Disclaimer: I do not claim to have any part of DragonBall Z, Tenchi Muyo!, Digimon, Pokémon, Medabots, Martian Successor Nadesico, Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Matrix, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Galaxy Quest, Sliders or Star Trek. This fan-fiction was created without the respective owners' consent, and was created entirely for entertainment. I do not wish to accept any rewards as a result of writing this fiction. The plot is, as far as I am aware, entirely my idea, with the possible exception of the middle of this story. All characters portrayed in this fiction are fictitious, and any resemblances to any events, previous fictions or persons living or dead are purely coincidental.
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The following fiction of eleven episodes contains scenes of mild fantasy violence, and scenes pertaining to other works. Anyone not familiar with them, especially Tenchi Muyo! or DragonBall Z, will not understand some of the references. The following fiction has been classified R, for readable. This fiction is intended for home viewing only, and public showing of any kind lies against the author's wishes. That isn't to say that it's illegal. The author really couldn't care less, as long as it gets read. This all just makes the whole thing sound more official, so as to give you a disillusioned view of what is to come. I frankly find this rather boring.
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Additional: Due to particular feedback, the author has decided to rewrite this chapter, and possibly others in the future. However, any chapters that may be updated will not be marked in the title, but in the description instead.
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Continuum T, Part I – The Beginning (beta)
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Calm. Nothingness. Serene.
Sparks travelled up her body and entered her brain. Here their message was interpreted. They said pain.
Again, more sparks. Electrical messages travelled throughout her nervous system, encouraging her to stop. But she wouldn't. She couldn't. The suffering was unbearable, yet she must bear it. It would all be over soon.
Another contraction. They were coming almost non-stop. Her face was scarlet from the pushing. The doctor was saying something, but the pain drowned him out. Her vision was blurred, also from the agony, not letting her see the doctor clearly enough to even guess at his words. She continued pushing. The sooner this child was independent of her, so much the better. She squeezed her eyes closed so tightly that spots of colour danced around her eyesight.
The pain signals suddenly lessened dramatically, becoming effectively irrelevant now. She snapped her eyes open, seeking the cause of this strange sensation. Her sight cleared in a matter of seconds, allowing her to see one of the nurses carrying away a towel wrapped around a... bundle, of some sort. The mother smiled. It could only be the child. The being she had carried around inside of her for the past nine months.
She reached out a shaking hand towards the infant. A strong hand grasped it from her side and squeezed it gently. She looked up, into her husband's eyes, filled with love and admiration. His smile was warm and soothing. He leaned over and kissed her lips softly. She smiled in return and relaxed. A new life existed today.
The mother then pulled herself up to a sitting position on the sterile hospital bed to receive the child into her embrace. It was silent, and apart from twitching slightly, was still. It looked asleep.
"I guess all his mother's hard work made him tired," the father said.
"It's a boy?" the mother asked.
"Yes, it's a boy," the husband confirmed.
The mother smiled. She had always wanted a boy. There were many names she liked to suit boys.
"Alexander," she said.
"Alex? What about Jonathon?"
"What about Philip?" she said. "I like them all. But he can only have one name."
"So what shall it be?" the husband asked.
"Tenchi."
The voice surprised them. The doctors had all left the room, leaving only those three in there, for some privacy. The room was soundproofed, so as not to disrupt the rest of the hospital with maternal screaming. Neither of the parents had said that word. They looked at the baby. It remained still. Then it moved slightly, almost as if trying to become more comfortable. It then stopped and opened its eyes. Not slowly, as is natural for most other children in the same situation, but immediately, just like the second part of a blink. The parents gasped in shock. The baby's brown eyes were elongated like a cat's, giving a feline impression of the child. He blinked, and once his eyelids reopened, his eyes were normal.
"Wh... what was that?" the mother gasped.
"Tenchi," the baby said. He squealed with laughter and clapped his hands.
"T... Tenchi?" the father said. "Y... you want to be called Tenchi?"
The baby squealed again.
"I, um, I guess Tenchi is a name," the father said.
"Tenchi. Sure." The mother was still stunned. "That's his name."
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It was ten years later. Tenchi Anderson was in his final year of his primary school education. In just under two weeks he and his friends would leave the school, never to return again. It was a sobering thought, and it was currently provoking Tenchi to be more outgoing, as he was naturally a quiet person, keeping himself to himself. Tenchi was a handsome boy, with short dark brown hair and brown eyes. He wasn't overweight, nor was he too thin. He was intelligent for his age, but not overly so. His ability to speak since birth had at first been marvelled over, but then slowly dismissed. Nothing could explain it, so in the end, his parents had just left it alone.
It was a warm early July day, typical for that time. It created an ambience of enjoyment and playfulness. So naturally Tenchi was just relaxing on the school playing fields with his friends, talking idly about things.
"Hey, did you hear?" one of his friends spoke. "That creature that destroyed the mansion in America has come over here."
"Isn't there an ocean between us and America?" another friend said. "How did it get over here then? I don't think the planes would give it a flight."
"No," Tenchi laughed. "Imagine that. 'Hi, I'm the evil creature that's been destroying things all over the place. Can I have a ticket to England, please?'"
The others laughed. They were simple times, and they were still young.
"Do you really think it could destroy the world, though?" the first friend asked. She was interested in this, because she was the kind of person that liked to be aware of everything that was going on. "It did say it could do it."
"Could do."
"I don't want to make it angry, though," Tenchi said. "Hey, what if it's after you?"
"Why would it be after me?"
"I don't know," Tenchi said. "But if it was, what would you do?"
"Probably book the next flight to the moon," the companion laughed. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it if it was after me."
"Me too."
"And me."
Simple times, and simple lives indeed. Tenchi had no idea what was about to happen. It would change his life forever.
A being walked through the school gate a little distance behind the group, largely unnoticed. Those who did notice it, however, were puzzled at its appearance. It wore a long cloak, obscuring its whole figure. Shapes of odd protrusions from the figure were visible underneath the black cloak. The children who had seen the figure stared for a small while as it walked up the path towards the school building, and then dismissed it and continued with their previous fixations. People had come in to the school before, visitors, mainly. This one probably just didn't like the sun.
The being walked up to the building, and then turned and surveyed the playing children. It was looking for something, or rather, someone. It spotted him, lying on the grass and propping himself up on his elbows. The being advanced.
"Hey, check it out," one of the group said. "Over there." He gestured towards the cloaked stranger approaching them. Everyone there turned to look. They watched the figure with suspicion as it stopped about two metres from their position.
"I'm looking for someone," the being spoke, the chilling raspy voice unnerving the children. "He is the strongest person on this planet."
A girl frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you'll find him here. We're just kids, you know."
"Quite the contrary. He is here. I believe you go by the name of Tenchi Anderson."
Silence ensued. Then Tenchi laughed. "I don't know what anyone's told you, but I'm not the strongest man alive. If I was, I'd be able to lift a car over my head, but I can't."
"So you are Mr Anderson," the being said, in a voice that could unnerve most people. "I've found you at last. But strength is not measured in muscular ability, but rather in potential ability. The potential you have makes you the strongest being on this planet. However, it doesn't look like you've been able to use this hidden power of yours. Pity. It would have been a great boost for me if you could."
"What are you talking about?"
"I challenge you to a fight." At this it raised its hand and pointed towards Tenchi. It was a hand more suited as part of a Halloween costume. It was green with black spots, and segmented at each joint, like an armoured glove. "A fight to the death."
Tenchi choked. He must have heard it wrong. "W... what?"
"A fight do the death," the stranger repeated. "If I defeat you, the most powerful person on this planet, my reputation will go up, and I will gain experience from the battle, bringing me closer to my goal of perfection. If you should decline, however, I will destroy everyone on this planet."
"And, and why should we think you're that strong?" Tenchi stammered.
"Because I have strength beyond your reach. I have trained my entire existence, and now I am stronger than anyone in the galaxy. Now, the fight." With this the being cast away its cape, revealing a green body, also segmented, also with black spots. Its face was thin, again having black spots on a green background. A long orange raised vertical stripe appeared where the mouth and nose should be, like some kind of breathing mask, which continued under his chin. A large two-pointed crest was the top of its head, with an oval-shaped black thing in the middle, like a black pearl or something. A larger black pearl appeared in the middle of its chest, above orange rings encircling its waist. Muscles were clearly visible everywhere, and from its back large wing-shaped protrusions appeared. A long tail snaked around from behind it, with a white pointed section on the end. The overall impression was monstrous, of something resembling an armoured humanoid reptilian demon. It was the creature that had terrorised many other places, in its apparent search for Tenchi. And now it had found him.
"Fight me, or I will destroy everyone on this planet!" the being threatened. "Fight me, and I will spare the others. Choose."
Tenchi slowly stood up.
"Tenchi, what are you doing?" a girl said worriedly. "You're not going to fight him, are you?"
"I don't have a choice. If I at least fight him, he said he'd spare everyone else."
"But he's going to kill you!"
"Stay out of this, little girl," the creature said. "It doesn't concern you." He pushed his palm out towards her, and a strong blast of wind sent her soaring through the air. Others who had also been caught by this reeled backwards.
"Are you okay?" Tenchi called. He turned to face the stranger. "I don't care if you can destroy everything. Nobody hurts my friends. Let's fight, um, who are you?"
"I am Sel. Know that name, and fear it. For I am your destruction!" Sel narrowed his eyes at Tenchi. The others who hadn't been knocked back had moved away from the two. "But since you don't have any proper strength, I'll try to unlock it for you. Let us begin."
As soon as he had said that, Sel ran forward with incredible speed, clenched fist at his side. He swung upwards and hit Tenchi right in the chest, sending him flying fully ten metres away. He landed and rolled, coming to a stop in an unsightly heap. Slowly, Tenchi pulled himself up, wincing from the pain. He readied himself in a defensive position.
"I must say I'm impressed, Mr Anderson. Not many people can stand up to a hit like that. And even if they could they usually stayed down. Not that it was my strongest at all; I'm just trying to squeeze this so-called ultimate strength out of your pathetic scrawny body."
Sel darted forwards again, readying for another punch. Because of the distance between them, it became obvious that Sel didn't touch the ground as many times as convention dictates. It almost seemed as though he was half flying.
Tenchi readied himself. Sel thrust out his fist, and Tenchi caught it with his hand. The other hand grasped Sel's wrist and threw Sel behind him. Tenchi turned to face him.
Sel flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet facing his thrower. "Very impressive, Mr Anderson."
Tenchi stared at his hands. Had he done that? He never knew he had such reflexes. It seemed that his instinct had just taken over. He looked up.
Sel darted forward again, but stopped just in front of Tenchi. Tenchi stepped backwards. Sel started punching Tenchi rapidly. Tenchi deflected the first punch, dodged the second, but was hit squarely by the third. He lost his focus, and was hit several more times, all in the chest. Sel swung his leg around and kicked Tenchi's side, sending him crumpled to the floor. Sel grabbed his arm and ran towards the school building, dragging Tenchi behind him, thoroughly dazed. He stopped just in front of the wall and swung his arm around, momentum smashing Tenchi against the wall.
"Come on!" Sel said. "Let's see this power of yours."
Still holding his arm, he hauled Tenchi up, ran backwards a few metres and threw him against the wall again. The force made Tenchi run towards the wall. Just then, Tenchi came back to his senses. Before he hit the wall again, he jumped at it and ran up it about five steps. Just before gravity reclaimed him, he pushed off the wall, back flipped over Sel and landed on his feet behind him. He jumped forwards at the stunned Sel and hit his stomach, knocking him on his back. Tenchi grabbed his arm at the wrist and pulled it upwards, swinging it around and sending Sel hurtling against the wall. He smashed against the building, causing a dent in the brick surface. Sel dropped to his knees, then picked himself up. He looked at Tenchi and grinned.
"Very impressive, Mr Anderson," he praised. "Very impressive indeed. Your powers are beginning to show themselves." Sel noticed a feeling of moisture coming from his mouth. He wiped it away and looked at the purple blood now on his hands. He frowned. "But you're still not invincible." With that Sel sprang forwards, flew round behind Tenchi and caught his arms in a lock. He clasped his hands together behind Tenchi's neck, ensuring escape was impossible. Tenchi cried out in pain. "For you see, Mr Anderson," Sel shouted above the yells, "I am still far more powerful than you. And for your arrogance, you will pay with your life." Sel tightened his grip, provoking yet more screams.
What arrogance? What had Tenchi ever done to him? He had no idea, but as long as he was being crushed to death, he decided not to think about this. He yelled in pain instead.
Everyone around had either seen what was happening, or had heard the shouting, so they had all rushed to the scene. They moved away again once they saw who was causing the pain. One teacher stepped forwards, not quite sure of what to do. "Get off him right now!" he shouted. Sel turned his head to look at him, and narrowed his eyes. Another blast of wind hit the teacher, sending him flying into some of the children. Some of the younger ones were screaming and crying.
Something changed. Tenchi realised that he had to do something more to try and survive, but he didn't know what. He was sure it was something important, though. And that's when he had a feeling, an instinct, like someone was whispering to him the solution. He should use his powers, the powers Sel had talked about. He could use them, the voice whispered, so do so. Trust in it.
Tenchi's screams of pain were replaced with other screams, screams analogous to a weight lifter attempting his maximum. Strange sensations started going through his body. The brown of Tenchi's eyes darkened. His hair was growing longer and darker. Dust and loose stones on the playground started to billow away from the locked pair. Sel's eyes widened in astonishment as he turned back to his captive. Suddenly he was thrown back, forced to release his hold on Tenchi. He looked at his former captive and gasped. A white translucent flaming aura was rushing up around Tenchi's body, disappearing above his head in one big flame surrounding him. His hair was long enough now to rest on his shoulders, although it didn't. Instead it was waving around, half standing up on his head. The hairs were also gathered into perhaps a dozen groups, each behaving like wet hair does. Its colour had also changed to black. Tenchi was standing, head bowed, perfectly still. He turned to face Sel. It then became obvious that not just his hair had changed. Large muscles stood out though the school uniform, and his eyes were black circles on a white background. These eyes glared at Sel.
"What, what are you?" Sel exclaimed. "Your power, it's immense!"
"Sel, you have threatened this planet's extinction," Tenchi responded. His voice was different, somehow more confident than before. "And as a result you must be punished."
Sel regained his composure. "So you're stronger. So what? You're still nothing compared to me." He lunged forwards, launching a barrage of fists at Tenchi. The flames around Tenchi disappeared, being sucked upwards into nothing. He raised his palms towards Sel and blocked every one of his punches. He didn't seem to be completely concentrating on the actual punches, instead moving his hands as though it were part of a routine. Annoyed, Sel stepped backwards and swung his leg towards his opponent. Tenchi's forearm blocked the kick.
"What?" Sel yelled. "How did you become so strong so quickly? Tell me!" Sel rushed forwards again with a fresh volley of fists. Tenchi ducked underneath it and slammed his palm against his chest. Sel was launched backwards and landed sprawled on the floor. He got up slowly, wiping the purple blood away from his mouth. He raised his hand towards Tenchi, a ball of light forming in his palm. "Try this, Mr Anderson!" he said, the anger apparent in his voice. "Even you can't block this energy attack. It's unstoppable!"
Tenchi pounced forwards, catching Sel by surprise. He slammed straight into the creature's chest, knocking him to the floor. The ball of light in Sel's hand flew upwards, away into the sky, before exploding with a huge bang.
Tenchi stood back up, as did Sel. Tenchi clenched his fist at his side. It started glowing red.
"Go away!" Tenchi yelled, bringing his fist forwards in an upward direction. Just before contact the glowing fist released a bright red beam of light at Sel. It passed straight through him and continued up into the sky. Tenchi quickly withdrew his fist, instantly stopping the beam. He was shocked at what had happened. He couldn't explain what he had just done. Sel slowly raised a hand towards the hole that was now there in his chest. He looked at Tenchi, his expression one of overwhelming shock.
"Neo," he said weakly. "You are the One." Then he toppled backwards onto the floor. Upon hitting the surface he exploded into a cloud of dust, which settled on the ground. Tenchi gazed wide-eyed at where Sel had just been, and then at his hand.
"Did I do that?" he murmured. "What have I done?"
Tenchi's hair dropped down, each clump separating, becoming normal hair again. It returned to its previous brown colour and rested on his shoulders. His eyes returned to their normal colour. He looked round at the other children, who were dumbstruck at what they had just seen. Tenchi himself had equal disbelief.
"Did I do that?" he repeated.
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Unknown to everyone present, two beings were watching the event that had just happened. They weren't visible to anyone, and they didn't know that the other was also there. However both these people would influence Tenchi's life dramatically. One of these beings nodded and faded away.
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"Excuse me. Is Tenchi here?" the woman asked. She had gone to Tenchi's house two weeks after the incident. The woman wore a long black cape tied at the neck. The hood was up, obscuring most of her face with shadow, but the part of her face that was visible showed that she was quite attractive.
"Yes," Tenchi's mother said warily. "Why?"
"I wish to speak with him. It is quite important that I do so." The woman's voice was smooth and slightly cold, yet very persuasive.
"Okay, I'll get him. Do you want to come in?"
"No, thank you. If it's all right with you, I would like to go for a walk with Tenchi. I shall return him later this afternoon."
"That's fine by me. TENCHI!" she called.
"What?" Tenchi asked, walking towards the door where the women were. Tenchi had become very recluse after what had happened. After Sel had disappeared, everyone had asked him questions, to which he didn't know the answers. He wanted to know what had happened himself. Whatever that was, it was scary. He froze when he caught sight of the caped woman. Capes now reminded him of that day.
"Please don't worry. I mean no harm," the lady assured. "I would like to talk with you on the subject of two weeks ago. I can provide answers."
Tenchi's mother didn't understand what this was about. She had heard rumours about Tenchi doing something at school about two weeks ago, but Tenchi was very reluctant to talk about it. She had managed to not get hold of the facts from elsewhere. Tenchi did understand, though, and was interested at the prospect of some of his questions being answered, despite this strange woman that was offering this.
"Okay," Tenchi said cautiously.
"Good. Mrs Anderson, he will be back later. Tenchi, I would like you to take a walk with me."
"Fine," Tenchi said.
They set off. After about a minute of silence, the woman spoke.
"Do you know what happened to you during the fight with Sel? Do you know how and why you transformed?"
"Transformed? What?"
"No, then. Tenchi, the battle with Sel forced you to become in contact with your powers. All humans have such hidden powers. However, very few have the ability to use them. And they are all certainly not as young as you."
"How many are there?"
"As far as I know, there are two hundred others in the galaxy who can achieve what you can. When you transformed, you rose to the next level of human ability. Almost everyone, with those exceptions, never get past the first level. However, you and those other few hundred have ascended to the second level, also known as the Saiyan level. You have the ability to transform into a Saiyan."
"A Saiyan? Is my hair growing part of the transformation?"
"Part of it, yes. You will not have noticed it, but the brown parts of your eyes and your hair also turned black."
"What about those flames around me?"
"They were merely a physical manifestation of your power. With the transformation, you also increased your power immensely. That is how you were able to defeat Sel after becoming a Saiyan."
"But how did I transform at all?"
"A common feature with the first transformation into a Saiyan is that all the people were under enormous strain and stress. It becomes necessary for them to become a Saiyan to remain alive, and so they do so."
"If that's the case, why aren't there more Saiyans? Surely people other than us few have been in that kind of situation."
"Yes. However, you Saiyans have special potential. It is extremely rare, and only those with this special potential can become Saiyans."
"Oh. How did I get this potential? Is it genetic?"
"No. You just have a strong soul. You see, every sentient being anywhere has a mind, a body and a soul. The body is of course the physical presence of the person. The mind, otherwise known as the subconscious, is the part of the person that thinks. It is connected to the body by the brain. You see, the brain doesn't function by itself. It is merely a relay between the mind and body. The soul, otherwise known as the spirit, life force, essence or chi, is the part of a person that gives them energy to exist. It is their life force. You have a strong life force, a strong soul, and it is this that allows you to become a Saiyan."
"Doesn't eating food provide energy, not the soul?"
"No. Well, yes, it does, but only for the maintenance of the body. If the energy from food is used up, then the body starts using energy from the soul. Once the soul has little enough energy, it will no longer be able to hold onto the body, and that person will die."
"You mean starve to death?"
"Yes."
"I have a question. When Sel died, he called me Neo. What did he mean?"
"Ancient scriptures and writings have foretold a person, a Chosen One, who would become the strongest person in all of reality. They refer to him as being called Neo. One scripture says that he would become a Saiyan before his fifteenth birthday, and would advance again beyond that before his twenty-fifth birthday. I can provide you with copies of these writings for you to study. Sel had obviously read these writings and thought that you were Neo. This is why he called you that."
"Do they refer to me then? Am I Neo?"
"I believe so, and so do my acquaintances. This is why I am helping you, and why I shall do what I am here to do."
"What is that?"
The woman did not reply. They walked in silence a bit longer. Then the woman spoke again.
"Tenchi, I am about to tell you the main reason for my visit. But first you must understand some things. The mind, body and soul are each represented by a goddess. The mind is personified by the god Washu. She is the most intelligent of the Trinity, the three gods. The soul is embodied by Tsunami, the life giver, and the body by Tokemi, god of the physical existence of a person."
"Really? Why do I need to understand that?"
"It will help you in later life. You must also understand that there are people who exist on other planets."
"Aliens exist?"
"Not all of them are aliens. There are many trillions of beings of the same species as you. They are all human beings, all homo sapiens. And some of these people are bad. About eleven years ago, a being was detected with an unusually strong soul. This person had not been born yet; it was a three-week-old embryo. Its mother did not know that she was pregnant. A man, greedy for power, removed the embryo from its real mother and placed it into a surrogate mother. This surrogate mother was also pregnant, although she knew it. Her child was removed, unknown to her, and the special embryo replaced it. The other child was killed in the process."
"Why?"
"This man wanted to study it. He kept it alive artificially whilst he confirmed that it did have a strong soul. Unfortunately, removing the embryo nearly killed its mother. She did survive, but her womb was irreparably damaged. The baby couldn't be put back into her."
The woman sighed. "The embryo is you, Tenchi. You are the one that was placed into a surrogate family."
"Me? My family? My mum and dad aren't my real parents? Why didn't they tell me?"
"They didn't know. They had no idea anything was wrong. I know this comes as a shock, but you must trust me. If you were anyone else I wouldn't be doing this. But if you are Neo, as all evidence seems to suggest, then you need to develop your powers and learn to control them. Your real family can help you do that. That is why I am taking you to see them."
"Why should I trust you?" Tenchi asked. "For all I know, you're lying about all of this."
"You know it is the truth," the woman replied. "You trust me. You don't know why, but you know I would never lie. And you also know I can help you."
She was right. Tenchi did trust her, for some reason. "So who are they? My real family?"
"Your father's name is Nobuyuki Masaki and your grandfather's name is Katsuhito. They live in Japan, in the Okayama province."
"What about my mother? And my other grandparents?"
"They have all died. Your grandparents died from old age, because their souls became too weak to continue sustaining them, and your mother died a month ago. I'm sorry. You must be devastated."
"You cannot begin to know how I feel."
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In the next episode of Continuum T:
Tenchi's grown up, and has a brand new outfit to try on, along with some nifty jewellery. A female friend spends the night with him, and his new powers come in handy when he encounters a familiar person in "New Friends, Old Enemies". Will Tenchi be up to the challenge, or will he fail in entertaining his guest? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.
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Please email me your comments and queries at chosen_one123@hotmail.com. Any and all questions are valid, and will all be read. I will personally reply, as I don't have much of a life outside this computer. I thank you for your support of this story