Tenchi Muyo!: Someplace like home by Robert Hazelton (nchabrier@yahoo.com) Disclaimer: The characters within are used without permission for the sheer non profit enjoyment of fans of the Tenchi Muyo! Universe. Episode 2: No Need for Comfort "Miss Washu, you think that she was taken to a different dimension?" Tenchi stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his face drawn with concern. Kiyone, Mihoshi and Ayeka surrounded him in a semi circle, all eyes on Washu sitting in the midst of her computers. "I don't know that she was taken, Tenchi." Washu sighed with a frown. "I guess that's a possibility but-" "She had to be taken." Ayeka offered. "Sasami saw it happen." "It's not as simple as that." Washu put her hands behind her head and leaned back in her chair. "I think that Ryoko used her powers and left this world-inadvertently of course." "How could she do that?" Mihoshi asked. "Doesn't she have to have been at the place before she can teleport there?" "Yes, there is that limitation..." Washu started. "Not to mention, how could she do it when she was asleep?" Kiyone interrupted. "You still breath when you're asleep." Washu shrugged. "Your heart still beats, blood still circulates. Ryoko's powers are just as inherent as any of those things that I just mentioned-maybe even more so. It's like she was sleep walking." "Okay, so we know how it happened." Tenchi rubbed his chin. "But we still need to know why and where?" "That shift in the temporal alignment could've been Ryoko's passage between worlds but I doubt it..." Washu tapped some buttons. "No, I think that there's something else here-on Earth. I think that it has something to do with Ryoko and that her body kicked in a sort of self defense system and took her someplace that she was safe. Somewhere that she couldn't be found." "So you think that whatever is on Earth might be after her?" Ayeka asked, brow furrowed thoughtfully. "More than a possibility." Washu frowned. "So how do we go about finding her?" Tenchi asked. "And what is this thing that is on Earth?" Kiyone looked suddenly very concerned. "Do you think it's a threat to this sector?" "If it scared Ryoko's instincts to another world, you can bet that it's a threat." Washu hopped out of her chair. "I don't know how to find Ryoko yet nor do I know what the creature is but I'm working on both equations as we speak. For now, I suggest that you all get your rest before you need your strength." Tenchi shook his head. "Are you sure there's nothing we can do now, Miss Washu?" "Tenchi, let the poor girl work." Yosho stepped in with a smile. "She'll find Ryoko soon enough." "But Grandpa..." Tenchi began but there was something in Yosho's eyes that stopped him and he let out a sigh and nodded. "Aright, I'll get some sleep." "That should go for the rest of you as well." He scanned the girls. "We'll hit this problem in the morning." Everyone began shuffling out of the room, Ayeka and Tenchi bringing up the rear. "Lord Tenchi," Ayeka put her hand on his shoulder. "Washu will find her if anyone can." "What if she doesn't?" Tenchi asked quietly. "Then what?" "She has to." Ayeka smiled gently. "She has a reputation to uphold." He looked at her and returned the smile with a bit of effort. "You're right, of course." He looked up at the sky through a window before turning to his door. "I'll see you in the morning, Ayeka." "Sleep well, Lord Tenchi." She watched him go and suddenly felt empty-as if somehow Ryoko's disappearance answered a question that had been left unanswered for so long. 'Don't be foolish girl!' She scolded herself. 'He would be just as worried if any of us suddenly disappeared in the night.' As she returned to her room, she just couldn't fight off the feeling that it wasn't necessarily true... * * * Ryoko dosed on her favorite perch in the rafters, hands behind her, legs crossed. "Where's Ryoko?" Mihoshi asked Kiyone just below her. "I was hoping that she might help me with the mopping." 'How can they pester me even in my dreams?' Ryoko thought to herself and sighed. 'They have to realize I'm busy.' "I'm not sure... I think she's taking a nap. She wasn't feeling very well after Ayeka's funeral." "Yeah, that's true. Do you think she'll be okay, Kiyone?" Mihoshi sounded altogether too cheerful despite whatever topic she discussed. "You know Ryoko." Kiyone said. "She always bounces back." 'Indeed she does.' Ryoko shook her head. 'Those two need a vacation.' She tried to settle back into her nap but loud footsteps from the stairs brought back her to awareness again. "Ryoko?" Tenchi asked and she could tell he was looking up at where she was lying. With an irritated sigh, she rolled off the rafter and floated to the ground. "Hey, Tenchi." She regarded him with her head cocked to the side. "What are you up to?" "Getting some rest... Didn't sleep too well last night." "Oh... okay." "Why, what's up?" "I thought you might want to go for a walk... get some fresh air?" Ryoko shrugged and smiled, taking his arm. "Sure, why not?" "Great." They left the house and started down the path toward the pond. The sun was beaming through light cloud coverage and the birds were noisily chirping. Ryoko looked around hand to be impressed with her subconscious vision of the place. 'Did a great job.' "What ya thinking about?" Tenchi's voice brought her from her reverie and she turned her attention to him. "The weather... it's been exceptionally nice as of late." "Yeah, it's not been too bad." He scanned the area as they arrived at the pond. "It's especially nice here in my opinion." She knelt by the water and tested it with a finger. "I don't know when I've been so... relaxed." "Huh?" Tenchi knelt beside her. "It's just that I... I guess that I'm just not stressed right now." "What would you be stressed about?" "A whole lot of things." She stared into the water. "Not worth talking about." "Hmm." He placed his fingers on her chin and gently turned her head toward him. "Then maybe we shouldn't be talking." He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, eyes closing as they embraced. Ryoko's body tensed and she couldn't believe what was happening. 'How long have I wanted this?' Her mind was practically screaming at her. 'It's twice as nice as I thought it would be...' She lost track of time in his arms and when she realized where she was, they were lying in front of the pond. She was using Tenchi's bare chest as a pillow and his breathing was rhythmic and calm-he was sound asleep. 'Did we just-' She couldn't let herself believe it. 'No... There's no way I wouldn't have remembered every detail about that... Right?' She nuzzled against him and closed her eyes. 'Either way, who cares?' She got back to the nap she left at the rafters. * * * Tickling... a bug on her face? She brushed it away, a lock of her hair and tried to find the same depth of sleep she'd left. The wind was picking up, audibly brushing the leaves against the branches. It was chill, her flesh reacted with a shudder and she opened her eyes. 'Come on dream... what's this all about?' A gasp escaped her lips as she looked at the sky. Dark clouds were rolling in-ominous and threatening with thin threads of lightning dancing across their mass. She shook Tenchi and he bolted awake. "What?" He asked in a confused tone, his eyes following her gaze to the sky. "Woe! We have to get out of here." He pulled his shirt on and they were on their feet and hurrying back to the house. "That's a really strange storm, Tenchi." Ryoko commented, hoping he might fill her in on what her subconscious was creating. "I know... It reminds me of the storm the night Sasami was taken by Yazuha." "But a little different..." They arrived at the house and she stopped on the porch. "Like maybe someone's coming through a portal?" "Maybe we should ask Miss Washu?" Ryoko nodded. "I need to talk to her anyway." * * * "It seems that the thing that made Ryoko disappear has arrived." Washu appeared at the door to the dining room and leaned against the wall, gauging everyone's confused reaction before continuing. "And I couldn't tell you exactly what it is." "How did you find this out?" Tenchi asked, setting down a bowel of rice. "I was doing some research to see how we could break the barrier of the two worlds and there was more distortion in the temporal alignment... The same kind that I found when we realized that Ryoko was gone, which leads me to believe-" "That the creature could be from whatever world Ryoko went to?" Ayeka offered and Washu nodded. "But it's deeper than that." Washu continued. "Again, I still don't necessarily believe that Ryoko's transfer between worlds caused that temporal rift... What if it followed her?" No one said anything but it was pretty obvious what they were thinking. Tenchi finally pushed himself up and clenched his fists. "Can you track where it went to, Washu?" "I'm in the process of doing so as we speak..." * * * "Tenchi..." Ryoko was sitting on the bed watching him in his bathroom. "Tenchi, I have to tell you something." "What is it dear?" He had to yell over the water and the thunder outside. The storm was getting worse as the night went on. "Tenchi... I'm not... I'm not from this world." He glanced at her over his shoulder. "Do I have to make a sarcastic comment about that?" "It's the truth, Tenchi." She slapped her knees. "Washu is working on getting me back... to reality." Tenchi chuckled and came out of the bathroom. "What are you talking about? Reality?" "This is all my... my dream world, my conscience. It has nothing to do with the real world." "So... you're asleep somewhere? In some other world?" He tilted his head curiously. "Well, no... not exactly. Apparently, I teleported here." "Oh sure." He smiled. "Quit kidding around, Ryoko." "Damn it, Tenchi! I'm telling you the truth!" She hopped to her feet and opened the door. "Where are you going?" "To see what Washu has come up with on my getting back. This isn't supposed to be." She closed the door behind her but heard Tenchi hot on her heels. "Wait!" He opened the door. "What's wrong? Where did all this come from?" "Tenchi, why can't you understand that I'm not fooling around? I'm not kidding!" "But..." He looked flustered. "Let me come with you to see Miss Washu." "I'd rather you didn't." She bit her lip as she proceeded down the stairs, catching a tear before it got to her cheek. * * * Washu looked at her oddly and shrugged. "I'm afraid we have a problem, Ryoko." "What's that?" Ryoko asked as she closed the door behind her. "Apparently, whatever you were fleeing from has pursued you here." Washu looked up at a monitor. "And I can't even begin to tell you what it is." "It's pursued me?" Ryoko's eyes widened. "Do you know where it's from?" "According to my readings, it's from here. It's an original inhabitant." "You're kidding." Ryoko paced. "It's a creature from... my dreams?" "From the world your dreams invented." Ryoko was starting to lose her temper. "Washu, tell me everything now... I'm tired of these games. What do you mean? That this place is real?" "Yeah, it's very real." "You could've told me that in the beginning!" Ryoko glared at her. "I've been treating it like it's nothing but an illusion!" "Even had you left physically, you had to realize that you'd return spiritually eventually." "I'm afraid that I had other things on my mind actually." Ryoko tapped her thigh as she paced. "So what do I do? Face this thing? Is it out to kill me? What's the score?" "I think that's what we need to dedicate our efforts to finding out." "Is it time to bring the others in on this?" Ryoko looked at Washu. "I tried to tell Tenchi but he wouldn't believe. With your help, maybe he would. Then we can prepare everyone-especially if this place is real." Washu left to collect everyone and Ryoko sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she hugged them and rocked in thought. 'Okay whatever you are... I'll be ready. Lord help you when you find me.' * * * "Okay everyone, listen up." Washu sat in her chair in the lab and pointed at a monitor. "I've tracked Ryoko to an obscure dimension in time/space... For ease of explanation, Ryoko has transported herself into a world created by her dreams." There were random gasps from everyone. "How can that be?" Ayeka asked first. "Very simple really." Washu shrugged. "Time and space can be manipulated by the mind very easily. All it takes is the will to do so and the desire to make the change. All of us have created a world like this-a world that we spend each night in. Ryoko just had the benefit of moving herself to hers when she was in trouble-quite accidentally I'm sure." "So she's in a... a dream?" Tenchi asked. "Oh how cool!" Mihoshi clapped her hands together. Kiyone gave her an exasperated look. "Not exactly, Tenchi." Washu looked back at the monitor. "At one time, our dreams were just that-ideas by definition. But the more time we spend in them, the more real they become." "It figures that Ryoko's would be powerful enough to let her dwell there." Ayeka muttered. "She sleeps more than anyone." "How do we get there, Washu?" Kiyone asked. "That's the tricky part. I've developed a machine that could penetrate the barrier and send someone through... but it could be dangerous." "When hasn't it been?" Tenchi asked. "It's just that... I don't know what sort of rules Ryoko's world might have. It could be incredibly dangerous." "So what do you propose then, leaving her there?" Ayeka asked. "Of course not." Washu smiled. "I'm much too prepared for such a minor inconvenience." She waved behind her. "Instead of sending someone to this dimension with their body, I've rigged a machine that will let them go with their mind... Just like as if you were dreaming but you'll be aware of your actions and be able to control it... like a state of lucidity." "That's great, Washu!" Tenchi smiled. "When do we go?" Ayeka asked. "It'll just take an hour to set it up for transport... get yourselves ready." Washu turned away and Tenchi nodded to the others before leaving the room. "I need to inform Grandpa." He said to Ayeka before heading outside and she turned to Kiyone. "Will you be coming with us?" "I'd like to help Ryoko." Kiyone looked at Mihoshi. "What about you?" "If you're going, I'm going, Kiyone." Mihoshi smiled. "We'll meet you back here in an hour, Ayeka." The three parted ways to prepare for the journey ahead.