New Lamps For Old 3: Once Worshipped as Gods
"Crap, crap, crap, crap!" Washu exclaimed as she rushed around the lab, checking readings and searching for answers, Tenchi's softly glowing form resting on a bed in the center of the lab.
"Is Tenchi going to be okay?" Sasami asked worriedly, clutching Ryo-Ohki tightly.
"He's Tenchi, he'll be fine," Ryoko said firmly, trying to cover up her worry with false confidence, "Washu hasn't failed to come through before."
"She's never been running back and forth yelling crap before either," Mihoshi noted worriedly. The ditzy galaxy police officer was unsure what she could do to help but was sure there had to be something.
"Mihoshi!" Princess Ayeka growled out, before turning to her younger sister and assuring her, "Lord Tenchi will be fine, Ryoko is correct, Miss Washu has never failed to find a solution."
"Why did his Jurian power turn on him?" Nobuyuki asked his father-in-law. "Is it anything like what happened with his mother?"
Katsuhito shook his head. "My daughter drew on too much power, too fast, while much too young, shortening her life span. No, Tenchi's power is attacking him like he's a foreign entity, it's a completely different situation."
"Has this ever happened before?" Nobuyuki asked, worried for his son.
"The closest case was when a non-Jurian tried to bond to a Jurian tree, but Tenchi has not bonded to one, so I am at a loss," the old priest admitted hoping his grandson would be okay and silently offering prayers to the goddesses.
"This is so frustrating!" Washu exclaimed, the small red headed scientist pausing to pull at her own hair.
"Jurian power is a double-edged sword," the old priest said gravely, "sometimes it is simply too much for our frail forms."
"Then why not make him stronger?" Mihoshi asked.
"Washu snorted. "Why not make him stronger…" she muttered bitterly then froze. "Why not make him stronger?" she asked aloud. "That's it!"
Washu raced around the lab, hitting buttons and flipping switches as a tank full of the formless Masu slowly lowered itself over the twitching young man.
"Is she doing what I think she's doing?" Princess Ayeka asked in shock.
"If you mean saving Tenchi, then yes, that is what she is doing," Ryoko said, picturing a Tenchi that was a lot like her, able to fly, phase through solid matter, and throw energy blasts.
"Will it work?" Sasami asked, looking to the adults for answers.
"Of course it will work, I'm the greatest scientific genius in the universe!" Washu yelled, laughing madly as the tank enveloped Tenchi, the grapefruit size aquatic lifeform settling on his body and slowly sinking into his flesh…
"His vital signs are getting stronger," Mihoshi noted.
"But not quite enough," Washu muttered. "Ryoko, get over here, I need some of your blood!"
"My blood? Why do you need my blood?" the space pirate asked as she floated forward and offered an arm.
"I injected Masu into my egg when I made you," Washu explained, "your blood contains the genetic sequences needed to allow him to adapt." The empty tank vanished overhead leaving the unconscious young man behind, the purple glow around him a bit stronger than it had been before.
"Go ahead, take a pint, I'll make more," Ryoko said urgently.
Washu pressed a small grey cylindrical device to Ryoko's arm for a second until it beeped and turned back to Tenchi, pressing it to his neck.
"I don't know if this will be enough," Katsuhito said, watching the glow around his grandson slowly increase.
"By itself no-" Washu fell silent as Tenchi's body shifted into that of a dark-haired young girl. "Unusual but not unexpected," she muttered before throwing the device to the old priest. "The Masu DNA not only makes him stronger, it makes him more adaptable. Give me some of your blood and your Jurian genes will reinforce his own so he can contain his power."
The old man pushed the device to his wrist until it beeped and then passed it back to the small genius who pressed it to the side of the dark-haired girl's throat once more. After a few seconds the young woman's body shifted back into a male's and the purple glow slowly faded.
Washu stayed glued to a monitor, waving for everyone to remain silent so she could concentrate. After a minute she nodded in satisfaction. "And I have done it once more, Tenchi is going to be okay."
The girls quickly crowded around the bed where the young man lay, laying hands on him to feel his warmth and assure themselves he was fine.
"How long is he going to be unconscious for?" Nobuyuki asked.
"He'll wake up shortly, his new body should be neutralizing the anesthetic any second now," Washu said.
Tenchi yawned and started softly snoring.
"Of course after what he's gone through, he might be a bit tired," Washu said amused.
Ryoko gently shook his shoulder before Ayeka could stop her. "Tenchi, wake up."
"Five more minutes, pops," Tenchi muttered rolling over and burying his head under the pillow, his hospital gown falling open behind him making the girls blush.
Katsuhito quickly drew the gown closed. "Grandson you can sleep later, we have a number of concerned people who wish to speak to you right now."
Tenchi rolled back over and opened his eyes, revealing that they were now bright blue rather than brown. "Who?" he asked.
"Tenchi, you're okay!" Ryoko exclaimed, throwing herself on top of him.
Ayeka's eyes narrowed and she mentally cursed herself for not thinking to do that first, royal dignity be damned!
"There, there," Tenchi said awkwardly, patting her on the back.
"Son, what do you remember?" Nobuyuki asked.
Tenchi opened his mouth to reply, then closed it. "Nothing," he said, "I've got nothing."
"That's probably for the best, you were in a lot of pain," Washu said, everyone ignoring Ayeka pulling Ryoko off him, both of them falling to the floor.
Ayeka scrambled to her feet, but found Mihoshi and Sasami had already claimed spots on the bed hugging him from the sides with Ryo-Ohki in child form on his chest.
"No, I mean I don't remember anything," Tenchi said. "I don't know who any of you are or even who I am."
"That's awful," Mihoshi said eyes tearing up.
"Is it?" Tenchi asked worriedly.
"Not as awful as being dead would be, and the memory loss is probably temporary," Washu said bluntly. "Worst case, you can make new memories and I have tons of footage of everyone so you can see what's happened in the past. Time travel may be a bad idea all around, but simply recording light and sound waves from outside of the time stream is perfectly safe… well about eighty percent, plus or minus a couple of points."
"Now that sounds handy," Tenchi said with a smile.
"Let's stick with things we've filmed by normal means to start," Katsuhito suggested dryly, but unable to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching.
"Sure, I can do that," Washu said hitting some buttons and transforming the bed into a large sofa, while the lights dimmed and a screen the size of a movie theater rose from the floor facing it.
"What all have you recorded?" Ayeka asked picking up her younger sister and placing her on her lap so they could both sit beside Tenchi.
Not to be outdone Ryoko picked up Mihoshi and did the same, much to Mihoshi's surprise.
"Everything!" Washu said proudly, causing Ayeka and Ryoko to stare at her in horror.
"How about we start with some of the usual household hi-jinks before we get into any of the… major events?" Katsuhito suggested, not wanting to scare Tenchi off.
"Here is the highlight reel from last weekend," Washu said, as the screen lit up.
An hour later
"You girls fight in the house too much," Tenchi said, shaking his head, "and how does me dating all of you work, anyway? Do I have a schedule where I take you out on dates in turn or what?"
"Yes!" Ayeka exclaimed, then blushed and cleared her throat. "I mean, yes Lord Tenchi we take turns and really should make a schedule… it would cut down on fights."
"Yeah," Ryoko said with a slowly growing smile, "that would cut down on fights."
Tenchi's father and grandfather smiled, thinking about how much property damage could be avoided that way.
"I can draw one up!" Sasami said eagerly. "I can put it in the kitchen so everyone can see it's fair."
"I always forget to check the schedule," Mihoshi complained, surprised there was a schedule. "Make sure I have a Tuesday so we can go karaoking!"
"I quite enjoy Saturdays," Ayeka said.
"Fridays all the way," Ryoko added.
"Make the schedule later," Washu said, pleased to see the girls actually not making a fuss about taking turns, "for now let's get back to the show! Wanna see hours of you sweeping steps or sparring with gramps?"
"Sparring," Tenchi said instantly perking up.
The screen lit up with scenes of Tenchi training and being instructed by Katsuhito which Tenchi immediately found fault with.
"My footing is pathetic and while my form is good, I have no follow through," he complained as he watched his onscreen self spar with the old priest.
"But for your age, you're quite good," his grandfather assured him.
"Not unless I'm six," Tenchi argued. "I have to train, this is going to distract me until I fix it."
"Are you sure?" his grandfather asked. "I'm not sure you're fully recovered. Perhaps you can wait a few days."
"I feel fine," Tenchi assured him.
"Physically he's fine," Washu assured him, "and maybe performing some familiar katas will stimulate his memory."
Tenchi stood up and set Ryo-Ohki down. Noting a draft he said, "Can someone show me where my room is, I need pants."
0o0o0o0o0o0
"Are you sure this is wise?" Katsuhito asked Washu as they waited for Tenchi to join them outside.
"Physically he's stronger than ever," Washu assured him. "Reinforcing his Jurian genes and adding Masu puts him levels above human strength and toughness. Unless you are seriously trying to injure him, he'll be fine."
"Alright," the old priest said, accepting her appraisal of his grandson, "it just seems a bit strange to go from about dying to sparing in a matter of hours."
"Pretend he's Ryoko's brother," Washu suggested, "because physically he'll share much of her strength even if he can't properly use it yet."
Tenchi stepped outside with a red faced Ayeka and grinning Ryoko. He was dressed in a pair of loose black cotton pants and a white t-shirt, looking very eager to begin.
Sasami handed Tenchi a bokken and he thanked her before loosening up and trying a few moves, showing speed and precision that surprised everyone.
Katsuhito smiled, suddenly looking forward to the spar. "Ready?"
Everyone moved back to give them space.
"Ready when you are gramps," Tenchi said casually but his eyes glittered with excitement.
"Begin," Washu called out.
If you blinked you'd have missed it as the two leapt into combat, the sound of their wooden swords clacking against one another like a string of firecrackers.
Suddenly the two were several feet apart from one another and Tenchi was rolling his wrists while Katsuhito was rolling his shoulders.
"I don't remember teaching you some of that," the old priest noted curiously.
Tenchi grinned. "Neither do I."
The pair laughed.
"Another round?" Tenchi asked.
"I think I can spare the time," he told his grandson, before the latter blurred into motion once more.
The girls gathered behind Washu, who had a holographic screen in front of her that slowed down the fight to a speed they could see.
"Has Tenchi been holding back that much?" Ryoko asked in disbelief.
"I'm not sure," Washu admitted. "We all know he doesn't like to hurt people, so he doesn't fully commit to battle unless forced, hence I believe a good deal of his increased strength and speed is because of my work," she said smugly.
"For once you did something right," Ryoko said eyes glued to Tenchi as sweat beaded on his skin while he fought.
There came a faint sound of thunder and a light rain came down, soaking the two and causing Tenchi's form to shift. They both withdrew to try and figure out what had happened.
"Okay, this is new… right?" Tenchi asked as she stared down at 'her' breasts clearly visible through her wet white shirt.
"It's the Masu DNA it allows a certain degree of shape shifting," Washu said, "it's a feature not a bug!"
Typing by: fyrewolf5
TN: sorry for delays in getting this typed up IRL was a bitch the last couple weeks, and while this looks fun, I never got into Tenchi so I'm sure there are a lot of mistakes for dogbert to find and fix
AN: This is the third of the four stories I had planned. The fourth involves Tenchi in Bleach taking Ichigo's place! I had some people ask about what I had planned since they can find the first two but not the second, so I put this out so they could see the setup I had planned when I got the idea. An older amnesiatic Ranma taking the place of Tenchi.
