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.

*****

The Great Cabbit Search

Chapter 16

Lost and Found

*****

Washu tapped Kiyone on the shoulder and nodded.  For the last time Yagami sank into the field of the Reality Hopper.

Yagami made a perfect transition this time, no ill effects were felt by anyone.  Kiyone breathed a sigh of relief as Mihoshi brought the engines up to power and the ship assumed an orbit around the Earth.

Mihoshi smacked the side of her console with her open palm, "Kiyone, something's wrong.  I'm getting no life readings from the planet."

"That can't be right," her partner said, looking over her own board.  "Must be a sensor glitch or something."

The blonde shook her head, "Diagnostics check out ok.  There's just nothing there to read."

Kiyone activated her viewscreen.  Instead of a blue-green world she saw nothing but brown and gray.  Washu looked over her shoulder and pointed to a familiar area in Japan.

"Take us down please.  But I don't think we're going to like what we find," the scientist said in a hushed voice.

*****

Yagami made a textbook landing at the location of the Masaki house.  Only there was no house, no shrine, no anything; just barren hills and blowing dust.  The ship's boarding ramp lowered and Washu, Tenchi, Ryoko, Ayeka and Kiyone descended.

Standing at the bottom of the ramp, the group stared at the desolation around them with wide eyes. 

Washu was taking readings using an instrument Tenchi had never seen before.  "No radiation, no man-made chemicals, no biological agents; in fact, no biology at all," the scientist muttered.

 "What happened here Little Washu?  Was it a war?" her son-in-law asked her.

"No Tenchi.  At least not on this planet.  There is a fossil record, so life did exist at some time, but whatever happened, it occurred a long time ago.  Before your species developed any kind of civilization.  You don't exist here; you can't exist here."  She turned started back up the ramp.  "There's nothing here for us, let's go."

"Where to Washu?" asked Ayeka as she walked beside the redhead.  "Home?"

"No, Kagato's data specifically pointed out this reality as the origin of those cabbits and other artifacts.  We'll start with Jurai."   The ramp retracted and the hatch clanged shut behind them with a frightening finality.

*****

Once again Yagami flew through hyperspace between Earth and Jurai.  Kiyone was becoming so familiar with the route that she felt she could fly it in her sleep.

How odd, she thought, no message traffic, no other ships, no EM emissions at all except from the stars themselves.  It's like nothing exists here…

*****

The group looked down on the planet Jurai through Yagami's viewports.  What they saw brought tears to the eyes of Sasami and Ayeka.  Jurai was just as dead as Earth.

"What happened here Washu?" the eldest princess asked in a low tone.

Washu replied in the same tone, "I don't know Ayeka, but I'm going to find out.  I promise you."

Kiyone came charging into the observation room.  "Mihoshi found life signs on the planet!  Two humanoids; by the readings they're Juraian!"

Washu turned and headed for the exit. "Maybe now we'll get some answers.  Take us down."

*****

Yagami settled in what used to be an open field outside the Royal Palace.  In the distance stood two thin figures, waiting.

Once again, Kiyone was the first one down the ramp to greet whoever was there.  The others watched as the GP Colonel walked up to the two shrouded figures.  There was a brief conversation and then…

"Washu, you and the others better get out here," Kiyone called over the comlink.

As the group approached the waiting trio, one of them fell to their knees.  The sound of crying could be heard across the barren plain.  Suddenly the person stood up and ran to the group.  She stopped in front of Sasami and fell to her knees again.

"Sasami.  Is it really you?  And Ayeka.  What have you done to your beautiful hair?" came a familiar, but raspy voice from under the hood.

Sasami's face assumed a startled look.  "M… mother?  Mommy, is that you?"

"Oh Sasami.  Did you get sent to this horrid place too?  But you have a working ship, how can this be?  Are you here to rescue us?"

Sasami looked over at Washu, who shook her head.

"No mommy.  I'm not the Sasami you think I am.  And Ayeka isn't the same person either."  The small princess knelt down in the dirt herself.  She slowly pushed the hood back to reveal the gaunt face of Queen Misaki.  She brushed the dirty, matted blue hair back from the woman's face and started crying herself.  The little girl threw herself into the woman's arms.  She looked up at Washu and asked, "How can this happen Washu?  What's Misaki doing here?"

"I can answer that," said Kiyone, walking over to the group.  The other figure was leaning heavily on the GP.  "They were exiled here by Kagato when he usurped the throne.  This is Azusa, Emperor of Jurai."

Ayeka's hand flew up to her mouth, "That means…"

Kiyone nodded, "Yes, these are the Empress's missing parents.  It's no wonder no one could find them.  How was Kagato able to transport them here though?"

"Well," Washu said, "he did have the ability to use the Juraian power.  But I suspect he had help."

"Not that Xellos guy you keep talking about?" asked Ryoko.

"No, he may like to pull his tricks, but unless he was really mad about something even he wouldn't do something like this.  He's not the only one with the power to do this though, I can think of about three others off-hand."

"What are we going to do?" Ayeka asked.

"First, we take them back to Yagami and get them fed and cleaned up," Kiyone replied.

"And then we'll see," finished Washu, helping Misaki to her feet.

*****

"Are they gonna be ok Washu?" Sasami asked with tears in her eyes as she watched the Emperor and Empress of Jurai sleeping in the bed that Tenchi, Ryoko and Ayeka had been sharing.

"Sure thing, Sasami.  Some good food, clean water and a little rest, they'll all be as good as new.  At least that reality's Kagato left them shelter and enough food.  But if we hadn't come along when we did, it may have been a different story."

"How are we going to get them home?" Sasami wondered.  "We could take them with us I suppose and take them home from there."

Washu laughed quietly, "Do you really want your father to meet this Azusa?  It'll happen if they come back with us you know.  Both are just pig-headed enough to demand it."

"Then what are we gonna do?" pleaded the princess,  "We can't leave them here.  That Sasami misses her parents, and Empress Ayeka really wants to go back to Earth to be with her Tenchi and Ryoko."

Washu patted her on her head and closed the door to the stateroom.  "I know little one, I know.  I have an idea, but first I have to make a phone call."

"A phone call?"

"Trust me."  Washu snapped her fingers and a phone materialized out of nowhere.  She picked up the receiver and punched in a phone number.

"Yo.  This is Washu.  Let me talk to the Big Guy," she covered the mouthpiece with her hand and winked at Sasami.  "I'll make things happen, don't worry."

"Yeah, it's me.  Hey, I need a favor.  I've got a couple of people I need transport for.  No, not Earth; Jurai.  Yeah.  Yeah, that'll be fine.  All right, I owe ya one.  Thanks."  Washu hung up the phone, which promptly disappeared.

A few moments later Kiyone appeared in the passageway, escorting a familiar figure.  "Washu, I found this person wandering around inside Yagami.  When I asked her how she got here, she asked for you."

"Hello Lady Washu, it's nice to see you again," said the sandy haired woman.

"Ah, that's right.  You two have never met.  Kiyone, this is Skuld's other older sister, Belldandy. Her father sent her to take Azusa and Misaki home."

The Goddess smiled and bowed to the GP officer.  "Pleased to meet you."

*****

Tenchi and the others were glad to see the Goddess First Class again.  They hadn't seen her since their wedding.  Sasami asked Bell if she wanted to help make dinner, a task which the Goddess immediately agreed to.

After the meal, Belldandy took the little princess aside, whispered into her ear and put something in her hand.  Sasami smiled and nodded joyfully.  The goddess turned back to the Juraian Emperor and his wife, "When ever you two are ready, I'll take you home."

Both said that now would be as good a time as any, and since they had no belongings to carry, they could leave right away.  Belldandy spoke a few phrases in her language and made some cryptic passes with her hands.  A glowing beam descended from the heavens and the three began to float skyward.

"Hey Bell, when we get back, you and your crew should come spend a weekend with us," Washu called, cupping a hand to her mouth.

"I'd like that Lady Washu.  It's a date." Belldandy responded.

The trio faded away.  Washu sighed and turned back to her own group.

"Couldn't you have transported them like that Washu?" Tenchi asked.

The scientist walked past him, heading back into the ship, "No, my powers don't work the same as hers.  Tokimi probably could've done it, and maybe Tsunami; but I don't have any way of calling them here.  Bell's dad is pretty easy, He exists in the same form across all realities.  And He's only a phone call away you know.  Now, let's go exploring and see what we can find in some of these ruins."

*****

Empress Ayeka was seated on her throne listening to the droning of the nobles petitioning her for favors.  Not for the first time she wished there was some way she could leave all this and join Tenchi and Ryoko back on Earth.  The others that had entered her life for such a short time had shown her what was possible and she wanted it with all her heart, but her duties to the Crown and the Empire prevented it.

Out of nowhere a beam of light shot down.  Silhouetted in it were three beings.  As their feet touched the ground the light faded and a great silence fell over the hall.  The Empress of Jurai shot to her feet, tears in her eyes.

"Mother, Father!" she cried.  She ran down the steps and fell to her knees before them.  "You are my parents, aren't you?" she asked, looking up at them.

Misaki gathered her daughter up in her arms, "Yes dear.  Thanks to some friends of yours, we're finally home."

The ruler of the greatest Empire in the galaxy buried her head on her mother's shoulder and cried along with the older queen.  Her father wrapped his arms around both of them and squeezed tightly, tears forming in his eyes as well.

"Oh, Sasami will be so happy.  I'll summon her home at once.  Perhaps I can even talk Ryoko into bringing her in Ryo-ohki, then you can meet Tenchi and the others," Ayeka said between sobs.

Misaki patted her oldest daughter on the back of the head, "I think we already have dear.  But we'll be happy to meet your friends as well."

Ayeka raised her head and looked at the other woman standing there with her hands folded in front of her.  "Thank you for bringing them back.  Who are you?"

Belldandy smiled at the Empress, "I am Belldandy, Goddess First Class Unlimited, a friend of Washu's and the others.  It's a pleasure to meet you, although I have met your other self before.  But I must not stay here too long, I'm not a Juraian goddess and I don't belong in this Reality.  Do you have a mirror I might use?"

The image of Tsunami, unseen by any except Sasami for millennia faded into view.  With a gentle smile she said, "No need cousin.  I will send you home at your convenience.  You may stay in my realm for as long as you wish."

"Thank you My Lady, but I really need to get home.  Keiichi and my sisters will be wondering where I've got to," the Norn explained.

"I understand."  Tsunami waved her hand and the other Goddess faded from view.  "Thank you," the Juraian deity whispered as she herself faded away.

*****

A dusty group gathered in Yagami's dining area for dinner.  Washu materialized her holo terminal and scanned through the results of the data they had all been gathering for the past few days.  She scrolled through several screens, the nodded to herself and made the computer vanish.

"Well Washu, have you figured out what happened yet?" asked her daughter between mouthfuls of Sasami's cooking.

Washu reached across the table for the rice bowl  "Yes, Ryoko.  It seems there was a war here.  A war between higher dimensional beings."

The pirate's jaw dropped, "You don't mean…"

"Yes.  Tokimi, Tsunami and myself.    Our fighting managed to kill everything here.  Nothing is left; anywhere.  This whole reality is completely sterile," the scientist spooned out a generous helping for herself.

"Is that why you've had our Tokimi stay in your lab Washu?" asked Sasami.

"Partly, little one.  Partly.  Remember what she was like when she first appeared.  She had no concept of our idea of right and wrong.  Power was everything, lesser being were nothing but toys to her."

"And what did you expect her to learn Washu?" Tenchi inquired politely.

"Humility," Washu explained, "I learned it by becoming mortal for a time and being imprisoned by Kagato; Tsunami learned it by guiding and interacting with the Jurai.  I can hope that Tokimi learned it much quicker, given that she had all of us to help her."

Ayeka paused, food halfway to her mouth.  "But what about the cabbits and the other things?"

"Oh, the me that was here created all of it.  About the same time that I created Ryoko and Ryo-ohki in our reality.  But something happened.  That me didn't stop with one Ryo-ohki or one Ryoko.  There were many of them, not duplicates to be sure, but beings with the same capabilities.  And when the fighting broke out, the dimensional energies released caused them to be scattered across time and space to many different realities."

"But that ship showed battle damage.  It was in the fighting too," said the princess.

Washu chuckled mirthlessly, "Sure it was.  Remember, to most higher dimensional beings, mortals are nothing but toys; game pieces to be moved on a giant board.  I'm sure the people here took sides in the war.  The Juraians with Tsunami, others with me, still more with our sister.  The war could have, and probably did, go on for centuries.  Until something one of us did caused all this.  And maybe killed ourselves as well."

"How is that possible?" Ryoko wondered aloud.

"Anything's possible dear.  What I call 'mortal' is only a matter of perspective.  There may be other beings even higher that see us as nothing but toys.  I don't know.  In a Universe of infinite possibilities, anything can and will happen.  Including this…" Washu waved her hand around, indicating the dead world outside the ship.

*****

As they were boarding Yagami for the trip back to Earth and home, Sasami knelt down and buried something in the dusty soil.  Patting it down firmly, she whispered to the small mound then stood and ran up the ramp to the rest of the group.

"What was that, Sasami?" asked her sister.

"Nothing important Ayeka.  Just an offering from the past, to the future."

*****

Several days later something happened on the planet Jurai that hadn't happened in millennium.  It began to rain.  Not a hard rain, but very gentle.  It rained for several days and the thirsty ground soaked up the moisture like a sponge.  As the sun came out on the final day, a small green sprout with a few small leaves could be seen reaching from Sasami's offering.  Over it the image of a beautiful woman with bluish hair and pink eyes appeared and next to her appeared another, with reddish hair and green eyes.  As the red haired woman looked on, the other slowly faded downward into the new growth. 

When her sister was totally gone, the red head looked up into the sky and smiled.  "Well, it took us 25,000 years to learn what's important.  I hope we never forget again," she said, apparently to no one as grass began to grow rapidly around the small mound.

If anyone had been around to hear, they would have been astonished as a reply came from thin air, "Yes sister."  An image of a third woman, with brown hair and blue eyes appeared, floating over the green field which now extended as far as the eye could see. "We three must never let this happen again, anywhere."

*****

The End of The Great Cabbit Search

*****

Author's notes

In the notes at the end of the last chapter I didn't mean to sound like I was going to stop if I didn't get any reviews, it was just an explanation why I was so slow in getting the last chapter out.  Please, don't feel obligated to review these unless you really want to.  I'm going to write anyway, just maybe not as fast.

This is the end of the search; Washu found what she was looking for, but not what she expected.  I'm going to take a few days to work out some ideas then start on the practical joke battle between Washu and Xellos (I'm still working on a title for it).  That means parts of the Slayers cast will be putting in an appearance or two and Minagi may be back for an adventure as well.  Pretty Sammy and Pixy Misa may even make an appearance.  (I really like Pretty Sammy, but don't watch it until you've seen ALL of the other Tenchi episodes.  Otherwise you won't get some of the jokes and it won't make any sense.  Hmm, Misa and Peorth trying to speak in French to each other…  What a concept.)  I'm always open to ideas on how to use the characters if anyone wants to make any suggestions.

Review Responses

Priest – Your philosophy is valid.  I've heard the one about the micrometer and the ax before.  Mine is courtesy of the U.S. Army.  Oh, and I got the picture, thanks.  You sent it to my work e-mail so I didn't get it until after X-mas as I was off for 11 days using up my unused vacation time.  It is fanart, it seems to be an airbrushed piece.  All the original art was animation cels, pen and ink, or watercolor.  It's still a nice piece though.

DennisuD – Although I now have all the Oh! My Goddess DVDs and Mangas, I don't have the same depth of feeling for those characters yet as I do the Tenchi crew, so I don't think I'm quite ready to include Keiichi, Megumi, Sora and the rest yet.  Someday soon though…

Agent_86 – Yeah, I wish.  And that outfit Fam wears ain't bad either…

DragonBard – Ayeka is more of an OMG-Mara type demon (or maybe Slayers-Xellos) than anything else: not really evil, but always scheming and prone to extreme violence when her buttons are pushed.  Also very protective of those she considers family and friends.  She's not a true demon yet though, and I don't know if she ever will be.  As for the higher planes; if we assume that the type of beings we're talking about are from a higher dimension (as stated in the Tenchi OAV for Tokimi), then the concept of heaven and hell become relative to ones point-of-view, don't you think?  Just speculating here, don't take me too seriously…

BobR

01/03/02