Android 17 and Android 18

The underground research facility in the southwestern archipelago of South City was buried deep within the seabed rock strata. Bulma's satellite scans had taken a full three days to penetrate the electromagnetic interference zone and transmit the complete structural map to everyone's scouters. Three underground levels, with the main laboratory at the bottom and the energy core on the second level—it matched Trunks's intelligence perfectly, except for one variable.

"There are four more backup energy units than in your timeline," Bulma's voice came through the comm channel. "Dr. Gero clearly made more preparations in this iteration of the timeline."

"Then we'll cut four more," Krillin said, rolling his wrists as qi threads gathered at his fingertips into faint golden filaments.

Talos stood atop the rocky outcrop above the facility entrance. His senses pierced through thick steel plates and concrete, locking onto the distribution of every aura across the three underground levels. The two strongest auras were concentrated on the lowest floor—Android 17 and Android 18, still inside their sleeping pods, their energy signatures stable yet immense. Another aura was weaker and more scattered, belonging to Dr. Gero himself. There was also a barely perceptible presence in a corner of the lowest floor, something between machine and living organism—Android 16, a fully mechanical android and the creation Dr. Gero had been most unwilling to activate.

"Android 17 and Android 18 are still in their sleeping pods. This is our window." Talos withdrew his senses. "Android 17 is mine. Android 18 goes to Krillin and Tien Shinhan. Vegeta, Goku, you hold the surface. If Dr. Gero activates the backup energy units early or releases other models, intercept them immediately. Piccolo, Nappa, guard the perimeter and seal every escape route. Trunks, stay on standby in the air—if anything unexpected happens, you fill the gap."

Vegeta frowned slightly. "You don't plan to send us after Android 17?"

"Android 17 and Android 18 have infinite energy. A direct clash wastes time. Dr. Gero himself is more dangerous—he definitely has other trump cards. You and Goku holding the line is the most important insurance for this operation."

Vegeta fell silent for a moment, then gave a slight nod. Goku grinned and rolled his shoulders, his golden hair drifting faintly in the morning light in Super Saiyan form.

"Go."

Talos was the first to blast through the rock strata. A ki blast exploded beneath his feet, opening a vertical shaft several meters wide. Reinforced concrete shattered like paper beneath the searing force of his qi. Six figures plunged into the passage one after another.

Underground Level Three, main laboratory. Dr. Gero shot to his feet before the monitoring screens, his aged mechanical joints letting out a piercing grind. Dozens of points of light on the displays were tearing through his facility at unbelievable speed, every layer of defense destroyed the instant it made contact. He had converted his own brain into an android as well—Android 20. With energy-absorption devices in his hands, he could theoretically absorb any ki blast and convert it into his own power. He slammed the emergency button on the console, and the sleeping pods of Android 17 and Android 18 began their forced activation sequence.

"Activation requires three more minutes." Dr. Gero's hand trembled over the console. "Three minutes—"

The hatch before him exploded. Talos stepped out of the smoke and dust, his orange battle robe reflecting a cold gleam beneath the dim laboratory lights. He glanced at the countdown flashing on the console—2 minutes and 47 seconds—then looked at Dr. Gero.

"Dr. Gero. The surviving scientist of the Red Ribbon Army. You began gathering combat data from Goku's first martial arts tournament and kept collecting it all the way through Planet Namek. You created Android 19, Android 20, Android 17, Android 18, and Cell. Your database contains every one of our fighting habits and weaknesses."

"How do you know about Cell?!" Dr. Gero's pupils contracted sharply. Cell's existence was top secret; even Android 17 and Android 18 knew nothing of it. That name existed only in his private database.

"That isn't important. What matters is that your database is missing several crucial pieces of data. You only collected the early-stage data from the battle against Frieza. You have no record at all of the tactics we used later. Your Android 17 and Android 18 were designed from outdated data. They're strong, but not stronger than our latest tactical system."

Dr. Gero's hand moved toward the activation switch for the energy-absorption device. An extremely thin golden qi thread shot in from the side and wrapped precisely around his wrist. Krillin dropped through a breach in the ceiling, his hands forming seals as dozens of qi threads wove through the air into a net.

Qi Net: Severance.

Rather than binding Dr. Gero's entire body like it had Recoome's, the qi threads sliced precisely into the energy nodes at his wrist joint. Dr. Gero's right arm instantly lost power, its mechanical fingers twitching helplessly a few times. He lowered his head to look at the nearly invisible qi threads, his expression changing from rage to disbelief. His database had no record of this kind of attack—the bald kid's control over qi was far beyond his estimates.

The countdown on the console continued to tick. 2 minutes and 1 second.

"Goku, Vegeta—how are things on the surface?"

Goku's voice came through the comm channel, with the shriek of tearing metal in the background. "We've already dismantled all the surface defense systems. Vegeta says it was too easy. He hasn't even warmed up yet."

"Tell him to save his strength. Piccolo, perimeter?"

"All escape routes are sealed. Nappa is guarding the main entrance. He says not even a fly can get out." Piccolo paused. "Those were his exact words—'Not even a fly can get out'—but he's already killed three flies."

The countdown reached 1 minute and 3 seconds.

Tien Shinhan smashed through a wall from the other side, his third eye already open. Piccolo followed behind him, one arm slightly extended. Trunks circled above the facility, his scouter scanning the surrounding waters for any possible reinforcement signals. Nappa paced back and forth outside the main entrance, his fists already wrapped in white qi flames as he waited for some foolhardy enemy to charge out.

The countdown hit zero. Both sleeping pods sprang open at once.

Android 17 stepped out first. Black short hair, a red scarf, and a face far too young for a weapon that had been manufactured. He surveyed the surroundings—the laboratory destroyed beyond recognition, Dr. Gero with his right arm bound by the qi net, the warriors in matching orange battle robes before him—and casually rolled his neck without expression.

"Old man, you woke us up this time to deal with these people?"

Android 18 emerged from the other sleeping pod. Her long blond hair fell to her shoulders, her blue eyes cold as ice. Her gaze swept across the laboratory—Dr. Gero's disheveled state with his right arm trapped in the qi net, Android 17's expressionless battle intent, the identical "Turtle" emblems on those orange battle robes. Then her eyes settled on Talos.

Talos was looking at her as well.

"Android 17 is mine. Android 18 goes to Krillin and Tien Shinhan." As soon as Talos finished speaking, Android 17 moved. His speed far surpassed Frieza's final form—an infinite-energy android had no stamina limits, and every strike was delivered at full power. His right fist, wrapped in white qi flames, blasted toward Talos's chest. Talos raised his right arm to block—in Super Saiyan form, his base combat power had already surpassed 400,000, and multiplied fiftyfold, it approached 20 million. Yet Android 17's punch still forced him back one step. Not because he could not block it—it was simply heavy. Infinite energy meant there was no upper limit to the output of each punch.

"You're stronger than Frieza." Android 17 withdrew his fist and looked directly at his opponent for the first time. "The old man wasn't wrong this time—there really is an enemy worth waking me up for."

"More than worth waking you up for." Talos's golden aura erupted as his right fist, carrying the full force of his Super Saiyan form, slammed into Android 17's crossed arms. Android 17's feet carved two deep furrows through the ground before he crashed through an entire concrete wall behind him. He sprang up from the rubble with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, an expression completely unlike Android 16's or Android 18's—not anger, not indifference, but the pure exhilaration of battle.

On the other side, Android 18 looked at Krillin and raised her right hand expressionlessly. A golden energy blast condensed in her palm, its energy density far beyond Frieza's Death Beam. Krillin did not retreat—his hand seals were already complete. The qi net wove itself through the air into a golden lattice denser and tougher than the one used against Recoome, every qi thread cutting precisely into a node in Android 18's energy flow. The instant the blast left her hand, dozens of qi threads sliced into it at once. The golden sphere rapidly shrank in midair before finally dispersing into a wisp of smoke.

Android 18's brow lifted slightly. She looked at the short bald man, at the golden qi threads extending from his fingertips, then at Dr. Gero, whose right arm was locked by those same threads—the "father" who had never truly looked at her. She withdrew her hand and did not attack again. Not because she could not win. It was because, for the first time, she had encountered an opponent who did not intend to kill her.

"Why did you only cut off my energy instead of attacking me?"

"You're not an enemy." Talos turned his head from Android 17's side, his voice calm. "You're a human who was abducted and modified by Dr. Gero. You have a permanent energy reactor inside you, but your brain isn't a machine. You have your own will and your own choices. Dr. Gero gave you orders to kill—but you don't have to obey."

Android 18 was silent for a moment. Then she lowered her head and looked at her palm, saying coldly in a voice only she could hear, "I'm not a tool." Then she raised her head again, her blue eyes staring straight at Talos. "How do you prove what you said is true? How do you prove I'm not a machine that only knows how to kill?"

"I don't need to prove it." Talos said, "You'll prove it yourself. You can leave right now. Leave this facility and go wherever you want. The same goes for Android 17. No one will stop you."

Android 17 rose from the pile of rubble and brushed the dust from his shoulder. He glanced at Android 18, then at Talos, before walking over to stand beside Android 18. The two manufactured "weapons" stood side by side amid the ruins, silently meeting each other's eyes for a moment.

"Where do we go?" Android 17 asked.

"I don't know," Android 18 said. "But first, I want to see what these people are really doing."

Tien Shinhan withdrew his attack stance, his third eye slowly closing. Piccolo retracted his elongated arm and stepped out of the ruins. Krillin released his hand seals, and the qi net dissolved into golden specks of light drifting through the air. Trunks descended from above and landed at the facility entrance. Vegeta and Goku leaped down from the upper level, their Super Saiyan forms still faintly blazing. Nappa strode in through the main entrance, carrying two of Dr. Gero's defense robots dismantled into parts over his shoulder.

Talos walked over to Dr. Gero. The doctor's right arm was still bound in qi threads, but the energy-absorption device on his left hand had already begun charging.

"You can't absorb my qi." Talos looked down at him. "Your energy-absorption device has a limit. A single strike from Frieza's final form could overload it—my Super Saiyan form is far beyond that limit."

Dr. Gero's charging motion stopped. He looked at Talos, then at Android 17 and Android 18 standing side by side amid the ruins—his strongest weapons, created through the labor of his entire life, now quietly standing with the people in orange battle robes without any intent to fight.

"Cell." He suddenly laughed. "Right, there's still Cell. You think you've won just because you defeated Android 17 and Android 18? Cell will absorb both of them and evolve into his perfect form. By then, all of you will—"

"Where is Cell's embryo?" Talos interrupted.

Dr. Gero's laughter came to an abrupt stop.

"Fourth basement level. You won't be able to find it—"

"Fourth basement level, Zone B, Incubation Chamber No. 7. Temperature: 36.5 degrees Celsius. Liquid culture medium. It has already entered the larval stage." With every sentence Talos spoke, Dr. Gero's face grew a shade paler. "I finished reading your entire database three minutes ago."

Trunks's expression changed abruptly. In his timeline, Cell's perfect form had been the culprit behind the destruction of everything. Talos turned to him. "Trunks, come with me to the fourth basement level. Krillin, use the Qi Net to cut off all of Dr. Gero's backup power sources. Tien Shinhan and Piccolo, hold the main laboratory. Android 17 and Android 18 can stay here and wait if they want. Vegeta and Goku, keep watch on the surface. Nappa, the perimeter of the institute is yours."

Vegeta frowned slightly. "Cell's embryo—how do you plan to deal with it?"

"Destroy it. Before it becomes a threat."

Trunks followed behind Talos as the two headed for the stairs leading down to the fourth basement level. At the stairwell entrance, Talos stopped and looked back at Android 18.

"Once Cell is dealt with, we'll talk."

Android 18 did not answer. But neither did she leave.