NOTE: All characters original to the Tenchi-Muyo!
TV1 series portrayed in this story are the sole property
of AIC and Pioneer Animation. Any appearance of them in 
actual life is purely coincidental. Tenchi-Muyo!
material and paraphernalia listed within is Copyright
Pioneer Animation 1997 (c). Kyoto Minamoto, Muriyaki
Kushiragi, Chisako, Chi-Ohki, and all other related 
characters are the sole property of R&C Books and appear
through permission from R&C Books. If you would like to use
any of these characters in your work, please contact the 
licensing department at RCBooks@hotmail.com
or visit our website at www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bay/1375.





                                 Episode #9

                           No Need For Goddesses!







Digital Washu/Mihoshi has spent the last eight hours in 
Washu’s lab, trying to determine their destination.
Finally, she bursts out of the lab, carrying a holomat
with her. "I’ve got it, I’ve got it!" she choruses happily.
"I figured out where we’re going!" Everyone gathers around
her as she sets up the projection mat on the dining room
table and presses a small red icon on the edge. Appearing
in the air over the dinner table is a red-lit chart with
an infinite number of horizontal lines. One of these lines
is highlighted in blue, and she points a penlike remote
controller at that line and clicks the small button. The 
view suddenly zooms in on the indicated line, and the line
is replaced by an infinite starmap. Digital Washu/Mihoshi
clicks the remote again and the view zooms in on a 
particular galaxy, then in on the galactic core, in on a 
solar system near the exact center of the core, and finally
a blue-white sphere looking similar to Earth.

"So that’s where we’re going," muses Katsuhito, his 
expression as inscrutable as ever. Tenchi looks at him for
a moment, but mentally dismisses the thought. Even Grandpa
wouldn’t know where this is, he tells himself. Besides,
Kiyone is snuggling closer in to him, and he likes to keep
his mind on her as much as possible.

"Do you know where this planet is, what its name is?" 
inquires Ayeka.

"I’m afraid not," answers Digital Washu/Mihoshi,
scratching her head. "For all we know, all this data may 
just be conjured-up nonsense fed to us by whoever’s
controlling us. But one thing I’m certain about is that 
it’ll take us a while to get there, at least twelve hours.
My recommendation: get some rest....or whatever."

She shoots a not-so-subtle glance at the two resident
couples. "I would also recommend soundproofing the bedroom
walls in this house." Stretching and yawning, she stands
up and heads for the kitchen. "I’m gonna get some food,
then go back to work on Mecha Washu III. I don’t like this
body; it gets tired too easily and needs too much food."

Tenchi-yon, let’s go to bed, suggests Kiyone. It’s been a 
long day.

Good idea, Kiyone-yoni, agrees Tenchi. How long a night
is it gonna be?

Let’s just fall into bed, and see what happens, replies
Kiyone. She giggles in delight as Tenchi picks her up in 
his arms and starts to carry her towards the staircase.

Sasami starts laughing. "I know what they’re gonna do! 
They’re gonna be naughty!"

Groaning, Ayeka gently steers her sister toward their room.
"Let’s go to sleep, Sasami, you can tease them in the 
morning."

Kyoto and Ryoko excuse themselves and head up to their 
little hideaway in one of the treehouses. Katsuhito
retires to the small replacement shrine in the C-deck 
arboretum. Washu decides to sack out on the couch, not 
wanting to experience the indignity of watching a 
mechanical version of herself do her job better than she 
could.

Tenchi and Kiyone are on their bed in their room. He has 
just changed into his pajamas while she plans to sleep in 
just her bra and panties. The future Jurai Emperor looks
his wife up and down, which causes her to pull him on top
of her. They are about to go farther than kissing when he 
hears a faint noise. He walks to the window quietly,
eases it open just a crack, and screams, "Cut it out, Dad!
Go to bed!"

After a moment, Tenchi hears the satisfying sound of his 
father’s feet hitting ground and running for the door. 
Sighing and shaking his head, he crawls back onto the bed
and pulls Kiyone close. "Come on, Mrs. Masaki. Let’s go to
sleep."



Sleep does not come easily to Chisako’s passengers,
however. The main cause of this is a loud explosion
coming from Washu’s lab about forty-five minutes after the
group at large had retired. Washu is the first one at the
door to the storage unit containing her "pocket dimension"
lab. She’s trying to pry the door open. It isn’t 
cooperating. "Stupid robot me! She did something to the 
door, and she’s doing something to my lab!"

Tenchi and Kiyone pull her back from the door just a second
before they hear another loud explosion and the storage
unit’s door is dented outward. Everyone stares at the door,
a look of acute fear on their faces. After a long moment,
the door swings open and....Mecha Washu steps out.

There is a difference, though. Mecha-Washu’s hair has gone
from pink to white, and there are a pair of spectacles
on her nose. She takes a long look around the room and then
starts laughing. "I’m finished!"

As if on cue (they probably were), two Mecha-Washu
puppets, their hair also white, pop up.

"Digital Washu is finished!" announces puppet A.

"Hooray for Digital Washu!" cries out puppet B.

"My lab!" screams the real Washu, at the same time that 
Kiyone and Tenchi scream "Mihoshi!", and all three rush 
into the lab. Mr. and Mrs. Masaki emerge a moment later,
carrying a dazed but otherwise unharmed Mihoshi. Washu 
follows them, wiping sweat off her brow. "Good! Nothing
important destroyed!"

Tenchi and Kiyone carry Mihoshi over to the couch and set
her down. Tenchi rushes into the kitchen for a glass of 
water while Kiyone gently prods Mihoshi awake. "C’mon,
Mihoshi, stay awake, just for a little bit, Tenchi’s
gonna get you a snack...."

That keeps Mihoshi awake.

Tenchi comes out with a glass of ice water and a bowl of 
rice cakes. "Here you go, Mihoshi." He sets them down in 
front of Mihoshi, who grins and dives into them. After 
about ten minutes of voracious eating--during which Tenchi
has to refill the bowl twice--she sits back and sighs.
"That was good! Thank you, Tenchi!"

"No problem," answers Tenchi as he seats himself next to 
Kiyone and drapes an arm around her shoulders. She snuggles
in closer. "Are you feeling all right, Mihoshi?"

Mihoshi nods. "I’m just fine." An expression of confusion
and curiosity floats across her face. "I had some pretty
weird dreams though. Do either of you know what a 
singularity algorithm is?

All Tenchi and Kiyone can do is shake their heads.

Mihoshi stretches and yawns. "I’m going to bed, g’night,
everyone...." She walks up the stairs towards her room.
Nobuyuki starts to move in the same direction but is 
stopped by a glare from Tenchi, who leads Kiyone back up 
the stairs.

As everyone files out of the living room, Digital Washu
looks around, confused. "Where’s everyone going?" she asks.

No one sticks around to answer her.

Somewhat miffed, she just sits down on the couch.



Ayeka is shaking her head as she returns to her and 
Sasami's room. That robot Washu actually makes the real one
look normal! At least the real Washu doesn't knock us out
and kidnap us for experimentation....not
that I remember.... As she steps back into the bedroom
she notes her younger sister tossing and turning in her 
sleep, as if fighting off a nightmare. Her first impulse
is to wake her up, but she has no idea what the dream is 
about. If she wakes up, I'll take her downstairs and make
her something to drink, she muses. She climbs onto her 
futon, pulls the covers over herself, and falls asleep.

Ayeka was right. Sasami is having a nightmare.

However, it didn't start that way.

The dream started with Tenchi and Kiyone taking her on a 
trip to Tokyo. She was laughing and smiling, holding one of
each parent's hands. At one point, they boarded a bus for
Tokyo Disney. Tenchi was sitting in the middle, with Kiyone
snuggled up to him on one side and Sasami on the other.
He had his arms around both of them and he gave Sasami
a kiss on the forehead. You're our favorite daughter,
he told her lovingly, and pulled her closer. Sighing in 
contentment, she leaned her head against him and closed
her eyes, letting the comforting warmth of his arm around
her lull her to sleep.

When she had opened her eyes again, Tenchi and Kiyone were
nowhere to be found, and she was not on a tour bus. She was
floating in space, all alone. Yet, she quickly found that
she had no problems breathing. She looks to one side, and
she sees..... A legend.

Anyone who saw Sasami and the woman that Sasami is looking
at together would have noted a remarkable resemblance.
Indeed, the woman does look much like a possible adult 
Sasami. The only major differences are that there are a 
pair of olive dots on her forehead instead of the split
triangle, and that she is lacking freckles. Sasami sees her
building something. Her first impression is that it is a 
sandcastle or some such thing, but as she drifts closer
to it, she sees that it's a world. And something in her 
soul recognizes the planet.

"Jurai!" she says in amazement.

The woman apparently heard her, for she turns around and 
smiles at her. Her face and eyes are gentle and loving,
and Sasami is immediately reminded of her and Ayeka's
long-dead parents. This woman's smile reminds Sasami of her
mother's, the kind Ayeka said she wore when she was telling
her a secret that was "just between them." Almost out of 
nowhere, the name of this woman snaps into Sasami's head.
She is looking at the legendary creator of Jurai, the 
legendary goddess.

Tsunami.

Tsunami smiles and nods her head. "Yes, little one, that
is my name." She gently pats the planet that she is 
forming, as if it is a newborn child and she its mother.
"And this is your Jurai." She beckons Sasami over to her.
"I need some help building this world. Would you like to 
help me, Sasami-cha'ya?"

Sasami blinks. That--the Juraian word for beloved child--is
what Ayeka had told her that their mother called her. "How
did you know my mommy called me that?"

Tsunami takes her hand. "I know. Just as I know that your
new mommy will call you that." She holds her other hand,
palm-up, and a picture of Tenchi and Kiyone, both dressed
in Juraian royal court wear, are holding each other. 
Standing between them is a grinning Sasami, and both of her
parents have a gentle hand resting on her shoulders.
And out of nowhere, she hears Kiyone's gentle voice saying,
"Good-night, Sasami-cha'ya. Remember that your daddy and I 
love you, and we'll be here when you wake up." Two small,
almost imperceptible trails of tears begin to trickle
down Sasami's cheeks. She blinks her eyes, trying not to 
cry in the presence of a goddess. Tsunami smiles, and 
enfolds Sasami in her arms, letting the little girl cry her
tears into the folds of her robes.

"There, there, Sasami. I promise you'll be with your mommy
and daddy soon." She gently wipes away Sasami's tears.
"In the meantime, would you like to help me build a world?"
Sasami nods eagerly and Tsunami places her hands on the 
planet. "We'll start out with some mountains."

Hours pass, and Sasami finds herself having fun. She's not
sure which makes her feel better, being able to hold her 
beloved world in her arms, or the knowledge that Tsunami
is there to do the same for her, but she feels almost giddy
nonetheless. She has just finished a clump of trees in the
shape of Ryo-ohki's face, prompting a smile and a giggle
from Tsunami, when she hears a faint explosion in the 
distance. She looks around, frightened.

"What was that?"

Tsunami places a gentle hand on Sasami her right shoulder
and shakes her head. "She's come." As if on cue, another
goddess-- at least that's what Sasami assumes what this 
woman is-- appears. Her robes are far more ornate than 
Tsunami's, as if trying to make up for the lack of heart
with ornamentation. She has narrowed, violet eyes, and 
long, pale brown hair done up in a complicated fashion.
While as beautiful as Tsunami, she lacks the warmth and 
caring that Tsunami possesses.

However, she doesn't seem to care much. She shoots a 
mocking glare at Tsunami. "Whatever you can build, sister,
I can just as easily destroy."

"True, but I don't see why you need to," replies Tsunami,
coldly. "Can't the universe go for once without your 
chaos?"

The other goddess smirks and sends a rude gesture in 
Tsunami's direction. Tsunami is taken-aback, but stiffens
with anger as she sees the other goddess glaring at Sasami,
who is hiding behind her back now. She moves fully in front
of the little girl and spreads her arms out.

"Leave her alone, leave them all alone. Can't you let them
be happy for just a little while before ripping their 
worlds apart?"

The other goddess takes up a mocking pose. "But, sis, that
just wouldn't be like me, now would it?"

"Any change would be welcome!" hisses Tsunami.

"You know, I think I've had just about enough of you for 
one eon," comments the other goddess. She snaps her 
fingers, and Tsunami, a look of horrified anger on her 
face, disappears before she can make a move to counter
that. The evil goddess stares down at Sasami. Sasami starts
to move, but the evil goddess snaps her fingers.

Sasami finds herself on the surface of the planet, weaving
together a flower garland. She quickly finds that she's
naked, yet she doesn't feel ashamed about her bareness.
Several meters away is a man that bears a striking 
resemblance to Tenchi and Kyoto. He senses her staring
at him and he turns and smiles at her. Sasami quickly
turns her head, blushing slightly. She feels sensations
in her body that she can't quite describe, something
she's never felt before. It is at this moment that she 
realizes how grown up she really is. A second later, she 
feels a set of warm, masculine hands coming to rest on her
shoulders and quite quickly she knows who it is. She turns
around in his embrace to see him smiling down at her. He 
caresses her chin and takes the now completed flower 
garland from her hand and places it atop her head. She 
smiles and blushes again, wrapping her arms around his 
waist and hugging him close. She feels his hand caress
her chin, bringing it up to face him. Her eyes start to 
close as he brings his lips down to hers, she can feel them
begin to touch--

--and suddenly, the scene is torn away as if it was drawn
on a piece of paper that was suddenly ripped in half. She
finds herself now in her adolescent form, still naked;
however, she is chained to a cold, granite altar, the 
surrounding area an obfuscate of smoldering ash and 
lung-wrenching smoke. She can her clump of Ryo-ohki trees
blazing, and she thinks that she can make out in the smoke
the face of the evil goddess, laughing maniacally.
In the distance, she can see Tsunami, wearing a look of 
infinite sadness, and fighting to break free of some 
invisible bond, trying to run to Sasami and rescue her and
her beloved Jurai. And kneeling next to Tsunami is a woman
of similar build and dress, except having a long magenta
pony-tail down her back to about her ankles, and two 
smaller ones hanging down over her shoulders. She is 
sobbing into her hands, and Sasami can see a stinging
red welt on one cheek, smeared with three thin trails of 
blood running down the cheek. Sasami's initial impulse
is to run to this woman, wipe the blood away, and hug her,
but the chains restrain her.

And then the real nightmare begins.

A silhouette that had at one time been obscured in the 
shadows of smoke is instantly highlighted. The individual
is dressed in a long, dark cloak and is holding his arms
out stretch towards the sky, a majestic sword in one hand.
His long, forest-green is hair is unencumbered and blowing
freely in the wind. He becomes immediately recognizable,
and Sasami screams.

"No! Kyoto, no, don't!"

Kyoto has a sadistic smile on his face, and Sasami knows
exactly what he has in mind. She tries to close her legs,
but she can't. She squeezes her eyes shut, preparing
for the searing pain that is about to engulf her.

She is surprised to see him just standing in front of her.
She is even more surprised to see him starting to trace
a finger around her inner thighs. The initial reaction
is a sudden of unwanted, guilty pleasure. "No... please
don't...." The pleasure suddenly turns to pain as she feels
as a myriad of tiny bites on her skin all at once. Her eyes
fly open, and she screams in terror as she finds thousands
of tiny snakes pouring forth from Kyoto's sleeve. The 
serpents are swarming all over her body, climbing up into
every orifice. Soon, even her screams are cut off as the 
snakes begin to climb into her mouth and slide down her 
throat, violating every inch of her being. Sasami can feel
the serpents squirming around inside of her body, biting
her inner flesh and making her body long for the 
nothingness of oblivion. Soon, she can't even see anymore,
for her eyes have exploded and snakes are starting to swarm
out of the ruined recesses. She can feel her womb swell
as the snakes slither and squirm inside of her being. She
is so racked with pain she does not even notice Kyoto 
closing his right hand around her throat, feel him easily
crushing her ruined larynx, register the amount of 
destructive energy he is pouring into the ruins of her 
body.....

Sasami wakes up screaming. At first, her scream is muffled
by the pillow she had been pressing her face to during
the dream, but it does not lose strength as she rushes
out of her and Ayeka's room screaming. As she rushes down
the hall and towards the bathroom, doors fly open and heads
stick out, wondering what the hell just happened. They are
even more confused a moment later, when they see Ayeka 
rushing after her. After a moment, Tenchi and Kiyone,
wrapped in loosely fastened kimonos, rush after them. It's
not a hard trail to follow, considering that Sasami was 
stripping off her clothes as she went. Ayeka hadn't closed
the door to the women's bath, so they come inside to find
Sasami thrusting her hands into certain orifices on her 
body.

She looks up desperately at Ayeka. "Help me, Ayeka. Help
me get the snakes out of me!"

"Sasami, there are no snakes," says Ayeka gently. "Whatever
are you talking about?"

"The snakes, they're coming out of me here and here...
and even here!" She indicates the supposed areas of the 
snake's entry into her with her hands.

"Sasami, there are no snakes," insists Tenchi. He opens
his arms, and she runs to him and throws himself into her
embrace, sobbing and ignoring her bareness.

"Daddy.... I'm scared, daddy.....Kyoto started putting
snakes all over me and they were climbing into me 
and....save me, daddy, please, daddy, please save me!"

For once unaffected by a girl's nudity, Tenchi holds Sasami
tight. "It's okay, darling, your mommy and I are here, 
we're not going to let anything happen to you, I 
promise...." he whispers.

Kiyone joins her husband and wraps her own arms around
Sasami. "Your daddy's right, sweetie, you're safe with us."
Out of nowhere, a Juraian term of endearment appears in 
Kiyone's mind. "We love you, Sasami-cha'ya."

Sasami, her eyes glistening, looks up at Kiyone. "Mommy?"
She buries her face deep into Tenchi's chest. "Mommy,
Daddy, I love you...."

Tenchi pulls Kiyone close and he hugs his wife and de facto
daughter. "We love you too, Sasami. We love you too."

Ayeka is a little outcast in all this and she feels it 
appropriate for her not to say anything and to quietly
exit the room. Feeling that she's going to be spending
the night alone, she starts to head for the kitchen when
she runs into Digital Washu.

"What is it, Digital Washu?"

"Out of my way, Princess Stupid! I've got an experiment
to run!"

Ayeka decides to ignore the insult to her for the moment.
"What kind of experiment?"

"I want to find out why--by the way, how old is Sasami?"

"She's eleven, she'll be twelve in a month. Why?"

"Isn't she a little old to be crying over a nightmare?"

"Not at all," replies Ayeka. "Sometimes I cry when I have
nightmares."

"Well, you must be genetically deficient or something...."
Ignoring Ayeka's attempts to stop her, Digital Washu barges
into the bathroom. She reaches into her pockets and 
produces two small sub-routine orbs and tosses them into
the air. They spin to life and a second later are coated
in the solid holograms of the nurse sub-routines.

By now, Sasami has been put to sleep and is resting,
sitting between her de facto parents and laying her head
on Tenchi's shoulder. Tenchi is slowly rubbing her back and
kissing her lightly on the head. Kiyone shoots him a 
playful glare, but smiles after a moment. She'll make a 
wonderful daughter, won't she, Tenchi-yon?

She'll make the best daughter in the world, Kiyone-yoni,
and you'll be the most wonderful mother in the world, 
responds Tenchi through mind-link.

And you the most wonderful of all fathers....daddy.
Kiyone releases a miniscule giggle at the look of 
discomfort on Tenchi's face. Does daddy want to play with
his little girl(s)?

We can talk about that after we put Sasami to bed.

Their telepathic conversation is cut short by Digital
Washu's appearance. "Wake Sasami up. I want to run some 
experiments on her."

"I don't think so," retorts Tenchi. "My daughter's
been through enough tonight. If she wants to sleep, we'll
let her sleep." There is a note of iron in his voice that
makes even Digital Washu hesitate.

"But it is imperative that I conduct these experiments
on her. I need to know why an eleven year old still cries
when she's had a bad dream."

"Because she's had a bad dream," replies Kiyone, coldly.
"If I've had a bad dream, I cry, and Tenchi comforts
me."

Digital Washu throws her hands up in the air. "Forget
it! You're all a bunch of genetic defects! I'm going back
to my lab--" she adds the next part to herself "--that
is if I can find the door again. Damn thing is constantly
moving..."

"Maybe we'll get lucky and the next one will be in front
of the airlock," barks Tenchi as the mechanical Washu walks
out of the room.

"Stick it where the sun don't shine, Tenchi Masaki!"
replies the android before disappearing.

"For an android, she sure has a large vocabulary of 
unsavory phrases," comments Ayeka, making her way back into
the bathroom. "How's Sasami?"

"She's sleeping quietly, now." Kiyone leans over and kisses
Sasami on the forehead. "She had a really bad dream. Do you
know what it was about?"

Ayeka shakes her head. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Tenchi snorts. "Well, I’m not inclined towards waking her
up for a full report. Let’s just let her sleep."

"Daddy?" murmurs Sasami sleepily. "You an’ Mommy still 
there?"

Tenchi smiles softly and hugs her tighter. "Yes, 
Sasami-cha’ya, we’re still here. We’ll be with you all 
night. We’re never gonna leave you all alone." Sasami 
snuggles in tighter to the crook of Tenchi's arm. "Good,
I don't want you to...." She dozes back off.

Kiyone kisses Tenchi on the cheek. "I'm going to go and 
gather up her clothes, I'll be back in a little while."
She kisses him on the lips and leaves the bathroom.
Once Kiyone has left, Ayeka fills in the spot where she was
seated, stroking the long, turquoise strands of Sasami's
hair.



* * *



In their tree house, Kyoto and Ryoko are asleep, their bare
flesh pressed together. They have--in the words of 
Sasami--"been naughty" for several hours and are now in 
that blissful slumber that follows. Kyoto is enveloped
in the surreal landscape of REM sleep.

His dream starts as Sasami is helping Tsunami create Jurai.
His initial reaction is that he is looking at both an 
adolescent and adult version of Sasami. However, he notices
subtle differences that easily distinguish the two girls
as separate individuals. It takes him a handful of minutes
before the correlation snaps into focus in his mind. He 
considers waving to the two girls, but he decides against
it. They look so happy and cheerful that he doesn't want
to intrude on their blissful contentment.

He doesn't have to.

Tokimi does it for him.

He is a little chagrined at how easy for him to recall
this individual's name. Another question pops into his mind
a second later. How did he know her name?

He watches with horror as Tokimi wreaks her havoc on Jurai,
with confusion as he watches the grown up Sasami and the 
Tenchi/Kyoto look-alike playing out the role of Adam and 
Eve, and with nausea as he watches his dark mirror image,
his doppelganger, murdering Sasami. Instead of seeing 
himself, however, as Sasami had, he notes subtle 
differences. The individual's body is wrapped in a dark,
velvet black cloak that obscures his body and his face is 
covered by a scarf of some sort wrapped around his head 
from the nose down. A large, wide-brimmed hat with a 
medallion is clamped down on his head of flowing black 
hair, with multiple tendrils of un-washed hair flowing
in the wind behind him. Kyoto, however, can notice a 
similarity in his eyes, they remind him of someone, but 
who?

As he watches Sasami's demise, he is constantly trying
to break free, to go and rescue the little girl, but he can
feel Tokimi's strong grip on his shoulders restraining
him. Only when the multitude of serpents has choked the 
life out of the young princess does he feel a release
in her grip. He breaks free, and runs--

--to Tsunami and--he recognizes the woman with her. 
Something in her gentle features triggers memories,
not of a passionate tryst on a hot summer's night, but of 
someone of nurturing and raising and loving him....

He gently helps the woman to her feet, dabs the blood away
from the welt on her cheek, and wipes her tears away. In 
the process of this, their eyes meet, and he sees a 
parental love, something that his life has always been 
devoid of.

"Mommy?"

The magenta haired woman nods and enfolds Kyoto in her 
arms, holding his convulsing body tight to hers and 
allowing him to cry all of his tears into her shoulder.
"It's alright, my son, it's alright."

"Oh, mommy, where were you when I needed you....all
those times I was alone and cried out in the emptiness
of the night for your caring hand?"

"I had to go away, but we'll be together soon, my son, very
soon, we will be together again."

And Kyoto wakes up lying on the floor.

"I'm up here Kyoto, not down there." Ryoko is grinning
down at him mischievously. "Have a nice trip?"

Kyoto droops his head and shakes it from side to side. "My
lover, the comedian."

"Don't you mean fiancé, Kyoto?" she corrects.

"Alright, alright, my fiancé, the comedian," quips Kyoto.
"In any case, the comedy club circuit is in trouble."

"Come back to bed, Kyoto. It's all nice and warm here...."
She pats the bed.

He shakes his head. "Sorry, kitten, I'm not in the mood."

"Really?" she says, a look of surprise on her face. "That's
a first." She pulls Kyoto back onto the bed and settles
herself in his lap, shifting around until her body starts
to elicit a response from Kyoto's. "Now, tell your Auntie
Ryoko all about it...."

Kyoto makes a face. "Eww, my aunt’s sitting in my lap and
trying to seduce me!"

"Is it working?" asks Ryoko in a teasing voice.

Kyoto groans. "Yes...."

She gives him a long kiss. "Now, tell me all about this 
dream."

And so he does. Ryoko manages to keep her mouth shut 
through most of it, although Sasami’s death makes her look
a little green. "Honestly, Kyoto, that’s sick!" she tells
him.

"Yes. It is." He continues on with the dream until he’s 
finished it. Ryoko’s expression is one of confusion
and fear. "I don’t know what the hell that was about, but
it scared the living daylights outta me." He gently pushes
Ryoko off of him and gets out of bed, clothing 
materializing around him as his feet hit the floor. "I’m
going down to the house. Maybe Washu has something for this
kinda dream."

"I’m going with you," announces Ryoko, wrapping a 
long-discarded kimono around herself. "Now I can’t sleep."

Kyoto grimaces. "Sorry about that."



When they come into the Masaki house, they are somewhat
surprised to see everyone up, if not quite awake.

Tenchi and Kiyone, now dressed in typical pajamas, have 
Sasami between them on the couch. The young girl is dozing
lightly and has her head resting in Kiyone’s lap. Tenchi’s
wife is gently stroking Sasami’s hair and murmuring
a lullaby. Azaka and Kamidake are hovering protectively
around the young princess. Ayeka, in a typical nightgown,
is sitting on the other couch glaring across the room at 
Digital Washu, who is staring back with a bland expression.
The real Washu, dressed in an oversized Bugs Bunny 
nightshirt, is grumbling to herself about being awakened
in the middle of a wonderful dream about a bottle of saké
and someone she refuses to name.

This scares everyone.

Nobuyuki is bustling about, fixing snacks, trying to play
the gracious host.

Mihoshi is gratefully devouring those snacks.

Katsuhito is watching the proceedings calmly. In fact, he 
is the first person to spot Kyoto and Ryoko. "You couldn’t
sleep either?"

"Strange dream," explains Kyoto. The sound of his voice,
despite his attempts to muffle it, awakens Sasami. She 
brings herself up, yawning and stretching, and her eyes 
fall upon his.

The little girl starts bawling and wraps herself around
Tenchi, sobbing in terror. "Please, daddy, keep him away
from me, please don’t let him hurt me, daddy, please 
protect me...."

Tenchi hugs Sasami tight and Kiyone moves over to hug them
both. He is already whispering words of comfort into his 
young daughter’s ear. "It’s okay, Sasami-cha’ya,
it’s okay. No one’s gonna hurt you. We’ll protect you, we 
promise."

Kiyone looks up at Kyoto apologetically. "She had a really
bad dream. Scared the poor dear half to death."

A suspicion starts to form in the back of Kyoto’s mind.
"What happened in the dream?"

Tenchi looks up at Kyoto. His expression is one of 
irrational anger warring with logical calmness. "I remember
her saying something about....you putting snakes into her."

The reaction is almost what Tenchi expected: revulsion
and fear. But there is something there he hadn’t expected:
recognition.

Kyoto shivers. "I think....I think I had a dream that was
close to that."

Sasami has calmed down now, enough to look at Kyoto without
freaking out. She is, however, still clinging very tightly
to Tenchi. "You did?"

Kyoto nods and looks her in the eye. "Yes, I did. Sasami,
you have to believe that I would never do something
like that to you."

After a moment, Sasami manages a nod. "I know. But it was
in the dream and it really scared me." She manages a smile.
"Sorry, Kyoto."

He smiles. "Oh, sweetie, it’s not your fault."

Kiyone snuggles in under Tenchi’s free arm and sighs 
tiredly. Looking tenderly at her and Tenchi’s 
soon-to-be-adopted-daughter, she asks, "Sasami-cha’ya,
are you feeling up to telling us about your dream now? If 
not, you don’t have to."

Sasami looks up at Kiyone and nods. "I think I can now, 
Mommy." She nestles herself between Tenchi and Kiyone.
She’s about to start talking when someone blurts out, 
"There’s another way!"

Everyone turns around to look at Digital Washu.

"What did you say?" asks Ryoko.

"Another way?" repeats Ayeka.

"What do you mean?" inquires Kiyone.

Washu looks thoughtful. "I think I know what you’re talking
about. Go on...."

Tenchi’s face clouds over. He opens the palm of his left
hand, and his Tenchiken* immediately appears in it. "What
exactly did you have in mind, Washu?" he asks in a 
deceptively calm voice.

For the first time, they think they see fear on the robot’s
face. "N-N-nothing harmful to either Sasami or Kyoto, 
Tenchi. Allow me to show you." She produces her own 
holo-laptop and taps in a sequence.

A portal appears, and she pulls out a large and 
complicated-looking device with two attached gadgets that
look like casserole dishes with electrodes and wires 
attached.

Tenchi gulps, and his hand tightens around his sword’s
hilt. "What the hell?"

"This is my patented WashuCorp Dream Playback Device!"
she announces happily. Her cheerleader puppets appear on 
her shoulders, but disappear when they see the looks on 
Tenchi and Kyoto’s face.

Ignorant of this, Digital Washu carries the device over to
the TV in the corner of the living room and hooks them up 
together. "This is pretty primitive, but I suppose it’ll
do...." She grabs the remote, points it at the TV, and hits
the power switch. The screen snaps on, showing a blue field
split down the middle--vertically--by a thin black bar. In
the upper left corner of each half is a red marker reading
"standing by for datafeed."

"This will play back both their dreams side by side. It’s
ideal for comparisons and contrasts," exults Digital Washu.
"Now, I just need two volunteers to demonstrate."
She regards the somewhat reluctant expressions around her.
"Don’t worry! It’s perfectly safe. The most you’ll have to
worry about is getting embarrassed."

"Don’t put Tenchi and Kiyone on, then," quips Kyoto. "It’ll
be like watching a porno channel."

"Hey!" protests Tenchi. "We’re not that bad!....are
we?"

Everyone but Kiyone nods slowly and Tenchi slumps, moaning.

"Sorry, Mommy and Daddy," giggles Sasami. "You two are very
naughty all the time!" Both Tenchi and Kiyone hang their
heads at this.

"Well," says Nobuyuki, "I’m willing to try something
new." He walks up to Digital Washu. "I’ll do it."

"Thank you, Nobuyuki," replies Digital Washu. She looks
around the group. "Anyone else?"

Ryoko shrugs and steps up. "Okay, let’s get this over 
with."

"Thank you, both of you." Digital Washu motions both of 
them into sitting positions on the floor, flanking the TV.
She carefully places the headpieces--the casserole 
dishes--on each person’s head, dims the lights, picks up 
the remote for the VCR, and hits the play button.

Nobuyuki’s dream is nothing like they expected. It starts
with him walking into his office dressed like a samurai
and carrying a dai-katana. Security guards try to stop him,
but he handles the sword like Tenchi or Katsuhito would,
neatly decapitating one while disemboweling another and 
sending the rest running.

He then stops for a cup of hot tea and continues on his 
mission.

Nobuyuki’s path, after leading him to dispatch many of his
less well-liked colleagues, brings him to his boss’ office.
He throws the door open, and the older man inside starts
cowering in fear. The samurai, however, closes his ears to
the pleas of the dishonorable man, raises his sword, and 
cleaves him in half--lengthwise.

Fade to blue.

Everyone is blinking and staring in fear--and is that a 
little respect, too?--at Tenchi’s father.

To everyone’s amazement, however, Nobuyuki just laughs.

Hard.

Hard enough to draw tears from his eyes.

When he finally stops laughing, he finds everyone looking
at him as if he’s just gone off the deep end.

Tenchi is the first to speak. "Dad, when I become Emperor,
you can retire...."

Nobuyuki, still snickering, wipes away his tears. "Sorry,
sorry. I guess that does need a little explanation...."

"I would say so," agrees Katsuhito.

"My boss at the office is retiring," explains Nobuyuki,
still laughing from time to time. "When he goes, I’m first
on the list to take his place."

"Congratulations, Dad!" says Tenchi. "Say, since you’ll
be getting a raise, can we talk about getting a 
computer...."

"We’ll talk about it later, Tenchi," responds his father,
having tried to avoid this conversation for a while now.

"Why do you need a computer, Tenchi?" asks Kiyone.

"I’m sick of using Dad’s old electric typewriter to type
up reports and stuff," he sighs.

"Are you sure it’s not because you could spend your time
on the Internet sucking up dirty pictures, Tenchi?" asks
Kyoto conversationally.

Tenchi glares at him, then smiles and shakes his head.

"That’s right," says Kiyone firmly, wrapping Tenchi’s
free arm around her. "Tenchi doesn’t need to look at any 
other girl’s dirty pictures."

"Oh, my!" Everyone follows Mihoshi’s gaze, and they quickly
see what prompted her reaction. In Ryoko’s dream, she is 
wearing cowboy boots, leather chaps, and a ten-gallon
Stetson.

She’s not wearing anything else.

In addition to that, she had a saddle strapped to an also
naked Kyoto’s chest and is straddling him while cracking
a whip in the air. Everyone in the room is seeing far more
of the couple’s nude bodies than they really wanted to. 
Even Nobuyuki is shading his eyes.

Ryoko is blushing. "Um....well....ah...."

"Exactly," quips Kyoto. "What she said."

"That’s not just naughty, that looks painful!" observes
Sasami.

"At least she’s not saying anything," comments Tenchi.

His words are made hollow a moment later, when the female
space pirate suddenly cries out, "Ojosama to oyobi!" This
is punctuated by a crack of the whip.

"‘Call me princess?!’" repeats Tenchi, now looking 
extremely frightened. He has tightened his embrace around
Kiyone and Sasami.

Ayeka looks even more scared. "Ryoko! Why?"

"Err...." Ryoko is even less verbal than she was a moment
ago.

Even Digital Washu looks a little nonplussed at Ryoko’s
dream. "Uhh, let’s try another dream!" She hits the 
fast-forward button and holds it down for about a second.
The dreams on-screen are abruptly replaced by a sudden
burst of static and then a new pair of dreams.

Nobuyuki’s starts out with him waking up, sitting up in bed
and stretching. Suddenly someone else enters the frame,
and everyone else in the living room is somewhat surprised
(although in Tenchi’s case relieved) to see Achika, a 
slightly older version than the one they had encountered
in 1970, crawling out from beneath the covers. She settles
herself in Nobuyuki’s lap and gives him a hungry kiss. 
"Good morning, Nobuyuki."

The door to the bedroom slides open and another Achika,
identical to the one in the bed but dressed in a string
bikini as opposed to the first Achika’s bedsheet, comes
in with a steaming cup of tea. "Good morning, Nobuyuki.
I brought your favorite tea!" She seats herself on the bed
and snuggles in closer to Nobuyuki after exchanging
pleasantries with the first Achika.

Nobuyuki has just started sipping the tea when five more
Achikas, clad in tennis dresses and looking sweaty and 
flushed, enter the room from a previously nonexistent
patio door. "Good morning, Nobuyuki!" they chirp. The 
apparent leader stretches and yawns. "These clothes are so
hot and dirty!" She shucks off the dress, revealing
a very immodest taste in undergarments. "That’s much 
better!" The other Tennis Achikas follow suit, and soon 
Nobuyuki has seven scantily-clad Achikas cuddled up to him.

The closet door opens, and twenty or thirty Schoolgirl
Achikas come out. Some are dressed in the plaid skirts
and white blouses of Catholic schoolgirls, others are 
dressed like American cheerleaders, and still others are 
dressed in the tight T-shirts and high-cut shorts of 
volleyball uniforms. "Hi, Nobuyuki!" they bubble, and pile
onto the bed, discarding their abbreviated clothing and 
revealing impossibly skimpy underwear--if any at all.

And on it goes. Soon, there are over a hundred Achikas
on the bed, all dressed quite immodestly and trying to get
close to Nobuyuki. They can’t see his face, since he’s 
buried beneath all the Achikas, but they can bet that he’s
grinning.

Tenchi is looking horror-stricken. "Oh, my god....Dad?"

"What?!" protests Nobuyuki. "At least they’re all your 
mother."

Kiyone links her mind to Tenchi’s and asks teasingly,
How many of me would you like, Tenchi-yon?

One is just perfect, responds Tenchi. More than that, and
I wouldn’t be able to move.

That’s right, agrees Kiyone. If there were that many of me,
we’d never let you out of bed.

Not that that’d be a bad thing.... ponders Tenchi.

Sasami looks up at her soon-to-be parents. "You two are 
thinking naughty thoughts, aren’t you?"

Ryoko’s dream is a far cry from her first one. She and 
Kyoto are walking on the beach at sunset, in semiformal
clothing. Their shoes are off, and he has her pulled close
to him. It would be a romantic sight if the two of them 
didn’t each have a bag of loot slung over one shoulder.
In the background, the smoking wreckage of a Galaxy Police
patrol ship is visible.

Halfway down the beach, they stop. Kyoto sets down his sack
and rummages through it until he finds what he was looking
for: a diamond ring. He then gets down on his knees and 
proposes, to which Ryoko replies positively and tearfully.

Tenchi grins. "That’s....sweet, Ryoko. Really."

"How romantic!...except for the wrecked ship in the 
background," agrees Kiyone.

Digital Washu smirks. "How sweet....and 
how....interesting." He hits the fast-forward button again.

The pair of dreams now on the screen are the strangest
yet. Nobuyuki, dressed in leisure suit with a gaudy gold
chain around his neck, is surfing through space on a giant
carrot. Flying next to him are Ayeka and Mihoshi, dressed
like ancient Greek goddesses and riding in a chariot being
pulled by a team of Ohkis. On his other side are Tenchi
and Kiyone in a baby blue ‘57 Coupe de Ville convertible.
Tenchi is dressed like Don Johnson in Miami Vice and Kiyone
in a tiny white pleated skirt and a blue bikini top. She’s
in his lap and is trying to seduce him; he’s kissing her 
and trying hard not to hit planets.

Suddenly, Sasami streaks past them, screaming and hanging
on for dear life to a runaway lawn mower. Tenchi guns his
engine and rushes after her. Mihoshi prompts the Ohkis and
they accelerate. Nobuyuki is trying to figure out what he 
should do when Washu, riding a Harley-Davidson
and wearing black leather and a "Born to be Wild" tattoo,
pulls up, throws him into her sidecar, and takes off 
towards McDonald’s.

Ryoko’s dream is the most frightening of all. In it, she is
a goddess (just listen to all the people screaming and 
running for cover) and she’s trying to build a galaxy,
stopping from time to time to look at the instructions.

No one can think of anything to say.

"Well," announces Digital Washu, "I think I have 
demonstrated that this device is safe and effective.
Now, would the two main dreamers please step forward?"

Sasami looks up at Tenchi and Kiyone, who hug her tightly.
Kiyone walks over with her and takes the device from 
Nobuyuki’s cranium and gently settles it atop her and 
Tenchi’s daughter’s head. Ryoko rips hers off and slams
it down on Kyoto’s head. He winces. "What was that for?"

"That’s to clear out any sick dreams you might be having,"
quips Ryoko.

Digital Washu waits a moment for the subjects to settle
in, then hits the play switch.

Sasami’s is sweet and wholesome and sentimental.
It starts with her, dressed in a little girl’s school 
uniform and with Ryo-ohki perched atop her head as always,
rushing into the kitchen and nearly colliding with Kiyone’s
legs. "Morning, Mommy!"

Kiyone, wrapped in a kimono, grins and hugs Sasami. "Good
morning, darling. Have a good night’s rest?"

Sasami nods enthusiastically and hugs Kiyone tighter.
"I dreamed that you and Daddy would take me to Tokyo Disney
next Sunday!"

"Mi-ya!" agrees Ryo-ohki, sniffing around for carrots.

"Well...." hedges Kiyone playfully, both of them knowing
full well that that’s what she and Tenchi have planned
for her birthday. "Let me talk to your father. Speaking
of which...." She gives a long and slow smile to Tenchi,
who walks into the kitchen in a suit and tie.

Sasami releases Kiyone and runs to Tenchi. "Daddy!"

"Morning, sweetie!" Tenchi picks her up and hugs her tight.
"How’s daddy’s favorite little girl today?"

Sasami giggles and snuggles in closer to her daddy. "Silly!
I’m your only little girl!"

"And that’s why you’re my favorite." Tenchi laughs as she
groans in mock annoyance. "So, what’s daddy’s little 
miracle up to?" He sets Sasami down and smiles as she 
giggles irresistibly.

"Just a normal day at school," she answers, walking out of
the kitchen and settling herself behind the dining room 
table.

Still smiling, Tenchi comes up behind Kiyone and wraps his
arms around her waist. "Morning, sunshine," he whispers.
"How’s daddy’s favorite big girl doing?"

"Wonderful, daddy," replies Kiyone, turning around in 
Tenchi’s embrace and giving him a long kiss. "That was for
last night." She gives him another kiss. "And that was for
tonight."

"Hey, don’t be naughty in there!" scolds Sasami, coming
back in the kitchen and waggling an admonishing finger.
But she’s grinning.

Tenchi grins and motions over to Sasami, who gleefully
runs forward and snuggles into the embrace of her parents,
with Ryo-ohki mi-yaing cheerfully.

The real Tenchi and Kiyone are grinning, and Tenchi joins
Kiyone and Sasami, sitting between the both of them and 
wrapping his arms around them. "I love both my little 
girls."

"We love you too, daddy," they say playfully, snuggling
in closer.

"I’d say that dream is coming true," comments the real 
Washu.

Kyoto’s dream is not quite so straightforward.
He is in a tuxedo in a large concert hall, and he is the 
conductor. On the stage, the girls are ballerinas 
performing "Swan Lake" while Tenchi and Nobuyuki are 
walking up and down the aisles selling "Peanuts! Popcorn!"
and Katsuhito is running around on stage in a giant duck
suit. All at once, the orchestra starts in on Beethoven’s
Ninth, and Tenchi and Nobuyuki get on stage, rip off their
outfits to reveal breakdancing outfits a la Michael 
Jackson’s "Beat It," and start doing the moonwalk.

Everyone is looking at Kyoto, and all he can do is shrug
helplessly.

"Hmm....interesting but uninformative....let’s
try another." Digital Washu hits the fast-forward
button.

The second dreams are little different. In Sasami’s,
she is the owner of a pet shop specializing in Ohkis. In 
Kyoto’s....a female version (quite a fetching young lass,
actually) of him is an idol singer.

This time, Digital Washu doesn’t wait for any response
to the dreams; she just hits the fast-forward button.
Good timing, too: the idol singer "Kyoko" was being come
on to by a bunch of teenage guys. She is cheerfully
giving them a private performance wearing nothing but a wet
bikini bottom and a flower garland.

"Yes, please get away from that!" begs Kyoto. Ryoko is just
laughing her head off.

The third batch of dreams are identical, the dream that 
terrified Sasami and sickened Kyoto. The reaction of the 
group is a synthesis of these. Both Kiyone and Sasami are
clinging very tightly to Tenchi, who is glaring at the 
screen. Sasami’s dream is somewhat shorter, so her side of
the screen goes back to blue while Kyoto’s plays on a while
longer. Everyone is somewhat put at ease by the appearance
of Kyoto’s mother.

"Who is she?" asks Sasami.

Kyoto is about to tell her that he doesn’t know when they
suddenly hear a voice say, "Mother?"

Everyone looks up to see Muriyaki, wrapped in an oversized
robe that still does little to hide her amazing figure,
standing and watching the screen.

Kyoto’s face becomes a landscape of horror. "What?"

"That is Murasaki," explains Muriyaki. "She was the mother
and first queen of our race. As the current queen, I am her
direct descendant--quite literally, her daughter."
She notes the look of horror on Kyoto’s face. "What, what’s
wrong?"

"Muriyaki," says Kyoto slowly, "she’s my mother, too."

It takes just a moment for this to sink in. When it does,
Muriyaki faints.

"Muriyaki!" Katsuhito rushes over to his adopted daughter,
picks her up, and carries her to the couch.

Ryoko is looking with shock at Kyoto. "My god, Kyoto, so 
you’ve been...."

"Don’t say it," groans Kyoto. "Please don’t say it."

"What the hell?!" Tenchi’s exclamation pulls their 
attention back to the screen. Appearing on it is the face
of Tokimi, the least kind of the goddesses. She seems to be
gazing desperately put of the screen.

She speaks. "Beware. Beware the coming darkness. Beware
the fire and cold. Beware...."

Abruptly, a white blast of energy leaps out of the TV set
and slams into Digital Washu. The android stands up, 
looking almost blank, and speaks in a feminine monotone.

"Go to the place of the cleansing fire and the burning
water.

"Go to the place where fire and wind and water are one and
the same.

"Go to the place where the beginning and end are one.

"Go to the place where three is lacking for one.

"Go to the triad, go to the triad."

Digital Washu abruptly topples over and Tokimi vanishes
from the screen.

Washu helps the dazed robot to her feet. "Are you all 
right?"

Digital Washu opens her mouth and coughs up some smoke.
"I think so....that did not feel good."

Kyoto is staring at the screen. "‘Go to the triad,’ she 
said. What the hell did she mean?"

"Maybe she meant that’s where we’re going," suggests
Tenchi.

"In any case," observes Katsuhito, "we really can’t do much
about it tonight. We may as well go back to sleep."

"I agree with that," says Nobuyuki, stretching and yawning.
He walks up the stairs.

Tenchi smiles down at Sasami. "How would you like to sleep
with your mother and me tonight?"

Sasami’s face lights up and she nods enthusiastically.
"Of course, Daddy," she says mischievously, "you and Mommy
will have to behave yourselves. Don’t be naughty with me in
the same bed!"

Both Kiyone and Tenchi blush as everyone else laughs.

Tenchi sighs. "All right." He leans down low enough to let
Sasami crawl onto his back. Once her arms are settled
firmly around his neck, he and Kiyone head up the stairs
to their bedroom.

Ayeka yawns and heads towards her room.

Ryoko and Kyoto leave the Masaki house and head back to 
their little villa.

Katsuhito goes to his shrine.

Washu looks at Muriyaki, asleep on one couch, and at 
Digital Washu, sitting on the other. "You want me to turn
you off for the night?" she asks.

The robot nods, and Washu turns her off and heads into her
lab.



Sasami is the first in the room to wake up in Tenchi’s
room. She is snuggled up to Tenchi on his left side, while
Kiyone is lying half on top of him on the other.

She notes that neither of them are naked, although her 
Mommy had somehow stripped down to her underwear while 
Sasami was asleep, and had been in the process of doing
the same to her father when they fell asleep.

The princess watches this with building amusement for a few
minutes until she sees Kiyone shifting around on top of 
Tenchi. "Tenchi....c’mon, daddy, your little girl wants
t’ play...." She starts nibbling on Tenchi’s neck, drawing
a sigh of pleasure from him.

Sasami can’t hold her mirth in any longer. She starts 
laughing, and this wakes both her parents up. Both of them
virtually jump in fright as they realize that....they
were almost naughty with Sasami in the bed with them!

"You two are naughty!" she choruses light-heartedly.
"You two were naughty with me in the same bed!"

"N-n-no we weren’t," protests Tenchi. "We almost were, but
we weren’t...."

Sasami is still laughing. "You two are naughty!" She points
at Kiyone’s panties, which are indeed very skimpy. "Mommy,
don’t you have any more modest underwear than that?!"

Her parents are flushing red as they scramble to pull on 
their half-discarded nightclothes. By the time they finish
redressing, Sasami’s full-bore laughing has subsided
to a mere giggle. She eyes Tenchi with mock suspicion.
"Daddy, are you gonna try to be naughty with me like you 
are with Mommy?"

Tenchi’s eyes bug out in dismay. "Sasami! That’s--"

"What’s the matter, Daddy?" teases Kiyone. "Don’t you like
your little girls?"

She crawls back onto him and starts to kiss his neck. "You
said you liked your little girls last night...."

Tenchi groans. "Kiyone-yoni, please, not you too...."

"But daddy...." Kiyone is looking up at Tenchi with big,
irresistible eyes. "Can’t your little girls have some 
private, quality time with their daddy?’

Tenchi groans even louder. "Please cut it out."

"Can I have some private time with you later, daddy?"
asks Kiyone, still keeping the same tone of voice.

Tenchi nods weakly. He has gotten used to the fact that 
Kiyone acting like a little girl turns him on, but this is
something he’s gonna hide from Sasami.

Their daughter seems pleased. "Will you two stop being 
naughty now?"

"We never were naughty!" he protests.

"Well," offers Sasami, do you promise not to be naughty
when I’m in the same room?"

"Yes, Sasami," says Tenchi wearily. "We promise not to be 
naughty when you’re in the same room."

"Yay!" The little girl throws herself back on top of her 
parents and snuggles in between them. "I love you two so 
much!"

"We love you too, Sasami," assures Tenchi.

See, daddy, you do like your little girls, teases Kiyone.

Please, Kiyone-yoni, not when Sasami’s in the room, he 
begs.

Sasami, unfortunately, did not seem to acknowledge
her father’s request to keep the morning’s events secret.

Consequently, she announces it at the breakfast table.

Jokes immediately start to fly. Chi-ohki provides the 
trigger. "So, Tenchi, how was Sasami?"

Everyone, including Kiyone and Sasami, starts laughing.
Tenchi is very tempted to carve Chi-ohki into bite-sized
pieces, but all he can do is sit and fume.

"So that's why you like Kiyone to act like a little girl!"
teases Ryoko. "Tenchi, I never imagined you were into 
that!"

"Can you say threesome?" says Kyoto loudly. He winks at 
Tenchi. "Gotta admit, she's pretty cute. What exactly
did you three do last night, anyway?"

"Nothing!" cries out Tenchi. "Nothing happened!" He turns
desperately to Sasami. "Sasami-cha'ya, tell them!"

"They were naughty!" the young girl says happily. "And 
then, Daddy tried to reach up my nightgown and--"

"I did not!" Tenchi fairly howls. "Kiyone-yoni,
back me up here!"

"So that’s why I didn’t feel you last night, Tenchi-yon,"
says Kiyone coyly. "You were being naughty with Sasami!"
She leans over and whispers in Tenchi’s ear, "Is she as 
good as I am, daddy?"

"Cut it out, Kiyone!" snarls Tenchi. "Tell them the truth!"

"Oh, all right," pouts Kiyone. "Tenchi was naughty with me
all night."

Tenchi groans loudly and rolls his eyes as Kiyone starts
to go into details. "First, he had me dress up in my little
schoolgirl's outfit, and then he pushed me down on the bed
and started to undress me with his teeth, and he was 
kissing me all over my body and squeezing me all over, in 
the places where I like to be squeezed, and then he pulled
down my--"

Tenchi claps a hand over his wife's mouth and laughs 
embarassedly. Her little recitation has caused him to 
become excited, but he's holding onto his self-control.
"Ha, ha, ha, Kiyone-yoni, please, we're in company...."

Sasami bursts out laughing again. "See? Mommy and Daddy
were naughty last night! They're gonna be naughty again
right now!" Abruptly, she starts to hack and cough and 
wheeze. Tenchi (even though he's not too fond of his 
daughter right now, he still loves her) starts to ask 
what's wrong when he starts to cough himself. Pretty soon,
everyone in the Masaki house's living room/dining
room is coughing. Kyoto is wheezing as he makes his way 
over to the patio door and pushes it open. He sucks in the
clean, hydroponic-fresh air greedily, then turns back to 
glare at the source of the smoke. "Chi-ohki, what the hell
was that for?"

Chi-ohki is puffing on a half-smoked Havana, and he has six
other cigars in an ashtray. "We're talking so much about
sex, I figured I'd smoke."

Sasami grins at her parents. "Sorry, Mommy and Daddy. It's
just that you two are naughty so much that it's fun to 
tease you about it!"

Tenchi sighs. "It's alright, Sasami-cha’ya." He stretches
and yawns. "I didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm 
going back to bed."

"You're not going back to bed, for something else, are you
Tenchi, old boy?" quips Kyoto, leaning towards him with a 
feral grin.

"Frankly, Kyoto, I don't think that's any of your business.
How would you like it if I kept asking you and Ryoko about
your.... private time, constantly?" Without waiting for a 
reply, he slings Kiyone over one shoulder and starts up the
stairs. She is waving her hands and legs frantically,
trying to hide the fact that she doesn't have any pants
on under her nightshirt and that the panties are rather
skimpy. However, she's grinning and giggling.

"Daddy, are you going to spank your little girl? I’ve been
really naughty...." are the last words they hear her say 
before they disappear from earshot.

"They're naughty! They can't wait until no one's around,
can they, Grandpa Nobuyuki?" comments Sasami.

Nobuyuki nods. "Yes, they are. I wasn't that bad with your
grandmother, you know."



* * *



It takes another twenty-four hours for Chisako to reach
its destination, which means that when they arrive in orbit
of the perfect sapphire orb, they are already awake and 
eating breakfast. After finishing up, Kyoto heads up to the
command deck to check on things. When he returns, he 
reports, "Well, we’re just....sitting there."

"What do you mean we’re just sitting there?" demands Ryoko.

"I mean exactly what I said. There was a message on the 
commo board saying for everyone to be up on the command
deck in fifteen minutes."

"And then what?" yawns Mihoshi.

"I assume we’ll find out then," replies Kyoto. "Well, we 
should probably dress nicely. After all, we’re meeting
some pretty important ladies."

When the fifteen minutes have elapsed, everyone is waiting
on the command deck, clad in the most formal clothing
they could find. Kiyone and Mihoshi are in full dress GP 
uniforms, complete with long gray skirts and burgundy
cloaks reaching down to their knees. Tenchi has dug his 
Juraian formal court outfit out of his closet and is 
gratified to see that it still fits after his last growth
spurt. "I guess I’d better get used to wearing these 
things," he tells Kiyone. "At least they make up for 
formality with comfort."

Ayeka and Sasami are in their full formal Juraian court
wear, including the golden epaulettes on the shoulders
and the long capes. In addition, Sasami has special,
fluorescent-colored ribbons tied in her ponytails and 
Ryo-ohki perched on one shoulder. "Ryo-ohki’s the most 
important accessory!" she giggles.

Washu is in her Science Academy dress uniform, and for once
so are her cheerleader puppets. Nobuyuki is dressed in his
favorite business suit, not having anything nicer to wear.
The knights are in formal versions of their fighting
suits. Katsuhito breaks a long-standing tradition and dons
the robes of Yosho. "I can’t hide who I am from them, now,
can I?" he states. Ryoko has borrowed one of Ayeka’s 
kimonos (with permission, no less!) and is tugging at the
bodice, trying to loosen it.

"It looks just great," comments Kyoto, in his own formal
outfit. He turns his gaze to Muriyaki, who is dressed
in a simple kimono. "Looking good, Muriya--I mean, sis."

"Thank you, big brother," she says sweetly, bringing
a somewhat greenish cast to Kyoto’s features.

Ryoko laughs at this. "I’ve heard about close families
but this is...." She cuts herself off at the look on 
Kyoto’s face.

"Speaking of which," interjects Muriyaki, "the girls and 
the Ohkis will be just fine while we’re gone. I’m leaving
Hanae in charge."

"Good, good. Just one thing left to do," muses Kyoto. He 
stalks over to the central holoterminal and taps in a 
sequence, then gently draws Edgatho from its jack in the 
floor. "This’ll keep any spaceship thieves from trying
to make off with my Chisako."

"Okay, now what?" asks Tenchi. He has his arms around 
Kiyone and Sasami, and they’re snuggled in as tight as 
possible.

"I don’t know," replies Kyoto. "All the messa--" Before
he can complete the sentence, he and everyone else start
to dematerialize. He reaches out for Ryoko’s hand....

....and takes it as they find themselves becoming solid
again. They are not, however, on Chisako’s command deck.

They are standing in what appears to be the Great Hall of 
some colossal stone castle. Sasami looks up fearfully
at Tenchi. "Daddy?"

"Nothing’s gonna hurt you or Mommy," he promises, feeling
Kiyone’s hands tighten on his arm.

Nobuyuki is looking around with confusion. "I suppose
I should be used to this by now, but I’m not."

Ayeka is clinging to his right arm. "Lord Nobuyuki,
where are we?"

Mihoshi is clinging to his left arm. "I’m scared!" she 
wails.

"Calm down," advises Katsuhito. "Something’s happening...."

The old prince is right. They are standing in the center
of a giant triangle, and two of the three points have 
suddenly become alive with cascading energy. After a few 
moments, the two waves of energy transform into solid,
opaque columns. One is a bright cerulean, looking like a 
tall glass of water--with out the glass. The other is 
sizzling crimson, as if on fire.

Tenchi gulps. "What the hell....?"

The columns of radiant energy slowly die down, become more
transparent. Finally they are gone, and standing in their
places are two of the most beautiful women Tenchi has ever
seen. Both of them are wrapped in voluminous robes, the 
blue-haired one in simple white ones, as opposed to the 
pale-brown-haired girl’s ornate red and green and purple
ones.

Instinctively the entire group drops onto their knees.
Never having been in the presence of divinity before,
they’re not quite sure how to act, or what to expect.

One thing they most certainly were not expecting was one of
the goddesses to start coughing.

The brown-haired goddess--Tokimi, thinks Tenchi--is
hacking and sneezing. It takes her a moment to finish,
and another after that to regain equilibrium. Sniffling,
she looks at the group. "Sorry. Which one of you is smoking
the cigar?"

"That would be me." Everyone groans as they see Chi-ohki
appear, waving a cheap Pittsburgh stogie around. He has an
extremely sick look on his face as he takes a look at the
goddesses. "Hel-lo! Where ya been all my life?"

The two deities glare at the fat Ohki for a long moment,
then snap their fingers. He disappears.

"Hey!" protests Kyoto hotly. "What did you do with my 
friend?’

"Don’t worry," answers the blue-haired goddess--Tsunami--in
a calm voice. "We just sent him back up to your ship."
She smiles a very Sasami-like smile, immediately winning
everyone over. "Welcome to the Eternal Triad. My name is 
Tsunami, and this is Tokimi--but I’m sure you already
knew that." The goddess favors Kyoto with a particularly
dazzling smile. "Welcome home, Kyoto. We’ve missed you."

Wide-eyed, the group turns to look at Kyoto, who looks 
equally surprised. "Home?"

Tokimi smirks. There is something extremely different
about this goddess. She doesn’t seem nearly as evil or 
malicious as in the dream, but there is an air of 
opportunism, of a "looking out for number one" attitude.
She also seems less....innocent, as is evidenced by the 
look she gives Kyoto. "Yes, welcome home, Kyoto--and
the rest of you, of course." She beckons to him. "Come 
here, let us....reward....you for your services." Suddenly
she is up against him and rubbing her indeed perfect body
against his. Her robes disappear and are replaced by bare
skin. Kyoto suddenly finds himself with a mouthful of 
goddess--and she does taste perfect, he notes with no small
amount of chagrin.

"Hey, hey, hey!" protests Ryoko hotly. "What are you--"

"Don’t worry," soothes Tsunami. "You would be Ryoko Mazama,
correct?"

Ryoko nods, feeling a little surprised and a little silly
for being so.

"Then we both know that he loves you, much as we wish 
otherwise--" The goddess sighs theatrically and Ryoko can
see a slight sparkle in her eyes when she looks at Kyoto.
"--and she’ll be finished right....about....now."

Right on the tick. Tokimi’s eyes happen to fall on Tenchi
and Kyoto is suddenly flung into Ryoko, sending both of 
them tumbling to the floor. The brown-haired deity’s eyes
have suddenly gone all sparkly. "Oh, my!"

Tokimi actually blushes.

Tenchi’s eyes have gone wide. "Oh, no, not a goddess 
too...."

"Oh, wow," chirps Tokimi in a schoolgirlish voice (sounding
eerily like Kiyone when she’s playing Daddy’s little girl).
"He’s so angelic in his perfection. I must have him!"

Tenchi starts backing out of the triangle, holding very 
tightly to Kiyone. "Um, ah, L-L-Lady Tok--" The goddess,
now dressed in a very tight-fitting shorts-and-T-shirt
gymsuit, suddenly appears with her arms around Tenchi.
Beaming, she nuzzles his neck and gives him a long kiss.
"Oh, Tenchi, you’re so wonderful."

"Uh, thanks, I think....could you, ah, please let go of 
me?" Tenchi is trying to gently disentangle himself from
the goddess.

"But Tenchi...." Oh, God, how she sounds like Kiyone,
he thinks. "....don’cha want to stay here with me and 
Tsunami?" Her eyes have gone impossibly wide. "We could
do whatever you want, whenever you want...."

Tenchi is now struggling even harder to free himself.
"Ah, I, ah, that sounds like fun, really, and thank you 
very much, but, ah, I’m, well, I’m with Kiyone."

"Is that what’s stopping you?" Tokimi bats her eyelashes,
and suddenly she’s Kiyone--or a perfect duplicate.
Smiling, she whispers in his ear, "What do you need her 
for? I can be Kiyone for you, Tenchi. I can be any girl you
want....even your mo--"

Now pissed, Tenchi jerks free. "Cut it out!" he snarls.
"I don’t want you! I don’t want anyone else! I want 
Kiyone!"

"That’s right!" yells Kiyone, rushing up to Tenchi. "Leave
my husband alone!" His arms go around her and she almost
melts in relief, not aware of all the shocked stares the 
two of them are now receiving.

Sasami looks up at them. "You two are married?"

"You didn’t know?" asks Tsunami in surprise.

"When did this happen?" asks Ryoko.

Surprising everyone but Katsuhito, it’s Nobuyuki that 
answers. "They were married a couple of nights before we 
helped the Juraian and GP resistance take New Jurai. They
weren’t sure if they would live through the battle, so they
wanted to be husband and wife right then."

Tenchi looks in shock at his father. "How did you know 
that, Dad?"

"I was standing right outside the shrine when your 
grandfather performed the ceremony. When he finished,
I ducked behind the shrine." He smiles weakly at Kiyone.
"One thing I should have told you that evening. Welcome
to the family."

Kiyone smiles softly and bows her head. "Thank you, Mr. 
Masa--Dad."

"So, if you two are married now....does that mean you’re
my mommy and daddy for real?" asks Sasami excitedly.

Kiyone and Tenchi exchange glances, and Kiyone nods. "I 
guess it does, Sasami-cha’ya." She drops to one knee and 
opens her arms. Crying in delight, Sasami runs to Kiyone
and hugs her. Kiyone gently helps Sasami to her feet, and
then Sasami hugs Tenchi and Tenchi hugs both girls. Soon
both of them are cuddling close to Tenchi and calling
him "daddy," to his discomfort and everyone else’s 
amusement.

"How romantic!" gushes Mihoshi, dousing everyone with her
tears of joy.

"When were you going to tell us?" asks Ayeka.

"We weren’t," responds Tenchi. "We were hoping that we 
could get home and then have an official wedding." He looks
Ayeka in the eye. "Will we still have to?"

"Probably," answers Ayeka. "The Supreme Council will accept
your marriage as legitimate, but there’ll probably need to
be an official wedding for the public, and to coincide
with your and Kiyone’s coronation." She smiles wryly. "You
know, you could have just told us."

For the first time in months, a little of Tenchi’s 
sheepishness returns. "Heh heh heh....sorry."

Tsunami claps her hands together and giggles. "How 
wonderful! Isn’t it, sister?"

Tokimi looks a little disgruntled. "For them, I guess.
But when do we get the happy ending?"

"One of these eons," quips Tsunami gently.

Kyoto looks at the gentle goddess. "Err, excuse me, Lady
Tsunami, but where is my mother?"

Both goddesses look a little abashed, and it’s Tokimi who
manages to respond. "Your mother?"

"Yes, the goddess Murasaki. I assumed she was here with 
you." At their silence, Kyoto starts to gather that this
is not so, but he plunges forward. "Do you know where she
is?"

Both goddesses are looking at the ground. Finally Tsunami
answers. "She’s not here."

"She’s not?!" Kyoto’s expression conveys both anger and 
sadness. He had been so excited at finally finding someone
who could fill in the gaps of his past, and the fact that
it was his mother only made the hope better, and to have
it dashed now is....is....

He quashes the thought and glares up at the goddesses.
"Do you at least know where she is?"

"No, we don’t," retorts Tokimi with equal coldness.
"Actually, we sent you to look for her."

"What?!" Now the anger and sadness are mixed with 
confusion. "You sent me to look for her? Why don’t I 
remember that? Why don--"

Muriyaki’s scream cuts off his ranting. She had started
to wander out of the triangle, and had inadvertently
stepped onto the third point, the one where Murasaki
should have emerged from. A whirling coil of white light
starts to entwine around her, and her screams start to lose
strength as the field becomes nontransparent.

Kyoto and Tenchi start to rush forward to help her but 
Tsunami places a hand on each man’s shoulder. "Don’t."

Both men try to struggle free, but they abruptly cease as 
Muriyaki’s fate becomes clearer.

She’s not dead or harmed in any way.

In fact, she’s in such good condition that....there
are two of her.

The second Muriyaki is almost identical to the first, but
the hair is longer and tied into a long Anopon braid in the
back and two smaller braids hanging in front of each ear.
She is also taller and wrapped in garments similar to those
of the goddesses. And she is hugging the smaller Muriyaki,
who is crying. "Mommy, Mommy, I’ve missed you so much...."

The woman--apparently the long-lost Murasaki--gently
kisses the top of her daughter’s forehead. "It’s all right,
darling, I’m here now, and I’ll never leave again."

Kyoto wriggles free of Tsunami’s hand and steps forward,
looking like a man who has found an oasis in an endless
desert. "Mother?"

Murasaki smiles and holds out one hand. "Hello, my son. 
Come give your mother a hug."

Tears suddenly starting to flow from his eyes, Kyoto 
staggers forward and literally falls into his mother’s
embrace. Burying his face in Murasaki’s shoulder, he 
whispers, "Are you real?"

"Yes, my Kyoto, I’m real and I’m here to stay." She and 
Muriyaki hug him tightly and their mother kisses him on the
cheek. After a moment, he lifts her off the floor in a 
giant bear hug, causing her to kick her feet up in the air
and giggle.

Ryoko rushes forward, looking very exasperated. "Kyoto!
What the hell do you think you’re doing with her?!?!?!?!?"

As her son sets her down, Murasaki looks curiously at the
beautiful young lady with sky-blue spiked hair. "Kyoto,
who is this?"

Kyoto slaps his head. "Oh, that’s right! Introduction
time." He moves over to Ryoko and takes her hand. "Mother,
I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Ryoko. Ryoko, this is my 
mother, Murasaki."

Ryoko looks somewhat awestruck--and dizzy. "Uhh, hi."

Murasaki smiles. "She seems sweet. I like her hairstyle."
She suddenly pulls Ryoko up in a bonecrushing hug, pressing
her to herself very tightly. "Welcome to the family!"

Now Ryoko is looking quite uncomfortable. "Thanks....I
think....You can let go of me now...."

"Mom!" Kyoto grabs his mother’s arm. "Please let go of 
Ryoko. I think you’re gonna hurt her."

At that, Murasaki immediately releases the girl, and Ryoko
collapses to the ground, rubbing her side. Murasaki quickly
helps her to her feet and gives her a less stifling hug,
tears starting to trickle down her face. "Please forgive
me!"

Ryoko awkwardly hugs her soon-to-be mother-in-law.
""Uh, sure, it’s no problem."

Kyoto gently pries his mother away from Ryoko. "Come on, 
Mom, there are some people who’d like to meet you."

First on that list are, naturally, Tenchi and Kiyone.
A brief look of sadness flits over Murasaki’s face as she
greets the future Emperor and Empress of Jurai, but that
quickly disappears and she hugs them both very tightly.
"You’re so adorable!" she cries out. "I could just squeeze
you forever!"

"Please....don’t...." Kiyone manages to wheeze.

"Oh, sorry." Murasaki releases her hold on Mr. and Mrs. 
Masaki, and then kneels down so she’s at eye level with 
Sasami. "Oh, you’re Sasami!" she chirps.

Sasami nods warmly. "Uh-huh!"

Murasaki pulls the young princess into an almost 
suffocating embrace. "You’re so cute and sweet!" she coos.

"She reminds me of my mother," Kiyone whispers. Tenchi
shivers.

While still holding Sasami, she turns to Tsunami and says,
"She has your eyes, sister. The bloodline still holds 
true."

"What do you mean?" asks Sasami, apparently not as 
asphyxiated as other embraced by the third goddess.

"You see," explains Murasaki, seating herself in a chair
and holding Sasami on her lap, "when Tsunami created Jurai,
she made a very special person. This young lady was almost
exactly like her, and it was her job to keep Jurai safe for
her. Her name was Sasami, and there have been many Sasamis
born on Jurai. You’re this generation’s Sasami."

"You mean I’m a goddess?" asks Sasami delightedly.

"In a sense, yes," answers Tsunami, a gentle smile of 
amusement lining her face.

"Oh, wow!" Sasami climbs off of Murasaki’s lap and moves
back over to her parents, who are holding each other and 
looking mystified. Hugging Tenchi tightly, she teases,
"Since I’m a goddess, Daddy, you and Mommy have to do what
I say. And I’m telling you two not to be naughty anymore!"

Everyone in the chamber, including Tenchi and Kiyone,
laughs. Tenchi ruffles Sasami’s hair. "Well, Lady Sasami,
we’ll see what we can do."

As the introductions go on, Kiyone giggles and is about
to whisper something in Tenchi’s ear when she realizes
that a hand is resting on her belly. She turns to see that
it’s Tokimi’s hand. "Ah, what are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing important," replies Tokimi dismissively.
She has a faraway look on her face, and it vanishes as she
pulls her hand away. "Oh, I see!"

"You see what?" asks Tenchi. Now that Sasami is introducing
Ryo-ohki to Murasaki, he has some time to concentrate
on Kiyone. He loops a protective arm around his wife’s
waist. In the background, they can hear Murasaki gushing
over the cute little cabbit and hugging it. They can also
hear Ryo-ohki mi-yaing blithely.

"Nothing really," responds Tokimi. "I just 
notice....your....well, let’s call it your ‘presence’
inside of her." She looks Kiyone in the eye. "You’re 
infertile, right?"

Kiyone nods, wondering where in hell this conversation
is going.

"Well, we can fix that." She motions Tsunami over, whispers
in her ear for a moment, and then both goddesses rest a 
hand on Kiyone’s belly. Their hands glow for a moment,
and then stop, and both goddesses remove their hands, 
looking quite satisfied. "There you are!" announces
Tsunami happily.

"Kiyone is fertile now," answers Tokimi matter-of-factly.

Kiyone’s face falls. "What?" she asks, in a voice that 
carries equal parts of happiness and annoyance.

"That’s right!" says Tsunami cheerfully. "The next time you
two....are naughty, as Sasami puts it, Kiyone will get 
pregnant."

This quiets down all other conversation. Nobuyuki breaks
the silence by saying, "Oooh, my first grandchild!"

"Yay!" exults Sasami. "I’m gonna be a big sister!" She 
grins at their parents. "Now you two can’t be naughty
until the official wedding!"

Tenchi groans and nods, but Kiyone just giggles and 
snuggles closer to him. "Now, now, Sasami-cha’ya,
there are ways around that."

"Happy endings all around," remarks Tokimi, most of the 
sarcasm gone from her voice. "Now, if only you had found
them...."

"What is ‘them’?" asks Kyoto.

Murasaki glares at the other two goddesses. "What did you
do to his memory?"

Tsunami and Tokimi look sheepish and are steepling their
fingers together.

Murasaki turns back to her son. "Kyoto, the ‘them’ your 
aunts are referring to are the three Blades of the 
Goddesses."

"‘Blades of the Goddesses?’" repeats Tenchi.

"Yes," says Tsunami. "Each of us has a blade. When the 
three weapons are combined, they form the ultimate weapon:
Kami no ken. The Sword of God*. The sword that makes even
Jurai’s light swords look weak."

Ayeka looks shocked. "T-T-That’s an old Juraian legend!
You mean it’s really true?"

"Yes it is," sighs Tokimi. "But it might as well be a 
legend for all the good it does us now. If you don’t have
them, Kyoto...."

"Sorry," huffs Kyoto, "but maybe if I had known I was 
s’posed to look for these things, maybe I would have found
them." He pulls Edgatho from its sheath. "This is my sword,
maybe it ca--" He yelps as Tokimi suddenly grabs it away
from him. "Hey! Whaddya think you’re doin’?"

Tokimi is turning the jewel-encrusted broadsword over in 
her hands. "This is it," she whispers. She holds the sword
hilt-first out to Murasaki. "Murasaki, this is your blade!"

Looking hopeful, Murasaki inspects the blade. "Yes. Yes!
Kyoto, you’ve done it!" She starts to hug her son, but 
remembers that she’s holding a sword. Her eyes sweep around
the room, starting to glow with an idea. "Do any of the 
rest of you have any swords or daggers?"

Katsuhito starts to draw his bokken, but Murasaki shakes
her head. "Sorry, Yosho. I meant real swords. Like--like
that!" She throws Edgatho back to Kyoto and appears next
to Tenchi, who has just pulled Tenchiken from inside his 
tunic. "Tenchi, may I please see your sword?"

Tenchi looks dumbfounded, but shrugs. "Sure, I guess."
He passes the hilt to Murasaki, who takes a quick look,
squeals in delight, and suddenly hugs Tenchi. Releasing
him, she yells, "Tsunami! Tenchi’s sword is your blade!"
She holds the hilt in front of her, and the turquoise-white
blade appears with a whoosh and a bow wave of pale light.
She swings it through the air a few times, extinguishes
the blade, and passes it back to Tenchi. "I should have 
realized," she says. "The most powerful of Jurai swords,
the Emperor’s weapon, would almost certainly be a Goddess
Blade."

"That’s two," asserts Tokimi. "Now, all we need to do is 
find my blade."

"What does your blade look like?" asks Kiyone.

"It’s a dagger with a pair of perfect sapphires on both 
sides of the bladeguard and a perfect ruby as the butt of 
the hilt. Why do y--" Tokimi falls silent as Kiyone lifts
the hem of her skirt and draws the described weapon from
a sheath. The Galaxy Police detective regards the weapon
for a moment, then holds it out hilt-first to Tokimi.
"I believe this is yours."

The goddess gingerly takes the knife and holds it in her 
hand gently. "There you are," she says softly, showing
a surprising tenderness. After a moment, she hands it back
to Kiyone. "Thank you."

Kiyone, not quite sure what to say, nods.

Murasaki stretches and yawns. "Right. If you three would
please place your blades in the center of the triad...."
She waits until Tenchi, Kiyone, and Kyoto have complied,
and then steps into the center herself.

The air around Murasaki starts to crackle and wisps of 
cerulean, jade, and lavender light start to encircle
her. The three blades rise off of the floor and start to 
orbit around her. She stretches out her hands and closes
her eyes.

The blades start to change. Edgatho’s blade starts to glow
the color of the Tenchiken’s blade and the hilt splits
in half lengthwise. The two halves swing up till both are
at a forty-five degree angle. The purple tuning fork-like
projecting end of Tenchi’s sword radiates a whitish 
luminescence and locks neatly into the right angle of the
triangle created by Edgatho’s split hilt. The butt of 
Kiyone’s dagger’s hilt also splits open and the butt of the
Tenchiken’s hilt clicks into place, the split ends of the
dagger locking down securely. The completed weapon rises,
bladetip pointed upward, and float to Murasaki, the hilt
coming to rest in her hands. The goddess holds it 
one-handed above her head. "Kami no ken. Chya’to’Richi.
The Sword of God."

"Oh, wow!" bubbles Mihoshi. "That’s so cool!"

"Well, Kyoto," says Tokimi, "it appears you’ve completed
your mission, even if you didn’t know about it." A lustful
smile appears on her face. "What do you wish for your 
reward?"

"My memory," he answers firmly.

Tokimi sighs in disappointment. "Ah, well, your loss."
She motions to her sisters, and they join her in placing
a hand apiece atop his forehead. His eyes close....

And open.

He remembers.





PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE: Finally, we see the secrets of 
Kyoto’s past. What is his connection to Tenchi and company
that dates back before they were even born? And what is the
evil force on its way? The answer can be found in No Need
For Remembrance! It’s unquestionably a revelation!





Questions? Comments? Even ideas for future episodes?
Want to write the authors? You can contact us at 
Muriyaki@hotmail.com, and at keiichi_dono@hotmail.com.
We look forward to receiving your responses!



Footnotes:



*Tenchiken: Japanese for "the sword Tenchi." Tenchi’s
Juraian light sword, as well as the Emperor’s personal
weapon. Most nobles and high-ranking military officers
in the Republic of Jurai carry Tenchiken-style
swords, but Tenchi’s is the most powerful and carries
authority comparable to that of a crown. (Yes, this also
means that Kiyone will have a sword.)

*The Sword of God: In Juraian, chya’to’Richi.







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