Galaxy 1001D presents:

Washustein; or the Modern Mad Scientist

Starring Washu Hakubi as Doctor Washu Fitzgerald von Washustein

Tenchi Masaki as Tenchi Mancini

Mihoshi Kuramitsu as Mihoshi Gerstell

Aeka Masaki Jurai as Ayeka Jurai

Sasami Masaki Jurai as Sasami Jurai

And Ryoko as the Monster-woman

Tenchi Muyo and all related characters are © AIC/Pioneer/Genon/Funimation. This story is written solely for entertainment and is not intended to make a profit in any way.

Based on "Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus" created by Mary Shelly

And "Tenchi Muyo" created by Masaki Kajishima

Chapter Sixteen: Can I Sleep With You?

"Quick Mihoshi!" Washu extended her arm and pointed her finger dramatically. "We've got to get to Tenchi's house before it's too late!"

"It's already too late Master," the blonde informed her. "It is waaay past everybody's bedtime. Tenchi's probably asleep. Tell you what: Let's get up early tomorrow morning and we can go visit him then…"

"Aristotle's abacus!" the redhead cried. "I'd call you stupid, but that would just be an insult to stupid people! You really are a moron you know that?"

"Oh yes," Mihoshi waved her hand dismissively, "that's old news. But I really think that it's sweet of you to be so sensitive towards stupid people! They really are the most discriminated group of all time! Well done, Master! The new 'goody-two-shoes' you is off to a great start!"

Once again the combination of the blonde's random thought process mixed with her plucky optimism had rendered the little genius speechless. "Uh… thanks Mihoshi. Now get my traveling cloak and hat. We've got to get to town and save Tenchi!"

"Okay," Mihoshi smiled. "I guess it's okay to go outside, even at this hour. After all, it's such a beautiful night!"

Thunder shook the castle as lightning flashed through the shuttered and curtained windows. The whistling of the wind and the sound of rain beating against the shutters could be heard as Washu's face fell.

"You couldn't keep your big mouth shut, could you?" the redhead muttered.

Meanwhile, in his new house in the residential section of Ingolstadt, Tenchi Mancini was sleeping peacefully in the master bedroom as the rain gently pattered outside. Dreams of his lavender-haired bride filled his head until the crashing sound of splintering wood awoke him.

"Yee-ah!" Tenchi cried as he almost fell out of his bed. "What was that?" he said as he rose shakily to his feet. He donned a robe over his nightshirt and lit a candle for illumination. Listening intently, he silently crept down the stairs. When he got to his front door, he was shocked to discover that it had been knocked off its hinges. "What the hell?"

"It can be fixed right?" Ryoko asked as she walked up behind him.

"Aaah!" he screamed as he jumped up into the air.

"Aah!" Ryoko yelped and hopped backwards away from him. "Why do people keep doing that?"

"Ryoko! It's you!" Tenchi gasped. "Don't sneak up on people like that!"

"How should I sneak up on people?" she asked flippantly.

"Oh my gosh! Ryoko!" the wealthy medical student pointed at his door. "What have you done? Did you do this?"

"Sorry," the girl slumped self-consciously. She held up a hammer and nails. "Don't worry, I'll have that fixed in a jiffy. You'll see."

"Ryoko wait," Tenchi implored her. "You can't fix that with a hammer and nails. You've got to replace the hinges, otherwise you're just nailing us in."

"I can do this Tenchi," Ryoko insisted rather testily. Setting down the hammer, she pressed the door against the frame and stubbornly pressed the nails into the wood by hand. Tenchi's protests were cut off when he realized that she had picked up the door with one hand and could press the nails through the hard wood using only her thumb. Once she was done, she nodded and smiled. "There. See? All done. I told you I could fix it. Now it's all better."

"Uh… yeah…" he stammered weakly. "So, uh, what brings you here at this late hour? Everything okay?"

"No," Ryoko sighed. "Everything's not okay. I tried to kill Washu and failed. Now she's locked me out and I've got no place to stay. Can I stay with you?" She batted her eyes sweetly.

"Uh… did you just say that you tried to kill Washu?" Tenchi asked carefully. "I mean, we all get upset and say we want to kill Washu, but nobody really…"

"Yes I did, but I messed up," Ryoko looked away. "You must think I'm an awful failure. I tried, I really tried…"

"Hey everybody loses his or her temper now and then," Tenchi patted her shoulder. "I don't blame you for feeling guilty. But you're only a week old. You didn't know what you were doing. The important part is that you didn't succeed. You must be pretty thankful that she's okay, huh?"

"Oh no, I wish I'd killed her," the cyan-haired girl clarified. "With Washu out of the way I'd inherit all her stuff."

"What?" the medical student gasped as he took a step backward.

"I'd get the castle, the furniture, and a whole lotta money!" Ryoko smiled at the thought of her creator's demise. "Just think, Tenchi! We'd have enough to live any way we want! Ayeka and Sasami could move in with us, and we'd be so happy together!"

"Ryoko!" Tenchi protested. "You… mean to tell me your attack on Washu was… premeditated? You did it on purpose?"

"But of course," Ryoko shrugged. "Washu always told me that if a woman wants to get anywhere in this world, she has to be totally ruthless."

"Pre…meditated murder!" Tenchi gagged. "You actually contemplated killing your own creator!"

"Well, I didn't really contemplate it much actually, I just gave it a try," Ryoko smiled sheepishly. "I threw the little shrimp out a window but it wasn't high enough. When that didn't work I tried to chop her into little pieces but she was too fast for me. I guess I should have planned it better huh?"

Tenchi's face paled as he stepped backwards and made choking noises.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Ryoko asked with concern. "Are you choking on something? I know how to get that right out."

Before Tenchi could react the golden-eyed girl darted behind him, grabbed him from behind and put her arms around his stomach to squeeze the life out of him. "Errrg!" he gasped as his face turned blue.

"Come on! Drop it!" Ryoko shouted as she delivered five upward squeeze-thrusts into his abdomen. When she released him, he collapsed into her arms wheezing and gasping for breath. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

He nodded helplessly.

"Can you breathe?" she inquired.

"Y-Yeah…" he gasped.

"Good, then I saved your life!" Ryoko grinned proudly, "and I know how you can thank me..." She fluttered her eyes seductively.

"Uh… how?"

"By letting me stay overnight," she smiled sweetly. "Thunderstorms scare me. Can I sleep in your bed?"

"Sh-sure I'll take the couch," he mumbled.

"What good would that be? I'd be alone," she frowned. She embraced him passionately and whined teasingly at him. "I want you to be there in case I get frightened… You want to be there for me, don't you?"

"Uh… you know I really can't share the bed with you, right?" he asked as adrenaline returned him to a state of readiness.

"Why not?" the cyan-haired girl asked innocently. "It is your bed isn't it? It doesn't belong to anyone else does it?"

"Er, heh-heh no," he laughed nervously.

"Then what's the matter?" Ryoko asked.

"I promised Ayeka that I'd marry her," he insisted. "I can't just jump into bed with any strange girl who wants to spend the night."

"Hey, who's strange?" She frowned as she put her hands on her hips.

"I mean I can't jump into bed with any girl who wants to spend the night except Ayeka!" he hastily clarified. "Actually we're supposed to wait until we're married but Bavaria's not like Prussia. Sometimes people look the other way as long as you're engaged."

"I'm not talking about getting married I'm talking about spending the night," Ryoko insisted. "She gets you for the rest of your life. I just want you for one night. What difference can one night make?"

"You'd be surprised," Tenchi rolled his eyes. "It's bad enough having you in here without a chaperone, but actually sharing a bed with you… I wouldn't be able to look Ayeka in the eye afterwards."

"Why? Do I got a disease or something?" Ryoko snarled. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I spend the night with you?"

"Well you're a girl, and worse yet you're a young and beautiful girl," he explained. "Just having you in here is compromising enough for both of us."

"What a second," stammered the confused Ryoko. "I thought that being pretty was a good thing. Are you telling me it's not?"

"Well," Tenchi scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Beauty opens a lot of doors, but there are times it can be a liability y'know…"

"Ooh!" Ryoko snarled in frustration. The black strap in the back of her empire style gown seemed to move by itself as if it was a tail. "Why do the rules keep changing? You're making this up, aren't you? You don't want to go to bed with me!"

"Em," Tenchi took a step back as his mind raced to find a response that would placate a woman who could knock a door off its hinges and push nails through hardwood using only her thumb. "It's true that I don't want to go to bed with you, but it's only because of Ayeka…"

"What, you mean now I gotta kill Ayeka too?" Ryoko growled. "Man! No wonder Washu made me in her lab! With people having to kill each other all the time, it's a wonder there's anybody left!"

"No! No!" Tenchi cried as he held his hands up in a halting gesture. "You aren't supposed to kill anyone! You could be put to death for that!"

"What? You're kidding!" Ryoko frowned. "I thought I had to kill people, that I didn't have a choice! Washu said I had to be ruthless to get ahead in life!"

"No! No, it's just the opposite!" Tenchi shook his head while gesturing with his hands. "Killing someone is about the worst crime you can do! You never, ever want to kill someone!"

"But what about Washu?" Ryoko protested. "She said that you have to be completely ruthless…"

"That's why I didn't marry her," Tenchi explained as patiently as he could. "She's completely ruthless and totally insane! I didn't want her raising our children or they might think it's a good idea to kill off their parents when they grow up! Don't you see? She's only been raising you for about a week and now you think that it's a good idea to bump someone off whenever they get in your way…"

"So what do you do when people get in your way?" Ryoko queried.

"I don't know," the medical student pulled at his hair as he turned away. "Try reason! Talk to them! Talk to a lawyer if they won't budge! Find other options, that's all! But don't kill them!"

"Okay, now will you go to bed with me?" Ryoko asked pointedly.

"No, I'm sorry, but I can't," Tenchi paced around the room to work off his nervous energy. "I can't possibly betray Ayeka like that."

"But I don't see a betrayal!" Ryoko shouted. "I'm just borrowing you for a night so I won't get scared! She gets you for the rest of your life! I'm the one being cheated here!"

"Ryoko, you don't understand…"

"Oh I understand," the cyan-haired girl crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "You don't care about me at all! It's all 'Ayeka, Ayeka, Ayeka,' is that it? Well I'll show you!"

"Ryoko, don't do anything rash!" advised a frightened Tenchi. "It's not my fault! I'm not even supposed to be with Ayeka until our wedding night!"

"Well, I'll make sure that your wedding night will be one to remember!" the Amazonian girl threatened. "You think Ayeka's so great! You won't even give me a chance! Well I'll show you!"

"Ryoko what are you going to do?" Tenchi asked timidly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she replied sinisterly. "Tell you what: I'll give you a hint. You and Ayeka better keep your eyes open, 'cause I swear, one way or another, I will be with you on your wedding night! If I gotta be totally ruthless to get my way, so be it!"

"Totally ruthless?" Tenchi repeated. "What are you going to do? Oh no! Ryoko! You can't mean…!"

"Like I said, you'll find out on your wedding night!" Ryoko sneered. "Don't worry, I won't need an invitation, but I'll be there anyway!"

"No! Ryoko!" Tenchi cried as she turned to go. "What are you going to do? Please! Don't hurt Ayeka!"

Without a word, Ryoko pulled on the door handle and ripped the front door free, pulling the nails that she put in the door right out of the doorframe.

"Yi!" the Italian medical student dodged as the girl carelessly threw the front door behind her. "Ryoko!" he cried as she stomped outside and into the night. "Ryoko!" He collapsed to his knees as the dreadful words the Herculean girl had said sunk in. "Ayeka!" he whispered. "Oh no…"

Next: We've Got To Warn Ayeka!