Disclaimer
Tenchi and all associated characters are the property of AIC and Pioneer LDC. I don't own any rights to them. Any other characters are property of their respective copyright holders, not me.
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The Great Cabbit Search
Chapter 5
Wherever You Go, There You Are.
Part 2
*****
Sasami watched out the kitchen window as the great silver shape of the starship settled over the lake. There was something familiar about it… Ah! The GP used ships of that design, in fact it looked just like Yagami; only Yagami was painted red, Kiyone's favorite color. She ran to get Tenchi and the others.
"Yes Sasami," said Tenchi, putting on his shoes. "I see it. I wonder who it is?"
"Should I go get the others?" the little princess asked.
"No, leave them be. Ryoko's up in our room taking a nap and Washu asked not to be disturbed, something about strange readings from the Dimensional Tuner."
At the mention of the device Sasami shuddered. She remembered what happened last time the Dimensional Tuner broke, although it had been fun being Pretty Sammy in her world.
"Then I guess it's just you and me to greet them, huh Tenchi?"
Tenchi smiled at her, "We're all we need; you represent Jurai and I represent Earth. And I'm sure Grandpa will be down from the shrine in a bit to see what's going on."
Sasami returned his smile. "Yeah. But I wish Ayeka hadn't had to go back to Jurai. I miss her. She was good at greeting guests."
"I miss her too Sasami. But at least she'll be spending her vacations here. Now, let's go see what these people want."
*****
Detective First Class Makibi Kiyone watched from the co-pilot's seat as her counterpart brought Yagami in for a smooth planetfall over the lake outside the Masaki residence. She was always glad to see that red roof come into view. It was a place she always felt welcome.
"Very nice landing. You say your Mihoshi always manages to hit the water?"
"That's what they tell me. In our world Mihoshi is the only officer assigned to Earth. I run my own department at headquarters," Colonel Makibi Kiyone replied. "Washu is always having to fix her ship, the Yukinojo."
The other Kiyone sighed with jealousy, "And you two are still partners?"
"No, we used to be, but not anymore. She's still my friend though." The green-banded Kiyone replied. "I'm lowering the ramp, you and your Mihoshi should probably debark first." She pointed to a monitor. "See, Tenchi and Sasami are waiting."
The red-banded Kiyone looked and saw Tenchi, Sasami and the two wooden Guardians patiently waiting on the deck. "Ok. I'll signal when it's safe for all of you to come out."
"Safe?"
"Well, when I've got them prepared for you anyway," red Kiyone replied with a chuckle. She stood up and left the control cabin to gather up her Mihoshi and greet her friends.
*****
Tenchi watched as two figures appeared at the top of the ramp. As they descended he could make out the faces of Kiyone and Mihoshi. Mihoshi was the same as always, bouncy and giggly but Kiyone had an odd look on her face.
"Hey! What's up you two? Where's Yagami? Did you get a new ship or something?" he asked as they got to the bottom of the ramp.
"Tenchi, this is Yagami. Kinda. Uh, there's something I need to explain…" Kiyone started.
"Oh Tenchi, Sasami! You'll never believe who's on that ship," Mihoshi gushed.
"Shut up Mihoshi," Kiyone said.
"But…"
"Mihoshi, I said shut up. I'll explain it."
"All right Kiyone," Mihoshi pouted.
Kiyone continued, "Tenchi, Sasami, there's some people I'd like you to meet." She gestured back up the ramp.
A striking red headed woman appeared and started down, followed by a young dark-haired girl. Tenchi noted that the woman bore a more than passing resemblance to Ryoko.
"Tenchi, this is…" Kiyone began.
"She's Ryoko's mother!" finished Mihoshi.
"Ryoko's… M… mom?" stuttered Tenchi.
"Mihoshi, I told you to be quiet. I'll do the introductions."
The woman bowed. "Hello Lord Tenchi," she said in a husky voice. "This young lady is Skuld, my student. And I am Washu. Pleased to meet you."
Tenchi's jaw dropped. "Your name is Washu? How odd, we have another Washu here already."
"Yes, I know." She crooked a finger back at the ship. Another woman appeared at the head of the ramp and started down.
Sasami started to run up the ramp. "MOTHER!" she cried, throwing herself into the woman's arms.
"No Sasami. I'm not Mother," the woman quietly told the little girl.
"Ay… Ayeka?" the princess looked up with tear-filled eyes.
Ayeka nodded and hugged her close.
"What happened to your hair?" Sasami asked, her face buried in Ayeka's shoulder.
"I don't understand," said Tenchi, scratching the back of his head. "Ayeka's supposed to be on Jurai…"
"She is," said the woman named Washu. "Watch…" She gestured again. A familiar spikey-haired girl appeared and started floating down the ramp.
"Ryoko?" Tenchi said. "What's going on here?"
"Wait Tenchi," Washu gestured and a male figure stepped out, taking Ryoko's hand. "I LOVE dramatic entrances!" Washu cackled.
The two started down the ramp, pausing at Ayeka and Sasami. Ayeka stood up, still holding Sasami and took the man's other hand.
"Masaki Tenchi," said Kiyone as the group reached the bottom of the ramp, "I'd like you to meet Masaki Tenchi and his wives, Masaki Ayeka and Masaki Ryoko."
Tenchi was stunned. Just what the hell was going on here? In a daze he bowed to his counterpart and his wives. "Uh, pleased to meet you?"
Five more figures were making their way down the ramp, three human and two cabbit. He glanced up at them, recognizing Sasami, Kiyone, Mihoshi and Ryo-ohki." It was too much for his overloaded brain.
Ryoko leapt forward, "Quick! Someone help me carry him into the house."
"Azaka, Kamidake. Take Lord Tenchi into the house," Ayeka ordered.
"Yes Princess," the logs both replied.
"Uh, which one?" asked Azaka.
"Probably the one that can't get there under his own power," answered Kamidake.
"Oh. Right."
*****
The two groups had gathered in the living room of the Masaki house. Tenchi was lying on the couch with his head in Ryoko's lap while she fanned his forehead. The two Sasami's were playing snatch-the-carrot with the two Ryo-ohki's and Ay-ohki. Everyone else was seated or standing wherever a space was available. Ayeka sat in her Tenchi's lap on the floor while their Ryoko snuggled against them. Little Washu stood behind the couch while Big Washu tried to explain why they were searching for cabbits.
"So you see, we need to find out how they got to our reality and to stop it from ever happening again," Big Washu explained. "I've scanned several realities and only a few have more than one cabbit. This one was the closest to our own, so we started here."
"Well," Little Washu said, "I know that I didn't create them. They've been around a lot longer than me."
"I'm pretty sure your Ryo-ohki will scan out the same as ours. What we need is another cabbit to test. Any ideas?" Big Washu asked.
"Well," started Little Washu, "there's always…"
Ryoko-without-gems looked up from where she'd been caressing her Tenchi's cheek, "No way! Not her! I never want to see that woman again. As far as I know, she thinks I'm dead and I want it to stay that way."
"What are you talkin' about?" asked the other Ryoko. "What woman?"
Little Washu spoke up. "Oh, her and a bounty hunter named Nagi have been at it for years. Neither one ever seems to come out on top. When we uh, invaded Jurai a few months back Nagi helped us, but Ryoko here was badly wounded. Afterwards she disappeared, presumed dead; everyone, including Nagi, searched for her for weeks." She gave her Ryoko a glare. "Then one day she showed up here, completely healed. And she won't tell us what happened."
"It's none of your damned business, that's why." Ryoko growled.
Why won't you tell them Ryoko? came a voice in her head. Was it that unpleasant?
Ryoko looked around the room, "What the hell?" Her eyes landed on Big Washu who was watching her intently. "You! You're in my head! I don't like it, get out."
The other Ryoko started laughing. "Get used to it. Mom doesn't take no for an answer very often. Must be the goddess part of her."
"The WHAT?" came from several people at once.
"Oh. Yeah. We haven't told you about that part yet." Ryoko-with-gems grinned. "Ya see, Mom there is one of the two lost Juraian goddesses, although we've recently found them again. Even she didn't know it for the last 20,000 years. And Skuld over there is a goddess to, but she's an Earth goddess."
Ryoko-without-gems looked over at Skuld, who waved back with a grin. "Really. Show me something goddesslike."
Skuld pointed her hand toward Ryoko and concentrated. The word "LOVER" appeared on Ryoko's T-shirt.
She looked down at her chest. "That's it? That's all you can do? There're shops in the mall that can do that. Jeez, some goddess you are kid," she laughed.
Skuld began to growl and a small device appeared in her hand. "Skuld Bomb Aw…"
Everybody who knew Skuld dived for cover. On Big Washu's forehead a triangular symbol began to glow. She held out her hand, stopping the young goddess in mid-sentence.
"Skuld? What have I told you about that temper?" she asked.
Skuld's hand dropped to her side, the device disappearing. She looked down at the floor. "Sorry Professor Washu. I forgot."
"And?"
"And I'm sorry I got mad at you Ryoko," Skuld apologized.
Ryoko-without-gems looked around at everyone. "What the hell just happened?"
*****
"So, you think our best bet is to start on Jurai then?" Big Washu asked Little Washu.
"Yep. If there are any other cabbits besides Ryo-ohki and Ken-ohki they should be in the records there," Little Washu answered. "Going back 90,000 years, well there's no computer records back that far so it's musty old books for you."
Big Washu grimaced. "Oh, come on. I know they had computers, I have the cores from the ship the cabbits were on."
Little Washu laughed at her, "Sure they did. And we have computers here on Earth too. Do you know how much data is still written down in log books and ledgers here?"
Big Washu thought for a second. "Hmmm. Point taken. I guess we'll leave in the morning."
Little Washu stared out the living room window to where Ayeka and the two Sasami's were sitting on the deck talking. "I have a feeling that Sasami and Tenchi will want to go with you to visit the Empress. And if Tenchi goes Ryoko goes as well."
"How about you?" wondered Big Washu.
Little Washu sighed, "No, I think I'll stay here this time. I'm still not welcome at the Academy and on Jurai, although Ayeka's working to change that. Will you all fit into Yagami?"
Big Washu shook her head. "No, not comfortably. Our Ryoko, Tenchi and Ayeka will probably end up in Ryo-ohki for the trip. Your group can return in their Ryo-ohki when we move on. Your Kiyone and Mihoshi'll be staying here as well. They wanted to come with us but the GP wouldn't give them time off."
"Tell me, what's it like being a goddess?" Little Washu asked, changing the subject.
Big Washu laughed uncomfortably. "It's like having all the power in the universe and all the responsibility. I wouldn't wish it on anyone else."
"Well, I'll never know I guess. I'm not a goddess in this reality."
"Little Washu, look at me," Big Washu said.
The smaller scientist turned around. Big Washu put her palm on the smaller one's forehead. Little Washu felt a surge of power flow into her.
"What did you just do?" she asked, stepping back.
"I gave you a small amount of my power. Oh, not much, just a taste. Not much more than your Ryoko has, but still... It's yours now, forever, and it can only grow larger with time. Use it wisely my friend." Big Washu turned and walked out of the room leaving her stunned double behind.
*****
To be continued
*****
Author's Notes
Well, it's on to Jurai and Ayeka. How will she react when she sees two Tenchi's? Of course there're two Ryoko's and another Ayeka now as well.
