Untold But Unforgotten (Taz/Up Fanfiction) EDITING PERIOD COMPLETE!

Chapter 3

Taz stood up slowly. She was relieved to feel that she had no broken bones beyond a dislocated shoulder, which she asked Up to pop back into place.

He hesitated. "You sure? It's gonna be really painful."

She smiled. "Pain is part of life, Teniente." She held her arm out. "Now pop it."

Up grabbed her arm and pushed on it swiftly. Taz bit her tongue, but refused to scream. She had to seem tough. She would become the toughest son of a bitch there was. And she knew she had to work for that, because it didn't happen overnight. "Gracias," she said, looking into his eyes after he finished. They were so blue... Up held her hand a moment longer than necessary, before letting it fall.

"No problem. You, uh, wanna get changed before the team arrives? They'll probably want to fix you up and take you somewhere to stay," Up suggested.

She shook her head. "I'll get changed, but I don't need a place to stay." She handed him the letter. He read it, eyebrows raised.

"A Ranger, huh? You sure? It ain't no cakewalk," he warned. She just smiled and went upstairs.

Taz had been heading to her room, but she stopped just outside of her brothers. She stepped inside.

Tacito's room had always been a mess, but Taz knew that what she was looking for was in the same place it had always been. She opened his closet and grabbed the box.

It was her father's old uniforms. Taz knew her brother had wanted to wear them, but now he never would. But she could. So, she pulled out one set and began changing. She pulled on the camouflage pants, and added a belt so that they wouldn't fall, as they were much too big. She pulled out a tank-top and put it on, and added another, since the fabric was so thin. She grabbed a bandana and stepped into the bathroom that joined her brother's room with hers.

She went to tie the bandana around her head, but hesitated. She grabbed some scissors out of the cabinet and went to work cutting her hair. Taz's beautiful black, waist-length locks fell to the floor. When she was done her hair stuck up on her head in a Mohawk, but she had left two shoulder-length strands to the side, a reminder of who she once was. She tied the bandana on her head and looked in the mirror.

No one looking at her would think that this was Gabriela Lopez, petite, defenseless Gabriela, with her sparkling brown eyes and flowing hair. No one would ever guess that this was the girl who would let out a flirty giggle every time an attractive boy had talked to her, which was quite often. But Gabriela had died. She had faded away in the dream, with her mother and brother. The girl who woke up next to Up had been someone else completely.

Up had sent her to change, but he had no idea that she already had. Twenty-four hours ago her brother had been tickling her to get out of bed for the big, girly quinceañera she had so been looking forward to. Now she looked at the poufy dress on her brother's floor and felt disgust. She thought of all of the petty things in her life before and scoffed at herself. Now she just wanted revenge. For her family and friends, for her old life.

But Taz didn't regret her change in lifestyle. She was stronger, and would escalate until she couldn't get any tougher. She grabbed her father's dog tags and threw them over her head so they settled around her neck. She pulled on the chunky combat boots, strapped on her father's knife belt, and grabbed the box with the other sets of uniforms. On her way out she saw a picture on her brother's nightstand.