Time for Yesterday
RNRPG: Time for Yesterday
The Timeline Prelude
Started By: Happosai
Deep in some old Japanese caverns a young girl made camp and read her ancient map by her small flashlight. The young girl was about 16 years old, she was short and petite. She had waist length red hair and beautiful ocean blue eyes.
Just by looking at her one would never know that she was a master martial artist and mage. She still studied her map, she knew the object of her search was near.
The object would give her the opportunity to meet her wonderful mother. A mother who died when she was very young, and the girl wanted nothing more than to see her again.
The memory staff was what she was looking for. Legend said that the device could help her remember the pleasant memories of her mothers. Yet another legend said that the staff was capable of traveling time. The young girl didn't believe that the staff was capable of breaking the time barrier.
"Well, Ryoko" the young girl spoke softly to herself. " That staff should be right around her somewhere."
She got up and searched the neighboring chambers hoping to find it. After several hours she began to get frustrated, maybe the staff wasn't here at all.
She kicked a small rock in frustration. It bounced off three cave walls and richoched off of a stalagmite. The rock broke the stalagmite and revealed the decorative staff hidden cleverly in the hollow stalagmite.
Ryoko scooped up the staff gingerly. "I must have the strangest luck around!" was all she said as she studied the staff. It was quite exquisite and well made.
"Now how to get it to work?" She held the staff in front of her. "Show me the memories of my mother that I seek."
With that Ryoko faded out and reappeared in a Japanese town.
She looked around, recognizing Nerima and the fact that she was in the street between Ucchans and Cures and Curses.
"How did I end up here?" She crossed the street toward Cures and Curses, noticing that older cars were all she could see on the road. Then noticing that her favorite shop seemed to be a lot newer than she remembered.
She then noticed that the staff was missing.
"Oh My, this could be trouble!"
Inside the shop, Perfume was working the counter when she glanced out of the window and noticed the confused looking redhead standing outside.
There was something familiar about the girl, but Perfume could not quite place what it was. She did know that the girl could be trouble.
"Silk-Chan, do you know that little redhead?"
Outside the shop, Alex-griffin was walking up, to get some hot water. "Stupid old bat, why doesn't she watch where she tosses that water?" he grumbled to himself as he walked past the redhead into the shop.
"No, I don't know her." Silk said to Perfume as she put the last sandwich into her lunch sack. She had planned a full day shopping expedition for this fine Saturday afternoon, but put down the bag when she saw a certain familiar Griffin approaching. She reached into the cupboard that was stocked with replacement outfits for Alex, Ryouga, Shampoo, Fuu-chan, and Mousse, and pulled out one for Alex.
Ryoko stopped for a second as she recognized her favorite Griffin. he didn't look quite right, but she was sure that it Uncle Alex.
"Uncle Alex, is that you? What happened to your fur? It has so much more color to it."
Alex, who was about to talk into the shop, heard the girl's statement. With the slowness of a broken machine, he turned back towards the girl. "Wha? Who are you?"
Ryoko appeared to be stunned for a moment. She couldn't believe that her very own uncle would not recognize her. Then everything seemed to fall into place. The old model cars.. the newer looking store.. She had traveled back in time.
"Uh oh, This has taken a turn. Uncle Alex, you may not believe me, but I'm Happi's daughter, and I seem to have dropped onto your doorstep."
Alex managed not to facefault, and looked at the newcomer oddly. --Man, why does all the weird crap happen around me,-- Alex thought to himself. A boom of thunder and a chuckle answered his thoughts. After shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he took a quick sniff of the girl, to determine her current emotional state. "Hmm...confusion, surprise, no trace of hostility or guile. Interesting." Alex then backed off, and asked her, "You're Happosai's daughter? Who's your father? And how I get to be your uncle?" He beckoned to Silk and Perfume with his tail to come outside to where he was.
Silk threw the spare clothes over one shoulder, hefted the teakettle and led Perfume outside. "What's up?" she looked from Alex to the girl. She bowed to the redhead slightly, "Hello, my name is Silk. Who are you? do you need help?"
Ryoko, was having a hard time keeping her emotions in check. It was difficult to be confronted with the people she loved the most, and have them not know her.
"Hello Auntie Silk." She sighed slightly. "It's hard to explain but I'm from about 17 years in the future. You and Alex raised me after my mother, Happosai, passed on."
From her position behind Silk, Perfume tried to shake the confusion out of her mind. This little redhead was a little unbelievable, until she looked closer at the young adventurer.
"Silk-Chan, She has a different hairstyle, but she looks just like Happi-Chan."
Alex decided that he wanted to get back to his human form. He took the kettle and clothing from Silk, and went inside the shop and changed back, then came back outside. With a voice eerily calm, Alex stated, "Silk, it seems we have a niece visiting us from the future." Alex then looked at Ryoko. "So, what brings you here to the past?"
Meanwhile on the other side of town, Brush was having quite a headache. "OK, who's using time travel magic?!?!" she muttered under her breath. After shaking her head to clear it, she set out heading for the source of the magic she was sensing.
Ryoko calmed down, but she was far from perfect. At least they believed her now, or at the very least were humoring her.
"I found the Staff of Memories, and I wanted to see mother again." She sighed as she tried to retell her story. "I thought it would only show me memories, not bring me back in time. " She clenched her fists slightly before finishing. "Then somehow I lost the staff in transport."
Perfume leaned in closer to Silk, whispering softly. "This is a bit weird, why does she refer to Happi as, 'Mother'?"
Fate always has a way of bringing people together. At that very moment Happi Chan was returning from the female side of the bathhouse. She was completely energized and ready for anything. "It's sometimes good to have a female body."
She was just approaching 'Cures and Curses.' from right behind Ryoko.
"Hey guys, What's up?"
Alex looked at Happi-Chan and Ryoko and got a quick comparison in his mind,, and said, "We have a match, ladies and gentlemen." Alex looked sternly at Ryoko. "And for future reference, don't mess with magical artifacts as soon as you find them. Weird things like this will happen, every time. I can tell you from experience." After taking a breath, Alex stated, "Ryoko, your mother is standing behind you, by the way."
Ryoko quickly spun around face to face with Happi Chan. The resemblance between the two was astounding. She was stunned into silence to see her long gone mother again.
Ryoko couldn't hold her emotions in check any longer, She broke down crying and hugged her VERY confused mother tightly.
Happi-Chan held the weeping girl close. Something deep inside of her keep all perverted thoughts at bay. Something very strange stirred in the cursed Martial arts master's heart.
She looked around Ryoko to the rest of the group, she had a very confused look on her face. "What's going on? How can she be my daughter?"
Alex replied, "We were hoping you could tell us." Alex grinned, and decided to have a bit of fun with Happosai. "Got a boyfriend we should know about?"
Happi-Chan tried to give Alex a severe look, of course it came out cute in her cursed form. "No I certainly do not have a boyfriend, Alex, unless you want to volunteer. I can tell that this girl is way too cute to be related to you!"
Happi stroked Ryoko's hair and whispered. "Shh dear, we'll get you back home.. everything will be alright."
Just then Happi's bar of waterproof soap fell out of her pocket. She had to have some way to stay female at the bathhouse.
Perfume laughed to herself when she noticed the bar of waterproof soap. --It figures the old freak would use something like that to sneak into the bathhouse. It also means he'll be stuck female for a while, which was probably in Ryoko's best interest.--
Moria was taking a shortcut through the city park as she made her way back to the Tendo Dojo, after having taken a walk through town. As she goes, the afternoon sunlight glints off of something shiny that lays half hidden under some bushes.
"What's that?" she wonder silently to herself as she let curiosity getting the better of her, as she bends down to pull out whatever it is.
As the object comes into view she sees that it is some kind well made staff that has been decorated with a few ornaments, and small gems.
"Geez, this staff looks great. And expensive too." Moria thought silently to herself as she tested the staff's weight in her hands. "Why would anyone be leave it lying around like that for." she said as she continued on her way home, her hand still holding onto the staff as she goes.
I'll look for whoever owns the staff after I get changed into something else. she thought
Elsewhere in town a strange man suddenly appeared. He appeared ancient and wrinkled wearing a VERY wrinkled tuxedo. He looked around trying to find his quarry.
"Someone is using time travel magic. She needs to be taught a very harsh lesson." with that, Wrinkle, the paradox spirit of time went in search for Ryoko.
Brush soon found herself at Moria's house. Brush walked up to the door and knocked, and waited for Moira to come down.
Back with Ryoko and the others...
Alex looked at the crying girl, and her confused parent. "Well, that's a touching scene." He then looked over at Silk. "You do realize that if we raised her, what that probably means, right?"
Ryoko finally regained control, still sniffing she turned to the group, but not completely letting go of her dear mother. "I've revealed way too much, one shouldn't know too much about one's future. It could be detrimental." She pulled out a handkerchief and gently blew her nose. "My mother told me that. I'm sorry I made such a scene but I'm pretty much frightened right now."
As for Happi. a million thoughts were running through her head. All of which had to do with Ryoko. Something in her mind told her that the younger girl was telling the truth. If that was true, who was Ryoko's father?
"Ryoko dear, just who is your father. I would hate to tell him to get lost and not know it."
"Mom" Ryoko started softly. "I don't know, you never told me and I never met him. Auntie Silk said that she knew, but wouldn't tell me until she thought I was ready for it."
Silk gave Alex a look that even he could read, "Don't make assumptions, you'll be disappointed in the end. The future isn't fixed. Ryoko and the reality she knows is but one of thousands of possibilities. but," She paused, "It is possible that you're right."
The healer looked at the mother and daughter, trying to think of why she wouldn't have said who the father was, and why. A sick possibility presented itself to her mind, but she rejected the thought as almost impossible... though she doubted that Happi would have 'consented' to any other method. "Ryoko, what happened to your mother in the future that made you come back here to see her? I don't want details, but why did you risk obliteration to come here?"
Ryoko was scared now, what Silk said was true, she had risked oblivion to come back here. As a mage she knew the risks and pitfalls associated with time travel.
"I didn't mean to come back here, auntie. I thought the staff would show me memories of my dear mother. I never believed that it would transport me here."
She got a strange look in her eyes. "All I can say about mother is that she died when I was younger."
******
At the sound of someone knocking at the front door, Moria comes back down the stairs to see who was at the door since Kasumi was out of the house for the moment.
Opening the door she spots Brush standing outside the door, and holds it open to let her in. "Hi Brush. What's up?" she asked as she stood back.
Brush stepped in, and sensed that whatever the odd magic was, it was nearby. "Has anything...unusual happened today? You know, like finding and odd items, books, staves, that sort of thing. Someone has been messing with some powerful temporal magic very recently, and I intend to find out who the idiot is."
After stopping to think for a moment, Moria shook her head as she shut the door behind Brush. "Nope nothing weird happened today... Except on my way back to the house I found this weird ornamented staff lying on the ground in the city park."
Brush asked, "May I see it? I think it may be the source of the problem." She and Moira walked further into the house, Brush following her senses to the source of magic.
Back with Ryoko and the others, Alex shook his head. "Man, life just keeps getting stranger around here by the moment." Alex thought about Happi's daughter, and he KNEW Happosai wasn't going to have sex with a guy, so that left....--Man, that's sick.-- "Well, as interesting as this is, we need to get you back to your own time, so we don't risk any more timeline disruption."
Ryoko nodded at Alex. "Your right, uncle, I've caused enough problems for one day. I'm very sorry to have dropped all of this on you guys. I never meant to actually come back."
Happi placed a reassuring hand on Ryoko's shoulder. "It's alright dear, we'll get you home before anything bad could happen."
Wrinkle was closing in on the center of the temporal disturbance.
Perfume's warrior sense jumped into high gear. She began looking around for the source of the problem. The blade of her Naginata glowing softly. "Guys, I think something unpleasant and hostile is heading this way!"
Alex nodded in agreement, making sure he would be ready for combat. --Shields, good. Ki, good. Cat-fist, on standby.-- "Well, maybe we can settle this without too much of a problem."
Just then the group noticed the source of their agitation. The wrinkled and gnarled paradox spirit. He was looking right at Ryoko, the source of his irritation.
"Don't you know better than to play with time, little girl?!"
Alex stepped away from the rest of the group, making sure he would have a clear line of fire if it came to a fight. Alex made sure he was in a non-aggressive stance, but ready for action as he spoke. "Who are you, and why are you here?"
The paradox spirit grinned at Alex, he loved it so much when they didn't know who he was. "You should know me, Grandson of Chaos, I am Wrinkle, the paradox spirit of time. "
He glanced over to Ryoko and Happosai, it was darn difficult telling them apart. They looked more like clones than Mother and daughter.
Alex replied, "I don't know all of my grandfather's acquaintances. But the question is, are you here to help us? Or for something else?"
"It depends on how you look at it." Wrinkle replied dryly. "I'm here to remove the problem in this current time stream."
Something about 'remove the problem' struck Alex as not being along the same lines he was thinking. "Well, actually, we're already taking care of that. We're going to send the problem back where it came from. So you can go back to...wherever you came from."
Perfume never relaxed the grip on her Naginata. She knew that this paradox spirit was up to no good. There was no way she was going to let that thing get it's hands on Ryoko.
'you don't seem to understand, Grandson of Chaos." Wrinkle spoke very softly. " The offending mage must be destroyed."
Ryoko was preparing a spell mentally, she could cast it in seconds if it need be.
"That's not strictly true, and you know it. Wrinkle." Silk said, stepping in front of Happosai and Ryoko. "If the damage can be undone, then obliteration is NOT necessary." Her look was defiant
The wrinkled old paradox manifestation stared at her for a moment. This one wasn't a mage, but he recognized her somehow... descendant of a mage he'd run into more then once. "Great-granddaughter of Death. How fitting that you should witness something that far transcends death." his laugh was bonechilling
"I said No." Silk's voice didn't waver, though that laugh had all the vast emptiness of time in it. "Let us fix this. You have to let us try."
Happi-Chan interceded at that point, she had never dealt with Wrinkle specifically, but she was familiar with many spiritual types. "we can fix this, all we have to do is find the staff and send Ryoko back home.
The paradox spirit thought about the proposal for a second, and then brought out a small Hour Glass. "Very well, you have 24 hours to correct it all."
Perfume's Naginata blade gleamed and seemed to point on the direction of the Tendo Dojo. "I think there's our lead on the staff."
"Sure... I put it in the closet to keep it out of sight so Genma or Happosai wouldn't see it, whenever they got home, before I could go back out to find whoever this belonged to." Moria walked over to a nearby closet and opened the door.
Reaching in she pulled out the staff from where she had hidden it in the corner. Facing Brush as she held the staff out with both hands, "is the temporal magic coming from this?"
Brush nodded as she quickly scanned the staff to make sure it was safe, then she picked it up. "Now, to find the idiot who was using it." Brush turned to leave. "Are you coming? Who knows what I may run into?"
"Sure. Come on let's go." Moria said as the two of them ran out the front door and through the gates of the Dojo.
Brush began to concentrate, and a small ball of light appeared in mid-air. "Lead me to that which I seek." The ball swirled in the air, and headed for where Alex and the others were. As the two arrived, Brush muttered, "Typical. Alex would be right in the middle of it." Then she saw Ryoko, and her jaw dropped. "Wha...?!?!"
Ryoko was still staying very close to her mother. Of all the people here, she was the most capable mage. Then again Ryoko's opinion was rather biased.
"Hello Brush-Sensei" She smiled at the amazon, not quite sure of what to tell her. She had learned much of her magic from the Amazon.
Brush looked at the girl. 'She looks just like me and Happosai. And she's the source of the disturbance.' Brush stepped closer and asked, "I'm guessing you know me from the future. So if I taught you, I know I would have taught you better than to play around in the timestream. How did you get here?"
Ryoko blushed bright red, she was embarrassed about the entire situation, she hadn't meant to come back in time. This will tech her not to fool with unknown magical items.
"well.. I sort of found the staff of memories. I wanted it to show me memories of my mother, but instead it brought me back in time to her." Ryoko smiled sheepishly. "Then somehow I lost the staff in transit."
Happi interrupted at that point. "And Brush, Wrinkle is looking for her we have 24 hours to send her back home." There was no way Happi could hide the worry in her eyes.
Brush pulled out the Staff of Memories. "Well, I have the staff that brought her here. Now we just have to send her home with it."
Ryoko's eyes went wide when she saw the staff. Her luck was finally changing, now all she had to do was find a way home.
"Oh my.. Brush-Sensei you found it! I just wish I knew how it sent me here."
"Well, let's see here..." Brush said as she began to examine the staff. "Well as far as I can tell, it's power is drained. We'll need to recharge it with mana and a LARGE amount of ki. The mana charge, I can do either at the Tendo Dojo or at home from the nexus points there, but where are we going to find someone with that much ki to spare, short of going to China and talking to Herb?"
Silk looked at the gathered group. "I think that between Myself and Alex, the ki levels would be more then even Herb can produce. Herb's power isn't so much the higher level of ki, so much as superb control over it."
"Let's get to where we can recharge it then!" Ryoko quickly agreed. "I do not wish to face oblivion in the next 24 hours."
Brush nodded, and motioned for everyone to follow her to Alex's house. Once they arrived, she gave Happi and Ryoko directions to start preparing the circles of power that they would need for the ritual.
Happi and Ryoko were very happy to comply with the instructions given to them. That was when Happi noticed the odd aura surrounding Ryoko. There was more power there then the girl should have had.
"Ryoko Dear, What's that extra Aura?"
"What Aura mom?"
Alex pointed at Ryoko's extra aura. "That one. Your normal one is blue, and there's another one that's green around you. I don't know what that one is. But then again, I don't exactly practice magic."
Ryoko did a quick formula in her head. Her aura was blue, green indicated quantum or temporal magic, and the staff was drained of it's power.
"I think the staff didn't expend it's power. Somehow it passed it on to me." Her voice was shaky and a little stunned. Why would the staff give her it's power?
Brush was now finished with her preparations. "Well, I really don't know why. Let's just hope it doesn't interfere with us sending you back to your own time." Brush then set the staff in its position in the diagram, and began drawing mana around her hands to charge into the staff.
Ryoko and Happi quickly moved into position and began drawing their own Mana to recharge the staff. Neither one had performed this sort of spell before, and were watching Brush closely.
Brush closed her eyes, and began to chant in an odd language that had been heard in centuries, and the mana that was being drawn by the mages all concentrated around her. "Alex, Silk, feel free to power up your auras. Now, Happosai, Ryoko, I need you to channel the ki from Silk and the Energizer Bunny over there and hold it." Brush then pointed her hands to the staff, and the power began to flow from her into the staff.
Alex gave Brush a strange look at being compared to a pink rabbit, but complied, and rose his aura.
Silk smiled and relaxed, allowing her aura to surface. It was at least as bright as Alex's, glowing green to his gold. The healer moved her hands slightly in a tai chi movement and her aura flared even brighter as it meshed with Alex's. Silk matched the two energies seamlessly and seemed to flow from one to the other without interruption. A sense of peace flowed over the entire group, and the outside world seemed to cease to exist. --Who's a battery?-- she asked as she opened up her ki to be tapped by the mages.
Happi and Ryoko gathered up the raw power from the other fighters and quickly began to focus it into the staff. Strangely enough the staff didn't seem to want to take the power. The Staff kept diverting it back to Ryoko.
"what the..."
Silk watched as the mages tried to divert the power and were foiled. "I'm no expert," she offered, "But it looks like the staff has transferred some of its powers to Ryoko. Try channeling the energy to her. She should be able to cast the spell herself. Probably not permanently, but at least enough to get home."
Ryoko changed the way she was handling the energy. She began to focus it inward instead of outward. Happi did her best to send as much power as possible to her wayward daughter.
Brush put the staff down, having recharged the mana at least. After she made a quick examination of the staff, she stated, "Well, it looks like she'll still need the staff to time travel, and a different incantation to get it to take her back to her own time. Do either of you know any time-travel spells?"
Happi and Ryoko quickly finished the mana diverting work and smiled as they were working in perfect synchronization.
Happi frowned at Brush's question. "I've never been big on time travel, I don't know any spells."
Ryoko smiled slightly. "I don't know any spells.. but Ms. Funryu keeps a vast library of magical books. I know that she has one about temporal magic."
Alex snapped his fingers in remembrance. "That's right, Mom did have a few books on that. Come on, you guys, I'll let you into the library." The group entered the house, and walked up to a doorway, where many books could be seen, as well as a rippling magic barrier. Alex walked up to it, and placed his hand on it, causing the barrier to vanish. "It's ok to go in now. Let's find that book."
Ryoko led the way to the library. She knew exactly where the book was at. All she found where some beginner magical books.
"Oh no! someone rearranged the books in my time! I don't know where it's at!" Ryoko was starting to get a little panicky. "Spread out everyone, we're looking for a book entitled, 'Temporal magic, the theories of Matter and antimatter."
6 hours later....
So far, no one had found the book. Alex said to himself while he was tapping his forehead, "Think, think. Where did you put the temporal books?"
Perfume had been searching for that book and was just getting irritated with the entire thing. She sat down in one of the chairs with a Huff. --Secrets of Matter and Antimatter, I wonder if it really does matter?--
She felt something Hard in the cushions of the chair. Reaching back she pulled the book everyone was looking for out of the cushions.
"Guys, I think I found it."
Silk, who had been up on a ladder for the past three hours, hopped off it and landed on the couch near Perfume's chair. "About time. Alex, I'm going to yell at your grandfather next time I see him. Chaos can occasionally work in our favor, you know."
Ryoko came barreling across the room. She was getting really worried about the book when Auntie Perfume found it. She gently took the book from Perfume's hands.
"Ah This is it!" Her eyes grew wide with excitement as she flipped through the pages. "Right here! this one!" She pointed to the page that had the Spell "Chrono Leap" listed on it.
"Great! Now, let's get that spell cast, so you can get home. I don't think anyone here wants to see a relative of friend get wiped from reality." was Alex's statement.
The group made their way upstairs and the Mages began making the necessary magical circle on the ground. Ryoko was reading the spell in the book.
"It works better with help. If I can get you two on the opposite ends to lend me power then I can use the staff to return home."
Suddenly as if on impulse she grabbed Happi into a huge hug, and began whispering rapidly into her mother's ear. Happi's eyes got as wide as saucers when she realized what she was being told. Ryoko was telling her how to avoid her own death.
Alex felt something...odd, for lack of a better description due to his attunement with Chaos. "What just happened?" He got his answer, as a portal opened, and Wrinkle appeared.
Silk felt a similar surge, except hers was from her rather peculiar connection with death. A little bell went off that said that a death had been averted... and that this was what was SUPPOSED to happen. Quite the opposite to the normal grin bell that said she needed to expedite a certain death that had failed to take place on schedule. She stepped in front of Wrinkle. "We're almost done restoring the timeline to how it SHOULD be." she placed special emphasis on the should. "No one is going to die here today." she said in a tone that expected to be prophecy, and obeyed.
Wrinkle smiled almost unseen. He was the one who made Ryoko the guardian of the staff of time. She was sent to the past for a reason and this was it. To right a wrong that was done in her own life. She had done well for her first mission.
He stood there silently as the three mages worked to cast the spell. Once they were in position he said one phrase. "It is done" Then he promptly vanished.
Ryoko and Happi were ready, they looked to Brush to see if she was in place.
Brush quickly indicated she was ready to go. "Let's get going on this."
Ryoko smiled and began to chant the spell as Happi and Brush lent their power to the young girl.
Ryoko and the staff of Memories began to glow brightly as the Magical circle became infused with magic. The glow became blinding as she chanted louder and louder, the spell reaching it's climax.
The last thing Ryoko said before she vanished was, "I love you mom."
Then almost as soon as it started the glow, Staff, Wrinkle and Ryoko were gone.
"I Love you too, Daughter." Was all Happi could say. She knew deep down that she would see Ryoko again.