The moment Krillin finished speaking, the golden Wish Card in his hand shattered into countless motes of light.
Instead of fading away, the particles gathered into a sacred pillar of radiance.
The beam pierced straight through the laboratory ceiling and completely enveloped Android 18's body on the operating table.
"W... What's happening?!"
She cried out in alarm.
There was no pain.
No destruction.
Instead, an indescribable warmth flowed into every corner of her body through the countless particles of light.
Bzzz...
The miniature computer inside her body issued its final warnings.
[Warning! Body structure undergoing reconstruction...]
[Warning! Core directives deleted...]
[Warning! Self-destruct module... removed...]
[Warning! Mechanical skeleton... converting to carbon-based tissue...]
"No... My power... My body..."
She struggled desperately, but before that overwhelming force of reality itself, she couldn't even move a finger.
All she could do was stare helplessly at her hands.
Beneath her synthetic skin had always been cold alloy bones and countless mechanical circuits.
Now...
Light flowed through her body.
It was as though she had gained x-ray vision.
She watched the metal soften and transform into white bones.
The intricate wiring dissolved into crimson blood vessels and pale nerves.
The humming power reactor deep within her chest underwent an unbelievable transformation.
It didn't disappear.
Instead, it melted into every cell of her body, becoming the very origin of her life force.
Ki.
Thump.
A faint heartbeat echoed through the silent laboratory.
Android 18 froze.
What... was that sound?
Thump.
Thump.
It grew louder.
Stronger.
It came from inside her chest.
A heartbeat.
A real heartbeat.
No longer the rhythmic pulse of a mechanical coolant pump.
But a living, burning heart overflowing with life.
"Ah..."
Her lips parted soundlessly.
Even her vocal cords were changing.
The cold electronic voice synthesized by machinery became a warm, natural human voice.
The divine light slowly faded.
The terrifying killing machine that had once spread fear across the future was gone.
In her place sat a young woman whose entire body seemed to glow with vibrant life.
She still had short golden hair.
She still had those sapphire-blue eyes.
But the lifeless emptiness and murderous hatred within them had vanished, replaced by bewilderment... and overwhelming disbelief.
The restraints around her wrists and neck automatically fell away during the transformation, clattering onto the floor as useless scrap metal.
She slowly sat up.
Tentatively, she raised a hand and touched her cheek.
Warm.
Real skin.
Real body heat.
She took a deep breath.
Cool air filled her lungs before rushing through her bloodstream.
"I... I..."
She stared blankly at her slender fingers.
Every line on her palm was clear and distinct.
She slowly clenched her fist.
The flawless mechanical precision she had once known was gone.
Instead, she felt muscles contract.
Strength.
Warmth.
Life.
Her power hadn't disappeared.
If anything...
It had become deeper.
Far more mysterious.
The Infinite Energy Reactor still existed.
But it was no longer an artificial device implanted inside her.
It had become one with her body itself, continuously providing her with seemingly limitless vitality.
"I... I've become human again?"
The thought exploded through her mind like a thunderclap.
Ever since Dr. Gero had kidnapped and remodeled her...
She had believed she was already dead.
Nothing more than a corpse carrying someone else's memories.
She hated humanity.
Because humans had turned her into a monster.
She hated herself.
Because this body had always been cold.
Artificial.
Ugly.
So she killed.
She destroyed.
She wanted the entire world to burn.
Only destruction could numb the agony inside her heart.
But now...
Her heartbeat echoed in her ears.
Warm blood coursed through living veins.
The simple feeling of being alive...
Made her want to cry.
"How does it feel?"
Krillin's voice pulled her back to reality.
She looked up abruptly.
The bald man stood before her, holding a white lab coat.
That easygoing smile was still on his face.
For some reason...
She could no longer bring herself to hate it.
"You..."
Her voice came out hoarse.
"What... did you do to me?"
"Nothing much."
Krillin walked over and gently draped the lab coat across her shoulders, covering her exposed body.
"I just fixed you."
"Dr. Gero's technology was remarkable."
"But he never understood what true perfection really is."
"Machines will always be machines."
"They have limits."
He looked directly into her tear-filled eyes.
"Only humans possess limitless potential."
He smiled.
"You're no longer Android 18."
"You're a human martial artist blessed with an Infinite Energy talent."
"Your future isn't controlled by programming anymore."
"It's yours."
"So..."
"How's my after-sales service?"
She stared at him in silence.
For the first time...
The bald man standing before her seemed impossibly tall.
He hadn't merely defeated her.
He had...
Saved her.
Pulled her out of that frozen mechanical hell.
Given her a second life.
Countless emotions surged through her heart.
Gratitude.
Confusion.
And...
Something she'd never felt before.
A faint flutter deep within her chest.
"Krillin!"
The emotional atmosphere shattered as frantic banging erupted from behind the blast-proof glass.
"You absolute spendthrift!"
Bulma rushed into the room.
She looked at the pile of useless restraints scattered across the floor.
Then at the completely human young woman sitting on the operating table.
Her face twisted in heartbreak.
"I knew you wouldn't leave her alone!"
"You actually used a wish to turn her back into a human?!"
"My Infinite Energy Reactor sample!"
"My mechanical engineering research!"
"You owe me!"
She grabbed Krillin by the arm and shook him furiously.
Krillin burst into laughter and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Easy there, honey."
"The Infinite Energy Reactor is still there."
"You'll have plenty of time to study her."
"And look at her now."
"Isn't she much cuter this way?"
He turned toward Android 18 and gave her a playful wink.
"Right..."
"Lazuli?"
Lazuli.
The name she had before Dr. Gero stole her humanity.
Hearing that forgotten name again...
Her entire body trembled.
She lowered her head.
Pulling the white lab coat tighter around herself.
A tiny smile quietly curved the corner of her lips.
It was faint.
Almost impossible to notice.
But it was real.
"Hmph..."
"You really are a nosy baldhead."
Her voice still carried its familiar tsundere attitude.
But this time...
There was no hatred.
No killing intent.
Only the quiet, uncertain heartbeat...
Of a girl who had been given a new life.
--------------------------------
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