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 Twenty-one: Step Outside

The next morning, Tenchi Mancini opened his eyes to see Ryoko's golden eyes staring back at him. "Whu?" he jumped in his chair. "Ryoko! What are you doing? You scared me!"

"You slept on the chair all night?" the Washustein monster asked him. "Wasn't that uncomfortable?"

Tenchi blushed as the memory of the previous night came back to him. "Uh… a true gentleman always gives the most comfortable bed to a lady," he said as he thought quickly. He glanced down at his chest. "Why is my shirt open? Why is your hand on my bare chest?"

"Oh." Now it was Ryoko's turn to blush. "I uh… noticed that your chest is much more firm and solid than mine is," she backed away shyly. "For some reason, my chests are like two pillows. They're all sprongy. They're supposed to be like that, aren't they?"

Tenchi chuckled and looked away as he closed and buttoned his shirt. "Yes, Ryoko. They're supposed to be that way. In many countries, a full chest on a woman is considered very desirable."

"Huh?"

"They make you look pretty," he clarified.

"Oh!" Ryoko's face lit up. "I must be quite a beauty then!" She put her hands under her breasts and started pushing them up and down. "Why don't you have pillows like these?"

"Um… I'm a man," Tenchi explained as he tried to ignore her comically pornographic performance. "A manly chest is supposed to be more muscular, and a bit flatter."

"Oh like Washu's then," Ryoko nodded. "Hers is a whole lot flatter."

Tenchi tried not to laugh. "So, uh, where's the chamber pot? Or do we use an outhouse at this place?"

"Oh, we use an outhouse," Ryoko told him.

"So Washu finally taught you how to go to the bathroom?" Tenchi stretched.

"No, Sasami did," the cyan-haired girl admitted.

"Sasami?" Tenchi got up and rubbed his back. "When did she get a chance to do that?"

"Uh… I've been hiding in the nursery at Ayeka's house for the last few days," Ryoko admitted. "Don't tell Ayeka, okay?"

"At Ayeka's house?" Tenchi blinked. "And Sasami knew about it? We've been turning the town apart looking for you and all the time Sasami knew where you were?"

"I asked her not to tell anyone," Ryoko looked away. "Please don't get her in trouble. She really stuck her neck out for me."

"Mum's the word," Tenchi nodded as he looked out the window. "Looks like it snowed last night. I'll need to get a coat or something."

Outside, four girls and a cat/rabbit hybrid were climbing the mountain.

"I think there are some steps under here," Mihoshi said as she probed with her pole. "One of us could make a lot of money shoveling this walk!"

"Keep going, mini-brain, we've got to keep Ryo-ohki in sight." Washu snarled as she trudged forward in her winter gear.

"Boy it sure is hard to keep up with Ryo-ohki," Sasami said. "Just look at her, hopping across the snow! Those big rabbit's feet are like snowshoes!"

"It's a pity this hill is so steep," Ayeka nodded. "Then we could wear these snowshoes we've got on our backs instead of our cleats."

"So what do we do when we catch up with Eve?" Washu asked. "We've got a potential hostage situation up there. Any ideas?"

"Put one right between her eyes," Ayeka offered venomously. She still had her rifle strapped to her back.

"Ayeka!" Sasami protested. "That's awful! You can't mean that!"

"It might be our only option if Tenchi's dead," Washu grunted as she struggled up the hill, "but what if he's okay? We don't want to things to escalate! What do we do?"

"Just leave it all to me!" Mihoshi beamed. "I'm great with children!"

"You are, Mihoshi?" Sasami asked.

"I didn't know that," Ayeka muttered.

"Sure, before I worked for you, I went to England and trained as a British nanny!" Mihoshi gushed. "Me and the kids had a great time! We sang songs, and danced in the field and everything!"

"So what happened?" Ayeka grunted as she struggled up the hill. "Why aren't you still working as a nanny?"

"Everything went great until I took them out to the country to play catch," Mihoshi admitted.

"So what went wrong?" Sasami asked. "Where did you take them?"

"Cliffs of Dover," Mihoshi chirped.

"Oh… Mihoshi… That's just horrible…" Ayeka moaned.

"It sure was," Mihoshi nodded. "I felt really silly walking home all by myself!"

"Put a cork in it Bonehead," Washu snarled. "If I want to talk to a vegetable I'll buy one down at the market."

"Look!" Sasami pointed. "I see a house! Do you think Ryoko and Tenchi are in there?"

"One of us should go look," Ayeka decided. "I'll go first."

In the house of Yosho Katsuhito, Tenchi was thanking the old man for his hospitality. "Well thank you for taking us in, Mister K. It must have been an awful imposition."

"Not at all," the old man smiled. "I was going crazy with loneliness. Between you and me I was becoming one of those weird old men that talk to themselves. You and your bride can stay as long as you like."

"Uh, you don't seem too surprised that I can talk," Tenchi noticed. "Yesterday Ryoko told you I was a mute."

"Oh," the old man scratched the back of his neck and looked away. "That? Well… to tell you the truth after you arrived I started housecleaning. I found a pair of glasses that I lost a month ago. When you arrived yesterday I was wearing my reading glasses."

"Wait a minute!" Tenchi frowned. "Can you see with those glasses? Could you see that I was tied up?"

"Yup," the old man smiled guiltily. "I didn't want to scare your pretty lady friend away, so I acted like I didn't know. You're not mad are you?"

"I should be," Tenchi huffed, "but I'll let it go if you let me borrow some winter clothing. How far is it back to town?"

"Just two miles or so," the old man shrugged, "but when it's snowed in like this it might as well be two continents away. You'll never get back to town until it thaws."

"What if I take one of the two dog sleds outside?" Tenchi asked sarcastically. "I notice you own a lot of dogs and have two functioning sleds."

"Oh, I suppose if you go over the peak and across the lake you might make it," the old man admitted sheepishly, "but that's the long way around. You'd add almost ten miles to your trip."

"I'll take my chances," Tenchi grumbled. "As soon as I can I'll reimburse you and return your dogs. Does that sound fair?"

"Tenchi!" Ryoko burst into the room. "Look outside! It's all white outside! It's like the whole world is under a blanket of white! Isn't it amazing?"

"Yeah," Tenchi nodded as he looked out the window. "It is."

"Just look at it!" Ryoko gushed as she put her arms around him. "It's beautiful! It's so white!"

"Yeah," Tenchi blushed as he returned her embrace. "Mister Katsuhito tells me that we're snowed in… Looks like we're going to have to stay here for a few days… at least until it thaws…"

The old man winked at the boy.

Just then the door opened. "Tenchi, we've come to rescue you!" Ayeka announced. She took in the sight of Tenchi and Ryoko with their arms around each other. "GAAAH! Tenchi! What is the meaning of this?"

"Well, uh… it's not what it looks like!" the boy stammered.

"I caught you with your arms around her!" Ayeka clenched her fists as Mihoshi, Washu, Sasami and Ryo-ohki entered the room.

"Wow! You two sure are getting along!" Mihoshi smiled.

"Is there a little one on the way?" Washu winked.

"A little one on the way?" Ayeka sputtered. "A little one on the way? I'll die before there's a little one on the way!"

"Oh my Gawd!" Ryoko cried. "It's Washu! Look out, Tenchi! She's going to try to operate and remove your sausage!"

"Sausage!" Ayeka growled through clenched teeth. "SAUSAGE? Blast your eyes!" Before anyone could stop her Ayeka lashed out. The sound of shattering glass sounded like a thousand tinkling bells as Ryoko was hurled through the old man's window.

"Hey!" old Yosho protested. "You're going to have to pay for that!"

Ayeka's canine teeth were visible as she glared at the old man.

The old man laughed nervously and backed away. "Heh-heh, when you get around to it," he waved dismissively.

"Tenchi!" Ayeka turned her full ire on her kidnapped fiancé. "Why is that monster-woman talking about your 'sausage'?"

"Well, I… it's not what you think," Tenchi backed away timidly. He had forgotten just how dangerous her temper could be. "While I was asleep she must have undressed me and gave herself an anatomy lesson."

"Did naughty ol' Tenchi teach widdle Eve about the birds and the bees?" Washu taunted. If she played her cards right the jilted bride might scare Tenchi away and back into the mad scientist's arms for good. It was a long shot, but she had to try.

"The birds and the BEEEEEEEZ!" Ayeka's snarl became a battle cry as she picked up Yosho's little end table and spun it around the room, causing everyone to scream and dive for cover.

Splat! A fluffy white snowball hit Ayeka in the face and she lost her balance, tumbling to the floor as the small table rolled once before sliding into the wall. Ayeka rubbed the icy crystals out of her face to see Ryoko glaring at her through the broken window.

"Okay girlie," Ryoko challenged, "Step outside."

Ayeka growled like an animal. Ryoko did likewise.

As Ayeka sped out the door, Yosho pushed his glasses up with his forefinger. "And that is why overly aggressive women are known as bitches," he told a stunned Tenchi. "You see my boy, they bark and growl just like dogs."

Outside, Ayeka was being pelted with snowballs, so she took cover behind a pile of chopped firewood. She grabbed the split pieces of wood and hurled them at her opponent.

"Hey!" Ryoko held up and arm to shield herself from the wooden assault. "Ow! Ow-ow-ouch! Who attacks with logs? Honestly?" She picked up the hatchet she had used yesterday and twirled it around her as if she was performing for the circus. "Okay Ayeka, you asked for it!" She charged forward knocking the pieces of wood out of the air with her axe.

Tenchi ran outside in an attempt to stop them. "Wait! Stop! There's no need for this! You're going to hurt each other!"

"Quick! Mihoshi!" Washu said as she dashed out into the snow with the blonde on her heels. "The tranquilizer darts! Use the tranquilizer darts!"

"Oh!" Mihoshi said as she skidded to a halt and started fishing through her handbag. "Right! The darts! Got it!" She pulled her blowgun out of her handbag, loaded a dart and prepared to blow…

…right when Sasami, who had shorter legs than the others, barreled out the door and ran into Mihoshi, spoiling her aim.

"Meow!" Ryo-ohki yowled as she tumbled off Sasami's head to fall headfirst into the snow. "Mewf! Muhf!" the little cabbit protested as her large rabbit's feet kicked in the air.

"Oh! Mihoshi!" the blue-haired child sat in the snow and rubbed her head as the blonde picked herself up. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you…"

"Where did my dart go?" Mihoshi looked around. She was holding an empty blowgun, and the dart was nowhere to be seen.

Washu instinctively checked her person. The little redhead breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't find a fluffy dart sticking out of her.

"Ryoko! Ayeka!" Tenchi cried as he ran between the feuding females. "Please! Stop! I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I shouldn't have let it get this far! I…" He staggered as his knees seemed to turn to jelly. "What's… wrong with me? I feel so…" he collapsed, revealing a feathery dart in his back.

"So that's where my dart went!" Mihoshi smiled. "What a relief! I thought I swallowed it!"

"Tenchi?" Ayeka's voice was quiet. "Are you okay?"

"Tenchi?" Ryoko dropped the axe to run to his side. "Tenchi?" she made him sit up, but he was dead to the world. "Tenchi, what's wrong with you? Speak to me!" She hugged him tightly as tears trickled out of her eyes. "Tenchi? Tenchi! TENCHI…!" she howled in anguish.

"I'm so sorry Ryoko," Mihoshi apologized. "I didn't mean to shoot him. I was aiming for you!"

If looks could kill, Ryoko would have killed the blonde on the spot.

"Mihoshi, if we looked up 'too dumb to live' in the dictionary we would find your picture," Washu sighed.

"Wow!" the dimwitted domestic smiled. "Do you think so?"

"You!" Ryoko growled as she advanced on the blonde. "You. Shot. Tenchi!"

"He's okay," Mihoshi assured her. "He's only…"

"YOU! SHOT! TENCHI!" Ryoko cried. "Take this!" She gave the blonde an uppercut that knocked her up into the air.

"Ah!" The blonde spun in the sky like a trapeze artist before falling back to Earth on the other side of the house.

"Tenchi!" Ryoko sniveled as she cuddled his limp body. She draped the unconscious boy over her shoulder and then leaped into the air to land on the roof of Katsuhito's house. She dashed across the roof, jumped down to the ground below and placed Tenchi on a dog sled.

As Washu, Ayeka, Sasami, and Ryo-ohki went around the house to catch up, she hitched up a team of dogs and cracked a whip into the air. The three girls arrived just in time to see the dogs pull Ryoko's sled out of the pen.

"Tenchi!" Ayeka shouted. "No! Come back! Come back with my fiancé!"

It was too late. Ryoko's sled went over the summit and was gone from sight.

Next: I Must Go Alone…