Author: Saya Moonshadow
Title: Tahu's Hypnotize
Rating: T (or PG13)
Publisher: Feline Freak
Genre: Drama/Angst
Notes: If Green Devil's trademark is yaoi, then Saya's is songfics. Everyone who spends a bit more time in the Bionicle section has already read at least one of her many one-shots, filled with feeling and beautiful lyrics. And one of her best songfics is "Tahu's Concrete Angel" For the 300th story, here's the prequel to it for yet another, feeling filled songfic that just can't be forgotten.
For Feline Freak's contest! Somewhat of a prequel to "Tahu's Concrete Angel". This tells of how Sarah received the Tahu toy a little more than a year before the incident with her mother. (Read "Tahu's Concrete Angel" for more information.)
Also, Sarah may seem a lot more...ah...SURLY in this one. Think about it. She's alone and friendless, who WOULDN'T be surly? Don't kill me.
Disclaimer: -opens wallet and a bug flies out- Nope. Still don't own Bionicle. I DO own Sarah, her mom, and all other HUMAN characters in this fic, though. Only the humans. MEH! "Hypnotize" belongs to System of a Down.
Tahu's Hypnotize
Before the Concrete Angel went to heaven...before she found her first friend...she had nothing.
Not even a heart.
Why don't you ask the kids at
Tiananmen Square?
Was fashion the reason why they were
there...?
"Can anyone guess what the special holiday activity will be?"
Several small hands in the kindergarten classroom shot up, with the tiny children they were attached to all squeaking for attention and making suggestions. The teacher smiled, looking over each one to see if any had the right idea. She pointed to a small boy with a messy mop of brown hair.
"Yes, Tyler?"
"Are we gonna have a party, Ms. Elridge?" the child asked hopefully.
The teacher smiled, but shook her head. "Not really, Tyler. In a way, yes, but we will be doing something else as well. Does anyone know what it is?"
Several more small children began to pipe up.
"Food!"
"Making cookies!"
"Decoratin' a Christmas tree!"
"Presents?"
"Yes!" Ms. Elridge crowed, singling out the little girl who had made the last suggestion. The girl in question had long dark hair and big, expressive green eyes. Her skin was very pale and seemed to stretch over her tiny frame like a too small glove. Her white shirt was tattered and dirty under the long tannish overcoat she was wearing, and an even more tattered pair of jeans adorned her skinny legs. Her shoes? Terrible, to be mild.
This little girl now blushed and smiled, feeling proud for being able to guess her teacher's intentions correctly. It wasn't every day that happened, after all. Maybe she was just a genius.
It actually made her feel...worthy.
She watched as Ms. Elridge continued. "Yes, as she has just said, we will be giving out presents to each other! But, you're not going to know who will be giving you the gift. You'll be playing 'Secret Santa' for Christmas! Who's excited?!"
Everyone in the room cheered - with the exception of the dark haired girl with big, expressive green eyes.
"Who will MY Secret Santa be, Ms. Elridge?" someone cried out.
Ms. Elridge's smile grew. "Well, it wouldn't be a secret if you knew who your Secret Santa was, now would it, Maurine? You won't know until you get the gift. Whoever gave you the gift will put a card on it, telling you Merry Christmas, and then saying who they are. Everyone understand?"
"YES!" the whole class cheered.
"It'll be fun!" a little girl cried, jumping up and dancing back and forth between her seat and the next one over. But, she knocked into the other seat so hard that its occupant was thrown to the floor.
Everyone laughed.
"Haha, look at Sarah!" one of the boys laughed. "She fell on the floor!" They laughed harder.
Sarah Michelle Lawrence of 216 Mountain Lane gave them a withering look, her cheeks very red from embarrassment, and gracefully attempted to sit back down.
Attempted to is the key word here.
The boy behind her grabbed her chair with his foot and yanked it out from under her. She crashed to the floor again. Once more, the whole class roared with laughter.
Ms. Elridge helped Sarah up and gave the other kindergarteners such a glare that they all shut up immediately. "You know, I have half a mind to not do ANYTHING for Christmas this year and have you all give just Sarah gifts!" she snapped. "And mark my words, I'll do it if I see ONE more person picking on her! Am I understood?"
"Yes, Ms. Elridge," was echoed through the classroom, and the teacher began handing out slips that said the name of the person each child was to play Secret Santa for.
No one noticed the terrible scowl upon Sarah's face. There was just one problem with this "Secret Santa" business.
She didn't have any money.
They disguise it, hypnotize
it
Television made you buy it...
X x X
Of all the toys in the shop, there was none that was shinier than the canister containing a small red Bionicle figurine. The picture on the front of the canister showed a tall crimson figure, with a blazing sword made out of flames, and a proud mask with glaring pinkish eyes.
It was the envy of all the other toys in the shop for its shiny boldness and ability to catch the eye of any child.
Too bad it was in the back of the shelf, hidden by these other troublesome, less shiny, canisters containing tiny likenesses of its teammates.
It was invisible.
But not for long.
Because sometime soon, the toy knew, it would be given to the one who needed it more than anything.
And so it - he - HE waited.
His time was coming soon enough.
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my...
X x X
Sarah quietly skulked past the room just beyond the front door of the house, taking care not make even a SOUND as the house's OTHER occupant slept fitfully on the couch, snoring like an elephant. An entire plateful of burnt out cigarettes and a couple bottles of beer decorated the beaten up wooden table in front of said couch. The little girl suppressed a sneer.
Her mother, Betty Lawrence. If anyone was evil, it would be her. She was the reason Sarah's clothes were more tattered and dirty than a dishrag, and make no mistake, Sarah was not happy.
Not like there was anything she could do, though.
But...that Secret Santa thing...gah, there was only three days till she had to get a gift for that stupid Aaron, the one who'd pulled her chair from under her earlier that day. She had no idea what to get him. Like she could. She had no money, and the day her mother would consent to helping her with something would be the day the moon spontaneously exploded.
Sarah sighed aggravatedly. It was obvious what she'd have to do.
Getting out an old shoebox, a pair of scissors, and a bunch of old, two-inch high Indian and cowboy figurines from her closet, she got to work.
She's scared that I will take her away from there Dreams that her country left with no one there...
X x X
"Hey, Mom, look!"
Who was that?
"Look, Mom! It's red!"
A sigh. "Yes, Michael. It's red. Is that the toy you want to get for that Secret Santa thing? Not this Elmo?"
A laugh, sounding as if it came from a relatively young creature. "Sure I'm sure! Sarah likes red, and this toy's really REALLY cool! Can I get it for her?"
The toy began to feel a tad bit excited. Could it be time?
The woman known as "Mom" sighed again, but then laughed tiredly. "Don't you think she'd prefer something a little more...girly? Or looking less like a bug? That thing looks like a cockroach."
Oh. So they WEREN'T talking about him, after all. Mata Nui, he had to complete his mission!
The little boy sighed as well. "OK, OK..." Then, "Hey, look, another red one! It's the fire guy! Mom, can I get it for Sarah? PLLLLEEEAAASSSEEEE?!"
His mother sighed exasperatedly, but this time, seemed to decide that arguing was worthless. "Alright, alright, alright! Get her that...Tahu thing. But if she doesn't like it, don't come crying to me, got it?"
"Oh Mom, she'll like it! I like it, so she will too!"
The toy's excitement came back and tripled as he felt his canister being picked up and put into a basket.
Mesmerize the simple minded
Propaganda leaves us blinded...
X x X
The sounds of a small child crying echoed from the small pink room, but the sobs were reserved, almost as if whoever was making them was trying desperately to stop them from coming out at all. Her shoebox scene that she had so painstakingly made lay safe in the closet, still complete and in tact, but the same could not be said for its maker.
She lay in a heap on the floor, head buried in her arms as she cried her heart out, the pain from her mother's fists upon her body still not having faded away.
"You're just like him, you vile little worm! Just like him, not a bit different! I HATE YOU! DIE! Just DIE!"
"I'm sorry, Mommy..." she whispered, tears rolling off her face and onto the threadbare carpet.
"I can't."
X x X
The day for the Secret Santa arrived at last. The children of Ms. Elridge's kindergarten class all burst into the classroom, each one carrying a carefully wrapped present with a brightly colored bow attached to the top and a card. Some cards were handmade, others had been bought at the store by parents or grandparents for this project. All of said family members were loving and doting. Some TOO loving and doting.
And then there was Sarah.
Her gift was wrapped neatly in an old cloth, which she had obviously tried to scrub clean for that day's event. The card didn't even have an envelope, and had "AARON" written on it in smudged red crayon. It was a bit hard to see against the dull red of the construction paper card, but at least one could read it.
Which was more than could be said for most of the other cards.
Ms. Elridge managed to gather her fifteen students into a circle and put their gifts around the small Christmas tree at the front of the room, smiling hugely as she did so. Five year olds were just so precious. Annoying little buggers, but way too cute for words, really.
"So, who got a present for their classmates?" she called out in a singsong voice.
"ME!" the whole class cried out, "I DID!"
"Good!" she smiled again, "But now we have to give them out. Who wants to go first?" A sea of hands shot up, and she shook her head. "We can't all go at once! We must pick someone...hmm...Alright Jake, who do you think got you a gift?"
"Samantha!" the little blonde haired boy yelled, grinning cheekily at the girl three places to his left. "EW!" she cried in reply, hiding behind the girl next to her. The whole class laughed, as did Ms. Elridge, who then said, "Apparently not, Jake. One more guess before we tell you!"
And so on and so on.
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl...
Sarah tapped her fingers on the ground impatiently, although to tell the truth, she was dreading having to give her gift to Aaron. She just KNEW he was going to laugh, and then so would the rest of the class...she hated being an outcast.
And sure enough...
"Aaron, who do YOU think got you a gift?"
Aaron looked suspiciously at his classmates, tongue poking out of his mouth as he thought. His eyes fell on Sarah, who was visibly cringing, and he smirked.
"Sarah!"
"Sarah, did you get Aaron a gift?" Ms. Elridge asked, still smiling. Sarah nodded grudgingly and stood to get the gift out from the pile around the tree. More twig than tree, really. She handed it to Aaron, not looking at him, and mumbled, "Here." Then, she and the others watched as he tore the dirty rag off, not even looking at the card. He opened up the shoebox and looked inside.
To her consternation, he began to laugh. And laugh and laugh and laugh. "Look!" he cried, jumping up to show it to the rest of the class. "She made me a cowboys and Indians thing!"
"What a loser!" someone in the circle called out, and everyone began to laugh again, harder. Ms. Elridge frowned, and Sarah's pale cheeks flushed deep, deep red. How she hated being the class outcast.
"Well, I think it's a LOVELY gift!" the teacher broke in, glaring sternly at the students. They shut up immediately. "She obviously worked very hard to make it, didn't you, Sarah?"
"Yes..." Sarah hissed between clenched teeth, hands balled into fists. She wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to cry...
"I mean, look at it!" Ms. Elridge grabbed the shoebox from Aaron's hands and held it up for them all to see. Indeed, a very detailed scene, crafted completely from construction paper, crayons, glue, tape, and cowboy and Indian figurines was held within the old, battered box, locked in combat forever. "It's lovely! Class, I think we have an artist here."
"Could I be an artist too, Ms. Elridge?" a girl named Amy squeaked out. "Indeed you could, Amy!" the teacher replied. "Any one of you could! Now, moving on...Sarah, who do you think got YOU a gift?"
Sarah shrugged. "No one?" she suggested.
This earned a couple more titters from the class, although this time it wasn't derogatory laughter. She allowed herself a near-invisible smile.
"No! I got you something!" one little boy cried, jumping up and yanking the last gift out from under the tree. He shoved it into her hands, shouting, "MERRY CHRISTMAS, SARAH LAWRENCE!"
Sarah blinked as the messily wrapped gift was shoved into her small hands, looking down at it in surprise. "Thank...you, Michael...?"
"No problem!" Michael chirped, and sat back down, beaming hugely.
"Are you going to open it, Sarah?" Ms. Elridge asked.
Sarah shook her head. "Not yet...I'm going to wait until I get home to open it." She shoved it into her backpack and didn't give it a second thought.
X x X
It was very late at night before Sarah remembered the gift she had so carelessly stuffed into her backpack that morning. She had been surprised Michael had even bothered to get her a gift, but that was Michael for you, she thought. He was a friendly and hyper kid, always looking to make friends. She had met his mom once, a cheerful but tired-looking woman, who had seemed to really like her...
So much unlike her own mother.
"I'm NOT like him," she mumbled, fumbling with her backpack and yanking the present out, ignoring the clattering sounds from within. "I'm not like him at all." She tore the messy wrapping job off the gift, and blinked in surprise.
It was a small...canister-like thing, with a tall, red figure on front, holding a glowing sword of...whoa, was that FIRE? Awesome! She yanked the top off and spilled the pieces onto the floor. An instruction manual flopped out right after that.
"Awesome!" she whispered, looking at it, and then opened the book. "Step one," she read, "attach this one to..."
An hour later, she was done, and the assembled figurine looked proudly back at her from her cot. She picked it up carefully. "Do you MIND?"
Sarah nearly screamed from shock and dropped the toy. It landed with a soft plop on her cot, and then - this was the weird part! - it turned its HEAD to look at her! Its eyes were a bright pinkish-red, and very...comforting.
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl...
"I said, do you MIND not holding me like that?" it snapped at her tiredly. "You're knocking my mask off."
"S-sorry." Sarah shakily picked it up again and set it down on its feet on the floor, gently this time.
"That's better." the toy said. It extended its left hand - the one without the sword - as if it wanted her to shake. "That aside, I'm pleased to meet you, Sarah. My name's Tahu."
Sarah smiled, too entranced by the fact that her new toy was TALKING to her to care about the fact that that was just what it was doing - talking to her. She took the offered hand in her own, between her thumb and pointer finger, and shook. "Pleased to meet you too, Tahu. How do you know my name?"
Tahu smiled at her. "I just knew. I heard you were in need of a friend. Is that true?"
She couldn't stop the tears that came at that last remark. Unable to speak, she just nodded. Tahu's smile grew.
"Good, cuz I need a friend too. It was lonely in that store. So, you don't mind if I stay here for a while and keep you company till you don't need me, right?"
"I'll NEVER throw you away!" Sarah cried vehemently. "Never! Not even if Mommy hits me and screams at me again! I'll keep you safe! I promise!"
Tahu chuckled. "Funny...I'm supposed to keep YOU safe." He looked up at the cot that served as her bed. "Well, the sun's down, and it's late. You should sleep, Sarah."
Sarah nodded and got into the cot, picking him up and tucking him in beside her. "You don't mind to sleep with me, right, Tahu?" she whispered softly. "I get nightmares real bad."
Tahu felt a deep sadness well up inside him, but managed to reply.
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl...
"Of course I don't mind. Just go to sleep. You'll need your strength. And Sarah?"
"Hm?"
"Don't be afraid to be sad. I'll be here for you."
"Promise?"
Silence.
"Tahu?"
She could have sworn she heard him sniffle, but was too tired to care.
"Yeah...I promise, Sarah."
"'K." She snuggled deeper under the covers, her small hand wrapped around him protectively.
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl...
X x X
AN: And done! Prequel to "Tahu's Concrete Angel" is finished! Not as good as the other one, I know, but I wanted to show just how Tahu came to be in Sarah's possession, protecting her. Hope you enjoyed :)
Reviews, anyone?