"Tenchi Muyo!" and all characters herein are the property of Pioneer and AIC, save those created by the author. This is a fanfic and is not for profit.
Tenchi Muyo!
Odyssey
Chapter Ten: Reason to Live by William Nichols
"What the hell!"
Washu had been conversing with Katsuhito when all hell broke loose in her lab. Every alarm, bell, and whistle imaginable went off at once so it seemed. When she found the cause she nearly fainted. Ryoko's vital signs had crashed. In a blur she was by her daughters side trying to access her programs, doing any and everything that was humanly possibly to bring her back.
Flat line.
Nothing.
"I think you'd better step out," said Katsuhito to Sasami. The little princess was about to protest but the look on her elder brothers face told her not too. Reluctantly she left Washu and Katsuhito alone with her stricken fiend.
"It'll be alright," she said to Ryo-Ohki as she cradled the little cabbit. A faint 'miya' expressed the cabbit's unspoken grief. Ryoko meant the world to her, and she couldn't bear to let anything happen to her.
Katsuhito placed a hand on Ryoko's shoulder. Washu glanced up briefly as she furiously bypassed sub-routine after sub-routine trying desperately to bring her daughter back. A low mantra from Katsuhito joined the click-clack of Washu's keypad. She was working to save Ryoko one-way; he was working to save her in a different fashion. A light blue aura surrounded Katsuhito and spread over Ryoko. Washu knew what he was doing: he was trying to infuse Ryoko with some of his own Jurai power. The fact that he was willing to give up his life force to save her daughter moved Washu, but she buried the emotion for the time being. After Ryoko was safe there would be plenty of time for emotion.
*****
Outside the lab in the living room Sasami was doing her part to save Ryoko as well. "By the spirit of Tsunami and my true name," she prayed, "grant to me access to what is sacred. Grant to me the power of what is right. Grant to me the knowledge of enlightenment. Heavens to ocean, ocean to earth, and earth back to heaven. Guide me to my friend Ryoko." The marks of Tsunami on her forehead began to glow and her spirit departed into the astral realm.
A torrent of raw physic energy bombarded Sasami as she entered the astral realm. What should have been the flowing streams of life and thought from Ryoko were frantic and turbulent. It was obvious that her spirit was endanger of being drawn into the warp of chaos and lost forever. Sasami wade her way through the violent flow of emotion and fear that was poisoning Ryoko's astral existence.
"Ryoko!" she called out trying to get her voice above the crackle of the physic energy.
No response.
"Ryoko! Where are you?!" This time Sasami heard a quiet sob amongst the psychic discharges. She looked frantically in every direction for her friend. She had befriended Ryoko before any of the others did. While Tenchi was afraid of her and Ayeka called her a demon, she saw a kindred spirit. Here was this soul who was tormented by her past deeds and unsure of what she might become. Sasami was just as tormented by events in her past and was worried about what she might become. It mattered little to her that Ryoko had inadvertently caused her situation. She was a friend and what anyone else said did not matter.
"Ryoko!" cried Sasami as an energy serpent lashed out at her. A welt began to form on her arm from the bite but she did not notice. Ryoko was out there some where in this hellish nightmare. Once again the quiet sob rose over the psychic storm. In the midst of a swirling cloud of energy Sasami found her friend.
Ryoko was on her knees crying quietly. The top of her blouse was soaked form her tears. Her fists were clenched as she tried to break the energy streams that were pulling her down. She raised her head as Sasami fought through the psychic storm to get to. But as quickly as she did it was pulled back down. Some unseen force seemed to prevent her from looking at her friend. She squeezed her eyes shut in attempt to block the pain. Even now she did not want anyone to see her cry
"Ryoko!" Sasami pushed her way past eddies and torrents to make it to Ryoko. She reached for Ryoko but the energy cloud prevented her from touching her. Sasami pulled her hand back from the shock. Ryoko managed to look up again, but her face was pulled back down just as quickly as before. Undaunted Sasami began to push her way thru the energy barrier.
"Aaaahhh!" The energy lashed out at Sasami tearing her dress and burning her. Black welts and bruises began to dot her skin as she pushed through the barrier. "Ryoko!" With a burst of her own psychic energy Sasami dissipated the cloud imprisoning Ryoko's astral self. She quickly fell to her knees in front of the astral form.
"Oh Ryoko," she cried as Ryoko fell into her arms and began to weep violently. All Sasami could do was return her friends tears and try to comfort her. Ryoko looked into Sasami's pink eyes and managed to form a solitary word:
"Tenchi."
Sasami held Ryoko close as she cried onto her shoulder. She didn't know what was causing her friend so much grief, but the fact that she had spoken one name did not reassure Sasami. She needed to know what was going on and Ryoko's astral form was in no condition emotionally to tell her.
"Please forgive me," whispered Sasami as she touched her forehead to Ryoko's. Ryoko gasped as her consciousness was pulled from her. Instantaneously all of her memories flooded through Sasami's mind. Sasami Shrieked as the torrent of raw mental energy pervaded every fiber of her being. For all intents and purposes she became Ryoko.
And what she became broke her heart. When she pulled Ryoko's essence from her she broke all of the barriers Ryoko had put up over the years. Long lost memories were rediscovered along with ones that were intentionally buried…
Sasami saw a little Ryoko playing in her mother's lab. The little girl was chasing a toy kitten when she bumped over an experiment and it exploded. She was unharmed, but covered in soot. Next she saw an adult Washu comfort her crying daughter and wipe the soot from her face, making more of a smear than actually cleaning the little girls face. She also heard the loving words of comfort and support with no undertones of anger; just the voice of a mothers love.
Next she came to a memory of a Ryoko about her age if not younger. She was cowering fear as a dark shape threw her mother across the room. She cried in protest and tried to fight back but it was of no use. The dark shape easily threw her aside as side as well. Its massive hand reached down and grasped her throat, squeezing the life from her. It was then that the wicked grin of the being came into the light along with the rest of his face.
"You are pathetic," hissed Kagato. "You are a worthless construct with no other purpose than to serve me." Ryoko tried to resist but Kagato was just too strong. Sasami could see through Ryoko's eyes that Washu had tried to attack Kagato again, but he backhanded her down again. Before she could attack again a ruby crystal formed around her. Ryoko screamed for her mother, and tried to free herself from Kagato's iron grip. The last thing she saw was Washu pounding against the side of the crystal crying for her little Ryoko. The last thing she heard was Kagato's malicious voice:
"You are pathetic."
After that Sasami was subjected to a series of horrid and brutal memories of the abuses Ryoko suffered from Kagato. Every form of physical and mental debasement imaginable was heaped upon the poor child. Beatings, mental abuse, and torturous training exercises: all designed to break her spirit and shred her humanity. To mold her into what he affectionately called his monster. Then she came to the attack on Jurai, the very same attack that had nearly cost Sasami her life. It felt strange seeing it Ryoko's eyes. From there she witnessed her escape across space and crash on a distant planet.
She saw the duel with her brother. Ryoko had every advantage over the young Yosho. She had speed, strength, and agility. But for some reason she let her guard down for a second and he capitalized on it. Sasami gasp as she felt the white-hot blade of Tenchi-ken pierce Ryoko's throat and draw her life giving gems from her. What followed was total darkness. Indescribable cold and darkness. Imprisonment in the cave was hell on earth, but it a thousand times better than being controlled by Kagato.
After what seemed like centuries of this sensory depravation a ray of light shown into her sinister prison. A caring soul began to pass by the cave. At first on his mothers, then grandmothers back. Then when he was a little older by himself. Ryoko could swear that he could see her, and that the two of them actually played together. Over the years she watched this child mature into the young man that would free her from her imprisonment. Sasami also felt that Ryoko's love for Tenchi was true, and uninhibited. She loved him for what he was, and her greatest hope was that he would one day return that love.
Ryoko's consciousness passed through Sasami at an incredible rate. In a few second she had experience a lifetime. Then she came to the events of five days ago. She saw Baltus raise his hand towards Ayeka and Ryoko's split second decision to block the bolt. Her reasoning was that she loved Tenchi, and by saving Ayeka he could at least be happy with her. Ryoko's love for him was all she needed. Then Sasami saw something that surprised her. Ryoko had witnessed the events of the past five days from another dimension or astral plain. Sasami got a glimpse of Tenchi and Ayeka trudging through a dark temple and Tenchi fighting himself it looked like. Most of what Ryoko had seen was centered on the lab and her mother, but every now and then she would pop in on Tenchi to make sure he was all right.
Then Sasami saw something that broke her heart and infuriated her at the same time. Tenchi was holding Ayeka and they were in the middle of a passionate embrace. The image went fuzzy then to black as she saw her sisters robe fall to the floor. This is what had caused Ryoko to be pulled into this dark realm. Her heart was broken. She had sacrificed her life for Tenchi as the emissary had spoken and he was openly betraying that sacrifice. This was more than she could bear, so she decided to withdraw deep into the nether realm.
"Ryoko," cried Sasami as Ryoko looked up at her. The violent storms and torrents had ceased but Ryoko still remained deep in the chaos of the nether realm.
"Why?" asked Ryoko through muffled sobs. Sasami had no answer, but she knew who did. She reached out with her mind looking for someone in particular. Luckily he was unconscious at the moment, so she forcibly dragged his mind into the astral realm. He landed hard and took a second to pick himself up. When he did he had no clue as to where he was or why he was there. Then he saw Sasami glaring at him over Ryoko's shoulder.
Sasami gently pulled herself away from Ryoko and looked into her eyes. "Wait here," she begged. Ryoko sniffed and nodded. Sasami then slowly walked over to Tenchi's astral-self giving him plenty of time to think about what he had done. She stopped right in front of him and looked him in the eyes. She was slightly shorter than him still but her pink eyes burned with a righteous fury. In a flash she rose up into the form of Tsunami, that of her future self.
Then she slapped him.
The crack of her hand across his face echoed across the now silent realm. Tenchi's head jerked back popping a few of his vertebrae. Sasami clenched her fists and shook as she looked at this pathetic excuse of a person. She began to say something, but she closed her mouth out of fear of what may have come out. An angry deity was never a good thing, especially when she had already slapped the taste out of somebody's mouth. All she could do was look at Tenchi with contempt. It was beyond her how he could do this to her friend and to the person he CLAIMED to love.
Tenchi understood Sasami's silent rage. He also understood Ryoko's heartbreak and anger towards him. If she had seen what he thought she had seen, he deserved every bit of it. He had acted foolishly and had not thought about the consequences. Now he saw those consequences as possibly loosing the person who meant more than life itself to him: both physically and her love for him. Tenchi swallowed hard and walked towards Ryoko. She turned her face from him, refusing to acknowledge his presence. Tenchi took a knee and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Ryoko, please," he begged. Ryoko turned her head further away from him. All at once she wanted to run her energy sword through him and embrace him the way he had Ayeka. Tenchi sighed heavily and tried to find the right words, which he knew did not exist.
"How could you," whispered Ryoko barely above a breath.
"I am so sorry," begged Tenchi.
"I loved you," cried Ryoko.
"And I love you," replied Tenchi. Ryoko turned to him with tear filled eyes.
"Then why did you," her words were choked off by her sobs.
"I didn't" replied Tenchi.
"What?"
"I was, we were," he fumbled for moment before he looked towards Sasami. She understood his unspoken request. She walked over to him and Ryoko and placed a hand on both of their shoulders. Tenchi's memories were shared with Ryoko in much the same manner as Ryoko's had been with Sasami. Both Sasami and Ryoko saw what Tenchi was trying to say.
"I would never intentionally hurt you," began Tenchi as he cradled Ryoko's face. He wiped her tears away with his thumbs. "I have waited too long to say this. I love you Ryoko. I love you and no one other. I am yours heart and soul. I screwed up back there. Big. All I can do is apologize. I just don't know of any," he was cut off by Ryoko.
"Just shut up and kiss me," she said looking into his eyes. She could see the sincerity in his eyes, and that he meant it when he said he loved her. Tenchi was more than eager to complied with her request.
What started, as a soft, passionate kiss became a full-blown knock your socks off kiss. Tenchi ran his tongue across Ryoko's lips and she gladly accepted it, and returned the favor. True loves first kiss. After what seemed like an eternity and yet a second they pulled apart.
"I love you," he said wiping the tears from her face once more.
"I know," she smiled. "I love you too." Tenchi held her closely as her astral form began to fade out of sight.
"What?" he asked as Sasami placed a hand on his shoulder.
"She's just going back," she reassured. "And you'd better too." Tenchi nodded and began to fade out of the astral realm as well.
"Sasami," he began, "I'm sorry. And thank you." Sasami smiled as Tenchi's astral body departed. With a sigh of relief Sasami departed the astral realm as well.
***
Back on the physical plain Sasami opened her eyes. Ryo-Ohki was by her side looking somewhat concerned. "Everything's okay," she said placing a hand on the little cabbit's head.
In the lab Ryoko's vital signs stabilized as suddenly as they had crashed. Washu and Katsuhito were at a loss. The whole incident had lasted less than two or three minutes. Washu doubled checked everything and made sure Ryoko was really all right in the stasis field. She was at a total loss, which did not happen very often. All she knew was that one-minute her daughter was for all intents and purposes dead. Then she was back alive just as if nothing had ever happened. Washu leaned back in her chair and exhaled deeply. She did not know how much more of this she could handle.
***
"Well isn't this a lovely sight," joked Marnot as he landed back on the hotel balcony. "My, my," he laughed. "What ever have you been up to princess?" Ayeka looked up from the edge of the bed closed the front of her robe a little.
"Are you always this obnoxious?" she said curtly to the guardian spirit as he walked over to the bed.
"Only when dealing with Juraian princesses. Company policy."
"I see." Marnot laughed to himself again as he surveyed the hotel room.
"Lets see," he began. "The champion is out cold on the floor half-dressed and you are sitting on the bed half-dressed. I obviously missed all the fun here."
"Nothing happened," growled Ayeka as she marched towards the bathroom to fetch her clothes.
"That is not what it looks like," chided Marnot picking Tenchi up and laying on the bed.
"It was going to happen," confessed Ayeka.
"What did happen?" poked Marnot. He had the princess squirming. 'This is what she gets for scaring off my dinner,' he joked mentally.
"I'm not very good about describing these types of things," confessed Ayeka from the other side of the bathroom door.
"Then use the old baseball analogy from earth," laughed Marnot. "You are at least familiar with that, are you not?"
"Yes," growled Ayeka. "We made it to: first base?"
"Are you asking or telling?"
"Telling."
"Any further?" Marnot smiled at the long pause that followed. "Let me guess," he laughed. "You got picked off trying to steal second, right?" Ayeka threw open the bathroom door and glare at the laughing guardian spirit.
"Listen you, you, you…" she stammered.
"Beast?"
"Yes. Thank you. Listen you beast," growled Ayeka. "I did my damnedest to seduce him. But do you know what he did?"
"No clue," said Marnot feigning innocence.
"He called me…" Ayeka bit her tongue in attempt to hide her growing rage.
"What did he call you?" goaded Marnot. This was good. He loved every second of it. "Princess pain in the--."
"He called me HER name!" exclaimed Ayeka as she threw her hands up in disgust. "He could have had me, the way I have always wanted him, and he called me Ryoko," she cried. "I was so disgusted when I heard that name in my moment of passion I pushed him off of me."
"And he hit his head on the floor," concluded Marnot.
"Yes," replied Ayeka as she wiped the last tears from her eyes. "Nothing happened," she said as she sat down on the edge of the bed again. She played with the cart of now cold food that been brought earlier.
"So he's not a total louse," laughed Marnot.
"No he's not," added Ayeka.
"I hope you have learned your lesson," said Marnot as he took a seat next to the princess. "I can fix that," he said pointing to the cart. Ayeka nodded and Marnot walked over the door.
"Miss," he called out to the hotel steward as time began again. "This food is cold." The steward looked a little confused and came back to the room. She walked over to the cart trying to figure out what was going on. Sure enough the food was cold, as if it had been sitting there for hours. She apologized profusely and said that she would sent up a new order immediately. Marnot thanked her in her native tongue and gave her an extra gratuity for having to contend with Ayeka.
"Done," he said as Tenchi began to stir. He got up rubbing the side of his face, which had what looked like a bright red handprint on it. With out speaking he got up and walked to the balcony. Marnot had been right; this planet was bathed in perpetual darkness. Tenchi searched the city for a familiar light.
"I didn't slap him," whispered Ayeka to a confused Marnot.
"Some one did," he replied back.
Tenchi rubbed the burning welt on his face. He deserved it and a lot more for what he did. He wasn't sure if he had dreamed all of it at first, but the mark on his face let him know that it had been real. Across the city he found a lighted sign that resembled spiky nature of Ryoko's hair. It was even lit in a bright powder blue.
"I promise," he whispered to himself. "I will get you back."
***
"See," boomed the voice the Elder in the crimson robe. "All has not been lost, and the champion has found himself." The others nodded in agreement as they cast their gazes back down to the Odyssey.
The Odyssey shall continue…