All previous notes apply.

Chapter One
"Friends"

Ryouko's eyes slipped closed as a power more effective than any drug kicked in. Who was this meanie holding her so tightly and so "icky"ly? Like a prize - a most undeserved prize at that; for she knew very well that only her mommy deserved her that much. After all, Washu would reassure her of that so very, very often. This one, this thing carting her off, smelled bad, too - sort of like the goldfish she cried over as it was flushed down the toilet to a burial at sea that one summer.

Oh darnit, not Goldie-ohki!

It surely wasn't mommy; there was always warmth when mommy held her in her tender arms. She wasn't held like a football when mommy had her tight but caring grasp around her; she wasn't held so her ribs hurt and her neck bounced her head around like a racquetball.

No, it was a steel grip. . . like a bear trap.

Oh no. . . I must have been bad, her mind mumbled to her in her cloudy thoughts, a scolding mock in its unheard tone. What had she done this time? This was nothing like the customary slap on the behind or the light scolding she was used to getting. This was scary, to say the least. Why did mommy stop loving her?

Looking back through slits, unable to keep her eyes open as she was bounced violently on the "bear trap's" shoulder, she saw what appeared to be Washu, screaming her name as the tall and muscular man stole her away.

She's telling him to take me away. . .

"Mommy. . ." was all she was able to let slip from her lips before her brain succumbed to victimization. She was sorry, she really was! Why was she forsaken?

Ryouko reluctantly lifted her head in the chance to escape that inauspicious memory; a terrible memory that plagued her every so often, almost as a punishment for trying to escape her gray confines by running to a world of sleep. It could take only the most intrepid soul to be able to withstand what she had to endure - a god to be unfazed. Ryouko, on the other hand, was shattered through and through. Mother had abandoned her so readily, and moreover, so easily. . .

A few years later, perhaps between the ages of seventeen and one hundred seventy, Ryouko had come to despise the name of her master, Kagato. He was a malignant malefactor; a perfidious satanic fuckhead for whom she felt only the worst of things. He treated her like dirt but she remained under his control and in a chronology that seemed to have removed eons between now and when she had been stolen from her mother. At least, she hoped she was stolen. To have been given up would have been to rip her soul in two, tearing it at the tiny thread onto which it so desperately hung.

"Washu . . ." she whispered. She shuddered at the thought of all the evil and corrupt things she was forced into doing, all for the benefits she never got the chance to reap. Villages burned, citizens murdered, capitals demolished. . . races made extinct. Thievery, pain, genocide. However under his hand as she was, she didn't like it one bit, force to bear a smile in the name of the deed. Washu taught her to be a good little girl. . . but her memory of her mother was slowly slipping away as the anger and rage took over her craving mind.

Anger and rage were often easier to deal with – it's hard to be sensible when you're screaming bloody murder – as there's less ability to make rational thoughts or to overanalyze. That's where the real pain was: in reviewing things and seeing exactly what one did so wrong that they were scorned for life. Thus, clouding the self with the thickness of strife and contempt offered for fewer things to stop the body and get in its way. Isn't pain grand?

Ryouko sat in her sect, adorned with nothing but a cot and dull gray walls, brooding about the recent occurrences. She'd never in her life felt so violated, used or defective. After a bloody massacre born of simple theft, Kagato took it upon himself to reward her by feeling her in places and it ways she'd never allow even herself to do under any circumstances. They weren't things that made people feel good, no matter who committed the act. Had it progressed any further. . . Ryouko only cried at the bitter thought. Had Kagato's ship not alerted him of half the Galaxy Police on his trail, perhaps he may have taken it as far as to rape her senseless.

Hah, she laughed bitterly in thought. Was it still not rape? He'd stolen so much of hers. . . and so much of her. He took her soul. Rape transcends the human body, (or even the inhuman body). Life itself could be ravished as badly as a flower struck by a hurricane.

"The sick fuck. . ." she sniffled to herself. Her faded and subtle cyan, spiked hair folded back into a minor mess of tangles where he had grabbed her and whipped her away. It retained a bumpy, unwashed flow before it converged in sharp ends. She rubbed her left shoulder, sucking in a jagged breath as she remembered the burn with which the slide across the bridge floor had left her. He threw her so hard and fast, without a care in the world; like someone would discard a broken toy.

She dropped her hand and her head, unsteadily releasing the air. She jerked forward as it ended in a stripped cough, feeling a small dollop of blood running down her smooth lower lip. Wheezing a bit, she rested her tired arms on her propped up knees, staring at the green and purple swirls that swam out of the lackluster floor. The drop suspended there for a moment at the edge of her lip before spilling down and staining the skin from there to her chin.

She relaxed back as she ran a hand up the black spandex-like material. It was a sort of porous, light and easily malleable leather, but still solid and with sheen. She slid her fingers over her legs, staring darkly at what she was forced to wear. It mattered not how much she would enjoy wearing it in the heat of battle about two thousand years later, but now she knew it was about what Kagato wanted to see. She pulled all but her index fingers back into fists as she traced along and above her slightly sore crotch. She winced, but followed the raven color up her front.

Ryouko trailed along where the inkiness branched out under her breasts. She absently pulled her fingers further as the black thinned and meshed with the deep red. Dropping her left hand back to her side, she let her right hand go up over her left shoulder, pressing painfully where a few holes had made their way into the material. She cried out a bit, her gloved fingers bringing a heavy friction to the ripped skin.

She licked where the blood had quickly dried on her lip, tasting the faint acidic tinge it had. She took her hand off her aching shoulder and held it out, produced an orange ball that she casually shifted into an energy sword. A snarl formed as she phased to her feet, screeching through gritted teeth.

"I hate you!" She screamed again as she swiveled around and sliced down on the slick dull wall. She was not surprised to hear a clang as the energy was repelled, causing a hum to kick up and die back down. She was violently forced back, but strong legs held her in a near-solid stance. Still crying, she released her grip on the sword to see it evaporate into nothing as she dropped back to the floor, scooting up against the opposite wall near her cot, narrowing her eyes in pensive thoughts of indignation. Thinking every obscenity toward her hated leader was an understatement – if capable, she thought of obscenities not yet existent.

The lights above flickered and dimmed as a buzz poured into the air. She stood on aching legs, her back still against the cold wall. She took no notice to where her skin touched the chilling panel, despite the goose bumps it left on her arms and neck. She only heard the drone get louder and hollowed. It filled the room as it filled her head with a painful familiarity. She brought her hands up to her ears, covering them as she closed her eyes, trying to banish the static-like sound. She felt a slight gust of wind as the buzz exploded into a tearing sound, bolts of green diving into the air as a sphere formed. She whimpered, feeling her knees weaken and buckle a bit under her tired strain.

"Not again. . ." Ryouko whispered harshly, her voice a breath under the heavy din.

"But Ryouko," a deep rumble called, "why not happy to see your beloved master?" Kagato stepped through the green abyss, readjusting his spectacles. "You seem so unhappy. . . little Ryouko." He reached out to her, suddenly dropping his leering grin. "Come. Follow me." Ryouko slid back onto the bed to the far corner, feeling tiny despite the small room. She was terrified.

"I-I don't want to. . ."

"Oh, but you will. Just as you always do. You never want but you always do." He smiled crookedly, showing unbalanced bits of his teeth as his outstretched hand crackled with energy. "It's the story of your life. What you feel, want or desire has little effect on how you live and how you'll ultimately die. After all, do you control your destiny?"

Ryouko winced.

"Answer me. . ."

She looked down at her listless hands, breaths halted by brief sobs. "No."

"Who does?" He tipped his head back a little to look down at her through his specs, seeing her get to her knees.

"The gods! Fate! Anyone but you!"

Kagato gave a passive laugh as the idle energy suddenly streaked from his hand and surged through her already abused body. "Again I tell you: I do. You certainly are defective, little Ryouko. You just don't learn." Ryouko shrieked and writhed, curling the sheet around her fists as he stepped closer, reaching out for her. "I could kill you instantly," he whispered lowly, almost more to himself as though it were on his 'to do' list. He sent a pulse into the torrent, causing her to scream until she became hoarse, her cry coming out like a dry heave.

"But I like to see you suffer. It's not so much that I'm a bad guy. . . but it reminds us both of who's in charge." He stopped and scooped up the badly burned and pained girl into his arms and grinned cruelly. "Who's in command, my Little Ryouko? How many times will we go through this endless symphony?"

His use of the phrase 'little Ryouko' only made her moan in the ache of loss. Tears once more burst from her eyes as she went limp in his arms. He leaned over, kissing the salty drops from her face as she cried out again in the agony of his mistreatment, not even with the willpower to look him in the eyes.

"You are. . ."

He smiled, stepping back into the portal with his prize in hand. "Good girl."

-o-

"Meet Sugisawa Mitsuko. She's going to be your new playmate." Ryouko was set down uneasily and immediately collapsed to her knees. "Have fun." Kagato vanished as Ryouko weakly looked upon the other inhabitant of the room. Well, it was unfair to say it was just a room; a ballroom, maybe. Columns and stained glass windows lined the walls as the room reached into infinity. It stretched back into a dark void behind the figure that was perhaps five or six meters away. She looked to be in her early twenties, and had long, flowing, purple hair tied back in a thick ponytail. It was so beautiful and taken care of, managing to shimmer even in the dim light from flood lights high, high, high above. Atop her head were feathered bangs of a crown of violet, long strips of hair sweeping down in front of her ears.

They lay to rest gently on a modest bust line, a tight fitting pure black jump suit giving a little deserved help to her shy figure. At least she appeared shy, maybe as scared as Ryouko was. It was probably their only similarity as this girl was apparently far more treasured. Her soft, friendly smile put Ryouko at ease, though, the notion of a companion chipping through all the jagged mental blocks Ryouko put up in her attempts at complete isolationism.

Of course, it didn't last once Ryouko's gaze came upon her friend's unsettling vacant stare. She was clearly not with a will of her own and was most likely under total submission to that nefarious fiend. At least Ryouko could think - this one was a robot, almost. She had faded rose eyes, which eerily enhanced her overall message of being a little scary. If it were under different circumstances, which probably wouldn't result in this pairing to begin with, Ryouko would have gladly been this girl's friend. Everyone needs friends, right?

Ryouko used to have friends. Of course, their faces are now a blur, just as her mother's was. Ever her mother was a friend. Her best friend, even. The only friend Ryouko had now was little Ryou-ohki. Ryouko's troubles went away at the thought of her cabbit confidante, the one Kagato introduced to her only days ago. Of course, it was under strict order that Ryou-ohki was a tool just as Ryouko was, and that Ryouko couldn't always see Ryou-ohki.

But it was enough to get Ryouko by.

But this girl. . . the way that vile snake Kagato joined them and by the opaque look on Mitsuko's face, Ryouko nearly cowered in fear. The pirate approached warily, having slowly risen to her feet when the pain in her knees wasn't so great. It didn't feel like a good idea to go near this girl but she was compelled nonetheless. Smiling weakly in return, Ryouko gave a modest wave as Mitsuko tipped her head to the side a little, giving her the appearance of an airhead rather than a wicked beast.

"Do you have a favorite game?" Mitsuko asked swiftly, a surreal inflection to her voice. There was a double-echo, too, which ran a shiver down Ryouko's spine. At least she didn't speak in monotone, but her voice sounded programmed regardless of how curious, demanding or even playful the girl sounded. She was beginning to frighten Ryouko and it took a lot besides the will of Kagato to do that.

"No. . ." Ryouko mumbled in a quiet lie. The only games she had left were math games, actually. When she had nothing else to do, she considered prime number lines and proofs for geometry and short algebraic equations. At first she did it to try to calculate how much room she had in her sect to swordplay without hitting those walls or her bed. Hitting her bed demolished it and earned her a severe beating - if Kagato was in a good mood anyway. The walls could throw her across the room if she hit them hard enough.

In a way, it was also a way to try to keep grasp of Washu. Washu was a stickler for mathematics and yelled and screamed when Ryouko messed up the easy ones. Then again, the easy ones started out as calculus and quantity equations. Washu eventually figured that even herself at five or six couldn't do them right, or even do them. When the easy ones became dimensional and algebraic, Washu could be proud and Ryouko could feel so smart. And she was - she was Washu's offspring, after all. Professor and Goddess Washu's offspring at that.

It was hard at first, without any paper or anything at all to scribble on. Thankfully, however, the fact that she couldn't write stuff down helped to exercise her mind and memory and kept her sharp on the job. Though the jobs weren't to her liking, the better she did them, the less Kagato hurt her. Math was fun, and Ryouko would trade it only for Ryou-ohki's company.

"I like to play." Mitsuko finished curtly as she began to walk to Ryouko.

"What do you like to play?" Ryouko asked, her curiosity building. Mitsuko's slow advance matched Ryouko's before the one in black was gone entirely. Ryouko stopped in puzzlement, knowing that even her phasing ability was stopped by the powers of the Soja. They were in the Soja, weren't they?

Ryouko tried vainly to dislocate, but her failing attempts were cut short when Mitsuko reappeared as quickly as she'd gone, centimeters from Ryouko. She hopped back in surprise, her shock aided by the fact that Mitsuko had returned nude. A quick veil of spite fell over her as she came to understand just what Kagato wanted. Adrenaline firing through her body, she found the willpower to shift, and appeared high above Mitsuko with a snarl. She raised her left hand high, pulling down an orange ball that transformed in the wink of an eye to a quarterstaff.

"Back off, freak!" She lowered, touching the floor gently with the tips of her feet. Mitsuko only smiled as she turned and approached.

"I'm afraid your powers are useless against me," she said as she steadily neared Ryouko. "All you can do is summon your power. You won't hurt me in the least." She stopped when Ryouko whipped her quarterstaff around, aiming with deathly precision at the spot below Mitsuko's slightly lower chin.

"That's what they all say before I slice them in half, oddball." With a swift swipe, Ryouko twirled and brought the light-staff around into the united spot between Mitsuko's shoulder and head – you know, the neck. It, however, instantly passed through her like a hand through still waters. "Hey! What's going on!" She frantically stepped back, throwing the sword into the air, where it blinked out of existence, and began to produce smaller energy spheres, whipping them at Mitsuko. Again, they went through her like she wasn't there, dividing a surreal facade. They went by and to the back wall, being absorbed in little glowing orange circles. Ryouko's hands crackled together as she scowled in frustration. She threw a ball to the floor, seeing the same siphoning effect. "Why isn't it working!" She turned away from Mitsuko, feeling a drain strike her life force, causing her to slow as she neared the corner of the room. She couldn't build the power to fly or produce any more of an attack.

Her eyes widened as she realized she'd been trapped very easily.

"It's simple, Ryouko. This is a muted room. The room is influence with the energy frequency of your genetic make-up. All energy attacks will have no adverse affects on me and by the same token, are only draining you. They're absorbed into these walls," she said, almost marveling. "A brain-child of a genius, I'd say. Everything you put out it takes in, nullifying it. You can't hurt me because all your attacks are being pulled in by the room."

Ryouko's eyes narrowed before she dropped back to her knees. "You're lying!" Ryouko swung the last of her punches, cringing as her aggressor easily caught it.

"Also, any energy expended is transferred into my potential and kinetic energy structures, making me stronger." Mitsuko took Ryouko by the wrist and lifted her off the ground, arousing a yelp as she squeezed tightly. "And making you helpless."

Ryouko screamed and tried to kick. "You're lying! Stop it!" Mitsuko pulled her higher and consequently closer, sliding her other hand around Ryouko's slender waist and onto her tightened buttocks. Ryouko's pupils minimized to pencil points as a violated gasp came from her throat. Mitsuko shifted her thigh to between Ryouko's legs, pressing up a little before a slap flew across the predator's face, making her reel and lose her grip on her captive barring the hand crushing Ryouko's wrist. Mitsuko laughed a bit as Ryouko's free hand attempted to come back around, but she simply threw her to the ground.

"You're only making it worse, Ryouko." Mitsuko's hand began to spark with a green glow. "Now phase out of your clothing."

"No. . . You can't make me!" Ryouko began to form another energy saber, however, it came out needle thin before it fizzled away. "Stay away. . ." Mitsuko blasted Ryouko mercilessly, grinning sinisterly.

"You wouldn't believe how much this is turning me on. . ." she said, hinting downward. Indeed, Mitsuko's sadism had caused a sheen to form, making a small part of her pale inner thighs shimmer. Ryouko screamed, radiating the sickly green until she could scream no more and lay there helpless. "Phase."

"I. . . I can't. . ."

Mitsuko got on her fours over Ryouko, her previous smile a shining beacon of futility. "Then I will do it the hard way," she giggled, caressing Ryouko's frightened and quivering face, tracing a finger along her jaw line. "Which is, consequently, the fun way." Her hand slipped behind her neck and onto the back of Ryouko's head, lifting her up to meet Mitsuko's lips. Ryouko whimpered, trembling as Mitsuko's tongue suddenly found its way into meeting hers. Ryouko muttered a silent plea, scared and timid as she tried to shy away from her probing eagerness.

She felt an unbalanced and disturbed mixture stirring in her as her nipples began to tighten under her already constricting wares. She squirmed under Mitsuko's touch and felt a dampening between her legs. She cried out, scared out of her mind, and tried to fight Mitsuko off. However, now being the stronger of the two, she easily held Ryouko down. She moved back and looked coldly down on her captive, quite a feat with the lifelessness in her eyes. Her crown of violet darkened as she stared at her with a time-stopping gaze.

Ryouko shuddered as tears once more streaked her face. "Don't do this to me. . ."

"But you'll like it. Don't fight. After all," she soother, her grin remaining, "I don't wish to hurt you, I'm here to play. . ." She planted her hands on her sides, pulling them up to rest on Ryouko's breasts. Mitsuko sat straddling, leaning down to lick Ryouko's nose.

"Rr. . . No. . . stuh-stop!" Ryouko attempted to push Mitsuko off her but with the strike of a cobra's speed, Ryouko hands were held fast above her head in a glowing green ring.

"I said don't fight. . ." She lowered herself down on Ryouko and began kissing her neck, nipping a bit to make Ryouko yelp and yip. Mitsuko slowly began to knead, rolling her hands around in agonizingly slow circles. Ryouko moaned absently, falling away from conscious thought as Mitsuko pinched hold of her stiffening nipples though the soft material. Ryouko's breath began to quicken into panting when Mitsuko brought her mouth over her right breast, however covered it was, biting at the tip poking through.

She groaned and shivered guiltily, lifting her head slightly. "Wha-why are you do-doing this. . ."

Mitsuko ignored her and pulled her right hand downward as Ryouko's breath turned ragged. Her left hand squeezed fiercely, and a heavy bite ripped through Ryouko's jumpsuit. Cold air and saliva flowed and dripped in, arousing even more of a squirm as Mitsuko, smiling, slid her hand over her captive's hip to her quivering inner thigh. With a soft sough of a whisper to calm her down, she traced her crotch.

Ryouko whined through her closed lips and arched her back, shutting her eyes tight to escape the conscious world. Her mind fell away as she was left to breathing through her tightly clenched teeth while Mitsuko's fingers seemingly phased right through the jumpsuit. The ethereal seekers entered her, creating a feeling that liberated a piercing scream. Her eyes opened and she looked around exigently, looking for an escape.

Crabs were everywhere.