"Ryoko and Ayeka never get along," Sasami said with a frown. "I wish they could be friendly like... like Mihoshi! That's what I'll wish for, Ryo-ohki. Mishosi is always friendly."
"Mya!" Ryo-ohki agreed with a nod.
Outside, Ayeka and Ryoko continued their verbal battle, unaware of the wish Sasami was typing in. "You lousy worthless immoral thug!" Ayeka yelled. "One of these days Lord Tenchi will see you for what you really are and then... and... and then..." For some reason, Ayeka suddenly lost her train of thought.
"Yes?" asked Ryoko. "What's the matter, princess? Your little royal mind can't think of anything? Maybe it's because you're a... a... a poophead!"
Ayeka stuck her lips out in a pout. "That's not nice! You shouldn't call people ugly names like that."
"You're right," Ryoko agreed, which surprised her. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I...I... something has come over me. I don't feel right at all. I'm not myself."
"Something doesn't feel right with me either, but I can't figure out what."
Both ladies looked at each other, puzzled. "When did you dye your hair blonde?" asked Ryoko.
"Me?" Ayeka replied. "I was going to ask you. You're a blonde."
"WASHU!!!" both yelled.
*****
"This is interesting," said Washu after examining the two with a wide array of strange equipment. "Puzzling, but interesting."
"What is it?" Ayeka asked. "I don't understand."
"No, I doubt you do," Washu replied. "Okay girls, I'll try and explain. You're both blondes now. That's obvious. But there is another change that isn't so clear. According to my brain scans, your general reasoning ability has been significantly reduced."
"What?" Ryoko asked.
"You're stupid," said Washu. "You're both stupid. In fact, your IQs are about on level with Mihosi now. And while she's used to not have much to work with, for both of you to experience such a loss in intellegence, it's... well, it's the equivalent of being mindly retarded now."
"What?!" Ayeka and Ryoko exclaimed, then they looked at each other. "WHAHHHHHHH!!!"
*****
After Washu finally got them to stop crying, which took a while, she explained the problem to the rest of the household.
"How did this happen?" Tenchi asked. "Did they hit each other over the head?"
"No, there is no sight of brain damage," Washu replied. "Their brains simply aren't working as well as they did. I can't explain it or the change in their hair color. It's a mystery, but I will figure it out. Mihosi and Kiyone will return from their space patrol tomorrow. I want to do some scans of Mihosi."
"Ayeka, are you okay?" Sasami asked her sister.
"Yes, I'm just not myself," Ayeka answered. "I'll need you to help me with some things."
"What about me?" Ryoko wailed. "Who is gonna help me? I don't wanna be a dumb blonde!"
"It's okay, Ryoko," Tenchi said, trying to comfort her. "Everyone will help both of you."
Wed Feb 13 22:16:21 2002