Tenchi Muyo: Ryoko's Love...
Prologue Chapter 3: Ryoko Returns Part 1
By Long T. Tran
Revised By Navaash


Disclaimer:

I don't own these characters,  AIC/Pioneer owns them. I don't intend to make 
money off this because I don't want to get a lawsuit.  I'm too poor for that.  
But this is my story, so don't plagiarize!

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April 25, 2018, ~12:00 PM

Tenchi lifted his daughter Yui up from her knees with him, drained from the
destruction of his wife's false gravestone and its aftermath. 

"Father... I'll be in my room."

Tenchi nodded, watching Yui until she was out of his sight. He then walked a few 
steps to the rubble, and began to throw the marker into the lake, hurling as 
much stone and concrete as he could hold into the crystal-clear depths. With
each toss, he slowly completed the process of coming to grips with everything
that had happened in the past few hours.

As more and more rocks submerged into the crystal-clear waters, Washu approached 
Tenchi from behind.

"I'm sorry you had to do that to Ryoko's grave."

"Correction, Washu. WAS Ryoko's grave," Tenchi said sternly to Washu; the red-
haired scientist didn't flinch. "Who's buried beneath here?"

"Just a celluloid mannequin," Washu replied. "Look, I'm not here to be scolded
again. I've come here to apologize for my actions. I didn't realize I offended
you and your daughter as deeply as I did."

"Don't worry about apologizing, Washu. You already apologized in the lab; giving 
me a straightforward explanation about why you kept Ryoko's existence a secret 
was good enough for me."

"What do you mean, Tenchi?" Washu was puzzled, a rarity for her.

"What I did to Ryoko's grave was just my way of alleviating my anger towards 
you. There's no reason to be sorry now." Not looking at Washu, he channeled
all his negative energy into the last remaining rocks in his hands. With a
silent roar, he threw the rocks into the water with all his might. "It's all 
behind us now. It's in the past... time to move on." Tenchi turned to face 
Washu as the last of the rocks impacted on the water's surface.

"I see," Washu said, admiring Tenchi's uncanny ability of being able to adjust 
his perspective on life at a moment's notice. "I would still like to apologize 
to you properly." She knelt down in a traditional manner, placing her hands on
the ground and her head on her hands.  "Gomen nasai."

"If it makes things easier, I accept your apology," Tenchi said, still 
maintaining a serious tone.  "Now please apologize to Yui."

"I will. Don't you worry about it," Washu said, standing back up and starting to 
make her way back to the house. "By the way, I'm gonna start on restoring 
Ryoko's memory tonight."

"You are?" Tenchi asked, his negative funk lifting with that remark. "What can 
I do to help?"

"Just bring yourself and Ryoko's gems to the lab tonight at midnight.  You're 
going to be playing a very crucial role in bringing her back."

"Alright, tonight at midnight," repeated Tenchi, confirming Washu's directions. 
"I'll see you then."  Tenchi walked off to the shrine, ready to perform his 
daily duties with Yosho.  

Washu stopped to watch Tenchi walk away, then continued to the Masaki residence,
heading straight for Yui's room.  Hoping that Yui would be as understanding as 
her father, she stepped up to the door,  took a deep breath, and knocked. 

"Yui? Are you there?"

"Grandmother Washu?" asked Yui with a hint of anger and confusion.

"Yes, it's me. May I come in?"

"Sure. Come in," Yui said through the door.  Washu opened it and entered; she
found her granddaughter lying on her bed, listening to music through her 
headphones. It was apparent to Washu that Yui was lost in her own thoughts.

"What are you listening to?" Washu asked, trying to improve Yui's state of mind.

"'The Joshua Tree' by U2; it's an old American album. I find that this music...
is in sync with my emotions right now." Yui stopped the CD player and took off
her headphones. "So what brings you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you about your mother," Washu replied without missing a
beat. "Your mother... means everything to me. I love her very much...so much 
that I had to cheat her own death.  I knew that I would pay a terrible price in 
the long run... in order to insure your mother's safe return, I had to lie to 
you and to your father. I regret having to put you and your father through that 
for the past 13 years..." Washu repeated the same motions she had used with
Tenchi. "Gome-"

"It's alright... I understand," Yui interrupted. "You did what you had to do 
and you did it because your motherly instincts told you to."
 
"Indeed," Washu said, relief starting to relax her as she stood. "Would you like 
to come down to the lab with me to visit your mother?"

The room suddenly became silent.

"No, I'd like to stay up here for now. I appreciate the fact that you asked 
me...but right now I need to be alone."

"Alright. I'll be in the lab tending to your mother when you're ready. But are 
you really sure you don't want to come down to the lab with me?"

Yui considered Washu's offer for a moment, but nodded no in refusal.

"I understand, Yui," Washu said with disappointment She began to make her way 
out of the room. "By the way, your mother will be ready to see you first thing 
tomorrow morning... but the door to the lab will always be open if you choose to 
see her beforehand."

"OK. Maybe I'll see you... maybe not. But I'll be there at midnight." Yui laid
herself back down on her bed, donning her headphones once more.

Washu looked at Yui; with a smile, she continued out the door.

As soon as the door closed, Yui gave out a small tired sigh and switched her 
music back on. Underneath the spell of the soothing, soul-searching music, Yui 
closed her eyes, considering all the possibilities that her mother's
resurrection could bring.

*Don't think of it any more,* she thought to herself after a minute. *Just go 
with the flow for now.*
 
***

As the clock ticked closer to midnight, Yui was sprawled out on her bed in pitch
darkness, listening to U2 and gazing up intently at the twinkling stars through
the skylight window. Ryo-ohki, who had wandered into the room after Washu had
departed, slept snugly in cabbit form on Yui's stomach, the teenager gently
petting her soft brown fur. Still lost in her thoughts, Yui didn't know what
to think: should she be happy? sad? betrayed? or something else?

Several minutes later, Yui looked at her wall clock. Midnight.

*Hmm... already Sunday.  Time has passed by quickly today,* she thought to 
herself. *This weekend has been one long roller-coaster ride; what else can 
happen?  Dad was so fumed over Washu keeping mother a secret. However... 
we're going to be reunited with mom and that's the only thing that really 
matters.  I wonder how Washu is going to bring mother back without losing 
any of mother's memories?*

The loud knocking on Yui's bedroom door somehow cut through the music in her
ears. The door slid open before she could motion otherwise, the light from the
hallway stinging her eyes. The silhouette of her father stood in the doorway;
despite the fuzzy brightness, she could see he was holding something in his
right hand. Instinctively, she turned off the CD player.

"Father? What is it?" asked Yui, rubbing her eyes in a semi-futile attempt to
clear her vision.

"Yui, how are you feeling? Are you OK?" Tenchi asked, concerned.

"I'm feeling better... how 'bout you?" Yui asked in return.

"No different from you," he replied. "I've come to show you something. Is it 
alright if I come in?"

"Sure, come right on in," said Yui, sitting up and trying not to awaken Ryo-
ohki. Yui wanted to talk to her father about the reaction he displayed towards
the gravestone this afternoon; she carefully moved Ryo-ohki onto her lap to
allow her father to sit down next to her.

She looked down at what he was grasping; it was Tenchi-ken, the master key. It
looked no different from the last tie she had seen it... except, to her sur-
prise, the gems radiated with a soft glow.

"...They're glowing," she whispered.

"Yes, Yui. This means that your mother's body is almost completely regenerated,"
said Tenchi. As he held up the sword, the gems were starting to glow even more 
brilliantly. "These gems are linked to your mother; they will play a crucial 
role in restoring her memories."   

Tenchi then put the master key into his pocket.  Yui began to think back to 
the events that occurred the previous day.  She looked over at her father; 
his face was calm and reserved, a striking contrast to the distilled rage she
had seen at the lake. When he had demolished the gravestone and the falsehood
that went with it, despite stopping him in the end she completely agreed with
his actions. After all, how else could one rid oneself of a 13 year-old lie?
At least right now, she saw that her father was in his usual calm mood.

"Father, about mother's gravestone..." Yui said, struggling to find the right 
way to express her thoughts.

"I know. What I did to your mother's gravestone was uncalled for..."

"Actually, dad," she interrupted, "I wasn't going to shun you for destroying 
mother's grave."

Tenchi was baffled. "You weren't?"

Yui nodded to her father in affirmation. "I would've done the same thing that 
you did. By destroying it, you destroyed the lie. Now we don't have to think
about it anymore. Really, I'm glad you did what you did... you had to."

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Yui," Tenchi said with a sigh. "But you and I 
have been given a chance to live our lives with your mother again."

"We have..." Yui trailed off, thinking.

"As I swung the sledgehammer at the marker, several thoughts went through my
mind," said Tenchi with a pause, organizing his thoughts. "I wanted to do three
things: find a way to forgive Washu for deceiving us all, purge from myself
the lie that told me for 13 years that I would never see Ryoko again, and rid
myself of all the anger and disbelief surrounding your mother's reappearance.
After I did all that, I had to find a glimmer of hope so that I could accept
the possibility of starting a new life with your mother. 

"Mmmm." Yui completely empathized with her father; she knew that she would have
had similar, if not identical, goals. *We're so alike...*

"As I started to hit the gravestone, in that first split second, I realized that
I was reliving the cycle of the phoenix. With each strike of the hammer, my
old self, which believed that your mother was dead, burned away. Afterwards,
I felt reborn, prepared to begin anew.

"One more thing. Remember the flowers you placed at the gravestone?" 

Yui nodded.

"I moved them away; they were safely away from me, never hurt."

"Hmm..." Thinking back to that afternoon, Yui clearly remembered that she had
not seen the flowers anywhere near the debris. "I remember. The flowers weren't
near the gravestone... by relocating them, you were forgetting about the past,
but looking towards the future... right?"

"Yes, Yui. That's absolutely right,"  Tenchi said, smiling about his daughter's 
natural intuition. "The part of me you once knew, the part of me that loathed
myself for not being able to save your mother, the part of myself that was
filled with grief and sorrow... is now gone. We've been given another chance to
live life with your mother again, and that's all that matters."

"I'm happy that we've been given another chance, but..." Yui said doubtfully.

"But what, Yui?" Tenchi asked.

"What are we going to do if mom doesn't recover all her memories?" 

The remarks hit home for Tenchi. What *would* happen if she didn't recover her
memories? It took a second for him to think, but the conclusion was painfully
obvious: it would be no different than letting her remain 'dead'. Then he
remembered the object in his pocket, the look of concern on his face going
away. He wrapped his arm around Yui and hugged her. "Don't worry. Washu and 
Sasami have already thought of the answer."

"Really, father?  What is it?"

"The answer is in these gems," he said assurringly, taking the Tenchi-ken out
of his pocket and holding it up. "Washu told me that they have all her memories
and past experiences stored in here. No need to worry."   

"Yeah... you're right. After all, Washu is the universe's greatest scientist and 
Aunt Sasami is - well - a goddess," she said with affirmation, purging away all 
of her doubts.  Yui began to smile in the warmth of her father's hug; it felt as
if the night sky had wrapped itself around her. 

Tenchi looked down at his daughter, a goofy grin developing on his face. "So, 
now the student teaches the teacher!  You are daddy's little Miracle Child!" He
began to ruffle his daughter's cyan hair; she pushed him away with anger, just
as embarrassed as she had been at dinner last night. 
        
"DAAAAAAD! Stop messing up my hair! And I hate it when you call me that!"

"I'm sorry, Yui," Tenchi said, his grin turning into a soft smile. "I just 
wanted to lift your spirits a little bit."

"You're always the optimist, aren't you, dad?" Yui grunted.

"Well, I try to be," Tenchi replied, trying to defuse his daughter's anger. "I'm
sorry again, Yui." With fatherly care, Tenchi gave Yui an even gentler hug. The
cyan-haired youth's anger subsided as she thought about the last remark.

"I'm sorry to have burst out on you like that, father," Yui said apologetically. 

"It's alright, Yui." Tenchi comforted his daughter a little more. "I just want 
you to get some sleep, rest, and recover after what you've been through today."

A few silent moments passed; Yui's tension began to subside. She finally felt 
warm, relaxed, and secure, after this emotional roller-coaster of a day.  She 
closed her eyes, her mind slowly drifting into a relaxed state.

Tenchi held Yui close until she began to snore. Once he felt her body relax, he 
smiled, carefully tucking Yui into her bed. As Tenchi moved his sleeping 
daughter around, Ryo-ohki woke up, groggy from being nudged to consciousness.

"Miya?"

"Shhhh," Tenchi said quietly, putting his finger on Ryo-ohki's little lip. 
"Yui's asleep."

"Sleep well, Yui.  While you dream away, I'll be bringing your mother back to
us," he whispered, kissing his daughter's forehead.  Ryo-ohki quickly hopped on 
to Tenchi's head; together, they stepped out of Yui's room. As he closed the
door behind him, he glanced up at the cabbit.

"Thank you for being there for Yui, Ryo-ohki," he said, petting the little 
cabbit. "Would you be willing to watch over Yui tonight while I'm with Ryoko?" 

"Miya! Miya!" Ryo-ohki chirped happily. The cabbit hopped back down, phasing
through Yui's doorway.

Tenchi watched the cabbit re-enter his daughter's room, then looked at his 
watch. *Time to be in Washu's lab.* He walked through the hallway, down the
stairs, and towards the closet door, where destiny awaited.

***
   
The screen on Washu's computer read:

Regeneration status: 100% complete.

"OK, Sasami; put her through the Epidermal Filtering System."

"Right," confirmed Sasami, typing a sequence into her keyboard.

As Washu and Sasami worked away on the computers connected to the tank that
suspended Ryoko, Aeka stood a short distance away, watching her once-rival
float in the blue crystal liquid. The red-haired scientist typed a sequence
into the keyboard with precise yet speedy keystrokes; a huge rectangular device
materialized, connecting itself to the master cylinder. Aeka observed that the
device took up approximately half of the chamber they stood in; it was composed
of three different tanks.

The first tank included a small class tube which had already attached itself to
the master cylinder; it held a thick white liquid within. The second tank, 
connected to the first tank, had clear non-conductive liquid in its confines.
The third tank was unusual in comparison to the other two; it was empty.

Ryoko's body, freed of the spandex outfit, drifted through the glass tube and
into the first tank. Washu, eye-strain starting to get the best of her, typed
a command into the computer.

"AUDITORY STATUS MODE ACTIVATED," boomed a loudspeaker which had just emerged
from the machine. Wincing with the others, Washu punched in another instruction:
turn down the volume.

"Subject transferred to phase-1 tank. Initiating poly-dermal graft."

Within the first tank, Ryoko's body was completely immersed within the white
liquid, hiding her from plain view. Aeka walked up to the tank, peering inside
and wondering what was happening.

"Washu, what is a poly-dermal graft?" she asked, not well-versed in science due
to her sheltered upbringing.

"This first step is absolutely crucial to bring Ryoko back. What we're doing is 
basically adjusting Ryoko's skin to adapt to the outside air."

"Why? What's the point?"

"Remember, Ryoko's body has been immersed inside that liquid for 13 years now.
If her skin was exposed to air without being properly processed, it'd melt off!"

"Oh... I see." Disgust was readily apparent in Aeka's voice.

"Poly-dermal graft completed. Subject transferred to phase-2 tank. Initiating 
epidermal scan and transition," the computer reported.

Ryoko's body slowly drifted into the center of second tank, coated in white from 
all angles. Tenchi arrived in the lab, standing next to Aeka and watching his
wife's body suspend itself in the fluid. The Juraian empress looked at him, a
bit concerned.

"How is Yui doing, Tenchi?" she asked.

"So far, so good," he replied. "She's feeling better; I just tucked her in."

"Poor girl," Aeka said, thinking about Yui. "She's been in her room for 12 hours 
now."

"I wouldn't worry about it any further, Aeka.  She's feeling a lot better now," 
Tenchi said to Aeka reassuringly. For a brief, unexpected moment, he was silent. 
"I am really proud of her."

"Understandably so," Aeka agreed.

"Yui's very strong willed and very mature. I'm quite relieved that she's been
able to hold herself together after everything she's been through in the past
two days," Tenchi said, watching Ryoko's body being scanned by thin beams of 
light. "I mean, look. Yui has regained her powers 13 years after mother died,
only to discover she's still alive."

"It is a lot for any normal person to take in over a span of just 2 days," Aeka 
agreed. "I hope she doesn't hold anything against Washu."

"Apparently, she seems to be sharing the same sentiments that I have." 

"Oh?"

"Yui and myself are both willing to put Washu's actions behind us and just move 
on in our lives. We're going to focus on life with Ryoko. Right now, we both 
agree that this is more important than being upset at Washu." 

"It's fortunate that a rift in the relationship between you and Washu didn't
open up. Otherwise, things could've been much worse..."

"I know," Tenchi said solemnly, noticing that the white substance covering
Ryoko's body was starting to crumble in the presence of the laser light. As the 
white layers deteriorated, Ryoko's beautiful skin was visible once more. 

Afterwards, Ryoko floated to the third and final tank.

"Epidermal scan and transition complete. Skin condition: ready. Initiating 
final phase," the computer reported.

In the third tank, Ryoko's body was engulfed by a huge pillar of light coming
from the tank's emitters.  Washu explained over the noise of the machinery that
this would re-adapt Ryoko's skin to adjust to any atmosphere. 

After being bathed by the pillar of light, Ryoko's unconscious body started to 
ascend to the top of the tank, now filled with water as part of the cleaning 
process.

"Final phase completed. Skin condition: normal. Initiating subject removal."

"OK, you two, it's your turn," Aeka said, the Guardians of Jurai appearing
right behind her on schedule. "Carry out the order as planned."

"Yes, ma'am!" The logs vanished.

Azaka and Kamidake rematerialized at the top of the tank.  As Ryoko floated up
to the top of the container, the guardians immediately placed their forcefield
around her, slowly and carefully lifting Ryoko out of the water and drying her
off with the electrical energies of their forcefield shell. They awaited their
final order: teleport Ryoko to the main bridge of the Tsunami.

Washu walked towards Tenchi, having just completed another round of computations
on her computer. "Alright Tenchi, Ryoko's almost ready. Do you have the gems?"

"Yes, I have them," he said, holding out his Tenchi-ken. The gems on the hilt 
were shining even more brightly then he had ever seen them. "What's next?" 

"I'm going up to the bridge of the Tsunami to finish up the final adjustments. 
Sasami will brief you," Washu told Tenchi. "I want you to listen to her 
instructions *very* carefully."

"Don't worry, I will," Tenchi replied assuredly.

"OK, then. I'll see you later." Washu suddenly teleported to her destination,
Azaka and Kamadake closely in tow.

Tenchi and Aeka stood next to each other, knowing that they were just minutes 
away from reuniting with Ryoko.  Sasami walked up to Tenchi.

"Tenchi, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm just a little nervous, but I'm feeling fine otherwise," Tenchi said. "OK 
Sasami, I'm ready. What do you want me to do?"

"OK, Tenchi; before I give you the plan, let me explain to Aeka how this works,
because you know this already." She turned to the Juraian empress. "The reason 
that we need to use Ryoko's gems is because they've been with her most of her 
life, especially the gem on her left wrist."

"I see," Aeka said in fascination, recalling the hint her sister had given to
her earlier. "The gems record history as seen by Ryoko as well..."

"That's right. We will use the gems to transplant Ryoko's memories into the 
regenerated body." Sasami turned to Tenchi. "OK, Tenchi, here's the plan." 
She produced a pair of black shorts, made of very thin cloth.

"Uhh... what do you want me to do with these shorts?" he asked, nervously eyeing
the black cloth.

"I want you to take off all your clothes and put these on."

Tenchi face-faulted.

"What?! *All* my clothes?"

"Yes, all of them. What we're about to do must be free of static electricity
or otherwise. Any disruptive energy can tamper with the memory transfer."

"I understand,"  Tenchi said, walking behind a huge computer to change out of
sight of the women. He changed into the shorts as quickly as he could. "Are you 
coming along too, Aeka?"

"Yes, I am. I hope you don't mind." 

"I don't mind, Aeka. I guess it wouldn't hurt anybody." Tenchi walked towards 
Sasami. "Now tell me the rest of the plan, Sasami."

"We're going up to bridge of the Tsunami. Once we're there, you'll see that 
Ryoko is being held above the water of the pool.  Once you're in the pool, I 
want you to hold Ryoko above the water line; after she's in your arms, give 
her back all three gems.  After that, wait for any further instructions that 
Washu might give you."

"Alright, that sounds simple enough."

"Are you ready, Tenchi?" Sasami asked.

Tenchi cleared his mind, taking in a deep breath. "Yes."

"Alright. Here we go!" Sasami held up her hands, a bright light illuminating
the entire lab. As a sense of dislocation began to overtake Tenchi, he could
feel the emblem representing his power materialize on his forehead.

***

Inside the bridge of the ship Tsunami, the guardians of Jurai were already in
place, holding Ryoko steadily over the luminescent pool as they waited for 
further orders from Washu.

"Careful, you two. Tenchi should be here any minute now," Washu said, glancing
about her surroundings.  

"Yes, ma'am!"

Just standing in the bridge of the tree-ship Tsunami was enough to fascinate
Washu; for some reason, it was interesting for her to observe that the only
light sources were the other space trees within. It was dark and illuminating
at once, a peaceful environment which prompted the scientist to think, *Maybe I 
should remodel my lab to be like this.*

Nearby, a bright envelope of light appeared in front of the main space tree, 
unfolding itself to reveal Aeka, Sasami, and Tenchi.  The first thing Washu
noticed was Tenchi's clothing -- or general lack thereof.

"Ooooh! Nice butt, Tenchi!" Washu said fiendishly. "And you used to ask why 
girls always took a liking to you?"

"Um... can we get started?" Tenchi said, a sweatdrop forming on his head. "I 
kinda want to focus on Ryoko right now."  

"Sure, OK.  Whatever you want, Tenchi." Washu grinned. "Tsunami, take it from
here."

"Right," Sasami said in compliance. *Will you PLEASE call me Sasami, Washu!*

Tenchi began to feel himself being levitated off the ground by Sasami's powers. 
He slowly descended in to the luminescent pool, holding onto the Tenchi-ken 
tightly; he expected a cold sensation the moment his feet touched the water, but  
instead of a cold chill he felt a warm sensation of soothing energy coursing 
through his body as his feet entered. Eventually they touched bottom as he found
himself waist-deep in the waters.

"OK, Azaka and Kamidake. Bring Ryoko into the water,"  Washu ordered. 

The pair of logs slowly lowered Ryoko towards the water, right above Tenchi.

"Tenchi, I want you to place the Tenchi-ken on to the bottom of the pool; catch 
Ryoko after that. Once you have her in your arms, slowly submerge her into the
pool until the only part of her above the water line is her face."

"I understand," acknowledged Tenchi. With a flick of his wrist he sent the
Tenchi-ken towards the bottom of the pool, catching it underneath his foot.
The next second, he stretched his arms out, his wife lying quietly in the force
field barely an inch above. Nearby, Aeka and Sasami stood besides each other in
attention.

"Are you ready, sir?" Kamidake asked Tenchi.

"Yes, I'm ready," Tenchi said, anticipating catching Ryoko's body. "Drop her."

Azaka and Kamidake dispelled the forcefield, sending Ryoko into Tenchi's arms.
As he caught her, he was surprised at her weight; she was lighter than the last
time he'd carried her. Nevertheless, he smiled when he could hear her soft,
rhythmic breathing; he could almost feel her heartbeat as well.

Tenchi proceeded to follow Washu's instructions, lowering Ryoko's body into the
water until only her face was visible.

"Alright, Tenchi," said Washu. "Just wait for the gems to react now."

At the base of the pool, the gems embedded in the hilt of the Tenchi-ken began
to feel the presence of Ryoko. Reacting to her newly-reawakened energy, they
began to shine brighter than the most brilliant daylight. The waters of the
Tsunami's pool began to shine with the light of the gems, eventually reaching
the same luminescence. As a result of the energy reaction, the emblem on
Tenchi's forehead began to glow.

Ryoko's impulsive twitching brought Tenchi to attention; he had been observing
the glow of the water up to that moment. Things were looking up; her breathing
was becoming more active, her muscles were slowly contracting, and her closed
eyes were struggling to open. Excitement was clearly visible in his eyes.

"It looks like Ryoko's coming to," Sasami said to Aeka.

"Yes, indeed. I hope her memory will be intact," Aeka replied.  Azaka and 
Kamidake phased in beside Aeka, taking up their usual posts as guardians.

"She's waking up!" Tenchi yelled with joy.

"Keep in mind, Tenchi, that Ryoko has not received any of her memories yet! 
Please be ready to receive a negative reaction," advised Washu.

Tenchi looked down at Ryoko; as her eyes opened, they met her husband's for the 
first time in 13 years. Tenchi's only thoughts were about the beauty in Ryoko's 
yellow felinoid eyes; it had been so long since he'd seen them... 

For what seemed like an eternity, Ryoko looked silently into Tenchi's eyes.
Then, without warning, she began to thrash about in the water, unable to react
any other way to this stranger looking at her. The panic in her eyes was so
evident that Tenchi was genuinely surprised; he was more surprised, though,
that the pool's waters were dimming.

"Washu! What's going on?!" he yelled.

"The brightness of the pool's light is a direct reflection of Ryoko's mood!"
Washu explained, having already realized the problem. "And we need it to be as
bright as possible, because as long as it's dim, she's in a very distressed
state, and that'll only hinder the memory transfer! If she's calm, the pool
will glow its brightest..."  

Sasami picked up where Washu trailed off. "She hasn't recovered any of her 
memories yet. Try to get her to relax; she must be calm enough to allow the 
memory transfer to begin."

Tenchi looked down at his wife. Her panic had transformed into fright; like a
terrified child, she looked terribly sad, a stream of tears flowing down her
cheeks and into the rapidly-dimming pond.

*She's as vulnerable as a lost child...* Tenchi thought to himself, looking at 
his reflection on the pool's surface; only now did he notice the glowing emblem 
on his forehead. *That's it! Actions speak louder than words!*  He knew what he
had to do now; a plan began to form in his mind.

The only feeling coursing through Ryoko, who as far as she could tell had just
been born, was high anxiety; she didn't know any of these strangers looking at
her, and she didn't know what was going to happen, so she was scared. All of the
fear within her, though, was coming from the stranger holding her in his arms.
Again she thrashed about, unable to talk because she had no concept of speech.
Then something caught her eye. The glowing emblem on the stranger's forehead.
Then it was the stranger's gentle eyes. Then it was the warm, comforting energy
emanating from him. A strange, but welcoming, voice entered her mind.

*Don't be afraid... we're here to help you. We are your friends and loved ones; 
please let us help.  You will not be harmed in any way.*

Ryoko realized that the voice was coming from the stranger cradling her in his 
arms. She didn't understand the stranger's words for a second, but she did 
understand the feelings and intentions within the message.  She relaxed and 
decided put her trust in to this stranger, waiting for another sign.

Tenchi had figured out a way to communicate with Ryoko; since Ryoko's gems were 
on the hilt of the Tenchi-ken, he instinctively felt a connection to them.  
As the gems were connected to the same energy powering the Light Hawk Wings,
he was connected to Ryoko. As he projected his mental images outward, he hoped
that the gems would relay them to his wife.

Washu, Aeka, and Sasami looked on; Ryoko's panicking suddenly subsided, the
light from the pool gradually shining brighter.  

*Thank goodness. Things are finally starting to looking up,* Aeka thought.

Ryoko relaxed in the stranger's arms, waiting for his voice to speak again.
After several seconds, it came.

*Relax. All you have to do is relax. It'll all come back to you.*

Starting to understand the meaning of the words, she followed the voice's 
directions, noticing that her surroundings were gradually becoming brighter -
and warmer. The soothing currents of heat relaxed her even further.  

*Now close you eyes and wait.*

Ryoko slowly closed her eyes, allowing the darkness to enter her mind. For
several tense minutes, there was nothing else. Then the flood began. A cascade 
of images, hundreds upon hundreds, millions upon millions. She was stunned by 
the sudden rush of information, sensations, and memories; memories from 
different moments in her life began to fill in the void of her past.

***

The memories flashed through her mind at an alarming rate.

She saw her first memories, taking her first flight with Ryo-ohki and gems being
handed her.

She found herself sharpening her skills and superhuman abilities under Kagato's 
cruel and ruthless supervision.

For a period of time, she discovered that she had looted and plundered the 
galaxy under Kagato's control.

And then she saw herself invading Planet Jurai.  After the attack, she had been
pursued by Yosho throughout space until the battle reached Earth.

With a sword through her neck, she was defeated, stripped of her gems, and 
imprisoned in a cave.

For almost 700 years, she felt alone in a dark and cold captivity, not having 
any contact with anybody or anything for what seemed like an eternity.

Near the end of those 700 years, she saw Tenchi Masaki for the first time.  
>From her cave, she watched him grew up into a handsome young man.

Finally, she was inadvertently released from her imprisonment by Tenchi.

Names and faces of people and places flashed through her mind, their signifi-
cance in her life becoming clearer and clearer with each passing second. 
Kagato... Dr. Clay... Tokimi... D3... Onimaru... Seriyou... Azusa... Funaho...
Misaki... Zero... Yosho... Shoji... Nobuyuki... Mihoshi... Aeka... Sasami... 
Washu, her mother... Ryo-ohki... Tenchi... and Yui...

Yui... 

***

Washu, Sasami and Aeka silently looked on as Tenchi cradled Ryoko in his arms 
in the brightly-lit pool.

"Washu, what is Ryoko going through right now?" Aeka asked.

"Ryoko is basically reliving her entire life, although it may seem like only 
seconds to us," Washu replied. "The memory transplant will seem like a lifetime 
to her."

"I'm going to check on Ryoko's progress." said Sasami, activating the Tsunami's
view screen. On it, an image of Ryoko sitting in the warm spring of the floating
onsen was visible.

"Where is Ryoko now?" Washu asked, turning to view the screen with Aeka.

"Let me see," Sasami said, searching through the gems' database. "We are exactly 
18 years prior to the present date."

"That's interesting," Aeka said, smiling. "A lot of things happened during 
that year... 18 years ago."

"Indeed, Aeka," Washu replied. "The year 2000 was a year that we will never,
*ever* forget."

Tenchi overheard Washu's remark; he smiled softly at Ryoko. "Do you remember 
that year, Ryoko?" Tenchi's voice was gentle towards his wife. "That's the year 
when I stopped running away from you... and finally opened my heart to you."
 
"H...heart...." Ryoko whispered softly.  She again closed her eyes as the pool's
warm water comforted her like a blanket. She found herself reliving the events 
of the year 2000....

... a year which, as Washu had said, would never be forgotten...



To be continued...as Ryoko's Love Alpha! The Main Storyline Ch.1A



The Lonely Moon
(tragedy)

I am lonely like the moon 
You are faraway as the earth
Now you say I light your thoughts
Night After night
Soon you forget

We are drifting in this dance
I can feel you circle my thoughts
Keeping such a graceful distance
So close but somehow apart

Sometimes I cry for you
Knowing you don't want me to
Sometimes I whisper to the stars up in the sky

That I want to find the way to your soul
Kiss in the sun when morning comes you don't seem to count the hours
When we are not together
I've seen a tender fire in your eyes
Yet when I'm gone you carry on
I float in this emptiness
Till at last love returns
With the night and the lonely moon


Author's Notes:

There it's finally done!  I've just finished writing this long introduction.  
Yep, you read this right.  The first 3 chapters you read were just the intro!  
Now we'll start on the real story line, really soon!  So stay tuned. HA! HA! HA! 
HA! HA! HA!

BTW, Yui's going to take a small vacation from this series.  The main storyline 
will not be needing her until very late in to Part 2.  Sorry, Yui fans.  

2nd BTW, I have just completed my very own web site!  The web site will be home 
base for my Tenchi fanfics, please come by and take look at it! 

Here's the Address: 

http://members.aol.com/EvilDrTran/index.html