Previous Chapters can be accessed through the side bar at: http://dogbert.simplenet.com/Tempest ******************** Children Of Jurai [We see the bright and large moon in the midnight sky. The Masaki house roof lies just beneath it, almost as if the moon is resting on it. We hear a somewhat regular whoosh just before Tenchi steps into view. He's going through a sword kata with a bokken while standing on the roof, silhouetted by the moon. He's wearing black pants with no shirt and is barefooted. He swings the sword several more times before kneeling and leaning on his sword, breathing deeply.] [We see Washuu's laboratory. Two large transparent cylinders are resting on their sides on either side of a console at which Washuu is sitting. She's got her head in her arms on the console and is obviously sleeping. As we look at both cylinders we notice that they have cushions and sheets in them to look like beds. One has Tenchi inside while the other is empty, although it looks as if it was recently occupied. We hear Tenchi's breathing from the previous scene.] [We see a hallway in the Masaki house. The door to Washuu's lab is here, but it's got a large padlock on it and a sign hanging from that says: `Stay Out! I mean it this time.' On either side of the door are Sasami and Ayeka, sleeping against the wall with slightly agitated looks on their faces. We can still hear Tenchi's breathing.] Ayeka: [softly] Teennchii... [she snores] [We see the lofts above the Masaki living room. A pillow rests here among the rafters as well as a collection of various things: some food scraps, a couple manga, some empty sake bottles. Ryo-ohki is sleeping against the pillow, slightly `myaaa'ing with each breath. Again, Tenchi's breathing is still heard.] [The roof again. Tenchi pushes himself back up to his feet with the help of the sword. He closes his eyes and raises the sword straight out in front of him. He breathes out deeply. We can see that he's sweating rather profusely.] Ryouko: [softly] Tenchi... [Tenchi's eyes open and he turns quickly to see Ryouko on the opposite end of the roof as him, sitting on the edge looking away from him.] Tenchi: Ryouko. Ryouko: [she slowly turns her head to look at him] I didn't know that Washuu had let you out of the lab. Tenchi: [he walks over to Ryouko and stands behind her] I let myself out. Ryouko: She said that you needed to rest. [she chokes up] She said ... she said that to leave would be dangerous. Tenchi: I felt okay... Ryouko: Tenchi! [she turns and embraces him, she starts crying into his chest] Tenchi: [his eyes widen, then relax; he puts a hand on her head] Ryouko... Ryouko: I ... I thought you were going to die... Tenchi: [smiles] It's okay, I'm alright. Ryouko: What... [she swallows] what happened to the other Tenchi? Tenchi: [frowns] I don't know, I think he's sleeping ... or something. Washuu was sleeping too when I got up. Ryouko: Are ... you going to stay all right now? Tenchi: I'm not sure. I feel okay now, but I don't know when whatever that was will happen again. Maybe it's a side affect from being copied from the original Tenchi. Hm... [he stands up] Ryouko: Wha... Tenchi? Tenchi: I should get back inside before someone comes looking for me. [he turns but stops] Ryouko: What's wrong? Tenchi: Are you coming? Ryouko: [smiles through her tears] Yes. ********************************************************* Children Of Jurai Episode 3: "Collect on the Bounty; The Infamous Garfilus Syn" By Adam Leigh ********************************************************* [Space. Earth sits low in the frame. A ship flies past and settles into Earth orbit. The ship is a long, sleek looking, vessel, silver color, with a long tapered nose that comes to a point attached to two similar, smaller, nacelles on either side that glow green. Along the side of the ship is a string of blue lettering that says "Errant Venery".] [The cockpit of the Errant Venery. A man sits, shrouded mostly in shadows, we can only see what the small bit of light from the console provides for us. He's got long hair, wearing a vest over a short sleeved shirt and fingerless gloves. The cockpit is basically a large console filled with buttons and holographic displays with the exception of a throttle on the right and a joystick on the left. He reaches forward and presses a button that causes a display of the Earth to appear. It rotates slowly and several points are indicated in a text we can't read. The image stops right above Japan and several lines of text are displayed next to it. With the additional light from the display we can see the man's complete face.] Garfilus: Exactly where I predicted you'd be, [smiles] Ryouko. [He pulls back on the throttle and the ship flies off into the atmosphere.] [Washuu's laboratory. Washuu is sitting at a console tapping wildly while Ryouko sits on a stool nearby with a few wires attached to her head.] Ryouko: Um... *mom*, is this exactly the best time? Washuu: What do you mean, dear? Ryouko: Should you be working on Tenchi and ... Tenchi right now instead of doing this meaningless stuff with me? Washuu: Not to worry, both Tenchis are sleeping soundly right now and I've done all the tests I can at the moment. I need to make sure ALL of my creations are working correctly, not just one or two. Ryouko: Tenchi is NOT your creation! Washuu: Not originally... but... Ryouko: [yells] Not at all! Washuu: [smiles] I know, I'm just joking. If he was my creation, he couldn't be mine someday. [winks] Ryouko: [growls] MOM! Washuu: [looks down and taps on her console] Ahh, yes, very good... Ryouko: [looks confused] Eh? Washuu: I was starting to worry that something was wrong, but that was the reaction I was looking for. You give your mother such a scare sometimes. [giggles] Ryouko: Hmph... [looks away] Washuu: So what's really wrong, my daughter? It doesn't appear to be anything that's incorrect with your body, so what's plaguing the mind? Ryouko: Nothing. Washuu: [frowns] Lying to your poor mother! Ryouko: There's nothing *poor* about you, Washuu. Washuu: Even so, something is wrong and I'd like to know what? [Ryouko says nothing.] Washuu: Does Zero still bother you? [Ryouko's eyes widen but she still says nothing.] Washuu: Hm... as much as you may hate me for it, it was for your own good, Ryouko. Besides, I did give you a choice. Ryouko: Not very much of a choice. *He* was sitting right there, holding that... that... *bastard* incarnation of me! Washuu: I didn't think that was bothering you so much. After all, Zero's body is all gone and history now. Why does it still bother you? Ryouko: Who says it's bothering me?! Washuu: I say. Ryouko: Who made you the knower of all things? Washuu: I don't know everything, but I know my own daughter. Ryouko: Not well enough! [she starts to get up] Washuu: Ryouko! [she grabs Ryouko's arm] Ryouko: [starts struggling] Get off me! Washuu: Wait, Ryouko. You're right, I don't know. [Ryouko stops for a moment] That's why I have to ask. I can connect you to a thousand machines and I still won't know why you do some things. I can feel your emotions, Ryouko, but I don't know why you're having them. Ryouko: That's how it should be. [She pulls away from Washuu and teleports away. Washuu looks at the spot where she was for a moment then falls to her knees.] Washuu: My dear Ryouko. I made you so well and still you've done things beyond what I ever expected. I wish you could know how happy I am. How proud I am of you. [We see the hallway in the Masaki house with Washuu's door in it. The padlock and sign are gone. The door opens and Ryouko walks out with her head hung. She closes the door and puts her back against it and sighs.] Ryo-ohki: Myaa! Ryouko: Huh? [looks up] [Ryo-ohki jumps down and lands in Ryouko's hands.] Ryo-ohki: Myaa, myaaa! Ryouko: [hugs Ryo-ohki] Oh, Ryo-ohki. You don't think Tenchi preferred Zero do me, do you? Ayeka: What was that, Ryouko? [Ryouko looks up suddenly as Ayeka comes walking down the stairs.] Ryouko: Nothing, Princess. Ayeka: Where's Tenchi... Tenchis... both Tenchi? Ryouko: They're sleeping, leave `em alone. Ayeka: [walks over to Ryouko] I should go see them any- Ryouko: [stops Ayeka by putting a hand up] I said you should leave them alone. Ayeka: I didn't ask *your* opinion. Step aside. Ryouko: I won't say it again. [Ryo-ohki jumps down from Ryouko's arms and scurries away.] Ayeka: Who made you keeper of this door? If I want to go see Tenchi I'll go see him! Ryouko: Tenchi needs his rest, he's still not recovered. Ayeka: Which one? Ryouko: Tenchi! Ayeka: And which one of the TWO we now have, is that? Ryouko: He's... Ayeka: You're just looking for a reason to have me attack you. Well, you know what, you demon? I won't be part of it. [Ayeka walks away. Ryouko fumes.] Ryouko: Since when is everyone trying to analyze me? Hmph! [She flies up and teleports away] [Ayeka walks back over to the door and looks up at where Ryouko just teleported from.] Ayeka: I win this time. [She opens the door and walks right into Tenchi-brown. She stumbles back.] Tenchi-brown: Ayeka! Ayeka: Tenchi! I ... I'm sorry. Tenchi-brown: It's okay, Ayeka, it's my fault. Ayeka: Tenchi? Tenchi-brown: What is it, Ayeka? Ayeka: Tenchi ... do you ... would you ... like ... to, um... visit Ryo-oh with me? Tenchi-brown: [blinks; looks back into the doorway] I really don't want to go back in there right now. Ayeka: I see... Tenchi-brown: Why don't we visit Funaho instead? Ayeka: Hm? Tenchi-brown: Lets go for a walk. [Tenchi-brown starts walking down the hall] Ayeka: Wait! Tenchi! [she scurries after him] [A few moments pass, then Washuu's door rockets open and Washuu stands in the door way with an aggravated look on her face and panting.] Washuu: Where'd he go? [She looks both ways down the hall and up at the ceiling.] How does he keep dodging my sensors like that? [We see the roof of some building. Ryouko is lying on the roof, looking up into the sky. She's holding a small pebble, tossing it between hands, as she sighs.] Ryouko: Stupid princess. [Ryouko throws the pebble up into the air with the flick of her wrist but actually sends it flying far into the sky. There's the sound of a door sliding shut and we see Sasami exiting the shed that Ryouko is lying on top of. Sasami starts to walk off towards the house when the pebble lands on the ground by her feet. She looks up then steps back to look at the roof.] Sasami: Hi, Ryouko! Ryouko: Hey, Sasami, wha'cha doing? Sasami: I'm just gathering some vegetables for tonight's dinner. Ryouko: Really, what have you got? Sasami: Carrots. Ryouko: That's it? Sasami: Well, it's the only thing we grow anymore now that Ryo-ohki eats so much. [Ryo-ohki's head pops up out of the basket of carrots that Sasami was carrying.] Ryo-ohki: Myaaaa! [nods enthusiastically] Sasami: [sad] Ohhh, Ryo-ohki, you've got to stop eating all of our vegetables or else they'll be nothing left for us except extracts and other bad stuff. Ryo-ohki: Myaaa. Sasami: Now I have to get more. [she turns back towards the shed] Ryouko: Hold on, Sasami! [she jumps down off the roof] You really put a lot of care and effort into all this, don't you? Sasami: All this? You mean picking vegetables? Ryouko: I mean cooking and cleaning and serving and all those other things you do. Sasami: Yes, I suppose, but it makes me feel good. Ryouko: Feel good? Doing work? Sasami: Well, the work is tough, but if I do it, Tenchi and Father and Grandpa and sister will be happy, and that makes me feel good. Ryouko: Oh... [pause] Um, did you ... would you like some ... help? Sasami: Help? Wow, Ryouko, you've never *offered* to do work before, what's wrong? Ryouko: Why does everyone think something's wrong with me? Sasami: Well, Ryouko, you're just acting differently than normal, that's all. It's not like you to offer to do things so openly. Ryouko: Oh yeah? Well, maybe I know that too! Maybe I want to help more, maybe I want you to see me do more things. I want everyone to look a me as something other than a troublemaking, no good ... *demon*! But no one wants to let me! [Ryouko begins to fly off] Sasami: Wait! No one thinks of you like that, Ryouko! [Ryouko continues flying off towards the woods along the lake.] Sasami: Ryouko... [She runs into the house.] [We see Tenchi-brown and Ayeka walking through the woods by the Masaki Shrine. Tenchi-brown has his arms behind his back and looking at the trees above them while Ayeka seems to be looking at the steps as they walk on them.] Ayeka: Um... Tenchi? Tenchi-brown: Yeah? Ayeka: How are you ... feeling? Tenchi-brown: I'm fine. Ayeka: Oh ... that's good, considering... uh, yesterday. Tenchi-brown: Yesterday? Ayeka: [blinks] Yes, yesterday, when you and the other Tenchi collapsed. Tenchi-brown: Oh... Ayeka: You ... do remember, Tenchi? Tenchi-brown: A little. Ayeka: A little? Tenchi-brown: I remember being outside, then a lot of tests and being in Washuu's laboratory. Ayeka: But you don't remember everything that happened? Tenchi-brown: Not everything ... oh, there's Funaho. [Tenchi-brown points through the trees where we can see the pond surrounding Funaho. The two of them continue walking towards it.] Ayeka: But, Tenchi, don't you think that's ... bad? Shouldn't you find out why you can't remember it all? Tenchi-brown: I feel alright, I'm sure I'm fine. Ayeka: What did Washuu say was the reason you collapsed? Tenchi-brown: I haven't talked to her yet, but I saw something on her computer that said the other Tenchi was drawing energy from me somehow and yesterday I ran out so we both collapsed. Ayeka: That's terrible! What does that mean? Tenchi-brown: I don't know. [smiles] Don't worry about it Ayeka, everything will be fine. Ayeka: If you say so, Tenchi... [Washuu's laboratory. Washuu is typing on her console next to the two cylinders, one of which is empty. Sasami is standing next to the cylinder with Tenchi in it, looking inside.] Washuu: This is bad. Sasami: What is it, Washuu? Washuu: This Tenchi is getting weaker while the other Tenchi is getting stronger. They are definitely linked in some manner that's allowing them to share energy. At first, they were sharing equally, so both could act and move and probably do everything Tenchi could originally do. If things stayed that way, there could have been two Tenchis here without any problem. Sasami: So what's wrong? Washuu: The other Tenchi is vying for more power and it's draining the life out of this one. Sasami: You've got to stop him, Washuu! He's going to kill Tenchi! Washuu: I would if I could, but I can't even figure out HOW they're sharing energy, let alone how one is getting more than the other and how to stop it! And I certainly won't find out anything else unless I get both Tenchis here again, so we have to find the other Tenchi. Sasami: But we don't know where he is! Washuu: Not to worry! I don't know how the link works, but I can trace it from this Tenchi to the other! [she pulls out a small device that looks like a wrist watch] This tracker will point us in the direction of Tenchi! [She turns on the device and a series of domes appear then twist to point in different directions. Washuu points.] Washuu: He's THAT way! [Washuu looks up and sees that she's pointing at the Tenchi in the cylinder. Sasami, who's standing next to the cylinder, waves and smiles nervously.] Washuu: Hmm... I must have mis-calibrated. [Ryouko is sitting at the top of the staircase by the Masaki Shrine. She's resting her head on her hands and looking down the stairs.] Ryouko: [sighs] Tenchi... Katsuhito: Ryouko! [Ryouko blinks and turns around to see Katsuhito calling her from the steps of the shrine house. She gets up and flies over to him.] Katsuhito: Ryouko. I need some help moving a few things. [he takes her by the arm] Come along. Ryouko: [reluctantly being pulled] Wait-a-minute -- I didn't say -- knock it off! [We see the Masaki shrine house a few moments later. Katsuhito is holding a small box under his arm as he walks out.] Katsuhito: [looks back] Everything okay, Ryouko? Ryouko: [straining] Well... Katsuhito: That's good. [Katsuhito steps down off the stairs and starts walking away. In the doorway of the house a series of stacked boxes and crates that are overflowing with various items comes crawling out. The boxes move down off the stairs and turn to follow Katsuhito. When they turn we see Ryouko behind them, struggling with all her might to hold them.] [We see a small path leading to a shed in the woods. The door slides open and Ryouko falls out and starts twitching on the ground.] Ryouko: Uurrghhh... Katsuhito: [walks out, stepping over Ryouko] Thank you Ryouko. Ryouko: [sits up and rubs her shoulders] Whatever. [She starts to get up then sees a hand in front of her. She looks up the arm to see Katushito offering to help her up, his glasses reflecting the light of the sun so she can't see his eyes. Meekly she takes his hand and he lifts her up.] Katsuhito: So tell me, Ryouko, what has you lingering around the shrine lately? Ryouko: Nothing that concerns you, *Yousho*. Katsuhito: Well, you seemed a little introspective. I wondered if there was anything you wanted to say but didn't know who to say it to. Ryouko: [disbelief] You want me to talk about it to you? Katsuhito: If you need to say something, I can listen. Ryouko: [blinks] Alright then, what do you think that I am? Katsuhito: You are? Ryouko: What am I? What do you see me as? Katsuhito: You're Ryouko. Ryouko: But what does THAT mean? Who is Ryouko? Katsuhito: Well, Ryouko was a poor kid I met who couldn't find her way and couldn't escape the control her parents put on her. She was very strong willed, but very na