Reminders of the Past

A Tenchi Muyo and Invinsible Crossover

Chapter 6 - No Need to be on the Eve of Destruction

A soft hiss escaped a tube as it opened. A gelatinous covered form fell from it but managed to stop before hitting the ground. Slowly, the figure floated above the ground. There were a multitude of memories coursing through its head. Being caught by an inky black blob and having a leg nearly torn off. The form opened its eyes, and anyone that would see it would see the black eyes it had. Both of the eyes were expressive despite being as black as the night itself.

Beyond those memories it had memories of consuming entire worlds, feasting on the matter in those worlds, taking it into itself, and becoming more powerful with each passing. Looking down, there was a concerning thought running around, "Wasn't I a man?"

What was there now were two decently sized breasts. Not overly large, not too small. She ran her hand up her sides. Her skin felt different. She had memories of it being pliable but strong like steel. What she felt was more rubbery. She opened her mouth and her tongue felt sharpened teeth. They weren't fangs but rather a uniformed set of sharp teeth. Her tongue felt odd. The end of it was split, forked, and it could curl effortlessly.

She stepped a few feet forward, the sound echoing. She looked to see a short red-headed woman nearing her. A single thought filled her mind as she looked at her. This was her mother. She understood that it was her mother. She moved toward the woman, not caring that she was nude, not caring that she was still covered with the birthing fluid from the tube she had been released from.

"Mama?" she asked, her voice sounding almost like three different voices speaking at once, "What's going on?"

The girl watched as her mother neared her. She felt a gentle hand as it touched her, "We're in danger," she said as she walked her toward the entrance of the lab. As they walked small spheres began floating toward her, each scanning her before a random piece of clothing formed for her. When they reached the door she could feel the clothes that surrounded her. It was a body suit, made of material that felt sturdy and flexible. Together they walked outside, and the girl could see something in the distance. It was dark, and part of it called to her, "That's trying to hurt people."

She studied it, her black eyes narrowing as she looked. Her mouth opened impossibly wide, looking almost like a dragon's mouth for a moment, and she let loose an ear piercing scream. Everyone winced from the sudden sound, but to their surprise there was a response. Deeper, more guttural, and it shook the very ground. The girl lifted into the air, "He's angry," she said, her eyes never straying, "He's going to kill everyone."

She looked around herself, seeing people that she saw for the first time, and yet somehow she knew all of them. She knew every single one, and she wanted to protect them. Oddly, that thought of protection also brought about a song, an old one, from the other set of memories. The ones from what she assumed was her father. A song about war, about killing, a song with a name that she wanted. She didn't say the name, her mother could hear it in her head. She was Eve, and she was the first of her kind.

She shot off, determined to stop the one that would bring harm upon those she cared about. As she flew, bits of earth flew toward her. It was small things, pebbles, dust, broken twigs, all of it flying toward her, and all of it making her stronger. She cresended the hill, and she saw him. He was huge, his entire body was singing a siren's song to her. It seemed to whisper to her to join with him, to become whole once again, but a stubborn part of her fought the song. The song that she chose her name from rang in her head.

"JOIN ME!" the voice boomed in her head, "JOIN WITH ME!"

"No," she said, barely louder than a whisper, she knew she didn't need to. She knew he could hear her through her mind, "No, I am Eve, and I am your destruction."

"HAHAHAHA!" the voice boomed again, "DESTRUCTION?! YOU ARE ME! YOU ARE MINE! YOU ARE DIFFERENT, BUT MINE! EVE IS KAIN, KAIN IS EVE!"

"No!" she screamed as her mouth opened wide. The dragonic nature taking hold and from her mouth came a blast of energy that struck Kain. It had been ages since he suffered pain, and that had been at the hands of the Jurai, but now he felt it again. The sensation was not something pleasant, it did not make him happy, and he growled as his form began to shift again.

What had been a writhing mass of inky blackness was now closer to that of a man dressed in a robe with a single mask covering his face. The mask had shifted to one of anger, "YOU DARE?!"

She screamed again, and once again the energy lept from her. Around her what he hadn't changed began to swarm toward her. What had been pebbles and dust was now small boulders and small trees. Birds were being pulled from the sky, and all of it was going into her. She was not going to let him hurt those she cared for. She remembered them all, she knew their faces, their names, what they were like, and she would not let him touch any of them.

"A LIE!" his voice boomed, and it sounded angry, "YOU HAVE NO MOTHER, NO FAMILY, YOU ARE KAIN!"

At that she felt the full surge of his mind as it pressed against her. She felt the unrelenting pressure, the pure terror of a being that had seen the consumption and destruction of a thousand worlds, and she felt it pressing harder against a mind that wasn't truly prepared for it. Yet, through it all, a single song, her song rang against it. It pushed back against the onslaught, pushing the pressure, and the sound of the voice singing was a woman, but it wasn't her mother.

There was so much warmth in the voice, so much caring, and she felt that warmth spread through her. It helped her, and she pressed hard against the mental force that dared to take her mind from her. She pressed back, demanding to be recognized, and she knew that for the first time in ages Kain was stunned. Her mouth opened again, but it wasn't the scream, it was simply the energy. She felt another presence, her mother, and her mother told her that she was proud of her, to keep going, to hold him still. She was determined, she would hold him, she would keep him in place, and she would show him that she was worthy of the name Eve.

She felt the energy inside of her swelling, it was determined, it flowed, it surrounded, and it escaped as it fired upon him. As she attacked the countdown had long since begun. For her the attack was meant to defend, to keep him from pressing forward, to keep him located where he was, but for Washu the attack was to keep Kain busy.

When she created Eve she had a choice. Kain's black antimatter body retained a sort of genetic memory. She saw it when she began to create Eve. In truth what should have taken several years to grow and do had been done in the room she had talked about before.

She had the birthing tube brought out after she was at the correct age, but she didn't want to leave her with the memories that her genetic codes would give her. She instead had created a telepathic link to her, the same as she had done with Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki. It allowed her to push her recent memories into Eve's head. What surprised her was that it was a memory not from her, or from Kain, but rather from Mark that had helped her.

She'd heard the song, and she had seen the one singing it. From what she could tell the one singing it had been close to Mark, and had looked similar in a way. She assumed that it was his mother, and her words gave Eve the strength to fight back. Oddly it was family that seemed to give her the strength she needed. Perhaps it wasn't that odd. She couldn't help but think about it as she finished the adjustments.

Family was obviously important to Eve, and that meant that it was important to her and to Mark. She had created Eve to be a distraction, but she had gone the extra step in letting her develop a personality. She had done so because of the genetic memories. Now as the countdown was nearly done she questioned the morality of it. Yuzuha had done something similar with Mayuka. She'd created a sapient life form in order to trick and trap Tenchi. She had done so with the full expectation of Mayuka's personality being too weak to fight back against her.

Instead the connections that Mayuka had made with her family brought her out of the darkness she was conceived from and into the light. There was absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that she was Tenchi's daughter. By extension she was Ryoko's daughter and her granddaughter. So, that left her in a very specific place. She had created Eve with the intention of keeping Kain occupied, and she originally intended to design her to live for no more than six minutes.

Yet, she couldn't be that heartless toward the girl herself. She wasn't sure what would happen after this, but Eve could potentially grow old. Kain's own biology seemed to indicate that as long as he continuously fed his antimatter body he could live forever. The Viltrumite genetics seemed to point toward an exceptionally long lived life. With the absence of the Mass as a base for a lifeform she had to use the Viltrumite DNA. She'd collected samples before, and she knew that their DNA had the wonderful property of being able to replicate with other species.

In addition it made the offspring nearly full blooded Viltrumite. She had to genetically manipulate Eve's biology to ensure that she was equal parts of Kain and Mark. Of course the choosing of the sex had been easy. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with males, but after Kagato she didn't take chances. Plus, she found the female skeletal structure was designed in such a way that it could, in theory, handle far more pressure. From the position of the hips, the way the spine was designed to bend further, and of course the way the body was designed to handle far more trauma inside of it due to growing and birthing a life meant that the choice was obvious.

If Eve made it out of this she would ensure that she was given a true chance. Of course, ultimately, she would have to include Mark in on the decision as well. Since he was a genetic parent of Eve she would value his input. Part of her wondered if he would believe that she would be far better off going with him. If that was the case would she be able to thrive in that world? It was possible. Then again pretty much anything was possible, it was just varying degrees of probable.

So, was it probable that she could travel with him, to his universe, and learn about their world and adapt a morality that would ensure that she wouldn't become like Kain? Looking at Mark she knew that the answer was yes. He was young, impulsive, and not really disciplined when it came to his actions. Yet, despite all of that he seemed to be a genuinely good person, and he wanted to be a hero to help people. That kind of example would go far in helping Eve.

Of course there was the issue with the other Viltrumites. From what she knew of them they viewed themselves as the ultimate lifeforms. They saw their way of life as the only way of life, and all other life forms existed only as potential breeding stock. Those that dared to stand against them were destroyed, and if they couldn't be destroyed they were to be imprisoned. She wasn't sure if the Viltrumites from his universe were the same, but she believed that was likely the possibility.

There's also the possibility that they could decide that she would be worth more as a sort of broodmare. The idea repulsed her, but she knew of more than a few civilizations that were the same. Of course she certainly didn't want the chance of her meeting her own Kagato. Ryoko had been lucky enough in that she was trapped and able to astral project herself and watch Tenchi. The end result had been enough to begin the change that was desperately needed. In the end, she didn't want to rely on dumb luck for something similar to happen for Eve.

She would consult Mark, express her concerns, and attempt to work together with him on what would be best for Eve. With a clear idea of what would come to pass she finished the adjustments needed, and she took aim. The Collapser focused in on Kain, and she realized that it was honestly none too soon. Eve had managed to keep him there, to keep him focused on her, but he had turned the battlefield against her. She could see that she was being beaten badly. She winced at it. Eve needed to be rescued, but not before she could fire.

"I'll go," Ryoko's voice echoed in her mind, "I'll get her and get out before she can get sucked into the blackhole."

"That's a good girl," she thought back to her daughter, "I'm sure that she will appreciate it."

There was a small bark of internal laughter, "Sure, but I don't envy you," she replied through their link, "You've got to explain to her father that he is a father. I'm sure that is going to go over really well."

Washu rolled her eyes, aimed, and fired. The power of a collapsing star shot out, moving at impossible speeds, and true to what she believed would happen Kain attempted to flee. He shot up into the air, attempting to distance himself from it, but the Collapser was already locked onto him. She watched as the shot fired followed him, getting closer, and how he howled in anger as he was captured. He screamed against the bonds pulling him in, and then she watched as he was collapsed in on himself over and over again until he was little more than a speck of dust.

It continued to happen, going to tighter and tighter configurations, spreading Kain to the point that he would never be able to pull himself together. He would be forever trapped, inside of a prison, and he would never be able to move. It was the perfect prison for him. With that she reopened the space for the collapser and replaced it. She looked up to see Ryoko, and in her arms was a beaten and broken form.

She took the other girl, carefully, and brought her to a hospital bed. She began working on her, and part of her questioned if she did the right thing. Eve was innocent, but did she do the right thing by bringing her into this world? She wanted to believe it was the right thing. She wanted to believe it, but she also knew that she was created for selfish reasons. The Juraian royal guard, their army, could have done the same thing as Eve. The Galaxy Police could have sent what officers they had to do the same, but doing either was a guarantee of losing someone.

Eve, despite what she wanted to believe or say, was the most expendable. She was originally only going to live for a few minutes anyway, but the miracle of life proved that it was not to be understated. The genetic memories were enough to ensure that Eve deserved more than some directive to attack. It was enough to prove that Eve deserved to live. She checked her over, seeing the damage that was already healing, thanks to the Viltrumite DNA and Kain's own antimatter genetics. She'd had her entire left arm crushed, and it was nearly ripped away. Her chest had multiple entry wounds that were enough to promise death to most other beings, and one of her eyes had been ripped away.

She didn't have to imagine the pain, because she felt it. It was the least she could do for her, and so she had shared the pain with her. Taking the brunt of it so that Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki wouldn't have to. Still, she saw the place where there had been an eye, and she could see a new one growing. Minutes passed, and most of the wounds had closed themselves. The bones were another issue. They were healing, but she had to set most of them on her own. Slowly, Eve's eyes began to focus. She saw the movement, and her eyes focused on Washu.

"Mama?" the odd sound of her three tone voice asked, "Did… did I help?"

She gently rubbed the dark hair on her head, gently stroking it, "Yes," she answered, "You did help. Kain's been stopped, and he won't ever hurt anyone again."

She blinked, "He said you weren't my Mama, but he was wrong, right?"

She smiled at her, "Yes, he was wrong," she said as she gently stroked her face, "I am your mommy."

She yawned, "I'm so tired, is that normal?"

She nodded, "It is," she said softly, "You're healing, and your body is using a lot of energy. Go ahead and get some sleep, I'll be here when you wake up."

She began to sleep, and her body began to do something. Washu watched as she began to shrink. She wasn't blinking out of existence, but instead she was turning into a little girl. It was a chance to let her have a full life, and she was going to let her have it. When it was finished she was about the size of Mayuka. It was fitting, despite having so many of her recent memories she was really only about five years old emotionally.

She began to think that perhaps the best thing would be to tell Mark about her, let him know, but demand that she get to stay here.