Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ My Beloved Monster ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

All things DBZ are © Akira Toriyama, TOEI, and FUNimation

My Beloved Monster

Dark clouds blanketed the night sky, rain was pounding down on the land harshly, lighting ripped the darkness apart for a split second and booming thunder shook the air with a mighty roar. Not a soul was outside their homes in such terrible weather. Most were in their soft, warm beds and had fallen asleep to the sound of the raindrops on their glass windows. They dreamt peacefully into the frightening night…

However, far away from towns, homes, and all civilization, on a mountain several miles from North City…not everyone had been lulled to sleep by the sounds of the storm.

KRA-KOOOOOOOOOM!

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

The young woman pulled the covers over her head at the sound of thunder outside and shivered into her pillow. After the sound had passed, she peeked from her covers and looked around the dark room. The lights were off, and she could hardly see a thing. She looked across the room to the second bed, and watched it carefully. There was no movement or sounds of movement, and she sighed with relief.

Good, he's asleep. If he saw me just now, I would never have heard the end of it…

She pulled the covers back and sat up in her bed. She hated thunderstorms, and she had every reason to. The thought of lightning striking her and shutting down her body was one of her worst fears. It was also the fear of her brother, who was sleeping in the other bed…but he was fast asleep and couldn't hear the thunder.

Thank God…

She lay back down, and closed her eyes to try and go back to sleep. However…

KRA-KOOOOOOOOOM!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" she screamed again, pulling the covers over her head. She quickly got a hold of herself, and sat up with a frown. "Damn… I gotta stop doing that…" She looked back to the other bed, still no hearing any sounds from her brother. She smirked at him. "Y'know, you'd still be sound asleep if the Metro West army stormed in here."

There was no response. She just shook her head of light blond hair and stepped out of the bed.

"I can't sleep… Maybe a drink of water will do it…"

She opened the door that led out of the bedroom she and her brother shared and into the laboratory. She looked around, seeing nobody up and around, and she headed for the kitchen area. Once she arrived, she turned on the light to discover that no one was in the kitchen either. So, she went to the coolent unit, and opened it up for a bountiful supply of water bottles. She took one of the bottles, snapped off the plastic cap and gulped down the cold liquid. She brought the bottle away from her lips, and wiped her mouth with a satisfying "ahh." She felt better, but she didn't feel like she wanted to go back to bed.

I guess I'll stay up for a while longer…

But I've got nothing to do…

Suddenly, the lights in the kitchen flickered violently before suddenly shutting off. She was left in a confused daze before the lights blazed back on again and stayed that way.

"What the…" she wondered to herself, looking out the kitchen door, and in the direction of a long hall. She raised a suspicious eyebrow. "I'll bet that was the old man in the underground bunker working on something…" Keeping the kitchen light on and still holding her water bottle, she walked down the hall. "I wonder… Perhaps it's another android…"

The hallway took her to a porthole in the ground with a metal ladder leading down into the basement. She folded her arms across her chest and hovered down the porthole, not touching one rung on the ladder. She landed gracefully on the cold ground with her bare feet, and shivered. It was cold in the underground hall, and her pajamas weren't very much warmth. She kept her arms held against her body, and walked down the hall to the metal doors in front of her.

Behind the twin doors, she could hear the clacking of keyboard keys and the beeping and grinding of the main computer working away with the old man's typed commands. She smirked. More than likely, he was working on yet another android. She wondered why, though. Son Goku died six months ago, and along with him the old man's desire for revenge. She took one hand off her arm fold, and pushed a door open a crack. She peeked in, not wanting to make an entrance yet.

She could see the old man. His back was to her, and she could easily make out his long white hair and ridiculous black hat on his head. He was typing away on his main computer, working on yet another android. However, she couldn't see the worktable or a metallic body nearby. Maybe he had kidnapped another human and was engineering him or her into another android? She shook her head at that. No, he even said it himself, doing that was a big mistake.

Exactly how big of a mistake, even my brother and I haven't shown him yet…

Well, let's see what he's working on now…

She pushed the door fully open, and walked in the bunker room.

"Doctor, are you just going to sit there and type your life away?"

He turned his head to her with a glare.

"Android 18, what are you doing up at this type of night? You and your brother should be asleep."

"Hmph." 18 snorted. "I wish I could get sleep better than my brother can. He's still out; I'm the only one up."

"Then get back to bed." The doctor ordered, turning back to his keyboard.

"I can't sleep." She moaned. "So, I came to see what you're working on. Is it another android? I don't see the worktable out…"

"It's none of your business!" the doctor snapped. "Now go back to your room this instant, or I'll push the button again!"

18 froze. Yes, a day hardly ever went by when the infamous Dr. Gero threatened his androids by "pushing the button," but half the time he carried it out. Of course, he would push the deactivation switch that shut off herself and her brother for a full twenty-four hours.

However, she didn't see the remote for the switch nearby, so she regained her confidence.

"It's my business now, doc." 18 insisted, walking up to him and peeking over his shoulder. "Now what is it you're working on?"

"I'll say it again, 18! It's none of your…"

18 stroked his cheek with two fingers softly. Her tempting actions quieted Gero and made him blush. He gave in.

"It's a new android…"

"It is?" 18 blinked, taking her hand off him. "But the work table…"

"I don't need it." The old man shook his head. "I'm taking a different approach for this one. Instead of computer chips and gears, this model is purely flesh and blood. It is a bio-android."

" 'Bio-android?' " 18 didn't like the sound of that.

"He's nearly complete." Gero reported happily. "He should be awakening in the next five minutes. I completed his genetic cell structure, and now it should be all up to the computer to breathe life into him."

"Him, eh? Well, where is he?"

"Over there." Gero pointed to a vat culture on the other side of the room. 18 looked at it. Within a glass tank shaped slightly like an egg, she could see green colored water bubbling through the glass. However, there was something inside of it, a large black object that she couldn't recognize. She walked up to it, curious. She didn't cease her approach until she was pressing her hand gently on the glass of the tank.

She could see it very clearly now.

It looked like a gigantic bug half as big as she did. She backed away a couple steps in disgust. If it was one thing she hated more than lighting was bugs. She gave it a weird look before turning back to the doctor.

"What are you making it for? A Hollywood monster movie?"

"Don't try to be funny." Gero shook a finger at her. "You see, Son Goku may have passed away, but there are other fighters still alive out there. I can still dispose of them with my creations…such as you and 17…"

"So, why not send us out to take care of these other fighters? We're strong enough!"

"I don't trust either of you. And I know 19 isn't exactly up to the job yet; I need to install his energy absorbers. However, this model…" He waved his hand at the tank. "…Is fully equipped for the task. I had secretly gathered the DNA of these existing fighters and others and spliced all of them into the artwork before you."

18 half frowned before taking another drink from her water bottle.

"It's artwork, alright. Abstract artwork."

"You shut your mouth!" Gero snapped. "This model can make tin foil out of you and your brother! Android 21 is my ultimate and most deadly android!"

18 blinked at Gero.

" 'Ultimate and most deadly android?' Good thing 17 wasn't here to hear that. He would have sliced you in half, doctor."

"I told you to shut up! There, I said everything you needed to know! Now go back to bed, or I'll shut you off!"

"Fine, fine…" 18 sighed, heading for the door. "Android 21, eh? Well, what are you going to do with him once he's killed all the fighters? Put him in a circus sideshow? He looks fitting for the part."

"Go to bed!"

"Shut up, already, old man! I'm gone!" 18 insisted, about to walk out the door.

Suddenly, the glass on the tank cracked slightly.

Chink…

18 stopped dead in her tracks and whipped her head to the tank. Her eagle eyes spotted the crack in the glass. Gero was looking at it too.

"What in the…" he wondered, tapping away at the computer. "What's this? He's hatching now?! How can this be?! He has two minutes left!"

"A premature awakening?" 18 whispered to herself.

Chink…cha-chink…

More cracks spider-webbed through the glass. The creature was moving slightly, creating more cracks and making them spread faster.

Chink…cha-cha-chink…cha-chink…

18 could see its eye darting all over the place, looking around either in curiosity or fear. It was moving around more and more, making cracks all over the surface of the tank.

"Let it out…" 18 said softly. "Drain the tank, doctor… It's going to blow…"

"This is impossible…" Gero gasped. "So soon…"

And then…

CRASH!

The tank split open, spilling water and glass shards onto the floor. 18 flinched slightly and Gero stood up in alarm. The creature fell from the remains of the tank to the floor, and landed on its four feet gracefully. It shook its head slightly, drying itself off a little, then took its shaky first step. 18 couldn't believe her eyes. She had no idea what to describe what she felt. It wasn't fear…and it wasn't shock…

"You crazy, old coot…what did you create?" she said slowly.

"Ah," Gero smiled at his creation as it took a couple more steps foreword, "Android 21… Look over here, 21!"

The creature turned its head to Gero, and looked at him curiously. Gero walked towards it, all smiles.

"Hello, 21. I'm your creator, Dr. Sven Gero, the greatest scientific mind on Earth. It's very nice to meet you."

The creature purred at the doctor, acknowledging the man who gave it life. The strange feeling that overcame 18 seemed to vanish, and she walked closer to the creature.

"So, what is it, Gero?" 18 asked. The creature whipped its head to her, and she froze where she stood again.

"This…is the future of robotics." Gero grinned, patting the creature's head. It didn't respond at all; it just stared at 18. 18 looked into its eyes. If it really was an android, it could talk just like her: with its optic sensor linking.

**So, who are you?**

The thing stared back.

**I am Android 21. Who are you?**

18 flinched with a yelp.

"What the hell… It really is an android!"

"I told you so." Gero laughed. "So, what do you think of your baby brother, 18? Do you like him?"

"I…" Was all 18 could say. She was just too shocked and confused to believe what was happening.

Then, something else shocking happened at that moment.

The creature started to tremble and shake violently, growling deep in its throat. Gero blinked a few times before he recognized the situation.

"Ha, ha, ha! He's evolving already! He is assuming his fighting shape!"

" 'Fighting shape?' " 18 wondered with a shaky voice.

"Come, come, 18! How do you think he's going to kill off the world's greatest fighters?! Not in this form, but in a form of ultimate perfection! Feast your eyes on your successor!"

The creature's back split open with a crisp "crack" and opened up. A foul smell filled the air, forcing 18 and Gero to plug their noses in disgust. Something pushed its back out of the creature's shell, something bumpy and green… Then its head rose, turning the skin of the creature the color of a dead leaf. A new creature was emerging from the old one…

No… 18 realized, it's the same creature shedding its skin, like a snake or a lizard…This is freaky…

Suddenly, a hand rose from the shell, pushing the new body out of the dead skin. Then, it stood up and arched its back with a loud roar. 18 screamed in surprise, putting her hands over her ears. Gero just watched in awe. The creature's new skin then began to lighten in color, making it a jade green with black speckles all over its body. 18's heart began to pound. She clearly identified her new feeling as fear.

The android was built like a human, but clearly wasn't. It was almost seven feet tall, not including the enormous headcrest that fanned out around its head. All of it was muscular, not one inch of it scrawny or weak. Its chest was puffed out in muscles, and its arms and legs were decked out impressively. Black shells covered the middle of its head and its stomach area. Its feet and hands each had three claws big enough to wrap around a human's neck. On its face were a pair of pink eyes like a cat, and an orange beak of muscles. Behind it, attached to its back, was a long tail tipped with a very sharp spike. 18 had never seen such a monster like the android before her.

Gero had a much different reaction.

"What in…Android 21?"

It turned its head to Gero curiously.

"Doctor?" it said with a growling voice. 18 flinched at the sound. Gero wasn't affected at all. His eyes surveyed 21 up and down quickly and harshly. The old man seemed to have a disappointed look on his face.

"No, no, no! This is all wrong!" he yelled, walking around the android. 21 turned with him.

"What is all wrong, doctor?" 21 asked in worry.

"You!" Gero snapped. "Look at you! This isn't how you were suppost to turn out! What is wrong with you?"

"There is nothing wrong." 21 reported. "All of my organs and brain activity is functioning properly. How was I supposed to…"

"Shut up!" Gero ordered sharply. "Not another word out of you!"

18 gave the old man a weird look. What was his problem? The last time he became this upset was when 17 and 18 first showed him how rebellious they were. They became exactly what he didn't expect.

Wait a minute…Is the same thing happening here?

"You're suppost to be humanoid!" Gero yelled at 21. "Look at you! You're a circus freak! This is not your physical appearance at all!"

"Doctor?" 21 gasped, backing away from its creator slowly.

"I can't believe this…" Gero roared, storming away from his creation and out the bunker. 18 shimmied away from him as he passed her and pushed open a door. "My ultimate android… Already an ultimate failure…"

"Doctor!" 21 cried desperately.

The door slammed loudly, and the sound rung in both the android's ears. 18 looked at 21, who looked absolutely horrified. The creature suddenly fell on its hands and knees and lowered its head to the ground. She thought she heard it sobbing uncontrollably.

Even though she was scared of the thing…

…She felt so sorry for Android 21.