"Hemohalluci-what?!" Bulma exclaimed. "That's what I said! Hemohalluciphoria.... it's a blood disease Will Red created and injected me with," Ryoko tried to explain. They were all sitting at the table. When the six returned to Capsule Corp, they were surprised to see Goku, Chichi, Goten, Gohan, and Videl who were over to visit. "Wow! I don't think I can say that!" Goku laughed. "Hey, why didn't you guys tell us that this was happening? We could've helped you!" Goten asked. "Well, we didn't want to concern you with it because we didn't think it would be necessary! I mean, the android Ryoko first ran into was weak. We assumed that it would be no problem..." "And it was... except for the fact that biological warfare was involved!" Ryoko finished Trunks' sentence. "You're not still sick are you?!" Chichi asked, concerned. "Do I look sick?!" exclaimed Ryoko. "My point exactly." "Oh... Hey!!" "Would you two stop fighting?" Gohan yelled at the two who begun glaring at each other. "So... can you explain what happened exactly?" Videl wondered. Her question was directed at Ryoko.
"Yeah... well, the old Red Ribbon army was resurrected under the great-nephew of the original commander Red. He was planning to take over the world by genocide; the total annihilation of the human race. Androids would then take the place of humans, with Will Red at the reigns. He planned on eliminating all those people through his disease, the one that was first tested on me. And with Will controlling everything and all humans gone, his power would monopolize the planet, and there would be no chance of outside rebellion." "Sounds like a stupid plan to me," Goten stated. "That's what I said," Ryoko mentioned, agreeing with his opinion. "So what happened?" Videl asked. "You kill him?" "Yep! He and all his androids were destroyed, along with the base that Ryan and Trunks self-destructed. And we each had the antidote, so there's no fear of his disease spreading." "Oh. Well, that's good," Chichi sighed. "So anyway," Ryoko started to ask, "What are you all doing here?"
"What? Do we have to have an excuse to pay you all a visit?" Ryoko raised an eyebrow and examined Chichi attentively. She then began to smile. "Nah, you came for another reason," Ryoko said, pointing at her. "What?! But.. ah... oh, fine! Alright! Other than visiting with you all, we needed our car fixed. Unlike the other do-nothings in my family, I can't fly, and have to drive to the grocery store!!" "Hey, no problem!" Bulma exclaimed happily. "Why didn't you just say so? Ryoko! Go fix their car!" "What?!! Why do I have to do everything?!" she yelled at Bulma. "Don't yell at me! You took this upon yourself, don't you remember? 'I would feel bad about mooching off of you! I want to earn my stay...' That's exactly what you said!" Bulma got her there. Ryoko's eyes widened, then narrowed when she realized she didn't have much of a choice. "..Hmph. Alright." She stood up, not straight up, and slowly began heading out of the room, grumbling to herself. "You sure have a tight hold on that girl, Bulma!" Chichi noticed as Bulma laughed at Ryoko's antipathy. "Yeah, well if you look past her arrogance and attitude problem, she's really a sweet girl." "Really? Well, I'm just lucky that Videl here is so well behaved." She made Videl blush. "I'll go catch up with her," Chichi added as she stood up, and headed in the direction Ryoko had walked. Bulma's mom was now standing by the table, tea dripping from the tray she was carrying. "Would you all like some tea?" she asked with a high tone. Amazingly, she still looked like she hadn't aged a bit, and was still completely oblivious to everything around her. She reminded Ryoko a lot of Mihoshi.
"So, what do you think is wrong with it?" Chichi asked Ryoko who was hunched over the hood, examining all the parts. She seemed to now be in a better mood. "... I'm not sure yet. Gimme a sec..." She lay down on Ryan's skateboard, and rolled under the automobile to check its underneath. "So what's wrong... it doesn't start?" Ryoko shouted to Chichi. "No! It doesn't. Every time I try starting it the engine screeches and smoke rises from the hood..." "..Smoke? I see..." "Watch!" Chichi said, opening the door. "I'll try starting it.." "Wait!! Don't!!!" Ryoko yelled. Too late. The car screeched and overheated like Chichi had described. An angry Ryoko rolled back out from underneath, her face was covered in gasoline. She stood up and grabbed a nearby rag to wipe her face. "Oops!! ...S-sorry about that..." Chichi stuttered. "Yeah. Sorry." She threw down the rag, but held in her temper and opened the hood again. Smoke continued to rise as she bent over to screw a cap off. "Aahh!! Ouch..." Even the plastic cap was scorching hot, any hotter and it would've melted. Ryoko readied herself better for the heat, and grabbed the cap again, turning it open. "Hey Chichi.... have you ever owned a car before?" "We had one a long time ago, but it was different from this one." She started opening other caps. "Well, with this type of vehicle...," Ryoko began explaining, "You have to manually refill the oil, water, and coolant. Yours are dry, so I'm assuming you didn't know that?" "What? It doesn't do that all by itself?" "Nope. Don't worry... I'll do that for you," Ryoko sighed. "Oh you will? Thank you very much!" "Yeah, no problem." 'Whatever'll keep Bulma out'a my hair!!' Ryoko thought to herself.
"Phew!! That was delicious! Thanks for dinner!" Goku happily proclaimed as he patted his stomach. "Don't mention it! Sheesh! By feeding three extra Saiyans, we've just about completely run out of food!!" Bulma said while clearing the plates off the table. "Well, you're not gonna send me grocery shopping if that's what you're thinking. I have enough to do as it is." Ryoko protested. "Did I say I was gonna?" "I'm just telling you!!" "So, when was the last time we were together like this?" Gohan asked, changing the subject so they would stop arguing. Bulma and Ryoko stopped glaring at each other, then looked over at him. "Our wedding, I think," Trunks answered. "That was almost three years ago already!" "Hey, yeah, you're right!" Goku added, agreeing. "You still training your kids?" "Sorta!" "Gohan's a scholar now!" Chichi declared proudly. He looked down through his glasses in embarrassment. "How are your kids doing, Ryoko? How's your daughter?" "Minagi?" Ryoko asked, kind of surprised with the question. "She's fine! Ryan too; we still have them keep up with their training." Ryan, Goten, Chibi Trunks, Minagi, and Vegeta were all sitting in the living room watching TV. "So, are you two going to have any more kids?" Chichi asked the couple. Trunks and Ryoko shared the same freaked expression as a response to her question. "Well... uh, we.. didn't really talk about it," Trunks muttered as he scratched his head. His face was red. ".... I doubt it," Ryoko said. "I really don't feel like going through all of that again. If we do, it'll probably be accidental. But if it happens, it happens. There's nothing we can do about it." She understood Ryoko's answer. "..Unless, you wanna....?" she added, looking up at Trunks. "Huh?! Me?!!" he answered, looking a little stunned. "Well, uh.. I don't care. I mean, I wouldn't mind either way... I'd just rather leave it up to you. It affects you the most anyway, for the first nine months I mean..." You could tell he was embarrassed with having to answer that question in front of everyone else. Ryoko just sat and smiled as she looked at him. "Yeah, I think two are good enough for me," she added, breaking the silence. "Best not add to the chaos we already live in."
"Well, it's getting late. We better get going!" Chichi decided as she began gathering her family together. "Oh, and thanks so much, Ryoko!" "Don't mention it." "We should get together more often!" Bulma suggested. "For sure!" Goku said in agreement. "Bye!!" Everyone stood outside the doorway to wave good-bye as Son Goku's family drove away. "That was a nice surprise, now wasn't it?" Bulma asked as she closed the door behind them. "I'm taking a shower and going to bed. I'm beat," Ryoko declared, ignoring Bulma's comment. Bulma sighed. "That goes for you too!" Ryoko indicated, getting her kids' attention. "Yes ma'am!!" they both answered, military style. She saluted them, then laughed as they ran off to get ready for bed.
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Trunks lay stretched out on their bed. The morning sun was shining in, illuminating the room. It was almost 7:00 a.m., and the city streets outside were already bustling with noise. Capsule Corporation was located in the center of West City, and the Briefs family had gotten more than used to the outside commotion. Even so, Trunks stirred and stretched as he woke up to the annoying honking of a car alarm in the distance. He opened his eyes, yawned, and looked to his left to see his wife Ryoko lying there, still asleep. As if his consciousness was a trigger, she started to wake up. He watched her yawn and blink her eyes until she looked over at him and noticed that he was awake too. "Good morning," he said to her quietly. "Good morning to you!" she answered, then looked over at the clock. "It's still early, you know...ugh..[yawn]" She moaned as if it was painful to move while she sat up in bed. "..We still have a half hour before I have to get up and work. What'chu wanna do..?" Ryoko asked her husband. "Hmm.... I can think of something," he answered grinning. "Oh really..." She moved over and sat on him, then leaned on his chest as she brought her face closer to his. "We must be thinking the same thing..." he thought while staring into her golden eyes. "That's what I was just going to say..." She managed to barely complete the sentence before kissing him.
"WAKE UP!!!" Their bedroom door now swung completely open, with Bulma screaming frantically in the doorway. Ryoko almost fell off of him from shock as she quickly popped up to see what just happened. She and Trunks both sat starring at Bulma, who was now frozen with her eyes wide open. They all were stuck in place for a moment, until Bulma slowly began moving back out the door, closing it behind her. Her eyes never blinked. "What the hell was that all about?!!" Ryoko yelled, angry with the interruption. She quickly got up off the bed and headed toward the door. Trunks began to do the same until he realized he was just in his boxers, then tripped as he frantically tried to put some pants on. Ryoko was just in her underwear, but didn't show the slightest bit of concern as she swung the door open just as quickly as Bulma had. She was still standing there behind the door, looking very freaked and confused. "WHAT'S WRONG?!!" Ryoko yelled, very annoyed. "W-were y-you...?" she began to stutter. Ryoko caught on to what she was trying to say. "We were trying to!!... Wait -- Nevermind that!!" she shook her head and quickly changed the subject. "What the hell's going on? What'du barge in for?!!" Bulma finally snapped out of her shock from Ryoko's yelling, and answered. "OH, oh yeah!! I was trying to tell you... You're friends are here!! Downstairs - they're there right now!"
"What?!! NOW?!!" Trunks, now dressed in his pants and a shirt, stood in the doorway next to Bulma. The two watched Ryoko angrily storm down the hall as if she were Darth Vader. Bulma was correct; when she reached the bottom of the stairs, there stood her friends from the past. "Hi Ryoko!" Tenchi kindly greeted her. They all looked really happy to see her, but that quickly changed when Ryoko's mood altered the formerly sunny atmosphere. "Wh-what are you all doing here?!" she asked, looking confused as she tried to hold in her anger. She actually was happy to see them, but now just wasn't the best time. "Well, don't start getting all excited to see us!" Washu answered sarcastically. "Can't I pay my little girl a visit?!" "Yeah, at 10:00, not 7!!" "Oh, were we interrupting something?" her past self snickered, hinting at her wardrobe. "Kind of!! How did you all get here anyway?" she added, changing the subject once again.
“Washu built a time machine,” Ayeka answered her. “Yep!” the smiling genius agreed, folding her arms. “Nothing for a genius like me!!” Both Ryoko and her past-self rolled their eyes and sighed in unison. “Whatever,” Mirai Ryoko added as she walked over to the door to close it behind them. “Make yourselves comfortable then. I’m gonna go get changed. If you want anything just ask one of the robots...” she started back up the stairs. She passed Trunks and Bulma as she headed down the hall back toward their room. They looked back at her, then entered the main room. “Hey everyone!” Trunks greeted them. “Sorry about Ryoko,” he added, apologizing for his wife’s behavior. “She, uh... needs a break.” “Oh, we’re used to it by now,” Tenchi said, dismissing Trunks’ apology. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Have any peppers?” Sasami asked Bulma’s mom. She already took over the kitchen, and was preparing lunch. “Oh, yes dear. We do! Here you are!” She handed a few to the master chef who happily begun chopping away. “Mreow - rryeow!!” Ryo-ohki mewed as she sat by Sasami’s side. “Oh, don’t worry!” she answered. “There’ll be plenty of carrots just for you!!”
Ayeka, [past] Ryoko, Mihoshi, Kiyone, and Bulma sat in the living room, completely absorbed in some kind of soap opera. Trunks, Tenchi, Minagi, and Vegeta sparred in the training room while the two boys, Ryan and Chibi trunks, watched. “Since you don’t really stand a chance, Tenchi, I’ll be on your side to even it out!!” Minagi offered happily. “Uhh.. T-thanks Minagi..” Tenchi muttered nervously. “This is stupid,” Ryoko declared. A headband covered in flashing lights sat atop her forehead; her arms and legs were bound as she hung by Washu’s device. “Why do you always have me do this?” “Why do you think?” her mother answered. “I just want to see how much you’ve grown! Periodic data collection is of vital import.” “You know I can easily get out of this.” “..And you know that I can easily show that embarrassing tape to Tenchi!” Washu quickly added. (See OAV 13 for details-!) “What do I care?! The only reason I’m going along with this is because my past-self cares about that damn tape.” “Well then, just be a good girl and wait a bit longer, ok?”
Washu’s lab is located in another dimension, which is why it fits in the broom closet under the stairs in Tenchi’s house. If you have the right coordinates and can create a dimensional portal, you can link to anywhere in the universe. Washu and Ryoko are in the upstairs walk-in closet, which in reality, is now temporary liked to Washu’s lab in another dimension. “So, what are we doing today?” Ryoko sighed. “Well, I don’t need any samples this time... when was the last time I analyzed you?” “When I was pregnant.” “Oh yeah, that’s right. Then I just need to compare the data from today with last time’s data, and also with the data of yourself in our time, and Minagi’s data as well.” “...This is going to take a while.” “Oh, by the way... after I’m done with you, I’d like to get data on Ryan as well...” “Don’t even think about it!! You’re not touching him! It’s bad enough you’re doing this to me; just leave my son alone. And that goes for Trunks too - last time I caught you trying to tie him up...” Washu gave Ryoko a begging look that she quickly returned with a strong look of ‘No.’ With a glare, Washu went back to typing. “Let’s see..” she said, thinking out loud. “It’s hard to compare your data considering the state you were in. How about the basics - height... 5 feet and 5 inches..? You’ve shrunken!” “What?!!” Ryoko yelled in anger and shock. “Yep, you were 5'6"... must be getting old. Hehe...” “Shut up,” she growled. “Hmm, what else..? Weight... you’ve lost weight too..” Washu stated while she scanned through the received data. “This doesn’t seem very important!!” Ryoko said, cutting into Washu’s thought. “Ok, ok!! How about an abilities crosscheck? ...Oh, wow! Your strength has increased enormously!! It seems having a child didn’t affect your ability to fight in the least!" "That's no surprise," Ryoko said. "I'm in top physical condition... and we told you all about the run-in with Buu, right? Dying has an incredible effect on a Saiyan's strength. And just yesterday we dealt with the Red Ribbon Army..." "Oh yeah, I forgot you died.. what was that, your second time?" "Yeah. First was from Yugi, then Buu - just about everyone was killed from Buu when he blew up the earth... are we done yet?!" "Almost!! Hey, you know Minagi's catching up to you." "Really? I knew she was strong, but..." Ryoko got lost in her train of thought. Washu looked up at her daughter and smiled at Ryoko's look of bewilderment. "..She's growing up.. just like you." "What do you mean?! I am grown up!!" "You may have an adult's body, Ryoko.. but you're still just a child." She scowled at Washu's comment. In theory, she was correct. Even though Ryoko was over 5,000 years old, compared to her potential life span she was still just a teenager. "Well anyway, she should be pretty strong. I mean, it's not like I get to train everyday. I have a lot of work to do..." Aww, I'm sorry... didn't mean to hurt your feelings!" Washu taunted with her little girl voice. Ryoko began to growl and was about to yell something, but a loud crash interrupted her.
The two looked over in the direction of the noise, only to see what was easily expected. "Aack!!" Washu yelled. "What the hell are you doing in here?!" A confused Mihoshi stood in front of short-circuiting machinery. "Well, I was looking for the bathroom... and you know how big this place is? Well, I didn't know where to go, and I got kinda lost... and then I ended up here!" "You ended up here?! How can you just end up here?!!" Washu scolded while she frantically tried fixing Mihoshi's damage. "Wow! Hi Ryoko! What are you doing up there?" Mihoshi asked as she walked up to the bound Saiyan, ignoring Washu's questions. "You two playing doctor again?" "Uh.. yeah," Ryoko answered, puzzled. "You wanted the bathroom? It's 3 doors down to the right." "Oh, thank you! You won't believe how long I've waited!!" Mihoshi yelled back as she ran out the door. "Good riddance," Washu declared, hands on her hips. Ryoko smiled. "Excuse me?" Sasami's head stuck out through the doorway. "Washu, Ryoko; lunch is ready!" "Alright!!" Ryoko declared happily making the bulbs on her headband light up. "Saved by lunch. I'm hungry!" She pulled herself from her mother's device, almost breaking it from her unintentional excessive force, and leapt down, racing out the door. "What's a mother to do?" sighed Washu.
"Wow! This is incredible!! You are quite a cook!" Bulma exclaimed, complementing Sasami's meal. "Thanks!" she said, blushing modestly. "Yeah," Ryoko agreed. "Once you have Sasami's cooking, it's difficult to go back to eating anything else!" "What do you know?!" Ayeka snickered. "You don't even have taste buds!!" "What'd you say?!" Ryoko yelled back, pointing her fork at the princess. "The truth!!" she returned, pointing her chopstick at the pirate. "Hey now!! Calm down you two! Can't you behave for once?! We're guests!" Tenchi scolded. They obeyed, and set their utensils down. "Well, I guess it's about time to go on duty!" Mihoshi reminded her partner. "You ding-dong! We're in the future, don't you remember?" Kiyone yelled back at her dimwitted partner. "Oh yeah! Heh, I forgot."
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The sun sat low in the sky, slowly sinking into the horrizon as it gave off an orange glow. Tenchi, Trunks, Washu, Ayeka, Mihoshi, and Ryoko sat on the floor in a circle playing cards. They were playing a game popular amongst outlaws and gamblers, which was similar to poker. Ryoko threw down two aces. "Pass," Ayeka said. Washu thumbed her cards, then smiled as she threw down a pair of twos. "Dammit!" Ryoko yelled. "Just go!" "My pleasure!" she answered happily. She threw down a low straight. Ryoko smiled. She had five cards left. "Don't put down a full house!" she thought to herself as the other players looked over their hands and took their turns. Tenchi put down a higher staight, followed by a flush of diamonds by Trunks. Mihoshi had to pass. "Ha!!" Ryoko laughed as it was her turn. She threw down her last five cards - a full house, three kings, and two queens. "I win for once!!" Ryoko always lost at cards, and unfortunately for her, always bet, ending up washing dishes. "In your face, Ayeka!" "You must have cheated! How else could you have won?" "Cheated?! How dare you accuse me of --" she got cut off by the doorbell.
"Who could that be?" Bulma asked while she finished setting the table. "Probably another salesperson. They seem to love coming here, especially when your mom answers the door. She'll buy anything," Mirai Ryoko exclaimed as she stood up. "I'll get it." She started to walk over to the large front door, but her son beat her to it as he ran up and quickly swung it open. There stood a woman with blue spikey hair and marks on her face. She was draped in black, despite the hot weather, and held a long sceptor. A small beige cabbit and a small brown cabbit sat at her feet.
“Hi!” Ryan happily said to the visitor, even though he had no idea who she was. She looked down at him, surprised to see what she hadn’t expected. “Must be the wrong place,” she said under her breath. “Does Ryoko live here?” she asked Ryan in a louder voice. “Oh, you mean mom?! Yeah, I’ll go get her!” He quickly ran back further into the house, leaving the door open. “Mom?!” she asked herself out loud, pondering the boy’s answer. It wasn’t long before he returned, grasping his mom’s hand as she approached the door. Ryoko was shocked to see the visitor whom she had recognized right away. "Nagi?!!"
Next: Chapter 8 - "Rendezvous With The Past"
Jaz - September, 2003
http://saiyananimeplanet.cjb.net
Naluchik11@Hotmail.com
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