Previously on Continuum T:
After another fight with Sel, now finishing him off for good, Tenchi has discovered that he can ascend to the form beyond a Saiyan, that is, a Super Saiyan. He has also discovered that the strange woman who has been helping him all these years is none other than the goddess Tokemi. She also told him that Tenchi was a clone, created from an original template. Now Tenchi has several decisions to make. Some other things have also happened, such as when Tenchi died, twice, but they aren't important.
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Continuum T, Part IV – Appearance
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The secret was out. Everyone now knew that Tenchi was the Masked Man. They all knew he had special and unbelievable powers. What they didn't know was how they affected him.
Not at the moment, anyway.
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Tenchi had come to terms with his existence as a clone, but he realised that no-one could tell him who he was. He could control his own destiny.
It was about two months later, being as it was now just at the start of the summer holidays. Tenchi had literally pleaded with everyone to treat him normally, but of course they couldn't. Not when they knew something this big. They tried, though, at the insistence of Tenchi, and were partially getting used to the idea of him having super powers. They hardly mentioned the powers, though, but they did treat him with a lot more respect and gratitude. After all, he did save the world from destruction.
Tenchi meanwhile had given up his disguise, thinking it wouldn't make any difference now, as everyone knew who he was. But that wasn't the only change he had gone through. Everyone who knew him noticed that he had more of a bad temper now. They didn't dare to mention it, but it was there. And, like all pressure, it would release in a huge explosion.
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"Don't bother," Tenchi said. "You know you wouldn't get near me with that thing."
The thing in question was a baseball bat, wielded by a person most aptly described as a goon or henchman. He, and the other two goons, also wielding bats, were henchmen to a wanted drug lord. And Tenchi was about to turn them in.
The first goon lunged forwards, his muscular form begging desperately to escape from the tuxedo he was wearing, barely able to stay together as it was without any muscles rippling. He swung the bat at Tenchi, who caught it easily and wrenched it out of his hand. He then hit the goon, causing him to stagger back. The other two then attacked, similarly formed, swinging their bats at Tenchi. Tenchi blocked the incoming attacks with his forearms, grabbed one and twisted the goon's arm. He delivered a foot into the chest of the other, sending him flying into a pile of cardboard boxes, creating a cloud of white powder. Tenchi threw the goon he was holding to one side and faced the drug baron, whereupon the first goon hit him in the back. Tenchi stepped forwards and cried out, in surprise rather than pain, swivelled and delivered a hard punch to his gut. The goon folded over and collapsed unconscious on the floor.
Tenchi faced the baron again, noting that he had now pulled out a gun.
"I think you're the one who's in trouble now," the baron jeered. And fired.
Tenchi quickly moved to avoid the bullet, and again to avoid the second. There was a groan from behind him as the second goon picked himself up. Tenchi turned to see, and was shot in the arm. He yelled in pain and clutched his arm. Then he lost his temper. He formed an energy blast in his hand and fired at the baron. The drug lord flew backwards and smashed into a wall. He dropped to the floor, dead. The two conscious goons grabbed the third and ran.
Tenchi breathed heavily for a few seconds, then gasped. He had killed him.
True, he had shot people before, but only with his special guns with the paralysis bullets in them. He had never actually killed anyone before.
Tenchi suddenly noticed a feeling inside him, cold and empty. He quickly powered down from his Saiyan form, and the feeling disappeared. The feeling was evil.
"I can't lose control like that again," Tenchi said aloud. "Who knows what I might do if I lose it again. It's being a Saiyan that causes it. From now on, then, I will give up my Saiyan powers for ever."
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And so he did. He stopped being a super hero and suppressed his Saiyan abilities. He even suppressed his other powers as precaution, rendering him fairly normal, with just quicker reflexes than most other people. He couldn't trust himself any more. Instead, he fell back on training with his grandfather. The training usually entailed cleaning the Masaki Shrine near to his father's house in town. Tenchi didn't mind, as he rather enjoyed doing so. But something else resided nearby, something completely different.
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"Tenchi."
Nothing.
"Tenchi." Louder.
Still nothing.
Katsuhito sighed. He walked up the rest of the steps to the shrine and found a broom and a bucket of water on the floor. Tenchi was nowhere in sight.
"Now where did he go?" he asked.
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Tenchi, as it happened, was in Katsuhito's office, rummaging through the drawers of his desk. He was looking for something fairly small, as his searching was quite thorough. Chibi, his cat, lay sleeping in front of the closed door.
"Now where did he put those things?" Tenchi murmured.
The door slid open. Tenchi stiffened and turned to face his visitor. But there was no-one there.
"It was curiosity that killed the cat, Tenchi," Katsuhito said behind him. Tenchi yelped and scrambled away from him. "I bet you were looking for these?" his grandfather said, pulling out a set of old metal keys from his robe.
"So that's where they are," Tenchi said before he could stop himself. He clamped a hand over his mouth, realising what he had just said.
"You weren't trying to sneak in there against my orders, were you?" the elder man said, pocketing the keys again.
"No I wasn't," Tenchi said frustrated.
"It is the ancient law of this Masaki shrine. And you are no exception to that legacy."
Tenchi just looked sideways at him.
"But really, you want to see what's in there, don't you?" Katsuhito asked.
"Uh huh," Tenchi said, nodding enthusiastically.
"Here they are, Tenchi," Katsuhito said, taking the keys out again. "If you can take them from me. Let's see how good you really are."
Tenchi hesitated. His grandfather was quite adept for his age, after all. But Tenchi still thought he could take him. He rushed forwards, swinging his fist at him. Katsuhito merely reached out an arm and caught the punch. The old man twisted his arm and tripped him, sending Tenchi flying into a wall.
"Work harder. And remember, your chores are part of your training," Katsuhito said as he stood up and walked out. Tenchi turned from his vantage point halfway through the wall and watched him walk out. Then he realised something. The keys were in his mouth.
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Tenchi was laughing as he ran towards the cave.
"Curiosity killed the cat. Lucky for me I'm not a cat," Tenchi laughed.
He approached the cave, a large hole sinking into the rock as far as could be seen. Large metal gates blocked off the cave's entrance. Gates to which the keys belonged. Tenchi opened them and proceeded.
His grandfather had told him about the history of the cave when he was small. He had said that a demon had come from the sky many centuries ago, terrorising villages and people. Its path of destruction could not be halted until one day, when a great samurai appeared on the back of a dragon. The samurai's name was Yosho, Tenchi's ancestor. Yosho defeated the demon with a sword of great spiritual power, and locked it away in the cave, sealed by the power of the sword, embedded in the ground. To this day the demon slept, still sealed by the power of the sword.
All this Tenchi discarded as he advanced slowly into the cave.
He came to a slightly bigger area, lit by a hole in the ceiling that let the sunlight through. He looked around at some strange markings in the stone, and at protection spells written on pieces of paper strewn around the place. His gaze rested on a small ornamental wooden house, obviously a shrine of some sort. Tenchi approached and opened the doors. Inside was the hilt of a sword. He grabbed it and pulled it out, struggling as he did so. He removed the scabbard with a lot of difficulty, revealing the blade. The rusted and distorted blade.
"Huh? It's just a rusted old piece of junk." He swung it round a few times. "Give me a break. 'The sword that cuts through a rock'?" He swung it down at a conveniently placed rock, shattering the blade on impact. "Uh oh." The rock fell apart, despite having never been cut through.
To the side of Tenchi, a part of the rock wall slid open, revealing a passageway. A large rock had also descended from the ceiling, blocking off the way out.
"Oh great. What do I do now, genius?" Tenchi mused as he looked around. He noticed the new passageway. "Huh?"
Tenchi stepped through, bumping his head. He clutched his head and winced, stepping into a puddle of water. "Ah, that's cold!" Tenchi looked down. It wasn't just a puddle. It looked more like the floor was water with stepping-stones. The floor also sloped downwards fairly steeply right in front of Tenchi. Tenchi stepped forwards without realising this, lost his footing and slipped, painfully, down to the bottom.
Tenchi glanced around from his awkward position at the bottom of the slope. He seemed to be in a large cavern, the floor of which was more water and stepping-stones. There was a pit in the middle of the floor, full of water. Tenchi picked himself up, then the sword hilt. He cautiously approached the pit, not noticing as he did so that the three red gems in the end of the sword hilt were glowing slightly. He peered into the pool and saw a figure. A dead figure. It lay on a stone slab, its long cyan hair splayed out across the headrest. The mummy wore a mask, a red demon feline mask, with a hint of the Sphinx about it. Tenchi stared in awe at it, not noticing his grip on the sword hilt loosening.
There was a loud crash as the wooden hilt fell onto the floor. Tenchi jerked back in fright, before noticing that it was only the sword. Sighing with relief, he crouched to pick it up.
"I'd better be going anyway," he said, grabbing the sword. A hand grabbed him. The long skeletal arm had grasped Tenchi's wrist, and didn't show signs of being about to let go. Tenchi's view widened to encompass the rest of the demon mummy lifting itself out of the water. He struggled to get away, but it was hopeless. The skeletal hand was a lot stronger than he thought.
The masked head leaned forwards towards Tenchi's face. The other bony hand rubbed against his cheek and brought it closer. The creature was making noises, almost friendly, affectionate noises, as it leaned forward, seemingly to examine Tenchi more closely.
Or to kiss him. Tenchi's pupils dilated rapidly as he realised that this was in fact what it was going to do. The sword hilt, still grasped tightly in Tenchi's sweaty hand, glowed a bright blue. The demon suddenly backed off, as if hurt by the glow. The noises it made seemed to confirm this.
Tenchi used this opportunity to escape. He ran back towards the slope and climbed, slipping several times, but pure fear urged him on. He reached the top and stopped. He was now back in the small cave. On the wall opposite him Tenchi saw a shadow. Fear had imprinted the demon into his mind, and he recognised the shadow as belonging to it. His eyes darted to the rock, sliced neatly in two. He then noticed that it had a protection spell paper pinned to it. Or two halves of one, anyway. He grabbed a vine or root, he didn't care which, and tried to tie the rock back together. It wasn't going to stay that way, so Tenchi tightened the creeper even more. The opening shut, and the exit was unblocked. Tenchi ran out of the cave, short of breath.
"I'm giving those keys back to grandpa," he panted. "I'll do as many chores as he says."
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Nearby, in the woods, where Tenchi often liked to walk, was a tree. A big tree, several times bigger than the others. A circle of water surrounded it, parting its surface only for several rocks leading up to the central island.
Dew collected on its leaves. But it wasn't dew. It was shining. Each conglomeration of shining liquid shot a beam of coloured light towards the water surrounding it. The streaks rebounded straight up, and shot into the sky, seeming to all merge into one big beam as they did so.
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Later on, after his chores were completed, Tenchi was walking around, killing time before dinner. He had walked quite a way away from his house, and was now passing in front of a large abandoned house. It was fairly tall, and if Tenchi stood on its flat roof, he could see for miles around. Which is what he did. He gazed round at the surrounding countryside. A few miles away were the outskirts of the nearest town, but apart from that break it was all just fields and trees. And the big building he was currently on.
A jingling sound came from somewhere behind him. He turned to see the cause. It was Chibi, his cat. The jingling came from the bell on its collar.
"Chibi, what are you doing here?" Tenchi asked. He crouched down as the cat came running forwards. But then it faded into nothing. "Huh?"
Another jingling came from behind him. Tenchi swirled to see a person sitting on the rooftop concrete shed. A female person. Wearing a pink and green dress, cutting into two halves at her waist and tapering off just below her knees. Old-fashioned brown leather boots adorned her feet. Her hair was spiky cyan blue, waving around everywhere in a seemingly random way. He was holding a bell, just like the one off Chibi's collar. She brought it up to her face and nuzzled it.
"Ryoko," the woman said. "That's my name."
She gracefully cast the bell towards Tenchi. He caught it, still looking at her in astonishment.
"It was cold in that cave," Ryoko said. "And dark."
"What?" Tenchi exclaimed. "You can't be that..." Red balls of light, the size of tennis balls, appeared, spinning away from Ryoko, and then stopped. Tenchi looked at them, realising the truth. "...That freeze dried demon!" he shouted.
Ryoko reached up a hand, and all the red light balls streamed towards it, collecting in the palm of her hand. She clenched her fist, and the light reformed into two poles of red light. One was much longer than the other. Almost like a sword, except that it was made out of light, the shorter of the two light poles being the hilt and the longer the blade.
"Do you know how long I was in there?" Ryoko asked. "Seven hundred years. You're going to pay for that."
"No, wait," Tenchi said. "I'm not the one who's responsible for locking you up in that cave. It was some guy called Yosho."
"I don't care," Ryoko said. "I'm going to have some fun. I'll start by killing you."
She threw her light sword at Tenchi, who barely jumped out of the way in time. He then started running as more explosions around him seared his body with heat. He managed to catch sight of a loose metal pole amongst a crater of rubble. He further managed to pick it up. He turned and faced Ryoko. She beckoned him to attack. Tenchi did. He charged forwards, wielding the pole with some skill, a product of the sword training with his grandfather. It didn't do any good, though. Ryoko dodged with ease. Tenchi turned around to face her again, ready to charge. But the pole fell apart in seven neatly sliced pieces. He ran again, towards the stairwell housing, explosions occurring to either side of him. He managed to get in, and was half way down the stairs when a big explosion, destroying the top half of the stairs and all around it, threw Tenchi down. He landed on the next floor in an ungainly pile.
"Don't hurt yourself," Ryoko called after him. "I'd like to do that for you."
Tenchi picked himself up, and was about to speed away, when he decided to hide in the room next to him.
He hid behind the door and sighed in relief. He then caught his breath quickly and held it, waiting for Ryoko to walk by unsuspecting. He sighed again, and sniffed.
"What is that?" he mused. "That smell?" He recognised it. "Oh, it's only gas fumes." Realisation struck. "Gas fumes!" he exclaimed. He scanned the room for the cause, and found a hole in the roof. Broken pipes and supporting beams clung desperately into the sides of the hole. One of these pipes was leaking methane gas at a frantic pace.
"Oh no," Tenchi groaned. "I can see the headlines now. 'Brilliant schoolboy blown to bits!'" He sagged his head. He jerked it back up at the sight of Ryoko moving through the wall. Without making a hole in it first. Tenchi tried to run for it, but a chair blocked his immediate escape route.
Ryoko moved completely through the wall. She opened her palm and formed another light sword.
Tenchi panicked. "Don't do that! You'll ignite the gas!"
Ryoko paused. "Gas? What is gas?"
I'd better think of something fast, Tenchi thought.
And then he got it.
"Hey! What's that over there?" Tenchi announced, pointing behind Ryoko. "I can't believe I just used the oldest one in the book," he added, groaning inwards.
"Ooh! Where? I wanna see!"
Ryoko had fallen for it. "I don't want to miss anything." She turned back round to see the chair coming to a stop, having been pushed aside by Tenchi's rather rapid escape. This made Ryoko angry. Electricity crackled through the air. Towards the gas.
Outside, Tenchi was quietly running away, thinking that he could still make it, when a huge explosion from behind him picked him up and threw him forward several tens of metres down the long corridor. He slid to a halt.
He picked himself up and looked at the fire now blazing where he had just previously been. He bowed his head and clapped twice, before realising. "Old shrine habit," Tenchi said, by means of explanation. He laughed nervously, and then laughed harder. Another explosion snapped him to attention.
Tenchi gasped. There was a shadow in the flames. A Ryoko-shaped shadow. Ryoko, in fact. She coughed. "Hey!" she yelled.
Tenchi turned instantly and sprinted away. He ducked down a smaller corridor leading off the main one, and rested there, catching his breath.
Ryoko flew after him, almost catching up to him when she saw something. Herself. A large mirror hung on the wall just before Tenchi's opening. She looked herself up and down, and gasped. "I am a mess!" she declared.
"Thank god," Tenchi silently praised. He sneaked away to another room and sagged into a chair, catching his breath.
Meanwhile, Ryoko had finished dusting herself off. She stood back and admired herself. "You are one beautiful demon," she remarked. Then she remembered Tenchi. "Let's go."
Ryoko faded and reappeared outside the building. She was looking for something.
In Tenchi's room, Tenchi was relaxing. The chair was very comfortable. He started drifting off to sleep, but caught himself. He stood up and noticed a red wall light. This sparked off a memory. "Wait a minute," Tenchi said. "That red gem on her wrist. That's what's giving her those powers. Now I remember: 'Three gems for power'." Tenchi laughed. "All I have to do is get those gems off her, and maybe I can get her back inside that cave." Tenchi laughed again. "I can beat her. It's easy!"
"Easy, is it?"
Tenchi immediately refocused on Ryoko. She was outside, and had found Tenchi. She shot an energy blast at the room he was in. Tenchi just managed to jump out of the window before the explosion. He landed near Ryoko.
"Don't be scared, Tenchi," Ryoko said, summoning another sword into her hand. "I won't hurt you. Too much." She swung the light blade straight at Tenchi. Tenchi raised his arms in a futile gesture to block it.
The sword stopped. Tenchi opened his eyes slightly. The sword hilt that he had found in the cave earlier was floating between Ryoko's blade and Tenchi. Ryoko pulled back.
"Impressive," she said, frustrated.
Tenchi reached out slowly and took the hilt. Ryoko charged forward with another blade. Again, it caught on something. It had caught on the blue light blade, which had emerged from the sword hilt.
"What?" Ryoko exclaimed. "No fair! You're cheating!"
"What?" Tenchi said. "Give me a break!"
The sword started to parry Ryoko's blade, dragging Tenchi behind it.
"Hey!" Ryoko said.
"I'm not doing this. It's the sword," Tenchi said. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't fight a monster like you."
Ryoko grabbed Tenchi's sword arm. "Monster?" She hit Tenchi, sending him into a metal fence. "Tell me, what makes you call a pretty young lady like me a m... m... monster?" she shouted. She advanced again, stomping on a pipe as she went. She swung her arm and caused a large dent in it.
Tenchi's sword darted forwards and swung round. Ryoko's hand fell to the ground, disintegrating as it went. The small red gem also fell. It landed on the ground and promptly exploded.
Ryoko sighed. "Oh well. Another battle lost. That's the story of my life. Huh?" She had noticed the lack of her right hand.
"Uh, it was the sword that did that," Tenchi laughed nervously in response to Ryoko's glare. Ryoko smiled and waved her hand in front of her wrist, before joining her wrist and palm. As the wrist separated from the palm, a hand appeared. "Tadaa!" Ryoko said.
Tenchi applauded. Ryoko took a bow before sinking into the ground.
A large explosion from the building brought Tenchi back to his senses. Fire engine sirens could be heard coming from the town. Tenchi decided to leave.
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Tenchi was now back at home. He walked into his room, lay down on his bed and sighed. Today had been an exhausting day.
Something was wrong. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was up. Or, rather, it was down. His feet were brushing against something on the floor. He heaved himself up to see what it was.
Nothing was there. It was probably just his imagination. Tenchi sighed again and fell backwards. He didn't get there. Instead, he fell onto something. Something that caught him. He jerked himself up and swivelled around, to see Ryoko standing in his bed. Through it, actually. He yelped and scrambled back to the far wall.
"Don't worry, Tenchi dear," Ryoko said. "I'm not here for revenge. I just want my gems back."
"Huh?"
"The gems that are in your sword. They're mine. I want them back." Ryoko spotted the sword on the desk next to his bed. "Ah, there it is." She walked out of the bed and picked the sword up. She dropped it pretty quickly. Being electrocuted can do that to a person. She backed off.
Tenchi moved and picked the sword up. "I get it," he said. "You can't touch this, right?"
Ryoko mumbled something angrily. Then her mood lightened. "I know. I don't need to hold it. You can give me my gems back. Just point the hilt towards me and pray for them to return to me."
"But why do I want to do that?" Tenchi asked.
"Because there's another person coming," Ryoko said. "She's evil."
"You mean, worse than you?" Tanchi asked nervously.
"She's the devil. I can get rid of her, but I need my gems back. Please?"
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
There was a large explosion about a mile away. The force of the blast threw Tenchi back into Ryoko's grasp.
"Demon woman Ryoko," a female voice said, amplified from somewhere. "I know that you're there. You are under arrest for countless crimes against humankind. Give up now, and I promise I'll be lenient."
"She'll stop at nothing to get me," Ryoko said. "She'll blow up the entire area without hesitation just to find me. Give me my gems, and it'll be the last you hear from us."
"All right," Tenchi said. He pointed the sword hilt towards Ryoko and closed his eyes. Ryoko spread her arms in front of her and closed her eyes as well. A gem disappeared from the sword and reappeared on Ryoko's left wrist. Ryoko opened her eyes, expecting to see all three gems. There was only one.
"Hey! You only gave me one!"
Tenchi nodded. "That's right."
Ryoko laughed a little too hard. "It doesn't matter. I can still summon Ryo-Ohki."
"Ryo-Ohki? What's that?"
Ryoko sighed. "Don't you know anything? It's the other part of the legend. It's my ship." She moved forward and grabbed Tenchi in an embrace. "Don't be scared. I'm only summoning my ship."
Ryoko started to concentrate. "Come Ryo-Ohki. Come to me. Come!"
There was a loud noise from nearby, almost like a cat howling. Ryoko released Tenchi and grabbed his hand. "Come on, Tenchi. Let's go."
They both vanished.
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They reappeared inside a large room. Ryoko walked up to one of several large blue crystals hanging in the air and placed her hands to either side of it. Tenchi just stood there, gazing around. He suddenly felt very heavy as the room started to move.
"Just relax, Tenchi," Ryoko called. "Ryo-Ohki and I are going to take care of everything now."
"We're inside Ryo-Ohki?" Tenchi asked, but got no reply.
Ryoko was busy at the crystal, obviously the controls. She turned it different ways, the ship seeming to turn with it. In fact it was.
"There is no escape from punishment," the voice said again. You're under arrest whether you like it or not." The ship rocked violently. They were under attack. Tenchi tumbled over to some kind of model. A model of his house. With a little figure of his father. It moved slightly. It was his father.
"What?" Tenchi yelled. "What have you done to my house?"
"I hope you don't mind. I didn't want to worry about it, so I shrank it and brought it with us."
"You did what?" Tenchi shouted. But a reply wasn't going to be given, for two large logs had appeared in the ship with them. They both had markings on them, one red and the other blue. The red one advanced on Ryoko. She just stood there, seemingly helpless. The log advanced until it was almost on top of her. Then it was. It had absorbed her into itself, in much the same way as she walked through walls.
Then Tenchi noticed the other log. It was approaching him. Tenchi started yelling for help, but help was not to come. Everything went black for Tenchi.
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He woke up in what appeared to be a forest. Trees surrounded him. It seemed like a nice place to be. Tenchi stood up for a better look. He seemed to be in a circle of vines that hung from a tree above him. He walked towards a gap and tried to walk through. But he couldn't. The vines closed together, trapping Tenchi. The only way he could get free was going back into the middle area. He did so, and tried jumping through another gap, only to be caught again. Tenchi mumbled and took his penknife out of his pocket. He pounced on a vine and started attacking it with the knife.
"Take that! And that!" he said, cutting bits off the vine. A giggle stopped him. He looked up.
A young girl was standing there. She had long green hair in two plaits, tied by red bands. Pink eyes looked at him, surrounded by freckles. Two green triangular gems joined together on her forehead, pointing downwards. She wore a green dress with light pink sleeves. The join down the front was a yellow and black stripe. A strange white animal, like a ferret, sat on her shoulder. She giggled again.
"Who, who are you?" Tenchi asked.
"Hi. I'm Sasami," the young girl said.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tenchi."
"Nice to meet you."
"Where is this place?" Tenchi asked.
"We're on my sister's ship Ryu-Oh," Sasami replied.
"Then you're an alien? From the planet Sasami?"
"No silly," Sasami giggled. "I'm from the planet Jurai."
"Oh." Tenchi reached out a hand towards the white ferret, which promptly stuck out a long thin tongue and licked his finger. Tenchi pulled back hurridly. Sasami giggled.
"Listen, Tenchi, do you want to play a game?"
"What kind of game?"
"First, you need to be let out." Sasami pulled out a short wooden stick, of the same design as Tenchi's sword. She pointed it at the vines and they separated, letting Tenchi walk out of his organic prison.
"Hey, that's the same as my sword," Tenchi said. He reached for it in his belt, but it wasn't there. "Aah! Where's my sword? It looks like that, but longer. Where is it?" Tenchi calmed down and smiled at Sasami. "Hey, Sasami, can you do me a favour?"
"I'll do a favour for you if you do me a favour," Sasami replied.
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"My sister is sleeping through there," Sasami pointed. Tenchi and Sasami had gone to an open field, at one end of which was a river. She was pointing towards a type of structure, closed in by curtains. Tenchi could just about make out a large rectangular object in the middle of it.
"So what do you want me to do again?" Tenchi asked.
"I want you to get her head ornament and bring it back to me," Sasami said.
"Can't I just go back home? I haven't done anything wrong. I'm not even sure why I'm here."
Sasami frowned. "Just go!" she said, pushing Tenchi towards the curtained structure. She stifled a giggle as she watched Tenchi proceed quietly and nervously to the bedroom.
"Don't mind me," Tenchi whispered apprehensively, "I'm just passing through. The door was open; I hope you don't mind."
He cautiously approached the large bed. A woman was sound asleep there. She had long purple hair, which was currently tied up, and two tresses outlined the face. The face was smooth and delicate. A wooden head ornament crossed her forehead. It seemed to be fastened tightly to her head.
"Give me a break," Tenchi whispered in exasperation. "I'm supposed to get that off her?"
The young woman stirred and rolled over. Her hand, which had previously been concealed by her head, gripped Tenchi's sword. Tenchi's eyes widened in recognition.
"Well, first thing's first," he said. He circled the bed and reached over to take the sword. He managed to get a slight grip on it, but stumbled. He stopped himself from falling onto the lady, and made a fresh attempt to retrieve his sword. The woman rolled over to her previous position.
Tenchi stood up and went round the bed. He tried to grasp the sword, but the woman had rolled onto her back. Realising this was getting him nowhere, Tenchi moved to the foot of the bed and crawled up and over the female body. He was poised over the woman as he grabbed his sword. She didn't seem to want to let go. Tenchi pulled harder, struggling to free it from her grasp. He violently pulled it free, waking the woman up in the process. She started to scream, but Tenchi clamped his hand over her mouth. The girl pulled her legs up and kicked Tenchi away.
"Asaka! Kamidake!" she shouted. "Put this person to death!"
She watched Tenchi as he made a very hasty retreat. "My, how fast he runs," she remarked.
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Sasami was laughing loudly as Tenchi ran past. He picked her up and ran on. Behind him were the two big logs with the symbols, as he found out when he glanced back.
"Sasami, stop your logs!" Tenchi panted. "They're going to kill me!"
"They're guardians of Jurai," Sasami said, laughing slightly. "And they're not mine. They're my sisters. I can't control them. That way." She pointed down one fork in the path they had come to. Tenchi took her advice and ran. He came to a tree with an opening in the front, large enough for a person to easily get through. He jumped in and a strange sensation came over him, as his body was transplaced to another part of the ship.
This place was a lot like the area Tenchi had woken up in. Ryoko stood in a similar circle of vines, leaning casually through them. She snapped to attention as she saw Tenchi and Sasami appear nearby.
"Hi, Tenchi," she said. "Over here!"
Tenchi approached, letting Sasami down. Sasami skipped towards Ryoko, regarding her with interest.
"Tenchi, you're alright!" Ryoko said. "Now let me out and we'll be going."
"You're leaving?" Sasami said sadly.
"I can't do that," Tenchi said. "I don't know how."
Tenchi's sword glowed slightly. The vines near him suddenly opened up.
"Well, I guess you can after all," Ryoko said.
"That's enough!" The voice behind them caught their attention. They turned round to see the old girl and the two logs. Sasami hid behind Tenchi.
"I don't know how you got out, but you're not going any further," the girl said. She spotted Sasami hiding behind Tenchi. "Sasami. Did you let him out?"
Sasami stopped hiding. "Yes," she said in a quiet voice.
"You know you shouldn't have."
"I'm sorry, Ayeka, I was just bored."
"That's no excuse," the girl snapped. She looked up at Tenchi. "You. I believe your name is Tenchi, yes?" Tenchi nodded. "I'm going to ask you a question. Do you know where my brother Yosho is?"
Tenchi thought. "Yosho? He was my ancestor. I'm pretty sure he's dead."
Ayeka fell to her knees. "No," she said weakly. "My brother. He's dead? This can't be." She started to cry.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ryoko said, bringing Tenchi into an embrace. "We'll just be on our way now." She closed her eyes and concentrated.
Ayeka stood up. She quickly jumped aside as a part of Ryo-Ohki burst through the floor just underneath her. Ryoko ran towards it, dragging Tenchi behind her. They both phased through it and appeared inside Ryo-Ohki.
"Hold on tight, Tenchi," Ryoko said. "We're going for a little dive."
"You mean a kamikaze dive?" Tenchi exclaimed.
"Don't worry. We'll survive. Ryo-Ohki is a lot stronger than you think."
Tenchi felt his weight shifting as Ryo-Ohki rotated into position to plunge the attached ship down to the ground. They started to descend.
A large screen appeared in mid-air. The purple haired girl, Ayeka, was displayed on it.
"Ryoko, I order you to cease this at once!" she demanded. Ryoko just smirked. "Stop this immediately!" Ryoko started giggling. Ayeka hmph'ed and the screen disappeared. There was a sound of an explosion.
"What's going on?" Tenchi yelled.
"Her ship's outer frame just exploded. She probably ordered it to," Ryoko replied.
The turbulence increased rapidly as they entered the atmosphere. The walls of Ryo-Ohki glowed red from the heat. All that Tenchi remembered from then was an explosion and wetness.
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They had landed in the lake near to the Masaki Shrine. The Ryo-Ohki had been underneath the other ship at the time, due to skimming across the nearby sea, and so was completely submerged. The other ship, or rather, its core, floated on top of the water, surrounded by odd ends of wood, which had made up the exterior frame of the ship.
Tenchi's house was now in front of the lake, thanks to Ryoko. Inside, Tenchi, Sasami, Ryoko and Tenchi's father sat, eating breakfast. Ayeka burst in from outside. She had been trying in vain to save her ship, which she called Ryu-Oh.
"Sasami, help me save my ship!" she said.
"But why?" Sasami replied. "There's nothing we can do."
Ayeka turned and ran back outside. There was a cry, and then a loud noise, like liquid bubbling. Tenchi looked outside. Ayeka had tripped, explaining the cry, and the wood she had been carrying had hit her ship, causing it to completely submerge. That explained the loud noise.
Ayeka walked back in, followed by another woman. She had dark tanned skin, yellow hair, blue eyes and wore a blue, white and black uniform. She had said that she was Mihoshi, a member of the Galaxy Police. She had been on Ryu-Oh as well, but asleep. She wasn't the ideal law enforcer. The very little Tenchi had seen of her suggested that she was very clumsy, and something resembling absentmindedness. She was currently trying to console Ayeka, and not doing very well at it. They sat down at the table, and started to eat.
"Look on the bright side, Tenchi," his father Nobuyuki said. "Now the house is right next to the shrine. It's also in a nice place, and there's four pretty young ladies living here as well. Also, I'll have to live in town, because of my job, so you'll have the place all to yourself."
"Maybe. I don't know," Tenchi said half-heartedly.
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It was now a week later, about half way though the school summer holiday. Ayeka had hardly come out of her room, refusing to spend time in the company of Ryoko. Tenchi was a little disappointed with this, as Ayeka seemed like a nice person as long as Ryoko wasn't around.
Tenchi had returned to the house one morning after giving the shrine a preliminary clean. At the back of his mind he wondered where Chibi, his cat had got to. He entered the house.
Ayeka was there. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs, shouting at Ryoko, who was sitting on the couch with Sasami. Sasami was clutching what looked like a large black egg. Ayeka noticed Tenchi's presence, and was immediately silenced. She walked up to Tenchi and bowed.
"I thank you for your gracious hospitality for all this time," she said humbly, "and I apologise for any inconvenience I may have put you through, and, umm, thank you very much," she rushed.
"You're, umm, welcome, Ayeka," Tenchi replied.
Ryoko walked up to them, clutching the egg. She gave it to Tenchi, who held it with cautious interest.
"Do you like it, Tenchi?" she asked. "It's our baby. It's going to hatch soon."
Tenchi was stunned into silence as he numbly held the egg. It cracked, and half of it exploded off.
"Yaah!" Tenchi exclaimed, as he dropped it to the ground, completely surprised by it. It rolled along the floor and stopped. A small creature was inside it. It had long ears, like a rabbit, but the rest of the body looked like a cat. It had dark brown fur and a small red gem in its forehead. Ryoko picked it up.
"Oh, it's so cute!" Sasami exclaimed.
"This is Ryo-Ohki," Ryoko announced.
"You mean, like your spaceship?" Tenchi asked.
"It is my spaceship," Ryoko said. "My ship automatically reproduces itself if it's destroyed. You must have been stupid if you really thought it was Tenchi's child."
Ayeka turned and walked out.
"Ayeka, wait," Tenchi called after her.
"Everyone's making fun of me," Ayeka said, standing by the doorway. "I'm leaving."
"But I'm not making fun of you," Tenchi said. "At least, I wasn't trying to." These words meant nothing as Ayeka left. Tenchi sighed.
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Later that day, Tenchi was training with his grandfather, Katsuhito. He was in a small clearing in the surrounding forest, jumping around on small bits of wood half buried into the ground, trying to hit a swinging target with a wooden sword.
"Watch your footing," Katsuhito warned. But Tenchi slipped and fell, landing painfully on the ground. He pulled himself up.
"Let's go back to the basics," Katsuhito said, picking up another wooden sword. He advanced to Tenchi, and got into a ready stance. Tenchi did similarly, pointing his sword at his grandfather's left shoulder. Katsuhito did the same.
"Come," Katsuhito said.
"Hai!"
They started to fight. Tenchi was quite adept with the sword, but Katsuhito blocked every thrust and managed to tap Tenchi with his sword several times.
There was a crash from some bushes to the side of them. Tenchi turned and looked, and was hit on the head by the old man's sword. He clutched his head in pain.
"Grampa, was that part of the routine?" he asked.
"No," Katsuhito admitted.
Tenchi walked over to the bushes and looked over. Ayeka was sprawled on the ground just behind them, her dress splayed out, revealing most of her legs. Her left leg was bleeding. Obviously she had hurt it when she fell.
Ayeka quickly covered up as she noticed Tenchi. Katsuhito came round and examined her leg.
"It's hurt," he said. "You need to give it a rest for a few days. Tenchi, help her home."
"Sir, if I may ask," Ayeka said. "What sword technique was that? Where did you learn it from?"
Katsuhito just stood up and walked away. "Tenchi will see that you get safely home," he said.
Tenchi helped Ayeka up, and knelt down so that she could climb onto his back. He stood up a bit shakily and started walking home.
It started to rain heavily. Tenchi ran as fast as he could manage towards an old tool shed nearby. They went in, and Tenchi let Ayeka down. He took off his shirt and wrung it out. A lot of water came out of it. He noticed Ayeka's look.
"Well, I'll be outside if you need me," he said.
Ayeka looked up. "But it's cold outside. Please, stay here."
And so he did. He managed to make a fire, which kept them warm and dried their clothes. They sat in silence for a while.
"I'm sorry for the way I've been behaving," Ayeka said. "It's not proper of me. It's all because of that devil woman."
"Why? What did she do?"
"It all started about seven hundred years ago. I was six, and was destined to marry my half-brother. You may find it strange to marry your brother, but on Jurai it's not. Then she came. She destroyed many cities, including my home, the Imperial Palace."
"Imperial Palace?"
"Yes. I am the first crown princess of the Royal Family of Jurai."
"You're royalty?" Tenchi exclaimed. "I had no idea. And Sasami is a princess too?"
Ayeka nodded. "She is the second crown princess. She will probably not have to uphold the Royal Family's honour, but I will."
Tenchi thought. "I should be apologising to you. I had no idea you were royalty. I'm sorry I've not been a better host."
"That's alright. You couldn't have known. Anyway, when Ryoko came to Jurai, she destroyed many places. My brother Yosho chased her away and pursued her in his ship. He disappeared, and I haven't heard from him since. As soon as I was old enough to get my own ship, I followed his last known direction, hoping to find him. I placed myself in a state of no time for the past seven hundred years, not aging at all. I detected a short-range distress call from Mihoshi's outpost, as her ship had been damaged beyond what she could repair. I rescued her, and was going to return her to the Galaxy Police Headquarters, when I detected a signal from what appeared to be my brother's ship. I came here to investigate, but found Ryoko instead. I was going to arrest her for everything she had done to Jurai, and get her to tell me about my brother, but then you came along."
"My grandfather told me stories about a great warrior from the stars," Tenchi said. "I didn't believe them, but now I'm not sure. They tell of an evil demon that came to Earth, destroying everything. One day, a great warrior came down, riding on the back of a noble dragon. He wielded a sword of great spiritual power. He defeated the demon and locked it away in a cave using his sword. I guess that demon was Ryoko, then. And the sword was the one I was trying to get back on your spaceship."
"This sword may hold some answers," Ayeka said, pulling it out of her clothing. "I just wish I knew them."
Ayeka stopped and looked down. "You are Yosho's ancestor. That means that he has married another and had children. It also means we are related. In a way, you are a member of the Jurai royal family too."
"I'm related to a royal family?" Tenchi asked in disbelief.
"I still hope that my brother is alive somewhere. I just wish I shall find him."
"You think he's still alive? It's been seven hundred years. You were frozen in time, but I'm pretty sure he couldn't. No-one can live for that long."
"Nevertheless, I still believe that he is alive," Ayeka said.
There was silence.
"So I'm part Juraian," Tenchi said. "What is Jurai like?"
"It was a beautiful planet," Ayeka said. "On a clear night, you could stand at the palace and see the twin asteroid rings glinting beautifully from the Sun. It's a lot like this planet, only much less pollution. You see, we believe in the spiritual power of natural life. It holds great powers for those who respect it. Each member of the royal family even owns their own treeship, a large living ship much like mine. We all believe that the goddess Tsunami watches over us and blesses us. We in turn live our lives pleasantly to ensure happiness and peace throughout the galaxy."
"You said that it 'was' a beautiful planet. Does that mean that it no longer exists?"
"Of course not. Jurai still exists. It's just that, Ryoko came and destroyed many places. She destroyed quite a lot, turning it all into a burning nightmare, before my brother drove her away."
"And you also said that you spread peace throughout the galaxy. How far so?"
"The Juraian Empire spans nine parts of ten whole segments of the galaxy. The Royal Family controls ninety percent of all the stars and planets in this galaxy. The rest support growing civilisations, which are protected by Juraian law. Earth is just such a protected planet. It is ensured that no outside contact is made with these protected civilisations until we believe they are ready to be incorporated into our Empire."
"I guess that failed then," Tenchi said. "At least with me, anyway."
"It couldn't be helped," Ayeka said. She sighed. "But now I'm stuck here. With Ryu-Oh destroyed, I can't leave this planet. My only hope is that a passing ship will notice I'm here, and pick me up."
"Don't worry," Tenchi reassured. "I'm sure you'll be rescued soon enough." He stopped and looked at the fire. He was about to say something when a rustle from behind him stopped him. He turned around.
A black shadow darted out of the ambient shadows, and leapt onto Ayeka's chest. Ayeka froze for a second, then started screaming and shook it off. It tumbled to the floor and 'Myah!"-ed. It was that small creature which had hatched from the egg that morning.
"Ryo-Ohki?" Tenchi asked. The small creature walked up to Tenchi and rubbed against his leg. "I guess it is then."
Tenchi looked around for some food for the furry animal, but all he found was a basket of carrots. Ryo-Ohki didn't mind, though, and started eating its way through them.
"Hey, you eat all them and you'll grow up to be a fine spaceship," Tenchi said, laughing slightly.
Ayeka finished recovering from the shock. She watched Ryo-Ohki with interest.
"Miss Ayeka, do you know what it is?" Tenchi asked. "It must belong to a certain species."
"It does. It is known as a cabbit. Its appearance is half cat, and half rabbit, hence the name."
"I didn't think you liked it. Ryoko was laughing at you before because of it."
"I didn't, but I grew to like it over the day. And it's a female cabbit."
"Female? How can you tell?"
"The colouring. Females are dark brown, and males are off-white. This one is a female."
"Oh."
They both watched Ryo-Ohki for a while. Tenchi teased her with a carrot, and Ryo-Ohki jumped around, trying to snatch it from his grasp. The whole scene was amusing.
After a while, Tenchi cocked his head. "Do you hear that?" he asked.
"Hear what?" Ayeka asked.
"Precisely. It's stopped raining." He got up and opened the door to check. Sure enough, the sun had started shining, the rain clouds retreating over the horizon. He turned to Ayeka. "Shall we be getting back now?"
Ayeka nodded, and put her almost dry clothes back on. Tenchi did the same. Ayeka stepped forward, but her injured leg still hurt too much to walk. She collapsed forwards into Tenchi's arms. They looked at each other for a long moment, blushing furiously. Ayeka pulled herself up, and Tenchi helped her onto his back. They walked out towards home.
"Do you want to see Ryoko's cave?" Tenchi asked. "Maybe you'll find some clues there about your brother."
Ayeka spotted something nearby. "What is that?" she pointed.
"That? It's the oldest tree in the forest. Some legends say that it can heal the wounded. Another says that you can call for rain if you wish for it."
They went to it. A large circle of water surrounded it, turning it into its own private island, only accessible by hopping over the few stepping-stones. They did so. Tenchi let Ayeka down, so she could examine it for a bit. She stood back.
"There is no doubt," she said. "This is my brothers ship, Funa-Oh. Remember that there was a tree similar to this in my ship? This core is the heart of the ship, the soul of the ship. The rest is just additional, grown and spawned by this core."
"You mean this transforms into a spaceship?" Tenchi asked.
Ayeka shook her head. "Not this one. This has taken root, and so cannot transform again." She took out the sword and tapped it twice against the tree.
Everything around them suddenly inverted colours, as if they were observing from another place.
"What is this?" Tenchi exclaimed.
"This is the memory of the ship," Ayeka explained.
Images appeared in front of them. Images of Ryoko in a tight-fitting red and black outfit. Her eyes looked mean and menacing. She swung her red light sword at a young man, of perhaps twenty years old. Tenchi correctly guessed that this was Yosho. Yosho was wielding Tenchi's sword. He had stuck the blade through Ryoko's neck. Her three red gems were absorbed by the blade, travelled to the hilt and appeared in the end of it. Ryoko sagged.
The images ended. Ayeka looked at Tenchi.
"Now I know my brother is alive. Since this tree is still alive, then somewhere on this planet my brother also lives."
"I'm sure you'll find him, Ayeka," Tenchi said.
Ayeka smiled and blushed slightly. She offered Tenchi the sword. Tenchi took it slowly.
"I am returning this sword to you, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said. "You can use it to protect me."
"Use it?" Tenchi asked. "But I can't work this thing."
"Yoo-hoo, Tenchi!" Ryoko's voice resounded throughout the area. She appeared in front of them, beyond the moat. She disappeared and reappeared next to Tenchi, whom she promptly hugged.
"I've been looking all over for you, Tenchi," she said. She noticed that Tenchi was holding his sword. "Hey, Tenchi, you got the sword back! I was looking everywhere for that."
"Not quite," Ayeka said. "I returned the sword to Lord Tenchi."
Ryoko looked at her. "Okay, so you're annoyed we got the sword back. Ah well."
"But it's true," Tenchi said.
Ryoko released him and looked at him. "Fine then. I come all this way just to help you and this is what I get? I'm off." Ryoko disappeared while flying off.
"To help us?" Tenchi and Ayeka said, almost in unison.
"Hey, Ryoko!" Tenchi called. "Come back!"
"Forget it," Ayeka said.
"But you never know what Ryoko might do when she's upset."
"Oh. And here I thought you were going to protect me, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka said. "Let's go, Lord Tenchi."
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In the next episode of Continuum T:
The animé comparison continues, with a powerful enemy threatening to destroy the entire planet. Ryoko's past is revealed, another woman joins the group, and Tenchi learns something startling, in "Aboard the Soja". Will Tenchi be able to defeat this villain without the use of his Saiyan abilities? Or will he sacrifice all good inside him to save the world with these powers, even at the expense of his own morality? Will this fifth woman be after Tenchi as well? And will Ryoko ever stop pestering our hero? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.