The Name

After flying lazily through the sky for more than ten minutes, the group

finally found a vehicle in the middle of nowhere.

It was a small truck, just big enough to fit Android 16.

Given his size, an ordinary car wouldn't have been able to hold him.

The owner was inside a nearby convenience store, buying something.

After some friendly discussion, the owner finally agreed to lend them the truck—and didn't dare ask them to return it.

As a thank-you, Android 16 kindly helped unload the cargo from the truck.

The owner was so moved that he burst into tears. After they left, he even worried they might get lost out there and called the police on their behalf.

Truly touching.

After saying goodbye to the kind man, they began their game of searching for Goku.

Inside the truck, Android 17 drove from the driver's seat, while Android 18 held Mo Yuan in the passenger seat.

Android 16 was too big to fit in the cab, so he had to sit in the cargo bed.

Now that nobody else was around to bother them, Android 17 finally started asking Mo Yuan about his origins.

"Hey, kid, tell us where you came from."

First of all, my name isn't "Hey"...

"My name is Mo Yuan..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Mo Yuan noticed everyone staring at him in surprise.

Even Android 17 stopped watching the road as he drove.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Mo Yuan was a little confused. It was just a name. What was there to make such a fuss about?

"Of course it's a problem. Androids don't have names; they only have numbers. Even Dr. Gero gave himself the number Android 20 after he became an android," Android 18 said, looking at Mo Yuan strangely.

"And you have an actual name."

Mo Yuan suddenly understood. "Oh! So that's why. I actually chose my own name. Maybe Dr. Gero thought the chances of successfully creating me were too low, so he didn't get around to giving me a number."

"Too low? I remember you said you weren't a robot or an android modified from a human. So how exactly did you come into being?"

"Dr. Gero used the cells of Earth's strongest martial artists and powerful warriors from across the universe to create me. So I'm neither a robot nor an android modified from an ordinary human..."

Mo Yuan told the three of them about his origins.

But he didn't tell them everything. For example, he left out how he could absorb Androids 17 and 18 to become perfect, or absorb humans to increase his strength.

He had no intention of absorbing humans, let alone the three of them. Telling them about it would only cause unnecessary trouble.

"So you were also created to kill Son Goku?"

Mo Yuan nodded. "That's right."

Even so, Mo Yuan had no intention of killing Son Goku. Aside from not wanting to, he simply wasn't strong enough.

He didn't know how battle power was calculated.

But he could clearly sense that his ki was only about a tenth of Vegeta's in his normal state.

With that level of strength, he couldn't even beat Piccolo, let alone kill Son Goku.

That would be like looking for shit with a lantern in a public toilet.

And besides...

There was another huge threat.

Cell.

Nobody knew where Cell was hiding.

In the original story, Cell appeared around this time and started eating people.

His ultimate targets were Androids 17 and 18.

Without absorbing them, it wouldn't be easy for Cell to evolve into his perfect form.

And an unevolved Cell wasn't worth worrying about.

According to the original story, he would also have to watch out for Vegeta.

After all, in the original, it was because of Vegeta that Android 18 was absorbed by Cell.

It even led to a touching scene of fatherly love between Vegeta and Trunks.

The outcome was delightful, too.

Vegeta became Super Vegeta again.

Mo Yuan just couldn't understand it.

How did Vegeta manage to get slapped down every single time he got stronger?

You could say Vegeta had spent his whole life taking things too far.

He went too far in his own way and grew stronger by going too far.

He really did get stronger, but he never missed out on the beatings that came afterward.

When it came to "failing to show off and getting burned instead," Mo Yuan had to admit Vegeta was the best.

But even though Vegeta got slapped down every time, Mo Yuan knew he would get stronger again in a few days. When that happened, neither Android 17 nor Android 18 would be able to beat him.

Even Cell in his mature form wouldn't stand a chance.

So Mo Yuan resolved to become stronger.

As long as Cell was still around, there was no way to avoid a fight. Cell would never leave Androids 17 and 18 alone.

Even if they killed Cell now, Vegeta would come looking for trouble.

After all, Vegeta had lost face because of them, and he would definitely want to get even.

Time was running short, too. Vegeta would arrive in just a few days.

Thinking of this, Mo Yuan couldn't help furrowing his brow.

There was only one place where he could quickly increase his strength now...

"What are you thinking about?"

Just then, a warm, soft hand gently smoothed the crease from Mo Yuan's brow. Her voice was calm, but held a hint of concern.

Mo Yuan shook his head. "Nothing."

It wasn't that he didn't want to tell them. He just didn't know how to explain it.

He couldn't exactly tell them, "My future-timeline self is going to come and absorb you, right?"

"By the way, Sister, I remember you said Dr. Gero turned you from humans into androids, right?"

Mo Yuan quickly changed the subject.

"Mm."

"Do you remember the names you had before?"

"Our old names..."

At Mo Yuan's question, hatred flashed in Android 18's eyes before giving way to deep sorrow.

She thought back to several years ago.

She and Android 17 had originally lived in a village on the outskirts of North City.

Everything changed on that day.

Dr. Gero stormed into their village with several androids.

Their guns were useless against such powerful androids.

Unable to fight back, they could only let themselves be taken.

In just half an hour, Dr. Gero had captured them all. Not a single person escaped.

After that, they were plunged into a living hell.

Dr. Gero began carrying out inhumane human experiments.

Androids 17 and 18 watched helplessly as their friends and family were slaughtered one by one.

They saw their parents kneel before Dr. Gero, saying they were willing to cooperate with his experiments if only he would spare them.

But Dr. Gero didn't need their cooperation.

Two androids knocked their parents unconscious and dragged them away.

They never saw their parents again.

They knew the truth.

Dr. Gero disposed of failed test subjects.

He left not even a trace behind.

Hatred didn't gradually fade after being buried in one's heart for a long time. It only grew stronger.

And the biggest mistake Dr. Gero made was concentrating their abilities on increasing their strength, leaving them with little control.

After Androids 17 and 18 were modified and gained incredible power, while keeping their memories, the thing they wanted most wasn't to complete Dr. Gero's mission and kill Son Goku.

It was to kill Dr. Gero, the man who had destroyed their family.

Mo Yuan suddenly felt the atmosphere in the truck grow oppressive, and regretted asking the question.

Clearly, his words had brought back painful memories for Androids 17 and 18.

For a while, silence fell inside the truck.

After a moment, Android 18 sighed. Her expression gradually softened, as though she had finally let go of something and felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

"My name is Lazuli."

When Android 17 heard her, his grip on the steering wheel relaxed.

She'd let it go? That was good. It really was time to move on.

"My name is Lapis."

Android 16, sitting in the back, smiled kindly.