Black and White

"I can't believe he's really gone."

Trunks stared up at the rotating fan in his guest room, watching it absentmindedly. Try as he had, his conscience just couldn't let him live down Goku's untimely demise. "I came to create a world where he'd survive… a world where he could defeat the androids and I could learn from him." He sighed in resignation. "And yet, I failed thanks to Cell. That doesn't even account for the other android."

Eighteen's being allowed to roam freely was something that the lavender-haired Saiyan still couldn't wrap his mind around to this very minute. Though he had begrudgingly accepted the fact that Krillin held feelings for her, it was still incredibly alarming at how carelessly the remainder of the Z-Fighters saw her off. Krillin was a good person, but Eighteen was too twisted to be saved in the hybrid's eyes.

A sudden thought came to him, one that he had to admit brought a smirk about his face. 'I guess if anyone, father will take care of her if she acts out of line. I'm sure he hasn't forgotten about our first encounter.' A wave of reassurance came over the young man as he realized that, for as much as his father's attitude irked him, it did have its perks here and there. 'Yeah, if she suddenly decides to destroy like the others, dad'll send her to Other World in no time at all.'

Just then, he rested his head down on his pillow, content with the solution his brain had cooked up. It bothered Trunks immensely that he still felt haunted by a woman he knew he could very easily destroy, but such was the nature of these androids-without detectable power levels, they could lurk for years and years on end and never be discovered.

With this thought in mind, the minute he heard a roar of flight by his window and could not match it to any power level, he immediately gaped.

"A-Android!" he cried aloud, though immediately hushed down once he realized where he was. This wasn't the future he'd grown up in... the one where at least one member of a household would be up to watch out for any sightings. He knew his mother and his counterpart were likely fast asleep, and he knew his father was still in his room lamenting over his inability to fight Goku one last time.

But none of that mattered to Trunks right now. It didn't change the fact that, for once, Trunks was the hunter.

And, not a moment too soon, he flashed into Super Saiyan and leapt out the window to stalk his prey.

"You're not getting away this time without committing to some serious answers, android," Trunks vowed, putting on a burst of speed as the blonde woman's slim figure came into sight. "I swear it!"

For as much as she hated Doctor Gero's scientific experimentation on her, Eighteen had to admit that her artificial energy was coming in handy right about now. Blessed without a true need to sleep for much longer than the average human being, the blonde had all the time she needed to accomplish her only true goal left in this world.

"Hey! Stop right there, android!"

Alerted by the sudden bark, she could do nothing else but follow those orders. A small part of her was irritated that those stupid fighters had gone back on their word, but she swallowed her discomfort and whirled around to face her pursuer.

He was faster than she'd thought, for when she'd fully spun around she came face to face with chillingly-narrowed emerald eyes.

"Oh, great," she deadpanned, refusing to let herself appear totally intimidated. If there was one thing she would make clear, it was that she would not bend to their whims. "It's armor-man again. What, need me to break another of your dad's arms?"

"First off, the name's Trunks," the Saiyan darkly growled, his hair flowing gently in the cool night breeze. "And second off, I'm not my father. I'm not here to recklessly challenge you… even if I could defeat you."

"I don't need to test that," the blonde android reluctantly conceded. "Both you and Vegeta proved that when you kicked Cell around like a toy." She frowned. "So what is it you want from me? If you wanted me dead, I'm sure you could've done that in five seconds."

"Probably less," Trunks dryly remarked. He suddenly regained his focus, however, and folded his arms. "Like you guessed, I'm not here to fight you. I just don't exactly agree with how much trust the others have in you."

That almost brought a grin to the woman's features. Almost. "What are you talking about? Aside from Gohan and… Krillin," she paused for a second, "the others would love nothing more than to kill me. So that brings me back to my earlier question." She paused again, tucking her hair behind her ear. "What is it you want from me?"

"To know what the hell you're doing flying around at so late an hour," Trunks retorted, pointing off far into the distance. "That direction eventually leads to Gohan's home, which I know you and the other androids raided before. Why shouldn't I think you're up to something again?"

"Hn. Shows what you know, Trunks," Eighteen spat bitterly. "I took nothing Goku's wife wouldn't miss... and what of it? After all, after your father so rudely interrupted us on our hunt for Goku, my clothes got ruined. So who's to blame there?" She folded her petite arms. "Because as far as I recall, we never attacked you until you rushed in. Even when I fought Vegeta, we were going to let the rest of you go."

"Did you think I was going to just stand around and let you kill my father?" Trunks questioned, looking deep into the android's icy blue orbs. "My father has a lot of pride in things that I'll never understand, but it doesn't mean that I won't fight to save his life."

A look of surprise came over the blonde woman. "That's twice you've said that now. So… it's true. He's your dad?" Eighteen slowly responded. She smirked. "Interesting. We never had data on you, and now I see why. Guess he had you in space or something." The android added the last part lazily, playing with her hair.

"He had me two years ago, but that's beside the point," Trunks answered, ignoring the confusion on her face. He didn't have to justify himself to such a being he loathed. "What I want to know is what you plan to do now that everyone else has given you a freedom pass."

"The only reason I'm out now is to find my brother," she truthfully answered, a hint of boredom laced within her tone. "I have no interest in being this evil witch you think I am. And for the record, I wasn't going to kill your father. He simply got in my way."

"That's a pure lie, Eighteen. Your brother did him in with no hesitation in the world I came from, and I know you have that same instinct within you." Trunks folded his arms. "I just want to be sure that I'm not leaving a world with a killer android that I could've taken care of easily enough."

"I don't know where you get off making up these lies, but you're wrong," Eighteen hissed back at him. Her composure had left her for the most part, something she inwardly cursed herself for. "For one, you all would've been dead if we really wanted it. But you didn't because we don't care about killing you." She suddenly stopped, though not because of any sudden movements on the hybrid's part. "What's this talk about another 'world?'"

Trunks paused for a minute. "I don't have to tell you everything. It's far too painful for me to talk about to you."

"In that case, good," she answered, "because it'll only be night for so long, and I really don't want to spend it listening to a sob story."

"It wouldn't be one for me; it'd be one for you," Trunks fired back, "and now, I think I'll humor you." He uncrossed his arms. "I come from twenty years into the future. In that future, you and your brother are merciless killers that take pleasure in terrorizing the Earth and its people. That's why I came back here-to stop you. My mother made a time machine-"

"-A time machine? Really?" Eighteen questioned, her tone flat.

"Let's just say my mother's a genius," Trunks dryly answered back. It surprised even himself that he had the bravado to have a verbal sparring match with an incarnation of the woman who'd made his entire childhood a living hell. "But given your annoyed face, let's just call that the entire story up until I got here. Things got a little complicated when Cell appeared, but he's over and done with. My last concern before I go home was to make sure you wouldn't be a threat to anyone."

Eighteen was eerily quiet for the next few minutes. Then, with a sigh, she spoke. "I guess I can understand why you're being so edgy. But like I said, Trunks, if I wanted to I could have very easily killed you. The fact that you're still alive proves that we didn't care about that. So if you don't mind…" The cyborg, done with the conversation, began to face away from the blonde warrior, "I'll be on my way."

He reached out and grabbed her wrist as she turned, and with fire in her eyes, she glared back at him and kicked him straight in the stomach with full force. "Don't touch me!"

Trunks reeled for a minute, but as he looked back up, Eighteen immediately regretted her physical outburst. "You shouldn't have done that…"

Though a shiver ran down her spine similar to that of her confrontation with Cell, Eighteen refused to back down. "Well, you're not getting an apology. You don't have the right to touch me at all."

"You didn't answer my question, android!" Trunks raised a fist, his snarl vaguely similar to his father's. "Are you going to destroy the world like the others did if you get the chance? Say my father, Piccolo, and Gohan aren't in shape to fight you; would you still just be content with living on your own?"

"Hmph. Doing anything destructive would just be playing into Doctor Gero's hands." The blonde woman turned her head to the side and crossed her arms. "I didn't break free of his control just to go and follow his orders anyway."

Trunks' teal eyes widened in both shock and confusion. Instinctively, sensing her distress, he put a hand forward and rested it neatly on her shoulder, causing her to flinch. As a chain reaction, he did as well, almost bracing himself for attack.

"I don't need comfort, you know," Eighteen stoically told him. "If I did, I wouldn't have left you idiots when you were all gathered at the Lookout." Despite what she'd said, she made no move to remove his hand from her shoulder.

"You… you feel like… a real girl..." Trunks murmured, more to himself than the cyborg in front of him. That didn't stop her from being amused, however, as she let a dainty smirk slide across her face.

"You sure know how to flirt," she dryly retorted, letting her guard down for what felt like the first time in forever. "You might need a better pick-up line for the next girl you try that on."

"No… it's not that," Trunks answered, locking eyes with the cyborg again. "You feel… different than the Eighteen I know from the future. And what you said before…" He let his Super Saiyan aura fade, his hair falling back into its characteristic mushroom-like design. "Tell me something. One thing... and then you can leave. I know what you're probably going to say, but I need to hear it anyway."

Boredly, Eighteen looked back at him. "Yes?" Just as he opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off harshly. "But make this quick; I still want to go find my brother."

Hardly fazed by the android's rough tone, Trunks nodded. "All right." His face became deadly serious, stripped of all the confusion it'd worn before. "Did you ever have the urge to kill anyone other than Goku after leaving Gero's lab? It just… it doesn't make sense to me how my world's androids are just so much more bloodthirsty than yours."

"No," Eighteen firmly answered, her ice blue eyes hardening. "We only ever bothered with hunting down Son Goku because it was what Sixteen was designed to do. Even then, I hardly cared whether or not we actually took his life." She paused for a second. "That all?"

"Wait," Trunks said, holding a finger up. "One last thing. Sorry," he added, noting the irritated look she had shot him. 'It's actually amazing how neither one of us see each other as an immediate threat right now… in any other world, I'd have her dead before she could even get angry at me.' Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he cleared his throat. "Do you think that I could get the androids of my time to realize just what they've done?"

Raising a golden eyebrow, Eighteen suddenly became interested. "Huh? Why would you do that?" Noticing the confused glance Trunks gave her, she added, "even I realize that they've gone too far with what they've done. You have no reason to spare them. Why bother?"

Trunks sighed. "It's Goku."

A cat-like smirk reigned in on Eighteen's face. "It always comes back to him, doesn't it?"

"But it really is," Trunks reassured her. He let out another exhale. "You see, even though my dad was the one person I'd always looked forward to meeting, Goku's just got this… incredible spirit. He'd give anyone a second chance… even my father."

"I see. So you're worried about being too much like Vegeta?" Eighteen let out an uncharacteristic grin at the thought. "Don't worry. You're not always angry at the world, so you're not him."

"It's more that I wish I could see the good in everyone like he does, honestly," the lavender-haired boy answered. "I mean, in this world you and your brother aren't bloodthirsty at all. That means that there's something different about you and the androids of the future."

"And you want to find out if you can stop them without killing them," the blonde finished for him.

Weakly, Trunks nodded. "Am I stupid for wanting to do that? I mean, even when I came back in time and killed Frieza, I felt disgusted with myself… as if I was stooping down to his level instead of offering him mercy like Goku would."

Eighteen shook her head. "You're not stupid. Not really. My data's shown that Goku tends to get himself into more trouble than he should, but he always seems to find a way to save everyone." She closed her eyes. "That's probably why Gero kept cooking up Cell even after my brother and I were able to get the job done in the future."

The sword-wielding time traveler noticed that Eighteen seemed lost for a second. "Are… you okay?" He immediately felt stupid for asking when she opened her eyes and tilted her head, showing the faintest hint of a smile.

"I'm fine," she stated plainly, trying her hardest to keep from laughing at how dramatically his attitude had changed. Then, all of a sudden, she'd morphed into her more serious self again. "But if you want my answer, you have to decide for yourself. When Sixteen, Seventeen and I were the strongest on the planet, we didn't let anyone stop us from doing what we wanted to do. The same held true for your androids, right? So now it's up to you."

"That's… not exactly the answer I was looking for…" Trunks stumbled.

"I think it is," Eighteen icily remarked. "If you wanted to destroy the androids, you'd ask your father what to do. If you wanted to save them, you'd go and talk to Goku or Gohan. By asking me, you know that I won't push you either way." She folded her arms. "Really, Trunks, I may not be the strongest around anymore, but I am older than you. From what brief human memories I have, I can tell you that sometimes, you have to think for yourself."

Though visibly he kept up his facade, internally, Trunks flinched at her statement. 'Have I… not been doing that this whole time? I mean, I have to have been… the androids took away my father, Gohan, and my childhood. Why wouldn't I want them to die?'

He didn't have much time to think, as Eighteen's voice cut him off. "Anyway, Trunks, I'm leaving. I've wasted too much time here talking to you; knowing my brother, he could be anywhere right now."

"T-Thanks, Eighteen. I'm glad we got to talk tonight." As those words passed through his mouth, Trunks realized how little pride he had to swallow to admit the truth.

"Take care of yourself, all right?" the blonde uncharacteristically voiced. A half-smile overcame her facial features. "You're going to mess up that pretty little face of yours if you keep worrying about stuff like this." And with that, she took off into the night sky, leaving Trunks' field of vision within five short seconds.

'The future Eighteen said something like that to me once… but this Eighteen meant it in her own way, didn't she?' Trunks thought to himself, continually floating in place as he crossed his arms. 'Ugh. Why couldn't I have started thinking about things like this after I'd killed the androids?'

"I'm really proud of you, son," Bulma said, holding her future son's hand for the last time. "Just… when you get back there, be careful, okay?"

A half-smirk came to Trunks' face as he recalled last night's conversation with Eighteen. "Right. Thanks, mom." He continued on his path toward the time machine, taking one last glance at everyone he'd grown so close with over these several weeks of chaos, before his gaze rested on his father. Standing against the back of a tree, his arms folded, was Vegeta with his ever characteristic scowl.

"Dad," Trunks voiced, unsure of what else to say. He waited in place for any response that the prince would offer.

Then, suddenly, Vegeta took his left arm and extended his index and middle fingers wordlessly in the peace sign, nodding to him faintly.

Trunks smiled and returned the pose for the briefest of moments, a wide smile crossing his face. But as he hopped into the time machine and began ascending into the air, his brain subconsciously ordering him into saying his final goodbyes, his mind was anything but at peace.

A one-shot that I wanted to write. I've never really done one-shots before, but I wanted to do one that feels as if it could properly fit within the canon universe while also serving as one that could also disguise itself as a premise for a story. We all know the decision that Trunks makes in canon, but this attempts to get Trunks to think more toward the rationality of killing the androids and at least entertaining the morals that Goku showcased during his time amongst the living. Although he thanks Goku at the end of "Free the Future," I wanted him to think a little more like Goku near the end.

It remains to be seen if I'll actually do any more one-shots, but this is one that I felt deserved to be shared with you all seeing as how I wrote it during my brief time away from FFN. I hope you check out my main story in the near future if you liked what you saw here!