Daniel and Jasmine drove in silence down the old dirt road. They were heading towards the Nevada/California border. He knew how important this was to her, how badly she needed some kind of answer, he just hoped that this little trip would give it to her.

He hadn't been expecting her to speak at all, considering the state she'd been in lately. She and Akane wouldn't even look at each other lately.

Jasmine: "Daniel, can I ask you something?"

He glanced from the road to her briefly, trying to read the expression on her face in a millisecond. Distraught? 

Daniel: "Of course, Jas. What's up?"

She took a slow breath, staring out the passenger window at the expansive desert they were driving through.

Jasmine: "Do you think . . . that someone would go through the effort of sending me a letter every day just to get near enough to . . . hurt me?"

He glanced at her again, but she'd turned the back of her head to him so he couldn't read her expression.

Daniel: "Jas, what is this about?"

Jasmine took a shuddering breath. This was one of the few times she could ever see being out without Akane in the near future.

Jasmine: "The letters . . . Akane thinks it's all some ploy to hurt me because of those idiots that attacked me before. Do you think anyone would use letters like those to get to me?"

Daniel thought about it a long moment, using his focus on the road to get extra time for thinking, but every second of silence that passed made Jasmine's spark sink.

Daniel: "I . . . I don't know, Jas. I mean, it's possible, but I don't think it's likely. But you know how Akane is since the incidents. He's only looking out for you."

Jasmine sighed, nodding her head lightly.

Jasmine: "I know he is, but . . . I just feel like he doesn't trust me. Like he feels like I'm going to get myself killed every time I walk out the door alone. These things aren't just for show, you know?"

She focused on her left forearm and it transformed to metal, the shape naturally mimicking a human's, but it could also transform into a gun-like shape. She'd done private target practice on a regular basis. Even though she was supposed to keep it hidden, she knew that if push came to shove, being able to defend herself with some crazy freakishness would be better than meeting death face-to-face.

When the metal emerged, it didn't even phase Daniel. He'd know about since he'd found her, and he had no issues with it. Her ability to change was what was going to make this new movie a blockbuster, and the sequels to follow, because no other director would be able to create those effects without computer generated imaging or animation.

Of course, Jasmine wasn't just an amazing find to him. She was family. He was the one to find her when she was lost. And he had taken a natural talent, turning her into a silver-screen A-list attraction.

Daniel: "I know, Jasmine. I think he's just a little overprotective."

She scoffed.

Jasmine: "Overprotective? He doesn't want me doing anything unless it's supervised. I doubt he would let me play Bingo in a retirement home without him there! Is he daft? I just . . ."

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

Jasmine: "I just want to have the letters . . ."

He'd only taken two so far. The one from yesterday that he'd discovered her reading and the one Angela was going to give her today. However bittersweet the words were, it didn't mean she didn't want to read them.

And not being able to . . . it made her feel like she was alone again. Like she didn't have anyone who cared for her in . . . that way . . .

And that feeling sucked. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window, closing her eyes. She just wanted to calm down and not think about it and-.

Crack! A pothole in the road jolted the car and slapped her head against the window. She recoiled immediately, hand to her forehead and leaning back against the seat.

Jasmine: "Son of a hell-bitten lugnut . . ."

Daniel glanced over, wincing as he turned his attention back to the road.

Daniel: "Sorry, Jas! I didn't think you were . . . you know. We'll have the doc look at you when we get back. Just . . . don't fall asleep."

Jasmine sighed, keeping her eyes closed tightly, trying not to focus on the throbbing in her skull, and failing.

Jasmine: "What for? I've suffered worse blows to the head than this, and I haven't gotten a concussion."

Daniel nodded lightly, knowing it was true, but he still worried for her.

Daniel: "Jas, I know you don't get seriously injured much, but I have to look out for you."

Jasmine: "I'm not helpless, Daniel. You're starting to sound like Akane. I can get through this sort of thing without someone 'looking after me' constantly."

Daniel sighed, pulling the car off the road and turning it off.

Daniel: "I know you can look after yourself, Jas. But I still get concerned. You're family."

Jasmine took a deep breath, nodding.

Jasmine: "I know, Daniel . . . You've always taken care of me like I am."

He nodded, looking out the passenger window.

Daniel: "We're here, you know."

She opened her eyes, looking out the glass at the sand and expansive emptiness . . . very little was actually out here other than rocks and dirt and the occasional tree. She unbuckled, cautiously climbing out of the Mercedes, looking around. The scenery rang a very distant bell in her mind. She remembered collapsing, not five feet from the road, breathing heavily. It had been pitch black, the stars blocked by clouds. A small drizzle had begun by the time she saw the headlights coming.

At that moment she froze. She didn't know if she should rush to the car or run from it. Everything was still fuzzy. Her mind couldn't form any solid thoughts. When the car pulled over, she just stared. When the man stepped out, she just watched, until he walked over reached for her.

At this point, she screamed, lashing out at him, striking him across the cheek, screaming, "NO! NO! I'M NOT GOING BACK! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" At the top of her lungs.

While most people would have left her there after being struck, he reached for her again, grabbing her wrists when she tried to run.

Daniel: "Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you."

She whirled around, staring at him, terrified, and right where he'd grabbed her, metal appeared, the flesh disappearing. She shrieked, pulling her arm away and falling backwards, staring at it.

Jasmine: "What did you do to me?!"

Daniel: "I didn't do anything! You're . . . I don't know what you are . . ."

He took a deep breath.

Daniel: "But if you don't trust me, you're going to become an experiment. If anyone sees that . . ."

He gestured to her arm, pausing. She went back and forth between staring at her arm and staring at him.

Daniel: "Abnormalities like that . . . Look. I don't want to see anyone spend their life in a lab. Do you trust me?"

Jasmine: "Trust you?! I just met you on a road in the middle of nowhere in the rain! Are you crazy?!"

Daniel looked up, then back down at her arm, kneeling in front of her. It was a light drizzle, sure, but it was starting to pick up. He reached for her wrist and she jerked it away.

Daniel: "I'm not going to hurt you, honey. Trust me."

She refused to extend her arm to him, but when he reached for it again, she didn't move. Gently, he straightened it until he could view it better. He carefully examined the wiring and cables, the metal plating. More so, he watched the lack of reaction between her wrist and the rain.

He looked back up at her, moving his hand down to hers and holding it for a moment. She stared at him, and slowly, her wrist phased back to the flesh-like appearance it had held before. She shuddered, still uncomfortable watching it even though it felt perfectly natural.

He smiled kindly.

Daniel: "Don't worry, Honey. I'll take care of you."

He kissed her forehead gently, helping her up and leading her back to his car, opening the passenger door. She paused a few moments, staring between him and the car, trying to evaluate if this was a safe move to make. After all she'd just spent who knew how long as a captive to giant robots . . .

She closed her eyes, trying to soothe her pounding heart, or, whatever, and carefully got into the car. He closed the door for her gently, walking around to the driver's side and getting in, buckling up. He nodded to her, and she imitated him. As he put the car in drive, the doors locked, and she flinched.

Daniel: "Relax, honey. It's an automatic thing in this model. I'm not kidnapping you, or anything. Promise."

She nodded slowly, refusing to look at him. Instead she did her best to focus on the light patter of rain against the windshield as he drove her off to a life she'd never imagined she'd have.

Jasmine faded back to the present. Daniel now stood at her left, watching the ground, just staring at it the way she was.

She took his hand in hers, looking up at him.

Jasmine: "Daniel, I need to go back. Further. Off the road. Will you wait here for me?"

He looked at her in surprise.

Daniel: "Jas, Akane would kill me if he found out I let you go off on your own."

Her eyes turned pleading, clenching his hand tightly. He sighed lightly.

Daniel: "Yes, I will wait for you."

Jasmine quickly kissed his cheek, taking off running into the desert. Luckily, they'd left early in the morning that day, and she had time for this excursion. It took hours to retrace her path, longer than the night she'd escaped since she went off track a couple times. But after a long while, she'd made it to a giant pile of rubble, many of the once-sharp edges smoothed out from years of weathering. It took her a few moments for her to realize that this was actually the location she'd fled from so earnestly . . .

As she gazed at the broken pieces of the place she'd been held, she recalled the faint sound of an explosion out in the distance as she'd been running. She'd been so panicked she didn't pay much attention . . .

She tried to recall earlier and earlier memories . . . she remembered waking up, looking around. She saw bodies near her. But she didn't remember any of them. She barely even recalled what they looked like.

She remembered the dark-skinned face she saw as she'd rushed off the slab and to the nearest exit . . .

Son of a hell-bitten lugnut . . . She swore . . . No. It couldn't be. It . . . the woman from yesterday . . . Aged, obviously, but the very same . . .

She shook her head roughly. No. This wasn't possible. I just wasn't. 

Well, things were only about to get more complicated. Suddenly, she was assaulted with flashes of memories.