The Return to Darkness

by lighthawkdemon1

Sequel to 'The Darkness Within'. Tenchi is plagued by thoughts and nightmares of his 'previous life.' He tries to move on and forget it, but Tokimi is still around and deeply desires for him to return to her...and their unborn child.

8. Chapter 8: A Goddess Reborn

Tenchi Muyo!

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Disclaimer: This episode of Tenchi Muyo! is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Tenchi Muyo. "Tenchi Muyo!" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1992-2003 AIC Inc. and Pioneer LDC. All rights reserved.

Note: This story line is a sequel to 'The Darkness Within.' I recommend reading the stories since it is an incredible series and is very well done.

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The Return to Darkness
Chapter 8:
A Goddess Reborn

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Nobuyuki Masaki is currently at the happiest that he has ever been. Happier then when all the gorgeous girls from space came down to live at his house; even happier when his only son began to go out with a couple of them in hopes of seeing if he was in love with one of them. He just found out that Tenchi is now married to a woman whose beauty equals and probably even surpasses those of the girls at his house. To top it off, she is pregnant with Tenchi's child. Finally! A grandchild! Unfortunately for the older Masaki, the deeper surprises are just getting started.

Tokimi and Tenchi look at each other, a silent understanding going on between them. "Um Dad," the prince begins, "there's...a little more that we need to tell you."

"What is it son? Are you having twins?" the older Masaki asks with a twinkle in his eyes.

The happy couple chuckles slightly at the question. "No, that is not the news," Tokimi answers, "though I would not mind having more children with Tenchi as soon as I birth this one," she finishes while rubbing her belly lovingly. Her face suddenly becomes somber, as does Tenchi's, knowing what is about to be said. "What needs to be told is something much more serious and I am afraid that this news is not enjoyable."

Nobuyuki's smile fades. "O...okay, what do you have to tell me?"

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A few hours later, the trio is sitting at a local restaurant, Tenchi and Tokimi having just finished going through their story of what originally happens to everyone before the goddess reversed time, helping to alter the future and save her dear husband's life. Mr. Masaki currently is holding his cup of coffee in both hands, a look of awe on his face and his mouth agape.

"I...I know Dad, it's a lot to take in all at once," the younger Masaki quietly tells his father, his right hand tightly grasping his wife's left.

Nobuyuki takes a sip of his coffee, taking a deep breath afterwards. "This is just...well...I really don't know what to say."

Tokimi moves closer to the older man, her brilliant blue and purple eyes looking sad, pleading. "Do you...do you hate us now father?" she asks. "After what had happened, after what we did...I was so upset that they would hurt my dear Tenchi so deeply...I wanted them to pay, to suffer as both he and I did."

Mr. Masaki sighs deeply, looking at both his son and daughter-in-law. "You two and everyone else back home did a lot of bad things, you know that." The couple drops their heads down in shame. "But since none of that stuff has happened, I guess that I'm not mad at any of you for something that hasn't happened, I just don't want to see any of it happen, okay?" Upon seeing both of their faces instantly light up, Nobuyuki smiles as well. "Tenchi my boy, you have chosen a real winner with Tokimi here. I'm proud of you."

Tears form in the goddess' eyes as she gets up from her seat and wraps her arms around her father-in-law. "Thank you!" she cries. "Thank you for understanding! I was beginning to believe that it would be only Tenchi and myself. I am eternally grateful for your warmth and compassion. Now I see where Tenchi gets it from."

"Naw, he really gets it from his mother. It just rubbed off a bit on me," he admits, scratching the back of his head.

The couple chuckles lightly. Tenchi stands up, a wave of relief washing over him. "I'm glad that this went well, but..." his face darkens, "...but I'm worried about what the others will say when they find out that Tokimi is pregnant. I mean, Ryoko really overreacted when we told them that we're married. What will she do when this news comes out?"

Tokimi wraps an arm around her loving husband. "I do not know what she or the others will do, but I do know that we will go through this entire ordeal together my dear Tenchi."

"Don't forget about me!" Nobuyuki chimes in. "I'm a part of this too. I know the full story now and the girls don't. I could help you two ease this little situation up."

"That's great Dad. Come one, let's go home, we've got a long day ahead of us." And with that, the trio makes their way over to Mr. Masaki's car, ready to go back home.

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The residents at the Masaki residence, besides an indifferent Katsuhito, are all in a state of shock. It was enough for Tenchi to come walking in with a mystery woman and they claimed to be married and deeply in love, but for the prince to actually strike the space pirate Ryoko so forcefully to draw blood and make an indentation on the floor by her crashing down...well that was something they had never, ever even suspected of even happening.

Currently, almost everyone is sitting on the living room couch, helping to both condole Ryoko and themselves of the shock. Katsuhito lifts his cup to his mouth, taking a sip of his green tea. "I see," he mutters, "this is quite odd of Tenchi to strike Ryoko in such a fashion...and unusually bold move by bringing this goddess...Tokimi here and claiming to be wed to her." He suddenly puts on a strange smile. "I am more than a little hurt that he would not think of at least inviting me to the wedding!" He looks around the room, noticing that none of the girls have paid him any attention. He sighs and takes another sip of tea, mumbling, "Well at least I tried."

Out of all the girls helping the pirate in her now very delicate state, Ayeka is the only one who hasn't done a thing to help her, being too consumed in her own thoughts. 'I have never seen Lord Tenchi act in such a manner. I know that he was only protecting his bride...but that look in his eyes frightened me in a way in which I have never felt before. Never have I seen him so angry and upset, not even when that...that villainous criminal Kagato kidnapped Ryoko and then nearly killed Lord Tenchi and then all of us and earth.' For the briefest of moments, the princess glances over at the space pirate. 'Well...at least his anger is directed towards her where it belongs, not at the rest of us.'

Behind her, the younger princess Sasami comes walking in from the kitchen with Ryo-Ohki in her toddler form, carrying a tray of snacks and drinks. They place the trays down on the living room table and sit down by Ryoko's feet, worriedly looking up at the pirate's heavily distraught face. 'She looks so sad,' the young girl thinks. 'I really hope that she feels better soon. It's not like Ryoko to stay sad for too long.'

Suddenly, a second, older voice speaks up inside of her. 'Do not fret Sasami, you need to keep up a happy face. I know that everyone is beginning to go through a rough time, and it most likely will not get better once all the news has been put out in the open about my sister and Tenchi and the life growing inside of her. We will no doubt go through some very troubling times, but we need to stand tall and proud and we will get through this together. Just stay strong and do not let any news slip for just a little longer Sasami, please do this for me'

Sasami smiles sweetly, thinking, 'O...okay Tsunami. Thank you.'

On Ryoko's left, Mihoshi firmly grasps the pirate's hand with both of hers, looking to be on the verge of tears as usual. "Ryoko...Ryoko are you okay?" she sniffs. While she appears to be normal, well normal for Mihoshi, on the outside, she is a virtual train wreck on the inside. For the longest time, she was deeply in love with Tenchi and believed him to be her destiny, that they were meant to be together and that he was her prince, a thing that stood for everything good and righteous. Watching him earlier though, ripped every thought she had of him into shreds, tearing deeply into her heart. 'What's happened Tenchi?' she sadly thinks. 'Why are you so angry now? Was it something I did, because if it is I'll do anything to make you feel better Tenchi so please be nice to us all again.'

On the pirate's right, her mother Washu silently strokes her fingers through her daughter's spiky, yet very silky, cyan hair, contemplating everything that has occurred, but at a deeper level than the other girls. 'Tenchi has changed. When he came back, I didn't notice how different he was until I was able to get close to him. His stance, his facial expressions, his movements...everything seems to be slightly different from normal...different from all of the tests and daily updated files I have on him. That goddess...that Tokimi woman...she's done something to him, I can feel it. But...there's something not quite right with this,' she thinks, now looking confused. 'Each time I think about that goddess and her being married...well it just sounds oddly familiar to me somehow...like something I said or did a long time ago.'

Ryoko herself is in shambles. The man she loves more than anything, the man to whom she would do anything and go anywhere for, has fallen for another woman and struck her in a fit of anger. 'I...I'm sorry Tenchi,' she thinks to herself, letting the tears continue to flow, 'I never meant to make you so angry. Please forgive me...I'll do anything, anything you want just to get you to not be angry with me anymore.' As she begins to shake again from crying, a feeble, "T...Tenchi..." escapes her lips.

As everyone in the room, besides a heavily distracted Ayeka and a somewhat confused but not showing it Katsuhito, helps to comfort Ryoko again, the front door opens and a cheerful looking Nobuyuki comes walking in, saying, "Hey everybody, I'm back!" As he enters the living room, he takes in everybody's faces and sighs slightly. 'They look exactly as they said everyone would. Well...here goes nothing...' Mr. Masaki takes a deep breath before speaking up. "You guys don't need to tell me anything, I already know everything that happened earlier."

Five pairs of heads look up at the middle-aged man in surprise. The eldest Masaki acts as if he hasn't heard a thing as he takes another sip of his green tea, his eyes closed in thought. Ayeka stands up warily, speaking barely above a whisper. "But, how...how do you know of this Father?"

Nobuyuki steps aside, revealing Tokimi and a nervous looking Tenchi at the front door. The prince walks inside, his arm linked with his wife's. His eyes take in all the girls, who for the longest time he considered his family. He lingers the longest on Ryoko, who is looking both fearful and hopeful. With a deep breath, he begins to speak, "I...I'm really sorry about earlier guys. I guess I sorta lost control, but I didn't mean to." He looks directly at the space pirate. "And I never meant to hurt you Ryoko...you know that, don't you? What happened was an accident...I promise that nothing like this will never happen again." He glances over at Tokimi and nods.

The goddess nods back, albeit dejectedly, and backs up a few steps, crossing her arms with a slight frown on her beautiful face. 'I do not know why I am allowing this to continue this way,' she thinks to herself. Her radiant eyes look her dear husband up and down, causing her heart to flutter. 'Oh Tenchi, I will never leave your side. I will always be with you, and,' she adds, her eyes going dark, 'I will make sure that nobody ever takes you away from me.'

The prince takes a few steps closer to the girls, his arms spreading wide. "Please...can you forgive me?"

Ryoko sniffs once, new tears beginning to pour down her face, this time tears of joy. She leaps up into the air, shimmering for a moment before disappearing and reappearing in front of Tenchi. Without a second thought, both embrace in forgiveness, Ryoko crying even harder while the prince barely holds in the tears.

The other girls, wrought with emotion, stampede over to Tenchi as well, all going into a large group hug. Katsuhito gets up from the couch and walks over next to Nobuyuki, who is smiling warmly at his family. "I assume you had something to do with Tenchi's return and begging forgiveness from the others?" the older man asks his son-in-law.

Nobuyuki starts to rub the back of his head. "Yeah, I sort of did. He was pretty upset over what he did when he and my new daughter came to visit. He had no idea what to do so I gave him a little advice and my accepting of his marrying of Tokimi helped make him feel better."

Katsuhito nods slightly, taking his last sip of tea before responding, "Good work, there is hope for you yet."

The middle-aged man nods in agreement for a moment before realizing what the older man said. "Wait a minute! What do you mean by that?"

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A little over an hour later, the entire family, minus Katsuhito who has gone back up to his shrine, are sitting around the dining table, getting ready for another spectacular dinner, compliments of Sasami. Due to recent changes with relationships, plus the addition of a new member, the seating arrangements have changed slightly. Nobuyuki stays at the head of the table with Tenchi and Tokimi sitting side by side opposite him. On the eastern facing side, Mr. Masaki's right, sits Ryoko, Sasami and Ayeka while Washu and Mihoshi sit opposite them.

Dinner goes by rather quietly, with only Nobuyuki being the only person to speak up at the table. Several members of the family do speak regularly, but not by normal means. Tenchi and Tokimi speak telepathically, each using their powers to speak to the other. 'This feels...so awkward Tenchi,' the goddess thinks to her husband. 'Only father is talking. The silence from the others is beginning to make me feel nervous.'

'Couldn't you like peek into their minds and see what they're thinking?' Tenchi thinks back to his lovely wife.

The goddess mentally sighs. 'I did try that earlier, but all of their minds are in such chaos. There are so many thoughts and emotions flying through them that it is very difficulty to determine what they are thinking.'

'Oh,' he thinks in defeat. He reaches down and grasps her hand. 'I love you. We'll get through this, I promise.'

Tokimi smiles, intertwining her fingers with his. 'I love you too my dearest Tenchi.'

On opposite sides of the table, a mother and her daughter are having a telepathic conversation as well, with the mother desperately trying to calm down her daughter's slowly growing rage. Ryoko has since gotten over her initial shock and depression over losing Tenchi and of him hitting her. Her intense rage now going towards the true source of her problems, the newcomer and now wife of Tenchi, she supposed 'goddess' Tokimi. 'Please Ryoko,' Washu mentally pleads to her daughter, 'just calm down a bit. I don't like this whole situation any more than you do, but we need to just wait a bit and don't act all irrationally. I've got a strange feeling about all of this.'

The pirate's intensely growing anger is momentarily halted. 'What do you mean Washu? What's bugging you?'

'A lot of thing really,' she truthfully replies. 'Tsunami's story has got me more than a little confused. I mean, if Tokimi really is her sister then why isn't she all well known and worshipped like Tsunami is? How come we've never heard about her until today? Why did she all of a sudden just latch onto Tenchi and get married to him? Did she do something to him to steer his heart towards her?' She pauses for a moment, upset at her virtual lack of information on the new woman in the house. 'But the thing that bugs me the most is that I have been having the feeling that this was meant to happen, that more is to come of this, but each time I try to rack some more information out of myself, I suddenly get a bad headache and it won't go away for a while.'

Now Ryoko's anger has completely subsided as her full attention is now on her mother, she has even forgotten to eat or drink. 'What do you think is giving you those headaches?"

'I don't know,' Washu answers, her bright green eyes now looking determined, 'but I'm definitely going to find out. This is too big of a thing to ignore. Besides, you know that I have to know everything since I'm the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe!'

The pirate mentally sighs deeply. 'Great, I actually liked it better when you were all secretive and broody.'

'Watch it Ryoko,' the little genius warns, giving her daughter a look.

Ryoko sticks her tongue out and Washu is about to respond when Nobuyuki notices and speaks up. "Ryoko, Washu, what are you two doing?" Both women quickly look over at the middle-aged man, each having similar guilty looks on their faces. Suddenly, they both smile awkwardly and chuckle bemusedly, rubbing the back of their heads and looking astonishingly like mother and daughter, something they don't usually look or act like together.

Mr. Masaki watches both of them, sweatdropping as they try to act it off. As he looks away, he notices Tokimi placing only a small amount of food onto her plate. Without thinking it through, he says, "Hey Tokimi, I think you should eat a little more than that. After all, you are eating for two now." He, Tenchi and Tokimi all tense up right after he finishes his sentence, each realizing what was just revealed.

The initial reaction from the rest of the family is stunned silence. This is just too much to take in. Everything is happening way too fast. Washu is about to speak up when she feels a rage more powerful than anything she has ever felt before coming from her daughter. 'Ryoko,' she cautiously begins telepathically, 'calm down now. You need to remember that according to Tsunami, this Tokimi woman is a goddess just like her. Even if she is pregnant, that doesn't mean...' she trails off as her head suddenly is filled with pain, visions of a distant memory coming flowing into her mind...

"Remember the prophecy dear sister," a woman's voice, sounding as sweet as honey, speaks to another, "a goddess is destined to have a child with a champion among men. That child will be the one to determine the fates of the mortals, this entire universe and us as well. We can not deny the importance of this so why must you go and become a mortal?"

"Well sister," another voice replies, this one sounding sensual and very confident, "I grow tired of only sitting by and idly watching the mortals live their lives. I wish to see and experience what they do. I am interested in getting their viewpoints on life and their struggle to live. Besides," she adds, now sounding slightly humorous, "Tsunami plans on leaving to live among the mortals as well and I do not enjoy the idea of staying around here with just you to keep me company."

The other woman stays silent for a moment, and then speaks up. "Be that as it may, my main concern is not over your enjoyment of company, but that of you and the prophecy. What you must be concerned about is that once you become mortal, you will forsake all of your powers and memories of your life as a goddess. Without them, you will be both quite vulnerable and without an identity. It is possible for you to be killed by those savage mortals. Do you want to take such a risk Washu?"

Washu...

A goddess?

Washu, the Goddess of Intelligence and Chaos...

Suddenly, the little genius collapses onto the floor. Unfortunately for her, nobody notices because of the more serious situation that occurred right after she began to have her vision.

Ryoko, overcome with both grief and rage, slams her chopsticks onto the table, shattering them into pieces. She slowly, threateningly gets to her feet, a mad rage in her golden eyes. She mutters a quick, "You're dead bitch!" before lunging towards Tokimi at incredible speed, her fists held high in preparation to strike. One thing she didn't count on however was for Tenchi to move his wife out of the way, advertently stepping in her place a split second before her fist collided with the shocked goddess' face.

The resulting punch is so powerful that it shatters all the windows in the house and sends the prince hurtling out of the house, smashing through the walls as if they were paper. His body keeps it's progress through the forest, turning the trees into nothing more than splinters, until it smashes into a large boulder about one hundred yards away, turning it into pebbles and finally halting his incredible short journey. He manages to murmur out a raspy, "Crap that hurt," before going unconscious.

For a few moments, the entire household, minus Washu who is still clutching her head in pain, stare at the Tenchi shaped holes out the house and the path of destruction beyond. The pirate's entire body begins to tremble. 'W...what have I done?' she thinks in horror. Without a second thought, she and the others dash out to see if the prince is all right. Tokimi starts to go as well when she is stopped by a powerful and very familiar presence just behind her. 'No,' she thinks in surprise, 'it is not possible...' She turns around, only to come face to face with an adult Washu, only there seems to be something different about her, something...complete.

Washu looks at Tokimi, a small smile beginning to form on her mischievous face. "Hello there sister," she sweetly greets, "it has been a long time."

To be continued...

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Author's notes: Man I really wish that I could finish these sooner so all of you can enjoy them. I guess what I said before about writing more and posting sooner didn't go as well as I had hoped. Right now I am working on two stories for a couple of my other series and once I finish those, I will get back to this story.

So now Washu remembers who she once was. What will Tokimi do? How will this affect the family? More importantly, what will the goddess Washu do? -- lighthawkdemon

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com