Chapter 6
A/N: Huge chapter which I hope is worth the wait. I reposted the FYI (For You Info) section about Myu's world for those who didn't get a chance to read it. And after that, you'll find reviewer responses. One reviewer requested a list of my cast of characters so far. You'll find that at the very bottom. And oh, look, the review button is down there too!
*********
part 1
**********
The ink, black as midnight, left a crooked trail after the tip of the quill. It had been a while before Legolas had written anything. He abhorred writing. It had also been a while since he had composed a message to anyone save routine dispatched which went to his father. He abhorred that, too. He used to wonder if there was anything he did like. He was tired of people, tired with himself and tired of in general life... that is, until last night. Something new had happened. He felt different this morning, a morning which stood out from the monotonous stream of the last six hundred or so years of his life...
By the time he was finished, which was a terribly long and painful amount of time to spend on 9 letters, the tengwar spelled out the equivalent of C-A-N-I-K-O M-Y-U. He supposed that was how she spelled her name. He supposed she could have spelled her name in Angerthas, but they would look more elegant in Elvish characters of course. Dwarves just used these rigid, angular runes because they were too primitive to write on paper, he reminded himself. They were nasty little critters, and were only good for the gold and mithril they extracted from the earth....gold... Gold still made Legolas happy. With a start, the elf salvaged himself from his thoughts and concentrated once again on writingthe message as a librarian shuffled past re-shelving books.
If human libraries are quiet, then libraries of elves are absolute silence. Save for the trees rustling outside the window, there was utter silence, as though the two librarians and the trio of book-engrossed scholars seated nearby were specters and not really there at all. It was hard to be patient with such silence putting one on edge, and after waiting for Myu for three hours, patience had become a luxury he could not afford. Either he would see her now, or would have to go out and track her down, leaving a message in case she happened by. She was not in her room after last night, and she said, yesterday, that she would meet him here in the morning, but she never did come. He did not know how else to find her. It was as though she was a dream lost in the night. A dream too good to be true.
Legolas was interrupted by the voice of someone singing, definitely not an elf: "Hoshi wo kazoeru yori wa tayasuku... kumo no yukue wo shiru yori konnan de..." He knew then it had to be....
"Myu!" He cried, standing and circling around a table to reach the small, groggy-looking form in the doorway, looking mighty surprised. She was wearing a gray tunic and deer-skin leggings that looked rather familiar, dressed with little heed to her appearance... just like any human, he reminded himself, then pushed that thought aside. He would settle things between them right here and now. "I have been looking everywhere for you!"
"You have?" asked Myu with uncertainty.
"Yes, yes, come sit with me."
Myu let him lead her back to the desk he was sitting at. She took a seat and eyed the stationary that was spread out. "You know, I'm not really interested in learning from you anymore. Faelon just sent me here to get a book."
Legolas had his hands on the inkwell and the pen in the midst of putting them away. The bite in that statement was just too much with too little notice. He dropped them both back where he picked them up, and sat down with a furrowed brow. "What do you mean by those words?"
"It means I don't have time to talk to you. I have to go."
She stood up, but he rose with her, staying her with his hand on her shoulder. "You do not mean that."
"Shut up and let go of me!"
Legolas opened his mouth to speak, prepared to bite back with equal fury. He wanted to demand she tell him why she was acting this way, and what happened to that Myu he saw last night who loved hugs, who was chasing him down just the other day to get history lessons from him. Who was this? What had happened? But from the look in her eyes, he could tell she did not have the patience to answer that. So he swallowed his pride and said simply; "Will you not at the least hear me out first?"
Myu glared at him. He waited, and she was still standing there glaring at him, refusing to sit back down. "Well?" she prompted finally.
"Last night..." Legolas began, pausing to watch her expression -- she shrugged, "Last night, something happened... something that has not happened to me for almost a six-hundred years."
"What?"
Eyeing the others present in the library, now watching them both with interest, Legolas asked, "Could we not discuss this somewhere else?"
"I'm in a hurry."
In his eyes, her contempt of him was almost unbearable. What was it about her that held power over him? Were she just another commoner in his own realm, he would have ordered her from his sight, and perhaps even kept her in confinement until she rethought her actions. Finally, he could not take it anymore and burst out. "No, you will stay here and listen to what I have to say," he hissed in a harsh whisper, attempting to ward off the questioning looks his way with sharp glares. "Something happened last night that you must understand."
Finally, he coaxed Myu to sit down again. It looked as though he would have to tell her this here, although he would have greatly appreciated a place with more privacy.
"Among elves," Legolas began, "finding a mate is much harder that among mortals. Since we are immortal beings, we cannot be allowed to procreate so easily. In order to do so, we must find our, iest inden, our 'heart's wish'. For with any other, we cannot reach the pinnacle of our passion and sew our seeds. I, myself, have been searching for my iest inden for over a thousand years. And I have finally found her..."
For a moment, Myu looked like her old air-headed self again. "You can't sew your seeds?"
Legolas nodded, blushing slightly. "Aye, not unless it is with our destined mate."
Unfortunately, Myu's programming was only capable of translating literal meanings. "Like, garden seeds?"
"No! Not garden seeds!" The elf cursed under his breath, "The seed of an elf."
Myu considered. "Elves are plants?"
"No!"
"Then what do you mean?"
Legolas wanted to get this over with quickly. He blushed as he just came out and said it under his breath.
"Say what?"
Legolas uttered it again, a little louder.
Myu blinked innocently, "What's that?"
"Myu!"
"Alright, alright!" she laughed, giving him a hearty whack on the shoulder, then said much too loud for his comfort; "So why are you telling me about semen?"
The librarian looked up from his book. Legolas offered a sheepish grin as casually as he could, though he knew his face was flaming. The librarian resumed his contemptuous glare, so Legolas turned to Myu and admonished firmly. "Be silent! Do not say such words in a public place!" Why was it that he was now the one who was angry?
"Why? You said it."
"Never mind. Just understand what I am trying to tell you."
Myu blinked vacantly. "I forgot what we were talking about..." she admitted.
Oh, dear. This was not going well. "Myu, I am telling you I can find passion with no other."
Under Legolas' critical blue gaze, Myu licked her lips and contemplated what he said. All of a sudden her eyes flew wide open. "You're impotent?!" she exclaimed.
For a second time Legolas gave a sheepish grin to the librarian, and offered an explanation to him in Elvish((I am merely teaching her about love among the Eldar.)) The librarian nodded, though not with altogether too much acceptance. Then Legolas ducked his head down and hissed at Myu loud enough for the onlooker to hear. "Nay! I am merely telling you that an elf cannot bear offspring unless it is with the one that he truly cares for, a one who must be sought, and for some is never found. This is one of the reasons why we elves must depart for the Undying Lands. We cannot replenish the losses we suffer at the hands of the enemy, for finding a mate and bearing younglings is overly difficult."
"So why the taquitos are you telling me that?"
The elf uttered a low growl and clasped her shoulder, turning her to face him, "So, my iest inden is you."
Myu raised an eyebrow, "What's an 'iest inden'?"
"Myu," Legolas smacked his forehead and huffed a sigh, thinking he had to explain it all over again, "Last night, when you were in the woods..."
"Whao-ho-ho!" she pulled back out of his grasp. "Don't talk to me about last night, Lego-kun. I was so drunk I couldn't tell a tree from a squirrel."
For a split second, time utterly froze. "...What is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm saying I can't remember a thing so there's no use talking about what I was doing in the woods last night," she said offhandedly. "And there's no use griping at me if I did something wrong because I wasn't in control of myself. Wakatta? ((Got it?))"
Breath suddenly caught in his throat. Legolas simply could not believe it. Could she be joking? She truly did not remember the love they shared that night? "If that is so, what was the cause for your anger when you came in here earlier?"
Myu shrugged. "I was angry?"
Something was not right. "I do not believe you. What is your game? Why are you doing this to me?"
Myu shrugged again. "What am I doing."
That did it. Legolas was practically shouting at her, "I have no patience for your games. This is very serious. You could be carrying my child!"
Until the words had already left his mouth, Legolas did not notice that every single elf within earshot was staring his way in disbelief. Myu saw an opening and went for it. A look of sheer horror crossed her face (a very exaggerated look, but a look nonetheless). "W-what do you mean? Legolas? What happened to me last night? What did you DO?!"
"What did YOU do?!" he shot back, jabbing an accusing finger after her. "YOU did this to me! You MADE me love you!"
Myu's face crumpled into a near sob, clutching her belly, crying, "How could you do this to me, you monster!" Myu was decidedly corny at dramatics, but they were convincing regardless.
((You forced yourself upon a mortal woman?)) accused a dark-haired elf in scholar's garb, who had stepped from the corner. He was glaring hard at Legolas, speaking in Elvish. ((Never had I thought one among the Eldar, much less a noble descendent of the Sindar, could commit such a crime. Thranduil's elves must have truly fallen low since their defeat at Dagorlad.)) Another elf near the doorway slipped out quietly in haste.
Still unaware of the danger brewing, Legolas thought he recognized that elf. "I thought you told me you were going to bring book to Faelon," he told Myu with some sense of victory in his tone.
Myu shrugged again. "Well... it IS a long way across the library."
"Did you or did you not commit this act?" Faelon was mere feet from Legolas, booming in voice that demanded to be heard. "Did you force her when she was helpless?"
Incredulity surfaced fully on Legolas expression as what he was being accused of just now sunk in. He found himself denying the charge fervently. "Of course not! She forced me!"
"That's ridiculous!" Myu jumped in. "Who ever heard of a girl forcing a guy! Look at how puny I am!" Myu rolled her sleeve back to reveal her deceptively puny bicep. "He's much stronger than me!"
"You little witch!" the Elf in question spat at her. "You had the strength to break the ribs of their gate-guards!"
Myu looked at Faelon, and pointed at Legolas, making a face. "Do you think a man would actually admit he was violated by a woman if he really was?"
Legolas' jaw dropped.
"See! Look how desperate that face is! He'll say anything to get out of... of... whatever he did to me! I'm not sure what it was he did because I was completely drunk, see! But he definitely must have taken advantage of me because I didn't know what I was doing, so that must mean it wasn't a conscious choice!" Myu reasoned, "And if it wasn't a conscious choice, then, it must've been a *forced* *choice*!" she petitioned, stressing her make-shift terminology. "So he must have forced me then!"
Faelon's accusing glare looked between Myu and Legolas, Myu and Legolas, then finally settled on Legolas. The Mirkwood prince struggled to say something, anything, but it all just came out as a bunch of incoherent grunts and squeaks. He was loosing a battle of wits to a complete moron!
"I'm just so sexy, I just can understand that guys can't control themselves when they see me," Myu rambled on, "But FOR REAL! He's gotta learn how to treat a girl in a lady-like fashion! None of those two-minute tumbles in the bushes, if you know what I me--"
"That is him, in the white tunic!"
Still in shell shock, Legolas turned and saw the elf who had slipped out pointing at him in the doorway, as well as a pair of Elrond's house guards advancing on him very quickly, then looked down and realized he was wearing a white tunic, "You cannot apprehend me! I have done nothing!"
"Yeah! That's right! You just got forced by a girl! Sure, we believe you!"
"You witch!" the Elf shouted at the top of his lungs as struggled with him to bind his hands behind his back. "How dare you humiliate me like this!"
"Legolas hirnin, Diheno nin." ((Milord Legolas, forgive me)) murmured one of the guards, as they finally got the wriggly elf under control.
"Look! Look! He's gonna hurt me again!"
"Mitho orch!" ((Go kiss an orch!)) Legolas struggled from being pulled out of the library to little avail.
Myu had no idea what that was all about. "Nanda kono yaro! Monku ga aru nara, ore ni hakkiri ieba ii daro! ((Hey, you f*cker! If you got a problem, spit it out!))
"Sulon gwanna nif lin!" ((Much wind pours from your mouth!))
"Ore wo namenee, kusobozu!" ((Don't you mess with me, you little sh*t!))
"Iell lyg!" ((Daughter of snakes!))
"Tanki!" ((Little pen!))
She barely got that insult out before the door slammed shut behind the furious elf.
"Please, come with me to the house of healing," invited Faelon. "I am sure you must be bereaved."
Myu nodded vacantly, then hesitated to follow, trying to decide if the entertainment value of what just happened was worth the possible repercussions. Was it that Myu was suddenly feeling a tug of conscience?
"Naaahhh!" With that stereotypical smile back on her face, she followed Faelon out of the library, patting Elladan's letter still safe in her pocket.
*************
Part 2
************
Holding up a dainty purple flower, one that reminded him of locks of his true love's hair, he stared at it vacantly. The hand that held it was filthy and blistered. How could she ever love one such as him? Gothul wondered. How could anyone ever love an orc? For the first time in his life he regretted being one. It was as if a spell was broken and he finally realized who and what he was, and how utterly disgusting and pointless was his existence. He did not want to kill anymore. He just wanted that lovely maid with the shiny gem-like eyes and purple-blonde hair to cherish. But the orcish and goblin minions prowling about him reminded him painfully that he was a servant of the Nazgul. They had used him as bait, to lure the elves out of the trees and to slaughter them two days prior. He did not even know it until the ambush had descended upon the party. The Ringwraith who led the attack rewarded him with a pardon for his "indecent behavior" towards the maiden and he was once again in charge of a fair-sized war party. But he didn't want to be in charge! He just wanted that human maid!He did not even know her name.
"Whoever this wench is, she must indeed be a powerful witch to ensnare an orc in a love spell," hissed a voice that made skin crawl and hair stand on end. Gothul looked up with sad, puppy-dog eyes to see nothing more than shadow framed by a black hood. A pair of wicked looking gauntlets grasped a long, broad-sword, which the Nazgul pointed at the orc and demanded in black speech, "On thy feet, worm!" Something about the forcefulness of this elite minion of Sauron bolted the wayward orc to his feet in an instant, "By the darkness invested in me, I grant thee thy freedom from this curse! Afar Vadokanuk!"
Gothul blinked, then looked at the flower.
"What is this?! My power is ineffective against this woman's curse?! Undur Kurv! I shall skin her alive and watch the blood pour--"
"Broshan! Tanfuksham Nazgul!" ((Hail, almighty Ringwraith!)) cried one of the Nazgul's lieutenants, "Grimus Gimbuzat shara agh fiim olgul tau-tuk tor-glad kraatu ((The scout spotted a man and a boy walking through the woods a thousand 'glad' from here.))
"Mash rrug?" ((Which way?))
"Talaan." ((North.))
((Describe the youngling's appearance.))
The orc gathered what little brain power it had to produce a satisfactory image, ((He was young...)) The Nazgul folded his arms angrily across his chest, causing the poor orc to scramble for better detail, ((He was tall for a human youngling, and stout of frame he was. His dark brown locks were cropped short and slight wavy.))
((And his eyes? What color were his eyes?))
((Grey, milord Nazgul.))
"Grey..." The Nazgul scratched his head (or what sufficed as a head anyways) in contemplation, "They head away from the Elven city of Imladris, and the youngling had gray elf-eyes. Surely he is the son of Arathorn, descendent of Luthien whom Elrond is rumored to be raising as his own son..." The wraith turned to Gothul, the poor love-stricken orc who was still twirling the flower between thumb and forefinger, "Givest me that!" the Nagul cried ripping the flower from his hand, flinging it to the ground and trampling it. Gothul's bottom lip began to quiver. "Dost thou recall whence came that witch? She is hidden in the elf city is she not? Elrond is harboring her power. Is that not so?"
Gothul cringed back a little. The Nazgul's voice was quite ear-gouging. "Forgive me, Goth Nazgul, I do not know. The elves who found me said they heard not of such a woman as I described."
"Of course elves would say so! They are liars! She must indeed be there!" The wraith spun and pointed a sharp metal finger at the scout who brought him news of the boy and man, "Thou! Taketh a swift war party! Findest the two of them and capture them both. I want them brought back to me alive!"
Without a breath of hesitance, the orc was off, gathering a party of warg-mounted goblins. "Elrond has too soft a heart," sneered the Nazgul, turning back to Gothul who was still sitting on a tree-stump with a dreamy look in his eyes, "If the youngling is indeed Elrond's human son, as a father, he would have no choice but to negotiate without compromise to spare his life. He will hand the sorceress over to us, and her power will henceforth be at the disposal of great Lord Sauron! Hail Lord Sauron! Hail!"
Orcs began to clamor, pounding the butts of the spears on the ground and banging their swords on their shields in reverence to the Nazgul and Lord Sauron. Gothul at first didn't know if what the Nazgul was planning to do was a good thing, but then again, he would get to see that maiden again, so he guessed that would be nice. He too began to pound his fist on his armored chest whole-heartedly. The only other sound out side the steady pounding of orc was the howls of wargs as they carried their riders off into the late afternoon.
************
Part 3
************
Myu's Musings
Entry No.: 00923889
Subject: Gulp...
Date: 01-09-0000
Aw, man. I can't believe I just boinked Legolas last night. Taquitos! That must have been some strong liquor. I didn't mean to find him the morning after, really. I forgot I told him I wanted to meet him in the library for lessons again, and I came across him waiting for me (I was actually going to see if Faelon was there so he could read Elladan's letter for me again ^-^). When I walked in, Lego took one look at me, flashed his brilliant-white gators and told me to sit down because he had something important to tell me. I didn't think it would be a good thing since well, I just, well, y'know... kinda pinned him down and made him squeal like a piggy. I started out trying to act like I was in a hurry (plus a monster hangover was making me cranky, which furthered my cause). That's when he said something about seeds and problems concerning sexual reproduction among elves. I really didn't get it entirely. It was kinda like sitting in at a meeting of Viagra-addicts anonymous. Basically, what I interpreted it as is that the blonde-haired poofer actually enjoyed screaming as much as I did making him scream last night. One would figure that physically violating someone would make him or her not like you anymore, but I dunno. That's just me and I'm stupid you know. I remember being a little unnerved when he smiled at me after I-- we were done and whispered my name like one of those raspy voices on the perfume commercial. I just went "okay" and fled the scene, passing it off as temporary insanity on his part. He did look and sound like he enjoyed himself -- fair enough--, but TAQUITOS! talking about babies and stuff the next day is just plain freaky.
Anyways, that's when I started to realize my dilemma: Legolas was jeopardizing my future position as princess of Rivendell! If Elladan finds out what I did, things will might get nasty. What an unfortunately-timed love letter! If only I had known his true feelings earlier! It was his fault for making me think he didn't like me anymore! He was the reason why I got mad-drunk and molested a hapless blonde. The things he made me do! ... Well, anyways, that's my argument in case Legolas manages to snitch on me. Even though, thanks to his big mouth, the secret's out that we had-- ahem-- intimate dealings with each other, I think I managed to make people think that HE was actually the one who forced ME , rather than the other way around. Apparently, people here are too old-fashioned to have heard of fem-rape, which is quite common in my world. Poor, poor,innocent elf-creatures. What have I subjected them to?
Anyways (remind me to look up a synonym for "anyways" sometime-- it's getting redundant at the beginning of every paragraph), Now I'm worried about what's going to happen. Legolas is in trouble now to save my hide and I'm guilty as all-get-out. And right now, both of us are getting way too much of the wrong attention. Almost the entire day, the physician has been talking to me and patting my shoulder for the last hour or so, telling me not to hold in my grief (I suppose he's waiting for me to cry -- which I'm not having any luck doing), and there is another red-haired guy, I think that's Barador, coming in and reporting every once in a while of how the interrogation is going with "the prisoner", and it sounds pretty brutal. (Taquitos, I hope they're not torturing Legolas or anything). Should I be worried about all this? Won't it pass eventually and everything go back to normal? Should I try to get Lego-kun out of this mess?
Well... Lego-kun's still a cutie. Though in retrospect, I don't think I saw anything in him besides that. After all, he went off and left me twice (once after dinner my first day here, and second after I found Gresham). So why should I care? This might help deflate that ego of his a bit. I've had my fill of big-headed people who have so little respect for me that they ignore me rather than letting me know how they feel. And just a little while ago, Lego-kun yelled at me to "Be silent". I'm sorry, but I wasn't raised in a kennel. He can try that on one of his other obedient four-legged girlfriends for all I care. Elladan wouldn't say or do anything like that. He's always been so nice to me (he ventured out into the wilderness to rescue me and took two arrows for me, I mean how much more romantic can you get?!) I just don't see him as one to admonish or try to change me (after all, what's the point in being with some one if you don't like who they are in the first place?).Now that I think about it, if Elladan really isn't takin' me for a ride (I gotta wait till he comes back in a week or so to know for sure), perhaps, just perhaps my life really could turn out happily ever after. *sigh* Now that I have had a closer look at this Rivendell place, I really think I could live here. They have all kinds of arts. I don't fancy gardening and green stuff, of course (and taquitos is there a lot of it here!)... or pollen... but, on the bright side, never again will I have to concern myself with astrophysics, or machines, or interplanetary wars, or managing cleaning robots, or being the ignorant one (heh, compared to these guys, I'm pretty smart. They still use the geocentric model for astronomy!). The world of 3076 is gone for good and there's no way back and no one will ever miss me. But then again, it is pretty boring here... Oooh doilies!
~Kaneko Myu, Signing-Out~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 4
*****************
Earth, North Asian Pacific, Ezo Island (formerly known as Hokkaido).
October 13, 3076. 3:30 PM
****
FLASH LIGHTNING MP 130 AP 12 OK? Y N
Haruki considered. If he did that, then the spell would eat up all his character's Ability Points. Ability Points were hard to get back in Final Fantasy 687. He liked FF 686 better because they didn't use stupid APs. He growed at the three dimensional monitor. If he didn't cast the spell, then Yukibaba would surely cast Absolute Zero again and his party would be annihilated. He was out of heat salve and three out of four of his party members were already frozen. Stupid Yukibaba. He could not fail! Not after he had come so far! Never!
"Haruki-chan! Sono asobi wo ue ni hakonde chodai ne. Kyakusan ga kita kara, Haha wa mamonaku chanoma made minna wo tsurete kuru ne." ((Haruki dear, Bring your game upstairs, okay? Since guests have come, mommy will be bringing them all to the living room in a bit.))
Haruki bit his lip and defiantly ignored the sweet, sugar coated voice. He had just gotten been to the emergency room! He didn't deserve that kind of Haruki-do-this-Haruki-do-that treatment. He didn't feel anything after they shot him with pain-killers, but this itchy silicon cast was quite uncomfortable. It covered his forearm up to the elbow where he had gotten another arm cloned and transplanted after he broke his last one when he fell off his sky-board last night after dinner. Stupid organic body. He wished he could just hurry up and finish growing so that he could get a type-three cybernetic body like everyone else. Even though he was born in and mended by machines, which made his organic body without mistakes, it still wasn't as good as being a machine like mom and dad were.
"Haruki?"
"Chitto mato, Chiharu!" ((Wait a minute, Chiharu!)) he told his mom. After he cast the spell, one of his characters had thawed. He had a winning chance now! He was tapping fervently on the action button with his good hand. Couldn't his mom understand how important this was? That was when the screen suddenly blanked out. Haruki's eyes widened in horror, and turned to see his angry mother holding the disembowel battery supply of his video console.
"Imasugu, sono gaki!" ((Right now, you little brat!)) His mom barked.
Haruki was speechless for a second as he just now realized that he hadn't saved the game in the last three hours. "Kono Kuso-baba!" ((You old hag!)) he shrieked.
The blonde woman stomped her foot at the obstinant child and spat fire. "Atashi wa anta no haha-oya de, kuso-baba nanka ja nee yo! Ayamaro!" ((I'm your mother, not some old hag! Apologize!)) The child stuck his lip out stubbornly, still gasping in deep breaths in an attempt to hold back his rage.
{I see you still have the same ineptitude for child-rearing, Chiharu.}
The voice seemed to emanate from within Haruki's very thoughts, and suddenly the child felt calm and somewhat sleepy. His mother felt the compelling voice too, but she was more used to it and shook her head to salvage herself from the mild attempt at mind control. The child turned and saw the pair of guests had already shown themselves in. One was a lanky man with frizzled hair and a dirty lab-coat with a Superman-style "K" on the back, carrying a file folder. And the other, leaning against the foyer, oh, he was much more interesting.
The "other" was alien, that was for sure, built much like a human, but with colorless skin and blank multi-faceted eyes that were slightly bio-luminescent. He was telepathic, evident from the nerve cords growing from the base of his skull, much like an antenna, sensitive to cerebral pulses. A mohawk of gilded feather-like plumage grew down the center of a bald scalp, and folded behind his back was his most prominent feature; a pair of wings nearly twenty feet in span. A look of sheer delight crossed Haruki's face. It was Myu's dad! Myu's dad was SO cool, far better than any type-three he ever met. He wanted to grow up to be an Ashura just like Myu's dad, but mom said they didn't make those models of bodies for humans yet.
Usually, Jin would only come with his half-sister Myu to baby-sit him on New Years, so he and mom and dad could go out drinking all night, but he never really got to see him other than over the holidays. He wondered what he was doing here now. "Jin!" the six-year-old cried and raced to the alien to be lifted up. Kaneko Jin was very tall, nearly six and a half feet in height, and when he lifted Haruki up over his head, he could almost touch the ceiling. Haruki liked Myu's dad,dispite the fact he was an alien. Most people either feared or hated him because he wasn't from Earth, or had an aloof respect for him. Mom said he was a moron.
"Naze otozure ni kita no, Jin-san?" ((Why did you come to visit us, Jin?)) Haruki asked as he was set back down again.
"Narehodo. Imagoro otozureru koto wa chitto myo wa ne," ((Indeed. Visiting us around this time is strange isn't it,)) agreed the mother with suspicious overtones, "Nanno hitsuyou na no?" ((What's the occasion?))
Jin looked up at the blonde-headed woman, Tsurukawa Chiharu, who was once his wife and his green card to stay on Earth as a permanent resident. She looked exactly like Myu down to every last feature, save the lack of purple streaks in her hair. Of course that would be so. Myu was her clone. {We lost Myu,} the alien projected to her mind, giving the mental impression of a frown.
Chiharu raised an eyebrow, and asked as crude as ever; "Doko de? Ittai nani ga okotta no?" ((Where? What the hell happened?))
Jin hesitated to answer.
"Myu-chan wa isho ni konakatta no?" ((Didn't Myu come with you?)) chirped a little voice that Chiharu almost forgot about. Chiharu looked down into the Haruki's wide blue eyes and realized Jin had been speaking (or whatever one would call it) so his words reached her mind only.
"Iya. Myu wa shigoto shinakya." ((Nope. Myu had to work.)) Chiharu told him without any hint that she was lying (which was one of her skills, if Jin recalled correctly). "Kore kara ue nitte, asobanai no kai?" ((Won't you go upstairs now and play?)) The child put up a little more of his typical stubbornness, before clomping off upstairs. Chiharu turned back to Jin. "Ja, Myu wa doko?" ((So, where's Myu?))
{Not "where", "when".}
Chiharu rolled her eyes. "Hora. Kondo nante sono butsuri no manuke-tachi wa nani wo yatchatta no?" ((Alright. What have you physics morons done THIS time?))
Jin nodded to his shoddy-looking accomplice. {I believe professor Kudo can explain that to you.}
Professor Kudo swallowed hard. He was obviously one of those people who feared Kaneko Jin. "Ishukan mae gurai, Myu wa, wagako no yakei hitori wo Koshito de hidoku kizuzukete, Watakushi ga kumitateteru tokoro no hatsumeihin wo tsukatte, dasshutsu shite shimaimashita." ((About a week ago, Myu badly injured one of our night security guards with a Koshito blade and escaped using the invention I was in the middle of building.))
After a moment to consider what she was told, Chiharu spun to face her ex-husband and landed a sound slap on his face. "Jin! Nante iu koto ka yo!" ((Jin! I'm ashamed of you!))
The perturbed-looking being staggered back. {What?! Why?}
"Uketsuki da kara! Moshi isshukan mae datta ra, sonna ni hidoi koto nara, sude ni nyuusu de kiitchattan wa yo! ((You're a liar! If that was a week ago, I would have already heard something that terrible on the news!))
{Kudo's invention was a time machine, Chiharu. The case has been classified to avoid public disclosure. If civilians were to get word of such a devise, the results could be disastrous. Myu has been thrown back seven thousand years into the past, and as far as we know, there is no way to get her back.}
Chiharu was about to open her mouth and laugh at the thought of a Time Machine, but suddenly her thoughts changed. In an instant, It came to her: That morning about a week ago when Myu went missing. Jin could hardly believe what had happened, and went immediately to see the injured security guard for further information, who was in the process of being rebuilt, then worked with Kudo to figure out to what time the Time Gateway was calibrated. Chiharu somehow felt she remembered the detective reports Jin had been hearing, and the several day's worth of experiments and investigations that he undertook to figure out where Myu was. She felt more than convinced that he told the truth. She felt as if there was nothing more true than the words Kaneko Jin spoke. She felt as if... "Atashi no ki wo kawaraseru koto yame nasai!"((Would you quit changing my mind for me?!)) Chiharu lashed out at Jin, but he was expecting it this time and stepped back out of range.
Jin gave a crooked, yet triumphant smile and turned to go with Kudo who already looked more than ready to get out the door and back to the lab. {Regardless of whether or not you believe me. Professor Kudo and I have just isolated Myu's time sector, two weeks after her date of arrival, and her general location. We will be attempting to salvage her back to the present. It was merely my duty to inform you of your daughter's whereabouts, in case something goes wrong and I do not return. Good day.}
Jin tried to leave, but Chiharu suddenly stepped in front of him and Kudo. "Chitto ne. Hitori de Myu wo tsuiseki suru no?" ((Waitaminnute! You're going after her by yourself?))
{Is that not what a father should do?} Jin narrowed his eyes at her.
Chiharu blinked, looking as though she was in deep contemplation. "Mo chitto ne. Myu ga kako ni iru koto wa wareware ni eikyou wo oyobosu no?" ((Hold on again. Will her being in the past have any effect on us?))
{No. Time is a three dimensional plane like space. In the same way that a single object or person cannot occupy more than one place at once, Myu cannot occupy more than one point on a time stream. She is merely branched off in a separate dimension that runs more or less perpendicular to our own.}
Chiharu blinked as her blond brain attempted to fathom that.
{Either way, you obviously have no concerns for you daughter's safety,
therefore, I bid you a good day.}
Unfortunately, Chiharu stepped in front of Jin and Kudo again. "Sou iu wake de wa nai! Kanojo no koto wo kangaeru no yo!" ((That's not true! I do care for her!)) she looked between Jin and Kudo, finding only stark mockery in her ex-husband's eyes.
{Don't make me laugh!} he provoked.
Chiharu stuck her lip out in a pout, much like Haruki had done moments ago. After a stiff moment, she made her choice, turned on heel, grabbed her coat, and waved Jin and Kudo after her out the alcove. "Yoshi! Atashi ga... isho ni musume wo tsuiseki shiyo!" ((Alright! *I* am going after my daughter with you.))
"Hee! Muri desho, Tsurukawa-san!" ((What?! That's impossible, Mrs. Tsurukawa!)) Kudo dropped his folders and was about to go after her when Jin's hand landed on his shoulder and steadied him. Kudo took one look at his smile and suddenly understood. Kudo dropped his voice to a whisper and asked: "Zutto sore wo keikaku shite irassharu n desu ka? Kaneko-buchou no kawari ni okusama wo kako ni ikaseru to iu wake de utagaimashita ka?" ((You've been planning this all along? That's the reason you came here, to have your wife go back into the past instead of you?))
Jin shook his head, still smiling, {Not necessarily. If you recall correctly, we have not had a chance to actually test your invention on a living subject.}. Since Kudo still had that blank look on his face, Jin laughed, patted him on the shoulder, then followed Chiharu down the hall of the apartment complex, projecting to his mind only: {Two words, Kudo: TEST MONKEY.}
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
FYI (For Your info) : Concerning Type-Three Humans and the World of 3076
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
A/N: This is just here for clarification if anyone wants to read it. If truth be told, I dreaded writing this because it's so geeky. I was one of those weird kids who were endlessly enthused about science classes in high-school (I still am =P), so enthused, in fact, that I applied what I learned to creating this futuristic sci-fi world for my writing. I didn't actually mean to apply my world to this story, since this is fanfic, and supposed to be about Tolkien's work, not mine. BUT evidentially, I DID, and it created a lot of confusion. So, to clear things up, here's Myu's universe in a nutshell if anyone wants to read it. (I tried to make it as small a nutshell as I possibly could, honest)
Advantage of Type-Three Models of Human-Beings :
Myu's "type-three" body grants her two things: better efficiency and more self-reliance. In other words; it cuts down on the things she needs. For example: Myu doesn't need a flashlight because she can see infrared. Myu doesn't need medical attention because her body can mend itself effeciently. Myu doesn't need a car because she can run fast. Myu doesn't need to spend months memorizing stuff because she can download it directly into her implanted CPU chip... These things improve the not only the quality of human life, but also the human race itself, making it more competitive with advanced alien races (I'm not going to get into that =P)
Superpowers :
None. Average type-three humans (civilians) are not given "super powers" (e.g. Jet Li martial arts action, Superman flight, superhuman intelligence, heat-vision, etc.) because the population needs to be kept under control. (If you've seen the movie X-Men 2, you'd know how difficult it is for the police to detain someone with superpowers.) In short, Civilians are only given augmentations that are beneficial to their safety and convenience, not for offense. This is why Myu can't fight worth a crap.
Type Two's:
Type-twos were the first advanced models of human beings that were adopted publicly, and in truth, they were a lot like elves. Unlike the later, more advanced type-threes, they did have blood and required consumption of food and drink, but unlike their naturally-evolved, "type-one" human ancestors (i.e. you and me); they lived longer, did not show appearance of age, did not need to eat as much, were not prone to infection, illness or fatigue, and did not have, as Myu puts it, "a stink".
Co-Cerebral CPU Chip:
Co-Cerebral CPU chips are to future students, as calculators are to today's students. There is nothing special or spiffy about them. These chips are not artificially intelligent, and can do little more than the PC you're using right now. Since CPU chips are a requirement for public schooling, they are cheap, of moderate quality, and readily available to the general public, not specially equipped to aid little lost girls who've fallen into Middle-Earth.
No Food :
Myu doesn't need food. As normal humans, our bodies use food to produce energy and replace damaged tissue and dead-cells. However, our imperfections leave a lot to be desired: Our bodies are, as of now, only 20% energy-efficient, with the other 80% being released as useless heat energy. Also, most cells in our bodies are volatile and short-lived, and we need food to replace them (skin grows and sheds, muscle tissue gets strained and snaps, calcium is needed to rebuild bone matter, etc...). Through biotechnology, Myu's people have found a way to perfect the human body, making it virtually 100% efficient, and durable enough to go without repair for centuries. And since Myu's body is so efficient and requires so little energy, she can live off of oxygen alone, and does not need any food whatsoever. Although... ingesting food would not hurt her. But since type-three's like her are not provided with a digestive system (which would be pointless and cost extra) the only way to get rid of ingested solids is out the way they came in (i.e. barf). Thought type threes don't need food anymore, food-vocabulary (i.e. taquitos) is still around for various purposes (e.g., exclaimations, usernames, expressions)
Drinks :
Myu can drink to make up for the lack of eating. In fact, some drinks in her time are made to taste like food (ice cream, apples, etc), by extracting the chemicals you taste in these foods and mixing them into the drinks. These beverages, ranging in texture from watery to syrupy to yogurt-like, are passed through the body and stored in a bladder until the person finds a place to pee. Since type-three bodies are not composed of any liquids, they do not need water like our bodies do (being 80% water). They do, however, absorb water vapor to keep their skin soft, and their mouth and eyes moist, but would not die if they can't.
Alcohol :
Myu can still get drunk. Alcohol consumption has been a favorite past time for homo-sapiens since the dawn of time, so they won't likely abandon it until the end of time. Even though the effects of illegal drugs have been nullified in type-three's, scientists have been forced by consumer demand to find a way to make type-three bodies react to alcohol as the normal human body does, so people can blissfully continue getting themselves hammered.
Earth in the Year 3045 and the Amish :
Basically, there's no environment left in 3045; no trees, no animals, no insects, no bacteria... except in handful of isolated biodomes that make up Planet Earth's wildlife reservations. Type-three humans view the environment like this: the earth was just a cradle for mankind in its infancy, for him to shape and mold as his understanding of the world around him grew and he learned how to manipulate it to his convenience. However, there are still grassroots environmentalists and animal-rights activists who oppose this. They, instead of advancing with the rest of the world, chose to remain as original, naturally-evolved human beings (or type-two models if they weren't that conservative) and live isolated away in these biodomes. Myu's kind call these people "Amish" for their refusal to advance. This is why Myu calls the elves "Amish people".
Physical structure of Type-Three Humans :
Type-three humans have: 1) a respiratory system, 2) a nervous system, 3) a reproductive system, 4) a skeletal system and 5) a muscular system, but no circulatory or digestive systems. Instead of having blood to carry oxygen to cells, the cells are spaced in a hollow, sponge-like mesh that filters air molecules through them to be absorbed by their thick membranes.
Respiration: Type-three cells are very versatile and can sustain themselves individually, without the aid of other organs, and can "breathe" both oxygen and carbon-dioxide. The bulk of each cell is a gummy, semi-liquid plasma that acts as a battery to store the energy it garners from CO2/O2 reactions.
Healing Factor:
In the cell's center, the tiny nucleus, making up about 5% of the cell, is actually a microscopic computer, which stores the genetic data of the person and administers cell functions (hence 5% cyborg). When type-three's are stabbed with a blade for instance, their cells are designed to get out of the way. After the obstructing blade is removed, the cybernetic cell nuclei, using the genetic data like a map, are able to move the displaced cells back to where they were originally and reconnect the sturdy threads that hold them together, thus mending the wound quickly and flawlessly.
Skeletal system:
Type-three's are almost entirely made up of complex, synthetic material, which cannot be found in food. The only non-synthetic material is their skeleton, which is Titanium (a metal that is as strong as steel, yet light as aluminum), reinforced with titanium-carbide coating (titanium-carbide is used today for expensive drill bits that can puncture steel and concrete).
Ashura (the alien species Myu's dad belongs to):
Ashura, named after Hindu war gods for their fierce appearance, are aliens hailing from Galaxy NGC 4697 on the far end of the Virgo Supercluster. They are by far the most advanced species yet encountered by homo sapiens, with technology enough to travel to the most distant quasars and bodies and minds more capable than any machine, cyborg or super computer 31st centurey human beings could engineer. As advanced telepaths, they communicate not only by thought, but in an array of sensory and metasensory information, which the human brain is much too weak and slow to process. They have a grand total of 21 senses whereas human beings have only 5 (touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing), and each Ashuran sense is much more highly developed. Their eyes can focus on everthing at once in their frame of sight, wheras human beings are limited to a single focal point. Their ears are multi-percussioned, which allows them to distinguish sound better (so if you were in a restaurant with 20 people talking, you would hear each conversation, and not just a murmur). For humanity, the dilemma in matching these advanced sensory funtions is not, for example, making an eye that can see all at once, but making a brain that can process the amount of visual information that eye can see. Thus, Ashura are superior, not so much by physical attributes, but by sheer brain power.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
ANSWERS TO REVIEWERS
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Joy4eva: Hopefully this is a change for the better. I don't think I could possibly write something politically correct to begin with
CSI: I'm glad you like it. Thank you for beta-reading, you did a good job.
ASHES2: Er, sorry about your operation, and thanks. And I know what you mean about bad Japanese teachers, my first one was an fine arts undergraduate from Nagoya studying abroad who knew nothing at all about teaching. And try writing the principle Kanji to memorize them better, doodle them in your spare time. Its okay if you forget. It's very common for even native Japanese and Chinese to forget how to write them, but one tends to recall how to read them even if.
NAOMI MAXWELL: Thank you for beta reading, it helped a lot. Longer chapter for you (which you had to check, mwa-ha-ha (^-^))
KAIO: Poor, poor, Leggy-kun. *sobs*. I'm not sure if she did pass out on top of him, I was trying to keep details down to a minimum this time. =P Hope you enjoy this chapter
MORIMA: Thanks, thats quite a compliment. I'm just trying something different so i feel like I'm doing something worthwhile with my word processor. And I really never meant for Myu to be a Mary-Sue; she's not me or my alter ego in disguise. She's supposed to be normal in context of a advaced cybernetic superhuman of the 31st century, but, unfortunately, no matter how many mental flaws I give her, it gives her a degree of advantages and invincibility in Middle Earth that works out to be a Mary Sue no matter how I cut it.
BORN TO BE HANGED: "Legolas is such a player" LOL. That's exactly what I'm going for. Tolkien's Legolas is a male version of a Mary-Sue all over. I figure some flaws, like being an incurable playboy, wouldn't hurt.
IMPROVED UBER REI MODEL 06:
CAST of CHARACTERS
The characters I didn't make up;
ESTEL (Elvish for "Hope") - Estel is Aragorn (Strider), but was called this in his youth. His true name and lineage was hidden from him by Elrond who feared that Sauron would find him. I can't call him Aragorn in this fic because he doesn't know that's his real name yet.
Celebrian = Elrond's wife who was departed from him in 2510 of the third age. She was tortured to death by orcs and rescued too late by their twin sons
Elladan and Elrohir = the twin sons of Elrond and Celebrian
Thranduil = Legolas' dad, the king of Mirkwood which is far northeast of Rivendell across the Misty Mountains
Erestor = Elron's head advisor
The ones I did make up:
Kaneko Jin = Myu's dad, an alien who came to experiment on earth away from the laws and restrictions of his own planet
Tsurukawa Chiharu = Myu's mom. She married Kaneko Jin fo selfish reasons and divorced him soon after, leaving him with a clone of herself, Myu, who they were raising as their daughter.
Tsurukawa Haruki = Chiharu's real son with the husband she is currently married to.
Professor Kudo = the wierd, shabby-looking science guy who built the Time Gateway
Yanagi = the security guard Myu thought she accidentally killed, and tried to escape because of it.
Anendel = son of the famous Glorfindel of Rivendell (an elf warrior/nobleman who is known for killing a baelrog). He is in charge of patroling for orcs around Rivendell when Elladan and Elrohir are away, which is quite often
Barador = the elf in charge of holding Myu in prison, who was not very successful
Lothiel = the elf-maid legolas was hitting on before Myu ruined it
Amanthon = one of the young elf warriors who is Elladan's friend to some degree. He goes after Myu with him when she breaks out of jail to use the toilet.
Gothul = the orc captain who is vanquished by Myu and falls madly in love with her.
A/N: Huge chapter which I hope is worth the wait. I reposted the FYI (For You Info) section about Myu's world for those who didn't get a chance to read it. And after that, you'll find reviewer responses. One reviewer requested a list of my cast of characters so far. You'll find that at the very bottom. And oh, look, the review button is down there too!
*********
part 1
**********
The ink, black as midnight, left a crooked trail after the tip of the quill. It had been a while before Legolas had written anything. He abhorred writing. It had also been a while since he had composed a message to anyone save routine dispatched which went to his father. He abhorred that, too. He used to wonder if there was anything he did like. He was tired of people, tired with himself and tired of in general life... that is, until last night. Something new had happened. He felt different this morning, a morning which stood out from the monotonous stream of the last six hundred or so years of his life...
By the time he was finished, which was a terribly long and painful amount of time to spend on 9 letters, the tengwar spelled out the equivalent of C-A-N-I-K-O M-Y-U. He supposed that was how she spelled her name. He supposed she could have spelled her name in Angerthas, but they would look more elegant in Elvish characters of course. Dwarves just used these rigid, angular runes because they were too primitive to write on paper, he reminded himself. They were nasty little critters, and were only good for the gold and mithril they extracted from the earth....gold... Gold still made Legolas happy. With a start, the elf salvaged himself from his thoughts and concentrated once again on writingthe message as a librarian shuffled past re-shelving books.
If human libraries are quiet, then libraries of elves are absolute silence. Save for the trees rustling outside the window, there was utter silence, as though the two librarians and the trio of book-engrossed scholars seated nearby were specters and not really there at all. It was hard to be patient with such silence putting one on edge, and after waiting for Myu for three hours, patience had become a luxury he could not afford. Either he would see her now, or would have to go out and track her down, leaving a message in case she happened by. She was not in her room after last night, and she said, yesterday, that she would meet him here in the morning, but she never did come. He did not know how else to find her. It was as though she was a dream lost in the night. A dream too good to be true.
Legolas was interrupted by the voice of someone singing, definitely not an elf: "Hoshi wo kazoeru yori wa tayasuku... kumo no yukue wo shiru yori konnan de..." He knew then it had to be....
"Myu!" He cried, standing and circling around a table to reach the small, groggy-looking form in the doorway, looking mighty surprised. She was wearing a gray tunic and deer-skin leggings that looked rather familiar, dressed with little heed to her appearance... just like any human, he reminded himself, then pushed that thought aside. He would settle things between them right here and now. "I have been looking everywhere for you!"
"You have?" asked Myu with uncertainty.
"Yes, yes, come sit with me."
Myu let him lead her back to the desk he was sitting at. She took a seat and eyed the stationary that was spread out. "You know, I'm not really interested in learning from you anymore. Faelon just sent me here to get a book."
Legolas had his hands on the inkwell and the pen in the midst of putting them away. The bite in that statement was just too much with too little notice. He dropped them both back where he picked them up, and sat down with a furrowed brow. "What do you mean by those words?"
"It means I don't have time to talk to you. I have to go."
She stood up, but he rose with her, staying her with his hand on her shoulder. "You do not mean that."
"Shut up and let go of me!"
Legolas opened his mouth to speak, prepared to bite back with equal fury. He wanted to demand she tell him why she was acting this way, and what happened to that Myu he saw last night who loved hugs, who was chasing him down just the other day to get history lessons from him. Who was this? What had happened? But from the look in her eyes, he could tell she did not have the patience to answer that. So he swallowed his pride and said simply; "Will you not at the least hear me out first?"
Myu glared at him. He waited, and she was still standing there glaring at him, refusing to sit back down. "Well?" she prompted finally.
"Last night..." Legolas began, pausing to watch her expression -- she shrugged, "Last night, something happened... something that has not happened to me for almost a six-hundred years."
"What?"
Eyeing the others present in the library, now watching them both with interest, Legolas asked, "Could we not discuss this somewhere else?"
"I'm in a hurry."
In his eyes, her contempt of him was almost unbearable. What was it about her that held power over him? Were she just another commoner in his own realm, he would have ordered her from his sight, and perhaps even kept her in confinement until she rethought her actions. Finally, he could not take it anymore and burst out. "No, you will stay here and listen to what I have to say," he hissed in a harsh whisper, attempting to ward off the questioning looks his way with sharp glares. "Something happened last night that you must understand."
Finally, he coaxed Myu to sit down again. It looked as though he would have to tell her this here, although he would have greatly appreciated a place with more privacy.
"Among elves," Legolas began, "finding a mate is much harder that among mortals. Since we are immortal beings, we cannot be allowed to procreate so easily. In order to do so, we must find our, iest inden, our 'heart's wish'. For with any other, we cannot reach the pinnacle of our passion and sew our seeds. I, myself, have been searching for my iest inden for over a thousand years. And I have finally found her..."
For a moment, Myu looked like her old air-headed self again. "You can't sew your seeds?"
Legolas nodded, blushing slightly. "Aye, not unless it is with our destined mate."
Unfortunately, Myu's programming was only capable of translating literal meanings. "Like, garden seeds?"
"No! Not garden seeds!" The elf cursed under his breath, "The seed of an elf."
Myu considered. "Elves are plants?"
"No!"
"Then what do you mean?"
Legolas wanted to get this over with quickly. He blushed as he just came out and said it under his breath.
"Say what?"
Legolas uttered it again, a little louder.
Myu blinked innocently, "What's that?"
"Myu!"
"Alright, alright!" she laughed, giving him a hearty whack on the shoulder, then said much too loud for his comfort; "So why are you telling me about semen?"
The librarian looked up from his book. Legolas offered a sheepish grin as casually as he could, though he knew his face was flaming. The librarian resumed his contemptuous glare, so Legolas turned to Myu and admonished firmly. "Be silent! Do not say such words in a public place!" Why was it that he was now the one who was angry?
"Why? You said it."
"Never mind. Just understand what I am trying to tell you."
Myu blinked vacantly. "I forgot what we were talking about..." she admitted.
Oh, dear. This was not going well. "Myu, I am telling you I can find passion with no other."
Under Legolas' critical blue gaze, Myu licked her lips and contemplated what he said. All of a sudden her eyes flew wide open. "You're impotent?!" she exclaimed.
For a second time Legolas gave a sheepish grin to the librarian, and offered an explanation to him in Elvish((I am merely teaching her about love among the Eldar.)) The librarian nodded, though not with altogether too much acceptance. Then Legolas ducked his head down and hissed at Myu loud enough for the onlooker to hear. "Nay! I am merely telling you that an elf cannot bear offspring unless it is with the one that he truly cares for, a one who must be sought, and for some is never found. This is one of the reasons why we elves must depart for the Undying Lands. We cannot replenish the losses we suffer at the hands of the enemy, for finding a mate and bearing younglings is overly difficult."
"So why the taquitos are you telling me that?"
The elf uttered a low growl and clasped her shoulder, turning her to face him, "So, my iest inden is you."
Myu raised an eyebrow, "What's an 'iest inden'?"
"Myu," Legolas smacked his forehead and huffed a sigh, thinking he had to explain it all over again, "Last night, when you were in the woods..."
"Whao-ho-ho!" she pulled back out of his grasp. "Don't talk to me about last night, Lego-kun. I was so drunk I couldn't tell a tree from a squirrel."
For a split second, time utterly froze. "...What is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm saying I can't remember a thing so there's no use talking about what I was doing in the woods last night," she said offhandedly. "And there's no use griping at me if I did something wrong because I wasn't in control of myself. Wakatta? ((Got it?))"
Breath suddenly caught in his throat. Legolas simply could not believe it. Could she be joking? She truly did not remember the love they shared that night? "If that is so, what was the cause for your anger when you came in here earlier?"
Myu shrugged. "I was angry?"
Something was not right. "I do not believe you. What is your game? Why are you doing this to me?"
Myu shrugged again. "What am I doing."
That did it. Legolas was practically shouting at her, "I have no patience for your games. This is very serious. You could be carrying my child!"
Until the words had already left his mouth, Legolas did not notice that every single elf within earshot was staring his way in disbelief. Myu saw an opening and went for it. A look of sheer horror crossed her face (a very exaggerated look, but a look nonetheless). "W-what do you mean? Legolas? What happened to me last night? What did you DO?!"
"What did YOU do?!" he shot back, jabbing an accusing finger after her. "YOU did this to me! You MADE me love you!"
Myu's face crumpled into a near sob, clutching her belly, crying, "How could you do this to me, you monster!" Myu was decidedly corny at dramatics, but they were convincing regardless.
((You forced yourself upon a mortal woman?)) accused a dark-haired elf in scholar's garb, who had stepped from the corner. He was glaring hard at Legolas, speaking in Elvish. ((Never had I thought one among the Eldar, much less a noble descendent of the Sindar, could commit such a crime. Thranduil's elves must have truly fallen low since their defeat at Dagorlad.)) Another elf near the doorway slipped out quietly in haste.
Still unaware of the danger brewing, Legolas thought he recognized that elf. "I thought you told me you were going to bring book to Faelon," he told Myu with some sense of victory in his tone.
Myu shrugged again. "Well... it IS a long way across the library."
"Did you or did you not commit this act?" Faelon was mere feet from Legolas, booming in voice that demanded to be heard. "Did you force her when she was helpless?"
Incredulity surfaced fully on Legolas expression as what he was being accused of just now sunk in. He found himself denying the charge fervently. "Of course not! She forced me!"
"That's ridiculous!" Myu jumped in. "Who ever heard of a girl forcing a guy! Look at how puny I am!" Myu rolled her sleeve back to reveal her deceptively puny bicep. "He's much stronger than me!"
"You little witch!" the Elf in question spat at her. "You had the strength to break the ribs of their gate-guards!"
Myu looked at Faelon, and pointed at Legolas, making a face. "Do you think a man would actually admit he was violated by a woman if he really was?"
Legolas' jaw dropped.
"See! Look how desperate that face is! He'll say anything to get out of... of... whatever he did to me! I'm not sure what it was he did because I was completely drunk, see! But he definitely must have taken advantage of me because I didn't know what I was doing, so that must mean it wasn't a conscious choice!" Myu reasoned, "And if it wasn't a conscious choice, then, it must've been a *forced* *choice*!" she petitioned, stressing her make-shift terminology. "So he must have forced me then!"
Faelon's accusing glare looked between Myu and Legolas, Myu and Legolas, then finally settled on Legolas. The Mirkwood prince struggled to say something, anything, but it all just came out as a bunch of incoherent grunts and squeaks. He was loosing a battle of wits to a complete moron!
"I'm just so sexy, I just can understand that guys can't control themselves when they see me," Myu rambled on, "But FOR REAL! He's gotta learn how to treat a girl in a lady-like fashion! None of those two-minute tumbles in the bushes, if you know what I me--"
"That is him, in the white tunic!"
Still in shell shock, Legolas turned and saw the elf who had slipped out pointing at him in the doorway, as well as a pair of Elrond's house guards advancing on him very quickly, then looked down and realized he was wearing a white tunic, "You cannot apprehend me! I have done nothing!"
"Yeah! That's right! You just got forced by a girl! Sure, we believe you!"
"You witch!" the Elf shouted at the top of his lungs as struggled with him to bind his hands behind his back. "How dare you humiliate me like this!"
"Legolas hirnin, Diheno nin." ((Milord Legolas, forgive me)) murmured one of the guards, as they finally got the wriggly elf under control.
"Look! Look! He's gonna hurt me again!"
"Mitho orch!" ((Go kiss an orch!)) Legolas struggled from being pulled out of the library to little avail.
Myu had no idea what that was all about. "Nanda kono yaro! Monku ga aru nara, ore ni hakkiri ieba ii daro! ((Hey, you f*cker! If you got a problem, spit it out!))
"Sulon gwanna nif lin!" ((Much wind pours from your mouth!))
"Ore wo namenee, kusobozu!" ((Don't you mess with me, you little sh*t!))
"Iell lyg!" ((Daughter of snakes!))
"Tanki!" ((Little pen!))
She barely got that insult out before the door slammed shut behind the furious elf.
"Please, come with me to the house of healing," invited Faelon. "I am sure you must be bereaved."
Myu nodded vacantly, then hesitated to follow, trying to decide if the entertainment value of what just happened was worth the possible repercussions. Was it that Myu was suddenly feeling a tug of conscience?
"Naaahhh!" With that stereotypical smile back on her face, she followed Faelon out of the library, patting Elladan's letter still safe in her pocket.
*************
Part 2
************
Holding up a dainty purple flower, one that reminded him of locks of his true love's hair, he stared at it vacantly. The hand that held it was filthy and blistered. How could she ever love one such as him? Gothul wondered. How could anyone ever love an orc? For the first time in his life he regretted being one. It was as if a spell was broken and he finally realized who and what he was, and how utterly disgusting and pointless was his existence. He did not want to kill anymore. He just wanted that lovely maid with the shiny gem-like eyes and purple-blonde hair to cherish. But the orcish and goblin minions prowling about him reminded him painfully that he was a servant of the Nazgul. They had used him as bait, to lure the elves out of the trees and to slaughter them two days prior. He did not even know it until the ambush had descended upon the party. The Ringwraith who led the attack rewarded him with a pardon for his "indecent behavior" towards the maiden and he was once again in charge of a fair-sized war party. But he didn't want to be in charge! He just wanted that human maid!He did not even know her name.
"Whoever this wench is, she must indeed be a powerful witch to ensnare an orc in a love spell," hissed a voice that made skin crawl and hair stand on end. Gothul looked up with sad, puppy-dog eyes to see nothing more than shadow framed by a black hood. A pair of wicked looking gauntlets grasped a long, broad-sword, which the Nazgul pointed at the orc and demanded in black speech, "On thy feet, worm!" Something about the forcefulness of this elite minion of Sauron bolted the wayward orc to his feet in an instant, "By the darkness invested in me, I grant thee thy freedom from this curse! Afar Vadokanuk!"
Gothul blinked, then looked at the flower.
"What is this?! My power is ineffective against this woman's curse?! Undur Kurv! I shall skin her alive and watch the blood pour--"
"Broshan! Tanfuksham Nazgul!" ((Hail, almighty Ringwraith!)) cried one of the Nazgul's lieutenants, "Grimus Gimbuzat shara agh fiim olgul tau-tuk tor-glad kraatu ((The scout spotted a man and a boy walking through the woods a thousand 'glad' from here.))
"Mash rrug?" ((Which way?))
"Talaan." ((North.))
((Describe the youngling's appearance.))
The orc gathered what little brain power it had to produce a satisfactory image, ((He was young...)) The Nazgul folded his arms angrily across his chest, causing the poor orc to scramble for better detail, ((He was tall for a human youngling, and stout of frame he was. His dark brown locks were cropped short and slight wavy.))
((And his eyes? What color were his eyes?))
((Grey, milord Nazgul.))
"Grey..." The Nazgul scratched his head (or what sufficed as a head anyways) in contemplation, "They head away from the Elven city of Imladris, and the youngling had gray elf-eyes. Surely he is the son of Arathorn, descendent of Luthien whom Elrond is rumored to be raising as his own son..." The wraith turned to Gothul, the poor love-stricken orc who was still twirling the flower between thumb and forefinger, "Givest me that!" the Nagul cried ripping the flower from his hand, flinging it to the ground and trampling it. Gothul's bottom lip began to quiver. "Dost thou recall whence came that witch? She is hidden in the elf city is she not? Elrond is harboring her power. Is that not so?"
Gothul cringed back a little. The Nazgul's voice was quite ear-gouging. "Forgive me, Goth Nazgul, I do not know. The elves who found me said they heard not of such a woman as I described."
"Of course elves would say so! They are liars! She must indeed be there!" The wraith spun and pointed a sharp metal finger at the scout who brought him news of the boy and man, "Thou! Taketh a swift war party! Findest the two of them and capture them both. I want them brought back to me alive!"
Without a breath of hesitance, the orc was off, gathering a party of warg-mounted goblins. "Elrond has too soft a heart," sneered the Nazgul, turning back to Gothul who was still sitting on a tree-stump with a dreamy look in his eyes, "If the youngling is indeed Elrond's human son, as a father, he would have no choice but to negotiate without compromise to spare his life. He will hand the sorceress over to us, and her power will henceforth be at the disposal of great Lord Sauron! Hail Lord Sauron! Hail!"
Orcs began to clamor, pounding the butts of the spears on the ground and banging their swords on their shields in reverence to the Nazgul and Lord Sauron. Gothul at first didn't know if what the Nazgul was planning to do was a good thing, but then again, he would get to see that maiden again, so he guessed that would be nice. He too began to pound his fist on his armored chest whole-heartedly. The only other sound out side the steady pounding of orc was the howls of wargs as they carried their riders off into the late afternoon.
************
Part 3
************
Myu's Musings
Entry No.: 00923889
Subject: Gulp...
Date: 01-09-0000
Aw, man. I can't believe I just boinked Legolas last night. Taquitos! That must have been some strong liquor. I didn't mean to find him the morning after, really. I forgot I told him I wanted to meet him in the library for lessons again, and I came across him waiting for me (I was actually going to see if Faelon was there so he could read Elladan's letter for me again ^-^). When I walked in, Lego took one look at me, flashed his brilliant-white gators and told me to sit down because he had something important to tell me. I didn't think it would be a good thing since well, I just, well, y'know... kinda pinned him down and made him squeal like a piggy. I started out trying to act like I was in a hurry (plus a monster hangover was making me cranky, which furthered my cause). That's when he said something about seeds and problems concerning sexual reproduction among elves. I really didn't get it entirely. It was kinda like sitting in at a meeting of Viagra-addicts anonymous. Basically, what I interpreted it as is that the blonde-haired poofer actually enjoyed screaming as much as I did making him scream last night. One would figure that physically violating someone would make him or her not like you anymore, but I dunno. That's just me and I'm stupid you know. I remember being a little unnerved when he smiled at me after I-- we were done and whispered my name like one of those raspy voices on the perfume commercial. I just went "okay" and fled the scene, passing it off as temporary insanity on his part. He did look and sound like he enjoyed himself -- fair enough--, but TAQUITOS! talking about babies and stuff the next day is just plain freaky.
Anyways, that's when I started to realize my dilemma: Legolas was jeopardizing my future position as princess of Rivendell! If Elladan finds out what I did, things will might get nasty. What an unfortunately-timed love letter! If only I had known his true feelings earlier! It was his fault for making me think he didn't like me anymore! He was the reason why I got mad-drunk and molested a hapless blonde. The things he made me do! ... Well, anyways, that's my argument in case Legolas manages to snitch on me. Even though, thanks to his big mouth, the secret's out that we had-- ahem-- intimate dealings with each other, I think I managed to make people think that HE was actually the one who forced ME , rather than the other way around. Apparently, people here are too old-fashioned to have heard of fem-rape, which is quite common in my world. Poor, poor,innocent elf-creatures. What have I subjected them to?
Anyways (remind me to look up a synonym for "anyways" sometime-- it's getting redundant at the beginning of every paragraph), Now I'm worried about what's going to happen. Legolas is in trouble now to save my hide and I'm guilty as all-get-out. And right now, both of us are getting way too much of the wrong attention. Almost the entire day, the physician has been talking to me and patting my shoulder for the last hour or so, telling me not to hold in my grief (I suppose he's waiting for me to cry -- which I'm not having any luck doing), and there is another red-haired guy, I think that's Barador, coming in and reporting every once in a while of how the interrogation is going with "the prisoner", and it sounds pretty brutal. (Taquitos, I hope they're not torturing Legolas or anything). Should I be worried about all this? Won't it pass eventually and everything go back to normal? Should I try to get Lego-kun out of this mess?
Well... Lego-kun's still a cutie. Though in retrospect, I don't think I saw anything in him besides that. After all, he went off and left me twice (once after dinner my first day here, and second after I found Gresham). So why should I care? This might help deflate that ego of his a bit. I've had my fill of big-headed people who have so little respect for me that they ignore me rather than letting me know how they feel. And just a little while ago, Lego-kun yelled at me to "Be silent". I'm sorry, but I wasn't raised in a kennel. He can try that on one of his other obedient four-legged girlfriends for all I care. Elladan wouldn't say or do anything like that. He's always been so nice to me (he ventured out into the wilderness to rescue me and took two arrows for me, I mean how much more romantic can you get?!) I just don't see him as one to admonish or try to change me (after all, what's the point in being with some one if you don't like who they are in the first place?).Now that I think about it, if Elladan really isn't takin' me for a ride (I gotta wait till he comes back in a week or so to know for sure), perhaps, just perhaps my life really could turn out happily ever after. *sigh* Now that I have had a closer look at this Rivendell place, I really think I could live here. They have all kinds of arts. I don't fancy gardening and green stuff, of course (and taquitos is there a lot of it here!)... or pollen... but, on the bright side, never again will I have to concern myself with astrophysics, or machines, or interplanetary wars, or managing cleaning robots, or being the ignorant one (heh, compared to these guys, I'm pretty smart. They still use the geocentric model for astronomy!). The world of 3076 is gone for good and there's no way back and no one will ever miss me. But then again, it is pretty boring here... Oooh doilies!
~Kaneko Myu, Signing-Out~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 4
*****************
Earth, North Asian Pacific, Ezo Island (formerly known as Hokkaido).
October 13, 3076. 3:30 PM
****
FLASH LIGHTNING MP 130 AP 12 OK? Y N
Haruki considered. If he did that, then the spell would eat up all his character's Ability Points. Ability Points were hard to get back in Final Fantasy 687. He liked FF 686 better because they didn't use stupid APs. He growed at the three dimensional monitor. If he didn't cast the spell, then Yukibaba would surely cast Absolute Zero again and his party would be annihilated. He was out of heat salve and three out of four of his party members were already frozen. Stupid Yukibaba. He could not fail! Not after he had come so far! Never!
"Haruki-chan! Sono asobi wo ue ni hakonde chodai ne. Kyakusan ga kita kara, Haha wa mamonaku chanoma made minna wo tsurete kuru ne." ((Haruki dear, Bring your game upstairs, okay? Since guests have come, mommy will be bringing them all to the living room in a bit.))
Haruki bit his lip and defiantly ignored the sweet, sugar coated voice. He had just gotten been to the emergency room! He didn't deserve that kind of Haruki-do-this-Haruki-do-that treatment. He didn't feel anything after they shot him with pain-killers, but this itchy silicon cast was quite uncomfortable. It covered his forearm up to the elbow where he had gotten another arm cloned and transplanted after he broke his last one when he fell off his sky-board last night after dinner. Stupid organic body. He wished he could just hurry up and finish growing so that he could get a type-three cybernetic body like everyone else. Even though he was born in and mended by machines, which made his organic body without mistakes, it still wasn't as good as being a machine like mom and dad were.
"Haruki?"
"Chitto mato, Chiharu!" ((Wait a minute, Chiharu!)) he told his mom. After he cast the spell, one of his characters had thawed. He had a winning chance now! He was tapping fervently on the action button with his good hand. Couldn't his mom understand how important this was? That was when the screen suddenly blanked out. Haruki's eyes widened in horror, and turned to see his angry mother holding the disembowel battery supply of his video console.
"Imasugu, sono gaki!" ((Right now, you little brat!)) His mom barked.
Haruki was speechless for a second as he just now realized that he hadn't saved the game in the last three hours. "Kono Kuso-baba!" ((You old hag!)) he shrieked.
The blonde woman stomped her foot at the obstinant child and spat fire. "Atashi wa anta no haha-oya de, kuso-baba nanka ja nee yo! Ayamaro!" ((I'm your mother, not some old hag! Apologize!)) The child stuck his lip out stubbornly, still gasping in deep breaths in an attempt to hold back his rage.
{I see you still have the same ineptitude for child-rearing, Chiharu.}
The voice seemed to emanate from within Haruki's very thoughts, and suddenly the child felt calm and somewhat sleepy. His mother felt the compelling voice too, but she was more used to it and shook her head to salvage herself from the mild attempt at mind control. The child turned and saw the pair of guests had already shown themselves in. One was a lanky man with frizzled hair and a dirty lab-coat with a Superman-style "K" on the back, carrying a file folder. And the other, leaning against the foyer, oh, he was much more interesting.
The "other" was alien, that was for sure, built much like a human, but with colorless skin and blank multi-faceted eyes that were slightly bio-luminescent. He was telepathic, evident from the nerve cords growing from the base of his skull, much like an antenna, sensitive to cerebral pulses. A mohawk of gilded feather-like plumage grew down the center of a bald scalp, and folded behind his back was his most prominent feature; a pair of wings nearly twenty feet in span. A look of sheer delight crossed Haruki's face. It was Myu's dad! Myu's dad was SO cool, far better than any type-three he ever met. He wanted to grow up to be an Ashura just like Myu's dad, but mom said they didn't make those models of bodies for humans yet.
Usually, Jin would only come with his half-sister Myu to baby-sit him on New Years, so he and mom and dad could go out drinking all night, but he never really got to see him other than over the holidays. He wondered what he was doing here now. "Jin!" the six-year-old cried and raced to the alien to be lifted up. Kaneko Jin was very tall, nearly six and a half feet in height, and when he lifted Haruki up over his head, he could almost touch the ceiling. Haruki liked Myu's dad,dispite the fact he was an alien. Most people either feared or hated him because he wasn't from Earth, or had an aloof respect for him. Mom said he was a moron.
"Naze otozure ni kita no, Jin-san?" ((Why did you come to visit us, Jin?)) Haruki asked as he was set back down again.
"Narehodo. Imagoro otozureru koto wa chitto myo wa ne," ((Indeed. Visiting us around this time is strange isn't it,)) agreed the mother with suspicious overtones, "Nanno hitsuyou na no?" ((What's the occasion?))
Jin looked up at the blonde-headed woman, Tsurukawa Chiharu, who was once his wife and his green card to stay on Earth as a permanent resident. She looked exactly like Myu down to every last feature, save the lack of purple streaks in her hair. Of course that would be so. Myu was her clone. {We lost Myu,} the alien projected to her mind, giving the mental impression of a frown.
Chiharu raised an eyebrow, and asked as crude as ever; "Doko de? Ittai nani ga okotta no?" ((Where? What the hell happened?))
Jin hesitated to answer.
"Myu-chan wa isho ni konakatta no?" ((Didn't Myu come with you?)) chirped a little voice that Chiharu almost forgot about. Chiharu looked down into the Haruki's wide blue eyes and realized Jin had been speaking (or whatever one would call it) so his words reached her mind only.
"Iya. Myu wa shigoto shinakya." ((Nope. Myu had to work.)) Chiharu told him without any hint that she was lying (which was one of her skills, if Jin recalled correctly). "Kore kara ue nitte, asobanai no kai?" ((Won't you go upstairs now and play?)) The child put up a little more of his typical stubbornness, before clomping off upstairs. Chiharu turned back to Jin. "Ja, Myu wa doko?" ((So, where's Myu?))
{Not "where", "when".}
Chiharu rolled her eyes. "Hora. Kondo nante sono butsuri no manuke-tachi wa nani wo yatchatta no?" ((Alright. What have you physics morons done THIS time?))
Jin nodded to his shoddy-looking accomplice. {I believe professor Kudo can explain that to you.}
Professor Kudo swallowed hard. He was obviously one of those people who feared Kaneko Jin. "Ishukan mae gurai, Myu wa, wagako no yakei hitori wo Koshito de hidoku kizuzukete, Watakushi ga kumitateteru tokoro no hatsumeihin wo tsukatte, dasshutsu shite shimaimashita." ((About a week ago, Myu badly injured one of our night security guards with a Koshito blade and escaped using the invention I was in the middle of building.))
After a moment to consider what she was told, Chiharu spun to face her ex-husband and landed a sound slap on his face. "Jin! Nante iu koto ka yo!" ((Jin! I'm ashamed of you!))
The perturbed-looking being staggered back. {What?! Why?}
"Uketsuki da kara! Moshi isshukan mae datta ra, sonna ni hidoi koto nara, sude ni nyuusu de kiitchattan wa yo! ((You're a liar! If that was a week ago, I would have already heard something that terrible on the news!))
{Kudo's invention was a time machine, Chiharu. The case has been classified to avoid public disclosure. If civilians were to get word of such a devise, the results could be disastrous. Myu has been thrown back seven thousand years into the past, and as far as we know, there is no way to get her back.}
Chiharu was about to open her mouth and laugh at the thought of a Time Machine, but suddenly her thoughts changed. In an instant, It came to her: That morning about a week ago when Myu went missing. Jin could hardly believe what had happened, and went immediately to see the injured security guard for further information, who was in the process of being rebuilt, then worked with Kudo to figure out to what time the Time Gateway was calibrated. Chiharu somehow felt she remembered the detective reports Jin had been hearing, and the several day's worth of experiments and investigations that he undertook to figure out where Myu was. She felt more than convinced that he told the truth. She felt as if there was nothing more true than the words Kaneko Jin spoke. She felt as if... "Atashi no ki wo kawaraseru koto yame nasai!"((Would you quit changing my mind for me?!)) Chiharu lashed out at Jin, but he was expecting it this time and stepped back out of range.
Jin gave a crooked, yet triumphant smile and turned to go with Kudo who already looked more than ready to get out the door and back to the lab. {Regardless of whether or not you believe me. Professor Kudo and I have just isolated Myu's time sector, two weeks after her date of arrival, and her general location. We will be attempting to salvage her back to the present. It was merely my duty to inform you of your daughter's whereabouts, in case something goes wrong and I do not return. Good day.}
Jin tried to leave, but Chiharu suddenly stepped in front of him and Kudo. "Chitto ne. Hitori de Myu wo tsuiseki suru no?" ((Waitaminnute! You're going after her by yourself?))
{Is that not what a father should do?} Jin narrowed his eyes at her.
Chiharu blinked, looking as though she was in deep contemplation. "Mo chitto ne. Myu ga kako ni iru koto wa wareware ni eikyou wo oyobosu no?" ((Hold on again. Will her being in the past have any effect on us?))
{No. Time is a three dimensional plane like space. In the same way that a single object or person cannot occupy more than one place at once, Myu cannot occupy more than one point on a time stream. She is merely branched off in a separate dimension that runs more or less perpendicular to our own.}
Chiharu blinked as her blond brain attempted to fathom that.
{Either way, you obviously have no concerns for you daughter's safety,
therefore, I bid you a good day.}
Unfortunately, Chiharu stepped in front of Jin and Kudo again. "Sou iu wake de wa nai! Kanojo no koto wo kangaeru no yo!" ((That's not true! I do care for her!)) she looked between Jin and Kudo, finding only stark mockery in her ex-husband's eyes.
{Don't make me laugh!} he provoked.
Chiharu stuck her lip out in a pout, much like Haruki had done moments ago. After a stiff moment, she made her choice, turned on heel, grabbed her coat, and waved Jin and Kudo after her out the alcove. "Yoshi! Atashi ga... isho ni musume wo tsuiseki shiyo!" ((Alright! *I* am going after my daughter with you.))
"Hee! Muri desho, Tsurukawa-san!" ((What?! That's impossible, Mrs. Tsurukawa!)) Kudo dropped his folders and was about to go after her when Jin's hand landed on his shoulder and steadied him. Kudo took one look at his smile and suddenly understood. Kudo dropped his voice to a whisper and asked: "Zutto sore wo keikaku shite irassharu n desu ka? Kaneko-buchou no kawari ni okusama wo kako ni ikaseru to iu wake de utagaimashita ka?" ((You've been planning this all along? That's the reason you came here, to have your wife go back into the past instead of you?))
Jin shook his head, still smiling, {Not necessarily. If you recall correctly, we have not had a chance to actually test your invention on a living subject.}. Since Kudo still had that blank look on his face, Jin laughed, patted him on the shoulder, then followed Chiharu down the hall of the apartment complex, projecting to his mind only: {Two words, Kudo: TEST MONKEY.}
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
FYI (For Your info) : Concerning Type-Three Humans and the World of 3076
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
A/N: This is just here for clarification if anyone wants to read it. If truth be told, I dreaded writing this because it's so geeky. I was one of those weird kids who were endlessly enthused about science classes in high-school (I still am =P), so enthused, in fact, that I applied what I learned to creating this futuristic sci-fi world for my writing. I didn't actually mean to apply my world to this story, since this is fanfic, and supposed to be about Tolkien's work, not mine. BUT evidentially, I DID, and it created a lot of confusion. So, to clear things up, here's Myu's universe in a nutshell if anyone wants to read it. (I tried to make it as small a nutshell as I possibly could, honest)
Advantage of Type-Three Models of Human-Beings :
Myu's "type-three" body grants her two things: better efficiency and more self-reliance. In other words; it cuts down on the things she needs. For example: Myu doesn't need a flashlight because she can see infrared. Myu doesn't need medical attention because her body can mend itself effeciently. Myu doesn't need a car because she can run fast. Myu doesn't need to spend months memorizing stuff because she can download it directly into her implanted CPU chip... These things improve the not only the quality of human life, but also the human race itself, making it more competitive with advanced alien races (I'm not going to get into that =P)
Superpowers :
None. Average type-three humans (civilians) are not given "super powers" (e.g. Jet Li martial arts action, Superman flight, superhuman intelligence, heat-vision, etc.) because the population needs to be kept under control. (If you've seen the movie X-Men 2, you'd know how difficult it is for the police to detain someone with superpowers.) In short, Civilians are only given augmentations that are beneficial to their safety and convenience, not for offense. This is why Myu can't fight worth a crap.
Type Two's:
Type-twos were the first advanced models of human beings that were adopted publicly, and in truth, they were a lot like elves. Unlike the later, more advanced type-threes, they did have blood and required consumption of food and drink, but unlike their naturally-evolved, "type-one" human ancestors (i.e. you and me); they lived longer, did not show appearance of age, did not need to eat as much, were not prone to infection, illness or fatigue, and did not have, as Myu puts it, "a stink".
Co-Cerebral CPU Chip:
Co-Cerebral CPU chips are to future students, as calculators are to today's students. There is nothing special or spiffy about them. These chips are not artificially intelligent, and can do little more than the PC you're using right now. Since CPU chips are a requirement for public schooling, they are cheap, of moderate quality, and readily available to the general public, not specially equipped to aid little lost girls who've fallen into Middle-Earth.
No Food :
Myu doesn't need food. As normal humans, our bodies use food to produce energy and replace damaged tissue and dead-cells. However, our imperfections leave a lot to be desired: Our bodies are, as of now, only 20% energy-efficient, with the other 80% being released as useless heat energy. Also, most cells in our bodies are volatile and short-lived, and we need food to replace them (skin grows and sheds, muscle tissue gets strained and snaps, calcium is needed to rebuild bone matter, etc...). Through biotechnology, Myu's people have found a way to perfect the human body, making it virtually 100% efficient, and durable enough to go without repair for centuries. And since Myu's body is so efficient and requires so little energy, she can live off of oxygen alone, and does not need any food whatsoever. Although... ingesting food would not hurt her. But since type-three's like her are not provided with a digestive system (which would be pointless and cost extra) the only way to get rid of ingested solids is out the way they came in (i.e. barf). Thought type threes don't need food anymore, food-vocabulary (i.e. taquitos) is still around for various purposes (e.g., exclaimations, usernames, expressions)
Drinks :
Myu can drink to make up for the lack of eating. In fact, some drinks in her time are made to taste like food (ice cream, apples, etc), by extracting the chemicals you taste in these foods and mixing them into the drinks. These beverages, ranging in texture from watery to syrupy to yogurt-like, are passed through the body and stored in a bladder until the person finds a place to pee. Since type-three bodies are not composed of any liquids, they do not need water like our bodies do (being 80% water). They do, however, absorb water vapor to keep their skin soft, and their mouth and eyes moist, but would not die if they can't.
Alcohol :
Myu can still get drunk. Alcohol consumption has been a favorite past time for homo-sapiens since the dawn of time, so they won't likely abandon it until the end of time. Even though the effects of illegal drugs have been nullified in type-three's, scientists have been forced by consumer demand to find a way to make type-three bodies react to alcohol as the normal human body does, so people can blissfully continue getting themselves hammered.
Earth in the Year 3045 and the Amish :
Basically, there's no environment left in 3045; no trees, no animals, no insects, no bacteria... except in handful of isolated biodomes that make up Planet Earth's wildlife reservations. Type-three humans view the environment like this: the earth was just a cradle for mankind in its infancy, for him to shape and mold as his understanding of the world around him grew and he learned how to manipulate it to his convenience. However, there are still grassroots environmentalists and animal-rights activists who oppose this. They, instead of advancing with the rest of the world, chose to remain as original, naturally-evolved human beings (or type-two models if they weren't that conservative) and live isolated away in these biodomes. Myu's kind call these people "Amish" for their refusal to advance. This is why Myu calls the elves "Amish people".
Physical structure of Type-Three Humans :
Type-three humans have: 1) a respiratory system, 2) a nervous system, 3) a reproductive system, 4) a skeletal system and 5) a muscular system, but no circulatory or digestive systems. Instead of having blood to carry oxygen to cells, the cells are spaced in a hollow, sponge-like mesh that filters air molecules through them to be absorbed by their thick membranes.
Respiration: Type-three cells are very versatile and can sustain themselves individually, without the aid of other organs, and can "breathe" both oxygen and carbon-dioxide. The bulk of each cell is a gummy, semi-liquid plasma that acts as a battery to store the energy it garners from CO2/O2 reactions.
Healing Factor:
In the cell's center, the tiny nucleus, making up about 5% of the cell, is actually a microscopic computer, which stores the genetic data of the person and administers cell functions (hence 5% cyborg). When type-three's are stabbed with a blade for instance, their cells are designed to get out of the way. After the obstructing blade is removed, the cybernetic cell nuclei, using the genetic data like a map, are able to move the displaced cells back to where they were originally and reconnect the sturdy threads that hold them together, thus mending the wound quickly and flawlessly.
Skeletal system:
Type-three's are almost entirely made up of complex, synthetic material, which cannot be found in food. The only non-synthetic material is their skeleton, which is Titanium (a metal that is as strong as steel, yet light as aluminum), reinforced with titanium-carbide coating (titanium-carbide is used today for expensive drill bits that can puncture steel and concrete).
Ashura (the alien species Myu's dad belongs to):
Ashura, named after Hindu war gods for their fierce appearance, are aliens hailing from Galaxy NGC 4697 on the far end of the Virgo Supercluster. They are by far the most advanced species yet encountered by homo sapiens, with technology enough to travel to the most distant quasars and bodies and minds more capable than any machine, cyborg or super computer 31st centurey human beings could engineer. As advanced telepaths, they communicate not only by thought, but in an array of sensory and metasensory information, which the human brain is much too weak and slow to process. They have a grand total of 21 senses whereas human beings have only 5 (touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing), and each Ashuran sense is much more highly developed. Their eyes can focus on everthing at once in their frame of sight, wheras human beings are limited to a single focal point. Their ears are multi-percussioned, which allows them to distinguish sound better (so if you were in a restaurant with 20 people talking, you would hear each conversation, and not just a murmur). For humanity, the dilemma in matching these advanced sensory funtions is not, for example, making an eye that can see all at once, but making a brain that can process the amount of visual information that eye can see. Thus, Ashura are superior, not so much by physical attributes, but by sheer brain power.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
ANSWERS TO REVIEWERS
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Joy4eva: Hopefully this is a change for the better. I don't think I could possibly write something politically correct to begin with
CSI: I'm glad you like it. Thank you for beta-reading, you did a good job.
ASHES2: Er, sorry about your operation, and thanks. And I know what you mean about bad Japanese teachers, my first one was an fine arts undergraduate from Nagoya studying abroad who knew nothing at all about teaching. And try writing the principle Kanji to memorize them better, doodle them in your spare time. Its okay if you forget. It's very common for even native Japanese and Chinese to forget how to write them, but one tends to recall how to read them even if.
NAOMI MAXWELL: Thank you for beta reading, it helped a lot. Longer chapter for you (which you had to check, mwa-ha-ha (^-^))
KAIO: Poor, poor, Leggy-kun. *sobs*. I'm not sure if she did pass out on top of him, I was trying to keep details down to a minimum this time. =P Hope you enjoy this chapter
MORIMA: Thanks, thats quite a compliment. I'm just trying something different so i feel like I'm doing something worthwhile with my word processor. And I really never meant for Myu to be a Mary-Sue; she's not me or my alter ego in disguise. She's supposed to be normal in context of a advaced cybernetic superhuman of the 31st century, but, unfortunately, no matter how many mental flaws I give her, it gives her a degree of advantages and invincibility in Middle Earth that works out to be a Mary Sue no matter how I cut it.
BORN TO BE HANGED: "Legolas is such a player" LOL. That's exactly what I'm going for. Tolkien's Legolas is a male version of a Mary-Sue all over. I figure some flaws, like being an incurable playboy, wouldn't hurt.
IMPROVED UBER REI MODEL 06:
CAST of CHARACTERS
The characters I didn't make up;
ESTEL (Elvish for "Hope") - Estel is Aragorn (Strider), but was called this in his youth. His true name and lineage was hidden from him by Elrond who feared that Sauron would find him. I can't call him Aragorn in this fic because he doesn't know that's his real name yet.
Celebrian = Elrond's wife who was departed from him in 2510 of the third age. She was tortured to death by orcs and rescued too late by their twin sons
Elladan and Elrohir = the twin sons of Elrond and Celebrian
Thranduil = Legolas' dad, the king of Mirkwood which is far northeast of Rivendell across the Misty Mountains
Erestor = Elron's head advisor
The ones I did make up:
Kaneko Jin = Myu's dad, an alien who came to experiment on earth away from the laws and restrictions of his own planet
Tsurukawa Chiharu = Myu's mom. She married Kaneko Jin fo selfish reasons and divorced him soon after, leaving him with a clone of herself, Myu, who they were raising as their daughter.
Tsurukawa Haruki = Chiharu's real son with the husband she is currently married to.
Professor Kudo = the wierd, shabby-looking science guy who built the Time Gateway
Yanagi = the security guard Myu thought she accidentally killed, and tried to escape because of it.
Anendel = son of the famous Glorfindel of Rivendell (an elf warrior/nobleman who is known for killing a baelrog). He is in charge of patroling for orcs around Rivendell when Elladan and Elrohir are away, which is quite often
Barador = the elf in charge of holding Myu in prison, who was not very successful
Lothiel = the elf-maid legolas was hitting on before Myu ruined it
Amanthon = one of the young elf warriors who is Elladan's friend to some degree. He goes after Myu with him when she breaks out of jail to use the toilet.
Gothul = the orc captain who is vanquished by Myu and falls madly in love with her.