Introduction and Disclaimer

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::The Return Of Part Three::

For the record, I have NO idea why this story disappeared off the server (and I wouldn't have known if a kind soul hadn't PMed me to find out). I'm very cross about it at present because a: I didn't do anything to delete it, b: I've not done anything to have my work deleted and c: I've lost my reviews!
So if you left me a review, please take pity and re-review. I do take note of things people say and keep them in mind for future projects, so they are important to me.

And I swear, if this story disappears again, it'll be the last one I upload to FFnet in a while!

Of course, if the original one reappears in the meantime, this one may disappear into oblivion. Sigh. The other version had some last minute amendments which I've lost now and can't remember, so if this doesn't read quite as smoothly, you'll know why!

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And here we are. The finale:)

So we got a bit bloody at the end of the last part...any war has its casualties, after all :)

There is one more character to introduce to the Tainted Spirit arc, although she has been mentioned throughout the story so far. Anyone who's read After The Rain will be more familiar with her, but she isn't an OC and I did not invent her. She belongs to the OVA-verse and is officially part of Tenchi canon, although I have modified her character role quite a bit.

Considering the situation at hand, it seemed time to bring her out of - shall we say - retirement!

Random observation too while I'm at it - isn't it interesting how many Tenchi characters have those tell-tale gold eyes that generally are associated with the Space Pirate Ryoko? Airi, Priestess of Airai, Queen Candidate Ramia of Juraihelm, Pixy Misa...Rumiya as a parrot in the Pretty Sammy OVA, and of course, Kagato on the odd occasion, too :)

In the normal order of things, these characters don't generally exist in the same continuity, and Yosho's OVA wife Airi doesn't/hasn't played any part in my fanfic world. But in case anyone is wondering where the Arian connection came from for Kagato and company, it's right there. Airi's OVA-canon green hair and gold eyes suggest that Kagato Jurai could be legitimately (and officially) descended from an Arian source. Nope, it's not so much of a stretch after all!!

Second randomness - some people have been calling me on the whole "Why is Tenchi weakened by all this?" thing, and so I decided for anyone else who happens to be wondering, to explain exactly what was going on in my head when I wrote this whole thing.

. The simple answer is, I have to obey my own continuity rules, or the saga falls apart.. In The Dying Tree, Nozomi's account of the future explains that Kagato's attack on Tsunami eventually resulted in the death of Jurai. It also caused the Royal Family to die out one by one from a mysterious fever, and Kagato took his revenge on the Earth, killing the people there, too. Two important factors are in this - 1: If Tenchi had survived this, Ryoko would have brought him with her to Jurai to see Sasami. Nozomi would therefore know he was her father. And 2: If Tenchi had not been afflicted by Tsunami's weakness, then he would have been able to use the Light Hawk Wings to defend his planet. Consequently, then, in the fanon I've established so far, weakness in Tsunami has to equal weakness in Jurai and the Royal Family.

I also am not a fan of the concept that Tenchi is only strong if he has Jurai's power within him. Part of the point of this story arc is to prove that he's more than just his Light Hawk Wings, and I think that will become clear as the story progresses. After all, it would be very boring if he could solve every problem with Tsunami's magic, wouldn't it?

Anyone wondering about Tsunami's weakness where Arian magic is concerned - this is also obeying my continuity too. The Dark Heart of Jurai, where all this nonsense fic of mine started, was originally infected by Kagato's dark magic. (If you've read After the Rain, his Arian connection is explained/revealed in some further detail there). Hence it makes logical continuity sense for Tsunami to be once more weak at the hands of Ramia's spells.

I hope that clears up any confusion about this :) As I said, I try not to break with my own continuity if I can at all help it - universal laws must be obeyed, and all of that jazz!

Okay, enough rambling. Back to the story now...!

Usual legalities apply!

Synopsis

Beside herself with guilt and grief over the death of Yurikage, Misao struggles to come to terms with what she's done and who she's become. Meanwhile her newest ally is fighting for her very life, as she struggles against the powerful Goddess that surges inside of her. The feral spirit of Jurai's cold core has been woken within Tsunami's heart, driving her to the brink of madness - but is Sasami strong enough to pull her back again?

Jurai's situation is growing ever more grave, as the climate reverts back to its original unsettled, arid state, and those possessed of Jurai's power continue to weaken as Tsunami becomes more and more out of control. Ramia's influence has awoken in her a deep desire to destroy, and as Sasami struggles to keep her black thoughts in check, it seems as though Jurai's protective spirit will be the one to demolish the world completely.

But Ramia has reckoned without the Arian spirit that flickers within her daughter's own heart, and as Misao's bitterness over her crimes deepens, so does her resolve to settle matters once and for all. As Lady of Yousai, she must face her mother and find a way to break Ramia's dark spell...

But with Tsunami succumbing to the darkness, is it already too late?

TAINTED SPIRIT: PART THREE
A Tenchi Muyo! FANFICTION
by
VRAIEESPRIT

Chapter One
The Planet Airai

At first, all was still.

The woman moved slowly and silently through the dark tunnels, a strange bluish flame the only light to her path as she made her way resolutely forwards, determination in her dark red eyes as she headed deeper and deeper into the black-stone network of passages. Without a moment of hesitation, she descended deeper and deeper into the core of the planet, stepping carefully down the steep flights of rough-hewn stairways that led to the main chamber. A door loomed out of the darkness and she bit her lip, placing her hand gently against the seal.

"By the spirits that protect Airai, I summon you." She murmured, and the door creaked and slid slowly back, revealing a chamber beyond. Carefully she stepped inside, moving carefully towards the black bier that stood in the centre, flanked by similar candles. As she moved forward, she faltered, letting out a faint gasp of surprise as she registered the fact the funerary platform was already empty, and she almost dropped her candle in her surprise, glancing around her anxiously for any sign of the small chamber's occupant.

"Najya?" She whispered. "Nayja-neesan, are you here?"

At first there was no response, then, as if called by some hidden force, the candles around the bier flared into light of their own accord, startling the woman and causing her hand to fly to her chest.

"Najya!" She exclaimed. "I know you're here...if you're awake, make yourself visible to me! I want to see you!"

There was a sudden rush of air, and slowly the form of a woman began to materialise before her, glittering silver hair still wound around her head in the same braids her sister had woven before she had been buried. For a moment there was silence between them, then the visitor tossed her spluttering candle aside with little respect for the glowing flame, throwing her arms around the apparition with a cry of relief.

"Najya!" She murmured. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"

"Aya." The spectre was becoming more and more substantial by the minute, and as the strange glow faded from her body, it was easy for Aya to believe her sister was unchanged since the day she had first been interred beneath the Arian soil. "I've been waiting for you...I knew you'd come."

"I should have realised you'd already be awake." Aya stood back, holding her companion at arm's length as she eyed the woman's dusty visage. "So many things have happened, and so much has changed. And yet..."

"Father is dead." Najya cut across her companion softly. "Isn't he?"

"Yes." Aya bit her lip. "He passed away two summers ago. I half-wondered if you'd wake then, but you didn't. Mother wasn't sure if you ever would...but I had faith. I knew you hadn't really died...I knew that you sealed yourself, that's all. But you took so long to wake up - I decided I'd have to come here and try and stir you myself. Somehow."

"Something is wrong." Najya murmured. "My mind is...hazy, Aya. I don't remember...a lot of things. But if Father is dead, I am the Akara mage. And...and that means..."

She frowned, her brows knitting together as she contemplated.

"The Saotome have stirred." She added at length. "I sensed a great rising force and it had their taint...that's why I woke up. They are up to something...of that I am sure."

"The Saotome mage has been locked up in prison on some colony of Jurai for the past ten years." Aya slipped her hand into her sister's, leading her slowly towards the exit of the cold, barren death-chamber. "And it would be more comfortable to discuss this above ground, not here where there are spiders enough to populate the whole galaxy. Will you come to the surface, Najya-neechan? Everyone will be happy to see you, and you need to clean yourself. You're a mess...you still look more than a little like a corpse, dressed in those robes and with your hair wound round your head in that manner."

Najya offered a faint smile, nodding her head.

"Yes." She agreed. "I'd like to see the sun again. It's been far too long. But allow me."

She gripped hold of her companion's arm more tightly, and Aya drew breath sharply as the layers of rock and stone seemed to blur past them, bright sunlight forging through as they re-materialised on the surface of the planet above. Bright daylight dazzled her for a moment, and she offered her companion a wry smile.

"You are the mage. I should call you Najya-sama, now." She acknowledged. "But Oneechan, it's just so good to see you again."

"Likewise." Najya agreed softly. "I feel like I have slept such a long time. I've missed much. The Saotome mage is in prison? I can't imagine that fox Masaru being captured so easily."

"Masaru is dead." Aya shook her head. "His daughter Ramia inherited the Saotome magic, and it is she who is imprisoned in the tower on Yousai."

"Ramia." Najya's eyes narrowed. "I remember her...a sweet-faced, innocent seeming child. A beauty, with nice manners and a winning smile. I should have known that it wasn't Masaru's energy that roused me. This is the dark, manipulative taint of an evil woman that I can smell with every breath I take. It's so powerful that it almost chokes me."

"When Masaru died, Ramia was newly the bride of the Lord of Yousai. I think the Saotome sought to gain political power and alliance by annexing one of Jurai's more peaceful colonies." Aya said gravely. "But they failed. The Crown Prince of Jurai helped to seal her in her prison, and there she's been for ten years. Nothing has happened in that time. The Saotome here are weakened by her absence, and unable to cohesively form any kind of assault on us. We made progress, spreading peace across Airai, and destroying covens of dark magic as we went. The Mikara clan were defeated and pacified, their black arts laid permanently to rest. But the same cannot be said of the Saotome - and then father was struck by illness and he died. Since then we have had no mage to guide us, either. I knew you must still be alive, since Father's power didn't transfer to me when he died. But you didn't wake. And...and I suppose we didn't really know what to do, until you did."

"Well, I am awake now." Najya flexed her hands, gazing up at the sky with troubled red eyes. "And I remember, little by little, the events that led me to be so long asleep. But now it's different...I knew that if I ever woke, it would be as the Akara mage. I'm resigned to that. But this darkness - it spreads further with every moment. Ramia might be in prison, but she is far from helpless."

"Strange things have been happening on the planet Jurai in recent days." Aya admitted. "Weakness among the royal family, instability in the climate. Do you think it's connected?"

"I've been to Jurai, and I know their ways." Najya nodded grimly. "Yes, Aya, I do. And I'm afraid that it means the Akara will have to do without me for a while longer. I must go to Yousai and see this situation for myself. If I can, I must bring down this Ramia and end the Saotome line, before the curse spreads into a new generation. We can't keep fighting this same battle for Airai's future, over and over again."

"But Najya!"

"I must go. You know that." Najya shook her head. "Be careful, Aya, and take care of Mother and the others. I'll return as soon as I can, I promise."

With that she shimmered with light, her body glittering as she surged upwards towards the sky, and Aya sighed, watching her sister disappear with a heavy heart.

"But Ramia already has an heiress, and you don't." She murmured. "It might not be the Saotome line you end, Najya-neechan...stay safe. Please don't have awoken just so that I can bury my sister for the second time!"

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For a moment nothing moved in the small Yousai bedchamber, as the glow of light trapping Ryoko and Kamidake against the wall seemed to grow and strengthen as Tsunami drew on her magic, her eyes glittering with malice and amusement as she observed the apprehensive expressions on her captives' faces.

"You are pathetic." She murmured. "Do you think there is anything you can do to stop me?"

"Sasami!" Ryoko found her voice at this moment, light glowing from her fingers as she struggled to regain some composure. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to. Stop this! Stop all of this! You know you don't want to hurt us, not really!"

"Do you listen to a word I say?" Tsunami's eyes narrowed, and Ryoko thought she saw a flicker of fire stir deep in their cold empty depths. "I told you. Sasami is gone. I have engulfed her and her will completely. She is no longer useful to me. I have my freedom and my life...and I do not answer to you, or to anyone. You can shout till you're blue in the face...Sasami is dead."

"I don't believe you!" As the flare tightened around the pair, Kamidake thrust himself forwards, his gold staff clutched in his hand as he held it out in front of his body. "I know Tsunami. I know that she protects, loves and nurtures those she cares for. And I know she loves Sasami, too. You are not Tsunami. You are an imposter."

"Insolence!" Tsunami's expression became one of anger and she flexed her hand, a bolt of white light shooting through the barrier and knocking Kamidake clean off his feet. "Don't you dare speak so to me! I know who you are, Knight of Jurai! I chose you for my purpose and I can discard you just as easily. You no longer have a use to me. Like Sasami, you are no longer necessary to further Tsunami's life. Make no mistake about it, Kamidake. I am Tsunami, and noone else."

"Kamidake!" Ryoko dropped at the knight's side. "Are you all right?"

Kamidake's eyes flickered open, but he didn't speak, and at the look on his face Ryoko's expression darkened.

"All right, Tsunami." She said frankly, getting to her feet and flaring bright amber energy from her palms. "My father hurt you once with his Arian dark magic, so lets see if I can do the same. You're not invincible, even if you think you are. You might believe you're strong, but you're nothing without Sasami. Whatever you say, we both know she's the one with the personality and the power in the relationship. Otherwise why have you kept her alive so long as this, huh? Why did you need to save her life against Yugi, if she was so useless to you? Face it, without Sasami, you don't have a life at all. You can't kill her. She's still in there somewhere, and I'm going to bring her out!"

She spread her fingers, and a volley of amber fire clattered against the white forcefield, but the bolts sizzled and faded against the power of Tsunami's energy, and the Goddess laughed, seemingly amused at the pirate's attack.

"You are stupid." She said derisively. "You are not your father, Ryoko. And I do not fear the arts of Airai. Nor do I fear you. You are nothing but a bastard-born Space Pirate, cashing in on a dubious connection to my Royal House of Jurai. If I choose, I can slay all of you with one thought. You are no match for me, no matter how strong you think you are."

"We'll see." Ryoko glanced around her for a new weapon, grabbing up Kamidake's dropped staff and waving it determinedly. "I'm not going to die easily, so you might as well prepare yourself for a fight. Even if you think I'm nothing, I'm going to disagree...and we'll see who's proven right."

"That piece of metal won't help you. I drained it of all energy long ago." Tsunami snorted, raising her hand and the staff flew from Ryoko's grip through the barrier and into the Goddess's own hand. She glanced at it for a moment, then chuckled, tossing it aside. "See? Your magic and your bravado aren't going to save you. I am Tsunami. Nobody can stop me!"

At that the white light intensified, and Ryoko dropped back to Kamidake's side, flaring a forcefield around them both as she muttered a curse under her breath.

"This is nuts." She murmured. "Tsunami's supposed to be a Goddess...if she's been poisoned, how is that Ramia bitch controlling her so easily? Seiryo said something like this might happen, but he conveniently forgot to mention what we do about it if it does. Where the hell is Washu when you need her? She always has a bright idea at a time like this!"

She glanced up at the shimmering form of the Goddess, a mixture of fear and apprehension swirling through her heart as she registered the expression of determination on the woman's face. Gone was the peaceful, pretty visage of Jurai's benevolent deity, her fine features twisted into a look of such icy hatred that Ryoko thought she looked more like an evil sorceress than a source of holy inspiration. Tsunami raised her hands, as if preparing for the kill, but at the last moment she seemed to falter, and Ryoko blinked, staring at the woman a second time. Was that...? Had she seen...?

"Well?" She taunted. "Are you all talk and no action, big bad Goddess Tsunami?"

"Shut up!" Tsunami exclaimed, but somehow Ryoko could tell that her opponant wasn't speaking to her. "Shut up! Stop it!"

"Sasami?" She murmured, as from deep within the glow surrounding the Goddess, a second figure became briefly visible. For a moment Ryoko met the gaze of the younger Princess, no more than a shadow against the bright light of Tsunami's magic. Then she was gone, but the vision gave the pirate renewed hope.

"Sasami!" She screamed. "Sasami, I know you're in there! I know you are! If you have any control over her at all, for the love of all that's good in this universe stop her!"

"Sasami is dead!" Tsunami thundered, illuminating the whole chamber with her anger, but somehow it lacked the potency of before, and Ryoko scrambled to her feet, helping the dazed Kamidake up with her.

"Sasami wouldn't hurt me and she wouldn't hurt Kamidake." She said firmly. "You know that, and I told you, she's stronger than you. Give it up, Tsunami. Or should I say...Ramia?"

"I am Tsunami." Tsunami's eyes glittered with anger. "I am noone but her."

"T...Tsunami can't be...assimilated away...from Jurai." Kamidake raised his gaze at that moment, drawing a deep breath into his lungs as he sought to steady himself. "Bewitched magic might be powering you, but you are not Tsunami's true form. This is not your will. Princess Sasami, I beg you. If you can hear me, I have faith in you. Ryoko and I both do."

"K...Kamidake?"

The voice was tentative and strange, seeming to echo out of nothingness, but Ryoko knew it had come from the apparition in front of them, as Sasami fought to regain supremacy over her form. The barrier surrounding them flickered and died, and the Goddess took a hesitant step forward, holding out a hand to the Knight. "Kamidake I...I'm sorry. I can't...I have to...I can't stop her. She's too...strong. I can't!"

"Yes, you can." Ryoko said quietly. "Sasami, you can. You know you can. You flew into space to save Tenchi from Tokimi, when you and Washu blew up Kihaku. That was Sasami, not Tsunami, who did those things. You can do this."

"Ryoko is right." Kamidake brushed his fingers against the spectre's ghostly ones, and her expression became stricken.

"She wants to kill you. She wants to kill everything." She whispered. "I have to go. Leave...get people away. I don't know what might happen..."

With that the voice faltered, and with a flash of light, Tsunami disappeared from the chamber, leaving a dazed pirate and knight to register the deep burn marks in the wall.

"Sasami-hime." Kamidake struggled to his feet, groping for his staff, but Ryoko grabbed him by the arm, shaking his head.

"Woah there, superman. You took a heck of a blow to the head and there's already one body to cart back to Jurai." She said soberly. "Hang on a minute. Sasami left here for a reason, you know that as well as I do. She doesn't think she can hold Tsunami's anger back, so she left in order to make sure she didn't hurt us."

"But Ryoko..." Kamidake gazed at the spot where his Princess had stood, then he nodded his head.

"Yes, you're right." He agreed gravely. "But that doesn't solve the problem. We have our lives, true enough, but who knows what Ramia has unleashed, if she truly has cast this spell on Tsunami's heart and soul."

"You said she couldn't be the true incarnation of Tsunami. What did you mean?" Ryoko asked. Kamidake frowned.

"When Sasami-hime assumed Tsunami's form before, she took magic from Azaka and I to do it." He said quietly. "It was only temporary...the magic wouldn't have sustained the transformation indefinitely. Princess Sasami's consciousness is still seperate from Tsunami's, and if Sasami were truly to die, Tsunami would also cease to exist. They are the same soul, so without Sasami, Tsunami cannot operate. But whatever she says about it, they're not one being, and Tsunami isn't at full strength. To do that, they'd have to be on Jurai, where Tsunami's heart and soul truly lie. But..."

"But...?"

"Well, that doesn't mean she's not dangerous." Kamidake glanced at the scorch marks again, then bit his lip, his grip tightening on his staff. "Even in a temporary state, Tsunami's magic is formidable, and probably beyond us in battle. We need to find Lord Tennan and alert him to the danger. And Lady Misao...she might be in danger also, if she has been used in the way you indicated. I suspect that Sasami-sama will try and take Tsunami as far from Yousai as she can, but she's been ill for some time and I don't know how strong she really is."

"I guess we'll find out." Ryoko said darkly, grabbing her companion by the arm. "All right. Come on. We'll find Seiryo and see what he says about it. And that sword of...of Yurikage's. It had some kind of impact on Misao, so it must be important...maybe it can even help us fight against this new danger."

"Ramia must be a very powerful witch indeed." Kamidake reflected, as they hurried through the halls of the complex. "To have bewitched Tsunami from her tower prison."

"Misao said something about souls in a box." Ryoko said thoughtfully. "She didn't understand any more than me what that meant. I'll tell you who does, though, and that's the bird-boy. Rumiya. Misao told me himself that all this serving boy nonsense has been a cover. He's Ramia's little dogsbody, and if we can root him out, I'm sure we can scare him into telling us what we want to know. He went after Misao, when she disappeared after Yurikage was felled, but he wasn't with her when I found her, so my guess is he's gone underground and I'll have to search for him if I'm going to beat the truth out of him. You go and tell Seiryo about Sasami. I'm going to see if I can track him down."

"That's a good idea." Kamidake nodded. "But come with me to Lord Tennan first. Take Yurikage-dono's sword...we know it can cause the boy harm."

"I don't need any sword." Ryoko said blackly. "I'm part Arian, remember? Haki couldn't hurt me because of that. I bet that I can hold my own against a fifteen year old boy. I was a pirate, remember. I'm no soft touch."

"All right. But be careful, Ryoko-sama." Kamidake told her gravely. "We don't want to be interring another corpse on our return home."

"The same goes for you." Ryoko said frankly. "Washu and Ryo Ohki will be here soon, in any case. I'll be glad of it, to tell you the truth. She seems to know something more about Tsunami than most, and I think they had a few heart to heart moments on the way to Kihaku. Maybe she'll have an idea about what we can do!"