Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Gundam Wing and Endless Waltz, nor do I own any characters from Dragon Ball Z. Wish I did, but I don't, so there's no point in suing me.
I have no comment on why this took so long to post. I feel bad, so this next post is what everyone has been waiting for. It explains how Shin manages to enter the GW universe. Yay!
I've searched through this thing loads of times to check for mistakes but I can guarantee that I've missed something. I have no beta reader and I can't be bothered to trawl through the new beta system to look for one. Meh.
Thank you for the reviews! I do read them all, but I can't always answer questions because it will give stuff away. Sorry.
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Chapter 10
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"I found you!"
"Ohhh… I thought that you'd never find me here." Gohan peered down through the leaves of the tree sitting in.
Shin stood at the base of the tree with his fists on his hips, striking a triumphant pose.
"You're it! It's your turn to find me now!"
"Alright, alright…" Gohan jumped out of the tall tree and landed soundly on his feet. "You're good at this game. Are you sure you've never played it before?"
"Nope. It's fun though."
"Glad you like it," Gohan smiled before he turned to face the tree and then covered his eyes with his hands. "OK, I'll count to one hundred while you go hide," He said. "One…two…three…"
Shin sprinted away across Capsule Cops green garden toward the house. "Don't cheat!" He shouted over his shoulder.
That reprimand covered a variety of ways to cheat. Cheating was considered peaking, skipping numbers, and using ki to track the other players' movements.
Gohan had made it clear that ki sensing would make the game pointless, and normal human children their age couldn't sense ki anyway so it was only fair not to create a disadvantage.
Yet Gohan was devious for breaking his own rules, as Shin had learnt early on in the game.
Shin ran around the left side of the dome-shaped mansion, being wary about going around to the right side, because that was where Goku, Mirai, and Vegeta were training together in the Gravity chamber.
He didn't want to disturb them or get in the way.
And he didn't want to annoy Mirai. He wasn't sure where he stood with the Time traveler anymore.
Shin had woken up in a soft bed in a bedroom, just a day ago, with Gohan snuggled up to his side fast asleep, drooling, and Mirai sitting in a chair by his bedside with a relieved smile on his face, watching him wake. It was a surreal moment for Shin. The last thing he remembered was Piccolo calling him Goku, and then he was waking up here, with a strangely nice version of Mirai. It was like one big dream.
Mirai had explained to him briefly, yet kindly, that he'd had an accident and was hurt badly, but he was all healed now. Shin didn't care for the details of how that was possible; he overlooked it all due to his confusion over Mirai's personality flip.
Goku had entered the room at that point with two plates piled high with sandwiches and Shin's stomach had demanded attention. He'd had to put up with Goku's overabundant fuss, and also from Gohan when he woke up, before he was allowed to eat.
Shin didn't know why they were in such a flap over him; he felt perfectly fine, just hungry and thirsty. Mirai had slipped from the room to go collect Bulma, and Shin had then been showered with hugs and kisses on her appearance. And after her, came his grandparents. They were easier to bear, because with their coddling came the gift of a cool electronic toy and a batch of cookies. He was in a dither over it all.
After he had assured them enough times that he was OK, he was allowed out of bed to go home.
But when he had stepped outside into the sunshine on the lawn of Capsule Corp. to teleport home with his father and brother, Piccolo had appeared and sent Shin into deep shock by awkwardly apologizing for the incident and his past behavior.
Shin knew that Piccolo's turnabout had something to do with Gohan by the way his brother gave Piccolo a blinding smile of thankfulness at that moment.
Whatever the reason behind two of his despisers' change of heart, he was grateful. It was disheartening to see a person act nice to everyone around them, and then turn on you, single you out, and behave the exact opposite. Just because of his existence? It wasn't fair.
Vegeta still hated him, presumed from the glare in passing he had received whilst leaving, so at least he knew that he hadn't woken up in a topsy-turvy world. He didn't mind that Vegeta didn't like him, because Vegeta didn't like anyone.
He'd gone home, only to be captured in yet another round of overbearing worry and a lot of mothering from Chi-Chi. He didn't like being suffocated like that, and sloppy kisses on the cheek when he least expected them were embarrassing. But he didn't want to hurt her feelings by pushing her away, in case she felt the need to stop showing him any affection at all. And the hot chocolate with mini marshmallows she gave him sweetened his resolve to bear through it. And no studying! It was an added bonus.
He had returned to Capsule Corp. today at morning light to escape Chi-Chi's clutches. If she'd had her way, he would have been locked in his room and wrapped in cotton wool like fragile glass. As it was, she'd decided to come with them to keep an eagle eye on Shin, so it wasn't much of an escape after all.
It was the last day before the lab raid, as it had been set back by his accident, and every fighter taking part had gathered to hold a strategic meeting.
The end decision was 'Go in, blow everything up', in Yamcha's blunt words.
Shin liked that idea, and so did everyone else.
To mark their potential last day alive in one historical moment, Mrs. Briefs whipped out a camera and coerced everyone into posing in it. Shin was placed at the front of the group, along with Krillen and Gohan, since they were the shortest (much to Krillen's indignation), with one of Krillen's arm linked in his and the man's other around Gohan, pulling the three of them close together as the focus of the scene
With Goku and Chi-Chi standing proudly behind Shin, plus Mrs. Briefs' appeal for their biggest smiles, Shin gained the courage to grin at the camera and pull a borrowed confident pose, flashing the peace sign. He liked the idea of acting like Goku, it made him feel empowered.
Despite Mr. and Mrs. Briefs insistence, Piccolo and Vegeta would not smile. Shin's Grandparents were trying to push their luck too far. It was amazing enough that those two were in the photo at all.
The second after the flash, Piccolo flew off with a disgruntled huff, and Vegeta stomped away to the gravity chamber.
The rest of them broke apart and left at a more leisurely pace, with warm farewells until tomorrow. Even though Tien and Chaozu were staying at Capsule Corp, they had decided that they wanted to spend the rest of the day with Krillen and Yamcha on Kami's Island.
After a lot of reassurances, Chi-Chi had been persuaded to unglue herself from Shin's side. With nothing else to do she happily took the copter home to prepare dinner for the family's return at a later time.
That just left Shin, the Briefs family, Gohan, Goku, Mirai, and Vegeta at Capsule Corp.
Mirai trailed after Vegeta, and Bulma and her parents excused themselves back to work.
Before eagerly following after Mirai and Vegeta to train, Goku had told Shin and Gohan to have as much fun as they could today, so they were.
As Shin approached the front door, it opened and Bulma stepped outside, balancing a tray of three glasses and a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade.
He whizzed past her, causing her to 'eep' in surprise and momentarily loose her perfect balance and wobble a bit before steadying, not loosing a drop of liquid.
"Slow down, Trunks!" She called after him, half exasperated, half amused as she walked in the direction of the gravity chamber.
Shin couldn't afford to slow down. He needed to find a really good hiding spot before he ran out of time. He dashed down a corridor that he had never come across before, and he stopped at every door along the way to peak inside the side rooms and scan for a suitable place to hide.
None of the small pokey offices or storage closets met his standards though.
He reached the end of the corridor and was left with one last door.
This door was vastly different from every other one in the building. It took up the entire end of the corridor, stretching from wall to wall, and ceiling to floor. It was also made of a thick wall of metal, which had yellow and black stripy tape down the centre of the door to highlight the vertical split that suggested that the doors slid apart.
It loomed over him looking ominous. It was a place that didn't look friendly to enter.
Gohan will never look for me here! He decided gleefully as he reached up to slap his palm against the red button on the wall with the label 'Open' under it.
The interlocking metal doors slid apart and the lights inside automatically flickered into life.
Shin stared in awe at the sight before him.
The room was huge! The ceiling was so high up!
It looked like a storage hanger. A range of varying sized old computers were stacked tall together in the nearest corner, looking unused and dusty.
Crates were dotted in odd places across the hanger floor, some spilling over with papers and pieces of strange shaped metal parts and wires. A lot of unrecognisable machines and mechanisms were stored in piles, or on shelves and countertops all over the place. Tools were littered everywhere.
It was a mechanics heaven. Or in Shin's case, a place to evoke his childish curiosity and adventurous side.
To him it looked like a playground of discovery.
The metal doors started to slide shut so Shin slipped in between the closing gap and entered the hanger.
He spent another few seconds taking everything in, but then happily wandered over to a work desk against the wall that caught his interest. There was a variety of beakers and test tubes in racks, containing all the colours of the rainbow in them, all with individual labels stuck on, labeling them with long unpronounceable names that Shin had never learnt before and couldn't twist his tongue around.
Fascinated, he moved onto the next counter top. It held bits and pieces of mechanics, with nuts, bolts, and tools scattered around, as if someone had abandoned their job half way through.
He carefully lifted the strange piece of put together odds and ends so he could examine it closely.
With a jolt of horror he dropped the object, recognizing it.
It was a robotic arm.
He backed away from the counter top fearfully. The robotic arm reminded him far too much of the goings on in Dr. Gero's lab while he had been there.
Not feeling nearly as adventurous as before, Shin didn't feel like lingering in this place.
His unstable core had been shaken by the revived memories of the lab and he wanted nothing more than a bit of comfort from someone. Just being in the presence of another person would do. Gohan was good at making him feel safe so he thought of going to him.
Then he remembered that he was supposed to be as far away from Gohan as possible at the moment because the game of hide and seek was still in progress.
Quickly deciding that it didn't matter so much if he cheated a little just this once, Shin opened up his ki senses to locate Gohan.
He bit back panic as he sensed Gohan closing in on his location, fast.
He's cheating again! Shin mentally whined before his thoughts turned to his current problem.
Where was he going to hide?
His eyes darted around the hanger and he fought the urge to flap his hands in urgency and run in circles.
There were lots of useable hiding places around, but he struggled to choose one, and none of them were spectacular.
Shin decided on hiding behind a stack of wooden crates at the back of the hanger.
He dashed across the floor and went to dive behind the wall of crates, only to find his space already occupied by a large machine that looked like a strange space pod on four spindly legs.
It was black and yellow with a glass roof that was open like a lid. A ladder was propped against the side of the machine to give easy access inside.
Inching closer, Shin noticed the word 'Hope' printed on its side, next to where the ladder rested.
"What is it?" He wondered to himself.
His curiosity got the better of him and he wobbled up the ladder to warily peak inside.
The interior was a single chair and a confusing array of buttons and levers on the metal panel before it.
It didn't look dangerous so Shin crawled inside and tucked himself in the space between the chair and the control panel, grinning and feeling pleased with himself for his new ingenious hiding place.
It's a hiding place in a hiding place! Gohan won't find me now!
Only moments after Shin had managed to make himself comfortable, he heard the hanger doors separate, and Gohan's light, stalking footsteps were heard entering.
"Shiiinnn…" He called out slyly. "I know you're in here,"
Shin had to quell the word 'cheater!' from bursting past his lips, and he had to place his hands over his mouth to stop himself from giggling.
Gohan's footsteps prowled across the floor, heading right for his hiding spot, closer and closer.
Shin curled up his body into a tighter ball as if it could possibly make him invisible, and he held his breath to make him undetectable by ear. He tensed in anticipation, barely containing his shivers of excited fear. He loved the thrill of this game.
The footsteps stopped.
Shin strained his ears.
"Found y- Oh!" Gohan's voice was surprised.
The chestnut-haired boy shook with repressed snickers. Though he couldn't see, Shin could easily picture Gohan rounding the crates, expecting to pounce on his prey, only to find no sign of him and nothing but an odd machine standing there instead.
"Shin?" Gohan asked in befuddlement, "Where are you hiding?"
He was only speaking to himself aloud, not expecting a reply. Shin wasn't going to give one, he wasn't stupid.
There was another silence. It stretched on for a nerve-wracking minute.
A shadow fell over him.
"BOO!" Gohan's voice yelled in his ear.
Shin jumped in surprise and bashed his head on the underside of the control panel.
"Oops, sorry, didn't mean to scare you so badly," Gohan apologised, but the grin in his voice spoilt the sincerity.
Shin looked up to see Gohan floating over him, sitting cross-legged in mid air, with a smug smile.
"You cheated!" Shin automatically accused with a pout. He felt disappointed about being found, so to save his battered pride he tried to pin all the blame on Gohan.
"Did not!" Gohan replied indignantly.
"Did to!"
"Did not!"
"Did to, did to, did to!" Shin yelled.
Gohan huffed. "Fine, if you want to believe that, go ahead, but you've got no proof."
Shin smiled in victory.
Gohan floated back slightly so he could rest his elbows on the rim of the machine, and peer inside curiously.
"This is a great hiding place, but you really shouldn't be in this hanger. There's a lot of dangerous stuff stored in here." He rapped his knuckles against the metal of the machine's hull. "And I don't even know what this is. Perhaps Bulma or Dr- um,
Mr. Briefs, is working on it. It looks strange. Maybe it's a spaceship- a small one."
A wicked grin passed over his face. "Or maybe it's an execution machine. You just sit inside, press a button, and ZAP! You're vaporised into nothing."
Shin's chest tightened in fear. He didn't want to be vaporised!
He scrambled out from under his hidey-hole and up onto the chair. He then tried to clamber over the control panel to reach the ladder, careless of what buttons he was accidently pressing in his haste to get out.
"Careful Shin!" Gohan said worriedly. "You might break it!"
Shin didn't care, he just wanted to get out.
He had one leg over the side when his tail automatically reached out to curl around the nearest object to help him balance.
Unfortunately, his tail chose a lever as its anchor point, and as Shin's support weight was applied, the lever was pushed downwards.
With his balance pulled out from under him, Shin tumbled over backwards, once more into the machine's cockpit.
He luckily managed to twist his body so he landed with a soft 'whompf' on the chair, instead of meeting with the control panel or any other hard metal surfaces.
He regained his senses in time to become aware of the hiss of hydraulics and Gohan's surprised yelp.
Shin looked up to see the glass dome roof lowering down over his head, sealing him inside.
Gohan had pushed away from the rim of the machine to avoid having his fingers chopped off by the lowering lid, and was now hovering over the machine looking down at Shin anxiously.
Shin's panic set in. He was trapped in an enclosed space with no idea how to get back out.
He pressed his hands up against the glass barrier, looking up pleadingly at Gohan, begging to be let out.
He saw Gohan's mouth move as he spoke something that looked like 'stay calm', but he couldn't tell for sure because he couldn't hear a thing. The closed roof made the machine sound proof.
Gohan began to scour the outside of the machine for a button or something of the like to open the roof once again.
Shin scanned his wide frightened eyes over the control panel to find a release for the hatch, but none of the series of the buttons, levers, or dials were labelled. It was all just a complex mess to him.
Instead, he tried to locate the lever that had gotten him into this muddle, but he didn't know what it looked like because he hadn't been paying attention to what his tail had grabbed a hold of.
There were two levers that he could see in a downward position. One had yellow tape wrapped around the handle to make it distinguishable, but in Shin's case it didn't help in the least since he had no clue as to why it was supposed to be distinguishable in the first place.
He gambled his luck. It was a 50/50 chance of being right.
Shin used his puny strength to push the yellow marked lever up into an upward position.
Luck obviously wasn't on his side. His hope swooped down to an all new level of despair as the machine hummed into life around him and the rocket engines, located outside, whined with and increasingly higher pitch and volume as they charged up.
The control panel lit up and buttons flashed at him tauntingly.
Shin shrank back from the controls and huddled fearfully in his chair.
He jumped in fright as a loud bang sounded right next to his head. He looked up to his left to see Gohan floating level with him and thumping his fist on the glass to catch his attention.
'Stay there, I'll get help!' He mouthed before whisking out of sight.
Shin scowled despite his fear. Where else can I go? He thought bitterly. Gohan wasn't thinking clearly, which was proof of his panic.
Shin wasn't comforted by that thought. Gohan was supposed to be his level-headed rock of reliability.
And following the line of Gohan's panic…
Was it just him or was it a bit stuffy in here? And cramped…
His heart rate naturally sped up but he tried to keep his breaths even, determined not to lose all thought in this place, of all places. Now was not a good time.
He curled up into a ball in the chair and sat there shivering in fright, his eyes following the blinking lights on the control panel in a paranoid manner.
Gohan had better hurry up with that help. Why was it that he always got into trouble and had to rely on others to save him?
He was sick of it. It made him feel useless, and he didn't want to feel like that anymore. That was how Gero made him feel all the time. Why couldn't he be independent like everyone else he knew?
Firming his courage, Shin shuffled forwards in the chair so he was sitting on the edge and closer to the console.
He took a long hard look at the available controls, guessing their usage.
None of them were clearly labelled. He didn't have a clue what to do.
So he randomly guessed, full of false hope and confidence.
He pushed up the other lever, hoping to reverse the closed lid.
Nothing happened.
Shin huffed in frustration and looked for the next most possible option.
He spied a button with the neat black print writing underneath, saying 'THRUSTERS'.
Shin's sudden hope made his heart jump. The thrusters were the things humming with life on the sides of the machine, weren't they? So if they were already on, then pressing this button should turn them off, right?
He pressed the button.
It was a big mistake. A big, huge, tremendous mistake.
Instead of turning off, the thrusters roared into further life and the machine began to tremble.
Shin flung himself away from the console and used his arms to cover his head as he screamed in fear.
He was surrounded by noise and movement, with no way out, and no idea what he'd just done. What if Gohan was right? What if this was an execution machine? He'd just turned it on! He was going to be vaporised!
Forget independence. He started to scream hysterically for Gohan's help.
The machine began to vibrate and Shin began to feel an odd pressure press down on him. The type you feel when going against gravity.
Shin's wild eyes looked up and out of the glass dome above him. The ceiling wasn't so nearly as high anymore and it was lowering slowly.
After a second of disorientation, Shin realised that the ceiling wasn't lowering; the machine was rising up towards it.
The machine was flying up steadily, the thrusters powering it.
He feared that he was going to bump into the ceiling and the glass roof would shatter- but luckily the machine stopped to hover mere feet from the metal girders.
Shin took a shocked moment to breathe as fear stilled him.
He had no way down to safe ground now, even if he did manage to escape.
The hysteria flooded forwards again, as did the rivers of tears and the screams that made his throat hoarse. He beat his fists against the glass futilely.
His chest heaved in panic, his heart rate pounding like a humming bird's. He felt dizzy, he couldn't breathe.
It was too cramped, too hot, too stuffy. He needed to get out now.
Suddenly, Mirai's face was on the other side of the glass that separated Shin from his freedom.
His lavender hair was wind blown and his features were a picture of pure panic.
He shouted Shin's name, but Shin could only lip read. He was cocooned in silence.
Mirai floated closer to press himself against the dome, his hands splayed out across the glass, leaving fingerprint smudges.
Shin leaned forwards to press his own hands up against Mirai's, desperate for a comforting touch; but all he could feel was cold glass.
He was abruptly bursting with hope. Mirai could save him.
And then his father was also there, slightly behind Mirai, a look of deep concern on his face, his usual smile gone from his face.
Vegeta and Gohan hovered into view in the distance.
Vegeta looked amused at his predicament, and Gohan was worrying his lip.
Mirai banged on the glass to gain Shin's full attention, so Shin turned his teary eyes to him, giving him a watery smile of relieved welcome.
Mirai did not smile back. He looked grim.
That gave a blow to Shin's hope and his smile dropped.
Mirai pointed exaggeratedly at the control panel as if gesturing for Shin to look.
Shin looked but couldn't see anything worth looking at.
Mirai continued to point, and mouthed, 'The red button'.
Shin looked again and saw what the teenager was waving his finger at.
It was a large red button on the centre of the console. There was no label.
Red symbolised danger didn't it?
Mirai jabbed his finger at it, shook his head from side to side in an erratic move, and said something too long and fast for Shin to lip read.
"This one?" Shin pointed at the button, asking for confirmation.
Mirai nodded hastily, his eyes riveted on Shin's outstretched finger in trepidation.
It seemed to Shin that Mirai wanted him to push the button since he'd drawn his attention to it purposely. What other reason could there be?
Shin reached out to press it, and saw out of the corner of his eye as Mirai's face blanched, and he shouted, 'DON'T!', but it was too late. His finger had already depressed the button and all he could do now was let go like he'd been stung by it.
'NO!' Mirai screamed and slammed his hands against the glass once again, horror all over his face, his blue eyes wide. 'I said DON'T press it!'
Shin looked back at him, cringing in fear.
Something in Shin's body lurched awkwardly, not unlike the sensation of instant transmission, and suddenly he was blind. He couldn't see a thing, he was plunged into darkness.
And just as abruptly, he was thrown into a dazzling array of blinding colourful lights that danced around and whizzed by the dark void outside the machine, which stretched on like space.
Shin's breath caught in shock.
He was in a vortex of spiralling light. As the spinning patterns zipped by they cast strips of colour over Shin, mixed with shadow.
Shin gasped as he looked down at the multi-coloured zebra stripes shifting over the skin of his arms. He spun onto his knees so he could peer over the back of the seat to see behind him.
The vortex stretched on and on.
Where had Mirai gone? And his Dad? And Gohan? He didn't mind that Vegeta was nowhere to be seen.
He was all alone. They'd vanished.
And where was he? This place was scary. He wanted to go back, but he didn't know how.
The machine was flying rapidly forwards, not back the other way from where he'd come from. At least he guessed so. The where no markings to map a direction.
His destination was unknown.
In a state of bonelessness, Shin slid down the chair back until he was curled up on his side like a cat. He clutched his tail to his chest and pressed his face into the chair's soft material so he wouldn't have to look at his surreal surroundings.
Then he cried.
Heart wrenching sobs of misery shook his small frame, and pitiful whimpers of fear escaped his throat unhindered.
He let go of his fear and bared it all. No one was there to see it.
He moaned out each of his families' names over and over again, begging for one of them to save him.
He wanted out of this nightmare, and to feel safe again. In this strange place there were no guarantees, and what he needed now was reassurance.
He cried hard for so long he lost track of time and eventually tired himself out.
With hitching breaths and swollen eyes, he fell into a deep sleep with the last images he'd seen of his family scorched into the dark behind his eyelids.
Their shocked and horrified faces frozen in time followed him into his empty dreams.
He awoke once during the journey, but was too exhausted to break down all over again when he saw that he hadn't dreamt the mess he was in.
He'd fallen asleep again, not caring for how much time had passed, only to be reawakened by a large jolt.
He bolted upright in his seat, alert for any danger.
His eyes felt sore and his sight was blurry, so it took a moment for him to effectively take in his surroundings.
The vortex of light was gone, and Shin noted that the machine was at a stand still on solid ground.
He'd grown so used to constant movement that he felt sick now that he'd stopped.
The first thing he noticed was that it was daylight.
He looked up through the glass roof to see a pale blue sky, but something about it was odd. It just didn't look quite…real. It looked like a painted ceiling with a giant lamp shinning light on it. And the clouds weren't moving.
His eyes dropped to find the skyline, but instead of following a line, he followed a curve.
A cityscape stretched out in front of him – and up. Up at an extreme angle. Like the whole city was sitting in a steep-sided bowl.
How could people live at a 45 degree angle? Surely gravity would drop them on their sides.
Yet, apparently gravity was keeping them grounded because he could see cars moving like ants through the maze of city streets.
Tearing his eyes away from the strange sight, he took time to take a closer look at where he was.
Pressing his nose up against the dome he observed that he was in the middle of an open and empty courtyard. The concrete floor was worn, dull and potholed with age and misuse.
Litter was strewn everywhere, objects including ratty newspapers, plastic bags, cans and broken glass. There was even a burnt out car to the far left.
The courtyard was bordered by some warehouse type buildings, all in a state of disrepair, with the windows and doors boarded shut, and roof supports collapsing inwards.
Everything here was dirty, dull, and broken.
Shin wrinkled his nose in distaste. He was obviously in the wrong part of town – whichever town this was. It certainly wasn't West City.
Where had this machine taken him? And how could he get back home again?
He frowned distrustfully at the console. Pressing buttons had gotten him into this mess, he didn't want to touch them again.
If he sat where he was and stayed here, his family would come and get him. Chi-Chi had taught him that if he ever got lost in the forest he was to stay where he was until someone found him. He was not to wander off. The rule applied to this situation, didn't it?
So he made himself comfortable and waited.
And waited, and waited…
At some point he fell asleep, only to wake up to a dark pink sky as the day was threatening to draw to a close. It was growing dark, fast.
No one had come for him.
Shin wallowed in self-pity.
With a mournful sigh he came to the realisation that he would have to find his own way home.
And that meant that he would have to find someone to help him do so.
Also meaning that he had to find a way out of this machine by himself…or he'd be trapped forever.
Shin tentively edged nearer to the controls. It was now or never to have another go at freedom.
The engine had shut down on landing so he felt a bit braver. And this time around he had a better idea about what not to press.
He moved even closer, biting his lip nervously.
He balked as his knee hit something under the lip of the console, and he felt it give way and push up.
There was a pressurised hiss of air and suddenly the hatch was opening.
Shin felt a thrill of joy at his luck and expected to take a nice deep breath of cool fresh air, but instead inhaled a horrible concoction of frigid, stale, polluted, oxygen deficient air. It smelt horrible! He could taste the dirtiness of it sharply on his tongue.
Decay and desolation was heavy in the atmosphere. And the trace of sour urine was not a pleasant addition.
Duo held both hands over his nose and mouth; afraid of the properties that he was breathing in.
His stomach was turning.
Now that he had freedom he didn't want it.
Reluctantly, Shin lowered his hands (taking short gasps for air between long held breaths) and climbed out of his seat and over the side of the machine.
He hesitated as he realised that the ladder was gone. He had no choice but to jump.
It was a high drop for a small, skinny, seven year old sized boy, and he landed funny on his ankle, making a hot pain throb up his leg.
He fell to his hands and knees, only to cry out in pain as he grazed his knees and something sharp bit into his left palm.
He turned his hand to see a fragment of green glass buried into his skin, blood welling up around it.
Tears pricked at his eyes.
He wobbled up onto his feet and held his hand protectively to his chest as he looked around warily.
This place was scary to be alone in. It felt unnatural.
It was very cold for the middle of summer, and the air felt thick in his lungs. There wasn't a breath of wind, and it was so quiet. So quiet that Shin felt like the only one around for miles.
That assumption was proven wrong as Shin heard the clink of glass and saw a brown bottle roll out from behind the corner of the warehouse closest to him.
A man staggered out right after it. He was wearing ragged clothes and he didn't look too well.
His head was bowed and he seemed to be having balance problems because he was forced to lean against the warehouse's corrugated metal wall in an effort to stay upright.
Shin was scared. He was all alone in the middle of nowhere, with a strange man standing meters away.
Chi-Chi had told him not to speak to strangers, but how else was he supposed to get home if he couldn't ask anyone for help?
He cleared his throat nervously to get the odd man's attention.
The man's head snapped up and he pushed himself away from the wall so he could take a sloppy defensive stance.
His bleary eyes settled on Shin and he frowned uncertainly before glaring full on.
"Y'r one o' those li'le shits aren't ya!" He shouted accusingly.
Shin blinked, feeling hurt that he had been called a bad word. He was also confused by the language change. English?
"Well ya ain't gettin' my cash ya damn street rat!"
He took threatening steps forward, and Shin took scared steps back.
The man lunged and Shin jumped back, but he hit the side of the machine and clonked the back of his head, disorientating himself momentarily.
That moment was enough for the angry man to grab the front of Shin's shirt and haul him clean off the ground.
He was slammed harshly up against the machine, smashing his head once again, and his feet dangled uselessly almost a meter off the ground. The sick man was deceptively strong.
"Wher'ya friends, rat? Wher' they hidin'? Tell 'em ta come out!"
Shin struggled to breath past the crushing weight of the man pressing up against him, and the stench of stale alcohol that the man must have been drenched in, along with the foul undertones of a sickly sweet-but-sour aroma, like off milk and meat decay. He wanted to gag. His stomach was heaving with the smell and the intense fear taking over his senses.
The drunken man's bloodshot eyes darted around the paranoia. Shin had a not-so-nice close up view of his thin, sallow-skinned face, with rough stubble. His hair was a lank dark blonde, with what looked like dried vomit matted to the right side of his head.
He turned his head to shout at the top of his lungs in a crazed manner, "Come out! I got one'a ya own! If ya want 'im back, ya pay fer 'im!"
Shin began to cry again, and he whimpered as the man pressed an elbow into his ribs.
"Shut up, thief. If ya don't stop whining, I'll kill ya."
Shin wasn't listening. He was deaf with fear.
But he wasn't blind.
His tears and struggles ceased as he saw his aggressor pull out a switch blade knife, and he felt it as the cold rusty metal was pressed to his throat.
"I said," The man snarled through yellow teeth, "Shut up or I'll kill-"
He cut off with a slurred grunt as his head jerked forwards as if he'd taken a blow from behind.
His eyes slid out of focus and glazed over, his mouth sagging open in dumb surprise.
His grip on Shin loosened and they both fell to the floor in a tangled heap.
Shin wheezed for air since the man's dead weight was on top of him, but he was relieved from the suffocating pressure as the man was rolled off him.
Shin just lay where he was, in an awkward twisted position, panting in the aftermath of shock and pain.
His chest ached, and he had bruises forming down his left side where he had landed. There was also a stinging sensation from where the knife blade had nicked him slightly on his neck.
He was too emotionally overloaded to care what was going to happen anymore.
"Ya alright, kid?" Another heavily accented voice asked.
Shin rolled his eyes upwards to look at whoever this new person standing over him was.
The first thing he focused on was a pair of curious amber eyes staring down at him.
"Are ya deaf or somethin'?"
Shin traced his gaze to the straight nose, down to pale chapped lips, and strong jaw.
They all formed together to make a complete face of a boy that had to be in early adolescence. Not that many years older than him. Maybe thirteen?
Something tight in Shin's chest loosened.
This boy made him feel safe, just like Gohan.
Tears of relief slid down his already wet cheeks.
"Hey, Hey!" The amber eyes boy exclaimed with a frown. "No need ta cry! Boys don't cry anyway. Stop it or'll pinch ya."
Shin hastily wiped away his tear tracks as he saw the other boy reached for his arm with his fingers poised to pinch.
The boy grinned. "That's betta," He stretched out his hand for Shin to take hold of.
Shin gingerly moved to reach up, so his forming bruises didn't throb so much.
"Damn, kid, he ruffed ya up good,"
Those calm amber eyes studied him from head to toe, dirty blonde locks hanging in his equally grubby face.
He absently brushed his long bangs back and sharply twisted his hand out of Shin's reach, only to grab his wrist in a vice grip, a dark look taking over his features.
Shin flinched and tried to tug away, but he was surprised when the older boy turned his palm to the sky and tenderly prodded the glass shard still imbedded in flesh and blood.
He tutted to himself, "Geeze, kid, what ya bin doin'? Crawlin' 'round on ya hands and knees in da gutta?"
He scrutinised the wound before carefully gripping the protruding edge of glass and ripping it out without so much as a warning.
Shin wailed in pain and his tears re-emerged - until he saw the blonde boy make a pinching gesture at him again.
"That hurt," He whined, glaring at the offender. The language change was easy enough to adapt to, but it made his tongue feel thick and clumsy.
"Eh, whatever. It had ta come out sometime so quit moanin' at me." He reached into a holey pocket in the stained and ragged red hooded jacket he was wearing, and whipped out a threadbare hanky. "Use tha' ta stop the blood. Wrap it 'round ya hand. Don't want it turnin' infected."
Shin eyed the hanky with caution. It was practically black with grime, yet he guessed that it had once been a crisp white. There were probably more germs on it than the inside of a toilet.
He took it and did as he was told.
"What's ya name, kid?"
"Shin," He answered automatically, not giving himself time to debate whether it was a good or bad idea to tell this stranger his name.
"Shin, huh? Like part o' the leg? Weird." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yer not from 'round 'ere are ya. I can tell by yer clothes, yer soft hands, 'n yer accent. What ya doin' out here on yer lonesome? Where's ya family?"
Shin's throat clogged up. "Don't know."
The amber-eyed boy's face softened further in sad understanding.
"Another lost little one," He said to himself reflectively. "Ah, I'm such a sucker fer strays."
His decisive gaze dropped back down to Shin.
"OK, stick with us, Shin,"
"Us?" Shin repeated uncomprehendingly.
"Huh? Oh, yeah," The boy let out a loud sharp whistle by sucking in his lower lip. Shin was fascinated by how he'd done it with no fingers. He'd only ever seen Goku use his fingers in his mouth to do it. To Shin it was impressive that this boy was better at whistling than the greatest man alive.
As the boy looked around expectantly, so did Shin.
There was movement by a warehouse door to his right. A boy Shin's age stepped out into view, trailing a boy of four years behind him by the hand.
Shin didn't have time to inspect them in detail before his attention was caught again and he whipped his head around as a head popped up from behind the burnt out car to his left.
Another figure just seemed to appear out of thin air before him, leaning against the machine Shin had arrived in.
More appeared and they crowded in closer to form a loose circle around Shin and the older boy.
Shin counted eight boys, not including the eldest boy, ranging from the age of what looked like four to eleven.
They were all thin, hollow faced and dirty, wearing mismatched clothes.
He instantly felt like the odd one out with his clean fresh complexion and washed clothes with no more than a small grass stain on the hem of his shorts.
"Meet th' gang," The taller blonde boy pronounced with pride.
Shin shifted uncomfortably and dropped his gaze down to his sneakers as he felt all the children's eyes inspect him critically.
"Solo," A gruff voice protested. "He's a softie, what ya takin' him in fer?"
Duo raised his head to meet the voice head on in offence. The boy was one of the older ones, and he was alternating his frown of displeasure between the amber eyed boy and Shin from under the shadow of his navy hood.
So the oldest boy's name was Solo?
"Same reason I took you in," Solo held a steady gaze on the questioning boy. "You were jus' as bad if I remember right. Now look at ya. Yer a tough nut."
Solo smiled down at Shin. "We'll find a use for ya. But ya hav'ta pull yer weight."
Shin nodded, even though he was unsure of what was expected of him.
"K, then. This is yer new family." He swept a hand around the circle of children. "Meet Jimmy," That was the surely hooded boy, "Kenny," Kenny tugged his soft flat cap further down over his young round-cheeked face looking bashful at being brought attention to.
"Then there's Jo," Jo was maybe only just a year older than Shin and had bright blue eyes, with floppy blonde hair, held out of his face by a strip of burgundy cloth tied around his head like a sweat band. "Jo's a girl. It's a secret so don't go makin' it public. Pretend she's a guy so she don't get no hassle." Solo expanded.
Shin did a double take. The boyish stance and clothes were a good illusion. But now that Solo had mentioned it, his- no her eyes gave her away. Shin couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something distinctly feminine about them.
Though right at this moment it was harder to tell when she glaring at him in annoyance.
"Yeah, I'm a chick, get ova it." She said sharply as she folded her arms across her chest defensively.
"Jo," Solo warned in an exasperated voice. Solo turned a wry smile onto Shin. "Don't mind her. She always plays th' hard front when she meets a new face. Next is Bolt,"
Bolt was slightly younger with short black spiky hair, wild dark eyes and a dark tan. The overly-large itchy looking grey sweater he was wearing was too long in the arm so his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He looked the type to be quick on his feet, as his name might imply.
"Ace," Solo waved a hand at a boy that was tall, yet Shin still suspected him to be younger than him. He had light brown hair, with hazel eyes, and he looked rather reserved with a solemn face.
"And Skip," Skip smiled at Shin cheerfully, so Shin returned it the best he could. Skip had short wavy blonde hair. He was wearing an adult sized brown shirt with half the buttons missing down the front, and the long sleeves fell to his fingertips. His small frame looked ridiculously dwarfed in it.
"This is Tommy n' his brother Scrapper," Tommy, who stood at Solo's side, looked frail and sickly, in shorts and a thin t-shirt despite the chill in the air. He was protectively clutching the small hand of the four year old boy at his side, who was wrapped up warmly in a scarf. They both had mousy brown hair. Their faces were nondescript and easily forgettable in a crowd.
"Yer owe ya thanks ta Skip n' Ace. Skip 'erd the guy shoutin' and then Ace belted 'im in him in the back o' the 'ead with a brick."
The boy named Jimmy (the one opposed to Shin joining the group) roughly kicked the unconscious drunken man on the floor in the leg, then bent down and started to search his pockets, stripping him of a paper note that looked like money. Shin didn't recognise the currency.
"Jackpot," The surly boy grinned in triumph as he handed it over to Solo.
Solo looked pleased. "This'll last us a week."
"You just stole that," Shin protested as Solo pocketed the money.
"That's survival here, kid. You'll learn in time."
Shin looked around unsurely. "Where is here?"
Solo blinked and then laughed. "Ya really 're lost ain't ya kid! Welcome ta the dead district of L-2, otherwise known as the Underworld."
"L-2?"
"Hell, you're an Earth Kid. Yer gonna need work." Solo huffed. "Ah well, yer gotta be good at somethin'."
"We gotta keep movin' Solo!" Kenny reminded his leader as he nervously tugged the brim of his cap down to shield his eyes, which were darting around with trepidation. "It's almos' lights out."
"Yeah, yeah, l'right," Solo waved him off. Solo looked down at Shin intensely. "You with us, kid?"
Shin weighed his options. Stay where he was (and possibly meet other scary people in the dark), or maybe go off into the unknown city of L-2 by himself to find a nice adult to help him. Or trust these boys to keep him safe?
Shin nodded in reply to Solo's proposition.
"Good. I'd hate ta hav'ta leave you out here 'lone after dark. Who knows what'd happen ta ya."
Solo looked up at the large machine with raised eyebrows. "This yer own?"
"No, I don't know who it belongs to," Was Shin's instant reply.
Solo smiled brightly. "Great, then we can take it apart 'n sell bits fer credits."
"No!" Shin burst out in horror. "It's mine!" He lied. "You can't break it up!
"But you jus' said-"
"I lied."
Solo scowled at him unhappily. "If there's one thing I hate more th'n 'nything, its liars. Don't lie ta me, kid."
Shin's shoulders drooped in shame. "I'm sorry," He looked up at Solo imploringly. "But you can't take it apart. I travelled here in it. I need to find out how to work it so I can go home again."
"Kid, if ya get lost on L-2, ya stay lost. Yer from Earth, right?"
Shin nodded. Where else would he be from?
Unless the older boy knew he was a Saiyan. But he couldn't…right?
Shin self-consciously pulled his tail in closer to his body under his shorts.
Solo looked at him grimly. "Then ya ain't gonna get back there 'nytime soon. Best thing ya can do is wait fer someone ta come get ya."
That seemed like a good idea to Shin. It was far easier than finding his own way back home.
He must have looked miserable because Solo grouched," Kid, yer bringin' my mood down a few notches. Cheer up. Smile fer gods sake."
Shin forced a weak smile onto his face to appease him.
"Betta. Yer got a great smile, Shin. Cute. Makes me feel all warm 'n fuzzy inside."
This time Shin's smile was real with joy.
His Father was right; smiling did make people feel better.
"Solo!" Kenny prodded urgently, now shifting from foot to foot.
"L'Right, Kenny. We're goin', we're goin'…" Solo muttered as his eyes looked to the sky to appraise the dimming light.
His gaze swung back to the machine. "Question is, how tha hell're we gonna shift that thing, n' where we gonna put it?" He puzzled.
Shin felt a swoop of relief that Solo had taken his plea into serious consideration.
He felt that everything was going to turn out just fine.
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(Sorry to anyone that had trouble understanding the slang. I tried to keep it simple.)