Chapter 3: No Need for Invaders
Tenchi gazed up at the sky. He was finished his chores, and he had his daily training with Grandpa, and now he was on his way back for a nice warm bath. He saw a little cluster of birds fluttering through the air. As he watched the birds, he didn't notice that someone was sneaking up behind him. Ryoko threw her arms around Tenchi.
"Gah! What the?" Tenchi turned to see Ryoko's face.
"Gotcha!" she giggled. Tenchi released himself from her grip and spun around to face her. Ryoko looked confused. "What's the matter?"
"Ryoko, you need to stop doing that! You know I hate it when you do that!" Tenchi scolded. Ryoko stared at him for a minute, but then smiled as if she didn't hear him.
"Oh Tenchi! You're so demanding!" she said. She put her hands on her hips. "But then again, you do smell a little." Tenchi's jaw dropped.
"Well no wonder! I was just training with Grandpa!" Tenchi stood there looking at Ryoko. Ryoko stared back. It seemed like a minute or two when Tenchi finally broke the silence. "Let's get back to the house. Sasami probably has dinner ready for us by now. Besides, I need to wash up." Ryoko's smile came back.
"I have an idea. How 'bout I scrub your back, and then you scrub mine! Huh? What do ya say, Tenchi?" Ryoko said in a beckoning way. Tenchi drew back a little.
"Wh-what? Ryoko, as much as that sounds tempting, I'm not in the mood for it right now. Okay?" After that being said, Tenchi turned and started back for the house. Ryoko stood watching him.
"Hmmm. I know how you feel about me, Tenchi," Ryoko said to herself. "You say that you're not in the mood right now. That defiantly means something. Doesn't it?" She finally started to follow the teen back to the house. Once they arrived, there was no one around to be seen. Tenchi left to wash up before dinner. Ryoko yawned and sat down on the couch.
"Dinner is ready!" Sasami called from the kitchen.
"Finally! It's about time!" Ryoko said in a grim voice. She walked over to her spot and sat down. Ayeka came into the room.
"Oh. It's you!" Ayeka scowled. Ryoko cocked her head.
"So? Of course it's me. Why do you suddenly care?" Ryoko shot back.
"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that I have to see your face is all."
"Hey! Now what's that supposed to mean?"
"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late. I had to get dressed," Tenchi said as he walked into the room. The two girls immediately stopped fussing at each other and looked at Tenchi. Their faces made them look like innocent angels.
"Why hello, Tenchi," they both said together. They immediately shot each other a disgusted glance. Tenchi only simply smiled and chuckled. He didn't feel safe at the moment. Washu and Minagi entered the room a little while later. They both seemed to be enjoying a conversation together.
"Dinner's served!" Sasami cheered as she entered to room with steaming dishes. All the others took a deep whiff and sighed. Sasami's cooking smelled better than usual.
"What's the occasion, Sasami?" Tenchi asked.
"Oh! It's for Minagi's return! I hope you all like it!" Sasami answered.
"But, didn't she arrive yesterday?" Tenchi asked.
"Well, it happened close to dinner time, so I already had something cooking. And since I had time tonight, ta-da!" Sasami said with excitement. "So dig in!"
"Wow! Smells great! Don't mind if I do!" Ryoko grabbed a pair of chopsticks and began to pile food onto her plate. Minagi look flattered.
"Oh! I'm so excited! No one has ever gone out of their way for me before! Usually they just get out of my way 'cause they think I'm-"
"'Cause they think you're me! Yeah, yeah! We've heard it all before!" Ryoko bellowed. She stuffed rice into her mouth. Ayeka put a hand over her mouth and chuckled to herself.
"Of course they would run in fear. You are a space-pirate after all," Ayeka teased. Ryoko growled.
"Don't remind me! You know I gave up pirating a long time ago!"
"Oh really? Since when?" Ayeka snapped. Ryoko snickered.
"Ever since I met my one and true love! Tenchi!" she said in a dreamy voice as she threw her arms around Tenchi's neck.
"Um, Ryoko? I-"
"Whaaa?" Ayeka nearly screamed. "Now listen here, you...you...you selfish, little demon!"
"Oh boy!" Sasami sighed. "This is bad! Why can't they wait until later to duke it out? We have company!"
"This outta get interesting," said Washu.
"Oh?" Minagi asked looking at the master genius. "Are they fighting over Tenchi?"
"Yeah," Sasami breathed heavily. "It's like this pretty much every night."
"Well, Tenchi must be a lucky guy. I don't know much about your sister, Ayeka. But I do know quite a bit about Ryoko. If you were to ask me, I think Ryoko would be a better choice. No offense, but your sister seems to be a little...out of wack."
Ryoko and Ayeka looked at Minagi.
"What?" Ayeka screamed. Steam spewed out from her ears.
"Thank you, sis!" Ryoko winked.
"Why do you support this woman?" Ayeka demanded.
"Well, for one she is my sister," Minagi answered.
"That's right. You go girl!" Ryoko thanked her clone sister.
"Just because she's you're sister doesn't mean you should support her!" Ayeka said slamming her hands on the table. She looked over at Sasami. Her expression changed from anger to sorrow when she saw the tears forming in the girl's eyes.
"But...I support you in everything, Ayeka." Sasami whimpered. She was really starting to look hurt. Minagi looked at Sasami. Her eyes too looked wet.
"Oh, it's okay, Sasami," Minagi said, and she crawled over to pigtailed girl and gave her a hug. Sasami hugged her back. She glared up at Ayeka.
"Maybe you should be more like Minagi, sis!" Sasami said angerly. Ayeka looked heartbroken.
"Oh, Sasami! I'm so sorry!" the princess cried. She crawled over to her sister and joined in the hug.
"Group hug!" Washu shouted. The three girls jumped when Washu suddenly threw herself on top of them.
"Ack! Washu! What're ya doing?" Ayeka asked. Minagi only smiled big and wrapped her arms around the group.
"I love this family! C'mon, sis! Tenchi! Join in!" Minagi gurgled.
"Na thanks. Tenchi and I are fine right were we are. Isn't that right, Tenchi, darling?" Ryoko pressed her cheek against the boy's cheek. "Oh? What's this? Hey, Princess!"
"What do ya want?" Ayeka snapped. Ryoko pointed at Tenchi's face.
"Isn't this enough proof that he loves me instead of you? Look, he's blushing!"
"What?" Ayeka screamed. She looked at the teen's face. Sure enough, it was a bright red.
"It's not what you think, Ayeka!" Tenchi pleaded. Ryoko laughed and squeezed her arms around him.
"Oh, I think it is! Ha ha ha ha!" Ryoko rocked her body around like as if she were hugging a teddy bear.
Dinner went on as it always did, and ended like it always did. Soon, it was eventually time for bed.
. . .
Just a little beyond the Earth's moon a dark, sleek craft came on a set course for the water planet. The ship quickly passed by the Moon, and just before it reached Earth, it veered off to a new course. While it was above the planet, a pod launched from the ship. It immediately struck the Earth's atmosphere. Back on the surface, the Masaki home had quieted down. All the members of the house were already asleep. All except for a little girl with long pig-tails, and her strange, but cute pet. She stared out the window just before she looked at her companion.
"Well, let's go to bed, Ryo-Ohki." The cabbit mewed and hopped off towards the girl's bed. The last light of the now sleeping home went out. Almost right after it did, the sky flickered with a strange light. High above the clouds, a small, one-man pod came into view. It penetrated through the clouds, heading straight for the lake just below. With the help of some flaps that opened up, the pods speed slowed down. It wasn't enough though. The pod crashed into the lake with a loud splash. The small craft was small enough to be hidden just under the surface. Not too long after the pod touched down, a moving object was seen in the water. It was heading for shore, and then it surfaced. A shimmering shape of electrical splashes split the surface. It purred with a slight hint of annoyance. It walked up to the muddy beach. When it was finally out of the water, it paused. It pressed a few buttons on its arm, and the electric splashing stopped. The creature finally became visible. It was the yautja that came to hunt for the freed bugs. Mut'terk.
Mut'terk softly purred a clicking sound before adjusting to the environment around him. He took a look around. He turned to face the lake, but then stopped. On the other side of the lake he spotted a structure. There were signs of life. He quickly zoomed in. There was one blob of heat. One sign of life, but was he spotted? Mut'terk waited. The colorful shape that stood out from the dark blue hazy background eventually retreated inside the structure. It proceeded casually, it was in no hurry to report his existence. He waited, just to be sure. Nothing. Satisfied, Mut'terk, clicked with relief. His vision zoomed back to normal view. He then turned to his left arm gauntlet. He pressed a few buttons, and a small, holographic map appeared in his vision. He pressed a few more buttons. Tracing the distress signal didn't take too long. He eventually calculated the location of the signal. He growled with excitement. Now he was getting somewhere. He started to make his was towards the given direction.
. . .
Sasami got into her bed and laid her head down. Her eyes were half shut when she heard it. A loud splashing sound. She sat up.
"Ayeka?" she whispered. The sleeping princess didn't respond. Sasami got up and rubbed her eyes. "Could it be? Did Mihoshi and Kiyone get back already?" she wondered out loud. She walked over to the sliding glass door leading to the porch. She peered out side, but saw nothing. It was too dark. Then she spotted something. It was too far away for her to see what it was. It was on the other side of the lake. After that she saw no more movement. Sasami eventually got bored and shrugged. She crept back to her bed and got under the covers.
Outside, the alien hunter made his way through the wooded hills. At first, the trees were small and weak, but soon they became larger, stronger trees as Mutt continued on. He leaped up onto a branch and looked into the darkness. He was still moving in the right direction. He clicked a purr in the back of his throat and leaped to another tree.
Eventually, Mutt found what he was looking for. He could see the shape of a large metallic structure. It was resting in between two large hill sides. He dropped down to the forest floor and looked over the fallen ship. It appeared to be undisturbed. No signs of human interference. This was good. The oomans of this planet didn't need to know of this.
Mutt looked up to search for an opening. He spotted a hole near the top. He leaped up next to it. The hole flashed with electrical splashes. Mutt jumped in through the hole. When he landed inside, he looked around for any signs of life. He saw none. There were chords and wires dangling around throughout the interior. Mutt had to stay slightly crouched as he moved deeper into the ship. When he came around some crushed metal plating, he stopped. The body of a yautja laid on his back before him.
Mutt stared at the corpse for a moment. Then he placed a hand on the helmet of the deceased and moaned a growl of respect for the dead hunter. When he looked up again, he noticed the hole in the neck. Xenos. He growled with anger. He had to know exactly what events occurred here. Mutt pulled the two small hoses from his mask and removed it. He then did the same to the fallen yautja's mask. He held up the bloody bio helmet to his face and activated the history data that was recorded. He watched through the once living eyes. He witnessed a seemingly normal recording, but then in a flash, all hell broke loose. Just then, a blurry object ran across the screen. Mutt growled in surprise. What was that? He rewound the recording and paused it on the blurred image. He took a good, long look at it. Could it be? No! It can't! He removed the bio helmet and set it down back on the face of the deceased.
Mutt growled with more anger. Now he saw what caused this ship to crash. He would have his revenge on that monster, but then he hesitated. He rubbed his chin as he clicked a purr of excitement. He had heard about this kind of prey, but he had never truly seen one, much less hunt one. This was new prey. He smiled. This would be a challenge. Just what he came for. New game. He replaced his own helmet on his face and looked around for a lead. He switched through many visions until he switched to the right one. He was now able to see the slime residue that was left behind by the xenos. He began to stand when something caught his eye. He crouched down and picked it up. A two-piece net gun. He disassembled the weapon into two pieces and attached them to his belt. He picked up some net gun ammo clips and placed them into a pouch on his belt. Mutt felt like this would come in handy.
He detached the gauntlet panel from the dead yautja and activated a minor bomb. The blast would only be enough to destroy the ship. As soon as the bomb started its beeping countdown, Mutt stood and raced back under the hole in which he entered. He leaped up through it and then jumped off the ship. He didn't stop running. Mutt ran as far as he could just before the ship finally exploded. Now there was only a giant crated where the ship once rested.
. . .
"Whoa! Huh?" Tenchi sat up quickly. "What was that?" he wondered out loud. There was a distant sound of rumbling, but it soon faded away. Was it thunder? Tenchi laid back down. "Must have been a dream."
Just then, Tenchi heard a scuffing noise outside his room. It was a quiet noise, but he heard it. He glanced over at his door. After what seemed like a while, the door to his room quietly slide open. Tenchi squinted. He could see the silhouette of a person against the darkness. The figure stepped into the room. Tenchi's heart rate quickened. He saw Ryoko's face come into view of the moonlight from the window.
"R-Ryoko?" Tenchi stuttered. Ryoko didn't respond. Was she sleep walking? "Ryoko, wake up!" Tenchi said, trying not to be too loud. Ryoko lifted her head. Her eyes were open. Tenchi could see that she was clearly awake. She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. Ryoko wasn't smiling one of her devious grins. Instead, she looked hurt. She seemed to be hugging herself. Her body shook. "Ryoko? Are you okay?" Tenchi asked.
"It's cold, Tenchi. I can't sleep," Ryoko whispered.
"Oh?" Tenchi stared at her. "Well, what do you want me to do? Get a blanket for you?" Ryoko didn't say anything. Instead, she walked over to Tenchi's bed. She stood there looking at him for a moment. Tenchi gasped when Ryoko suddenly pulled his blankets back. She climbed into his bed and then pulled the blankets back over her and Tenchi. "R-R-Ryoko?"
"Mmm..." Ryoko snuggled in close to Tenchi. She turned her head to face him. "And just for the record, I'm not doing this to get close to you, it really is that cold."
"Oh? Oh." Tenchi wanted to protest against her, but she seemed to be telling the truth. "Okay, fine. Just keep your clothes on, and no funny business, understand?"
"Mm-hm," Ryoko answered, but she didn't really seem to hear him. Tenchi laid there, not knowing what to do. He didn't feel quite comfortable with her in the same bed like that. Though, she did say she wasn't trying to get close to him, but Ryoko was known to be the lying type. Tenchi eventually just shrugged. He laid his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes.
