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. Additional material by Ben Elton, Richard Curtis, and Rowan Atkinson © BBC Enterprises 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-three: My Name is Ryoko

By the side of the lake was an old windmill, built decades ago to pump water but now long disused. The large arms of the fan turned in the breeze, and behind them a small window was visible. It was especially visible because a black funnel of smoke was trailing out of it as if it was a chimney. A woman with wild cyan hair was sticking her head and her arms out of the little window and screaming for help.

"Help!" Ryoko cried. "Somebody please! Help us!"

"Eve!" Washu gasped. "Cap'n! Get your ship as close to the shore as you can! Face the port side towards the wind and ready the launch! We're going ashore!"

"Wow! I had no idea that Washu knew so much about sailing!" Sasami said.

"Oh she doesn't," Mihoshi smiled. "She's just very good at giving orders!"

Soon Washu, Ayeka, Mihoshi, Sasami, old man Katsuhito, Captain Norton 'Nobuyuki' Walton and little Ryo-ohki were outside the burning windmill, only a few yards from the front door.

"Help!" Ryoko cried from the window. "Save us! Save us!"

"I think I've can get a clear shot," Ayeka said as she pointed her rifle at Washu's waving creation.

"Ayeka!" Sasami gasped in horror. "What are you doing?"

"She kidnapped Tenchi and ruined my wedding," the purple haired girl grunted in disgust. "She's got Tenchi hostage. Believe me, it will be easier this way."

"No!" Sasami stood in front of Ayeka and waved her arms. "Don't hurt her! You can't just shoot her, Ayeka!" Ryo-ohki meowed and scratched at Ayeka's skirt.

"Well I certainly can't with you getting in my face, Sasami!" Ayeka sneered. "That hooligan deserves it! She ruined the happiest day of my life! That horrible creature up there cares about nothing and nobody but herself!"

"Help!" Ryoko shouted from the window. "Ayeka! Help me save Tenchi! He's passed out and he won't wake up!"

Ayeka's crimson eyes narrowed in frustration as she grudgingly set her rifle down. "Why does that horrid creature have to be so innocent?" she grumbled.

"Eve!" Washu shouted up to her creation. Can you find a rope?"

"Washustein!" Ryoko sneered. "Go away!"

"Eve!" Washu cried. "Listen to me! Listen to your mother! Just this once you've got to trust me!"

"You're not my mother!" Ryoko hissed venomously. "You don't love me and you're not my mother!"

"I am your mother!" Washu shouted back. "I created you!"

The scowling Ryoko reacted by closing the shutters over the little window.

"There's nothing for it!" Washu decided. "She's not going to come out of there. She's either going to burn to death or choke on the smoke, and she's going to take Tenchi with her. I've got to get in there somehow!"

"But Master!" Mihoshi objected. "It's too dangerous! The windmill is on fire! It would be suicide to go in there!"

"A fiery death might be what I deserve right now," Washu said quietly. "If I don't even try to rescue them, I'm sure my afterlife will be even hotter."

"Well you can't go in there without a plan," Sasami pointed out. "Do you have any inventions that might help out in a case like this?"

"Do I have any inventions?" Washu frowned. "What kind of question is that? Do you think I carry around a suitcase full of ingenious gadgets that just happen to be useful for situations like this?"

"Don't you?" Sasami asked with innocent pink eyes.

"You know, I just might have something we can use right now," Washu opened her carpet bag and removed a crossbow and a coil of rope. "I created a crossbow that would fire out a spool of rope attached to a spring activated grappler. It was supposed to be used to catch Eve…"

"Ryoko Master," Mihoshi corrected. "Her name is Ryoko."

Washu viciously punched the blonde in the jaw before resuming in the same calm analytical voice from before she was interrupted. "If we fire the rope up there Ryoko and Tenchi might be able to climb out. It's worth a try."

"Oh you just got to try!" Sasami pleaded.

"Eve! Open the window!" Washu shouted. "You'll suffocate if you don't open the window! Open the window Eve!"

"Ryoko!" Sasami shouted with her hands cupping her mouth. The little girl jumped up and down. "Ryoko! You've got to open the window or you and Tenchi will die! Ryoko! Ryoko!"

"Ryoko!" Mihoshi shouted.

"Ryoko!" Ayeka called. "Open the window, please!"

The shutters of the little window opened and Ryoko stuck her head out.

"Eve!" Washu shouted. "Stand back! I'm going to—"

The shutters closed again.

"Dammit!" Washu snarled. "What's wrong with that girl?"

"Maybe she hates your guts Washu," Ayeka offered dryly. "No wonder I couldn't shoot her. She isn't all bad. Even if she did ruin my wedding and kidnap my groom," she grumbled.

"I don't understand," Sasami said. "It isn't like her. Why would Ryoko spoil your wedding and kidnap Tenchi?"

Washu gave an embarrassed chuckle and scratched the back of her neck. "Maybe it was because of something I told her."

"What was that?" Sasami asked.

"That the only way for a woman to get ahead in a man's world was to be totally ruthless," Washu admitted.

"So," Ayeka crossed her arms. "I guess now we know who the real monster is."

"What?" Washu blinked. "Peer pressure?"

"This is getting nowhere!" squawked a stammering Mihoshi. "We've got to get Tenchi and Ryoko out of there!"

"And Ryoko won't come out as long as Washu is out here," Ayeka grumbled.

"Then we need to send somebody in," Washu decided. "It's a suicide mission. Whoever we send in should be someone we can afford to lose!" Without pausing, she turned to her blonde servant. "Mihoshi, get in there! Wrap a wet handkerchief around your mouth and nose. If you can't get them out the front door try to get Ryoko to open the window."

"Uh, my ankle still hurts, Master," Mihoshi said weakly.

"Don't give me that!" Washu barked. "I'm ordering you to go in or I'll blow that lump of curdled cheese that you call your brains out of your empty head! Huh?" When Washu reached for her pistol, she was surprised to find that her holster was empty. Where was her gun?

The click of the hammer drew Washu's attention back to her servant. The blonde had the gun, and was aiming the barrel at her own foot.

"Give me that!" Washu snarled as she wrested the pistol from Mihoshi's hand. "Honestly! I've never seen such a pathetic display of cowardice!"

"I'm sorry Master!" Mihoshi apologized. "My next display of cowardice will be much better, I promise!"

"Mihoshi, I've dissected jellyfish with more backbone than you," Washu sighed.

"Why don't you go in?" Ayeka suggested. "Didn't you offer to just a minute ago?"

"Yes, I did," Washu mumbled. She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and wrapped it around her nose and mouth. "Okay! Douse my clothing with water and I'll go for it!"

The girls poured icy water over the little genius and Washu turned and ran inside.

The floor was an inferno. Flames were going up the wooden machinery in the center of the windmill and smoke obscured the ceiling. The stairs were mostly clear of flames, but the supports were on fire. Against her better judgment, Washu decided to risk it. She took the steps two at a time.

"Eve!" She choked when she couldn't hold her breath anymore. "Eve, where are you? Eve! Ah!" A section of the stairs collapsed and Washu was hanging on a remaining step with one hand. Her crossbow with the spooled rope and grappler fell into the flames below. "Eve!" she shouted. "Help me! I can't hang on! Eve! I'm your mother! Eve!"

"That's not my name!" Ryoko shouted out of the smoke and darkness.

The smoke stung Washu's green eyes as realization hit her. "Ryoko!" she shouted. "Ryoko! Help me! Ryoko! Please! I'm your mother!"

A smooth but dirty feminine hand emerged from above to grasp Washu's free hand. "You!" Ryoko growled as she pulled her creator to safety. "You never call me 'Ryoko'!" she said as she placed Washu on a stable section of the stairs. "Why are you starting now?"

"Because that's your name," Washu smiled gratefully. "Ryoko. Eve. Von Washustein. Eve is your middle name, Ryoko is your first name."

"I have three names?" Ryoko's topaz yellow eyes lit up. "Really? Ayeka has three names, but I don't!"

"Of course you do, Eve… er… Ryoko," Washu corrected herself. "You're the daughter of Lady Washu Fitzgerald von Washustein, medical doctor and professor of life sciences. Of course you have three names. You're my daughter."

Tears trickled from Ryoko's eyes, and it wasn't just the smoke. "M-mom…" she sniveled as she put her arms around the little genius.

"There-there, Ryoko," Washu cooed as she hugged her creation. "Everything's going to be all right. We've got to get you and Tenchi out of here. Where is Tenchi anyway? Is he alright?"

"This way," Ryoko led up the stairs to a platform where the windmill's wind shaft connected to the upright shaft. Flames were licking up the vertical wooden upright shaft and the 'room' wouldn't be safe much longer. Tenchi was placed against the wall, his head had a traveller's hood draped over it and was pressed against the wall. "I knocked a hole in the wall so Tenchi would be able to breathe," Ryoko explained. "I don't know what's wrong with him!"

"We've got to get him out of here," Washu announced as she opened the shuttered window. "Can you reach the sails?"

"You tell me," Ryoko asked. "Can I?"

"Sure," Washu nodded. "I made you super strong and super agile. Okay, put Tenchi on your shoulder and I'll hang onto your back, okay?"

"I'll make the window bigger," Ryoko said as she tore at the ancient wood surrounding the window. Under Ryoko's enhanced strength, the aging wood was like cardboard.

Soon the opening was large enough for a crouching Ryoko to jump out of. The immature amazon stepped out the edge. She had Tenchi in a fireman's carry and Washu clung to her back. "Okay," Washu instructed as the sails of the windmill moved past them. "Get ready to jump… right… now…!"

Despite the extra unbalancing weight, Ryoko was able to leap to one of the sails and grab hold without losing any of their passengers. "Now what?" Ryoko demanded. She had assumed her weight would cause the sail they were on to descend but they were so close to the axis that it didn't matter. Ryoko had to climb in order to avoid turning upside-down and risk losing Tenchi or Washu.

"Ryoko!" Washu cried. "Look down!"

"I thought the expression was 'Don't look down'!" Ryoko protested.

"No! Look down!" Washu insisted. "It's the others! They've found a way to rescue us! Look!"

Ryoko looked down to see Ayeka, Mihoshi, Sasami, Katsuhito, Nobuyuki and members of the Pioneer's crew below them with a ship's sail spread out between them. They were holding up the sail and pulling it taut.

"They're going to catch us when we jump!" Washu cried. "Okay! Slide down the sail and let go when you reach the bottom! Be careful, we only have one chance at this, so don't blow it!"

"Don't worry, Mom! I got it!" Ryoko smiled with determination. When the propeller-like sail began to descend, Ryoko moved to the outer edge and dropped when it reached its lowest point. The trio was caught by the sailing canvas and they emerged unhurt.

"Ugh," Washu groaned as she rolled off her daughter.

"Wow!" Ryoko smiled. "What a ride!"

"Tenchi!" Ayeka cried as she let go of the ship's sail and rushed to his side. "Tenchi! Speak to me!"

"Ow…" Tenchi coughed. "My head…"

"Master, you're alive!" Mihoshi cheered as she picked Washu up and hugged her.

"Yes. Yes I am Mihoshi," Washu returned her hug as her feet dangled in the air. "But I'm still a 'mistress' you fool!" she said as she slapped the blonde in the face.

"You can be my mistress anytime!" Nobuyuki said as he lifted Washu out of Mihoshi's arms.

"Oh Cap'n!" Washu giggled. "You're horrible!"

"I'm sorry, Ayeka," a contrite Ryoko apologized. "I wanted to marry Tenchi, but I nearly killed him! Maybe I'm not ready to get married after all."

As she was hugging Tenchi, Ayeka stared at the soot stained Ryoko in disbelief. Did she really think that apologizing would make everything better? Was she really so naïve that she thought that Ayeka wouldn't hate her forever for what she'd done? Ayeka's eyes narrowed in resignation when she remembered that Ryoko was less than two weeks old. She really did think that saying 'sorry' would make it all better. Mustering her self-control, the jilted bride mumbled, "It's alright, Ryoko. Just don't do it again…"

She glanced over at the architect of her humiliation, Washu Fitzgerald von Washustein herself. There was no point holding a grudge against Ryoko. Sasami was right; Ryoko was an innocent child. But Washu had no such excuse. It looked like the demented genius was getting along quite well with her captain friend. Although relieved that Washu seemed to have found someone other than Tenchi, Ayeka was incensed at the idea that Washu was going to get away with all the havoc she had caused. Perhaps there was a way to get back at her…

Next: No Need for Falling Action