Here it is. Sorry it took so long. I haven't had access to a computer in
awhile and I needed to write some stuff.
Disclamer: I don't own any of the characters or the original plotline.
Ummm I think that covers everything.
Oh yeah: Bobr is cool!!!!!
More notes at the end.
Happy reading
M~
Chapter 4
Yosho watched as Washu paced back and forth. He glanced at the three medical beds that were set up just to his left. All three of the occupants looked as if they were in a deep, relaxing sleep. A sleeping Sasami was curled up next to her sister with a twitching Ryo-ohki above her head.
When he had walked into Washu's lab nearly two hours ago the scientist had just realized that Ayeka had been pulled in to Ryoko's mind along with Tenchi. She had looked at him with horror; after all, his sister had been pulled into her daughter's mind after she had been told that she would be safe where she stood. Washu had babbled an apology as she began to type furiously at her laptop. Screens of data popped up around her as she searched for a way to bring Ayeka back. Washu had started questioning her actions and her machine.
"Washu. Washu," Yosho sighed as he grabbed Washu's shoulder and covered her mouth. "Washu you made an error, you can fix it. Now how long are they going to be there?" he asked removing his hand.
"I'm not sure, maybe a few hours; maybe a few days."
"So you have plenty of time to fix it. Now, when was the last time you slept?"
Washu shrugged noncommittally.
"Maybe if you sleep on it for a little while you'll come up with an idea."
"But," Washu started while gesturing towards the three occupied beds.
"They will be fine. You need sleep and if anything changes I will wake you up, all right?" Yosho's face was stern as he stood looking at Washu. Washu could tell from his body language that it was no use arguing with him. With a sigh she hit a button on her laptop and another bed appeared.
Washu smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "In some respects I guess I'm like my daughter. We don't give up until we get what we want."
"You'll think better with a clear head Washu now go to sleep."
"All right," the scientist replied, climbing into the bed with droopy eyelids. "But remind me when I wake up, I think I can modify the machine so we can watch what happens." Within seconds she was sound asleep.
* * *
"There are so many pieces. Where do we begin?" Ayeka asked after the two of them had been wandering around for a little while examining the pieces.
"The little pieces are easier to deal with I think. Unless you want to tackle the big ones first?" came a voice from about waist level.
Ayeka looked down, Little Ryoko stood next to her. The little girl grinned impishly. Tiny fangs glinted in the dimly lit area.
"You're back again." Said Ayeka
"Oh wow princess, you really missed me." The little demon replied, her smile growing.
Ayeka looked at the little girl more closely. This time she was dressed almost identical to what she had seen her younger sister Sasami wear. "Would you mind tell me the reason you're dressed liked that?"
She pointed at Ayeka's foot, "You stepped on a piece and here I am." She held her arms in a sweeping gesture.
Ayeka then noticed that they were now in a field of flowers. A pole decorated with ribbons was off to their left. To her right there was a blanket spread out on the ground, it was covered with covered dishes.
"What is this?" Ayeka asked spinning around slowly.
"It's my birthday party. I told momma that I wanted a party and she said she would give me one fit for a princess. Would you like to come? I'll share my cake with you, but you can't have any of the presents though."
Ayeka smiled down at the little girl as she pulled her towards the blanket. Ayeka allowed the child to pull her along. It was strange; she was being invited to the birthday party of her rival. Suddenly she frowned, would this change Ryoko's memory of this day?"
"Maybe, maybe not," said the child. "Not all of these are real memories, some are just wishful thinking."
Ayeka stopped and looked at the grinning girl next to her. She had seen that same expression on Sasami's face when she was up to no good. "Okay, so you can hear me?"
"Of course I can Princess, you're in my head." Came a much deeper voice. Ayeka stood wide-eyed as a ghostly older Ryoko seemed to appear just behind the child Ryoko. She could feel her eyes crossing.
"You know that expressions makes you look really cute you know," said the older version with a grin
Ayeka growled. Little Ryoko giggled and Ryoko's grin widened as she faded away.
"You sit here. I'm going to play with the ribbons. I like ribbons"
Stunned, Ayeka did as she was asked and watched as Ryoko ran towards the pole.
Ayeka nearly fell over when a black portal appeared next to her. Brightly decorated boxes with bows and paper floated out followed by a bright magenta head and green eyes. They looked directly at Ayeka but didn't see her.
"Where is that child? I hope she stayed by the pole like I asked her too." Washu muttered as she too floated up out of the hole. As soon as her feet were on solid ground the portal closed.
Washu pulled out a rolled up paper and shook it out. Then she removed a pen from her hair. Chewing on the pen she looked at the paper. "Okay let see, ribbon pole-check, food-check, flowers-check, presents-check," she paused and looked around. "I feel as if I'm forgetting something important."
Sticking the pencil back in her hair and the list in her pocket, the adult Washu knelt and began checking each item on the blanket separately. Ice cream, noisemakers, carrots, I don't understand how she came to like those things she thought as she shifted things around.
Let's see open box with holes in it, cake box, tea; Washu's mind ground to a halt and rewound. An open box with holes in it, oh goddess.
"Ryoko have you been in my closet today?"
Ryoko turned at the sound of her mother's voice. "Nope," she answered before she started winding the ribbons around the pole again.
"You're such a good girl Ryoko." Washu turned back to the gifts. "Oh boy, I have a small problem now don't I?" Washu muttered before she opened the portal again.
"Where could that little monster gotten to?" Washu turned back to Ryoko, "Ryoko I need to go back to the lab for something, do you want to go back with me or do you want to stay here?"
"Can I stay here, I won't go anywhere."
For a moment Washu debated with herself before she sighed. "All right then, I'm going to turn up your link. If I need you to come back you can call me, all right?"
"Okay mommy." Ryoko answered absently as she continued to make patterns with the gold, magenta, cyan, green, purple, and red ribbons around the pole.
Little Ryoko played with the pole until she was sure that her mother was gone before she ran back to the blanket. Her eyes were bright with happiness and she saw the pile of presents and goodies. She could almost taste the ice cream.
She was distracted from her contemplation of the ice cream as the cake box suddenly twitched. At first she ignored it, maybe it was the wind. But it moved again. It soon moved until it was completely separate from the pile. Moving slowly Ryoko began to follow the box.
"Ryoko what are you doing?" Both Ryoko and the box jumped at the sound of Washu voice.
"It was moving," Ryoko whispered, her eyes were still on the box.
"What was moving Little Ryoko?"
"The cake mommy."
Suddenly Washu's hair and eyes appeared just behind the box. "This box Ryoko?"
Ryoko nodded.
Ever so slowly Washu reached up and grabbed the box. "Okay I'm to take this back to the lab and check it out. I don't remember anything about moving cakes."
Ryoko blinked as her mother and the box disappeared. "Mommy wait, what was in the box?" She looked around at the dishes and the presents.
"Mommy?"
"Yes dear?" Green eyes peered up at golden ones.
"Where's my guests?"
Washu snapped her fingers in consternation. "Oh my, I knew there was something missing. I'll be back with them as soon as I check this box out okay?" she muttered before disappearing again.
Ryoko shrugged and wandered back to her ribbon pole.
* * *
The party scene faded and Ayeka stooped to pick up the piece she'd stepped on. She carefully put it in its place then turned to Tenchi who was still standing next to her. "Did you.?" she asked hesitantly.
He nodded, eyes wide. "Yes, but I wonder why I wasn't part of the setting?"
* * *
Back in Washu's lab, she and Yosho watched on a monitor as events unfolded. The red head scratched her head and muttered, "Funny, I don't remember that ever happening."
Yosho, eyes still on the image of Tenchi and his sister replied quietly, "If I understand correctly, Ryoko was born fully an adult without a childhood of her own. Perhaps this is her way of compensating for the missing experiences."
"You know, you could be right. I wonder what else she's come up with?"
* * *
Tenchi and the princess stood watching as Ryoko and she fought over something petty. It seemed as if both of them had no concern for anything around them except the fight.
When the scene was over Ayeka turned to Tenchi, "It's very distressing to watch the damage that the two of us created over something so simple as an insult or what we assumed was an insult."
Tenchi shrugged. "You know, in some of those fights I would try to tell you what actually happened but you wouldn't listen to me and after a while I just stopped trying to say anything."
Ayeka looked at Tenchi in confusion, "What do you mean? Are you saying that I ignored you?"
"What he's trying to say princess is that yes, you do, but Tenchi's too nice to say it to your face. Most of the time I found my fights with you to be fun, a way to blow off some steam. You're so easy to upset you know." A pre-teen Ryoko stood there holding out the puzzle piece. "See even now you're getting angry"
The transparent adult image of an adult Ryoko grinned as the younger version faded out.
"You've reached one crossroads, do you want to continue with the little pieces are try tackling a big one?" The grin had left the adult Ryoko's face; it had been replaced with a serious face that both Ayeka and Tenchi recognized.
"What do you mean?" Ayeka asked
"Every piece has a purpose, but so far you've only seen some of the little things. There are bigger things; you have the choice if you want to try them now or wait."
"Will it help if we tackle some of the bigger ones now?" Tenchi asked
Ryoko shrugged. "Probably as much as the little ones did, maybe, maybe not," she said before walking over to where the partly finished puzzle hung suspended. The pieces started out really small and progressed in size. Not all of the small pieces had been placed in their correct place.
Sighing Ryoko looked over her shoulder at Tenchi and Ayeka, "You know sometimes there are things about yourself that will help someone else. What you think are keys to someone else's mind just might fit the lock on your own."
Ayeka looked at Ryoko in confusion. "What are you talking about Ryoko?"
Ryoko smiled sadly. "You've chosen."
"Chosen what Ryoko?" Tenchi asked looking back and forth be the puzzle, "Is there.are we supposed to be choosing?"
"The choice has been made." Ryoko answered her blade flaring in to existence. She whirled and parried an attack by Kagato then appeared to shrink a few inches and took up a defensive stance.
"No, you worthless piece of garbage," Kagato yelled as he lunged at her. "Haven't you learned anything from my lessons? Attack! Kill! Nothing can allow you to be swayed from your goal. Injuries are secondary!"
The young Ryoko managed to block his blow and deflected his sword into the ground. She made a half-hearted attack that was easily turned aside. As she recovered, Kagato swept his blade around and through her guard. The energy blade flared as it made contact with her sword arm just below the shoulder and cleanly severed the limb. Ryoko's own sword fizzled out as she hit the floor in pain. She screamed in agony and tears poured from her eyes as she looked imploringly at her master. Not surprisingly there was very little blood.
Kagato sneered as he touched his blade to Ryoko's throat. "No, I won't kill you, no matter how much you want me too. Now get up and go to your room. Regenerate your arm, we'll try again tomorrow; maybe now you'll follow my advice." His blade disappeared and he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. As he left the lights dimmed, leaving Ryoko sobbing on the floor, clutching the stump of her arm.
Tenchi looked down at his hand to find a large puzzle piece. He glanced up at the ghostly jigsaw hanging past the sobbing Ryoko and steeling his courage he strode past her to place the piece in its correct position. Then he knelt by the injured pirate and put his arm around her. He felt rather than heard Ayeka move up beside him and crouch down to touch her sometimes-friend as well.
Ryoko looked up at the two of them and gave a weak smile. "I'm sorry you guys had to see that, but it's a part of me. Not very pleasant but still there." She stood up, once again her usual self, arm restored. "As unpleasant as that was, there's worse to come."
Yosho glanced away from the screen to where Washu was sitting, tears flowing freely. "You really didn't know, did you?" he asked softly. The scientist shook her head negatively and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. The old priest sighed and turned back to the screen.
Ayeka knew if she looked in a mirror she would have red, bloodshot, puffy eyes, her nose would be red, and her face tear stained. She turned to the young man standing next to her. "Tenchi I'm not sure how much more of this I can stand, and I have a feeling Ryoko has been trying to spare us some pieces of her past."
"You know Princess, some things are said to be better when left hidden."
The purple haired girl spun around. Ryoko was leaning against a fence that looked like the one in the onsen. Turning back to Tenchi she found that he was no longer there.
"Ryoko where's Tenchi?" Ayeka asked looking back at Ryoko.
"I don't want him to see this Princess, so I've excluded him from this memory. This is for you and you alone. Watch," she answered and pointed.
A Ryoko that looked about 13 or 14 was kneeling in the moist earth. Smudges of dirt decorated her face, arms and hands. You could tell the girl had been crying by the tracks the tears had made on her dirty face. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hands trembled as she patted the dirt.
"Ryoko, what are you doing?"
Ayeka suppressed a shudder and watched as the young woman froze at the familiar voice that echoed in the room.
"Do you think that the professor would want you contaminating her experimental area?" the tall, pale man asked.
Ryoko turned slowly and stared at Kagato.
"She knows I'm in here. I asked if I could; some of the experiments died so I buried them and momma said that the flowers I plant here would grow better. You can leave now." The young woman tried to dismiss her tormentor with a flick of a dirty hand.
Ayeka heard the girl's voice crack at the end.
Kagato laughed. "Ryoko do you think, when the Professor has grown tired of you that is, you'll end up here?" He paused, watching the girl for her reaction, "Probably not. You'll probably end up all dusty and forgotten in some old corner of her lab. The experiments that are truly important to the Professor are repeated numerous times. I've seen a few of them take a lot of damage. You're the only one of your kind you know. She treats you pretty well, you don't show any signs of use." He said smiling as the girl turned away from him.
"Shut up. That's not true. Go away. I don't believe you."
Ayeka watched as Kagato pulled a handheld computer out of his pocket.
"Old technology has its uses," he whispered before keying in a code.
Ryoko's head and then her body turned towards Kagato.
"Stop it!" Ryoko said as she fought her own body. Fear radiated from her eyes. Ryoko grabbed onto a tree, her lower body moving at Kagato's command.
"Okay so that's the frequency that affects the lower body. If I alter it slightly what would be the effect?" Kagato muttered as he fiddled with the hand-held device.
"Kagato stop it please. It hurts!"
Kagato stopped and looked at Ryoko. His body language and facial expressions were completely blank. "But Ryoko didn't you want to be perfect?"
"Yes, but it hurts," Ryoko whispered.
"Ryoko you know the Professor loves all things perfect. You've seen how she has complimented me on my perfect work, what did she say?"
Sighing, Ryoko released the tree with a pain filled grimace. "She said she loved it."
Kagato moved to stand next to the still Ryoko. "You know I'm only doing this because I want you to be happy. You're almost like a little sister to me and what did you learn about brothers and sisters?"
"They love each other."
"See if you're perfect in every way the Professor will love you and so will I."
The Juraian Princess flinched at the smile Kagato was giving to Ryoko's bowed head. She continued to watch the tableau unfold before her.
Kagato lifted the device and entered another series of codes. "Now let me finish."
Ayeka watched as Kagato tried code after code seeing how Ryoko's body reacted to his efforts. She lost track of time and was unsure how long she stood there watching as Kagato manipulated the girl Ryoko but she thought it couldn't have been more than a few minutes, certainly less than an hour.
Suddenly Kagato grinned and did a little dance. "Ryoko I've done it! Now I have you under voice contol!"
"Kagato I don't think that would be a good idea. Wouldn't it be cheating?"
"Ryoko, shut up."
Ryoko opened her mouth to retort, nothing came out. Her eyes widen in horror.
Kagato grinned, "Jump in the water."
Ryoko's body did as his voice commanded.
"Float"
Ryoko floated on the surface of the pond.
Ayeka's body tensed, she thought she knew what was going to happen next. She wasn't entirely wrong.
"Sink," Kagato commanded.
Ryoko sank.
Ayeka moved in horror. She found herself under water with the frightened girl. She could see the fear grow as the girl tried to swim towards the surface but her body was heavier than she was used to.
"Float. Ryoko speak."
"Kagato, why did you do that?!" Ryoko sputtered, coughing between every word.
"Sink."
Ryoko gulped air and went under. When she had almost reached the mid-point Kagato spoke again, "Float."
Ryoko's response wasn't as bad. She was more prepared for it. "Kagato can we stop now?"
"Come on Ryoko, just a little while longer."
"But."
"Ryoko, sink. Float. Sink. Float. Sink. Float. Sink."
Soon it became a mini-mantra for Kagato. His whole body danced with excitement. He moved closer to look into the water where Ryoko was. She was sinking right below him.
"Ryoko? Are you still in here?" Washu's questioning voice interrupted Kagato, who whispered float and grabbed the waterlogged girl.
Ayeka watched and suppressed a snicker as he got soaking wet.
Kagato called out to Washu as he pulled Ryoko half out of the water. "Professor we're over here."
Washu stepped out of a portal. Her eyes widened as she spotted her daughter and student. "Kagato what happened?"
"Ryoko wanted to show me how fast she could swim and she caught a cramp. I didn't realize what had happened at first. Bad cramp Ryoko, wasn't it?"
Ryoko who now clutched her thigh in pain could only nod. Tears were running down her face.
Washu knelt next to Ryoko. "I've told you not to push yourself so hard Ryoko. Thank you Kagato."
"It's alright Professor. Ryoko's almost a little sister to me."
Ayeka turned to look at the adult Ryoko that stood next to her. "Ryoko why did you show this to me and me alone?"
Ryoko smiled sadly, "You know Princess, I'm not really sure."
=====
"That explains a lot about her now." Yosho said leaning back sipping his tea and watching as his sister placed another, slightly larger, piece of the puzzle that was her friend's mind into place.
Washu looked from the screen back at Yosho. Confusion, surprise and anger fought for control, she finally settled on confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Washu, you and I both know you are a perfectionist. Kagato used that to his advantage. He used it well; Ryoko in her innocence never knew that you already saw her as perfect. He took her tiny fears and exploited them. It seems Ryoko has been somewhat intimidated by you. Wait, before you start, think about it." Yosho said as confusion went to anger.
Washu sighed. "Alright."
"In Ryoko's birthday party memory you had a checklist that you were making sure you had everything on. Ryoko was alone, playing with a ribbon pole."
"So you're saying she feels that I've abandoned her?" Washu's voice rose an octave as she spoke.
"Not at all, you know that's not what I'm trying to say."
"Then what are you trying to say?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"Ryoko's been falling back on this subconsciously. She wants to be perfect for you. She sees herself as too flawed to be loved by you. This is were that idea originated."
"So it's my fault she thinks this?"
Yosho sighed before placing his cup back on the table. "Washu stop being dense. I know you understand very well what I'm saying. And you know whose fault this really is. You may have contributed to the problem but you aren't the main cause, that lies at Kagato's feet."
~8 ~8 ~8 ~8 ~ 8 Well what do you think? Has it gotten any better? Reviews. Anywhos, moving on (pulls clip board out) At this point I want to thank those very special people who have reviewed and said stuff. I would really like to thank my partner in creation of this Bobr. Bobr maybe we can figure out a way to market your genius ^_^. Ummm who else is there oh yeah Krust, and Wanderbyy you two are great readers and encouragers. Okay that's enough for this chapter. Hang around there will be more. Oh yeah GO READ BOBR!!!! ^_~ M~
Chapter 4
Yosho watched as Washu paced back and forth. He glanced at the three medical beds that were set up just to his left. All three of the occupants looked as if they were in a deep, relaxing sleep. A sleeping Sasami was curled up next to her sister with a twitching Ryo-ohki above her head.
When he had walked into Washu's lab nearly two hours ago the scientist had just realized that Ayeka had been pulled in to Ryoko's mind along with Tenchi. She had looked at him with horror; after all, his sister had been pulled into her daughter's mind after she had been told that she would be safe where she stood. Washu had babbled an apology as she began to type furiously at her laptop. Screens of data popped up around her as she searched for a way to bring Ayeka back. Washu had started questioning her actions and her machine.
"Washu. Washu," Yosho sighed as he grabbed Washu's shoulder and covered her mouth. "Washu you made an error, you can fix it. Now how long are they going to be there?" he asked removing his hand.
"I'm not sure, maybe a few hours; maybe a few days."
"So you have plenty of time to fix it. Now, when was the last time you slept?"
Washu shrugged noncommittally.
"Maybe if you sleep on it for a little while you'll come up with an idea."
"But," Washu started while gesturing towards the three occupied beds.
"They will be fine. You need sleep and if anything changes I will wake you up, all right?" Yosho's face was stern as he stood looking at Washu. Washu could tell from his body language that it was no use arguing with him. With a sigh she hit a button on her laptop and another bed appeared.
Washu smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "In some respects I guess I'm like my daughter. We don't give up until we get what we want."
"You'll think better with a clear head Washu now go to sleep."
"All right," the scientist replied, climbing into the bed with droopy eyelids. "But remind me when I wake up, I think I can modify the machine so we can watch what happens." Within seconds she was sound asleep.
* * *
"There are so many pieces. Where do we begin?" Ayeka asked after the two of them had been wandering around for a little while examining the pieces.
"The little pieces are easier to deal with I think. Unless you want to tackle the big ones first?" came a voice from about waist level.
Ayeka looked down, Little Ryoko stood next to her. The little girl grinned impishly. Tiny fangs glinted in the dimly lit area.
"You're back again." Said Ayeka
"Oh wow princess, you really missed me." The little demon replied, her smile growing.
Ayeka looked at the little girl more closely. This time she was dressed almost identical to what she had seen her younger sister Sasami wear. "Would you mind tell me the reason you're dressed liked that?"
She pointed at Ayeka's foot, "You stepped on a piece and here I am." She held her arms in a sweeping gesture.
Ayeka then noticed that they were now in a field of flowers. A pole decorated with ribbons was off to their left. To her right there was a blanket spread out on the ground, it was covered with covered dishes.
"What is this?" Ayeka asked spinning around slowly.
"It's my birthday party. I told momma that I wanted a party and she said she would give me one fit for a princess. Would you like to come? I'll share my cake with you, but you can't have any of the presents though."
Ayeka smiled down at the little girl as she pulled her towards the blanket. Ayeka allowed the child to pull her along. It was strange; she was being invited to the birthday party of her rival. Suddenly she frowned, would this change Ryoko's memory of this day?"
"Maybe, maybe not," said the child. "Not all of these are real memories, some are just wishful thinking."
Ayeka stopped and looked at the grinning girl next to her. She had seen that same expression on Sasami's face when she was up to no good. "Okay, so you can hear me?"
"Of course I can Princess, you're in my head." Came a much deeper voice. Ayeka stood wide-eyed as a ghostly older Ryoko seemed to appear just behind the child Ryoko. She could feel her eyes crossing.
"You know that expressions makes you look really cute you know," said the older version with a grin
Ayeka growled. Little Ryoko giggled and Ryoko's grin widened as she faded away.
"You sit here. I'm going to play with the ribbons. I like ribbons"
Stunned, Ayeka did as she was asked and watched as Ryoko ran towards the pole.
Ayeka nearly fell over when a black portal appeared next to her. Brightly decorated boxes with bows and paper floated out followed by a bright magenta head and green eyes. They looked directly at Ayeka but didn't see her.
"Where is that child? I hope she stayed by the pole like I asked her too." Washu muttered as she too floated up out of the hole. As soon as her feet were on solid ground the portal closed.
Washu pulled out a rolled up paper and shook it out. Then she removed a pen from her hair. Chewing on the pen she looked at the paper. "Okay let see, ribbon pole-check, food-check, flowers-check, presents-check," she paused and looked around. "I feel as if I'm forgetting something important."
Sticking the pencil back in her hair and the list in her pocket, the adult Washu knelt and began checking each item on the blanket separately. Ice cream, noisemakers, carrots, I don't understand how she came to like those things she thought as she shifted things around.
Let's see open box with holes in it, cake box, tea; Washu's mind ground to a halt and rewound. An open box with holes in it, oh goddess.
"Ryoko have you been in my closet today?"
Ryoko turned at the sound of her mother's voice. "Nope," she answered before she started winding the ribbons around the pole again.
"You're such a good girl Ryoko." Washu turned back to the gifts. "Oh boy, I have a small problem now don't I?" Washu muttered before she opened the portal again.
"Where could that little monster gotten to?" Washu turned back to Ryoko, "Ryoko I need to go back to the lab for something, do you want to go back with me or do you want to stay here?"
"Can I stay here, I won't go anywhere."
For a moment Washu debated with herself before she sighed. "All right then, I'm going to turn up your link. If I need you to come back you can call me, all right?"
"Okay mommy." Ryoko answered absently as she continued to make patterns with the gold, magenta, cyan, green, purple, and red ribbons around the pole.
Little Ryoko played with the pole until she was sure that her mother was gone before she ran back to the blanket. Her eyes were bright with happiness and she saw the pile of presents and goodies. She could almost taste the ice cream.
She was distracted from her contemplation of the ice cream as the cake box suddenly twitched. At first she ignored it, maybe it was the wind. But it moved again. It soon moved until it was completely separate from the pile. Moving slowly Ryoko began to follow the box.
"Ryoko what are you doing?" Both Ryoko and the box jumped at the sound of Washu voice.
"It was moving," Ryoko whispered, her eyes were still on the box.
"What was moving Little Ryoko?"
"The cake mommy."
Suddenly Washu's hair and eyes appeared just behind the box. "This box Ryoko?"
Ryoko nodded.
Ever so slowly Washu reached up and grabbed the box. "Okay I'm to take this back to the lab and check it out. I don't remember anything about moving cakes."
Ryoko blinked as her mother and the box disappeared. "Mommy wait, what was in the box?" She looked around at the dishes and the presents.
"Mommy?"
"Yes dear?" Green eyes peered up at golden ones.
"Where's my guests?"
Washu snapped her fingers in consternation. "Oh my, I knew there was something missing. I'll be back with them as soon as I check this box out okay?" she muttered before disappearing again.
Ryoko shrugged and wandered back to her ribbon pole.
* * *
The party scene faded and Ayeka stooped to pick up the piece she'd stepped on. She carefully put it in its place then turned to Tenchi who was still standing next to her. "Did you.?" she asked hesitantly.
He nodded, eyes wide. "Yes, but I wonder why I wasn't part of the setting?"
* * *
Back in Washu's lab, she and Yosho watched on a monitor as events unfolded. The red head scratched her head and muttered, "Funny, I don't remember that ever happening."
Yosho, eyes still on the image of Tenchi and his sister replied quietly, "If I understand correctly, Ryoko was born fully an adult without a childhood of her own. Perhaps this is her way of compensating for the missing experiences."
"You know, you could be right. I wonder what else she's come up with?"
* * *
Tenchi and the princess stood watching as Ryoko and she fought over something petty. It seemed as if both of them had no concern for anything around them except the fight.
When the scene was over Ayeka turned to Tenchi, "It's very distressing to watch the damage that the two of us created over something so simple as an insult or what we assumed was an insult."
Tenchi shrugged. "You know, in some of those fights I would try to tell you what actually happened but you wouldn't listen to me and after a while I just stopped trying to say anything."
Ayeka looked at Tenchi in confusion, "What do you mean? Are you saying that I ignored you?"
"What he's trying to say princess is that yes, you do, but Tenchi's too nice to say it to your face. Most of the time I found my fights with you to be fun, a way to blow off some steam. You're so easy to upset you know." A pre-teen Ryoko stood there holding out the puzzle piece. "See even now you're getting angry"
The transparent adult image of an adult Ryoko grinned as the younger version faded out.
"You've reached one crossroads, do you want to continue with the little pieces are try tackling a big one?" The grin had left the adult Ryoko's face; it had been replaced with a serious face that both Ayeka and Tenchi recognized.
"What do you mean?" Ayeka asked
"Every piece has a purpose, but so far you've only seen some of the little things. There are bigger things; you have the choice if you want to try them now or wait."
"Will it help if we tackle some of the bigger ones now?" Tenchi asked
Ryoko shrugged. "Probably as much as the little ones did, maybe, maybe not," she said before walking over to where the partly finished puzzle hung suspended. The pieces started out really small and progressed in size. Not all of the small pieces had been placed in their correct place.
Sighing Ryoko looked over her shoulder at Tenchi and Ayeka, "You know sometimes there are things about yourself that will help someone else. What you think are keys to someone else's mind just might fit the lock on your own."
Ayeka looked at Ryoko in confusion. "What are you talking about Ryoko?"
Ryoko smiled sadly. "You've chosen."
"Chosen what Ryoko?" Tenchi asked looking back and forth be the puzzle, "Is there.are we supposed to be choosing?"
"The choice has been made." Ryoko answered her blade flaring in to existence. She whirled and parried an attack by Kagato then appeared to shrink a few inches and took up a defensive stance.
"No, you worthless piece of garbage," Kagato yelled as he lunged at her. "Haven't you learned anything from my lessons? Attack! Kill! Nothing can allow you to be swayed from your goal. Injuries are secondary!"
The young Ryoko managed to block his blow and deflected his sword into the ground. She made a half-hearted attack that was easily turned aside. As she recovered, Kagato swept his blade around and through her guard. The energy blade flared as it made contact with her sword arm just below the shoulder and cleanly severed the limb. Ryoko's own sword fizzled out as she hit the floor in pain. She screamed in agony and tears poured from her eyes as she looked imploringly at her master. Not surprisingly there was very little blood.
Kagato sneered as he touched his blade to Ryoko's throat. "No, I won't kill you, no matter how much you want me too. Now get up and go to your room. Regenerate your arm, we'll try again tomorrow; maybe now you'll follow my advice." His blade disappeared and he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. As he left the lights dimmed, leaving Ryoko sobbing on the floor, clutching the stump of her arm.
Tenchi looked down at his hand to find a large puzzle piece. He glanced up at the ghostly jigsaw hanging past the sobbing Ryoko and steeling his courage he strode past her to place the piece in its correct position. Then he knelt by the injured pirate and put his arm around her. He felt rather than heard Ayeka move up beside him and crouch down to touch her sometimes-friend as well.
Ryoko looked up at the two of them and gave a weak smile. "I'm sorry you guys had to see that, but it's a part of me. Not very pleasant but still there." She stood up, once again her usual self, arm restored. "As unpleasant as that was, there's worse to come."
Yosho glanced away from the screen to where Washu was sitting, tears flowing freely. "You really didn't know, did you?" he asked softly. The scientist shook her head negatively and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. The old priest sighed and turned back to the screen.
Ayeka knew if she looked in a mirror she would have red, bloodshot, puffy eyes, her nose would be red, and her face tear stained. She turned to the young man standing next to her. "Tenchi I'm not sure how much more of this I can stand, and I have a feeling Ryoko has been trying to spare us some pieces of her past."
"You know Princess, some things are said to be better when left hidden."
The purple haired girl spun around. Ryoko was leaning against a fence that looked like the one in the onsen. Turning back to Tenchi she found that he was no longer there.
"Ryoko where's Tenchi?" Ayeka asked looking back at Ryoko.
"I don't want him to see this Princess, so I've excluded him from this memory. This is for you and you alone. Watch," she answered and pointed.
A Ryoko that looked about 13 or 14 was kneeling in the moist earth. Smudges of dirt decorated her face, arms and hands. You could tell the girl had been crying by the tracks the tears had made on her dirty face. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hands trembled as she patted the dirt.
"Ryoko, what are you doing?"
Ayeka suppressed a shudder and watched as the young woman froze at the familiar voice that echoed in the room.
"Do you think that the professor would want you contaminating her experimental area?" the tall, pale man asked.
Ryoko turned slowly and stared at Kagato.
"She knows I'm in here. I asked if I could; some of the experiments died so I buried them and momma said that the flowers I plant here would grow better. You can leave now." The young woman tried to dismiss her tormentor with a flick of a dirty hand.
Ayeka heard the girl's voice crack at the end.
Kagato laughed. "Ryoko do you think, when the Professor has grown tired of you that is, you'll end up here?" He paused, watching the girl for her reaction, "Probably not. You'll probably end up all dusty and forgotten in some old corner of her lab. The experiments that are truly important to the Professor are repeated numerous times. I've seen a few of them take a lot of damage. You're the only one of your kind you know. She treats you pretty well, you don't show any signs of use." He said smiling as the girl turned away from him.
"Shut up. That's not true. Go away. I don't believe you."
Ayeka watched as Kagato pulled a handheld computer out of his pocket.
"Old technology has its uses," he whispered before keying in a code.
Ryoko's head and then her body turned towards Kagato.
"Stop it!" Ryoko said as she fought her own body. Fear radiated from her eyes. Ryoko grabbed onto a tree, her lower body moving at Kagato's command.
"Okay so that's the frequency that affects the lower body. If I alter it slightly what would be the effect?" Kagato muttered as he fiddled with the hand-held device.
"Kagato stop it please. It hurts!"
Kagato stopped and looked at Ryoko. His body language and facial expressions were completely blank. "But Ryoko didn't you want to be perfect?"
"Yes, but it hurts," Ryoko whispered.
"Ryoko you know the Professor loves all things perfect. You've seen how she has complimented me on my perfect work, what did she say?"
Sighing, Ryoko released the tree with a pain filled grimace. "She said she loved it."
Kagato moved to stand next to the still Ryoko. "You know I'm only doing this because I want you to be happy. You're almost like a little sister to me and what did you learn about brothers and sisters?"
"They love each other."
"See if you're perfect in every way the Professor will love you and so will I."
The Juraian Princess flinched at the smile Kagato was giving to Ryoko's bowed head. She continued to watch the tableau unfold before her.
Kagato lifted the device and entered another series of codes. "Now let me finish."
Ayeka watched as Kagato tried code after code seeing how Ryoko's body reacted to his efforts. She lost track of time and was unsure how long she stood there watching as Kagato manipulated the girl Ryoko but she thought it couldn't have been more than a few minutes, certainly less than an hour.
Suddenly Kagato grinned and did a little dance. "Ryoko I've done it! Now I have you under voice contol!"
"Kagato I don't think that would be a good idea. Wouldn't it be cheating?"
"Ryoko, shut up."
Ryoko opened her mouth to retort, nothing came out. Her eyes widen in horror.
Kagato grinned, "Jump in the water."
Ryoko's body did as his voice commanded.
"Float"
Ryoko floated on the surface of the pond.
Ayeka's body tensed, she thought she knew what was going to happen next. She wasn't entirely wrong.
"Sink," Kagato commanded.
Ryoko sank.
Ayeka moved in horror. She found herself under water with the frightened girl. She could see the fear grow as the girl tried to swim towards the surface but her body was heavier than she was used to.
"Float. Ryoko speak."
"Kagato, why did you do that?!" Ryoko sputtered, coughing between every word.
"Sink."
Ryoko gulped air and went under. When she had almost reached the mid-point Kagato spoke again, "Float."
Ryoko's response wasn't as bad. She was more prepared for it. "Kagato can we stop now?"
"Come on Ryoko, just a little while longer."
"But."
"Ryoko, sink. Float. Sink. Float. Sink. Float. Sink."
Soon it became a mini-mantra for Kagato. His whole body danced with excitement. He moved closer to look into the water where Ryoko was. She was sinking right below him.
"Ryoko? Are you still in here?" Washu's questioning voice interrupted Kagato, who whispered float and grabbed the waterlogged girl.
Ayeka watched and suppressed a snicker as he got soaking wet.
Kagato called out to Washu as he pulled Ryoko half out of the water. "Professor we're over here."
Washu stepped out of a portal. Her eyes widened as she spotted her daughter and student. "Kagato what happened?"
"Ryoko wanted to show me how fast she could swim and she caught a cramp. I didn't realize what had happened at first. Bad cramp Ryoko, wasn't it?"
Ryoko who now clutched her thigh in pain could only nod. Tears were running down her face.
Washu knelt next to Ryoko. "I've told you not to push yourself so hard Ryoko. Thank you Kagato."
"It's alright Professor. Ryoko's almost a little sister to me."
Ayeka turned to look at the adult Ryoko that stood next to her. "Ryoko why did you show this to me and me alone?"
Ryoko smiled sadly, "You know Princess, I'm not really sure."
=====
"That explains a lot about her now." Yosho said leaning back sipping his tea and watching as his sister placed another, slightly larger, piece of the puzzle that was her friend's mind into place.
Washu looked from the screen back at Yosho. Confusion, surprise and anger fought for control, she finally settled on confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Washu, you and I both know you are a perfectionist. Kagato used that to his advantage. He used it well; Ryoko in her innocence never knew that you already saw her as perfect. He took her tiny fears and exploited them. It seems Ryoko has been somewhat intimidated by you. Wait, before you start, think about it." Yosho said as confusion went to anger.
Washu sighed. "Alright."
"In Ryoko's birthday party memory you had a checklist that you were making sure you had everything on. Ryoko was alone, playing with a ribbon pole."
"So you're saying she feels that I've abandoned her?" Washu's voice rose an octave as she spoke.
"Not at all, you know that's not what I'm trying to say."
"Then what are you trying to say?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"Ryoko's been falling back on this subconsciously. She wants to be perfect for you. She sees herself as too flawed to be loved by you. This is were that idea originated."
"So it's my fault she thinks this?"
Yosho sighed before placing his cup back on the table. "Washu stop being dense. I know you understand very well what I'm saying. And you know whose fault this really is. You may have contributed to the problem but you aren't the main cause, that lies at Kagato's feet."
~8 ~8 ~8 ~8 ~ 8 Well what do you think? Has it gotten any better? Reviews. Anywhos, moving on (pulls clip board out) At this point I want to thank those very special people who have reviewed and said stuff. I would really like to thank my partner in creation of this Bobr. Bobr maybe we can figure out a way to market your genius ^_^. Ummm who else is there oh yeah Krust, and Wanderbyy you two are great readers and encouragers. Okay that's enough for this chapter. Hang around there will be more. Oh yeah GO READ BOBR!!!! ^_~ M~