THE GODDESS SWORD SAGA. By: Matt Taylor Disclaimer: The characters of Tenchi Muyo are the property of AIC/Pioneer. I receive no money from this and am doing it for my own amusement. Notes: Takes place in the world of the manga. ********************* CHAPTER 1 Somewhere, in the darkness of space. This planet was never considered something to bother with. It has no farm lands, no obvious space to build cities, it is covered in mountains, with no forests. There are no animals or bodies of water. No one would ever think to look for him here. The planet is called Asterax, a name given to it by the man who discovered it, over 5 million years ago. Deep inside its tallest mountain is a space that had been emptied out many years ago for use. Now it is filled with technology, some of the greatest and most advanced technology in the galaxy. Here, watching over a holographic view-screen, the owner of this large facility looks over a set of statistical read-outs. "..........Excellent. Everything reads positive. Switch to Universal map." The scene changed, and a large map of the universe appeared. A huge section of it was colored red, and read JURAI. "All right, enhance to new sectors." The map started to grow then and a new sector, just as large as the previous appeared next to it. It was colored blue, and had the words UNKNOWN on it. 'It's out there.' The man thought to himself. 'The Tithan Empire. That's where she hid it, so long ago.' The man smiled to himself, and walked away from the screen. He walked towards the front of the huge lab, and sat down in a chair surrounded by lights coming up from the floor. "You." He spoke. A small robot drone came out of the darkness and floated up the master. "I want you to get into contact with King Asuza, I want to meet with him in three days time. You." Another drone appears. "Get my personal ship ready, and plot a course for Earth, I need to go...visit an old friend." The two drones went about to do their work, as the man lay back in his chair, a smile spread across his face. It had been awhile now. His memories of the past year where fuzzy, but he knew enough. Soon the scientist would be his and the key to ultimate power would come with her. ************* Several days later. "Bbrrrr." Ryoko Hakubi wrapped her arms around herself as she calmly floated down from the beam where she had slept. She sniffed the air and smelled the scent of cooking coming from the kitchen, it's scent momentarily warming her. She walked into the kitchen and saw Sasami preparing breakfast. "Good morning Ryoko." She said with her usual smile. "Meow!" Said Ryo-ohki, from the young princess head. "Hey. Is it cold in here, or is it just me?" Ryoko asked, still shivering. "No, I don't feel cold." Said Sasami. "I woke up and felt this weird shiver going through me." Ryoko said, she turned around and returned to the living room, coming back with a blanket wrapped around her. "That's a little better." "Well, don't worry, I'm sure you'll warm up after you eat some breakfast." Sasami said cheerfully. After that, the young princess face became slight questioning. "Don't you usually go to see Tenchi when he wakes up about now?" "Hhmm." Ryoko said. That was what she usually did every morning. "I...had a dream last night." She said. "Oh, what was it about?" "I can't really remember." Ryoko said, the images of the dream already fading from her memories. Sasami sat some hot tea down in front of her friend, who sipped from it slightly. "But enough about me, how'd you sleep, kiddo?" "Just fine actually." Sasami said, her smile returning. " Oh...Good morning Tenchi." Sasami said as the young man walked into the kitchen. He stopped and stared at Ryoko for a moment, in confusion. "Good morning Sasami, Good morning...Ryoko." Tenchi was rather surprised, usually Ryoko would have glomped onto him by now, but instead she was just sitting there under a blanket, sipping her tea. "You okay Ryoko?" Tenchi said, a note of worry creeping into his voice. "Oh...I'm okay Tenchi, just woke up with a weird chill." "Oh...okay." Tenchi sat down autiously next to her, waiting for the certain glomp to come, and Sasami sat down a plate of food in front of him. She planed another one in front of Ryoko, who began to pick at it half-heartedly. Tenchi was now worried. Ryoko always ate her food at a break-neck speed, usually finishing before everyone else sat down, now here she was, acting like she was only nominally aware it was in front of her. "Good morning big sister." Said Sasami as Ayeka entered. "Good morning Sasami." She said. Ayeka threw a glare at Ryoko as she sat down opposite of Tenchi. Ryoko acted like she didn't even notice Ayeka was there. Now Tenchi knew something was wrong. Ryoko always got hostile when Ayeka was in the room, but here she was, staring at her food, a weird look on her face. "Good morning, Ryoko." Ayeka said, frostily from her seat. "Hhmm." Was all Ryoko said. Ryoko continued to pick at her food, occasionally putting a piece in her mouth. Finally she stood up. "I'm gonna go get a bath." Ryoko walked away. Sasami sat down, and put plates in front of her sister and herself. She looked over and saw Ryoko had hardly ate her food. Sasami was a little hurt. She had worked very hard on that breakfast. But she threw a glance at the door, and worry grew up. "What do you suppose that was about?" She asked. "Ignore her, she's probably faking." Said Ayeka. "Why would she do that?" Ayeka knew why. She threw a glance at Tenchi, before returning to her food. 'Trying to gain Lord Tenchi's sympathy, obviously, by pretending to be sick.' She thought to herself. Ayeka couldn't stand that woman, it sickened her how far she would go sometimes. Ayeka grumbled and returned to eating. ************* "Aaaahhhhh." Ryoko sat in the warm water, feeling it dissolve the chills away. That was odd. First she wakes up with a horrible chill, then barely touches her food. She was sure Sasami was upset about that. She barely takes notice when Ayeka comes in, which is highly out of character for her. Ryoko put the thought away and slipped further into the water, feeling a nice comforting sigh escape her. The bath was completely empty, and Ryoko enjoyed the quiet this morning. "<>" "<<(sigh) Good morning mom.>>" Ryoko replied to the voice in her head. "<>" Washu's voice asked. "<>" "You're sure?" Ryoko turned in shock and saw her mother standing behind her, a wooden door disappearing into space behind her. "I was monitoring the kitchen. Ayeka glared at you and you let her live, now what's wrong?" "Nothing. I just had a weird dream, okay." Washu sat down in the bath next to her daughter. "If you insist." Washu said calmly, as she held out her hand, and a bar of soap appeared. "By the way, you remember that your little sister is coming by today." Ryoko shuddered then. Minagi, her little sister. Created by a swordsman named Yakage, a former assistant of her mother, and raised as his daughter. Despite how similar they looked, they where completely different. Minagi had decided to become a space pirate, and follow in her sister's footsteps, but she only went after the governments that where corrupt. Despite the fact that this was essentially a good thing, she still annoyed Ryoko. "Now, now. I'm sure that you two would get along perfectly well if you spent some time together." Washu said. "I really wish you wouldn't do that." Ryoko said, remembering Washu's mental link to her. Washu chuckled slightly and returned to washing herself. Another thing that annoyed Ryoko was her mother's constant invasion of her privacy. Ryoko shook her head, and slipped down into the water again. Might as well enjoy the peace while it lasted. Several minutes passed, and Washu subtly looked over at her daughter. "You had a dream huh?" "Yes. I don't remember any of it." "Oh." The silence reigned again. "You...want to talk about it?" "Not really, no." "You know...I could..." "No way mom. I'm not gonna let you rip my mind apart just to find out about a dream." "It wouldn't be anything like that." Washu said defensively. "No." Ryoko said, turning away with a huff. "Fine." Washu finished washing her self and got out, putting a towel around herself. She snapped her fingers and a door appeared in the air. She opened it, entered, and the door faded away. "Finally, some peace." Said Ryoko. ************* Washu dressed herself in a huff. She was just trying to help her daughter, but she had to go and get all defensive. She sat down at her console and began to type. Best way to get your mind off something was to work. For the thousandth time she wondered to herself why she had had children. She sighed then, and returned to her work. She wished her daughter would let her help sometimes. She knew that she was not a candidate for mother of the century, of course, but it would be nice if her daughter wasn't so defensive all the time. ************* 'Man I wish mom would stay out of my mind.' Ryoko thought to herself as she reclined in the hot water. 'It's bad enough having to put up with Ayeka and her attempts to steal my Tenchi, but knowing that no matter how private a thought I have, my mother knows about it....' Ryoko forced back the growl, and tried to think about something else. Sometimes she wished Washu would just up and disappear. ************* "Warning! Warning!" Washu's head jerked up, as the alert sirens blared. "Intruders in Lab." Came the klaxon call. "Okay, okay, calm down. Scan the lab for intruders, and activate defensive systems." Washu said, calmly as possible. The sirens stopped and a green light flashed on her console. "Intruders located in sector 86." "Sector 86?" Washu wondered to herself. "What would anyone want there? All it is, is old junk." "Intruders located in sector 86." "Okay. Prepare all defense systems, and have guard robots surround and incarcerate the intruder." For a second, Washu wondered if she should call for Tenchi, or the others? No. Her lab had the best defenses in the known universe. She should be able to handle a simple intruder. Washu got up from her seat and headed towards sector 86. ************* "There it is, Hinase. Earth. It's been way to long since I was there." Minagi said to the jewel-shaped main computer of her ship. Minagi looked exactly like Ryoko, and had paid for it a few times by people who thought she was the dangerous space-pirate. The only way to tell them apart, physically at least, was the crescent moon shapes on Minagi's cheeks. "I take it, you are looking forward to seeing Sasami?" Hinase asked. "Oh, definitely. Mom to." "And what about....?" Minagi knew what the silence meant. "Yeah, Ryoko too, if only a little." Minagi had never really gotten along with her big sister. They where just too different. But she was her sister, and Minagi respected her abilities. Minagi knew she could beat Ryoko in a sword fight, her own physical power levels weren't near her sisters. When Yakage made her, he wanted to concentrate mainly on her skill with a sword, she could fly, and had all of Ryoko's powers, but not quite as powerful. Minagi sighed and returned to her seat. No use comparing herself to her sister. Perhaps she could try to clear the air between them when she visited. "Miss Minagi. We can see the Masaki house now." Hinase said. "Hinase! You can just call me Minagi." She said with a smile. "Of course mi....Minagi." "Very good. On screen." A picture of the Masaki household appeared. Minagi sighed. She was really looking forward to this vacation. ************* "HAH!" Washu turned a corner in her lab, expecting to find this intruder, but instead seeing empty space. "Hhmm. Computer?" "Yes?" "Can you still detect the intruder?" "........Can find no trace of intruder in this section." "What about the other sectors?" ".........Unclear." "Unclear? What do you mean by that?" "Unclear." "........" Washu was silent, Minagi would be here soon, she really didn't have time for this. But she couldn't let some intruder run around her lab. "Continue scanning on a constant loop, all sectors." "Yes." Washu chanted a few words in Selenese, and a door appeared. She opened it and through one more look around the lab, before going through. The door closed and disappeared. As it did so, off in the shadows, a figure took his hand from the console, and smiled. ************* "Hi Ryoko!" "Hey Kiddo." Ryoko walked into the kitchen, feeling better after her bath. She had her blue dress on, with the small tail in the back. Sasami stood at the counter, washing dishes from breakfast. "Are you feeling better?" She asked. "A little." In truth, she still felt a little of the chill. One of the reasons she was wearing the blue dress, it was a lot warmer then her other clothes. "Would you like to help me wash dishes?" Sasami said half-heartedly. She already knew the answer. ".....Sure." Sasami's eyes popped open in shock, as Ryoko took a place beside her and started to dry the dishes. "Are...you okay Ryoko?" Sasami asked. "Yeah. Right now I'll do anything if it'll get my mind off that dream." "Do you remember anything about it?" "Not really. I remember seeing stars, and then there was this light, and that's all I remember." "Weird." "Tell me about it!" Ryoko said, rolling her eyes. "Well...I'm sure it was just a dream." Sasami said, returning to washing the dishes, humming. "Meow!" Ryoko looked down and saw Ryo-ohki looking at her with a concerned face. "It's nothing. I'll be fine." She said to the little cabbit. "Hey Ryoko?" "Yeah, Sasami?" "Do you hear a whistling?" Ryoko concentrated for a moment, and did, in fact, hear a whistling sound. "I know that sound." She said. She grabbed Sasami by the hand, and took off, both were in the air, and flew towards the outside deck. They landed and Ryo-ohki came up behind them. Ryoko looked up and recognized the sound, as she saw a ship plummeting towards them. "<> Went Ryoko's telepathic voice. "<>" Came the young woman's voice. "<>" "<>" "<>" Ryoko sighed, as the Hinase slammed into the lake. Ryoko put up a forcefield around her, Ryo-ohki, and Sasami, shielding them from the water. The wave hit the house behind them with a huge "Bloosh!" sound. Ryoko turned to see the now drenched house, along with a now drenched Tenchi, standing in the doorway, in his school uniform. "Hey Tenchi! I must say, you look very good dripping wet." Ryoko said, lowering her force-field. "(sigh) I'll go put on some dry clothes." He said, returning inside to change into a dry uniform. "Hi Sis, Hey Sasami!" Came Minagi's cheerful voice, as she floated down to the deck. Sasami ran up and embraced the smiling pirate. "It's great to see you again, Minagi." "Great to see you to!" "Meow!" "You to Ryo-ohki!" Minagi hugged the humanoid cabbit, before going and giving a hug to a very reluctant Ryoko. Ryoko grumbled as Minagi let go. "So how's mom?" "<>" Came a voice in the two pirates heads. A door materialized in front of them and the pint sized scientist stepped out. "Mom!" Said Minagi, as she ran and hugged her mother. "It's so nice to see you again dear." Said Washu. "How have you been?" "Oh just fine. I liberated the colony on Hartis 8 last month." "Really?! That's wonderful! What say we go inside and you can tell me all about it?" "Sure!" Ryoko grimaced at the show, and Washu threw her a knowing look. Ryoko, Sasami, and Ryo-ohki followed them inside. ************* "Its nice having your sister around, isn't Ryoko?" Sasami said, from the stove, where she was preparing lunch. Tenchi had already left for school, and Ayeka had decided to go into town with Kiyone, to go shopping. Washu and Minagi where in the living room, watching soap operas while talking about Minagi's last mission, who knew where Mihoshi was, Nobuyuki was at work while Yosho was at the shrine. Leaving her and Sasami alone in the kitchen with Ryo-ohki, perched on the princess head. "Eh." Was the pirate's only response. Sasami sighed, and turned to her. "You really should spend some time with her Ryoko, she is your sister. I'm sure she'd like to spend some time with her big sister." "What would we do?" Ryoko asked, hoping the subject would change soon. As far as she was concerned, Minagi was far too much of a goody-goody to ever really get along with. "You could talk. You're both space pirates, or were. I'm sure she could learn a lot from you." "Heh! In all my divine wisdom." Ryoko said dryly. "You've been traveling around the galaxy for along time Ryoko. You have years of experience on her." "I'm no teacher, kiddo. Besides, she learned plenty from Yakage. What could I add?" "Why do I bother?" Sasami said. "Got me." Sasami giggled a bit, then returned to making lunch. ************* "That sound so exciting dear." Said Washu. "Oh it was! I finally got to test out my new sword skills. I found one of my masters old books of swordplay he wrote." "Yakage wrote books?" Washu said in a surprised tone. "Oh yeah, but none of them where published, they where all on whatever sword skills he taught and created, a few sword designs as well. He had a huge library of them all on a planet called Cavratin. I'm still looking for it. Hopefully I can complete my training then." Minagi said, beaming. Two of the things Minagi loved to talk about, swordplay and her master/father Yakage, so she gladly cuddled up to this subject. "He didn't finish it?" Washu asked. "No. He didn't have the time." Both of them became silent. Even thought Yakage had kidnapped Ayeka, and threatened to kill her if Tenchi didn't fight him, Minagi loved him from the bottom of her heart, nothing could change that. "What say we go see if lunch is ready?" Said Washu, getting up. "Okay." As both prepared to leave, a blonde woman stumbled in from the closet leading to Washu's lab. "Oh, hi." Said Mihoshi. "Mihoshi." Washu said, a chill running down her back. "What where you doing down there?" "Oh, I got lost, and I wound up in your lab. I saw this machine with real pretty blinking lights, so I took a look at it then..." Washu suddenly jerked past them, into the lab. All of a sudden, a loud "BOOM!" and a white flash of light appeared around the edge of the door. Washu stumbled back out, her face coated in soot. "You kids go ahead. I need to...work on some things." "Okay mom, see you later." Said Minagi, leading Mihoshi into the kitchen, Mihoshi not noticing the daggers Washu was glaring at her. "I've got to get a better security system." ************* Deep in the recesses of the lab, a figure looks at the holographic view of the scene. He watches as the cyan haired one, and the blonde left the small scientist. "Hhmm." He said to himself. The cyan haired one looked just like Ryoko, but he had already seen her in the kitchen, this was something to look into. He turned off the small hologram and turned, walking towards the main workshop of the lab. The scientist would be here soon, and then he could begin. TO BE CONTINUED.