17 watched his companion's eyes roaming the laboratory with curiosity. She poked and prodded at various items, and she curiously examined many of Dr. Gero's experiments. She was so distracted by her curiosity that she failed to acknowledge 17's sigh of boredom. She instead chose to approach a large metallic box that had caught her sight when it glinted in her peripheral vision. It had the number 16 written on it. She automatically concluded what the number represented without even having to look inside the box, but she took her time gazing at it thoughtfully before she made a move to examine its contents.
"Hmm… that's odd," 17 murmured to himself. He approached 18 and continued: "That group of people near us has taken their leave rather quickly."
18 ignored her companion and peered at a bubble shaped looking-glass at the top of android 16's encasement and commented, "He sure isn't a looker."
"Does that really even matter so long as he can inflict damage on those that we wish to harm?" 17 retorted. "Just open up the box and activate him already. I know you want to."
18 sighed for a moment. She seemed unsure as to whether she wanted to wake the android up. After her moment of pause she made her decision. "Fine, let's meet our new friend," she joked.
She pressed a button that opened the hatch of the box 16 was occupying. A messy red patch of hair rose above the opening, quickly followed by a stony face with icy blue eyes that penetrated even the inanimate objects that surrounded him. As he moved into a sitting position, his muscular chest and beefy arms were revealed. He was equipped with an odd green and black suit armor which was adorned with the Red Ribbon Army logo. He stood up mechanically and did not move afterward.
Android 17 sized him up, crossed his arms, and smirked. "Good morning, sunshine," he said. "It must feel damn good to get out of that coffin. How long have you been cooped up in that thing anyway?"
Android 16 continued to stand stock-still. He appeared as if he were in a peculiar sort of trance. He didn't acknowledge that his fellow android had even spoken.
Android 17 frowned at 16 and commanded, "Come on, speak! Did Dr. Gero not give you a voice box or something?"
18's gaze moved from her annoyed brother to android 16's solemn, stony face. She felt something. She wasn't sure what it was. Her expression was deadpan and her tone of voice impersonal as she asked, "Don't you have anything to say?"
"Hello, anyone in there?" questioned 17, waving his arms dramatically in front of 16's immobile form. He waited a moment and shrugged it off. "I guess you're the strong silent type, eh? Well, nevermind you, let's go, 18."
"Where to?"
"To complete our mission. Are you with me, 18?" he asked.
18 nodded slightly in affirmation.
"16, Gero programmed you to destroy Goku, did he not?" asked 17.
"That is correct," 16 replied, finally breaking his long silence and turning toward android 17 and 18.
"Well I'll be…" mumbled 17, "so the big guy can speak after all.
"Dr. Gero must have programmed him to react only to commands related to his main objective," suggested 18 intuitively.
"I didn't think that the Doctor was that smart, but let's see if 16 can carry out his objective: find Goku and destroy her," stated 17.
18 nodded in agreement.
"Well, let's go then," announced 17, blasting open the metal double-door entrance that led into Gero's lair with only one measly wave of his arm. As if on cue, all three androids hovered off of the ground simultaneously and flew out of Gero's laboratory.
"It feels great to be out of there, now doesn't it, brother?" said 18, twisting her body in the air, allowing herself to feel the cool breeze wisping through her blonde locks.
"Yes, yes it does…" agreed 17, glancing behind at 16, who was trailing them with a solemn, unreadable face.
Meanwhile, Piccolo led the other Z-Warriors toward the sight where they had found Gero's lair earlier that day. Upon approaching the entrance area, he squinted his eyes, and saw that the doors that led into the cave-like structure had been blown off. His eyes caught sight of three objects gliding through the air at a quick pace. He jerked to a stop and took on a defensive stance. The objects were headed straight toward them and the closer they got, the more they looked like people. More androids? he thought.
"Looks like we've got company," he muttered aloud. "Though, by the looks of it, it isn't Gero."
Vegeta a flew a few feet in front of the others, taking the lead. Meanwhile, the mysterious people came to a stop in front of him. He glared them down. They look like a bunch of circus clowns!he thought irritatedly. This better not be a waste of my time!
Vegeta crossed his arms and demanded, "Who are you?"
17 smiled an innocent little grin. "Who? Us?"
"Yes, you. Who else would I be talking to? A rock?" Vegeta retorted impatiently
"My, my… someone's testy, isn't he?" 17 responded mockingly.
"I said, who are you? I will not repeat myself again!" spat Vegeta.
17's eyes narrowed as he replied, "Fine." He paused to take a quick look over Vegeta's companions before diverting his attention back to the subject. "If you really must know. I am android 17. The girl beside me is my sister, 18, and the hulk of a man behind me is android 16."
"M-more androids!" Krillin yelped in surprise. He couldn't help saying it. It just came flying out of his mouth.
"Hmm? Is there something wrong with that?" asked 18 with a quirked eyebrow.
Krillin took one look at the beautiful android before him, blushed, and stuttered, "Well, y-y-ya see… I… uh… um…"
"Yes, there's a problem!" shouted Yamcha. "You're one of Gero's disgusting creations!"
"And so what if we are?" questioned 17. "Do you dare offend us anymore?" he challenged.
"What? You're daring us?" Vegeta said with a cocky smirk. "Ha-ha… Why? You should be the one running. I'm the most powerful being on this planet, and you're not welcome here! I'm going to put you back into the crate you crawled out of!"
17 and 18 exchanged glances and began laughing at Vegeta in perfect unison.
"You dare to laugh at me?" Vegeta shouted, clenching his fists angrily. "Why are you fools laughing? This is not a joke!"
"Tell me, are all of you Saiyans so full of yourselves? Is Goku like you? Is this the way you try to hide your incompetence? We androids will always be superior to your kind," Android 17 stated as if it was a matter of fact.
Vegeta's face turned red with rage. "You take that back! You'll regret saying that! You're nothing more than a machine made of tin! You're just a bunch of toys made by a crazy old man, and don't forget that tin toys can be broken!"
Android 18 crossed her arms in annoyance and mumbled, "He talks too much."
Vegeta was now thoroughly agitated. "What? What was that?" he hissed.
"16, let's see what you can do. Destroy him," commanded 18.
"I refuse," came 16's monotone reply.
17's jaw dropped slightly. "What?"
"So… the big guy's not as dumb as you two are, is he?" Vegeta taunted. "Now, stop messing around. Who's it going to be?"
The androids ignored Vegeta. "He refuses, who does he think he is?" questioned 17 in annoyance.
"Never mind him," replied 18, calmly striding toward Vegeta. "I'll handle this. Ready, little man?" she mocked, while casually brushing a couple strands of hair away from her forehead.
"So, it's ladies first, is it? Well, that's fine with me! Now don't expect me to go easy on you. I fight to win!" replied Vegeta with a grin.