Disclaimer:  The characters of Tenchi Muyo Belong to AIC and Pioneer
LDC so please dont sue me.  If you sue me, I'll have to find your
home and torture you to death.  So I really don't have time to do both.
In all seriousness, please don't sue me as I have no money.

                                     Painful Trials
                            Part 2: No Need for Rubble

     "Kiyone, look out!" Tenchi yelled over the scream of twisting metal
and shattering concrete.  He clutched Mayuka even closer to him and 
prayed that she heard him.  A large piece of the building was coming down
on Kiyone.  In response to Tenchi's call, Kiyone looked up, then dived to
the side as the piece landed where she had been.  The rest of the ceiling
collapsed, shutting them off from the stairs and trapping them.  Then, as
sickeningly as it had begun, the earthquake stopped.
     "Damn, we're trapped," Kiyone cursed.  "Tenchi, come over here and 
help me clear this rubble."  She then fell to her knees and started to 
dig at the rubble that had trapped them all in the hall outside 
Nobiyuki's apartment.   
     "Why don't you use your blaster, Kiyone?"  Tenchi asked as he moved
to help her.
     "Because the room in which we're trapped may be unstable.  I don't 
want to set off another collapse," Kiyone answered.  
     "But why should we try to get out at all.  The rescue team will be 
here soon."
     "I wouldn't be so sure.  No one really knows where we are, and if 
the damage to  this building is any indication, the Emergency Rescue 
Squad will have better things to do then search for us."  
     "But..."
     "If I wanted to hold a question and answer session, Tenchi, I would 
have said so.  Sometimes you are as bad as Mihoshi.  Now shut up and dig."

     Mihoshi, having curled into a ball during the earthquake, uncurled 
and looked around. "Is everybody OK?"  she asked in a hesitant voice.
     Azaka rose, towering over Mihoshi and said, "Yes, Miss Mihoshi.  Are
you well?"
     Brushing herself off, Mihoshi rose and looked out at the surrounding
country side. "I'm fin..."  A wave of cold fear swept over her as she 
looked into the distance and her words froze in her throat.  Suddenly, 
she jumped up, grabbed Ryo-Ouki, and began running toward the Masaki 
home.  Azaka and Kamadake flew after her in confusion.  
          "Miss Mihoshi, what's wrong?"  Kamadake asked
     "The hill..<huff>..it's gone...<huff>...I think there...<huff>..'s 
been a landslide!" Mihoshi panted as she ran.  "Azaka, Kamadake,...go 
find Aeka,... Ryoko....and the others.  I'll check the house."
     Kamadake's voice took on a worried tone as he responded.  "I believe
that they are all in the house.  Master Yosho may be in the shrine, 
though."
     "Go check on Mr. Yosho then!"  Mihoshi said.  "The Hill the shrine 
was on was the one that slid."   
     Mihoshi held in her fear for her friends as she ran toward the 
house, but it steadily continued to grow as she rounded the bend to get 
to the house.  Suddenly she stopped, looking in shock at the scene of 
devastation that lay about the site of the former Masaki house.  Where 
the house had stood before, now was a large mound of loose dirt and 
rocks.  Splintered trees stood out like grotesque tombstones presiding 
over a burial mound.  Grass and other plant life was intermingled with 
fragments of concrete.  Parts of the house had been swept into the lake,
and the lakes shoreline had been changed by the landslide.  
     Mihoshi fell to her knees and began to cry.  She cried for Ryoko, 
Washu, Aeka and Sasami.  She wept in shock at the sheer horror of it all.
She silently prayed *I hope they are all alright*. 

     Ryoko woke and instantly regretted having done so.  She was in 
excruciating pain and she groaned as she waited to heal.  After a few 
seconds, she realized that the pain wasn't going away. She opened her 
eyes, and saw that the lower half of her body was flattened between the 
floor and the section of Washu's lab that had fallen on her.  Ryoko was 
even more shocked to realize that she didn't seem to be healing.  
Suddenly, what had happened came flooding back to her.  "Washu, can't you
turn off that damn field and let me regenerate!"  She turned her head to
face her mother, who was busily typing away at her floating computer.  
     "Unfortunately, Ryoko, most of my computer system is down, and I can
access almost none of the controls that run this lab.  I can monitor a 
few systems and access my records, but I've lost control of the lab.  
Anyway, I told you to call me MOM!"  Washu turned from the computer 
angrily.
     Ryoko opened her mouth to retort, and then saw that Washu was crying.
Ryoko cut the retort back and instead asked, "Where's Aeka?  Is she 
alright?"
     Washu smiled at that, though the tears still flowed from her eyes.
"Aeka is out there trying to scrounge some supplies and food from my 
storage facility.  I stayed here to monitor you, to keep you safe, and 
to work on one of the other problems we have."  Washu said as she turned
 back to her computer.  
     "Protect me?  Why would you need to protect me?!"
     "Well, some of my specimens cages broke during the earthquake, and 
many of those species are dangerous.  Also, your condition needs constant
supervision."
     "You sent Aeka out into that!  She couldn't last a minute versus 
Kagato!  What makes you think that she can handle herself HERE, against 
a bunch of monsters!  And you just send her out there, you idiot!  What 
were you thinking?!"
     "Actually, Aeka has more power than you give her credit for.  The 
reason she lost to Kagato so quickly was that he was in his Chapel, and 
it's energy reflection properties protected him from Aeka's attack.  
Also, none of the specimens are as dangerous as Kagato. The only one that
got close was the Mass, and their powers have been removed by the same 
field that inhibits you."   
     "I still think you should have gone, MOM!"  Ryoko said in a 
sarcastic tone, using the title almost as a weapon.  
     Washu responded to the remark and ignored the tone.  "I also have to
work on reconnecting us to real space.  The longer I delay in doing that,
the farther away we will drift from Earth."
     "You mean were just floating around in subspace!  Jesus, how many.
..things..." Suddenly, Ryoko felt very weak.
     "Ryoko!"  Washu cried as she ran to her side.  "Calm down!  You're 
going to hurt yourself further if you continue to be this angry!  Ryoko!"
The last words that Ryoko heard before she went unconscious were 
"Hang on, please hang on!"

     Aeka proceeded down the hallway, looking left and right.  She had 
activated her Juraian battle armor, but she hoped that she wouldn't need 
it.  Despite what Washu said, She knew that this could be very dangerous.
Her shield was up, and she tried to stay alert.  But she was very nervous,
and she felt the urge to go back.
     "But Ryoko's in trouble.  I've got to help her!" she said aloud to 
no one in particular.  This statement, though, only increased her anxiety
 and her worry.  She had been troubled by Ryoko's pale, wan face, and 
even more disturbed by the news that she might not see Tenchi.  She knew 
that Washu was doing all that she could, but even if Washu did get us 
home, there was no guarantee that Tenchi would be safe.
     *You're wasting time*, thought Aeka, *Ryoko needs every second.  
Don't be so selfish as to waste that time worrying about your own 
problems.  Just like Lady Funaho told you, "Focus on the current problem.
The next problem will not be solved by worrying."* At that Aeka rose her 
head and resolutely marched into the chest of a large, orange skinned 
humanoid, who had been walking toward her.  The humanoid reached out to 
grab her and instead got a shock as his hands touched the shield that she
had stupidly let lower while she wasn't paying attention.  Aeka, berating
herself for that mistake, shield punched straight through the being like 
it wasn't even there, shoving it against the wall.  Suddenly, she 
remembered that Washu had asked her to catch anything that she 
encountered.  
     Squatting by the now prone form of the orange skinned creature, 
Aeka pulled out one of the Prison Cubes that Washu had given her and 
activated it.  A bubble quickly surrounded the animal, encasing him in a 
pocket of liquids that would simultaneously support and sedate the 
creature, as well as float back to Washu.  Aeka then went on, deeper into
the labyrinth, searching for the supply room, and hoping in her heart 
that everyone, especially Tenchi and Sasami, were safe.  

     Sasami was tending to his wounds when Yosho awoke again.  Or, was 
it Sasami?  Her movements had taken on an air of confidence and 
knowledge that Yosho suspected was supplied by Tsunami.  Turning his 
head, he looked around at a twilight version of his shrine office.  The 
walls were leaning heavily to the right, and dirt was seeping in from 
the seams.  "How bad is it?"  he asked, and just saying those words 
took a lot out of him.  
     "Well, I think that we're half buried, dear Yosho."
     Yosho smiled.  "No, I was asking how Sasami was, Tsunami."
     Sasami's image blurred, to be replaced with one that was older, 
more mature, but with still a hint of playfulness around the eyes.  
Tsunami said "Sasami is still frightened, but she is unhurt."
     "And how am *I* doing?"
     "Very badly, I'm afraid.  The shock of Funaho's destruction has 
destroyed most of what was sustaining you.  You have very little energy 
left."
     Yosho looked at his hand, and saw that he still looked old.  "If 
I'm almost out of energy, the why am I sustaining the illusion of my 
age?"
     "That is the other problem.  The removal of the sustaining factor 
of the gems channeled through Funaho has accelerated your aging.  You 
are literally being hit with all of the years that have been held off for
so long."
     "In other words, even if I can survive the psychological shock of 
Funaho's destruction, I still will die."
     With a mournful look upon her face, Tsunami said "Yes."  Yosho took 
a deep breath.  He felt a conflict within him as one side railed against 
the conclusion he had reached.  His wisdom overrode that feeling, and he 
resigned himself to that fate.  Yosho thought back to all of the 
decisions he had made in this life.  Leaving Jurai and Aeka, marrying 
Itsuki, it seemed sad that he was dying now, but he couldn't really 
complain about it.  Tsunami interrupted his reverie by saying, "Yosho, 
there is something that I want you to know."
     Snapped back into reality, Yosho turned his head toward Tsunami and 
said, "Yes, what is it?"
     "It's about Tenchi.  I want you to know that he is my chosen in the
fight to come.  Both Washu and I have influenced him, Washu through 
Nobiyuki and Ryoko, and myself through you and Aeka.  I have guided his 
conception, and he is my chosen."
     At this remark, Yosho's eyes widened.  Anger flared in the pit of his 
stomach and he asked, in a harsh tone of voice  "You guided his 
conception?!  Why are you speaking of Tenchi like he was some sort of 
pawn in a huge game?!"
     At the angry tone, Tsunami leaned back as if to defend herself.  "I 
thought that you would be proud..."
     "Proud of what, that Tenchi had to grow up without a mother because 
it didn't fit into your plans!?  That my love for Itsuki was only there 
because YOU needed us together?!  Or maybe that Ryoko had to be put 
through years of derision and scorn under Kagato so that she would be a 
perfect instrument for Washu?!  In one breath you have made a lie 
out of my life and the lives of my family and friends!"
     "Yosho, I didn't set this up this way.  Your love for Itsuki was 
real, and..."
     "Why should I believe you?!  You just told me that my life and my 
family were created for your convenience!  How many others had to die 
like Achika to fit into your plans?"
     "I didn't kill Achika.  She..."
     "You even set up the prejudice that drove me and hundreds of others 
off Jurai, just so that I would stay here and marry Itsuki!  How much 
suffering is justifiable to you?!"
     "None, but more suffering would be caused if Tenchi wasn't here.  
Look I regret what I did but certain things weren't my doing!"
     "Like Sasami?  If what you said is true, you helped Sasami because 
it was convenient for you!  She's frightened and scared of your 
assimilation with her, but her feelings are just swept aside because 
they interfere with your plans!"
     "Yosho, I think you being unfair to me..."
     "To YOU! To YOU!  How many other lives have you hurt to protect 
you and Washu! Just go away and let me think and die in peace!  Let just 
one part of my life by my own!"
     With a hurt expression, Tsunami left Yosho to the darkness and his 
thoughts.

     Tenchi was worried.  He and Kiyone had been digging in the rubble 
for a while now, and he was beginning to get nervous.  As he dug, images 
of himself, Mayuka, and Kiyone buried alive in this collapsed corridor 
flashed through his mind.  Firmly thrusting this out of his mind, he 
continued to dig.  Suddenly, both he and Kiyone heard a rumbling sound. 
Both he and Kiyone jumped back from the pile of rubble they had been 
digging at, and watched it collapse further, erasing the work of the 
past hour.
     "Damn it!" Kiyone swore, kicking at some of the loose rubble that 
came rolling toward them.  She walked back to where Mayuka was resting, 
and began to check her over.
     "Is she ok?" Tenchi asked nervously.
     "She's fine, but she needs a diaper change.  Give me a hand, 
would you Tenchi?"  Kiyone asked as she drew the diaper bag over.
     "Sure," Tenchi replied.  As he was helping her change Mayuka, he 
became even more nervous.  The pessimist within him was sure that they 
weren't coming out of this alive.  Suddenly curious, he asked Kiyone, 
"Why do you hate Mihoshi?" Kiyone blinked for a few seconds, then began 
to laugh out loud.  Tenchi, puzzled, asked, "Why are you laughing?"
     "I'm laughing because I didn't expect the 'I don't think we'll make 
it so before we go, can I ask you a question?' bit from you Tenchi."
     Feeling sheepish, Tenchi asked, "Well?"
     "Well what?"
     "Why do you hate Mihoshi?"
     "What makes you think I hate her? She is one of my good friends!"
     "Then why do you act so surly to her?  The way you act to her 
doesn't seem friendly to me."
     "I never said that Mihoshi was the easiest of friends to have 
Tenchi.  Frequently, she gets on my nerves.  I mean she bungles things, 
she makes mistakes, and she forgets a lot.  But when you get down to it, 
she is...is...I can't explain it but...well...like your friendship with 
Ryoko."
     "What?!"
     "You can't tell me, Tenchi, that Ryoko doesn't get on you nerves."
     Tenchi thought about it for a moment.  Why did he like Ryoko.  She 
was a wild, off-the-wall, and sometimes a little cruel and insensitive.  
But she had so many good qualities, he smile, her determination, her 
fun-loving personality.  All of those things made her flaws smaller and 
less important.  Why was he dwelling...  "Hello, GPHQ to Tenchi, hello!"
Kiyone was waving her hand in front of his face.
     Snapped back into reality, Tenchi said, "Wha?"
     "Help me put on Mayuka's new diaper and then we start digging 
ourselves out again."
     "Okay, Kiyone, and thanks."

     Aeka, having found what Washu was looking for in the storage room, 
ran as fast a she could back to where Washu and Ryoko were.  A cold fear 
washed over Aeka as she entered the room, for Washu was holding Ryoko's 
hand, and Ryoko was very pale.  *Oh merciful Tsunami, I'm too late.* 
Rushing toward Washu, she shouted, "Miss Washu, I brought what you asked 
for!" 
     Instantly, Washu bounded up from the floor and went to her worktable.
"Bring it here! Quickly!"
     "But Miss Washu, don't we need to tend to....."
     "That's what I'm doing.  Bring it here!"
     Not understanding why but trusting Washu, Aeka brought the kit over
to the worktable.  Opening it, Washu began to put the crystalline 
material into a framework, rapidly building a small device.  Shocked, 
Aeka shouted "Miss Washu, what are you doing?!  Ryoko is seriously hurt, 
and your fiddling with some device?  Now help me..."
     "Quiet!"
     "But Ryoko is hurt and you don't seem to be doing anything about it!"
     Washu spun and slapped Aeka, then immediately turned to her work.  
"Don't you DARE doubt that I wouldn't help Ryoko first!  Now be quiet so 
I can work!"
     Aeka backed away and waited for Washu to finish her work.   Within a 
minute, Washu had put the crystals into a matrix.  Running over, Washu 
placed the object next to Ryoko and pushed a crystal at the top of the 
objet.  The crystalline machine pulsed with a blue glow once, then 
settled into a steady glow.  Ryoko started to look better almost 
instantly, and both Aeka and Washu breathed a sigh of relief.  Aeka 
asked "What is that machine?"
     Washu smiled. "It's Kagato's prototype for the Chapel device.  Right
now it is reversing the energy of the field, strengthening Ryoko's mass 
abilities.  She should be awake and able to phase out of that rubble in 
no time."
     Aeka smiled too.  "Oh, I forgot! I captured this being while I was 
getting the supplies.  Here you go."  Aeka handed the prison cube to 
Washu
     "Hmmm..  I've been wondering what happened to him."
     "Who is it?"
     "One of my laboratory assistants.  I lost him in this lab 
ten-thousand years ago!"
     Aeka looked stricken.  "Oh no!  Did I hurt him that bad?"
     "Hmmm, nope, he doesn't need anything more than a full skeletal 
reconstruction!"
     "Oh no! I hope he's alright....what are you smiling at?"
     Washu began to laugh.  "I'm kidding!  He's one of my specimens!"  
Aeka promptly facefaulted.  "But that's what you get, calling me MISS 
Washu!"  Washu said triumphantly.