Stay Alive | DragonballZ Fanfiction

Chapter 1

Stay Alive

Chapter 1

. . . . .

"Hold her still," the older man orders from above us.

"I'm trying," the younger man grunts, squeezing his arms tightly around me like a snake coiled around its prey." She wont stop struggling. Maybe if we took the blanket off her head—"

"No. We must keep our hideout a secret from her. She's one of them."

I'm so stunned that, for a second, I stop screaming and kicking my legs. This man has just revealed he's been watching me long enough to know that I'm connected to Android 17 & 18. A cold chill runs through my body. On the days that I thought I was alone picking flowers on the mountainside, or singing to myself as I walked through abandoned cities, was this man watching me?

"Wahh!" I scream again, squirming in the younger man's iron grip, and kicking my feet against his legs. The younger man tries to comfort me.

"We're not going to hurt you." He says, pressing his lips against the blanket covering my head so I can hear him.

More screaming and kicking.

"You're safe now," He insists.

Still, I kick and scream. The younger man sighs. I scream until my face becomes hot and I'm gasping to breathe beneath the blanket. My legs go limp, and somewhere along the flight to their hideout, I pass out.

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The young man sets me down on the cold dirt and lifts the blanket off my head. I gasp like a fish out of water as I take in deep breaths of the fresh air. The young man turns away from me to retrieve something out of his pocket. "Run! Now!" My instincts scream at me, and I do. In a flash I'm on my feet running blindly through the dark forest, hitting my face on pine tree branches, and scraping the exposed skin on my legs against sticks and bushes.

"She's running away!" The young man shouts in a panic.

"I'll get her," the older man responds, confident that I won't get very far.

Tears spring to my eyes as I imagine the sound of his heavy footfalls as he gives chase, but those sounds never come. My lungs burn in protest as I push my legs to go faster. Unexpectedly, the end of my pink dress gets snagged by a dead stick jutting out from a bush, and I fall hard on my chin. Dead pine tree needles, rocks, and dead leaves greet me from the ground floor. A painful burning sensation spreads to my chin, along with the dampness of blood.

"Are you hurt?" The older man asks, somehow just a few feet in front of me.

"He's fast. I'll never get away on foot," I think in awe as I sit up on my knees. The older man and I observe each other in silence as I struggle to clear my mind and catch my breath. The man appears to be in his twenties. He has on a pair of blue boots, a red gi, and short black hair that spikes up on one side. He's so ripped he looks like he could crush every bone in my body with one hug, but the gentle look in his eyes tell me that he would never do such a thing. I can't help but feel a pang of sympathy as I notice the scar running left side of his face and his missing left arm.

"We've met before," I mumble, focusing my gaze down at his boots, but not before noticing his slight nod. Yes, it was during the first time I broke my mother's number one rule: Always stay hidden.

The older man had two arms back then. I wanted to watch my mom and uncle fight that day, so I peered around the corner of an evacuated bank building right as the older man was kicked from the sky and onto the street in front of me. A fall like that would've killed an ordinary person upon impact, but the strange man was unharmed, leaving behind a dented outline of his body in the concrete as he stood up. We made eye contact for five seconds before I ran away. I hadn't forgotten about the shocked look in his eyes when he saw me, it was as if he'd seen a ghost.

He'd been discreetly watching me ever since, waiting for the opportunity when I was alone to snatch me away from the only two people I knew and cared for in this world.

Why did you kidnap me? I wanted to ask, but the older man spoke first.

"The boy who helped me bring you here doesn't know your relationship to the androids. You must never tell him if you want to live, understand?"

"But..didn't you kidnap me to use me against them?" I blurt out. This guy's actions just didn't make sense to me. My mom and uncle would do anything to keep me safe, even give up their lives for mine! Didn't this guy want to take advantage of that?

The older man smiled down at me, but there was no warmth in his expression, only sadness.

"I'm not going stoop down to the android's lowly tactics. I'm not going to sacrifice my humanity to use you to get back at them. Someday, they will fall by my hand or Trunks' sword. Until that day comes, you're going to live with me." He reached down and pulled me up to my feet. My body trembled in fear from his touch, even a non-fighter like me could sense the rage and power bubbling inside him.

" You belong to me now, Marron."

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The younger boy is standing in the same spot I'd left him when we return. I squint my eyes as he shines a flashlight on my face. He hisses at the cut on my chin." Ouch. That's gonna take a few days to heal. Bet you won't try anything stupid like that again." He smirks, then rubs his nose." Lucky for you, I have a first aid kit in my pocket." He pats the tree stump in front of him, inviting me to sit down, then puts the flashlight between his teeth as he takes out a dyno cap. In one click, like magic, a full size first aid kit pops out of the micro device.

The older man lightly squeezes my arm, and I instantly seal my mouth shut.

"Make sure Marron doesn't try running away again" The older man says." I'm going to walk around and see if I can find the entrance to the bunker."

"I told you we should've drawn a map," the younger man grumbles.

I watch as the older man disappears into the dark forest. He didn't have a flashlight with him. I guess a person who could fly and appear out of thin air in front of me has no need for a flashlight. He could probably see in the dark, too.

"Marron."

I turn my head at the mention of my name. Curious blue eyes stare back into my mint green ones. He's too close!

The younger boy licks his lips." That's your name, right? Marron?"

I slowly nod my head, unsure if I should be affirming anything.

He grins, then lightly begins to clean the cut on my chin. I flinch at his touch, but he doesn't notice." That's a pretty name. My name is Trunks, and the bossy one is Gohan." He digs into the first aid kit for a healing spray. He looks back into my eyes and asks," How long were you being held prisoner by the androids?"

My body begins to involuntarily shake, hard. A mixture of fear and rage runs through me. I was never a prisoner! My mom and uncle would never harm me! You are the monsters who kidnapped me and wont let me leave!

Trunks' features darken.

For a horrible second I'm certain he's pieced it together by now. My blonde hair...the nice dress I'm wearing that an abductor would never gift to a 'prisoner'...the fact that 17 & 18 would never keep a child around that wasn't related to them in some way...surely he must know that I'm 18's daughter.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. Those evil creatures killed my father, so I understand how you're feeling." Trunks surprises me with a hug, and he gently pats my head." You're safe now. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

"I miss my mom. Please let me go..." I whimper into his shoulders.

"17 & 18 are ruthless. I'm sorry, but they must've killed your parents and everyone else you love the day they kidnapped you. You were their only prisoner."

I clamp my mouth shut, sensing that it would be the end of me if I admitted that my mom was very much alive. He's right, my mom is ruthless. When mom finds me, she's going to make them suffer a painful death for kidnapping me. I patted Trunks' head in return, truly feeling sorry for the guy, knowing his fate was sealed once 17 & 18 found us.

I just need to watch what I say and stay alive long enough for them to find me.

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