Forever Ryoko
By Starhopper
DISLCAMER: NO! Don't Own nuttin honey!
Raves:
Jedi:I couldn't believe that someone remembered this story from 4 years ago when it was posted at tff.net! Thanks so much Jedi, you made my day with a headcold worth getting up for.
darkangel 562: As always, thanks for sticking through the twists and turns of my mighty plot. (*blows a raspberry at that last thought* yeah, right) I hope this one meets your expectations!
Aeka's coming back! ^_^
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Chapter 8: EVIL Intentions
"You're coming out of the dark side of the moon now?"
Aeka nodded and stretched in her lavish crushed lavender bed. "Yes, I'll be there in about an hour or so. How's Sasami?"
"She's just fine." Ryoko looked past the blonde GP officer standing in her way to the kitchen. "She's cooking up a brunch that you wouldn't believe! Everyone's here, ready for your arrival."
"Good." Aeka leaned out of the vision line of the communicator and waved. "Miss Ryoko, I have to go now, they need me."
"They're the only ones." Ryoko let out a devilish giggle and waved each finger in cheekiness. "Go on now. Oh and did you remember to bring the hyperlinks?"
The first princess patted a travel bag slung over her shoulder. "I have them right here, ready for Washu."
"Good, she's practically leaping for joy." Ryoko ran her tongue over her teeth and sighed. "Needless to say, she can't wait."
"Neither can I. Yet another vacation of relaxation," Aeka clicked off the communicator and rejoined the rest of her party at the command consul.
Staring disdainfully down at the communicator, Ryoko shook her head. "This time you won't fall for Tenchi though, princess."
"Did I hear my name mentioned?" Her fiancé stopped in the doorway, his jacket nonchalantly thrown over his shoulder. "Ryoko?"
She immediately phased out from her lounging position on the couch to the open door and sprung from the shades into his waiting arms. "Missed you today,"
"Don't you everyday, Ryoko?"
She frowned and eased her hold around his neck. Happily though, that frown was turned upside down as his lips were pressed against hers. Drawing away, her cheeks red, she smiled, "Yes I do."
"Hold that thought for another nine months," his finger lay against her lips.
"Can I get some help from the two lovers standing with the door open?" Nagi called out from the kitchen, interrupting the quiet little moment alone in the arms of their loved one.
"Yeah, get in here Tenchi, and help us with this salad!" Sasami's sharp tone jolted Tenchi out of her arms and into action.
* * *
Sasami stood at the porch and surveyed the great bounty. Fruit, smoked halibut, cut and green vegetables, steaming tea, piles of cupped rice, steaming pastries and baked delicacies, meats of every shape and size along with clippings of every spice imaginable lying in the best dishes spread out on blankets completely encircling the porch. This was a feast fit for a queen, much less a first princess and her entourage of attendants.
"Sasami, couldn't we just-"
The second princess turned her eyes to meet the blonde GP officer's flighty blue eyes peeping out from beneath her brushed free falling yellow hair. Eyes thin, and lungs exhausted from screaming out commands in the busy kitchen, she replied curtly, "No Mihoshi, we have to wait for Aeka."
"But what if the winds have delayed her?"
"Bubble-brain, a Juraian battleship doesn't give a shooting star about the winds of some little planet, no offense Tenchi," Kiyone contradicted, with a nod over in the nineteen-year-old's direction.
As if Aeka had heard this statement, there came a giant roar over the mountains behind them. As they turned, a ship two times larger than Ryu-oh gradually became larger. Finally, it's wings stretched over the entire lake and range, and still hovering hundreds of miles above each head, a purple light came down like the fore-mentioned shooting star, stopping just before splashing down into the blue waters of the lake. Precariously shaking above the water's edge, the light proceeded to the sandy lakeside grass. Now, the light going from pinpoint to spotlight in a matter of moments, the shadowy visages of the First Princess of Jurai, the ancient Samurais; Azaka and Kamidake, and four other attendants became apparent through the purple haze.
The entire family gathered before the royal arrival, the light faded to reveal each face in all their glory.
Sasami couldn't hold back any longer. With a start, she clasped her hands to her mouth and took off to land in her older sister's flowing robes. "Aeka!"
Aeka, blinking back the tears, bent to receive her. After the initial embrace, she looked up at the others smiling with water trickling from the sides of each face. And to her surprise, it was Ryoko, standing arm in arm with Tenchi, who smiled and came to usher her into the party.
* * *
"It's been a total of seven months," Aeka muttered under her breath while pacing around the living room. "What has taken you so long?"
The magenta crested head of the genius snapped back in surprise. "What do you mean, 'taken so long'?"
"I mean, I was expecting a genius," It had been a long time, but Aeka still knew how to play it up to Washu. "Like you to figure it out in a matter of moments."
Washu smiled self-gratifyingly before explaining all the ins and outs of decoding such a screwed up message to begin with. "Well, you see, first I had to extract the message itself from all the technical," her hands worked together and grunts ensued as she tried to put the mechanics of the hyperlinks into words the layman would understand. "Let's just say, 'JUNK', and coders that were intentionally interwoven into the message. That took about two months to do entirely. Then, there was that little computer glitch . . . "
Her gaze shifted away from the princess to Mihoshi sitting idly at the dinner table. "Honestly, I don't understand how someone, who hacked into the Science Academy's main computer, could single-handedly destroy every writhing trace of work stored on a computer sixty dimensions away."
Mihoshi looked up and said, "Oh, are you talking about Kiyone?"
The other two women shook their heads and mumbled a unanimous "She's hopeless."
"Anyway, so after another two months, I was able to take the message that you specifically," she pointed a small finger at the princess, "Wanted. Then, after running it through a series of tests to try to decode the message . . . well, that took a week and a half for each test. Now, it had been approximately oh say, six months, fifteen days, eleven hours, five minutes, and two seconds since you arrived with the hyperlinks. Since then, I've been trying every method known in the unknown universe to decode them. Believe me, when I say, 'I have decoded them,' I have."
"Really?"
Washu nodded definitely.
"So what is their message?"
"I can tell you exactly what they said," Nagi walked in from the front door and sat down on the coffee table next to Washu, who was kneeling on a seemingly normal looking pillow with a magenta fringe.
"Really?" Washu challenged, her arms crossed over the slightly exposed chest due to her outfit. "Did it start out with, 'E-V-I-L, our name rings clear in the expanse of space'?"
"Yes, it then proceeds to 'Do not stand in our way, for we are more powerful than you can imagine. We start with the destruction of three Jurai battleships, as a warning, not to interfere, Princess Aeka.'"
"Me?!" Aeka laughed, aghast at the very thought. Her sleeve drawn up to her face in surprise, she nudged Washu to continue.
"Right, then 'We do not wish to involve any other member of the clan in this battle. Our only concern is to destroy every bit of flesh, mind, and spirit of Ryoko. We have studied your past together, and we understand that with this information, you will not interfere with her ultimate demise.-"
"Hey, where are Tenchi and Ryoko right now?" Aeka spoke up, her brilliant red eyes flashing with defiance and concern. Ignoring Washu's look of irritation at the interruption, she looked to Nagi for an answer.
"I believe the space pirate and her man are out on a hill somewhere laughing and talking about their future together, maybe even making love."
"Miss Nagi!" the First Princess shouted in distaste. "It's one thing to think it, but to outright say it!"
"Oh come on Aeka," Washu breezed on through. "Since you've been here don't you think something is happening in that room besides talk and/or sleep?"
Shaking her head, Aeka rubbed her face in aggravation and tried to change the subject. "Please go on, Miss Washu."
"That's pretty much it as far as the message is concerned. It was just a warning to keep out of whatever destiny Ryoko is headed for."
"Remember, they employed me as an assassin," the bounty hunter told them, standing suddenly. "They believe that Ryoko is some sort of goddess, at least a very powerful individual."
"And to have escaped you, I would have to be." Ryoko poked her head through ceiling. "I've heard everything you've said, ya know. Oh and Nagi," she pointed upwards and winked, "You were right . . . about it all."
Grimacing and disgusted, both Aeka and Nagi shook their heads in unison, shivering off the mental picture that had begun to piece itself together in their minds.
"So, these assholes think that I'm a goddess, and they want to kill me. Huh . . . "
"It's not just that," Washu rose atop the hover pillow that she'd been perched on while talking with Aeka. "There was more in the message than just a warning for Juraian royalty."
"Really?"
"They need to kill you, and whoever you're going to have children with, so you don't create a bond of some sort."
"A child, to be more precise." Nagi called from below, hands on hips. "If I were you, I'd be very protective of your ovaries from now on."
Wrapping arms about herself; Ryoko, still upside down, turned to Washu, who was now at eye-level, but spoke directly to the bounty hunter on the floor, looking up. "Why didn't you tell me this in the beginning, Nagi?"
"You didn't believe one word I said, did you?"
"Hell, no."
"So, if I had told you something as life-changing as this, you would've brushed it off like everything else. Now, after ten months, you decide that everything I did tell you was true and you want to know more. It just doesn't work that way with me Ryoko."
"Yes, but now I find that you're trustworthy, fine. But why kill? - my child will be powerful."
"Exactly what EVIL doesn't want. They recognized that you were most likely to pair off with Tenchi, an immortal whose powers are still growing, and with you, the supposed goddess of power, a triangle of GOOD, two parents and a powerful child, would definitely crush them." Washu tried to piece it together as her holographic computer had spat it out in mathematics. "They won't strike until you're pregnant because they know they'll be beaten."
"You bet your sweet ass they will." Ryoko vowed; pulling herself back to the roof where the comforting arms of her beloved would hold her and tell her that everything would be all right.
"Do you think she'll take this seriously?" Nagi questioned as Washu floated back down to floor where the shaken Aeka and the steadfast bounty hunter were sitting and standing.
Washu shrugged. "If she doesn't, Tenchi will."
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
YAY! Onto the next chap or REVIEW first? Hmm, decisions, decisions . . .
By Starhopper
DISLCAMER: NO! Don't Own nuttin honey!
Raves:
Jedi:I couldn't believe that someone remembered this story from 4 years ago when it was posted at tff.net! Thanks so much Jedi, you made my day with a headcold worth getting up for.
darkangel 562: As always, thanks for sticking through the twists and turns of my mighty plot. (*blows a raspberry at that last thought* yeah, right) I hope this one meets your expectations!
Aeka's coming back! ^_^
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Chapter 8: EVIL Intentions
"You're coming out of the dark side of the moon now?"
Aeka nodded and stretched in her lavish crushed lavender bed. "Yes, I'll be there in about an hour or so. How's Sasami?"
"She's just fine." Ryoko looked past the blonde GP officer standing in her way to the kitchen. "She's cooking up a brunch that you wouldn't believe! Everyone's here, ready for your arrival."
"Good." Aeka leaned out of the vision line of the communicator and waved. "Miss Ryoko, I have to go now, they need me."
"They're the only ones." Ryoko let out a devilish giggle and waved each finger in cheekiness. "Go on now. Oh and did you remember to bring the hyperlinks?"
The first princess patted a travel bag slung over her shoulder. "I have them right here, ready for Washu."
"Good, she's practically leaping for joy." Ryoko ran her tongue over her teeth and sighed. "Needless to say, she can't wait."
"Neither can I. Yet another vacation of relaxation," Aeka clicked off the communicator and rejoined the rest of her party at the command consul.
Staring disdainfully down at the communicator, Ryoko shook her head. "This time you won't fall for Tenchi though, princess."
"Did I hear my name mentioned?" Her fiancé stopped in the doorway, his jacket nonchalantly thrown over his shoulder. "Ryoko?"
She immediately phased out from her lounging position on the couch to the open door and sprung from the shades into his waiting arms. "Missed you today,"
"Don't you everyday, Ryoko?"
She frowned and eased her hold around his neck. Happily though, that frown was turned upside down as his lips were pressed against hers. Drawing away, her cheeks red, she smiled, "Yes I do."
"Hold that thought for another nine months," his finger lay against her lips.
"Can I get some help from the two lovers standing with the door open?" Nagi called out from the kitchen, interrupting the quiet little moment alone in the arms of their loved one.
"Yeah, get in here Tenchi, and help us with this salad!" Sasami's sharp tone jolted Tenchi out of her arms and into action.
* * *
Sasami stood at the porch and surveyed the great bounty. Fruit, smoked halibut, cut and green vegetables, steaming tea, piles of cupped rice, steaming pastries and baked delicacies, meats of every shape and size along with clippings of every spice imaginable lying in the best dishes spread out on blankets completely encircling the porch. This was a feast fit for a queen, much less a first princess and her entourage of attendants.
"Sasami, couldn't we just-"
The second princess turned her eyes to meet the blonde GP officer's flighty blue eyes peeping out from beneath her brushed free falling yellow hair. Eyes thin, and lungs exhausted from screaming out commands in the busy kitchen, she replied curtly, "No Mihoshi, we have to wait for Aeka."
"But what if the winds have delayed her?"
"Bubble-brain, a Juraian battleship doesn't give a shooting star about the winds of some little planet, no offense Tenchi," Kiyone contradicted, with a nod over in the nineteen-year-old's direction.
As if Aeka had heard this statement, there came a giant roar over the mountains behind them. As they turned, a ship two times larger than Ryu-oh gradually became larger. Finally, it's wings stretched over the entire lake and range, and still hovering hundreds of miles above each head, a purple light came down like the fore-mentioned shooting star, stopping just before splashing down into the blue waters of the lake. Precariously shaking above the water's edge, the light proceeded to the sandy lakeside grass. Now, the light going from pinpoint to spotlight in a matter of moments, the shadowy visages of the First Princess of Jurai, the ancient Samurais; Azaka and Kamidake, and four other attendants became apparent through the purple haze.
The entire family gathered before the royal arrival, the light faded to reveal each face in all their glory.
Sasami couldn't hold back any longer. With a start, she clasped her hands to her mouth and took off to land in her older sister's flowing robes. "Aeka!"
Aeka, blinking back the tears, bent to receive her. After the initial embrace, she looked up at the others smiling with water trickling from the sides of each face. And to her surprise, it was Ryoko, standing arm in arm with Tenchi, who smiled and came to usher her into the party.
* * *
"It's been a total of seven months," Aeka muttered under her breath while pacing around the living room. "What has taken you so long?"
The magenta crested head of the genius snapped back in surprise. "What do you mean, 'taken so long'?"
"I mean, I was expecting a genius," It had been a long time, but Aeka still knew how to play it up to Washu. "Like you to figure it out in a matter of moments."
Washu smiled self-gratifyingly before explaining all the ins and outs of decoding such a screwed up message to begin with. "Well, you see, first I had to extract the message itself from all the technical," her hands worked together and grunts ensued as she tried to put the mechanics of the hyperlinks into words the layman would understand. "Let's just say, 'JUNK', and coders that were intentionally interwoven into the message. That took about two months to do entirely. Then, there was that little computer glitch . . . "
Her gaze shifted away from the princess to Mihoshi sitting idly at the dinner table. "Honestly, I don't understand how someone, who hacked into the Science Academy's main computer, could single-handedly destroy every writhing trace of work stored on a computer sixty dimensions away."
Mihoshi looked up and said, "Oh, are you talking about Kiyone?"
The other two women shook their heads and mumbled a unanimous "She's hopeless."
"Anyway, so after another two months, I was able to take the message that you specifically," she pointed a small finger at the princess, "Wanted. Then, after running it through a series of tests to try to decode the message . . . well, that took a week and a half for each test. Now, it had been approximately oh say, six months, fifteen days, eleven hours, five minutes, and two seconds since you arrived with the hyperlinks. Since then, I've been trying every method known in the unknown universe to decode them. Believe me, when I say, 'I have decoded them,' I have."
"Really?"
Washu nodded definitely.
"So what is their message?"
"I can tell you exactly what they said," Nagi walked in from the front door and sat down on the coffee table next to Washu, who was kneeling on a seemingly normal looking pillow with a magenta fringe.
"Really?" Washu challenged, her arms crossed over the slightly exposed chest due to her outfit. "Did it start out with, 'E-V-I-L, our name rings clear in the expanse of space'?"
"Yes, it then proceeds to 'Do not stand in our way, for we are more powerful than you can imagine. We start with the destruction of three Jurai battleships, as a warning, not to interfere, Princess Aeka.'"
"Me?!" Aeka laughed, aghast at the very thought. Her sleeve drawn up to her face in surprise, she nudged Washu to continue.
"Right, then 'We do not wish to involve any other member of the clan in this battle. Our only concern is to destroy every bit of flesh, mind, and spirit of Ryoko. We have studied your past together, and we understand that with this information, you will not interfere with her ultimate demise.-"
"Hey, where are Tenchi and Ryoko right now?" Aeka spoke up, her brilliant red eyes flashing with defiance and concern. Ignoring Washu's look of irritation at the interruption, she looked to Nagi for an answer.
"I believe the space pirate and her man are out on a hill somewhere laughing and talking about their future together, maybe even making love."
"Miss Nagi!" the First Princess shouted in distaste. "It's one thing to think it, but to outright say it!"
"Oh come on Aeka," Washu breezed on through. "Since you've been here don't you think something is happening in that room besides talk and/or sleep?"
Shaking her head, Aeka rubbed her face in aggravation and tried to change the subject. "Please go on, Miss Washu."
"That's pretty much it as far as the message is concerned. It was just a warning to keep out of whatever destiny Ryoko is headed for."
"Remember, they employed me as an assassin," the bounty hunter told them, standing suddenly. "They believe that Ryoko is some sort of goddess, at least a very powerful individual."
"And to have escaped you, I would have to be." Ryoko poked her head through ceiling. "I've heard everything you've said, ya know. Oh and Nagi," she pointed upwards and winked, "You were right . . . about it all."
Grimacing and disgusted, both Aeka and Nagi shook their heads in unison, shivering off the mental picture that had begun to piece itself together in their minds.
"So, these assholes think that I'm a goddess, and they want to kill me. Huh . . . "
"It's not just that," Washu rose atop the hover pillow that she'd been perched on while talking with Aeka. "There was more in the message than just a warning for Juraian royalty."
"Really?"
"They need to kill you, and whoever you're going to have children with, so you don't create a bond of some sort."
"A child, to be more precise." Nagi called from below, hands on hips. "If I were you, I'd be very protective of your ovaries from now on."
Wrapping arms about herself; Ryoko, still upside down, turned to Washu, who was now at eye-level, but spoke directly to the bounty hunter on the floor, looking up. "Why didn't you tell me this in the beginning, Nagi?"
"You didn't believe one word I said, did you?"
"Hell, no."
"So, if I had told you something as life-changing as this, you would've brushed it off like everything else. Now, after ten months, you decide that everything I did tell you was true and you want to know more. It just doesn't work that way with me Ryoko."
"Yes, but now I find that you're trustworthy, fine. But why kill? - my child will be powerful."
"Exactly what EVIL doesn't want. They recognized that you were most likely to pair off with Tenchi, an immortal whose powers are still growing, and with you, the supposed goddess of power, a triangle of GOOD, two parents and a powerful child, would definitely crush them." Washu tried to piece it together as her holographic computer had spat it out in mathematics. "They won't strike until you're pregnant because they know they'll be beaten."
"You bet your sweet ass they will." Ryoko vowed; pulling herself back to the roof where the comforting arms of her beloved would hold her and tell her that everything would be all right.
"Do you think she'll take this seriously?" Nagi questioned as Washu floated back down to floor where the shaken Aeka and the steadfast bounty hunter were sitting and standing.
Washu shrugged. "If she doesn't, Tenchi will."
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
YAY! Onto the next chap or REVIEW first? Hmm, decisions, decisions . . .