Chapter Forty-nine - Shadows and Shades of Past and Mind, Part Two
Enzeru wasn't sure what to expect inside the cave, the North Kai hadn't exactly given them much detail, but she was confident they could handle whatever it was. They'd survived this long, they weren't going to die now because of some training exercise. Still, as she crawled along behind Tien and he faded more and more into the darkness of the cave, her anxiety rose. It wasn't long before she lost sight of him completely, and still the cave continued on, though she noticed a change occurring around her. The hard rocky ground was turning into soft, damp, soil, and the dry musty air was growing damper and fresher.
Only a few feet later she reached the apparent end of the cave, though it was not what she expected. The ground was soft and grassy, and the walls seemed to have been replaced with cloth. The exit itself had a cloth flap hanging down over it. Reaching out she pushed it aside and climbed out of the cave, grateful to stand upright again, and took a look around. It was dark, night time, though stars and a nearly full moon shone in the sky above providing some light. Enough to tell she seemed to be in someone's backyard, the small house only a dozen yards ahead of her, a large oak tree to her left, and what looked like a makeshift tent made of bed sheets behind her.
"Did I just come out of the tent?" she wondered, looking at it. Kneeling down and looking inside she found it completely empty, and no trace of the cave she'd just come through. It was clear she had somehow come out through the tent, and also clear she wouldn't be going back that way. Standing back up she glanced around for some sign of Tien or Mitsuki. They'd gone through ahead of her, they'd have come out before her.
"Though, apparently not here." she realized, as neither of them were anywhere in sight. She turned back toward the house, a small white and yellow one story dome that had seen better days. Probably better decades. The paint was peeling off, more absent the present, revealing the cold grey metal shell beneath, which itself was starting to show signs of rust. One of the round windows had been busted out at some point and covered over with plywood. What had once been a nice stone patio in front of the back door was now cracked and filling with weeds.
Yet, despite these flaws, it looked inviting. Roses grew in the small flowerbed to the right of the patio, well cared for and unbothered by weeds. A green welcome mat lay in front of the door, flowers and rabbits and birds decorating its surface. In the two in tact windows that Enzeru could see hung white lace curtains, still as white as snow despite all the grime around them. A faint light glowed from within, shining on the thin curtains though not strong enough to really pass through. Someone lived here, and they appeared to be home, though she could sense no one within.
Enzeru wasn't sure where she was, or what exactly it was she was supposed to do, this wasn't what she'd expected to find at the end of the cave. She figured the only real option open to her, the only way to get her bearings, was to go up to the house and knock, find out who lived there and where it was that she was. She was just about to start toward the back door when it suddenly swung open, spilling flickering candle light out into the yard. A small child also came spilling out into the yard, laughing and giggling and charging right toward the tent, and her. The girl was half way across the yard when a new, taller, figure appeared in the doorway.
"Enzeru! Enzeru, be careful, you could hurt yourself!" the figure called, the voice playful and scolding at the same time. And chilling in its unexpected familiarity. Enzeru knew, at once, that the voice hadn't been speaking to her but to the kid in front of her. The one that had just come to a stop and turned back toward the house.
"I'll be fine, mommy!" the kid called back. "Nothin' can hurt me." With that the little girl turned back toward the tent and hurried across the rest of the yard, running right through her stunned and frozen adult self before entering the tent.
It was as though the voice had brought the yard and the house into sharp focus. All of a sudden her memories, memories she'd all but forgotten, were rushing to the surface. Her camp outs in the backyard, helping her mother plant the rose garden, climbing the large oak tree in the yard, the house, all of it. Somehow she was in the past, her past, back on Earth before her family had been ripped apart. She was torn for a moment, not knowing which way she should go. Back to the tent to watch her younger self or forward, into the house, to her mother.
Her indecision lasted only an instant and then her feet were moving her forward quickly, toward the house and the woman she hadn't seen in almost three decades. She wasn't sure how this was possible, what exactly was happening, and at the moment she didn't care. She made her way across the yard, across the patio, and stopped in the door way. Just inside the door was the small kitchen, barely more than a closet. The woman, her long blue hair in a braid that reached half way down her back, was standing at the sink washing dishes in blue jeans and a white t-shirt.
"It's her. It really is her." she thought in shock, eyes locked on the reflection of the woman's face in the window, watching as her mother worked, humming softly to herself as she did. As the woman turned a little to place a plate in the strainer Enzeru caught sight of the bulge to her stomach. Her sister had completely slipped her mind upon realizing where she was, but came rushing back now. She barely remembered these days, almost couldn't even remember her mother's face anymore, she'd only been about four at the time, only five the last time she saw her, but she could still remember the pregnancy and how happy her mother had been about it.
"This is too weird..." Enzeru murmured, shaking her head. She wasn't sure what this was, but it was strange being back here. She couldn't remember it well, she'd only been a child the last time she'd been here, but some of it had stayed with her. This had been the only real home she'd ever had. She'd spent six years living on the streets, surviving on her own, after she'd lost her family. A hard and terrifying life for a little kid, but she'd managed. Largely because she'd been a very strong little kid, likely something she'd inherited from her father, who and whatever he was.
When she'd been eleven she'd had her first encounter with the upper levels of the resistance. She'd met resistance members before, but none of them had been stronger than normal people, and none had been ki users. None of them had impressed her, or been able to convince her she might be safe with them. Not until she'd met Yamcha and Suki. They were the first non-imperial ki users she'd met, Yamcha the first non-imperial to be stronger than her, and they'd told her there were others even stronger than them. They were the first ones to give her hope, to make her think there was a chance she could be safe again.
She was drawn back to what was currently happening when she heard a loud rapping sound coming from the front of the house. Someone was knocking at the door and her mother set down the plate she'd been drying, wiped her hands on her apron, and started toward the front of the house. It wasn't a long trip. The kitchen and bathroom took up the rear of the building, the room she would soon share with her half sister was on the right side, her mother and step father's room was on the left, and the living room in the front. There was no hall separating the five rooms, just a small connecting room about the size of a closet.
Reaching the front of the house the woman peeked out through the window in the door at whoever was outside, and frowned slightly. The individual outside knocked again, even louder and more insistently than before, and Enzeru's mother sighed. Reaching up she disengaged each of the three deadbolts and pulled the door open a few inches.
"I've already told you, we're not interested." she said as Enzeru moved to the side to try and see around her mother, to figure out who was outside.
"Mmm, yes, so you've said." a man's voice said. He sounded wheezy, short of breath, though as Enzeru caught sight of him between the door frame and her mother's shoulder, she figured it was more age than tiredness that colored his voice. He was partially bent over, leaning on a wooden walking stick, a horseshoe of white hair wrapping around his otherwise bald head. His face was heavily wrinkled and when he spoke again she could see he only had a few teeth left. "I still think you should reconsider. We can help."
"I don't want or need anyone's help."
"Mmmmmm, your DNA says otherwise, yes." said the old man. "Breaking down bit by bit, molecule by molecule. Yes, you're falling apart at the seams, so it would seem. Without treatment you'll die for sure, oh yes. Three years, maybe four."
"Maybe, but it's better than accepting help from the Empire."
"Mmm, Empire? No, no. No more Empire. We have... struck out, on our own. Yes."
Tenshi blinked in shock. "What? You're not...?"
"No, no more Empire." the old man said, grinning. "Your father has no vision, no. We needed more room, more freedom, yes. Too much metal, not enough flesh and bone, no."
Enzeru was completely lost by this conversation. What did the man mean about her mother dying in three or four years? Her DNA breaking down? And what was this about her grandfather being connected with the Empire?
"Why help me, then?" Tenshi asked, at last overcoming her shock. "What's his interest in me if he's not working for my father?"
"Mmm, interest in you? No, not in you." The man grinned again, showing off his three remaining teeth and his bright pink gums. "Helping you is merely his payment for the chance to study her, yes." On the word 'her' the man had given a nod toward the house, between Tenshi and the door frame. At first Enzeru thought that he could see her, that somehow he meant her, but her mother turned around and looked past her at something else in the room, and so she turned as well. Standing at the back of the living room, just inside the door, was her younger child self, watching the two at the door in as much curiosity as the elder Enzeru had confusion.
"Absolutely not." Tenshi snapped, turning back around to face the old man again. "I will not be having anyone poking and prodding my daughter, for any reason. Forget it."
"Mmm, surely it isn't such a big deal. Her parentage is of interest, her DNA, nothing more, no. We just wish to see what gives her such power, yes."
"And I said no."
"Perhaps now is not the right time." the man said, bowing slightly and then turning to leave. "Perhaps later, yes, when your body begins to fail you. Mmm, yes, when the blood leaks from your eyes and your muscles eat themselves and your bones turn to paper. Mmm, I'll return then for a new answer, yes."
"It'll be the same!" Tenshi called after his retreating form, shaking with clear anger and despair on her face and in her voice.
"Mmm, we'll see. Yes. We will see."
"I'm not letting any of you... monsters... near my family. Not you, not him, and not my father!" Tenshi cried before slamming the door closed with a thundering bang. The young Enzeru walked out into the room then, looking scared and worried, and made her way over toward the door.
"Who was that, mommy?" she asked. "Why he make you so mad?"
"It's nothing honey." Tenshi replied, resting a hand on her enlarged stomach. "Just a very unpleasant man, that's all. Nothing for you to..." she trailed off then, wincing and clutching at her stomach. The elder and younger Enzerus saw the suddenly forming and widening stain on Tenshi's pants at the same time.
"Mommy!" the younger cried, as Tenshi bent over at the waist and groaned. "Mommy, what's wrong!?"
"It's... the baby." she said, panting. "Your sister's... decided it's... time to... be born. Enzeru, honey... uh... you need to... go get the... doctor. Ok?"
"But..."
"I'm... fine. Just go get him... ok?"
The young Enzeru bit her lip and then nodded. "Ok." she said, hurrying toward the door. "Just don't let her come before the doctor and I get back!"
As Enzeru watched her younger self leave she debated if she should follow her or stay with her mother, if it was even possible to stay. She could vaguely remember this, running for the doctor down at the end of the block because her baby sister was coming early, and she wondered if that's what this was. Memory. Reliving her own memories from the outside. If it was memory she wouldn't be able to stay with her mother, as she'd have no memory of what happened here after she'd left. Still, she chose to remain. She could remember so little of her mother she didn't want to miss any of this.
Tenshi made her way over to battered old love seat and sat down. Reaching out she picked up the small picture frame on the table beside her and gazed at it. Enzeru moved around to look at the image too, she couldn't remember what the picture showed. It was a photo of her, her mother, and her step father, Mitsuki's biological father. It looked to be a fairly recent photo, too, and Enzeru wished she still had it, to help her hold onto the memory of her mother's face. It had been so long ago now, and she'd been so young, she'd all but forgotten it before this. That's when she realized her stepfather wasn't in the house.
Having experienced what she just had she could now remember some of the events to come that night. She reached the doctor and brought him back to the house, where he checked on her mother and pronounced that Mitsuki would not be emerging for some time yet. Then he sent for Mitsuki's father, who was out on patrol as part of the Local Watch. Not looking for Imperials, the city wasn't part of the Resistance, but watching for bandits, raiders, and wild animals that could threaten everyone's safety. He'd told her more than once that, as the second strongest person in the city, weaker only than her, it was his duty to protect everyone else.
He stayed up with Tenshi the entire night. Enzeru remembered she'd tried to stay up, too, but had fallen asleep in his lap. She'd woken up the next morning to loud cries from her mother, at first thinking something was wrong. But it wasn't. The doctor had come back and said it had been time, and they'd been in the process of delivering Mitsuki. The birth of her sister had been the singular most amazing and gross experience she'd had up to that point, and it had stayed with her pretty clearly. Looking down at the image of her family, together and whole, she smiled a little but a heavy weight settled in the pit of her stomach. She'd already lost so much, she didn't know if she could survive losing anything more.
There was a bang from the door as the young Enzeru came rushing back into the house, the doctor right on her heels. The doctor moved over to the couch and knelt down beside Tenshi, quickly checking her vitals.
"Everything looks good." he said, looking at his instruments. "Can you walk?"
Tenshi nodded. "Yes, I think so. It's not so intense now."
"Let's get you into bed and then I'll check how far along you are."
The doctor helped Tenshi to her feet and lead her back to her bedroom, both Enzerus trailing along behind them. As she stepped through the door into her mother's room, however, it was not the bedroom that Enzeru found herself inside. Instead she was now stand outside on the sidewalk, and it was broad daylight instead of the middle of the night. She turned around and looked behind her, but her house was gone. Instead there was a squat, square, office building that was missing all of its windows, and its front door. She recognized it at once, fear had burned it into her memory. It was safe house, the 'bunker', that everyone had evacuated to when the Imperials had come. It was where she'd lost her family.
XXX
For what was probably the first time in his life, Krillin was happy that he was so short. While the others ahead of him had barely managed to squeeze into the tight cave he'd fit just fine. That wasn't to say that it was comfortable, but he didn't have jagged points slicing across his back as he crawled along. Didn't have to worry about hitting his head on a low hanging rock, or getting wedged in and stuck. All things that he felt would have been quite possible in the total darkness of the cave if he'd been normal size.
He'd lost sight of Enzeru pretty quickly, the darkness in the cave seemed to just reach out and swallow her. He'd glanced back once, to see if he could spot Yamcha, but there was no sign of him, either. In fact, the darkness was so complete in the cave he hadn't even been able to see his own shoulder when he'd looked back. So, he pressed on, careful not to go so fast that he might run into one of the others after they'd gotten stuck, but not so slow that Yamcha would run into him, either.
Then, at last, he saw a light ahead. Only, it was an odd light. It wasn't a point, like you'd expect to see coming through an open tunnel. Rather, it was a thin line, like the light you'd see coming around the crack of a door. As he drew closer he could practically feel the tunnel getting larger. It had to, the crack of light was at least six feet long. He could also feel the ground changing, cool rock being replaced by an equally cool cement. The feel was nearly the same, but the cement was flatter and smoother, the only reason he was really able to tell the difference.
Reaching the crack of light a moment later he decided to take his chances and stand up. He didn't hit his head on anything and, reaching his arm up into the air, he was unable to touch the ceiling. He stared at the crack of light for a moment, and the faint traces of the outlined door the light gave him, contemplating exactly what he was coming to. It seemed unlikely the others had passed through this way, they wouldn't have closed the door with him and Yamcha still inside the cave. Looking back over his shoulder he blinked in shock at what he found.
The cave was gone. The faint light coming through the crack was shining on a solid cement surface directly behind him. No holes of any kind, even down near the floor where he was certain he'd come through, were present. Clearly he wouldn't be going back the way he'd come, and he was now even more sure that the others hadn't come through this way. Where ever he was, what ever it was he had to do in here, he was on his own. Sighing and turning back toward the crack of light he frowned and crossed his arms, wondering just what it was he'd gotten himself into here.
He was just about to push the door open when he heard voices from outside and paused while pushing his power as low as he could. He didn't know where he was or who was outside, best not to draw attention to himself just yet. Leaning forward just a little he pressed his ear against the door to try and hear better. The voices were still too muffled to really make out, and he couldn't seem to locate any ki sources to track, either. He figured their source wasn't in the room immediately beyond the door, however, given how muffled they were. He was just about to push the door open when he heard a light squeaking sound, unmistakably that of a door opening, and the muffled voices became much clearer.
"...it feels good to win for once." said an extremely familiar voice. His.
He put his eye up to the crack between the door and its frame and peered out into the room, trying to see the source of his voice, but the gap wasn't wide enough for him to really see anything. Carefully he inched the door open a little further, expecting the hinges on the door to squeak like those of the other door. They didn't make a sound, however, and he stopped after only an inch, maybe and inch and half. The now wider gap gave him a much better and clearer view into the room, and a second later his eyes widened in surprise and confusion at what he saw in the room beyond the door.
There was another him in the room beyond, removing what was left of a tattered gi and replacing it with a fresh t-shirt and slacks. Behind him, standing in the open doorway of the room, was Yamcha. But not Yamcha. At least, not the Yamcha he'd just been with. Instead of the shaggy shoulder length hair he'd had for the last five or six years it was the long waist length style he'd had decades ago. A style he'd not worn since Suki's death, as she'd liked it that way and it reminded him too much of her. His gi was a little torn as well, though not nearly as shredded as Other-Krillin's had been.
This was just way too weird.
"You can say that again." said Yamcha. "Maybe those Imperial idiots will think twice next time. I just wish we knew why they suddenly raided Palm Village like that."
"Hard to say." replied Other-Krillin. "And with all of them dead we can't exactly ask. I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, anyway. They've all been dealt with and Tien's relocating the villagers elsewhere."
"Yeah, I suppose." Yamcha said with a shrug. "Though if we knew why they'd attacked we might be able to stop it from happening again. On the flight back here I started wondering if maybe the same thing happened with that other town. Uh, Rockfort?"
"Oh, that one from last week?" Other-Krillin asked as he finished pulling on his change of clothes. "Hmm, I hadn't considered that. But why would the Empire completely wipe out a village like that? It wasn't a resistance camp, just a simple fishing village. They're asses, but they don't tend to just go on mindless killing sprees."
"Hell if I know, but it looked like the soldiers we met today were trying to do just that to Palm Village. They'd already had the place half ransacked by the time we got there. Maybe they didn't want anyone talking about whatever it was they were looking for?"
"Maybe. We'll have to see what the others think." Other-Krillin said, scratching at his bald head. "Sometimes I wish Baba hadn't left. She may have been confusing with her predictions but at least it was something more than pure guess work."
"She always kind of creeped me out." Yamcha said, scrunching up his face.
In the closet Krillin was watching and listening to this intently. It seemed incredibly familiar to him. He vaguely remembered Palm Village. A contingent of about forty or fifty Imperials had suddenly shown up and attacked them for no apparent reason. He, Yamcha, Tien, and Suki had gone out to help the villagers and had managed to kill or drive off all of the Imperials A first for them. But that had been... decades ago. So how, exactly, was he here, now? His head was starting to hurt just contemplating the fact that he seemed to be in two places at once, forget the rest of it.
"Anyway," Yamcha continued. "I'm gonna head off and change, then go celebrate our victory with Suki. Talk to you later."
"See ya." Other-Krillin said.
Krillin was still trying to figure this out, where he was, how he got there, what exactly it was he was supposed to do, how he was supposed to get back, when he heard the door open to the room outside again. Putting his eye back to the gap his breath caught in his throat as he saw a new figure enter the room. A figure that was slender and tall, at least by his standards, in a pair denim jeans and a denim vest over a white t-shirt, with blonde hair and blue eyes. An unmistakable figure.
"I'd heard you were back. Mission go well?" asked 18, sounding distracted.
"Well would be an understatement." Other-Krillin said happily, turning to face the blonde. "We totally kicked their asses. For once. Gives me some hope that we're not completely out of our depth in this."
"That's good."
Other-Krillin stepped into view through the closet door gap, a clear look of concern overtaking his face. He may have missed the tone in her voice before, but he hadn't missed it this time. Krillin, watching things unfold, started getting a knot in the pit of his stomach. He had a strong suspicion he knew what this was. Not what was happening to him, how he was apparently in the past, but rather when he was in the past at. The singular most defining, depressing, miserable, painful, and memorable moment in his entire life. The night his entire world as he'd known it came crashing down.
"Eclair, is something wrong?" Other-Krillin asked. Through the gap Krillin caught 18's slight wince when Other-Krillin called her Eclair and he knew he was right. This was that night, the worst night of his life. It was bad enough the first time through, he didn't want to be here a second time, but here he was and there was no apparent way out.
"There's... something we need to... talk about." she said slowly, turning to face the closet and staring down at her hands.
Other-Krillin took a few steps forward and rested a hand on her arm. "Hey, what's wrong? What is it?" he asked. When she didn't answer after a few moments he pressed. "Eclair?"
18 winced again, and Krillin saw the tears starting to glisten in her eyes. "Don't call me that."
Other-Krillin blinked and tilted his head to the side. "Huh? Don't call you what?" he asked.
"Eclair." she replied, barely over a whisper.
Other-Krillin was now, clearly, confused. "Huh? What? If you don't want me to call you by your name than what sh..."
"It's not." 18 said softly, closing her eyes and clearly fighting hard against surging emotions. Her hands were trembling and Krillin saw a tear roll down her cheek. "It's not my name."
"I'm... confused." Other-Krillin said, looking at her with concern. "What do you mean it's not your name? What's wrong? Come on, talk to me babe. Whatever it is we can work it out."
18 shook her head and took a deep breath. "No, we can't. Not this." she said after a moment. "I..." she trailed off, at an apparent loss for words, and then pulled away from Other-Krillin and walked over to the bed where she sat down and stared at the wall, her eyes only half focused. Other-Krillin stood where he was and watched her for a moment before following her over and sitting down beside her, resting a hand on her leg.
"Eclair, talk to..."
"My name isn't Eclair." 18 said, eyes still only half focused. "I don't even know what it is. Or was. I don't know. I just know that it's not Eclair, and hearing it hurts too much."
"Then... what should I call you?" Other-Krillin asked. Krillin could remember just how confusing this conversation was the first time through, though it was making a lot more sense to him now. Back then he'd just been trying to get something coherent out of her, something that made some level of sense. Get her to open up and explain what was so wrong. Now he was clinging onto every word, despite how painful it was to be watching this happen again, looking for something, anything, he might have missed.
"I... don't know." she answered after a moment. "I don't really have a name, not anymore. I guess... 18. It's what Gero calls me."
"Gero? Wait, do you mean Dr. Gero? But he died, what, four years ago?"
"No. He didn't. He left the base before we destroyed it. He moved into a secure lab facility the Empire had prepared for him."
Other-Krillin stared at her, clearly lost and confused. "I don't follow." he said, and 18 sighed.
"Dr. Gero's super soldier project, the one everyone in the Resistance thought was meant to take down the Masters, wasn't destroyed before he could finish it. My brother and I, we're the end result. Only we were never intended to work for the Resistance, to challange the Masters. Gero works for the Empire, has from the start, and my brother and I were chosen for the procedure because he knew we'd side with the Empire, too." she explained, more tears running down her cheeks though she'd managed to keep her voice level, if monotone.
"After he completed his work on us, before anyone knew he'd finished or what we looked like, he had us destroy the base and... kill everyone there. So that we'd be unknown. The plan was to slip us into the Resistance so we could locate as many of the hidden bases as possible, so that the Empire could target and destroy them. The Masters want to wipe out the Earth Resistance, to remove any more interference with their activites here, and we were seen as the best way to do it. Only, falling in love with you was never part of the plan." She took a deep breath then.
"The order... the order came in this afternoon. My brother and I, we've been ordered to pull out. To head to the base were Gero's lab is located. The attacks are to begin tomorrow morning, at about five local time.. I..." she swallowed a lump in her throat and when she spoke again emotion, pain and sadness, seeped back into her voice. "I've been sending them the data I've collected, even in the last couple of weeks. I had to. But... but I couldn't just... I couldn't just stand back and let something happen to you."
The two of them sat in silence then, and Krillin could remember all of the thoughts and emotions racing through his mind, warring with each other for control over his coming actions. All of it laced with copious amounts of confusion and disbelief. More than anything, though, he hadn't been sure how to feel about her sudden revelation. Angry that she was a traitor? Sad that she'd been lying to him all this time? Happy that she cared enough to confess something so big?
"I'm sorry." 18 said after a few moments, barely over a whisper. "I'm sorry that I've had to lie to you so much, that I've hurt you, and for all of the pain and death I've caused. But you have to believe that how I feel about you is the truth. I never lied about that. Not to you, at least."
Other-Krillin swallowed. "I'm... still trying to absorb all of this. You... work for the Empire? And so did, does, Dr. Gero, who made you... what? Some sort of super soldier? I've never sensed any great power from you."
"You wouldn't." said 18. "That was part of the idea. I'm a Cyborg, my power is artificial, it can't be sensed, but..." She held her arm out, palm up, and a brilliant ball of golden energy lared to life above it. "According to Gero my systems are rated to an equivalent power of two million, though the generator has been throttled down and locked to output at only 20,000 for now." The energy ball flicked and then went out. "The rest to be made available after I succeed in this mission and properly join the Imperial forces, as per his orders from the Masters."
"Why?" Other-Krillin asked after a moment. "Why help them after everything they've done?"
18 shrugged. "I don't know." she said. "I don't remember why I agreed to the procedure, why I initially chose to help the Empire. All of my memories, all of my brother's memories, were lost when we became what we are. When I woke up as who and what I am now... I had no reason not to. No past to link me to the Earth or other Humans, no reason to have any animosity or dislike for the Empire, and helping them promised me power and freedom I couldn't have otherwise. I didn't have then what I have now. If the same choice were to be made again... I'd make it differently."
"Then leave them." Other-Krillin said. "Join us for real."
18's smile was sad, self-pitying. The only time he'd ever seen such a smile on her face, and it still hurt to see it. "I can't. I would just put you in danger if I did."
"No, we could use your power in our fight."
"But you'd never get to. The Masters insisted that precautions be taken with my brother and I, because of the kind of power we would have. Four different failsafes were included in our systems. I cary a tracking device somewhere in my body that allows Gero to know my exact location at all times. At the push of a button my generator can be shut off, leaving me with only my own natural power, or the nano-bots in my system can put me into a coma, rendering me unconcious and helpless indefinitely. Should any of that not be enough there's also an explosive device inside my head that can be remote detonated killing me, and most anyone else within about two hundred feet."
Other-Krillin's eyes widened in shock at the last piece of information.
"So you have to go, and I have to stay. Evacuate the base, and as many of the others as you can, before the soldiers come."
Other-Krillin stood slowly, still clearly not sure what he should be doing, or thinking, or feeling. After a moment he seemed to come to a decision on at least some things and turned toward the door. "Wait for me here." he said. "There's still a lot we need to talk about, but if the Empire really is coming in the morning we need to start the evacuations now. I'll be back as soon as I can." And with that he left, rushing out the door to find Yamcha and get things in motion.
18 sat on the bed for a moment, staring at the floor in silence. Then, slowly, she raised her head, tears streaming down her eyes, and closed her eyes. A moment later she rested a hand on her stomach. Looking at her Krillin couldn't tell she'd ever been pregnant, though he realized now that that must have been why she'd left for a few months just before this night. Left because she'd not been able to hide her growing stomach and hadn't wanted anyone to know, so that there was no chance that the Empire could know.
"Krillin..." she murmured. "Thank-you for not hating me. For giving me back what I hadn't realized I'd lost. I swear to the Kais I will do all I can to keep our daughter safe. To be someone you and she could be proud of..."
Krillin watched on in wonder as 18 wiped the tears from her cheeks and the emotions faded from her face. She sat, staring at the wall for a moment, composing herself, soon looking as she often did when he saw her on Imperial broadcasts. Calm, collected, cold. Only the redness and puffiness of her eyes gave away her emotions as she got to her feet, cast one last glance around the room, and then left. Krillin hesitated for only a second, and then he left the closet and followed after her. But when he stepped through the door out of the bedroom he didn't enter the hallway that was supposed to be there.
XXX
Yamcha had quickly lost sight of the others ahead of him in the cave, but he wasn't particularly worried. It wasn't like the cave was all that large, there wasn't anywhere for anyone to get lost. Plus, he couldn't sense anything else in the cave besides the five of them, so there wasn't much chance they'd suddenly be attacked by some three inch tall monster that had decided to make its home here. He was worried, however, about whether or not they could pass this test or challenge or whatever it was. So far they hadn't been doing a very good job at much of anything.
He was still considering their chances when he suddenly crawled head first into something hard. Too hard to be Krillin. Backing up a little he rubbed the top of his head and felt a small lump already forming. Frowning, he moved his head from his head and reached it out ahead of him to feel what he'd hit. It was cold and smooth and metallic, not the rock of the cave. In fact, now that he wasn't distracted, the ground beneath him felt the same. A quick check of the walls and ceiling revealed that they, too, had changed to smooth metal.
That was one conundrum solved, he'd run into a metal wall. But it left three others. First, why had the cave turned into a small metal tunnel? Second, how was he supposed to exit the cave if it dead ended on him? Third, and perhaps most perplexing of them all, where had the others gone? If the cave came to a dead end in this metal shaft why weren't the others ahead of him? Had there been a turn somewhere back in the darkness that he had missed and they had not? He didn't think so. He hadn't exactly been paying much attention to his surroundings but he thought he'd have noticed a connecting tunnel. Especially if all four of the others had.
He reached out and felt around the metal again. The end cap was completely smooth, there didn't seem to be any handles or latches with which to open it. He checked the walls around the end next and found nothing there, either. A check of the metal floor near the end cap, however, turned up a hole right up against the shaft's end. One just large enough to slip a hand down into, and so he did. His fingers went down only a few inches before touching the bottom and he groped them around. A second later he found that the hole hooked backward toward him and that if he bent his fingers he could just reach a small button attached to the underside of the horizontal section of the hole.
Pushing the button he heard a soft click. Pulling his hand back out of the hole he reached out and pushed on the metal end cap and it swung easily and quietly outward and to his right. As it swung open redish light spilled into the narrow passage. Though it wasn't overly bright it hurt his eyes after the darkness of the cave. Shielding his eyes some he climbed out and straightened up, twigs and leaves crunching under foot. As his eyes adjusted from the darkness of the cave to the light he glanced around him. He was standing in small clearing in the woods, towering maple, pine, and oak trees all around. The sun seemed to be either setting or rising off to his left.
Behind him was a large rocky hill, and the opening he'd just come out of. The inside of the door he'd opened was solid metal, the outside solid rock. He knelt and looked inside, the metal shaft disappeared into darkness. Standing up again he pushed the metal and stone door closed and there was a click as it latched. The door fit seamlessly against the hillside, even knowing it was there he couldn't make it out at all. Staring at the hill and the now undetectable door he was struck with a sudden and powerful sense of deja vu.
Looking around the small clearing, only about a hundred square feet of open ground near the base of the hill, the feeling grew stronger and stronger. There was something about the threes, the hill, the camouflaged door, that just seemed to strike a familiar cord with him. Then, suddenly, there was a click as the lock on the door disengaged. A second later it swung outward and a figure clambered out of the shaft. It was a young man, about fifteen or sixteen, and as he stood up he moved aside and turned to look back at the shaft again. Yamcha stood and watched as another person crawled out, a little girl, and then a third and a fourth.
Before long twenty three people had emerged from the shaft. They all stood gathered around the exit, watching it, seemingly waiting for something. Perhaps more arrivals. None of them, however, had taken any notice of him. It was like he wasn't even there, and considering he was sensing nothing from the people around him, he thought maybe he wasn't. After about twenty seconds of waiting someone, at last, did emerge from the opening. It was a young woman with leaf green hair and black eyes, wearing a blood soaked white tank top and blue jeans, with a small scar on her right temple. A young woman Yamcha knew, and his breath caught in his throat as he saw her.
His deja vu made sense now, his memory surfacing fully. His eyes remained locked on the young woman, though she looked younger she was nineteen at this time, for a moment longer before darting back to the shaft. He knew what that shaft was now, why it had such an odd door. It was an emergency escape exit, a bolt hole, for what had been an independent Resistance base. Namely, it had been the escape way for Suki's base. It hadn't been an active combat base, they hadn't run missions against the Empire out of it, but it had been a ki training center, a medical facility, and an orphanage. And any second now...
Yeah, there he was. His head, covered in long unruly black hair, had just popped out the shaft. A moment later the rest of his body followed and this other version of him turned, pointed a palm at the shaft, and then destroyed it with a low yield ki blast. It was unlikely any of the Imperials inside would have found the other end, and if they had they could have blasted their way out easily enough. That wasn't why he'd done it, though. He remembered, he'd done it to help the survivors feel better, feel safer.
Imperial forces had discovered the base and attacked it earlier in the day. Though they taught ki combat at the facility no one there had been a real match for the twenty attacking soldiers. Suki had managed to kill one, mostly by pure luck, but the others had beaten her nearly senseless by the time Yamcha had arrived. He'd given her one of the last three senzus they'd had, which had saved her life, and then fought the Imperials while she'd evacuated the survivors. Seventy people had been reduced to just twenty three.
He'd taken out seven of the nineteen that had been left, but hadn't been able to beat the rest. In fact, as he remembered it, he'd barely escaped a confrontation with the leader of the attack force, who could have easily killed him. Even if he had stopped the attackers, though, the base had already been lost. The Imperials knew of its location, another team would have been sent eventually. Yamcha watched as this past version of himself turned from the destroyed escape route to look at the survivors.
"Who's in charge?" he asked.
"I am." replied Suki.
The past Yamcha looked at her and frowned a little. "How old are you?"
"Old enough." she replied, clearly upset over the question. "I formed the base, I ran the base, I was and still am in charge."
Past Yamcha held his hands up. "Whoa, relax. It's cool." he said. The current Yamcha could see the faint smile on his past self's face and remembered how much he'd liked her fire and spirit, right from the start. This had been the first time they'd met, not counting the quick exchange when he'd saved her. "It's just, you look pretty young to have so much responsibility."
"No one's young anymore." she replied, glancing back at the others who'd made it out.
Past Yamcha sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." He held is hand out toward her then. "I'm Yamcha."
She'd started reaching her own hand out for his but froze when he gave his name. "Yamcha?" she asked, clearly shocked. "As in, the Yamcha?"
"I don't know about this 'the' stuff, but I'm the only Yamcha I know." he replied with a shrug.
Suki remained frozen for a moment, then finished reaching for his hand and shook it. "Suki." she said.
"Now that introductions are over," past Yamcha began as he released her hand. "Do you have any place to go?"
Suki sighed and shook her head. "No." she answered. "It had been all we could do to get this base going, and keep it going. We'd all hoped that by staying independent from the rest of the Resistance, not affiliating directly with any of the groups, that we'd be overlooked by the Empire. No way to trace us back to the base, or even tell we existed. I'm... not even sure how they found us."
"I think your base was just collateral damage." said past Yamcha. "The Empire came here for something else, most of their forces were in another part of the city. You just ended up a bonus prize. Anyway, Follow me. I'll take you to our nearest base. It's about a five hour walk from here. I'd like to give you all time to rest but those soldiers aren't going to just give up on finding us, we need to get clear before their search sends them this way."
Suki nodded in agreement and quickly set about organizing the survivors from the base. Yamcha was as impressed with her now as he had been then. The twenty-two survivors were all still in shock, some of them so dazed they were practically comatose on their feet. And yet, she managed to get through to them all. To organize them into pairs for the walk and to get them all moving in just a few minutes time. As the group moved off with past Yamcha and Suki in the lead, the present Yamcha caught up to them and walked along beside the pair.
"Nineteen." the girl suddenly said, catching the past Yamcha by surprise. Seeing the confusion on his face she clarified. "My age."
Past Yamcha blinked. "Really? I wouldn't have figured you for older than fifteen. Sixteen at the most."
"I get that a lot." she said. "I may look younger than I am, but I feel a lot older. I started forming the base almost three years ago but it feels more like three decades."
Present Yamcha closed his eyes and listened to them talking as they walked. This had been the start, this conversation between him and Suki. They'd talked the entire trip, when they hadn't been hiding from Imperial patrols anyway, and had connected pretty quickly. They'd had so much in common, and he'd loved her sarcastic and peculiar sense of humor, her almost naive optimism, and her apparently endless compassion. In many ways she had been mature beyond her years, and in others still every bit the kid she looked like.
Kais, he missed her. More than he'd realized. It had been two decades since she'd died and still he had a gaping hole in him that he couldn't seem to fill. Being here, seeing her face, hearing her voice again, it felt like that hole was being ripped open even wider. With every step the urge to reach out and touch her was getting stronger and, after a moment, it became overwhelming. His arm came up and his eyes opened again, and he froze.
The conversation between his past self and Suki came to a sudden stop as his eyes opened and the world he saw around him was not the one he'd just been walking through. He turned on the spot, looking around him everywhere, to see where they'd gone, but he wasn't even in the woods anymore. He was in the smoldering and smoking ruins of a city now. And while he couldn't find those he'd just been with he wasn't alone. People were running down the street, coming his direction, screaming and looking behind them.
"Now what?" he thought.