"Everybody, I have an announcement to make."

It was dinner time at the Masaki house, and its various inhabitants had gathered to eat.

After a week of absence, they hadn't expected Washu to show up for dinner...

"It's about my latest work."

...Much less for her to have news about what had been keeping her busy for so long.

All eyes were on the scientist now, even Ryoko, who had been planning to have a good time with her saké. Miso and rice now set aside, everybody waited for the genius to continue.

"You all know I've been busy for a while now,"

"You have?" piped up a tanned GP detective. Ryoko and Ayeka face-vaulted.

"Of COURSE she has, you nitwit!" the pirate shot back.

"Really, now, Mihoshi, where HAVE you been the past week?" Ayeka added.

"I- I didn't know, I just-" Mihoshi began to reply, but Ryoko and Ayeka were already on her again.

Washu looked at the situation with annoyance. Even after twenty thousand years, she was still irritated to no end by certain things.

"LISTEN UP, WILL YOU?!" She shouted at the bickering "adults". They quickly sat back down, but two continued to glare at the ditsy blond across the table.

"Now that I have your attention AGAIN, I have a little something to show you: the subject of my latest work."

"Uhhmm... Whaere aem... Ai?" The boy looked around the lab in disbelief. He looked, or tried to look, turning his head from side to side as he lay on the cold, metal examination table.

"Th- This isss..." He began to say, but- "Ohhhhh, my head."

He wasn't really up to processing his surroundings at that point. Right then he just wanted to know what had happened and why he couldn't move, especially since he wasn't in any way restrained.

'Wait, Elliot, your head moved. Do that again.' He shook his head no, telling himself that he was too weak to start moving again.

'Good! So you can move your head. Now lift an arm.' His mind continued.

'Now listen here!' he thought back. He shoved a finger in his own face accusingly. 'You're getting a bit too cocky, ordering me around like-'

'Good! You got your whole arm off the table! Nice work, Elliot.'

The boy's mind was quiet as he stared at the finger he had pointed at himself. A slow minute passed.

'Really?' The boy thought to himself in the flattest tone he could imagine.

'I guess we'd better be getting up now, shouldn't we?' His thoughts hinted to him.

'Sure. Whatever.' He conceded. Pain returned to his body as he rolled and pushed, clumsily rising from the table. 'Anything to get you to shut up.'

"And here he is!" Washu said with a final keystroke. She snapped her fingers and a holo-screen appeared next to the table.

"He?" Ayeka wondered. The screen came to life and a view of the genius' lab came up. In view was a tall console, an examination table, and-

"What? Where is he?!?" Washu exclaimed. Her finger traced the laptop's screen, panning the view of her laboratory back and forth. She squinted at the screed and pondered. "How did he-"

"You keep saying 'he', Little Washu." Tenchi noted, confused.

"Yeah, is it someone we're supposed to meet?" Nobuyuke added.

"As if you'd care much about guys." Ryoko said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tenchi's father shot back.

"Settle down, will you!" Washu commanded.

Elliot had known pain in his life, in fact he and pain were pretty good acquaintances. He couldn't remember when he didn't have abrasions and cuts from the various activities and games he'd play, mostly on his own. He never cared to bandage them, though; He knew that they would heal in time.

He counted as he walked across the lab.

"One: arm. Two: foot. Three: hand. Four: shoulder. Five: foot...again. Six:..." He stopped at the door of the laboratory and looked, but he couldn't see through the hazy glass in front of him. "...skull. Gosh I've broken a lot of bones in my time." he thought to himself with a dry tone.

Yes, the boy had been a knowing host of pain for years.

He pushed open the door and pivoted. 'Left.' the boy thought to himself. He kept walking because he knew that the second he stopped he would have time to think too much about all the pain he was feeling.

He mused about it anyways.

'Gosh. I don't think I've ever been so intimate with pain before. It's so cozy I could puke.' The boy smirked as he walked and limped and thought. He wondered if he'd recognize the people he'd seen clustered around a TV screen when he exited the lab. They had seemed familiar, but they had slipped out of his line of sight when he turned. 'And then I walked through a... a kitchen?' He asked himself as he walked. He turned and plodded in a different direction.

'Um... I think so.' his mind replied.

'Some help you are. Why don't you tell me which way to go next, mister brains?' He didn't even notice his unintentional pun.

'Turn left again.' He did.

'Wait, I turned left a minute ago?'

'That would be right,' His memory noted.

'No, he turned left,' he himself shot back.

'I'm not saying that. I mean that he turned the right way,' Memory retorted.

'As in to the right? I don't think so!'

'I didn't say that I said that you were correct in saying-'

'That's it! Everybody -strike that- any part of my mind that is communicating with me, quit it!' the boy ordered, and there was finally quiet in his head.

He plodded on, and limped, and turned, and limped, and plodded on.

Washu rose from where she sat. "Never mind. I'll just go and find him."

"Miss Washu, who is this person you keep referring to?" Ayeka inquired.

"Yeah, who are you talking about?" Mihoshi added.

"I told you," the genus scientist spat back from the lab door "NOT to call me MISS!"

The door slammed, and a truly awkward moment ensued as everyone in turn looked to the others and continued to stare at the door to Washu's lab.

"More miso?" Sasami offered, timidly.

Five bowls slid toward the center of the table and Sasami reached for the ladle, but it didn't feel like it was scooping up anything. Upon actually looking at the center bowl, she realized that it was completely empty.

"Oops!" The others at the table looked as well, and Sasami blushed. "I'll get it."

The young girl went off to the kitchen to retrieve some more soup, only to come back a moment later empty-handed.

"Tenchi, I think something's been in the kitchen while we were eating."

"Really? What's wrong?"

"There's... umm..." Sasami trailed off.

"Well, whatever it is, I'll take care of it." Nobuyuke chimed in. He got up and was in the doorway to the kitchen when he quickly stopped, his mouth open.

"Gaaa! Blood! What's THAT doing there?" He cried out. Everybody was up and at the door then, staring at the drips that lined from one side of the kitchen to the other.

"Oh, my goodness!" Mihoshi exclaimed.

"What in the world is going on?" Tenchi asked, looking at the rest of them. They all wore the same expression he had, so he looked back at the kitchen, trying to find the source of this new... development.

"I think," a voice behind them drawled. Six heads spun back to eye the source of the voice.

"That would be me."