[Author's Note: This story is placed in the "No Need for Tenchi" manga
universe, an extension of the OAV series. It reflects individuals and
events from the first eight mangas.]
No Need for Tenchi - Minagi's Adventure
Chapter 2: Trouble Shared
"Minagi!" Sasami dashed across the pier with her pigtails flying. Tears
of joy in her eyes, she gave Minagi a surprisingly strong hug. "I'm so
glad to see you!"
Minagi smiled down at Sasami and realized how much she missed her and
everyone else. It was like a missing piece of her life had returned.
Her eyes glistened wetly as she realized she had friends and family who
loved her and she loved back. Hugging Sasami fiercely, she found
herself blinking rapidly to clear her eyesight.
"I'm glad to see you too, Sasami."
Looking up, she saw Tenchi grinning widely at her.
"Minagi! It's good to see you again, and thanks for not smashing into
the house or anything! We've just finished rebuilding from Mihoshi's
last visit."
Somehow, Mihoshi managed to look unabashed. Instead she seemed as happy
as Sasami and was busy hopping up and down. "Minagi! How is
everything?" It seemed her spirit was indomitable when it came to
property damage.
"I'm fine, everyone, but I was wondering if Washu was around?"
With Sasami at her side, Minagi sauntered towards the Masaki house. She
wondered where Ryoko and Ayeka were.
As if by cue, Washu, Ryoko and Ayeka came around the corner. Minagi's
eyes widened at what she saw. She quickly looked at Tenchi, who looked
as though he had been smacked square in the middle of his forehead with
a hammer.
"Wha - what's going on here?" Tenchi stammered, his voice having the
quality of someone who had just seen a universal constant crumbling
before his eyes. A nervous twitch had started up in his right cheek and
his arms had fallen limply to his sides.
Ryoko and Ayeka were laughing and talking sweetly together. In fact,
they seemed downright pleasant to each other. Minagi's eyes narrowed
when she noticed the strange collars around their necks and Washu's
insane (it had to be) grin.
"Minagi, how nice of you to stop by and visit your mom! You couldn't
have timed your visit better, as I have completed my solution to the
second most destructive force in the Masaki household - Ryoko's and
Ayeka's fights."
Incredibly, Mihoshi chirped, "But Washu, what is the most destructive
force in the Masaki household?"
Everyone paused and took a good, long look at her. Even Ryoko and Ayeka
paused in their newfound best girlfriend chatter. Washu muttered
something about limits to even her genius. Shrugging helplessly, she
merely said, "That's not important right now, Mihoshi."
Brightening back up, Washu waved enthusiastically. "I would like to
proudly introduce my cleverest invention yet, the aggression nullifier!
With this handy tool I can turn even these two into dearest friends!"
Ryoko and Ayeka paused in their chatter as they both saw Tenchi at the
same time. Arm in arm they moved slowly towards him, odd smiles on both
their faces and a gleam in their eyes. "Tenchi," they both crooned, "we
were wondering if you would like to go out with us today?"
Tenchi's eyes grew even wider. His pupils dilated as if he was
encountering a kind of sublime terror only a teenaged boy surrounded by
beautiful alien women could suffer.
Minagi and Sasami exchanged glances and sighed. It was going to be
another one of those days, apparently. Sasami blushed a bit as Tenchi
uttered a terrified scream and bolted off towards the woods, Ryoko and
Ayeka following. Mihoshi shouted after them and took off also.
"Would you like to have some tea, Minagi?"
Minagi was relieved to find that at least some things were still
normal. "I'd love some tea," she replied. "Oh, Washu?"
"Yes, daughter of mine?"
Minagi still found it difficult to equate this young looking redhead
with spiky hair as her mother, but then again nobody would have guessed
her age to be roughly 20,000 years, either. Making matters worse, Washu
was technically her grandmother and Ryoko her mother. However, Washu
seemed all too eager to fill the role of a mother in Minagi's life,
whereas Ryoko had other interests.
Eager to avoid the whole sticky mess, she held up the damaged security
crystal from the library and started describing her problem. "I've
stumbled onto something big, but I'm not sure what exactly is going on.
I've got a security crystal I can't read and was wondering if -"
"A mystery? Gimme that!" Washu snatched the crystal out of Minagi's
hand and dashed off to her lab. Apparently, mothering instincts took a
distant second to challenges to her intellect.
Minagi looked blankly after Washu. Was she actually cackling? Shaking
her head, Minagi smiled and looked down at Sasami. "I guess it'll just
be the two of us for tea, Sasami."
"That's okay. I want to hear about all the exciting things you've been
doing!"
Minagi's smile faded as she thought of all the dead and murdered that
had brought her here. Looking down at Sasami's smiling face and
innocent eyes, she shuddered as images of eyeless corpses flashed
across her mind. Patting Sasami's shoulder, she said nothing and merely
hugged her again. There was some excitement a child didn't need to be
exposed to.
Later in the evening
Washu's experiment on Ryoko and Ayeka failed when the girls had to
decide which one of them was going to kiss Tenchi first. Luckily, the
explosions when the collars burned out weren't enough to hurt anyone,
but both Ryoko and Ayeka were sitting far apart and were alternating
their glares between each other and Washu. Tenchi seemed to be the
worse for wear, and Minagi was wondering if he might be suffering from
some kind of post-traumatic stress syndrome or something. He kept
nervously shifting his eyes between Ryoko and Ayeka as if he almost
expected them both to pounce on him. Minagi giggled at the thought.
She turned her attention to the weird setup Washu had created in the
Masaki living room. Washu had come out of her lab earlier with a
pleased expression and an odd device hooked up to the security crystal.
Oblivious to Ryoko's and Ayeka's glares, she whistled an odd tune as
she hooked the whole setup to the TV.
Dinner was a chance to catch up on old times. Minagi hadn't seen
everyone since the battle with the super-genius Yume and the second
generation Jurai tree Bizen over six months back. As dinner progressed,
Tenchi slowly warmed back up to his normal skittishness and was soon
able to talk without flinching whenever he looked at either Ryoko or
Ayeka.
"So, Minagi, what brings you back here to visit?" Ryoko waggled a
chopstick in her direction. "Don't tell me you need some tips on how to
be a proper pirate?"
Minagi smiled sweetly back at Ryoko, leaned back, and casually took a
sip of sake before replying. "You know, I might need your help. I can't
figure out how you were ever able to balance plundering freighters,
drinking tequila, and getting foot massages from oiled hunks. Does it
take years of practice, or am I missing something?"
Ryoko's face turned a funny shade of red and a nervous bead of sweat
dropped off her forehead. Glancing over at Tenchi - whose startled
expression had returned - Ryoko gave a sickly smile. "Er, ha-ha, that's
funny. Whoever could have made up such a silly story? Really, Minagi,
you're such a joker, ha-ha."
Minagi grinned, feeling a certain glee for teasing her `big sister/
mother/whatever'. "Oh, I don't know. I'm impressed that two well built
young men oiled up and in loincloths are considered an `appetizer' for
you. I never imagined following in your footsteps would lead to this!"
Ryoko's flush deepened even further. Ayeka was currently choking on
something and Mihoshi was beating on her back. Washu had cradled her
head in her hands and mournfully cried, "What is a mother to do?
Really, Ryoko."
"What? Hey, I was younger and wilder back then. I'm much more
sophisticated now, right, Tenchi?"
Tenchi had a slightly appalled look on his face. "Ryoko, you plunder
planets but have a hankering for foot massages?"
Ryoko gave a small whimper and shrank down a bit as she realized that
her colorful past was something Tenchi didn't really want to find out
about. Suddenly, a wide grin split Tenchi's face and tears rolled down;
the image of the dread space pirate Ryoko enjoying a foot massage was
entirely too much for him. Before long, the entire table was laughing
and even Ryoko was able to chuckle at her predicament.
Even the glower Ryoko tried to direct towards Minagi faded before her
sunny smile. Ryoko realized that Minagi had stumbled onto a
particularly embarrassing bit of her past, and it had proved too juicy
to pass up.
/You better be careful, missy,/ Ryoko sent to Minagi. /Living up to my
pirate standards isn't as easy as it looks./
Minagi grinned back. /Sorry about bringing that up, but how could I
resist?/ She sobered up and spoke out loud. "There were times I wished
you were with me, Ryoko. There's something going on and I think it's
trouble, big trouble."
Her admission brought the merriment to an abrupt halt. "I'm sorry,
everyone, but I came back for an important reason. Someone has been
killing off dealers in antiquities, and now he's disappeared. My only
clues are that security crystal and a holographic projector he left
behind. Washu, were you able to recover the contents of the security
crystal?"
Washu nodded. "Perhaps you should fill us in on the whole story after
dinner." She glanced meaningfully towards Sasami. "That way we can go
over the - grimmer - parts of your story."
Had Washu already watched the events unfold on the library? Minagi
looked closely at her but could detect nothing in her expression to say
either way.
Dinner concluded on a quieter note, as if everyone could sense
something unpleasant about to happen. Minagi berated herself for
bringing it up right in the middle of dinner, but she hadn't realized
how much this was starting to worry her. The look in August's eyes when
he had warned her about the powers she was getting involved with was
starting to worry her.
Sasami realized she wasn't going to hear what Minagi had to say later
on and it obviously bothered her. It hurt Minagi to see Sasami feel so
neglected, but she knew it was for the better. Kneeling down in front
of her, she took Sasami's hands into hers and looked straight into her
eyes. "Sasami, you have to believe me when I say this. You do not want
to hear what we have to discuss, and you definitely don't want to see
what's on the security crystal. Please, trust me on this."
Sasami bit her lip and tears trembled in her eyes. "It's alright. I've
learned that it takes courage to wait. I just hate the helpless feeling
I have when everyone I love keeps getting hurt. I don't want anyone to
get hurt."
Tenchi came up behind Sasami and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Sasami,
we're all proud of you. We have to do these things that may get us
hurt. But it would kill me if that ever happened to you."
Ryoko called from the lounge area, "Tenchi, Minagi - Washu has the
device almost ready."
"We've got to go, Sasami. Promise me you won't listen in."
"Okay, Tenchi." Sasami collected some plates and headed off to the
kitchen.
Minagi rose and noticed Tenchi staring at the kitchen door. "Thanks for
helping out," she said. Tenchi came out of his reverie and gave an
absentminded smile at Minagi. Together they walked over to the lounge
area.
Ryoko had kicked her feet up on the table; she wasted no time getting
to business. "So what's up, Minagi? It had better be good after that
foot massage stunt you pulled."
"Believe me, Ryoko, it is."
Minagi related the story, beginning with the first ambush. As her story
continued she was interrupted by sharp questions from everyone. Her
head hurt as she tried to recollect the tiniest detail of a
conversation or scene from an attack. Finally, as she reached the
description of her trek through the library, she noticed everyone's
faces becoming very serious. Their expressions changed as she detailed
the various horrors and damage done to ship and crew.
Tenchi seemed sick at the loss of life; there was a burning anger in
his eyes. Ryoko had the look of a hardened professional, detaching
herself from the horror. Mihoshi seemed the most upset; tears were
welling up in her eyes. Ayeka looked upset also, but she sat stiff-
backed, her fists clenched in anger. Washu seemed as detached as Ryoko,
but her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she listened to every
word Minagi said.
Finally, Minagi's story came to an end. "So the only pieces of evidence
I have that might lead me to Avashar are that crystal and this
holographic projector."
"Let's see the projection first, Minagi." Tenchi's voice was very
serious. "I want to see the face of this butcher up close."
Minagi nodded, fired up the projector, and began playing the recording
again. Ryoko raised an eyebrow at Avashar's mistake, identifying Minagi
as herself, but said nothing. When the projector reached the part where
Avashar generated his sword, Washu's hand snapped down and paused the
projection.
"Hmm, so what do we have here?" She brought up her workstation and
busily punched calculations in. "Looks like an awfully impressive
sword."
The blade was pitch black. Lightning coursed along its edge; terrible
glyphs and blood-red runes were engraved along its length. If one
looked closely, one could almost make out screaming faces twisting
within the blade's surface.
Minagi nodded. "I agree, Washu, but for some reason something seems,
well, wrong with it."
"Well, Tenchi, it certainly looks like a powerful blade. Jealous?"
Ryoko sat up and leaned across the table to get closer to the
projection, eyes wide at the blade.
"Ryoko, there's nothing wrong with my blade." Tenchi was also staring
at the blade with a confused look on his face.
"I'm sure there isn't, Tenchi. Maybe I can help you hone -" Ryoko, not
missing a beat, had begun to take the conversation somewhere else
entirely.
Ayeka delivered a sharp smack to Ryoko's posterior. "That's enough,
Ryoko! What if that sword is as powerful as it looks?"
Ryoko was about to start into Ayeka when something else caught
everyone's attention: Washu was laughing. Laughing hard. Tears were
pouring down her face. Minagi wondered if Washu had finally snapped;
after all, it was really only a matter of time. From the nervous look
on everyone else's faces, the same thought was running through their
heads.
"Oh, this is too rich! Bwwhuuahaha!" Washu was actually having
difficulty breathing; she had fallen off her cushion and was kicking
her feet in the air. Finally her laughing attack passed and, still
chucking, she sat up.
"Whew, that was precious. Now watch closely, everyone."
She began punching a key repeatedly on the holographic projector.
Minagi's eyes widened a bit as with Washu's first keystroke the tiny
little screaming faces disappeared from within the blade; with the
second, the glyphs and runes shimmered and faded from view; the third,
the coursing lightning. The fourth keystroke turned the shimmering
black blade into a rather ordinary sword, plain steel with a faint blue
glow about it.
"You were right, Minagi. Avashar simply used digital enhancements
available on any holographic projector to make his sword," she cleared
her throat awkwardly, "appear a little more impressive than before."
Minagi was puzzled. "Why would anybody do that?"
Ryoko leaned over and replied in a stage whisper, "It's kind of a male
thing, Minagi. Guys and their swords and all that."
Minagi felt her cheeks warm as Ayeka and Washu both hung their heads in
despair. Tenchi and Mihoshi both had blank looks on their faces, but
Tenchi seemed to have a slowly dawning realization of what Ryoko was
talking about.
Minagi desperately tried to change the subject. "How about the security
tape, Washu?"
Ryoko's grin indicated that she knew she had scored one. /And that's
just the beginning of my payback./
Minagi refused to answer, but her silence only made Ryoko's grin widen.
Washu made a few tiny adjustments to the device hooked up to the
security crystal and started the recording. Ryoko dropped right back to
business mode. The room's lights dimmed until the only source of
illumination was the TV screen.
Washu talked idly as she made one final adjustment. "I've started it
just before the entire event occurred. That was about one hour before
you arrived, Minagi."
The screen jumped and then refocused. Minagi recognized the main
corridor leading to the vault. A robed figure, its features hidden from
the camera, walked amidst a group of expensively dressed traders,
modest librarians, and several guards. An animated conversation was
going on around the robed figure.
"Is there any sound?"
"Not yet, there are sections where damage to the crystal prevents any
sound playback." Washu kept fiddling with dials and punching codes into
her keyboard. "Expect some skipping from time to time."
Finally the group reached the main vault. More guards were evident
here, and they carefully scanned all the members of the group before
opening the vault door. Minagi's heart began to race as her instincts
cried that the moment of the library's disaster was drawing near.
As the group filed in through the vault door, the robed figure moved to
stand confidently in the center of the chamber. They were still
entering the chamber when total chaos exploded.
Screams tore through the Masaki living room, startling everyone.
Mihoshi screamed and jumped behind the couch. Ayeka and Ryoko grabbed
hold of Tenchi. Even Washu looked surprised. Minagi realized that her
heart was pounding in her chest; she had half-risen out of the couch.
It was the screams that did it. These were screams of absolute terror
and pain, horrible, soul-wrenching pain as a terrible wave of energy
streaked forth from the robed figure, lashing out at books, librarians,
guards, everything. Even as they watched, the books shimmered and
vanished from sight. Everything else in the chamber disappeared,
obliterated by the power emanating from the entity.
The screams died off, but a terrible keening noise was building up as
the aura around the robed figure continued to build. Everyone gasped as
the robes split apart and something - else - was left standing there.
Minagi's breath caught. It wasn't Avashar, but it was humanlike. He
floated in midair, arms outstretched and face tilted upwards, his body
glowing with a pure white light. His clothing was of the purest white
and his face was perfection itself.
Except for his eyes. Minagi couldn't explain it, but there was a
hardness there, an indifference to life. It was like looking into the
eyes of a dead thing. The entity relaxed for a second, and then a
terrible burst of energy exploded from him, tearing outwards. The
entire screen jiggled and faded out for a moment.
Washu rapidly typed some additional commands into her workstation and
the image came back. She rapidly scrolled to an external view. Everyone
gasped; the shockwave had traveled outwards into space, shattering the
ships orbiting the library. Only one ship remained untouched, a ship
that hadn't been there when Minagi arrived. It was a small ship, about
the size of Avashar's, but its hull was sleeker and of the purest
white, marred by only a few smooth nodules.
Washu turned back to the vault cameras but the entity had already gone.
Skipping through different camera views, it was apparent that the
library power systems were failing and the artificial gravity was
already knocked out. Not every chamber was exposed to the vacuum, as
blast doors automatically shut after the explosion, but every camera
she turned to displayed the same grim result: everyone on board had
been killed by the shockwave.
She refocused on the vault, sighed, and then turned to Minagi. "I think
you were very lucky to be late to this particular meeting."
"Do you know who or what that was?" Minagi was surprised at how calm
she sounded.
"No, but I can tell you that he is very powerful. Worse yet, he took
those books for some unknown reason. Given what that August character
told you, I shudder to think what purpose they will serve."
Tenchi nudged Ryoko and Ayeka off him. "Washu, where is that power
coming from?"
"Judging from what August told Minagi, that entity may very well have
tapped into higher dimensions for his power."
Ayeka straightened up and asked worriedly, "But Washu, what would a
creature do with power like that?"
"I don't know, Miss Ayeka. I don't know, and that is what has me
worried." Her frown was replaced by a bright smile. "But on the bright
side, a dimensional power like that should be sooo easy for someone
like me to find!" Without any further ado, she jumped up and scampered
to her laboratory.
Ryoko leaned back and kicked her feet up again. She turned to gaze at
Tenchi for a moment, then back to the empty chamber. She seemed
worried.
Mihoshi had her GP cube out and had already changed into her uniform.
"Uh, guys? I'm going to get Yukinojo ready for flight. I'm going to
have to warn the Galaxy Police about this." Twisting the cube a few
more times, she disappeared in a flash of light. Minagi thought she
heard a distant splash a second later.
Ayeka lightly touched Tenchi's hand. "Tenchi, I'm going to check on
Sasami. I have a sinking sensation we're going to be leaving all too
soon."
"That's a good idea, Ayeka. I should see her also." Tenchi got up and
followed after her. He glanced worriedly at Ryoko for a second, but
seeing no impending eruption, sighed in relief and left the room.
Ryoko didn't even bat an eyelash, just sat and stared at the recording.
Without looking at Minagi she started talking. "We're going to have to
be careful, Minagi. Anyone who can obliterate ships like that is no
pushover. When we fight this creature, we will have to hit him at the
same time, hard and fast, nothing fancy. I don't know if anyone can go
toe to toe with this bastard."
Minagi nodded. "You're worried about Tenchi trying something heroic?"
Ryoko shrugged. "I'm worried about everyone. Just don't tell anyone
else that." She shot a sharp glance at Minagi.
Minagi smiled. "I'm worried about them, too. Shall we talk to Sasami?"
"Yeah, I'd - hey, what's that?"
Minagi turned back to the screen. A lone figure had drifted into the
vault and was looking around. Minagi recognized him instantly. "It's
Avashar, but what is he doing?"
He floated into the center of the chamber, right where the entity had
been. Seconds later he began to float upwards. Extending his arms
outward and tilting his head backwards, he exactly mimicked the
entity's pose. He floated like that for a few more seconds before
settling back down.
"What's he doing?" Ryoko whispered.
"I don't know. Wait, the sound's working again."
Avashar had brought out the holographic projector, and after mounting
it to the floor, began recording his message.
"Space pirate Ryoko, I don't know why a cutie like you is chasing after
me like this."
Minagi frowned; that wasn't the way she remembered it. The recording
continued.
"I'm flattered, but I'm busy right now. No, no, this won't work." He
stopped the recording and started pacing back and forth in the chamber.
Minagi and Ryoko looked at each other. "Cutie, huh?" Ryoko said,
arching an eyebrow and making Minagi's cheeks flush.
They both flinched when they heard a throat clear behind them. Ayeka
stood there with Tenchi, both of them smiling at Minagi's discomfort.
Avashar was now trying another recording, which failed as miserably as
the first. Between corny poses, bad grammar, and retakes, it took five
more tries before he got it right. By that time Tenchi, Ayeka, Ryoko
and Minagi were staring in amazement at the screen.
"Is this guy for real?" Ryoko asked, scratching her head.
"You've got me, Ryoko." Ayeka seemed just as puzzled, and for a time
they dropped their usual routine of sniping at each other.
Avashar had finished the recording and was making the enhancements to
his sword in the projection. While he worked, he continued to talk to
himself. "Now that's a kick-ass sword. One look at this baby and
Ryoko's going to choose a career path in basket weaving. Damn, I'm
clever." With that said, Avashar gestured briefly and a portal opened
up before him. Whistling an off-key tune, he strolled through. It
closed behind him.
Ryoko looked at Minagi. "Basket weaving? If you don't get to him first,
I'm going to kick his ass all the way to the edge of the Galaxy."
"You know, Ryoko, that fellow might have a better understanding of your
skills than you realize." Ayeka giggled at Ryoko's expression,
apparently unable to resist such an opening.
"Listen princess, I'll be more than happy -"
"That's enough, both of you." Tenchi rolled his eyes and pulled himself
up. "I'm going to try and get some sleep. Who knows how soon we're
going to be needed."
"Good idea Tenchi, I've got the perfect thing to help make you sleepy."
Minagi groaned as Ayeka tackled Ryoko and the two of them went crashing
to the floor. Tenchi didn't even look back at them; he merely sighed
and started up the steps to his room.
Minagi turned back to the screen and scratched her head. "I'm a cutie,
huh?" she thought. This was getting weirder by the minute.
Breakfast was a restrained affair. Tenchi's grandfather had returned
from visiting family and Tenchi was filling him in on what was going
on. Neither Washu nor Mihoshi were present, and Tenchi shuddered to
think what mischief Mihoshi was getting herself into. It didn't matter
as long as she didn't try landing on the house again.
Minagi groaned with pleasure; Sasami's breakfasts were astounding.
Sasami didn't seem to be her usual cheerful self, but worrying that
everyone might be facing a powerful entity would do that. Minagi leaned
over and patted Sasami's hand gently.
"Sasami, I keep thinking I should take you along with me when I'm out
pirating. Your cooking is simply incredible and I could use a good
cook."
"Do you really think I could come along?" Sasami's face lit up at the
thought of adventure and excitement in deep space - and cooking.
Minagi groaned silently to herself. She could see Ayeka and Tenchi both
looking at her as if she had grown horns on her head. This wasn't the
reaction she was hoping for. "What I meant is, well, um, you see..."
Ayeka stopped frowning and smiled at Sasami. "What Minagi meant was
that she misses your company, Sasami, not that she wants to drag you
halfway across the galaxy on a cooking tour. What would Ryo-Ohki do
without you?"
Sasami thought about that, then turned back towards Minagi and said
very seriously, "I wish I could go with you, Minagi, but I have to take
care of everyone here. And how can I leave Ryo-Ohki alone?"
Minagi sighed with relief and shot a grateful glance at Ayeka. Ayeka
giggled and dove back into her breakfast. Ryoko had hardly even
registered the little crisis, so deeply enamoured was she with her
breakfast. She had just wolfed down a large mouthful when Washu burst
in with a triumphant cry.
"I've found it!"
Ryoko immediately started gagging on her food. Tenchi's grandfather
glanced sideways at Ryoko, sighed, and gave her a hearty slap on the
back. Ryoko hacked, coughed and finally swallowed. Her face turned beet
red when she realized that everyone was staring at her.
"What?"
"Don't worry about Miss Piggy over there," Washu said, ignoring Ryoko's
strangled cry. "I've located the position and heading of that entity.
It took me most of the night before I realized that he was much weaker
than when we first saw him on the library. While it's dangerous to make
an assumption on so little hard data, my research on dimensional energy
has indicated that a higher dimensional being cannot employ its full
strength in lower dimensions. To impose a physical body in this
dimension requires a tremendous loss of raw power.
"Instead, I believe the entity is using the lore of higher dimensions
from our dimension so it can better access the raw energies from its
own dimension. When it doesn't need to access those energies, it limits
its usage to the lowest possible levels."
Minagi's head wobbled. Pressing one hand to her head, she raised the
other to get Washu's attention. "Washu, could you perhaps paraphrase
that for us?" She noticed nods from around the table.
Washu gritted her teeth and organized her thoughts. "It's simple.
Usually a higher dimensional being can only enter this dimension by
shedding a tremendous amount of its power. This entity no longer faces
those restrictions, but can only maintain those higher levels of power
for a limited period of time before it loses control of all the energy
it is channeling."
Tenchi nodded, grasping the concept. "Washu, how powerful can that
creature be when it's accessing all its power?"
"If it had enough time to fully power up, godlike. The end result for
our galaxy could be very bad, very bad indeed. But it may be hesitant
to do so until it's ready to complete whatever task it has set out to
accomplish."
"What goal is that?" Ayeka was already seeing the possible impact such
an entity could have on the entire galaxy's balance of power.
"I don't know, Ayeka. But I do know it hasn't accomplished its goals
yet."
"Why do you say that?" Ayeka's food sat forgotten, and she kept
absently tapping her finger against her juice glass.
"Simple, really; I haven't registered any other bursts of powerful
dimensional energy. And the Galaxy still exists. Also, that ship is
moving directly towards the Solar System and, I would guess, the
Earth."
"What!" Tenchi stood bolt upright. "Washu, why didn't you tell us
earlier?"
Washu smiled sweetly at Tenchi. "Ryoko interrupted me with all her
choking."
"Hey, why are you putting the blame on me?" Ryoko's expression was one
of hurt innocence.
Tenchi closed his eyes and mentally started counting to ten. Sometimes
Washu's take on the universe was a little too casual for his liking.
This was one of those times. "Little Washu, could you tell us how long
we have before that entity reaches the Earth?" He was amazed at how
calm he sounded.
"Enough time, but we'll have to hurry." Around the table, everyone
nodded in quick agreement, their faces serious.
Minagi blinked in surprise. It amazed her how quickly everyone could
change gears. "Washu, do you have an idea for stopping this entity?"
"Since it's not ravaging across the Galaxy, my guess is that it's loath
to use its power needlessly. If we hit it hard and fast it may not have
the time to access all its power before it's too late."
"Are you saying we have to kill it, Washu?" Tenchi's voice was very
quiet.
Minagi blinked in surprise when Tenchi's innocent question brought
tears to her eyes. Here was a boy, no, a young man, who could probably
vanquish any foe he faced and yet he didn't want to kill. She glanced
at Ryoko and then Ayeka, and she saw the pride in both their faces for
him. He would do what had to be done but would never take joy in the
loss of life.
Washu smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Tenchi, but to have an unchecked power
like this in the galaxy scares me like nothing ever has before. Very
few higher dimensional beings care about life in this dimension, and
worse yet, probably don't even recognize anything here as `life'." Her
eyes hardened as if she was rehashing an old argument that still hadn't
ended.
Katsuhito rose and gestured for Tenchi to follow him. Together they
walked to the end of the pier to talk, leaving everyone else to confer
amongst themselves.
Ryoko teleported over by the window and looked after Tenchi worriedly.
Ayeka got up and moved next to Ryoko. Her cultured voice was soft. "I
hate seeing what this does to Tenchi."
Ryoko didn't even twitch. "Me too, princess. Me too."
Together they stood for a moment, watching Tenchi and his grandfather,
before splitting up and going their separate ways.
Minagi looked up from helping Sasami clear the table and saw the
glitter of tears on both their cheeks before they passed from view. She
heard a snuffle next to her and saw Sasami rubbing her eyes hurriedly.
Sasami looked up at Minagi and asked in a small voice, "Why does Tenchi
have to do such terrible things? He's so nice and kind, it's not fair."
Minagi wiped a tear from Sasami's cheek. "I think it's because
sometimes good people have to do bad things, Sasami. It doesn't make it
any easier on them, and it's hardly ever fair."
Sasami buried her head in Minagi's side, sobbed a terrible hurt cry,
and hugged her tightly. Minagi tensed awkwardly, stacked plates in each
of her hands. Washu quietly took the plates from her hands and took
them to the kitchen with nary a word. Breathing quiet thanks to Washu,
Minagi reached down and hugged Sasami tightly. Sometimes the world made
children grow up faster than they should, but she didn't want to see
that happen to Sasami.
Finally the time came for everyone to depart. They gathered on the
beach by the lake, Ryo-Ohki and Hinase already floating above. Ryoko,
Ayeka, and Tenchi would go on Ryo-Ohki while Minagi and Washu would
take the Hinase, Washu having explained that she wanted to see how her
other daughter was doing. Mihoshi was nowhere to be seen, but the
common consensus was that she had probably already boarded the enemy
ship and blasted half of it to pieces - by accident, of course.
Sasami and Katsuhito stood nearby. Sasami seemed better now, and she
hugged everyone fiercely before they left, eliciting promises to come
back safe and sound.
Seconds later, Ryo-Ohki and Hinase were carving incandescent arcs
through the late morning sky. Sasami and Katsuhito watched until the
faintest twinkle of the ships had disappeared before walking back to
the house.
Aboard the Hinase, Minagi looked over at Washu, who was sitting on her
cushion and typing away on her workstation. Intensely focused on
whatever she was doing, her hands flashed over the keyboard at lighting
speed.
Minagi shrugged and turned toward the main screen. "Hinase?"
[Yes, Minagi?]
"How long before we reach our target?"
[We will intercept the ship on the far side of Jupiter in the next ten
minutes.]
"Thank you."
Hinase's small globe and main unit crystals hovered by her. [Uh,
Minagi?]
Minagi smiled at them. They worried so much sometimes. "Don't worry,
I've got all my friends - and family - here with me. We'll be fine."
"Family," she thought. "I have family." Thinking about Ryoko and Washu,
she silently amended that to `dysfunctional' family, but family
nevertheless.
Washu glanced up and smiled at Minagi's admission. It was nice to have
the feeling of family again. Turning back to her work, she frowned; for
some reason, she couldn't pinpoint Mihoshi's location. Where had that
girl gotten herself to this time?
Minutes later, Ryo-Ohki and Hinase were pacing the entity's ship. No
fire greeted their approach as the ship slowed to a crawl around
Jupiter. High above the swirling gases, the ship's white surface
shimmered from the reflected light of the gas giant. Its size was about
a third of the Hinase and its shape was like that of an elongated
teardrop. Several smooth nodules raised up from the hull but did not
detract from its liquid sleekness.
Washu stared silently in dismay. "Everyone, listen carefully." Her
voice was level and her tone deadly serious. "I'm getting readings of
an obscenely massive power within that ship. It hasn't been activated
yet, but I fear for all our safety if it fully activates."
Ryoko's face appeared on the communications screen. "Hey, Minagi, you
ready?"
"That's right, Ryoko. I'll teleport over with Washu."
"I'll grab Tenchi and the princess. Remember what we talked about
earlier."
Minagi nodded and cut the transmission. She smiled at Washu and held
out her hand. "Shall we?"
"Alright everyone, lets go!" Grabbing a hold of Tenchi and Ayeka, Ryoko
prepared herself for the teleport. Then nothing happened.
Ayeka looked at her. "Is there a problem?"
"Hang on, let me try again." There was a momentary pause, then nothing.
Ryoko snarled in frustration. "Damn, I can't teleport into that ship!"
Turning, she brought up communications with the Hinase. "Minagi, Washu,
are you there?" She radiated hard professionalism, but a hint of
concern laced her voice.
Hinase's crystal appeared onscreen. "No, Lady Ryoko, they teleported
out." It began to blink in worry. "May I ask why you're not there with
them?"
"How should I know? I'm not the genius around here." Ryoko's eyes were
troubled. "I do know that if we don't get inside that ship soon, Washu
and Minagi may be in real trouble."
universe, an extension of the OAV series. It reflects individuals and
events from the first eight mangas.]
No Need for Tenchi - Minagi's Adventure
Chapter 2: Trouble Shared
"Minagi!" Sasami dashed across the pier with her pigtails flying. Tears
of joy in her eyes, she gave Minagi a surprisingly strong hug. "I'm so
glad to see you!"
Minagi smiled down at Sasami and realized how much she missed her and
everyone else. It was like a missing piece of her life had returned.
Her eyes glistened wetly as she realized she had friends and family who
loved her and she loved back. Hugging Sasami fiercely, she found
herself blinking rapidly to clear her eyesight.
"I'm glad to see you too, Sasami."
Looking up, she saw Tenchi grinning widely at her.
"Minagi! It's good to see you again, and thanks for not smashing into
the house or anything! We've just finished rebuilding from Mihoshi's
last visit."
Somehow, Mihoshi managed to look unabashed. Instead she seemed as happy
as Sasami and was busy hopping up and down. "Minagi! How is
everything?" It seemed her spirit was indomitable when it came to
property damage.
"I'm fine, everyone, but I was wondering if Washu was around?"
With Sasami at her side, Minagi sauntered towards the Masaki house. She
wondered where Ryoko and Ayeka were.
As if by cue, Washu, Ryoko and Ayeka came around the corner. Minagi's
eyes widened at what she saw. She quickly looked at Tenchi, who looked
as though he had been smacked square in the middle of his forehead with
a hammer.
"Wha - what's going on here?" Tenchi stammered, his voice having the
quality of someone who had just seen a universal constant crumbling
before his eyes. A nervous twitch had started up in his right cheek and
his arms had fallen limply to his sides.
Ryoko and Ayeka were laughing and talking sweetly together. In fact,
they seemed downright pleasant to each other. Minagi's eyes narrowed
when she noticed the strange collars around their necks and Washu's
insane (it had to be) grin.
"Minagi, how nice of you to stop by and visit your mom! You couldn't
have timed your visit better, as I have completed my solution to the
second most destructive force in the Masaki household - Ryoko's and
Ayeka's fights."
Incredibly, Mihoshi chirped, "But Washu, what is the most destructive
force in the Masaki household?"
Everyone paused and took a good, long look at her. Even Ryoko and Ayeka
paused in their newfound best girlfriend chatter. Washu muttered
something about limits to even her genius. Shrugging helplessly, she
merely said, "That's not important right now, Mihoshi."
Brightening back up, Washu waved enthusiastically. "I would like to
proudly introduce my cleverest invention yet, the aggression nullifier!
With this handy tool I can turn even these two into dearest friends!"
Ryoko and Ayeka paused in their chatter as they both saw Tenchi at the
same time. Arm in arm they moved slowly towards him, odd smiles on both
their faces and a gleam in their eyes. "Tenchi," they both crooned, "we
were wondering if you would like to go out with us today?"
Tenchi's eyes grew even wider. His pupils dilated as if he was
encountering a kind of sublime terror only a teenaged boy surrounded by
beautiful alien women could suffer.
Minagi and Sasami exchanged glances and sighed. It was going to be
another one of those days, apparently. Sasami blushed a bit as Tenchi
uttered a terrified scream and bolted off towards the woods, Ryoko and
Ayeka following. Mihoshi shouted after them and took off also.
"Would you like to have some tea, Minagi?"
Minagi was relieved to find that at least some things were still
normal. "I'd love some tea," she replied. "Oh, Washu?"
"Yes, daughter of mine?"
Minagi still found it difficult to equate this young looking redhead
with spiky hair as her mother, but then again nobody would have guessed
her age to be roughly 20,000 years, either. Making matters worse, Washu
was technically her grandmother and Ryoko her mother. However, Washu
seemed all too eager to fill the role of a mother in Minagi's life,
whereas Ryoko had other interests.
Eager to avoid the whole sticky mess, she held up the damaged security
crystal from the library and started describing her problem. "I've
stumbled onto something big, but I'm not sure what exactly is going on.
I've got a security crystal I can't read and was wondering if -"
"A mystery? Gimme that!" Washu snatched the crystal out of Minagi's
hand and dashed off to her lab. Apparently, mothering instincts took a
distant second to challenges to her intellect.
Minagi looked blankly after Washu. Was she actually cackling? Shaking
her head, Minagi smiled and looked down at Sasami. "I guess it'll just
be the two of us for tea, Sasami."
"That's okay. I want to hear about all the exciting things you've been
doing!"
Minagi's smile faded as she thought of all the dead and murdered that
had brought her here. Looking down at Sasami's smiling face and
innocent eyes, she shuddered as images of eyeless corpses flashed
across her mind. Patting Sasami's shoulder, she said nothing and merely
hugged her again. There was some excitement a child didn't need to be
exposed to.
Later in the evening
Washu's experiment on Ryoko and Ayeka failed when the girls had to
decide which one of them was going to kiss Tenchi first. Luckily, the
explosions when the collars burned out weren't enough to hurt anyone,
but both Ryoko and Ayeka were sitting far apart and were alternating
their glares between each other and Washu. Tenchi seemed to be the
worse for wear, and Minagi was wondering if he might be suffering from
some kind of post-traumatic stress syndrome or something. He kept
nervously shifting his eyes between Ryoko and Ayeka as if he almost
expected them both to pounce on him. Minagi giggled at the thought.
She turned her attention to the weird setup Washu had created in the
Masaki living room. Washu had come out of her lab earlier with a
pleased expression and an odd device hooked up to the security crystal.
Oblivious to Ryoko's and Ayeka's glares, she whistled an odd tune as
she hooked the whole setup to the TV.
Dinner was a chance to catch up on old times. Minagi hadn't seen
everyone since the battle with the super-genius Yume and the second
generation Jurai tree Bizen over six months back. As dinner progressed,
Tenchi slowly warmed back up to his normal skittishness and was soon
able to talk without flinching whenever he looked at either Ryoko or
Ayeka.
"So, Minagi, what brings you back here to visit?" Ryoko waggled a
chopstick in her direction. "Don't tell me you need some tips on how to
be a proper pirate?"
Minagi smiled sweetly back at Ryoko, leaned back, and casually took a
sip of sake before replying. "You know, I might need your help. I can't
figure out how you were ever able to balance plundering freighters,
drinking tequila, and getting foot massages from oiled hunks. Does it
take years of practice, or am I missing something?"
Ryoko's face turned a funny shade of red and a nervous bead of sweat
dropped off her forehead. Glancing over at Tenchi - whose startled
expression had returned - Ryoko gave a sickly smile. "Er, ha-ha, that's
funny. Whoever could have made up such a silly story? Really, Minagi,
you're such a joker, ha-ha."
Minagi grinned, feeling a certain glee for teasing her `big sister/
mother/whatever'. "Oh, I don't know. I'm impressed that two well built
young men oiled up and in loincloths are considered an `appetizer' for
you. I never imagined following in your footsteps would lead to this!"
Ryoko's flush deepened even further. Ayeka was currently choking on
something and Mihoshi was beating on her back. Washu had cradled her
head in her hands and mournfully cried, "What is a mother to do?
Really, Ryoko."
"What? Hey, I was younger and wilder back then. I'm much more
sophisticated now, right, Tenchi?"
Tenchi had a slightly appalled look on his face. "Ryoko, you plunder
planets but have a hankering for foot massages?"
Ryoko gave a small whimper and shrank down a bit as she realized that
her colorful past was something Tenchi didn't really want to find out
about. Suddenly, a wide grin split Tenchi's face and tears rolled down;
the image of the dread space pirate Ryoko enjoying a foot massage was
entirely too much for him. Before long, the entire table was laughing
and even Ryoko was able to chuckle at her predicament.
Even the glower Ryoko tried to direct towards Minagi faded before her
sunny smile. Ryoko realized that Minagi had stumbled onto a
particularly embarrassing bit of her past, and it had proved too juicy
to pass up.
/You better be careful, missy,/ Ryoko sent to Minagi. /Living up to my
pirate standards isn't as easy as it looks./
Minagi grinned back. /Sorry about bringing that up, but how could I
resist?/ She sobered up and spoke out loud. "There were times I wished
you were with me, Ryoko. There's something going on and I think it's
trouble, big trouble."
Her admission brought the merriment to an abrupt halt. "I'm sorry,
everyone, but I came back for an important reason. Someone has been
killing off dealers in antiquities, and now he's disappeared. My only
clues are that security crystal and a holographic projector he left
behind. Washu, were you able to recover the contents of the security
crystal?"
Washu nodded. "Perhaps you should fill us in on the whole story after
dinner." She glanced meaningfully towards Sasami. "That way we can go
over the - grimmer - parts of your story."
Had Washu already watched the events unfold on the library? Minagi
looked closely at her but could detect nothing in her expression to say
either way.
Dinner concluded on a quieter note, as if everyone could sense
something unpleasant about to happen. Minagi berated herself for
bringing it up right in the middle of dinner, but she hadn't realized
how much this was starting to worry her. The look in August's eyes when
he had warned her about the powers she was getting involved with was
starting to worry her.
Sasami realized she wasn't going to hear what Minagi had to say later
on and it obviously bothered her. It hurt Minagi to see Sasami feel so
neglected, but she knew it was for the better. Kneeling down in front
of her, she took Sasami's hands into hers and looked straight into her
eyes. "Sasami, you have to believe me when I say this. You do not want
to hear what we have to discuss, and you definitely don't want to see
what's on the security crystal. Please, trust me on this."
Sasami bit her lip and tears trembled in her eyes. "It's alright. I've
learned that it takes courage to wait. I just hate the helpless feeling
I have when everyone I love keeps getting hurt. I don't want anyone to
get hurt."
Tenchi came up behind Sasami and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Sasami,
we're all proud of you. We have to do these things that may get us
hurt. But it would kill me if that ever happened to you."
Ryoko called from the lounge area, "Tenchi, Minagi - Washu has the
device almost ready."
"We've got to go, Sasami. Promise me you won't listen in."
"Okay, Tenchi." Sasami collected some plates and headed off to the
kitchen.
Minagi rose and noticed Tenchi staring at the kitchen door. "Thanks for
helping out," she said. Tenchi came out of his reverie and gave an
absentminded smile at Minagi. Together they walked over to the lounge
area.
Ryoko had kicked her feet up on the table; she wasted no time getting
to business. "So what's up, Minagi? It had better be good after that
foot massage stunt you pulled."
"Believe me, Ryoko, it is."
Minagi related the story, beginning with the first ambush. As her story
continued she was interrupted by sharp questions from everyone. Her
head hurt as she tried to recollect the tiniest detail of a
conversation or scene from an attack. Finally, as she reached the
description of her trek through the library, she noticed everyone's
faces becoming very serious. Their expressions changed as she detailed
the various horrors and damage done to ship and crew.
Tenchi seemed sick at the loss of life; there was a burning anger in
his eyes. Ryoko had the look of a hardened professional, detaching
herself from the horror. Mihoshi seemed the most upset; tears were
welling up in her eyes. Ayeka looked upset also, but she sat stiff-
backed, her fists clenched in anger. Washu seemed as detached as Ryoko,
but her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she listened to every
word Minagi said.
Finally, Minagi's story came to an end. "So the only pieces of evidence
I have that might lead me to Avashar are that crystal and this
holographic projector."
"Let's see the projection first, Minagi." Tenchi's voice was very
serious. "I want to see the face of this butcher up close."
Minagi nodded, fired up the projector, and began playing the recording
again. Ryoko raised an eyebrow at Avashar's mistake, identifying Minagi
as herself, but said nothing. When the projector reached the part where
Avashar generated his sword, Washu's hand snapped down and paused the
projection.
"Hmm, so what do we have here?" She brought up her workstation and
busily punched calculations in. "Looks like an awfully impressive
sword."
The blade was pitch black. Lightning coursed along its edge; terrible
glyphs and blood-red runes were engraved along its length. If one
looked closely, one could almost make out screaming faces twisting
within the blade's surface.
Minagi nodded. "I agree, Washu, but for some reason something seems,
well, wrong with it."
"Well, Tenchi, it certainly looks like a powerful blade. Jealous?"
Ryoko sat up and leaned across the table to get closer to the
projection, eyes wide at the blade.
"Ryoko, there's nothing wrong with my blade." Tenchi was also staring
at the blade with a confused look on his face.
"I'm sure there isn't, Tenchi. Maybe I can help you hone -" Ryoko, not
missing a beat, had begun to take the conversation somewhere else
entirely.
Ayeka delivered a sharp smack to Ryoko's posterior. "That's enough,
Ryoko! What if that sword is as powerful as it looks?"
Ryoko was about to start into Ayeka when something else caught
everyone's attention: Washu was laughing. Laughing hard. Tears were
pouring down her face. Minagi wondered if Washu had finally snapped;
after all, it was really only a matter of time. From the nervous look
on everyone else's faces, the same thought was running through their
heads.
"Oh, this is too rich! Bwwhuuahaha!" Washu was actually having
difficulty breathing; she had fallen off her cushion and was kicking
her feet in the air. Finally her laughing attack passed and, still
chucking, she sat up.
"Whew, that was precious. Now watch closely, everyone."
She began punching a key repeatedly on the holographic projector.
Minagi's eyes widened a bit as with Washu's first keystroke the tiny
little screaming faces disappeared from within the blade; with the
second, the glyphs and runes shimmered and faded from view; the third,
the coursing lightning. The fourth keystroke turned the shimmering
black blade into a rather ordinary sword, plain steel with a faint blue
glow about it.
"You were right, Minagi. Avashar simply used digital enhancements
available on any holographic projector to make his sword," she cleared
her throat awkwardly, "appear a little more impressive than before."
Minagi was puzzled. "Why would anybody do that?"
Ryoko leaned over and replied in a stage whisper, "It's kind of a male
thing, Minagi. Guys and their swords and all that."
Minagi felt her cheeks warm as Ayeka and Washu both hung their heads in
despair. Tenchi and Mihoshi both had blank looks on their faces, but
Tenchi seemed to have a slowly dawning realization of what Ryoko was
talking about.
Minagi desperately tried to change the subject. "How about the security
tape, Washu?"
Ryoko's grin indicated that she knew she had scored one. /And that's
just the beginning of my payback./
Minagi refused to answer, but her silence only made Ryoko's grin widen.
Washu made a few tiny adjustments to the device hooked up to the
security crystal and started the recording. Ryoko dropped right back to
business mode. The room's lights dimmed until the only source of
illumination was the TV screen.
Washu talked idly as she made one final adjustment. "I've started it
just before the entire event occurred. That was about one hour before
you arrived, Minagi."
The screen jumped and then refocused. Minagi recognized the main
corridor leading to the vault. A robed figure, its features hidden from
the camera, walked amidst a group of expensively dressed traders,
modest librarians, and several guards. An animated conversation was
going on around the robed figure.
"Is there any sound?"
"Not yet, there are sections where damage to the crystal prevents any
sound playback." Washu kept fiddling with dials and punching codes into
her keyboard. "Expect some skipping from time to time."
Finally the group reached the main vault. More guards were evident
here, and they carefully scanned all the members of the group before
opening the vault door. Minagi's heart began to race as her instincts
cried that the moment of the library's disaster was drawing near.
As the group filed in through the vault door, the robed figure moved to
stand confidently in the center of the chamber. They were still
entering the chamber when total chaos exploded.
Screams tore through the Masaki living room, startling everyone.
Mihoshi screamed and jumped behind the couch. Ayeka and Ryoko grabbed
hold of Tenchi. Even Washu looked surprised. Minagi realized that her
heart was pounding in her chest; she had half-risen out of the couch.
It was the screams that did it. These were screams of absolute terror
and pain, horrible, soul-wrenching pain as a terrible wave of energy
streaked forth from the robed figure, lashing out at books, librarians,
guards, everything. Even as they watched, the books shimmered and
vanished from sight. Everything else in the chamber disappeared,
obliterated by the power emanating from the entity.
The screams died off, but a terrible keening noise was building up as
the aura around the robed figure continued to build. Everyone gasped as
the robes split apart and something - else - was left standing there.
Minagi's breath caught. It wasn't Avashar, but it was humanlike. He
floated in midair, arms outstretched and face tilted upwards, his body
glowing with a pure white light. His clothing was of the purest white
and his face was perfection itself.
Except for his eyes. Minagi couldn't explain it, but there was a
hardness there, an indifference to life. It was like looking into the
eyes of a dead thing. The entity relaxed for a second, and then a
terrible burst of energy exploded from him, tearing outwards. The
entire screen jiggled and faded out for a moment.
Washu rapidly typed some additional commands into her workstation and
the image came back. She rapidly scrolled to an external view. Everyone
gasped; the shockwave had traveled outwards into space, shattering the
ships orbiting the library. Only one ship remained untouched, a ship
that hadn't been there when Minagi arrived. It was a small ship, about
the size of Avashar's, but its hull was sleeker and of the purest
white, marred by only a few smooth nodules.
Washu turned back to the vault cameras but the entity had already gone.
Skipping through different camera views, it was apparent that the
library power systems were failing and the artificial gravity was
already knocked out. Not every chamber was exposed to the vacuum, as
blast doors automatically shut after the explosion, but every camera
she turned to displayed the same grim result: everyone on board had
been killed by the shockwave.
She refocused on the vault, sighed, and then turned to Minagi. "I think
you were very lucky to be late to this particular meeting."
"Do you know who or what that was?" Minagi was surprised at how calm
she sounded.
"No, but I can tell you that he is very powerful. Worse yet, he took
those books for some unknown reason. Given what that August character
told you, I shudder to think what purpose they will serve."
Tenchi nudged Ryoko and Ayeka off him. "Washu, where is that power
coming from?"
"Judging from what August told Minagi, that entity may very well have
tapped into higher dimensions for his power."
Ayeka straightened up and asked worriedly, "But Washu, what would a
creature do with power like that?"
"I don't know, Miss Ayeka. I don't know, and that is what has me
worried." Her frown was replaced by a bright smile. "But on the bright
side, a dimensional power like that should be sooo easy for someone
like me to find!" Without any further ado, she jumped up and scampered
to her laboratory.
Ryoko leaned back and kicked her feet up again. She turned to gaze at
Tenchi for a moment, then back to the empty chamber. She seemed
worried.
Mihoshi had her GP cube out and had already changed into her uniform.
"Uh, guys? I'm going to get Yukinojo ready for flight. I'm going to
have to warn the Galaxy Police about this." Twisting the cube a few
more times, she disappeared in a flash of light. Minagi thought she
heard a distant splash a second later.
Ayeka lightly touched Tenchi's hand. "Tenchi, I'm going to check on
Sasami. I have a sinking sensation we're going to be leaving all too
soon."
"That's a good idea, Ayeka. I should see her also." Tenchi got up and
followed after her. He glanced worriedly at Ryoko for a second, but
seeing no impending eruption, sighed in relief and left the room.
Ryoko didn't even bat an eyelash, just sat and stared at the recording.
Without looking at Minagi she started talking. "We're going to have to
be careful, Minagi. Anyone who can obliterate ships like that is no
pushover. When we fight this creature, we will have to hit him at the
same time, hard and fast, nothing fancy. I don't know if anyone can go
toe to toe with this bastard."
Minagi nodded. "You're worried about Tenchi trying something heroic?"
Ryoko shrugged. "I'm worried about everyone. Just don't tell anyone
else that." She shot a sharp glance at Minagi.
Minagi smiled. "I'm worried about them, too. Shall we talk to Sasami?"
"Yeah, I'd - hey, what's that?"
Minagi turned back to the screen. A lone figure had drifted into the
vault and was looking around. Minagi recognized him instantly. "It's
Avashar, but what is he doing?"
He floated into the center of the chamber, right where the entity had
been. Seconds later he began to float upwards. Extending his arms
outward and tilting his head backwards, he exactly mimicked the
entity's pose. He floated like that for a few more seconds before
settling back down.
"What's he doing?" Ryoko whispered.
"I don't know. Wait, the sound's working again."
Avashar had brought out the holographic projector, and after mounting
it to the floor, began recording his message.
"Space pirate Ryoko, I don't know why a cutie like you is chasing after
me like this."
Minagi frowned; that wasn't the way she remembered it. The recording
continued.
"I'm flattered, but I'm busy right now. No, no, this won't work." He
stopped the recording and started pacing back and forth in the chamber.
Minagi and Ryoko looked at each other. "Cutie, huh?" Ryoko said,
arching an eyebrow and making Minagi's cheeks flush.
They both flinched when they heard a throat clear behind them. Ayeka
stood there with Tenchi, both of them smiling at Minagi's discomfort.
Avashar was now trying another recording, which failed as miserably as
the first. Between corny poses, bad grammar, and retakes, it took five
more tries before he got it right. By that time Tenchi, Ayeka, Ryoko
and Minagi were staring in amazement at the screen.
"Is this guy for real?" Ryoko asked, scratching her head.
"You've got me, Ryoko." Ayeka seemed just as puzzled, and for a time
they dropped their usual routine of sniping at each other.
Avashar had finished the recording and was making the enhancements to
his sword in the projection. While he worked, he continued to talk to
himself. "Now that's a kick-ass sword. One look at this baby and
Ryoko's going to choose a career path in basket weaving. Damn, I'm
clever." With that said, Avashar gestured briefly and a portal opened
up before him. Whistling an off-key tune, he strolled through. It
closed behind him.
Ryoko looked at Minagi. "Basket weaving? If you don't get to him first,
I'm going to kick his ass all the way to the edge of the Galaxy."
"You know, Ryoko, that fellow might have a better understanding of your
skills than you realize." Ayeka giggled at Ryoko's expression,
apparently unable to resist such an opening.
"Listen princess, I'll be more than happy -"
"That's enough, both of you." Tenchi rolled his eyes and pulled himself
up. "I'm going to try and get some sleep. Who knows how soon we're
going to be needed."
"Good idea Tenchi, I've got the perfect thing to help make you sleepy."
Minagi groaned as Ayeka tackled Ryoko and the two of them went crashing
to the floor. Tenchi didn't even look back at them; he merely sighed
and started up the steps to his room.
Minagi turned back to the screen and scratched her head. "I'm a cutie,
huh?" she thought. This was getting weirder by the minute.
Breakfast was a restrained affair. Tenchi's grandfather had returned
from visiting family and Tenchi was filling him in on what was going
on. Neither Washu nor Mihoshi were present, and Tenchi shuddered to
think what mischief Mihoshi was getting herself into. It didn't matter
as long as she didn't try landing on the house again.
Minagi groaned with pleasure; Sasami's breakfasts were astounding.
Sasami didn't seem to be her usual cheerful self, but worrying that
everyone might be facing a powerful entity would do that. Minagi leaned
over and patted Sasami's hand gently.
"Sasami, I keep thinking I should take you along with me when I'm out
pirating. Your cooking is simply incredible and I could use a good
cook."
"Do you really think I could come along?" Sasami's face lit up at the
thought of adventure and excitement in deep space - and cooking.
Minagi groaned silently to herself. She could see Ayeka and Tenchi both
looking at her as if she had grown horns on her head. This wasn't the
reaction she was hoping for. "What I meant is, well, um, you see..."
Ayeka stopped frowning and smiled at Sasami. "What Minagi meant was
that she misses your company, Sasami, not that she wants to drag you
halfway across the galaxy on a cooking tour. What would Ryo-Ohki do
without you?"
Sasami thought about that, then turned back towards Minagi and said
very seriously, "I wish I could go with you, Minagi, but I have to take
care of everyone here. And how can I leave Ryo-Ohki alone?"
Minagi sighed with relief and shot a grateful glance at Ayeka. Ayeka
giggled and dove back into her breakfast. Ryoko had hardly even
registered the little crisis, so deeply enamoured was she with her
breakfast. She had just wolfed down a large mouthful when Washu burst
in with a triumphant cry.
"I've found it!"
Ryoko immediately started gagging on her food. Tenchi's grandfather
glanced sideways at Ryoko, sighed, and gave her a hearty slap on the
back. Ryoko hacked, coughed and finally swallowed. Her face turned beet
red when she realized that everyone was staring at her.
"What?"
"Don't worry about Miss Piggy over there," Washu said, ignoring Ryoko's
strangled cry. "I've located the position and heading of that entity.
It took me most of the night before I realized that he was much weaker
than when we first saw him on the library. While it's dangerous to make
an assumption on so little hard data, my research on dimensional energy
has indicated that a higher dimensional being cannot employ its full
strength in lower dimensions. To impose a physical body in this
dimension requires a tremendous loss of raw power.
"Instead, I believe the entity is using the lore of higher dimensions
from our dimension so it can better access the raw energies from its
own dimension. When it doesn't need to access those energies, it limits
its usage to the lowest possible levels."
Minagi's head wobbled. Pressing one hand to her head, she raised the
other to get Washu's attention. "Washu, could you perhaps paraphrase
that for us?" She noticed nods from around the table.
Washu gritted her teeth and organized her thoughts. "It's simple.
Usually a higher dimensional being can only enter this dimension by
shedding a tremendous amount of its power. This entity no longer faces
those restrictions, but can only maintain those higher levels of power
for a limited period of time before it loses control of all the energy
it is channeling."
Tenchi nodded, grasping the concept. "Washu, how powerful can that
creature be when it's accessing all its power?"
"If it had enough time to fully power up, godlike. The end result for
our galaxy could be very bad, very bad indeed. But it may be hesitant
to do so until it's ready to complete whatever task it has set out to
accomplish."
"What goal is that?" Ayeka was already seeing the possible impact such
an entity could have on the entire galaxy's balance of power.
"I don't know, Ayeka. But I do know it hasn't accomplished its goals
yet."
"Why do you say that?" Ayeka's food sat forgotten, and she kept
absently tapping her finger against her juice glass.
"Simple, really; I haven't registered any other bursts of powerful
dimensional energy. And the Galaxy still exists. Also, that ship is
moving directly towards the Solar System and, I would guess, the
Earth."
"What!" Tenchi stood bolt upright. "Washu, why didn't you tell us
earlier?"
Washu smiled sweetly at Tenchi. "Ryoko interrupted me with all her
choking."
"Hey, why are you putting the blame on me?" Ryoko's expression was one
of hurt innocence.
Tenchi closed his eyes and mentally started counting to ten. Sometimes
Washu's take on the universe was a little too casual for his liking.
This was one of those times. "Little Washu, could you tell us how long
we have before that entity reaches the Earth?" He was amazed at how
calm he sounded.
"Enough time, but we'll have to hurry." Around the table, everyone
nodded in quick agreement, their faces serious.
Minagi blinked in surprise. It amazed her how quickly everyone could
change gears. "Washu, do you have an idea for stopping this entity?"
"Since it's not ravaging across the Galaxy, my guess is that it's loath
to use its power needlessly. If we hit it hard and fast it may not have
the time to access all its power before it's too late."
"Are you saying we have to kill it, Washu?" Tenchi's voice was very
quiet.
Minagi blinked in surprise when Tenchi's innocent question brought
tears to her eyes. Here was a boy, no, a young man, who could probably
vanquish any foe he faced and yet he didn't want to kill. She glanced
at Ryoko and then Ayeka, and she saw the pride in both their faces for
him. He would do what had to be done but would never take joy in the
loss of life.
Washu smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Tenchi, but to have an unchecked power
like this in the galaxy scares me like nothing ever has before. Very
few higher dimensional beings care about life in this dimension, and
worse yet, probably don't even recognize anything here as `life'." Her
eyes hardened as if she was rehashing an old argument that still hadn't
ended.
Katsuhito rose and gestured for Tenchi to follow him. Together they
walked to the end of the pier to talk, leaving everyone else to confer
amongst themselves.
Ryoko teleported over by the window and looked after Tenchi worriedly.
Ayeka got up and moved next to Ryoko. Her cultured voice was soft. "I
hate seeing what this does to Tenchi."
Ryoko didn't even twitch. "Me too, princess. Me too."
Together they stood for a moment, watching Tenchi and his grandfather,
before splitting up and going their separate ways.
Minagi looked up from helping Sasami clear the table and saw the
glitter of tears on both their cheeks before they passed from view. She
heard a snuffle next to her and saw Sasami rubbing her eyes hurriedly.
Sasami looked up at Minagi and asked in a small voice, "Why does Tenchi
have to do such terrible things? He's so nice and kind, it's not fair."
Minagi wiped a tear from Sasami's cheek. "I think it's because
sometimes good people have to do bad things, Sasami. It doesn't make it
any easier on them, and it's hardly ever fair."
Sasami buried her head in Minagi's side, sobbed a terrible hurt cry,
and hugged her tightly. Minagi tensed awkwardly, stacked plates in each
of her hands. Washu quietly took the plates from her hands and took
them to the kitchen with nary a word. Breathing quiet thanks to Washu,
Minagi reached down and hugged Sasami tightly. Sometimes the world made
children grow up faster than they should, but she didn't want to see
that happen to Sasami.
Finally the time came for everyone to depart. They gathered on the
beach by the lake, Ryo-Ohki and Hinase already floating above. Ryoko,
Ayeka, and Tenchi would go on Ryo-Ohki while Minagi and Washu would
take the Hinase, Washu having explained that she wanted to see how her
other daughter was doing. Mihoshi was nowhere to be seen, but the
common consensus was that she had probably already boarded the enemy
ship and blasted half of it to pieces - by accident, of course.
Sasami and Katsuhito stood nearby. Sasami seemed better now, and she
hugged everyone fiercely before they left, eliciting promises to come
back safe and sound.
Seconds later, Ryo-Ohki and Hinase were carving incandescent arcs
through the late morning sky. Sasami and Katsuhito watched until the
faintest twinkle of the ships had disappeared before walking back to
the house.
Aboard the Hinase, Minagi looked over at Washu, who was sitting on her
cushion and typing away on her workstation. Intensely focused on
whatever she was doing, her hands flashed over the keyboard at lighting
speed.
Minagi shrugged and turned toward the main screen. "Hinase?"
[Yes, Minagi?]
"How long before we reach our target?"
[We will intercept the ship on the far side of Jupiter in the next ten
minutes.]
"Thank you."
Hinase's small globe and main unit crystals hovered by her. [Uh,
Minagi?]
Minagi smiled at them. They worried so much sometimes. "Don't worry,
I've got all my friends - and family - here with me. We'll be fine."
"Family," she thought. "I have family." Thinking about Ryoko and Washu,
she silently amended that to `dysfunctional' family, but family
nevertheless.
Washu glanced up and smiled at Minagi's admission. It was nice to have
the feeling of family again. Turning back to her work, she frowned; for
some reason, she couldn't pinpoint Mihoshi's location. Where had that
girl gotten herself to this time?
Minutes later, Ryo-Ohki and Hinase were pacing the entity's ship. No
fire greeted their approach as the ship slowed to a crawl around
Jupiter. High above the swirling gases, the ship's white surface
shimmered from the reflected light of the gas giant. Its size was about
a third of the Hinase and its shape was like that of an elongated
teardrop. Several smooth nodules raised up from the hull but did not
detract from its liquid sleekness.
Washu stared silently in dismay. "Everyone, listen carefully." Her
voice was level and her tone deadly serious. "I'm getting readings of
an obscenely massive power within that ship. It hasn't been activated
yet, but I fear for all our safety if it fully activates."
Ryoko's face appeared on the communications screen. "Hey, Minagi, you
ready?"
"That's right, Ryoko. I'll teleport over with Washu."
"I'll grab Tenchi and the princess. Remember what we talked about
earlier."
Minagi nodded and cut the transmission. She smiled at Washu and held
out her hand. "Shall we?"
"Alright everyone, lets go!" Grabbing a hold of Tenchi and Ayeka, Ryoko
prepared herself for the teleport. Then nothing happened.
Ayeka looked at her. "Is there a problem?"
"Hang on, let me try again." There was a momentary pause, then nothing.
Ryoko snarled in frustration. "Damn, I can't teleport into that ship!"
Turning, she brought up communications with the Hinase. "Minagi, Washu,
are you there?" She radiated hard professionalism, but a hint of
concern laced her voice.
Hinase's crystal appeared onscreen. "No, Lady Ryoko, they teleported
out." It began to blink in worry. "May I ask why you're not there with
them?"
"How should I know? I'm not the genius around here." Ryoko's eyes were
troubled. "I do know that if we don't get inside that ship soon, Washu
and Minagi may be in real trouble."