Disclaimer: I don't own them but I wish I did. (Mental note: Create machine to travel through alternate dimensions to find the dragon balls and wish for ownership over my very own pet android and demi saiyan.) *Android 17 and Trunks are seen running away so fast that they break the sound barrier*

Author's Note: I feel bad for torturing these guys like this but we all know how much fun it is to mess with the heads of your favorite characters. Sorry there isn't any Trunks in this part but we do get Seventeen so it's all good. (I love them both!) I was able to get this part done earlier then I expected so I hoped it turned out well. Remember to review everyone!

Altered Destinies

Kynthia

Part 4

Rei sat hunched over on the ground just shuddering for the longest time. The aftereffects of the nightmare hadn't worn off just yet. She rubbed at her eyes in a futile attempt to stop the tears that were still coming. She would have stayed outside until she had control over herself but the crunch of feet on gravel alerted her that she wasn't alone.

She instantly froze and did her best to stay perfectly quiet. Fear coursed through her body. 'Maybe whoever it is will leave and not notice me,' she thought almost desperately. She didn't budge in the slightest but stayed where she was and held the sleeveless jacket just a little bit more tightly around herself.

"Rei," whispered a voice from behind her. She heaved a sigh in relief when she recognized it.

Quickly wiping her face dry she started to stand up and brushed some of the dust off of her jeans. "Yes Usagi?" Rei whispered back while pushing her long raven black hair behind one ear. She was thankful that it was dark so Usagi wouldn't be able to tell she had just been crying.

The blonde girl stood a few feet behind her. She was clutching her denim jacket in a somewhat futile attempt to stave off the chill as long as possible. Her shorts probably weren't doing much good at the moment of keeping her warm. Looking at her Rei realized how cold it really was. Earlier she hadn't noticed but now the chill prickled along her bare arms making her shudder slightly.

"Are you ok? I could have sworn I heard crying," Usagi began. In the dark Rei couldn't get a good look at her face but she was sure it was etched in concern at the moment.

"I'm fine," Rei said quickly. She didn't want them worrying about her. They had enough problems already. "You were probably just hearing things."

"I could have," Usagi said while taking a step forward. She didn't sound that convinced.

Mentally cursing the fact that Meatball head had to choose now of all times to be perceptive she decided on another tactic. "It could have been just a dream," Rei said sarcastically, coming up with an idea. "After all it's not like you're that good at telling the difference between fantasy and reality at times."

Usagi had stopped where she was. Rei heard her heave an exasperated sigh before the blonde girl turned around and headed back inside. Before she went inside though she heard her wish her sweet dreams.

Rei forced herself to stay calm. She felt bad about treating Usagi that way but she wanted to be left alone for a couple of minutes to pull herself back together. Looking around at the barren street she decided she could try and pull herself together inside.

*~*~*

Seventeen raised his right hand to his somewhat sweaty forehead. 'Where the hell had that come from?' he mentally demanded of himself. An answer didn't appear to be forthcoming.

The nightmare had been more then he would have liked to deal with. Normally he didn't dream at all and for something that intense to happen left him shaken. Not that he would ever admit it. It had been odd. All the emotions swirling in him during the nightmare had left his nerves raw and stinging. This left him even more confused. He was an android after all, didn't that mean he wasn't supposed to have emotions. Hell, he'd kill at point blank range while looking into his victim's desperation filled face and not even blink. So why the hell did one little nightmare about a girl he didn't even know leave him so freaked? 'Damn. I have a better question. Why did I have a dream about someone I've never met?' he thought irritably.

Never being prone to thinking deeply about his own actions or the world around him Seventeen was left completely bewildered. With an angry growl he shoved off the sheets of his bed and stalked out of the room intent on finding something to take his mind off of this. 'It's not like I really need sleep anyway,' he thought on his way out the door. He was so caught up in his own thoughts he had completely forgotten about the pendent that was still shoved into the pocket of his jeans.

*~*~*

The next day Rei moved a bit slower and more lethargic then usual. She hadn't been able to fall asleep after her nightmare and couldn't really count the nightmare that had left her stomach heaving as rest either. Usagi seemed to be watching her at times and whenever she turned to glare at her to stop, the glare would crumble at the concerned expression on the blonde's face.

When she had been sitting just outside the door of the crumpled first floor room watching the street Hotaru had come outside and sat next to her. The slightly shorter dark haired girl had run her hand through her dark bangs and leaned back against the wall using her dark coat that she had removed as a pillow. Hotaru had explained to her that Minako still hadn't really improved but she had gotten just a little bit better. She was sleeping more and able to hold more food down then she had been able to weeks before but her fever had yet to break. Deciding to be thankful for small miracles they had spent the rest of the afternoon in companionable silence, each girl deep in her own thoughts.

Rei unrolled her sleeping bag and slid inside. She had pulled off her ripped jacket to use as a makeshift pillow. Burying her face into the slightly worn leather she hoped for a decent night sleep before closing her eyes.

*~*~*

Seventeen lay in his bed convincing himself the night before had been nothing but a fluke. He never dreamed normally and chances were the night before had been nothing but a malfunction in a circuit somewhere. Growling he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. He didn't like this. It was making him act like those pitiful humans that he killed every day. By now he decided he would go to sleep on principle alone. Closing his eyes he went to sleep.

*~*~*

He huddled into the corner holding his sister's hand. She was crying which was perfectly understandable under the circumstances. They were only eight years old and they were living on the street. Their parents had died when they were four and then they had been sent to live with some great aunt because she was supposedly the only blood relation they had left. She had died the month earlier, after that there was nowhere else to go but with social services. They had run away after hearing that they would most likely get split up.

That led to where they were now. They were sitting in a condemned building, at night, and with no way to keep warm but by staying together and soaking up the slight warmth given off of each others' bodies. They didn't have any food and only the rats to keep them company in this place.

Listening to his sister sob he promised himself that he would find a way to get food in the morning whether it was legal or not. He would protect his sister. Someone had to. She was the only family he had left and he didn't want to be alone.

*~*~*

Like the night before when the dream ended two people both with hair the color of a raven's wing shot up from their not so peaceful sleep. One held her head in disbelief while the other jumped out his bedroom window and shot off into the night sky to try and take his mind off of the obvious likeness between the two children and he and his twin.