Changes: Blind Rage

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In the previous chapter, Tenchi has had enough with Ayeka and Ryoko's constant fighting. Their fighting reaches the breaking point when Tenchi realizes that the fighting is now for real, neither of the girls are holding back anymore. Tenchi is finally pushed too far when Kiyone and Mihoshi get caught in the middle of Ayeka and Ryoko's fury.

Changes: Blind Rage

Tenchi lay on the hardwood floor in the hall of the Masaki residence. He was completely motionless as Ryoko, Ayeka and Sasami stared at him in horror. Tenchi had been caught between both Ayeka and Ryoko's most powerful attack yet. Washu was typing away at her keyboard furiously. Ayeka broke the silence as she turned to Washu.

"Miss Washu, is he...."

"He's still alive, barely."

"Is there anything you can do?"

"Ryoko, snap out of it! I need you to help me get him to the lab. I can't risk teleporting him in his condition."

"..........Right, Ayeka get his feet, we need to keep pressure off his chest."

The two rivals put aside their differences in a last ditch effort to save the one they loved. As quickly and gently as they could, they carried Tenchi down the stairs to Washu's lab. After placing him in the medical portion of Washu's lab they were both hurried out by the frantic genius. They both sat in the living room in silence. Only time would reveal Tenchi's fate.

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The next morning, everyone waited in the living room. Noboyuki sat with his head in his hands next to Katsuhito. Both had been informed of what happened by Sasami. Mihoshi and Kiyone had been rushed out of Washu's lab in the early morning hours without any explanation. Ryoko stood by the door while Ayeka sat on the couch. The both of them sat with a distant, vacant look in their eyes. Absolute silence gripped the house that was usually bustling with activity. Everyone's eyes shot up when they heard the telltale creak from Washu's door.

She was now in her adult form. Her face was covered in sweat, her clothes soaked in blood, her whole body hung in exhaustion. She took a moment to close her bloodshot eyes before turning to address the household. Everyone took a deep breath as Washu began to speak.

"He's alive."

The sigh of relief was short lived as the scientist continued.

"However, he's not out of danger. I managed to get him stabilized. But he's in a coma. I have no idea when he will come out of it. For that matter, if he'll come out of it."

Ryoko was visibly shaking with rage as she picked Washu up by the collar.

"You mean there's nothing the greatest scientist in the universe can do to bring him out of it?"

"I'm sorry Ryoko, I've never encountered any thing like this. Tenchi took a full power Jurai attack combined with the power of the gems. There was nothing between him and both attacks. It's a miracle that his body even held together. Anyone else would have disintegrated."

"So what can we do?"

"Right now, all we can do is pray. From now, it's up to Tenchi. I would like you all to come and visit him every day. Familiar voices might help him come out of it sooner. I just hope it stays quiet for awhile. In light of recent events, I would expect it."

Ayeka and Ryoko both knew exactly who Washu was referring to. They simply nodded. Feelings of shame and sadness filled the both of them. They were the reason why Tenchi was fighting for his life. It was ironic, the both of them vowed to die to protect Tenchi, now they might be the ones that end up killing him.

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Time went by painfully slowly. Ayeka and Ryoko hardly slept. They took turns watching over Tenchi. The dire situation at hand had pushed their petty rivalry aside. Washu's computers monitored Tenchi every second. After the first week, he finally started to show signs of improvement. His strength was slowly returning. However, there was little time for joy. The next two weeks after that, Ayeka and Ryoko watched Tenchi as he was constantly plagued by nightmares. Sometimes they would have to leave his side or cover their ears as Tenchi cried out. Everyone in the house took turns wiping his face clean of tears and sweat. Tenchi was not the only one in agony.

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Three weeks had passed. Ryoko was asleep in Washu's lab. She woke up at the feeling of a warm hand. She looked up to see if it was Tenchi. Sadly, it was only Ayeka.

"Ryoko, you should really get some rest."

"Not until he wakes up."

"Well, at least get cleaned up. You wouldn't want Tenchi to see you all a mess if he were to wake up right now."

"I don't care, I want to be here when he wakes up."

The both of them sat in silence. They just watched Tenchi and his painful ordeal. Ryoko was the first to speak up.

"What did we do? How could we go so far. I mean.....we were trying to kill each other."

"I've been thinking the same thing. I just never thought this could happen."

"Listen, if...I mean when Tenchi comes out of this, we should promise never to let something like this happen again."

"Right, no more fighting."

"Agreed."

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Two more weeks passed. Ryoko woke up at Tenchi's bedside. She felt for his hand but to her surprise, there was nothing there. Her eyes shot open, the only evidence that Tenchi was ever there was the warm imprint his body left on the sheets.. Panicked, she called for Washu.

"Where is he? Tenchi?! Washuuuuu!"

"Ryoko have you gone mad?"

"I can't find Tenchi!"

"What?!"

"I fell asleep and when I woke up he was gone!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down Ryoko. Let's say he woke up. Where would he go first?"

"To the house."

"You go look there and I'll try to pick up his energy signature from here."

Ryoko nodded and teleported to the door. On the other side she found Ayeka and Sasami asleep on the couch. If Tenchi had come through here, he hadn't announced it. Ryoko phased over to Ayeka and woke her up.

"Ayeka, come on wake up. I need your help."

"Huh..w-what? Ryoko what's wrong?"

"Tenchi's gone?"

"What? Where is he?"

"I don't know, that's why I need your help to look for him."

"Okay, I'll search the house. Why don't you check out the shrine?"

"Gotcha"

Just as they were about to start looking, Washu came out of her lab.

"That won't be necessary. I've found him."

"Oh Miss Washu, what a relief."

"So, where is he?"

"On the roof"

Both Ayeka and Ryoko: "THE ROOF?!"

"Yep."

"But how the hell did he get up there?"

"I don't know, but we should really get him down."

"Right, then I'll just teleport up there and...."

"Ryoko, wait. We don't know what kind of condition he's in. You don't want to surprise him. He could still be very weak. Just come outside and we'll have a look at him from the ground."

After pausing to consider Washu's suggestion, Ryoko nodded. They woke everyone in the house and then went outside to find Tenchi. Sure enough as Washu said, Tenchi was on the roof. He stood at the edge as he stared at the sunrise. He seemed to take no notice of anyone watching him. Facing his back, all anyone could see was his silhouette. Washu did a quick scan just to make sure he was alright.

"Well, he's fully conscious and his body seems to be completely healed. I'm still not sure if there was any scarring. I can't do a complete scan from here, but physically, he's fine. It should be okay to approach him."

Ryoko's eyes lit up. She looked at Ayeka who without a word nodded her consent. Ryoko teleported behind Tenchi and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Tenchi? It's me, Ryoko."

....................................

"I'm glad you're alright. Why don't you come down? Everyone's dying to see you."

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"Tenchi? Oh, I guess you're pretty mad at us. You have every right to be."

.............................

Ryoko froze in horror as Tenchi turned around. Ayeka and the others gasped at the figure on the roof. Tenchi's eyes were glowing blood-red. His face was twisted in a look of rage. Slowly, Ryoko began to back up. Then in the blink of an eye, Tenchi-ken appeared in Tenchi's hand. The summoned blade was as red as its master's eyes. Without a word, he slashed at Ryoko. She was barely able to dodge the blade. Quickly, she teleported to the ground.

"Washu! What's going on?"

"I don't know. I have to get him back to the lab before I run a complete scan."

Sasami ran to the shrine to get Katsuhito. Ayeka and the others were trying to bring Tenchi back to his senses.

"Lord Tenchi! It's us."

"Tenchiiiii"

"Tenchi, calm down! We're your friends!"

All was in vain. With a dark grin, Tenchi leapt from the roof. He flipped in the air and landed neatly in front of the confused party. Slowly, he brought his blade up to the ready position. Nobody moved. Ryoko knew that she had no choice as she transformed into her battle gear. Ayeka seeing the seriousness of the situation did likewise. It was clear what had to be done. Washu took command of the situation.

"Ayeka, Ryoko. I need to get Tenchi into my lab so I can see what's wrong. You two are going to have to subdue him. Kiyone, Mihoshi, there isn't much you can do. I want you two to just try and hit Tenchi with as many stun rounds as you can. Sasami already went for Yosho, maybe he can help. I want you all to defend yourselves. Don't worry about hurting Tenchi. I can always patch him up again. Does everybody understand?

All: Hai!

"Very well, I'm going to try scanning his neural patterns and figure out what's going on."

With a unanimous nod, everyone focused on Tenchi. His face was like stone, his eyes red as blood. Tenchi-ken had also changed. The blade was now red and the hilt was black. Ryoko took point with Ayeka behind her. Energy blade ready, she eyed Tenchi. There no longer seemed to be any flaws in his technique. If it weren't for the circumstances, she would have been impressed. She tried to look Tenchi in the eye, but it filled her with an overwhelming sense of dread and fear. She lost her concentration for a fraction of second, but even that was too much. Tenchi lunged at Ryoko. Their blades met with an ear-splitting boom. Ryoko couldn't believe it, Tenchi wasn't even in battle mode and it was taking everything she had just to keep from being thrown by the power coming from him. She tried to teleport to a higher position, but Tenchi was not giving any quarter. His swipes and slashes missed her by millimeters every time. He didn't even appear to be trying. Ayeka took the opportunity to join in the fight. She divided her powers between defending Ryoko and taking the offensive with Tenchi. Much to her dismay, he merely swatted her blasts away like flies. Kiyone and Mihoshi were trying their best, but it seemed that Tenchi had a force field that was defending him.

Then out of the trees, Katsuhito came flying. He brought his energy blade down on Tenchi. To his surprise, Tenchi just stretched out his hand and sent Katsuhito flying into a nearby tree knocking him out. Kiyone and Mihoshi tried to flank Tenchi on either side. He dodged all their blasts. In a lightning fast swipe, he sent their stun rounds back at them. The two GP officers were knocked off their feet paralyzed. Ryoko wasn't out of the fight by a long shot. Again she met Tenchi's blade. This time, she took the offensive. Her swipes and parries could hardly be seen by the naked eye. The sounds of their blades echoed throughout the mountains. Ayeka joined in, this time she was trying to go hand-to-hand with Tenchi. A wicked smile crawled across his face as he fended both of them off, Ryoko with the blade and Ayeka with one hand. In a blur of blocks and punches, Ayeka was sent flying into the lake. Tenchi's attention was now undivided as he took up his battle with Ryoko. He swiped at her mid-section. Ryoko blocked it, but the force of the blow sent her crashing into a nearby rock.

As her vision cleared, she could make out Tenchi's form. He was standing over her with his blade held high. She tried to speak but all that came out was a weak plea, "...please...no..." As Tenchi's blade came down, she clenched her eyes and prepared herself for death. She waited, but nothing came, she could feel heat in front of her face. Slowly she opened her eyes. Tenchi stood in front of her shaking. His eyes were back to normal and Tenchi-ken was blue once again. A look of confusion and fear overtook his features. The blade disappeared and Tenchi dropped the sword. He backed away from Ryoko and surveyed the damage around him. Ayeka was weakly pulling herself from the lake, Katsuhito sat up from the bottom of the tree, holding his head. Kiyone and Mihoshi were leaning on each other, singed and exhausted. Tenchi clapped his hands to his forehead and fell to his knees. Holding his head, he just doubled over crying. He just kept muttering over and over, "What have I done? What have I done?" He stayed like that as everyone gathered around him. Washu walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up with questions in his eyes.

"I'll be able to tell you everything by morning. I need to run some scans, so just come back to the lab with me, okay?"

Tenchi nodded weakly.

"Katsuhito, I'll need you to come as well. Don't worry everyone, I think the danger's over. If you need medical attention, you'll need to wait till later unless it's severe."

Everyone nodded as Tenchi, Washu and Katsuhito were teleported off to the lab.

No one slept. Ayeka and Ryoko just sat by the lake nursing their wounds and watching the sky. They sat out there in silence until the stars came out. Neither of them wanted to say it, but they were afraid of and for Tenchi. No words were needed as they just sat and pondered the events of the day.

Well, what do you think? Mysterious, huh? Give me some comments and suggestions if you can spare the time.