[Disclaimer] - Tenchi Muyo! was created by Masaki Kajishima and is the property of A.I.C. and Pioneer. I do not claim any rights or ownership to Tenchi Muyo! or its characters. They are not used here for any form of profit whatsoever. [Foreward] - Tenchi Muyo is by far my favorite animated series and is definitely one of my favorite television shows in general. Unlike most (at least I believe most) fans of the show, my favorite continuity has always been Tenchi Universe or Tenchi TV as it is also known. The television series was longer than the OAV and allowed the characters to take part in more unique situations. Tenchi Universe also spawned two of the three feature films - Tenchi Muyo in Love and Tenchi Forever, which definitely stands for something. As a result, this fanfic is based on the Tenchi Universe series. This story takes place very shortly after the final episode - "No Need for a Conclusion". It pokes some fun at the notorious discrepancies in the history of Tenchi Muyo as well as the obsession that certain people can have towards this, or any show for that matter. If you can get through the lengthy explanation near the beginning you should be fine for the rest of the story (its not that bad, but you have to understand what's being said). With that, lets get on to the fanfic. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Tada!" exclaimed Washu. "Behold! My new machine!" Washu's always-responsive puppets immediately appeared on her shoulders. "You're the greatest Washu!" cried the first. "You're a genius Washu!" cried the second. Tenchi and the girls had only recently settled back down on Earth after their long journey to Jurai and already it seemed that Washu was planning to create some more trouble. It was late at night and everyone was ready to go to bed when Washu had suddenly burst from her research lab and asked everyone to see her new invention. "Washu, isn't this that same machine that transported us through time and space a few months ago?" "That's right! Since we came back to Earth, I dug up the old designs and have been making some new improvements. This is the final product". "Haven't you learned from our last experiences with that thing? It's just a load of trouble," insisted Kiyone. "I've made more safety precautions this time" answered the scientific genius. "This machine will be used solely by me - the greatest scientific genius in the universe - to be used in the never ending quest for knowledge!" "I'm going to bed, its getting late" said Tenchi, trying to sound uninterested. In actuality he was quite interested, though more because he feared what would happen if one of the girls got their hands on the machine. He knew all too well what havoc it had caused last time. The rest of the girls followed him out of the lab. Kiyone and Mihoshi had been invited to stay at the Masaki house for the night. The two had suffered a number of sleepless nights in their rented apartment since their return to Earth and both of them were looking forward to some nice rest. Mihoshi was fast asleep, while Kiyone eyed over a Galaxy Police report she had received earlier in the day. "Ugh" she thought to herself. "I'm afraid our troubles are not quite over yet". Ryoko snuck down quietly into the research lab. This time she intended no interference with her plans. After entering the door she silently floated towards the control panel. A light turned on temporarily blinding her. Expecting to see Ayeka, she turned her head wildly, squinting at the light. "Aha!" exclaimed Washu. "I knew one of you would come down here and mess with my machine again! Although I had hoped you learned something from last time Ryoko." "Damn it Washu! You created this thing. Its too tempting!" cried Ryoko. Suddenly, a strange explosion was heard and the machine began to go wild. Washu quickly ran over. "Wha-wha-what happened?? What did you touch Ryoko??" "What? I didn't touch anything! You've been watching me the whole time!" Tenchi and the rest of the girls rushed into the lab rubbing their eyes. "What happened? What was that noise?" asked Tenchi impatiently. Washu answered quickly. "Somehow a dimensional portal has been created in the lab. I can't seem to close it." "Oh no! Who made it this time?" Tenchi cried. "That's just it." answered Washu, typing frantically. This portal wasn't created by my machine! It's coming from a different dimension!" A blinding light filled the room and soon consumed Washu and the others. Azaka and Kamedaki ran in just in time to see the light disappear along with the lab's occupants. "Princess!" yelled Azaka. It was already too late. Tenchi and the others found themselves on soft ground outdoors. However, instead of being night, the sun shone brightly. Tenchi stood up rubbing his head while the others remained in a daze. He surveyed his surroundings. Something was terribly wrong. Not only was he not in his house anymore, but also he didn't seem to be on Earth, or any other planet he had ever seen. Nothing looked real. The trees had a rough appearance to them, as well as the grass he stood on. Everything moved fluidly and nothing ever seemed to stand still. There were many more colors around him than he was acquainted to seeing. However, despite the colors, everything appeared darker somehow, though he couldn't explain it at the time. Looking around he realized he was in a large city. Finally he observed some people walking by. Their skin looked rough and they had very thick arms and legs. Tenchi was sure they were human yet they hardly looked like it. "Where are we Washu?" Tenchi asked, trembling. "This looks like New York City, but it's not how I've seen it in pictures". He began to feel lucky that he had taken his sword with him into the lab, though he had no reason to. "Well," said Washu, who was already busy typing on the transparent computer keyboard that had appeared in front of her, "we're definitely not on Earth anymore. We seem to have been transported into a different dimension." "Different dimension?" they all exclaimed simultaneously. "Here we go again," added Kiyone. "Yes but its not like any one that I've ever seen. The physical laws here seem to be different from our own." "Well lets just renounce this dimension and get back home like last time," said Ryoko. "We can't do that," Washu replied, "because none of us created it. This dimension seems to exist naturally" "That's impossible," objected Tenchi. "Where did it come from?" "I don't know. I can't access my machine back home. It must have been damaged in the blast. It seems that for the moment we are stuck here" "Stuck!" exclaimed Sasami who had remained silent for some time. "How am I going to make breakfast tomorrow?" she cried. "I think that's the least of our worries Sasami," answered her sister softly. Suddenly everyone jumped, being startled by something. A man had run up behind them looking very excited. "You'd better come with me," he said. "We can't let anyone see you." "And just who the hell are you?" demanded Ryoko. "I'm a scientist. Please you must trust me. I'll explain everything soon enough" Seeing no other logical option, the group reluctantly followed the scientist to his lab. All the way they could hear him whispering with excitement: "My theories are true! My theories are true! Living breathing evidence! My theories are true!" "I think it's about time you started explaining what the hell is going on?" Ryoko demanded as they all walked into the lab. "How much have you been able to figure out?" the scientist asked, in order to find somewhere to start his explanation. "We believe that we have been transported here from another dimension," answered Ayeka softly. She was not reluctant to share information, since it seemed that this scientist was their only hope of returning home. "Good, good," said the scientist. "Okay. How can I begin this? I'll try to keep it brief. As I said before, I am a scientist here. For some time I've had a theory that I call mental manifestation. This theory states that if enough people think about a single idea for an extended period of time, that idea will become a reality in an alternate dimension. You see there is a natural order to things in the cosmos. I believe that there is one 'super dimension' in the universe. From that super dimension, smaller dimensions are created from the thoughts of its inhabitants, and from those smaller dimensions, even smaller dimensions are created. And so it continues forever. "There is a television show in our world called Tenchi Universe. It stars all of you and is about your adventures on Earth and in space. My guess is that the combined thoughts of Tenchi Universe fans were powerful enough to create you and your dimension. Therefore, your world is one of the smaller worlds that have been created by people here. Somehow you were transported from your dimension to this one." There was a very long pause. Finally Ryoko spoke: "That is quite possibly the stupidest thing I have ever heard". "I can prove it!" the scientist cried. "I know everything about you and your experiences. Ryoko, you were a wanted space pirate pursued by the Galaxy Police before you crash-landed on Earth. Ayeka is a princess of Jurai who landed on Earth after detecting a distress signal. Sasami is Ayeka's sister and arrived on Earth looking for her. Washu is the greatest scientific genius in the universe.well.in your universe anyway." Washu frowned. The scientist continued, "Mihoshi and Kiyone are first class detectives at the Galaxy Police but have suffered a lack of success until only recently. And Tenchi," he said turning to his subject, "you were just a normal boy living with your father and grandfather in Japan until these women found you! You see I know!" "Bah! I don't believe it!" declared Ryoko. "It can't be true!" "Oh come on," answered the scientist. "Haven't you ever wondered why all of you speak English in the middle of rural Japan? It's because you're all from the English dubbed version. Ryoko is voiced by Petrea Burchard, Tenchi by Matthew Miller, Kiyone and Sasami by the always wonderful Sherry Lynn." "Wait a minute" interrupted Kiyone. "Me and Sasami have the same voice?" "Well." Before he could answer, Tenchi spoke. "So we're just all part of some big TV show? Every minute of our lives is being watched by thousands of people?" "Your dimension was created after the television show - as a product of the fans. However, your lives continue where the show ends. That's why I wouldn't be able to tell you what happens between episodes or when you're all asleep. You are all as real as me or anyone else in this dimension." "If we're as real as you, then why don't we look like people here?" Tenchi asked beginning to sound depressed. "Because that's not how the fans imagined you. They didn't think of you as normal human beings, they imagined you animated, with the voices of your actors. Your appearances, your voices, your personalities, your world is a complete copy of the television show" "So." Tenchi said walking away slowly, "we're just the product of the thoughts of a thousand people?" "I understand it's a difficult thing to know. I'm sorry I was less sympathetic; I guess I was just excited. But we all have to come from somewhere right? What does it matter where we come from?" "It's just a little depressing I guess," answered Tenchi. Tenchi wasn't the only one. Nearly everyone looked towards the floor silently. Washu on the other hand appeared very excited. "This theory of yours," she said, "how did it come about?" "Well," answered the scientist, "I used to work for the US government. We were experimenting with faster than light travel by creating wormholes" "Ah yes," answered Washu, seeming to understand perfectly. Looking at her companions who were staring at her blankly, she began to explain. "A wormhole occurs when normal time-space is bent. It allows any person to go from one place to another instantaneously. When we rescued Ayeka, Ryoko and Sasami from the Jurain military, I used a wormhole for the portal to transport us from Yugami to the Jurain battleship," Everyone gave a sound indicating that they understood, although no one did. "Anyway, we developed a machine that could bend space into a wormhole. During the first experiment, we discovered that the machine worked - too well. The space around the machine not only bent, but actually ruptured, and the machine was destroyed. When we searched through the rubble, I found this," Out of a drawer, the scientist removed and held up a small sword. The scientist continued "When I found this, I immediately recognized it from a series of books called 'The Lord of the Rings', which I had read as a child. Those books were extremely popular and have attracted a huge number of fans. It was then that I began to theorize the existence of other dimensions. I figured that when the time-space around the machine tore, it opened a hole, or portal, into another dimension. When I left the government some time later, I began to secretly rebuild the machine. My machine was built differently, so that it could locate and transport objects, and people, from other dimensions." "So you're the one that brought us her!" exclaimed Ryoko with an accusing tone. "No! No!" cried the scientist. "It's true that a have a machine built but it's far from being complete. You see, I misplaced the designs for the machine a few months ago, and my progress has slowed down dramatically. I can only transport random inanimate objects. Here". The scientist proceeded to show Tenchi and the girls his collection of objects from other dimensions. "Here is a blaster from 'Star Wars', a poke-ball from 'Pokemon' even a mushroom from 'Super Mario Brothers'. I've shown these things to the scientific board that I belong to, but they've simply laughed at me. But now I've found living, breathing evidence! Although I still can't figure out how you all got here." There was another period of silence in the lab. "Well, I suppose all we can do is go and try to find out who brought us here," said Tenchi going into a state of deep thought. "No! Absolutely not!" exclaimed the scientist. "No one can be allowed to see you. Not yet. Who knows what they would think. I'll go and see if I can figure something out. Everyone stay here," he said nervously. "There's a TV in the back of the lab. That should keep you occupied. Please no one leave." The scientist looked at Ryoko. "Hey!" she yelled. "What do you think I am deaf? I heard you!" The scientist rushed out and locked the door. The companions sat in the TV room quietly. Mihoshi and Kiyone on a couch, Washu busily typing on her computer, Tenchi in a wooden chair, Ayeka in a love seat, Sasami on the floor, and Ryoko lay across the TV. Mihoshi appeared to be in deep thought. In reality she was staring at cracks in the wall. Kiyone, mistaking her friend to be contemplating the recent events, asked, "What do you think of all this Mihoshi?" Mihoshi thought for a few seconds. "We came through a wormhole? I don't remember any digging," she answered. Kiyone hit herself for thinking that Mihoshi could have possibly been thinking anything else. "Hey look at this" Ryoko said. She had opened a cabinet next to the TV. It was filled with Tenchi Muyo episodes and movies. "Really, Ryoko. Haven't you ever heard of privacy?" demanded Ayeka. "Oh I'm sorry princess." Ryoko remarked sarcastically as she browsed through the videos. "Wow this guy is quite a fan of us. It's pathetic really" "So it really is true?" asked Sasami. "We're all cartoons?" "Don't worry Sasami. We'll be home soon," answered Ayeka. "Hey according to this series, Washu is my mother!" said Ryoko turning to Washu. Washu peered over her transparent computer screen. "Hmm. How embarrassing." Washu responded. "Come to think of it, you two look very much alike," remarked Tenchi. "I certainly wouldn't be surprised". "What? No! Washu is way to crazy to be related to me," answered Ryoko. Ayeka cleared her throat loudly. "What is it?" snapped Ryoko. "I don't think anyone is too crazy to be related to you Ryoko" Ayeka answered. "Alright!" Ryoko yelled. "We're far overdue for a fight!" "Will you two stop it? We're in someone else's house!" cried Tenchi. "Not that it isn't annoying in any dimension" commented Kiyone. Ryoko resumed looking through the cabinet. She pulled out an episode of Tenchi in Tokyo, which showed her on the cover. "Oh! I'm hideous!" Ryoko cried looking at her portrait. Ayeka giggled with delight. "I could have told you that any day," Ayeka said laughing. Ryoko's hands crackled with energy. Just then the scientist returned. "What did you find?" asked Kiyone eagerly. "Nothing, I'm afraid," he answered. "I returned to where I found you but I couldn't find any clues. After that I had no idea where to look." Ryoko, ignoring the subject at hand, held up the Tenchi in Tokyo cassette. "Can you explain this to me? Why do I look so ugly?" The scientist laughed. "Your just badly drawn Ryoko. That series wasn't known for exceptional animation. I see you've all discovered I'm quite a fan of yours". Ryoko's eyes drifted back to the cabinet. "And what's this?" she asked unrolling a poster depicting a scantily clad Ryoko. Now, the scientist laughed much more nervously. He looked around the room desperately for help. Finally Mihoshi broke the tension. "I'm hungry." she whined. "Oh! I - I'm afraid I forgot to buy any food. I'm all out you see." "Great lets go out for pizza!" Mihoshi exclaimed. "I'd like to see New York City," said Tenchi, forgetting for a moment that he was no longer in his own dimension. The others voiced a common agreement. The scientist sighed. "Alright". He opened his closet and removed some winter coats. "You all have to try to cover yourselves up. If anyone sees that you're animated, we are in huge trouble. And don't attract any attention to yourselves! Ayeka, no energy bubbles! Ryoko, no light sword or flying! Kiyone, no Galaxy police equipment. Mihoshi.don't.do anything". Mihoshi's eyes began to glisten with tears. "Tenchi, no light hawk wings" "No light hawk what?" Tenchi asked looking confused. "Oh! My mistake. Wrong series. Well then, just leave your sword here." Tenchi reluctantly placed Sword Tenchi on the table in front of him. The scientist continued speaking. "You should pair off in twos. That way you wont attract too much attention. Kiyone your with Mihoshi" "Of course" Kiyone mumbled. "Ayeka your with Sasami. Washu." "That's alright," answered Washu. "I think I'll stay here. I want to go over some of this data with you" "Well then that leaves me with Tenchi!" said Ryoko. "Where should we go my love?" "That is completely unfair!" cried Ayeka. "Ayeka! We must listen to the scientist. He knows what's best," answered Ryoko, grinning. Ayeka trembled with anger. "Oh, I should have foreseen this," said the scientist rubbing his forehead. "Okay, okay. Ryoko, you have Tenchi for half of the time. Then you meet Ayeka in front of the World Trade Center and switch. Agreed?" Both girls mumbled consent. "Well I suppose you'll be needing some money. Here." The scientist emptied his wallet and divided its contents equally among his guests. Without anymore delay, the group set out. When they had left, the scientist glanced back into his wallet. "Hmm. Living with cartoons is expensive." "May I take your order?" a waiter asked Ryoko and Tenchi. Ryoko had decided that the two of them would dine in a quite fancy, and expensive, Italian restaurant. They sat at their table with their faces completely hidden by menus. "Well now lets see," Ryoko answered. Without much thought, she quickly ordered the most expensive dish on the menu. After taking humble Tenchi's order, the waiter asked for the menus back. "No we'll keep them, thank you," answered Tenchi nervously, and still holding it in front of his face. "Could I at least take your coats sir?" the waiter asked anxiously. "Did we ask you to?" Ryoko snapped. The waiter left with haste. "Ryoko, you know this isn't your money," said Tenchi in a scolding manner. "That is exactly why I ordered such an expensive dish!" answered Ryoko with glee. Tenchi sighed. "I don't know why I let you bring me here, this has to be the most expensive restaurant in the city" said Tenchi. "You know I love Italian food Tenchi," Ryoko said. "What? You've only been on Earth a few months Ryoko!" "I get around." "Mmmm, this is good" Mihoshi laughed. "I love pizza." "You love anything edible, Mihoshi" answered her partner. "Yea I guess your right about that Kiyone!" Mihoshi laughed again. She looked around the room not worrying about hiding her face. "Mihoshi! Will you be careful? Don't let anyone see you." Kiyone said. "Look Kiyone! A karaoke machine!" "Oh no." Tenchi and Ryoko arrived at the appointed meeting place in front of the World Trade Center. Ryoko had been quite reluctant, and Tenchi found that he had to literally drag Ryoko from the Italian restaurant. Ayeka and Sasami quickly saw them. "Well Ryoko, I hope you enjoyed your time with Tenchi, because it's my turn now!" Ayeka boasted. "Oh we enjoyed many things together if you get my meaning." Ryoko smirked as she spoke. "Wha wha what??" Ayeka nearly screamed, attracting the attention of some on lookers. The four pulled their hoods tighter to conceal themselves. "Ryoko! She's lying Ayeka, all we did was eat at an Italian restaurant" "She had better be lying for her own sake. Sasami! Keep an eye on her". Ayeka and Tenchi walked off quickly. "Lets get ice cream!" exclaimed Sasami. Ryoko looked down with a raised eyebrow. Kiyone's rendition of 'Oops I did it Again' was met with less than satisfactory applause. The audience had not found it to their liking that Kiyone's back was to them the entire time. Mihoshi on the other hand, applauded wildly. "That was great Kiyone! Do another one!" Mihoshi said to her partner. "Are you kidding? That was humiliating. At least back home I can look at the audience without hiding my face" Kiyone grumbled back. "Besides, we're out of money. Financial problems seem to be attracted to us." "I think something else is attracted to us," responded Mihoshi, giggling. Kiyone noticed a very fat and bearded man looking them over. Apparently the coats that Mihoshi and Kiyone were wearing had not been enough to put a stop to his fantasies. "Oh God, lets get out of here!" said Kiyone on the brink of tears. "I don't know how you put up with her. It's always 'princess this' and 'Jurai that'. I just can't stand it." Ryoko was speaking between mouthfuls of ice-cream. "How many ice-creams is that so far?" asked Sasami. "Six" answered Ryoko. Suddenly her attention was drawn towards a man sitting at the bar. He wore a large trench coat, working gloves and, oddly, a ski mask. She overheard his conversation with the bartender. "Have you seen anyone today with strange hair color?" asked the man. "Well, what colors would be strange?" the bartender returned. "Green, purple, gray, blue" The bartender laughed heartily. "Well I've seen plenty of people my age with gray hair. As for green, purple and blue, a lot of people dye their hair strange colors in this city. "It would look natural" the man said. "Natural? Well that would be strange wouldn't it? No I haven't." At length the bartender spoke again. "By the way.do you mind me asking why you're wearing that mask and all those clothes? I think it's scaring my costumers away." The man stood up and leaned over the counter very close to the bartender. He spoke slowly, "I have a highly contagious skin disease that is transmitted through the air. It's fatal". The bartender nearly fell back against wall in fear. "Well.well I suppose that's a g-good enough reason." the bartender stammered. At this point, the man in the ski mask rose and left. "This is not good," said Ryoko. "Not good at all". Ayeka and Tenchi sat on the observatory deck of the World Trade Center. The two looked out over the city. Night had fallen and the entire city was lit up. "Princess Ayeka?" asked Tenchi. "Yes Lord Tenchi?" responded Ayeka. "Have you been thinking about the things that scientists said? About us being created out of a television show?" "I've tried not to" "I just can't get it out of my head. So much has happened to all of us. And to think that it's all just the product of some animation company, that we had no say in our lives. It's a horrible thought!" "Tenchi, soon we will be home and everything will be back to normal. Really" "Will it? How can it be? It wasn't destiny that brought us all together. It was.a script!" "Please Lord Tenchi, calm down." "I'm sorry," he said after silence. "I guess I'll just have to learn to live with the knowledge. Besides, it was only a few months right? It's not like it was my whole life" He paused again. "Who am I kidding? Of course it was my whole life". Tenchi sighed and changed the subject. He took out a small map and looked around himself out towards the city. At length he spoke. "That building in the water is the Statue of Liberty. Behind that is Staten Island, home of Earth's largest dump! Over there is the Empire State Building.the city is so beautiful at night, isn't it Ayeka? Ayeka?" Ayeka had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Tenchi laughed silently. "Too boring for you eh?" Suddenly Washu's head emerged from a portal in the floor. "Well" she said. "It looks like my portals do work in this dimension after all! Of course it's no surprise for the greatest scientific genius in.the.dimension" "Washu!" Tenchi exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" "We've got trouble Tenchi," answered Washu. "You two had better come with me" Washu had apparently brought everyone back to the portal via lab. When all had sat down Tenchi spoke. "What's the trouble Washu?" he asked eagerly. "Yes, what is this all about?" said Ayeka, now wide-awake. "I think Ryoko should tell you," answered Washu. "Ryoko?" "Well, a little while ago, Sasami and me saw a strange man in an ice-cream parlor," said Ryoko. "He was clearly looking for us. He wore a ski mask and didn't take it off the whole time. He obviously didn't want to be recognized" "How do you know he was looking for us?" asked Kiyone, looking surprised. "He wanted to know if the bartender had seen anyone with odd colored hair and eyes" Ryoko responded. "Oh, he could've been looking for anyone. There are ways for people to change their hair and eye colors you know," said Tenchi. "Maybe" Ryoko said. "But it's a good chance that it was us. We still don't know who brought us here remember? It wasn't the scientist. My bet is that it was this guy, if not, then at least he knows who did." "By the way," said Ayeka, "where is our scientist friend? It's quite late. He should probably know about all of this." Washu answered, "That's the other thing I wanted to tell you. It seems our scientist may have a lead on our situation. After you all left I heard him exclaim something. He mumbled that someone had stolen the original designs for his machine and was trying to take the credit from him. It sounded like he knew who it was, but he rushed out before I could catch him. He hasn't been back since." "Well we'll have to tell him in the morning. He should be back by then." Tenchi said. They all took various locations in the lab and fell asleep. All but Washu, who continued typing on her transparent keyboard. Morning came, and still there was no sign of the scientist. After some thought, the group decided that a search for him had to be made. They split into the same groups that they had ended with the day before; Mihoshi was with Kiyone, Ryoko was with Sasami and Ayeka was with Tenchi. This was the result of 'rock, paper scissors' between Ayeka and Ryoko, which left Ayeka the victor. The group once again set out, leaving Washu to oversee progress from the lab. No one knew really where to start. The New York City was still new to them in any dimension. Being forced to hide their faces, they were hardly able to talk to anyone. Soon after leaving, they soon realized that they didn't even know the scientist's name. As a result, the groups ended up wandering around the city, looking for any clues that could help them. In a cold dark room sat the scientist. He had been knocked unconscious from a sharp blow to the back of the head. When he finally awoke, he found that he was sitting down in a wooden chair, with his hands tied tightly behind him, and his head still throbbing. When his eyes became acquainted to the light, he turned to his left and saw a second man, another scientist whom he knew quite personally. This second man belonged to the same scientific board as him and immediately he suspected the man of hitting him and tying him up. He turned in his chair to get a better look at his supposed captor, only to find that this man was tied up as well. "William!" cried the scientist. The man next to him looked up. "Yes, what is it John?" asked the other man angrily. "You! This is your fault isn't it? You stole the designs to my machine didn't you?" "Yes I did John! Damn it, and I was doing such a good job too! I worked that machine better than you ever could have!" "Shut up both of you!" shouted a third man. This one had suddenly appeared in front of them and wore a ski mask. He leaned in front of John and grabbed John's neck. "Tell me, now that you're awake. Where are those friends of yours? Where is your lab?" "I don't know what you want with them but I'm not telling you," cried John, hardly able to breathe against the man's tight grip. "You fool. You'll be dead by the end of the day". The man with the ski mask left in a hurry. At the request of Mihoshi, she and Kiyone had taken a rest from walking. The two of them sat in a small diner, and were eating and talking silently, when a fat man, the same fat man they had seen the day before, approached their table. "Hello there ladies," he said smoothly. "Could I buy you two a drink?" "No thank you sir." answered Kiyone with her face down. "Really I insist." persisted the man. "Wow you're very kind" burst Mihoshi. The man sat down with them. "Trust me you don't want to do that," said Kiyone, raising her voice. "You're a feisty one aren't you?" answered the man, laughing. "Well now, let me see your pretty face," the man drew closer to Kiyone. Kiyone's anger grew steadily. Finally, she stood up, drew back her hood, and stared the man right in the face. The man fell back and cried, "Ah! An - an alien!!" Everyone in the diner stood up. Two skinny, red-necked men in hunting gear jumped onto their feet at a table nearby. Apparently these two men believed they could go hunting in the middle of Manhattan. "An alien is it? Ahma ketch me a one! Mama oughta be proud!" said one. "Oh dear" said Kiyone. Immediately she and her partner bolted out of the diner and onto the street. The hunters chased them. Not knowing their way around the city, they soon found themselves cornered in a dead end alley. The hunters slowly drew closer. Suddenly, Ryoko appeared out of thin air in front of the hunters holding her light sword. She still wore her hooded coat. "Eek! A Jedi Knight!" cried the hunter falling on his back. His partner pulled him up and both men ran away. "It looked like you needed some help there," said Ryoko turning to Kiyone with a smirk on her face. "Thanks," Kiyone answered. Sasami ran around the corner. When the four of them were together, Kiyone spoke, "Come on, let's get back to the lab. We're not doing any good finding our scientist like this." Night had fallen, and Ayeka and Tenchi were still on the search. The two sat in a restaurant, at a table next to a window. Tenchi had been talking to Washu on her communicator and now spoke to Ayeka. "Washu says that the scientist isn't home yet. There's no use doing this. We have to get back to the lab". "Very well Lord Tenchi" responded Ayeka. The two got up and were about to leave when a man at a table at the far end of the room jumped up. He turned sharply to them and seemed to yell something. Tenchi and Ayeka both knew that it was the man with the ski mask that Ryoko spoke of. The man lifted up his hand as if to push something away. Tenchi flew threw the glass window and on to the street. He rolled in between moving traffic. "Tenchi!" cried Ayeka before she was pushed aside by the mysterious man. "Haha! Finally I have you!" yelled the man in the ski mask. Tenchi fumbled with his pockets for the sword. "Oh no!" said Tenchi. "It's still at the lab!" Tenchi stood up among swerving cars and ran across the street, pursued by the man. A bus had just picked up passengers in front of him and was starting to move. Tenchi jumped on to the bus a lay down on the top. He could hear muffled screams from inside. The bus accelerated as the man chased it down the street. Tenchi watched helplessly. The man leaped unto the back of the bus and climbed up. He stood tall and looked down at Tenchi, laughing. "You!" cried Tenchi. "You know where the scientist is don't you?" "Ah yes," said the man. "Him and his pathetic brother." "Brother?!" exclaimed Tenchi. "Who are you then? Take off your mask!" "I'm someone you know quite well in fact," answered the man. He removed his ski mask, revealing an animated face with long green hair. It was the face of Kagato. "Wha? But - but your dead!" "Dead! Hardly I am." Kagato drew his large black sword and swiped at Tenchi twice. Tenchi fell on to his back and saw the sword come down right between his legs. The sword punctured the roof of the bus causing more screams below. This time the bus swerved. It drove off the road and onto grass, allowing Tenchi to roll off. Kagato stood watching Tenchi and was about to follow him when suddenly, the bus smashed into a tree. Kagato was thrown clear off the roof of the bus and into ongoing traffic. Tenchi took the opportunity to make his escape. He found Ayeka sobbing with fear amongst a group of screaming citizens in the restaurant. The two hurried back to the lab. Tenchi and Ayeka stumbled into the lab breathless. They were both trembling. "What is it?" asked Kiyone after everyone stood up taking notice. "We found out who our pursuer is" answered Tenchi, breathing heavily. "The man in the ski mask is Kagato." Everyone gasped. "That's impossible! He's dead!" protested Ryoko. "I thought so too," said Tenchi. "But it was him, right in front of me." Kiyone walked away slowly. At length she spoke. "There is something I have to tell you all," she said in a confessing tone. "Earlier this week I received a Galaxy Police report. It came from officials who had been ordered to investigate the occurrences at Jurai after we left. The report said that Kagato's body had been removed from the Jurai palace and brought to a medical facility in order to verify his death. Except, when the Galaxy Police officials arrived to take the report, the body had disappeared". "What??" yelled Ryoko. "Why didn't you tell us this before?" she demanded. "I don't know. I assumed the body would be found very soon. I didn't want to worry you all." "It's okay Kiyone," said Tenchi. "It certainly wouldn't have helped us. We still would never have thought that he could be here in this dimension." Washu walked over. "I have some information that might help us," she said. "I've discovered the name of our scientist friend. His name is John Horbuck. He also has a brother named William" "Yes!" Tenchi exclaimed. "Kagato mentioned a brother. It sounded like he had both of them captive somewhere. Does William have a lab anywhere?" he asked Washu. "Yep" she answered. "Here is the address. It's a safe bet that they're being held there. Kagato doesn't exactly have any home in this world." Tenchi ran over to the table and picked up his sword. "We don't have any time to lose!" he said. All of the girls followed him out of the lab. Kagato walked into the room with the two scientists and holding his shoulder in pain. He had been struck by a fast moving car and had not enjoyed it. John, saw the face of his captor for the first time. When Kagato left the room again John turned to William. "You fool! You brought him here didn't you?" cried John. "Yes, I did. When the machine finally began to work, I thought of who I could possibly bring to this dimension. And then it came to me! You were such a huge fan of that Japanese stuff.what is it called?" asked William. "Anime." grumbled John. "Yes anime. You were such a big fan of anime, I figured it would be perfect to transport an anime character to this dimension." "I see! So you just wanted to rub it in my face didn't you? You just wanted to steal the credit and rub it in my face!" "Exactly," said William grinning. "You idiot! Don't you know who Kagato is? He's a villain. Villains are bad if you didn't realize that before!" "I didn't know how to use the machine perfectly yet so I transported a random character. How was I supposed to know he was a villain? I never watched the show!" "Well maybe you could have watched one or two episodes instead of concentrating so much on making me miserable!" William sighed as if he didn't care. "Anyway, when I brought that 'Cagatoe' guy here, or whatever you call him, he was at the brink of death. He had a huge slash across his chest, he wasn't breathing and there was barely a pulse. I bandaged him, fed him, and sheltered him. I single handedly brought him into recovery and this is how he repays me! He tied me up, and used the machine to bring back those friends of yours. Something about revenge I heard him say." John moaned loudly. "You are a fool and you always have been brother!" "Hey! I didn't create that damn thing! I just used it! It was too tempting!" Kagato returned. "Will you two shut up! I should kill you both right now!" he yelled. "But I still need you. Last time I used the machine, it left Tenchi and those girls right in the middle of Central Park. I want you two to show me how to bring someone right here" "Why? Who are you bringing to this dimension now?" asked William. "That is none of your concern. It's a surprise for some guests that are arriving shortly," responded Kagato. "Now show me!" In a half hour Tenchi and the girls reached the address of William's lab. It appeared to be empty. However, the door was not locked and they entered freely. The lab was very big, with multiple rooms. Tenchi turned to the girls. "Stay here," he said. "I'm going ahead." "This isn't just your fight Tenchi," said Ryoko. "We all want to get home as much as you do. I'm coming with you!" "Someone has to stay here with Sasami," said Tenchi. "And Washu is invaluable to us" Tenchi thought for a moment. "Ryoko can come with me, but no one else" Ayeka protested but Tenchi said that Sasami need her. The girls stayed behind while Tenchi and Ryoko pressed on. Tenchi and Ryoko entered a pitch-black room and drew their swords for light. The two stood still. They heard a sound and crack of energy. In front of them was a huge black sword with a red glow around it. Behind the sword, Kagato's face was bathed in red light. The three yelled and attacked. The room filled with lights of different colors. Shadows flew everywhere, adding to the confusion. The swords clashed and whined in the air. Soon Kagato found himself being overpowered. He jumped up and backwards in retreat. "Ha!" he yelled. "You are both very good. Almost too much for me actually. But I have a surprise for both of you!" He hovered and floated into the next room pursued by Tenchi and Ryoko. When they entered, a bright white light filled their eyes. In front of them was a large machine that appeared to be turned on. In front of the machine stood Kagato and behind him were the two scientists, John and William, still tied up and in their chairs. However, there was a fourth person in the room as well; a man who was also animated. The man floated near the ceiling. He wore a long cape, had yellow eyes, white hair, and wore very small glasses, which sat on the bridge of his nose. Kagato spoke: "I want you two to meet my good friend - Kagato" "What?" cried Tenchi and Ryoko simultaneously. "It's the Kagato from Tenchi Muyo OAV! Run!" yelled John. But Ryoko and Tenchi held their ground. "No!" cried Tenchi. "This machine is our only way back home!" Tenchi ran to attack the Tenchi Universe Kagato while Ryoko flew at the Tenchi Muyo Kagato. The swords clashed loudly, some very close to the scientists. "Hey!" shouted William. "Watch where you're swinging that!" A sword cut off one of the wooden legs from under his chair. "Ah!" he yelled. The rest of the girls, Ayeka, Sasami, Washu, Mihoshi and Kiyone suddenly ran in, after hearing the shouts and crashes. They could no longer stand to be content with just listening. The Tenchi Muyo Kagato grabbed Ryoko's light sword, showing no sign of pain, and threw her against the wall. The Tenchi Universe Kagato shot an energy blast at Tenchi, which he was barely able to shield with his sword. Tenchi fell to the floor. Tenchi stood up, holding his side in pain. Ryoko and Ayeka ran next to him in fear. The two Kagatos approached. "Well, I must admit this was a very good idea Kagato," said the Kagato with white hair. "When we are finished killing the characters from your dimension, we can move on to mine." "Thank you Kagato," said the green haired Kagato smiling. "Two villains are always better than one." "Why did you bring us here? What was the point of all this?" stammered Tenchi. "Two reasons," answered the green haired Kagato. "First, to introduce you to my counterpart, so that I and he could have our revenge. And second, to show you," said Kagato growing angry "that the only reason you ever defeated me, was because of a damn script! I must admit, I felt cheated when I learned about this dimension. To think that all those years of villainy, I never stood a chance. Ah, but here! Here there are no writers, no scripts! There are no rules here! Here I can finally have my revenge!" The two Kagatos lifted their swords high, to finally be rid of their rivals. All of the sudden, a strange explosion rang threw the room. Washu was standing by the dimensional machine. "Oops!" she said grinning. "I guess you didn't notice I was working with the machine! I think I understand how it works now." From Washu's shoulders appeared her too puppets. "You tricked them good Washu!" cried the first. "You showed them Washu!" cried the second. Suddenly two portals opened from the machine and out of them ran two Ryokos and two Ayekas. "Hah ha ha!" laughed John. So there are dimensions for every Tenchi series!" The Ryokos and Ayekas took no notice of the Kagatos but simply ran towards and hugged Tenchi. In immediate response, the Ryoko and Ayeka who had already been standing there grabbed Tenchi to claim their territory. Tenchi, realizing he was being smothered by three times the normal number of Ryokos and Ayekas yelled out: "This is not happening this is not happening!" The two Kagatos looked on with raised eyebrows. "Well," said the Tenchi Muyo Kagato, "this is quite a pathetic display isn't it?" Out of the two portals now emerged two Tenchis, who were quickly subdued by their respective Ryokos and Ayekas. The portals pulsated and swirled as even more characters emerged. From the Tenchi Muyo portal emerged a child-like Ryo-ohki being chased by a giggling Sasami. "Is that Ryo-ohki?" exclaimed the Tenchi Universe Ryoko, not being acquainted to seeing a Ryo-ohki in human form. From the Tenchi in Tokyo portal also emerged Ryo-ohki, except this one appeared to be a large pink robot with floppy ears. The robot jumped up high into the air and landed between the two Kagatos throwing them apart. "What the hell is that?" asked Kiyone looking at the pink robot. Before she could regain her senses, two more figures emerged from the portals. Both of them were Mihoshi. "Kiyone!" they yelled simultaneously. Kiyone stumbled back in fear. "I - I'm in hell!" she cried with tears in her eyes. The two Kagatos had now stood up and were once again standing next to each other, watching the mayhem. "Oh! Why couldn't the writers just stop with one dimension?" cried the Tenchi Muyo Kagato. "Why did they need three?" "Well" answered the second Kagato. "They needed to make improvements on the first one." "What are you talking about? The first series was clearly the best. It had an incredible villain I might add." "Incredible yes, although I believe I was slightly better." "What?? You? I held Washu captive! I enslaved Ryoko! I had an incredible ship! It had two levels you know. The top level was normal while the bottom." "Yes you had all of that but you never achieved your goal! You never gained the power of Jurai! I, on the other hand, possessed that power," gloated the Tenchi Universe Kagato. "And lost it." mumbled the Tenchi Muyo Kagato. "Shut up! I even look better than you! I mean, I know your going for the evil genius look with those glasses, but it ends up coming off pretty pathetic." "What?! Well at least I don't have that disgusting green hair! I wouldn't be caught dead with that!" "Alright that's it!" The Tenchi Universe Kagato drew his sword and attacked. Amidst the mayhem down below, the two Kagatos fought violently above. "What is going on here?" cried Tenchi looking around him. Three Mihoshi surrounded Kiyone, Two ryo-ohkis played on the ground alongside three Sasamis, two Tenchis were covering their ears from arguing Ryokos and Ayekas and three Washus, two of which appeared seconds earlier, were discussing dimensional theories that would make anyone's head explode. Above his head, Tenchi watched the two Kagatos fighting vigorously and yelling various profanities. Their swords clashed against the walls and against each other, sending sparks flying down below. The Kagatos also shot various masses of energy at each other lighting up the whole room. Above the battle cries, laughter, sobbing and screaming, Tenchi heard an incredible explosion, louder than any of the others before. "Oh no!" cried John who had been untied some time earlier by one of the Sasamis. "The dimensional tunnels are collapsing! The machine is going to overload!" Everyone in the room heard this cry and amid the excessive confusion, all of the Tenchi characters except those from Tenchi Universe, returned to their respective dimensions. "Well," said the Tenchi Muyo Kagato to the Tenchi Universe Kagato, "it's been fun, but I have a dimension to be getting back to. You took me from it just when I was about to fight that boy.Tenchi is it? I would rather fight one Tenchi than three of them. Goodbye!" And with that, Kagato returned to his portal just before it closed. The machine began shaking violently. "We have to get out of here! Now!" shouted John who ran out of the lab followed by William and the Tenchi Universe characters. But before he could escape as well, Tenchi was grabbed from behind by the remaining Kagato. "You! You!! You will stay with me and die with me in this miserable dimension!" screamed Kagato. Adrenaline rushed through Tenchi who leaped into the air and with a crack of energy and a flash, cut off Kagato's hand with his sword. The machine caught fire and soon the whole lab was ablaze as Tenchi fled the building. Kagato knelt down in pain, clenching his shattered wrist. "Ah!" he called. "Yosho! Why must your bloodline be so strong?" Kagato seemed to forget the reason that he had given to Tenchi just minutes earlier. The machine exploded and Kagato was engulfed in flames. Tenchi and the others escaped the lab just as it collapsed in a whirlwind of flames. The building seemed to emit some sort of energy that struck William, knocking him to the floor. The lab, or what remained of it, was then sucked into a massive portal, which closed with a snap and flash of light. When everyone opened their eyes, there was no lab, no machine and no Kagato. When they had returned, everyone sat in John's lab exhausted. No one spoke for a quite a long time. Finally Tenchi asked, "If the machine is destroyed how are we going to get back home?" John sighed. "If I had the original designs to my machine, I could rebuild it quickly. But without them it could take years before the machine I have now is finished. "Years!" cried Sasami. John grew very angry. "William! Where are my designs? I know you have them! If you left them in your lab I swear I'll." "I don't know what you're talking about," responded William. "Don't play stupid. What did you do with my plans??" "Honestly!" William cried. "I have no idea what the hell you are talking about! Machine? Designs? I don't know!" John stared at his brother in shock. The rest of them didn't know what to think. At length he spoke. "William, what day is today?" "Its - its March 14th isn't it?" William responded with a confused look. "No, its August!" John nearly fell back with surprise. After some tests John concluded that William was not lying but had indeed lost his memory. "It must have been from that energy explosion," continued John. "Whenever a dimensional tunnel collapses, it emits high levels of energy. I don't know what type of energy it was but it seems to have erased William's memory for months back. That's even before I showed my findings to the scientific board. Before he ever knew of the machine! I'm sure that same energy erased the memories of the other Tenchi characters as well. It seems that once again, you are the only one's that know of my machine." John stood up and checked all of William's shirt and pants pockets but the designs were nowhere to be found. Finally, John found torn up pieces of paper in William's inside coat pocket. "Well!" he exclaimed. "He must have torn up the plans after he built the machine. Or after Kagato arrived maybe. But either way I have them now and I can finish my machine!" With the help of Washu, John finished his machine in under two weeks, less than he had expected for he didn't realize that he already had his supplies. In the meantime, Tenchi and the other girls had gone sightseeing. They were a little less nervous about being exposed, after all they went through, and were finally able to relax and explore. They were not too careless however, and they still wore their coats and gloves despite it being the dead of summer. Finally, one day, Tenchi and the others returned home to find John ecstatic. Washu was smiling triumphantly. "My machine is finally completed!" John cried with joy. "No problem for two scientific geniuses!" said Washu. "It works now, you can be on your way home whenever your ready" John continued. Suddenly he became depressed. He had enjoyed the company of his animated friends very much and he only just now realized they were really going to leave. "Yes! I can't wait to get home! Just me and a nice, big bottle of sake." Ryoko said. John walked over to the machine and turned it on. "Well, I guess you don't really have to pack or anything" John said laughing quietly. "There's one more thing I wanted to ask you though." "Sure what is it?" said Tenchi eager to get home. "Well, I've been studying these dimensional tunnels ever since I began building my machine, collecting data and such. I think I can time it so that the tunnel collapses right after all of you are through. If I pull it off, the energy emitted would erase all of your memories of being here. I ask you this because I realize how.depressing the knowledge must be. To know that you were a product of someone's thoughts; hell I wouldn't be able to take it". "Williams memories were erased for months back," said Kiyone. "If you did that, couldn't it be possible that we wouldn't remember ever going to Jurai, or ever meeting each other?" "It's possible yes," answered John. "I could send a note back with you, telling you of all the events you want to know." "Still," said Ryoko, "it wouldn't be the same. I might not remember who Tenchi is." "Nor I," added Ayeka. "We wouldn't know why we were on Earth!" protested Sasami. "It's also possible," continued John. "That I could pull it off perfectly, leaving you back at Tenchi's house as if nothing ever happened." "I'll do whatever Tenchi wants," said Ryoko softly. "Me too," said Ayeka. Everyone expressed a common opinion. Tenchi was silent the whole time, and didn't speak for a while. Tenchi looked up finally and sighed. "The chance that I wouldn't remember anyone I've met these past few months - Ryoko, Mihoshi, Ayeka, Washu, Sasami, Kiyone - the chance that I may never remember the beauty of Jurai, or the loneliness of space.that's a risk I'm not sure that I'm willing to take. And even if it did work out perfectly, if we never knew that we were the products of imagination, is that what we really want? To go on living in ignorance?" "Ignorance is bliss," said John smiling sadly. "Its true that if I don't remember all of this, I might be happier. But, maybe we came here for a reason. Maybe we found this out in order to know that we all met each other for a reason. I sure like that idea a lot better than thinking it was just a coincidence. Last night, I told Ayeka that it wasn't destiny which caused us to meet, it was a script. But thinking back now, I realize that destiny is still destiny whether it's in a script or not. My answer therefore is no. I want to go home and keep the memory of this place." When Tenchi had finished he took a deep breath and looked at the floor again. The girls around him were smiling. Even John seemed to perk up. "Well then!" he exclaimed. "What are we waiting for? Lets get to it!" John punched some buttons in the machine. A portal opened. Through it they could see Washu's lab. Everything seemed just the way they left it. "Well, I guess this is goodbye," John finally said. "May-maybe I could visit you some time?" he stammered. "Sure! I guess you'll be a rich man by then. Your machine is now ready for the whole world," said Tenchi. "Yes, I suppose. But I don't think the world is ready for my machine. For now I think I'll keep it to myself. Goodbye!" Tenchi and the girls ran into the portal, which closed behind them in a crack. The machine cooled off and the noise died down. John was left in the lab by himself. Somehow it seemed lonelier than it had all the years before. Tenchi and the girls fell back into Washu's lab on top of each other. When they had all picked themselves up, they noticed Azaka and Kamedaki standing before them. "Princess Ayeka! Princess Sasami!" yelled Azaka. "Are you two alright?" "Yes we are both fine" responded Ayeka. "You must have had a scare with us being gone so long. It's been about two weeks I believe." "Two weeks?" asked Azaka quite shocked. We just saw you disappear and reappear right now. We didn't know what was happening." "What day is today?" asked Tenchi, confused. "It is almost 3:00 Sunday morning. June 14th," responded Kamedaki. Tenchi looked back at the girls. "That's the day we left! It's been barely a minute!" Tenchi and the girls never told Azaka and Kamedaki what had happened. Tenchi's grandfather Katsuhito was never told the story either, though it seemed as if he knew somehow. Nobuyuki had apparently slept through the entire incident, explosion and all. The day after they returned, Washu destroyed her dimensional machine, and resolved never to rebuild it again. As the days and weeks went by, many of them began to doubt if what they saw had really occurred. It couldn't have been a dream, they said, because they all remembered it. Some of them believed it might have been an illusion; others thought it was simply a 'fake' dimension, created by Washu's machine. In response, Washu would always claim that her machine couldn't have possibly created the dimension. However, as more and more time went by, even Washu began to second-guess herself. In the end, it was only Tenchi who truly believed the dimension was real. He often thought about it to himself. In these instances, it was the glances of his grandfather that comforted him, as if they contained infinite wisdom. Tenchi and the girls had no rest to their adventures following the 'dimension incident'. Other events took priority in their lives and soon the other dimension they had seen became a vague and distant memory. It never completely left their minds however, and occasionally they caught glimpses of it in their dreams. In the end it became nothing more than 'just another adventure'. THE END - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [Afterword] - The idea for this fanfic originally came to me when I was still planning for my first one. I decided to write this was first, as a kind of practice run. When I first thought of the story, I wanted it simply to be a comedy, where the Tenchi characters get loose in our world and create mayhem. As I wrote it however, I began injecting some serious scenes. I didn't want the characters to simply be blind to the facts of their existence, especially Tenchi. Think about it - if you were warped into another world and found out that your entire life was just some television show, written by an entertainment company, wouldn't you be slightly distressed? Hell I would. In the end though, it's just a funny story - particularly the end, where the characters from every series run amok in the laboratory. It's not exactly the most realistic fanfic in the world, but at least I try to explain how Tenchi and the gang could exist somewhere in the universe, and how they could get into our world. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this fanfic. I definitely had a lot of fun writing it and I still intend to write my "original" fanfic - the one that I began before this one. If you notice any discrepancies or mistakes in this story, please let me know. I'm a big stickler for that kind of stuff so I'll probably edit it and resubmit it if possible. Also, please give me some feedback. Did you love the story? Did you hate it? Tell me, I'll try to write back a response. These and any other questions or comments should be sent to mont@pipeline.com.