Author: Gregory Himes E-Mail: GD_Himes@yahoo.com Title: And That Which is Made Real... Division: Pure Tenchi OVA Synopsis: Through a reign of chaos (Mihoshi) and a number of other factors, the Masaki family gets a couple of new visitors, many of which are unwelcome. ALL THE STUFF BELOW, I WOULD LIKE TO APPEAR IN THE ENTRY, BUT AS YOU ARE THE "MASTER" I WILL SUFFER WITH YOUR DECISION Characters: Thomas Fender Pynchon - Communications Major Josephson Wynt (Jason) - Engineering Major Farrah Elizabeth Fontenot - Archaeology/Anthropology Major Nathaniel (Brass) - an Enigma Shento - Nathaniel's Personal AI construct Merinel-siri - One of Nathaniel's lab subjects Distrel-kortaki - Another of Nathan's lab subjects Tenchi Masaki - Honorable country boy and heir to the throne of Jurai Ryoko - Demon, Pirate, Demigoddess Ayeka - First Princess to the throne of Jurai Sasami - Second Princess to the throne of Jurai Washu - The greatest scientific genius in the universe and former "goddess" Ryo-Ohki - Unique creation, aka Cabbit, Cabbit-girl, and starship Tsunami - "Goddess" stepped down, Starship, and The Tree of Jurai Nobuyuki - Tenchi's father, and notorious pervert Katsuhito - Tenchi's grandfather, shinto priest, and abdicated prince of Jurai This fic takes place after OVA13, and assumes the non-existence of the Manatsu No Eve reality line. Many of the characters in this fiction belong to AIC and Pioneer, those that don't, as well as the plot and scripting, are wholly the creation of Gregory Himes and are therefor copyright © March 1999. Please don't copy this to other sites (without my permission) or claim it as your own. As for AIC and Pioneer, please don't sue. But if you would like me to destroy or remove this story, just give us a good continuation to the OVA series that contradicts this story, and I will gladly bury this in the vaults with the last couple of copies of the Necronomicon, where it will never see the light of day, again. ^_^ Thanks. These are only the first two chapters of a storyline that should end up with the epic qualities of Babylon 5, and if made into episodes would probably extend to at least 13. The problem is, that it has been over 17 years since I wrote any type of free prose, only using my skills as an editor and writer of RPG adventures, since then. As free prose is quite different from adventure writing, and it is hard to personally separate oneself from personal writings, I was hoping that the submission of this to the TMFFA, would get me some feedback as to how well it actually supports itself. This part was written in 4 hours, at a single run through, at my work computer. It has not been spell-checked, grammar checked, or re-edited in any fashion. Don't bother to tell me that so or so word is misspelled at this point... I am looking for critiques to my tone, flow, and the maintaining of the continuity of the TM! OVA series. As far as Tom is concerned, he is not an "insertion." He is a catalyst. I don't know if he will even survive this "novel," as I already know that another story I have will commence immediately at the end of this, and is already presaged in the plotting I have laid out so far. In fact, in many ways, deliberately, he is very far and away, a different person than I am. As far as the Nathaniel mentioned above, it has nothing to do with the Nathaniel of the "No Need for Sasami" fic that I just started reading. Where the hell is the rest of that story, anyway!!! And what really sucks is that even though this was written more than 3 months previous to my reading of "No Need for Sasami," the use of the character there and my Tom, are strikingly similar. Please do not assume that there was an attempt to copy the character or the use of the character. Believe me, it's strictly coincidence. Please send constructive criticism, especially later, if you think it's good enough to continue. As I have never been to Japan, and I may screw up several locations, customs, and other minor things, while I try to finish writing this. Somebody want to call Washu, and get her to duplicate me, I need so much more extra time than I have, to keep writing this. ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH. With that out of the way, here is the start of.... ************************************** *** And That Which Is Made Real... *** ************************************** Prologue: ========= Silence. Darkness. The crackling of static then a snap. A pure white brilliance surrounded by azure tears through, but illuminates nothing. Something obscures the brillance. It is a woman. Tall and thin. She carries with her, a tray. "Washu, you have to eat something." A slight wavering enters the voice, "Washu, you haven't been out for four days. We're all worried." "Washu, are you in here. Are you alright," the voice even quieter, now. The figure takes several steps into the darkness, hesitating between each step. She takes a deep breath and pauses. Her voice a full octave higher, and nearly yelling, "Washu, Sasami made this Jurai delicacy for all of us. Don't hurt her feelings!" Then under her breath, "I had to go all the way to Jurai to get the vegetables, it would be shameful to waste it." As the figure turns, a deep sucking sound echoes through the air. The azure glow closes like a rapidly healing wound, leaving the woman in absolute darkness. "Ohhh," she sobs. Silence, again. Something rolls in darkness and clatters, almost chime-like. "Aaaeeeee," she screams. Her scream is cut off suddenly, as a dim, bluish-white light suddenly illuminates the huge room. The room is larger than a stadium, with no apparent ceiling. If there is one, it is hidden in the distance and darkness. Though the woman does not see it, behind her is where she entered this cavernous chamber.. It is a solid steel wall with a large black and yellow sign that reads, "Danger, High Energy Radiation." This sign is displayed, not in any Earth-based language, but in Jurain Universal script and Galactic Standard. All around the room are hundres of huge cylindrical transparent tubes four feet and wider in diameter, stretching up into the darkness. Many are grouped in various portions of the room, filled with liquids and hazy, colored gases. With one small tear creeping down her darkly tanned face, she looks around slowly. A smile suddenly transforms her blond framed face. "How did I get in here. This isn't the lab!" With great cheer she starts to walk across the dark steel floor. For about two seconds her walk is bouncy and light. Then she treads upon the chopsticks which had fallen, unnoticed, to the floor. Her feet shoot forward and fly out from under her, and she lands, unceremoniously on her backside. The tray landing with a bang and crash right next to her. Through some miracle of luck, the tray and it's steaming contents are undamaged. "Oh! Sasami would have it out with me if I had ruined Washu's lunch." The woman's name is Mihoshi, she is wearing a rather tight fitting vinyl cherry red dress with dark blue highlights. It almost resembles an overcoat, more than a dress. Strapped around her waist, is a belt which supports a holster for a very unusual looking firearm. Still wobbly, she stands up. Bending from the waist, she picks up the tray, almost overturning a large bowl atop it, before making a quick recovery. Continuing her journey across the room, she ignores the chopsticks which are slowly rolling away off to the left. As Mihoshi leave the room, the chopsticks near the end of their travel. A drainage grate surrounds a tube filled with small glowing orange lights. As the chopsticks fall through the openings in the grate, the lights all gather against the interior wall of the tube, as if watching the utensils' journey. Mihoshi closes the narrow red door behind her, just in time to avoid bearing witness to a horrendous crunching sound. This sound precedes the shattering of the tube, which due to it's contents, a thick gellid fluid, suddenly explodes outward, sending glass shards, jelly, and hundreds of little orange lights into the drainage grate. The lights dim, and then extinguish. The last that is heard from the room is a low thrum, and what sounds like the beating of an ancient war drum. Chapter One: ============ "Yo! Tom, wake up. We're here" Something grabs my shoulder for a moment, and flashes of claws race through the darkness. That's my best friend, Jason. What the hell is he doing here? Oh, gods, am I tired. My eyes take focus from the shapeless blur of my first mornings view. But I realize quickly that it's not morning, and my surroundings are bathed in the cold blue of flourescents. Definitely not my dorm room. In fact, as I come to full consciousness, I recall where I am. I'm in a Nippon Air jumbo jet. Shaken, I look over at Jason, who's smiling. He's too cheerful, nobody should have to suffer with that when waking up. I need coffee. Maybe it's the long flight, or I'm sick. I've never woken up before not knowing instantly where I was. Thinking I'd better load up on vitamins, just in case, I grab my belt-pack from beneath the seat. Jason, still smiling like the Cheshire, gives me that look. You know, the one where someone is just tolerating a small foolishness. Jason's one of those lucky ones, the type that can get four hours sleep, work hard all day, party and drink all night, and still be fresh and cheerful the next morning. I swear, he must have a small reactor implanted in his brain. It's a good thing, though, for I can't do any of those things, and if I miss a meal, I feel run-down all day. I definitely won the karma lottery the day I got Jason as a roommate. If it weren't for him, I would never be able to pull a 3.8 average, and college life would be mind rottingly dull. He always seems to have everything ready and at hand, whether it's classes, parties, or his girlfriend. That's why we're here. Jason met Farrah during our first semester, and they seemed to be inseperable. That wasn't to be the case though. They met three-and-a-half years ago, and for three of those years, it was love-in-paradise for them. I didn't even mind having her over at the dorm. She was cute, friendly, and seemed such a part of Jason, that it seemed there were only two people in the room, when all three of us were there. They never even fought, until that one day six-months ago. I wish I could have a girl that would fit me, like Farrah complemented Jason. Don't get me wrong. In fact, I've had several girlfriends in college. Let's see... eight of them in fact. None of them lasted very long, they were fun for a while, but the games and the jealousy factor, ended each relationship with a bang. The only consistent girlfriend I've had is Glinnis. But that relationship will never be much more that physical, and on reflection, I know that for sure. I've known her close to five years, and still, I only know the superficial things in her life. We both like it this way, but my heart aches, every time I think about what is missing. I know what that missing bit is, as Jason and Farrah are the showcase for that jigsaw piece. I really do envy him. Slowly people crowd down the aisle, most muttering and whispering in Japanese. I don't know a word of it, but Jason has picked up a few basics. I guess he knew this day was coming. I certainly didn't. It was only 20 hours ago I discovered that I was going to be here. Farrah, six months ago. That was a night that I will never forget. Farrah came in to the dorm, crying. I couldn't get her to talk, she was so upset. She ended up falling asleep on Jason's bed, while I put the finishing touches on the semesters' first gradeable project. He didn't come in until nearly midnight — out with the football team after the game. We must have won, for he came in a little loud, and let loose with an uncharacteristic, "Yee-haw!" This, of course, woke up Farrah, who definitely didn't look any better after her rest. The reasons for her distress, came out quickly. It wasn't as bad as I had thought, but it freaked Jason out. I've seen him take out a couple of barroom brawlers, before, but I have never seen him truly lose his temper. Farrah, had an opportunity to travel to Japan to an important new archaeological dig. Something that would probably guarantee her a 4.0 in her senior level classes. Being a strong and fre-willed individual, Farrah, after spending hours agonizing over the decision, decided it was in her best interest to take the opportunity. This would, to her great pain, put her well out of reach of Jason, for at least a year, if not more. The fact that his family was rich, didn't help much, with the suggestion that he could always have a long distance romance. Jason just couldn't see maintaining a relationship with such impersonal means, especially across nearly half the world. To put it mildly, he didn't take it well, and for two months after she left, it was like living in the dorm room alone. Last week, was finals, and strangely, I didn't see Jason at all, the entire time. Last night (or was it earlier today?), I found out why. Jason's parents are both big-money types and are always jetting around the world for one business meeting or another. Well, they decided to "reward" him by giving him their frequent flyer miles, before they expired in two weeks. So, after he had talked to Farrah, his parents, and the airline, he had enough miles to book another passenger and more. As they were going to go to waste otherwise, he surprised me, with, "How would you like to see Japan, up close and personal?" I never thought I'd leave Ohio, until I lucked out with the scholarship. Then, I didn't think I'd see anywhere outside of the Tri-State area. It sounded exotic. I was bored. I was packed and ready to go in less than an hour. And that brings me to where I am now. Staring out a small plastic window at the night lights of Tokyo. =============================== That's it for the moment, even though there is 10 times this already written, it's not in consecutive order, and I have to do a little Tenchi resaarch to fill some of the gaps. When will my sketchbooks arrive? Thanks for your time, Gregory Himes Oh, and as far as challenges go, how about some really good stories where Tenchi still hasn't chosen a life-mate, and is in no immediate hurry to do so (for whatever reason). I like a lot of the Tenchi-gets-so-and-so, stories, but so many of them seem forced and OOC, especially those rooted firmly in the OVA reality.