Ryukumu sits in the ever-familiar lounge of the Yggdrasil. To him, it has seemed like forever since he was last here. In reality though, it has been a number of months. Months of jailtime can, and do, change a man. Sometimes for worse, sometimes for better. In Ryukumu's case, it's for the better. If only Saul knew...

Ryukumu takes a sip of some tea from a mug placed at his table. Personally he hates this particular brew, but he doesn't care. It sure beats water and whatever that stuff they served in jail was. He's home.

Leaning back in his chair, Ryukumu thinks back to what he had done in Solaris. How did it all start? He can't even remember... wait, that's right. He and an old friend, Roger Corbey, went up there initially as a sabotage and recon mission. Pose like you were betrayed by the crew of the Yggdrasil and came to Solaris-- of all places-- for asylum. Hah. It sounded like a decent plan at the time.

Ryukumu's time in Solaris at that state was actually rather pleasent. He wasn't exactly a prisoner, or a citizen. He wasn't bound in the least to help Solaris, though it was in his best interest to appear to be an ally. That stage was rather unproductive, although he did encounter some new friends.

Then, came the brainwashing, compliments of Dr. Saul and 'Blondie' (Krelian) himself. It was a simple choice, compliments of Krelian: Accept the brainwashing, or try to escape at that time. It's not entirely clear, but he thinks Krelian offered safe passage out of Solaris. Bullshit. Ryukumu knew well that there would be platoons of Gears ready to launch and shoot him down. So, he had chosen to change his identity and accept the brainwashing. Ryukumu Isora his identity as a country boy (without an accent) from Lahan who worked with "Cap'n Bart" to Ryukumu Isora of Solaris, a Gebler soldier with a bad attitude and a problem with authority. A mistake on Dr. Saul's part. Now Ryukumu was forced to think that he really WAS betrayed by the Yggdrasil crew.

He can still remember when he revealed this to the crew. It was in Nisan, near the cathedral. Oh god... At the time it seemed like he was interrupting something important, but he didn't seem to care. They had betrayed him. They even tried to shoot him down with the Japser cannon, which was actually part of the guise, but now he was forced to think that was genuine. They wanted him dead. DEAD.

The next few weeks were unproductive, depending on how you look at it. Roger realized what had happened. When Ryukumu realized he was brainwashed, he wasn't the only one. Dr. Saul, aka Lazarus Isora, Ryukumu's father, was also brainwashed long ago. Ryukumu had been told while growing up that his father was a great man, but had drowned during an accident at sea. Perhaps that's why Ryukumu was so taken with the ocean... He thought that's where his father was, and he wanted to be with his father. Not literally, as his father was dead, but it was a subconcious reaction. Now, none of that mattered. Both Ryukumu's and Saul's worlds where totally shattered at the discover of each other.

Ryukumu didn't take it well. Because of the knowledge of his brainwashing and Saul's forced loyalty to Solaris, Ryukumu despised him with every cell in his body. Ryukumu realized he was brainwashed after a few months. Saul had been brainwashed for nearly 15 years. How could he not realize it? 'That idiot! That damned idiot!' During the time soonafter he kept thinking this to himself over and over again... that damned idiot. He's not my father. He may have my father's body, but the father I know died the second he was brainwashed. That damned idiot.

Ryukumu soon realized that he had to escape from Solaris, or his recovery would be discovered. And so Ryukumu escaped. But he didn't go down alone; oh no, he didn't go down alone. Roger Corbey obviously came along, but there were others. With Ryukumu's altered personality, Ryukumu saw it fit to plant some explosives throughout Solaris. He had three charges, and chose to bomb his quarters, one of the Gear bays, and the lounge. He wasn't thinking. Hatred. Bloodlust. Murder. Call it what you want. That day, Ryukumu killed four completely innocent civilians. And at the time, he didn't know or care.

Returning to a less then warm welcome at Bart's Hideout, Ryukumu felt extreme grief over what he had done. He didn't know he had killed people, but he had his suspicions. I'm not a coward. I'm not going to run away from what I've done. Those were his thoughts. He was in the wrong, and he knew it. Saul was his father, like it or not, and Ryukumu owed him an apology. And so, he returned to Solaris.

And he recieved an even LESSER warm welcome there. Naturally. He was immediately thrown in jail and was informed of what he had done. Those explosives were more powerful then he thought... he leveled his own room and a number of adjacent ones too, killing civilians. And he practically destroyed the lounge. The Gear bay wasn't too badly damaged, but that was the least of his concerns.

He wasn't in jail for too long, as the Gazel Ministry found a use for him. During his earlier stay at Solaris Ryukumu somewhat 'befriended' one of the members of the Gazel (what was his name... Levi? It's not entirely clear), but seeing the ministry in person was astounding. He couldn't even recognize Levi; the 'ministry' was really just a computer orb with numerous monitor screens, each one displaying different people, but they were all deformed, balded heads, some with brains exposed. Yech. He was sent to a location near Lahan to look around in a mansion that belonged to one of the deceased Gazel. He didn't have a whole lot of choice, and saw this as a way to get out of execution, so he complied.

Months later, Ryukumu still regrets that decision. This 'mansion' was alive! The doors groaned when you moved them. Mirrors had faces in them that you could talk to. The plants reacted to motion, verbally and physically. Even the statues were sentient. But that was nothing compared to what he had learned. Oh well, that's another story to get into later. Ryukumu made a hasty retreat with an old friend of his, Sirus, who was also called upon to search the mansion, and returned to Solaris prematurely.

Then came the months of quiet jail time. If it wasn't already, Ryukumu's brainwashing completely wore off during those quiet months. Saul's process was a new one and was far from perfect, obviously. Lucky for Ryu.

Then came Asher. During his time in Gebler, Ryukumu and Asher were comrades, some could even say they were friends. Buy with Ryukumu's earlier escape, Asher's reputation was ruined. Asher seemed to hate Ryukumu with a passion. More then anyone, Asher wanted Ryukumu dead. But to Ryukumu's surprise, Asher had him pardoned and offered Ryukumu a chance to safely leave, saying he had been imprisoned himself recently and sympathized. That's how Ryukumu saw it, anyway. Not being a fool and seeing no chance of full repentance in Solaris, Ryukumu took this opportunity and left Solaris without struggle, after giving his father as fond a farewell as he could manage.

And now he's home. Ryukumu takes another sip of this hated brew of tea from his mug. As far as he knows, only Sigurd Harcourt is aware of his return. Wonder what everyone'll think once they see that he's back.

-Ryukumu Isora