Gohan wandered out into a long hallway that extended both to his left and right with countless rooms on both sides. He began to travel down his right, carefully avoiding the puddles of water that had formed in the years of the base's vacancy.

For every room that he passed, he shined his flashlight above their doorway, getting a good look at the labeling that was bolted there. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, if anything, he was really just exploring. But he could tell what would be of use and what wouldn't.

"Communications...no."

"Break room...no."

"Lockers...no."

"Janitor-" He stopped. What was that he'd just seen sticking out from the shelving by the door frame? It almost looked like a dark hand holding onto the shelf's metal supports. He doubled back to check, unsure of if he was just seeing things, or if there really was a person living down here.

At the door, he leaned in and got a good look at everything. The room was quite small, only containing a couple of shelves, some cleaning supplies, and a mop sitting in the left corner. From what he could tell, there were no signs of anyone having been in there.

Still not convinced, he decided to feel out for any ki's nearby, and as he broadened his search, he became more and more confident that there were absolutely no creatures, humans or not, hiding anywhere in the base.

"Guess it was nothing then." He said while dismissively waving his hand and walking out into the hallway. He was just being paranoid.

Continuing on, he searched many rooms that, although intriguing, were ultimately of no value to him. One of these said rooms was chemical research, though to call it a room was a massive understatement. The more appropriate term would have been department because once he stepped through the entry door, there were multiple hallways with dozens of rooms attached to each one. And on the outside of every door, there was a clear plastic bin hanging with specified instructions and protocols for numerous Red Ribbon projects in the works.

He looked through countless reports and experiments on different drugs and serums, hoping to find out where they sourced their chemicals from. If he just knew that then it would stand to reason that Gero would use the same companies, and at that point, he'd just go to them, ask where they ship the chemicals to, and viola: he has found Gero. Sadly, most of the papers he read were just failed experiments looking to give soldiers enhanced agility, or more durable muscles to make them resistant to gunfire. Nothing he was really interested in.

He let out a big, disappointed sigh when he left that "room". It was really hard to leave an area, that should have had a ton of valuable information, empty-handed, but it was behind him now. There were plenty more rooms to search, still plenty of opportunities to find whatever it was he was looking for.

"Tailoring...no"

"Financing...no"

"Records...maybe?" He said, taking a gander inside the room to see what it had to offer.

Aside from a few large, and noticeably empty server racks, there were filing cabinets, lots of filing cabinets lined up in neat rows of fifty. At the top of each row, there was a letter of the alphabet, and the letters repeated many times. He looked around and it became clear that everything was in perfect alphabetical order, starting from the left side of the room with A and ending at the right side with Z, even leaving a couple of cabinets empty for future filing.

He walked towards the leftmost cabinet and opened the top drawer. There were files packed to the brim with names.

"So...these are all people? Man, I knew the Red Ribbon Army was big but I didn't know it was this big. With this many soldiers, they must have been really scared to run away from two kids."

He scrolled through a few more names before closing the cabinet. "I wonder..." He exited the aisle and began walking checking each aisle's first cabinet label.

"B...C...E...G." He nodded. "Here we go."

Pulling open the drawer, he browsed through the G's until he found both Doctor and Gebo Gero. With his thumb and pointer finger, he lifted them both out carefully and shuffled Gero's to the front.

"Okay." He stated, feeling some sense of excitement rouse from his dry-sounding voice.

He turned the yellow cover over and revealed the inner contents of Gero's file. There was plenty of documents listing his current status, when he joined, his credentials, his accomplishments, but the most interesting, and potentially the most useful piece of information, was the transfer requests. It looked like the past Gero had been in contact with Gebo and in the days before the attack had been attempting to acquire his help at the lab near North City.

"That's weird...Why would he need Gebo if he had Gero working with him?" Gohan said while looking further down the page. Sure enough, there was an extra section dedicated to the reasoning behind the request and its approval or denial.

Gohan read each line carefully, analyzing everything he possibly could.

"Request: I am requesting Gebo Gero's assistance with a special robotics test at the reconnaissance and research facility in the northern mountains. As I am alone, aside from my assistant, in this facility, his extra pair of hands will be essential in the accomplishment of this task."

He read the bold response stamped onto an additional document from Red Ribbon Command.

"Denied?..." He was surprised, from what he was seeing, this was a completely normal request that wouldn't even take too much time. Just a couple of days. Why deny it?

"Rationale: Gebo Gero is currently in command of silvers forces after his devastating loss against unknown forces. For the time being his schedule is filled to the brim, however, as soon as he's available, we will inform you, and then you may submit another request. Our apologies Doctor Gero."

"What a stupid reason. They could have found someone else to lead them while Gebo was busy helping him." Gohan said to himself, oddly sympathizing with the old man once again.

With nothing else to look at in Gero's file, he closed it and shuffled it back behind Gebo's. Then, he lined the two up to be placed back into the cabinet, but, just as he was about to drop them in, he couldn't help but stop himself. What if there was more to be seen in Gebo's Red Ribbon's profile than the one at the lab?

He flipped the file open and the first thing he saw was a large photo of Gebo, standing tall in his red ribbon uniform. It was different from the one in the file from Gero's lab, in this one, he looked strong but oddly out of place. Like he was just trying to fit into somewhere he didn't belong.

Gohan's vision drifted just below the picture and he saw something he wasn't expecting; it was his status, it said he was deceased.

"No way this was written while we were attacking the base." He said. "Someone really cared about him. Enough to come back and rewrite his file. Maybe the Red Ribbon Army isn't so bad after all." He continued reading. "Buried one degree and nine minutes north of North City"

Already this file had proved its worth to Gohan because, even though none of the information was useful in finding Gero, it gave him more insight into Gebo. Someone he'd been wondering about for a long time.

Eager to know more, he flipped the page and read over a couple of his accomplishments, many of which actually had nothing to do with the Red Ribbon Army at all. Like his cataloging, for example. He loved cataloging the different types of plants, fungi, and animals he saw in areas where the army did a lot of their operations. Even published a guide that informed soldiers on what was and wasn't edible in various parts of the world.

Then he came to the requests. There were dozens of them, dating all the way back to even before Gohan was transported to this time. The initial ones were for time off and extended work outside of combat zones. Gebo gave reasons like trouble sleeping, unstable and inconsistent thoughts, red flags for anyone that took the time to read them. Too bad whoever the reviewer was clearly didn't take that time. All of the requests were denied, just like Gero's.

And as time went on, the requests only got more and more desperate, as Gebo consistently requested transferring to the northern lab. He said he absolutely needed to be out and away from the bustle of the army, and that the nice calm work environment of a lab would reinvigorate him for further fieldwork. Still, they rejected him.

Gohan frowned as his mind wandered back to the gentle orange-haired giant he knew so long ago. It seemed like he and Gebo were more alike than different, and it made reading about him much more difficult. "How awful. He just wanted to get away from it all, and they wouldn't let him."

He closed the file and carefully slipped both Gebo's and Gero's into his satchel. He didn't know if they'd be useful but he wanted to keep them if only to read more about them in his free time.

Looking around the room, he couldn't think of any other people he wanted to know more about so he made his way towards the exit, and as he turned his flashlight towards the door, he could see a sliver of a dark figure pass by.

Not convinced that what he saw was real, he hesitantly poked his head out from the room and looked down both ends of the hall. There was no one.

He sighed and shook his head, scoffing at himself.

"You're just seeing things. Stop being so scared." he said. "You're a Super Saiyan. You should be braver than this."

Suddenly he felt his grip on his flashlight loosen and a wave of dizziness come over him. He pressed his hand against the wall, stopping himself from falling over. Why was he so hot all of the sudden?

He lifted his free hand up to his head; it felt the sun itself had come to rest right above his eyes. How long had it been like that? Did he really not notice until now?

With his knees nearly buckling, he forced himself upright. He wasn't about to go home empty-handed because of some little cold. There had to be something useful here, there had to be. All he needed to do was look in the right place.

So he stumbled further down the hall, and as he looked at the plaques above the many doors he passed, they became harder and harder to read.

"C-commissary...no."

"Dormatories...no"

"M-mapping room?" He squinted at the plaque, hoping that he was reading that correctly. "Mapping Room!"

Feeling a burst of energy, he ran inside and found it to be much larger than he was expecting. Closest to him, there were empty steel server racks just like in the records room. He figured they were probably emptied out during the attack on the base. All that digital map data was probably invaluable.

Up ahead of him there were two levels, with dozens of bookcases on each one, connected by a sturdy steel ladder. It was going to be a pain to search through all of them but it had to be worth it, he knew that if there was anything of worth it would most likely be in here.

Flashing his light across the bottom floor shelves, Gohan read the titles on the back of the books. Almost all of them were reports on surveyed locations, and the ones that weren't were guidelines on how to write reports on surveyed locations. He rolled his eyes as he passed the last bookshelf, fed up by how pointless the information the army chose to collect was. Hopefully, the next floor would prove to be a little better.

He pushed slightly off the ground and began to float up towards the second floor, but as he hit the halfway point, he dropped back down. He could feel himself getting weaker as his fever worsened, and with his clothes having been dry for hours now, he had no way to try and cool himself down.

"Guess I'll take the ladder then." He said, his hands already gripping the first rung.

After pushing his body more than he would have liked to, Gohan tiredly crawled from the top of the ladder onto the second-level floor. He looked up at the shelves and was already more pleased with what he was seeing. Instead of books, there were dozens of maps rolled up and closed with wax red ribbon seals. Rather archaic considering how advanced they were as an army, but he wasn't complaining, as far as he was concerned this was a gold mine.

He went to work looking through the various maps the army had stored away on these many shelves, utilizing a square table near the back to lay them out on. They were a bit of a pain to unfurl, but the maps made up for it with their nicely printed labels that detailed the regions they covered.

And when he spotted the map he'd been looking for, he smiled for the first time in months. It listed out every outpost, facility, manufactory, and recruitment center used by the red ribbon army in the tropical regions. He knew there was a chance that Gero may not be at any of these places, but this was the only lead he had. Without this, the only other option was to look through every ounce of jungle on Earth, and he didn't know if he was capable of doing that.

With the utmost amount of care, he began rolling up the map, and just before putting it into his satchel he heard the sound of loud footsteps come from outside the room. From how it sounded there were at least a couple of them, and they were coming his way. Feeling some sense of foreboding he shut his flashlight off and put it away. He knew that whoever was out there wasn't human, and he didn't have the strength to fight them.

In the darkness, their feet dragged along the floor. They were splitting up and systematically checking through each aisle in the library of books beneath him. As they checked, Gohan stayed silent and still. He was listening to the low gurgling they made to each other when one of them began to speak.

"Unwanted...You are unwanted." Something said while clawing into the shelves as it walked alongside it.

Immediately he was filled with fear.

That voice, that was no android. That was the voice of one of the figures.

Gohan covered his ears, muffling their speech as the others chimed in.

"Failure...You are a failure."

"Weak...You are weak."

"Worthless...You are worthless."

What was this? Was he even awake? Was this all just an elaborate dream brought on by his fever? No...no it couldn't be. He felt his father's ki while at Korin's, he couldn't just dream that up, that's impossible.

But if this was real, then there really is no chance at fighting them. The only option he had was to stay out of sight for as long as possible and make a break for it when he could.

He uncovered his ears, and heard the metal cry as one of the figures gripped it with its sharp, powerful fingers. Rung by rung, it climbed and when it set foot on the second level it let out an indescribably disturbing, yet calm noise. Gohan covered his mouth to quiet his panicked breathing and, slowly, he crept to the other end of the shelving as the figure approached.

He could hear the sound of the metal crying again, seems like the others had decided to join in on the search. He was nearing his window of opportunity.

When he was sure all four were off the ladder, he hopped over the railing and fell to the concrete floor. From the loud thud his body had made when it hit the ground, he knew they had heard him so he wasted no time in running for the door.

On his way out, he somehow managed to get his flashlight out and when he shined it to his right, the four figures were already standing there, blocking the way back to the elevator shaft. Without even thinking, he started running to the left, and, like wolves hunting a lone buck, the dark beings pursued him.

Pointing his light towards the plaques, Gohan searched desperately for a way out. He knew they were right on his tail and that if he couldn't find something, it wouldn't be long until they catch him. Suddenly, in a thin passageway veering off from the rest of the hall, he saw a flash of light illuminate the beginning of a staircase.

Nearly slipping as he turned towards it, he sprinted into the passageway with the four figures close behind. The staircase was only a few feet away and far above him, he could see another flash of light accompanied by the sorely missed sound of thunder.

Once he reached them, he climbed up the steps as fast as he could. As he was climbing, he looked over his shoulder to see the figures stop at the foot of the stairs before backing into the shadows.

He was getting closer and closer to the top. He could already smell the refreshing scent of the rain and feel the cool air hitting him. Then suddenly, just as he climbed the last step, the figures flooded in from the outside and threw him onto the decaying cobblestone road.

Paralyzed, he laid on the ground waiting for them to leach onto him and tear him apart, but to his utter surprise, they didn't. Instead, they all stood within the shelter of the staircase and allowed the largest of them to take center stage.

"You..." It raised an accusatory finger towards Gohan. "Do you know who we are?"

Stunned, Gohan kept silent and shrunk away from the thing.

"Do you know who we are?!" It repeated, hunching towards him.

"No!" Gohan responded, shaking, completely riddled with fear.

"We...We are what gives you strength..."

"Yes...Strength." A figure said from the rear.

Not understanding, Gohan asked, "W-who are you?"

"We are you." The being responded. "And you may fear us, but we will bring you strength."

"A-are you real?"

It crouched to match Gohan's eyes with its empty face. "Only as real as you."

The figure waited, it was anticipating more questions, but the fear from Gohan's eyes told him the boy would ask no more.

"You will see us again."

"Yes...Again." Another one said.

"We will be watching you...waiting until it is time to reveal ourselves once more."

The largest figure flicked his hand and the other three obediently began to descend the stairs, sinking out of view. Now that they were alone, it peaked its featureless head out into the rain, inching closer to him.

"And on that day, you will not run from us."

To that, Gohan said nothing. He simply waited in silence as the figure turned from him and walked down the stairs, returning to the interior of the Red Ribbon base.

Once it was gone, Gohan stumbled to his feet, although not for very long. After all the running and the adrenaline, his dizziness and nausea went into overdrive. He only made it across the street before emptying his stomach all over the cobblestone.

Wiping his face clean of anything that remained, Gohan quickly decided that his little exploration of the base was over. Now the only place he wanted to be was inside his cabin where he could attempt to push those figures out from his mind.

"Flying Nimbus!" He cried.

Like an angel, the golden cloud dove through the storm clouds and slowed to a halt just in front of Gohan, allowing him to crawl aboard.

With its passenger resting atop it, the cloud started towards the cabin without even a hint of instruction needed.

Over the next few weeks, Gohan stayed inside his cabin, only occasionally leaving to gather up some food or buy some materials with the money he had saved up from doing odd jobs in the surrounding towns. He was biding his time, allowing his body to rest up and his fever to go down before doing any more surveying. The "incident" at the base taught him that.

In his dreams, the figures would appear. He'd catch them watching him from afar, in the waters of Namek, in the treeline of Mount Pouzu, in the bustling crowds of West City, anywhere that he'd go while asleep.

Thankfully, in his waking hours, his work helped keep the thought of those dark beings at a minimum. He spent his days reading, then re-reading, and eventually writing everything from Gero and Gebo's files down in his journal. He knew the odds of him losing or damaging the files was low but he wanted to record them in his journal just in case.

There was one line in particular in Gebo's file he thought about quite often, in fact, it was the only motivator he had to leave his warm cottage home and risk seeing those figures again. It was his burial place, listed right after his status of deceased as one degree and six minutes north of North City.

He never had the chance to really get to know Android 16, but from what he'd seen of him he was a genuinely good person so Gohan assumed the same could be said for his biological counterpart, Gebo. He was a nature lover, he cared about his fellow man, even if they were mercenaries, and, he didn't even enjoy fighting. So what's not to like? He seemed similar, if not exactly like Android 16.

And if he was friends with 16, couldn't he extend that friendship to Gebo? It wouldn't be disrespectful to visit him, would it?

No, it wouldn't. At least he didn't think so.

He walked up to the map he had sprawled across his table, swiping his finger above North City. He couldn't determine what six minutes was from this large of a map, but he knew that a degree was about sixty to seventy miles and from there he could probably just spot the burial sight.

Flying there didn't take too long, he took a straight route which brought him to the edge of the city. And as he flew by the residential district, he couldn't stop from looking at the smoke rising from the chimneys of each home, despite how much he'd rather focus on following his map. So many people, so warm with their loved ones, sitting close to their fireplace and enjoying the afternoon. He allowed himself to long for that, but only for a moment. Then it was back to business.

Reading the map and keeping a mental count on how far he was from the city, Gohan reached the seventy-mile point and slowed down to take a look at his surroundings. Oddly enough, he recognized this area, this was near Gero's original lab. In fact, he thought he could see the mountain the lab was carved into, just a few miles away.

He flew towards it, hoping to confirm his suspicions, but before he could reach it, he spotted a small circular gap in the white birch forest below him. There was a small grey tombstone sticking out from the ground. Without a doubt in his mind, he knew it was Gebo's. It was small, unassuming, peaceful, and isolated, everything the man would have wanted in a final resting place.

It was so serene there that he made a special effort to float to the ground as gently as possible. He was a guest here and needed to be on his best behavior. That meant honoring Gebo by disturbing the forest as little as possible.

Gohan approached the tombstone and kneeled before it. Nothing was written on the stone except for his name, not even his date of birth or death. He glossed over the letters with his fingers thinking about what kind of person the world had lost when Gebo died. Sure he fought for the wrong people, but Gohan knew he didn't want to. He was just trying to fit in, make his father proud of his strong military son.

With a quiet sigh, he lowered his hand to the earth and placed it down, feeling a strange pattern on the soil. He looked down and recognized it as a bootprint. Someone had been here, and by the cracks in the dry print, they had been here more than a few days ago. Still, that didn't change the fact that someone was visiting Gebo.

Gohan stood and searched for more prints, they were all around the grave but seemed to intensify near a small portion of dirt, lacking in any kind of vegetation. Curious by the unnatural nature of the ground, he wondered if something else had been buried there.

Using his hands he scooped out the first handful of dirt before stopping. He looked at the grave guiltily, he knew what he was doing was not just disrespectful, it was downright wrong to dig into it like this. He told himself he wouldn't be too long, and as soon as he was sure nothing was buried there, he would fill the hole back in. But in his heart, he knew that didn't make it okay.

Scooping out more dirt, he uncovered a small metal box, reinforced with rubber at the seams. It wasn't much but at least he had found something to justify his grave digging. Before taking a look at it, he placed it at his side and went to work quickly filling in the small hole he had made.

After it was filled in, he then lifted up the box and examined it. It was slightly rusted and had a small draw latch keeping it shut. Using his pointer finger, he unlatched the box and lifted the lid.

There were dozens of glossy photos of Gebo. He was older in some and younger in others, but he was always in frame with his father. In each photo, Gohan could see the palpable happiness shared by the two and suddenly he came to a realization: The reason why Gebo's files were updated was not because of some caring, Red Ribbon pencil-pusher; it was Gero. He replaced his files and buried him here. That's why his son's grave was so close to his lab. Because it was supposed to be where the two would work together.

He sifted through more of the photos and began to feel the emotion take over. Now he truly understood Gero's pain. Gero lost his son, just like Gohan lost his father, they were two sides of the same coin experiencing the same kind of self-hatred and guilt. Why else would he bury these photos? He was trying to forget. Just like Gohan was trying to forget.

With tears in his eyes, he had found new motivation to continue his search for the old scientist. This journey was no longer about stopping androids or getting back to the present. It wasn't even about keeping the past safe.

It was about saving one man's soul.

And through Gebo, he knew it was possible.