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"Seventeen"Written By: Debs-dragon Disclaimer: I dont own the guys I just play with them. Don't sue... no money :) Psyprass and Calisto appear courtesy of themselves as does Matty. We all know that 18 came back after the cell games but what of 17? Once her returned what happened to him? I wrote this fic for another friend on the 'madman' board. Rating PG 13 Android arc # 8
SEVENTEEN Debs-dragon Dec 2001 Chapter 3 Juuhachigou's eyes flickered open as her circuits all came back on line. She blinked & flexed her fingers. It had been a long time since she had been switched off and it took a while for her to re establish her surroundings. Automatically she ran a systems check. Everything appeared to be running normally. A shadow passed over head and she became aware of Matt's concerned face hovering in the space above her own. She smiled. He reached down and brushed his hand lightly across her face. "Welcome back." he said softly. "It's good to be back." she replied, leaning into the touch. "How do you feel?" "All systems are up and functioning normally." she grinned. Matt felt the tension in his body ease a little and he reached forward to envelope Juuhachi in a warm hug. "was it successful?" she asked. "We don't know yet." answered Psyprass who had been watching the tender exchange with a touch of wistfulness.. "We thought it would be best to wait for you before flipping the switch, just incase he decides to flip his." said Matt wryly as he inclined his head towards 17. Juuhachi giggled. "I like your logic." she said. "So how do you really feel? Ready to cope with him or take him out if we need to?" asked Psyprass. Juu looked from her brother to Matt then to Psyprass then back to her brother. "I guess I'm about as ready as I'm ever going to be." "Then lets do it!" said Psyprass. Matt moved towards the computer, Juu & Psyprass flanked the table. Psyprass looked at Juu, seeking the androids confirmation and support. Juu sensing the girls apprehension nodded her head in encouragement. Psyprass reached forward into the black silken locks and pushed the concealed button. There was a crackle of electricity and a convulsive jerk of the body as energy began to flow through circuits, warming and re awakening long silent tissues. Psyprass's muscles tensed as the android began to hum softly. She felt the warmth begin to radiate off his skin as system after system came back on line. She was excited, thrilled at last to see all her hard work paying off. She just hoped that after all this that the chip download had worked. Juu also watched closely, the prospect of having her brother finally returned to her was something she had only dared to dream about, never thinking for a moment that the dream could become a reality. She trembled with excitement. Psyprass looked across at Juu and smiled, she crossed her fingers and offered up a silent prayer. Matt watched silently from a relative safe distance. Not that he was by any means scared of a fight. It was just that if Juunanagou decided to go on a rampage there was precious little that he could do about it. There was no way that his small human strength would have any influence on the youth and so therefore self preservation became the top priority on Matts list of things to do. The muscles on the face twitched and the eyelids slid
open revealing pale blue orbs. Slowly the eyes began to move, taking
in the surroundings, noting the size, shape & exits of the room
as well as the equipment that was contained within its walls. Mentally
he ran a systems check. All seemed to be fully operational, but wait....
There... something wasn't quite right. He didn't get a chance to investigate
that data bank any further as his gaze fell on a familiar form. "I'm here Juunanagou." she replied. "How do you feel?" "Exhausted. Like I have been put through a compactor....." he replied. "Where am I?" "Your safe." spoke up Psyprass, leaning across the prone boy. Juunanagou's eyes travelled to the dark haired girl
before him then narrowed in suspicion. His arms clenched as he went
to push himself into a sitting position only to find his body restrained
by metal clamps at his wrists & ankles. Never taking his eyes
from Psyprass's face he flexed his arm muscles an pulled the restraints
from the table. "And who are you?" he asked his voice low and menacing. Juuhachigou placed a restraining hand on Juunanagou's shoulder. "If it wasn't for her you wouldn't be here right now." she said softly. Juunanagou relaxed slightly and stared again at the girl, this time his eyes showed only curiosity. Psyprass took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for this." she said, sweeping her hand across indicating the restraints. "But it was necessary while I was repairing you." She stepped closer and released the ankle clamps. "There." she stated simply. Juunanagou pulled his legs up and around to the side of the table. He twisted so he was sitting sideways facing Juu & Matt, his back to Psyprass. His gaze locked on Matt. "And who are you?" he asked quietly. Before Matt had a chance to open his mouth Juuhachi spoke up. "This is Matthew Juunanagou. My husband... your brother in law..." She watched carefully as differing emotions played behind those eyes. "My brother in law?" he asked blinking. "Thats right." Matthew came forward offering his hand. "Thats life I suppose... You dont get to choose your relatives.." he quipped with a grin. Juunanagou looked at Matty's outstretched hand, then back up to his face before staring at the hand again. Finally he took it and shook it firmly. Matthew visibly relaxed. Juunanagou looked at 18. "Your married?" it was more a statement than a question. "Yes. Yes I am and very happily so." she replied as she sidled up to Matt and placed her arm about his waist. "Hmmmm...." said 17 as he processed this information. Then turning his attention to Psyprass he spoke again. "And you are the one responsible for bringing me here ne?" Psyprass nodded. Now they would see if the chip was working properly or not. Juunanagou looked down then around him before once more
focusing on Psyprass. " I think, I need, please.... could you
help me to fill in the gaps that are currently in my memory banks?" Juunanagou smiled shyly. "I would like that very much." he replied and getting up from the table he followed Psyprass to the door, Matt & Juu brought up the rear. "Looks like the chip is working then." said Matt softly. "I suppose you could say a chip off the old block." giggled Juu as she snaked her arm around Matt's waist. Matt smiled and pulled her closer to him. "I thought I was supposed to be the comic relief around here..." he laughed. "Yes but you have to be funny for that." she shot back. "You will keep." said Matty as they proceeded up the path. They entered the house and Psyprass led them all back to the lounge room, after making sure everyone was comfortable she went in search of Calisto and refreshments. Juunanagou sat quietly, his sensors busy taking in, cataloguing and analysing every bit of data that surrounded him. His memory banks were a jumble. He knew instinctively that people were afraid of him, that he held some form of immeasurable power and yet there was an undercurrent in his system, something blocking out a vital piece of his make up and as much as he needed to know and fill in the gaps he wasn't sure if he was going to like what he was going to hear. Psyprass returned with a reluctant Calisto in tow. Seeing both androids now functioning and sitting in their lounge room was just too much for Calisto. After placing the tray on the table she back pedalled rapidly. Juuhachi tried to hide a smile. It wasn't fair to smile at the girls obvious discomfort, but she sure was going to have a lot of adjustments to make. Juunanagou looked at Psyprass expectantly. "So tell me what you know." he said his voice returning to its more gentle timbre. Psyprass folded her hands in her lap, took a deep breath and then began her story. After what seemed like an eternity Psyprass concluded her story. Then silence fell over the room. Juunanagou sat staring into space, the seemingly vacant expression belying the fact that his mind was a raging torrent of raw emotion. Each piece of information that had graced his circuits had been studied, dissected, analysed and filed into the appropriate memory bank. Juuhachi final broke the silence. "Does that help you?" she asked, her eyes searching her brothers for any clues as to how his mind was reacting to the data he had received. "Yes. It has filled in some of the gaps however there seems to be rather a lot of holes still there." he said thoughtfully. "Maybe I can fill in some of them." said Juu. And reclining back she relayed the information to 17 of what she remembered of their time as earths terrorists. She wasn't aware of the tears that began to flow freely down her cheeks until she had finished and Psyprass passed her a box of tissues. Juunanagou looked at his sisters tears, reaching forward he snagged a tissue from the box and wiped them away. "Did we really do all those things?" "Hai." He shook his head. "Why?" "It wasn't our fault. We were programmed to do these things. If you feel the need to lay blame then you should lay it at the feet of Dr Gero." Juuhachi lowered her eyes. Juunanagou looked around him, slightly bewildered. "How will I ever be able to exist knowing I am responsible for so much destruction...?" "We have people to help us. People who care. We are lucky, Humans are a very forgiving race." Juu spoke the words softly. "I will help you." said Psyprass. Juunanagou looked up sharply, his blue eyes boring deep, looking for contact. Psyprass, startled by the sudden shift in the androids body moved back, more from reflex than anything else. "Ummm thats only if you want me too." she gulped. Juunanagou reached across and took Psyprass's hands in his, his eyes softened a bit as he looked for & held her gaze. "Do not be afraid. I will not harm you. The days of harming and destroying are gone. I would be honoured if you would help me to make the adjustments I need to make to be able to fit into this world." Now it was Psyprass's turn to feel the wetness run down her cheeks. "I would love to help you... but it's not going to be easy." Juuhachi sighed. "You can say that again." Matt smiled knowing exactly what his wife meant. "There will need to be a lot of patience & understanding on both sides." said Psyprass. "Don't expect humans in general to welcome you with open arms. They will be scared, frightened, angry and in some cases they will resort to violence against you. It's only natural for them to be this way. They don't know that you have changed. It will take a long time for the wounds we created to heal." said Juuhachi. "I know... I have been *different* for several years now but humans still cower and run in terror on some occasions from me." Juunana eyed his sister thoughtfully, "That must hurt." he stated simply. Juu threw back her head & gave a hollow laugh. "Hurt!.... Hurt!... You had better believe it hurts. Especially when you are doing your level best to make up for the wrong you have done. Oh its not so bad where we live, most people there know me and Matt and are well aware of my change. They also bear no malice. But when you travel to other places thats when you realise just what a profound impact our terrorism had on this planet. Hurt? yeah it hurts like hell..... but nowhere near as much as we hurt them..." Juunana felt something stir deep within his system, something he hadn't felt for years.... Pain. Psyprass felt Juunanagou's hands tighten on her own, she stared deep into his eyes trying to read what was going on in that head. She squeezed back gently. Juunana blinked and focused again on Psyprass. "Your friend?" "Yes?" "She is scared of me?" "Yes." "That is why she left so quickly?" "Yes." Again that feeling of pain. His eyes dropped. "Is it too late for me? Can I be forgiven for what I have done?" he whispered. "Yes, you can and will be forgiven. You will have to hold your head high and work hard at it but yes... you can be forgiven." replied Psyprass. She reached forward & put a finger under Juunana's chin lifting his head so she could watch his eyes. They were moist. A tear escaped the corner of his eye and began to run down his cheek. He raised a hand and gently swiped a finger across the drop of water then lifted it to his line of vision so he could study it. He turned his finger, the droplet glinting in the light. He looked puzzled that this had come from his body. Tears were a completely new *thing* to him. "You can do this..... We can do this. I will be here for you." said Psyprass. "Thankyou." said Juunanagou. Matt yawned & stretched. "Look I hate to bust up the family reunion and all but Juu its time we were heading back to town." "Hai." "Do you have to go?" asked Psyprass. "I'm afraid we must. We have a business to run. But we aren't all that far away." said Juuhachi. "Besides I think you need some time to come to terms with all that has happened to you." "But I have nowhere to go... nowhere to call home..." trailed of Juunanagou. Psyprass snorted. "And just what kind of a person do you think I am then?" she stated huffily. "But.. I thought that after what you have done you would like to be back to just you & your friend. I mean she hasn't exactly been at ease in my presence." said Juunanagou. "Oh don't worry about Calisto. She will come around. Once she knows you are really changed she wont have a problem with you but it may be a little uncomfortable for a short while. Besides, I want you to stay. This is my place and I want you as my guest. I would like to get to know you a bit better..." Psyprass coloured a little with her long speech and decided to shut up before she could stuff any more of her foot down her mouth. Juunanagou smiled shyly at Psyprass. "I would very much like to stay here with you and learn more... but only if it is okay with your friend. I don't want to cause anymore trouble for anyone anymore." "Well thats settled then. Good." said Psyprass and she turned her attention to Juu & Matt before anymore of her emotions became evident. "Well I cant thank you two enough for all your help." "Glad to be of service." grinned Matt. "Not that I did much." "Modest aren't we?... " laughed Juu as she gave Matt a dig in the ribs. "Yes if you hadn't been there with your computer skills I would still be figuring out how to sort out the data from the chips and get it into the right areas." smiled Psyprass. "Well anything for you lovely ladies." said Matt as he stood up and offering his arm to Juu said "Shall we go m'lady?" Junnanagou watched the friendly exchange before him and suddenly felt a new emotion wash over him.... Peace. And it was an emotion he wanted to keep. "Thankyou again for all your help." said Psyprass as she gave both Matt & Juuhachigou a hug. "Now dont go being a stranger will you?" replied Juu. "You have our phone number and address so make sure to drop around and keep in touch." Juunanagou shook hands with Matt and then turned to his sister. He quickly enveloped her in a bear hug before he could change his mind. "Thankyou." he whispered. "Hey... anything for family." she whispered back. Family.... family.... He played the word through his mind and rolled it around on his tongue. He liked it. He looked at the group... "Hai... Family." They all turned and looked at him and smiled. It would all be okay. It would all work out. Psyprass took Juunana's hand in hers and squeezed gently, suprised at her own boldness. "Welcome to my family to." she said quietly. Juunanagou smiled. This felt good. As Matt & Juuhachi walked down the path & back towards their waiting car so Juu turned for one more glance. Psyprass & Juunanagou stood side by side in the doorway. She smiled inwardly. With Psyprass by his side to help him she knew her brother would be okay. Finally her existence seemed to come full circle. Seventeen had come home.
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