DISCLAIMER: Tenchi Muyo! is copyright AIC/Pioneer, LDC. I claim no rights to it. However, this story is entirely of my own imagination. Please, no plagiarism or altering without permission from the author.
FOREWORD: Not much to say here. The story continues.
AUTHOR: Dreamr
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BEGIN.
Lord Katsuhito Masaki, Shinto Priest, was quite pleased when someone other than Tenchi entered the shrine office to see him. Guests at the Masaki Shrine were rare enough that any visitors were welcome. It was even more pleasing that his guest was one of the pretty young ladies living with his grandson. But he found Ryoko's battle attire to be a little out of place. Perhaps the explosion he had heard a minute ago was not one the normal squabbles that routinely occured in the Masaki home. Regardless, it would not hurt to be polite.
"Come in, Miss Ryoko. What can this old man do for you?"
Ryoko stared at the smiling old man who was sitting on the tatami mats. How could he know who she was? She had not been on this planet before. Well, it did not matter. She had a mission to complete.
"I'm looking for a prince."
"Is that so? Well, you've come to the right place. Most everyone in Japan is related to the Imperial Family in some way. There must be thousands of princes running around."
"A Jurai Prince." Ryoko specified.
"A Jurai prince, you say? Hmm..." Katsuhito nodded thoughtfully as he tried to determine which Jurai prince Ryoko was looking for.
"Well, Tenchi should be down in the house. In fact, when you see him, tell him not to forget about practice today, would you?"
"Who's Tenchi?"
Katsuhito's grin disappeared. That was not normal. In fact, it was downright scary. For Ryoko to deny even knowing Tenchi, something drastic must have happened. Looking a litle closer, he noticed that Ryoko seemed less emotional than was normal, although she was staring at him fairly intently. Looking into her eyes, he was struck once again by the resemblance of her golden irises to his former love interest from the academy, Airi. The memory sparked a moment of recognition. The last time he had made that comparison had been during a brief communication seven hundred years ago. That encounter had resulted in a great deal of destruction and Ryoko's seven-hundred-year imprisonment. Understanding that he was in a very precarious situation, Katsuhito decided his best defense was to continue playing the old shinto priest.
"Perhaps if you told me exactly who it is you're looking for I could point you in the right direction?"
"His name is..." Ryoko seemed to look up, as if she were remembering something. "...Yosho."
"Well, then, I'm afraid you're out of luck. You see, that man ceased to be many hundreds of years ago."
Slowly, as if it required a great effort, Ryoko's lips pulled up into a menacing smile.
"Really? Then where's his sword?"
Now Katsuhito knew what Ryoko was really after. It was her gems that he had placed within the Tenchi-ken. His grandson needed to be warned about the danger.
"According to legends, Yosho imprisoned a demon in the cave just across the shrine grounds by sealing its power into his sword. The sword was then used to keep it sealed. If the legend is true, then it should be in there. But, old spirits disliked being disturbed. I would let Yosho rest in peace, if I were you."
Ryoko paid his warning no mind. She simply teleported out of the shrine without a word. Katsuhito leapt to his feet and ran from the shrine as fast as his legs could carry him. He would have only a few minutes while Ryoko explored the cave where he had imprisoned her seven hundred years ago. When she found it to be empty, she would likely be very angry at having been duped by an old man. Even worse, the gems she wanted were still locked in the sword Tenchi sometimes carried around with him. Something had to be done, and quickly.
Ryoko found the cave easily enough. But as she walked through the unlocked metal grate into the first chamber, she felt something was wrong. No, she knew something was wrong. She had memories of this place.
"Weird."
She could see images in her mind of things that could not have happened. She had only just arrived here. That prince had taken her gems, then forced Ryo-o-ki to crash into the planet. With her ship destroyed, she was trapped here until Ryo-o-ki reproduced itself. Kagato would be angry at her if she did not recover the gems. That alone was incentive enough to get them back. But even more, she wanted to defeat that prince. Not only was he a supreme warrior, but he had caused her pain. She owed him for that.
Stranger still, her sole remaining gem seemed to have changed places from her neck to her wrist of it's own will. Ryoko often sensed the gems had a will of their own. But they had never done anything like that before. Well, the placing was irrelevant. One gem was one gem. It was enough to give her more power than any Jurai ship. But the prince, she was going to have to be careful when she found him. His sword technique was exemplary. She knew better than to fight a losing battle. And with the Light-Hawk Wings at his disposal, she could not use long range energy attacks, either. She was going to have to be inventive.
"Damn. I hate getting inventive."
But still, something did not add up. The old man had said Yosho had died a long time ago. If that were true, then why was she only awakening now? Had she been that badly injured in the crash? It seemed unlikely that she would require that long to regenerate any amount of damage done, no matter how severe. Perhaps imprisonment...
"Ah!"
That made sense to Ryoko. The old man had also said Yosho had imprisoned a demon in this cave. The "demon" must have been her.
As she investigated the rock-strewn cave for clues to the whereabouts of Yosho's sword, she found a small doll-sized house in the style of the local inhabitants. Ryoko knew from her past experiences and the meager training her master had given her that such places were often used to house relics of religious significance. Ryoko quickly opened the small doors and looked inside the dark interior. There was nothing inside except the top of the rock that the small shrine was perched upon. Disappointed, but still suspicious, Ryoko stuck her hand inside and began feeling around for anything unusual.
"Maybe in the back..."
Her fingers found a small slot in the top of the rock.
"Ah... there was something here, after all." By the shape and size of the slot Ryoko felt under her fingertips, it had likely been medium-sized bladed weapon of some kind. But Yosho's light-sword had a blade of energy, not metal. It was not a jackpot, but lesser prizes could be just as valuable to the right person.
Withdrawing her hand, Ryoko looked around again. Her eyes fell upon a large stone that was bound by some sort of cloth. As she moved closer to investigate, she noticed that the rock was cracked down the middle. The cloth was obviously holding the two pieces together. Reaching down, Ryoko tore the cloth from the stone. The two halves fell away from each other with a clatter of stone on stone. Ryoko stared at the stone halves for a few seconds until the stone wall before her suddenly began to grate apart. A surge of excitement rushed through her veins. She enjoyed solving puzzles. It gave her a sense of accomplishment that she never felt by just running her master's errands.
Just knowing that the door was there before her was enough. Ryoko had no need to wait for it to open fully. She teleported across the threshold and then floated swiftly down the patterned tunnel in search of what she sought. Before long she came to a large chamber with a central pool. A shiver suddenly ran up Ryoko's spine. The air was not particularly cold, but this place still made her shiver. Fascinated, but wary none-the-less, Ryoko thought that maybe this feeling was what humans called "the creeps". She certainly felt out of sorts. But she did not normally feel such things. A sense of dread was not efficient for that man's tool. A low growl began to rattle in Ryoko's throat as she flew a quick circuit of the room.
"I ain't afraid a nothin'!"
It did not help the feeling of dread. But she did find something lying next to the vacant pool of water. Looking down, she realized it was a red mask. Curious, Ryoko took to her feet so she could kneel down and pick it up for a closer examination. As soon as her fingers touch the wooden mask, a boy's face flashed through her mind. Ryoko gasped aloud in open-eyed surprise at the strange vision. Ryoko's lips moved as if her master were directly controlling her body.
"Ten... chi..."
Other faces began to fill her mind's eye. People she had seen, but did not remember. All but two were unknown to her. One was the princess from Jurai; the little one who's garden she had destroyed in the battle. But... she was older now; almost fully grown. The other was that old man from the shrine. With a grunt of recognition, Ryoko realized what was going on. That old man knew all about this place. He had sent her here on purpose, probably to seal her back in. A trap! A sudden weight of raw and irrational fear assailed Ryoko as she realized she had been tricked into reentering her own prison chamber. Expecting she was going to have to force her way out through some sort of confinement field, Ryoko gathered her energy for a full-power attack.
"Is everybody okay?" Tenchi shouted, looking around. He and Aeka were fine, as she had protected them within the confines of her shield. Sasami was equally safe between the two pillar-like guardians, Azaka and Kamidake, who had materialized just in time to protect her with another shield. Mihoshi was dripping wet due to her submarinous explorations in the lake. But as for the house... it had not fared so well. The front was completely missing, and the remaining portion looked none too steady. Even Washu's lab door seemed a little dingier.
"Lord Tenchi, perhaps we should not be standing here. It doesn't look very safe."
"Yeah, I noticed that, Aeka. Thanks." Tenchi sarcastically responded.
"I'm sorry." Aeka hung her head.
"Has anybody seen Ryoko?"
The girls all shook their heads.
"Tenchi!"
Everyone looked toward the source of the shout. Tenchi's grandfather had just arrived at the ruins of the house, and appeared uncharacteristically out of breath.
"Grandpa! Have you seen Ryoko?"
"Indeed I have. Is there something you want to tell me? Like perhaps why she seems so interested in a certain Jurai prince and her missing gems?"
"Uh, heh-heh. Um..."
"Time enough for that later. I sent her on a wild goose chase. That should give us a few minutes while we find a safer place."
Just then an explosion up at the shrine blew rocks and dirt all over the hillside.
"Time's up." Sasami announced, still perfectly composed.
"Miss Mihoshi, would you get Washu's door, please?" Katsuhito politely asked of the detective, despite the nearing danger.
"Right away!" Mihoshi took a running step towards the door that led to Washu's lab. She quickly found a piece of broken timber with her foot and fell flat on her face.
Something streaked up into the sky from the hillside where the Masaki family shrine was located. While the object was too small to see, it left a visible vapor trail as it ascended.
"Mihoshi!" Tenchi leaped over the fallen beams and other debris in his haste to assist Mihoshi. Helping her up with one hand, he grasped the handle to Washu's door and pulled. For once it was unlocked and opened easily.
"Come on! Everybody inside!"
The others piled in through the door, jumping and hopping over obstacles as they went. Tenchi thought Sasami looked entirely too entertained as she passed him to enter Washu's lab. Taking one last look into the sky as Mihoshi followed the others in, Tenchi saw Ryoko streaking through the sky on a collision course with him. Although he felt bad about having to shut her out when she needed help, he had the safety of the others to think about. Reluctantly, Tenchi crossed the threshold and then quickly shut the door behind him. A second later, something slammed into the door hard enough to make it shake.
"Tenchi," Mihoshi asked, "you don't suppose she tried to go through the door, do you?"
"Probably." Tenchi sighed.
"What the Hell?" Ryoko groaned as she slid down the face of Washu's impenetrable red door.
"All right." Tenchi sighed regretfully over this latest incident. "Well, does anybody see Washu?"
The group of people began looking around the dim interior of Washu's lab in hopes of quickly locating the self-proclaimed genius scientist. After a few minutes with no results, Aeka came upon the floating cushion-chair that Washu frequently sat upon while working. On the seat was a note. Curious, Aeka picked-up the hand-written note and began to read.
"Gone Fishing. Back for dinner. Washu-chan.""Lord Tenchi!" Aeka shouted as she ran in the direction she had last seen Tench going in. Tenchi immediately came running. They met a short distance from the entry door.
"What? Did you find Washu?"
"Um, sort of. It seems she's taken the day off."
"Oh, that's just great." Tenchi sarcastically commented on Washu's latest interdimensional trip. "She's almost as bad as Grandpa."
"I heard that." Katsuhito's gruff voice emanated from just behind him. Aeka stifled a giggle as Tenchi cringed.
"Tenchi," the priest continued, "perhaps you and the others should go looking for Miss Washu."
"In here? But this place is a maze!"
"Then you had best get started right away."
"Yes, Grandpa." But as Tenchi began to walk away with Aeka in tow, his elder called him back.
"And Tenchi, before you go..."
Looking over his shoulder, Tenchi saw that Katsuhito was holding out his hand as if he were expecting Tenchi to give him something.
"Don't you think someone should stay behind and wait here for little Washu?"
"I guess so."
"And you wouldn't want an old man like me to be defenseless in case Ryoko finds a way in, would you?"
Although Tenchi hardly considered his grandfather to be helpless whether he was armed or not, he could see the reasoning behind was the old man was saying.
"Yeah, good point, there." Reaching under his shirt, Tenchi retrieved the Master Key from his belt and dropped it into his grandfather's hand.
"Thank you, Tenchi." Katsuhito raised his left arm and melodramtically sobbed into his sleeve. "You take such good care of your poor old grandfather!"
"Er... okay, okay." Tenchi stared at his grandfather as if he were a space alien, which, of course, was totally true.
"Lord Tenchi," Aeka suggested, "perhaps we should gather the others and begin searching for Miss Washu?"
"Yeah." Tenchi purposefully turned from his grandfather so that he could no longer witness the highly unusual spectacle of Lord Katsuhito crying into his sleeve. "Let's go."
As Tenchi led Aeka away, Katsuhito stopped the crazy old man act. He had successfully distracted Tenchi enough so that he did not think twice about giving up the sword. It was not the possibility of Ryoko getting in that Katsuhito was worried about. Rather, he was worried about her locating the First Generation Royal Tree Funaho.
Mihoshi slowly puttered around Washu's immense lab grounds searching for the vacationing scientist. On more than one occasion, she had gotten lost in or around the enormous facility that her friend kept in the Masaki's broom closet. That seemed to be the case again. She had already exited the lab proper and was now walking around on green grass under a blue sky with lots of sun and palm trees. She could even hear waves breaking on a beach.
"Well... Washu's note did say she went fishing. Maybe she's on the beach."
With that destination in mind, Mihoshi began trying to make her way towards the sound of waves.
When Tenchi and Aeka returned to where they had found Washu's floating chair and note, they discovered Sasami sitting on the scientist's perch, staring at a holographic display. She was sitting cross-legged with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. Her stare had a slightly menacing look to it.
"Sasami?" Aeka called to her sister. But the blue-haired girl made no response.
"Sasami!" Aeka called again. This time the girl turned her head to look at the elder princess.
"Oh! Aeka. Um..."
"When did you learn how to use one of those?"
Still convinced that she was a goddess masquarading as a young girl, Sasami laughed thinly.
"Ha-ha-ha! Ah... Well... We have things like this on Jurai, and I was thinking that maybe we could use this computer to help us find Washu."
"Hey! That's a pretty good idea, Sasami." Tenchi praised Sasami on her ingenuity. "You seem to know what you're doing. Why don't you give it a try?"
"Lord Tenchi! Who knows what kind of dangerous... things... Miss Washu might have in there?"
"It should be okay as long as we don't try to get into anything that sounds bad."
"Yup." Sasami nodded in agreement. "But..."
"But what?"
"Well... it's asking for a password."
"Oh. What do you think it might be?"
"Something personal, I bet."
As Aeka drew closer to the screen to see what she could add to the process, something popped into mind.
"Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe."
Tenchi and Sasami both laughed.
"Well, that is personal. But it won't fit in the space."
Looking closer, Aeka could see the small space that Sasami was referring to.
"Something shorter, then."
"Maybe just genius." Tenchi suggested. "That would fit."
"All right! Let's try it." Sasami poked at a couple places on the keyboard, then, with a flourish, she stabbed the submit button. There was a brief pause, then a geyser of flourescent pink paint sprayed from the display, drenching all three of them to the skin. A small image of Washu's cute little face bounced around the screen while giving them the raspberry. Frustrated beyond capacity, all three of them shouted to the heavens.
"Washu!"
"I made it!" Mihoshi shouted in congratulations for having reached her objective. She was standing at the end of a small pier with a motor boat moored in the water below. It really was a nice scene, too, with all the water and waves. The sun was getting lower in the sky, apparently in time with the Earth.
"It must be getting close to dinner time. We'd better find Washu fast, or she might miss dinner!"
Standing on her tip-toes at the end of the pier, Mihoshi shaded her eyes so she could see as far across the water as possible.
"Washu, please come home!"
In her enthusiasm to have Washu hear her call, Mihoshi leaned a little too far out. Her arms pin-wheeled around as she lost her balance and fell into the boat below. As was her kind of luck, or unluck depending on how one looked at it, her elbow struck the engine controls on her way down. The out-board motor roared to life, and the boat sped away from the pier with Mihoshi inside.
"Oh, my God! I don't know how to drive this! I-i-i-y-a-a-a-a!"
Ryoko angrily glared at the shiny red door that stood freely next to what was left of the residence she had destroyed. For the life of her she could not understand how this door could still be standing when the rest of the house was nothing but rubble. She had tried blasting, cutting, smashing, and even yelling at it. But nothing worked, no metter how much energy she put into it. The situation was vexing to say the least. Ryoko grumbled aloud as she tried drilling a hole in it just by staring hard.
"Damn cowards, running away from me like that. Damn stupid door."
The door, for its part, stood impassively before her, a symbol of her inability to complete her mission. Even worse, she kept getting the feeling that she should be allowed in. This door was not supposed to be closed to her. Whatever or who ever it was that kept this door was not supposed to lock her out.
"Damn red door..."
Another image flashed through Ryoko's mind; a short girl with green eyes and red hair that matched the color of this door.
"You!" She growled aloud. "You locked me out!"
Ryoko took a mighty swing at the door. The impact resounded across the lake that stood in front of the wrecked house. But the door would not give, even to her amazing strength. Ryoko suddenly felt an intense sensation of abandonment and loneliness. There was no one around. She was a social creature at heart. Without the emotions of those around her, she always began to feel a strong need for some sort of interaction. But in her experience, there was only one thing that ever satisfied her need. Creating anger, hatred, and terror never failed to fill her with feelings. Desperate to replace the alien and terrifying emotions she was feeling with something familiar, Ryoko screamed incoherently at the impenetrable door. Her paniced rage had no effect on the impartial divider that kept her from her quarry and objective. She was alone again. This time, not even Ryo-o-ki was around. Something snapped. Ryoko took to the skies as energy arced and crackled around her. At a distance of nearly a kilometer above ground, she stopped to focus her frightening powers into another much more powerful energy strike. There would be no holding back this time. It was her or the door. One way or the other, something was going to give. The strike was rather automatic, actually. She just powered-up and let fly. Travel time for the ball of energy was perceptible, but less than the space of a breath. The valley lit-up with orange light. Her ravenous energies tore through trees and grass, vaporizing water, and scorching rocks to the point where they exploded in showers of heated fragments.
Suddenly, off on one side of the lake, a bright white light caught Ryoko's attention. She stared as a globe of white stood unaffected on the edge of the lake. As the energy of her attack dissipated, so did the white globe. Standing in the water at the edge of the lake was a huge, yet somehow familiar tree. Ryoko almost smiled at the sight of it. She reached up to wipe something from her face. Her hand came away wet.
"Was I... crying?"
No matter. Ryoko wiped her hand and the wetness on the thigh of her red and black combat suit. She would not be alone for much longer.
An old man sat on the blank floor of Washu's lab. At least, that was what Katsuhito wished to think. But even though he appeared as a greying shinto priest of about sixty years, those who lived in his family's home knew him to be well over seven hundred. This miracle was possible only with the assistance of a Royal Tree of Jurai. That was not to say that the alternative bio-enhancement techniques available through other means were not effective. But the protection given by the space-trees was more effective, more complete, and safer. The trees were more effective in that they were self-aware and conscious of what is going on around the person they protect. Self-aware and conscious meant they were alive in Katsuhito's book. Anyone who had ever spoken with a Royal Tree knew that to be a fact. Because of this, this old man felt it would be wrong to allow his tree to be destroyed just to save his own skin. Eventually, Ryoko would find his tree. There was no way she could miss it. Not only did it stick out like a sore thumb because of it's immense size, but Ryoko had seen it when they had fought seven hundred years ago.
Katsuhito looked up into the blackness of the lab ceiling. There. Funaho was reacting to protect itself. It was a purely defensive effort. His tree relayed to him that the attack had not been intentionally set against it. But the effect was the same. Ryoko had released enough energy to damage Funaho. So, it had protected itself. There was still a chance Ryoko had not noticed. The priest waited on the floor for a few moments more, hoping. But soon the expected call came.
"She's attacking."With a sigh, the Crown Prince of Jurai stood to his feet. It seemed that no matter how far he ran, or how long he waited, Yosho's decisions always came back to haunt him.
Keeping in mind that Washu's note said she was fishing, Tenchi and Aeka went in search of a body of water. Strangely enough, Washu's lab seemed to open up on a planet somewhere. It appeared to be late afternoon or early evening, for the yellow sun was low in the bright clear sky, which was beginning to turn a faint shade of yellow. Emerging from the dark lab onto a mountain road far above a small bay that opened to a small sea or large lake, Tenchi and Aeka looked around in surprise at the pleasant environment. To the left, the paved but poorly maintained road wandered up the hillside. To the right it descended a bit before turning back in a sharp dog-leg turn before continuing towards the bay. The thick green vegetation that covered the hillside prevented seeing the inner shore of the bay from this location. However, at the end of the dog-leg, there was a pull-off area where the trees and scrub had been cut, allowing one to see straight down the hill. There also seemed to be some sort of stereoscopic telescope device similar to those on the observation deck of Tokyo Tower.
"My. What a pleasant area." Aeka remarked, takinig a deep breath of the ocean air. "It almost reminds me of home."
"Home as in Jurai?" Tenchi asked.
"Almost. The trees on Jurai are much larger. Perhaps we should follow the road. Miss Washu's letter said she went fishing, and this road seems to go to the water."
"Yeah." Tenchi readily agreed, seeing the logic in Aeka's suggestion. "At the least, we should be able to get a better view from that overlook, there."
"Let's go." Aeka prompted as she began to walk the rough surface. Tenchi quickly caught up and they walked the quarter-mile or so to the scenic overlook together in silence. They were careful to pay attention to their footing while descending. The road was in rought shape, with deep pot-holes, wide cracks, and large chunks of loose pavement. It looked as if it had been abandoned for years.
"Rough road." Tenchi observed aloud.
"It certainly is." Aeka agreed. "I wonder why it's in such poor - Aah!"
Aeka cried out in fright as the slab of pavement she had just set her foot on tilted over under her weight. Tenchi grabbed Aeka's arm just in time to keep her from a painful fall into the road-side drainage ditch.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes." Aeka answered breathlessly as she clung to Tenchi. "Thank you."
For a moment, Aeka stood still while she was calming herself. But when she looked up at Tenchi, she saw that he was looking very concerned for her. They both blushed. Aeka did not immediately release Tenchi's arm. She liked the feel of his well-toned muscles.
"I'm sorry." She said, finally letting go while looking away.
Tenchi reached up to scratch at the back of his head in a typical nervous action.
"Maybe we should move away from the edge of the road."
"But what if a vehicle comes along?"
"This road's so bad, I don't think anyone would be crazy enough to try. But..." Tenchi hesitated as he tried to make himself say what he had in mind. Aeka had already nearly fallen once. If she tripped and fell for real, he knew he would feel really bad.
"We should... stay close. That way we can help each other if one of us trips again."
Aeka almost broke into a huge grin. It took tremendous strength of will for her to keep a straight face.
"All right." She agreed, not moving.
When Aeka made no move, Tenchi reached out and took her hand. After a shy moment, Aeka's fingers intertwined with his.
"Let's go." Tenchi said, taking a large step down the sloping road. Behind him and just out of his direct sight, Aeka finally smiled as she followed along.
Their shyness quickly faded as they descended the road to the scenic overlook. By the time they arrived at the telescopic viewer they were smiling and chatting easily, their troubles nearly forgotten. When they reached the thick wooden rails that kept viewers from falling off the edge of the overlook, they looked around the area searching for any sign of Washu. Down and to the left, they could now see the near side of the bay's shore-line. There was a small wooden dock with a motor boat bobbing gently alongside it. But there was no sign of the short red-head they were looking for.
Tenchi released Aeka's hand in favor of the wooden railing. He set his forearms on the horizontal pole and stared out across the water towards the mouth of the bay. He had surprised himself by taking Aeka's hand like that. But some sudden urge to demonstrate his concern for her had taken him. And frankly, he was tired of the games and of pretending he felt the same for all the girls. It wasn't true, of course. But making the choice was not something he would do lightly. Occasionally, when he found himself alone with one of the girls, like now, he would let some of his feelings show. That was easiest with Aeka. She was the closest to normal of the four he considered as possibilities. She didn't tie him up and demand samples like Washu. She wasn't clumsy or accident prone like Mihoshi, and she didn't tease him like Ryoko. Aeka's values seemed to be the closest to his own, and she had already demonstrated an inclination to remain with him on Earth, rather than insisting on taking him off-planet. However, she had family on Jurai who could be a problem if they wanted to be. On the negative side, he just couldn't tell how Aeka felt about him. But, now that Tenchi was thinking about it, he realized he had the same problem with all the girls. He really wasn't sure how any of them truly felt about him. Even more, he didn't want to disrupt the family-like environment.
"Lord Tenchi?"
Tenchi looked left to see Aeka looking at him with an expression of concern.
"Is something wrong?"
Tenchi smiled, trying to put Aeka at ease.
"No. I just drifted off for a second, that's all."
As Aeka was just to his left, and the docked boat was also in that direction, Tenchi was in the perfect position to see Mihoshi walk out on the dock.
"Hey. Isn't that Mihoshi?"
Aeka stepped up to the rail and looked in the same direction. She also saw a blond female standing on the end of the dock.
"I believe it is."
Tenchi was just about to call out to the young woman when he saw Mihoshi tumble head-first into the empty boat. He was not at all surprised when the boat suddenly came alive and made for the mouth of the bay with a wailing Mihoshi on board.
"Oh, boy..."
Screeching in fright, Mihoshi clutched at the round steering wheel as the boat careened across the water on a direct course for the open sea. White-knuckled, she tried to steer the small vessel back to the dock. But the wheel suddenly came off in her hands.
"This isn't working!"
Mihoshi tossed the useless wheel aside. There were a couple of other controls that she could not guess. But the large black hand lever next to her was clearly the speed control. There was one just like it aboard Yukinojo. She quickly grabbed the handle and pulled it all the way back. The boat immediately screamed in protest as it was told to go from full power forward to full reverse in less than a second. The force of the deceleration flung Mihoshi over the dash and into the air.
The screaming blond missile went up and out for a long flight. Gravity finally took hold and began pulling her back to the water. But before she impacted with the water's surface, an immense fish or whale (Mihoshi wasn't sure which, for it was a decidedly odd-looking aquatic creature with many fins and lots of sharp teeth) leapt from the water right in front of her, it's cavernous mouth yawning wide open for her.
"Somebody help me-e-e-e-e-e-e-e!"
Chomp!
"Mihoshi!" Tenchi cried aloud when a gigantic water-creature leapt up and snapped Mihoshi out of the air.
"Good Lord! What was that thing?"
Tenchi snatched Aeka's hand again. But this time he nearly dragged her down the torn-up road in his haste to get in a position to help Mihoshi. What he could do to actually make a difference in this predicament was anybody's guess. But if he kept up his pace, one of them, either himself or Aeka, was going to take a nasty spill.
"Lord Tenchi, please slow down!"
"I can't! Mihoshi needs our help!"
Mihoshi awoke to find herself up to her neck in a barrel full of salt water. The air stank with an acrid burning odor that made her throat itch. Even worse, the barrel that she was in was set on a small wooden raft that was floating in a lake within a wet, dimly lit cavern of some kind. Standing up out of the barrel to get a better look at things, Mihoshi suddenly noticed that realized she had no clothes on. She quickly crouched back down.
"What happened to my clothes?"
"I can answer that."
Mihoshi turned around in the barrel to see Washu sitting on a stool next to her barrel with a fishing rod in her hands. A red and white bobber floated on the surface of the nasty-looking water a little ways out in front of her.
"Miss Washu!" Mihoshi's eyes started to water with joy at finally finding the short-statured scientist.
"Hiya! In answer to your question, we're in the stomach of a whale. Seeing as this is a whale's stomach, there is stomach acid. So, since you came in the hard way and got drenched with stomach acid, I had to douse you with a base liquid to neutralize the acid. The acid and base liquids reacted chemically to form salt water!"
"Um... okay. Where are my clothes again?"
Reaching down to grab something, Washu grasped what was left of Mihoshi's service uniform and held the acid-eaten garment up where it's owner could see it. Mihoshi stared at the bleached and dryed material in shock as it literally crumbled to powder.
"Oh, no! Now what'll I wear?"
"I think a better question would be why are you here?"
"Um, I guess becaue I got eaten by a whale."
Washu rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I gathered that. But what events led up to you being eaten?"
"Hey! Does this mean you were eaten, too?"
Washu groaned. As always, getting specific answers out of Mihoshi was no easy task.
"I don't suppose you're here because of the seismic disturbance that ocurred earlier?"
"The whatsis?"
"Earthquake." Washu patiently translated to laymen's terms.
"Oh, no." Mihoshi waved off the idea. "That wasn't an earthquake. That was an explosion."
Mihoshi's face suddenly lit up as she remembered something important.
"Oh! That reminds me. I found this really cool medallion that I once used to hypnotize my partner --"
Washu nodded and grunted acknoledgements periodically as Mihoshi recounted every last detail of the girls' escapade with hypnosis earlier in the day. She even chuckled as Mihoshi described Aeka's over-blown impressions of Nobuyuki and Ryoko. But when she got the part about hypnotizing Ryoko...
"...and then I used it to hypnotize Ryoko.
Washu grabbed Mihohshi by the nose.
"You did what?!"
"I... I mean, Aeka asked Ryoko about... ow, that kind of hurts..."
Seeing that her grip on Mihoshi's nose was affecting the officer's memory, Washu released Mihoshi.
"Did you regress Ryoko?"
"Redress? But Aeka was the one who took off her clothes."
"Not redress, regress! To make her tell you about the past by making her think she is actually there."
"Oh! Yes, that's what we did."
"Why?"
"Well, Aeka made this really nice speech. She said --"
"Skip the speech. What questions did Aeka ask and how did Ryoko react? Quick version."
"Um, okay. Ah... Aeka asked Ryoko to tell her about the battle with Prince Yosho. When they got to the part where Ryoko was loosing, she started glowing and screaming about killing the prince."
Washu groaned aloud. This wasn't good.
"Then Ryoko blew up the house." Completely forgetting that she still had no clothes on, Mihoshi stood up out of the barrel, extending her arms in the air. "BOOM!"
"We're going back." Washu announced, tossing her fishing rod into the whale's stomach juices. She knelt down to reach into the small bag of supplies she had brought with her in preparation for this trip. Inside there were some snacks and extra lures, and a few other gizmos, including the sample bottle that contained a few of the gigantic (relatively speaking) nematodes that could live within the whale's gut. The flare she was looking for was at the bottom. Mihoshi looked at the flare in wonder.
"What're you going to do with that?"
Lifting one sandaled foot, Washu struck the top of the roadside flare across the bottom of her sandal. The friction caused the flare to burst to life. Nasty thick smoke began to pour from the burning stick of chemicals as she jammed it in a small hole between two of the logs that made up the raft they were floating on.
"They have several legends on Earth about men being swallowed by whales. They have various ways of getting free. Some might work, and some are just ridiculous, like blowing pepper around. I've calculated that using a device that that emits a kind of smoke that upsets the whale's stomach has the best chance of getting us out of here quickly."
"O-o-o-o-h-h-h. You're really smart, Washu!"
"Ha-ha! Don't I know it!"
Miraculously, Tenchi and Aeka made it to the water-side dock without breaking any bones. Aeka rubbed at her sore wrist where Tenchi had been holding tight to help her keep up. It wasn't that she really needed help keeping up. She was perfectly fit enough to run for some distance without assistance. But, she supposed he was just trying to keep her from falling again. It was a nice gesture, even if a little rough.
"Lord Tenchi, I certainly agree with the idea of helping Miss Mihoshi. But what exactly are we supposed to do from here? I don't see another boat."
"I..." Tenchi took a deep breath to steady his breathing. "I don't know. I just thought... you know..."
Aeka felt a surge of warmth at Tenchi's sense of concern. But before she or Tenchi could say anything else, the water near the mouth of the bay erupted, and the giant oceanic creature they had seen eat Mihoshi reappeared. It rolled about violently for several seconds, then it opened it's great maw and vomited. Everything in the beast's stomach was projected up in the air. Noticable in the varied and many objects thrown into the air were an unrecognizable vehicle, a raft, and the objects of their search, Mihoshi and Washu. Looking at the two girls, Tenchi noticed something peculiar about their flight.
"Um, are they getting closer?"
Also looking carefully, Aeka could see that they appeared to be getting larger.
"I believe they are."
Tenchi and Aeka looked at each other with sudden realization as the soaked projectiles quickly approached. They could hear Mihoshi's frightened screams being accompanied by Washu's amused laughter.
"Run!"
Too late. Mihoshi crashed rump-first into Tenchi, flattening him. Washu, with all her grace, made a nice three-point-landing just past Aeka at the other end of the dock. She stood up with her arms up in the air.
"Ta-da!"
Looking up from flat on his back, Tenchi was greeted by the sight of Mihoshi sitting on his chest. Her long legs were extended past his head.
"Oh, Tenchi! Thank you so much for breaking my fall!"
Blood sprayed from Tenchi's nose and his head fell back.
"Lord Tenchi!" Aeka rushed to help Tenchi up. "For God's sake, Mihoshi! Get off of Lord Tenchi! And what happened to your clothes?"
Mihoshi quickly curled up into a ball while shrieking with embarassment.
"EYAAAH! Don't look!"
Eager to remove the source of Tenchi's embarassment/excitement, Aeka gave Mihoshi a swift kick in the head, sending her flying off the dock and into the salt water with a huge splash.
"When a princess commands you to move, you move!"
Turning back to Tenchi, Aeka saw Washu giving Tenchi some sort of examination.
"And what do you think you're doing?"
"Damn, it's too late." Washu mysteriously stated.
"Too late for what?"
"Tenchi's already contracted the plague that wiped out the entire population of this planet."
Aeka's face turned blue as her heart stopped in her chest.
"The rest of us are okay because we have some sort of protection." Washu continued to explain. "GP officers have bio-strengthening, the Royal Family has the space-trees, and I've got my own protection."
Washu grabbed Tenchi by the head and held his face to her bosom like a favorite pet.
"Oh, Tenchi! You're so sweet and noble to sacrifice your life for me!"
"Yes..." Tenchi woozily replied.
Aeka finally regained her facilities for rational speech.
"Miss Washu!"
"It's Little Washu."
"This is all your fault!"
"My fault?" Washu dropped Tenchi to the dock. "Who brought Tenchi here?"
Aeka quickly grew less confrontational at the insinuation that she may have placed her beloved Tenchi in danger. But, as that was not actually the case, she was happy to point out exactly who was responsible for this entire misadventure.
"It wasn't I. Miss Mihoshi hypnotized Ryoko and she went insane. Ryoko is your creation, so I demand you do something about it!"
"My, my. What a situation. Fortunately, I already got the ENTIRE story out of Mihoshi."
Aeka cringed at the emphasis Washu placed on the word entire.
"Well, first things first."
"Um... excuse me!" Mihoshi called from where she was peeking over the edge of the dock. "I really hate to bother you, Miss Washu. But, could I get some clothes?"
"Okay!" Washu exclaimed as she sat in her floating chair in front of her holographic computer terminal. The seat squished loudly as she sat in it. Next to her, Sasami was very carefully wiping away thirty-two different colors of non-toxic water-based paints. "First, we'll cure Tenchi using the research data I acquired from the nematodes living in the whale's stomach. Then... Sasami?"
"Yes, Miss Washu?" Sasami reluctantly answered, thinking she may be punished for trying to hack Washu's computer, despite the fact that she is, in her own mind, Tsunami.
"See this?" Washu waved her open hand in Sasami's face.
"Yes?" Almost instantly, Sasami's eyes closed and she fell asleep.
Aeka leapt forward to catch Sasami before she hit the floor.
"What have you done to my sister!?"
"Relax! I just put her to sleep. She should wake up in a couple of hours, good as new."
"Oh. I see. Will she still think she is Tsunami?"
"Nope. Everything should reset after a nice long nap."
Moving quickly through the many and various programs in her computer system, Washu called-up the medical facilities.
"Tenchi, have a seat in that plasmatic infusion chamber."
Not having any clue what Washu meant by a plasmatic infusion chamber, Tenchi just stared at her like she was crazy.
"Uh..."
"That tube lookin' thing behind you."
Turning around, Tenchi saw a large tube-shaped chamber where none had existed a minute before.
"Okay..." He uneasily walked up to the chamber. "I just have to get in and I'll be cured?"
"Yup. Just lay back and let the chamber do the work."
"Where have I heard that before." Tenchi mumbled under his breath as he got into the chamber. As soon as he was reclining inside, a clear cover switched closed over him, completely sealing him inside. The chamber immediately filled with a thick green gas, completely obscuring his form from sight.
"Okay, highness. Let's see what there is to see."
"Are you certain that thing is safe?"
"Sure I'm sure." A mischeivous grin slowly worked it's way to Washu's face. "Unless the flow valve sticks open, in which case Tenchi's body will turn into green jello."
"What!?"
"Just kidding! Actually, it would be red jello."
"Washu!"
Washu started to laugh out loud. But then she saw something on the exterior monitors that made her stop.
"What the..."
"What?" Aeka stood up to see what was being displayed. At first, there was only trees on the display. But then a beam of orange light zipped across the screen, momentarily illuminating a figure she had not seen in seven hundred years.
"Brother... Yosho?"
"Hmm... what's he doing out there?"
"It's perfectly obvious what he's doing! My brother is fighting Ryoko to protect us!"
"There's got to be more to it than that."
"Is there anyone else out there?" Aeka looked around quickly, taking a head count of those present. "Where are Ryo-o-ki and Mihoshi?"
"Right here!"
Aeka's face turned white when she saw Mihoshi step out from behind Tenchi's plasmatic infusion chamber, now fully clothed in her combat uniform.
"Please tell me you didn't touch anything."
Now Washu did laugh.
"I said I was kidding about that! What we really need to worry about is Ryoko. If she finds Ryo-o-ki, things'll get really bad."
Aeka realized that Washu was right. If Ryoko were to find and use Ryo-o-ki to fight, the destruction would be catastrophic. There was a task to accomplish that she could complete. It also gave her an excuse to see her brother as she remembered him; a young man. With only a thought, Aeka's kimono transformed into the battle armor of the Jurai Royal Family.
"Mihoshi, come with me."
"Right!" Mihoshi readily agreed.
"Don't fight Ryoko." Washu instructed them while focusing her attention on her display. "Just find Ryo-o-ki and bring her back here. She shouldn't give you any trouble unless Ryoko sees her. Once she's in here, she can't get out. I'll keep working on a way to subdue Ryoko without hurting her."
Many thoughts were whirling through Aeka's mind. This situation was too much like the events of seven hundred years ago. Yosho was defending his home and family against the Destroyer Ryoko. But this time, her assault was not something they could hold her responsible for. Ryoko was not in her right mind. But that didn't make her any less dangerous. The possibility of someone getting hurt was very strong. But Aeka could not stop thinking about her brother, who was out there right now, fighting to keep Ryoko from them.
"I'll try to keep that in mind."
Tenchi felt great relief when the green gas began to clear, allowing him to see thhrough the clear panel of his capsule once more. He was already looking around, trying to see what was going on, when the panel finally slid open.
"Washu! What's going on?"
"Well, let's see. Sasami's asleep over there." Washu pointed over to a comfortably cushioned couch where Sasami lay, asleep, "Your grandfather, the Crown Prince of Jurai, is fighting Ryoko, Aeka and Mihoshi are outside looking for Ryo-o-ki, and you're cured of the plague! Isn't that great?"
"No! Why are they fighting against Ryoko? This isn't her fault!"
"I never said it was, Tenchi."
"I have to go help." Tenchi turned to the door of Washu lab. Before he could get a single step, Washu grabbed his collar and held on tight.
"Hold on, now. It just so happens that I agree. But we can't have you going out all half-cocked. You gave the Master-Key to Lord Katsuhito, right?"
"Crap!" Tenchi cursed himself for a stupid cow. "Yeah, I did."
"So what exactly were you intending to fight with?"
Now that he was thinking rationally about the situation, Tenchi realized he really had no intention of fighting at all. These people were his friends.
"I'm not going to fight against Ryoko."
"Really? Then what do you have in mind?"
"I have to convince her to stop."
"Tenchi, Ryoko thinks she's back seven hundred years ago, when she and Yosho crashed here. Do you really think she'll listen to you?"
Tenchi was silent as he comtempleted Washu's question.
"She may not even remember that she knows you, or any of us."
"She has to." Tenchi looked at Washu, almost pleading.
"Tell you what." Washu began, but before she could finish telling Tenchi about her plan, they heard a plaintive meow from the couch where Sasami was sleeping. "Ryo-o-ki?"
"Myah?" The small creature was huddled next to Sasami, a concerned look on her furry little face.
"You silly girl! Come to Mommy!" Washu held her arms out for Ryo-o-ki.
With a popping sound, the small creature suddenly changed from cute little creature to adorable little girl. She jumped down from the couch and ran into Washu's outstretched arms.
"Mya!"
"You were here the whole time, weren't you? Why didn't you say something?"
"Mya-myaAh myan."
"Oh, I see. We scared you with all that yelling, didn't we?"
"Washu, I don't mean to be rude, and I'm glad to see Ryo-o-ki, too. But, weren't you about to say something?"
"Yes, I was." Washu was interrupted again when Aeka's face crackled to life on her holo-display. Tenchi sighed at the continued interruptions.
"Miss Washu? Can you here me?"
"Right here, princess."
"Have you seen Miss Mihoshi? That scatter-brain seems to have gotten lost again."
"Well, I haven't heard from Mihoshi, although my sensors indicate she is in the area." Washu smiled to lighten the situation. "But I've got good news!"
An explosion from somewhere nearby caused Aeka to jump in surprise.
"Please! I could use some good news. That woman is behaving very badly."
"I found Ryo-o-ki! She was in the lab the whole time! How about that, eh?"
"What!? This is not the time for jests!"
Seeing Aeka within the confines of Washu's display, Tenchi leaned in to get a better look.
"Aeka, is everything all right?"
"Lord Tenchi! I'm... well. And you?"
"Well, Washu says I'm cured."
"Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried."
Tenchi blushed at Aeka's admission of concern for his welfare. Then, he saw something in the display that boded very badly. It was his father's van trundling along the unpaved road to the house.
"Oh, my God, it's Dad!"
"What?" Aeka quickly looked back to see Nobuyuki's van obviously moving through the trees. "Damn!"
The First Princess of Jurai did not aprove of swearing. But this time it was definitely warranted. Tenchi's father was completely incapable of defending himself from someone like Ryoko if she chose to attack him. Frankly, kidnapping Nobuyuki for a hostage sounded very much like something Ryoko would do. She didn't have to think hard about what to do. Aeka took off.
"Aeka!" Tenchi shouted at the empty display. "Help Dad! I'll be right there!"
Tenchi turned towards the door that led back to what remained of the house and began to run.
"Tenchi, wait!"
"I have to go help Dad!"
Washu watched helplessly as Tenchi threw open the lab door.
"I'll be right behind you!"
Washu shook her head as the young man disappeared through the small portal into the sunset-lit landscape.
"What a mess."
Even before he arrived at the house, energy beams began to strike all around Nobuyuki's van. Dirt and clods of grass spattered against the van's exterior, making it sound like a tank taking fire. Being Tenchi's father, he was familiar with the kinds of events and tricks the girls usually engaged in. But attacking his van wasn't usually one of them. White-knuckled and scared out of his wits, he swerved back and forth, trying to avoid the beams. Suddenly, Aeka appeared right outside his door in full battle-gear.
"Miss Aeka?"
"No time!"
Without the benefit of an explanation, the princess tore the door from it's hinges, then grabbed Nobuyuki by the arm and pulled out of the driver's seat. The van took a direct hit and exploded, sending both of them tumbling off the road into the tree-line.
True to her word, Aeka protected Tenchi's father, even as they fell to the ground. However, when she she and Nobuyuki looked up from the ground and saw Ryoko coming her way at the same time, she was not happy when he pushed her forward and then ran for his life.
"You take care of this!"
"What? How ungrateful!"
Aeka's indignation at Nobuyuki's lack of gratitude costs her vital time. Ryoko was on her before she could get away. The pirate snatched one wrist and spun her around, pinning both her arms behind her back. Ryoko leered into her face.
"Well, look who I found! It's the little princess! Only you're not so little anymore."
Aeka squirmed in Ryoko's unbreakable grip as the woman took a good long look at her.
"Release me at once!"
Ryoko's leering grin got bigger and more frightening by the second as she slid her free hand up Aeka's front to her breast.
"Oh, my, you have grown!"
Aeka's face turned beet red at this uncommon display of vulgarity.
"You disgusting creature! Let me go!"
Ryoko's grip tightened.
"L-let go..."
Aeka can see only Ryoko's sadistic grin.
"Please..."
A hiss of air from her tormentor's lips told of Ryoko's interest in Aeka's distress. Finally, the woman released Aeka's bruised breast. But her fingers quickly moved to Aeka's collar.
"Let's see the rest, shall we?"
Aeka's eyes went wide as she realized that Ryoko intended to strip her naked.
"No!"
Ryoko's serpent-like cackling grew louder as Aeka called for help.
"Lord Tenchi!"
The tension around her throat grew tighter.
"Brother!"
Suddenly, Ryoko's attention was diverted to Aeka's right. She disappeared just in time to avoid Prince Yosho's attack. Aeka fell on her rear when she saw her brother, her true brother, standing before her, sword drawn and ready to fight.
"Are you all right, Aeka?" He asked, looking around.
Aeka stared at him in utter disbelief. Even after seeing his sillouette in Washu's monitor, she had found it difficult to believe. She had gotten used to seeing him as an old man. Yet here he was, his youth restored. Her handsome and gallant brother was returned to her.
"Brother..."
Bursts of energy suddenly flew from the trees towards them. Luckily, Yosho was paying attention to the battle, rather than his sibling. The beams struck his own protective shield, keeping them from harm. However, the beams don't let up. First from one place, then another, and another. Ryoko was moving quickly through the darkening shade, using the trees for cover while attacking from a distance. Angered by the guerilla tactics that Ryoko was using, Aeka got to her feet.
"Ryoko, you coward! Come out and fight!"
Taking Aeka's cue, Yosho held up the Master Key.
"I have your gems in my sword, Ryoko! If you want them, you must take them!"
The assault continued with no response, until, from far off, they heard Tenchi voice calling through the trees.
"Ryoko!"
The beams stopped.
"What does he think he's doing?" Aeka hissed to her older sibling.
"Whatever he thinks, he is distracting her. By the way..." A humorous glint flashed from Yosho's eye. "Do you wish me to examine your wound?"
"My wound?" It took Aeka a second to realize he was pulling her leg. "For God's sake, Yosho! This is not the time for such things!"
"Ryoko!" Tenchi called again, this time from much closer.
Ryoko paused as she listened to the voice that seemed so warm and familiar. Although she had trouble placing the voice, she felt like it belonged to someone she knew. She wasn't foolish enough to show herself. But when Tenchi appeared through the trees, she was instantly mesmerized by the sight of him. Her heart raced and she felt torn by feelings she couldn't understand. Her memories were cloudy, but she felt strongly like she knew him from somewhere, even though that could not be.
When Tenchi saw Aeka, he felt relief. But there was someone else with her that he did not recognize at first. Looking at the man, Tenchi noticed he was wearing the same clothes as his grandfather. Finally recalling that his grandfather is also Prince Yosho, Tenchi then realized that the person with Aeka is his grandfather. Trotting through the trees, Tenchi went to join them.
"Aeka, are you all right?"
"Yes, for the most part."
Tenchi heaved a sigh of relief before looking indecisively at the prince of Jurai.
"Grandpa?"
"I'm sorry for having to deceive everyone. But, it would be difficult to live on this planet if I remained a young man for seven hundred years."
"I guess I see your point."
"Oh, please." Aeka muttered under her breath.
"What was that, Aeka?" Yosho raised an eyebrow.
Ryoko stayed silent in the trees, listening to their banter. Her hearing was good enough that she could easily make out what they're saying to each other. Now she knew the relationship between the boy named Tenchi, whom she has been seeing in her thoughts, and the prince. He is barely more than a boy on the edge of manhood. She decided he is either incredible brave or incredibly stupid for coming out to look for her unarmed. Or, perhaps he was not unarmed. There was only one way to find out. Plus, he might make a useful hostage. The older man had already run off. Ryoko cursed herself for getting distracted. But seeing the princess again had remeinded her of the way Aeka had caused her to laugh out loud, a very rare occurance. She hadn't been able to resist having some fun. Seeing her all grown up was something strange, though. Had she been out of action for that long? What exactly had happened, and why couldn't she remember things right? Teetering on the edge of renewing her assault or holding back, Ryoko waited until a better opportunity presented itself.
"Ouch! Why do trees have to have so many roots? And it's so dark, too. How am I ever going to Ryoko in this?"
A large grin spread across Ryoko's face when she realized that that bumbling GP detective was nearby. She had had no interest in the cop before, so she had avoided her, rather than provoking her. Now, she was well-received. Moving quietly, Ryoko floated up into the air, using the tree branches to conceal her silent advance.
"Blast!" Aeka grumbled aloud. "If I had acted quicker I would have had her!"
"Ryoko is a quick opponent." Yosho advises her. "You had best be on your guard. Tenchi."
"Yes?"
"What exactly are you planning on doing out here with no weapon?"
"I was... hoping Ryoko might listen to me if I tried talking with her."
Aeka heaved a sigh at Tenchi's blissful ignorance of the facts.
"Lord Tenchi, if Ryoko truly believes she is still the same person she was seven hundred years ago, she will not listen to anyone. Not you, not me, not Washu, not anyone."
"Likely the only person she would accept commands from was Kagato." Yosho added, keeping an eye on the surrounding trees. "Now that he's gone..."
"Brother Yosho, has she made any demands, or is she just indiscriminantly destroying things?"
"She wants her gems back."
"Then we should give them to her."
Aeka and Yosho stared at Tenchi in shock.
"They're hers, right?"
"Well... I suppose they are. But..."
"No." Yosho told them. "Under no circumstances must Ryoko regain these gems. With all three..."
Tenchi was amazed to see his normally stalid grandfather, even if he was looking rather healthy this evening, with such a grim expression on his face.
"I remember she tried to take them when we first met, but..."
"Tenchi, with these three gems and Ryo-o-ki, Ryoko could crush Jurai in a day."
"No way..."
The sound of Mihoshi screeching from a short distance away, followed by the sound of her blaster discharging, alerted them to her likely encounter with Ryoko.
"Mihoshi!" Tenchi began running towards where the voice had come from. But before he could get more than a few meters, Ryoko came floating through the trees holding Mihoshi in front of her in a painful-looking arm-lock.
"I'm really, really, really, really, really, sorry, Ryoko! I didn't mean to shoot at you, honest!
"Shut up."
Ryoko stared at the young man for a few seconds, calculating and assessing him. He didn't look like much. He had a decent build, but that didn't mean much in an era when bio-enhancement was the norm. She was surprised when he tried talking with her.
"Ryoko, please stop this!"
"Tell the prince to give me my gems, and I'll leave."
"But why? Why do you want to leave?"
"None of your business. Now cough 'em up."
Ryoko gave Mihoshi's arm a twist, making the officer screech in pain again.
"Or this one will need replacement parts."
Looking at Mihoshi again, Tenchi saw that she was about to burst into tears. Her lips were quivering and little droplets of moisture were gathering in her eyes. She was trying really hard to be brave. He had an idea, but he wanted to get Mihoshi away from Ryoko, first.
"Let Mihoshi go, and I'll give you want you want.
"You don't listen too well." Ryoko cocked her head to the side as she considered what kind of display might convince this person and his grandfather that she meant business.
"You know, I can rip her arms and legs off. She won't even bleed to death if I burn the arteries closed."
Mihoshi's eyes went wide for a split second before she swooned in Ryoko's arms. The graphic description of her imminent dismemberment was too much for her mind to handle. Ryoko hissed at the woman's lack of intestinal fortitude.
"Ryoko... how can you say such a horrible thing?"
"It's not hard." Ryoko grinned widely. "Once you're used to it."
Looking into Ryoko's eyes, Tenchi could see nothing of the fun-loving and mischeivous Ryoko. He saw only a terrible sadistic destroyer that enjoyed the emotional turmoil she inflicting on others.
"Don't you remember how much fun you had with us? All the games, and trips, and... and... the sake! Remember? You love sake!"
For just a fraction of a second, Ryoko thought she remembered a feeling like that. She certainly remembered sake. Getting drunk was one of her favorite pass-times. Not that she had much time to pass. This blonde girl, the others, she had a feeling about them. It felt like something was wrong with this. If it had just been her, she might of stopped just to see what this boy, this Tenchi, meant. She couldn't remember anything specific. It was just a feeling. But up there somewhere was the man who pulled the strings. She had tried running away a couple of times. He always found her. It was no good. But this Tenchi... he made her feelings swell so much she wasn't sure what was right or normal. As Ryoko grew more and more uncertain, she shook her head to clear herself of the abnormal feelings.
"No! You... can't know that! I've never been here before! I don't know you, and..." Ryoko's resolve firmed as she recalled what would happen if she disobeyed her master. "You don't know me."
"Ryoko..." Tenchi looked sadly up at Ryoko as spun Mihoshi upside-down and grasped both her ankles.
"Gimme my gems or I'll rip this little bitch in half!"
A sudden gust of wind blew by Tenchi, quickly followed by another.
Aeka could wait no longer. Tenchi's talking was not working. She had given him a chance to do it his way. Now she had no choice but to act. Hopefully she could at least save Mihoshi.
Yosho hated this feeling of helplessness. On Jurai, he had always felt helpless to change things. Other people were always trying to control his life. The opportunity to escape from Jurai had been to good to pass up. All he had to do was chase after a vicious pirate. But even that was something beyond his control. Ryoko was more than just a pirate. It was hard to believe that Washu was not doing something about this. If everyone else was here, then they must have found the strange super-genius. He firmly believed that she would not allow Ryoko be killed, or to kill another in this household. It was only a matter of figuring out how to diffuse the situation. Attacking Ryoko was the last thing he wanted. Her power was far beyond anything he was capable of without Funaho to back him up. That and his skill with the sword were what had allowed him to defeat her seven hundred years ago. So, when Aeka suddenly launched herself at Ryoko, Yosho had no choice but to try and protect his sister. There was no way she could stand up to the Ryoko of seven hundred years ago. That Ryoko wouldn't hesitate to kill if it was necessary.
"Damn!" Yosho launched himself into the air after Aeka.
Ryoko felt glad when the not-so-little princess attacked. Now she had a clear opponent she could cut loose on without without having to think or feel. Even when Aeka's brother also came at her, she felt no concern. She was prepared for it. Ryoko even smiled. They were so considerate to come at her from the same direction. They couldn't harm her if she was ready to counter the attack. Some of her powers required a bit of physical direction to aim or hold in place, like energy beams or her sword. But some did not. When Aeka's glowering face was nearly upon her, Ryoko lashed out with pure kinetic energy. The princess disappeared into the trees.
Yosho's grimaced when Ryoko blasted Aeka through the trees. He had seen the look of sadistic pleasure on Ryoko's face as she counter-attacked. That look was turned to him, now. Just as he swung at Ryoko's left wrist, she struck. The blast took him full in the front. Yosho's body spasmed, and the Master Key fell from his hand as he followed Aeka through the forest.
"Stop it!" Tenchi yelled out loud as the situation quickly degenerated back to violence. Just for a moment, he had thought that maybe the Ryoko he knew was still there. She had looked like she was wavering. But Aeka's attack had put an end to Ryoko's indecision. She was back in control.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, that felt good!" Ryoko looked down on Tenchi with pleasure. It had felt great to blast those two. Now all she needed to make her day complete was to get her gems back.
Just then, something hard and heavy struck Ryoko on top of the head.
"Ow!"
To both personss surprise, they saw the Master Key drop to the ground right at Ryoko's feet. The floating girl rubbed her head with one hand while still holding Mihoshi up by one foot.
Looking down to see what had hit her, Ryoko was astonished to see the very object that held her gems laying just under her feet.
"Well, how about that?" She tossed Mihoshi aside without a second thought. Dropping to the ground, she reached out to take the sword.
"Um..." Tenchi's good nature almost cause him to remind Ryoko that she shouldn't touch the sword. But then he remembered that if she really did believe that it was seven hundred years ago, she might not remember that it would knock her on her rear. Tenchi remembered that Washu had said she would be right behind him. He said a silent prayer, hoping she was ready and waiting.
Ryoko grabbed the sword and stood up triumphantly.
"Ha!"
Lightning erupted from the Master Key, engulfing Ryoko in blue-white light. She screeched as the sudden surge turned her muscles to rubber. The sword fell to the ground, at the same time she did. A second later, something bit her on the rear. Ryoko jumped up to her feet again.
"Damn it! What the Hell?"
Twisting around to see what the deal was, Ryoko saw a small red-feathered dart sticking out of her right buttock. She reached down and plucked the offending object from her cheek and held it up were she could see it better.
"That's quite enough of that, I think."
Ryoko looked to her right to see the short red-head from her visions walking towards her with a stern expression on her face and an old-fashioned bamboo blow-gun over her shoulder.
"You! I'm gonna..." Suddenly Ryoko's vision swam. Her stomach started to writhe, and her balance quickly went hay-wire. "I'm..."
She stared at the dart to focus and maintain her balance. But it was no use. Whatever that girl had just shot her up with, it was very effective. Unable to stand any longer, Ryoko fell over again. She looked up, confused and afraid. This had never happened before, at least as far as she could remember. She couldn't move anymore. Her vision began to collapse into a dark tunnel. The last thing she saw was that boy, kneeling over her with a concerned expression on his face. Suddenly, his name came to her again.
"Tenchi..." Ryoko managed to whisper before succumbing to darkness.
END.
AFTERWORD: I guess there'll be another chapter, after all. This one's getting kind of long. Next chapter: the conclusion of Hypnosis for Idiots, Obscuring Mist.