Author's note: I'm glad you have all taken to Aeon so well ^_^, and thanks for encouraging me to update faster!

Forgotten Memories of an Age Past

Chapter 8: Forever Sounds Good

Ryoko looked around the shrine for Tenchi, figuring he would be sweeping the grounds for his grandfather, but he didn't seem to be anywhere in the vicinity. She took in the smell of the cherry blossoms as they bloomed for the last time; soon the seasons would change. She took flight and looked down at the earth's beauty—she had a soft spot for nature; just one other thing she never admitted to the gang. She stopped short in the air as she dawned upon her many interests… had she ever shown her true self to any of them except Aeon? Her memories spent at the Masaki household flooded in and not once had she let her walls down—except for that time when she merged with Zero; Ryoko slightly scowled at that. She hadn't been sure if she would still be herself once she let Zero merge with her, and hell she had acted pretty abnormal for a couple of days. Ryoko chuckled as she reminisced but soon caught sight of Tenchi.

"Tenchi!" she yelled out as she drew closer to him.

Tenchi grinned happily as he wiped the sweat off his brow and put his plow to rest.

"Hey Ryoko, what brings you here?" He tried his best to be nonchalant, but inside he was hoping for something more than a simple hello.

"I need to talk to you." Her voice held steady to her surprise. "I want to know something."

"Sure, what is it?" His body felt rigid as her golden eyes peered into his chocolate brown gaze.

"Do you love me, Tenchi?" Her gaze wouldn't falter until he answered the question truthfully.

Tenchi felt his body break out in a cold sweat, and his heart began to race although his body stood perfectly still. Could she hear how hard it was hammering? He looked at her face and melted at the beautiful features that graced her visage, but did he really love her? He had been jealous of Aeon this entire time; jealous that Ryoko preferred Aeon over him. He had saved her from Kagato, and she had released him from Haruna's collapsing world—they had saved each other, but did he love her? He clenched his fist and spoke gently.

"Ryoko…I do love you, but…" Ryoko slightly frowned as she heard him falter in his speech; no matter what, Tenchi still had the ability to hurt her with his words. "I don't think it's enough." He smiled and pulled Ryoko in for a hug. "You will always hold a special place in my heart—the one person who brought excitement to my life, and saved it countless times."

"You saved me too you know." Ryoko choked back her tears.

"I saved you, but that doesn't mean you're eternally bound to me." Tenchi pulled back so he could observe her features. "I'll always be your friend Ryoko, but Aeon…he'll always be more than that." He smiled kindly on Ryoko as she let a tear fall.

"You'll be alright without me then?" She jested with him as she wiped her tear away. "I mean the princess can hardly put up a fight."

"I think I'll manage, but I will miss you if that's what you mean." Tenchi said solemnly, knowing he had to let her go.

A rumbling began in the distance and caused the two to look up—the sky was on fire. Without warning a spaceship hovered above the Masaki Shrine and began its descent. Ryoko's heart skipped a beat as she registered the logo on the ship: the Science Academy had finally come. She looked at Tenchi and he nodded in agreement as they both set off towards the landing site.

Voices could be heard shouting at each other, but Ryoko wasn't sure who it was. She phased closer and found Aeon face to face with a rather sinister character. She had known quite a bit of bad guys, but this guy seemed a bit over the top. His features were sharp, his eyes blood red, and his cloak practically screamed 'I'm a mass murderer', but more than all these notable features was the scar across his face.

"Do you remember me boy?" His voice hissed like a snake's. "Or is the scar you left on my face so horrible that I'm beyond recognition!" He spat at Aeon.

"Actually it's quite an improvement if I do say so myself." He smirked and conjured his energy sword. "You should let me finish the job."

"Always the sarcastic one, but I'm through playing games with you." His mouth twisted into a grin as he summoned a man beside him.

Ryoko's eyes widened as she recognized the man in rags and chains—it was Professor Hawke. He looked beaten and bruised, unclean and unshaven, but it was without a doubt Aeon's father.

"Father!" Aeon shouted as he charged towards him, but stopped short as the sinister man put his weapon to Professor Hawke's throat. "Let him go!" He snarled at the cloaked figure.

"Give me the black box, and I'll give you your father." He dangled the chains tauntingly.

Without giving it another thought Ryoko threw an energy bolt directly at the cloaked figure—to hell with formal introductions. She smirked as she witnessed the bolt get closer and closer, but faltered as it reflected off an invisible force. The wretched man snarled as he turned to see who had dared to attack him.

"Well, well what do we have here?" He looked Ryoko up and down, smiling with pleasure all the while. "If it isn't the little brat that was always with you way back when…"

"Ryoko!" Aeon turned to face her and felt a knot of fear wind up inside.

Professor Hawke looked up although his face was slightly swollen; he could still see her perfectly and smiled. If she was here then Washu wouldn't be too far off.

"Hey Ryoko, you sure have grown beautifully." He said gently before the cloaked man could kick him.

Professor Hawke grunted from the hit but the smile plastered on his face wouldn't falter. Ryoko winced as she witnessed the beating but stopped short of charging as the cloaked man resumed using Professor Hawke as a hostage.

"Who are you?" Ryoko spoke as the eerie gaze of his red eyes chilled her to the bone.

"You can't have forgotten me; not good, old Kronos…" His voice rasped on her ear. "Hopefully Kagato taught you more manners than your wretched mother did." His mouth twisted into the same sinister smile. "You should thank me, after all it was because of me that he was able to get away with both you and your mother."

At first his voice sounded very distant, and then all at once blaringly loud. Her knees buckled and her body felt lifeless as she held onto Kronos' red eyes. Her body should have hit the ground, but she felt someone support her. Ryoko regained her focus and looked up to see Aeon holding her. His gaze was full of concern and this reminded Ryoko that she would never be alone again; that she had her partner in crime with her once more.

"You may have ruined my life once, but I won't allow you to do it again." Ryoko stood back up and clenched her fist in anger and confidence. "I don't remember you and I don't care to—you are nothing to me and that's how it's going to stay." She drew out her energy saber and poised for battle. "Leave Professor Hawke out of this."

Kronos broke out into a fit of laughter but kept his blade at Hawke's neck; there was no way he was going to release his hostage. This girl was still just as reckless as he remembered, and this he could twist to his advantage. She had after all taken the bait last time, and fallen into his trap; if it hadn't been for her reckless nature, Kagato might have never captured Washu. He devised a way to rile her up, and in doing so distracted himself as Tenchi made his way behind the unwanted guest. Ryoko signaled him to release his hostage, and Tenchi nodded.

"Here we go." Tenchi sighed as he finally cut the links with his Lighthawk and dashed away with Professor Hawke in his arms.

"What the?" Kronos turned to find that he no longer had a hostage.

"I wonder if you were this stupid back then?" Ryoko pondered out loud.

"He was." Aeon smirked and readied for battle.

They both charged Kronos who looked terrified at the duo. Their blades slammed down on what should have been their target, but just as Ryoko's bolt had been deflected, so had their attacks. Kronos cringed and shut his eyes tight, but opened them to find that he was perfectly ok. He laughed hysterically once more and shot his energy gun at them.

"The Science Academy wouldn't let me come without sufficiently equipping me, you fools!"

"Just hit his ship on the lower left side; there's a generator that provides him his shield." Hawke muttered as he came in and out of consciousness.

"Get him to Washu." Ryoko ordered Tenchi.

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave the two of you…"

"We can handle it." Aeon assured him. "You'd be doing me a great favor by escorting my father."

"Alright be careful." Tenchi couldn't further argue with Aeon; plus Dr. Hawke looked to be in pretty bad condition.

Ryoko gave him a wink for reassurance and focused once more on Kronos. The rage inside of her threatened to break loose, but she knew he would be expecting that. They charged each fueled with a different energy—one of hate and the other of vengeance. Eyes blazing with power, they were face to face with an enemy that had torn the fabric of their once happy lives. Kronos was as sure as dead as their blades fell upon him, but before he could be destroyed his lips twisted into his genuine smirk.

Aeon watched as he pulled out his hands from behind his back and formed an energy bolt, but that was impossible—as far as he knew Kronos was never capable of such powers. He had been a lowly scientist that had worked at the Science Academy. He had shown a preference for Washu more than once, but she never even looked his way; in fact, he had been more of a janitor than a scientist—cleaning up messes and washing equipment. Aeon watched as he aimed it straight for Ryoko, knowing she couldn't dodge it at the speed she was going. Without another thought Aeon pushed Ryoko out of the way. She crash landed into the forest, and was a bit pissed that Aeon had thrown her off course.

"Hey what the hell was—" She stopped short as she looked up from the rubble of branches and leaves.

Her heart wanted to say "no", pleaded that this was not reality but a terrible nightmare, but it was beating too hard for this not to be reality. Aeon stood on his knees with an energy bolt straight through his chest.

Kronos laughed with a boom. "How's that for Zeus' Bolt!" He caressed the mechanical device on his arm. "It's one of the few creations I've ever come to cherish."

Ryoko's heart hammered until she could no longer hear his maniacal chatter, and in less than a second she phased behind him. She summoned her sword and implanted it deep within the bowels of Kronos. He gasped, not realizing he had been taken by surprise and turned slowly to see Ryoko.

"I knew I would die…" His smile never faltered. "I just wanted to make sure I was able to take away what you loved most before I did." He pointed towards Aeon who now lay slumped on the ground. "Just as you did from me…" His last words barely audible as his life slipped away.

Ryoko scowled at the man and kicked him before she made her way towards Aeon. His face looked peaceful, and if it hadn't been for the blood, Ryoko would have thought him to be asleep. She picked him up in her arms, slightly grunting at the weight of his body—hell if she was going to let him die.

"You're not getting away that easily." Ryoko smirked, trying to hide the fear that was boiling within.

'Ryoko…' It was her mother calling through the mental link. 'What happened? Your fear is overwhelming me.'

'Aeon's been injured…badly' Ryoko replied while phasing the two of them into Washu's lab. "I know you can fix him." Ryoko stated in an absolute tone.

"I can try Ryoko, but…" She examined the wound. "This was a clean shot." She winced as she viewed the burnt flesh.

"Yes, and you're the greatest scientist that ever was, so fix him." Her tone raised in volumes as she held back her tears. "You can do anything, can't you?" She looked up at her mother in a helpless way; begging her to bring back Aeon.

"It's not that easy Ryoko…he's special, like you." Washu caressed her daughter's cheek. "He'll have to stay in the rehabilitating pod for weeks before he gains consciousness again."

Washu motioned for her daughter to place him in a strange device. Ryoko looked at it with suspicion, but Washu's gaze looked nothing but sincere. If this was the only way to save him then she would do it—he had taken that bolt for her; she owed him her life. She placed Aeon's body in the strange liquid and let the machine do its job. Even if he hadn't saved her, Ryoko would have gladly spent the rest of her life by his side—it was her choice.

"Ryoko, I'm sorry…" Tenchi had walked up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I should've stayed and helped."

"It's not your fault Tenchi; you had to get here." Ryoko looked around for the man who was Aeon's father, but he was nowhere in sight. "Where is he anyways?"

"Right here Little Ryoko." A deep voice spoke with a bit of a rasp. "Though I suppose you're not little anymore." He moved aside a curtain and smiled.

She made her way towards him with a sense of curiosity; here was the man she had grown up with. She smiled as she recognized the warm glow that emitted and his carefree smile.

"I'm so glad Aeon found you—he wouldn't stop crying the first months you were gone." Ryoko blushed at his comment. "He was so attached to you, and worse, I didn't have my little space pirate to be wild with me anymore." He grabbed at her cyan locks unexpectedly and pulled.

"Hey!" she shouted and furrowed her brows in anger as she began to pull at his face.

"Great, you two are at it again!" Washu witnessed with a smile the interaction between her daughter and her long lost love. "I swear Vincent, you haven't grown up one bit."

"And neither have you," He chuckled as he looked her up and down. "In fact I think you're aging backwards."

Washu blushed furiously as she realized he had never seen her as a 12-year old adolescent. She grabbed a fan out of thin air and whacked him across the head.

"Ouch, hey I'm injured." Vincent grinned nervously as he viewed the enraged Washu. "Is that any way to treat a patient?"

"Patient, eh?" Washu smirked and a dangerous sparkle entered her eyes. "Does that mean you'll be my guinea pig!" She shouted out in joy as she brought forth various plugs and strange devices.

"Ah!" Vincent's face paled as he said, "I believe we got over this phase, remember?"

Washu chuckled. "You always seemed to behave better afterwards."

Ryoko laughed at her mother's carefree attitude—now here's a Washu that she could relate with. She eyed Vincent and knew he was as much in love with Washu as Washu was with him. She had never looked at anyone the way she looked at Vincent. Inside Ryoko felt another piece of her heart return: now she had a complete family.

"Anyways Ryoko, I give you permission to marry my son."

Ryoko broke out into a fit of coughing as she choked on the very air she had been breathing. Even Tenchi took a few steps back at Vincent's words. Washu rolled her eyes knowing well how ridiculous her lover could be.

"I didn't even ask!" Ryoko crossed her arms and muttered back as if she could care less.

"As I recall you asked me a very long time ago and I wasn't able to get back to you."

Ryoko's eyes reached their full size as she stared at the man incredulously—was he being serious? How could she have asked him? Unless, of course, she had done this while she was very young.

"Yes, I remember it now, you came up to me when you were 5 years old and asked for my son's hand in marriage." Vincent put his hands up to his face. "I was so proud of him for snagging a girl like you." His eyes twinkled.

Ryoko wore a strange face as she looked at the man her mother had fallen for—he was surely as strange as anyone could be. How could Washu fall for such a silly man? But wait…Ryoko began to laugh gently as she realized his behaviors mimicked her own. She had taken after his brass and blunt character.

"Well I'll wait for Aeon to wake up so I can ask him if he'll be mine; I'll let him know you gave me your blessing Dr. Hawke." He slightly frowned at the name she had addressed him by.

She caught his frown but couldn't tell why he wore it. She looked at Washu who also wore a pained expression and was further confused by the sudden downcast atmosphere.

"She doesn't remember anything Vincent." Washu explained as the man continued to frown. "Her memories are locked away."

"What don't I remember?" Ryoko couldn't keep her eyes of the sullen Hawke.

"It's nothing." Vincent began to smile again, as he waved his hand in the air as if clearing smoke from the air.

"Vincent…" Washu knew he was evading the pain he was feeling.

"It's nothing, Washu." He laughed and lay back down on the bed.

Ryoko grew annoyed at the hidden dialogue and began to growl which caused Vincent to chuckle.

"At least some things never change." He sighed and closed his eyes.

Washu transformed into her adult form and took Ryoko by the hand. As she pulled her away from Vincent and Tenchi, Ryoko followed without retaliation. Deep down in her heart Washu knew it was time to return all of Ryoko's memories; however, she would never do this without Ryoko's consent. She stopped at the machine she was looking for and then turned to face her daughter. To her surprise, Ryoko looked peaceful and calm—an expression rarely witnessed.

"Vincent's a lot like you; you guys hide your pain the same way. Just as you neglect your suffering in public and demean, so does he." Washu wore a same smile. "You took after him in so many ways…" Washu stopped, wondering how far she should go in explaining her relationship to Vincent Hawke.

"Is he my father?" Ryoko gasped in utter horror.

Washu doubled back and crashed to the floor.

"No, of course not! Not biologically anyways!" Washu stammered out as she picked herself back up. "That would mean you and Aeon are siblings."

Ryoko sighed in relief, knowing she couldn't be with Aeon if they were in fact brother and sister— the Jurians practiced marrying within the family; not her.

"Ryoko, do you want your memories back?"

Her eyes wavered as Washu asked her the question—could she really be the same once she remembered her past? Terror, fear and confusion swirled around inside of her, threatening to consume her. She was no closer to an answer than when Washu had asked the first time. As she stood still a shiny object fell from her pocket.

"Hmmm?" Washu looked at it, before it began to play a holographic video.

Ryoko was just as surprised, but new straight away what it was—one of Aeon's videos that he had kept. She watched as it played.

"Ryoko, it's late, we should go home." A young Aeon stood on the edge of a beautifully lit bridge.

"But there's supposed to be a lunar eclipse tonight!" Ryoko jumped up in excitement.

Aeon sighed, but betrayed a small smile as Ryoko jumped in delight.

"Fine, let's wait for it." Aeon sat down beside her and looked up, sure enough the moon was beginning to disappear.

"Look! It's starting!" Ryoko's eyes gleamed as she pointed to the sky.

Aeon watched as the light disappeared from the sky and left the two in complete darkness, as the lights at the Academy also began to dim. He felt something scoot by him and snuggle in his chest.

"Ryoko, what are you doing?" He blushed furiously as the girl made contact with him.

"It's dark…"

"Of course it is, but—" He was growing more nervous by the second.

"I'm scared." She whispered as she held him tightly.

Aeon sighed and put his arms around her, pulling her close.

"I'll always be here for you, don't worry." He spoke in an affectionate tone that caused a young Ryoko to blush—since when had her friend been tougher than her. She smiled but never let her grip on him slip.

"Aeon you're really brave you know." Ryoko spoke softly as the darkness enshrouded them.

"For you I am…" He felt his heart hammering, and Ryoko could feel it.

"Your heart, it's beating fast." She pressed her ear closer and lost herself to the comfort of its rhythm.

"That's only for you too." He spoke softly, hoping she might not hear him.

She looked up and caught his silver eyes with hers. She smiled as she saw the light in his eyes, and the darkness around her began to dissipate. Within her heart began to beat just as hard and fast as his, and a certain thrill could be felt all about her—this was her way of feeling true happiness.

"Mine too, and it'll be that way forever…right Aeon?" Ryoko began to yawn as she found his body way too comfortable to snuggle in.

"Forever sounds good." Aeon sat there, smiling as he had never done before, with the girl he had promised his beating heart to.

The video ended and the hologram disappeared—Ryoko stood, her body beginning to feel that same thrill of happiness. Without meaning to a tear slipped past her which caused her minor shock.

'Why am I crying?' She tried her best to stop the tears but her attempts were in vain. 'I guess I really do want to remember…' her lips tugged into a soft smile as she looked at Washu.

"I'm ready." She took Washu's hands and sat on the machine that would get rid of the blockade that was suppressing her past.

With that Ryoko felt triumphant as she realized how great it felt to take control of her life. This is what she had always craved—the freedom to live. Soon Aeon would wake and she would be there for him, ready to take him on an adventure. Her heart began to race, attesting to the excitement she felt as she planned ahead—the adventure that would last them forever.

Author's Endnote: So I thought about ending it there…..but there's a sequel coming of course! However that will be under a new story, and there'll also be a side story with just Washu and Vincent Hawke(Just a short fanfic with a few chapters). That being said, I'd like my readers to throw some ideas my way, if that's not too much to ask. If you don't like posting where everyone can see just leave me a message on my profile; I need to put my inbox to good use ;p.