All characters relating to Tenchi Muyo! and its multiverses, if not stated before, are (c) AIC/Pioneer. All other characters not relating
to it (Minaka, Tetsuri, etc.) are strictly of my creation.
Minaka Muyo! (No Need for Minaka!)
Chapter 6: Faith
Written by: Sue "Speck" Quigley
***
It took less than five minutes for Yagame, whose thrusters were set on maximum power, as Ryoko had instructed, to get back to Earth, seeing as the pirates' stronghold had positioned itself only a few parsecs away from Earth's galactic boundaries. The ship itself made a gentle splashdown in the lake in front of the Masaki residence. Washuu was still alive, but only by a thread, her life hanging by a strand of gossamer so thin that it seemed she would slip away in a heartbeat. Ryoko would have none of that, and upon touchdown in the lake, she set to action, gently grasping Washuu's wrist.
"Wait, Ryoko, what are you doing? We still have to-..."
"There's no time for that. There's something I need to do... see you all later. I promise, Washuu'll be okay."
Ryoko gave off an aura that surrounded both herself and Washuu, and vanished in an instant, leaving the other six behind within Yagame, in confusion.
"She's acting awfully weird... like she knows what to do or something..." Tenchi mused.
"I have a feeling Miss Washuu wasn't entirely unconscious before we left the pirates' ship," Aeka commented. This caused the others to look at her with a keen interest. She continued.
"Remember how before we left to take on the pirates, Ryoko said something about not being able to pick up Washuu's thought pattern with the astral link between them? She must have been keeping it open, sending thoughts to Washuu to get a response... so when the battle ended, I think she got in contact with her. Washuu may have given her a plan to help save her life."
Tenchi nodded. "Well, that does make some sense..."
Minaka gave a quiet groan. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking to clear her blurred vision, and looked about groggily.
"Oh... my head hurts so much... is it over?"
"It's more than over, Minaka. With your help, we've broken up one of the largest pirate rings in the history of the Galaxy Police. And, you got rid of the bandleader as well. It is all over..."
Minaka lowered her head dejectedly. "But... I couldn't save her... I am so weak... I couldn't help save my best friend when she needed me... she's done so much for me, and I couldn't do a thing to help her at all..."
Tenchi knelt down in front of Minaka, and raised her head with his hand, so the two were looking face to face. The blood of healing wounds mixed with tears as Minaka gazed into Tenchi's warm, kind eyes. With his other hand, still gloved in Juraian battle dress, he wiped away her tears, and smiled.
"Minaka... don't beat yourself up like this... Tetsuri was more powerful than we could have even imagined... besides, you did beat him! If you hadn't been able to get him then, Washuu might be dead now. You did save her, Minaka... If she saw you now, she'd probably be angry with you, the way you've been talking..."
Minaka collapsed into Tenchi's arms, crying hysterically, her body twitching as she sobbed. Aeka sat next to Tenchi, and stroked at Minaka's back to calm her.
"He's right, you know... Tetsuri may have been powerful, but your tact to beat him beats his kind of power any day... Washuu's life may be hanging on by a thread, but that's certainly better than being dead. Don't think you are a failure... you've done more for her than either Lord Tenchi, or myself... even Ryoko. You're a hero, Minaka..."
Minaka's body ceased twitching, her muffled sobs quieting to gentle snuffs as she passed out from sheer exhaustion.
"I think it's time we got back to the house... Sasami's probably worried sick..."
"Mmm..." Tenchi agreed. "Just in time for dinner, too... I'm starved!"
***
Meanwhile, Ryoko rushed about inside Washuu's lab. "Where the hell is that damn contraption of hers?"
When Washuu had been abducted from inside her lab, it had reverted back to its former occupation, a simple broom closet. Now that its master had returned, the hyperdimension had opened back up again, still as disorganized as ever. Frustrated, Ryoko deposited Washuu on a simple cot in the corner, and began to search about in desperation. In the few seconds it had taken Ryoko to teleport into the lab, Washuu's pulse had dropped dramatically low, so much so that her heart would beat, pause for a few seconds, then slowly and painfully beat again.
Ryoko was about ready to tear her hair out. The one object that could save her mother's life, and she couldn't find the damned thing...
When she found it. It was small, being no bigger than a small television. It resembled an octopus, eight coiled tentacle-like projections sprouting from its main frame, clamps extending from each tentacle. As always, Washuu had created the machine with her innate sense of flair, adding two googly eyes and an obscene, toothy grin to its main unit. Ryoko had to laugh... this machine had the power to save a person on the brink of death, but its comical appearance made it look like it had been designed to entertain small children for hours.
No time to nitpick over its design, Ryoko thought. She hastened to the side of the cot, placing the grinning main unit at the top of the cot. She attached the coils to Washuu, and, as one last measure, checked her pulse. Her heart beat, then paused...
Her chest, which had been hefting laboriously with her sporadic breathing, seemed to stiffen, then relaxed. Her heart refused to beat anymore.
"Oh God no, not now..." Ryoko moaned. She cradled her mother's prone form into her arms, shaking her gently. "Come on, mom, don't do this now..."
Washuu's body responded, as all recently deceased bodies do, to Ryoko's gentle shaking by flopping about limply, like a wet noodle. Ryoko felt the back of her neck prickle, as she held her dead mother in her arms.
"No... no, no, please, no... NO!"
With an anger born of fear and desperation, Ryoko began to slap Washuu about the face, screaming at her.
"Don't you DARE die on me now, mom, you hear me? Don't you DARE! You fought too damn hard to stay alive to help me get you here, Goddamn it! Don't you dare give up now... FIGHT, damn it!"
Ryoko placed both her hands on Washuu's chest, shocking her gently with her energy in hope of getting her heart to move again. She continued on at the top of her voice with her verbal abuse, berating Washuu for having given up so quickly.
***
Washuu felt herself floating in a peaceful nexus, her mind and spirit calm and soothed, something she had never felt before. Exuberantly, she flew through countless motes of light, feeling the light penetrate her spirit, its warmth leaving her deliciously giddy. Forgotten was her pain and suffering; all she knew now was peace. Having not even the slightest though as to where she existed at the moment, she merely hung in space, feeling such an utter calmness...
"Washuu?"
The sudden voice split the quietness, startling Washuu. It had a vague hint of familiarity, and she turned to its source. Gasping, she brought her hand up to her mouth...
Mikumo.
He stood before her, just as she remembered him, in flowing dress, his bright blue eyes burning deep into her soul. He smiled, and extended his arms to her, beckoning her close. Hesitant, she reached out with a hand to touch his. It was gloved, but as always, warm, and welcoming. Throwing herself at him, she let him enfold her bare skin within his robes, inhaling deeply of his familiar scent. Tears coursed their way freely down her face, splashing gently on his breastplate, as she cried her happiness and joy of finding her lost lover.
"Together.. Finally, we are together, Mikumo... I've missed you so..."
"As have I, all these long years, my beloved."
Washuu looked about. "What of our son? Where is he?"
Mikumo nodded. "Our son still lives... what he inherited from you, my dear, a long life..."
His body seemed to stiffen. Washuu felt this, and looked up into his face. He looked stricken.
"What is wrong, Mikumo?"
"...I ...I hear the cries... of a loved one, very dear to your heart. She cries with pain... can you not hear her?"
Washuu concentrated... then heard it. In her sudden euphoria upon being reunited with her lost love, she hadn't even heard the pained cries of her own daughter. Released from her embrace by Mikumo, she floated to the middle of the open space. The motes of light parted way, to reveal to her a shocking sight. Her own body, colorless in death, lay upon a bed, her machine clamped uselessly to her arms and legs. Ryoko, tired of trying to revive her, lay sprawled across her mother's body, sobbing quietly, hugging her senseless body with both arms.
"Why, mom? Why did you want to give up so easily?... Why did you leave me? I thought you said you were going to keep fighting, but you gave up so easily... was I that bad of a daughter to you? Okay, so I wasn't a model child, but... I sound so pathetic, listen to me. I know I was a terrible person... I don't know if I can change, okay? Please, please, don't just die on me because of that... I... I love you mom, and so does everybody else... what do you expect me to tell Minaka, huh? She's feeling bad enough about herself as it is... please... if not for my sake, at least live for her?..."
Washuu hadn't heard Ryoko's voice in such a helpless cadence for thousands of years. She fell to her knees, crying down to her daughter.
"Oh, God Ryoko, no... don't think that, honey... I didn't die because I wanted to give up... it just happened... no, please don't think that.. You weren't a bad girl, and you aren't now, please don't think I died because of that... I love you so much... I still do..."
Washuu felt Mikumo's hand descend upon her shoulder. She looked up, his gentle face reflecting love and happiness.
"I... Mikumo, I-..."
Mikumo placed a finger upon his lips, hushing Washuu. "I know... we will see each other again one day, we will... but right now, your daughter needs you more. All these years I've watched you, living happily. Often your thoughts would call me to you, but they would fill you with such sorrow. That's not what I want to see. I want to see my little Washuu happy... true, you are happy to see me, but you would be much happier being with your daughter and your other loved ones, wouldn't you?"
Washuu wanted to say "yes", but held herself back. Mikumo laughed softly, and brushed his hand through her hair.
"That was another little quirk about you... you worry yourself about what others might think of your decisions. Don't fret, my love. I will still be waiting for you, no matter how many years pass before you rejoin me. I'll still come to you when you need me, for you are the only one I will ever love. But right now, all your friends, your daughter, are needing your presence greatly. Now go."
Mikumo gave her a gentle push toward the image of her daughter. She stepped toward it, then hesitated, looking tearfully back at Mikumo. He smiled, and waved.
"I'll always be waiting for you, my love!"
She smiled back, and waved to him. "And I will return only to you, my love!"
She stepped into the image. A shock ran through her body, as if she had stepped into a sheet of ice cold water. She felt herself floating downward, nearing her body and the quivering form of her daughter, close enough to reach out and touch her silver-blue hair.
"I'm coming back, my little girl... don't cry anymore..."
Her spirit lay down, melding itself with her body. She didn't want to part with her feeling of peace, as pain began to weave its way into her spirit, but...
Ryoko had run dry. It had been hours now, but it only seemed like a few minutes, as she had cried out all her sorrows. She lay still now, her head resting across her mother's chest, as she held onto her hand. She felt so tired, but she didn't dare leave Washuu...
A vague spark tickled the back of her mind. The astral link... was reactivating? But how? In a panic, Ryoko took Washuu's pulse again. It was very weak, but her heart was beating once more. She could hear a gentle groan through the astral link, and realized that Washuu was straining very hard now to keep herself alive. She hadn't given up, after all. But there was no time to waste. Acting quickly, Ryoko slapped her palm down on the large red button atop the main unit of the machine, and watched as it worked. It made several quiet whirring noises, the googly eyes spinning in circles, the eight tentacle legs twitching every so often as the machine slowly brought Washuu back into the realm of the living. The several slash marks across her face and chest vanished, as did the bruises that lined her ribs where the pirates had shocked her with their prods. The astral link between Ryoko and her mother grew stronger, as Washuu came closer and closer to consciousness. Finally, a faint voice could be heard.
*Well, I see it worked, huh?*
Ryoko, on the verge of tears, smiled wholeheartedly, furiously dabbling at her eyes with her fist.
*God, mom, you scared me to death... no pun intended... but... how...?*
Washuu's voice became clearer now. Ryoko realized that she had stopped communicating with the astral link, and was now fully aware, her green eyes planted steadily on her daughter.
"I love you, is how... I didn't give up because... look, Ryoko... the way you grew up, the influence of Kagato and his evil ways, is what makes you who you are now. Its no fault of yourself, and I didn't die because of that... it just was getting harder and harder for me to keep going, and eventually, I just passed into a peaceful place, away from the pain. It felt so good to me, but I wasn't even aware of the consequences of my passing on... I was just... so free... Mikumo, my love, made me realize that as much as I wanted to stay with him, its much more important to be with you, and all the others right now. My time hasn't come yet... and it won't for quite some time now... so I think its safe to say I'll be hanging around with you for a long time. Just do me a favor... if anything like that happens again, don't you give up as easily as I did. I know you were killing yourself trying to get me back, and that's what I want. When I know its my time to go, I want you to stay back, and let me go... but for now, fight, even when I've stopped fighting... just as you did today, okay?"
Tears, tears that Ryoko had thought had run dry, ran afresh from her eyes as she sat, just taking in her mother's words. Finally, she did something she had never done, something she would not do for many years to come...
She threw herself into Washuu's arms, and cried, grief, sorrow, and joy, all at the same time, flowing from her body, from the repressed memories of her "childhood", until she finally fell asleep in her mother's lap. Washuu simply caressed her daughter's face, stroked her hair, and held her until she knew that Ryoko was fast asleep. Then, with a gentleness unknown of even Washuu, she slipped out of the cot, and brought a few blankets up over Ryoko's prone form, smoothing them out and tucking them in under Ryoko's chin. She gave her a light kiss on the forehead, wiped away her remaining tears, and padded quietly to a corner of her lab to dress.
***
The shock of seeing Washuu, alive and unscathed, walking into the dining room and demanding a plate, was enough to give everybody at the table a double coronary and bypass surgery all at once.
"Buh... but... where's Ryoko?" Tenchi asked, as his shaking hands handed her a dish of rice. Mihoshi was completely white, believing she was in the presence of a ghoul, while Kiyone just sat and stared. Aeka had turned a vague shade of blue, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki had passed out, and Minaka was motionless, her chopsticks holding a piece of fried shrimp in midair for several minutes. Washuu dug in, as unaware of the awkwardness of the situation as ever, and explained between mouthfuls.
"Mmmf... what'sh up with them? *gulp* Anyway, what I'm meaning to say is... *mnch* Ryoko's taking a nap, is all. She went through hell to get me to come back to life, you know..."
Aeka choked on a morsel of greens. "Back to life?... Miss Washuu-..."
As if out of nowhere, a dangerous looking bazooka appeared in Washuu's hands, as she pointed it at Aeka. "Okay, I was lenient before with the 'Miss Washuu' thing, and I'm still letting Minaka call me that when she wants to, but as for you, missie-..."
Aeka held her hands up placatingly. "I'm so sorry, Washuu, really, I won't do it again, on my honor as a princess..."
The bazooka disappeared. "That's better... now, you were saying?"
Aeka coughed gently. "You mean to tell us that you actually died in there?"
"Yeah, yeah... I died... but Ryoko saved me just in the nick of time, don'tcha know... she can be such a good girl at times."
Washuu decided it best to leave out the part about her being dead for so many hours. Regular human function, after a long period of inactivity and lack of oxygen, was pretty much nonexistant after a few hours. If a person was lucky enough to come back to life after a long time period, they would more than likely be vegetating in a hospital bed. Washuu, however, wasn't normal, nor human for that matter. She quickly covered up the "long time" question by explaining that she had just been resting after she had been saved. That seemed to satisfy the others, even if Mihoshi was still convinced that Washuu was a spirit conjured up from the dead.
*****
A/N: COLLEGE SUCKS UP ALL FREE TIME. That said, I apologize for not updating this like I should. I'm currently working on a continuation of this (already leading into a huge third-part, but the second part is getting a serious overhaul), which I will begin posting in snitchets here and there, once again, WHEN I HAVE THE TIME. People have been immensely patient with me, and for that I'm grateful. Just remember, I haven't died yet...
Levaticus: No, you've just been a lazy bum, that's all...
to it (Minaka, Tetsuri, etc.) are strictly of my creation.
Minaka Muyo! (No Need for Minaka!)
Chapter 6: Faith
Written by: Sue "Speck" Quigley
***
It took less than five minutes for Yagame, whose thrusters were set on maximum power, as Ryoko had instructed, to get back to Earth, seeing as the pirates' stronghold had positioned itself only a few parsecs away from Earth's galactic boundaries. The ship itself made a gentle splashdown in the lake in front of the Masaki residence. Washuu was still alive, but only by a thread, her life hanging by a strand of gossamer so thin that it seemed she would slip away in a heartbeat. Ryoko would have none of that, and upon touchdown in the lake, she set to action, gently grasping Washuu's wrist.
"Wait, Ryoko, what are you doing? We still have to-..."
"There's no time for that. There's something I need to do... see you all later. I promise, Washuu'll be okay."
Ryoko gave off an aura that surrounded both herself and Washuu, and vanished in an instant, leaving the other six behind within Yagame, in confusion.
"She's acting awfully weird... like she knows what to do or something..." Tenchi mused.
"I have a feeling Miss Washuu wasn't entirely unconscious before we left the pirates' ship," Aeka commented. This caused the others to look at her with a keen interest. She continued.
"Remember how before we left to take on the pirates, Ryoko said something about not being able to pick up Washuu's thought pattern with the astral link between them? She must have been keeping it open, sending thoughts to Washuu to get a response... so when the battle ended, I think she got in contact with her. Washuu may have given her a plan to help save her life."
Tenchi nodded. "Well, that does make some sense..."
Minaka gave a quiet groan. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking to clear her blurred vision, and looked about groggily.
"Oh... my head hurts so much... is it over?"
"It's more than over, Minaka. With your help, we've broken up one of the largest pirate rings in the history of the Galaxy Police. And, you got rid of the bandleader as well. It is all over..."
Minaka lowered her head dejectedly. "But... I couldn't save her... I am so weak... I couldn't help save my best friend when she needed me... she's done so much for me, and I couldn't do a thing to help her at all..."
Tenchi knelt down in front of Minaka, and raised her head with his hand, so the two were looking face to face. The blood of healing wounds mixed with tears as Minaka gazed into Tenchi's warm, kind eyes. With his other hand, still gloved in Juraian battle dress, he wiped away her tears, and smiled.
"Minaka... don't beat yourself up like this... Tetsuri was more powerful than we could have even imagined... besides, you did beat him! If you hadn't been able to get him then, Washuu might be dead now. You did save her, Minaka... If she saw you now, she'd probably be angry with you, the way you've been talking..."
Minaka collapsed into Tenchi's arms, crying hysterically, her body twitching as she sobbed. Aeka sat next to Tenchi, and stroked at Minaka's back to calm her.
"He's right, you know... Tetsuri may have been powerful, but your tact to beat him beats his kind of power any day... Washuu's life may be hanging on by a thread, but that's certainly better than being dead. Don't think you are a failure... you've done more for her than either Lord Tenchi, or myself... even Ryoko. You're a hero, Minaka..."
Minaka's body ceased twitching, her muffled sobs quieting to gentle snuffs as she passed out from sheer exhaustion.
"I think it's time we got back to the house... Sasami's probably worried sick..."
"Mmm..." Tenchi agreed. "Just in time for dinner, too... I'm starved!"
***
Meanwhile, Ryoko rushed about inside Washuu's lab. "Where the hell is that damn contraption of hers?"
When Washuu had been abducted from inside her lab, it had reverted back to its former occupation, a simple broom closet. Now that its master had returned, the hyperdimension had opened back up again, still as disorganized as ever. Frustrated, Ryoko deposited Washuu on a simple cot in the corner, and began to search about in desperation. In the few seconds it had taken Ryoko to teleport into the lab, Washuu's pulse had dropped dramatically low, so much so that her heart would beat, pause for a few seconds, then slowly and painfully beat again.
Ryoko was about ready to tear her hair out. The one object that could save her mother's life, and she couldn't find the damned thing...
When she found it. It was small, being no bigger than a small television. It resembled an octopus, eight coiled tentacle-like projections sprouting from its main frame, clamps extending from each tentacle. As always, Washuu had created the machine with her innate sense of flair, adding two googly eyes and an obscene, toothy grin to its main unit. Ryoko had to laugh... this machine had the power to save a person on the brink of death, but its comical appearance made it look like it had been designed to entertain small children for hours.
No time to nitpick over its design, Ryoko thought. She hastened to the side of the cot, placing the grinning main unit at the top of the cot. She attached the coils to Washuu, and, as one last measure, checked her pulse. Her heart beat, then paused...
Her chest, which had been hefting laboriously with her sporadic breathing, seemed to stiffen, then relaxed. Her heart refused to beat anymore.
"Oh God no, not now..." Ryoko moaned. She cradled her mother's prone form into her arms, shaking her gently. "Come on, mom, don't do this now..."
Washuu's body responded, as all recently deceased bodies do, to Ryoko's gentle shaking by flopping about limply, like a wet noodle. Ryoko felt the back of her neck prickle, as she held her dead mother in her arms.
"No... no, no, please, no... NO!"
With an anger born of fear and desperation, Ryoko began to slap Washuu about the face, screaming at her.
"Don't you DARE die on me now, mom, you hear me? Don't you DARE! You fought too damn hard to stay alive to help me get you here, Goddamn it! Don't you dare give up now... FIGHT, damn it!"
Ryoko placed both her hands on Washuu's chest, shocking her gently with her energy in hope of getting her heart to move again. She continued on at the top of her voice with her verbal abuse, berating Washuu for having given up so quickly.
***
Washuu felt herself floating in a peaceful nexus, her mind and spirit calm and soothed, something she had never felt before. Exuberantly, she flew through countless motes of light, feeling the light penetrate her spirit, its warmth leaving her deliciously giddy. Forgotten was her pain and suffering; all she knew now was peace. Having not even the slightest though as to where she existed at the moment, she merely hung in space, feeling such an utter calmness...
"Washuu?"
The sudden voice split the quietness, startling Washuu. It had a vague hint of familiarity, and she turned to its source. Gasping, she brought her hand up to her mouth...
Mikumo.
He stood before her, just as she remembered him, in flowing dress, his bright blue eyes burning deep into her soul. He smiled, and extended his arms to her, beckoning her close. Hesitant, she reached out with a hand to touch his. It was gloved, but as always, warm, and welcoming. Throwing herself at him, she let him enfold her bare skin within his robes, inhaling deeply of his familiar scent. Tears coursed their way freely down her face, splashing gently on his breastplate, as she cried her happiness and joy of finding her lost lover.
"Together.. Finally, we are together, Mikumo... I've missed you so..."
"As have I, all these long years, my beloved."
Washuu looked about. "What of our son? Where is he?"
Mikumo nodded. "Our son still lives... what he inherited from you, my dear, a long life..."
His body seemed to stiffen. Washuu felt this, and looked up into his face. He looked stricken.
"What is wrong, Mikumo?"
"...I ...I hear the cries... of a loved one, very dear to your heart. She cries with pain... can you not hear her?"
Washuu concentrated... then heard it. In her sudden euphoria upon being reunited with her lost love, she hadn't even heard the pained cries of her own daughter. Released from her embrace by Mikumo, she floated to the middle of the open space. The motes of light parted way, to reveal to her a shocking sight. Her own body, colorless in death, lay upon a bed, her machine clamped uselessly to her arms and legs. Ryoko, tired of trying to revive her, lay sprawled across her mother's body, sobbing quietly, hugging her senseless body with both arms.
"Why, mom? Why did you want to give up so easily?... Why did you leave me? I thought you said you were going to keep fighting, but you gave up so easily... was I that bad of a daughter to you? Okay, so I wasn't a model child, but... I sound so pathetic, listen to me. I know I was a terrible person... I don't know if I can change, okay? Please, please, don't just die on me because of that... I... I love you mom, and so does everybody else... what do you expect me to tell Minaka, huh? She's feeling bad enough about herself as it is... please... if not for my sake, at least live for her?..."
Washuu hadn't heard Ryoko's voice in such a helpless cadence for thousands of years. She fell to her knees, crying down to her daughter.
"Oh, God Ryoko, no... don't think that, honey... I didn't die because I wanted to give up... it just happened... no, please don't think that.. You weren't a bad girl, and you aren't now, please don't think I died because of that... I love you so much... I still do..."
Washuu felt Mikumo's hand descend upon her shoulder. She looked up, his gentle face reflecting love and happiness.
"I... Mikumo, I-..."
Mikumo placed a finger upon his lips, hushing Washuu. "I know... we will see each other again one day, we will... but right now, your daughter needs you more. All these years I've watched you, living happily. Often your thoughts would call me to you, but they would fill you with such sorrow. That's not what I want to see. I want to see my little Washuu happy... true, you are happy to see me, but you would be much happier being with your daughter and your other loved ones, wouldn't you?"
Washuu wanted to say "yes", but held herself back. Mikumo laughed softly, and brushed his hand through her hair.
"That was another little quirk about you... you worry yourself about what others might think of your decisions. Don't fret, my love. I will still be waiting for you, no matter how many years pass before you rejoin me. I'll still come to you when you need me, for you are the only one I will ever love. But right now, all your friends, your daughter, are needing your presence greatly. Now go."
Mikumo gave her a gentle push toward the image of her daughter. She stepped toward it, then hesitated, looking tearfully back at Mikumo. He smiled, and waved.
"I'll always be waiting for you, my love!"
She smiled back, and waved to him. "And I will return only to you, my love!"
She stepped into the image. A shock ran through her body, as if she had stepped into a sheet of ice cold water. She felt herself floating downward, nearing her body and the quivering form of her daughter, close enough to reach out and touch her silver-blue hair.
"I'm coming back, my little girl... don't cry anymore..."
Her spirit lay down, melding itself with her body. She didn't want to part with her feeling of peace, as pain began to weave its way into her spirit, but...
Ryoko had run dry. It had been hours now, but it only seemed like a few minutes, as she had cried out all her sorrows. She lay still now, her head resting across her mother's chest, as she held onto her hand. She felt so tired, but she didn't dare leave Washuu...
A vague spark tickled the back of her mind. The astral link... was reactivating? But how? In a panic, Ryoko took Washuu's pulse again. It was very weak, but her heart was beating once more. She could hear a gentle groan through the astral link, and realized that Washuu was straining very hard now to keep herself alive. She hadn't given up, after all. But there was no time to waste. Acting quickly, Ryoko slapped her palm down on the large red button atop the main unit of the machine, and watched as it worked. It made several quiet whirring noises, the googly eyes spinning in circles, the eight tentacle legs twitching every so often as the machine slowly brought Washuu back into the realm of the living. The several slash marks across her face and chest vanished, as did the bruises that lined her ribs where the pirates had shocked her with their prods. The astral link between Ryoko and her mother grew stronger, as Washuu came closer and closer to consciousness. Finally, a faint voice could be heard.
*Well, I see it worked, huh?*
Ryoko, on the verge of tears, smiled wholeheartedly, furiously dabbling at her eyes with her fist.
*God, mom, you scared me to death... no pun intended... but... how...?*
Washuu's voice became clearer now. Ryoko realized that she had stopped communicating with the astral link, and was now fully aware, her green eyes planted steadily on her daughter.
"I love you, is how... I didn't give up because... look, Ryoko... the way you grew up, the influence of Kagato and his evil ways, is what makes you who you are now. Its no fault of yourself, and I didn't die because of that... it just was getting harder and harder for me to keep going, and eventually, I just passed into a peaceful place, away from the pain. It felt so good to me, but I wasn't even aware of the consequences of my passing on... I was just... so free... Mikumo, my love, made me realize that as much as I wanted to stay with him, its much more important to be with you, and all the others right now. My time hasn't come yet... and it won't for quite some time now... so I think its safe to say I'll be hanging around with you for a long time. Just do me a favor... if anything like that happens again, don't you give up as easily as I did. I know you were killing yourself trying to get me back, and that's what I want. When I know its my time to go, I want you to stay back, and let me go... but for now, fight, even when I've stopped fighting... just as you did today, okay?"
Tears, tears that Ryoko had thought had run dry, ran afresh from her eyes as she sat, just taking in her mother's words. Finally, she did something she had never done, something she would not do for many years to come...
She threw herself into Washuu's arms, and cried, grief, sorrow, and joy, all at the same time, flowing from her body, from the repressed memories of her "childhood", until she finally fell asleep in her mother's lap. Washuu simply caressed her daughter's face, stroked her hair, and held her until she knew that Ryoko was fast asleep. Then, with a gentleness unknown of even Washuu, she slipped out of the cot, and brought a few blankets up over Ryoko's prone form, smoothing them out and tucking them in under Ryoko's chin. She gave her a light kiss on the forehead, wiped away her remaining tears, and padded quietly to a corner of her lab to dress.
***
The shock of seeing Washuu, alive and unscathed, walking into the dining room and demanding a plate, was enough to give everybody at the table a double coronary and bypass surgery all at once.
"Buh... but... where's Ryoko?" Tenchi asked, as his shaking hands handed her a dish of rice. Mihoshi was completely white, believing she was in the presence of a ghoul, while Kiyone just sat and stared. Aeka had turned a vague shade of blue, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki had passed out, and Minaka was motionless, her chopsticks holding a piece of fried shrimp in midair for several minutes. Washuu dug in, as unaware of the awkwardness of the situation as ever, and explained between mouthfuls.
"Mmmf... what'sh up with them? *gulp* Anyway, what I'm meaning to say is... *mnch* Ryoko's taking a nap, is all. She went through hell to get me to come back to life, you know..."
Aeka choked on a morsel of greens. "Back to life?... Miss Washuu-..."
As if out of nowhere, a dangerous looking bazooka appeared in Washuu's hands, as she pointed it at Aeka. "Okay, I was lenient before with the 'Miss Washuu' thing, and I'm still letting Minaka call me that when she wants to, but as for you, missie-..."
Aeka held her hands up placatingly. "I'm so sorry, Washuu, really, I won't do it again, on my honor as a princess..."
The bazooka disappeared. "That's better... now, you were saying?"
Aeka coughed gently. "You mean to tell us that you actually died in there?"
"Yeah, yeah... I died... but Ryoko saved me just in the nick of time, don'tcha know... she can be such a good girl at times."
Washuu decided it best to leave out the part about her being dead for so many hours. Regular human function, after a long period of inactivity and lack of oxygen, was pretty much nonexistant after a few hours. If a person was lucky enough to come back to life after a long time period, they would more than likely be vegetating in a hospital bed. Washuu, however, wasn't normal, nor human for that matter. She quickly covered up the "long time" question by explaining that she had just been resting after she had been saved. That seemed to satisfy the others, even if Mihoshi was still convinced that Washuu was a spirit conjured up from the dead.
*****
A/N: COLLEGE SUCKS UP ALL FREE TIME. That said, I apologize for not updating this like I should. I'm currently working on a continuation of this (already leading into a huge third-part, but the second part is getting a serious overhaul), which I will begin posting in snitchets here and there, once again, WHEN I HAVE THE TIME. People have been immensely patient with me, and for that I'm grateful. Just remember, I haven't died yet...
Levaticus: No, you've just been a lazy bum, that's all...