Author's Note: Yes, it's been a good long time since I've posted... basically, I was 'dropped' from the FFML for no apparent reason, and was too busy to return myself to it. Anyway, I'm here again, though most of my fics will remain unworked upon due to my continuing lack of a computer (though I'm working on it). So, in my promise not to start anything more until I finish, if I post anything it will be self-contained. Such as this story, which is being written out of desperation... writing is like a drug, more addictive than cigarettes and more self-destructive than alcohol (and like most nasty drugs, should *not* be mixed with others). This is simply being written on lack of sleep, which is said to be the worse of all. Continuity Notice: As Tenchi has all sorts of incarnations, this particular story takes place after Manatsu no Eve, oh, and due to accelerated growth, Mayuka is already back to being sixteen (an assumption). PM Productions Presents A Phillip Masters Fanfic The Good of the One "Tenchi." The name drifted through the house on a breeze. As light as a whisper, with as much force as a hurricane. It carried the promise of joy and endless pleasures, beyond what most men would ever venture to dream. It used a tone and pitch reserved singly for adoration above all else imaginable. Much to the caller's consternation, the target seemed to be effected in an exact opposite manner. In fact, this particular recipient happened to be searching for the nearest escape route. This was an act of pure self-sacrifice. He did not want another set of sheets ruined with red stains due to his rather sensitive ol' factory "Hormone Ventilation System." Here he was, a father, and couldn't even stand the sight of a nude female. Some would call him incredibly sad, none more than that handsome fella he saw in the mirror every morning. He fiddled with the window for a few moments, then frowned as he realized the cold has sealed it shut. The winter was a particularly frosty one, and most everything had iced over completely. A moment later his attention was averted from the window itself as a rather hideously deformed... blob appeared beyond the glass. Tenchi leapt backward while letting out a small cry. The better perspective gave way to the realization that it was the original reason for his escaping that was hovering outside the window, her face distorted by the jagged prisms of ice that had formed on the panes. It was something he was sure a person could never get used to, having a woman chase him that could take to the air without little thought and an amazing lack of mechanical assistance. There was something else about Ryoko that constantly bother him, and he was sure he was about to receive a great demonstration. Sure enough, Ryoko passed through the window without disturbing the lock, nor blinking an eye. Her dress was all but hanging from her shoulders for dear life, making sure Tenchi could see almost an illegal amount of cleavage. She had always complained about the cold... though she somehow managed to make her way through the vacuum of space with little trouble. At the moment, something was simply keeping her mind from the arctic temperatures without... the rather fiery temperatures within. Tenchi had no doubt he would be subject to those flames if he did not think of something quickly. Of course, there was always another way his worthless carcass could be spared the rigors of Heaven's Hell. If he was correct, and his clock was not off, that way should be making its appearance about... now. "Ryoko! What are you doing to Tenchi-sama!?" The exalted Crowned Princess of the Juraian Empire stood in the doorway, casting a glare into the room that would make thousands of servants commit ritual suicide. Tenchi, eyes still locked on the firm and rather awe inspiring sight before him, moved an eyebrow slightly in response to his being "liberated". Ryoko, for her part, was not about to give up her rather compromising position any time soon. "Leave us alone, little girl, there are needs to be met." She sent Tenchi a rather sultry gaze, and was amused to find him focusing somewhere entirely other than her face. "It seems Tenchi agrees... so go bother Washu or something." She took another step toward her captive audience. The future-queen would have none of it. Her face began to match her hair and that vein in her forehead began to work overtime to supply the "exterminate" sector of her brain. "Ryoko, I have had enough with you! If you do not leave Tenchi-sama alone I will be forced to remove you!" Inside Ryoko's mind a battle was suddenly initiated. The urge to have Tenchi oogle her goodies fought with the urge to deliver almighty retribution upon her highness for the assumption that she was stronger than herself. The persuit of truth and justice won out and she stood up to face Ayeka, and glared. "Would you care to repeat that, little girl?" Tenchi, suddenly shaken from his euphoria, and blinking the two spots from his vision, instantly began to formulate a way out of the impending brawl. Ayeka's in the doorway... window is frozen shut... cannot phase through walls... shit out of luck. Right before he considered using the Light Hawk Sword to make his own little escape hatch to the lower floor, Ayeka stormed into the room, screaming, "You are the most disgusting creature ever to grace this Galaxy! I would be doing all creation a favor by removing your grotesque form from it!" While Tenchi was actually tempted to argue that one, the lure of the doorway, which looked amazingly like a cloud-lined golden gate, was simply too much. The, arguably, most powerful person in the Universe scooted out of the room on his hands and knees. He made his way down the hallway a bit and sat with his back up against the wall, breathing carefully in and out, trying to keep control of himself. He glanced back toward his room as the voices from it escalated even further. He wasn't sure how much more time would pass before critical mass was reached, but he truly did not want to be around when it did. At that point, a new pair of feet came up beside him. Without looking up he knew just who it was. "What's going on, daddy?" Mayuka asked as she crouched down to look her father in the eyes. Tenchi stared at her for a moment, then knocked his head back against the wall with a sigh. "Ayeka and Ryoko are at it again." he explained. "I think they're going to destroy my room." "Again?" Mayuka added. Tenchi nodded, "Again." "Why do they always fight like that?" she asked, then her expression turned to worry, "It's not because of me, is it?" Tenchi whipped his head around to glare at her. "Absolutely not, Mayuka... don't ever think that." He looked back to the room, which was glowing lightly as tensions inside increased. "If it were," he whispered, "I would never forgive them." "What, daddy?" "Nothing." He smiled at her and stood up. "Come one, let's not be around when this goes, okay?" "Okay!" She giggled, "Won't Washu be surprised when she has to replicate your room, again!" "Somehow, I doubt that... though I'm sure it won't change the fact that Ayeka and Ryoko will both hear about it for the next month." As they passed the scientist-in-question's lair, a loud explosion sounded from upstairs. Mayuka hit the deck, and Tenchi threw himself over her, ready to protect them both if necessary. After a few minutes, and no collapsing of the ceiling that usually accompanies such an assult on the house's superstructure, they glanced upward cuiously. Then, the door to Washu's lab opened and what seemed to be a ball of red hair with green eyes poked out looking up as well. Then, the orbs turned downward and grinned at the two huddled on the floor while flashing the victory sign. "Do you think you become the greatest mind in the Universe by not learning from what few mistakes you may, on occasion, make? I specially treated your room... it could contain a small super-nova! Thank me later." With that, she vanished back into her domain. Tenchi and Mayuka blinked at the red door for a few moments, then stood up again. Daughter looked at father and asked, "What was that all about?" He furrowed his brow, "I'm not sure, but I think it explains why I couldn't nail up my picture yesterday." Mayuka suddenly lit up, "Hey, what happens when all that force is just squeezed back into its source?" She giggled at the small rhyme. The answer came limping down the stairs in the form of two animated hunks of charcoal. One, presumably Ayeka, stopped in front of Tenchi and appologized for his manga collection. Tenchi instantly ran up the steps to see what else Washu failed to 'protect'. Mayuka tried to make out which girl was which and failed. "Maybe you two should stop fighting?" she suggested cheerfully. The pair of overdone hens grumbled inaudible responses and shuffled off toward the bath. -------------------------------------------- Four Light Years Away ------------------------------------------- "Do you have any idea where you are going?" Kiyone asked Mihoshi, who was intently staring at a 4-D star chart. With a few button presses she superimposed it with a sub-space scan. A few calculations appeared, and Mihoshi turned to Kiyone. And began to cry. "I have no clue!" Kiyone rolled her eyes and quickly set the ship on its appropriate course. She should have never let Mihoshi talk her into piloting... when the course was laid she was fine, but shooting on the fly? Forget it. A beeping began on a consol to the left of Mihoshi. She stared at it for a moment, then tapped Kiyone on the shoulder. "Um, Kiyone, I don't think this is a good thing." Kiyone leaned over and looked at what had drawn the blonde's attention. Her eyes widened and she quickly knocked a week's worth of junk off of the forward control board. She deftly worked a combination of buttons on the consol, and a red light flashed through the cockpit. "I was right, wasn't I?" Mihoshi asked, her voice cracking and her eyes tearing up once more. If Kiyone hadn't been turning suddenly religeous and praying to any number of deities, she probably would have caused Mihoshi bodily harm. As it was, she was scared she would never get the chance, and the bimbo would follow her all the way to wherever they were destined to go after death. A light filled the forward view. Outside the ship a shockwave large enough to wipe out entire solar systems was shooting toward their ship at faster than the speed of light. It quickly reached them and slammed into the small vessel. Fortunately, the wave had dissipated to an acceptable power by the time it reached them or it would have simply ceased their existance. As it was, everything in the ship on tightly secured with thrown forcefully against the ceiling. When the rumbling subsided, Mihoshi undid her belt and announced that she needed to change her uniform. As the door shut, Kiyone calculated the source of the blast. She pinpointed it in Sector J-562-C. Nothing seemed to lie in that region, which was fortunate because nothing could survive that. However, she also discovered their original path led straight through that sector of space. Kiyone stared at the door Mihoshi had exited for quite some time. ----------------------------------------- Sector J-562-C ---------------------------------------- "Did we make it?" "Yes, sir. These are the coordinates." "Not exactly." "Within safe limits, sir." "Very well... take us to heading 83.4, bearing 28... take us to... Earth." "Yes, sir." A pause. "Sir?" "What is it, Ky?" "If I may ask, what are we doing in this backwater dimension in the middle of nowhere with the most powerful battle cruiser ever developed?" "First of all, Ky, the Tqu is powerful, but not the most powerful of all. Second of all, no you may not ask." "Yes, sir. Course laid in..." ---------------------------------------- Earth, Ignorant as usual --------------------------------------- Washu walked out of her lab and licked her finger. She stuck it into the air and narrowed her eyes. Tenchi, passing by and grieving the loss of his signed Ranma collection stopped and asked, "What's wrong, Washu-chan?" She stared at her finger a moment longer, then looked at Tenchi. "The wind is changing, Tenchi... looks like bad weather." With that she walked off toward the kitchen. Tenchi just blinked, and the Earth fell neatly into the square peg of destiny once more. END PART ONE (AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!!) Okay, so I lied... well, not really... I planned on this being one part, but I'll have to make it two. Web TV is actively protesting the length of this part as it is... *mumble* stupid terminal *mumble*. SO, tomorrow, I *will* continue, and hopefully complete this. Send an E-mail if you don't think I should bother... and, out of kindness ^_^ send one if you think I should. Either way, I'd appreciate the feedback... haven't had much of that in a little while. Thanks for reading, PMasters (10-3-98)