Chapter 11

When I next opened my eyes, I was back in the library. I was lying on the floor, and Sakuya was standing over me, pouting. "You really are an idiot, you know that?", she said, deadpanning. I didn't make an effort to get up. "And how is that, Little Miss Grape Head?", I said, causing her to pout further. "I told you to stop calling me that!" I chuckled. "And I told you, I would stop calling you that when it stops being funny. And it's still funny." She stamped her foot and put her finger in my face. "I'm serious! You almost died for pete's sake!" I laughed again. "Yeah, yeah, I know-wait...almost? I bled out. How is that almost dead?", I asked with wide eyes.

Sakuya looked at me, sighing and smiling a bit. "When you took that bullet and told Eureka to go, she desperately wanted you to live. Though I don't think she did it consciously, she reached out to all of the scubs in the surrounding area. They all felt her pain, and so they used as much of their power as they could, without breaking their hibernation and reaching the Limit of Questions, in an attempt to eliminate the cause of it." My eyes widened. "So...the scubs healed me to keep Eureka from being sad?" She nodded. "Though, I should warn you. The damage to your body by that point was pretty extensive. Multiple parts of it had already started to die." I tilted my head. "So...what does that mean for me?" She sighed, and pointed to a mirror. "It's easier to just show you." I got up off the floor and walked up to the mirror.

I looked at my reflection, and was shocked at what I saw. The scubs...they had changed me. My hair now reached my shoulders, and had streaks of bright red amongst my normal brown. My skin had taken a bit of a lighter tone as well, being almost as pale as Eureka, Anemone, and Sakuya herself. What really caught my attention, however, were my eyes. Or rather, my right one to be precise. My left was still the same chocolate brown it had always been. My right eye, however, had turned violet in color, just like a Coralian's. I ran my hand across my newly changed face. "Whoa. This is...really weird."

Sakuya looked at me sadly. "The damage was simply too bad for the Scubs to heal with the small bit of power they could use. Some of your body parts were replaced with those of a Coralian. That includes a good portion of your right lung, as well as most of your brain. You're about a quarter Coralian now. However, since the scubs could only use the bare minimum of their power, they weren't able to completely heal your initial wound. They more or less accelerated your own body's healing process, then spent most of their power rebuilding the damaged parts. Take off your shirt." I removed my shirt, and stared at my chest. Where the bullet had pierced me was now a small scar, about the size of a quarter. I ran my fingers over it, getting used to the mark. I put my shirt back on, then turned and looked at Sakuya. "So...what now?"

She smiled. "You'll be waking up in a little bit. The Cardinal will be with you, too, so don't worry. As for where you go from here, that's up to you. From what you've told me about the future, you'll have to join back up with Holland and the others eventually. It's up to you to decide how soon." I nodded, then noticed the world turning white.

I bid Sakuya goodbye, and prepared to go back to the waking world. She stopped me for a second "Make sure to come visit me more from now on. Oh, and tell him he's an idiot, but I still love him." I was unable to ask for an explanation as I felt myself waking up.

I opened my eyes to find myself lying on a bedroll. I put my hand in front of my face to shield my eyes from the light. A quick glance around told me I was in a tent. I tried to get up, only to be instantly hit with a ton of soreness. Nonetheless, I pushed myself to get up, and walked outside my tent.

As I exited the tent, I realized where I was. All around me were people wearing different styles of clothing. Once I walked out in the open, many of them turned to look at me with wide eyes. I stumbled and almost fell, but a young woman, probably in her early 20s, caught me and helped me up. I looked at her with a grateful smile. "Thank you."

She smiled, then turned to the others. "Someone tell the master that he's awake!" Immediately, four of them ran off, likely to tell this "master". The woman turned to help me back inside my tent. I protested, claiming I was fine to walk around, but she shook her head. "Your injuries have healed, but you're still exhausted. You've been unconscious for three weeks. You must regain your strength." My eyes bulged. "THREE WEEKS?!" She nodded, and urged me to sit down again. I sighed and agreed, lying back down on the bedroll.

I sat there in silence for a while, until she broke it. "Thank you." I looked at her in confusion. "For what?" She smiled at me. "My name is Rosa. You saved my life back in the city." My eyes widened, and again I went to sit up. Rosa pushed me right back down, and I grumbled. She giggled. "I'm not the only one. Many of us here owe our lives to you. We are all grateful. You are a hero among our people." I shook my head, and she looked at me, confused.

I sighed, and put my arms behind my head. "I'm not a hero. I didn't save you out of some heroic sense of justice. I did it because it was the right thing to do." She smiled big. "That's something a hero would say." I scoffed. "You do know that I was on the same squad as the ones who killed many of the people here, right?" She nodded, and her eyes took on a fire of rage. "Yes, we are aware. But you...you saved us. That other one...the White Devil. We wish nothing but misfortune upon her." My eyes turned angry, and I turned to her, a scowl on my face. "Don't you DARE talk that way about her!!"

She looked at me, surprised, before snapping back. "She massacred dozens of my people! She's a monster!" I forced myself up and slapped her across the face, stunning her. I looked at her, eyes cold and unforgiving. "You have no right to speak of her in such a way. You have no idea what she's gone through." She snapped again. "She's a murderer! What could possibly justify those actions?!" My eyes dropped. "You don't understand. Fighting, and following orders...it's all she's ever known. They never taught her the significance of taking a life, so she did it without batting an eye." Rosa looked at me in confusion.

My head shot up. "But now...now she knows. And you should've seen the look of disgust and horror on her face when she realized what she was doing. It would make you take back everything you've said about her." I made my way to the entrance. Rosa tried to stop me, but I slapped her hand away and looked at her angrily, causing her to shrink back. I walked out of the tent, only to come face to face with Master Norb.

He looked me up and down, as though analyzing me, before smiling. "So, it appears you have finally woken up.", he said. I studied him cautiously. Good intentions or not, I still wasn't sure I could trust him fully.

' You can trust him, Dylan.' My eyes widened as I heard Sakuya's voice in my head. 'Sakuya? What the hell? How are you talking to me?', I asked internally, erasing all emotion from my face. I heard her giggle. " Sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you. Now that your mind is mostly Coralian, I can contact you like this. It's kinda taxing though, so I can't do it all the time. Anyway, you can trust Norb. He can be a big help and he won't try to get in your way if I'm backing you...Don't think this gets you out of your visits though. I'd still like to see my friend's face every now and again.' I chuckled internally. 'Understood Grape Head.'

I heard her groan as I turned to Norb. "I have a message for you.", I said He looked at me curiously. "Oh? And what is this message?" I smiled mischievously. "She says you're an idiot, but that she still loves you." Norb's eyes went wide as dinner plates, and I laughed my ass off as he ushered everyone out of the tent. He sat down, and urged me to do the same. I plopped down in a chair. "So, you spoke to Sakuya?", he asked. I smiled and nodded. "I was just talking to her, actually." His eyes went wide again. "But how? I've never even heard of something like this happening." I scratched the back of my head. "It's kind of a long story. You got time?" He nodded, and I began my tale.

I told Norb everything I had told Sakuya, and everything that had happened leading up to this point. To say he was shocked would be the understatement of the century. He had several questions throughout the explanation, which I answered to the best of my ability. When all was said and done, he had a question for me. "I have to ask. What do you intend to do now?"

I leaned back in my chair. "Well, I'm pretty sure Holland and the rest will be fine without me for now. Sumner and Ruri will get the Nirvash to them later this year. After that, it's the whole CFS incident in April of 12004. That same month, main events are supposed to start. That being said, I should probably head back to Holland and the others as soon as possible."

Norb shook his head, surprising me. "I think you should wait." I stood up. "What? Why?." Norb looked at me. "From what you've told me, you still haven't perfected your Vodarac training. That, and you still need to get used to your body's alterations." I scoffed. "That doesn't matter! I need to get back to them." His eyes narrowed. "Back to them, or back to Eureka?" My eyes widened, and I looked away. "That's none of your business, Norb.", I muttered.

He smiled knowingly. "You know the pain she must be feeling, and you want to be there to support her. Is that right?" I sighed and nodded. He smiled. "An admirable reason, to support the ones closest to you. Nonetheless, you have to realize something. Though you have the power to change future events, that doesn't always mean you should. If you make too many changes, it could change everything, and not for the better. You said that in the original timeline, Eureka ends up relatively alright after what happened at Ciudades del Cielo. While you being there for her could potentially make things better, it could also make them worse."

I looked at him, still a bit unsure. "So what? I'm supposed to let them all just think I'm dead?" He shook his head. "I never said that. You should definitely let them know you're alive. They'd be angry if you don't. You'll have to think of a way that doesn't draw attention to yourself, however." I thought for a moment, then smiled. "I think I have the perfect way."

And that's a wrap!

Sorry this chapter took a bit. I had a little accident at work involving a knife and the top of my left wrist so I wasn't able to type fast for a good bit. Should be healed soon though. Also, with this chapter I have officially surpassed Saiyans and Sekirei in number. And we ain't even on the main story yet! I'm very proud of myself.

Author's Note: I recently started rewatching Tenchi Universe and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in an OC Isekai fanfiction of that. Please let me know. If you wish for one of the original Tenchi Muyo, again let me know. I'd be glad to use it as an excuse to watch that again too.

This is D3vilB4sket, signing off!