"The Unspoken Journey" An AMG Fan Fic, an official "Ai Shiteru" Side Story, and a Tenchi-Muyo x-over By: icezer230, a.k.a Shu.
E-mail: icezer230@yahoo.com (C&C welcome)
Webpage: http://icezer.itgo.com/fanfic.html
A BUNCH OF COPYRIGHTS (OTHERWISE KNOWN AS LEGAL JARGON)
This story and the characters of Rhiana, Kei, and Nao belongs to me (icezer230, a.k.a Shu). The characters true to AMG are copyrighted by Kosuke Fujishima and his associates. Brett, Chia-Yao, Syliana, and the other immortals (unless mentioned otherwise) from the 'Oh! My God!' fanfiction are copyrighted by Darkwind (a.k.a Brett Handy) and have been used with permission.
The character of Kenji from the 'No Mere Mortal' fanfiction is a creation of Ed Sharpe. The characters true to Tenchi Muyo belong to the illustrator(s) and the distribution companies (whoever they are). If you haven't read chapter 1 or part 1, please read it! Warning: This fanfic contains some pretty dark elements. There are some sexual references, but it couldn't even be counted as a lime.
A LEGEND, FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT.
**=thought
""=speech
()=explanations
[]=insertions/interruptions by the author!*****
The evening had been perfect until he had decided to propose to her. He even had an expensive-looking ring ready to put on her finger when she said 'yes.' He had stood on one knee and looked every bit like the romantic man she loved. His eyes had been excited, she had seen, but she had to tell him, didn't she? She had to tell him that she lied to him from the start, even if she wanted to be with him forever. BECAUSE she wanted to be with him forever, she couldn't let the start of her marriage be based on a lie. She just wouldn't be able to bear it.
Should she tell him? Did she have to tell him? Would she tell him? *Yes* her conscience told her then. *You should. You cannot keep anymore secrets if you are to be with the man you love.* And so, she did. But was it worth it?
"...Why, Skuld? Why didn't you tell me all of this before? Why did you wait until this moment to tell me?" Kenji asked, hurt evident in his eyes and the tone of his voice. 'I'm sorry' she had said, closing her eyes, unable to look at him in the face.
"I'm sorry too, Skuld," Kenji said, his sad voice breaking what was left of her heart into even smaller pieces. 'I'm sorry, Kenji' she had said then, not knowing what to think, what to do.
Tears had streamed out of her eyes, but he wasn't there to comfort her like she would have wished him to. He had already turned around and left the room. They were in a private room that Kenji had especially booked in advance, so no one saw her crying. She had never felt so alone before in her entire life until this moment.
"Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem [to see]
Is but a dream within a dream."
--Unknown.PART 2: WOUNDS TO HEAL Nao had gotten in the middle of the night feeling a little dry in the throat and wanted to get a glass of water when she realized that the light was on in the guest room, where Skuld was staying temporarily. She sighed and went to investigate and tell the girl to try and get some rest. *Doesn't that girl ever sleep? As far as I know, she's always been awake before me* Nao thought.
Normally, she would have realized that the sleeplessness might be related to the trauma Skuld had been experiencing, but since sleep was still part of her, very little rational thought came to her. However, when she swung the door to the guest room open, she saw Skuld holding a knife to one of her wrists in front of the mirror, tears running down her face. Nao's sleep-clouded mind immediately awoke and she was as alert as she could ever be.
Skuld turned around and Nao could see her eyes widening in surprise. It was obvious that Skuld didn't want anyone to know what she was about to do. Nao could see the terrible pain in Skuld's eyes, etched deep into her soul. *Is _this_ what it's like to be ravaged like that?* she thought to herself.
"Skuld, listen to me. Put. The knife. Down. Skuld...Don't do this to yourself. Why are you doing this? You know better than to..." Nao tried to negotiate Skuld out of taking her own life, but her efforts were cut off by Skuld's own speech.
"I know better? How would _you_ know!? Every time I close my eyes, the memories...the images...of that night...they seem to haunt me no matter what I do, no matter where I am!...What did I do to deserve this fate?" Skuld spat. Nao was unable to speak as she was stunned at the intensity of the raw emotion that Skuld was showing.
Skuld immediately broke down and ran out of the room. Nao quickly ran after her and found her sobbing on the couch in the living room. After some slight hesitation, she approached Skuld and touched her shoulder. Skuld flinched but did not refuse Nao's touch. It was then that Nao realized that Skuld really needed someone to help her through this, and decided that _she_ should be the one to do that right now.
"...Listen, I know we don't know each other that well, but don't you have loved ones that care about you and where you are right now? What about _their_ feelings when you decide to end your life? What will _they_ think?" Nao asked. This was her one last chance. Either Skuld would drop it or she would make and witness the biggest mistake of her life.
"Now they have others to take care of, others to love. Why do I matter?" Skuld asked, laughing out loud. It was a bitter and hollow laugh, something the normal Skuld could have never accomplished. But she dropped the knife, and that was what was important.
Skuld then stopped laughing all of the sudden and resumed her daily activity: looking and staring blankly at any immobile object. Her sad gaze was enough to make even the bright colors of the room seem gloomy. Nao sighed and ruffled her hair. *That's it, I'm _definitely_ taking her to a therapist* she thought.
*****
"Okay, what do we have to work with, Bell?" Urd asked, her eyes busy scanning through the read-outs from various computer screens on her desk console.
"Well, not much. She left the restaurant, all right. There were several eye witnesses but no one could really verify which direction she went. All they could tell was that she was pretty drunk at the time," Belldandy replied, looking up from her own console.
"Great. Just great. She doesn't seem to have her powers so we can't locate her that way, and her life essense reading has practically vanished from this dimension...Do you think she's gone dimensional hopping again?" Urd wondered aloud, her eyes widening, remembering the last time she had done something like this. It had been years ago, when somehow Skuld had chosen Kenji.
"I don't think so. The last time, she had the courtesy to write a note. It's not like her to leave without telling us like this," Belldandy replied, rapping rapidly on her 'keyboard.' It was in fact a hovering spherical structure with many squares and buttons that could be rotated at one's will.
"You're right. But...why did the computer not even pick up her essense while she was at our house?" Urd wondered, leaning back on her couch-like seat and closing her eyes to rest for a moment. She and Belldandy had been at this for days now, and couldn't really afford to go on for much longer. After all, they had family to take care of.
"I wonder if there are bugs in the system. You want to run the anti-virus?" Belldandy wondered as she scanned through a few more lines of data.
"No, I've already done that and it reports that there are no bugs...for the time being," Urd said, sighing.
"Are you thinking of Toshi?" Belldandy asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes. I'm worried. You think the guys can take care of him for a few days without getting into _too_ much trouble?" Urd wondered, a frown etched on her face. The last time she and her sisters had left Toshi with the guys, the house had been a total disaster area.
"Well, we _could_ ask them to help. Brett's abilities might be invaluable...Say, where _is_ Brett?" Belldandy asked.
"He's probably out on some wish-granting mission. I could page him, if you want," Urd said. She beeped him and a few seconds later, he appeared in front of them, uniform and all.
"What's the big deal, ladies? I was in the middle of an assignment!" Brett admonished. He didn't like to leave his work half-done, although he could be considered finished in many aspects.
"Skuld's gone and we don't know where she is. She's got no powers and we can't get any sort of reading from her. You've _got_ to help us," Urd replied, panicking as she snapped her eyes open from her little rest, walked over to Brett, and literally shook him.
"Whoa, hold on there for a minute. What made you think she isn't uh...spending some time with Kenji?" Brett wondered. He had known the level of intimacy of Skuld's and Kenji's relationship for some time now, but he was still a little embarassed talking about it.
"First of all, we felt her fear before we found out she was gone. Second of all, we checked already. Kenji's alone at his apartment, according to the radar. Third of all, we can't even _locate_ her with Skuld's own invention!" Belldandy said as Urd pushed him towards a new console.
"Are you sure she hasn't gone dimension-hopping? She did that the last time," Brett grumbled as he got to work. *I guess my mission will have to be delayed for some time...*
"Don't you think she would have told us first?" Urd snapped, her temper running short.
"Okay, okay...You don't have to be so angry," Brett mumbled under his breath. Urd just gave him one of 'those' looks which made him wither. *I should have remembered good ol' rule #412--'Never Piss off a Goddess in panic whose sister's just gone missing* he thought sarcastically.
*****
"How was your first session?" Kei asked Skuld, who just came out of the door which had a 'therapist' sign stuck to it.
"It was all right, I guess..." Skuld said reluctantly.
"You mean we spent all that money on you and you didn't get anything out of this?" Nao asked, a little offended.
"I didn't mean that. I just don't know how to put what I felt back there in words. I feel a little better, actually," Skuld said, forcing a little smile. Kei and Nao traded worried looks.
"Whatever you say, Skuld. Come on, I think we're all hungry. I know a good place," Kei suggested. However, the trip lasted a little longer than it needed to since Kei and Nao ended up arguing about which restaurant they had went to the last time and which one they should have gone to this time.
*****
Kei noticed something about Skuld while they walked towards Kei's chosen restaurant. Her face was ghastly pale and she looked as if she could pass out the next second. Kei realized that Skuld was sweating even though it was cold. Nao grumbled on the other side of Skuld since she lost (as usual), so she didn't really notice. Kei touched Skuld's shoulder, which startled her.
"Are you all right, Skuld? You don't look so well," Kei said, seriously concerned.
"...It's just that I have this sense of dread, like something bad's going to happen, but I can't really be too sure..." Skuld replied. Pain was suddenly etched into her face like it had always been there and Kei truly felt sorry for her.
"You're just thinking too much, Skuld," Nao said, trying to make the situation a little lighter.
"You never do that, Nao, since you don't even use what little brains you have!" Kei teased. Nao just scowled as their bantering continued along the trip. Skuld ignored them and realized something that might had been the cause of her dread. The alleyway where _that_ happened was just right ahead. She froze in her tracks, making the two room-mates look back towards her. Total and absolute fear could be seen in her eyes. Her hands slowly trembled and tears started to run down her face without control.
"What's wrong, Skuld?" Kei asked her, evidently not realizing what Skuld was feeling due to her 'conversation' with Nao.
"I'm not going. I'm not going!" Skuld screeched, making other passerbys turn in their direction. Skuld fled the scene, but not before bumping a man. A man who possessed a familiar build and a _very_ familiar face. Skuld's eyes widened as she realized who it was. Kenji, the very man wanted to avoid.
Kenji's eyes flashed in surprise but it went to a cold and piercing gaze as he helped her stand up along with him. Skuld could see the pain in his eyes, but she could not bear to tell him of what she had gone through since they had last met. She couldn't give him more pain to bear, not like this.
"Tell Keiichi when you meet him...that I feel sorry for him," Kenji told her, the strain and struggle to keep in control evident in his voice. Then he let her go to stand on her own so that he himself could turn around and go.
Kei and Nao caught up with Skuld moments later. They had witnessed the exchange and knew that he _had_ to have been the reason why Skuld was so stubborn about going back to her home, wherever it was. They only said nothing and led the silent Skuld back home, to their only haven. When they reached there, Skuld bolted for her room, locked the door, and sounds of muffled crying could be heard. No matter how much coaching and pleading the two room-mates had made to try and get her to get out of the room, Skuld wouldn't come out.
*****
"What's the verdict?" Belldandy asked as she stretched her tired muscles.
"We have zilch over on this end," Brett said, sighing.
"I've got one little small lead...It turns out that our sister's just visited the therapist, although the bill was paid by someone else. I don't recognize the names but they were by two college kids over on the other side of town," Urd said, popping up the screen as a hologram so that everyone could see.
"Great. Now all we have to do is trace the bill and we'll get her," Brett said, smiling. His work here paid off after all. *Now, if I could just get some shut-eye before I have to go back to work* he thought as he yawned.
"No way, buddy, you're not getting any shut eye until we've found out what happened to her!" Urd snapped, dragging Brett away to the exit already. Brett groaned as he tried to pry himself away from Urd. Urd just snickered and held onto him even more tightly. Belldandy sighed to herself and wandered after the couple. *I just wish Keiichi was with me...* she thought longingly.
*****
"...So was that your boyfriend?" Nao asked from outside the door. She knew the answer already, but she just had to ask.
"...I guess," Skuld mumbled. She had gone back inside her 'little shell' and both Kei and Nao had found it really hard to reach her through it--it was like talking to your own shadow--you never got any response. If they could only get her to trust them and open the damn door...
"EX-boyfriend?" Kei asked, raising an eyebrow. Skuld nodded, sniffing a little. Kei knew that the silence that ensued meant that she was right on the mark.
"...Look, Skuld, we're a little sick and tired of trying to get information out of you so you can get better. We want to be your friends help you get over this, but you won't let us! You won't tell us what's going on and who you are!" Nao raved, her patience running out.
"You won't understand!" Skuld yelled back. *No one does* she thought miserably.
"Nao!" Kei said sternly. "Skuld...Nao's being really mean, I know, but she's right. You can't ignore the fact that anything and everything happened! You've got to get over it! Open the door, Skuld, and let me in!" Kei said in a pleading tone. After a while, she realized she wasn't going to get a response. Sighing, she went to her last resort: she pulled out some hairpins and pick-locked the door. When she quietly opened the door, she realized that there was no one there. Only an open window. Skuld had run away.
*****
"Are you sure we should be knocking on someone else's door? Someone we don't even know?" Belldandy asked outside Kei and Nao's apartment door.
"Of course! She's our sister, isn't she? She's _got_ to have a reason why she didn't tell us anything before she ran out on us!" Urd snapped impatiently. Belldandy sighed and pressed the doorbell. A few moments after, the door was opened and Belldandy found herself facing a couple of college students who were in a pretty bad mood.
"Can we help you?" one asked, the politeness in her voice evidently strained.
"Um...We're looking for a young woman named Skuld. She was missing from our house a few days ago--last week in fact, and we'd like to know whether or not you've seen her. The neighbors all reported seeing her these past few days and we're hoping that you'd know where she is or where she went," Belldandy said in the most polite voice she could manage, adding a smile. The two college students looked at each other and slowly nodded their heads, letting the three strangers into their small apartment.
*****
"Did you have to erase their memories?" Brett asked Urd, who was in a _really_ bad mood after hearing what had happened to Skuld. Even Belldandy's usually neutral or happy mood had gone to a downside after they had heard Skuld's story. Brett, however, didn't know the story since he was ushered outside the room--the two girls evidently didn't really trust guys that much.
"If I didn't have to, I wouldn't have done it...They know too much, Brett. I'm sorry about all this. I know you hate it when we have to mess up other people's memories but it has to be done," Urd said.
"What did they find out that was so important that you had to erase their memories of what had happened? I don't think Skuld would tell them that she was a goddess, she'd know that it would be catastrophic to scientific development!" Brett said, trying to brighten up the scene. Belldandy had been eerily quiet and solemn.
"...I'm going to look for her," Urd only said before she vanished from his sight. Brett turned to look at Belldandy, who only gave him a sad look. *She's keeping it from me too? Geez, Skuld's date must _really_ have been bad or something!* Brett thought before he suggested that he and Belldandy go home. He had learned not to question what Urd was doing after all the years he had spent with her.
*****
Using only pure instincts, Urd ran towards some unknown destination, hoping that her gut feelings would tell her where her little sister had gotten to. She remembered that when she was small and Skuld had gone missing, her gut feelings were what had led her to find her, who had been playing happily in the middle of a mortal playground with a bunch of children. Skuld had not understood at that time, but Urd knew she always had a special bond with her sisters. She hoped that the bond was still there.
A few minutes later, she found herself in a dark alley. Unbeknownst to her, it was the exact same alley where Skuld had her encounter with the gang. The eerie cries from further along the alley that greeted her caused her to stop and hesitate whether to go on. Balling up her hands into fists, Urd kept her always handy thunderbolt spell ready at her lips, and ran on. Her eyes widened--she was absolutely horrified at the sight before her, at what she found.
It was a gruesome sight, and no mortal or god would describe it as otherwise. There were bodies and the smell of fresh blood everywhere, it almost nauseated Urd. Urd, who had been in battle so many times against Evil. Urd, who had born an icy and cold expression when she was forced to cut off the heads of her enemies in order to send them back to the Hell from where they came from. Urd, who was now barely keeping her lunch inside.
She willed herself to walk on and keep a sad and cold expression as she saw the brutality of the murders--there was one, she noted, that had his esophagus ripped out. That was how he died, his eyes bloated and mouth open--but unable to breathe. Urd closed her eyes as she shuddered at even more gruesome sights. But then, she heard a sound. Another cry. She instantly ran towards the direction, her strongest spells at hand. She knew that these murders had to be the work of an immortal. Just who, she didn't know. Such work could have only be done by someone so vengeful as a Hell Lord.
"Please forgive me! Forgive me! I-I'll never do it again...Urk!" the choked voice of a man screamed cacophonically in falsetto.
"NeVeR...I cAnNoT fOrGiVe YoU fOr WhAT yOu HaVe DoNe!" a strangely familiar female voice said. But the way she said it would have brought anyone to shudder--even a Hell Lord. When Urd got to the scene, she was horrified to find Skuld--or someone who looked and dressed like Skuld, covered in blood from head to toe, and using some sort of bizzare power to force a huge and ugly man against the wall, except that he was choking about 10 feet higher.
"S-Skuld!?" Urd exclaimed in absolute terror. The monster turned her head towards Urd. Urd realized that it _was_ Skuld, but there was an eerie green glow inside her eyes as she smiled sadistically as if to welcome her sister.
"GrEeTiNgS, uRd...Do YoU LiKe My ShOw? I wOrKeD rEaLlY hArD oN iT!" Skuld said in a very strange tone--it was cold and uncaring. If Urd didn't know her for who she was, she would have sounded like the Absolute Evil.
"W-why...?" Urd asked.
"I hAvE tO mAkE tHeM pAy FoR wHaT tHeY hAvE dOnE tO mE!" Skuld shouted in rage, her strangely lit eyes glowing.
"Do you have to kill them?" Urd asked sadly towards her sister, now a monster.
"YeS!" Skuld shrieked. The dangling man was now still. Urd knew that he was dead. There was no hope of ever saving him.k note when his throat was crushed like that.
"NOOOO!" Urd shouted as she watched her sister, the Goddess of the Future, destroy the mortal world.
*****
"NOOOO!" Urd shouted, waking up from her dream. She realized that she was on the electric train and the rest of the people there was watching her and eyeing her strangely. Some teenagers were laughing at her and she instantly blushed furiously. *What was _that_ all about?* she thought. Then she remembered. The alley in the dream...or premonition? Of course! That's where Skuld is! She looked outside the window. The sun was setting.
She stood up and pressed the emergency button. When the train came to an immediate stop (startling a lot of passengers), she opened the doors with her bare hands and jumped off. The rest of the passengers panicked at the seemingly suicidal woman who had jumped off, but became quiet once Urd put a spell on the train, forgetting that it ever _did_ stop and that the passengers had seen a woman who had jumped off.
"I've got to hurry!" Urd said to herself.
*****
When she got to the alley, she found herself staring at Skuld's back, who was silently watching those dark shadows moving within. As she approached her sister, the sound of her footsteps--the heels on the pavement, caused her sister to turn towards her. She could see the anger, the frustration, and the denial..and now, surprise...and shame. Plenty of it.
"I see you've found me at, Urd," Skuld said.
"Do you have to run away every single time you have a problem?" Urd asked, a little angry. Yet she knew that if she had to go through the same process, the same things her little sister had, she would have done the exact same thing. Of course, she wasn't about to tell that, was she? Skuld gave out what by definition would be, a chuckle--but the strain in it was evident to both parties.
"I guess I _do_ do that, don't I?" Skuld said, somewhat sadly, turning her body and view back to the alley. Urd approached her sister more cautiously, hoping that her presence would calm her sister down.
"That alley...That alley took something away from me. And I suppose you know what it is, since you found me. You were always good at finding things, Urd. You were always good at things when you tried real hard," Skuld continued, not looking at her. The sounds of distant traffic and some people walking and ignoring the two gaijins standing there cut the silence.
"...Kei and Nao told me something. I didn't know whether or not I could believe it. Skuld...why didn't you use your powers?" Urd asked quietly as she hugged her sister and shed the tears she had been holding back since the conversation with the two college kids.
"...I don't have any. It's been like this since I've gotten here...And now, all I am is a hollow shell. There is nothing inside of me..." Skuld said.
"What do you mean, when you got here?" Urd asked as she wiped her tears. She had let go of her fierce hug and lookd at her sister carefully.
"I'm from the past, Urd. This...this place is a possible future. I guess that's why I'm here, isn't it?" Skuld asked rhetorically, almost bitterly.
"But...if you're from the past, where's _our_ Skuld?" Urd panicked. She would have never known that the Goddess of the Future that was her sister would have to undergo such obstacles. If she had known...*Damn it, why didn't she tell us about this years ago, when she insisted that she wanted her relationship with Kenji to go on? Did she want to know whether or not she could change things, even by a little?* Urd thought.
"She _knows_ I was going to be here. She even left me a note!" Skuld hissed. She wished things didn't have to be this way, but she was so angry with her future self. *How could she _do_ this to me! Myself! Us?* she thought.
"...She left you a note!? Come on, we've got to get back to the temple. We're going to investigate this matter at once!" Urd said before pulling on Skuld's hand. After finding their way to the nearest transport media available, they finally left the scene.
*****
Later, when they got to the temple, Skuld switched on her laptop and called up the file that had told her to do those things. While their eyes flicked back and forth between the lines of programming and user identity (they thought the message might have been a fake one), they discussed possible reasons why the present Skuld would have done such a thing.
"Maybe she wanted to know whether or not she could change things by trying to still go with Kenji. I think that might be a reasonable solution to our puzzle," Urd suggested.
"It could be, but I don't think so. I already _know_ what Kenji's reaction to my revelation was, so I don't think I would have been able to go through that all over again," Skuld replied.
"That's a good point...Wait! Hold on, what's that line over there say? Yes, that one right next to that?" Urd shouted excitedly at the prospect that she just _might_ have found evidence that some demon must have planted this hoax.
"Let's see here..." Skuld said as she adjusted her glasses to see the computer screen more clearly.
"Yes? Yes?" Urd asked excitedly like a child.
"Nope. It's only..." Skuld tried to explain but was cut off by Urd's doings. She had pulled Skuld's cheeks until they stretched out. *Ow!* Skuld thought painfully. *She _still_ does this to me?*
"Yeaaaaaaargh! Why in the world did she ask you to do it? Why does this have to be so hard to figure out!" Urd screamed at the top of her lungs and released Skuld, who was now touching her badly stretched cheeks and backing away from Urd in the case that Urd would want to hurt her twice in a row. Urd was sick and tired of trying to figure things out. She badly needed a bath and nap right now and wished that this didn't have to happen.
It was _then_ that they heard a creak. The annoyingly familiar creak to Skuld's very own sliding door. The barrier between her room and the mortal world. There was only one person left who would ever open the door to Skuld's room, and that person was Belldandy.
In their haste, the two sisters had promptly forgotten to tell Belldandy about what they were up to because they didn't want to have the trouble of talking and explaining to her what had gone on. They froze in their positions as they felt Belldandy's stern stare boring into their backs, and slowly turned around like caught animals. The two sisters made out what could be said as stale laughter.
"When were you two going to fill me in on this minute, unimportant detail?" Belldandy asked with an uncharacteristic scowl on her face. The two sisters looked around for an escape, but they both knew there was none. Not when Belldandy was angry. Therefore, it was only wise that they tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The two sisters started speaking to Belldandy at the same time.
Although Belldandy could hear and understand both of her sisters talking to her, she knew that they were only doing it to try and get out of the situation. That was why she only shook her head (which made the two sisters stop, look at the other one, and sigh) and went to the living room. The two sisters could only trudge behind her, feeling a little more than guilty on their parts.
*****
After several rounds of Ocha (green tea) and several outburst of tears, the three sisters were almost as normal as they could be. They knew that things wouldn't be the same because of what had happened to Skuld, but they knew that it shouldn't let them stop trying to help Skuld get back to the past.
"Well, I could sit here and simply wait for it to happen or I can build something and try to do it myself," Skuld said, staring at her half-empty cup of Ocha. The two elder sisters looked at each other worriedly before coming to the same decision.
"If you're going to do it, we'll be there to help you, Skuld...Skuld? Skuld? What's wrong with you?" Urd said as she noticed that Skuld had just fallen over unconscious. Urd's voice became more and more distant as Skuld dove into a world of strange waves of colors.
*I'm taking over from here now...* a familiar and yet different voice said in her mind. *Who is this? What are you doing to me? Where is this?* she asked. *This is your own mind...your own soul...Don't you recognize it? Don't you recognize _me_?
I am you...I've always been you and now, you know what will happen if you decide to have your relationship with Kenji. I'm sorry you had to go through this, but it wasn't exactly pleasant for me either...I was was foolish to have thought that I could change it by changing small things, but...in the end...* the voice inside her, who was using her own voice, trailed off.
*I understand* a voice said. Whether it was hers or her future counterpart's, it was unclear. They had seemingly blended together, as if they had never been apart...
*****
"I'm getting brainwaves, Washu!" was the first thing Skuld heard. *Ryoko?*
"Yes! I knew this would work!" Washu yelled as she jumped with joy.
"Ugh...I feel like _hell_...how long have I been out?" Skuld mumbled out as she tried to raise her body. She felt her muscles give way and she was forced to lay back down.
"About an hour or two, that's all. What did you...uh...go through?" Washu asked. She knew that people who were brain-dead often had strange experiences while they were 'under.'
"I-I...can't seem to remember anything..." Skuld said, clutching her forehead with her right hand. *But I _do_. I remember...everything...but I can't tell them...I won't...I can't bear to see them pity me, like everyone had...* she thought.
"Well, you just get some rest and we'll get you better in no time. Do you still want to give my machine another try?" Washu asked, hopeful.
"I think once is enough, Washu. I don't know whether or not I'll be able to take any more..." Skuld groaned. Ryoko grinned beside the short scientist, as if to say 'I told you so.'
***** END OF PART 2 *****
'Till next time, au revoir!