Previously on Continuum T:
Tenchi, now acquainted with his special powers, has forged two new lives. In one he is Tenchi Neo Masaki, pupil of a respectable high school. He trains hard and has studied the prophecies he has been given. The other life is lived in headlines, where he goes by the alias Masked Man, and is responsible for stopping nearly every crime there is a law for. Quite frankly, if you're reading this, you should know what's happened. Idiot.
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Continuum T, Part III – Death and Rebirth
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Sel was back. And back in full force, by the looks of things. But he was different. He looked different. He seemed more human now, instead of the humanoid reptile he was before. He had human facial features, and a more human body. He still had the crest on his head, wings and a tail, but besides that and the fact that he was still green with black blotches, he looked nearly human.
Tenchi couldn't believe it. He had killed Sel, yet now he was back? How was this possible? He was going to find out.
The news programme showing scenes of Sel destroying buildings and people on the television also had a running commentary.
"...And now I believe that we have a clip of the creature announcing its demands," the newsman said. The scene changed to Sel's head. He was addressing a video camera.
"I know you're out there, Mr Anderson, and I know you're watching this." Sel's voice seemed smoother, not raspy like before. If it wasn't for the image on the screen, it could have come from a human. "I will find you, Mr Anderson, and I will destroy you. You can be assured of that. I challenge you, and if you refuse, I will destroy this planet." With that, the image shorted out.
Tenchi knew he was going to have to fight. He just hoped that he was ready. Now that he knew what he was looking for, he could sense Sel's strength. It was a lot greater than before. It was in America, though. This would give Tenchi enough time to ready himself, before Sel found him. Everyone out there would be counting on the Masked Man. He just hoped he could do it.
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The prophecies had foretold of this event. A powerful being would appear on Earth, and fight Neo. Neo was destined to win, but at the cost of his own life.
Nevertheless, Tenchi believed that he could alter the future. Now that he knew of these events, they were no longer a certainty. Also, the wording of the prophecy was obscure, and open to many interpretations. Tenchi believed that he could bypass his own death.
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It was two days later. The whole world had heard of Sel's appearance, and consequently had been calling for the Masked Man to save them. But Tenchi didn't want to. Not yet anyway. But he didn't have any choice in the matter.
It was lunchtime. Tenchi had finished his school lunch, as school hadn't been cancelled yet due to the threat of impending doom, and was walking outside next to the playing fields. It was a cloudy day, but still pleasant.
Tenchi froze. He could sense him. He was there, in the middle of the football pitch Tenchi was standing next to. He couldn't see him directly, but he knew he was there. That, and the fact that the others outside at the same time were screaming.
Tenchi concentrated, and a gun belt with three guns in it appeared on him. Tenchi had previously experimented, and found that he could call up weapons. Two of the guns were loaded with special tranquilliser bullets, guaranteed to merely knock the target out for about an hour and leave no physical damage, and the third had ammo which instantly killed upon contact, no matter how fleeting that contact. Tenchi grabbed the two tranquilliser guns, pivoted and started firing.
Sel didn't move from the spot, but dodged every bullet. He left after-images of positions he was in, all with the same leg positions.
He was out of ammo. He threw the guns to the side and grabbed the deadly gun. He was just about to aim when Sel vanished. Tenchi lowered his gun and looked around, trying to find him. He couldn't sense him anywhere, but he was sure he was still there.
Sel reappeared in an instant, right in front of Tenchi. Before he could do anything, Sel hit Tenchi squarely in the chest, sending him flying twenty metres into the first floor wall of his school, causing a large crater in the wall. Tenchi fell, clenching his fists. His disguise appeared on him, more fading in than actually coming from anywhere. Tenchi stopped, hovering half a metre above the ground, then lowered himself down, amidst horrified gasping and whispering.
"Mr Anderson," Sel said walking up to him. He stopped several metres away from him. "We meet again at last."
"What do you want, Sel?" Tenchi asked threateningly. "How did you survive our last fight? You were vaporised."
"Come now, Mr Anderson. You don't think I'd be beaten that easily, do you? You didn't completely destroy me. You only put a hole through my chest. I can regenerate myself, as long as at least a part of me still exists."
Tenchi shifted his stance. "So what do you want this time, Sel?"
"The same thing I wanted before. Perfection. As you can see, I'm nearer to completing that goal. This body is nearly perfect, as opposed to my other form. Once I destroy you, I'll gain enough experience to become perfect." Sel grinned. "Take off that mask, Mr Anderson. It doesn't suit you."
Tenchi hesitated, but then took it off. He'd need all the help he could get, including the use of his other eye. There was a collective gasp from those around paralysed with fear as he threw the mask to the ground.
"You seem to like this kind of weapon," Sel said. Tenchi gasped. It was the deadly gun. Tenchi had dropped it when Sel hit him. "Maybe I should put you to the test."
"Trinity," Tenchi called out as Sel raised the gun at him. "Help!"
Sel fired, and time slowed down. The bullets came out of the gun and shot forward slowly at Tenchi. Tenchi moved and dodged them, his long coat billowing out behind him. Tenchi just managed to dodge the ten bullets in the four seconds it took to fire them, but was lucky. He had ended up sprawled on the ground. If there had been another bullet, Sel could have killed him in the vulnerable position he was in. He stood up and removed the long billowing coat from his body, casting it to the ground.
"I see you're quick," Sel said. "But speed comes at a price. Your physical strength must be very low."
"My physical strength is just fine," Tenchi said. He curled over slightly and started yelling. A flaming white aura appeared around him, and his hair lengthened and turned black. He stopped yelling and straightened up. "I can now become a Saiyan pretty much at will."
"How impressive," Sel said sarcastically. "You can change your hairstyle whenever you want. But you're still not as strong as me, Mr Anderson."
"My name is Neo." With that Tenchi charged forward. He swung at Sel with a flurry of fists. Sel blocked or deflected each in turn. Tenchi hopped backwards, giving him some space. Sel disappeared, like before. Tenchi looked around and vanished himself, just before Sel reappeared, swinging his fist through the air Tenchi had just occupied. He vanished again.
Shockwaves filed the air, each caused by the force of the contact between a fist and a palm or forearm. They were moving so fast no-one else could see them, only their effects.
Tenchi reappeared high in the sky. A split second later Sel also appeared, just behind him. He swung a leg at Tenchi, but Tenchi disappeared just before it landed. Tenchi reappeared behind Sel, and hit him downwards. Sel flew down and hit the ground, causing an impact crater to form. Tenchi vanished, and a streak of lightning shot from his location to the ground where Sel was. Sel vanished, just before Tenchi hit him. He reappeared ten metres away.
"I must say, Mr Anderson," he said, "that I couldn't have hoped for a better test of my skills. However, this is only a fraction of my strength."
Tenchi growled and flew forwards at Sel. Sel readied for defending from Tenchi's punch, but Tenchi just flew through him. That was just his image, though, and Tenchi darted at Sel and hit him in the chest. Sel recoiled and regained his posture. He swung at Tenchi, but his fist passed straight through the afterimage.
Tenchi had reappeared a few metres in front of Sel. He raised his hands straight up. "Masenko," he shouted, forming a blue ball of energy in his hands, "Blast!" he shouted, throwing the ball at Sel. Sel jumped out of the way. The ball hit the adjacent football pitch, where it exploded, forming a hemispherical hole a couple of metres across.
"I see you can form energy blasts now, Mr Anderson," Sel said. "Very impressive. I assume this means our fight has proceeded to the next level?"
With that Sel thrust one hand forwards and formed a purple ball of energy in it. He released it at Tenchi, who knocked it into the air with his arm. It caused a large explosion.
"My turn," Tenchi said. He thrust his right arm up and his left arm down. He quickly rotated them down and up respectively until they were in opposite positions. He brought them together in front of him, and moved the two open hands to his right side. "Kah Meh Hah Meh Haah!" he shouted. He shot the energy blast he had formed in his hands at Sel. It projected at him and through his chest in a beam, before impacting the next but two playing pitch, causing a huge explosion that enveloped four whole pitches. A very large crater remained.
Sel gasped. He looked down at the hole in his chest. He flexed his muscles and the hole shrank until nothing. He looked back up at Tenchi, who was crouched down panting. That last attack had weakened him somewhat.
"That was a demonstration of my regeneration technique," he said. "And I must say I'm very surprised that you formed a kameya-meya. That's the strongest of all energy attacks. Someone like you shouldn't be able to handle such energy."
"Someone like me just did," Tenchi replied.
"Tenchi!"
Tenchi looked round at the call of his name. Someone else had some out, and had called his name. It was Sakuya. She had come out to meet Tenchi, but instead was met by the sight of Tenchi fighting Sel.
"I see she knows you, Mr Anderson," Sel said. He vanished and reappeared behind her. He grabbed her securely and twisted her arm. Sakuya cried out in pain. "There's more than one way to hurt you, you know."
"Get away from her right now," Tenchi ordered.
"Just as soon as I do this." There was a dull cracking sound as Sel snapped her arm. Sakuya screamed in pain and fell to the ground, unconscious. Sel moved away from her as Tenchi darted forwards. Tenchi knelt down and examined the arm. He repositioned the two broken parts of the arm. Sel regarded all this with mild amusement.
Tenchi placed his hand on her chest and closed his eyes. It seemed like nothing happened, but Tenchi had given Sakuya some of his energy to heal herself with. After about ten seconds her arm was fixed. Tenchi removed his hand and placed his first two fingers against her temple. To Tenchi everything faded into whiteness.
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There was only white. And Tenchi. As he watched, Sakuya faded in. She looked around nervously.
"Where am I?" she asked fearfully.
"Relax," Tenchi said, walking up to her. "You are in the matrix of my mind. Time doesn't pass here, so once we leave, it will be the same time as we entered."
"Okay," Sakuya said uneasily. "What happened?"
"Sel broke your arm. Sel is that green being I was fighting. You lost consciousness. I healed your arm and brought you into my mind using one of my abilities."
"You're the Masked Man?"
Tenchi nodded in confirmation. "Yes. I needed a secret identity, so I wouldn't be recognised. Otherwise I would be an outsider, and never live a relatively normal life."
Tenchi sighed. "I guess that's over, then."
"What happened to your hair?"
"It's part of a transformation into what is known as a Saiyan. It is the ascended form of a human. Not the evolved form, mind you. Just a stronger form."
"Who was that man?"
"Sel? Sel is a being who wants to become perfect. As far as I know, he becomes stronger by gaining experience at fighting. Apparently, when he has enough experience he grows to his next form."
"Oh." Sakuya needed time to process all this information.
"I healed you by giving you some of my energy, some of my soul. If I lose enough energy, I shall die."
"What?" Sakuya exclaimed. "Why did you give some to me then? Surely you need it?"
"I have a lot. Besides, I didn't give you that much."
"But why? It was only a broken arm. It would have healed."
"Because I consider you a friend. And friends are always there for each other."
Sakuya was silent.
"That energy attack I just did was the kameya-meya. It is reputedly the strongest energy attack able to be formed. It took quite a bit of my soul to form and release it, much more energy than I gave you. There are a few restrictions to using the technique, though. One is that the user can't move. There's just so much energy being focussed that if control over it is lost by moving even slightly, it will dissipate in a huge explosion. Even the smallest attack would form a crater about the size of China.
"The second restriction is that both hands are needed to contain and focus the energy. One hand on its own isn't strong enough to hold it. There have been rumours, though, that someone has been able to form a self-contained miniature kameya-meya. If this is true, then it could be possible to use only one hand."
Sakuya said nothing. She was trying to process all this information.
"We must get back. I need to destroy Sel."
Sakuya just nodded dumbly.
They both vanished into white.
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The white faded, revealing the real world.
Tenchi stood up and turned to Sel. Sakuya scrambled up and moved to the side.
"It's over, Sel," he said. "Give up now." Tenchi charged. His and Sel's arms partially faded in a flurry of punches. Each and every one was blocked or deflected. But when one of Sel's punches was deflected, he grabbed Tenchi's arm. Tenchi retaliated, but Sel grabbed the other arm, and planted a foot square in his chest. Tenchi went flying back into a wall, part of the chemistry laboratories building. Tenchi rebounded and landed on his chest with a thud. He stirred and picked himself up slowly. He raised his head towards Sel, and his eyes widened in fear. He quickly crossed his arms over his chest to partially block the damage from the energy blast Sel had just fired at him. His body swayed back, but hardly any damage was done.
Sel fired another. Tenchi quickly regained his defensive posture. This time the blast was stronger, forcing Tenchi to step back, otherwise fall down. Another blast was released, forcing Tenchi to step back again. The next one tossed Tenchi against the wall behind him, making him recoil and fall on the ground again.
Sel smiled, but stopped short as Tenchi moved and started to get up again, obviously seriously hurt.
"You don't know when to quit, do you, Mr Anderson?" he shouted at him. He brought a fist to his side and clenched it tightly. It started to glow orange. "You're wrong. It's over when I say it's over. And it's over now!"
Tenchi staggered to his feet and looked up, only to be blasted straight through the chest. He died instantly, his body thrown backwards, hitting the wall again and crumpling on the ground. His hair immediately dropped as the body became normal again.
Sel squirmed. Parts of his body changed shape, becoming more or less pronounced. His tail receded into his back. His splayed toes merged into proper feet. His segmented body became smoother, like armour. His crest became sleeker, and his face more human.
He had ascended to his perfect form.
He walked up to Tenchi's lifeless body. Without warning he fired a few energy blasts into the wall above him, causing it to collapse on Tenchi, burying him in rubble.
"How ironic," said Sel, his voice slick and smooth, "that you have died the same way I did six years ago. Only this time, you don't have the regeneration technique to save you, as I did. You put up a brave fight, I grant you that. But in the end the superior being had to emerge victorious.
"Goodbye, Mr Anderson."
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The orange beam seared Tenchi's chest, burning its way through him. Suddenly, the pain stopped. Tenchi watched as his body flew against the wall and hit it. He also saw Sel smiling.
Am I dead? he wondered.
Tenchi could see all around him, not just in an arc but also everywhere around him, and with absolute clarity. He then noticed that he didn't seem to have a body any more, but was more of a point. Not even that, as he now had no physical presence at all.
He was dead.
But I can't be, Tenchi thought. I'm supposed to kill Sel. I can't do that if I'm dead. I should be the Chosen One, the one in the prophecies. They all say I do more things after this. I can't be dead, because I have to do those things. I am Neo, the one in the legends. I can't die here, now.
The next thing he knew was pain.
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"Goodbye, Mr Anderson."
"My name," came a weak voice from the rubble. It started to shake and fall as Tenchi picked himself up, wincing with the pain, "is Neo."
"No. You're dead."
"Look again." Tenchi flew forward at Sel, or at least he would have, had he not been so weak. He fell forwards into Sel's arms, nearly dead.
"You have a lot of energy in you, Mr Anderson," Sel said.
"N... Ne..." Tenchi struggled before completely sagging.
"And you are brave. Therefore I shall let you live. I have achieved what I desired. I have no further use for you." He dropped Tenchi on the ground, where he curled up, fading in and out of consciousness. He was far too weak to move at all.
Sel walked over to Sakuya, who was paralysed with fear, and grabbed her. "However I need a different trophy, to remind me of today. Instead of your head, I will take something just as valuable to you."
Sakuya whimpered.
"Hers." Sel dragged the kicking and screaming Sakuya to an open spot.
Tenchi heard all this, and tried to move, but he couldn't. Not at all.
"Tenchi, help!" Saukya screamed, as Sel wrapped his hands around her neck, ready to tear her head off.
"Lv hr aln," Tenchi mumbled. He lifted his head. "Leave her alone." His voice raised in volume. He struggled and lifted himself up to his feet. "Leave her alone. Leave her alone!"
Tenchi's hair lifted, as he became a Saiyan again. He started yelling, and the aura around him became more energetic. It grew in intensity, tapering off high above his head. Sel dropped Sakuya and stared. Sakuya scrambled away, also staring.
The aura disappeared, as if sucked up into nothing. Tenchi's hair was now flailing around wildly. New flames appeared, golden this time, circling round Tenchi's feet. Tenchi yelled even louder, and the flames suddenly reached up, surrounding him, and tapered off into another aura, golden. His hair had also changed colour, now golden as well. His black eyes brightened to cyan-green. Tenchi stopped yelling and faced Sel.
"What is that?" Sel exclaimed.
"This is the last day of the rest of your life," Tenchi said, his voice unusually calm.
Sel snarled. "I seriously doubt that. You're still going to die."
Sel rushed forwards, ready to start a new volley of punches, but Tenchi flew high into the sky. Sel flew after him, but stopped between him and the ground as he saw what Tenchi was doing.
Tenchi was forming another kameya-meya, aimed directly down at Sel. "Kah!" he shouted.
"Don't be stupid, Mr Anderson," Sel shouted. "You can't fire that at me. You'll only hit the ground."
"Meh!"
"You can't control a blast that strong. Stop now before it destroys you."
"Hah!"
Sel was getting nervous now. "Don't do it, Neo! That attack is strong enough to destroy this entire planet, including you. You don't think you can actually release that, do you?"
"Meh!"
"Neo! You'll destroy us all! Stop it!"
Tenchi vanished. Sel gasped. "How...?"
Tenchi reappeared. He was below Sel. Sel noticed, and his eyes widened with pure fear.
"Haah!"
Tenchi released the kameya-meya directly at Sel. It was a huge beam, several metres wide. It deflected the blasts Sel shot at it towards the ground, and completely engulfed Sel.
"NO!" Sel yelled. "I'M PERFECT!"
Sel's body dissolved into nothing. He had been completely vaporised.
Tenchi fell to the ground, and landed with a thud. He had regressed to normal. He picked himself up and looked over at Sakuya.
Sakuya had been too close to one of Sel's blasts. She lay on the ground almost dead.
"No," Tenchi gasped. He started to walk over to her when a figure appeared in front of him. It was a woman. She had light brown hair and blue eyes, the blue being where white should normally be. A golden disc on her forehead produced four orange material stripes that receded around her head. A green stripe was across each cheek. She wore a brown and green outfit, fairly elaborately decorated with gems and trimming. She had her arms spread, blocking Tenchi's path to Sakuya.
"I cannot let you pass, Tenchi," she said, her voice smooth yet demanding. "You are far too weak. You must rest now, or you could die."
"Who are you?" Tenchi asked.
"I am a friend," the woman said. "I know what you're going to do, and I cannot let you. You will die."
"So? Let me past. I must get to Sakuya," Tenchi said firmly.
"I'm afraid I cannot."
Tenchi raised a hand and formed a small energy blast, aiming it at the woman. She looked afraid for a second, and then lowered her arms.
"I should have known better than to argue with you, Tenchi," she said. She stepped aside.
Tenchi continued towards Sakuya. He dropped to his knees next to her, partially from exhaustion. He placed a hand on Sakuya's chest and began to transfer his energy.
It wasn't enough. Tenchi staggered to his feet and powered up to his Saiyan form. He started yelling and became a Super Saiyan, then dropped down again and continued transferring energy. The woman who had blocked him before looked on anxiously, as did all the other people standing there.
While Tenchi was giving Sakuya his soul, he powered down to Saiyan, then to normal. Then Sakuya coughed. It was working. Tenchi continued to give her energy, until he stopped, seemingly unable to give any more. He weakly placed two of his fingers against the side of her forehead. Everything went white.
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Tenchi and Sakuya were back in the white place. Instead of his normal clothes, Tenchi wore a white suit, while Sakuya still wore her original clothes.
"Tenchi, what happened? Am I dead?" Sakuya asked.
"Far from it," Tenchi replied. "I gave you as much of my soul as I could to heal you. You were going to die, but I saved you. It took a lot of my energy, though. I barely had enough to link our minds again."
"You mean you have no energy left?"
Tenchi nodded. "As soon as I leave here, I will die."
Sakuya gasped and shuddered. "You're going to die?"
Tenchi nodded again.
"Why don't you stay here? You said that time didn't exist here. So you will never die, if you stay here."
"No. It wouldn't be fair to you. Time might not exist here, but it does outside. Eventually I'm going to have to leave, and we're going to come back out at the exact same time we came in. I can't ask you to give up your life for me. I can't."
"Why did you do it?"
"Sakuya, when we leave here, I want you to do something for me. Live. I have given you my soul, given you a second chance at life. Please, live, for me."
"Even at the expense of your own life? How can I live knowing that you died for me?"
"You didn't choose to do this. I did. It was my decision. Don't blame yourself for something I did. Live, so at least one of us is living. And remember, I will always be with you."
"But why did you do it?"
"Because I realised something," Tenchi said.
"What?"
"I'm your friend," Tenchi said, "and friends are always there for each other."
"Tenchi, don't go," Sakuya sobbed, clutching Tenchi. "I can't lose you. Not now. Not before..."
"Before what?"
Sakuya was silent, evading the question. Tenchi moved away from her, and held her at arms length.
"Sakuya, I have to do this. I have to go. Please don't be sad. I wanted to do this."
"You mean kill yourself?"
"I mean help you. All my life I have helped others. And even in death I can still help you. It's who I am. Remember, I will always be with you."
Tenchi stepped back and faded.
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Tenchi collapsed on the ground next to Sakuya. Sakuya got up and started shaking Tenchi, pleading him to wake up. But it was in vain. Tenchi was dead.
The woman walked towards Sakuya.
"He's dead," Sakuya sniffed. She then started crying into the woman, gaining comfort from her even though she was a complete stranger. "He gave his life for me."
"No," the woman replied. "He gave much more than that."
Sakuya looked up at her, confused.
"When normal people die, they still have a bit of energy. It's not enough to hold the connection between the mind and body, but it sustains the mind afterwards. Their minds continue to exist after death, experiencing the world without any limitations the body offers. Things like hunger, exhaustion, and a set arc of vision. These things do not affect the minds. However, Tenchi gave you all his soul, all his energy. He had none left to sustain his mind. I can't tell you what has happened to it, because, quite frankly, I don't know. But I can tell you that he gave not only his life, but his death as well."
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A being was watching the events happening from nearby. It stood up from where it was sat on top of the school building and faded away.
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Tenchi was expecting to experience something similar to the previous time he had died several minutes ago. He was wrong.
He was in a light place. White, actually. All around him was white. He seemed to be the only one there.
"Welcome," said a voice from behind him, "to Heaven."
Tenchi whirled round and saw three people. They all looked like ordinary people, all wearing white. Tenchi looked down and saw that he was wearing white too.
"Who are you people?" Tenchi asked, backing away from them. "Where is this place?"
"This is Heaven," said another man.
"The resting place of heroes," said the third.
"Heroes?" Tenchi asked.
"Yes," the first spoke.
"You are a hero," said the second.
"And so you are here with us," the third said.
"What do you mean by heroes?" Tenchi asked.
"We mean people who have given their soul to let another live."
"Someone truly noble and brave."
"And strong."
Tenchi looked at the trio in front of him, all speaking as if they were finishing each others thoughts and speeches. "Why are you like that?"
"Speaking as one?"
"It is the reward."
"It comes to heroes."
"What reward?" Tenchi asked, now completely confused.
"Symbiosis."
"Living together as one."
"Interdependent."
"We are together."
"We are equal."
"And strong."
So that's why they're always speaking together, Tenchi thought.
"Yes, you are right."
"Coexistence."
"We know your thoughts."
This took Tenchi aback. "You can read my mind? How?"
"When we were alive, we could control our energies. We were some of the strongest beings in the galaxy."
"We sacrificed our lives for others, much like you yourself did."
"The reward bound us together, giving us many abilities, such as omniscience, telepathy and ability to see all through time."
"You are still linear, Tenchi Masaki."
"But in time you will be one with us."
"You will be a part of us."
"No thanks," Tenchi said stoutly. "I don't want to be a part of anyone. I like my independence."
"But it is inevitable."
"Resistance is futile."
"You will become one with us."
They started to advance on Tenchi.
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Afternoon break came. Tenchi remained outside, on the playing field. No-one dared go near him, let alone move him. And so he stayed there.
Three women appeared, fading in. One was the woman from before, the one who had challenged Tenchi before backing down. The second was a woman with long light blue hair in two plaits. Two small green circular gems were placed next to each other on her forehead. She wore a blue and white robe, which was fairly extravagant.
The third had spiky red hair, hardly restrained by the gold band round her head. Three green gems were arranged in a triangle pointing down on her forehead. Her breastplate was arranged in such a way that it surrounded and revealed most of her breasts. Two green cats eyes appeared around the bodice, creating a very feline impression. The rest of her clothing was dark purple, baggy around her shoulders and legs, but tight around her wrists and waist.
The first woman disappeared then reappeared next to Tenchi. The second floated over to him, and the third merely walked over. The three surrounded the lifeless body. They looked at him, then at each other and nodded. They each put a hand over Tenchi, touching each other's in the middle, closed their eyes and concentrated. Tenchi's body lifted up slowly off the ground, as if an invisible hand had grabbed it by the chest. It stayed there, levitating, for about ten seconds, then was gently replaced on the ground. The three women broke from their stance and looked at Tenchi.
"Nothing's happening," said the red haired woman.
"Give him time," the blue haired woman said. "He will come."
"And I suppose I'll be the one to deal with him again," said the woman with the light brown hair.
"You have had more experience with him than we have," the red haired woman said.
"It's only logical that you do so," said the cerulean haired woman. "We shall help him in other ways."
"He is special," said the red haired woman. "I can see that. It is a good thing that you told us of him, and for returning my powers, although temporarily."
"We couldn't have done this otherwise," replied the brown haired woman.
They looked at Tenchi for a bit longer.
"Do you think he is the fabled?" the red haired woman said.
"You should know," replied the blue haired woman. "You are the most intelligent of us three. But I believe he is."
"So do I," said the brown haired woman. "He is the fabled. I know it."
"I think we must go now," the red haired woman said.
The three women vanished.
And nothing happened.
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Tenchi stirred. He opened his eyes and was shocked.
It was early evening. The sun was about to set, casting a slight hint of red over the landscape. It would have been a nice sight for Tenchi to see, but instead he stared at it, completely traumatised.
He was alive. Again. It was all gone.
Tenchi shook his head, trying to dislodge all the thoughts entering his mind. He needed a place to think.
Tenchi powered up an aura around him, noted that he could still do so, and flew east.
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Tenchi cast an eye over the mountains, not really paying attention. He was trying to clear his mind, so didn't have time for anything else. But his thoughts wouldn't clear. More came, and cluttered his mind, fragmented and meaningless, until he shook his head yet again and started from the beginning.
There was a presence behind him. Tenchi didn't turn around. He knew who it was.
"Do you mind if I sit with you?" the brown haired woman asked.
"Sure. Go ahead. Pull up a mountain."
Tenchi lapsed into silence. The woman scanned the scenery for a while, and then spoke.
"It is a nice view, don't you think?"
"I wouldn't know. I can't say."
"Do you know who I am?" she asked.
Tenchi nodded. "You're the strange woman who keeps helping me."
"But do you know who I really am?"
"Tokemi."
He knew. The woman was Tokemi, the goddess representative of the physical protrusion of any living creature.
"You are not surprised to see me?"
"No. I just fought Sel, and some things happened to me that I don't understand. I was expecting you."
"Oh."
They sat in silence for a while more.
"I'm sitting here, on top of the tallest mountain on this planet," Tenchi said. "Only a handful of people have been here. This should mean something to me, but it doesn't."
"The ascension you experienced was the Super Saiyan form of a human. It is the form beyond a Saiyan. It is a mythological feat. No-one has ever attained it, until now."
"I died."
Tokemi was struck silent.
"What happened to me? Sel blasted me, and I was dead. How did I survive?"
"Sometimes," Tokemi said, "will is stronger even than death."
"I willed myself back to life," Tenchi said. "That makes sense. But what happened then? I died, and went to this place. It was white, and three other people were there. They said they were all heroes, before they tried to absorb me. They said it was all part of a gift."
"Yes. You were in Heaven. It is the reward for the highest act of self-sacrifice. Only the strongest go there."
"There were only three. But we were one. I could see everything, but..."
"But what?"
"It's all fading away. I can't remember. Everything's getting darker. I feel so empty. So cold."
Tokemi stayed silent.
"I can't remember," Tenchi repeated. "There were... some people. They wanted something, I think. Something about... Something."
"Let it go. It is obviously affecting you badly. Forget it. It will make it much easier to come to terms with what has happened. And the truth."
"What truth?"
"The story about your past is true. But not complete."
Tokemi sighed. "I told you that the man who removed you from your real mother when you were an embryo wanted to see if you had a strong soul. He discovered that you did. However, he did more than just relocate the embryo. He cloned it."
"Cloned it?"
"This clone also had a strong soul. It was identical to the original in every way. But the man enhanced it. He made subtle changes that improved the clone mentally and physically. He gave it subconscious knowledge, making it unusually intelligent.
"There were two surrogate mothers. One for the original, on a planet which would not let the person develop his Saiyan powers, and one for the clone, on another planet that would."
"I'm the clone?" Tenchi asked. Tokemi looked indifferent.
Tenchi thought more deeply. "I have Saiyan powers. They seem to be fairly easy to control." Tenchi paused. "My mother, my surrogate mother, told me that I could speak from birth. She also said that I was very intelligent, that I seemed to know more than anyone else my age, or twice my age, actually."
Realisation dawned. "I am the clone. I shouldn't exist. I was never meant to be."
"The man created the clone for one purpose," Tokemi said. "That purpose was domination. He wanted more than anything to control the galaxy. He created the clone to help him do this. Once it would be mature, he would come for it, and he would conquer the galaxy with its help."
"I'm an instrument for mass destruction? I was created to overpower civilisations?"
"I must go now. I know I have created more questions than answers, but try to follow my advice. Remember, no-one can tell you who you are. You make your own path, your own life. It is no-one else's to control, just your own."
She stood up and vanished.
"I make my own life," Tenchi mused.
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In the next episode of Continuum T:
We regress to the plot line of a popular animé starring Tenchi's namesake. But there's a twist. There has to be, otherwise it wouldn't make sense, and, quite frankly, it would be tedious to retell the story. Several strange alien girls start appearing, and more of Tenchi's heritage is revealed, in "Appearance". Will Tenchi accept these girls as friends? Will there ever be a more stupid question than that? And will we ever know the deal with those other two women? You know, the ones who were there with Tokemi when Tenchi was dead? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.