Disclaimer: *unhappy mumbling is heard* Razza frazzin!! *Zero walks in and
sulks, holding up a big neon sign* Yet again, the characters are not ours!
*begins to lug sign out of room* Stupid thing . weighs a ton!! *kicks sign*
OwieEe!! *hops around in pain* What did I do to deserve this!? *mutters*
Slave driver .
Chapter 3: The Trouble With Comfort
The light from the full moon shined through the window of the Masaki home and illuminated the room as Ryoko sat atop her rafter and gazed at the stars. Hugging the pillow she had taken from the couch to her chest, she contemplated the wackiness of the day. She smiled slightly as she recalled Ryo-ohki rushing immediately into the bathroom after breakfast. Perplexed, the group had followed and found her seated in front of the mirror with a huge smile on her face. She had remained in that same position for many hours afterward, completely transfixed by the girl she found in her reflection. The pirate was awoken from her thoughts by the slight creaking of someone walking on the floorboards. She quickly turned around to find Ryo-ohki looking back at her, nightgown dragging on the ground. The little girl yawned loudly and blinked up at Ryoko, the very picture of innocence. "Pipsqueak," Ryoko whispered, trying not to wake up the rest of the house, "Weren't you supposed to sleep with Ayeka and Sasami tonight?" Ryo-ohki frowned and shrugged nonchalantly in response. It was rather obvious that she didn't plan on returning upstairs anytime soon. She gave her sister a pleading look and patted the couch cushion. With a simple teleport, Ryoko was on the ground and was already in the process of unfolding the couch-bed. "What's the matter," she asked in a hushed voice, walking over to a closet to grab some pillows, "you don't want to stay with that mean Princess Ayeka?" "Meow mya!" Ryo-ohki answered, helping Ryoko pull back the sheets. "Oh! You're too big now, are you?" the elder sister chuckled, "Don't worry, you can stay with me, Baby." Ryo-ohki immediately clambered onto the bed and cuddled into her sister's arms. "Mya?" the former cabbit requested, eyes widening hopefully. "A story?" Ryoko chimed, right fang grazing her lower lip thoughtfully. At Ryo-ohki's excited, wide-eyed nod she replied, "Let me think . hmm ." Ryo-ohki settled into the blankets and waited anxiously. The pirate chuckled and contemplated her tale before beginning. "Once upon a time, in a land far away from here, there was a brave and handsome knight named . Adrian. He had fought many battles for his kingdom and served his princess well. His great victories had made him a hero among the people. But, there was one problem!" "Myao mew?" Ryo-ohki asked innocently, wondering what the problem was. Ryoko smiled down at her and continued the story, "Well . Adrian and his princess had fallen in love, and such things weren't allowed to happen. When the King found out he was very angry. He tried everything he could to separate them."
*~
This was not supposed to happen at all. The single greatest mind in the entire cosmos had smacked, face first, into a wall. Said 'wall' was quite metaphorical, but that was beside the point. She could find no evidence as to how Ryo-ohki had changed her form for the second time. Washu had researched almost every possibility she could think of, and all of them had been ruled out. The gas in the overhead tube was only a mild, sleep- inducing agent, which usually worked for five minutes maximum. Washu had also tested all of the chemicals separately as well as together, but had found no combination that would bring about any type of genetic mutation. Her eyes drooped sleepily and she barely stifled a yawn. She would get back to her research tomorrow, and if all else failed she could always blame it on fate. Another yawn escaped through her fingers. At this point, fate was sounding good. With a single keystroke, the original screen was replaced with a view of the Masaki living room. Washu adjusted her position on her floating pillow and watched her children appear on the monitor. She closed her eyes and listened as Ryoko continued to weave her made-up fairy tale.
*~
Ryo-ohki laid back sleepily as the story went on, imagining secret rendezvous and romantic scenes, lulled by the sound of her sister's voice. As is expected in fairy tales the bad guy would lose and true love would conquer all. Ryo-ohki's eyes slowly fluttered closed with the promise of perfect endings. "And they lived happily ever after ." Ryoko stated looking down to find the little girl already fast asleep. She gently smoothed her hair and concluded, "the End." Satisfied, her own golden eyes closed. Holding Ryo- ohki close she drifted off, for once, into a pleasant sleep. Safe together, they settled down for a rare nightmare-less slumber.
*~
Washu clicked off the video feed and after a dismissive swish of her hand the holotop disappeared. Receiving peaceful feelings from the other side of the link, the scientist smiled unconsciously. She rubbed her tired eyes with the back of a hand and slowly plodded toward her bedroom in some far- off corner of the lab, pajamas appearing sometime during the trip. Knowing that her daughters were safe she easily slipped into undisturbed sleep. This would be a good night for sweet dreams.
A Little Bit o' Insanity Tailz: Aw!! How cute!! *rolls eyes* Yeah, I know Ryoko's bedtime story was cheap . *shrugs* What can ya do?? *blinks* Zero: *defensive* Stop lookin' at me like that! Tailz: Huh?? *confuzzled* Like what?? Zero: Like all: 'Ooh!' *waggles fingers* 'Blame the muse for your lack of ideas! Blah-de, blah blah!' Tailz: *arcs eyebrow* Er . I wasn't looking at you Zero . Zero: *glares* Were too!! Tailz: Was no- *huffs impatiently* Look, whatever . we've got another chapter to write before we leave!! *pleading* Let's just get moving . Puh- lease!! Zero: *unhappy* Fine! Change the subject, why don-cha! Tailz: Hard to believe you're older than me . *sighs* Sorry about Zero . she's grouchy today!! *brightens* Anyway, thanks for all of the nice reviews!! *mwaz* To the next chapter!! Tally-ho!! *disappears*
Chapter 3: The Trouble With Comfort
The light from the full moon shined through the window of the Masaki home and illuminated the room as Ryoko sat atop her rafter and gazed at the stars. Hugging the pillow she had taken from the couch to her chest, she contemplated the wackiness of the day. She smiled slightly as she recalled Ryo-ohki rushing immediately into the bathroom after breakfast. Perplexed, the group had followed and found her seated in front of the mirror with a huge smile on her face. She had remained in that same position for many hours afterward, completely transfixed by the girl she found in her reflection. The pirate was awoken from her thoughts by the slight creaking of someone walking on the floorboards. She quickly turned around to find Ryo-ohki looking back at her, nightgown dragging on the ground. The little girl yawned loudly and blinked up at Ryoko, the very picture of innocence. "Pipsqueak," Ryoko whispered, trying not to wake up the rest of the house, "Weren't you supposed to sleep with Ayeka and Sasami tonight?" Ryo-ohki frowned and shrugged nonchalantly in response. It was rather obvious that she didn't plan on returning upstairs anytime soon. She gave her sister a pleading look and patted the couch cushion. With a simple teleport, Ryoko was on the ground and was already in the process of unfolding the couch-bed. "What's the matter," she asked in a hushed voice, walking over to a closet to grab some pillows, "you don't want to stay with that mean Princess Ayeka?" "Meow mya!" Ryo-ohki answered, helping Ryoko pull back the sheets. "Oh! You're too big now, are you?" the elder sister chuckled, "Don't worry, you can stay with me, Baby." Ryo-ohki immediately clambered onto the bed and cuddled into her sister's arms. "Mya?" the former cabbit requested, eyes widening hopefully. "A story?" Ryoko chimed, right fang grazing her lower lip thoughtfully. At Ryo-ohki's excited, wide-eyed nod she replied, "Let me think . hmm ." Ryo-ohki settled into the blankets and waited anxiously. The pirate chuckled and contemplated her tale before beginning. "Once upon a time, in a land far away from here, there was a brave and handsome knight named . Adrian. He had fought many battles for his kingdom and served his princess well. His great victories had made him a hero among the people. But, there was one problem!" "Myao mew?" Ryo-ohki asked innocently, wondering what the problem was. Ryoko smiled down at her and continued the story, "Well . Adrian and his princess had fallen in love, and such things weren't allowed to happen. When the King found out he was very angry. He tried everything he could to separate them."
*~
This was not supposed to happen at all. The single greatest mind in the entire cosmos had smacked, face first, into a wall. Said 'wall' was quite metaphorical, but that was beside the point. She could find no evidence as to how Ryo-ohki had changed her form for the second time. Washu had researched almost every possibility she could think of, and all of them had been ruled out. The gas in the overhead tube was only a mild, sleep- inducing agent, which usually worked for five minutes maximum. Washu had also tested all of the chemicals separately as well as together, but had found no combination that would bring about any type of genetic mutation. Her eyes drooped sleepily and she barely stifled a yawn. She would get back to her research tomorrow, and if all else failed she could always blame it on fate. Another yawn escaped through her fingers. At this point, fate was sounding good. With a single keystroke, the original screen was replaced with a view of the Masaki living room. Washu adjusted her position on her floating pillow and watched her children appear on the monitor. She closed her eyes and listened as Ryoko continued to weave her made-up fairy tale.
*~
Ryo-ohki laid back sleepily as the story went on, imagining secret rendezvous and romantic scenes, lulled by the sound of her sister's voice. As is expected in fairy tales the bad guy would lose and true love would conquer all. Ryo-ohki's eyes slowly fluttered closed with the promise of perfect endings. "And they lived happily ever after ." Ryoko stated looking down to find the little girl already fast asleep. She gently smoothed her hair and concluded, "the End." Satisfied, her own golden eyes closed. Holding Ryo- ohki close she drifted off, for once, into a pleasant sleep. Safe together, they settled down for a rare nightmare-less slumber.
*~
Washu clicked off the video feed and after a dismissive swish of her hand the holotop disappeared. Receiving peaceful feelings from the other side of the link, the scientist smiled unconsciously. She rubbed her tired eyes with the back of a hand and slowly plodded toward her bedroom in some far- off corner of the lab, pajamas appearing sometime during the trip. Knowing that her daughters were safe she easily slipped into undisturbed sleep. This would be a good night for sweet dreams.
A Little Bit o' Insanity Tailz: Aw!! How cute!! *rolls eyes* Yeah, I know Ryoko's bedtime story was cheap . *shrugs* What can ya do?? *blinks* Zero: *defensive* Stop lookin' at me like that! Tailz: Huh?? *confuzzled* Like what?? Zero: Like all: 'Ooh!' *waggles fingers* 'Blame the muse for your lack of ideas! Blah-de, blah blah!' Tailz: *arcs eyebrow* Er . I wasn't looking at you Zero . Zero: *glares* Were too!! Tailz: Was no- *huffs impatiently* Look, whatever . we've got another chapter to write before we leave!! *pleading* Let's just get moving . Puh- lease!! Zero: *unhappy* Fine! Change the subject, why don-cha! Tailz: Hard to believe you're older than me . *sighs* Sorry about Zero . she's grouchy today!! *brightens* Anyway, thanks for all of the nice reviews!! *mwaz* To the next chapter!! Tally-ho!! *disappears*