Life As I Knew It
Chapter Four
"A Missing Space Pirate, Part 1"
"Justin!" Washu screamed with extreme prejudice, "Wake up!"
The red headed scientist poked Justin in the ribs with the toe of her shoe. No response. She had been at this for a full minute, trying to keep her cool while still having enough energy in her voice to wake a sleeping giant. It wasn't working. Justin sat there before her, lying numbly on the floor with drool trickling from his mouth. His hair was in a wild mess, almost as if he had been exposed to large amounts of electrical current. In his right hand was clutched an empty bottle of Yuengling, which he was holding sentimentally like a child would hold a teddy bear for comfort. Essentially, Justin looked just like a frat boy who had just finished up a night of college partying; only he didn't have the privilege of ending up in a comfortable bed.
Washu was upset for many reasons. For starters, there was the immediate problem of getting Justin awake. That took priority, and right now he was being more stubborn than Ryoko. Secondly, there was the outstanding issue of just how the hell Justin made his way into the laboratory in the first place. The only idea that came to Washu's mind was that somehow Ryoko allowed Justin into the lab. Problematically though, Ryoko couldn't be found. Or rather, she conveniently couldn't be found, not even telepathically. The main cause for Washu's concern was the fact that this was the first time she could ever remember there being a security breach, by a normal human being of all means. While Justin seemed harmless in his current state, there was no telling what he got himself into until Washu took a look at the camera footage. Until then, the fired up Washu demanded an exact explanation from the source.
Justin wiggled a bit on the cold, white tiled floor, gaining Washu's immediate attention. She nudged him again in the ribs, allowing his body to naturally roll on its side. "Justin, I'm not going to ask again, wake up!"
His body began to jump to life as his vitals started warming up like a machine. The progress was slow in his still partially inebriated, hung-over state. He lifted up his head and rolled over onto his back and immediately squinted his eyes to counteract the massive amounts of white light raining down upon him. In hasty retaliation Justin rolled over onto his back and attempted to go back to sleep. Within a few seconds his lungs had continued their slow, controlled breathing and his body was getting ready for another cycle of R.E.M. sleep.
Washu looked down at Justin again with an extremely chaotic stare. "Wake up you ass!" she screamed as she forced a kick sharply into his right ribcage.
Finally noticing Washu's exuberant distress, Justin opened his eyes and rubbed them groggily with his hands. "Woman, what the hell is your problem?" he said with a low, gruff voice. He was completely ignorant of the situation. His throat was terribly hoarse from a dry esophagus.
"What's my problem? What's MY problem? Do you have any idea where you are right now?" Washu barked.
Justin sat up and continued to rub his eyes. He stared around the vista of cascading white and then looked at the bottle of beer he still clutched in his hands. With an animal like grunt he cupped both his hands over his face in agony, "Oh fuck, how the hell did I get here?" he rhetorically asked himself.
"Where's Ryoko?" Washu asked as she kneeled down next to Justin.
"Ryoko?" Justin grumbled.
Washu leaned in closer to Justin, close enough for a one on one conversation even in a small room. "Justin, how did you get in here?" she asked with a stern conviction.
Justin looked up at Washu with bloodshot eyes, barely able to keep them open. The short redhead looked as if she had just gotten out of bed, her hair was tangled and she was still dressed in her nightgown. "I honestly have no idea; I was having a wonderful dream until I felt someone kicking me in my ribs. There was a beautiful girl in there too, so if you don't mind, I'm going to try and see if she's still waiting for me."
Washu took both her hands and grabbed Justin's head, forcing him to make eye contact with her, "Let me be perfectly clear here Justin. I'm not trying to act negatively right now, but you have to understand that you are officially the first person to get into this lab without any evidence of entry, ever. Not even Ryoko can get in here without me noticing. Now I'm going to ask you again, how did you get in here, do you remember anything?"
Justin leaned back and rubbed his fingers through his dirty, uncontrolled hair. He tried hard to think about the night before, but he was drawing a complete blank. "I've got absolutely nothing Washu, why are you being so critical about this?"
Washu stood up and walked towards a wall of monitors displaying recorded security footage from the past twenty four hours. She turned around and stared down at Justin, "Try to see this from my perspective. Less than a day ago a stranger shows up on our doorstep claiming he is from another universe entirely, and has subsequently lost all of his memory of his previous existence. Suspiciously, that same person manages to sneak into my laboratory completely unnoticed, and once again can't remember anything. Something here doesn't quite add up, and all the evidence is pointing towards you. Don't blame me for pointing fingers here."
"Okay," Justin replied, "I suppose I could see how that would be an incriminating situation. But, by looking at this empty bottle of beer in my hand, wouldn't it be more accurate to assume that I merely blacked out from drinking last night? That would make just as much sense wouldn't it?"
"Which is also a plausible probability, considering that you reek of alcohol and your toxicology report also confirmed that you got incredibly inebriated last night," Washu shrugged as she crossed her arms, "and because of this, I'm currently giving you some time to explain yourself."
Justin looked at Washu suspiciously, "Wait a minute, toxicology…never mind; I don't want to know how you managed that."
"You'd be surprised what a super genius can do in five minutes time," she responded.
"I'm honestly not sure what to think of that idea either," Justin replied as he stood up and stretched his sore body.
"Well, do you have anything to say, any information you could give me?" Washu asked, continuing to probe.
"Nope," Justin responded, not giving it a second thought.
Washu pressed a button on her keyboard and the exit door to her lab opened up, "Well if you come up with any information, come to me immediately. I'd suggest finding Ryoko and anything else that will help you prove your innocence."
"Hey, consider me innocent until proven guilty. I'm going to get myself into the shower though, I smell like I haven't bathed in days," Justin said as he checked his disgusting self over.
"In the meantime," Washu said as she hopped into her floating chair, "I'll be reviewing these security videos and try to figure out how you got in here."
"Why can't we look at them now? Together?" Justin asked curiously.
Washu was typing away on her keyboard and seemed to grow more distant with each fleeting moment. "Because I said so," she replied.
Justin looked at Washu in amazement, "That's such a copout answer though!"
Washu didn't say a word.
"Alrighty then, I'll see ya around. Freakin' awkward…" Justin mumbled as he made his way to the exit of her lab.
Washu was terribly concerned about this entire situation and she needed to diffuse it fast. It was a longshot, but it was entirely possible that Justin was being used, or worse, volunteering in a possible sabotage of all of her work. Washu rested back into her chair and considered all the possible angles that this situation called for. The worst case scenario is that her worst enemies had found her as well as found a hole in her defenses. She needed to work fast to make sure all of her data was still secure. There was also the idea that Justin himself was an entirely new threat and was acting alone. But that wouldn't account for the legitimate suppression of his own memories. Why would someone erase their own mind and then initiate such a task? It didn't make any sense. No matter how logically Washu thought about it, she couldn't convince herself of any plausible conclusion. All she could really do right now is review the video footage and help for the best. Confidence was her greatest asset right now.
Justin walked through the exit, and the door sealed shut behind him. Washu was once again alone in her natural habitat. She immediately pulled up all camera feeds from the night before, displaying twelve monitors in front of her all showing different parts of the lab. The main point of focus was camera number seven, which had the duty of recording all thru traffic in and out of her lab. With a single keystroke Washu commanded all of the monitors to speed up the video data to twelve times normal speed. She sipped on a cup of freshly brewed coffee as she viewed each monitor, carefully making sure she didn't skip over a single thing. Suddenly, there it was. Washu paused all the videos and selected monitor number seven. All the other monitors disappeared from view and number seven took their place. Washu pressed play and prepared for the worst, but hoped for the best…
…
Needless to say, this morning had been an interesting start for Justin. For the most part, Washu seemed pretty upset that he had made his way into her lab while she was asleep. At the same time, Justin couldn't really see how he was to fault, especially when he couldn't remember a thing from the night before. So technically, he could plea plausible deniability on the entire situation. However, Justin wasn't a person who could do that, knowing all too well that he was going to have to figure out the answer eventually; so even then, playing stupid wasn't the best of the options on his plate. As of now, Justin needed to concentrate on finding Ryoko, wherever the cunning woman may have run off to. Justin knew for a fact that she was somehow behind this hangover of his. What he didn't know, was just how much mischief he managed to get into the night before. To a certain extent, he really didn't want to know.
Right now Justin was in hopeless agony. This particular hangover felt like someone was trying to drive a dull ended piece of rebar straight into his skull. With each heartbeat, blood would flow through his brain, through his constricted blood vessels, causing ridiculous amounts of head pain. Every little ambient soundwave felt like an ear shattering explosion, every lightwave was brighter than a thousand burning suns. Justin needed several aspirin, and an explanation. On the bright side, the room that Washu had quickly fabricated for Justin didn't have any external light sources. So he was able to relax in peace for a few minutes after taking his shower. There was just one problem, however. When Justin walked into his room the first thing he noticed was an overly-evident paper trail of empty beer cans and liquor bottles scattered throughout the room. To add to that, his clothes which he had neatly stashed away into his dresser, were also thrown about the room; fortunately, he didn't detect any female memorabilia or paraphernalia. That was without a doubt the best news he would probably hear all morning. The last thing he needed at this point was to get involved with the opposite sex.
Justin searched the room to try and locate any signs or traces of evidence from the night before, but the only thing he had to go on were the empty cans and bottles. There was just so many trace amounts of alcohol sitting in one place, that there was no possible way Justin could have drank it all on his own. There had to be a partner in crime, and who else was the only person in the house with a taste for the hard stuff? Ryoko. It was undeniable, especially considering the robbing spree she partook in yesterday at the mall. Yes, it was unmistakable now. All the answers were held with Ryoko, the only problem now was finding her. Justin didn't even remember being with Ryoko the night before, and Washu didn't even know where she was. So what hope in hell did Justin have in finding her? The more he thought about it, the more insane Washu's request – or demand rather – became.
The only way to get to the bottom of this dilemma, as much as Justin wanted to avoid it, was to start asking questions. Perhaps the right answers will spark some of his memory. Although it was highly unlikely, considering the blackout due to excessive drinking, it was still worth a shot in the dark. Justin began searching the room for a clean change of clothes to put on, making sure to avoid the ones with the strong smell of day old beer. Once he had found an adequate wardrobe he went for the remote control device that Washu had given him. With a single click of the button, a dimensional rift between his room and the living room opened. With basically little effort Justin drifted back into the warmness of the Masaki home.
Upon arriving in the living room, he was greeted to a cold reception. Justin looked over at the clock on the far wall, nearest to the kitchen, and noticed that it was five thirty in the morning. It was just now beginning to sink in that Washu woke him up before the sun had even breached the damn horizon. She must be really devoted to her work to get up that early, possibly on a daily basis. To Justin, the very thought of that kind of devotion was maddening. Interestingly enough, the TV wasn't on this time like it was the previous morning when he first arrived. Fortunately, Justin heard sound coming from the kitchen, which only meant one thing: Sasami was in there – another person up before the sun – and possibly making breakfast. Justin seemed to lack an appetite right now, so he'd have to settle for answers instead.
He made his way into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes and massaging his temples. When he finally walked in, Sasami took immediate notice. "Good morning, how are you feeling?" she asked warmly.
Justin stopped rubbing his eyes and waited for his vision to clear. "I assume you know what happened to me last night Sasami?"
She looked at Justin curiously, "What do you mean?"
"Nothing," he responded, "I was actually hoping that you could give me a few answers to what kind of trouble I got into. And well, if you guys had any aspirin floating around the house."
Sasami sat there in front of her cutting board, trying to recall anything about yesterday pertaining to Justin, more specifically what happened after dinner. "Well, after dinner last night you sort of disappeared with Ryoko. During dinner you had obviously had too much, and was scaring Ayeka crazy with how you were reacting. Everyone else was sort of enjoying it though since you weren't being too rude about the entire thing. But after that we all lost track of you. So you'd have to talk to Ryoko and ask her about it."
Justin looked around the kitchen and scratched the back of his head, "That's just the thing. Washu doesn't know where Ryoko is, and I don't even remember being with her after dinner last night. That's when everything becomes blurry. Do you know of anyone else around here that would possibly know?"
"Um, well I remember Kiyone saying something about losing something very important to her, "Sasami replied, "but to be completely honest I wasn't really paying attention to her." Sasami couldn't help but laugh at her silliness.
"Kiyone? It's worth a shot at least. Do you know if she is awake yet? The last thing I need to do is start this morning off by waking up a woman before she needs to be," Justin said.
"Yeah Kiyone and Mihoshi should both be upstairs in their rooms and awake. So you can stop by and talk to them before they both head off to work," Sasami recommended.
"Alright, I guess I'll start there," Justin responded with enthusiasm, "Oh and, about that aspirin?"
"Oh that's right," Sasami said as she reached for the medicine cabinet, "Here: two of these should help but give it time. Also, can you do me favor?"
Justin took the two pills from Sasami's hands and popped them into his mouth, "Of course Sasami, what do you need?"
"Well it's about Ryo-ohki," she said, "I couldn't find her this morning either. When she didn't show up to help me with breakfast I got a little worried. I even called out to her but never got an answer. Do you think you could possibly go and look for her as well?"
Justin looked Sasami over, already knowing the answer to her question. He was curious as to why she thought he would deny her request. Perhaps it was just part of her humble nature to ask so kindly. "Of course Sasami, while I'm here don't hesitate to ask me for anything. I guess it is part of my job now to help you guys around the house since I'm basically a tenant living here for the time being."
Sasami's face lit up when she heard Justin's reply, "Oh thank you!"
"No problem," Justin shrugged, "When I find her I'll send Ryo-ohki your way. In the meantime, don't overwork yourself. I swear, the only time I've seen you is when you're in the kitchen slaving over food. If you ever need a cooking partner don't be afraid to ask me."
"You know it's funny," Sasami smiled, "You told me the same thing last night when you and Ryoko were drunk."
Justin pondered Sasami's comment for a moment, "Just how drunk do you remember me getting last night?"
"You were already pretty far gone," Sasami replied, going back to cutting vegetables, "And I remember Ryoko telling everyone how the night was far from over. After you two disappeared from the house that's when we all lost track of you. I think we were all in bed and the two of you still weren't home."
Justin looked around the room, trying to soak in the new flow of information coming in. "Did Ryoko ever say where we were going by chance?"
"Nope," Sasami replied, "But you never questioned Ryoko either."
"Yeah, and I'm beginning to regret that decision. I'm starting to think she tricked me," Justin said.
"What do you mean?" Sasami asked.
"Well," Justin sighed, "I remember talking to her yesterday; she specifically told me that I was overstressing myself and 'needed to lighten up.' To be perfectly honest I believed every bit of it and agreed to let her show me a good time. Conveniently, we just happened to have a large collection of alcohol from our earlier adventures together. And now, here I am, hungover and trying to figure out just what the hell that woman did to me. Only problem is…she's nowhere to be found."
Sasami gave Justin a strange look, as if she knew exactly what Justin was getting at, "I remember the first day I met Ryoko; it's kind of funny to think about it. She's doing the same thing to you as she basically did to all of us."
"What do you mean exactly?" Justin asked, now becoming suspiciously confused.
"Well, I don't mean to sound rude or anything," Sasami said, her voice quivering slightly, "but I think it's safe to say that she's using your company to have fun at your own expense."
"Isn't that what most girls do to begin with?" Justin asked sarcastically.
"Beats me," Sasami shrugged, it wasn't like she was going to know the answer to that. After all, she's simply not that kind of person to begin with.
Justin let out a long exhale and looked out the window, by now the sun was finally starting to come up. He didn't realize it until now, but Justin was incredibly drained from last night's mischievous misadventure. So much so that his eyes were practically stinging from being exposed to oxygen; it felt like cannon balls were attached to his eyelids. Justin hadn't even gotten to check himself in the mirror yet, but chances were he looked like a train wreck. Regardless, it was time to go to work.
"Alright Sasami," Justin said as he made his way out of the kitchen, "I really appreciate your help. I'll make sure to find Ryo-ohki for you as well."
Sasami released another gregarious smile, "Thanks again, and good luck!"
Justin started making his way up the stairs; almost every other floorboard creaked from the pressure of his footsteps. He was hoping that either Kiyone or Mihoshi could shed some light on his situation and hopefully get him started on the right path to figuring everything out. If that didn't work, he'd just have to find Nobuyuki and Ayeka and ask them a similar series of questions. Playing the role of a private investigator didn't exactly settle well with Justin right now, mainly considering that he was looking into clues on himself. It felt counterproductive and invariantly silly. On the other hand, it would at least give him something to do. Quite frankly, Justin wasn't at all worried about Washu; he would do this at his own pace, and when the answer finally showed itself then she would finally know.
As he approached the door, Justin could already make out the faint mumbling of a passionately worded conversation on the other side. That was at least a sure tale sign that the two girls were awake and possibly in a mood for discussion.
"Ugh, where the hell is it!" Justin heard as he leaned in closer. The voice sounded like Kiyone, who had a distinguished voice even through the muffling.
"Don't look at me! I don't keep up with your equipment!" another voice responded. That must be Mihoshi.
Their voices sounded somewhat frantic, as if they were desperately looking for something that had been misplaced. From behind the door Justin could hear the sound of furniture being moved, the drop of footsteps and various unknown items being tossed around the room.
"I swear I had the thing yesterday, where could it have run off to?" Kiyone shouted rhetorically.
"Don't be silly! Guns don't just grow legs and walk away," Mihoshi replied.
"Now is not the time Mihoshi!" Kiyone fired back.
Justin leaned away from the door and gave it a firm knock with his fist. Immediately the commotion from the other side ceased. The door hastily slid open, revealed Kiyone on the other side.
"What!" Kiyone shouted directly into Justin's face. She blinked once before realizing who was standing in front of her. "Oh, THERE you are, where the hell have you been?"
"Uh," Justin replied, somewhat dumbfounded, "I was actually hoping you could answer that for me."
"Where is my gun?" Kiyone asked.
"Your gun?" Justin replied ignorantly.
"Yes, my gun," she responded.
Mihoshi walked up beside Kiyone, "Kiyone woke up this morning and her police issued sidearm was missing. We're kind of freaking out because we have to be at work in like…five minutes."
"And you're asking me because…?" Justin asked.
"Because you were the last person we remember with it," Kiyone answered as she placed her index finger straight towards his forehead.
Justin stood there, redundantly confused and having trouble soaking in the information. "What a minute," he said, "both of you are going to have to forgive me on this one. I had a rough wake up to a grouchy redhead, can't remember a damn thing, and now I'm apparently in possession of Galaxy Police property. Isn't that a felon or something? This is all new to me. So, what exactly did I do last night that would put me and your gun in the same sentence?"
"You mean you don't remember?" Kiyone asked.
Justin was getting slightly annoyed by that question. He wasn't trying to be sarcastic, but honestly, would he be asking that question if he did remember?
"I'm surprised you still remember Kiyone," Mihoshi added in, nudging Kiyone in the ribs, "we all got pretty hammered last night."
"Hold on, you guys were with me last night?" Justin asked, clearly surprised once more.
"Well," Mihoshi said, "Not the entire night. You came up to Kiyone and challenged her to a shooting competition. She pretty much couldn't resist your offer."
"Mihoshi…" Kiyone mumbled, getting aggravated.
Mihoshi chuckled at Kiyone's distress, "You made Kiyone a bet that you were a better shot than she was. You were already drunk at the time, and told her that the loser had to 'shotgun' a beer. Well, several rounds later -"
"Enough!" Kiyone screamed, "Justin, I really need my weapon back. Like right now."
Justin just starred at the two girls, trying to formulate a thought that was semi-rational in nature. "Can we just…back up for a minute?" Justin asked, "perhaps all the way to the beginning?"
"Fine, will you at least agree to help me find my gun?" Kiyone sighed.
"Of course," Justin honestly replied, "I just need to get a solid recap on the events of last night. Specifically what I was doing when you saw me and the last thing you remember me saying."
"Wow, you really don't remember anything do you?" Mihoshi asked.
Again with the irritating, perpetually aggravating question.
"Nothing, I must have blacked out sometime after dinner," Justin replied, "and firing a gun? Perhaps a faint memory; I don't' even know what your gun looks like."
"Alright well, what do you want to know specifically?" Kiyone asked.
"Well for starters, I wouldn't mind knowing about how I beat you in a shooting competition," Justin said playfully.
"Next question," Kiyone quickly replied, "but here, come in and have a seat."
Kiyone and Mihoshi moved out of Justin's way so he could enter the room. Justin walked to the nearest chair that was in the room and took a seat. The room was distinctively separated into two parts. One part was organized and compartmentalized like someone with orderly obsessive compulsive disorder. The other side of the room was disorganized and ill proportioned in comparison. It didn't exactly take any form of critical thinking to diagnose which parts of the room belonged to whom.
"Alright well," Justin said as he got comfortable in his chair, "When I saw you guys last night, was Ryoko with me?"
"Not that I recall," Mihoshi replied.
"I don't think she was," Kiyone answered as well, "the two of you left the house after dinner. Ryoko said that the night was still young. She took you and Ryo-ohki with her and then left."
"That doesn't make any sense," Justin said, "How in the hell did I even get back here? Sasami said this morning that she couldn't find Ryo-ohki."
"I didn't realize she was missing too," Kiyone added, sounding concerned.
"Yeah, apparently there is a lot of stuff that I'm unaware of right now," Justin replied.
"So you somehow managed to get back here without Ryoko or Ryo-ohki?" Mihoshi asked.
"That is what everything is pointing towards right now. And apparently when I got back, I felt like shooting shit," Justin answered, "I'm pretty sure those are small hints at drunken, socio-psychotic behavior. The thing is, I can't even remember the last time I was with Ryoko except for when we were eating together. I mean, she could basically be anywhere right now. Hell, Washu can't even find her."
"A missing Ryoko can't ever be a good sign," Mihoshi said, "in the past when that happens, it usually means she's gotten into trouble."
"Well I'm really hoping she doesn't find a way to put the blame on me," Justin said, "the last thing I need is that crazy woman going homicidal on me. If I don't have to worry about Ryoko, then I have to worry about Washu. You should have seen how hysterical she was this morning."
"Why, what did you do?" Kiyone asked.
"Well apparently," Justin said while laughing, "I also, to add to the list of craziness that I got into, managed to sneak into her lab and pass out. I woke up to her kicking me in the ribs, screaming and carrying on about how I managed to get in."
"You broke into Washu's lab?" Kiyone gasped, heavily surprised, "How?"
Justin shrugged his shoulders, "I don't even know, that's the funny thing about it all, but I wouldn't exactly implicate myself and call it 'breaking in.' Now she's expecting me to explain myself, while at the same time wanting me to find Ryoko because apparently not even Washu can locate her."
"That's definitely not a good sign then," Kiyone said.
"Well what do you plan on doing about it?" Mihoshi asked.
"Well for starters," Justin replied, "I need to find your gun. I'm already heavily confused on how you could have let me just walk away with it without you noticing. I mean, where did we even have this shooting contest?"
"Washu has a shooting range in her lab for weapons testing," Kiyone answered.
"Again with Washu…" Justin mumbled.
"What?" Kiyone added, "She figured it would be a good test to study."
"Another test, huh?" Justin stated rhetorically, rolling his eyes.
"That's right," Mihoshi said, "a test between two drunks: one who was trained with the weapon, and then you, a complete amateur; although your skill proved otherwise."
Kiyone shot Mihoshi another venomous look, "Okay, so perhaps I had a little trouble."
"And even more trouble after your sixth beer," Mihoshi laughed.
"Girls focus please," Justin said trying to concentrate, "After that, what happened?"
"Well," Mihoshi continued, "we were enjoying ourselves, and then I think Ryoko managed to find you. She kept saying something about going back to some mall. She seemed really fidgety about going back and -"
"Oh my god," Justin blurted out while uneasily shifting in his chair, "Are you freaking telling me that Ryoko and I went back to the United States? Against Washu's permission?"
"Well," Mihoshi replied, her voice dropping drastically, "Incidentally Washu had stepped away for that exact moment."
"Ryoko had to have known, it can't be coincidence that she showed up at the right moment when Washu's attention was elsewhere," Justin said, becoming obviously paranoid.
"Don't give her that much credit," Kiyone chimed in, "it could just be coincidence."
"Coincidence?" Justin looked over at Kiyone with frantic eyes, "Right now, the evidence is telling me that I took your gun and went to the United States – with your gun. I could have been running around with alien technology, flashing it in front of whomever I pleased. While Ryoko flies around shooting out street lights and lighting cars on fire or…whatever arson related crimes she can think up. What if I shot at someone, what if Ryoko shot at someone? What if I shot at Ryoko? What if she then shot at ME! I mean-"
"Justin calm down!" Kiyone yelled, trying to cool Justin's nerves, "none of that happened, it's absurd – maybe."
Justin got out of the chair and made his way towards the door, "Where's Ryoko's room?"
Kiyone looked confused, "It's two doors down from ours, why?"
Justin turned around and looked at the two girls, a look of determination now in his eyes. "I'm going to look for clues; you know - detective stuff."
"What about my gun?" Kiyone asked, still prodding at the issue.
"I'm sorry, but I'll find it when I find it. In the meantime, you should also be looking for it as well," Justin responded, "take care ladies."
Kiyone and Mihoshi just stared, not entirely sure what to say.
Even though his head was still pounding, Justin's determination to get to the bottom of this mess was strong enough to push the enduring pain aside for now. This entire situation was enough for him to panic and grow incredibly irritated at the same time. For the most part, Justin thought that some force in the universe was intentionally imposing bad luck upon him. He felt like he had a double insult stamped upon his forehead. One being his default loss of memory from his trans-universal flight, and now this: a simple hangover. It was stupid to the point to where it was tragic. A god damned Greek tragedy. Justin was fed up. He was fed up of being hysterical, of being worried of the consequences and especially being worried about Ryoko.
Justin walked up to Ryoko's door and slid it open without giving a second thought. The state of the room that lay before him was entirely predictable. Ironically, Ryoko's room greatly resembled his own. Clothes were scattered about, the bed littered with magazines and empty bags of chips, assorted sweets and soda cans. It wasn't all bad though; the walls were decorated with posters of several popular and well established musicians and graphical artists. Justin quickly took notice to these posters and almost instantly grew a small foundation of respect for Ryoko's taste in music. It was almost enough for him to ignore all the other faults of her character – almost.
"Ryo-ohki, are you in here by chance?" Justin called out. It was worth a shot at least.
Unfortunately, there was no answer, only silence. Regardless, Justin began searching the room for clues or whatever could help him. In a sense, he was also looking for dirt on Ryoko, or anything that could give him an edge over her chaotic nature. Surprisingly though, her room appeared to be rather clean, metaphorically speaking at least. The rest was left up to interpretation. Still, even though he knew this was necessary, Justin wasn't keen on the idea of snooping around someone's personal space. That is of course, until he spotted a peculiar object out of his peripheral vision. To his left, a mirror hung delicately on the wall; and on this mirror, was a picture of a boy. Justin moved closer to gauge a better look at this photograph. The kid had to be close to his own age, perhaps slightly younger. Justin couldn't help but wonder why Ryoko would have this picture, unless perhaps he meant something special to her.
"I think I just found your kryptonite Ryoko…" Justin muttered out loud.
Justin took the picture from off the mirror and neatly folded it, putting it into his wallet so it would remain protected. It was clear that he planned on questioning Ryoko about the person in that picture, once he managed to find her that is. He looked around the room one last time, making sure to scan every piece of detail as if not to miss anything potentially important. Once Justin was satisfied that he had covered as much of the room as possible, he carefully made his way out of the door and closed it shut. Down the hall, he could still hear Kiyone and Mihoshi rambling on. Kiyone's gun would have to wait; right now that thing was as good as lost to Justin. Then again, he was still curious about the weapon all the same. After all, who wouldn't be? It's alien technology. Not to mention, Justin could use a little bit of defense around this group; especially Ryoko. Then again, Ryoko was able to deflect incoming slugs from those mall security guards; perhaps she could do the same with Kiyone's gun too.
As he began his walk down the hallway, a faint vibration in his right pants pocket quickly caught Justin's attention. With a perplexed expression, he reached down into his pocket to discover the source of such strange behavior. It was Washu's remote control to his room.
"Justin, get over to my lab now," Washu said, her voice coming through the tiny device. She sounded neither concerned or upset, which was the greatest fear for Justin.
"Uh, okay? What is this about now?" Justin asked, but he received no answer.
This morning Washu seemed to be showing Justin her more unfriendly, strictly business side. Her attitude towards him as a whole had turned from intense intrigue to a sophisticated form of skepticism. In a sense, Justin could begin to see where Ryoko got some of her own attitude from. At least Washu was a little bit more civilized about her diplomatic affairs. Justin began making his way towards the stairs, slightly anxious as he anticipated Washu's potential response. It was very possible that she had already analyzed the videos from the night before. If that was the case, then Justin didn't have many options to defend himself since he still hadn't figured out any information. He knocked on the red door underneath the staircase; a few seconds later a familiar sound of decompression came from within and the door creaked open.
"Come in," Washu said as she stuck her head out, "I want to show you this."
Her tone seemed to be calm and reserved, but Justin couldn't read her well enough yet to see what she was truly thinking. It's doubtful that anyone ever could in the first place. Justin anxiously entered the lab; the door quickly closed shut behind him. Within the first moments of being in this strange new world, Justin had already gotten far too familiar with this place. He felt like he was inside this massive facility for the majority of his time spent here so far, while in reality it was only a few minutes if you disregard last night. One again, Washu positioned herself in her favorite chair while waiting for Justin to approach her.
"I can only imagine you found something on the cameras?" Justin asked as he stopped right next to her, "Otherwise I can't think of a reason what you would want me for."
"I could always use you for experiments," Washu replied.
"That depends whether or not it's life threatening," Justin joked.
"Sometimes you have to break a leg for science," Washu commented, "other times you have to make greater sacrifices. Otherwise progress will never be made."
"Yeah, unfortunately that's true," Justin added, "So what have you got?"
Washu got out of her chair and walked over to a wall of computer screens, each one feeding her different forms of data. Justin didn't realize it, but several of these monitors were live feeds being streamed straight from his brain. In the short time that Justin was unconscious in Washu's lab, she had managed to implant the nano-interceptors with no trouble at all. The original plan was to do this procedure while Justin was asleep in his bed, but of course things had changed. Washu saw this small window she had as an opportunity to make sure that Justin would be under her surveillance for the rest of his stay here. In reality, it was the best collateral against him that she had; anything that Justin did or thought, that data would be collected, processed and sent to Washu for studying. She would eventually be able to monitor every brainwave, every miniscule thought that he had. While she understood the high levels of privacy invasion, it was impeccably justifiable when she considered her investments.
"You see this monitor here?" Washu asked as she pointed to monitor number seven.
Justin walked up to Washu, trying to concentrate on absorbing all the data in front of him, "Yeah, what about it?"
"Watch it," Washu replied as she pressed play.
As the video started, Justin watched with a tired, yet keen eye. At the same time, several pattern fluctuations on the interceptors' monitors surrounding him began changing with every passing moment. To Washu, this was a definite sign that Justin was trying hard to remember the night before, but was still unable to, enabling the weight on her heart to lessen if only slightly.
"Here it comes," Washu added.
Five seconds later, the door to Washu's lab began to open. She zoomed the video feed in so Justin could get a closer look at what was about to happen. As the door opened completely, he could see himself staggering into the lab, completely disoriented and obviously confused of where he was. Justin witnessed himself stumble forward further into the lab, gripping his head as if something was trying to tear its way out. A few steps more and he collapsed onto the floor, beginning to writhe in pain. The nano-interceptors began sending back mountains of data onto the forward monitors, catching Washu's attention even more. She was beginning to get worried as she watched Justin's heart rate increase in real time. In a sense, Washu could almost feel his heart rate increase, like low frequency soundwaves penetrating her own body faster and faster with each passing second. It was slightly painful for her to watch.
"Washu…"
"Keep watching…"
Justin watched himself roll over onto his back, the video showing his breathing steadily increasing. His hands still tightly gripped his forehead and it was clear to see him screaming at this point. Washu took a deep breath as she prepared for the next coming moment. Without warning, the camera feed showed pixelated artifacts forming around the edges of the screen, as magnetic pulses began disrupting everything within a noticeable radius around Justin. The video feed then went black for several seconds, until finally reverting back to normal functions, showing a now unconscious Justin on the floor. The time differentiation between the blackout spanned at least five minutes. The recording finally came to an end, showing Justin cradled on the tile floor, a bottle of beer fit snug in his hands, just as Washu found him this morning. The lab door was also noticeably closed at this point, without Justin's intervention, which was another worrying sign in itself.
Washu stopped playing the video, the silence of the laboratory adding greatly to the suspense of the situation. Justin's interceptor monitors showed that his heart rate had begun to stabilize, but his brainwaves were noticeably off the charts. He was experiencing a sensory overload, but otherwise he was lucid.
"So," Justin said, swallowing to try and moisten his dry mouth, "I guess that still doesn't explain how I got in here does it?"
Washu rested her hand on Justin's shoulder, "Not even, but to be honest with you kid, that's not my primary concern anymore. I now need to figure out what happened during the blackout on the video."
"And how do you propose to do that?" Justin asked.
"I don't know yet, but I'll figure something out," Washu replied, "after all, it's something that I do on a regular basis."
"So what now?" Justin wondered, staring down at his feet.
Washu let out a deep exhale, almost as if she had been holding her breath for the entire time, "I let you go and you'll continue looking for Ryoko. It's important that she's found."
"Just like that? You show me that disturbing video and then let me go?" Justin questioned, "Washu, what is wrong with me? I have to know."
Washu stared at Justin as she tried to formulate a convincing response, "I can only speculate at this point that it has something to do with your memory block; but right now I don't have any definitive evidence to go on until I figure out what happened in between the lines so to speak."
In reality, Washu really didn't have an answer; for all she knew Justin's spasm could have been caused by the nano-interceptors. It was possible that they malfunctioned and created a massive electrical spike. But Washu had to be practical here and avoid any outlandish ideas as of now. The thought that nanites could create such an intense amount of energy without completely destroying Justin's brain was a near impossible scenario; yet it was the only thing Washu had to go on, especially since she lost her evidence at the most crucial point. But science has no realm for such preposterous hypothesizes and Washu would have to work with what she had. She had definitely gotten herself into a predicament, as she desperately wanted to tell Justin the truth about the interceptors, but was still unable to because it would just make the situation more unpleasant. For the first time in a long time, she was clueless on what to do.
"So you're saying that my memory block caused me to spaz out all over your lab?" Justin asked suspiciously.
"I can't say for sure yet," Washu replied, sensing Justin's skepticism, "but in the next hour I should have found something out."
Justin stared at the scientist in front of him, his eyes at an uneasy rest, "Washu, I'm going to be okay right? I mean like, I'm not dying…right?"
Washu could feel her heart sink straight into the depths, "No, why would you think such a thing?"
"I guess you could say, that well….I guess you could say that perhaps this hangover of mine isn't actually hangover, but a problem with my brain," Justin softly pondered.
"Justin," Washu said in a soothing tone, "don't think like that."
"It's hard not to," he replied, "What if what happened to me last night was a prelude to some form of mental debilitation? And what if I'm already starting to feel -"
"That's enough!" Washu interrupted, obviously becoming emotional as well, "Don't be so damned pessimistic. You have nothing to worry about because I'm going to figure it out."
"I'm sorry," Justin replied.
"Listen, I know things are difficult for you right now, but please for the sake of your own sanity, try and keep calm and allow these events to unfold on their own time," Washu said.
Justin looked around the lab, contemplating Washu's words of wisdom. If he was going to survive this, he was going to have to go about the entire situation in a calm manner. That even meant dealing with Ryoko and her wildness, especially when he finally managed to find her.
"You're right, I need to just relax and allow you time to figure things out," Justin said.
Washu smiled at his trust in her, "Good, and I promise you that I'll get you answers as soon as I can. Now, if it won't trouble you too much, could you continue looking for my daughter?"
"Of course," Justin responded, "there's only one problem."
"And that would be?" Washu asked.
"I can't find Ryo-ohki. Sasami couldn't find her this morning either and I promised to find her," Justin replied.
"What do you mean?" Washu said, "Ryo-ohki is in your bedroom."
Justin looked at Washu, incredibly perplexed, "And how long have you known this?"
"Just now to be honest," Washu shrugged, "she just woke up and started moving around your room."
"That's ridiculous," Justin laughed, "ah man that helps out a lot actually. You see, I was unclear on just how I managed to get home last night without Ryo-ohki."
"So you two did go out last night," Washu said, turning her stern gaze upon Justin.
"Uh," Justin hesitated, realizing the fire pit he may have stepped into, "Apparently so."
"Hmm," Washu hummed, "That might explain why I can't locate her."
Justin was surprised that Washu didn't snap at him, "You mean you don't have some tracking device installed in her brain?"
Washu half-heartedly laughed at Justin's almost true statement. "I may be her mother, but even I know the boundaries of personal privacy," she said hypocritically.
"Right," Justin said, "that would be borderline…weird. Anyway, thanks for giving me the heads up on Ryo-ohki; that really makes my life a lot easier now."
"Don't mention it, I'll get in touch with you when some data turns up," Washu said.
"Sounds good," Justin replied, "I'll try and get Ryoko back as soon as possible. If she doesn't kill me beforehand…."
"Don't worry, I've informed her to not lay a finger on you," Washu reassured him, but personally unsure of whether Ryoko would actually listen.
"Alright, I'll go get to work then," Justin said as he made his way towards the exit once again.
Justin slipped through the door and entered the living room, the smell of food instantly bombarding his senses. Ayeka, who had noticed his arrival, was situated on the couch.
"Good morning Justin, Sasami told me all about your trouble; how are you holding up?" Ayeka asked, a hint of humor in her voice.
"I'm doing fine, I'm actually on my way to find Ryoko right now; figured I'd stop by and let Sasami know that I found Ryo-ohki," Justin replied.
"Oh come now," Ayeka continued, "don't you think you can let this house remain peaceful for just a little while longer?"
"I can't; Washu's orders," Justin said, craftily avoiding Ayeka's dispossession of care towards Ryoko. Even though Ryoko had given him such a hard time, Justin still couldn't help but defend her.
"Well in that case, I suppose it can't be helped," Ayeka said.
"Nope," Justin replied sarcastically, "Anyway, I best be going."
"Of course, don't let me keep you waiting."
Justin made his way over to the kitchen and popped his head in, "Hey Sasami."
Sasami quickly looked up and made eye contact with Justin, "Oh hello again!"
"I just wanted to let you know that I found Ryo-ohki, but I'm going to have to borrow her for a while," Justin said.
"Oh that's no problem," Sasami responded, "I'm just happy knowing that she's safe. How long will you be gone?"
"No clue; It all depends on how well this next hour goes," Justin said, "I'm hoping, considering how fast Ryo-ohki can fly, that it won't be too long."
"Well, the reason I asked was because I went ahead and packed you a snack for wherever you went," Sasami said as she showed Justin the delicately wrapped box.
"You are far too kind," Justin said, "No really."
Sasami smiled at Justin's compliment, "Oh it's nothing."
Justin walked up to Sasami beside the counter and accepted the food, "I appreciate it, but do me a favor and get yourself out of this kitchen; perhaps make your older sister pull some of the weight around here."
"If that happened," Sasami giggled, "then nothing would get done around here. I do what I can because otherwise we'd have nowhere else to go."
"Yeah," Justin agreed, "I can relate there. But anyway, thank you again. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find a lost sociopath."
"Good luck!" Sasami said as she went back to her regular routine.
Justin gave her a friendly nod and made his way out of the kitchen. He was curious as to how Washu figured out Ryo-ohki was in his own bedroom. He realized that she wasn't going to give him a straight answer; perhaps he didn't deserve it yet. In fact, that made the most sense out of everything else considering that he's two days into this endeavor. No one should expect an answer to every question. And yet it continued to nibble at his thoughts.
"Don't overwork yourself Ayeka," Justin said as he pulled Washu's device out of his pocket, giving it a click.
Ayeka turned around from watching television and gave Justin a sour look, "Is that supposed to be a joke?"
"Is it?" Justin replied as he walked through the door, never bothering to turn around and look her in the eyes. Answering her question with a rhetorical one was the perfect insult, or at least the best one he could think up right on the spot.
"Ryo-ohki?" Justin asked as soon as the door sealed shut behind him, "You in here? We've got work to do."
A slight disturbance began moving under the blanket on Justin's bed. He immediately deduced that Ryo-ohki was all snuggled up underneath his comforter.
"Hey, wake up," Justin repeated.
The small animal meowed as she poked her head out and starred at Justin in front of her. Justin removed the comforter and noticed a couple dozen partially eaten carrots littering his bed sheets. Perfect…
"Well, looks like I'm not the only one who partied hard last night," Justin said, giving her a friendly scratch behind the ears, "at least I remembered my promise to get you some carrots."
Justin sighed as he looked around his room once more; nothing had changed since this morning, except for the obvious fact that he overlooked an animal being in his room, everything was exactly where he had left it. He went over to his dresser and knelt down, taking out several unopened cases of beer and placing them on the floor next to him. Justin figured it would be a good idea to go ahead and clean his room up, starting with the carrots. He took the empty plastic bag and started tossing pieces of the half-eaten vegetables into it. Ryo-ohki gave Justin a somber look, almost as if she wanted to save them for later. Justin couldn't help but look at her like a pet, yet at the same time there was no mistaking that this was a highly intelligent, sentient being. The process by which, was entirely unknown to Justin and continued to bewilder him. Ryo-ohki started crawling around Justin's bed, stretching her limbs in the process. Justin made his way around the room and continued collecting the assortment of trash, until finally tying the bag up and placing it next to his dresser. That would have to do for now.
"Ryo-ohki," Justin said, "Did you know that Ryoko is missing?"
The cabbit merely cocked her head to the side. She looked as if she had no idea what Justin was talking about. Could she have somehow forgotten as well?
"Washu has asked me to find her, and I can't do that without your help. Are you with me?" Justin asked as he sat down next to her.
Ryo-ohki meowed with excitement as she jumped off the bed and made her way towards the door.
"I guess that's a yes," Justin said.
He opened the door and followed Ryo-ohki into the living room, making sure not to step on her as she happily danced around his feet. Now that Justin had finally begun breaking ground in this investigation of his, he was starting to feel slightly apprehensive on where Ryoko could be. He found it to be very odd, for a woman of her capacity, that she'd just go missing so easily. Something was obviously amiss. Then there was the business concerning the mystery of Washu. It was clear to Justin that she was brilliant in almost every way, but what was perplexing was just how she was able to draw from such a large knowledge pool with seemingly minimal effort. Justin had to constantly remember that Washu isn't from this planet, but she's still very human in nature; the only logical conclusion he could deduce is that her knowledge is simply beyond that of any mere earthling. He was just dying for answers on immeasurable levels. The video that he was shown earlier was truly disturbing; for some reason Justin couldn't help but wonder if all of this is connected. There was only one way to find out.
"Ayeka," Justin said as he made his way to the front door, "If anyone asks where I am, tell them I'm looking for Ryoko."
"Of course," Ayeka responded without turning around. It was clear that she was far too into her television show to properly receive the message.
Justin walked through the front door, his beautifully packed lunch in hand and Ryo-ohki jumping around at his feet. The chilly morning air pierced his bones and instantly gave him goosebumps. He stared out into the sun, his mind wondering with the clouds. Something inside was not settling well with his mind; yet his determination still held true.
He picked up Ryo-ohki and held her in front of his face, "So what, just like last time, do I just…throw you?"
The adorable animal simply meowed, her ears twitching slightly.
"I'm just going to assume that's a yes," Justin replied. This was ridiculous. Who throws an animal careless in the air?
He took Ryo-ohki in his dominant right hand and cocked his arm back. With an uneasy breath he took a step forward and launched her straight into the air as hard as he could manage. As Ryo-ohki ascended into the air, Justin witnessed the exact same intriguing metamorphosis take place in front of him. Within a few moments of time, the four winged, symmetrical ship had returned and idled several hundred feet in the air above him. A sensation of weightlessness overtook his body once again, and upon looking down Justin could see himself steadily rising above the ground below. He held his breath and looked directly up, a slight cerebral impression tingling in his brain. A serene beam of light consumed his body; when his feet finally came into contact with a solid surface once again, Justin opened his eyes and found himself back on the bridge, the same reflecting onyx tiled floor laid below.
All around him holographic displays were jumping to life, each one displaying critical amounts of data from various parts of the ship. The spherical chamber truly was a work of genius by anyone's standards. This particular design allowed for a nearly three hundred and sixty degree tactical view of the environment around the operator. It became apparent to Justin that Ryo-ohki was built for more than just traveling the stars; she was a warship. It all made sense, considering the complex and intricate systems that she possessed: advanced cloaking, telemetric data streaming and mass levitation. The only thing Justin couldn't identify based on looking at the screens alone, was where the weapons command console was located, or even where the weapons batteries themselves were located. It was possible, and most probable, that Ryo-ohki possessed an energy-based firing system. All of this only bought up more questions that Justin would have to eventually prod Washu for. She was more than just a beautiful, incredibly brilliant red-headed scientist; just like everyone, she had secrets, and rightfully so.
"Ryo-ohki," Justin said in an affirming voice, "give me a full functional diagnostics report on your systems." He had no clue how to command a ship, but he felt confident that he was at least above the learning curve.
More holographic screens sprung into three dimensional space in front of Justin. Endless amounts of data appeared before him. Out of sheer intrigue, he placed his hand in front of one of the monitors and made a sweeping motion, much like he witnessed Washu performing in her lab. Sure enough, the monitor swept away and disappeared, another one taking its place. The operating system was like one massive touch screen, except of course without the screen; technology straight out of science fiction. He glided through screen after screen, quickly sifting through each diagram and flowchart until he finally found something convincing that resembled a diagnostics report. The ship appeared to be operating at seventy eight percent power, with all four engines idling at twenty five percent: perfectly in the green zone. The energy production outweighed the energy consumption, naturally making Ryo-ohki an incredibly efficient work of art.
"I apologize in advance Ryo-ohki; I'm not sure if Washu or Ryoko treats you like this, but I just want to make sure everything runs smoothly," Justin said, looking up towards the diamond structures hover above his head.
Ryo-ohki released an energetic meow as several of the crystalline rhombuses made their way to Justin's eyelevel. In each side of the prism, Justin could see Ryo-ohki's face in her cabbit form. He followed the prisms to the front of the bridge, where Ryoko's piloting system was located. It appears that Ryo-ohki was giving Justin permission to pilot her manually.
"Are you sure?" Justin asked curiously, "I don't really see myself as pilot material; but sure, I'll give it a go."
Just carefully placed his hands on both of the metallic spheres; incredibly enough, he could somehow feel the weight of the ship in his hands. He rotated the two spheres forward in unison with a gentle persuasion. He could instantly feel the ship accelerating forward, the real time cameras in front of him showing the landscape below rapidly passing him by. The monitors displayed all four engines spiking to thirty three percent increased output. All other systems remained nominal.
"Oh hell, it's just like a zero-turn lawnmower," Justin laughed, mainly at the ridiculous connection he just made to a primitive piece of machinery - compared to the complexity of Ryo-ohki.
Justin continued the acceleration until he was flying at around Mach one. He wanted to at least get above the clouds before trying anything stupid. He pulled both spheres toward him, the ship tilted almost twenty degrees backward; Justin had to reposition his feet as to not fall over. Ryo-ohki continued climbing.
"Alright Ryo-ohki, talk to me. How are we going to find Ryoko?" Justin asked.
The ship climbed to thirty thousand feet, where Justin finally decided to level her out. He didn't much look or feel like it, but Justin was a natural. Ryo-ohki remained quiet, either from contemplating Justin's question or out of not knowing the answer. Justin noticed a screen appear to his right, a satellite view of the earth quickly coming into view. Ryo-ohki was trying to find Ryoko, but she was literally searching the entire planet, so it could take a while. He watched as she scanned multiple continents at once, all results turning up empty. The situation was beginning to feel strange, if not stranger than it had previously been.
"There has to be something we're missing," Justin pondered as he walked away from the piloting console, "Controls are all yours Ryo-ohki; I need time to think. Make sure we're properly cloaked and undetectable on radar, the last thing we need is the American government catching wind of our location, let alone the Japanese Defense Force."
Justin paced himself throughout the bridge, trying not to get motion sickness from looking at the cameras too often. He trusted Ryo-ohki, but something inside him was still paranoid that he would look outside and see a squadron of F-16's. It was an irrational thought, considering they weren't even in US airspace yet. For all Justin knew, someone could have caught sight of them when they were in South Carolina. Justin had to make sure that Ryo-ohki and everyone at the Masaki House were never discovered. Everyone knows what happens in a movie when an alien species is found living among humans. Considering the year that Justin was currently living in, it's unlikely that any story could have gotten out. After all, the internet is still a fairly new concept on this planet for the general public. Justin needed to sit down and think. He looked around and noticed that the chair he was sitting in yesterday had been moved to the starboard observation deck. He decided to go have a seat in the likelihood that inspiration would coming looking for him; or anything really that would cause an epiphany. Without looking he threw all of his weight into the chair, only to have a blunt object meet his ass cheek.
"What the hell?" Justin grunted as he went to grab the object from under his posterior, "Ah, at least that answers one question."
It, from what Justin could decipher, was Kiyone's missing weapon. A small pistol, very articulate in design and obviously battery fed. There wasn't a magazine to feed into the handgrip, nor was there a slide or side chamber for ejecting projectiles. Clearly, this was another energy weapon; technology people on earth are currently dreaming of. Justin had his epiphany.
"Ryo-ohki…"Justin said anxiously, "You don't happen to have a system's flight log of where Ryoko and I traveled to last night, do you? I need to know where the last place I was until we decided to come home."
A screen appeared in front of Justin, showing a long and detailed list of where Ryo-ohki stopped last night; what intrigued Justin the most, was that each stop was logged with the specific time. Justin realized that he was treating Ryo-ohki more like a computer than an intelligent life form, but he couldn't help but exploit her extraordinary capabilities. He certainly didn't see Ryoko using any of these tools yesterday; perhaps she didn't require the need for them, seeing that it's possible Ryoko and Ryo-ohki have been together for quite some time now. The more information that flowed in front of Justin, the more and more worried he was becoming; he could feel it in the depths of his gut, his instinct. How on Earth could Ryo-ohki leave Ryoko behind, take Justin back to the Masaki House, and then not go back after her?
"Ryo-ohki, I really wish we could communicate, because this isn't looking good at all," Justin said, his fortitude beginning to waver, "according to your logs the last place we visited was…my house? But why, why would we have gone back there? There's nothing there. Oh, and there's also another weird stop: The University of Tokyo? I wonder what could possibly be there?"
Justin gripped the gun in his hand tightly, the weapon just being another piece of the puzzle. He was beginning to think that maybe he really did shoot Ryoko. Justin sprung out of the chair and rushed over to the piloting console once again.
"Ryo-ohki, give me the fastest course to my home," Justin said as he tightly gripped the metallic spheres in his hand.
He watched as the navigation screen to his left began plotting the best courses to take, several lines were drawn throughout the globe in a three dimensional representation. A few seconds later a final solution was drawn: space. Justin rechecked the data once again. There was no error. The fastest way from Japan to his home in South Carolina was to enter Earth's low orbit and make a high velocity re-entry. There was only one problem. Such an object the mass and speed at which Ryo-ohki would be re-entering the atmosphere would light up all over United States Military Satellites. The US Air Force base at NORAD would catch wind of the unidentified flying object and instantly scramble fighter jets to pursue and destroy. Once Justin realized this, he could feel his heart rate increase steadily.
"We need to enter the atmosphere quickly enough to where US satellites won't detect us; but also to where we can regain stealth capability as soon as possible. Can you do that?" Justin asked Ryo-ohki.
The crystal rhombuses danced around in unison, signifying an agreeing response.
"Very well then," Justin replied as he regained control of the ship, "It looks like I'm about to become the youngest earthling in space."
In reality, Justin's craving to enter space was greater than his fear of being detected by any military force. He was very confident in the alien technology he was flying around, even though he hadn't witnessed Ryo-ohki's weapons first hand, he somehow knew that this warship could go toe to toe with any fighter jet in the world. With a deep breath, Justin pushed higher into the atmosphere, forcing each engine to sixty percent output. The further he pushed, the harder gravity pulled down on him. Luckily enough, Ryo-ohki's engineering allowed him to survive orbital exit and re-entry without the need for training for specialized suits. The cameras outside began to show nothing but a dark blue hue as Ryo-ohki finally broke through the mesosphere and soon the exosphere. Justin hadn't realized it until now, but for the entire ascent Ryo-ohki had locked the metallic orbs in place so he could have something to hold onto. Within an instant, the two were in space and gazing out into the abyss, the only light coming from the sun. As much as Justin wanted to stay up here forever, he knew there was work to be done.
"Prepare for re-entry Ryo-ohki, I want this nice and smooth, and preferably where I don't turn into jelly," Justin said as he leveled out the ship, "I don't see it to be a particularly good idea for me to be standing up when we hit the atmosphere again, so I'll let you take over from here. Thanks though, Ryo-ohki, for giving me this opportunity; truly once in a lifetime."
Justin went back to the observation deck and sat back down into the chair. He couldn't help but stare out into the solar system, his childlike imagination springing back to life. It was hard for him to imagine the diversity of life out there that his own civilization were completely unaware of. Humanity had only just begun to break the boundaries of science, and here was Washu with nearly the key to the whole damned universe. Here Justin was, sitting inside the bridge of one of the most sophisticated works of art that imagination was capable of. He felt as if his entire species was insignificant. It was at that moment that he realized that, perhaps, he didn't want to go back to his universe. Perhaps it was a better idea to stay in this universe, and be a part of something greater. Even though he had no memory of the life from where he come from, he was adamant on believing extraterrestrial life had yet to be identified, especially on this scale. Amidst all this chaos that Justin had gone through within the past couple of days, this was a defining moment for him. If he had the choice to, he would stay, leaving behind whatever family waited for him, whatever life he may have had.
Ryo-ohki started meowing with excitement, and Justin turned around in his chair to see what all the fuss was about. The global map was blinking. Ryoko had been found, and she was very close to Justin's home. This was either going to be very good or very bad. Best case scenario, Ryoko is passed out somewhere in the neighborhood and away from any human contact. The less people see her, the better.
"Alright, this is good news. On your mark Ryo-ohki," Justin said as he strapped himself into his chair.
Justin concentrated on the aft cameras as he witnessed the beautiful blue marble approach closer and closer into the screen. He still held Kiyone's gun tightly in his hand, a part of him growing more and more apprehensive. An instant later Ryo-ohki broke into the atmosphere. Justin felt like he was on the most intense carnival ride of his life; and this wasn't helping the whole issue with his hangover either. The force of gravity taking control over his body once more was severely agitating his already uneasy mind. He gripped the gun even tighter so it wouldn't slip out of his hands. Once Ryo-ohki breached into the stratosphere, she immediately re-engaged her stealth systems. The intense vibrations ceased and Justin could see an entirely different land mass rapidly becoming larger in view: North America. So far, so good. No Air Force fighters had shown up on radar. They may have seen a blip, but it was probably gone just as fast as it showed. It was unbelievable how efficient Ryo-ohki was; Justin was continually floored by it all. Within a minute Ryo-ohki had successfully gotten both of them safely within a mile of Ryoko's last known location.
"I'll need you to put me down as close to Ryoko as possible, I'll then go and search for her on foot from there," Justin said, looking up at the crystals, "Got me?"
The oscillating rhombuses meowed in return. Another sign for yes, Justin assumed.
"Good, stay close to me and remained undetected," Justin responded, "Whenever you're ready."
Justin made his way towards the center of the bridge and gave Ryo-ohki the signal. He immediately felt the sensation of weightless rush back into his body, followed by a white light. When he reopened his eyes, Justin was in front of the neighboring forest beside the remnants of his house. He instantly got an uneasy feeling. Justin readied the weapon in his hands, sweeping the area for any possible hostile activity. But there was nothing, and that was the biggest problem of all. There were no people outside, no sound of cars driving by, just silence. Even the sky above him seemed to have been drained of life.
"Ryoko!" Justin screamed, "I know you've probably got beef with me, so go ahead, I'll give you one free punch, just not the face!"
No response. Justin was hoping that Ryoko was mad enough at Justin to easily accept that offer and come out of hiding, or wherever she could have been. Justin pointed the pistol into the air, pulled the trigger, and fired off a single energetic projectile into the air. Birds in the surrounding area immediately took off flying in all directions. They fled from every position except the forest. Justin looked towards the edge of the tree line, trying to study any potential disturbances by humans. Upon looking closer, he noticed several imperfections in the vacant field of grass in front of the trees. It was obvious to see, that in the waist high vegetation, that someone had managed to wade their way through it.
Justin swallowed the lump forming in his throat and made his way into the forest, the gun slightly shaking in his hand. He felt stupid; what was there to be afraid of? The silence was far too much for him to handle. Every gut instinct was telling him to run. Silence meant a predator was near. But then again, what if Justin was the predator? His fear all of a sudden became illogical. His mind was racing almost as fast as his heart. No matter how he tried, Justin couldn't control his breathing or any of his other vitals. He was simply consumed with fear; and yet he pressed on for reasons completely unknown to him. The further he went into the forest, the more destruction he saw. At some points, several areas of the forest were completely cleared; trees had fallen down and some were even smoldering. Smoldering from what, a fire? Small craters dented the landscape around any and every clearing Justin laid his eyes upon. The place looked like a warzone.
Suddenly, upon his next step, Justin accidentally tripped over a tree root that had managed to break through the ground. He hit the forest bed so suddenly that he didn't even have time to react. By the time he figured out what happened, he was already picking himself up off the ground. That's when he saw it. Justin neck hairs stood up on end as he noticed a dried pool of dark liquid nestled into the soil at his feet. He knelt down next to it and placed his shaky hands down onto the stained soil. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing. Justin brought a sample of the soil up to his nose and inhaled slightly.
The sample instantly crumbled to the ground.
Iron: the smell of iron.
Blood.
Justin looked ahead of him and noticed several other small patches of dried blood staining the foliage all around him. It was a blood trail, but was it intentional? Justin readied his weapon once again and pursued deeper into the forest. Adrenaline was starting to take over. When an animal feels threatened, it will do two things: either shut down and die, or work based off of instinct and survive. Justin wasn't going to die, not when he had a choice in the matter. Especially not when had wielded a powerful weapon in his hands. He dove his way through branches and tall brush, making sure that he was still following this eerie trail of blood. His mind was racing; his thoughts coming too fast to process. What could all of this mean? Justin screamed for his legs to run faster, regardless of how many briar bushes were cutting into his skin. He didn't care. Justin was going to find Ryoko; but why? The question raced through his mind perpetually: why was he so determined to find her? Justin was also heavily relying on Ryo-ohki at this point. He hoped that she was managing to keep up with him through this dense, southeastern forest region. Justin broke through another layer of brush and came across another clearing with more signs of a vicious battle. He frantically looked around the clearing for signs of life.
There she was.
"Ryoko!" Justin yelled as he sprinted to her position.
She was propped up against a tree and unconscious. Justin ran over to her to make sure that she was still alive.
"Hey, hey!" Justin bellowed as he started reaching for a pulse, "Oh god what the fuck is going on here?"
Justin swallowed another lump in this throat. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Ryoko laid in front of him, badly beaten and bruised, lacerations across most of her body. Her pilot's uniform covered in forest mud and dried blood. He placed his ear on Ryoko's chest and listened for a heartbeat. Proud and strong; Ryoko was still alive and ticking. He parted her hair to the side and started cleaning up the mud caked on the side of her face. There was a slight salty residue underneath her eyelids; it was apparent that Ryoko had been crying. Justin couldn't see how this was possible. Ryoko was indestructible; she had proven such when she blocked several bullets like it was child's play. She could fly and shoot lasers from her hands. She has the most badass ship Justin has ever seen. What could have done this to her?
"Please wake up!" Justin cried, shaking Ryoko by her shoulders.
Ryoko delicately opened her eyes and let out a weak exhale of breath. She made eye contact with Justin.
Justin looked at her and sighed in relief, "Holy shit you scared the hell out of me. What happened?"
Ryoko's eyes widened to that of a frightened child. She immediately threw Justin off of her. Justin rolled several feet away, losing his gun in the process.
"Stay back!" she weakly screamed, beginning to cough up blood.
Justin was perplexed by what he was hearing, "Ryoko, what is wron-"
"I said stay back!" Ryoko interrupted, "don't you come any closer you monster."
Justin's heart withered and his blood froze within his veins.