Reminders of the Past

A Tenchi Muyo and Invinsible Crossover

Chapter 10 - No Need For War

"Strange visitors from another world…" a staticky voice said over a speaker before the sound of a channel being changed, "Openly engaging with the rampaging robotic copies of former beloved hero Robot of the new Guardians of the Globe," a more masculine voice said before the sound of the channel changing again, "Fear not, we are your allies in this battle. We are the Juraian Imperial Force, and we have come to save you."

Rudolph Conners switched off the monitor before him. He was hidden, off world, and currently in a small base he had built on the moon itself. The robotic drones had constructed it, and when it was time he had himself moved to it. The base itself was large enough for him. It was roughly half a mile long and two miles wide, and he had it built underground. Doing so did two things. It protected him from the direct solar radiation from the sun itself, and it would provide the cover he needed to hide from retaliation.

Not all of the paranoia of the previous generations went unheeded. The nuclear scare of the 1960's had been something he studied, and he knew, without a doubt, that one of the possible last attacks that would be made would be a nuclear one. The base was currently a mile under the surface of the Moon. Even if they did attempt to launch a nuclear attack, and even if they did get the correct coordinates there was less than a three percent chance that they would actually do any harm to him or his base. But these Juraians had thrown a wrench into his plans. He had wanted, badly, to simply show the Earth the best way. His leadership would end all strife. He would give them peace, world wide peace, and the cost would merely be the loss of a few freedoms.

It was an equal trade, or at least it was in his eyes. He always considered himself to be a humanitarian at heart. Human beings tended to be violent toward each other unless there was a single threat. It was then, and only then, that they seemed to be able to put their differences aside and work together. Of course it didn't matter now.

"Why?" the voice was weak and he turned to see her, "Why are you doing this?"

"Amanda," Rudolph said as he neared the barely conscious girl, "Please, I am attempting to fix the world. No more need to protect it, no need to put yourself on the line, and everyone will finally be at peace."

He could see her fighting the effects of the serum he developed to knock her out. She was desperately attempting to stay awake, to talk to him, and he could see her failing hard, "You should allow yourself to rest."

She shook her head, "You can't do this," she said, her voice little more than a whisper, "What happened in the Flaxian dimension can't happen here. We can't force them to obey."

He straightened up, "That's where you're wrong. I will bend them to my will. I know what is best for the world, and I know that the time of superheroes and supervillains is over. It is a time for peace, everlasting peace, and I will give it to them."

He watched as she lost the war with her eyes, both closing, and she went into a fitful sleep. Was he wrong for keeping her away from the Earth, away from what needed to be done? No, he felt that he was right to do that. Even if he was wrong the ends would more than justify the means. She would wake up to a world free of strife. There would be no need for superheroes, for militaries, or for any other government than the one that he would provide. At least that was what his intention was. His connection with the drones was showing massive losses.

The drones themselves were designed to deal with Viltrumites. Each of them were designed out of a metal that would emit a frequency that would cause a Viltrumite intense pain when they were struck. He did not plan on an entire species he never heard of helping. Nor did he expect the arrival of someone who was obviously his intellectual equal. Invincible himself wasn't stupid, but he was predictable.

He flew in to save the day, punching away at the obstacles, and ensuring that he completely overwhelmed them with pure brute force. His plans tended to hang on the idea of hitting things. Occasionally he would think outside of the box, but even then his tactical skills were moderate at best. Whoever was with him had given the Global Defense Agency communication equipment that he had no access to.

In addition they were quickly discovering every location his drones were at, coordinating the efforts of these Juraians toward them. Then there was that teal headed monster. She was stronger than Invincible, possibly stronger than Omni Man, and she had the ability to create the same energy weapons that the Juraians did. His battle plans had shifted, and now he was calculating the best possible option for success.

His drones would be completely decimated in hours. He was fairly confident that his base would remain undetected, but it didn't matter. All he had now was the swiftly dwindling number of drones. The one option he had besides them was a long shot, at best, but he could potentially recruit criminals to his cause. His interaction with the Mauler Twins had taught him that they would use their talents toward a common goal if they were properly motivated.

But then again there was another option. The Reanimatimen that Cecil had on standby. All of them had technical components that he had extensive knowledge of. If he could activate them they would be able to certainly help turn the tide. From what he'd seen they attacked in packs, similar to wolves, rushing in and taking down a single target. If he used them, released them, and programmed them to attack the Juraians it would be a matter of hours before he could turn the tide completely.

Seeing no other option he connected to the drone closest to the storage facility that held them. The moment they were activated he would send them on their mission. His single minded obsession blinded him to a signal. It was an ancient signal, buried deep in a cavern in Japan. The signal had degraded over time, becoming little more than a fraile staticky beacon. Its origin was a tree that had been badly damaged, but somehow salvaged and anchored to a small island in the middle of a pond.

The tree had sensed what seemed to be multiple brothers and sisters overhead. It was calling out to them, letting them know that one of their own was here. Its weak signal was also telling that the one that was here was alive, and had offspring. That the offspring had traveled, but one, a grandson remained. It relayed that the prince was stuck on this planet, that it needed repairs, the prince needed to be saved, and it warned of the one trapped in the cavern.

While the drones attacked above a boy ran into the caverns. He was older now, and he had obeyed his grandfather. He never ventured into the cavern before, never once questioned the rules even though the ancient stories of the samurai that rode a dragon and slayed a great demon delighted him. This was the first time he had ever, ever ventured into the cavern. The attack above was causing him to abandon all hope. All but the thinly veiled hope that there was a magic sword in the cavern.

That the sword left behind by his most honorable ancestor would aid him. Rushing in he heard the metallic footsteps outside. He saw it, the sword, inside of a small shrine. Running toward it he grasped the handle and pulled. It squealed in protest, and the metallic footsteps sounded closer. He could see the faint yellow glow and he pulled as hard as he could on the sword.

It came out, the blade rusted, and his hopes completely crashed.

"It's just a worthless piece of junk," he said, dashing it upon a rock. When he did the rock split into, and the entire cavern shook. The metallic footsteps stopped, and he saw the entrance of the cavern cave in. Behind him a wall separated, and he understood there was no going out the way he came, "might as well."

He moved, and the moment he squeezed through his footing was lost. He slid down into the darkness, down a steep slope, until he hit the bottom. There, a pool of water was full. At the far end of it was a being. Heavy chains secured her wrists, a mask with a small talisman was on her face. He neared her, and she reached out for him. He saw her, heard her breathing, and without thinking he knelt down. She touched his face, gently, "You finally came," a raspy voice said, "You finally came."

Something overtook him, some unknown force seemed to command him, and the sword itself lit up. She flinched away, but when it lit up the chains melted away. He reached down for the mask, and moved it to reveal a spikey teal headed woman. Her golden eyes looked up at him in innocent terror.

"Are, are you the demon in the stories?"

She flinched, "I'm Ryoko," she said, her eyes darting around, "Why did you take so long? I watched you, I watched you grow, I saw you and called out to you, why did you take so long to come to me?"

She began to float, "Why did you take so long?"

A loud sound from above them caught her attention, and they saw a silvery mechanical man step through. He watched as she formed an energy blade, "I will not be trapped again!" She snarled and rushed toward the mechanical man, ripping through him, her eyes then focused on the one that freed her, "I will not be trapped again…"

There was some part of her, a more innocent part, that wanted to run to him. She'd watched him, seen him grow up, she saw how he was comforted, how he was treated, and how he wept at the loss of his mother. She'd attempted to give him comfort, cried silently as he cried, and then as he got older she marveled at the kind and caring person he was becoming. She reached for him, trying to get his attention, trying, mostly in vain, to get him to come to her.

She wasn't the same person that had been trapped here, but he never heard her. He never came, and slowly he stopped coming by her cave as often. Yet tonight, tonight he came to her, and he freed her. She wanted to be mad because he took so long, wanted to hug him because he had done something wonderful, and wanted to leave him because he had ignored her. The painful reminders of her past came back to her. The man that had tortured her, that abused her, that made her feel empty and helpless. That man had been evil, but this one was good.

Finally, unable to fully silence the two sides of her she flew toward him. He stood, completely uncertain at what was happening, and she hugged him. She did so a little tightly, letting him know that she was sore that he ignored her for so long, and then she looked up. Raising a hand she aimed for the collapsed tunnel and she fired off a small blast of energy. That blast cleared the tunnel, and she flew out with him. Landing she didn't see the beautiful scenery that had once been here.

The forest surrounding the cave was on fire, mechanical men walked around them, and then she saw them, they appeared through small portals, each seeming popping in from nowhere. Juraians, she remembered them, what she had been made to do, and she prepared to leave. Instead she watched as they began fighting the mechanical men. Her eyes widened at the display, and the boy she was holding slowly broke away from her.

"Are, are you okay?"

He wasn't frightened of her, and for that she was thankful, "I am, unsure," she replied, "I feel odd, conflicted, they are helping, but how did they know that I am here? Didn't I kill the prince?"

As she contemplated what was happening the battle raged not just in Japan where she was, but across the globe. The battle was seeming to wind down, and Tenchi was certainly glad for it. The drones that they were dealing with were certainly easier than dealing with Kagato, and they were easier than dealing with Z had been. He didn't want to think too much about the test that Tokimi had prepared for him. He looked toward his wives that came with him and marveled at how they were doing.

Ayeka had transformed into her royal battle armor, she had begun using her key, which apparently was like Lady Seto's and was a whip. He had assumed that Ayeka's key was one of a kind, but in truth it did make some sense. Ayeka herself was just a touch of a sadist. She was demiure, proper, mannerly, and exceptionally lady-like, but she had a real domination kink that shined through. That wasn't to say that she didn't give up control. She would give in, be dominated, but time and time again she proved herself to be just as dominating.

Like Ryoko she had Washu test her, and like her sister-wife she too was carrying a child. He naturally wondered what the house was going to be like with so many children. There was Mayuka, Eve, and now there would be two babies. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that Washu would take every chance she could get to play mother to them. She desperately wanted to have another child, and it was something she had told him.

The fact that she hadn't used an ova to create Eve, but instead had mostly used the DNA from Mark and Kain with just a touch of her own as binding agent, spoke more than she would admit about her intent. She wanted a baby, but she wanted it with him. She would take her daughter's baby, care for him or her, and reluctantly he knew she would return the infant to Ryoko. The same would happen with Ayeka, and it would continue to happen until such time that Washu was ready to fully face life in her adult form.

He'd explained that when she was like that, when she looked like a thirteen year old, it wouldn't happen. And if she planned on returning to that afterward it wouldn't happen. He cared for her deeply, he loved her, but he wouldn't cross that line. Still, he kept from going too deep with his thoughts. He focused on the here and now, and there and now was full of dwindling robotic drones. Each seeming to fall before them.

"Everyone, I'm estimating that the total number is down to less than five percent of what he originally had on the surface."

He felt a small thrill of victory. They were winning, and they were paying Mark back for what he'd done. Of course he would have come regardless. He might not have been there long, but he considered Mark a friend. He certainly understood Mark's position. He might have been an alien, but he considered himself a human first and foremost. He was part of Earth, of Earth, and would defend it.

Tenchi was much the same. Sure, he was technically Juraian, and even Juraian royalty, but it didn't really matter to him. He understood that inside of him was something powerful, and he'd just begun to gain access to it, but again, what truly mattered to him was his family, his home, and that included the planet itself. He would ensure the planet remained, because it was a part of him. Besides, he did want to give his children, all of them, the chance to make friends with the people around them. He knew, from his talk with Washu, that was the same thing that Mark wanted for Eve. He had a feeling that if he had any other children that he'd feel the same way for them as well. That he wanted them to be a part of the world. He didn't want them to be above it, or beyond it, but part of it.

He stepped forward, listening to the area around him, hearing the sound of the crunching metal from the now ruined drones, and he listened for anything else. It felt peaceful, the presence of the Juraian Royal Forces, the Global Defense Agency, and what heroes managed to fight back after they realized that they were betrayed, had been enough. It seemed as if the world was safe. The one issue they had was to find the one behind it.

He knew that it was likely that Washu was already working on that. He was going to make a few suggestions when capsules began falling from the sky. Large capsules, each looking like they would hold a singular person, and each one struck the ground hard. One of the broken drones' golden eyes glowed brightly, but the voice that came out came from every drone that had a working speaker.

"Cecil, Invincible, you've pushed my hand. I had wanted to make this as seamlessly as possible. I didn't want to make needless suffering. I would guarantee a peaceful future for all of mankind, but the assistance that you have brought has ensured that will not be possible. So, I use one of the last resorts as one of my last resorts."

The capsules began to break open, and beings that looked like they were part human and part machine began pouring out of them.