Disclaimer: The characters belong to their respective owners, with the exception of Jenny, Hallie, Jade, Ruth, Robyn, and Rachel.

Reminisce

Well, the Rebels have decided to head back to Earth to see the changes it’s gone through. Boy are they in for another surprise. For one, Black Shadow had nothing to do with it.

It’ll take a while to get back to Earth, so perhaps the Rebels should sit and chat for a while. They should renew their bond if they’re going to stand up to the challenges that lie ahead.

These are the words of Canis Lupus.

--

“Could I have your attention please?” Jenny’s voice sounded through the Rebel Rack. “I need everyone on the bridge at this time, please. Repeat, I need everyone on the bridge at this time, please.”

The Rebel leader sat alone on the bridge, waiting patiently for the others to arrive. One by one, the other Rebels entered the bridge, taking their spots in the chairs, or just standing around the room.

“What’s happening, sis?” Hallie asked.

“Well, as you all know, we’re heading straight to Earth now,” Jenny said. “But it’s going to take some time to get there. So I thought we should take some time to talk. You know, get to know each other better.”

“Ah, good idea,” Arbin said. “What do you suggest?”

“Hmm...how about a trip down Memory Lane?” Jenny asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Yamcha said.

“That’s a good idea,” Arbin agreed.

“Meh...” Pico sounded indifferent.

“What’s the matter, Pico?” Fulgore asked.

“I don’t like to talk about my past,” Pico said. “But I’m willing to listen.”

Rebecca was confused. “We’re going to Memory Lane? Where’s that?”

“No, it’s just an expression,” Hallie told her. “It just means we’re going to talk about the old days.”

“Oh.” Rebecca still looked confused.

“Okay, then.” Jenny looked at everyone else, waiting for someone to share their story. The others did the same. As a result, the room remained silent, and no one was speaking.

“Well, who wants to start?” Jenny asked, breaking the silence.

“It was your idea,” Yamcha said. “So you should start.”

“Me? What should I talk about?”

“Why don’t you tell us what Dad was like?” Hallie asked. “I’ve been wondering for the longest time.”

“You don’t know what your own father is like?” Ruth asked.

“Hallie was taken in by the social workers shortly after she was born,” Jenny said. “They said our mother was too eccentric to take care of two children.”

“You can’t really blame her, being the Princess of Darkness and all...” Yamcha said.

“Shut up, Yamcha!” Jenny and Hallie yelled in unison.

“What are you angry about?” Pico asked. “She really was the Princess of Darkness.”

“We just don’t like to think of her that way,” Jenny said. “She was our mom after all, even if she was evil.”

Fulgore shook his head. “Saving the universe from your own mother...I can’t even imagine what it’s like. It’s gotta be tough...”

“Okay, can we start talking about Dad now?” Hallie asked.

“All right...” Jenny took a deep breath. “He was the best dad a kid could hope for. When all those kids bullied me in school, Dad was always waiting at home to comfort me. He kept my sanity...he was the only friend I had. He always protected me...until it cost him his life.”

“Whoa...” Yamcha said.

“That’s right. Dad was killed...by the Green Ranger, while he was under Rita’s spell. That was the last straw for me. I couldn’t take it anymore. So I made the choice to cut my own life short, but then you know what happened...”

“The demonic spirits possessed you and gave you your powers,” Arbin said.

“That’s right...but I didn’t want this power. I was supposed to die that night, but...3000 years later, I’m still alive!?” Jenny stood up, clenching her fists as her heart pounded within her chest. “Why!? Why the hell am I still alive!?”

Everyone blinked at her, both surprised and intimidated by her outburst. No one had an answer to her question.

Jenny took a deep breath as she sat back down. “I’m sorry...this isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I called everyone here...”

“Perhaps we should talk about a happier topic?” Ruth said. “Like how did you and Hallie reunite after being separated?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Hallie said. “When Jenny first turned sixteen, she came to visit me all by herself.”

“Yes...it was a nice trip to ‘get away from it all,’” Jenny said.

“But then I was kidnapped by the evil forces led by Lord Zedd,” Hallie went on. “He wanted to turn me into one of them!”

“Why’d they kidnap you?” Yamcha asked.

“I dunno...maybe because I’m cute?”

Jenny rolled her eyes. “I don’t think they’d care about that.”

Hallie shrugged. “Well, maybe not...but I’m still cute.”

Jenny shook her head as she looked over each of her comrades. Then her eyes fell upon the innocent little girl in the group...the girl who wasn’t even part of the group. “Rebecca?”

“Huh?” Rebecca looked up, confused.

“I wonder how you got here with us,” Jenny said.

“Um...” Rebecca paused, not quite understanding the question.

Meanwhile, everyone looked at her, waiting for her answer.

“Why is everyone looking at me like that?” Rebecca asked.

“We’re waiting for you to answer our question,” Jenny told her. “Why did Black Shadow put you in cold sleep with the rest of us?”

“Um...it’s because...I wanted him to.”

“You wanted him to?” Yamcha asked.

Everyone shot her a look of disbelief.

“Black Shadow attacked the school, and I got away,” Rebecca went on. “Then he sat next to me. He told me that you guys were frozen. And then he took me away.”

“Are you sure you wanted him to freeze you?” Jenny asked.

“He showed me that you guys were frozen. Then I wanted him to freeze me too...and he did.”

“But what prompted you to make that decision?”

“Um...” Rebecca pondered, not understanding that question either.

“She means, why did you want Black Shadow to freeze you?” Hallie clarified the question.

“Well, I saw Dende frozen, and it really, really hurt...” Rebecca clutched her chest tightly. “I didn’t know what to do. It just really, really hurt...”

“Hey, don’t cry,” Ruth said. “You’re safe with us.”

“But what are we gonna do with her?” Yamcha asked. “If she can’t fight, she’s gonna get in big trouble out there. And we can’t protect her forever.”

“That’s true,” Jenny agreed, “but we can’t leave her anywhere either.”

“I suppose that’s something we’ll have to play by ear,” Arbin said.

“Play...by ear?” Rebecca reached up, playing with her ear.

“Rebecca...” Hallie stopped her. “That’s not what he meant.”

“Oh...” Rebecca looked down. “What did he mean?”

“It means we’ll wait for something to happen, and decide what to do from there.”

“Oh...well...” Rebecca looked at each of the Rebels. “Maybe I can...do something?”

“Um...I dunno...something...” Rebecca put her index fingertips together. “I guess we’ll...play by ear?”

“That’s the spirit!” Hallie cheered.

Rebecca gave a melancholy sigh.

“Hmm?” Vegeta perked up as he stared at the little girl, his senses going wild in response to her energy. “I’m sensing an incredible power within that girl. She’d be a lot more useful if she learned to fight.”

“Me?” Rebecca asked timidly.

“Are you insane?” Jeice chimed in.

“Even if we taught her, there’s no way she could stand up to whatever’s out there,” Jade added.

Jenny shook her head. “Let’s not even discuss that. So, moving on, what dreams did you guys have before all of this happened? Like, what goals were you striving for?”

“Me, I’ve always wanted to be a samurai,” Yamcha threw in out of nowhere.

Jade and Jeice shot him a look. “A samurai?” they asked in unison.

“I don’t know much about the samurai,” Jenny said, “but don’t they have red and white symbols? And don’t they use swords? I’ve never seen you use a sword.”

“Okay, so I’ve never used a sword,” Yamcha admitted. “I’ve been stuck as a desert bandit for as long as I can remember.”

“Maybe you’ll have a better chance once you beat me in a sparring match, huh?” Hallie said.

“Zuna Lord!” Jenny cried. “You’ve never beaten Hallie in a sparring match?”

“You lame son of a bitch,” Jeice giggled.

“Shut up, that’s not even funny!” Yamcha growled.

“I wonder what it could be?” Fulgore asked.

“I know!” Hallie grinned mischievously. “He can’t bear to hurt me, because I’m too cute!”

“That’s enough!” Yamcha cried. “When we’re done here, you and I are gonna hit that training room and have another match!”

“Yeah,” Hallie agreed. “Try again, lose again.”

“Oooh...” the others cooed.

“Okay...” Jenny pondered for a moment. “Fulgore, what was your dream?”

“Well, I’m only programmed to fight evil, so nothing’s really changed for me,” Fulgore said. “Of course, there is the occasional urge to torture Spinal every now and then.”

“Oh...I wish you’d stop...” Spinal whined.

“Is that really necessary?” Jenny asked.

“Well, it’s been in my programming for...technically it’d be 5000 years now, thanks to old Gargos.”

“Who’s that?”

“He’s a demon lord bent on world domination. When the Killer Instinct tournament ended, the Ultratech corporation was warped 2000 years back in time, and Gargos was freed from his interdimensional prison.”

“So that’s how you were built in the past? It makse sense, considering that kind of technology shouldn’t have existed on Earth back then.”

“Yeah, that’s how I was built in those primitive times. But I didn’t have the supplies to maintain my functions, so I kinda rusted to death, so to speak. When Ultratech returned to the year 2000, I was repaired again, this time programmed to defend the world from intergalactic invaders, i.e. Black Shadow.”

“Nice,” Jenny said simply. “But that doesn’t explain why you torture Spinal so much.”

“Well, that’s the programming that Gargos gave me,” Fulgore told her. “Spinal was resurrected by Gargos as a slave, and it was my duty to keep him in line.”

“But we don’t even serve Gargos anymore!” Spinal pointed out.

“I know, but the program is still in my head, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Hallie shrugged. “Talk about a bad influence.”

“You...you...” Spinal reached out towards the cyborg, staying just out of reach, as if something were restraining him.

“You’re welcome to get back at me anytime you like,” Fulgore added.

“Ugh!” Spinal turned away in disgust.

“Yeah, it’s no fun when he lets you do it,” Vegeta said. “I know the feeling.”

“Vegeta, are you an asshole of your own free will, or were you born that way?” Pico asked.

“Oooh!” Jade and Jeice giggled softly.

“Did you hear something funny!?” Vegeta snapped at them. “I don’t know why I joined you wipes!”

“So now we’re a bunch of ‘wipes’?” Yamcha asked. “That’s a new one.”

Jenny scoffed. “You said you wanted us to see you become a Super Saiyan.”

“Like that’ll ever happen...” Pico grumbled.

“Just once, I’d like to see you dress and act like a gentleman,” Ruth said.

“That’ll be the day,” Jeice said.

Yamcha shrugged. “Hey, it can happen. After all, we’ve already seen him dress and act like a woman.”

The group cracked up laughing as Jeice gave Yamcha a high-five.

“Shut the hell up, all of you!” Vegeta screamed. “You all will be bowing at my feet when I become a Super Saiyan, mark my words!”

Jenny rolled her eyes. “Consider them marked. Jeice, why don’t you go next? Tell us about being with the Ginyu Force.”

Jeice scratched his head. “Well, I joined them because I thought they were the coolest thing happening at the time. I joined them even though Jade was totally against it.”

“I thought the Ginyus were a bunch of bumbling idiots,” Jade said.

“I came to realize that she was right,” Jeice went on. “We never got anything done, except develop various poses that really served no purpose in battle.”

“Even when we went to school on Arturus, the teacher told us that the Ginyu Force was totally gay,” Hallie added.

“Hey, he didn’t have to say that...”

“So that’s why you left the Ginyu Force?” Jenny asked.

“Yeah, that, and I was kinda missing my sister,” Jeice replied.

“Oh, Jeice...” Jade blushed as she gave him a playful slap.

Jenny looked around. “Let’s see, who haven’t we talked to yet? How about Arbin and Gazelle?”

“Ever since I was young, I’ve enjoyed racing,” Gazelle said. “So when I grew up, I joined the F-Zero GP. The one day I had this horrible crash that nearly killed me. The medics decided that the only way to save me was to integrate cybernetics into me.”

“Integrated cybernetics into you?” Yamcha asked, looking at Gazelle’s cybernetic body. “It looks more like the other way around.”

Gazelle looked down at himself. “Yes, it’s true that my human body is completely gone. The saddest moment was when my girlfriend Eliza saw me like this. She cried and ran from the hospital. I never saw her again.”

“Ohh...” The Rebels gave him a sympathetic look.

“Nevertheless, I kept right on racing,” Gazelle said. “It’s the only thing that made me feel alive after that.”

“We’re...happy for you?” Yamcha said, uncertain.

“If something like that happened to me, I’d never want to race again,” Jenny remarked. “So Arbin, how about you?”

“I was much like Gazelle, I loved to race,” Arbin said. “But the races I competed in were much before F-Zero. In fact, these races were much more dangerous. Many people died from the horrific crashes. I was one of the lucky ones; I survived race after race without serious injury. I knew that my luck wouldn’t last, so I began to study black magic to keep myself alive. And then the day came when I was involved in a crash that killed me. The black magic worked; I came out of the flames as little more than charred bones and burnt flesh. Only then did I realize that I would have been better off dead.”

“That’s crazy...” Ruth said.

“Yeah...then I competed in the F-Zero races 200 years later, knowing that I was immortal...or so I thought.”

“And then you were killed by Black Shadow,” Spinal pointed out.

“And you were resurrected again with cybernetics, thanks to Gazelle,” Jenny added.

“So you can still die?” Hallie asked.

“Yes,” Arbin replied. “I believe that the angel of mercy will come for us all. Until then, I will fight...and I will continue my black magic studies.”

Holding his palms several inches apart in front of them, Arbin formed a purple energy ball in between them. He slowly pulled his hands apart, enlarging the energy ball. The purple glow radiated, illuminating the room. After a moment, Arbin closed his hands together, extinguishing the energy ball.

“So...what do you think is going to happen to us?” Spinal asked. “Will we even clean up this universe?”

“Not a chance,” Jenny said. “Even if we did, it wouldn’t mean a thing. We’d still have nowhere to go. We’d still be outcasts.”

“You say it wouldn’t mean a thing,” Ruth said, “but I’m sure it would mean a lot to the innocent people out there, who are suffering as we speak. We can find our happiness by helping them.”

“Even if we took the optimistic POV, it’s technically impossible to defeat every general. Our lifespans just aren’t long enough.”

“Man...what’s gonna happen to the universe after we die?” Yamcha asked.

Before anyone could put any thought into the question, Canis Lupus appeared in the center of the bridge in a puff of smoke.

“Let me answer that,” he said. “If you can’t clean up the universe before you die, I’ll take care of it from there.”

“What do you mean?” Jenny asked.

“Before you get yourselves killed, you need to meet some successors,” Canis explained. “People with the skills to fight evil. People with a strong sense of justice. People who...aren’t so eager to die.”

The Rebels only glanced at each other.

“I know some people like that,” Canis continued. “You’ll meet them soon enough. Just promise me that you’ll survive long enough to meet them, okay? You can do that, can’t you?”

The Rebels shrugged. “Yeah, sure, whatever...”

Canis rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“No, really, we promise!” the Rebels insisted.

“There, that’s better,” Canis smiled.

“So where can we find these people?” Vegeta asked. “I’ll test them myself to see if they’re worthy.”

“Oh, they’re located at various points across the universe,” Canis said. “There are more people than you might think with a strong sense of justice. Like Rebecca here.”

Rebecca looked up. “Me?”

“That’s right. You have a strong sense of justice, don’t you?”

“Um...I think so.”

“That’s good.”

“Um...Canis?”

“Yes?” Canis looked down at the little girl.

“What’s ‘justice’?”

The Rebels let out a soft giggle.

“It means...whatever is right and fair. Get it?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Canis looked at the group again. “Now, do you feel better after talking to each other like this?”

The Rebels looked at each other, apparently pondering the question. “No...not really.”

Canis sighed. “Man, you guys are hopeless.”

Jenny kept a laugh in. “Yeah, some mentor you are.”

“Hey, I can only do so much. Ultimately, it’s up to you to help yourselves, and help each other. But if talking to each other doesn’t help any, then you guys are just beyond help. C’est la vie.”

“Ha...yeah,” Jenny mused.

“Pico,” Canis moved on. “I understand that you’re about to go through an important stage in your life. Here’s giving you my best wishes.”

Pico raised an eye. “What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. I know all about your species; you all go through this stage that will change your life.”

Pico put his hand on his abdomen for a few seconds before pulling it away.

“There, that’s what I’m talking about,” Canis said. “And as for the rest of you...”

He looked at each of the Rebels again. They all stared back at the wolf wizard with no particular emotions crossing their faces. All Canis could see was their slight curiosity as to what he was going to say next.

However, all Canis said to them was, “Good luck.”

With that, the wolf wizard vanished from the bridge, leaving the Rebels to contemplate his words and their own thoughts.

“Hey Pico, what life stage was he talking about?” Jenny asked.

Pico tried to play it off. “It’s nothing.”

“He said it was important,” Fulgore said. “It sure doesn’t sound like nothing.”

“It’s just a little thing that our race goes through. It’s nothing to concern yourselves with.”

“Would you like to talk about it?” Jenny asked.

Pico stared at her for a moment before replying, “No.”

Jenny shrugged. “Okay...”

“So you’re keeping it a secret, huh?” Yamcha asked.

“That’s right,” Pico said.

“Is the secret...juicy?”

“Juicy? Well, I suppose so...”

“Tell it.”

“I said no!”

“Yamcha!” Jenny called. “If he doesn’t want to talk about it, there’s no reason to force him.”

“Apparently, it’s a purely personal matter that we don’t need to stick our noses into,” Arbin said.

“Well...” Jenny stood up to stretch. “I think that’s enough chatting for now. Thanks for coming in, everyone. I’ll see you guys later.”

With that, she turned and casually left the bridge. The other Rebels paused and looked at each other in the deafening silence.

“Well, that was fun,” Yamcha said, breaking the silence. “So, what now?”

“That conversation sure brought back some pleasant memories,” Arbin said.

“It’s funny that you would think of your own fiery crash as a pleasant memory,” Fulgore said.

“Well, that wasn’t exactly pleasant. But I’ve seen better things, and I’ve seen worse things.”

“Like the time when Black Shadow tried to flood Arturus with sewer water?”

“Eeeuw, I remember that,” Hallie said. “That was so gross.”

“What’s really gross was the time when Black Shadow poisoned the food and turned the citizens into demons,” Jeice said.

“Yeah, that was pretty disgusting,” Jade said. “Especially when we had to make them vomit just to get them back to normal.”

“Yeah, that was not fun,” Hallie said.

“And yet those were the good old days,” Yamcha said.

“Yes...” Arbin agreed. “I feel that we only have even more unpleasant times ahead of us. So let’s bow our heads in a moment of silence.”

Everyone bowed their heads as they fell silent. They all knew that Arbin was right. However, they didn’t know just how right he was.

“All right...” Arbin looked up again. “We’ll just have to do our best. I’ll see you guys later.”

The others watched him as he stood up and calmly left the bridge.

“Ugh...” Pico growled softly as he held his midriff again. The Rebels noticed this as they all faced him.

“What’s the matter?” Yamcha asked.

“You have a stomach ache?” Jeice asked.

“Pepto Bismol works great,” Hallie said.

“No, I’m fine,” Pico insisted. The alien turtle stood up and left the bridge as well.

After another moment of silence had passed, the other Rebels began to leave the bridge, going their separate ways.

--

Reminisce – The Aftermath

Well, the rs have had a rather enlightening chat. They got to know a little more about each other’s pasts, and/or lost dreams. But now they are truly lost. All they can do is reach out to their successors. Sure, I could talk to them myself, but they would be less likely to join the cause. I seriously hope that the Rebels survive long enough to touch their lives.

These are the words of Canis Lupus.