Pacific Dragon
~ Lady Eldaelen ~

Previously:

"Krillin and Yamcha are awake," Gohan's voice filtered in over the comm. "They've got intel on the-"

"Yeah, yeah. It's talking, too," Bulma interrupted. "Get up here when you can."

- Start -

The lobby of the barracks where the Sons and Briefs -and now Videl- had their personal quarters was little more than a hallway with doors for the three rooms on each side and one at the end opposite the stairwell that led to the roof. A battered couch and small table, both probably originating from the depths of a cubical farm in Capsule Corp, were the only meager furnishings. Though not completely sterile, and far warmer even than the other larger block of Base housing a few wings over, this space was not designed nor intended for socializing. Yet here is where Dende appeared, alone, staff in hand and the barest hint of a frown tightening around the corners of his mouth. He didn't bother sitting; even now he could hear muffled voices in the stairwell as the roof access door opened and out tumbled Gohan and Videl, hand in hand.

Right on schedule.

.

After getting pinged twice more by eager Techs, Videl had gone on ahead to the Science Pool to begin her pilot suit check. With Dende's assurance that he wouldn't take long, he and Gohan retreated to the debrief room, where they were joined by Bulma.

"I've spoken with the higher levels," Dende said once they were settled, bunched up at one end of the long table. "They weren't nearly as concerned as I expected, but I guess when you get above the regional levels, most deities have seen it all. And once they reviewed the information, they decided that events have already been changed and the risk of catastrophic destruction due to external interference is minimal. We, guardians and higher, are not to interfere."

Dende handed Gohan a piece of Lookout stationary, folded in thirds with his seal holding the paper closed. "The passcode to the clean room and Hope's computers."

Gohan nodded and thoughtfully tapped the edge of the paper on the table in front of him.

"That's it? You're just handing us all this future information with no restrictions?" Bulma asked, mildly incredulous until realization softened her expression. "This isn't the first time they've encountered time travel, is it?"

"No and the fact that Gohan actually contacted us at all is the most unusual part of this whole situation. Most people don't seek permission from their local gods on either side of meddling with time."

"So that's it then?"

"For now, yes. You are free to do with the other Hope Four and any information derived from it what you wish."

And with his announcement made, Dende took his leave, ghosting back to the Lookout as unobtrusively as he'd arrived. Bulma watched as Gohan turned the paper over in his hands a few times. Then he slid it across the conference room table to her unopened.

"I, um, I don't think I'm supposed to go digging around in the information there."

"Really? Even though it's been cleared by all the- what did Dende say? The regional deities?"

"Yeah. And don't think it's because I don't want to know. I do, intensely."

Bulma reached for the paper, scrutinizing it like one of her material samples, wondering what mysteries it would reveal. "So what's stopping you?"

"A Kai I trained under while I was away… he was, well, one of the highest one there is. And he told me some things."

"Are you saying that I shouldn't look at what's in the clean room either?"

"No… well, no. No. But can you promise me something, Bulma? Meddling with the future has consequences. Just please take all the time that you need to really think about how much you want to be involved, indirectly or otherwise, in anything that might happen from the moment you decide to open that door."

.

A single, questioning, raised eyebrow was all that passed between them as Gohan popped into the science pool. Dende had been right -of course he'd been right- the meeting had been quick. Videl hadn't even finished her first baseline yet. She continued on, focusing intently on the Tech's instructions while her copilot disappeared behind the changing curtain with Hope's lead and his new suit. Her curiosity could wait, they'd be drifting soon enough.

He was at her side, plugging in, following the countdown, then…

Sometimes it seemed they'd covered everything, drifting. Videl knew that wasn't exactly the case, there were many moments in Gohan's life that remained stubbornly fuzzy to her, even after they'd discussed them later. The instances of his transformation into what he euphemistically referred to as "the quirk" inherited from his ancestral paternal line… well, he hadn't remembered any of them, so there was nothing to share, just the chaotic befores and extremely confused afters. The year he spent in the Otherworld, light-filled hazy blank spots they occasionally bounced up against, he chalked up to interference from the Kais. Certain discussions he'd had with Kami and Dende, too.

This time, though, was different.

She saw his entire conversation with Dende, unfiltered, uncensored. Gohan's warning to Bulma after. Videl's thoughts immediately jumped with his, to what he'd so steadfastly refused to to even entertain. The future.

And for the first time outside their sims, instead of just sharing and learning from each other's memories, they built their own, together.

They had a little capsule house nestled deep in the forest, garden in front, porch swing out back. Gohan next to her in bed, morning mountain sun throwing stripes of brightness and shade through the blinds across a row of pictures on the bureau. Even as they both drew closer to examine what could be on the pictures, said artifacts resolved themselves from blurry impressions to more defined images. A wedding- their wedding, the details fighting for dominance as they mentally argued over the details. His more traditional views on romance and courting and propriety that had to have come from Chi Chi's influence charmed her just as much as her own more liberal opinions surprised him. Had they not been hooked up to a neuro-mechanical marvel surrounded by a shift of the brightest engineers tasked to keep the system running and aware that everything in the room was recorded and duplicated for the Capsule Corp researchers, Videl would have taken him right then and there.

They both laughed at that, sending their drift the closest to out of bounds since their handshake initialization test. It wasn't that they were out of sync, just the opposite, they'd never been more in tune. Distantly Gohan realized they were connecting like pilots usually did with their Jaegers… only without the Jaeger. Distantly Videl decided she didn't much care, Jaeger be damned, if it meant they could keep this connection going forever.

Neither one bothered to work out who agreed first.

.

Chi Chi sent Videl and Gohan back to the Command Center promising she'd keep an eye on Krillin and Yamcha as they recovered. They headed straight for Krillin's desk where Bulma sat, engrossed with the feed of the engagement.

"They're still talking," Bulma murmured, pulling up maps and other support files. She took a slug of coffee then gestured vaguely to her side, mug still in hand, with a practiced ease that left not one spilled drop. "Dad, can you..?"

"Of course." Dr. Briefs beckoned Gohan and Videl to his area across the room.

"It calls itself Cell," the doctor began without preamble. "A Dr. Gero specialty."

Dr. Briefs pulled up a digital map. He zoomed to an area unfamiliar to Videl, one even Gohan didn't immediately recognize.

"Gero's old base of operations. Vegeta, Bulma, Goku, and I cleared it out with Eighteen's help after the, uh, last incident there. We've gathered that Seventeen and Eighteen had no knowledge of Cell, so that rules out any evasion on their part," Dr. Briefs clarified with a waggle of eyebrows at the two, stopping any reservations of the androids' loyalty dead in their tracks.

"Now, Gero relied on some micro-nuclear power sources integrated into the building. For safety reasons, we left most of that infrastructure intact, what's left of it, anyway. The androids managed some pretty heavy damage during their… well… you know what battles look like."

Gohan nodded grimly.

"We keep perimeter guards around the clock, even though most of the workers stationed there died in the uprising. Only a handful have ever been spotted by security coming back." Dr. Briefs took a long pull on his ever-present cigarette before pointing out a sector on the map. "My best guess to start looking would be under this section here. The floor is over twenty feet thick there and it was the lowest point we searched. But there was a lot of structural damage that could have obfuscated a door-"

"Wait, look for what?" Videl interrupted.

"Oh, must have missed that part. Cell is from the future. It hijacked that other Hope Four. We think it best you two go find our Cell and destroy it."

"That thing is from the Hope Four?" Gohan asked, voice catching in his throat a little bit.

"So it claims."

"But there wasn't any evidence of-"

"We can look later. The lab is more important right now."

Videl's lips pressed together in a thin line. "You're hiding something."

Dr. Briefs' eyes widened in surprise and he glanced over at Gohan to see him sporting the same untrusting expression.

"Damn! They've started fighting," Bulma shouted. She turned towards them. "Why are you still here?"

She pinned pointed stares at Videl and Gohan before turning her wrath on her father. "Aren't you done explaining, Dad?"

Glaring back at the two of them again she ordered, "Lab! Go! Take Videl's aircar. Keep your scouters on."

They all stared at each other blankly for a split second before Videl and Gohan rose as one.

.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Dende's visit last night?" Videl asked as they sped towards the remnants of Gero's lab.

"Maybe?"

"Is this what you meant about meddling with the future?"

"Do you remember the last encounter, the one just before we met?"

"Sure, the one with two Kaiju. Land and sea."

"Yes, that one. We discovered something at the Tornado battle site, another Hope Four."

"That's what's in the back of the lab, isn't it?"

Gohan nodded. "It's been sealed all this time. I haven't really had much to do with it since. Bulma's done the most research on it, but even she really didn't start digging into the specifics until last night."

"Dende," the said together.

"It came from the future though?"

"Twenty years from now."

They fell silent, listening to the fight between Cell and the androids through the scouters. So far the rest had remained out, though Gohan had no doubt that his father was ready to jump in at half a heartbeat's notice. Even so many layers removed from the actual fight, he felt his body tense up like a wild punch could strike him at any moment. The aircar roared up to the gates of Gero's lab and Videl pulled to a stop in front of the security station.

"Dr. Briefs already called you in," the on-duty guard replied, leaning out of the station window to hand them access badges. "There's comms built in, give us a buzz if you need any assistance or if there's a problem."

"Thanks."

"Good luck, sir, m'am."

Gohan pulled out his data pad and opened the map of the lab Dr. Briefs had compiled during the last sweep. He pointed Videl in the right direction all the while trying to work through the expanding unease as he kept tabs on the fight. He couldn't sense the androids, never could, one of the reasons Eighteen set him on edge more than anyone else. Cell's presence was obvious, but not overwhelmingly so. Yet every once in a while, he'd feel a double presence of his father. Or Vegeta. Or even more bizarrely, from what he was starting to learn through his drifts with Videl, what he could only assume was himself.

Gohan tapped his scouter. "Dr. Briefs, what is Cell made of?"

Videl parked her aircar by a reinforced door. She swiped them in and led the way inside.

"Uh, it's insectoidally based…"

"'Cell.' What kind of cells did Gero use?"

"What do you mean, Gohan?"

"Sir, please, I can feel it. Did Gero use us?"

"Fascinating. You can sense that?"

"The boys probably can, too."

"Is that true, Trunks?"

"Yes, Grandpa." Trunks affirmed. "Sometimes it feels like there's two of Dad."

"Or two Mr. Piccolos," Goten piped up in the background.

"Cell said Gero obtained samples from the top warriors and blended their DNA together in its creation."

Gohan fiddled with his data pad, bringing up the vid feed from Vegeta's scouter. The vid didn't quite keep up with the speed of the fight (technology still had its limits), but Vegeta followed well enough to pick up all the pauses. A mottled brown and green figure fought with the androids; neither side seemed to be giving any ground. Another blur and the distinct shift in ki towards Vegeta moments before Cell appeared and let off a Final Flash.

"Whoa." Videl whispered as she caught a glimpse of the vid and recognized the attack, "we need to find this thing's version here."

.

"Boys, I need to know how the fight is going." Bulma announced.

She pulled up Vegeta's feed alongside the area map and beckoned the kids to her side. After a few moments of blurry scenery, Cell came into view, hands raised. It brought them down in front with a pushing movement and a shout. "Masenko!"

Goten frowned. "That's Gohan's move."

The next visible shot had Cell execute a complicated set of hand gestures before releasing another ki attack channeled from its hands, fingers splayed, thumbs and index fingers touching.

If Goten showed concern at the use of his brother's attack, this one left him beyond spooked. Both boys looked like they'd seen a ghost.

"What?!" Bulma exclaimed, hands poised over the comm controls, ready to sound an alarm.

"That felt like Trunks," Goten responded.

"But I've never seen that attack before," Trunks added.

.

They'd walked the entire perimeter of the lowest floor, or what remained of it, searching for signs of any other access points leading elsewhere. This was the ground zero point of the androids' initial uprising. The space had been a lab, and though the carnage had long since been scrubbed away, the fight had damaged a large portion of the underlying support structures. Gohan knew it all hadn't been from the androids, either. Gero's well-warranted internal defenses had impressed even Vegeta, though they ultimately failed to contain the threat.

"We'll have to risk it," Videl decided. "You said the others would be more than adequate to keep Cell contained."

"As soon as I power up, we're going to be vulnerable."

"You've been suppressing your power so much I can hear you breathe easier than I can sense you."

He quirked a small smile at her, carefully weighing the pros and cons of what he had to do. "If we're in Cell somehow, it may have our abilities. Accelerated healing, increases in strength after injury. We're only going to get one shot at taking it down."

"Then get on with the tunnel! We're running out of time," Videl urged. She commed the security guard with an update, then stepped back.

Gohan charged up a blast and cut a deep hole down through the floor.

"Too much power, kid. We could feel that from here," Vegeta murmured just low enough to be picked up from his scouter.

And somewhere between blocking Seventeen's roundhouse and punching Eighteen, Cell smiled.

"There you are."

.

Gohan grabbed Videl and jumped down the hole. He let himself fall as controlled as he could manage while expending the least amount of energy possible. Videl fumbled with a light and turned it on just in time to illuminate a fortified cavern directly below them, rushing dangerously closer every moment of their fall. Gohan landed hard, knees deeply bent, not bothering to cushion his stop with a flare of ki. Videl slid out of his grasp and began surveying the space.

Constructed columns interspersed with natural formations to support the weight of the lab above. Most of what she could see at this level was untouched cave, though the floor appeared mechanically smoothed. Behind her, Gohan remained where he'd landed, having turned his attention back to his data pad.

"Something's wrong. They've stopped fighting."

.

Vegeta kept his scouter trained mostly on Cell, though his attention darted around frequently to the two androids and Kakarott. Beaky was happy, too happy, for Vegeta's tastes. Like the androids, it didn't appear the least bit overexerted. If it wasn't stalling to regroup, what was the point?

.

"Come on," Videl urged, grabbing Gohan's free hand and pulling him towards a shadowy edge sloping down. Gohan followed, though he kept one eye on his data pad.

The vid feed kept flicking away from Cell and over to his father and for the life of him Gohan couldn't figure out what Vegeta was getting at. Videl still had his arm and during his inattentiveness she'd led him further underground. Every once in a while they'd pass an emergency light, dim even in the near darkness, bolstered by the illumination of Videl's lamp.

"I mean, the man you were built to destroy is standing right there. What are you waiting for?"

"Our business with Goku is none of yours," Seventeen answered stonily.

"Oh, but it is. You see, Gero engineered me with DNA from the best fighters of his time. Not all of the best, however, were technically alive."

"Gohan, I think this may be it," Videl exclaimed. Gohan ignored her.

"Oh, sweet kais above."

Vegeta's sharp intake of breath was the only noise picked up by the scouter before Cell's tail stretched to impossible lengths and the tip expanded open to encompass Seventeen in his entirety.

.

"No!" Eighteen and Goku cried out together as Cell's tail, snakelike, began absorbing Seventeen into itself. Eighteen lunged toward it but Goku flashed to her side before she made it any closer. Cell laughed as his aura exploded outward, ki skyrocketing.

.

Videl peered at the data pad long enough to pick up the general idea then pulled the screen away, diverting Gohan's attention.

"We can't help until we finish our job here."

Gohan nodded. He looked around, fully. Videl had found a blast door. She tried the access card and the door slid open with a faint hiss.

The room beyond was less cavern and more conventionally structured with a drop ceiling and lights that powered on as they entered. Banks of equipment were neatly laid out in rows alongside desks and cabinets. The entire room focused around two clusters of space. Gohan stopped at the first where a glowing column stood, reaching the entire height floor to ceiling. Translucent and lit from within, it was full of a gently bubbling liquid. Suspended at eye height was a tiny, bean sized creature, immature and quite possibly not even yet self-sustaining. Gohan looked around for some sort of marker but found none. The liquid was clear, and there were no signs of spoilage, so he could only assume the thing inside was still viable. Gohan switched on his scouter's vid.

"Dr. Briefs? Can you see this?"

"Sure can, Gohan."

"Do you think this is Cell?"

"Hard to say without tests, but it's not the same as Gero's setup for the androids. Cell did say it was grown…"

"Gohan?" Videl's voice had taken on a pitch he'd never heard before.

"Gohan!" She repeated even more intensely.

As soon as he looked over her way, Dr. Briefs spoke up. "What's that now?"

.

"We have to go down there," Dr. Briefs murmured as he studied Gohan's vid feed while the boy wound his way around this new lab over to Videl's side and what had grabbed her attention.

"Dad, this is not the time to-" Bulma paused as her father gently turned her head to the screen. "Is that…?"

"Mmhmm."

"Why is all of this happening at once?!"

.

Videl was trying very hard not to freak out. Gohan was there and he had years more experience in this sort of thing. Unfortunately, his terse responses and too-steady breathing -forced, purposeful- were not reassuring.

"Please tell me I'm wrong in thinking that's an-"

"That's an android."

"-Android."

.

- End -

Spoiler alert: I saw Pac Rim Uprising last week. Did the Jeff Cannata method of limiting newsy exposure; aside from reading an article ages ago that John Boyega was attached to it, I'm not even sure I saw a movie poster beforehand. Was it ridiculous? Absolutely. Was it as good as the first? Of course not. Did I like it? Surprisingly, much more than I thought I would. I did not go in with very high expectations at all. But sequels have been made with less of a plot and I did not expect the direction they took with pretty much everything. Hated what they did with Mako, though, sapped all the life out of her character. Sad face.

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