What Could've Been

Chapter 3: Early Life

The place where the infamous tormentors of Earth would view their other selves, as it turned out, wasn't at all intimidating and they sighed in relief at the unexpectedly dull interior.

"Wow, is this where you live? It's so...ouch!" Future Seventeen blurted out boring a letdown tone before an elbow to his waist cut him off.

Future Eighteen shot her brother a warning glance but even she must admit, the almost Spartan-like decoration got her all puzzled. Nothing of the place, not the yellow earthen walls, plain wooden dining table and chairs, nor the many everyday appliances spelled divine to her.

This isn't all that different than homes of those dirty humans...and here I was expecting the great King Kai's room would be much more...fancy...

King Kai didn't seem to pay them any heed as he opened a white container that looked suspiciously like a fridge and took out a jar of iced tea.

"Here, want some? It can get pretty hot in here." The deity offered pouring everyone a glass each then took a seat across the table. When his goodwill was met with bewildered looks, he gestured for them to get comfortable, "This can take a while so might as well make yourselves comfortable. I don't want you two to suffer for the wrong reasons."

Future Seventeen and Eighteen begrudgingly complied but neither touched the beverage, their arms crossing in front of their chests in a defensive manner.

"Still not believing my intentions heh? Well no matter but we need to get started and what better way than with formal introductions? I'm King Kai, the guardian of the northern galaxy. I've been in existence for eons, watching over this beloved place, including the lives on Earth. And you two are?"

Future Seventeen chuckled dismissively despite knowing the being's hold over them, "It's not like you don't already know who we are. Otherwise why would we be here?"

"Yes I know but still it'd like to hear it from your own mouth. Who are you two exactly?" King Kai asked calmly extending his open palm in an invitation manner.

The twins almost snorted in unison.

"Fine, I'm Seventeen. A cyborg and eradicator of mankind." The raven-haired male pointed his thumb at himself proudly.

"And I'm Eighteen, Seventeen's twin sister and partner in crime. We hate those human scums and would've killed them all if it weren't for that cursed Trunks." The blonde female spat haughtily.

King Kai shook his head, "Is that so? But are you two really born as cyborgs? Surely that's not how you came to existence, as killing machine is it?"

"We..." Future Eighteen began but couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, her expression a mixture of undiluted rage and fear barely concealed under frosty demeanor.

"I believe you two once went by other names. Human names in fact. What are they again?" King Kai muttered more to himself than anything as his hand stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Us? Human names? You've gotta be kidding me, there's no link between us and those weaklings...

By now, the cyborgs were trembling uncomfortably in their seats, their pained glares begging the entity to stop this torturous conversation.

"Ahh yes. Lapis and Lazuli. Taken literally from Lapis Lazuli, beautiful names given to two human children because of their jewel like eyes that put most gemstones to shame," The guardian exclaimed as he clapped both hands together in an excited manner, "so Lapis and Lazuli. Why do the two of you hate your fellow humans with such passion?"

A sharp pain erupted inside his listeners' heads and they jerked involuntarily. Future Eighteen, or rather Future Lazuli dug her nails into the table leaving scratch marks but the pain in her head refused to go away. Her brother meanwhile had stood up from his chair so abruptly it got knocked down onto the floor with an audible "clank!"

"Hey, we are Seventeen and Eighteen okay? Lapis and Lazuli died a long time ago and what you are seeing here are two cyborgs designed to wipe out humanity!" Future Seventeen shouted on the top of his lungs as he leaned in threateningly at what he internally referred to as the "obese blue bastard".

Not intimidated, not even so much as taken aback, King Kai smiled at the young man warmly, "It's a shame you'd prefer to be Seventeen even in death free from the doctor's control, but if you insist, then let's take a look at how you got here shall we Seventeen?"

All colors drained from the aforementioned man's face and he stumbled backwards, only avoiding hitting the floor when Future Eighteen wrapped both hands around his shoulder. "Y-you can't!" She protested, "What's even the point? Let's just see what this other copy of ourselves is up to right now and get this over with kay?"

King Kai shook his head, "I'm afraid I have to start from the very beginning. I must show how you got here for this to work. And besides, it's not your past we'll be seeing, it's your other selves' past which, I might add, is exactly the same as yours up till after the conversion."

The killer cyborgs were evidently not enthusiastic about this viewing but the dull interior had already begun transforming as black void erupted from the deity's body, engulfing the three inhabitants leaving nothing except them, the table, and the chairs visible. Shocked by the abrupt change in scenery, the siblings couldn't help but held each other's hands under the wooden cover whilst straining their faces to maintain a stoic front.

"It's alright. I just want to, what's the word? Oh yes, achieve a more immersive experience? Relax, sip the tea will you two? No harm will come to you I promise." The host leaned back on his chair as if he was watching a film unfolding, his candidness embarrassing yet calming the guests who at last took his advice and savored the substance timidly.

A pleasant sensation took over and washed away all the emotional turmoil once their tongues touched the liquid. Now with their mental states protected by the nerve relieving substance, they found themselves slumping into their seats even as the spiraling lights filled much of the pitch darkness, the lines swirling accelerating and occupying more of the space until with a blinding flash, a cityscape came into view.

"Why this is...," Future Eighteen blurted out.

"That's right, it's North City, your hometown and one of the few places relatively untouched by your destructions in our timeline," King Kai paused briefly to study the cyborgs, both of whom were too awestruck to notice, "but I assure you this isn't our world, even if it looks very familiar. This scene had already took place decades ago from the parallel universe where another duplicate of you exist."

The scene had begun to zoom in, enlarging a particular part of North City until a small mansion at the suburb took center stage. The building wasn't as extravagant as some of its neighbors was no slum either with walls made of fine masonry, roof neatly stacked with reddish brown tiles, and a well-kept garden at the front. To any onlooker, it was evident the family inhabiting the house was at least well to do with enough cash to go into decoration.

"Huh, so we are just another middle class family. Pathetic."

In spite of her unimpressed snort, Future Eighteen along with her brother's eyes got slightly watery before they blinked the moisture away, but there was no stopping the hotness from returning when a small blonde girl of no more than five burst through the door.

The still stone-faced cyborg felt the place where her heart should be radiated a strange feeling. Although this child was much younger than she was, there was no denying this was her decades ago with their shared feline-like blue eyes and hair that parted from the left side of her face. Instead of wearing a murderous frown that scared the life away from surroundings though, this kid's innocence was infectious as she danced across the backyard, her navy blouse twirling in the fine wind along with her blonde ponytails and blue butterfly-like ribbons.

"Sis, that's..." Future Seventeen muttered in disbelief observing a much purer form of his sibling. He didn't have to wait for long to be shocked yet again; however, as a young boy sporting the same glistening eyes and carefree smile emerged from the ajar entrance. Despite similar appearance, their fashion sense was quite different for that the boy was wearing mostly earthen colored attire, his cute cowboy styled pants and button-up shirt giving off an adventurer quality.

Together, the raven and blonde duo cast a jubilant spell on the scene like two living fairies with their uncontaminated laughter and behavior. The girl was apparently more interested in her dress than the surrounding as she gathered flowers, trying to decide the color that best matched her attire. Eventually she settled with lilacs, placing the vibrant purple flower on her platinum blonde strands, the two contrasting colors further enhanced her beauty. The boy on the other hand had his undivided attention on the small creatures hiding amongst bushes.

"Hey Lazuli, look at what I've found!" The boy exclaimed holding a giant beetle in his palms.

The girl's eyes widened in a mixture of awe and fear, "Eww Lapis, why are you playing with bugs again?"

Lapis's enthusiasm for the beetle wasn't dimmed one bit by his sister's comment as he watched the insect crawl on his arm, going as far as giggling slightly, "Common sis, don't you find these bugs interesting? It's so different than us and tickles me. Here!"

Before his sibling could protest, the boy had placed the beetle on her head and she stiffened up akin to a deer caught in headlights.

Future Seventeen laughed at the scene, earning a death glare from Future Eighteen, one quite similar to the displeased look young Lazuli was throwing at her brother.

"I didn't know you were such a scared-y-cat Eighteen." The male cyborg smirked, unfazed by her displeasure just like how young Lapis continued chuckling.

"Whatever little bro, but don't get too excited, cause I bet she's about to throw that bug onto the ground and stomp on it!" Future Eighteen spat.

To her surprise, the small girl merely reached for the insect and pried it carefully from her blonde strands. "Here Lapis, take it! I don't want to hold onto it much longer."

Lapis made a funny face but obliged and soon the beetle was crawling up his shoulder. Obvious not content with a single companion though, he went back to the vegetation and was covered in insects and dirt in no time.

"Why do you like bugs so much Lapis? They are dirty." Lazuli pouted raising her eyebrow.

"I dunno. And why do you want to look pretty all the time Lazuli? You placed too many rules on yourself. There's no fun in it." Lapis asked now lying on the ground.

"But there is!" The sister shouted back taking a seat close by.

"No there isn't!" The brother replied still playing with his friends.

Future Seventeen and Eighteen couldn't help but felt smiles occupying their faces at the adorable interactions, especially when Lazuli screamed as Lapis accidentally slapped her pristine back, leaving a muddy handprint.

"Cut it out Lapis! You ruined my dress!" She screamed pushing him away but ended up getting her hands dirty too.

While the young girl began wiping off the dirt, a much older blonde turned toward her brother and glared at him, her frozen gaze letting him know nonverbally she hadn't forgotten about the bloodied jacket to which the sibling sighed hopelessly much like the boy on screen.

"Where are you Lapis Lazuli? It's almost time for lunch kids!" A foreign yet strangely familiar voice interrupted the cyborgs' staring contest, prompting their eyes to glue onto a woman with sapphire-colored eyes that rivaled the twins' and jet-black hair much like Seventeen's, only in her case, it reached far below her shoulders.

The killer twins' mouths hung agape, not even closing as trails of saliva dripped down their chins. There was no halting a tiny stream of boiling liquid from racing down their eyes, especially once this newcomer's features gradually came into view. It was a face stuck in the deepest recess of their brain, one that had only begun to surface after buried under the programmed barricades all those years.

"Mom!" The same word spoken by four distinct voices filled the theater.

The mother shut her crystal blue eyes and shook her head, "Look at you two brats. Now I have to give you a shower before lunch. It's Lapis again isn't it?"

Lapis's head hung low with his hands grasping tightly onto his shirt, a sight that got Future Eighteen snickering amusedly until Lazuli stood up in front of her brother.

"It's not Lapis's fault this time mama. I was playing with Lapis in the mud too."

Their mother arched an eyebrow clearly not buying the story, seeing the browns on the sister was minimum comparing to the brother. Nonetheless, she eventually flashed both a maternal smile that took the breath away out of all watching, let them be her innocent children or the murderous duos who reeked of blood even in the afterlife.

"Fine Lazuli, I'll believe you this time. Now let's hit the tub shall we? We don't want to keep papa late for lunch."

"Okay mama!" Both children shouted in unison, the brother flashing his sister a grateful look once out of sight of their mom.

The trio proceeded toward the entrance, their backs illuminated by the bright midday sunrays that almost made them radiate a golden glow of their own. From another side of the screen, a much older blonde and raven-haired duo stood leaning over the table trying to close the distance between themselves and the visual. There was no holding back the boiling need to rekindle with this little family and their faces showed exactly that.

"No, don't go inside. Not the walls." Future Eighteen muttered silently.

As if answering her wishes, the walls had become transparent, granting her uninterrupted view of the two adorable imps being ushered into the bathroom. There, the patient mother gently helped them out of their mud stained clothes, her smile never fading even as patches of earthen element latched onto those milky skin.

"So who wants some bubble bath?" She announced holding a bottle of purple liquid with an image of beautiful lilacs plastered in front.

Young Lazuli's eyes widened in a display of childish joy, "Me mama!"

It was Lapis's turn to give her an amused glance but nevertheless he nodded in a show of support.

"Okay babies! Lilac bubble bath coming up!"

The tub full of crystal clear water like the windows leading to the twins' undiluted souls transformed into joyous bouncing spheres mirroring their gleeful behaviors. Soon, bubbles of all sizes had occupied the confined space that only made an overexcited Lazuli laugh harder. Lapis was having fun too, playing with the many airborne water chemical mixtures enthusiastically and in no way less pronounced than his blonde counterpart does.

Why didn't we find out about the lilac bubble soap earlier? We could've had so much fun...

While two demi-humans undoubtedly enjoyed seeing themselves playing to their hearts content, the individual who had garnered the majority of their attention was the woman whose eyes sparkled as her children played. Seemingly always filled with an over abundant care, she had waited till the rowdy duo spent their energy before starting washing them one by one, exchanging her appearance for two squeaky clean babies wrapped in towels.

"Mama," The cute blonde tugged on her mother's soaked jeans and put a temporarily halt on her cleaning the bath.

"Yes babies?"

"I love you mama. You are the best." Lazuli wrapped her tiny hands around her mother's leg and hugged it tightly, her face pressing against damp fabric.

"Me too mama." Lapis quickly joined in, taking hold of the other limb.

"And I love you two both. Equally and unconditionally," The woman replied without hesitation, "but you must let go of mama or else you'll get dirty again."

The twins gasped, prying their hands off the woman who chuckled at their behavior.

"Now get dressed and head to the dining room. Papa's waiting for us."

Lazuli nodded but Lapis stayed, "B-but what about you mama?"

"Oh, mama needs to wash up. We can't have me all dirty and eating can we?"

"No mama. See you at the dining table." Her son raised his height tiptoeing, his intention obvious to the woman who bent down and let him peck her on the left cheek, which was followed immediately by a peck on her right cheek from her daughter.

The future cyborgs had to shield their faces to recompose themselves, but once their hands had lowered; their wavering gazes had regained its frosty nature, the only sign of their moving hearts being two pairs of hands holding onto one another in an effort to stop their trembling underneath the table.

If King Kai had noticed their changing behavior, he hadn't bothered commenting on it nor showed visible signs of interest.

Young Lapis and Lazuli weren't aware of their reluctant audience either as they ran down a moderately decorated hall hand-in-hand humming a gentle tune, giving the already painting embellished space an added layer of human touch. At their destination sat an average height man by a red oak table lined with dishes, his blond hair, save for a few white strands, was of a slightly darker shade than Lazuli's silvery blonde. In front of him was a notebook filled with numbers, paragraphs, and annotations, the ink on some of the words still fresh.

"Lapis Lazuli, there you are. Giving mama a hard time did you?" He lifted his head from the notes briefly, motioning the twins to take up seat beside him to which they gladly complied climbing onto the much higher chair, earning them a compliment of "That's my kids."

The twins grinned proudly.

The sight of their younger selves about to eat human food made the two cyborgs slightly queasy, but this obviously didn't stop young Lapis from reaching for a plate of vegetable, only to pause with a frown.

"Papa, do we wait for mama or do we start now?"

This inquiry was met with a knowing look as round cobalt black orbs met cat-like sapphire blue eyes.

"I dunno, what do you think?"

"We wait for mama." The two five-year olds exclaimed in unison.

The father nodded then went back to his work, scratching his head and groaning from time to time. This behavior attracted the young boy's attention who leaned over for a closer look. The blonde girl narrowed her eyes at her sibling but still inched closer to the busy man.

"Papa, why are you always so busy?" Lapis wondered.

"Papa's got an entire company to run Lapis. Isn't that right papa?" Lazuli chimed in.

"Hmmph..." Was the only response.

The siblings waited, most patiently; with Lapis swinging his feet back and forth while Lazuli held her face in her hands, both sporting bored expressions. Lucky for them, light footsteps rang down the hall and the mother, her head wrapped in a towel, emerged soon enough.

"What's the matter? Why aren't you guys eating?" She asked.

"We are waiting for you mama!" Her children greeted enthusiastically.

"That's right mama. We can't start without you can we?" The father had put his notebook inside a business suitcase by his chair, "now we can eat."

Future Seventeen and Eighteen watched on, their faces straining to maintain the expressionless facade as the little family got started with lunch. The quartet was obviously harmonious in their shared meal, all wearing smiles and chatting without constraint. Lapis especially was the main speaker as he talked nonstop about the many creatures he had found even as his mouth was full of roasted meat. Lazuli mostly listened and nodded, occasionally adding her takes on her brother's adventure in the backyard that got their mother rolling her eyes. From time to time, mentioning of the father's work surfaced but the stoic man merely grinned and deflected the questions with passing remarks, preferring to focus on his family.

"So who's ready for some desserts?" The mother announced after the little clan cleared their table.

"Me me me!" Quiet Lazuli who had barely managed to clean up her plate shouted.

"You are so childish sis. Getting all excited about some desserts." Lapis commented, his stomach bloating beyond limits.

The girl stuck out her tongue, only to reaffirm her brother's words when she jumped up in delight at the sight of strawberry parfait.

"Now eat slowly okay Lazuli. It's not healthy eating parfait that fast." Her father reminded gently as he put a spoonful of icy substance into his mouth."

"Okay papa." She said, her lips painted milky white already.

"Hey how come I've never seem you eating parfait sis?" Future Seventeen asked quietly nudging on his sister's waist.

"As if you don't already know Seventeen? We don't need to eat remember?" Future Eighteen whispered back then raised her voice audible enough for all to hear, "This is so lame. Can't believe we were just a bunch of middle class kids in a mundane family."

The biting remark was clearly a challenge, and King Kai shook his head as he turned toward them. "So you'd rather watch something more exciting is that it?"

The blonde cyborg felt her stomach drop at the tone and stole a look at a jubilant Lazuli enjoying parfait, her ocean blue eyes lingering on the scene longer than necessarily before nodding begrudgingly.

"Of course, what do you take us for? Cowards?" She spat, turning her head away from the innocent human children. Her partner in crime also nodded in agreement as he scooted closer to her in a show of support.

"Alright then, if you insist."

With a snap of his fingers, their surrounding environment had faded to black and Future Eighteen almost groaned seeing her younger self disappearing into darkness. When the scene regained its color yet again, it was surprisingly the same house with seemingly beautiful weather except this time, there was a wooden sign in front with the dreaded words "For Sale".

Before the future cyborgs could make a remark, the view had zoomed into the house with surprisingly minimalistic decoration. Gone were the paintings and a few pieces of furniture, leaving only bare essentials behind.

"W-what happened?" Future Eighteen blurted out, his face cringing in dismay.

Her troubled gaze settled on the now slightly older twins were cleaning the interior, with Lapis vacuum cleaning the floor and Lazuli mopping the windows. Gone were their child-like innocence and in its place uncertainty ill-suited for children still in their single digit-age.

"What do you say we take a break sis? My back's hurting already." Lapis straightened up his posture, producing audible creaking sound that made him wince.

"Okay Lapis, but let's finish the kitchen at least kay? We don't want the...," Lazuli paused unable to continue as if uttering the word itself was sinful, "well, you know. We don't want the guests to dislike our home."

Her younger brother let out a sigh that belied his youth, "Fine sis, but I don't want to be anywhere near those people kay?"

"Deal bro, now let's get back to work shall we? Father and mother should be home with our...guest soon."

They went back to work like two skilled laborers well acquainted with their tasks, turning dusty surfaces into sunlight reflecting ones and temporarily brought a smile to their faces. Standing by the window, Lapis and Lazuli gazed up at the sunny sky hand in hand, basking in the warm afternoon glow.

"Maybe everything will turn out right heh sis?"

"I sure hope so brother," She replied leaning her head on his shoulder, "Now why don't we have some ice cream?"

Both Lapis and Future Seventeen arched an eyebrow at their sisters, who narrowed their eyes in a failed attempt of getting rid of the disproving expression.

"What? Don't you want some desert Lapis? It can probably fix your back." Lazuli put her hands on her waist in an authoritative manner.

The younger twin could only shook his head, "You probably think sweets can fix everything don't you sis?"

"Maybe?" Was her only reply.

The blonde girl placed a stool by the fridge and, using it to elevate her height, pulled out several pink and milky colored ice creams. They made their way to the front yard where on the vibrant green of grassy surface, the brother and sister stretched out their limbs and enjoyed the treats in a carefree manner suitable of their age.

"So, do you know where we'll be moving to next?" Lapis asked with his mouth full.

Lazuli merely shrugged, "I dunno. Some apartment in the city I guess."

Her brother swallowed a gulp, "But why an apartment? Can't we live here? I love our house. Why do mom and dad have to sell it?"

"It's got something to do with dad's business I guess," She said, her face buried in her ice cream, "but I heard it's a very nice place."

"Do you believe it sis?"

Lazuli shook her head.

While they were chatting, two cars had pulled into the driveway, the first one an average blue family car and the one behind it a fancy black sports car undoubtedly costing a fortune.

Lapis and Future Seventeen's eyes literally sparkled in unison.

"Wow sis, did you see that? It's so cool!" The black-haired boy remarked admiringly.

"Nice one, but I have quite a lot of cars just like that one if not cooler." The raven-haired cyborg crossed his arms in front of his chest in a display of accomplishment, his mind drifting back to the rows of vehicle abandoned near their shared apartment complex.

If only this young me knew what I had accomplished, he would've died of jealousy hehe...

Young Lazuli wasn't impressed by the ride one bit as she huffed dismissively, her eyes not yet icy blue but clearly harbored unpleasant thoughts, "Stop that Lapis, or have you forgotten that's most likely the buyer's car?"

Both human twins made a face of disgust, sticking out their tongues at the vehicle or more accurately, the middle-aged couple and their young son, all dressed immaculately.

"Welcome. I'm so glad you guys are interested in our home. Here, let me show you around the house." The young twins' mother smiled at the potential "buyers" and the father opened the door for the snub trio who never bothered to return the gesture.

Lapis and Lazuli looked at their parents showing signs of hurt. Their father acknowledged his children with a simple nod while their mother smiled and waved.

"Just wait here a bit okay babies?" She asked warmly.

"Okay mother."

It was there on the front yard the twins spent their afternoon sneaking peaks at the potential owners of their home, whose indifferent demeanors and frequent questions inquiries about the property and its neighbor's prices made it clearer than that bright sunny day they weren't planning on living there for long if at all.

Against their will, Future Seventeen and Eighteen balled their fists in anger, stopping only short of channeling their destructive energies that would've earned them King Kai's displeasure.

"So tell me brother, do you remember killing these three scums?" The blonde diva spat in her trademark murderous tone, her eyes blinking red for the first time since arriving on the planet.

Mmm let's see...no, those dead couples do appear to be just like these lowlives...nope, not those either...if only I can document every single one of my killings I could've known for sure...

"Dunno sis, I couldn't remember this specific instance but I'd say most likely. If not, I'm sure we've scared the living crap of them with our rampages." Her raven-haired partner replied musingly, the corner of his lips curved upwards reminiscing about his many accomplishments.

His partner in crime let out a cold mocking laughter, "I bet we did. Showed these upstarts who's really in charge."

They gave each other a high-five just as the two children on screen were driven into tears at what sounded like "Deal" from their parents.

You might have taken our home from us, but we are the ones with the last laugh...

By now, the killer duo's malicious intent had grown to such unimaginable extent King Kai could sense it even without any conjuration of energy on their parts. It was quite unsettling as the guardian of northern galaxy had to admit, for that rarely had he came across such undiluted bloodlust, their only rival being perhaps Frieza.

"I would get a hold of yourselves if I were you. It only gets worse from here." His words exhibited an sense of authority that purged whatever the twins had in their minds.

Another flick of his fingers and the scene showing two disappointed children faded into pitch darkness. When it regained its color though, it was dark at night in a city, where inside a dimly lit rundown apartment; the family of four was busy packing once again.

"Hurry up kids! We need to go fast!" The now much older father filled with wrinkles and gray hair shouted at the kids just as he shoved a stack of cash into his suitcase.

Future Seventeen and Eighteen gasped aloud seeing their much older, probably in their early teenage selves packing bags too. Lapis, now a young man with short black hair was busily shoving some car models into his school bag while a shoulder-lengthen haired Lazuli had her hands full of fancy dresses, jackets, and jeans. It wasn't simply their growth that astounded the cyborgs, but it was the much gloomier nature that stuck an incorporeal operating knife into their body as if readjusting their insides once more. Whatever radiant nature the two adorable brats had was buried deep within a considerably hardened exterior, one even angst teens no doubt would be proud of.

It pained the two killers to watch, even if they themselves were far past whatever stage the two troubled teenagers were that point in time.

Surrounding these nervous, almost scared out of their wits humans were empty closets, cabinets, and boxes. Whatever shape the apartment had been previously in, which the cyborgs doubt was much to begin with seeing how cramped it was, was no more and in its place a space akin to a construction site.

As they were stuffing their bag with anything they could lay their hands on, the sound of key entering metal lock resonated through the eerily quiet space, causing all three, especially the father, to stand at attention.

"W-who is it?" He stuttered, his professional demeanor from previous viewings long gone.

"It's me dear. The car's all packed and ready to go."

The black-haired lady also with strands of gray stumbled in all sweaty and immediately embraced her husband, who held her with shaking hands, "D-do we have to go though? Maybe things will get better in the morning? You never know if one of your business partners will come through for you," she sobbed softly against his shoulder.

"N-no dear, I've already tried everything possible. We need to go fast least those former red ribbon army backed loan sharks come searching for us," he then turned to his children, both visibly shaken as if hearing the news for the first time, "now are you kids ready to go?"

Lapis and Lazuli, now with their backs arched forward from the heavy load, nodded in unison.

"We are just leaving this apartment right? We'll always be together won't we father and mother?" Young Lapis asked timidly already fearing the worst, his hands holding onto his sister's for support.

It took far longer than should for the father to answer with a hesitant, "Of course kids. Sorry I got us into this mess. Now let's head out and keep it quiet shall we?"

Future Seventeen and Eighteen couldn't help but to look on with heavy hearts as the small family scurried down the building and out into the streets, where their blue family car from years ago waited with its engine already on. That night, they headed out into the unknown with only what's on their backs and bags. Heavy rain had begun to clash against the vehicle, hopefully masking their trail as they headed into the unknown.


A/N: And here's the very first viewing Future Seventeen and Eighteen had about their present selves. I also want to make it clear that so far, there weren't any differences in these two timelines so both future and present cyborgs had the same life up until their conversion. Anyways I hope that's clear from my writing and if not, do let me know so I can do a better job. Hope you all enjoyed this tale so far and until next time!