Elena's nod wasn't as confident as Kira had hoped.
She had a way to fix that though.
"Watch your uncle for me."
Kira unhooked the J1N from the makeshift backpack she'd fastened him into and placed him on Elena's lap.
Elena turned the drone over in confusion. "What happened to him?"
Kira was reluctant to delve into the memory of Jin dropping like a rock upon entering this strange place. It also wasn’t the sort of visual she wanted to saddle an already traumatized child with.
"That's a good question."
Steeling herself, Kira crossed the floor to Elise's side. She crouched, touching Elise's neck with two fingers.
A pulse beat against them. Steady and strong.
"Thank God," Kira whispered with an overwhelming sense of relief.
Elena came up behind her. "She's not dead, Auntie."
Kira started to answer when the cryopods in front of her caught her eye. She froze, staring at them in shock.
Elena glanced over at them too. "My siblings. Mom's been trying to save them."
"I don't think they're the only ones she's been trying to save," Kira said in a grim voice, her gaze trained on the last of the pods. The only one whose shape resembled a sphere.
A boy floated inside, his hair partially obscuring his features.
That was okay. Kira had already guessed the boy’s identity.
"Is this what you couldn't tell me?" Kira asked, looking down at Elise in understanding.
No wonder Elise had been so cagey. She’d known how hard this would hit Kira and Jin. The lengths they would have gone to as a result.
"Who is he? Uncle Jin got very upset when he saw him."
"Yeah, I can understand that."
Kira was a little upset herself.
Elena's gaze followed Kira as she moved to the cryopod, setting a hand against its cold surface and hanging her head. "Damn it."
"Auntie?"
Kira dropped her hand. "He's your uncle."
Elena's gaze was shocked as it snapped to the boy. "How is that possible?"
"That’s a very good question," Kira said grimly.
And one she didn’t have an answer to.
She'd always assumed his body was destroyed when his soul was transferred to the drone. For every action, there was an equal and opposite reaction. She’d thought his physical form was the price of that miracle. Her theory seemed to be supported by Himoto’s claim that she and the J1N had been the only things left in the clearing when he arrived.
There was also the possibility that the boy was Jin’s clone. Maybe Kira and Jin had missed something when they'd searched out and destroyed all copies of their DNA.
The thought of other Kira clones running about without her knowledge brought with it a cold feeling of dread. Because if they missed eliminating all of the DNA material taken from Jin, they likely had Kira’s as well.
