Previously on Continuum T:
Having given up his Saiyan powers, Tenchi then met five alien girls. They became friends, and Tenchi let them live at his house. Together they defeated Kagato, and then went to the planet Jurai to free the captive Royal family. Tenchi was thanked, and they all returned to Earth. You would have thought that was the end of the story, but you should have thought better.
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Continuum T, Part VII – Heart Attack
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As has happened frequently in the past, Tenchi was yet again the captive of Washu and her machines.
"Wathu, are you thore you need more thamples?" Tenchi pleaded. "Can't you dust thdudy thome of your older readings?"
"I'm sure," Washu replied. "Just let me finish these anatomical studies and we'll start collecting the fluids."
Tenchi groaned. He'd been lucky so far, in that he'd managed to escape previously before Washu actually started her retrieval, but he noticed that she had modified the restraints, so Tenchi wasn't able to escape the same way he had before.
"Finished!" Washu said.
The clamp was removed from Tenchi's tongue. "Does that mean I can go now?" he asked hopefully.
Washu chuckled. "Tenchi, surely you know better than to say such things by now?"
She turned around to her control panel, gazing over the readings while starting the next test. She stopped her command and frowned at a part of the holographic screen. She typed in another command and a graph appeared, superimposed on the data. She frowned again and started tapping in more commands.
"Umm, Washu? Can you start the collecting now? I want to find a way to escape."
"What? Oh, don't bother. Go." She waved a hand dismissively in Tenchi's direction, all the while concentrating on the readings. The restraints snapped open, dropping Tenchi painfully on the floor. He rolled in pain.
"Oww. What? You're not going to try and get a sample this time? Why?"
"I'm busy."
"You're always busy. That never stopped you before, though. What's wrong?"
"I can't say."
"Tell me."
Washu sighed. "Are you sure? It may be too disturbing for you."
This remark made Tenchi cautious. "Y, yes. Tell me."
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"Lord Tenchi's been in there for a long time. Usually he would have come running out by now. I wonder what Washu is doing to him."
"Ayeka, shut up," Ryoko said. "I'm trying to watch the film."
"How dare you tell me to shut up? Don't you care about Lord Tenchi at all?"
"He can take care of himself. You're probably just upset because he's not come running out half-naked by now. I, on the other hand, am far too mature to be pleasured by such trivial things."
"Mature? Don't make me laugh. You have the manners of a pot plant, that is, none whatsoever."
Ryoko glared at Ayeka. "Don't tempt me, Miss Priss."
The opening door diffused the argument. Ryoko and Ayeka turned round on the sofa to watch Tenchi emerging from the dimensional door underneath the stairs. They gasped. Tenchi looked as though he had been crying.
"Tenchi, what's wrong?" Ryoko asked as she got up.
"Did Washu do anything to you?" asked Ayeka.
Tenchi shook his head. He turned as Washu appeared from the door.
"Washu, what did you do to him?" Ryoko said threateningly.
"I did nothing. Tenchi decided that I should be the one to tell you."
"Tell us what?" Ayeka asked.
"You'd better sit down," Washu said.
They did so, Tenchi on the single seat, and Ayeka and Ryoko on the sofa. Washu summoned her control panel. She typed in a command, and a holographic Tenchi appeared.
"This is Tenchi, as you've probably noticed. While I was collecting his data just now, I noticed this." She typed another command. A holographic heart came out of its chest. The image of Tenchi disappeared. The heart expanded, and then the front half disappeared to leave a cross-section of the heart. Everything seemed normal, but there was a small white ball on the inside of the left ventricle. It appeared to be a separate object, fastened halfway into the wall of the heart. It reached about a third of the way through the wall towards the outside of the heart.
"I don't know what it is. I haven't been able to analyse it. But what I do know is this: it's eating its way through the wall of his heart. It dissolves the bits of the heart it is in contact with, and absorbs them into itself, growing bigger as it does so."
"It's eating Tenchi's heart?" Ryoko asked disbelieving.
"Yes. And judging from the speed at which it is doing so, it should eat its way right through the wall in about thirty hours time. At that time, his heart will seize up and he will have a fatal heart attack. The other option is that it could become detached from his heart, due to the pressure of the blood rushing past it, and plug the artery leading from it. Even now it is too big to pass through, so it will cause Tenchi to have a lethal coronary arrest. That could happen at any time."
"A heart attack?" Ayeka said, her voice quivering.
"Yes," Tenchi said weakly. Up until now he had been staring at nothing, but now he reacted. "I'm going to die."
With that he got up and went to his room.
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Ayeka knocked on Tenchi's door. There was no reply.
"Lord Tenchi?" she asked softly. "May I come in?"
Movement could be heard from the other side of the door. The sounds stopped and the door slid open slowly. Tenchi stood on the other side. Once he had opened the door, he turned and went to sit down on his bed, where he had obviously been before, due to the indent in the bedcovers.
Ayeka stepped in and closed the door behind her.
"We..." She paused and looked down, the stress of seeing him overwhelming her. "We've told the others."
Tenchi nodded. There was an unnerving pause. Tenchi looked up at Ayeka.
"Please sit down," he said, gesturing next to him. Ayeka hesitated, then moved and sat down near him, but not next to.
"I want to tell you some things. I don't know how much time I have left, so I'll tell you as much as I can."
Ayeka shuddered, trying to suppress the tears forming in her eyes. She swallowed and regained her posture.
"I haven't told you this before, for your own safety. Firstly, do you know what a Saiyan is?"
"I've heard stories," Ayeka said, her voice quivering. "Are they another form of humans?"
"Something like that. There are only a few Saiyans in the galaxy. A Saiyan is an ascended form of a human. It is reversible, and pretty much the only thing that changes is the hair style. But the important thing is that it allows humans to achieve higher strength. I have the ability to become a Saiyan."
"How?"
"Only a select few have the ability, and even fewer can use it. A Saiyan is one of the strongest beings in the galaxy. I guess I'm just lucky."
Tenchi paused. "About six or seven years ago, a being named Sel came to Earth. He was searching for the strongest human on Earth, so he could defeat him and become stronger. His ultimate goal was to grow to his perfect form. He challenged me to a fight."
"You? Why?"
"Because Sel thought I was the strongest person on Earth. It turns out he was right. During the fight, I became a Saiyan, although I didn't know what one was at the time. I defeated him, or so I thought.
"About six years later, just a few months before you came to Earth, Sel returned. He was stronger, and had advanced to his next form, which he described as 'nearly perfect'. He was stronger than I was, as a Saiyan. He was going to destroy me and gain enough experience to grow to his perfect form."
Tenchi paused again. "He succeeded. He killed me. He shot an energy blast straight through my chest."
Ayeka gasped.
"I died instantly, buried under a pile of rubble. But something Sel had said just before I defeated him the first time came back to me. He said I was the One, that I was Neo."
"Neo? You mean, the One who appears in all the prophecies?" It seems everyone had heard of these writings and foretellings.
"Yes. I thought that since I had died without doing anything to stop him, that I wasn't the One. Therefore I shouldn't have been in that fight and died, as only the One was mentioned to do that. I don't know how, but the next thing I knew, I was alive again. I got out of the rubble and became a Super Saiyan."
"Super Saiyan?"
"It's the ascended form of a Saiyan. As far as I know, only I have ever become a Super Saiyan. I was the strongest person in the galaxy by far. I fought Sel, and defeated him by forming a kameya-meya."
"That's the most powerful technique ever. There are very few people who can do that."
"Yes. But I did it. I completely vaporised Sel, saving the world."
There was silence. Ayeka thought something.
"Tenchi, if you are able to become a Super Saiyan, why didn't you when you fought Kagato?"
"I couldn't. You see, there are two ways to live. Good or evil. Most people end up never choosing, and live their lives normally. I, on the other hand, had to choose. Obviously I wanted to be good, but that path was hard to follow. I tried my hardest anyway, but I swayed onto the dark path. I couldn't get off it. I was only becoming more evil. I realised that it happened whenever I was a Saiyan, so I vowed never to use that ability again, lest I become completely evil and do something unthinkable.
"Then you came. You taught me about the powers of Jurai. I decided that I would use these instead, because although they are weaker than Super Saiyan powers, they didn't take me to the dark side."
"Oh." Ayeka didn't know how to reply.
"I wanted you to know these things, so that you would know the truth I've been hiding from you for so long."
There was another silence. Then Tenchi laughed.
"You know, it's ironic, isn't it? I've managed to defeat powerful enemies, namely Kagato and Sel, and the thing that's going to kill me is a stupid little tumour the size of a marble. Think about it, me, the most powerful human being ever, defeated by a heart attack."
Tenchi became serious. "Ayeka, I've accepted that I'm going to die. I think it's right. I've saved the world and the galaxy. I don't think I'm needed any more."
"But you are needed. We need you. I need you," Ayeka said, starting to cry again.
Tenchi rested an arm on the shoulder of the crying princess, comforting her. She drew towards him slightly.
"Ayeka, trust me. I will always be with you. With you all. I'll explain later. But for now, why don't we go downstairs? I've only got a day left, and I plan to enjoy myself."
Ayeka sniffed and nodded. She rubbed her eyes and smiled weakly at Tenchi.
"I trust you, Tenchi," she said.
Tenchi smiled back. "Then let's go and enjoy ourselves."
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They were met downstairs by the other girls, along with Nobuyuki and Katsuhito. Ryoko spoke up.
"I, um, told the others," she started, but lapsed into silence.
"Washu says there's nothing she can do," Sasami sniffed. "We thought of everything, but nothing is possible."
"I know," Tenchi replied, saddened at the sight of the tear-stained face of the young princess. "That's pretty much how I reacted when she told me."
Tenchi looked at the group. "I have accepted that I'm going to die," he announced. "I know it must be hard for all of you. It certainly was for me. But I want you to cheer up. Death isn't totally bad. Washu, surely you know what happens?"
Washu shook her head. "Having never died, I can't say."
"Oh." Tenchi paused. "Anyway, I want to enjoy myself before I go. I want to spend whatever time I have left with you, and to reassure you that I'm going to be fine."
"How will you do that, Tenchi?" Mihoshi asked.
"Actually, I don't know," was the reply. "I think I'll go for a walk and think of what else to do. You are all welcome to come with me, if you want."
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Tenchi and the other girls went out. They chose to walk around the lake. They talked as they went, about small things, such as the upcoming meal and how nice the early afternoon was. But everyone's minds were weighed down by Tenchi's condition. Tenchi had tried to alleviate the depression, but hadn't succeeded. They returned in silence to the house.
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The rest of the day was little better. Everyone seemed to be distanced from Tenchi for some reason, and Tenchi didn't understand why. He sat thinking about it while they all watched the television. He was so wrapped up in thought that he almost didn't notice that none of the girls were trying to get close to him. Almost.
"Tenchi?"
"Hmm? Ryoko, what is it?" Tenchi asked.
Ryoko looked away. "Nothing."
"No, really, what is it?"
"Well, I was wondering if I could, umm..."
"What?"
"Watch you sleep tonight?"
Tenchi's initial reaction was of shock. Then he noticed how sad she looked. Her gaze was fixed, but her eyes gave it away.
"Of course you can, Ryoko," he smiled.
Ryoko looked up, surprised. "Yes? You said yes?"
Tenchi nodded, still smiling. Ryoko smiled back, the most genuinely happy smile he'd seen all day.
"Thank you, Tenchi. I promise I won't try anything funny."
Tenchi just tilted his head slightly sideways while looking at her, and went back to watching the television. He felt Ryoko edge closer to him, and he felt more contented. He had managed to make at least one of them happier.
Tenchi nodded slightly. He had resolved to tell them. But in the morning. The time wasn't right at the moment.
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Tenchi woke up early the next morning. He looked outside and saw that it was still dark. He smiled and looked sideways at Ryoko, fast asleep on the chair and drooped over his desk.
He got up quietly and dressed. Then he went over to Ryoko and whispered.
"Ryoko? Ryoko? Can you get up? I want to do something with you."
Ryoko shifted slightly and murmured. Tenchi reached out and gently shook her.
"Poor Ryoko," he said quietly. "She must have watched me until she couldn't stay awake."
Ryoko was responding to the shaking. She was slowly waking up.
"Ryoko, I want to do something with you. Please get up."
"Wassat?" Ryoko mumbled. She opened her eyes. "Tenchi? When did it turn tomorrow? How long have I overslept?"
"You haven't. It's still dark."
"Still dark?" Ryoko asked, rubbing her face. "Why?"
"I got up early because I want to do something. With all of you."
"What?"
"You'll find out. Can you go and wake the other girls, please?"
"Yeah, sure." Ryoko pulled herself up.
"Thanks. Tell them to meet me downstairs."
"Right." Ryoko passed through the door. Tenchi followed, although he opened it first.
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They had all been awoken, and were downstairs.
Mihoshi yawned. "What's all this about, Tenchi?"
"Yes, why have you woken us up so early?" Ayeka asked.
"I want to show you something. The time of year is just about right for it. And I believe it's going to happen in about five minutes. Would you follow me, please?"
Tenchi led the girls outside. Six chairs were set up, overlooking the dark patch of night realised as the lake.
"Please sit down. Would anyone like a warm drink?"
They all did, so Tenchi went back inside and made six mugs of hot cocoa from the water he had preheated in the kettle. He placed them on a tray and took them outside. He distributed the drinks, and then sat down.
Once he had finished, Tenchi watched the lake. The darkness was slowly changing to the special kind of blackness shown only once a day. He stood up and gestured the others to do so as well.
"Around this time every year," Tenchi said, "the sun rises at a particular angle. Its effect is amazing. I wanted to show you this."
They all watched. The darkness had changed to a dark purple, rich in colour. All of a sudden, a beam of pure light burst over the top of the trees on the opposite bank of the lake, and flooded the water with brightness. It caught the water in such a way that it made a rainbow of different colours sparkle across the lake. The girls gasped. Tenchi looked on, watching both the view and the girls in silent sadness. This would be the last time the sun would rise in his life. He shook the thoughts off and watched, enticed by the display, absorbed by its beauty.
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Later that morning, Tenchi had decided to go for a walk. He wasn't quite sure where he would go, though. But he did know one thing.
"I want to ask you not to come with me," he said to the group of girls as they sat around the breakfast table.
"But why? I thought you liked us, Tenchi," Ryoko said.
"I do. I like you all. A lot. But I want to be alone, just for a while. But I promise I'll come back, so don't worry about me."
And so he set off. First he set off to the shrine. He passed through and went to the cave. The door was now always open, as the cave's secret had been revealed, and no-one else would come up here. He walked through to the small cavern where he had found his sword, Tenchi-ken. He looked around for a while, remembering the first time he had come here, and what surprises he had unwittingly uncovered. He then moved on.
His next stop was the large tree-ship core, his grandfather's tree. He sat and watched it for a small while, remembering the first time he and Ayeka had connected, when she had returned to him his sword. He winced slightly, now remembering his first fight with Kagato, but relaxed again as he remembered his victory.
Tenchi walked on.
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He had returned by lunchtime, and had enjoyed the meal Sasami had prepared for him, with the help of all the other girls. He didn't hesitate to congratulate them on their work and effort, as it was truly one of the best meals he had ever had.
After that he sat outside, accompanied by the girls. They talked for a while about small things, again none of them daring to approach the foreboding subject. Near the end of their talking, Tenchi decided that it was time to tell them. He waited until everyone had run out of things to say, and then started.
"As you know, I'm going to die soon," he said, causing sad feelings to build up in those present. "But before that, I want to tell you a few things first.
"Firstly, I consider myself to be extremely fortunate and lucky to have met you all, and to spend my remaining time with you. I enjoy being with you immensely, and I hope you feel the same about me."
"Of course we do, Tenchi," Sasami said. "Don't be so silly."
Tenchi smiled at her. "Anyway, I'm sure that my dad and grandpa will let you stay here as long as you want.
"Secondly, you must know that I will always be with you. In your memories, and in your hearts. I know what existence is like after death, and trust me, it's good. Don't be alarmed, but I have died before. Only for about half a minute," he said quickly, "but it was long enough for me to find out what it's like. I didn't go to Heaven or anything like that. I stayed here, existing as, well, nothing. It's something about the mind and soul separating from the body. But the point is that I will still be here afterwards. I will always be with you, no matter what. If you talk to me, I'll listen. Maybe I can even do some things that you'll notice, to let you know I'm still there. Remember that. I'll always be with you.
"Thirdly, and this applies mainly to Washu. Don't try to revive me. I don't want you to do that."
"But why?" Washu asked. "Surely if I can help you, I should?"
Tenchi shook his head. "I don't want to be brought back by science. This isn't like when I nearly died in space. This is natural, and I want it to stay that way. I feel as though this is meant to happen. Being brought back would just be unnatural, and I don't want that. Promise me you won't try anything like that."
"I promise," Washu said.
"Thanks." Tenchi slowly looked at the group of five girls watching him. Mihoshi, the fortunate Galaxy Police officer, helpful and considerate. Ayeka, the first princess, charming and pleasant. Sasami, the small second princess, nice and kind. Washu, the intelligent ex-goddess, unorthodox yet kind-hearted. Ryoko, the criminal now reformed, extrovert and carefree.
"I know that pretty much since we met, you've all liked me. And I feel that it wouldn't be fair if I left without telling you."
"You've chosen?" Ryoko asked.
"Not so much chosen as made a decision. I know you've all been waiting for me to do so for a long time now, and I'm sorry for keeping you in suspense for so long. The truth is, I had to make sure that I was doing the right thing."
Tenchi stopped and frowned. He put two fingers to his wrist.
"My heart had just stopped," he announced. The girls gasped. This was bad. It meant that, according to Washu, Tenchi now only had about ten or twenty seconds before he lost consciousness.
"How ironic that I'm going to leave like this," Tenchi said, pretty much to himself. He faced the group. "I love you all, and you know that. When it comes to _love_," He emphasised that word, to show it to use its true meaning, "I..." Tenchi cringed in pain. His brain was oxygen-deprived. He struggled against it. "I love..." he said slowly, in obvious pain. "...you..." he gasped. He tried to say something else, perhaps a name, but it could have been anything, but the pain was overwhelming. He collapsed onto the floor unconscious. His last sensual input was hearing the girls shouting his name.
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It was dark. Tenchi didn't know where he was. Then he realised that his eyes were shut. Almost immediately he came to the next conclusion that he had eyes, and so was still alive. He opened them slowly. A collection of faces were staring anxiously at him. They were his friends, the alien girls who lived with him.
He tried to move, but was gently restrained by Washu's hand. "Don't move," he heard her say. "You're still weak."
Tenchi moved anyway, and sat up. He realised that he was in Washu's lab. "How?" he asked.
"I didn't do anything, if that's what you think," Washu said. "It's your nanobots that saved you."
"What?" Tenchi asked.
"It turns out that the object dissolved it's way through your heart, and broke free. It was immediately attacked by the nanobots, which deconstructed it. Some others repaired your heart wall, and restarted your pacemaker. They did it just in time to prevent you from dying. You were never dead, just unconscious."
"Why am I here then?"
"Before you say, I wasn't going to try anything. My computer noticed that the nanobots were healing you. We brought you here so I could monitor you better."
"Oh." Without another word Tenchi got up, struggling only slightly, and walked out of the lab, seemingly in a trance, despite calls of his name from behind him.
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It took Tenchi a few hours before he was ready to face anyone. It wasn't just the task of getting over his supposed death, it was also other things. Like what he told the girls. They would doubtless have questions, such as about when he had died before, but one question stood out like an ominous cloud. Who do you love?
He had tried to tell them, and he knew that if he had had just a little more time, he would have told them, definitely, but now he had to live with his decision. He couldn't not tell them, it just wasn't right not to, but he couldn't even begin to imagine the consequences. Would his friends split up, never to see either him or each other again, or would they become closer than ever? There was absolutely no way to tell.
Tenchi went downstairs to the people he loved. His family and friends. They were silent as they watched him descend the stairs. Tenchi's face was emotionless, revealing none of his thoughts. He got to the bottom and stopped, looking at them. They, in turn, looked back.
The silence was broken. Sasami ran towards Tenchi and grabbed his waist, crying. "We thought we'd lost you, Tenchi," she said between sobs, muffled by his clothes.
"I knew you wouldn't die, Tenchi," his grandfather said. "You were always too stubborn to do anything you didn't want to do."
Tenchi remained expressionless for a second, then smiled. "You're right, grandpa." He removed Sasami from his waist, squatted down and hugged her. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Sasami. All of you. I promise I won't die again."
Tenchi released Sasami and stood up. Sasami stepped backwards into the group.
"It's not as though I died, or anything," Tenchi said. "I might as well have been sleeping."
"Well, as long as you're alright, Tenchi," Nobuyuki said. "You are alright, aren't you?"
"Yeah, thanks dad," Tenchi replied.
"I think we should go," Yosho said, urging Nobuyuki towards the door. "We'll leave you alone. I'm sure you have something to tell them?"
Tenchi nodded, and watched as Yosho also left, heading towards the shrine. He redirected his attention to the girls, still watching him.
"Please don't feel sorry for me or anything," Tenchi said. "Nothing happened. I'm as good as new, apparently." He looked at Washu, who nodded.
There was an awkward silence. Tenchi sighed. "Just one hug," he said, "and then we can talk about..."
He was cut short as five girls ran into him and grasped him, causing him to step back. He tried to hug them all in return as best he could. They stayed like that for a full minute.
Tenchi released his grip, causing the girls to do the same. He gestured them to sit down as he sat on a chair. They did so.
"You must have questions, and I know you want answers," he said. "Ask away."
"How did you die before?" Ryoko asked.
"Ah," Tenchi said. "Not the first question I thought would pop up, but... I told Miss Ayeka this yesterday. Do you remember?" Ayeka nodded in confirmation. "Well, basically, this creature called Sel came to this planet, looking for the strongest fighter. He found me. He made me fight him, and he killed me. There was something he said to me, though. He thought that I was the Chosen One, the Neo who appears in several prophecies. I had read these, and I thought that if I was the One, I shouldn't be dead, because the prophecies all say that I should live for a lot longer. On the other hand, if I wasn't the One, I shouldn't be dead anyway, as I should never have gotten into the fight in the first place. The next thing I knew, I was alive again, and stronger. I defeated Sel before he could go on to do any more damage."
The girls were silent for a few seconds, processing this information. Then Mihoshi spoke.
"Who were you going to say you loved, Tenchi?"
The other girls stopped thinking and looked right at Tenchi, each with a questioning gaze. Tenchi stuttered for a second, then spoke.
"That question," he said. "I knew it would come up. I've been thinking of ways I could answer it without hurting anyone. I haven't been able to come up with a way. I was going to tell you before, and I don't want to not tell you now. The truth is, I was going to tell you exactly how I felt, and let you think about it."
He stopped talking.
"Well?" Mihoshi asked.
"Yes, um, I was going to say, before I, you know, went unconscious, I was going to say that I loved you, um, all."
It was out. He had told them the truth, his feelings for them, and now he watched anxiously as they thought about this, hoping they wouldn't take it the wrong way or anything. Washu stirred.
"You love us all? Not just one of us, but all of us?" she asked.
Tenchi nodded. "And I love you all equally. No more, no less." He sighed. "Over the months I've known you, I've come to love you. I couldn't choose just one of you, like I know I should, because that would just be lying to myself, and it would hurt most of you. I've felt this for a long while, now, and I've finally built up the courage to tell you."
"Courage nothing," Ryoko said. Tenchi looked at her, shocked, as did the others. "You were just going to tell us because you thought you were going to die, and you didn't have to live with the consequences. But now you do." She paused. "But I think I speak for everyone here when I say that I love you too, and I don't mind sharing you with the others, as long as I can be with you at least some of the time."
The other girls nodded. Then they jumped out of their seats and went to hug Tenchi again, even more so than before. Tenchi was hardly able to breathe, but he wouldn't stop this moment for the world. He could feel their love for him as a warmth, stronger than ever, and his love for them radiated out like an aura, encompassing them all. He closed his eyes and wished this would never end.
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In the next episode of Continuum T:
Tenchi's wish doesn't come true, and the moment ends. After a talk with Washu, Tenchi decides how to divide his time between the girls, in "Time Splitter". Will his method be fair, or biased towards one of the girls? Will Washu still try and collect samples, now that Tenchi has announced his decision? And will the next episode have a plot line, or some nonsensical bedroom scenes? Find out in the next episode of Continuum T.