Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A/N: I made the reader an android in this story, just to switch things up a bit. Hope you all enjoy!

...

"Either you side with us or you die." 17 stated, glaring your way as his twin sister did the same. "It's not that hard of a concept to understand... Even for an out of date model like yourself." He added, turning his nose up as 18 giggled.

You stared back in confusion, not knowing how to respond as you searched through thousands of empty data files, unable to find the correlating conversation records you needed. You knew from matching photos that the two standing before you were designated as Android's 17 and 18... Dr. Gero's previous attempts at bodyguards.

"I do not understand. Additional input is needed." You stated, watching curiously as a few pieces of your dark hair swayed with the breeze.

"Tch, just put her out of her misery 17." The blonde woman grumbled, already seeming bored with the situation. "She's obviously one of the doctor's unfinished projects..."

"Hey, not every one can be a winner." Her twin brother laughed, shrugging his shoulders before walking your way. "Sorry, but looks like you're outdated technology..." The fighter said darkly, raising one hand as a ball of ki appeared in his palm.

Your eyes remained emotionless as you watched, unable to move as you lacked the proper response system to react without command.

"17!" The other woman yelled, getting her brother's attention just in time as he dodged a blast from above.

You redirected your attention skywards as your pupils dilated, beginning to decipher the images you were gathering. You focused intensely on the blonde man hovering above you, zooming in on his facial features as you searched for any match in your database. 

"Target identified as... Son Gohan." You spoke, surprising the other mechanical fighters as they looked towards you. 

The man above stared your way as well, wondering if you were friend or foe as he heard you speak his name. "Hey! You okay?" He shouted, his dark pupils locking onto your lighter ones as the two of you observed one another.

"Alright! Let's see what she can do..." 17 piped up, waiting in anticipation as you continued to stand there.

"See? I told you she was defective..." 18 sighed, flipping a piece of blonde hair out of her eyes before rolling them. "This is a waste of time."

The other android frowned, not willing to give up yet as he walked up to you. He waved a hand in front of your face dramatically before pointing up at the fighter in the air. "What are you waiting for? Goku's son is right there! Attack! Kill! Do something!"

"Access to battle techniques... Denied."

"Dr. Gero must have put a password on her..." 18 realized, wondering why the old fool would do something like that for such a seemingly basic model. She knew the insane doctor well enough to consider the fact that he always had a few tricks left up his sleeve at all times... 

"Honestly, I think it's just best that we get rid of her before she gets in our way..."

Before anyone could react or tell her otherwise, 18 lunged forward, striking you in the back as her fingers poked through your chest. The crackle of electricity and burning circuits was all you heard as your programming slowly shut down. Your artificially illuminated eyes began to dim as the other android pulled her hand back, letting you fall on the ground harshly as she turned her attention to Son Gohan.

"Now then, where were we?"

Both androids jumped into battle, not even noticing another fighter make their way onto the deserted streets.

Trunks ran up to where you laid, looking at you curiously before glancing up to where Gohan and the androids were fighting. He couldn't say why, but he knew you seemed different than the two killers above, choosing in that instant to trust you as he picked your broken body up.

The half Saiyan blasted towards their secret hideout with you in his arms, hoping there was something his mother could do to help you...

...

At the hideout...

...

"Trunks! What were you thinking?!" Bulma shouted, looking at her son like he was crazy. 

"I... I just thought we could help her..." The lavender haired boy argued, knowing that his idea wasn't too out of the question. "I heard her when the other androids asked her to fight... She said it wasn't in her programming or something..." He muttered, trying to remember what your exact words had been.

"Hmm..." The scientist raised a brow, placing a hand under her chin as she thought about it. "Maybe there is a way I can rewire her..." Bulma mumbled, sighing before smiling at her admittedly, very intelligent son. 

"Alright, bring her over here..."

A few hours later Gohan showed up, exhausted from the battle, but still in one piece. He'd spent a good amount of time fighting the androids before being able to lose them, thankful for the fact that Trunks had done what he asked for once and stayed out of the fight. 

"Gohan! You're okay!" Trunks cheered, jumping on his teacher happily before giving him a hug.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, grinning back before remembering what had happened earlier. "Trunks, did you see that girl? She was another android..."

"You mean this one?" Bulma announced, walking into the room before grinning proudly. "Meet the new, and improved, Android [#]!"

Trunks and Gohan watched in shock as you stepped into the room behind Bulma.

"Hello. I am designated as Android [#]... It's nice to meet you." You said excitedly, looking towards the two people across from you as you grinned. You were so thrilled to be able to express emotions you thought were long gone, you sent the scientist who'd helped you a grateful look before thanking her once again.

"It's no problem [#]." Bulma said simply, smiling as she placed her hands in the pockets of her lab coat. "I'm just glad I could help. I really do need to get back to work on the time machine though..." She stressed, looking towards Gohan and Trunks before turning to leave.

"Make sure you two show her around! Later!"

And with that, she was gone, leaving the three of you standing in silence as things were understandably a bit awkward.

"Thank you both." You stated, taking a step forward as both fighters tensed. Your eyes locked on to each of their faces, scanning them both as a few statistics popped up inside your field of vision. "Trunks Briefs... Son Gohan..." You added, taking a moment to search your rather incomplete database fully. "I am in your debt."

"Wow... So Dr. Gero created you too?" Gohan asked curiously, looking you over as he noticed you really didn't look like some of the other androids they'd fought. How many did he make?! The Saiyan thought, frowning suddenly as he realized that meant there were just more people that had their lives cut short so they could become an experiment...

"Yes." You responded, smiling up at him as Trunks spoke up.

"But you're not like those other androids..." The younger boy said, looking at you hopefully as Gohan seemed interested in your answer as well.

"No. Androids 17 and 18 were designed exclusively for the assassination of Son Goku." You clarified, glancing away from the man you knew was related to him before continuing. "My prime directive files were corrupted and unable to be recovered. So I may never know what my initial purpose was." 

"Oh." Trunks said softly, looking at the ground for a moment before getting up from his seat. He walked over to you, giving you a small hug as you weren't sure how to react at first. "It's okay. You can stay with us!" He promised, surprising both you and his teacher as you heard his voice waver slightly. "I knew you weren't like the others..." He mumbled, hugging you tighter as you imitated his gesture.

You wrapped your mechanical arms around your new friend, leaning your chin on his shoulder gently as you realized you were both about the same height. Your crimson iris' stared at the other fighter who was observing you, the slightest bit of mistrust and anxiety still visible in his eyes...

You looked away from the other man, squeezing the younger boy one last time before pulling back. While it was true you still had some very fuzzy and corrupted human memories, a few things seemed to be instinctive, coming back rather quickly as your programming began to patch itself.

"I'll do whatever I can to pay you back for your kindness." You promised, truly meaning it as you were thankful just to be completely functional again.

Maybe this world is okay...

...

A/N: Whoever can tell me who she is first gets a cookie ヾ(〃^∇^)ﾉ

Chapter Text

A/N: Side note, Gohan is adorable ◕3◕

...

You'd been enjoying your stay with the Briefs family and Son Gohan immensely, learning tons of new things every day as your programming slowly but surely became more complete.

Today was a day like any other, the four of you sitting around the kitchen table as Gohan inhaled food at a superhuman speed.

You couldn't help but observe the man often, finding him and Trunks incredibly interesting since they were the last of their kind. Their fighting techniques were fascinating to you as well, something about them seeming to resonate with you deeply.

"Thanks again for the food Bulma..." Gohan said suddenly, standing up from his seat before walking towards the door. "I'm off to go train today."

"Can I come with you?" Trunks asked, trying to remain hopefully as he saw his teacher frown.

"Not today Trunks." Gohan replied, giving the boy a serious look. "You're so close to being able to go Super Saiyan... You just have to get to that level then our training can resume."

Trunks nodded, willing to trust his teacher as he helped him reach this new level of power. He'd do anything it took to be able to finally defeat the androids that had plagued this world for so long. As long as he could remember...

"Wait! You should not go alone." You stated, hopping off of the stool you were sitting on while calculating the risks automatically. You stepped around Gohan until you were standing between him and the door, hoping he'd change his mind once you supplied him with a detailed list of pros and cons.

"A solitary target stands a 72% chance of-"

"I'll be fine [#]." Gohan chuckled, cutting you off while placing his hand on the top of your head. He messed up your dark locks slightly, always amused with your responses, which were becoming more human day after day. "Besides, you and Trunks need to help Bulma, right?" He finished, pulling his hand back before smiling down at you.

"That is correct." You said with a sigh, unable to argue with facts.

"Look, don't worry..." Gohan said, grabbing your hand as he glanced at the fragile bit of technology. It was amazing that you were an android at all he thought, unable to tell the difference between your delicate fingers and his own. "I'll be back later. I promise."

You nodded, choosing to ignore the data for now and trust the fighter in front of you. The warmth of his genuine hand on your cold one was gone too quickly, making you frown as you watched him walk around you. 

All of you said your goodbyes for the time being as Bulma headed to her lab, working nearly nonstop now that she was so incredibly close to finishing her long time project. 

You and Trunks remained in the kitchen as you began cleaning up, gathering all the plates on the table before placing them in the sink.

"I can help." The younger boy offered, making you smile as you nodded.

"I would like that."

The two of you got to work on washing all the dishes, a comfortable silence settling in between you both. Trunks started scrubbing the pots and pans while you dried the plates, putting them all away carefully before returning to the sink. Just as you were finishing up, Bulma's voice echoed through the hallways.

"Trunks! [#]!" The scientist shouted from down in her lab. "Can you guys come down here for a minute?"

When the two of you arrived in the basement you found Bulma searching through various boxes here and there, throwing random things to the side while cursing. 

"Um, mom?"

"Oh! Hi honey!" Bulma said quickly, straightening up while wondering how much he had heard. "You haven't seen a battery lying around anywhere, have you?" The woman asked, looking back and forth between the two of you before continuing. "It's about this big... Yellow and silver..." She explained, holding her hands up as she tried to imitate it's size and shape.

"No... Sorry." Trunks answered, not knowing what she was talking about as you shook your head as well.

"Damn... We're one short." Bulma said, kicking the box she'd been looking through out of the way before glacning back at the ship. "And I thought I'd finally be able to run some diagnostics today..."

"Maybe we can find another one!" Her son said optimistically, trying to remember where they had scavenged the others from. "We found the rest in Ginger Town... Maybe there's some more!"

"I don't know Trunks... It could be dangerous..." Bulma said, not liking the idea of anyone leaving while Gohan was gone.

"Just sitting here while the androids continue to kill people is dangerous!" Trunks shouted, tired of everyone being so calm about all this destruction and death. "I'm sick of waiting around... I want to do something to help!"

You looked over at your friend sympathetically, placing a hand on his shoulder while feeling him shaking. You understood all too well what it was like to want something so badly, but not be able to do anything about it...

"You'll help me... Right [#]?" The half Saiyan asked, giving you a look that was impossible to say no to. 

"There is no way I would let you leave alone." You confirmed, smiling genuinely as Bulma smirked at the two of you from across the room.

"Well, if you do insist on going..." The scientist began, grabbing a blueprint off her desk before walking over. "Here is what we need. And if you can, try to grab a few extras."

Your eyes focused on the piece of paper she was holding, staring at the diagrams and measurements carefully while you recorded a perfect mental copy.

"Data transfer completed." You said automatically, blinking a few times before returning to normal. You smiled at Bulma and her son, already setting your navigational unit to plot a course for Ginger Town.

"Come on, let's go!" Trunks said happily, grabbing your hand before pulling you towards the door, leaving Bulma calling out after you both.

"Be careful!"

...

A few hours later...

...

"There it is!" Trunks said, looking at the city in the distance before glancing down at you. He watched as your crimson eyes dilated, scanning the area below before confirming.

"Location designated as... Ginger Town."

The lavender haired teen landed directly in the middle of a large cluster of buildings, hoping they could find what they were looking for quickly as he set you down. He glanced around the fallen structures for a moment, instantly wishing he hadn't as he spotted something sticking out from beneath a piece of rubble...

You watched him silently, scanning the area for any sign of life as you were unable to see a reasonable cause for destruction like this. No one was spared from the androids reign of terror you realized, watching sadly as Trunks knelt down to grab a stuffed animal that some poor child had left behind.

You walked up behind him, truly not knowing what to say as you stood there. 

It was unfair. Unfair that someone as young as Trunks had to witness terrible scenes like this... This chaos and destruction, it was senseless and cruel. The doctor responsible for your creation was also responsible for this you realized, truly wishing that someone like him would have never existed. 

So many countless lives lost because of one...

Your vision went red for a moment as you spun around, instantly locating two high powered targets who were approaching quickly.

"[#]?" Trunks asked in confusion, looking around as he saw you tense. "What... What's going on?" 

The Saiyan's blue eyes widened as 17 and 18 landed a few feet away, both killers sending you matching smirks before speaking.

"No way, she lives!" 17 chuckled, truly impressed that you were able to recover from his twins attack. "How'd you do that?" He inquired, knowing that there was no way she could fix herself on her own.

Trunks got into a fighting stance as you stood in front of him, throwing an arm out protectively before speaking.

"Lapis... Lazuli..." You stated, staring at them both seriously as they seemed somewhat surprised to hear their true names after all this time. "Why are you doing this? This destruction... It is not what your designs were intended for."

"So you can talk..." 18 commented, placing a hand on her hip as her twin brother spoke up.

"Designs... Plans... Who cares about any of that?" 17 explained, shaking his head before continuing. "No. See, we're done doing what anyone else tells us to do."

"Then why are you doing this?" You pressed, gesturing to the destruction around you all as you watched the dark haired man grin.

"Because it's fun."

The sadistic smile plastered on his face made something inside of you glitch, a few lines of code beginning to appear in front of your eyes as you glared back. Your pupils widened involuntarily as you scanned the other fighter, locking onto a supposed weak point in his construction before lunging forward. 

18 stood there completely stunned as you appeared in front of her twin, your voice sounding strangely monotone once more as you raised a hand over his heart.

"Detonation system detected. Removing critical threat."

A massive beam of light blasted forward from your open palm, striking 17 directly in the chest as he screamed. His built in bomb exploded on impact with your attack, making the other two fighters on the battlefield take cover.

When the dust had finally settled, 17 was nowhere to be seen, completely obliterated while you stood there among the debris. You lowered your hand slowly, your defensive systems going offline one by one as you blinked, shocked to find yourself standing alone.

"Trunks...? Trunks!" You shouted, looking around desperately before you heard a muffled cry.

You turned just in time to see 18 glaring your way, holding Trunks hostage while keeping her arm secured around his throat.

"I should kill him right now for what you've done..." The blonde woman growled, unable to believe her twin had actually just been defeated. "17... He's really..."

"No!" You screamed, your eyes widening as you watched her tighten her grip. "Please Lazuli! I didn't mean to!" You tried, taking a step forward as she backed up.

"Stay back or I'll do it!"

"Trunks!"

Chapter Text

A/N: Here is the thrilling conclusion to this mini story ●‿● Hope you peeps enjoy!

...

"Lazuli! No!" You shouted, looking at the blonde woman across from you desperately as you watched Trunks struggle in her grasp.

You knew you had to do something. Before you could calculate a better solution you launched yourself forward, satisfied to see that 18 quickly tossed Trunks to the side before focusing her attention solely on you.

In a flash the other fighter was right in front of your eyes however, smirking coldly before landing a harsh punch to your stomach. She followed it up with a kick that sent you flying, skidding across the uneven ground as you rolled to a stop before getting up.

"[#]!"

You hardly had time to react before the other android was on you again, knocking you further into the ruined city as you felt yourself crash through the wall of a building.

Crit-Critical er-error... Additional p-power rerouted to defensive units...

What... What is this... You wondered as the same lines of code from before suddenly appeared in your field of vision. I'm not accessing... This file...

18 saw you holding your head while trying to stand amidst the rubble, grinning evilly before going in for the kill. She blasted forward, aiming for your face with as much power as she could gather before her eyes widened in shock.

Your now emotionless iris' locked onto her cold blue ones as you caught her fist in your hand easily, stopping the woman dead in her tracks as you held her there for a fraction of a second. Your leg reacted instinctively, throwing itself upwards and sending the blonde woman sailing into the sky. Watching your opponent come to a stop a good distance above you, both of you exchanged deadly glares while waiting for who would make the next move...

Trunks watched your fight from the sidelines, not liking the way you didn't seem to respond when your defensive programming kicked in.

"[#]! Are you okay?!"

The familiar voice seemed to snap you out of your trance, causing you to look over at your friend momentarily as 18 took the opportunity to strike.

"NO!"

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, your eyes widening as a bright flash of orange completely obscured your vision. You heard Gohan shout and felt him grab onto you before pulling you to the side as a massive explosion shook the surrounding area.

Smoke covered the landscape as you tried to get up, feeling something heavy on top of you while hearing 18 laughing wickedly.

"Not my intended target... But I suppose it'll do."

"Gohan!" Trunks screamed, making you look down in horror as you noticed said fighter was badly injured.

Your mind raced to calculate his chances of survival as you placed a hand across his wound, applying pressure before hearing Trunks appear at your side.

"G-Gohan..."

"Get him help." You stated seriously, not wanting to just leave them both like this but not having much of a choice at the moment...

You turned your attention back to 18, who seemed to be watching the scene with interest as she smirked.

"You and me." The blonde growled, getting into a fighting stance while sending you a deadly glare. "Let's settle this."

"[#]..." Trunks mumbled, picking up his teacher while being careful not to hurt him any further. "What about-"

"It will be alright Trunks, I promise." You said quickly, cutting him off while knowing neither of you had any time to waste. "Now go!"

The lavender haired boy nodded, rising into the air and giving you one last glance before blasting towards their hideout with an unconscious Gohan in his arms. You felt their energy signatures retreating as you breathed a sigh of relief, noticing that Gohan's was still very strong despite his injury...

Your eyes narrowed at the woman across from you, intending to make her pay for hurting someone so dear to you.

"Lazuli..." You said, determination lacing your voice as you scanned her power level and energy reserves. 

"I am going to make you regret everything you have done..."

...

Back at Bulma's hideout...

...

"Thank goodness you got him here when you did..." Bulma sighed, grabbing a few more bandages from the cabinet across the room before continuing. "He's not going to be doing any training for a while though..."

"Is... Is he going to be okay mom?" Trunks asked, turning back to face her while noticing how she tensed at his question for a split second.

"Of course." She replied, heading over to the bed where said man was resting before laying the bandages on the table next to them. "He's strong like his father." She stated before giving her son a reassuring grin.

"What about [#]?"

Bulma sighed, knowing this conversation was coming as she knew she had to do the responsible thing. 

"Just have faith..." The scientist went on, hoping that her choice was the right one. After everything that had happened just today, there was no way she was letting her son go out there again... For any reason. 

"[#] is strong too."

...

A few days later...

...

Gohan had recovered quickly, his half Saiyan blood contributing to his fast healing time. It was hard for him to adjust to his new reality at first, waking up to find that his arm was gone was a difficult thing to process...

It had all felt like a terrible dream. The last thing he remembered was sensing a massive power level nearby, along with Trunks' familiar ki as he raced towards the source of energy. He'd arrived on the scene just in time to see 18 headed your way, about to strike with one of her finishing attacks while you were temporarily distracted... Then, everything went dark.

He'd woken up to discover that both his arm and you were gone, Trunks and Bulma explaining that they hadn't seen or heard from you ever since Trunks left to get help.

Once Gohan was well enough, he'd immediately began searching along with Trunks, neither of them finding any sign of you or Android 18. Even though they'd returned to Ginger Town, it was as if you both had disappeared, though the town was already so destroyed it was hard to tell what destruction was caused by who.

One late evening, Trunks had already headed home while Gohan continued to search, flying above the areas surrounding where you'd last been seen. His dark eyes were scanning the landscape carefully, checking the foliage and scattered debris as he prayed he'd find at least some clue that would lead him to what had happened...

Just then, a flash of silver caught his eye. 

Gohan descended into the thick treeline, touching down on the soft forest floor as his eyes widened. He instantly noticed an area ahead of him that must have been the scene of a recent battle... Bits of metal and circuitry were scattered here and there, making his stomach drop as he ventured forward.

Suddenly, a few strands of dark hair peeking out from behind a log kick started his adrenaline as he jumped around the fallen tree, coming face to face with you finally as he couldn't help but shout.

"[#]!"

You opened your eyes slowly, experiencing the closest thing to human exhaustion as possible as your battery reserves were nearly on empty.

"What are you doing out here?" Gohan questioned, giving you a very curious look as he moved to kneel by where you were laying. "Are you alright?"

"Truthfully... No." You replied, not sure how to approach this topic as you lacked the proper social skills to cope with these type of problems. "I do not want to cause anyone... Harm." You continued, choosing your words carefully while feeling something inside of you almost breaking.

I can't continue to stay with them if my programming is a threat to their safety...

"[#]..." Gohan whispered, before frowning. "You defeated the androids! You're not-"

"Your arm."

His dark eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he watched you stare towards his injury, your own iris' seeming to focus on it intently before speaking again.

"I apologize..." You said genuinely, your voice coming out in a hushed breath as you tried to rationalize your worth. You couldn't cry... You couldn't express your true emotions in many ways... But perhaps if you told him, said the words and explained how terribly sorry you were, maybe then he could forgive you for being so utterly useless.

"You would not have become injured if not for-"

Gohan cut you off, leaning down to pick your delicate body up before pulling you into a sitting position.

"Don't say that." The spiky haired man growled, almost getting irritated with you for even thinking that way. "I was willing to die if it meant destroying them for good..." He continued, his tone becoming a bit softer now that he realized he didn't have to. 

"You saved us [#]... I won't forget that."

Gohan placed his hand on your shoulder proudly, looking down at your tiny mechanical form while unable to believe that you were actually one of the things he was so eager to be rid of. But you're nothing like them... He reminded himself, knowing it to be true as he watched the smallest dusting of pink appear on your cheeks.

"Gohan... Thank you."

"I trust you..." Gohan said, sounding incredibly sure of himself while seeming to stare directly into your soul. "I know you have a good heart and that's all that matters." He stated, leaning forward and placing a light kiss on your forehead before smiling down at your confused face.

"Come on, let's go home." 

...

A/N: Fluffy cute fluff (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ I really like this pairing... Maybe I will write more for it in the future?