Year : 771
A little more than 3 years after the Cell Game
They were a strange crew, 17 walking and holding the elephant with a rope, and Ruri pushing her little motorcycle on which the cage containing the mongoose was still sitting. It was the first time since they left that they had worked as a team. For Ruri, it was a very pleasant surprise. Of course, she had been trying to establish a connection with 17 from the start, but he hadn't exactly made it easy for her. While not unpleasant, he kept his interactions with others to a minimum, so much so that she had really come to doubt their ability to live together like this for months. And yet, it did seem that she was cracking that armor he seemed to wear all the time.
But it was 17 who was the most surprised. Since his "awakening" in Dr. Gero's laboratory, he had only ever teamed up with 18. He and his sister shared a special bond, which was very useful if they were fighting together. They were naturally in sync, each able to anticipate the other's actions. In this, they were the most effective duos, although they never really used this talent in real combat. Both of them preferred single combat. But despite their differences in character, they were complementary.
He was therefore quite surprised to find something similar with Ruri. It was not identical, he did not feel such a connection with her. However, when she was by his side, he felt at ease. Traveling with her seemed natural to him, so much so that even without wanting to, he gradually began to answer her questions, to talk with her.
And together they were a pretty good team.
It was a strange feeling. He just felt surprisingly "good" when she was around.
After about half an hour of walking, they had finally reached the elephant herd.
As soon as it was in sight, the young elephant started to get agitated. Ruri took charge and signaled to 17 to stop.
- Ok," she began, "it looks like we're in luck. If she's moving around like that, it's probably her herd.
- So what do we do?
- Untie her, and let her do as she wants. We stand back and watch.
17 untied the elephant, who immediately went towards the other members of the herd. They also spotted her very quickly. He then witnessed a strange scene: they all gave long cries, rushed towards the young female, waving their ears and exchanging caresses with their proboscis.
- What's going on?" he asked Ruri.
- Let us say that they are partying. These pretty girls are telling her that they are happy to have her back.
- Girls ?
- Yes, the females live together in a herd. So apart from the babies, the adults are probably all females.
- But that big one there, is that the dominant male?" said 17, pointing to an elephant that was much bigger than the others.
- Mmmmmmmmm no, I don't think so. The males usually have very large tusks, the sort of teeth that stick out, and this animal doesn't have any. This is the matriarch.
- The what?
- The oldest of the females. She's the leader here.
- But... the deer, there were also only females, and a ...
- Not all animals are organized in the same way.
- Really ?
- Not at all. Depending on the species, it's very different. You see, elephants are very intelligent animals. How can you tell how smart they are? Two things. The richness of their language...
- They speak ?
- Hahaha not with words, but yes, they have a very complex language. You didn't know that animals could do that?
- No, I didn't.
- With a little experience and instinct, you can even learn their language. And communicate with them. If you're interested in that too... can I teach you?
- Yes. And what is the second sign of intelligence?
- Females live in groups, without males, who live alone.
- How is this a proof of intelligence?
- It is especially a proof of intelligence of the females.
- In what way ?
- Because males are morons in general. All species included. They females are smart, they understand that they'd be better off without those clods.
- ... ah ... really?
Ruri suddenly had a huge laugh. 17 had such a serious face, only his eyes expressed a sincere questioning.
- Hahahahaha no! This is a joke! I'm pulling your leg !
- ... ah.
- Remind me to add "humor awareness" to the list of things I have to teach you, I think it might come in handy.
17 wasn't sure if he really got the joke, but when he saw Ruri's smile and her cheerful look, he couldn't help but smile too.
- Well, now what?" he said, after a few seconds.
- We can try to get a little closer to observe them if you want.
- Ok.
But no sooner had they taken a few steps towards the herd than the matriarch stood up in front of them and gave a long, loud scream.
Ruri signaled to 17 to stop again.
- First lesson, she told him. Now she's talking to us. If you had to translate what you think she just said to us into one sentence, what would you say?
- ...
- Trust your instincts.
- I would say... "don't move, or I'll attack".
- Hahaha, yeah, pretty well translated. She warns us not to go any further. Remember that: animals usually avoid unnecessary confrontation, so as not to get hurt. In nature, getting hurt means dying. So if you pay attention to the signals, you'll avoid most disaster scenarios.
- Okay.
- I say that, but you don't really need this kind of precaution actually.
- Yes, but you asked me not to hurt the animals, so I have to avoid provoking them.
- ... indeed. Thank you.
- So we're leaving?
- Not necessarily. We take a few steps back, and stay for observation. She'll either chase us away or tolerate us. And we'll see what we can get. Ok ?
- Okay.
17 and Ruri moved back a few steps, but remained close to the herd. The matriarch kept watching them, without charging or being aggressive. Finally, after a few minutes, the young female appeared again, and approached slowly.
- Don't move," Ruri whispered. Let her come if she wants, but don't move.
17 remained motionless, while the animal was only a few meters away. Suddenly, the young female stretched her proboscis in his direction.
- What should I do?" 17 asked in a low voice.
- Take a look at the matriarch," Ruri whispered in response, "if you feel that she allows you, reach out and stroke her proboscis.
- What?
- Yes, she's holding out her proboscis, it's a friendly sign.
After a little hesitation, 17 finally reached out his arm and put his hand on the young elephant's proboscis, which made her gave a kind of little gasp.
- I think she's saying thank you," Ruri commented with a smile.
- ... yes, I think so.
- Well, now you slowly withdraw your hand and we start to back up quietly.
- Okay.
Strangely enough for him, 17 trusted Ruri completely. So he complied, again, without question, and they both moved away from the herd little by little. When they were far enough away, he asked her why they had to distance themselves from the animals.
- In fact," Ruri explained, "you can't get too close to wild animals. Otherwise, they may trust the humans too much. But that's not a good idea. It's dangerous for them not to be afraid of humans.
- Why is that?
- Not all humans are well-intentioned towards animals, you know... some are even ...
With that, Ruri stopped dead in her tracks.
- Oh no. No, no, no, no !
Her eyes were wide and she was very agitated. Noticing her change in attitude, 17 turned to her.
- What's wrong with you?
- I was... happy with... and then I forgot. I completely forgot!
- Forgot what?
- To tell you about the hole. You know, the hole the elephant was stuck in. I looked into it after you left. It was a trap. And it had to be humans who did it.
- A trap?
- Yes. Didn't you see how regular it was, how perfect... It was dug with a shovel. And this kind of glue at the bottom... It is inevitably a trap, and it was inevitably put by poachers. They probably wanted to immobilize animals. By doing so, they can cover a large territory, and especially, let the animal exhaust itself for hours trying to free itself. They can then come and finish it off, effortlessly and without danger. There must be poachers around.
Immediately, 17 understood.
The humans he had seen while looking for Ruri and thought were other rangers, what if they were actually poachers, animal killers? "What an idiot! " he thought, "I should have told her! ". He realized that he had been distracted by the fact that he was having an extremely pleasant time himself. Being close to Ruri, talking with her, the contact with the animals, everything she was teaching him... he had felt so good, in confidence, accomplice... He had just failed to be vigilant.
A feeling of anger crossed him then. An anger towards himself. For years, he had remained on his guard, permanently, all the time. As if everything could change again, in an instant. Like after his awakening. He had been so happy during his journey to find Goku, so happy to be free, finally. And in just a few seconds, everything had changed. Because he had been careless. Because he let his guard down. And then... because of his fault, he had been absorbed by Cell, but above all, he had indirectly condemned 18 to suffer the same fate. And if his sister had been resurrected, 16 was dead.
And here it was again. He hated himself for being so naive.
"17, is everything all right? "
Ruri's voice echoed in his ears and brought him back to his senses. When he looked at her, he realized that she seemed very worried. And she was. Because the moment she had mentioned the poachers, 17 had frozen. In a few seconds he had clenched his fists, not saying a word. She, who usually found his light blue eyes so beautiful, suddenly felt uncomfortable when she saw the cold, even icy hardness in his eyes.
Seeing her like this, 17 realized that he was scaring her. And he didn't want that. He had been avoiding contact with others for years, but Ruri was different. She made him laugh, she made him feel good. He didn't want to inspire fear in her at all.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he told her, using a tone as calm as possible.
A little reassured to see him softened, Ruri smiled a little.
- Good," she replied, "I thought ... finally ... that something ...
17 interrupted her.
- When I went looking for you, I saw some men. There were several of them in cars. I thought they were rangers, so I didn't linger. I am ... sorry. I should have told you.
- ... how long ago?
- It must have been an hour.
Ruri stopped smiling. Dejected, she knelt down and took her face in her hands, letting out a long plaintive sigh.
- An hour, she murmured then, oh no tell me it's not true...
- Do you think they are poachers? That they are the ones who set the trap?" replied 17, kneeling down next to her.
- All the park rangers were at the camp, 17, I know them all. If the men you saw were different, then yes, it had to be them.
- And ... they want to kill animals right?
- Without a doubt. It is too late. Oh my god 17 I'm so sorry...
- Sorry for what?
- This is all my fault, not yours. You don't know this park, the people, it's not your area, it's mine. You had no idea who they were, and you were looking for me. It's my fault. If I had told you about the trap immediately ... It's all my fault. And now it's too late...
- Too late for what?
- To catch up with them. They could be anywhere by now, if it's been an hour since you passed them. They may have even managed to kill some animals. It's all over now. We're not going to catch them on my moped. Oh, I'm so sorry ...
She couldn't finish her sentence and burst into tears. 17 could see that she was trying to hold back, but without success. She could only manage to hold back the flow of tears, which only made her having hiccup. This made her look a little pathetic, which 17 could not help but find very funny.
He then did something he had never done before in his life.
He put his right hand on Ruri's temple, and very gently, ran it through her hair in a delicate caress. Ruri, stunned by such tenderness, didn't know how to react. She looked at 17, and saw that he was smiling at her. His gaze had completely changed. He was now full of kindness. He gave off such a confident, caring feeling that she immediately felt safe and stopped crying.
17 wiped away the last tear that ran down Ruri's cheek, and in an incredibly serene voice, he told her:
- It's too late for a normal human. But not for me. I guarantee you I'll catch up with them.
- You're pretty sure of yourself," she replied, laughing. Seriously, you ... can really catch them?
- Yes. I'm going to go, and I'm going to find them.
- Wherever you go, I'm going with you.
- Of course," nodded 17. We'll go together. I might need my arms, so climb on my back and hold on tight. I'll go fast.
- Like before?
- I was going slow before.
- REALLY ?
In a second, she had regained her enthusiasm and that laughing look that 17 loved so much.
"Come on, let's move! "he said.
Ruri put her arms around 17's neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, before exclaiming in turn:
"Yeah, let's move! "