Dragon Ball Z: Paradise Found

Gebo's Awakening

Gohan's face grew direr proportionately to the increasingly perilous conditions he had witnessed on his rush toward the West City area. His bright Super Saiyan aura contrasted the black and mahogany shrouds, making the young teen a bright and hopeful arrow piercing through the devastating uncertainty. Not even the lashing lightning and whirling rivers of magma beneath him that sent jets of sizzling vapors where they contacted the ocean overwhelmed Gohan's brightness.

The last thing that the teen expected to see before him was a pair of youths with tattered clothing and scratches. There was no sensing the Artificial Humans coming until one came into contact with them, which was why the pair seemed quite excited to meet him whereas Gohan froze in terror. He didn't even notice when his hands started shaking, but they wouldn't stop no matter how many times the young man demanded them to in his mind.

"My, my... Gohan-chan, isn't it?" Artificial Human 18 teased the teen with a playful wink and an air kiss. "What made you wander so far away from safety, I wonder...? Worried about your mother, maybe?"

"Y-You're... The Artificial Humans... Don't tell me... Did you hurt someone!?" Gohan clenched his fists and overpowered the terror smothering his throat enough to strike a pose of a martial artist willing and able to stand up for himself. He couldn't even begin to think about losing someone from his friends to these two, which was what inspired the courage to fight back if he had to.

"I wish..." Artificial Human No. 17 ran his hand through his messy black hair. He looked far worse for wear, suggesting that he had picked a far more perilous battle. "I had my ass handed to me pretty badly. I wouldn't rush to the battlefield if I were you. With your battle power, you'll probably get dealt the same hand I did."

"So... You have killed no one?" Gohan scratched his head and broke his fighting pose as the nonchalant body language of the two Artificial Humans threw him for a loop.

"Come on, now... I'd like to think we killed someone..." Artificial Human No. 17 shrugged. "With all the fun times we had, all the games and boundless entertainment. I'm pretty sure I killed Mecha Frieza, at the very least, even if the old hag got his parts."

"Calm down, brat," Artificial Human No. 18 stopped with the teasing body language. Her voice turned serious in a snap too. Without the ability to sense Ki, Gohan could not tell the state that these two were in, even if the signs of battle were self-evident in them. Lazuli, at the very least, looked like she could still fight with her top shape. "We're tapping out for today. Though I'd advise you to follow our advice and go home to mommy too. The way you are now, you wouldn't be much help."

"What do you mean? You've abandoned Dr. Puri? Why don't you help fight her then if you're so strong?" Gohan objected.

"Sorry, kid," Artificial Human No. 17 shrugged and shook his hand in front of his face, signing himself off. "If we pitched in, the old lady would just end up slurping us up, and we'd actually just strengthen her. Trust me, we're doing you guys a favor by going our separate ways."

"Not to mention, the old hag would get a lot prettier..." Artificial Human No. 18 stroked her chin and ran her hand through her hair to fix her look as much as she could. "Though as much of a drag as it is to admit it, we're thankful to Piccolo and Krillin. Who knows, maybe in the future, if you ever need a hand, we'll pitch in for the assist. It won't be cheap though..."

Gohan gulped while the two began slowly advancing toward him, looking as if they intended to pass right around him and then split up, heading their separate ways. Just as they would've come face-to-face with the teen, Android 17 stopped in place, prompting his sister to do the same.

"Say, you haven't told us where you're actually off to..." Lapis wondered.

"I'm looking for Dr. Puri's son!" Gohan said.