Chapter 6: The Pirate and the Prince
"Hi," The young prince asked. He had never seen this beautiful lady before, not around the palace anyway. "Are you lost on your way to the Royal Library?"
"Well." She smiled at him and wondered just what about her made him think she was looking for the library: her sensible shoes or the fact that she had chosen a very plain and drab dress to wear that day so that she would "blend in". "Yes, actually, I was trying to find the library." She winked
"I thought so. You must be a cousin of Lord Yeba's. Father said that his family was attending Startica this year and someone in his party was attending the Royal Science Academy…that must be you." He offered her his arm and she accepted it.
"Yeah, sure….Yeba's my relative…you are a smart one Mr.?"
"Yosho," he laughed, "just Yosho." He ushered her down the hallway. "And you?"
"Er…" She was stumped. Should she give it up now? Would that foil her surveillance? Surely this boy couldn't know who she really was. And then, there it was. She spied the door that he had shown her-the golden door so immense a space ship could easily glide through. "Hey! What's this?" She mocked excitement and ran up to the door and tried to push it open, her new interest in the door freeing her from having to tell her name.
"Wait! Miss? Only the Royal Family is allowed in there." He pulled her away from the door.
"But why?"
"That is the tree room, it houses the children of Tsunami." He smiled and pulled her aside. "Now, lets get you to the library…"
"Well, alright." She sighed in disappointment, but at least she knew where to start.
"You know…you don't have to spend all day in the library….
"Hmmm?"
"I mean," he stammered and scratched the back of his head, "I mean, the garden is another fascinating part of the palace…if you are interested…." He averted his eyes.
"Well…"
"You must be studying botany or biology or something relevant in the academy, surely you would enjoy the host of rare plants there."
"Sure."
"Really?" His face lit up. Yosho couldn't understand just what had drawn him to this girl but as soon as he locked his ruby eyes with her amber orbs, he knew she was something special. "I'll take you on one condition."
"Name it."
"Please tell me your name."
***
Awakening from that odd dream, Ryoko squirmed within her warm cocoon of blankets on Tenchi's bed and an empty food tray rest at her feet. She yawned as the last bit of sleepiness from her early morning snooze wore off. The pirate felt so content and she had never in her long lifetime known such happiness. She was in love and she was loved in return. Best of all, she carried that man's child. It had to be too good to be true, therefore she knew it wouldn't, it couldn't last.
"I'm not allowed to be happy." She sunk deeper in the covers and wrapped her arms around her stomach. She smiled. "Silly, that's Kagato still in my head." At least, that was a memory, a phantom feeling embroiled into her brain by her former master. "No, he is dead, I'm not going to let him ruin my happiness….ever." She grit her teeth.
Ryoko had existed for thousands of years as a living weapon for the madman Kagato. He used her at will for any purpose, including his pleasure. She knew he also valued her sentience in order to infiltrate the most secure governments, including Jurai. She rest her head back on the pillow and thought on that for a while…Jurai. "Hmmm, if Kagato hadn't sent me to Jurai for Tsunami, I would never have met Yosho, I would never have ended up here, on Earth, in Tenchi's bed." She smiled. Perhaps all those millennia of torture and hell and seven hundred years entombed within the icy water of that cave served the only purpose for bringing her into the Masaki family. "Perhaps it all wasn't just dumb luck….never had any of that anyway….maybe…it was all Tsunami's doing?" She decided that she was thinking too much too early in the morning. Ryoko brushed the covers off her body and strode naked to the mirror over the bureau.
"I'm just as perfect as the day I was born." She smiled at her reflection. Ryoko turned to the side to admire her profile when she noticed it. "What?" She noticed the teeniest little bulge in her abdomen. "Oh, boy, that's only going to get bigger…." She frowned at the prospect of growing as big as a house as the baby grew inside her. No more sake, no more sparring with Yosho, and in essence, for eight more months, no more fun. Then a terrible vision filled her brain….a vision of the wedding. In this vision, she is clad in a flowing white western-style bridal gown. She slowly walks down the isle to meet Tenchi who is handsomely dressed in a black tuxedo. Ryoko joins him at the alter and they join hands. They are about to recite their vows and as she turns to face Tenchi, her grossly exaggerated and enormous belly knocks him off the altar and into the guests seated below. "Ewwwww!" She shuddered. "I'm going to have to get this wedding on or there won't be enough fabric on this planet to cover my gut!" Ryoko clenched her fist and an orange spark traveled down her body instantly covering her nudity with a soft pale pink kimono with a bright orange sash cinching her waist.
"Perfect." She took Tenchi's hairbrush and worked the knots out of her hair. When she was finished preening, she gave herself a wink and phased through the door to see what mischief she could get into that day. Ryoko was sure that despite his best efforts, she was not going to see Tenchi anytime soon. She was sure Yosho wasn't going to let him off the hook especially since he was late for training to begin with.
***
Clap! Clap!
"Tenchi! Keep your head up!" Lord Katsuhito instructed his grandson as the boy and Zephr sparred in the practice area adjacent to the shrine.
"Ok!" Tenchi yelped as his wooden sword met the strike by the dark lord. The early morning dew melted into mid day steam and the heat and humidity was taking its toll on the combatants. Tenchi found that he lost his concentration as the temperature rose, so as Zephr lunged and missed, he took that opportunity to fly backwards in the air, putting a great distance between he and his opponent. With a few seconds before the attack, Tenchi managed to pull off his shirt and fling it aside. He knew he'd more than likely suffer a bad sun burn, but the heat was unbearable.
"Are you running from me?" Zephr cackled as he came at the boy with his bokken. The two boys clashed again.
"Easy now." Katsuhito sat on a round log and rubbed his chin with his left hand. He noticed that both boys were neither gaining nor losing ground to each other. He looked up at the sun midway over the horizon and estimated it to now be about noon and the old man sighed out of boredom as Tenchi and Zephr had fought for nearly four hours straight.
"Hey Tenchi! You wanna call it a draw?" Zephr lunged in with his sword and Tenchi blocked it easily. However, the young prince forgot to guard his lower extremities and soon found himself face down in dirt as Zephr took his leg and swiped Tenchi off his feet.
"Nopf!" Tenchi muttered in the sand, he stood quickly and spat dirt out of his mouth.
"Tenchi….you are distracted, one more folly like that and I'm declaring Zephr the winner."
"Grandpa!"
"C'mon Tenchi…..just whack me on the head…if you can….I dare ya!" Zephr chided.
"Ahhhhhhrggg!" Tenchi ran at the dark prince and they clashed again. It soon became evident that with each clash of their practice swords, the boys lost strength. The light weapons soon became as heavy in their hands as boulders.
"Do…you…want…to call…this a…draw?" Zephr panted.
"I…will….if you…will." Tenchi replied, both boys lowered their swords, too exhausted to lift them off the ground.
"Master Yosho?" The dark prince turned to Tenchi's grandfather.
"Yes….it is a tie." He stood and began to walk toward the shrine. "Both of you were distracted……I would suggest you two actually get some sleep tonight."
"Huh?" Tenchi and Zephr stared at each other and blinked.
"Grandpa, what do you mean?" Tenchi asked.
"It means both of you be here early tomorrow." The old man disappeared into the woods.
"Man, he never lets up on me." Tenchi sunk to the ground, sweaty, dirty, hot, and bruised. He thought of something his grandfather said and turned to Zephr, who had also sunk to the ground to rest. "What did he mean, we both needed to get some sleep?"
"Let's just say, your Grandfather caught me this morning….in a less than compromising position." He chuckled and stood up, tugged off his sweat soaked shirt and began to walk toward the house.
"Hey?" Tenchi stood and followed. He was perplexed by Zephr's answer and wanted to find out just what he meant. "Just what are you talking about?" Both boys disappeared down the mountain.
***
"Miss Washu?" Lady Ayeka stood demurely in the entrance of the petite genius' subspace lab. She cringed as her hopeful eyes met green eyes glowing with anger.
"Excuse me?" Washu sneered and turned around on her floating cushion. Huge covered boxes littered the laboratory floor and the pint- sized scientist seemed to be engrossed in some sort of calculations on her computer.
"Oh, pardon me," Ayeka stood aback at her obvious blunder in addressing the child. "Little Washu?"
"That's better…..now I'm busy, what do you want?" She turned her back again and continued her calculations.
"Little Washu….I have a favor to ask…."
"No."
"Wha, Wha What? Aren't you going to let me ask you?"
"I don't have time, go back and play with the kids!" She snickered.
"Well, if you don't want to help your daughter find a perfect wedding dress….I guess I can't make you….." She sighed and turned to leave.
"Just a minute." Washu hopped out of her chair and strolled towards Ayeka. Just what are you doing asking about a wedding dress for little Ryoko?" She peered at the girl.
"Well, she asked me…since she and….," She sighed again, "since she and Lord Tenchi are now engaged…."
"Well, well, well. I figured they made up…..from what I gathered this morning," She chuckled and her eyes popped at the memory.
"…and she asked me to help."
"And you are doing this because?"
"…Because I, I really want to."
"Hmmmmmm, exactly what do you have in mind?"
"Well, I believe she wants to arrange this pretty fast….with the baby coming…."Ayeka tried to put it delicately.
"So she won't be so knocked up in her wedding dress?"
"Er, well, I suppose so….anyway, I don't have time to bring the Royal tailor back form Jurai, but I was wondering if you had some sort of invention that could reproduce Jurain wedding fashions?"
"Well, I may be able to whip something up. Are you sure that's what she wants?"
"No, but I'm sure Ryoko would want the best, and I'm going to find that for her."
Ayeka's eyes lit up.
"Ayeka, give me an hour or so…I need a break anyway…I think I know exactly what you can use, I just have to take the self destruct features off of it first."
"Good thinking, little Washu."
"Of course, we don't want Mihoshi blowing up Ryoko's new dress do we?" She chuckled and ushered Ayeka out of the lab.
"Thank you so much little Washu, you are the smartest genius scientist in the universe."
"Well, I know." The door shut in the princess' face.
"That went splendid." Ayeka smiled and walked into the living room. She sat on the sofa and picked up a book from the coffee table. Just as she was about to start reading she heard joyous giggles and the soft pitter pat of tiny feet as her sister made her way into the room.
"Ayeka! Where'd you go, I was looking for you….I may need some help with lunch."
"How can I help?"
"Well, Tenchi's not back yet, Zephr's no where to be found, Ryoko….well, Ryoko's sort of icky right now."
"Icky, Sasami, what strange words you've picked up on Earth."
"Well, that's sort of the sound she's making from the upstairs bathroom…." She looked horribly worried.
"Oh, that, "Ayeka smiled, "That's just more morning sickness, she's fine…she'll probably be starved later."
"Well, I need someone to set the table, can you do that?"
"Gladly, dear." She followed her sister into the kitchen as the front door creaked open and closed. Zephr and Tenchi entered the house, Ayeka took notice of their ragged and dirty appearance. "Goodness, what happened to you two?" Still embarrassed from the night before, the princess tried not to look Zephr in the eyes
"Well, Grandpa put us through the wringer this morning…." Tenchi scratched the back of his head.
"Sasami will have lunch ready shortly, why don't you two get cleaned up, no one is using the onsen at the moment…." She regarded both boys. They were dirty from head to toe. Both Tenchi and Zephr's shirts were soaked in sweat and muck. They also had small cuts on their faces and hands indicating the strenuous workout they endured.
"That sounds perfect," Zephr smiled at the princess and she blushed. "I'd like to talk with you later Lady Ayeka, would that be possible?" The dark prince stepped forward forcing Ayeka to look at him. Tenchi took notice.
"Well….after lunch then," her face turned crimson, "I'll have Sasami give you a shout when it's done." She turned and went into the kitchen.
"What was that all about?" Tenchi asked as he led Zephr to the bathroom entrance to the onsen. He had seen the look on Ayeka's face a very familiar look of her manners getting in the way of her emotions-a look she had given him on occasions. This time, this gaze was directed toward his companion.
"Remember that compromising position I mentioned earlier…." He trailed off as the boys entered the portal to the hot springs.
***
Ryoko sat up on her knees in front of the toilet. She pressed the lever and groaned as the water flushed down the drain. This was not what she ever had in mind when she thought of motherhood. No one ever told her she'd fight daily to keep her meals down. She thought a minute. Washu had told her she didn't need to eat if she wanted a gem or two back-that both she and her child could sustain themselves on the gem's power, but Ryoko didn't want that. She longed to be normal, longed to be human, not a monster who didn't need to eat. Secretly, she felt that if she didn't do everything "Earth-style" that Tenchi would, in fact, see both she and her child as monsters. Everything from now on would have to be "normal". Well, except flying and teleporting, that was too fun to give up entirely; but definitely no more blowing up things and resurrecting demons to run amuck. She took the moist towel in her left hand and wiped the back of her neck; that is when the memory hit her.
Tenchi wasn't the first man she had ever loved; what a horrible but true realization. She remembered a time hundreds of years ago, a time when Kagato allowed her consciousness in sporadic moments. One day she would be stealing this or that for his experiments and another, she would be killing or destroying anything and anyone at his command. Then there were the occasions he was bored, those were the worst because she never knew what he had in store for her. She shuddered as a few of those horrific memories flooded her mind and she hoped that Tenchi would never find out all of them as he definitely would see her as a monster if he knew all that she had done. Deep down, she knew he already knew but it was not within his nature to bring up bad things. Her Tenchi dwelled on the positive, this was one of the enduring characteristics that attracted her to him. But, as much as she adored the dark-haired young man, he was the second love of her life.
"Ryoko, this is my sister, Ayeka-chan." Young Prince Yosho motioned to a young girl to his right. Ryoko gazed at her porcelain face. "Ayeka, this is my friend, Ryoko, she's going to attend the ball tonight."
"Nice to meet you," Ryoko offered her hand to the girl. Ayeka huffed and refused to acknowledge the pirate. Ryoko, although startled at such bad manners from the first princess of Jurai, remained calm and not offended. This child, on the verge of being a woman stared at her with hatred. She could see anger in her ruby eyes as Ayeka clung to her brother.
"Half-sister." Ayeka replied as if to correct her Yosho. "And I am Yosho's fiancée." She bragged as if to put her foot down on any prospect of Yosho having a relationship with Ryoko.
"You didn't tell me you were engaged," Ryoko winked. "And to your sister, you Devil!"
"Well, it was arranged for as long as I can remember. Father wants us to rule together….someday…." He drug off this last sentence and gazed absentmindedly into the sky.
"Well, perhaps this little girl will grow into a lovely wife for you, Yosho." Ryoko was on the verge of falling over laughing but corrected herself as she met the stern gaze of the Prince.
"I am not a little girl!" Ayeka pounded her foot on the ground. "Brother, escort this riff raff out of the palace!"
"Oh, so you can go beddy-bye, little Ayeka?" She chuckled.
"That's enough, you two," The two fighting brought Yosho back to reality. "Now be nice, sister, Ryoko is my friend. Ryoko, please don't tease Ayeka, I want us to have a nice time tonight."
"Of course," the pirate stuffed all her sarcasm deep within herself in order to placate the prince. She bowed to Ayeka as if to apologize. "Princess, let's start this over, shall we?" Her words were very sincere but the glower in her yellow eyes told the child this was a person not to be trifled with.
"Well, for Yosho." Ayeka bowed back and then turned to leave the atrium.
"Ayeka is at that age…." Yosho walked up next to Ryoko. "where everything is a conflict."
"I've been told that happens as your youth slips away." Ryoko sighed. She never remembered her own adolescence as amnesia was one of the many "gifts" Kagato gave her. "Are you really to marry that child?"
"My father hopes so….but I…I don't know what I want." He pouted and plopped down on the edge the stone border of a small fountain in the corridor. The prince turned from the pirate and began to listlessly let the cold water cascade through his open hands.
"You are your own person and you are free." She replied, thinking he was freer than she would ever be. "You don't have to bend to anyone's will but your own." (That was the pot calling the kettle black.)
"You make it sound so simple." He half smiled.
"Well, it's not like he has mind control over you…" She winced at the irony at being a killing machine at the hands of a madman but now giving life advice whilst on her death mission.
"Yeah, I will have to make my decision soon, I just will have to work up some nerve against my father….I don't want to get married, I don't want to be King of Jurai. I've never lived….never had any excitement!" He turned to her and waved his hands in emphasis. "I've never used any of the battle skills they've taught me since I was a baby. I carry this damn sword as an ornament," he pulled the master key from his sash and gazed upon it, "I've never used this to protect as I was trained, it's just a pretty key to open my ship Funaho." He sighed and put the sword back.
"Oh, Yosho…don't go wishing for war and fighting….sometimes you don't want what you pray for." She sat next to him, all joy gone from her face.
"Ryoko. Don't worry about Ayeka being mad…please come to the ball with me and promise me you will have fun?" He put his wet hand on hers as she rest it against the stone surface of the fountain's edge.
"Huh?" His touch hit her as if she had been thrown into the water herself. She gazed to look at his ruby eyes and noticed that all of his anxiousness disappeared. The pirate frowned as she remembered her mission, to seek out and capture Tsunami at all costs. And now that she knew where the trees were kept so it should be a snap; so what could be wrong with attending the party with this boy? "I'll be there, tonight…." She put her hand on top of the prince's and turned to smile at him. "These past weeks have been so much fun, with you. I never expected to find anyone so exciting in a house full of royalty."
"There's goodness in anything you seek, you just have to dig deep to find it sometimes." He returned her smile but the prince also couldn't help but notice that even though she seemed happy, Ryoko also appeared to be deep in thought.
"Do you really think so?" She thought about herself, a killing machine. Was there any good within her? Could that be possible? And Kagato, surely not a speck of good rests within his soul. The young man's words became prophetic. She decided that if there was benevolence within her heart that despite that madman who controlled her, she would find it.
"I have to hope so." He stood and pulled her up to him. He felt the jolt of shock rack her body at his forwardness. She obviously feared someone invading her personal space. "I'm sorry…." He slowly backed away.
"Please, don't be." She got closer. True, the prince did shock her by becoming so close and for a split second the hideous image of her master took over the kind face of her friend. No, this was not Kagato, this was sweet and virtuous Yosho before her. She wrapped her arms around him and slowly gave him a soft hug. This time she felt the shock rack his frame, shock from her touch-that was a first. Kagato had always told her she was worthless and could never have any use to anyone but to deliver death. Obviously, he was wrong. "I have to get going now….I'll meet you tonight." She pulled away and stared into his petrified face.
"Yeah….tonight…." He couldn't think straight. She had hugged him and suddenly all the synapse's in his brain lost contact. All he could do was to stare dumbly at her as she walked away and giggled. She blew a kiss to him as she rounded the corner and disappeared. "Smooth, you moron." He scolded himself for being so silly around the girl. Then he thought about it, what would happen tonight, when his parents met Ryoko?
Ryoko stood up and set the wet washcloth on the sink. She wondered if she should ever talk about the past with Yosho and if it was necessary to ever let Tenchi in on that part of her history. She frowned. That would just be creepy, but she also didn't want to start a relationship on half-truths. "Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." She stated. Grrrrrrrr! Her stomach had settled and now it growled with hunger. The pirate teleported downstairs.
***
"Miss Ryoko, you are late as usual." Ayeka scolded the pirate as she sat in her seat at the table. The princess delicately picked up a pickle with her chopsticks and slowly took a bite.
"Well, I'm here now." She was too tired to think of a clever comeback. "Could you pass the rice?"
"R, Ryoko, is that what I think it is?" Sasami pointed at the engagement ring on the pirate's finger.
"Yes, it is." Tenchi, now squeaky clean, emerged from the downstairs bathroom with Zephr in tow. He sat down next to Ryoko and placed his hand on hers. He felt a slight quiver as he touched her soft skin.
"Oh my gosh! Congratulations Tenchi and Ryoko!" The child ran forward and tackled both of them in a huge hug. "When is the wedding?" She sat back and grabbed Ryo-Ohki and set the furry animal on her lap. Sasami noticed Ayeka quietly eating and decided she may not want to push this any further. Zephr took a seat across from the quiet princess.
"Yes, we should arrange for the ceremony soon…." Ayeka put her chopsticks down. "What do you think Lord Tenchi?" She tried very hard to smile as she gazed into his handsome face, his hair remained damp from his bath and she could make out the tiniest ruddy glow on his cheeks as if he scrubbed extra hard to rid his face of battle grime.
"Well, I don't know…."
"We need to plan for the time to travel back to Jurai. The Imperial Chapel is, of course, at your disposal. I've already arranged a preliminary guest list…" She pulled a transparent rectangle the size of piece of typing paper out of her outer kimono and handed it to Tenchi, Ryoko took hold of it. As they both gazed at its surface, a running list of glowing names ran down the page and kept scrolling.
"Who the hell are these people, Ayeka?"
"Language, Ryoko, language….." Ayeka scolded as Zephr chuckled.
"Ok, just who are all these people?" She rephrased.
"Who's who in noble society. Tenchi is a Prince, after all. These families will be offended not to attend the wedding of the savior of Jurai and future king." She took a sip of her tea.
"But, Ayeka?" Tenchi protested but was cut off by Ryoko.
"Listen up! I don't want a stuffy royal wedding. I don't care if I piss every last one of them off, this is our wedding not theirs!" She slammed the guest list down on the table with such force as to rattle all the plates.
"It is his duty!" Ayeka scowled.
"But Ayeka…" Tenchi tried again.
"And he doesn't want to be king, and he doesn't want to rule a planet of snobs!"
"Stop it!" Tenchi yelled finally getting their attention. "Ayeka, Ryoko's right, this is our wedding and I don't want to be a stranger in my own ceremony. I agree, I want something small and I also want Grandpa to perform the ceremony, is that alright with you, Ryoko?" He turned to her.
"Of course, that would be perfect." The pirate turned to the princess and stuck out her tongue.
"And, Ryoko." Tenchi put his hand on her shoulder. "I do want to stay on Earth, but I'm having trouble figuring out just what my duties are. Tsunami wouldn't have helped us and I don't think I'd have the abilities I do to just sit here and be a farmer. I can't say what will happen in the future, but are you willing to stand by me, whatever I chose?" His usually cheery face turned drastically somber.
"You know I will." She smiled and put her hand to his face.
"Alright!" A piercing voice rang out from the hallway and then little Washu joined the somber lunch crowd. "Give up this seriousness. Little Ryoko," She yanked her daughter's hand from Tenchi's face and began to drag her along back towards the lab.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"Ayeka, if you want to follow, that thing we discussed earlier is ready…." She successfully pulled the struggling pirate into the lab and shut the door.
"If you will excuse me," Ayeka stood up and smiled at the perplexed males still sitting at the table, " Sasami, do you want to join me, I'm sure Lord Tenchi and Zephr can handle the dishes….if that is alright…" Her manners got the best of her as she gazed hopefully at the boys.
"Sure! Come on Ryo-Okhi!" Sasami answered as she took her sister's tiny hand and pulled her toward the lab, tiny Ryo-okhi hopped along behind. Tenchi shot up to follow.
"Just what's going on? What are you girls doing?" He was stopped by the outstretched hand of the princess.
"You may not enter! This is something you cannot see…I'm sorry, Lord Tenchi." She slammed the door in his face.
"Just what is that all about?" Zephr now stood behind the boy as they both stared at the lab door, now locked.
"I don't know. It seems to be girl stuff today." He sighed. "I guess we'll have to do the dishes…." Silence. Tenchi turned around to find that he was now alone, abandoned by his friend. "Well, I guess I'LL have to do the dishes." He lowered his head in defeat and stomped into the kitchen.
***
"Damn it Washu! What the hell are you doing?" Ryoko struggled in the grasp of her "mother" as Washu slung her to a set of contraptions.
"Quit wiggling, Ryoko, this is for your own good." Washu plopped down in her favorite velvet cushion and began typing on her laptop. No sooner did she seat herself, did Ryoko lung forward to escape. Ayeka stopped her in her tracks.
"Miss Ryoko. Please, just stay put, we are actually trying to help you." The princess huffed.
"What's going on? What's the big idea?"
"Yes, what's going on, Ayeka?" Sasami asked.
"Miya." The cabbit interjected.
"The material converter is all set up, Ayeka, if you will just input the designs, here…" In an instant, a duplicate computer materialized before the princess and a holographic image of Ryoko appeared before the women. The real Ryoko started to march toward the exit door.
"Ah, ah, ah." Washu reprimanded and pressed a button on her computer. Without warning, several coil-like arms wrapped around Ryoko, dragging her back to the platform and holding her there.
"Let me go!" She screeched and tiny yellow sparks leapt from her hands as she started to power up.
"Calm down, Ryoko. This is for your own good!" Washu turned to Ayeka. "You better get this show on the road before hot head there blows her top."
"Right." Ayeka started typing on the computer and several thumbnail pictures of dresses appeared on the monitor. She chose one. "I'm glad you managed to tap into the Jurain fashion industry data base, Miss Washu." As she pressed the enter key, the holographic image of Ryoko began to glow. When the glow subsided, it was replaced by the three dimensional image of a Jurain wedding gown.
"What, what is that?" Ryoko calmed down, her interest piqued.
"Oh, a wedding dress!" Sasami cooed.
"Here we go!" Ayeka pressed another key and suddenly, the real Ryoko began to glow in her restraints. In an instant, she was wearing the dress in the hologram.
"Hey!" She yelled as she gazed down her body at the garment. The garment hung to her form in perfect fit. It consisted of a fairly tight bodice coming to a point at her waist. The sleeves, however, were extremely puffy and the shoulder pads underneath raised the fabric nearly to the pirates ears. The skirt also flared out hellishly to either side of her body leaving enough room under it for a family of bears to hibernate the winter. To top it all off, with the exception of small colored streamers and sashes, the whole thing was a hideous shade of orange.
"Eew!" Ayeka stood aback.
"Is it supposed to look like that?" Asked Sasami.
"Grrrrrrrrr!" Ryo-Ohki stood on her haunches and hissed at the dress.
"What did you do to me!" Ryoko wailed as a floating mirror appeared and showed her the horrible dress adorning her body.
"Ok, so this is not the best one…we've got hundreds, no thousands of others to try!" Ayeka's eyes grew huge and a sinister grin spread across her face.
"Washu?" The pirate turned and gave her mother a pitiful look.
"Relax, little Ryoko…we are just trying to help you find a wedding dress." She smiled. "Will you be good and model them for us, or do I have to keep you in traction?"
"I'll be good." Ryoko growled and frowned. She was upset at having been held against her will but the idea of finding a beautiful wedding dress also excited her. Washu's manacles released her from their grasp and the pirate gently settled to the ground in the great orange dress. "Now, get me out of this one. I look like the great pumpkin!"
"Let us try this one…" Ayeka pressed another button.
***
"Hmmm.…" The rotund scientist pulled down his welder's mask and brought up his torch. He began to weld the body panels of Zero's replacement together. After a while, he extinguished the torch, removed his mask and sat back to enjoy his handy work. "Absolutely perfect!" He exclaimed as he stood back and took off his protective gear. "Now, let's see just how well you function." He pressed a few buttons on the console next to him and the platform the newly built robot rest upon started to rotate until it was standing in front of him, its maroon metal hull shining in the bright light of the lab. "Power on." He flipped a switch and a solitary red light appeared on the robots "face". "Name, name, name," he fingered his chin, "you need a name." Dr. Clay thought for a moment. "Ah, well, why mess up a good thing? You will be Number Four…..four's my lucky number." The robot stared at him with its glowing red "eye".
"Four!" He stepped up to the machine. "Get me a cup of tea!" Clay decided it was best to start out simple.
"Yes Doctor." The machine floated from its platform and over to a table and stood over a ceramic tea pot. Four slowly grasped an adjacent tea cup and ginger poured a cup of tea, he then set the pot back down and turned toward Dr. Clay.
"Yes, yes, very good, now bring it to me."
The robot began to float to the doctor and it held out its manacle holding the cup. Dr. Clay smiled and reached for his drink. However, before he touched the ceramic cup, Four clinched his pincher-like hand, crushing the teacup, hot tea spilling on the good doctor's shoes.
"Inconceivable." Dr. Clay muttered as he sloshed around in his wet shoes. "Power down." The robot's eye extinguished and as it lost all but auxiliary power, its shoulders slumped forward. Dr. Clay began to pace back and fourth in front of the lifeless machine.
"What am I doing wrong?" He grew frantic. "Every aspect of this contraption is identical to Zero, yet he is malfunctioning." With his one good eye, Clay glared at number Four. "I'll have to run another diagnostic." As he spoke a holographic grid surrounded the robot and Clay sat down before his computer. "The operating system is functioning perfectly…..the memory files are also….where, where, where is the malfunction? What is the difference?" On his computer monitor, twin images of Four and Zero appeared. A flashing light centered on Zero's head and to the left, the answer was revealed. "Oh."
Clay pushed his chair back from the computer and he looked at his broken creation. He could not believe he had overlooked the final equation, the answer was so simple.
"The program for the artificial intelligence interface with the personality matrix is flawed." He smiled and got closer to his computer and began typing in the sequence he knew would get things going with his creation. "That should do it!" He pressed enter.
Poof!
"What?" He gazed helplessly at his robot as smoke poured out of its head. Obviously, that formula was incorrect. "Ok, I just inserted a colon when I needed a slash," he typed to correct his mistake and pressed enter.
Nothing.
"Damn it!" He yelled in frustration and leaned in closer to type another formula and pressed enter.
The robot sputtered to life. Clay was about to celebrate when Four burst into song.
"I like the night life, I like to boogie!" Four belted out the tune with loads of enthusiasm.
"Kill program!" He yelled and the robot went dead again. "I can't believe this! I can't remember the sequence!" He pulled at his hair and grit his teeth. "I will get this!" With those words the good doctor poured himself into getting the right formula input into Four's program.
………Forty-eight and a half hours later…………..
"This is the song that a never ends….this is the song that never ends…someone started singing it not knowing what it was….and now they'll keep on singing it forever just because. This is the song that never ends…this is the song that never ends……"
"Ahhhhhh!" Clay ran at the singing robot. He couldn't take it anymore and just cracked. With a sweeping motion, he cracked the thing on the head with his chair and it fell, slowly slurring its words, to the floor. The doctor stood panting with the chair held high about his head as he grit his teeth and thought. "This can't be true. I could not have forgotten the program." He set the chair down and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Zero." He raised his voice. "Computer! Show me the location of the Zero Unit in the Sol System." A holographic image of Japan appeared and the old man's good eye followed the bleeping red dot toward the coordinates for his former servant.
"This will take some planning to get Zero back." He sat down on the chair. "I didn't want to take Washu on until I had a better plan and my assistant." He reclined on the chair. "I could just take that well earned vacation and worry about this later…." He thought about dropping this project entirely, about zipping off somewhere to enjoy the company of some very young ladies, but since he escaped from GP Twenty-One Eleven there had been this tiny, nagging little voice in his head telling him to rebuild Zero, to figure it out and once that was done, he'd know what to do next. Clay felt compelled to answer this voice and he grinned as he realized what he had to do.
***
Author's notes:
I had a bit of trouble getting this one out. I hope it's not too boring, but I promise some cool stuff next chapter. Future chapters: A wedding (no surprise there); a visitor with surprising news (not who you think); honeymoon (wocka wocka wocka) and whatever else I think of between now and then. Toodles!
"Hi," The young prince asked. He had never seen this beautiful lady before, not around the palace anyway. "Are you lost on your way to the Royal Library?"
"Well." She smiled at him and wondered just what about her made him think she was looking for the library: her sensible shoes or the fact that she had chosen a very plain and drab dress to wear that day so that she would "blend in". "Yes, actually, I was trying to find the library." She winked
"I thought so. You must be a cousin of Lord Yeba's. Father said that his family was attending Startica this year and someone in his party was attending the Royal Science Academy…that must be you." He offered her his arm and she accepted it.
"Yeah, sure….Yeba's my relative…you are a smart one Mr.?"
"Yosho," he laughed, "just Yosho." He ushered her down the hallway. "And you?"
"Er…" She was stumped. Should she give it up now? Would that foil her surveillance? Surely this boy couldn't know who she really was. And then, there it was. She spied the door that he had shown her-the golden door so immense a space ship could easily glide through. "Hey! What's this?" She mocked excitement and ran up to the door and tried to push it open, her new interest in the door freeing her from having to tell her name.
"Wait! Miss? Only the Royal Family is allowed in there." He pulled her away from the door.
"But why?"
"That is the tree room, it houses the children of Tsunami." He smiled and pulled her aside. "Now, lets get you to the library…"
"Well, alright." She sighed in disappointment, but at least she knew where to start.
"You know…you don't have to spend all day in the library….
"Hmmm?"
"I mean," he stammered and scratched the back of his head, "I mean, the garden is another fascinating part of the palace…if you are interested…." He averted his eyes.
"Well…"
"You must be studying botany or biology or something relevant in the academy, surely you would enjoy the host of rare plants there."
"Sure."
"Really?" His face lit up. Yosho couldn't understand just what had drawn him to this girl but as soon as he locked his ruby eyes with her amber orbs, he knew she was something special. "I'll take you on one condition."
"Name it."
"Please tell me your name."
***
Awakening from that odd dream, Ryoko squirmed within her warm cocoon of blankets on Tenchi's bed and an empty food tray rest at her feet. She yawned as the last bit of sleepiness from her early morning snooze wore off. The pirate felt so content and she had never in her long lifetime known such happiness. She was in love and she was loved in return. Best of all, she carried that man's child. It had to be too good to be true, therefore she knew it wouldn't, it couldn't last.
"I'm not allowed to be happy." She sunk deeper in the covers and wrapped her arms around her stomach. She smiled. "Silly, that's Kagato still in my head." At least, that was a memory, a phantom feeling embroiled into her brain by her former master. "No, he is dead, I'm not going to let him ruin my happiness….ever." She grit her teeth.
Ryoko had existed for thousands of years as a living weapon for the madman Kagato. He used her at will for any purpose, including his pleasure. She knew he also valued her sentience in order to infiltrate the most secure governments, including Jurai. She rest her head back on the pillow and thought on that for a while…Jurai. "Hmmm, if Kagato hadn't sent me to Jurai for Tsunami, I would never have met Yosho, I would never have ended up here, on Earth, in Tenchi's bed." She smiled. Perhaps all those millennia of torture and hell and seven hundred years entombed within the icy water of that cave served the only purpose for bringing her into the Masaki family. "Perhaps it all wasn't just dumb luck….never had any of that anyway….maybe…it was all Tsunami's doing?" She decided that she was thinking too much too early in the morning. Ryoko brushed the covers off her body and strode naked to the mirror over the bureau.
"I'm just as perfect as the day I was born." She smiled at her reflection. Ryoko turned to the side to admire her profile when she noticed it. "What?" She noticed the teeniest little bulge in her abdomen. "Oh, boy, that's only going to get bigger…." She frowned at the prospect of growing as big as a house as the baby grew inside her. No more sake, no more sparring with Yosho, and in essence, for eight more months, no more fun. Then a terrible vision filled her brain….a vision of the wedding. In this vision, she is clad in a flowing white western-style bridal gown. She slowly walks down the isle to meet Tenchi who is handsomely dressed in a black tuxedo. Ryoko joins him at the alter and they join hands. They are about to recite their vows and as she turns to face Tenchi, her grossly exaggerated and enormous belly knocks him off the altar and into the guests seated below. "Ewwwww!" She shuddered. "I'm going to have to get this wedding on or there won't be enough fabric on this planet to cover my gut!" Ryoko clenched her fist and an orange spark traveled down her body instantly covering her nudity with a soft pale pink kimono with a bright orange sash cinching her waist.
"Perfect." She took Tenchi's hairbrush and worked the knots out of her hair. When she was finished preening, she gave herself a wink and phased through the door to see what mischief she could get into that day. Ryoko was sure that despite his best efforts, she was not going to see Tenchi anytime soon. She was sure Yosho wasn't going to let him off the hook especially since he was late for training to begin with.
***
Clap! Clap!
"Tenchi! Keep your head up!" Lord Katsuhito instructed his grandson as the boy and Zephr sparred in the practice area adjacent to the shrine.
"Ok!" Tenchi yelped as his wooden sword met the strike by the dark lord. The early morning dew melted into mid day steam and the heat and humidity was taking its toll on the combatants. Tenchi found that he lost his concentration as the temperature rose, so as Zephr lunged and missed, he took that opportunity to fly backwards in the air, putting a great distance between he and his opponent. With a few seconds before the attack, Tenchi managed to pull off his shirt and fling it aside. He knew he'd more than likely suffer a bad sun burn, but the heat was unbearable.
"Are you running from me?" Zephr cackled as he came at the boy with his bokken. The two boys clashed again.
"Easy now." Katsuhito sat on a round log and rubbed his chin with his left hand. He noticed that both boys were neither gaining nor losing ground to each other. He looked up at the sun midway over the horizon and estimated it to now be about noon and the old man sighed out of boredom as Tenchi and Zephr had fought for nearly four hours straight.
"Hey Tenchi! You wanna call it a draw?" Zephr lunged in with his sword and Tenchi blocked it easily. However, the young prince forgot to guard his lower extremities and soon found himself face down in dirt as Zephr took his leg and swiped Tenchi off his feet.
"Nopf!" Tenchi muttered in the sand, he stood quickly and spat dirt out of his mouth.
"Tenchi….you are distracted, one more folly like that and I'm declaring Zephr the winner."
"Grandpa!"
"C'mon Tenchi…..just whack me on the head…if you can….I dare ya!" Zephr chided.
"Ahhhhhhrggg!" Tenchi ran at the dark prince and they clashed again. It soon became evident that with each clash of their practice swords, the boys lost strength. The light weapons soon became as heavy in their hands as boulders.
"Do…you…want…to call…this a…draw?" Zephr panted.
"I…will….if you…will." Tenchi replied, both boys lowered their swords, too exhausted to lift them off the ground.
"Master Yosho?" The dark prince turned to Tenchi's grandfather.
"Yes….it is a tie." He stood and began to walk toward the shrine. "Both of you were distracted……I would suggest you two actually get some sleep tonight."
"Huh?" Tenchi and Zephr stared at each other and blinked.
"Grandpa, what do you mean?" Tenchi asked.
"It means both of you be here early tomorrow." The old man disappeared into the woods.
"Man, he never lets up on me." Tenchi sunk to the ground, sweaty, dirty, hot, and bruised. He thought of something his grandfather said and turned to Zephr, who had also sunk to the ground to rest. "What did he mean, we both needed to get some sleep?"
"Let's just say, your Grandfather caught me this morning….in a less than compromising position." He chuckled and stood up, tugged off his sweat soaked shirt and began to walk toward the house.
"Hey?" Tenchi stood and followed. He was perplexed by Zephr's answer and wanted to find out just what he meant. "Just what are you talking about?" Both boys disappeared down the mountain.
***
"Miss Washu?" Lady Ayeka stood demurely in the entrance of the petite genius' subspace lab. She cringed as her hopeful eyes met green eyes glowing with anger.
"Excuse me?" Washu sneered and turned around on her floating cushion. Huge covered boxes littered the laboratory floor and the pint- sized scientist seemed to be engrossed in some sort of calculations on her computer.
"Oh, pardon me," Ayeka stood aback at her obvious blunder in addressing the child. "Little Washu?"
"That's better…..now I'm busy, what do you want?" She turned her back again and continued her calculations.
"Little Washu….I have a favor to ask…."
"No."
"Wha, Wha What? Aren't you going to let me ask you?"
"I don't have time, go back and play with the kids!" She snickered.
"Well, if you don't want to help your daughter find a perfect wedding dress….I guess I can't make you….." She sighed and turned to leave.
"Just a minute." Washu hopped out of her chair and strolled towards Ayeka. Just what are you doing asking about a wedding dress for little Ryoko?" She peered at the girl.
"Well, she asked me…since she and….," She sighed again, "since she and Lord Tenchi are now engaged…."
"Well, well, well. I figured they made up…..from what I gathered this morning," She chuckled and her eyes popped at the memory.
"…and she asked me to help."
"And you are doing this because?"
"…Because I, I really want to."
"Hmmmmmm, exactly what do you have in mind?"
"Well, I believe she wants to arrange this pretty fast….with the baby coming…."Ayeka tried to put it delicately.
"So she won't be so knocked up in her wedding dress?"
"Er, well, I suppose so….anyway, I don't have time to bring the Royal tailor back form Jurai, but I was wondering if you had some sort of invention that could reproduce Jurain wedding fashions?"
"Well, I may be able to whip something up. Are you sure that's what she wants?"
"No, but I'm sure Ryoko would want the best, and I'm going to find that for her."
Ayeka's eyes lit up.
"Ayeka, give me an hour or so…I need a break anyway…I think I know exactly what you can use, I just have to take the self destruct features off of it first."
"Good thinking, little Washu."
"Of course, we don't want Mihoshi blowing up Ryoko's new dress do we?" She chuckled and ushered Ayeka out of the lab.
"Thank you so much little Washu, you are the smartest genius scientist in the universe."
"Well, I know." The door shut in the princess' face.
"That went splendid." Ayeka smiled and walked into the living room. She sat on the sofa and picked up a book from the coffee table. Just as she was about to start reading she heard joyous giggles and the soft pitter pat of tiny feet as her sister made her way into the room.
"Ayeka! Where'd you go, I was looking for you….I may need some help with lunch."
"How can I help?"
"Well, Tenchi's not back yet, Zephr's no where to be found, Ryoko….well, Ryoko's sort of icky right now."
"Icky, Sasami, what strange words you've picked up on Earth."
"Well, that's sort of the sound she's making from the upstairs bathroom…." She looked horribly worried.
"Oh, that, "Ayeka smiled, "That's just more morning sickness, she's fine…she'll probably be starved later."
"Well, I need someone to set the table, can you do that?"
"Gladly, dear." She followed her sister into the kitchen as the front door creaked open and closed. Zephr and Tenchi entered the house, Ayeka took notice of their ragged and dirty appearance. "Goodness, what happened to you two?" Still embarrassed from the night before, the princess tried not to look Zephr in the eyes
"Well, Grandpa put us through the wringer this morning…." Tenchi scratched the back of his head.
"Sasami will have lunch ready shortly, why don't you two get cleaned up, no one is using the onsen at the moment…." She regarded both boys. They were dirty from head to toe. Both Tenchi and Zephr's shirts were soaked in sweat and muck. They also had small cuts on their faces and hands indicating the strenuous workout they endured.
"That sounds perfect," Zephr smiled at the princess and she blushed. "I'd like to talk with you later Lady Ayeka, would that be possible?" The dark prince stepped forward forcing Ayeka to look at him. Tenchi took notice.
"Well….after lunch then," her face turned crimson, "I'll have Sasami give you a shout when it's done." She turned and went into the kitchen.
"What was that all about?" Tenchi asked as he led Zephr to the bathroom entrance to the onsen. He had seen the look on Ayeka's face a very familiar look of her manners getting in the way of her emotions-a look she had given him on occasions. This time, this gaze was directed toward his companion.
"Remember that compromising position I mentioned earlier…." He trailed off as the boys entered the portal to the hot springs.
***
Ryoko sat up on her knees in front of the toilet. She pressed the lever and groaned as the water flushed down the drain. This was not what she ever had in mind when she thought of motherhood. No one ever told her she'd fight daily to keep her meals down. She thought a minute. Washu had told her she didn't need to eat if she wanted a gem or two back-that both she and her child could sustain themselves on the gem's power, but Ryoko didn't want that. She longed to be normal, longed to be human, not a monster who didn't need to eat. Secretly, she felt that if she didn't do everything "Earth-style" that Tenchi would, in fact, see both she and her child as monsters. Everything from now on would have to be "normal". Well, except flying and teleporting, that was too fun to give up entirely; but definitely no more blowing up things and resurrecting demons to run amuck. She took the moist towel in her left hand and wiped the back of her neck; that is when the memory hit her.
Tenchi wasn't the first man she had ever loved; what a horrible but true realization. She remembered a time hundreds of years ago, a time when Kagato allowed her consciousness in sporadic moments. One day she would be stealing this or that for his experiments and another, she would be killing or destroying anything and anyone at his command. Then there were the occasions he was bored, those were the worst because she never knew what he had in store for her. She shuddered as a few of those horrific memories flooded her mind and she hoped that Tenchi would never find out all of them as he definitely would see her as a monster if he knew all that she had done. Deep down, she knew he already knew but it was not within his nature to bring up bad things. Her Tenchi dwelled on the positive, this was one of the enduring characteristics that attracted her to him. But, as much as she adored the dark-haired young man, he was the second love of her life.
"Ryoko, this is my sister, Ayeka-chan." Young Prince Yosho motioned to a young girl to his right. Ryoko gazed at her porcelain face. "Ayeka, this is my friend, Ryoko, she's going to attend the ball tonight."
"Nice to meet you," Ryoko offered her hand to the girl. Ayeka huffed and refused to acknowledge the pirate. Ryoko, although startled at such bad manners from the first princess of Jurai, remained calm and not offended. This child, on the verge of being a woman stared at her with hatred. She could see anger in her ruby eyes as Ayeka clung to her brother.
"Half-sister." Ayeka replied as if to correct her Yosho. "And I am Yosho's fiancée." She bragged as if to put her foot down on any prospect of Yosho having a relationship with Ryoko.
"You didn't tell me you were engaged," Ryoko winked. "And to your sister, you Devil!"
"Well, it was arranged for as long as I can remember. Father wants us to rule together….someday…." He drug off this last sentence and gazed absentmindedly into the sky.
"Well, perhaps this little girl will grow into a lovely wife for you, Yosho." Ryoko was on the verge of falling over laughing but corrected herself as she met the stern gaze of the Prince.
"I am not a little girl!" Ayeka pounded her foot on the ground. "Brother, escort this riff raff out of the palace!"
"Oh, so you can go beddy-bye, little Ayeka?" She chuckled.
"That's enough, you two," The two fighting brought Yosho back to reality. "Now be nice, sister, Ryoko is my friend. Ryoko, please don't tease Ayeka, I want us to have a nice time tonight."
"Of course," the pirate stuffed all her sarcasm deep within herself in order to placate the prince. She bowed to Ayeka as if to apologize. "Princess, let's start this over, shall we?" Her words were very sincere but the glower in her yellow eyes told the child this was a person not to be trifled with.
"Well, for Yosho." Ayeka bowed back and then turned to leave the atrium.
"Ayeka is at that age…." Yosho walked up next to Ryoko. "where everything is a conflict."
"I've been told that happens as your youth slips away." Ryoko sighed. She never remembered her own adolescence as amnesia was one of the many "gifts" Kagato gave her. "Are you really to marry that child?"
"My father hopes so….but I…I don't know what I want." He pouted and plopped down on the edge the stone border of a small fountain in the corridor. The prince turned from the pirate and began to listlessly let the cold water cascade through his open hands.
"You are your own person and you are free." She replied, thinking he was freer than she would ever be. "You don't have to bend to anyone's will but your own." (That was the pot calling the kettle black.)
"You make it sound so simple." He half smiled.
"Well, it's not like he has mind control over you…" She winced at the irony at being a killing machine at the hands of a madman but now giving life advice whilst on her death mission.
"Yeah, I will have to make my decision soon, I just will have to work up some nerve against my father….I don't want to get married, I don't want to be King of Jurai. I've never lived….never had any excitement!" He turned to her and waved his hands in emphasis. "I've never used any of the battle skills they've taught me since I was a baby. I carry this damn sword as an ornament," he pulled the master key from his sash and gazed upon it, "I've never used this to protect as I was trained, it's just a pretty key to open my ship Funaho." He sighed and put the sword back.
"Oh, Yosho…don't go wishing for war and fighting….sometimes you don't want what you pray for." She sat next to him, all joy gone from her face.
"Ryoko. Don't worry about Ayeka being mad…please come to the ball with me and promise me you will have fun?" He put his wet hand on hers as she rest it against the stone surface of the fountain's edge.
"Huh?" His touch hit her as if she had been thrown into the water herself. She gazed to look at his ruby eyes and noticed that all of his anxiousness disappeared. The pirate frowned as she remembered her mission, to seek out and capture Tsunami at all costs. And now that she knew where the trees were kept so it should be a snap; so what could be wrong with attending the party with this boy? "I'll be there, tonight…." She put her hand on top of the prince's and turned to smile at him. "These past weeks have been so much fun, with you. I never expected to find anyone so exciting in a house full of royalty."
"There's goodness in anything you seek, you just have to dig deep to find it sometimes." He returned her smile but the prince also couldn't help but notice that even though she seemed happy, Ryoko also appeared to be deep in thought.
"Do you really think so?" She thought about herself, a killing machine. Was there any good within her? Could that be possible? And Kagato, surely not a speck of good rests within his soul. The young man's words became prophetic. She decided that if there was benevolence within her heart that despite that madman who controlled her, she would find it.
"I have to hope so." He stood and pulled her up to him. He felt the jolt of shock rack her body at his forwardness. She obviously feared someone invading her personal space. "I'm sorry…." He slowly backed away.
"Please, don't be." She got closer. True, the prince did shock her by becoming so close and for a split second the hideous image of her master took over the kind face of her friend. No, this was not Kagato, this was sweet and virtuous Yosho before her. She wrapped her arms around him and slowly gave him a soft hug. This time she felt the shock rack his frame, shock from her touch-that was a first. Kagato had always told her she was worthless and could never have any use to anyone but to deliver death. Obviously, he was wrong. "I have to get going now….I'll meet you tonight." She pulled away and stared into his petrified face.
"Yeah….tonight…." He couldn't think straight. She had hugged him and suddenly all the synapse's in his brain lost contact. All he could do was to stare dumbly at her as she walked away and giggled. She blew a kiss to him as she rounded the corner and disappeared. "Smooth, you moron." He scolded himself for being so silly around the girl. Then he thought about it, what would happen tonight, when his parents met Ryoko?
Ryoko stood up and set the wet washcloth on the sink. She wondered if she should ever talk about the past with Yosho and if it was necessary to ever let Tenchi in on that part of her history. She frowned. That would just be creepy, but she also didn't want to start a relationship on half-truths. "Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." She stated. Grrrrrrrr! Her stomach had settled and now it growled with hunger. The pirate teleported downstairs.
***
"Miss Ryoko, you are late as usual." Ayeka scolded the pirate as she sat in her seat at the table. The princess delicately picked up a pickle with her chopsticks and slowly took a bite.
"Well, I'm here now." She was too tired to think of a clever comeback. "Could you pass the rice?"
"R, Ryoko, is that what I think it is?" Sasami pointed at the engagement ring on the pirate's finger.
"Yes, it is." Tenchi, now squeaky clean, emerged from the downstairs bathroom with Zephr in tow. He sat down next to Ryoko and placed his hand on hers. He felt a slight quiver as he touched her soft skin.
"Oh my gosh! Congratulations Tenchi and Ryoko!" The child ran forward and tackled both of them in a huge hug. "When is the wedding?" She sat back and grabbed Ryo-Ohki and set the furry animal on her lap. Sasami noticed Ayeka quietly eating and decided she may not want to push this any further. Zephr took a seat across from the quiet princess.
"Yes, we should arrange for the ceremony soon…." Ayeka put her chopsticks down. "What do you think Lord Tenchi?" She tried very hard to smile as she gazed into his handsome face, his hair remained damp from his bath and she could make out the tiniest ruddy glow on his cheeks as if he scrubbed extra hard to rid his face of battle grime.
"Well, I don't know…."
"We need to plan for the time to travel back to Jurai. The Imperial Chapel is, of course, at your disposal. I've already arranged a preliminary guest list…" She pulled a transparent rectangle the size of piece of typing paper out of her outer kimono and handed it to Tenchi, Ryoko took hold of it. As they both gazed at its surface, a running list of glowing names ran down the page and kept scrolling.
"Who the hell are these people, Ayeka?"
"Language, Ryoko, language….." Ayeka scolded as Zephr chuckled.
"Ok, just who are all these people?" She rephrased.
"Who's who in noble society. Tenchi is a Prince, after all. These families will be offended not to attend the wedding of the savior of Jurai and future king." She took a sip of her tea.
"But, Ayeka?" Tenchi protested but was cut off by Ryoko.
"Listen up! I don't want a stuffy royal wedding. I don't care if I piss every last one of them off, this is our wedding not theirs!" She slammed the guest list down on the table with such force as to rattle all the plates.
"It is his duty!" Ayeka scowled.
"But Ayeka…" Tenchi tried again.
"And he doesn't want to be king, and he doesn't want to rule a planet of snobs!"
"Stop it!" Tenchi yelled finally getting their attention. "Ayeka, Ryoko's right, this is our wedding and I don't want to be a stranger in my own ceremony. I agree, I want something small and I also want Grandpa to perform the ceremony, is that alright with you, Ryoko?" He turned to her.
"Of course, that would be perfect." The pirate turned to the princess and stuck out her tongue.
"And, Ryoko." Tenchi put his hand on her shoulder. "I do want to stay on Earth, but I'm having trouble figuring out just what my duties are. Tsunami wouldn't have helped us and I don't think I'd have the abilities I do to just sit here and be a farmer. I can't say what will happen in the future, but are you willing to stand by me, whatever I chose?" His usually cheery face turned drastically somber.
"You know I will." She smiled and put her hand to his face.
"Alright!" A piercing voice rang out from the hallway and then little Washu joined the somber lunch crowd. "Give up this seriousness. Little Ryoko," She yanked her daughter's hand from Tenchi's face and began to drag her along back towards the lab.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"Ayeka, if you want to follow, that thing we discussed earlier is ready…." She successfully pulled the struggling pirate into the lab and shut the door.
"If you will excuse me," Ayeka stood up and smiled at the perplexed males still sitting at the table, " Sasami, do you want to join me, I'm sure Lord Tenchi and Zephr can handle the dishes….if that is alright…" Her manners got the best of her as she gazed hopefully at the boys.
"Sure! Come on Ryo-Okhi!" Sasami answered as she took her sister's tiny hand and pulled her toward the lab, tiny Ryo-okhi hopped along behind. Tenchi shot up to follow.
"Just what's going on? What are you girls doing?" He was stopped by the outstretched hand of the princess.
"You may not enter! This is something you cannot see…I'm sorry, Lord Tenchi." She slammed the door in his face.
"Just what is that all about?" Zephr now stood behind the boy as they both stared at the lab door, now locked.
"I don't know. It seems to be girl stuff today." He sighed. "I guess we'll have to do the dishes…." Silence. Tenchi turned around to find that he was now alone, abandoned by his friend. "Well, I guess I'LL have to do the dishes." He lowered his head in defeat and stomped into the kitchen.
***
"Damn it Washu! What the hell are you doing?" Ryoko struggled in the grasp of her "mother" as Washu slung her to a set of contraptions.
"Quit wiggling, Ryoko, this is for your own good." Washu plopped down in her favorite velvet cushion and began typing on her laptop. No sooner did she seat herself, did Ryoko lung forward to escape. Ayeka stopped her in her tracks.
"Miss Ryoko. Please, just stay put, we are actually trying to help you." The princess huffed.
"What's going on? What's the big idea?"
"Yes, what's going on, Ayeka?" Sasami asked.
"Miya." The cabbit interjected.
"The material converter is all set up, Ayeka, if you will just input the designs, here…" In an instant, a duplicate computer materialized before the princess and a holographic image of Ryoko appeared before the women. The real Ryoko started to march toward the exit door.
"Ah, ah, ah." Washu reprimanded and pressed a button on her computer. Without warning, several coil-like arms wrapped around Ryoko, dragging her back to the platform and holding her there.
"Let me go!" She screeched and tiny yellow sparks leapt from her hands as she started to power up.
"Calm down, Ryoko. This is for your own good!" Washu turned to Ayeka. "You better get this show on the road before hot head there blows her top."
"Right." Ayeka started typing on the computer and several thumbnail pictures of dresses appeared on the monitor. She chose one. "I'm glad you managed to tap into the Jurain fashion industry data base, Miss Washu." As she pressed the enter key, the holographic image of Ryoko began to glow. When the glow subsided, it was replaced by the three dimensional image of a Jurain wedding gown.
"What, what is that?" Ryoko calmed down, her interest piqued.
"Oh, a wedding dress!" Sasami cooed.
"Here we go!" Ayeka pressed another key and suddenly, the real Ryoko began to glow in her restraints. In an instant, she was wearing the dress in the hologram.
"Hey!" She yelled as she gazed down her body at the garment. The garment hung to her form in perfect fit. It consisted of a fairly tight bodice coming to a point at her waist. The sleeves, however, were extremely puffy and the shoulder pads underneath raised the fabric nearly to the pirates ears. The skirt also flared out hellishly to either side of her body leaving enough room under it for a family of bears to hibernate the winter. To top it all off, with the exception of small colored streamers and sashes, the whole thing was a hideous shade of orange.
"Eew!" Ayeka stood aback.
"Is it supposed to look like that?" Asked Sasami.
"Grrrrrrrrr!" Ryo-Ohki stood on her haunches and hissed at the dress.
"What did you do to me!" Ryoko wailed as a floating mirror appeared and showed her the horrible dress adorning her body.
"Ok, so this is not the best one…we've got hundreds, no thousands of others to try!" Ayeka's eyes grew huge and a sinister grin spread across her face.
"Washu?" The pirate turned and gave her mother a pitiful look.
"Relax, little Ryoko…we are just trying to help you find a wedding dress." She smiled. "Will you be good and model them for us, or do I have to keep you in traction?"
"I'll be good." Ryoko growled and frowned. She was upset at having been held against her will but the idea of finding a beautiful wedding dress also excited her. Washu's manacles released her from their grasp and the pirate gently settled to the ground in the great orange dress. "Now, get me out of this one. I look like the great pumpkin!"
"Let us try this one…" Ayeka pressed another button.
***
"Hmmm.…" The rotund scientist pulled down his welder's mask and brought up his torch. He began to weld the body panels of Zero's replacement together. After a while, he extinguished the torch, removed his mask and sat back to enjoy his handy work. "Absolutely perfect!" He exclaimed as he stood back and took off his protective gear. "Now, let's see just how well you function." He pressed a few buttons on the console next to him and the platform the newly built robot rest upon started to rotate until it was standing in front of him, its maroon metal hull shining in the bright light of the lab. "Power on." He flipped a switch and a solitary red light appeared on the robots "face". "Name, name, name," he fingered his chin, "you need a name." Dr. Clay thought for a moment. "Ah, well, why mess up a good thing? You will be Number Four…..four's my lucky number." The robot stared at him with its glowing red "eye".
"Four!" He stepped up to the machine. "Get me a cup of tea!" Clay decided it was best to start out simple.
"Yes Doctor." The machine floated from its platform and over to a table and stood over a ceramic tea pot. Four slowly grasped an adjacent tea cup and ginger poured a cup of tea, he then set the pot back down and turned toward Dr. Clay.
"Yes, yes, very good, now bring it to me."
The robot began to float to the doctor and it held out its manacle holding the cup. Dr. Clay smiled and reached for his drink. However, before he touched the ceramic cup, Four clinched his pincher-like hand, crushing the teacup, hot tea spilling on the good doctor's shoes.
"Inconceivable." Dr. Clay muttered as he sloshed around in his wet shoes. "Power down." The robot's eye extinguished and as it lost all but auxiliary power, its shoulders slumped forward. Dr. Clay began to pace back and fourth in front of the lifeless machine.
"What am I doing wrong?" He grew frantic. "Every aspect of this contraption is identical to Zero, yet he is malfunctioning." With his one good eye, Clay glared at number Four. "I'll have to run another diagnostic." As he spoke a holographic grid surrounded the robot and Clay sat down before his computer. "The operating system is functioning perfectly…..the memory files are also….where, where, where is the malfunction? What is the difference?" On his computer monitor, twin images of Four and Zero appeared. A flashing light centered on Zero's head and to the left, the answer was revealed. "Oh."
Clay pushed his chair back from the computer and he looked at his broken creation. He could not believe he had overlooked the final equation, the answer was so simple.
"The program for the artificial intelligence interface with the personality matrix is flawed." He smiled and got closer to his computer and began typing in the sequence he knew would get things going with his creation. "That should do it!" He pressed enter.
Poof!
"What?" He gazed helplessly at his robot as smoke poured out of its head. Obviously, that formula was incorrect. "Ok, I just inserted a colon when I needed a slash," he typed to correct his mistake and pressed enter.
Nothing.
"Damn it!" He yelled in frustration and leaned in closer to type another formula and pressed enter.
The robot sputtered to life. Clay was about to celebrate when Four burst into song.
"I like the night life, I like to boogie!" Four belted out the tune with loads of enthusiasm.
"Kill program!" He yelled and the robot went dead again. "I can't believe this! I can't remember the sequence!" He pulled at his hair and grit his teeth. "I will get this!" With those words the good doctor poured himself into getting the right formula input into Four's program.
………Forty-eight and a half hours later…………..
"This is the song that a never ends….this is the song that never ends…someone started singing it not knowing what it was….and now they'll keep on singing it forever just because. This is the song that never ends…this is the song that never ends……"
"Ahhhhhh!" Clay ran at the singing robot. He couldn't take it anymore and just cracked. With a sweeping motion, he cracked the thing on the head with his chair and it fell, slowly slurring its words, to the floor. The doctor stood panting with the chair held high about his head as he grit his teeth and thought. "This can't be true. I could not have forgotten the program." He set the chair down and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Zero." He raised his voice. "Computer! Show me the location of the Zero Unit in the Sol System." A holographic image of Japan appeared and the old man's good eye followed the bleeping red dot toward the coordinates for his former servant.
"This will take some planning to get Zero back." He sat down on the chair. "I didn't want to take Washu on until I had a better plan and my assistant." He reclined on the chair. "I could just take that well earned vacation and worry about this later…." He thought about dropping this project entirely, about zipping off somewhere to enjoy the company of some very young ladies, but since he escaped from GP Twenty-One Eleven there had been this tiny, nagging little voice in his head telling him to rebuild Zero, to figure it out and once that was done, he'd know what to do next. Clay felt compelled to answer this voice and he grinned as he realized what he had to do.
***
Author's notes:
I had a bit of trouble getting this one out. I hope it's not too boring, but I promise some cool stuff next chapter. Future chapters: A wedding (no surprise there); a visitor with surprising news (not who you think); honeymoon (wocka wocka wocka) and whatever else I think of between now and then. Toodles!