“Are you almost ready, Mr. Trinity?”  The young nurse asked me in a voice that bordered on genuine concern.  I lacked the strength to do anything but nod, but even if I’d had the power to speak, the oxygen mask covering my mouth probably would’ve prevented my words from coming out coherently.  A nod was sufficient enough for the young woman though, and she began to give me a tutorial on the workings of the regeneration chamber.  “Now, when I push this green button,” she pointed towards a large green button on the outside of the tank, just inside my field of vision, “the tank you’re in will begin to fill with a gelatinous mixture of healing components and a ton of your own DNA.”  I nodded again, wishing her to just get started already.  I’d regained some of my strength, but the entire process of having my ki energy drained from me was a less than pleasant one.  Even an hour after having the tube that had been bleeding me of my ki removed, I was still far weaker than I’d ever been before in my life.  “It may feel a little weird at first,” the dirty blonde haired nurse continued on, “but…” I continued to listen to her babble on and on, although I was only half paying attention to her words.  I’d been in a rejuvenation tank more than once in my life, and the experience was nothing particularly special or new to me.  Still, the pretty young woman carried on, as if she was fascinated by the technology, and was presenting it more to herself than to me.  I’d nearly had a fit when I was told by Karnai that a female nurse would be attending my time in the chamber, and therefore, see me completely naked.  Though the female had blushed when she was aiding me in getting undressed for the dip in the tank, she dealt with it in a very businesslike manner, and was not intimidated in the least by me.

            It was so very different from anything I had ever experienced before.  On my home planet of Vannattasan, women were not even considered to be in the same league as the men.  They were generally considered pieces of bric-a-brac that had no bearing in a man’s life.  They did the work around the house, and they pleasured the males, two simple yet demanding tasks.  The women within the Caprian army were, to a high degree, the exact same.  There were the rare few that were strong enough to make it as grunts within the front lines of the army, and even a singular officer who had a power level near a million; but besides that, their main role was to boost moral within the lower (and even upper) ranks.  Here, on Earth, it was completely different.  From what I had been able to discern, there was no distinct hierarchy of the sexes, almost as if they were even.  Universal law stated that the strongest would hold the most power, yet here there was absolutely no distinction between male and female; they were even in the grand scheme of things.

            “So, you’re ready, right sir?”  The short woman asked one final time.  I nodded again, and then she smiled and pushed the green button.  The pumps within and around the small, semi-transparent dome began to roar to life, and from two pipes to my right and left hand sides, a green, oil-like liquid began to pour out.  It spread out over the floor, and it was warm upon my bare feet.  As more and more of the stuff was forced into the compartment, the level of it began to rise steadily.  The lightly tanned nurse smiled once more at me and then left me to my own thoughts.

            The equality between the sexes was just the beginning of the differences between Earth and the other planets I had seen, all of which were under Caprian dictatorship.  The cities on Earth were large, beautiful masterpieces of splendour.  There was an almost perfect balance between the natural, green beauty of the plants and outside, and the man-made structures of the humans design.  Most of the cities on Vannattasan consisted of a maze of tightly jammed together slums and ghettos.  The people living in them were poor and usually didn’t have enough money to scrounge up food for their families.  Almost all of the people’s money went to the government.  In fact, the entire economy of the Caprian empire was geared towards the military; almost no thought was given to social aids or benefits.  On Earth it was the complete opposite.  Except for the Z Warriors, the planet didn’t seem to have a single weapon of war.  Instead there were buildings like the one I was currently in, and centres where people could buy healthy and plentiful food, and stores where children could be bought toys by their parents, and schools where children were taught skills other than how to survive each day.

            The only real similarity I could see between the two opposite ways of life was the prestige of a soldier.  On Vannattasan, boys like myself that were drafted into the military were seen as idols for others, and in that way it was similar to Earth, where the Z Warriors were looked up to by small children and adults alike.  But the way in which people looked up to their heroes was totally different.  Back at home, I was seen as an idol because I had a chance in life, a chance to escape the extreme poverty and maybe make enough money to keep my younger siblings and parents from wasting their lives in the high-pressure gas mines near my town.  Here though, the Z fighters were idolized because of what they stood up for, because of how hard they worked, and because of their amazing powers.  It was so dissimilar from what I was used to, that it almost made me sick.  Yet, I couldn’t help but feel that the Earth that I was seeing was what planets were supposed to look like; not like the desolate, decayed shells of dead land and poisoned water that many planets within the Caprian’s boundaries appeared as.  The really scary thing was that I’d helped turn some of those planets into those hunks of useless terrain.

            The liquid was now pushing past my shoulders, and was continuing to rise.  Before long, it had reached my mouth, which was still taking in oxygen through the mask and tube that was outfitted within the tank.  By the time the green gel had reached my eyes, I’d firmly shut them close, it was easier to think that way.

            The thought of betraying the only family I’d ever known was less than appealing, in fact it was downright sickening.  Treachery resulted in death to those convicted of it within the Caprian army, and not in any quick painless death, but in public displays of torture and anguish.  Higher-ups in the command chain even occasionally plucked a man at complete random from the lower ranks and would sentence them to a long duration of public torture, even if they were completely innocent; just to keep the weaker soldiers in order.  I knew, I’d seen it happen to a “friend”/sparring partner of mine one day when I was still training to become an officer.  My commander took him from the mess hall at the training center, and right there in the cafeteria, had both his legs ripped off, in front of all the other trainees.  None of us had undergone any gravity training at that point, so we were helpless to do anything as his screams of agony pierced the air.  The scary thought was that we probably wouldn’t have helped him, even if we were strong enough to do something about it.

            Such a thing could not occur on Earth.  If a friend was in need, you aided them, even if you knew you would die in the process.  I had seen it on the battlefield when Triel had floored the woman Z fighter.  One of the human fighters flew in and protected his ally, even though he was quite a bit weaker than Triel.  The tactic itself had stunned me, but what had really caught my attention was how bravely the man acted, as if he had never even considered letting his friend die.  Caprian drill teachers taught you to play the numbers game, sacrificing another’s life to save the majority, or even forfeiting your own life for the good of the army.  This strategy tended to work on relatively easy and large-scale battles, but when facing a battle with smaller numbers, such as the one I’d had here, that simple rule did not apply.  Even the loss of a single comrade was too great, and it often gave the enemy a tactical advantage.  Realizing this, I was quite angered when Blanka took out his frustrations with Triel’s failures when he blasted the Caprian into nothingness.  But Blanka was an overconfident fool, whose only smart move that day was to escape.  And it was that escape that started me thinking…

            Crono was absolutely right, my commander’s didn’t need my information; they could probably get most of the important stuff from Blanka.  Besides, we already had full readouts on all the Z Warriors, save one, and for the most part, those bios had been completely accurate.  Except for Crono.  We had absolutely nothing on him whatsoever.  He was totally different than the rest of his allies.  He fought with a passion and hollowness I had never seen before, even in my most deadly of teachers and allies.  And the difference between him on the battlefield and him at peace was amazing.  In combat, it was as if he was possessed by some sort of demon.  I started to wonder, if Crono was right about that, maybe he was right about a few other things to.

            Maybe, just maybe, this batch of closely-knit humans stood a chance against commander Yoorabit.  Maybe, by some stroke of brilliance, they would defeat the entire Caprian army and keep the dragon balls out of Yoorabit’s hands.  If that were possible, it would be the greatest military feat in the entire universe’s history.  I had not been lying when I told Crono that he had no idea how powerful the Caprian army was.  It had taken Earth’s most powerful warrior, going beyond his max, to beat me, and I was just a lowly ensign, who had barely begun his gravity training.  There were men a hundred times more powerful than me in the higher ranks, and almost all of them were placed in the second wave, from what I could recall.  Crono and his friends could possibly defeat the first wave, but unless they had some sort of an ace up their sleeve, the second wave would all but finish them.  Even after realizing this though, a thread of uncertainty had been woven into my mind, and I knew I would not get it out, not until the war was over, and a clear victor was established.

             I knew Crono was mistaken about the Masenko though.  My very first instructor had taught me that move, and he was one of the most loyal people anyone could ever meet, especially when it came to the empire.  He could not have lied to me about the origins of the Masenko, he simply couldn’t.  But there was something in the way Crono spoke of it, with a sort of obvious certainty, which led me to believe that he was telling the truth.  For all I knew, he could’ve been right.  After all, readings on the old Earth warriors were banned from public and low-ranking military access.  Only the highest-ranking officers had permission to see some of Son Goku’s and Vegeta’s old battles, or even read transcripts of them.  The battle on the original Namek was even more closely guarded, although nobody but Yoorabit knew why.  It seemed to me, through Yoorabit’s public addresses, that he was trying to hide something very personal about that battle on Namek.  Of course that was ridiculous since Yoorabit wasn’t even born when the battle on Namek took place.  Besides, there was very little to hide.  Everyone knew that Namek was the place where Goku first turned into a Super Saiyan and defeated what was then the most powerful being in the universe, Freeza.

            The green liquid had completely encompassed my body for some time, and I was quite literally floating in it.  My feet no longer touched the metal flooring, and my entire body was tingling with the sensation as pieces of my own DNA saturated my pores and went deep down into my organs and muscle tissue.

            The thing I was most scared of Crono being right about was whether I truly had a choice.  The rules and regulations I had lived my life by up to this point had guided me nowhere, except for a rejuvenation chamber, and I knew they would continue to lead me nowhere if I followed them.  Still, I had never known anything different, and just the idea of going beyond anything I had ever experienced before was almost…scary.

            I felt like laughing.  Not laughing over something funny, but laughing at myself.  I was supposed to be one of the most talented and upcoming warriors in the Caprian army, and there I was, floating in a pool of green goop and scared of experiencing something new, like a frightened child.

            But laughing would not prevent me from having to face the choice that was laid out in front of me.  In all my years, I’d never been given a choice like the one that Crono had presented me with.  The question was simple: Do I go or stay?  But the path to the answer was far more complicated.  Many of the questions Crono had raised burned in my mind, and I had answers to almost none of them.  Did I really believe what Yoorabit was doing was right?  Could I really live with myself if I passed up on this chance to save some of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen?  Could I make a difference in the upcoming battle, on either side?  I knew all the queries, but the responses were few and far between.  I had so little time, basically until I was finished healing, and I had to make a decision.

            I didn’t really agree with what the Caprian army stood for, but since I was a child I had been taught that that was the way it was meant to be, and that I should not question it.  But I had seen such a stark contrast on Earth, and I no longer knew for certain if what Yoorabit was doing was in any way for the good of the universe.  I had almost fallen in love with both the natural and artificial magnificence of Earth, and to see it lain to waste was less than appealing.  Though I genuinely wanted to see the Earth spared, I just couldn’t see myself fighting for such a thing.  And even if I did, I still doubted as to whether or not I could make a difference in the war.  There were over a thousand troops in just the first wave of the Caprian army, and with number advantages like that, it would take either a huge mistake by the Caprians, or a brilliant scheme by the humans to keep the advancing onslaught of Yoorabit’s men at bay.

            My thoughts solved nothing though, and as I floated in the greenish liquid, feeling my power and strength slowly return to me, I could not come up with a clear solution.  There were simply too many variables to consider when making a choice like the one I was forced to reach.  I simply needed more time. 

I quickly realized my stupidity.  Time was my only true enemy in the decision making process, and I recognized I truly had plenty of it.  Crono had given me the previous day and that day to come to my decision, but why could I not spend the next year and a half making that decision?  I would train with the Z Warriors, and when the Caprians made their way to Earth, I would choose an allegiance, and fight with them on the battlefields of Earth.  I wouldn’t, no I couldn’t, tell Crono.  I would simply say that I’d decided to stay, and then after I had more time to think of it, I would make my decision the first day of the war.  I knew deep down that I was just putting off the inevitable choice, but I also knew that any decision I made right then would probably be the wrong one.

            With my mind somewhat at ease, I rested peacefully for the remainder of the time in the tank.  Before long, the tiny nurse came back and asked, “Are you ready to come out Mr. Trinity?”  I nodded yes, I was ready.