Chapter Twelve
As they entered the drive room of the Tsunami-fune, Tenchi was aware of the sombre expression in his companion's rich crimson eyes and despite himself he felt a sense of trepidation creeping up over him as he followed her, unsure what they were going to find but knowing that he had to see it, either way. At first, he could only see the crouched figure of Azaka, his greying hair tumbling over his shoulder as he ministered to something on the ground. And then, as the knight moved to acknowledge his Lady's presence, Tenchi was aware of what he had been tending.
Fear and alarm coursed through him and, everything else forgotten, he hurried across the room, dropping onto his knees at Washu's side. The scientist was ash pale, her green eyes fluttered closed, and as he stared at her, he realised that there was something else about her too. Instead of the cheeky child scientist he had grown used to, the still form was that of a young woman, little older than Ryoko in appearance, with her wild red hair fanned out loose around her head. It was in stark contrast to the whiteness of her face, and he swallowed hard, glancing up at Tsunami as she came to join him.
"What happened to her?" He whispered. "Is she...is she dead?"
"Washu-sama." Tsunami frowned, drawing her brows together as she reached a ghostly hand down to touch the still form. "No, Tenchi, she lives. I can feel her life force, but it's faint and unstable. I thought I had given her more than this...obviously I misjudged my own strength and that of Kihaku."
"This is something to do with her planet?" Tenchi looked startled. "But...I don't understand..."
"To stop Tokimi, we had to destroy Kihaku." Tsunami settled herself more comfortably on the cold steel floor, and Tenchi was aware of the tears that glittered in the depths of her gaze. "We couldn't risk the fallout if Tokimi and I fought one another, so Washu's science was the only other answer. The trouble is, Tenchi, that Washu is a blood descendant of Kihaku's ruling tribe. Her life force was wrapped up in Kihaku's energy. She thought destroying it would kill her, and I, in my arrogance, assumed that I could override ancient magic with a flicker of my own. It seems I was wrong. Kihaku speaks stronger than I ever realised - and I have misjudged so much."
"You mean...she will die?" Tenchi stared at the goddess in horror. "She's here, living and breathing, but you're going to let her slip away regardless?"
"I have no more strength in me." Tsunami admitted. "I gave some to Washu before I left, in the hope it would protect her when Kihaku exploded. And the rest I used to bring you, Mihoshi and Tokimi from Kihaku's wreckage. I told you - I can't draw on the magic of Jurai in full until I'm really Tsunami. This is only temporary. It has it's limits."
"But you can't..." Tenchi glanced down at the still scientist, grasping her hand loosely in his and feeling its coolness between his fingers. "Washu is Ryoko's mother, Tsunami. And though neither of them ever say it, I know that matters to both of them. There has to be something we can do. Washu might have her eccentric moments but she's got us out of a lot of scrapes in the past and we have to try and help her. Can my Light Hawk Wings do something? They helped Ryoko, after all, when Kagato had control of her."
"No." Tsunami shook her head. "Ryoko was possessed, she wasn't wounded. And besides, she's at least part Juraian. Washu is Kii. The link is already tenuous enough. There is nothing you or I can do."
"Then how did you give her some of your magic before you left?" Tenchi demanded. "You're not making sense! If your magic can only touch Juraians, why could you do even that?"
"I didn't." Tsunami admitted. "It was Sasami's will. Not mine. Just like bringing Tokimi here. Sasami is the one with a connection to Washu. Not me. I can only touch the children of Jurai. Sasami, by extending the hand of friendship to others outside of her world, has a far greater reach."
Tenchi fell silent for a moment, contemplating. Then he glanced up.
"Then what does she say now?" He asked softly. "Tsunami-sama, you're powerful, I know that. But you said yourself that Sasami and Washu are friends. What does she want us to do?"
Tsunami sighed.
"I can feel her crying, inside of me." She owned, glancing at her hands. "And urging me to do something...to try anything, no matter what it takes to make Washu's heart beat more strongly. But I have to take Tsunami-fune back to the Earth, Tenchi. I can't navigate a ship without my magic."
"What about Azaka or Kamidake? Haven't they piloted this ship before?"
"Yes, they have." Tsunami looked troubled. "But to become Tsunami, Sasami took their magic from them. Without my guidance, they can't pilot the ship. Only the Light Hawk magic is strong enough to penetrate the tree's control panel."
Tenchi's eyes narrowed, and he got to his feet.
"Then I'll fly the ship." He said decidedly. "Because I have your magic, and Azaka and Kamidake can help me to navigate. You focus your energy on healing Washu."
"You can't pilot a spaceship!" Tsunami stared. Tenchi frowned.
"Then I'll learn, fast." He said grimly. He glanced across to where Azaka was waiting at a discreet distance.
"Azaka, you'll help me to get Tsunami-fune to the Earth, won't you?" He asked. Azaka looked startled, then glanced at Tsunami, who faltered, then nodded her head.
"Lord Tenchi's expressed a desire to fly a Jurai ship." She said simply. "He has enough of my magic to guide it, but he'll need both you and Kamidake to help him. He's never done it before, so I'm relying on you both to help him get us back to the Earth."
"And you, Tsunami-sama?"
"I must help Washu." Tsunami sighed. "Sasami won't let me walk away from her any more than she'd let me walk away from Tokimi. Whatever it takes to raise her - I must try."
She put her hand gently to Washu's chest, closing her eyes. As Tenchi watched, a faint glow flickered around the scientist's body, and a look of intense concentration crossed Tsunami's face. At first, nothing happened, but then the woman's lashes fluttered and opened, revealing dazed green eyes that stared around her in confusion. He dropped back to her side, grasping her hand once more and as she brought him into her line of sight, she offered him a faint smile.
"Tenchi." She murmured. "I promised Ryoko..."
She trailed off, her eyes flickering shut once more, and Tenchi cast Tsunami an anxious look, aware of how translucent her own form had become.
"She will live." The Goddess said softly. "It took almost everything I had, Tenchi, but Sasami is content."
She put a hand to her head, as her body became swathed in whiteish light, dazzling the young prince and forcing him to take a step back as he shielded his eyes from the glare. When he looked back, Tsunami was nowhere to be seen, and Sasami sat huddled and shivering on the floor of the spaceship, her face pale but a smile on her lips.
"Sasami-chan." Tenchi pulled her gently to her feet, hugging her tightly. "Are you all right?"
"I'm okay. Just really, really tired." Sasami stifled a yawn. "I think I could sleep for a week."
"Well, when we get back to the Earth you can have all the rest that you want." Tenchi promised, hugging the small girl once more. "I told you once, and I'll tell you again - your magic is truly amazing."
Sasami grinned, faint mischief in her crimson eyes.
"Maybe it is." She agreed. "It felt good to help her, Tenchi. Like having Tsunami's magic means something more than just being Tsunami. I made this decision, not her...and she bowed to it. Even though it meant letting her go, this time...I guess it made me see that, when it is time for us to be fully bonded, I'll know that I will be making the decisions. And that makes it less scary."
She stifled another yawn.
"Oh, but you really are going to have to fly my ship back to the Earth." She added. "I'm beat."
"I promise. And I won't wreck it. Azaka and Kamidake will make sure of that." Tenchi promised. "Will you stay with Washu? I'm sure she'd rather have someone with her, if she wakes up properly."
"I'll stay." Sasami nodded. "Let's hope that Ayeka and the others have managed to sort out Seiryo Tennan!"
----------
"Yume?"
At first there was darkness, but as the disorientated droid struggled to open her eyes, a whirl of colours flooded her sensors, confusing her all the more as she fought to bring the pixels into some kind of order. At length she brought them into line, blinking a couple of times to right her optical circuits, and focusing on the person who stood over her.
"Ryoko?" She murmured, pulling herself into a sitting position. "Ow...something has definitely misaligned itself. What happened to me?"
"Seiryo shot you down." Ryoko hesitated, then proffered a hand, pulling the droid roughly to her feet. "We weren't sure if he'd shut you down for good or what happened."
"I'm made of tougher materials than that." Yume assured her. "But I do feel a little scrambled."
She raised a hand to her head, glancing around at the busy, bustling shrine complex with a mixture of surprise and bewilderment. "All these people...where did they come from?"
"Well, I guess they came to complain about the volume of our house party." Ryoko said wryly. "Local residents, news and media from all around. Police are here too - but they all seem a bit shell-shocked by what's happened, to be honest. Ayeka's been speaking with them - rather her than me. I don't know if I'd believe a word she told me, if I was a normal, ordinary earthling. And if I did, I'd be frightened as to what Jurai's motives were. I certainly wouldn't be reassured, having just seen this woman blast a man half way across the mountainside."
"Ayeka-san did that?" Yume's eyes became big. "And Seiryo - she stopped him?"
"In his tracks." Ryoko nodded. "She's a pretty angsty bitch when she wants to be, you know. The fiesty gene didn't all come onto my side of the family tree."
"I should have been more help to you." Yume frowned, glancing down at the ground. "I'm sorry. I should have remembered how vulnerable I was to Tokimi's magic, after the last time I saw her."
"Well, you weren't the only one Seiryo spoke for, before Ayeka took him out." Ryoko assured her. "He attacked Prince Takeru too, and came very close to killing him. All in all, though, we would have had a bigger problem if Tokimi's influence hadn't broken. Washu and Sasami must have succeeded - I only wish I knew what that meant. And...who was coming back."
"You've had no word from Tsunami-fune?" Yume asked softly. Ryoko shook her head.
"No." She said shortly. "And even if we had, I'm not sure if the news would be what I'd want to hear."
She was silent for a moment, and Yume frowned, wisely deciding not to press the issue any further. Instead she turned her attention to the public, a thoughtful look on her face.
"They will have many questions." She observed. "Do you think they will all be answered?"
"What bothers me is what will happen after Ayeka and Takeru leave." Ryoko said grimly. "It's fine for her to extend the olive branch and offer Jurai's help to the Earth. But Tenchi and I have to live here. Providing he's survived all of this, of course. He has to go back to college, and I have to try and live my life without being hated and blacklisted. I don't want to ruin his future here by being different, after all. But very few worlds accept someone who can walk through walls and teleport at will. Not even Jurai wanted me...I don't hold out a lot of hope for the Earth, to be truthful. After all, they all know now what I'm capable of doing."
Yume stared at the pirate in surprise, running her gaze over her companion as if seeing her for the first time.
"You mean you're an outcast too?" She asked softly. "You don't have anywhere to belong, do you, Ryoko?"
"I belong with Tenchi." Ryoko said flatly. "And that's good enough for me."
"Yes, with Tenchi." Yume sighed, suppressing the flickers of sadness that welled up inside of her. "He loves you, at least. Nobody loves a robot."
"Are you going to get all self pitying and weepy on me?" Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Because if you are, I'll quite happily blast you myself and see if I can't knock it out of you. What do you think?"
Yume started, then a slow smile crossed her face.
"You'd do it, as well." She said absently. "I'm sorry. I suppose I am still a little shaken about."
She turned, glancing back towards the path to the house.
"I should go check on Kiyone." She said slowly. "Make sure she's all right. She seemed better last night, before all of this madness began. Washu did entrust her to me, and I don't want to let her down."
"I'll come with you." Ryoko decided. "Better than being here. It's only a matter of time before someone recognises me from Osaka, after all...and there's still Dr Clay to deal with."
She flexed her fingers thoughtfully.
"I assume Ayeka will want to take him back to Jurai with her too - sure as hell we don't want him here." She added. "I'd be too tempted to blast him into the sky...especially if Tenchi and Washu don't come back from space alive."
Yume nodded.
"Not if I don't do it first." She replied. Then she faltered, eying Ryoko doubtfully. "That is, unless you think Ayeka will take me back to Jurai with her also, as her prisoner?"
"I doubt it. She can be soft and you've proved you're on our side, now." Ryoko shrugged. "Although she might want to ask you some questions about Tokimi. I think she's more interested in that Seiryo jerk, to be honest. She got a bee in her bonnet about him trying to kill Takeru, so I think she's gunning for him in a big way."
"I thought Ayeka married Takeru for political reasons."
"Well, Ayeka's a strange girl." Ryoko said ruefully. "If she considers that something is hers, she doesn't let go of it easily."
"Ryoko-san, will you let me stay here? Even if Washu doesn't come back from Kihaku?" Yume asked hesitantly. Ryoko started, then frowned.
"Are you going to interfere with Tenchi and I?" She asked warily. Yume shook her head.
"Even if I wanted to, I could not." She said sadly. "Since it's you he loves, and that won't change, no matter what I do."
"Then I guess it's up to you what you do and where you go. After all, if you really do think like the rest of us, you should be able to make decisions like that without Washu or I holding your hand." Ryoko said flippantly. "Although if you do stay, you'll have to do something around the house. Let's just say domesticity doesn't come naturally to me...and the more people that are here, the more chores there are that need doing."
She glanced back across the grass, a frown touching her face.
"And it looks like the inquisition are heading our way...I'll see you at the house."
With that she flickered and blurred out of view, and, after casting a glance across the ground at the approaching group of people, Yume frowned, following suit. As she re-materialised outside Washu's lab, the door flew open, and Ryoko met her gaze with a dark one of her own, grabbing her roughly by the arm and pulling her forcibly inside.
"What's wrong with you now?" Yume stared at her companion, confused. "I thought we'd almost called a truce between us - or was that a ruse to get me back here so you could try and dismember me in private?"
"Neither." Ryoko's eyes glittered with anger. "Look. You said that stuff would hold Dr Clay...but I don't see him. Do you?"
"What?" Yume's eyes became big as she followed the direction Ryoko indicated, shaking her head slowly in disbelief. "But I don't understand...he was completely immobilised. He couldn't have escaped...it's just not possible!"
"Well, obviously it is, since he's gone." Ryoko said bitterly. "Nice work, Yume."
"I don't believe it." Yume frowned, approaching the thick swathes of gel hesitantly. "This is intact...even if he had found a way to break through it, that wouldn't be the case. Can you give me some more light, Ryoko? I want to see what he's done."
"Tokimi's magic?" Ryoko pressed her hands together, illuminating the dim laboratory in a flickering amber glow. "There...that better?"
"If Tokimi's magic has been destroyed, it won't be helping Clay." Yume shook her head. "And he built me to do certain things, like teleport and shape-shift, but he didn't have any magic like that of his own."
"Then you explain where he is. Because I still don't see him." Ryoko said bluntly. Yume frowned, reaching out a slender, pale finger to touch the still sticky gel. A string of data flooded through her sensors and she let out a gasp, shaking her head slowly.
"Oh, no." She murmured. "I didn't forsee..."
"What?" Ryoko snapped. "Did he escape? Did your magic goop not hold him after all?"
"It held him all right." Yume said soberly. "Held him until there was no more of him to hold."
"What do you mean?" Ryoko stared, the light from her palms flickering out. "No more of him to hold? What does that mean?"
"Dr Clay is dead." Yume said simply, removing her hand from the gel and wiping her fingers absently on her clothing. "He won't trouble anyone any more."
"Dead?" Ryoko's eyes narrowed, and she reached out a finger to poke the mass gingerly. "Not working for me, I'm afraid. I mean, I'm no scientist, but even I know that dead people don't just disappear. And, well, he was here when we left. If he'd died, I'd expect to see a dead Clay, not an empty blob of ooze. Your theory doesn't make sense."
"It makes sense." Yume assured her. "Clay was sustained by Tokimi's magic, long beyond his natural years. If we assume that Tokimi has been destroyed - and her magic is no longer operating, then there is nothing to keep Clay alive. And since he should have died a long, long time ago...nature has proceeded to take it's course."
"Ew!" Ryoko sprang back, disgust on her face as she scrubbed her fingers against her dress. "You could have told me that before I touched it! You mean that this whole thing is a big seething blob of rotted scientist bits?"
"Basically." Yume bit her lip, amusement dancing in her eyes at her companion's reaction. "His DNA readings are very strong still - far too strong to indicate traces left from an escaping prisoner. But they're broken down into componant parts, and they continue to break down even as we stand here. Be glad we weren't here when Tokimi's magic failed, Ryoko. It wouldn't have been a pretty sight."
"Ugh." Ryoko glanced at her fingers, then scrubbed at them some more. "Talk about a horrible way to go. Are you serious? I mean, you're sure?"
"Completely." Yume agreed gravely. "Dr Clay is no more."
"Then what about you? He built you, didn't he? And Tokimi scrambled your senses. Why are you still here, and still answering everyone back? Surely if Tokimi is the one who busted you, you should be all right now?"
"I was created from technology Washu designed, and it wasn't based in Tokimi's magic." Yume shook her head. "Since Washu removed my connection to him, Clay's passing has no effect on me. Tokimi's damage to my sensors was permanent and absolute - once the barrier between my emotion and my control centre is broken down, it can't be re-established. I know too much, essentially, to be ignorant again. You can delete files and folders, but emotions are more abstract. I wouldn't know where to begin - so it seems I'm stuck this way."
She shrugged her shoulders.
"Besides, I am all right now." She added. "Or I will be, so long as they come back safely."
"Yeah." A shadow touched Ryoko's eyes. "My mother and my Tenchi...Sasami had better know what she's doing, with this divine power of hers."
"My mother too, in a sense." Yume raised a faint smile. Ryoko snorted.
"No, I don't think so. Not in this lifetime." She said firmly. "Her creation, maybe. Her daughter? No. I'm not looking for a sister."
"You already have Ryo Ohki, and she seems to have accepted me as her kin." Yume pointed out reasonably. "But all right. If that's how you feel."
"Right now it is." Ryoko nodded. "Just because you fought for the right side doesn't mean I'm completely reconciled to you being around, you know. Especially since you just made me touch decomposing dead guy goop. That's not a very sisterly thing to do!"
Yume laughed.
"But it amused me." She said unrepentantly. "And Clay is gone. Neither one of us have to eradicate him, Ryoko. He's really gone."
"I wonder what will happen to Seiryo Tennan." Ryoko looked thoughtful. "If he survives Juraian interrogation, of course. That's an ugly thing in itself...Lord Haru is a sadistic man who's overly protective of his daughters. I have no doubt he'll be pumped so full of truth serum it will be spewing out of his ears by the end of the session."
"Do you think so?" Yume looked troubled. "I hope not. There are things he might reveal which would hurt those innocent in all of this."
"What do you know about it?" Ryoko looked startled. Yume shrugged.
"Washu advised that it was best I kept the matter to myself." She said simply. "And I have taken steps to destroy any evidence I may have had in my own data banks. But Seiryo's involvement was not entirely for his own gain, and if he is interrogated in the way you suggest, it will drag others into the frame. Others that he sold his soul to protect."
"I see." Ryoko looked uncharacteristically thoughtful. "Oh well. I guess he better hope Haru's in a good mood, then - although I'm not sure the honoured Prince has good moods, if you want my opinion. Otherwise there could be a lot of messiness ahead for Seiryo and whoever you say he's protecting. No matter how loyal you are, or how much you swear to secrecy, that serum is strong stuff. It dragged secrets even out of Washu - so Seiryo doesn't stand a chance of resisting it."
"So you girls are hiding out in here."
Katsuhito pushed open the door of the laboratory at that moment. "Have you come to check on Kiyone? Or are you taking cover from the mass of interest that's suddenly descended on our doorstep?"
"Both." Ryoko admitted, stepping away from the mass of gel and making her way carefully across the laboratory to where Kiyone slept. "Although I don't think she was in any danger. And now Seiryo is in custody, he won't be able to come back and try again...whatever motivated him, I'm still angry for what he did to her."
"She must be a good friend." Yume observed thoughtfully. "Everyone seems so very concerned for her."
"She is." Ryoko said shortly.
"Kiyone is a very brave and gifted officer of the Galaxy Police...one who could rank at least equal with Agent Tennan, had she forsaken her partnership with Mihoshi." Katsuhito observed quietly. "But Kiyone has as good a heart as she does a nose for solving crime. She's a fair-minded soul, Yume, quick and perceptive. You'll like to know her, when she recovers."
"I hope she won't hold me responsible for what happened to her." Yume sighed. "But I've done my best to do what Washu asked of me. She's stable and her breathing is steady. I can't tell what's happening in her mind, but I think she will recover. Especially since Tokimi's magic is gone, now, and any residual effects of it within her should be able to heal. At least...at least, that's my theory."
"What do you think will happen to us now, Katsuhito-san?" Ryoko asked apprehensively. "All this media attention - are we going to be hunted down and pilloried? Or has Ayeka sweet-talked them into believing Jurai only want to be friends?"
"Ayeka is a very shrewd political negotiator, and she will do what she can to establish links between our world and this." Katsuhito said slowly. "It will take time, of course. The Earth has been set in its ways for too long to adjust immediately to the idea of extra-terrestrial life flitting in and out. And there are many disparities between Jurai and the Earth, also. Things which would need to be ironed out, before any accord could be reached."
"But you think that it will be all right? And Jurai won't get it into their heads to turn Earth into a new colony?" Ryoko pressed. Katsuhito smiled.
"So long as we're here, you, Tenchi and I, noone will abuse any such friendship." He replied. "You know that, Ryoko. Wherever we came from originally - this world is our home...and we're ready to defend it, no matter who might attack."
Ryoko glanced at her hands, and Yume saw a look of comprehension flicker across her golden eyes.
"You're right." She agreed. "This is our home. Jurai's interest in it is exactly that fact...while Tenchi and you live here peacefully, they won't invade and take it for their own. And thinking about it, Ayeka would never let Azusa conquer the Earth, anyway. She and Sasami are both too fond of it."
She sighed.
"Waiting for the Earth to adjust might take longer, however." She owned. "Now they know they're not the sophisticated people they thought they were. People like you and I will scare them...I've already scared them. Do you think they'll ever learn to accept us for who and what we are?"
"All worlds go through this, sooner or later." Katsuhito rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. "And no planet is a permanent and foolproof haven. Yes, Ryoko. They will learn, in time, who is friend and who is foe."
"I hope so." Ryoko grimaced. "I want to stay here, and I know Tenchi does, too. I hope he is all right...I'm worried that we've not heard anything from Tsunami's ship, if Tokimi has really been destroyed."
Before anyone could respond, there was a yowl from the hallway outside and a bundle of chocolate fur tumbled through the door, excitement in her golden eyes as she leapt up onto her mistress's shoulder. She let out another yowl, pawing at Ryoko's ear, and Ryoko smiled, reaching up to scratch her under the chin.
"Right on cue...I spoke too soon." She said quietly. "Ryo Ohki says she's picked up Tsunami-fune's signal. It was Tenchi who sent it. They're coming in to land."
"Tsunami-fune is a difficult ship to detect." Yume observed, as they headed out of the laboratory, standing on the hillside as they watched the great gleaming ship crest through the clouds, much to the awe and surprise of the gathered local people. Glinting in the sunlight, it seemed almost to be a craft sent from Heaven, and as it slid gently to a halt, a blue transport beam shimmered down onto the ground below. As Yume stepped forward, her eyes opened wide with joy.
"Tenchi!" She exclaimed. "Ryoko, Tenchi's come home!"