Recently in Episode 2: A New Home Category

When I woke up, I noticed I was in a bright room with curtains all around me. I laid there quietly for a moment, waiting for the fog to clear from my head. Finally I remembered what had happened, and unconsciously reached with my right hand toward the bullet wound in my shoulder. There was a small bandage there, so I started to lift it.

"Hey, leave that alone," A female voice said from behind my bed.

"Hmm? Who are you?" I asked.

The girl stepped out from behind the bed to look at me face to face. It was Sienna!

"Sienna!"

"Hey, Yukari. I'm glad to see you made it out!" she said.

"I'm just happy to see you again. It's been hell," I replied.

"Yeah, I bet it was. Well, it's all uphill from here!" she said, smiling.

I nodded.

"Your bullet wound is all healed up. Anna actually did the hard work. You were losing a lot of blood, so she had to remove the bullet and stitch it herself before you got here. She did a really good job, I think."

"Yeah, it feels better, for sure. She sure seems to know a lot for a 10 year old," I remarked.

"Didn't Michael tell you? She's one of those gifted children, she only needs to see it once and she knows it. I wish I had that sort of mental prowess. I've been teaching her some nursing practices the past few months. I'm just happy to see her first human patient was a success!"

"…First?" I asked nervously.

"Oh, yeah. She'd only done stitching and such on mannequins up till now. But like I said, she did a fine job!"

My stomach was starting to feel a little uneasy again. It seemed this was going to be a familiar feeling for me outside of City Eternal.

"So anyway, if you're feeling up to it, Jonathan and Anna are waiting to see you," Sienna said.

"Oh, sure."

Sienna motioned to the wheelchair at the side of the bed. I slowly lifted myself off the bed and wobbled over to the chair. I was shocked to notice that the bullet wound didn't hurt anymore. Sienna's healing touch was truly a marvel. I was still a little groggy, however, from anesthesia. After carefully lowering myself in, Sienna pulled the curtains and wheeled me down the room. I saw a bunch of new faces. Doctors and nurses, kids with broken arms, people recovering from surgery, it was just like any hospital I'd ever known. I was shocked.

"I have to admit, this wasn't what I expected when I heard about a refugee camp," I said to Sienna.

"To be honest, it's only a refugee camp in name. It's more of an underground city."

"An underground city?" I asked.

"Yeah, hard to believe, isn't it? We're quite a ways down, too. This city is built like a massive underground building. There's somewhere along the lines of 250 floors, of varying heights," She replied.

"250 floors? How many people are there here?"

"Over a hundred thousand, I think. There's generations of people here who've never seen the inside of City Eternal. The situation is far different than the stories you heard about back at the dome."

I was stunned and speechless. How could so many people have lived outside the dome, and for so long? How could I have not known about all of this? I took a deep breath. It was going to be a long day, there was a lot to learn.

Sienna took me through a few more rooms, and up a floor on the elevator. The elevator doors opened, and she wheeled me out to the waiting room.

"Hold on, I want to walk in," I said.

"Are you sure?" Sienna asked.

"I was shot in the shoulder. I'm not crippled." I snidely answered.

It felt good to be walking again. I walked over to the door, opened it, and saw Jonathan and Anna talking. They lifted their heads and once they noticed it was me, they jumped out of their chairs. Anna rushed over and hugged me, while Jonathan grabbed me and kept me from toppling over.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Yuki!" she exclaimed.

"Heh, me too. And thank you for helping me, Sienna told me what you did!" I said.

"So, your shoulder will be alright?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, it is already," I answered.

I looked around the room for a moment.

"Hey, where's Michael?" I asked.

"He said he was sorry he couldn't stay, he had business to take care of. He wanted us to meet him tonight at the rebellion headquarters." Jonathan replied.

"You should get some rest, Yukari. I'll show you both to your rooms." Sienna said.

Sienna took us back to the elevator, and we rode up a good 25 floors.

"Now remember, this elevator is just for medical, don't be using it all the time. You're just getting a free ride today because I'm here." Sienna reminded us with a grin.

The doors opened revealing a small hallway. Sienna took us to my room first. Jonathan opened the door, and I stepped inside. The apartment was amazing! It had a large living area, a fireplace, an eat-in kitchen, and two bedrooms. It was furnished with some old, but usable furniture.

"How in the… wow! This is better than my parent's house back in City Eternal!" I exclaimed.

"You can thank Michael for that. He's pretty high up on the RDF's rank, so he pulled a few strings for you and Jonathan. I hope you two don't mind sharing it?" Sienna said.

Sharing? To be honest, the idea that the apartment would be big enough for two people never entered my mind. But now that I saw this place, I would feel bad not sharing it.

"We'll, uh, work it out," I said.

Sienna walked over to the kitchen counter, and scribbled some things on a pad of paper.

"I have to go," she said. "But if you need anything, this is my cell phone number. Michael's is on here too, although he tends not to answer it. There's a computer over there, it can answer any question you have about the camp. Don't forget to look up a map for the rebellion HQ; this place can be a maze sometimes."

"Really, Sienna, thank you. I hope to see you again, soon!" I said.

"Oh, you will. God willing I won't have any more emergencies today and I'll meet you all at the rebellion HQ tonight. Now get some rest, will ya?"

I smiled and waved goodbye as she shut the door.

Over the next few hours, Jonathan cooked up some delicious Mexican rice, and we devoured all the information the computer could give us about the camp, and its history. It told us about how the camp started, how they survived off the waste of City Eternal, and about the recent rebellion movement. I was most interested in how they continuously dug deeper with this camp, expanding it as the years went by. It started out as just a niche inside an old subway system, and grew over the many decades the refugees have lived out here.

It talked about how the camp operates as its own city, feeding off of the rubble of New York City, and of City Eternal. They adapted thrown away technology, processed waste for water, and recycled materials for construction. The service elevators were used to move materials and finished goods up and down the camp. A tram system connected the camp to the rebellion HQ, as well as the 5 defensive lines.

The defense of the camp seemed to be the highest priority. All incoming and outgoing materials and people had to be registered and logged. The five defense lines (of which two were contained within the camp's perimeter itself) circled the camp. To date, only once had City Eternal attacked the camp, without reasonable success.

It was a lot to devour, and we were only at the tip of a very large iceberg. After spending a good three or four hours staring at the screen, Jonathan and I decided to take a quick nap before heading off to meet Michael. I went back into my bedroom, turned off the lights, and instantly went to sleep.

A couple hours later, I was unfortunately awakened by the alarm. I dragged myself out of bed, and took off the hospital gown I'd been wearing. I took a long shower, but was disturbed by a loud banging at the bathroom door.

"Hey Yukari, will you stop wasting all the damn hot water?! I need to get a shower too!" Jonathan yelled from behind the door.

"Bug off, Jon, women always take long showers!" I called back.

"Like you'd know any—"

"Finish that sentence and I will tear you limb from limb!" I interrupted.

Just for that, I stayed in the shower just a little longer than I would have. After getting out and throwing my hair back into a ponytail (I wasn't one for fashion, alright?), I rummaged through the closet to find something decent for me to wear. The choices were slim, so I just grabbed a long skirt and t-shirt, and threw it on.

Jonathan finished cleaning up himself only minutes later, and emerged from his room and met me in the living room. I looked at the clock.

"Oh… shit. We're late!" I yelled at Jonathan.

"How the hell are we so damn late?" Jonathan yelled back, as he nearly knocked the door off its hinges.

We ran down the hall, following the sketchy map I had made earlier. We reached one of the public elevators, but it was taking an eternity to move. I started pacing around, hoping we'd make it to the headquarters on time. After a few moments of pacing, I noticed a stairwell.

"Jonathan, jump on my back."

"Do what? Why?" he asked.

"Will you just do it and stop asking stupid questions?!" I demanded.

Jonathan climbed up on my back, piggy-back style, and I took off down the stairwell. There were a few people in the stairwell, and I could tell they were a bit freaked out to see a girl carrying a guy down the stairs at over 40 miles an hour. I was going so fast down the stairs, my feet spent more time on the walls (to change direction) than they did on the floor.

However, even though we were going that fast down the stairs, it still took a good few minutes to reach the bottom, where the rebellion headquarters entrance was.

"Alright alright get off me, you're killing my back!" I told Jonathan, while elbowing him in the gut.

Jonathan climbed off of me, and just stood there, as if a bit overwhelmed.

"What? You act like you've never seen me run fast before." I asked.

"Huh? Oh… sorry… you just scared the living crap out of me!"

"Not my fault you're such a baby," I pointed out.

"You could at least tell me when you're going to do that next time," He said.

"Don't worry about that, there won't be a next time," I said. "You weigh a ton!"

Suddenly, I realized that we were standing in front of a desk, with a guy just standing there, at a loss for words for the conversation taking place before him.

"Can I… help you?" he finally asked.

"We're here to meet Michael," Jonathan replied.

"Michael? We have a lot of Michaels. What is his last name?" the clerk asked snidely.

"His last name? Hell, I don't know his last name. Do you?" Jonathan said, turning to me.

"I never asked him!" I said.

"That's brilliant, Yukari. How long have you known him? And you still don't know his name?" he pointed out.

"Hey, what about you? You're not exactly a stranger either!" I defended.

While we continued to bicker, the metal gate behind the clerk opened. Michael stepped out, looking at us and shaking his head.

"It's McCormick. Michael McCormick. I figured this was going to happen, I'm glad I came down," Michael said.

The clerk spun around in his seat to look at Michael.

"Oh, you! Sorry, Michael, I didn't know they were your guests. They were a little, unusual."

"That's fine, Tony. They've always been unusual," Michael replied with a smirk.

I stared daggers at Michael, and then walked around the desk. Jonathan followed. Michael motioned for us to continue through the gate.

"So what is this meeting about?" I asked, as we walked down the long dark hallway.

"I'm going to show you two what the rebellion is really about. What we do, what we have, how we work. I'm also hoping that you two will join the special team I am working on. There's a lot to talk about, so I'll start off with the basics." Michael said.

I nodded.

"The rebellion is mostly comprised of a defense force. We have five lines of defense. The first line, the observation line, exists primarily to keep an eye on City Eternal and what they are doing. They're the ones that give us advance warning of attacks, and give us as much intelligence as we can gather. This line is rather fuzzy, it moves as intelligence changes.

The second line, the hold line, is our primary defense infrastructure. This is where most of our units are posted, and most of our turrets. It's their job to keep anything the first line discovers from becoming a threat to the refugee camp. This line circles about 10 miles from the outer limits of the camp.

The third line, the fall back line, is our secondary defense infrastructure. Many of our provisions are held there, with our support personnel. They keep the second line stocked, and also maintain a place to fall back to if the second line falls. This line circles the outer borders of the camp.

The fourth line, the last defense line, is as the name implies. It's our last real line of defense from attack. This line is actually the top three floors of the refugee camp; the only floors above ground.

The fifth line, is the lockdown line. This line is located on the fourth, fifth, and technically this bottom floor. It is a massive titanium gate. If City Eternal were to push us back to the fifth line, the gates would be sealed shut, effectively cutting us off from the world above. It also cuts us off from the rebellion headquarters, since they could enter from that location also. The metal gate you walked through earlier is part of the massive titanium gate."

After taking all this in from Michael, I came to understand just how serious they took the defense of the camp. Just like everything else I had seen so far, this too showed me that the refugee camp was not merely a camp, but a new, living city.

"That's insane! Has City Eternal really attacked that much to warrant such a thorough defense?" Jonathan asked.

"That is one of the things I could not mention earlier. This is classified. We have something that City Eternal wants. A five-phase fusion reactor." Michael said quietly.

"Don't they already have fusion technology?" I asked.

"They do, but it's limited. Our reactor would effectively solve any power problems they would have for the foreseeable future."

"So why don't we give it to them? Then surely they'd leave the camp alone," Jonathan said.

"No, the exact opposite. If we give them the reactor, they'll have no further use for us. They will nuke the camp until it is nothing but slag. City Eternal knows they made a mistake in allowing the exiled to live outside the dome. The only reason we're safe is because we have that bargaining chip," Michael replied.

After a good few minutes of discussion, we'd finally reached the end of the long walkway. We jumped on an elevator, and it took us up quite a way. The elevator didn't specify how far up, but judging from how long we were inside, I'd say we were close to the surface.

When the doors opened, I was welcomed with the sound of people talking and computers beeping. Tactical displays covered the walls, and people were moving around at a frantic pace. On the largest display, I recognized a diagram of City Eternal.

"Welcome to headquarters," Michael said.

"General!" Michael called out in the direction of a scruffy old man in a suit, looking at the main display.

Who I assumed to be the General spun around, and seemed happy to see us.

"Ah yes, the specials!" the General said.

"The young lady here is Yukari Yamamoto. The blond guy with glasses here, he's Jonathan Camden," Michael said, introducing us.

"Nice to meet you," I said, shaking the General's hand.

"Always a pleasure to see a fine young woman here in headquarters," the General replied.

Jonathan shook his hand next and nodded.

"My name is General Ratkins, I'm the head of the Rebellion Defense Force here. Has Major McCormick informed you of the basics?" he asked.

"I have, sir," Michael responded.

"Good. Let's go into the war room and I'll let you know what we're dealing with at the moment," the General offered.

We followed the General down another small hallway in the back of what I would later discover was the situation room. He opened a door at the end of the hallway, revealing a small room with a conference table, and a single large display. The General motioned for us to take a seat, and we did. He then flicked a couple switches, and the lights dimmed in the room.

"The RDF, or Rebellion Defense Force, has the primary mission of defending this refugee camp from the continued attacks by City Eternal," the General said.

The display turned on, and provided an overhead map of City Eternal and the refugee camp.

"City Eternal, over the past few decades, has moved away from their old stance of leaving us on our own. They now desire a technology that we have developed."

The display changed, revealing what I assumed to be technical data on the reactor Michael had mentioned earlier.

"Now that we have something they want, they've begun to attack us. Unfortunately for them, they can't nuke us out of existence without destroying the technology, so they're forced to conventional warfare."

The display reverted to the overhead map, animating to show various attacks the dome city had unleashed over the past few years.

"However, in the past six months, their attacks have strengthened considerably. If they continue this trend, we could be in serious trouble soon."

The display continued to animate, showing how over the next couple months, City Eternal's military would have grown large enough to break through the camp's defenses.

"This is where you come in. We want to take this on the offensive. Unfortunately a frontal assault is not realistic, and looked down upon by the population, despite their resentment," The General informed us.

"Like I told you both a while back, we don't want to hurt the general population. We still hold the military organization solely responsible for what has occurred," Michael reminded us.

"Alright, then if we aren't taking the dome on directly, what are you proposing?" Jonathan asked.

"We wish to create a special task force to infiltrate the dome and grab a copy of their military database. With that information, we could create a better defense for ourselves, and more effectively predict their plan of attack," The General replied.

"And you want us to be a part of that task force," I finished.

"Exactly."

I looked at Jonathan, and then at Michael.

"Are you going to be on this task force, Michael?" I asked.

"Yes. Also, Sienna and our tactical officer will be going," Michael responded.

"I'm in. Anything to stick it back to 'the man' is fine with me," Jonathan said enthusiastically.

I hesitated. While I too wanted to exact some revenge upon those sick bastards back at the genetic farm, I also didn't enjoy the prospect of venturing back into the dome city I had only a day ago escaped from. To be caught again was something I don't think I could take.

Michael looked at me concerned, I think he could tell I was worried.

"Why don't you sleep on it? You've had a rough day as it is. We've still got some planning to do before we can move ahead with this operation, so you've got a few days to think it over." Michael offered.

"Okay, I'll sleep on it," I agreed.

"Wonderful then. I do hope you join us Yukari, we're counting on your abilities. Everyone's abilities, actually. It's the one advantage we have over City Eternal, and I am confident they won't ever see you all coming," The General said.

"Oh, trust me, they wouldn't see me coming," I thought to myself. I gripped my katana's hilt tightly, and began to walk out of the room, for bed.

When I got back to my room, I undid my ponytail and looked in the mirror. A weary face, with misshapen brown hair and half-opened eyes looked back. I looked like Hell, and felt it too. I threw a nightgown on, and immediately collapsed into bed again. I had a feeling tomorrow was going to be another long day.

The next morning, I was rudely awakened by the sound of someone opening my bedroom door. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and attempted to see through the haziness. Once my eyes cleared I saw it was Jonathan.

"Hey sleepy, it's about time you woke up. I've been up for three hours now!"

"Ugh, what time is it?"

"A little after eleven. I let you sleep as long as I could."

I slid out of the bed, and wobbled over to the bathroom to take a shower. I continued to talk (loudly) through the door and over the noise of the running water.

"Anyway, I bought you this kimono to wear today. There's an Asian culture festival on the 30^th floor this afternoon, figured you might want to go," Jonathan said.

"A kimono? I've never worn one," I said.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. Now, are you going or not?"

"Well since you went out of the way to buy a kimono, I guess I have to. I wanted to spend some time touring the camp though."

"We'll have time to do that, don't worry. Sienna said she might come too after work."

"Okay. Hey, Jonathan?" I asked.

"Yeah, Yuki?"

"What do you really think about that mission?"

"I'm scared, too. But I think we'll have to face our fears at some point anyway. The genetic farm may have hurt us, but they didn't kill us. We can't let them rule over us in fear."

I took a moment to think about what he said. Was I alright with just hiding here in the camp? Could I really live my whole life just hiding?

"Think of the others still trapped in the genetic farm," Jonathan added. "Not all of them are going to be as lucky as we were."

All of this weighed heavily on me, and under any other circumstances I'm sure this would have been an easy decision for me. But even Jonathan did not understand the true consequences of their experiments on me. I still held a deep dark secret, one I had no intention of making public anytime soon.

I stood there in the shower just scrubbing furiously for a few minutes, thinking back to the genetic farm and that first horrible experiment.

"Yukari, you alright? You just kinda went silent." He asked.

"I'm alright." I called back to him.

I finished up my shower and wrapped the towel around me. I stepped out of the bathroom.

"Well, are you going to leave or what? I'm not putting on a show for you." I said.

"Eh, it was worth a shot," Jonathan said, as he left my bedroom.

I picked up the kimono off the bed, and attempted to put it on. I fumbled with the obi, the bow portion, but I managed to get it to stay on. I then attended to my hair, and walked out into the living room. Jonathan was standing there, wearing an interesting samurai outfit. He looked at me, and attempted to stifle his laughter.

"What?!" I crowed, wondering what was so funny.

Suddenly, I saw Anna jump off the couch to look at me. She was also wearing a kimono, and I saw that her obi was tied quite differently than my haphazard attempt. She started laughing uncontrollably.

"Haha! You really don't know how to put on a kimono!" Jonathan said.

"Here, Yuki, let me fix that for you!" Anna offered, as she scurried over behind me.

"You didn't tell me Anna was coming, Jon."

"It was a little sudden. She just arrived. Apparently Sienna thought it was a good idea." Jonathan said.

"Great," I thought to myself. "We're going to look like a family now."

"Don't worry, Yuki, I'm well behaved!" Anna said from behind me.

She suddenly pulled tight on the obi, nearly leaving me breathless.

"It's not you I'm worried about," I said, looking intently at Jonathan.

"Hey! You act like I'm going to pretend we're a couple or something!" he said.

"I wouldn't put it past you," I replied.

"Alright, you're all fixed up, Yuki!" Anna said.

"Thanks."

"So, are we ready to go? I want to hit the food district before we head up." Jonathan proposed.

Anna and I nodded.

We headed down to the public elevator, and there was quite a bit of people there. We jumped in line, and I found myself trying to find a conversation starter.

"So, Jonathan, what did you do this morning? Besides buy this kimono, that is."

"Well, I grabbed breakfast, and read up a little on the daily events going on here at the camp. That's where I discovered the Asian culture festival. I then went and browsed some stores on the upper floors, and went to get a boat license," he described.

"A boat license?"

"Yeah. Apparently since boat transportation on the surface is limited, and also dangerous, they require a license in order to buy and sail a boat," Jonathan explained.

"So you're going to buy a boat, then?" I asked.

"Actually, I was going to build my own, or maybe restore a damaged one. I love doing restorations, it was a favorite hobby of mine."

I thought for a moment, about hobbies. I didn't really have a hobby of my own, as a child. I always enjoyed sword fighting, but I never considered it a hobby. It was more of a sport, to me. Thinking back to those times when I participated in Iaido and fencing made me feel excited and free again. I knew then I wished to pick up that sport again, if I could.

I snapped back to attention at the sound of the elevator arriving at our floor. Jonathan hopped in and held the door, while Anna and I followed (along with numerous others waiting. Anna jumped and hit the 46^th floor button, and in a few moments we were on our way. And then we stopped. And started again. And stopped again. And started once more.

"Oh come on! How many stops do we have till the elevator hits our floor?" I asked.

"What are you complaining about, lady? I have to ride this damn thing four times a day!" some guy in the back of the elevator replied.

"Four times? Well aren't you special? I ride it from the 20^th to the 240^th at least 12 times a day!" another guy claimed.

"Whatever, I have to ride the damn main service elevator twice a day!" a third guy cried.

"Would you all just grow up and shut up?" A lady at the front scolded.

I put my head in my hand, wishing I had never said anything. They continued to argue all the way until we got off. Once we stepped off, however, things became far quieter. Eerily quieter, actually. Instead of a hallway, there was a wide open area. It looked like it was outside! There were trees, plants, stone walkways, and a starry sky.

"How is this possible? This looks like the pictures of old Earth!" I said bewildered.

"It's fake," Anna informed us. "They use some kind of greenhouse stuff stolen from the dome. It's the same system we use to grow our food, I think."

I stood there for a moment, taking everything in. Anna started walking forward, and finally Jonathan and I joined her. Anna moved forward at a good pace, as if she had a destination in mind.

"So where are we going to first, Anna?" I asked.

"We're going to see Mr. Fisher first," she said. "I promised Sienna that I'd take you to see him first."

"Who's Mr. Fisher?" Jonathan asked, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"Mr. Fisher is an old man that Sienna knows. He's kind of strange, but he's really really smart, supposedly."

I admit I was intrigued, and a bit curious, but kind of thrown off. I expected this time to be all rest and relaxation, not more drama. It had to be important, if Sienna wished for me to see her, but I still had my reservations.

We walked into the middle of what I would call a town. It was only a single street, and between each small building were stands, with various things like food and games. A few sakura trees poked out from behind the stands. A large number of people were already at the festival, completing last-minute preparations. Anna took us to a two-story building not far from the elevator. Despite being only two floors, it was one of the tallest at the festival. The sign on the building said "Gaia's Monjayaki".

"So he works at this restaurant?" Jonathan asked surprised.

"He owns it, actually," Anna said.

"Monjayaki is an odd choice for a restaurant," I pointed out.

"Like I said, he's kind of strange."

I nodded, willing to accept that explanation for the moment. Jonathan pulled back the curtain and we entered.

"Excuse me folks, but we're not open yet," a middle-aged man behind the cooking area said.

"Actually, we're just here to talk to Mr. Fisher." Anna replied.

"Fisher? You're looking at him." The man replied.

"Uhm, are you the only Fisher? I thought that Mr. Fisher was an old man," Anna ask confused.

"Nope, definitely the only Fisher," He said.

"Alright, Mr. Fisher. Are you familiar with a doctor named Sienna?" I asked.

"Sienna? Sure! Oh… you're the ones she was talking about! I'm so sorry, my mind forgets things easily nowadays." He said.

Mr. Fisher walked out from behind the cooking area and shook our hands.

"Pleasure to meet you all! I've heard a lot of things, all good I assure you! Haha!" he said, casually. "So, what brings you to my restaurant today?"

Jonathan and I looked at Anna. To be truthful, it never dawned on me to ask Anna why we came here.

"Well, Sienna thought it would be a good idea for us to learn about the history of the dome and us. She said you were the best person to ask." Anna informed him.

"Did she now? Well, I'm not sure whether I should be honored or insulted! But I guess I'll ignore that for now, for old time's sake."

I wondered just what kind of old times Sienna and Mr. Fisher could have had, since she only escaped to the camp a year earlier. I didn't bother to ask right then, though.

"Well, if you want to hear the story of City Eternal, you might as well take a seat," He said, directing us to the stools in front of the cooking area.

As we sat down, Jonathan spoke up and asked, "So why does Sienna consider you to be so knowledgeable in the history of the dome?"

"Well, I guess that's a good place to start. I have an intimate knowledge of the history of City Eternal because I was there from its conception."

"That's impossible, the dome was built over three hundred years ago!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Quiet! Are you going to listen to my story or are you going to psychoanalyze it?" Mr. Fisher replied, annoyed.

Jonathan apologized, and Mr. Fisher continued with his story.

"I used to be a scientist working at the US fission reactor plant. I wasn't high up in the ranks, but it paid the bills and the work wasn't too hard. Anyway, one day, I had just finished my shift. I was in the chamberlock, which was an airtight secure checkpoint between the inside of the plant and the outside. While they were performing the usual checkout procedure, there was a loud explosion and numerous alarms sounded off."

"You were there at the beginning of the reactor failure?" I asked, amazed.

"Yes," he replied. "After a few minutes, I heard an announcement that the emergency egress hatches had been opened. Unfortunately for me, there were no hatches in the chamberlock. I was trapped. Minutes continued to pass, and I could hear the sound of the uncontrolled fission reaction eating away at the infrastructure of the plant. There were a few more loud explosions, and finally a part of the chamberlock gave way, allowing me to escape."

"I ran my ass off to the parking lot. There was hardly a soul in sight, everyone had already taken off. I looked back for a moment, feeling the immense heat of the reaction. That's when the reaction finally hit the fuel deposits at the bottom of the plant. Those idiots could have prevented such rapid destruction if they had followed the emergency guidelines. Those fuel deposits were supposed to be neutralized in case of a reactor failure. Instead, in the heat of the moment, they were left alone. As I was running, I heard a rumbling. Rather, I felt a rumbling, deep in my chest. It shook me right to the core, and made it hard to think. I looked back again, to see the color of the reaction change rapidly. I knew then it had hit the fuel deposits. In the next instant, I was hit by a massive shockwave of air from the rapid increase of heat."

"I'm not sure how, but I woke up a few hours later, miles away from the plant. I was lying on my back, all my clothes burned off, but my body was in perfect condition. The radiation from the fusion reactor had given me eternal life. That, my friends, is how I can tell you this story better than anyone else," Mr. Fisher said, with a shallow smile on his face.

"Eternal life? That's impossible!" I said in disbelief.

"Impossible? Aren't you the one with superhuman speed?" he replied with a wink.

"I, uh, right," I shut up quick.

"Anyway, after the explosion, the country was a mess. And that wasn't all. The other reactors similarly exploded over the next couple months. The uncontrollable reactions continued to grow, causing incredible devastation to the world, not just to the ground near it, but to the air, and the weather patterns. The sky slowly blackened with soot from everything burning. Temperatures dropped dramatically."

"So what did they do?" Anna asked.

"At first we thought the reactions would burn themselves out. But it became obvious that they no longer needed the fuel deposits to sustain themselves; they had become self-sustaining. The massive size of the reaction had enough surface area to draw material to burn right from its surroundings. The governments, what was left of them, formed a pact to destroy all the reactions with an experimental nuclear detonation." He explained.

"Nuclear detonations? How in the world would that solve anything?" Jonathan questioned.

"It was a bit ironic, looking back. The one thing we all were sure would result in our eventual extinction would come to be the last hope for our survival. Unfortunately, this last ditch effort was not without its own side effects. What would happen is the explosives would separate the reactions from the earth, which would remove the reactions' fuel supply. It took a lot of nuclear explosives to pull it off, but they were able to finally starve the reactions. By that time, however, most of the planet was a wasteland. What wasn't irradiated by the reactions or nuclear detonations was frozen solid from the cold."

"So that's when they built the dome…"

"Yes. And it wasn't a smooth political process either. Despite the fact that most countries were reduced to populations smaller than some individual US states, they all believed they deserved the right to the remaining world resources to build the new dome shelter. Months of bickering and more lost lives finally resulted in New York City being the prime location. Not because they agreed, but because it was the only place left on the planet that was hospitable enough to build such a structure. Their bickering had dwindled their options down to only one city. New York City, like most of the planet, was also frozen over, but it had the most building material that could be recycled, it was close to the ocean, and it wasn't too irradiated yet," Mr. Fisher explained solemnly.

"What? Politicians arguing even at the cost of human lives? Color me surprised!" I said sarcastically.

"So then the dome was built. But there's only one government now. What happened after the dome was built?" Jonathan asked.

"Hold on, there. That's a whole 'nother story. Let's leave it at that for now. There's something else I need to talk to you and Yukari about."

"And Anna?" I said, curious.

"Just you two. She can listen in but it concerns your future here at the camp, and the resistance." Mr. Fisher said ominously.

Jonathan and I nodded, and I rubbed Anna's shoulder.

"You want to go out and play some of the festival games?" I asked Anna.

"No thanks, I wanna listen."

"Alright then, it's settled. Before I start, could I interest any of you in some Monjayaki?" He said with a grin.

We sat and ate. It was the first time Jonathan and I had eaten a decent meal together since arriving. While it certainly wasn't amazing, I wasn't one to complain. Anna seemed to love it, however. As we ate, we talked about various things; the current state of City Eternal, the politics, how the camp was faring, the basics. Mr. Fisher seemed to lead the conversation, and I felt that all of this was somehow building up to something bigger.

After we had finished, he confirmed my feelings and jumped right into the heart of the matter.

"Yukari, Jonathan, I need to warn you about something. Something very serious." Mr. Fisher said uneasily.

"What is it?" Jonathan replied.

"Michael and I do not believe everything is as it seems with City Eternal. Your mission, Michael has told me about it. Based off my past experiences, I don't think that reactor is their target."

"But if that isn't their target, then what is?" I asked.

"To be straightforward, I don't believe they're after anything at all. I think they're just too preoccupied with something else to truly take care of us once and for all."

"Preoccupied with what? There's nothing out here," I stated plainly.

"Or is there? Think about it. I told you my story, of how City Eternal started. With as much as all the countries bickered and fought over the last remaining inhabitable regions, do you really believe that they finally decided on this one dome? Also, why would City Eternal devote so much time and effort into a full-fledged army when their only enemy is a camp leeching off their trash?" Mr. Fisher suggested.

"But if City Eternal isn't the only city, then… they could be at war with other domes!" Jonathan concluded.

"That is the first idea that comes to mind, yes. But you'd think we would have seen some real proof of this. I know the camp's technology isn't quite the best, but I think we'd know if there was a war being waged only a few miles away from us." Mr. Fisher said.

"Okay, so then what do you think it is?"

"This is actually Michael's idea. He believes that there is a war going on, but it's incredibly one sided, in favor of City Eternal. He thinks that City Eternal is running out of resources, and wishes to expand. Assuming the other domes were not prepared for war, it could be devastating."

"If this is true, then this is larger than just us," Jonathan said.

"Indeed. The General couldn't tell you in the war room, but this is the real reason they wish for you to infiltrate their military computers. This mission is to be conducted under absolute secrecy, and even the General doesn't know who to trust," Mr. Fisher said.

There were so many questions, and so few answers. I knew then that I'd be going on this mission. I didn't have a choice. If there really were other domes, other entire cities out there, I had to know. I needed answers.

"Will you be joining us on this mission then, Mr. Fisher?" I asked.

"Ah, eh, no. I may be a decent historian, but I am no combatant. I'd only slow you all down," He said, grinning at me as he said the last part.

"Funny. I guess I'll go on this mission then. Hopefully we'll get some answers," I said.

Anna, who had been pretty quiet this time, suddenly spoke up. I didn't expect her to really understand what we were discussing, but as I would later discover, she was not to be underestimated from her age.

"If you're gonna go, I am too. My mother is still in the city somewhere, we might find her!" she said enthusiastically.

"Anna, you can't go, you're too young," I informed her.

"Too young? You need me for this! I'll be useful, and I won't get in the way!" She insisted.

"She's right, Anna, your father…" he paused.

"My father what? Died? I know he died, you don't have to be all protective of me! I can take care of myself! And I think he would have wanted me to help mother," Anna said.

"You should probably reconsider, Yukari. She'll be under much better care staying with you, anyway," Mr. Fisher interjected.

We bickered over it for a while longer, but it was futile. I knew that had I not invited her along, she probably would have found a way to sneak along with us anyway. It still left me feeling concerned, and worried. It was probably an omen of things to come. With that, we decided it was time to go. After all, there was the Asian culture festival! We said our goodbyes, and ducked out.

Anna absolutely loved the festival. She dragged us from one side of the place to the other, making sure to burn every single coin we had been graciously given by Sienna for the event. Speaking of Sienna, she also came up and said hello to us while she was on break from the hospital. I didn't want to admit it myself, but by nightfall, I even found myself enjoying the festival.

At the end of the festival, Jonathan took us to this small grassy hill near the entrance. I wasn't quite sure what he was planning, but he had us sit down on the hill.

"Sienna said this is the best place to watch," Jonathan said suddenly.

"Watch what?" Anna asked curiously.

Jonathan just grinned at us and looked up at the sky, or ceiling, or whatever they decided to call it at that time. I looked up also, just in time to see the first explosion of a beautiful firework. A moment later I heard and felt the explosion.

"Amazing!" I said, in awe. I had only seen an actual firework once before, as a young child, back in the dome. "But how are they firing off fireworks indoors like this?"

"There's no smoke… so it must be artificial," Jonathan pointed out.

"I don't care, they're really really pretty either way!" Anna said.

It really was a wonderful spot. The buildings were not obstructing the view, and it was far away from the bustle of the festival. We continued to watch the fireworks for a while, when I suddenly remembered something.

"Jonathan?"

"Yeah Yukari?"

"I thought you said the festival was on the 30th floor," I said questioningly.

"It is, why?"

"Um, Jonny? We're on the 46th!" Anna informed him.

"No, I think you're confused," he replied.

"Uh, Jonathan, Anna pressed 46, I watched her," I said, defending Anna.

"Yeah, so what? Fine, I forgot what floor it was on. Everyone makes mistakes."

"So what? If we'd followed you we probably wouldn't have ever made it here! You've never had any sense for direction, you know that?" I boldly stated.

"Ah, shut up!" Jonathan cried.

Anna and I giggled for a while about that, as we continued to watch the fireworks. It was even more enjoyable without the smoke blocking the view and smelling up the place, I decided. I was thoroughly enjoying the final shots, when I noticed Jonathan began to shuffle oddly.

I didn't give it much thought, but then his hand started to move towards mine. I glanced down at his hand for a fleeting moment, not moving my head. Unsure of what he was doing, I hesitated. Then he placed his hand on mine.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled at him, yanking my hand away from him like I was burned.

"I… I was just…" he stuttered.

"Nevermind that, I know what you were doing, just don't ever do that again, do you hear me?!" I said furiously.

"Yeah, Yukari, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to both-"

"Well you did," I replied flippantly.

Honestly, my reaction was pretty unfair to him and was completely uncalled for, but I had my reasons for acting that way. Reasons I would come to terms with the next morning, to even my own surprise.

The next morning, Sienna came by to visit. She had heard about the incident last night and wanted to see if I was alright. I reassured her that everything was fine, telling her that I was just not ready for anything right now, that I'm still under a lot of stress.

Unfortunately she didn't buy my story.

"There's more to it than that. Look, you've had a rough time, maybe you should go see the counselor." She suggested.

"A counselor? Oh come on, that's not necessary!" I pouted.

"Really, Yukari. I just feel like you haven't quite come to terms with what has happened, what is happening. I mean, come on Yukari, you bit at Jon for trying to hold your hand."

"I am not going to see a counselor. Jon just didn't know my boundaries. Now he knows. Everything is fine. Got it?"

"Yukari, are you sure? I mean, I'm worried about you. It's not even last night, so much as everything. You've always seemed a little stressed, unaware, and detached." Sienna said.

"Unaware? Detached? What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Well, ever since the first time we met, you often neglected yourself. I'm not trying to come down on you or anything, but you don't really dress the part of a woman. Take now, for instance."

"What? What's wrong with how I dress?" I demanded to know.

"You're answering the door in a nightgown, Yukari," she pointed out.

I looked down, and realized I hadn't even given a thought to my clothes before answering the door.

"Okay, so I have some modesty issues. I'm not a perfect girl. Apologies for shaming the gender."

"That's more of my point, Yukari. It's almost as if you've never cared about anything feminine. To be honest, I was shocked you wore that kimono yesterday." She said.

This wasn't going down a path I was comfortable with. She was right about what she said, but it didn't mean I wanted to hear it.

"You know what? I don't care, okay? I don't need to be worrying about stupid stuff such as how my hair looks or if some guy is going to try and snap a revealing picture of me. I've got enough problems as it is."

Sienna, rather than responding, just put her arms on her waist, and looked at me intently. I stood there and glared right back at her for what seemed like forever. Finally, I sighed, accepting that she was right.

"Sienna… alright! Alright! I have things I need to talk to someone about. But I don't want to talk to just anyone." I finally admitted.

"Then talk to me. You can tell me anything, you know that, right?" Sienna offered.

"I… fine. I guess you might as well come in." I said, and gestured her inside. "I'll go throw something on."

She sat down on the couch, while I closed the bedroom door and grabbed a t-shirt and pants. As I dressed, I thought about what I was going to tell her. I had been keeping these feelings secret, bottled-up for so long, I wasn't sure I could. After I finished, I sat on my bed a moment, still trying to find the confidence to go through with it. I reasoned to myself, that if I didn't tell someone, it might come out some other way. I knew I wanted to be the one to reveal the truth.

I finally took a deep breath, pushed the ever-increasing nervous stomach cramps to the back of my mind, and walked back out to the couch.

"Yukari? Are you okay? You're crying." Sienna asked concerned.

I hadn't even noticed that I was crying before. I nodded, and sat down at the other end of the couch. She pulled out a tissue from her purse, and handed it to me. As I wiped the tears out of my eyes, she asked the loaded question.

"What happened to you, back at the lab?"

I sat there quietly for a moment, looking down at my hands. Hands that, for many months, I refused to admit were my own. I finally gulped down the last bit of uneasiness in my throat, and began to tell her everything.

Three years ago, I was taken by the government to be placed in the experimental genetics laboratory. They refused to tell me what I was doing there, or what they planning. After sitting inside a cell for a few weeks, only seeing guards and food service, I was taken by the scientists to their operating room. There, they forcefully drugged me and put me to sleep.

From what I remember, the operation lasted 16 hours. I however did not wake up until four days later. I was able to open my eyes, and speak, although I was still extremely confused and unaware of what was going on. At that time I didn't notice what had happened to me. The scientists informed me then that I had been subjected to a DNA adjustment operation, in hopes of enhancing various parts of me, including my speed.

It wasn't until the next time I woke up that they told me that I had reacted strongly to the adjustment, and as such my body's DNA had corrupted itself. Apparently this was a common occurrence among their patients, but the results are always different. In my case, they told me, my DNA had reformed to that of a female.

The second time I had awoken, I was still a bit hazy, so I hadn't noticed anything wrong. I hadn't spoken a word yet, nor bothered to summon the energy to sit up. Well, after hearing those words, the haze immediately left me, and I sat straight up. I looked at myself. My chest hadn't yet developed, but there was certainly something missing down below. I immediately screamed hysterically, pulling at my restraints and demanding that they change me back.

It was no use, however. Not only were they unconcerned with the side effects of the modifications, but they saw this as an opportunity to retrieve data on other uses of the DNA adjustments that they had not considered. My situation was hopeless, and I felt as if my life had come to an abrupt end.

Sienna, who had been intently listening to what I was telling her, suddenly spoke up after hearing this. I lowered my head in shame, waiting for her reaction.

"Oh my God, Yukari! I didn't… I didn't know!" she said tearfully.

I nodded, still looking down at my lap.

"I was too ashamed to tell anyone. Hell, I still am. But these feelings were much stronger then." I said sniffling.

I wiped my eyes again, intent on finishing my story before I became too choked up to do so.

After a few days of constant checkups and lots of sleeping, they finally released me into the testing center, where I would spend the rest of my time at the facility. That first night was hell. Jonathan, who at the time was in the neighboring cell, attempted to talk to me, to calm me down, but I couldn't. I finally stopped crying, but I had not come to terms with what had happened to me.

All I could think about is how shameful it was, how embarrassing it was, how perverted it was for me, a man, to be living in a female body such as this. It seemed unreal, as if I would just wake up and be back to myself again. I couldn't take it. I attempted to kill myself. I took a sheet from my bed, tied it to the lamp in the ceiling, and tied it around my neck. I then jumped off the bed.

Fortunately, I only passed out, and the knot came undone. The guards found me the next morning, and had me put on a suicide watch for a month. That didn't stop me from trying again, the very next night. I had stolen a razor from the bathrooms, and smuggled it back to my cell. I held it close to my wrists for what seemed like hours, but I couldn't do it. The guards finally found me, still clenching the razor, and had me restrained to my bed for the night.

Ironically, it was that night that I consider to be the worst night of my life. Unable to sleep, I was forced to come to terms with the events that had occurred the past week. Without suicide, there seemed to be no way out. I just kept dreaming about how I would live my life, if I were to continue on as a woman.

"Those thoughts that night still haunts me today," I told Sienna.

She sat still for a while, looking at me with a concerned, sad, and even analytical expression. She seemed to think for quite a while about what I had told her. I just sat there quietly, not sure how to continue. She soon spoke up, however.

"I think I can see how you feel, and having to suddenly live your life as a woman, after living as a man for so many years… but what I don't get is… it isn't that bad, being a woman, don't you think?" She asked carefully.

"In a matter of speaking, no. But I cannot control these feelings of intense embarrassment over what is essentially daily life for women. I take a shower, and I feel like a pervert. I get dressed, and I feel like a cross dresser. I feel so vulnerable all the time, so weak, it scares me." I said, opening my soul to her.

"Yukari… there is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed for. You did live your life as a man for a full 17 years. But you are a woman now. You didn't choose to be a woman. It was forced upon you. Anyone could understand that. No one could seriously expect you to behave any other way." She explained, as she grabbed my hand.

"It still feels as if I am somehow… dishonoring, or making a fool out of the gender. I don't know what I'm doing. I've learned the absolute necessities through brute force. I don't even understand what my body is trying to tell me sometimes. And it just brings back the whole feeling of vulnerability."

"And how would you know? Do you think that if I were suddenly to become male tomorrow, that I would know everything men need to worry about? You'll learn! It'll take some time, but I'll help you in whatever way I can. Okay?" She reassured me.

I nodded.

"I don't know how to explain it really, so that you can understand. It's… scary being female."

"Scary? I guess I don't understand. What is scary about being female? It couldn't be your period, you've gone through plenty of those by now for sure! What else is there to be scared of?" She pressed.

"Like I said earlier, I think it's this overwhelming feeling of weakness." I said, attempting to put my deepest thoughts into words.

"Weakness? Wait, you mean physically! I think I get it now! You're not used to being so delicate and short! Having gone from a tall, presumptuously strong man… it must be hard to deal with." she said.

"I… I guess so."

"Cheer up then, Yukari! We women aren't so terribly frail as you make us out to be! We can do anything a guy can, given time and effort." she said with vigor.

I sighed. I had figured that another woman might better understand what I was going through, but Sienna still didn't quite get… it. Perhaps it was just something that was me, something unrelated to gender, that I couldn't expect someone else to understand.

Sienna looked at me for a moment. She seemed to realize that she wasn't quite on target.

"I'm sorry Yuki, it's just… this isn't the kind of conversation someone has on a regular basis. I am trying to sympathize, but it's hard to try and imagine how you really feel. You must be terribly confused, with male and female thoughts conflicting all the time, right?"

She did have that much correct. I didn't even know exactly how to describe what I was feeling, as many of my feelings were new to me. Especially now, having escaped that wretched farm, I found myself opening up to feelings I had blocked out.

"It's not just physical weakness," I said to her in a sudden realization. "It's mental, too. The new feelings scare me. I don't know when I will just suddenly break down, or get angry."

"Yukari, our emotions and feelings, especially our awareness, understanding, and acceptance of them… I feel that is what makes us female. Men have a terrible time understanding how we feel. Perhaps you're just realizing that. After all, women are simply more in-touch with who they are. Men, well, let's just say they aren't always with it." She said grinning.

I smiled a little. "You might not want to try the 'Girls Rule, Boys Drool' speech. I was a guy for the better part of my life, remember." I said, chuckling to myself.

"Maybe not," she replied. "But it did get you to laugh!"

It was then at that moment, that I realized I might actually be able to do this. To make it in this horrible, unfair world. To live the rest of my days, in femininity. I was still unsure of myself, greatly so. Sienna was the first step towards accepting my situation, and a major step it was. However, for now, I was going to give it a shot. For years now I had merely survived as a woman. Now, I could learn to live as one.

We talked for quite a while about the change, and what it meant for me. Sienna promised to do her best to teach me how to be more feminine. I promised to do my best, although I admittedly still was uncomfortable wearing the basics, much less being dressy and cute. I wasn't sure if it was because I simply hadn't had the chance, from living inside the genetic farm all that time, or if my male mindset was still holding me.

I was just starting to regain composure when I heard the door to Jonathan's bedroom open. Out he stepped, eyes squinted shut, as he stretched and yawned.

"Yaaahh… oh, hey Sienna, and g'mornin' Yuki." Jonathan said, rubbing his eyes.

"You! Out! Now!" Sienna suddenly yelled.

"Woh, hey, wha-"

"No talking, get out!" She interrupted.

"Uhm, okay? I guess I'll grab some breakfast at the cafeteria…" Jonathan said, puzzled.

"You do that," Sienna replied.

Jonathan grabbed a robe, threw on some slippers, and left the apartment.

"You know, Sienna, that wasn't necessary," I explained.

"We're not finished talking. I was thinking, maybe you shouldn't be staying here in the same apartment as Jonathan." She asked.

"I… well… I never really gave it a thought. We've been through so much together already as it is…" I replied.

"Yes, and you can't even so much as hold his hand. Don't you see the contradiction in that?" She pointed out.

"It's not like we're sleeping in the same bed or even the same room!" I cried.

"Yukari, listen. You're still seeing this from a guy's perspective. You've made it pretty clear that you see Jonathan as merely a friend. You see him more as a buddy, one of the guys, but you're not a guy anymore. Frankly, I'm not all that surprised he acted as he did, you're giving off incredibly mixed signals." She explained, thoroughly.

"Mixed signals? I'm not giving off any signals!" I said exasperated.

"So you don't find him attractive at all," She stated.

"Well, I mean, he's a nice guy and all, but I am a-"

"-A what, Yukari? A guy?"

I was caught off-guard by that, and sat still.

"I am not saying you should be looking for a relationship. You have plenty of time to decide on that. But you need to keep in mind that although you may feel, and even act masculine at times, you are a woman now. That is how people see you." She said.

After all this time I would've thought it would've hit me, but it hadn't. Whether I felt like a girl or not, everyone else saw me as one. I needed to be more aware of how others felt.

"What Jonathan did, was a mistake. But it was an honest one. He didn't know your feelings, because you hide them so much. Talk to him, explain how you feel, that you enjoy his friendship, but that is all you can offer right now. He is a nice guy, as you said. He'll understand." She explained.

"Alright, I guess I can do that," I replied, defeated.

"You do agree, right? I think he deserves at least a little bit of an explanation."

"I'll explain my feelings, but right now, my gender crisis is a secret, okay?" I clarified.

"I won't tell a soul," she assured me. "So, what's for breakfast?"

"I don't know, but Jonathan better bring back something good or he's sleeping outside tonight," I replied jokingly.

We both laughed.

"You know what? How about I help you put on something nice today. And maybe we can go shopping as well, for some better outfits." Sienna offered.

I accepted her offer readily, if for any reason then because it sounded normal, and that was something I really needed. Normality. I had to savor the usual, the typical, for I knew there wouldn't be many chances to do so.