What Might Have Been Chapter Five: In For a Penny... Disclaimer: This fanfiction is not written with the consent of Pioneer/AIC. I do NOT own the characters, with the exception of Kei. Please do not sue me. Comments, criticism, flames, and death threats may be sent to Platinum_Dragon@usinternet.com. Yes, I really would like C&C on this, but please, send it directly to me, and not the FFML. !!WARNING!! This is NOT mainline Tenchi. It is an alternate universe, and the characters at times will be VERY ooc, compared to those in the series. Please remember that the versions in this story line had very different experiences. ***** Kei yawned as she woke up, and then smirked slightly as she looked at the softly snoring, and shirtless Tenchi. He hadn't even bothered to get under the covers the previous night before nodding off. Then she blinked, as she realized again that she could see. The thought alone was enough to stretch her smirk into a full smile. She knew, deep down, that a lot of it was just the newness, the excitement of her greatest wish actually being granted, but she hoped that it would never go away. Somehow, even meeting Ayeka and Sasami and the others, and the prospect of going into space paled next to the ability to see, after living for so long in a darkness. Abruptly, she sighed, smiling again, and sat up to study Tenchi's sleeping face. She'd known him now for nearly three years, since she'd transferred to his school - it was farther from her foster home, but much better set up for children with disabilities than her old one had been. Tenchi had been assigned to her to help her for the first few weeks, while she got used to the layout of the school. She hadn't been too happy to get saddled with what she considered a hand-holder at the time - at least until they'd reached their first class. She remembered that day vividly. "What, you're not going to put my hand on the doorknob, or open it for me?" she'd asked him, when he'd told her that they were to their class. "Do you really want me to? I wasn't sure if you knew where it was, and I didn't want to embarrass you if you did," he'd told her. She'd been taken aback. "I... wouldn't mind if you'd show me the first few times. Sometimes they aren't where I expect," she'd said after a moment. He honestly hadn't cared that she was blind. Too many other people found out that she was blind, and then started treating her like she was porcelain, afraid to hurt her by saying or doing the wrong thing. That, or, worse, they'd start to act as though she was both blind and deaf. But not Tenchi... He'd never once treated her as less than what she was, or as though she couldn't do anything on her own, even when they first met, before they'd ever gotten to know each other. When the assignment had ended, they'd just wound up sticking together. She'd found out that he enjoyed drawing when he'd followed her into her art class; Tenchi ended up being the first person outside of her foster family that she'd ever sketched. She had the abrupt thought that she should go through all those older drawings, and see if she really had done as well as they had always said she did. Kei felt something land on the end of the bed near her feet, and glanced down to see Ryo-Ohki as she jumped up on the bed. The furry little creature walked up her legs, and then plopped down in her lap, miyaing softly. Kei grinned, and then lightly scratched her under the chin. The cabbit began to purr, and she laughed softly in delight. "You are a cute little one, aren't you? Well, that's alright, I like cute little things, especially furry ones," she told her, grinning again as Ryo-Ohki miyaed. Suddenly she got an idea, and smirked mischievously at the sleeping form of Tenchi. "So, I'm a lumpy mattress, am I?" Lightly, she lifted the cabbit, and set her back down so that she was nose to nose with Tenchi; Ryo-Ohki sat down. Then she leaned down, softly whispered, "Ten-chi..." and lightly blew in his ear. His eyes slid open, and he stared at Ryo-Ohki for a moment. Then the cabbit abruptly licked his nose. "Gah!!" he exclaimed, as he recoiled away from the little furball - and right into her. She started laughing as he gave her a totally shocked and horrified look and went absolutely crimson to his hairline. "K, K, Kei!" he sputtered, as he scrambled out of the bed, which only made her laugh all the more. After a few moments had gone by, the red slowly started to drain from his face, to be replaced by irritation. "Hey! That's not fair sneaking up on a guy like that." "Who needed to sneak," she countered. "You were snoring loud enough to wake the dead. It's a wonder that the whole house isn't already awake," she said, as she got out of the bed. To her surprise, he abruptly went even redder in the face than before, his eyes going wide before he quickly spun away from her. Kei blinked, and padded across the carpet on bare feet to him. "What's the matter, did I embarrass you so much that you can't even look at me?" she teased, as she hugged him tightly from behind. Tenchi went absolutely rigid. "Ah... I'm going to have to ask Mother to explain this one Kei, but could you... please... put some clothes on?" he asked her, in a quiet, strained voice. Kei blinked, and stepped back from him. "What are you...?" she began, and then abruptly blinked again, blushing herself as she realized what he was so embarrassed about. In a whirlwind of speed that had nothing to do with the slight chill she was feeling now that she was out from under the covers, she practically dove into fresh clothing. "I'm so sorry Tenchi, that's not exactly something you tend to think about first thing when you're blind, I never shared a room with a boy, only other girls that came through the house," she exclaimed, as she straightened her shirt. He slowly turned, and the tension drained from his face as he saw that she was indeed fully dressed now. "No... no worries Kei," he said slowly, before starting to pick up a little speed. "I... I think that I can survive a glimpse of-" She gave him a very dangerous look, and he grinned dryly "-perfection in beauty." Kei smirked at him dryly - and forced herself to ignore the blush that she knew was still on her face. She turned away under the pretense of picking up Ryo-Ohki before it could intensify. "Come on Ryo-Ohki. I think we should give Tenchi some time to think up some better lines, don't you?" she said lightly - much lighter than she felt, anyway - before turning toward the doorway. "Kei... Hang on a moment," he said, catching her shoulder before she could leave the room. She looked at him, as he crossed his room to the desk, and opened up the top drawer. Setting Ryo-Ohki on her shoulder, she joined him. "What?" she asked, smiling slightly. Tenchi removed a long, thin, rectangular box from the drawer. It was covered in soft-looking black felt, and a light blue ribbon was tied in a bow around it. A small, white card that was covered in strange symbols had been tucked under the ribbon. She blinked in surprise, and then gave him a curious look. Tenchi frowned thoughtfully for a moment, and then took a deep breath. "I... got this to give to you when they took off the bandages, but I wasn't planning on getting knocked out myself. My mother and father didn't know about it, so I didn't have it with me when you finally did let Washu take them off," he said, before handing the box to her. She blinked again, slowly turning it over in her hands before she carefully undid the bow, and looked at the card. After a moment, it dawned on her what those symbols must be. "That's writing, isn't it?" she asked. "But since it's not braille, I can't read it... I never thought about that, that I'd have to learn how to read all over again," she said quietly. Tenchi smiled at her comfortingly. "Well... If Aunt Washu really is the super-genius that she says she is, she must have something to help you. We'll ask first thing, alright?" he told her, and Kei nodded slowly. He smiled. "Do you want me to read this to you in the mean time, or do you want to wait to see if she can help?" he asked. She smiled at him. "You can read it to me. After all, it must not be anything you wouldn't have said to me, right?" she said, laughing. Tenchi grinned slightly, and she handed him the card, before sitting down on the bed. Tenchi grinned again, and then looked to the card. "Kei... It's hard to describe how happy for you I am - how happy all of us are. A lot of bad things have happened to you, and it's past time that something went your way... You've earned it, and you never should have had to," he said. Then he lowered the card, and looked at her. She stared at him for a moment, and then abruptly remembered that she still held the box in her hands. She opened it, and then gasped softly. Inside rested a thin, silver chain, which supported a small, golden hawk. It was so finely detailed that she could see the individual feathers of the wings and the body, the sharp curve of the hooked beak. It had been crafted to appear to be flying at whoever was looking at it. Two gems, sapphires with a slightly greenish hue to them had been set as it's eyes, and held in it's talons was a sparkling ruby. In disbelief, she lightly lifted it out of the box; it glittered brightly in the glare streaming in from the skylight. She looked from it to Tenchi and then back, her mouth working but no sound coming out. "It... It's beautiful, Tenchi," she finally managed to get out, suddenly very glad she'd been sitting down when she had opened it; she wasn't sure if her knees would have stayed locked. Slowly, she rose, and then walked over to him. "Will you help me put it on, please?" she asked him quietly, smiling. He nodded, and she handed the necklace to him, turning around. Tenchi gently placed it around her neck, and then fastened it together. "There," he said, as she turned back to him, smiling again. "Thank you, Tenchi," she said, before hugging him tightly. "I love it... I love you," she told him, looking up into his face. There, she had done it finally; she'd told him she loved him. He smiled at her. "I know, Kei... I love you too, and I... I... I have absolutely no idea what to say next," he said. They looked at each other for a moment, and then they laughed quietly, cutting away the sudden awkward tension. "Just say it again, and again, and again," she told him, grinning. She felt almost giddy, but she thought she would have died of embarrassment if he hadn't felt the same. Tenchi laughed, and hugged her, smiling. "I love you. I love you, I love you," he told her. "I love you, and there is nothing that can change that. Nothing," he said. For a moment, she looked at him, and then he leaned down, and softly kissed her. She shivered, as his lips touched hers. She'd been wrong, she decided, when she thought that his greatest gift to her was her sight; that had only been part of it. It was him; his love - it wasn't the way her foster parents loved her. They loved all the children that came through their home, but that was the way that they were... Tenchi loved her because she was herself, and not for any other reason. Finally, they parted, just in time for the door to slide open and admit Achika. She took one look at them, and then grinned dryly. "Err, do the two of you want me to come back in half an hour or so?" "Are you sure that you understand how to hook this up to Kain's lock?" asked Washu, as Kiyone carefully placed the black box into her duffel bag. She grinned slightly. "Washu, I could install it if I were blind, missing a hand, and three days dead by now. The only trick will be getting down to the Subspace Room in the first place. It's maximum security, and Mihoshi and I aren't cleared for it," she said. Actually, though, she thought that she had an idea of how to get down to it. It wouldn't be easy, that was for sure. "No, it won't," said Washu, and Kiyone winced, realizing that she'd spoken that last thought aloud. "By the way, I took the liberty of uploading some new communications software to Yagami's computer. It will allow you to contact me through the ultra-space net - it's untraceable, and uninterceptable," she said. Kiyone winced. "Alright. I'll assume that it won't mess up any systems," she said. Washu grinned. "Nope. Just be sure to double check your water temps," she told her, before laughing. "All joking aside, you may have some internal communications hiccups, but ship to ship and ship to shore will be just fine. Oh, and one other thing. I know it's standard Galaxy Police procedure to lock-out the main computers of ships when internal alarms are set off - which you may well do. Just in case, I installed a primary override that will activate when you speak the proper password." "What's the password?" prompted Kiyone. Washu smirked. "It's, 'Washu is the greatest genius in the entire universe!' of course," she said. Kiyone sighed, but nodded. She had the feeling that she should have expected that. "Alright," she said. "What about the ones that are staying here? How are you going to proceed?" "My duplicate left plans for the time machine that she used to send them back in time. It's their job to go back and stop the miasma," answered Washu. Kiyone nodded, even if she was doubtful. After a moment, footsteps sounded coming down the stairs, and they turned to see Kei, Tenchi and Achika coming down the stairs. Ryo- Ohki was riding on Kei's shoulder; Kiyone grinned in spite of herself. A slight sparkle caught her eye, and Kiyone looked a bit closer at Kei to see a new necklace that dangled to just above the neckline of her shirt. It looked like a small hawk, accented with a pair of small sapphires and a ruby. Kiyone's smile widened; no wonder she seemed to be in such a good mood. "Good morning, Kiyone," said Achika, smiling. "Good morning. Washu and I were just going over some last minute details before Mihoshi and I left; she's out running pre-flight tests so we can get moving," she said; Achika nodded. Kei grinned at her. "It must be great to have your own spaceship. You get to go anywhere in space you want," she said. Kiyone winced. "Well, maybe not so free as that, but yeah, it has it's perks. But what am I telling you that for, you know as well as I do, don't you?" she said, and was surprised when Kei gave her a confused look. "Huh?" she asked. "Don't you know what Ryo-Ohki is?" asked Kiyone, grinning. Tenchi and Kei looked at each other in confusion; for herself, Ryo-Ohki was looking rather pleased with herself. Washu smiled slightly. "Actually Kiyone, I haven't gotten around to telling her that yet. I was planning to explain it once I got done with you," she said, and Kiyone nodded. "Oh." "Uh, if you two don't mind... What are you talking about? What about Ryo- Ohki? Is there something wrong with her?" asked Kei, a note of concern creeping into her voice. Washu laughed, and grinned at Kiyone; she sighed. "Ah, Kei... Ryo-Ohki is an organic space-ship," said Kiyone, and then stifled a grin as Kei's eyes went wide as they could go. Washu chuckled. "Come on you two, I've got a few things that I need to show you before you leave," she told them, as she walked over to the closet door. "The first thing? A lot of what you think you knew no longer applies," she said, as she opened it. Kiyone stared. Inside was something impossible, because it looked like it was larger than the house that they were in! Washu laughed as she ushered the dumbstruck Tenchi and Kei in, and closed the door behind them. Kiyone looked at Achika. "Is she... always... so eccentric?" she asked. Achika laughed, and smiled at her. "Usually. But after awhile, you get used to it," she answered. Kei slowly walked into... she wasn't sure what it was. There was a breeze; far above them a dome with clouds lazily moving along under it. She was sure that they weren't fake clouds - they were too real looking to be fake. There were trees that were growing around great beams of metal - or did the metal grow around them? It was hard to tell - at some places, it almost looked like the metal BECAME the living tree, and vice versa. A pair of streams burbled along through thin air, with nothing to contain them into the rivers that they were. They ran along until they met, and became a small waterfall that fell into a small pool - Kei stared in surprise as she realized that after falling into the pool, they fed the streams - flowing upwards. That wasn't be possible, was it? "What... What is this place, Aunt?" asked Tenchi, nearly as wide-eyed as she was. Washu laughed. "My lab, of course," she told them, as if she expected that to explain everything. She walked over to a small dais, and brought up her keyboard. "Well, since Kiyone brought it up, and you'll need to know, let's start with Ryo-Ohki, shall we?" For a moment, she typed on the keyboard, and then above them, a huge image of Ryo-Ohki appeared. On Kei's shoulder, the little furball miyaed in curiosity. "From birth, all cabbits are capable of transforming themselves into successively more and more powerful battleships. Ryo-Ohki's line, for instance, is very fast and agile, and as she gets older, she'll get still faster and even more agile - literally, she'll be able to fly circles around most other ships," Washu told them. As she typed on her keyboard, the image above them changed from the cute little critter into a huge, black, white and red crystalline ship. "Can you really turn into that, Ryo-Ohki?" asked Kei, and the cabbit miyaed happily. Washu grinned again. "You'll see for yourself soon enough. Once I get you and the others sent back, you can use Ryo-Ohki to reach your target planet," she said. "Operation is pretty simple - ask, and Ryo-Ohki will do it if she can." Washu paused to take a breath, and Tenchi cleared his throat. "Aunt Washu, before you tell us anything else," he said. Washu looked at him with a faint grin, as though she already knew what he was going to ask. "Yes, Tenchi?" she asked. Tenchi looked at Kei, and smiled slightly. "Well... I gave Kei this necklace this morning-" Washu grinned, and waved her hand. "And she couldn't read the card with it, right? That was the next thing that I was going to get to, actually. I started working on something to help with that almost as soon as I met her. It's just about done, actually - I'm just waiting for the computer to finish loading a last few bits and pieces as we-" She glanced over as a screen appeared, beeping. "Strike that, it's ready now," she said, as she brought up her keyboard again and began to type. A hole appeared in thin air, and a pair of sunglasses floated out, and into Kei's hands. "What are these for? Are they going to teach me?" she asked, with a slight amount of excitement in her voice. "No, actually - they're to protect your eyes from over exposure," said Washu, grinning dryly. Tenchi and Kei both sighed, as she continued. "They'll always be sensitive to bright lights, but you need to wear those when you're outside for a couple of months, until your eyes fully adjust to normal light levels." She typed for a moment more, and this time a chair appeared next to Kei. "Have a seat," she said. Curious, she none the less did so. Washu walked over, and began to attach several electrodes to her forehead. "Now, this may make you feel a little dizzy, and it will probably give you a little bit of a headache - but that's to be expected. After all, you'll be learning well over ten thousand languages in roughly ten minutes," she said. Kei and Tenchi both stared at her in surprise. "Ten thousand??" exclaimed Tenchi. "How?" Washu grinned. "Well, Kei presents something of an interesting opportunity. Normally as we grow, we record everything that we see, even if later in life we can't remember it all, and that takes up an incredible amount of space in our minds. But Kei, having been blind all of her life, has all that space free. This machine will program that blank space with those languages," she said. "It's all ready. Remember, this might sting a little." "I'm ready, Dr. Washu," Kei told her. Washu nodded, and activated the machine. Ayeka had just sat down at the table when a groaning Kei was helped out of the broom closet by Tenchi, both of whom were followed by Washu. Kei stumbled over to the table, and plopped down. "When she said a bit of a headache," she moaned, "I was thinking one of the younger foster children throwing a tantrum, not the William Tell Overture complete with cannons in my head. I could use an aspirin the size of this table." Ayeka looked at Tenchi, confused and more than a little curious. "Washu just taught her how to read post haste - she's gotten a bit of a headache from it," he explained, and Washu laughed - Kei winced slightly at the high- pitched noise. For that matter, so did Tenchi and Ayeka. "You make it sound so simple Tenchi. More than just how to read. Go ahead and give her a test Ayeka - she knows Juraian as well as you now, along with every other language," she said. Ayeka's eyebrows rose, but she turned to Kei. "Would you mind, Kei?" she asked. The red-headed girl nodded, and Ayeka pursed her lips a moment, thinking. Then she noticed the necklace she wore, and smiled slightly. Evenly, she said, "Nosane iro gavane domorakoshi, Kei." That necklace is beautiful, Kei. She smiled, lightly touching it. "Deyenine; dyu ninte concion ca'lyet ye Tenchi," she replied, without missing a beat. My thanks; a gift this morning from Tenchi. Ayeka smiled. "Quite remarkable; I can think of one or two nobles that wouldn't have a strong enough grasp of High Juraian to answer that so well," she said. Kei grinned, although one hand still rubbed her temple. "I hope you'll forgive me for not being quite so enthusiastic, but it's something of a pain at the moment," she told her. Ayeka grinned, shaking her head. "That should go away before too long Kei," said Washu, smiling as the kitchen door opened and Sasami came through with a tray of steaming food. "And eating something should help," she finished with a laugh. "Anyway, I need to finish up a few last things before sending you back," she told them, before turning, and disappearing back into the closet. Meanwhile, Sasami set down the tray, and smiled. "Good morning everybody. Wow, that's a really pretty necklace Kei!" she exclaimed, laughing. Kei smiled briefly at Tenchi, as she helped herself to some of the breakfast. "Thank you Sasami. Tenchi just gave it to me this morning. Do you think that it looks good on me?" she asked conversationally. Sasami nodded, still smiling that ear to ear smile that Ayeka knew so well. "Yeah, it sets off your eyes!" she answered. Ayeka smiled slightly, as she idly studied Tenchi for a moment. He was her cousin, two or three times removed - Yosho was her mother's sister's son. Had he been older she might have considered courting him, if he hadn't been already taken. Kei could have hung a sign reading, 'Property of Kei' around his neck, and it wouldn't have been as blatantly obvious. He didn't seem to realize that she was watching him; even as he ate, he kept a careful eye on Kei. Ayeka had noticed that the night before as well. Until Kei had gone up to bed, Tenchi had never been very far away from her. Granted, considering that she'd only just gained her eyesight, he probably didn't want to be too far away from her just in case something happened... Regardless, it was obvious to Ayeka that the feeling went both ways. And that necklace... Ayeka smiled. She couldn't help but think that hawks were the Juraian symbol of love and light, even though she realized that they had no way of knowing that. Had they both been born and raised on Jurai, their parents would probably have dragged them by the scruffs of their necks to an altar whether they were ready or not, and Ayeka had few doubts that they were ready. She thought that Achika and Nobuyuki knew as much as well - why else would they have put her in the same room as him the night before, unless they were certain things would end that way regardless? Such things were done on Jurai as well, especially in the royal family. Ayeka herself dreaded the day that her parents decided it was time to arrange her own marriage. Mentally Ayeka chastised herself, shaking her head slightly. It was hardly her business, and in any case it didn't really matter to her - after all, she considered them both friends, and she wouldn't do anything to harm that friendship. And this was not Jurai - Kei and Tenchi had genuine feelings for one another. If she were placed into a room with a man, it would mean that her parents had decided that was who she was to marry, her feelings and ideals beside the point. And though she knew love could grow out of such marriages - her mother and father had also been placed together so, and their parents both before them - she knew she much rather would have her own choice in the matter. "Kei, may I ask kind of a personal question?" asked Sasami. Ayeka glanced at her, only half paying attention. "Go ahead Sasami," answered Kei, smiling. Sasami smiled back. "What... What is it like, growing up in a foster home?" she asked. Ayeka's gaze snapped back to her younger sister in shock. "Sasami!" she exclaimed, but before she could chastise her, Kei shook her head and waved her hand dismissively. "No, it's alright Ayeka. You'd be surprised how often I get asked, and I really don't mind. It's how I grew up, and I'm not ashamed of it," she said, smiling, before looking at Sasami. "Well, it's kind of hard to explain it. I suppose that the best way to describe it is that it's kinda lonely. Sure, I had plenty of friends; my foster parents have big hearts. I got lucky too, because a lot of foster parents are more interested in the extra income that they get from the government then they are in the kids they take care of. A lot of kids passed through... Some were your age, some were mine, and some were in between. Some only stayed for a couple of days, and some - like me - were there for years before they were adopted. There were boys and girls - in a way, it was like having a lot of brothers and sisters. But they always did eventually move on. That was the lonely part, always saying good bye to the kids that I'd lived with for a time." She paused, and smiled again, although a little more sadly now. "My parents died when I was just a baby - all that I really remember of them is part of a lullaby that my mother would hum when she put me down for a nap. I was put into the foster system, and I got lucky - I stayed with the same foster parents all my life. I suppose that by this time, they really are my parents, or at least as close to them as I'll ever have. But I've never had any real family..." Kei looked at Tenchi, and smiled slightly. "Not until now, anyway." Sasami looked at her in sadness and confusion. "But why didn't anybody adopt you?" she asked, and Kei smiled again, a little sadly. "It takes a lot of love to adopt somebody, and it takes a lot more to adopt someone with a disability. A lot of people, no matter how much they care, can't deal with things like being blind. It's different when their own child is born that way, but when you're adopting, it's easier to accept a child that doesn't have any disabilities. Sometimes though, you can find someone with enough love in their hearts to accept a disability," she said, glancing at Tenchi again. He smiled at her, and Ayeka smiled herself, as the hawk on the necklace sparkled brightly. "Keep safe, you two. I hope I'll see you again," said Achika, smiling. She, Kiyone, and Mihoshi were at the bottom of Yagami's loading ramp. For a moment, Kiyone frowned, and then turned to her partner. "Why don't you go ahead and cycle up the engines Mihoshi. I'll be up in a moment," she told her. Mihoshi nodded, and waved to Achika before disappearing up the ramp. Kiyone looked at her for a moment, before sighing. "There's something that you haven't told us, isn't there? I kept thinking about it last night, and then I realized that it was. If this is an alternate timeline, and Ryoko's death caused it, then what is going to happen when you prevent that death?" Achika looked at her for a long moment, and then sighed. "The truth is, we don't know. There's a lot that factors into it, but the main question is difference. Is this timeline different enough that it can sustain itself after what caused it has been repaired.? Me living, instead of dying, Kei instead of Ryoko, Ayeka not going after Tenchi's affections - Ayeka's scar!! If it's not enough..." She trailed off, but Kiyone slowly nodded. "So Mihoshi and I aren't just going to prevent Kain's escaping. We're going to make another difference between our universe and theirs," she said quietly. Achika nodded. "That's why you didn't tell us. You were afraid that if we knew, we might not help." Achika shook her head, and smiled. "No... I knew that you all would help. I just didn't want to burden you with the knowledge of what might be," she said, as the Yagami's engines began to power- up. "Be careful, Kiyone. I didn't get to know you and Mihoshi as well as Ryoko and Ayeka. I'd like to get the chance now." After a moment, Kiyone nodded and smiled at her. "Good luck. We'll see each other again." "Alright. Do you all understand what's going to happen, and where I'll be?" asked Washu. Tenchi frowned slightly, from where his seat spun around his Aunt. There were six seats in all; Kei was strapped into the one to his right; his parents, Ayeka, and Sasami were in the others. They'd been spinning now for nearly an hour, while Washu went on and on about their mission, and the only thing that he still didn't understand was... "I still don't get how this stick is supposed to be any help," he said, looking down at the short, carved rod. The only strange things about it was that it felt... old, and slightly warm to his touch. Aside from that, it looked just like a piece of wood. His grandfather had pushed it into his hands just before he'd been strapped in. "Ayeka can explain it's activation Tenchi; after that, it's use will be fairly obvious," she laughed. Tenchi sighed. "I had a feeling that you would say something like that," he said. "But alright." "Yadda yadda... Ok everybody, if there are no more questions, let's accelerate!" she said. Tenchi swallowed. "Accelerate? As in faster??" he asked. Washu only cackled as she typed on her keyboard. The chairs began to whirl faster and faster, until the only thing that he could see was one long, never-ending blur. There were several shouts that he couldn't quite make out; and then, just before a bright flash of light, he heard Kei say, "This is even better than the roller coaster!"