Once Upon A Ted

Ted looked down at Lotus, who was kneeling before him, her hands tied behind her back with some rope ~Primitives thought Ted scornfully~ and appeared to be trying to chew through her gag. Althought, he grudgingly admitted, she could just be chewing on her lip. Knowing Lotus, he doubted it. She was one of those survive-at-all-costs kind of people. He respected that; as it happened, so was he, but he didn't always appreciate it.

"So..." he began, circling her slowly, brushing his fingertips over her shoulders, back, lightly stroking her hair. "It seems we have a double-agent. You're here; you're there; you're back again." He paused, wondering if hearing her story was worth the blistering and witty things that were bound to come out, things he didn't want to hear. Finally he decided it was, and motioned for Charlie to cut her gag. "What have you got to say for yourself, Lotus?"

Lotus looked into Ted's eyes, and smiled in that unnerving way she had that made him feel like she could see right through him. "You can't tie me down, Ted, and you should know that better than most people. If you tie me down, the next day I could be gone. If you don't, I can come back."

Ted stared at her, feeling the familiar feeling of betrayal raising up, gripping him like a wave. "You betrayed me!" he shouted.

"Not betrayed. I never betrayed you. I never betray anyone. Have I told you any of Ryland's secret plans? No. Same as I didn't tell Ryland any of your plans. I am loyal in my own way."

He narrowed his eyes, wishing he hadn't decided he was too far above violence to smack her, or knock her unconcious, or something. He felt helpless....

cue nostaligic music, scene blurs...

He remembered back when this all started. He had just dyed his hair pink and shaved off the left side, and he was sitting at his computer feeling quite bored and vengeful. Ted wanted to make a difference, but as we all know, he was no wishy-washy hippie. He was going to wring those wishy-washys and turn them into... cucumbers, goddammit!

But he needed help, for one man cannot make a dent alone. Yet he could not trust any of his friends, those NBTSCers were scattered in a thousand different directions and besides!... they had too much free will for his taste. No. He was going to make his own personal minion, his drone, his slave. He smiled evilly as he thought. He thought about a friendly, innocent redhead he'd once read about on the Internet. A girl with a strange name and a talent for writing, a girl that made people fall madly in love with her at the slightest glance. YES. She was perfect. Ted licked his lips in anticipation, took another sip of his glass of sherry.

And then he started programming in his Dark and Gloomy computer archive, like a madman (okay, maybe that wasn't such a far comparison, but deal with it). His eyes were curdled with glee, his mouth was salty with saliva, his hands were dry and cracked and sore from much typing. And as he typed, a creation began to form, someone almost human. Someone almost normal, but not quite... A truly evil minion that he would name....

Roya.

fade to black...

But that was all years ago. He'd discovered that some campers were worth using, and he'd even had a pretty good time schemeing with them, and hearing their (suprisingly good) plots.

And then he'd met Lotus.

He'd never known anyone like Lotus; so unpredictable, giving everything one minute, taking it all away again the next. She kept him on the edge of his seat at all times, and since he'd met her he'd started the unhealthy habit of biting his fingernails. She got him to do things, things no one else could get him to do, like growing his hair out and letting it go back to his natural color. No one could do that except her, and he was afraid that she'd finally figured that out.

Lotus watched Ted watching her watching him and smiled. She was generally feeling good about the whole thing. She could see the inner turmoil she'd caused plainly on his face, and she revelled in every second of uncertainty. You'll wriggle like a worm on a hook by the time I'm through with you, she thought...