Disclaimer
Tenchi and all associated characters are the property of AIC and Pioneer LDC. Slayers is copyrighted to a lot of different companies and I won't list them all. I don't own any rights to either of them. Any other characters are property of their respective copyright holders, not me.
*****
The Game
Chapter 7
Clarifying Points
*****
Some valid points were raised in DragonBard's review that I felt needed an explanation. I'm now sorry that I didn't do it in the fic, but I felt that enough clues were given throughout all my stories to cover this. Looking back, DragonBard is right, it is confusing. But before I continue I need to say one thing:
The following in no way should be construed to reflect the actual political, social or religious beliefs of the author. This is a work of fiction set in an alternate world and as such some allowance should be made. Always remember that as much as we all love these characters and such, they're only from a cartoon.
That said, let's go on.
The question came up that if L-sama could only exist in the world for a short time, how come Tokimi, Washu and a supercharged Urd who supposedly have just as much power could remain?
The simple answer is that they couldn't, or not for very long anyway. Way back in Conversations II during the wedding when Washu was revealed and Tokimi descended, Washu made a statement to the effect that in order to remain they had to have their powers sealed, thus Washu recreated the gems and the three Norns sealed Tokimi. They can only unseal their powers for short periods and only in dire need. The being that they encountered in this fic was as powerful as any one of them or possibly two, thus would have caused the destruction of this world if allowed to remain. Xellos sensed this and that's why he asked Washu for help. After defeating the creature the three reverted back to their sealed selves, voluntarily.
Why isn't Xellos a part of the creature? Who's to say he isn't. But seriously, the creature was pure evil and Xellos isn't. When the creature said he/she/it was those others it meant that it was a controlling part of them, not the whole. It influenced their actions to a certain extent (some more than others) but wasn't entirely them. They had individual personalities. And this Tenchi wouldn't have had a clue who Kain or Yazuha was. But Washu would.
What's the difference between the Old Ones and Kami-sama (Urd's Father)? Not much really, the Old Ones existed first, but didn't create any of the younger races. Remember that Urd told Ryoko that Washu created their Reality during a fight with Tokimi, but her (Urd's) father was the one that created everything in that Reality. The Old Ones have more power but don't like to use it openly. I'm not even going to try to speculate how these beings (the Old Ones and the other Higher Beings) came into existence. Let's just say they exist and leave it at that.
This brings up the question of why the creature could have the same or more power than an Old One. Well… it's because the creature is made up of evil gathered from across the realities. Under normal circumstances it would never be able to gather together, but Xellos wasn't careful when he traveled through the realities and left gaps. These gaps sealed themselves, but slowly, allowing the different aspects of the creature from the different realities to gather at the source of the power. Because it was made up of many different parts, as a whole it could be more powerful than any single being.
What happened to the creature? Washu created portals (being careful not to leave gaps) and the others dispersed it back to where it belonged. The piece that escaped belongs in the Slayers reality.
Whew! There. And if this sounds like a bunch of rationalizations, well you're right. But still, it kinda makes sense, doesn't it? I hope. And I'll try my best not to do anymore crossovers with this many series again. I promise. (Author has his fingers crossed behind his back…)
And DragonBard, thanks for pointing it out to me. It all made perfect sense to me when I wrote it. I would've just explained this to you in an e-mail, thus saving me some embarrassment, but you didn't give me your address in your review.
BobR
1/30/2002
(Oh, and before I forget: Dennisud, nope, no Dragonball in my next fic. Yuck, ptuie…)
