Disclaimer can be found in Parts 1 and 2.

A/N: Thanks to all of the great people who have reviewed my story so far, and to all of those who have taken the time to read it :-)

Thanks especially to these reviewers:

Athina Dark-Angel of Death

Nercia Genisis

Ayeka's Heart

Tuppence

Lil'Mershu-chan

The little joobana

AnimeManiac09

DarthRoden

ni9htdreame12

So now let's get on with:

Memories Past

Part 5:

Tenchi opened his eyes slowly and was almost blinded by a sudden intrusion of light. Squinting his eyes to try and reduce the bright glare, Tenchi slowly raised himself up.

Opening his eyes fully, and allowing them to adjust to the brightness around him, Tenchi looked around and assessed his situation.

He had been lying flat on his back on the floor of what appeared to be a very white room. The walls that surrounded him seemed to glow with an inner light all of their own. The room appeared to be the size of a tennis court, but circular in appearance.

Tenchi continued to look all around himself until his eyes settled on a small, dark object in the center of the room.

Getting slowly to his feet, and ignoring the sudden rush of dizziness that almost made him topple back over, Tenchi made his way over to the object.

As he got closer, the object began to warp and change until it took the form of a small circular hole, no bigger than a kiddies pool, that was pitch-black inside.

Walking right up to the hole's edge, and peering within its dark depths, Tenchi gulped out loud and thought to himself...oh man, oh man...what's this hole doing here? Come to think of it...where is here? Washu said that I would connect with Ryoko's mind...so if that's true...then is this it? Is this what Ryoko's mind looks like? This white, barren room? No…it couldn't be...something's wrong here...I'm forgetting something important that Washu told me to do once I got here...now what was it again...oh yeah, now I remember! She said that there would be a seal that I would have to break, and then all that I would have to is to jump in.

Tenchi took another look at the dark hole and began to sweat heavily as realization struck him.

"She wants me to jump into that hole!" Tenchi squeaked out. "No way! Is she serious? I can't even see how far down this thing goes from here!"

Tenchi then got down on his knees to get a better look at the hole. Cocking his head to the side, Tenchi looked closer at the entrance to the hole. From this angle it looked almost as if there was something covering it. Turning his head a little more to the side, he saw a thin, filmy material stretched across the hole's surface.

And I guess that that's supposed to be the seal, Tenchi thought to himself with a sigh.

"Well," Tenchi announced to the empty room as he slowly got back up onto his feet. "I guess that I have no choice but to jump in...to save Ryoko's life...I'll do anything."

Taking a few deep breaths to calm down his racing heart, Tenchi took a few steps back, and prepared himself to jump.

I hope that I hit something nice and soft when I get down there, Tenchi thought to himself with a slight self-deprecating smile on his face.

Releasing one more deep breath of air Tenchi readied himself...let out a loud cry...ran towards the hole...and jumped feet first into it.

His feet hit the semi-visible shield covering the entrance, and the sound of breaking glass came to his ears, but he didn't feel anything cutting into his skin. His chest entered the hole next, then his arms, and finally his head.

As his vision began to fill with the darkness of the hole, a warm and secure feeling began to wrap itself tightly around him. The feeling was like a warm blanket on a cold winters night. It began driving away the fear and uncertainty that had gripped him just moments before.

As Tenchi's body continued to hurtle down into the unknown, he held on to that feeling of warmth and security...knowing instinctually that it was Ryoko's essence...and it was letting him know that he was safe, and that she was there with him.

Tenchi smiled gently at that thought, his body shooting like a bullet straight down. He was no longer worried about what awaited him at the end of his long journey down this hole. All he knew was that at the end of this tunnel, the woman that he finally admitted to himself of holding a very special place in his heart, waited for him to come and rescue her. That was all that he needed to know. So Tenchi straightened his body as much as he could, increasing the speed at which he dropped, and shortening the time it would take to reach the bottom.

A steady whistling sound came to him and Tenchi realized it was the air passing over his head as he hurtled down further into the hole.

I wonder how fast I'm going? I just hope that I'm going fast enough to reach Ryoko in time...I couldn't bear it if I got there too la...wait! What's that light down there! I think that…Yes! That's it! That's the exit...it has to be! Hold on Ryoko...I'm almost there.

Tenchi stiffened his body as far as it would go and felt his muscles cramp...but it didn't matter...he was getting closer to the bright, white sphere of light that had lit up the air below him only moments before.

As Tenchi got closer and closer to the light, the warm, secure feeling that had surrounded him earlier grew and intensified, until it completely surrounded the space around him.

Tenchi wanted to shout for joy because that meant that it wasn't too late...that he still had time to save her...Ryoko's spirit was still alive and fighting.

Come on, come on...just a little further now...I'm…almost…there…Yes! I'm through! Tenchi cried to himself in joy as his body passed through the bright light, a slight tingle going through him when he did.

His joy was short-lived however as his body slowed to a halt, his feet touched down on hard ground, and his eyes took in the sight before him.

A half strangled sob escaped his throat, and tears came to his eyes as they came to rest on a sight that would haunt his waking days and sleeping nights for the rest of his life.

"Ryoko…" Tenchi whispered softly. "Oh please...Ryoko no…"

To be continued…

A/N: Bwwaahahaha...aren't I evil :-) Have no fear though...I'll have the next chapter out as soon as possible...thanks again for all of the reviews...love ya...ja ne :p