rolled by, each day filled with a new pleasure at the expense of someone else. She'd thought the same way for all that time. It had been their way of life even before this, to ignore the pain and strife they caused with their antics, often getting into trouble and letting others suffer the consequences.

Her eyes drifted back towards the way she'd come, back towards the flat stretch of land that had been the battleground for what had been a fight to determine the fate of the world. She could still remember the massive part of East City that had been consumed by the Saiyans' initial attack. While it hadn't been anything compared to what she and her brother could do now, judging by the way they'd easily dispatched of the military forces this world had to offer, it was likely they could have destroyed everything if they'd been given the opportunity.

She remembered being scared when she heard the news. Her brother had been scared too, although he'd put on a brave face for her sake. She smirked, letting out a cynical, half-hearted laugh at the memory. A pair of monstrously powerful individuals appearing out of nowhere and laying waste to city after city with no one able to stop them?

Where have I heard that one before?

The bitter irony was not lost on her. She'd entirely forgotten the experience until Trunks had managed to reawaken it within her. She'd forgotten what it was like to be on the other side of the power dynamic—what it was like being a scared, helpless human incapable of doing anything to stop it.

But they did.

They had stopped it. The catastrophe had lasted no more than a day, the two Saiyans mysteriously disappearing just as soon as they'd arrived. There'd been some speculation after the fact, questions as to what had become of the destructive force that had randomly wiped out thousands of lives, but eventually life returned to normal, and people forgot about it.

She thought back to the names Trunks had mentioned, the heroes who had fought to stop the two Saiyans from wreaking their havoc across the world. She tried to think of what would have happened if they hadn't intervened. What would have become of herself and her brother had Krillin, Tien, Piccolo, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and even Gohan not stepped in to stop those two monsters?

We would be dead.

It was the obvious conclusion. She doubted that the two aliens had been there for anything other than destruction of anything and everything that came across their path, given that the first seconds of their arrival had marked the death of thousands. She doubted her seventeen-year-old self at the time would have had the survival instincts to get away before her city was annihilated. She doubted they'd even get the chance to run judging by what happened to East City. There would have been a flash of light, and then she would have been no more.

Those people, Goku, Gohan, and everyone else, they'd all saved her life that day. They'd saved her brother's life, they'd saved everybody's lives, and hadn't even gotten a shred of recognition for it.

And what did she do to repay them?

I slaughtered them.

She slowly pushed her hands to her face, sitting with her knees pulled to her chest as she let a disappointed sigh escape her lips. Even now that she'd stopped killing, it was like she was just being constantly reminded of her failures.

She let herself sit for some time, quietly waiting for the other two to return as the last rays of sun cut through the canopy of trees, creating vibrant blades of golden light across the ground that slowly trickedly away as the sun finally set.

What's taking them so long?

The Android thought as she rose to her feet, closing her eyes as she stretched out her senses. Gohan had said to return at sundown, right?

She raised an eyebrow when she noticed that Gohan wasn't that far away, a mere ten minute walk north by her estimates. It didn't seem like he was drawing any closer, either. Wherever he was, he was staying put.

She decided to focus on his energy a while longer, noting that his energy was up, although she couldn't discern why. It felt like he was...anxious? Excited? She shook her head. It was too hard to try and distinguish an emotion from a Ki signature.

Finally bored of waiting, she decided to start walking that way, curious as to what was keeping the young man so long.

It also gave her an opportunity to test something, something she was almost certain she'd noticed just before her fight with Trunks.

He noticed. He saw my eyes.

She hadn't been able to tell if it had been a significant look or not, but he'd definitely been studying her, if only for a moment.

She pulled off the shades, their usefulness having been fulfilled before stashing them away into one of her jacket's pockets.
Then, she reached up and took out her contacts, quickly placing them in the protective case.

Here goes nothing.

She started to march forward.

The lack of light made the forest take on an eerie tone,one that she recalled always hating back when Seventeen would force her to come along on his camping trips. Being unable to see what made that crunch in the leaves or that rustle in the bushes had always left her feeling anxious, and she often decided to pull in closer to the safe glow of the fire despite the intense heat.

Despite it being an almost moonless night, her eyes could easily pierce through the darkness. Paired with the fact that she could literally explode entire cities on a whim, she felt far less jumpy from the noises in the woods.

It didn't take her long before she noticed the sound of rushing water ahead.

A river?

The Android stepped out, finally coming face to face with a massive stretch of water, it's current roaring as it tore past her in thrashing torrents. It was very wide, its dark waters cloaking whatever lurked within its depths. She scanned the waters curiously, her eyes trailing along the shoreline before she noticed something odd. Stepping over to investigate, she found a pile of neatly folded orange and blue clothes sitting next to a set of navy-blue boots she was all too familiar with.

Did Gohan…?

Suddenly, the current to her left burst like a geyser, splattered her with droplets of water as a massive shape shot out and onto the beach beside her, making her jump.

"What the-?!"

She turned her head, frowning when she found what appeared to be a massive tuna flopping helplessly, beached on the shoreline too far to even hope to return to the water. She walked up to it, hands on her hips as she examined the struggling creature.
It was giant, easily matching her height in length and likely three times her weight. She noticed it had razor-sharp teeth that chomped aimlessly at the air as it continued to squirm. There was yet another eruption from the water as a second fish, this one even bigger than the first, exploded from the river, slamming onto shoreline mere feet from where the first had. Eighteen's eyebrows raised in surprise as she watched this fish begin a similar song and dance of flopping helplessly as its kin had.

She turned, facing towards the water when she noticed a head break the surface of the river. She watched as Gohan emerged, his onyx hair clung to his head, his lips pulled into an excited grin as he took another step, revealing his neck, and then his chiseled torso, his waistline, and then his-

Immediately, Eighteen spun around, her back facing the man as she felt her cheeks burn. Suddenly, it occurred to her that Gohan likely couldn't see her in this darkness like she could see him.

She decided to make her presence known. "Hey, Gohan!" She nearly shouted, feeling her heart thump against her chest.

She could hear the man startle at her voice. "V-Videl?!" He stammered. She heard the sound of him retreating back into the water. "What are you doing here?" he exclaimed, clearly just as embarrassed as she was.

"I got bored waiting at the camp and felt your energy not too far away." She answered quickly and honestly. Her eyes studied the ground intently. "Sorry, I didn't know you were, uh-" She turned her head to look at the two massive creatures next to her. They'd finally begun to grow still, tiring after their desperate efforts. "Fishing."

"...Oh...that makes sense."

The silence between them grew as Eighteen tried to think of what she should do in this situation.

"...I'll see you back at camp." She announced abruptly, before she started back the way she came.

"Wait." Gohan's voice interjected, sounding somewhere in between annoyed and concerned. "It can be even more dangerous at night if you're not careful. Just let me get dressed real quick and then I'll walk back with you."

Eighteen swallowed. Part of her wanted to decline his offer and take off regardless. She could just fly over the treetops to calm his concerns, right?

...Another part of her liked the idea of walking back with him.
"Okay."

She heard the water behind her shift before there was another pause. "Uh," he began awkwardly, "Your back is turned, right?"

"I can't see anything."

"Okay, good. It's hard to tell in the dark."

She listened awkwardly to the sounds of the naked man behind her climbing out of the river. There was a pulse of ki as he dried himself off, before the ruffling of his clothes being quickly pulled on filled her ears.

...I could steal a glance and he'd never know…

She quietly thought to herself, before immediately dismissing the thought. She wasn't trying to make this already uncomfortable situation even more awkward by trying to sneak a peek. Besides, why would she want to?

It's not like I'm attracted to him or anything.

She mentally scoffed. Of course not. That was utterly ridiculous.

No way in hell.

Nope.

"..."

She very slowly let her head inch to the side, stealing a very subtle sideways glance towards the unsuspecting young man. She frowned when she noted that he'd already pulled on his pants, and seemed to be...struggling with his shirt for a short time, before finally managing to pull the fighting Gi down his muscled torso. She'd never seen someone with one arm get dressed before. It looked like an annoying process.
Immediately, she snapped her head back to focus on the dense forest before her.

"Alright, you can look now. I'm dressed."

She turned around, facing him as he approached, wearing his typical, easy-going smile as he did. "So, any luck finding some dinner?"

"I found some apples."
She watched as the man's face split onto a wide, knowing grin. "Did Trunks show you his apple tree spot?"

She blinked, slowly choosing her answer. Should she lie so as to not betray Trunks' trust? Looking at Gohan's smile, she could tell she'd already been found out. "...Technically no. He was already walking back with full arms, and we ran into each other." She paused before adding, "but don't let him know I told you. He wanted it to be 'our little secret', I think."

The young man rolled his eyes, a bemused smirk on his face as he shook his head. "That kid...Forces us to follow all these silly rules, and then doesn't even follow them himself." He let out a soft, pleasant sounding chuckle. "I should have figured as much. He's such a sweet kid. I doubted he could actually watch you go hungry without at least offering some of his food."

He nodded towards the now dead fish resting to their left. "Well, don't worry. In case you don't want to have your dinner be entirely composed of apples, I'll be cooking up these guys for all of us."
Both of them?

That seemed like an awful lot of fish for just three people. She could already predict most of it going to waste.

"I don't know. I doubt Trunks will accept any of it. He seemed pretty set on his apples, tonight."

Gohan's eyebrows rose, his smirk never leaving his face. "Oh, yeah? Just watch when we get there. I bet you he crumbles the moment he sees the fish."

She felt her lips curl to match his smile. "I'll take that bet."

Gohan bent over, reaching out and heaving the smaller of the two tuna onto his shoulder. "We should probably start heading back. I can sense Trunks is already back at camp."

Eighteen nodded, considering offering to carry the other fish herself when she quickly remembered that she was Videl, Ms. Normal Girl who didn't have immense super strength.

"One sec, let me get that one so-" she watched as Gohan reached out with his left side, making a motion like he had with his right hand, before pausing, and frowning.

Her chest gripped as she watched him realize his mistake.

"Whoops, haha." He let out an empty laugh as he turned to her. "Forgot for a second there. I'll just come back for it later." She watched him smile, but it was a smile that didn't make it to his eyes.

Eyes that held a deep frustration within them.

The man walked past her, carrying the fish like it was a simple duffle bag and not a several ton, massive aquatic animal.

Eighteen found herself lingering for a short time, her eyes staring down at the man's second catch he'd been unable to bring with him. The motion had looked so routine, so fluent, like he'd done it a hundred times before. She thought back to when she'd seen him with the injury for the first time. It had only been a matter of months. She momentarily questioned if this was the first time he'd gone camping since his injury. Had he simply done what he'd always done, only to suddenly get stopped at this part?

Because of me.

Her eyes squeezed shut, her face tightening into a scowl before she let out a soft sigh. Turning on her heel, she quickly fell in step behind Gohan.

-Gohan-

I'm gonna have to have to remember not to go for two next time.

He mentally noted as he caught sight of Videl out of the corner of his eye. The sun had only just set, and he could feel his eyes beginning to adjust to the lack of light as they moved through the trees. He could see the faint orange glow of the fire ahead, the small dot of light signaling to the Saiyan that Trunks had returned.

"I've never seen someone fish like that." Videl commented, "The whole 'bait and tackle' shtick not your style?"

He smiled at her comment. "Well, that's a method my dad actually taught me. Back when he was around, he would usually go out to a nearby lake and go fishing for a tuna or two like this one." He rolled his shoulder, bringing attention to the dead fish. "Although, this guy is a little small compared to what he'd catch."

"That's small?" She said, her eyes widening in disbelief.

He released a laugh."Yeah, I know. The Son household always had a big appetite back in those days. My mom would make these huge and extravagant meals for dinner, although she never seemed to mind. In fact, one time-" He paused, his mouth going slack, his eyes narrowing to slits as he realized he'd noticed something.

His feet came to a stop as his stare turned back to her, his eyes widening as they met with hers.

"Your eyes!" He exclaimed, surprised by what he was seeing. "They're blue again!"

He watched her frown, her forehead creasing with confusion before a look of realization washed over her.

"Ohh, you noticed that?" She let out a soft, easy going laugh. "Yeah, my eyes change color at night. Something about the light intake or whatever. The doctors said it was a form of metamerism…?" She frowned, seemingly struggling to recall the term before shrugging dismissively. "Just something my eyes do sometimes."

Metamerism?

The term sounded vaguely familiar to him. Probably something his mom had forced him to learn about as a child. From what he could remember, the term referred to when a color appeared differently in contrasting shades of light…? He blinked as he stared, looking into her eyes curiously. He'd heard of people like that, with eyes that changed in the sunlight, although he'd never personally met one.

"What?" She asked, raising an eyebrow his direction as she held his gaze.

"Nothing, just…your eyes...they're really pretty." He answered honestly, something about them appearing mesmerizing as he stared. They were such a piercing blue, although it was hard to tell in such dim light.

And oddly familiar...

He watched as a light blush filled her cheeks, her gaze pulling away a moment later as she directed her attention back towards the campsite ahead.

"Uh, thanks." She responded awkwardly to the compliment.

Gohan immediately realized his mistake.

"Right, sorry. We should get a move on before something smells this kill and tries to attack us." He said, trying to recover from the uncomfortable interaction.

She's your student. She's not here because she's interested in you, she's here to learn! How many times do you have to remind yourself of that fact before it sticks?

He mentalled scolded himself as the two began to continue their walk to the camp, the conversation between them silenced as they did. His mind rapidly replayed the conversation in his mind, wishing he'd said anything else in response to the color change in her eyes.

Well, at least that mystery is solved.

He let out a sigh through his nose, one he hoped Videl didn't notice.

The glow of the fire bathed them in orange light as the two stepped out into the campsite. Trunks was sitting on a log, his arms wrapped around his knees as he rested his chin on his forearm.

He could see the disappointment written on his face, clear as day from the way he didn't turn to greet him.

"Dinosaur hunt didn't go too well, buddy?"

"Nope." He answered with a monotone to his voice.

"The one behind the cliffside got away?"

"It wasn't the right one, I wanted to find-" He stopped, his eyes fluttering with surprise as he heard Videl's voice. Finally, the boy turned his head to look at the pair stepping out from the tree line. "Videl? What were you two…?"

Immediately, a devious grin split the boy's features. "Oh."

Gohan's hand swatted the teen's head as he walked past him, nearly dropping his catch as he brought the massive tuna over towards the fire. "It's not like that, Trunks." He growled the name in a parental tone. "She felt my Ki over by the river and was curious is all."

"Right," Trunks averted his gaze, embarrassed at being scolded. "Sorry."

"Now get over here and help me prepare this thing. You still remember how I taught you?"

Trunks nodded as he rose to his feet, retrieving a knife from his pack before walking over.

Videl rose into the air, quietly retrieving the bag of apples she'd stored away as the sounds of skin tearing paired with the crackling fire. She returned a moment later, emptying the backpack next to them as they worked.

"Here's your dinner by the way."

He watched as the teen turned and stared at the apples deposited on the ground, before turning back to examine the massive fish again. He could already see a thin line of saliva forming from the corner of his mouth before he quickly wiped it away.

"Oh..." he said in a disheartened tone. "Right."

"That is…" Gohan began, feeling the corners of his mouth begin to rise. "Unless you'd like to share what I caught."

Trunks looked up with an eager, exuberant look. "I mean," He shrugged, trying and failing to appear indifferent. "If you're offering."

Videl was the first to laugh, shortly followed by the demi-Saiyan as Trunks turned to look between the two of them, confused.

"What?" He frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Alright, you win." Videl finally said, letting her pleasant laugh fade away. "You were totally right."

"Win?" Trunks repeated.
"I bet her that you'd cave on the whole 'you only eat what you gather' rule you came up with the moment you saw the fish."

"Oh," The teen flustered, looking away with a frown, before his eyes flickered with a realization. "Wait, what did you win?"

"Huh?" Gohan paused, replaying his words before answering. "It's just a turn of phrase. We didn't actually-"

"How about a kiss?" Trunks said, wearing the most shit-eating grin Gohan had ever seen from the teen.

Immediately, he felt his cheeks heat up as a similar reaction appeared on Videl's face.

"Stop. It." Gohan hissed, swatting the back of his young friend's head a second time as the boy snickered.

"Worth it."

The night continued on, the trio sitting around the fire as Gohan watched the fish cook carefully within the flames, having been skewered by a massive branch and then stuck into the dirt over the fire. After adding a few spices he'd brought in his bag to the meal, he handed out slices of the cooked animal to each of his students.

The trio sat around the fire, each having their own logs for seats as they were served their meals.

He watched as the teenager immediately dug into his portion which he'd made considerably larger, knowing a Saiyan child's appetite.

"Relax buddy, there's plenty more after that." Gohan sat down with his own paper plate, forcing himself to eat slowly as he watched the teen rapidly shovel the fish into his mouth.

"Buf iff soh ghood!" Trunks exclaimed with a happy mouthful.

Videl slowly raised a bite to her lips, chewing for a moment before her eyes grew wide. "Wow. That actually is pretty tasty." Her eyes found his, an impressed smile resting on her lips. "I didn't know you could cook."

Gohan shrugged. "I told you, my mom would cook these grand meals every night for us. I guess some of her practices must have rubbed off on me." He paused before adding, "That, and I got pretty good at cooking what I could find when I was out here as a kid."

"About that." Videl aimed her plastic fork in his direction after taking a second bite. "You mentioned that your old master left you out here for a while. How long did you survive out here by yourself?"

Gohan let his eyes wander out towards the stars as he tried to remember that time of his life. This place wasn't technically the same area he'd survived in all those years ago. That had been the Break Wasteland, but that area was far more forest just so happened to border that area, so he felt it was a close enough substitute.

"About six months, give or take."

Videl abruptly started coughing, her eyes blinking wide at the new information. Finally, she managed to swallow the piece of fish lodged in her throat. "Six months?" She repeated incredulously. "How old were you?"

Gohan felt his voice die in his throat. For a moment, he thought about lying, telling her a more reasonable age to be left entirely on your own to battle the elements.

Eventually, he decided to just go with the truth. Who did it hurt for her to know?

He waited until she'd properly swallowed her next bite before answering. "...Four…"

He watched as she stabbed her next piece of fish, only for it to slip off her fork, landing on the ground at her feet as her mouth fell agape.

"You were four." She repeated, clearly not fully believing him.

He nodded, chewing a healthy mouthful.

"Was your old master crazy?" She finally asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

Gohan couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, his methods were a little...rugged, admittedly. But to his credit, they were definitely effective. That, and well…" He paused, his smile slowly fading as he thought back on the Namekian. "He had a complicated past. He had a good heart, even if he would never openly admit it. I don't blame him for his training methods, honestly." His grin quickly returned. "When I was a kid I certainly did, though. I thought he was a really mean person, and a part of me resented him for it. Now that I look back on it, I know what he did was all in my best interest, and I wouldn't change a second of it."

He took another massive bite. Swallowing, before his lips pulled into a frown.

"Ah, crap."

-Eighteen-

She frowned when she watched the man rise to his feet, setting his plate down beside him as he began to walk away from the fire.

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot about the fish back there. I can sense that something just found it. Probably just a wolf or sabertooth lion. I'm going to go scare it off and salvage what I can."

"Please do!" Trunks called after the man as he started to jog away. "I'm already hungry for seconds!" Immediately, the teen went to work tearing off another massive chunk of flesh for himself. It was clear to her that between the two of them, there wasn't going to be much left of this first tuna soon.

Eighteen took another bite before she decided to stretch out her own senses, curious as to what Gohan had felt over by the river.

Yup, there's definitely something there.

Animal energy signatures always felt a little strange to her. They were so different from people; So much more chaotic and wild.

I guess that makes sense considering where we are.

Her mind began to wander towards Gohan as she continued to focus on him. She'd been right to be suspicious of his gaze a few nights prior. His usage of the word 'again' had told her as much when he'd finally noticed her eyes. Although, that wasn't the piece of information that was currently running rampant through her mind.

Four years old…

It didn't take a genius to draw the connections. Trunks had told her that the fight had happened when Gohan had been five, telling her that the boy's involvement had been less out of a desire to train him, and more out of necessity.

They knew the Saiyans were coming, somehow.

She idly questioned what the looming pressure of having to challenge two beings capable of wiping out an entire military fleet would do to a child of four years old.

Perhaps he wasn't told. They could have left him in the dark until the day came.

Somehow, she doubted that. She imagined had the boy not been told beforehand, he would have been panicked and unprepared when the battle finally came.

You've been dealt a shitty hand all your life, Gohan.

She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh so quiet she was certain Trunks wouldn't notice it.

And then I just came around to make it worse.

She could feel Gohan's signature approaching the river bank now, having considerably sped up after breaking line of sight.

Then, she felt something strange happen. Instead of the animal spooking and fleeing, it was Gohan's energy that abruptly turned and began heading back in their direction. Moreover, it felt as if the other signature was chasing Gohan now.

She frowned, what could possibly have sent Gohan, the man who could level entire cities with a single strike, running?

Then, she could feel the Earth beneath her begin to rumble.

Trunks stopped eating, his head turning towards the heavy thumping in the distance. A smile began to slowly split his face. "No way…"

"What? What's happening?" She asked, confused.

"Truuuunks!" Gohan's voice split the air in a sing-song voice, "I found an old friend for you!"

Old friend?

The teen was to his feet a moment later. "He found him!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Found who?" She asked, desperate to find out what was coming their direction. She rose to her feet a moment later, staring into the darkness with a slight hint of concern pulling at her features. What in the world could possibly send Gohan running-
Her eyes widened as she finally found her answer.

Stomping behind the man clad in orange, trampling through the branches and bushes dividing it from its prey, was an enormous, razor-toothed Ferocisaurus. It's massive, T-rex-esque jaws snapped dangerously behind Gohan running just out of its reach. She could also see, swinging behind it appeared to be a tail that was...partially cut off? Her enhanced eyes could make out Gohan just ahead of it, a bright, playful grin on his face as he continued to run their direction.

"There it is!" Trunks exclaimed. "I was looking for you, big guy!"

"That's the dinosaur you've been searching for all day?!" She stared in shock as it drew closer, not sure if she should be preparing to fight this thing. It certainly didn't look like Trunks or Gohan were very afraid of it.

"Yeah! It's the same one Gohan had to run away from as a kid!"

Gohan had to run away from this in his training?!

Eighteen rapidly concluded that Gohan's old master must have been completely insane for leaving him out in this environment on his own for so long, regardless of the situation. Another part of her questioned how Gohan could have possibly survived out here for all that time if this was what he had to deal with!

She began to fall into her fighting stance, preparing to put this monster down if she had to. A few moments later, Gohan came bursting out of the treeline, leaping over the fire as he passed her.

"C'mon!" He urged excitedly. Before she knew what was going on, she felt Gohan's hand grip hers before she was quickly pulled away from the prehistoric beast chasing behind them. She fell into step a moment later, Gohan's hand pulling her along as Trunks quickly began to run alongside them, grinning ear to ear as he did.

"What the hell are we doing right now?!" She exclaimed, sprinting with the man as she felt the dinosaur's hot breath on her back.

"Running!" He answered, laughing as he continued to pull her along, making sure she didn't fall too far behind.

After a few seconds, she watched as Trunks suddenly disappeared from beside her, leaping into the air in a single fluid motion before landing square on the dinosaur's neck, riding the creature like a horse as his hands gripped the horns spiraling out from the predator's star-shaped head.

The Ferocisaurus didn't seem to notice the boy as it continued to hungrily chase the two of them away from their camp. Her head turned back, watching the delight spread across the teen's face as he rode the charging dinosaur after them.

Then it hit her.

They weren't in any real danger. They were just having fun. Having fun being chased by an animal that didn't know it couldn't actually harm them. She was even willing to bet if she did fall behind, Gohan was ready to pull her away before she could actually be injured, even if she knew that wasn't physically possible.

Hell, they could even fly away at any moment if they wanted to.

She felt a grin slowly spread across her face as she finally understood. She quickly pulled ahead, matching Gohan's pace and allowing the young man to let go of her hand. She looked over towards him, sharing a look that told him that she finally understood what was going on.

"Try to keep up!" Gohan beamed, releasing another laugh as he narrowly avoided a snap from the creature's jaws. "Whoa!"

Eighteen couldn't help but join in on their laughter.

Author's notes:

Man! Was this a chapter and a half to write! (Actually, this was more like a chapter and ¾'s to write since it spans 35 pages long lol). I'd thought about splitting it into two chapters, but considering who the next chapter is going to be mostly about, and what chapter number it happens to land on,(seriously, I did not plan that out at all lol) I decided to leave it all as a whole. I'm sure you've all pieced together who our focus will be the next time this story updates. Just a little teaser for those of you who care to know.

I also felt that overall, this chapter flowed better as one whole rather than two parts, so lucky you guys! I hadn't intended it to get this long really. My outline did

not plan for this much content, but I just kept stumbling onto topics I wanted to explore the more the characters interacted with one another. For example, I hadn't intended for 'Videl' to draw the connection between the Saiyans and herself, but as I thought about it, I realized that her and her brother having to live through the Saiyan attack was absolutely something that happened. Then, when I realized how ironic it was to see them in this situation considering all they've done, I couldn't pass up the chance to write about it.

That being said, I really hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I tried to keep up the pace as much as possible, and skip through any boring camping stuff to focus on our characters. The concept itself was so fun in my head that I

really hope it translated to you guys well enough, and wasn't just a bore to sit through haha. Another interesting note: This chapter required me to do the absolute most research on the original series than any other chapter. It was mostly me trying to get the locations right in relation to each other. The locations of the wastelands: Paprika and Break, both in regards to each other and West City (as far as the dbz wiki can verify) are all accurate. I also had to do a bit of research on the Saiyan's arrival since I couldn't remember if they were properly documented via the news. I actually went to the dbz abridged series to check since they're actually very accurate to the original plot for the most part, and yup! It's canon (at least as far as the anime goes) that Nappa and Vegeta were caught on film during that time. There was also the dinosaur at the end, which I had to look up to make sure I got the name right since dbz likes to give things silly names.

I also had to play around with what Android 18 would actually know about Goku and friends. I did as much research as I could, but what I found was vague at best. Yes, Dr. Gero did employ his spybots and watched the most significant fights occur on planet Earth, but it seemed that not everything he gathered were programmed into 17 and 18 based off of some of their lines in the show. Overall, I couldn't tell exactly what they did and didn't know about the fighters, so I tried to come to a reasonable middle ground and leave 18's understanding of them as 'serviceable, but not vast' if that makes any sense. He made them to combat the Z-fighters, knowing their moves and who they are would suffice for that purpose, leaving out any history or depth he may have gathered as well (which is why 18 doesn't recognize the term 'Saiyan' since it wasn't all that important to know, and I can't recall them ever referring to any of the Saiyans as such either way). Plus, I felt it made the scene more impactful for her to be slightly lost on the matter during her discussion with Trunks.

All that being said, please,

please consider dropping a review for this chapter, even if you're a reader who doesn't typically. This one, while extremely fun to write, definitely took a lot more time and dedication to complete than most, for both me and Ben Thryss, considering he had to comb through 35 pages of content cleaning up my messes (Sorry, Ben! I really hope this one wasn't too rough for you! I tried my best!) My sleep schedule is entirely out of whack from staying up night after night until literally 5am working on it (it's already 4am as I'm writing this AN). Understandably, I definitely want to know what people think of it, I'm rather proud of it as a whole honestly with all that it covered.
I also noticed looking back on past AN's that I never gave a proper reason for why I decided to make Eighteen's alias: Videl.
Well, for one, it was symbolic. Eighteen took Hercule's daughter away, but, his intervention is very much the catalyst that turned Eighteen down this new path. In a sense, she very much is a product of his doing, AKA, his 'daughter'. That, as well as the fact that 'Videl' is an anagram of 'Devil', which considering Eighteen's character, felt appropriate. Lastly, as we see in this installment, the roles of 'Videl' and Gohan are very much reversed. Typically, in a Gohan x 'Videl' story, it's Gohan being the vigilante with a secret identity as Videl tracks him down. Finding an avenue to turn that dynamic around was fun for me, and was also a deciding factor in choosing her name. So, to those of you who felt turned off that I didn't go with her original name, know there was thought put into it.

Wow, that was a long AN, and I desperately need sleep -_-

(and so does Ben lol, he told me this chapter was exhausting to comb through).
So, I will bid you all farewell!

Until next time!