DISCLAIMER: Okay, here's the low-down. The characters, spaceships, and 
honorable fathers in this story are all property of AIC and Pioneer. 
However, this excludes any and all characters, ships, and fathers that 
I created. This story is my property, and I really don't want you to 
copy it without asking. If you do copy it, I won't do anything to 
you, but I really wouldn't like it.

This chapter of the story takes place after the previous chapter, 
which, by the way, is chapter 2. I hope you enjoy reading this story 
as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Special Thanks to Kelly Loyd for proofreading.



No Need For Souls!
A TM! Fanfiction
By RP-Otaku

Chapter Three: Threats and Revelations



"Ryoko-neechan! Wake up, breakfast is ready!" Sasami shook Ryoko's
shoulder gently, trying to awaken the sleeping demoness. Ryoko smiled
in her sleep, and rolled over on the couch.

"Ryoko-neechan! Please wake up!" Sasami was getting a bit impatient.
I made this great breakfast and she won't even wake up! Come on, 
Ryoko, it's really good, wake up!

Aeka slowly descended the stairs. "Sasami, what's the matter?" She
asked.

"Ryoko-oneechan won't wake up!"

Aeka frowned. "That woman! What could make her tired?! It's not like
she expends any energy around here! All she *does* is lay around and
sleep!"

Tenchi came up behind her. "Ohayo! What's going on?"

Aeka looked at him irritably. "That woman won't wake up! She is 
making Sasami upset."

Sasami said, "I made breakfast really good this morning, but she won't
wake up!"

Tenchi yawned. "Let her sleep for now, Sasami-chan. She had a rough
night last night."

Aeka's mind quickly ran through a short list of what that statement
could mean. All of them involved Tenchi being with Ryoko last night,
and Aeka didn't like *any* of them. "Tenchi-sama... what do you mean
by that?" She asked hesitantly.

"She had a horrible nightmare and couldn't sleep. Her screaming woke
me up."

"Screaming?" This was a possibility that Aeka had overlooked.

"She had a nightmare that was *that* bad? I thought I was the only one
with nightmares like that." Sasami commented.

Tenchi nodded. "Thankfully, she eventually went back to sleep. I think
she'd love to have some of your cooking when she wakes up, though. 
Sasami-chan, could you please save some for her?"

"Sure, Tenchi-niichan! By the way, could you tell Washu-oneechan that
breakfast is ready?"

"Um...I'd really rather not...oh, I suppose I..."

Ryoko suddenly yawned. She stretched luxuriously on the couch. She sat
up. "Ohayo, everybody."

"Ohayo." Everybody replied. Ryoko blinked.

"I guess I'd better go tell Washu, then." Tenchi said.

Ryoko sat up straighter. "Tell her what, Tenchi? You aren't planning
to go into her lab, are you?"

Tenchi scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah. I need to tell her
that breakfast is ready..."

Ryoko jumped to her feet. "Forget it! Tenchi, you're never going into
that lab again! Or, at least, not unescorted! I'll go tell her that
breakfast is... Hey, Sasami, breakfast smells really good. Have I been
asleep *that* long?"

Sasami nodded. Ryoko vanished. Aeka turned to Tenchi, a questioning
look on her face. "What was that all about?" She asked.

Nervously, Tenchi said, "Heh. Well, it's a long story. And, um, I'm 
hungry, let's go eat!"

"I want to know *now*, Tenchi-sama." Aeka demanded.

"Aeka-san, I *really* think this should wait until another time, 
okay?"

Aeka eyed him suspiciously. "Okay. But I'm going to find out 
eventually."

---

Far away from the Masaki household, in the middle of space, there 
was a spaceship. In fact, it was a battleship. An Ojoran battleship.
On the bridge of the ship stood a figure, cloaked in black. The figure
smiled, it's red eyes gazing coldly into space. The Masaki family line
will end. Then I will take care of Jurai. After that, the entire 
galaxy will be at *my* mercy! The figure thought in elation. A hollow
laugh echoed through the ship. The battleship continued on it's path
through space, directly towards a backwoods planet called Earth.

---

Ryoko lay on the roof of the Masaki home, watching the sun as it made
it's lazy way to the west. As the sun began to set, she heard someone
climb onto the roof. Hmmm, she thought, footsteps are too heavy for
any of the girls, too light for Nobuyuki, and Yosho makes no sound at
all... "Konnichiwa, Tenchi." Ryoko greeted him.

"Konnichiwa, Ryoko-san." Tenchi walked over and sat down next to her.
"Watching the sunset?"

"Yes."

"Did you get back to sleep okay last night?" He asked her, concerned.

She looked over and smiled at him. "Yeah. With you there with me,
everything was just fine."

He laid down next to her, and they silently enjoyed the sunset 
together. After a few minutes, they heard someone climbing up the 
ladder onto the roof. Ryoko easily identified Aeka before she 
arrived on the rooftop. 

When Aeka saw Tenchi and Ryoko lying next to each other on the roof,
she automatically opened her mouth to protest. "Tenchi-sama!" She 
called. Tenchi looked over and smiled at her.

"Aeka-san! Come over here, enjoy the sunset with us." Tenchi replied.

Her jaw moved up and down soundlessly for a moment, then realizing
that Ryoko was neither pawing at him nor molesting him, and that 
Tenchi *was* serious, she walked over and laid down on the other side
of Tenchi. Together, the trio watched the sun set, for once in total
peace.

Tenchi thought to himself, I wish it could always be like this. No
fighting, no supernatural enemies, no aliens crashing in my backyard.
Just three friends, sharing a peaceful moment and the joy of the
others' company. He smiled to himself. A dream that was not meant to 
be, he was sure. Actually, he was starting to enjoy the exciting life. 
Well, sort of.

"Tenchi. What are you smiling about?" Ryoko asked him curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just reflecting on my life and all the
crazy twists and turns it's taken lately."

"Tenchi-sama, that reminds me," Aeka said, "What happened with
Washu that had Ryoko-san in such a state of anxiety this morning?"

Ryoko let out a low growl, "That *woman* was attempting to take a 
sperm sample from Tenchi. Manually."

"M-Manually?"

Tenchi sighed, dreading their reaction to his next statement. He just
hoped that his father would allow him to wait until tomorrow to fix
the damage to the house. "She also offered to take it in her mouth
and cleavage. And she offered me a...a full course."

"WHAT??!!" the two women chorused.

"I'll kill her!!" Ryoko vowed.

"You'll have to settle with the corpse after *I'm* done with her!!"
Aeka shouted.

Both women jumped up and charged for the ladder, yelling out  
ideas for dismembering the petite red-headed scientist. Tenchi shook
his head. Well, back to the real world, he thought to himself.

---

"Hakubi Ryoko!"

"SHUT UP!!!" Ryoko screamed into the surrounding darkness. "LEAVE ME
ALONE!!!!" Her energy saber appeared in her hand, and she brandished
it before her like a holy symbol.

Nobuyuki appeared at her feet, kneeling. He looked up, and Ryoko
stared into blind eyes. His nose was missing from his face, leaving
only a bloody stump. Blood ran from the corners of his mouth.

"Ryoko. I... I thought you were going to be Tenchi's g-g-girlfriend...
I never expected you to turn on us like this... How can I monitor
his progress in sex... I mean, life, if he's dead...?"

Ryoko knew the specter for what it was, and turned her back.

"Hakubi Ryoko!"

Ryoko gritted her teeth and turned around. Yosho's corpse was lying
on a table, a knife stuck through his head. Mysteriously, he stood
up, and intestines slowly fell out of his stomach to rest on the 
floor. He moaned. "Ryoko... oni... you... killed... us..."

Grimacing, Ryoko took an involuntary step back. She averted her eyes
from Yosho, and when she looked back, he was gone.

"Hakubi Ryoko."

"I TOLD YOU, SHUT UP!!!" She screamed. "And don't call me Hakubi
anymore!! I hate that name!!!"

The cloaked figure appeared beside her. "Hakubi Ryoko, why do you
resist me? Your resistance is in vain. No matter what you attempt, I 
will return. You will know the day I arrive, for I am evil incarnate. I
will twist you to my own ends, and you will never look back. You will 
gladly take the gift of pure hatred, and you will slay these weak ones.
Even the scientist, Hakubi Washu, your own mother. Your power is 
greater even than hers. Before I arrive, you must do something for 
me..."

"NEVER!!!"

Before she could react, the cloaked one grabbed her left wrist, the
one in which a gem was imbedded. "You will obey me!"

"NO!!"

"Yes!" The red eyes began to glow and pulse. On Ryoko's wrist, her
gem began to pulse in rhythm. 

The eyes began to turn a bright yellow. A glaring yellow that 
enveloped the whole of her mind. The figure spoke now in a 
high-pitched voice. "You must obey me... Ryoko-neechan! Ryoko-neechan,
wake up!"

Ryoko opened her eyes, focusing on a freckle-smattered nose and two
worried pink eyes. "Sasami..." She whispered.

"Are you okay, Ryoko-oneechan?"

Ryoko smiled at the princess and nodded. Then she realized that the
sun was already up. "What time is it, Sasami?"

"It's seven o' clock. You were tossing and turning, and Tenchi said
you had bad dreams the night before last..."

"Yeah. Thanks for waking me up, Sasami. I was having a horrible 
nightmare." Ryoko sat up on the couch, rubbing her eyes. She yawned.

Sasami sat down next to her. "Ryoko-oneechan, what was your dream
about?"

Ryoko frowned. "You probably wouldn't want to know."

"Yes I do! It always helps me when I talk about my bad dreams."

Ryoko smiled at Sasami. "Gomen, Sasami-chan, but this was a *really*
bad dream."

"Please tell me, Ryoko-neechan. I want to know about it." Sasami
asked again.

"Well, there was a mysterious cloaked person, and he told me he was
going to force me to kill everyone in this house. And he showed me 
what happened to them."

Sasami looked shocked. This was a lot more than she expected.

"That's horrible." Aeka was descending the stairs. "Was *that* what
your dream was about?"

Ryoko stared at the older princess. "How long have you been eavesdropping?
Don't try to deny it, I know you were."

"Just from the part where Sasami asked you what it was about." She 
replied innocently. "I hardly heard anything at all."

"Ohayo!" Nobuyuki called as he walked through the living room. "I'm
off to work, so you girls take *real* good care of Tenchi, okay?"

"Of course, Nobuyuki-sama." Aeka replied immediately.

"No need for worries!" Ryoko added.

"You bet!" Sasami appended.

Nobuyuki waved good-bye and walked out the front door. Sasami got off
the couch and entered the kitchen, saying that she had to fix 
breakfast. Ryoko phased out of sight.

---

Tenchi was walking out of his bedroom towards the staircase, when he 
suddenly had something wrapped around his chest. He looked down to 
see a pair of arms encircling his torso, and was suddenly aware
of two breasts pressing against his back. He sighed inwardly.

"Ryoko!"

"Yes, darling?" She asked sweetly, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Is there anything you would like me to do for you?"

"Ryoko, please, stop! Let go of me!" Tenchi pleaded with her.

"Oh, Tenchi! I know you're still upset because Princess Ogress
interrupted us the other day. So, come on, let's finish what we 
started..." She finished the sentence in a promising voice, and 
started to pull him back towards his room.

"RYOKO!! Let go of Tenchi-sama at once!!" Aeka shouted at Ryoko from
across the hall.

Ryoko groaned. "Oh no, Tenchi! Here's the Ogress to spoil our fun!
Please, Tenchi, stop her!"

"How dare you call me such a thing!! I'll teach you a lesson, now 
unhand Tenchi-sama!" Aeka summoned a dozen tiny logs to float around
herself.

Ryoko released Tenchi, who quickly retreated to his room, and clasped
her hands together. "Come on, Oujo-chan, let's have it out."

"Don't *call* me that!"

A sphere of energy formed between Ryoko's hands, and started to grow.
Bands of bright red power began to swirl around the sphere, and it
grew to the size of a volleyball.

Aeka's logs appeared around Ryoko, and continued to enlarge in 
number.

With a flick of her wrists, Ryoko tossed a basketball sized energy
sphere at Aeka, as the princess activated her logs and tendrils of 
electricity fired out of them, catching Ryoko in the midst of the 
beams. Ryoko's energy blast knocked Aeka flying through a wall, and
she flew backwards an impressive distance. Ryoko collapsed on the floor, 
convulsing as electricity permeated her body. Both women screamed in 
pain, and Tenchi rushed out of his room, slamming the door open.

"Ryoko! What happened?!!" He knelt next to Ryoko's smoking form as the
floating logs faded away.

She coughed, and rolled over to look at him. "I'm all right, Tenchi.
Don't worry about it."

"Where's Aeka-san?" he asked, concerned.

Ryoko gestured to his left. Tenchi turned. Fully half of the second
story of his house had been obliterated, leaving an empty void of air
just a few feet from Ryoko's head.

"Kami... Ryoko! Did you do this?!" Tenchi demanded of her angrily.

She closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn't yell at her. She slowly 
nodded.

"Do you have any idea how much work this is going to take?! It'll take
forever to rebuild, if I can ever figure out how to get down!! Did you
consider that Sasami or Mihoshi might be caught in the blast?!! What
about Aeka?! Did you kill her?!" Ryoko just lay on the floor 
impassively, flinching after every accusation. "You never think! You
and Aeka have to stop fighting!! It's just too much to take! The next
time you two fight, I'm going to throw you out!!"

Ryoko started, then leapt to her feet. "Tenchi! You can't really mean
that?! Tenchi!"

He crossed his arms. "I mean it. I've had it up to here," He gestured
at his neck with his left hand, "And I'm sick of it! The next time
something explodes around here, both of you are going home!"

"Tenchi!" Tears welled up in Ryoko's eyes. "Tenchi! This *is* my 
home!"

"You'll have to leave."

"I have nowhere else! Tenchi! You *can't*!"

Ignoring her, Tenchi walked over to the edge of the floor. "Miho-san!
Sasami-chan! Are you alright?"

Mihoshi walked into his field of vision. "Hai! Tenchi-sama! I'm okay!"
Sasami joined her. "The kitchen's untouched, Tenchi-niichan!" Ryo-Ohki
hopped onto her head. "Miya!"

Tenchi gave a relieved sigh. He turned back to Ryoko, who was standing
still, a tear on her cheek. "You should be glad that no one was hurt
because of that stunt you pulled. I never want that to happen again.
Ever." Tenchi walked past her and into his room, shutting the door
behind him.

In the hallway, Ryoko stared at his shut door. "Tenchi..." She 
whispered. Ryoko faded out of sight.

---

Underneath Funaho, Aeka landed on a force field created by her 
guardians. She lay there for a moment, before standing up at the base
of the great tree.

I can't believe it! How could she do something like that to 
Tenchi-sama's house? What a monster! He shall surely be upset over it.
I will gladly inflict the punishment on her myself. I ought to see if 
I can borrow Tenchi-ken for an afternoon... Perhaps I could get Washu 
to conjure me a rack, or maybe an iron maiden...

She began her trek back to the Masaki household, ideas of how she 
could torture Ryoko flitting through her mind.

As Aeka entered the newly repaired Masaki home (Washu said that this
was the *last* time, or she would demand compensation...in the form
of a certain sample...), the sun was setting. She noticed Ryoko 
sitting in the rafters above her. "Ryoko! There you are! I demand an 
apology for what you did! Both to me and to Tenchi-sama!"

Ryoko was curled up in a fetal position, her back towards Aeka. As 
she turned around, Aeka saw that the pirate had been crying. Tears
streaked her face and her eyes were red and puffy. She spoke: 
"T-Tenchi... Tenchi said that if w-we f-f-fought any more... h-he'd.."
She paused to choke down a sob. "He'd kick us ou-out..." Ryoko began
to cry again, and she turned away from the princess. 

Aeka paled. She shivered for a moment. "Y-You're lying! Tenchi-sama
would not do such a thing!" Aeka ran up the stairs, heading for 
Tenchi's room.

Ryoko phased out of sight, and reappeared on the roof. Washu stood 
there.

"Ah ha!" The little scientist cried out in glee. "I knew you'd show
up here eventually! Ryoko-chan, we need to talk."

"I don't wanna talk to you. Leave me alone." Ryoko faded out of sight.

"Hmph." Washu stamped her foot in impatience. Children! It's more
work for a mother to have a foolish daughter. Obviously I didn't put
her over my knee enough when she was little, the rebellious brat!

Ryoko sat underneath Funaho, skipping stones over the water of the
lake. She relaxed against the trunk of the tree. I can't believe it!
He actually threatened to...threatened to...threatened to kick me
out... If only... If only Aeka and I could stop fighting. I remember
now, that was going to be my Yugeris present to him, a day without 
Aeka and I fighting. Yugeris is long past now, neither of us
got him a present. Well, he doesn't want us to fight. If we fight, 
he'll kick us out. No he won't! Tenchi isn't like that! He would never
do that!

Or would he? Does he hate it so much when we fight? I know he doesn't
like it... But she *really* gets on my nerves! And sometimes when I'm
just playing she takes it so *seriously* and starts the fights. And
she gets in my way, she never lets me and Tenchi be alone... Maybe
he likes her more? Never! We are destined for each other! It has to
be! Otherwise... I'd have nothing... Well, Aeka gets pissed the most
when I'm trying to seduce Tenchi... If I stop, do you think we could
stop fighting? I don't want to hurt Tenchi, but I love him so much! I
want to be with him every moment, no matter what! But what if he 
doesn't love me... He does! He loves me too! He *has* to! 

I will not fight with Aeka! At least, not for awhile, until Tenchi
forgets about this whole incident. I'll stop trying to seduce Tenchi,
and I'll make myself look really good. Maybe if I deliberately *stop*
a fight! Then he'll be so proud of me!

Alone with her thoughts, Ryoko drifted off to sleep. Unobserved by
the sleeping pirate, a black specter appeared above her. It's red eyes
gazed at her comatose form. It slowly descended to enter her mind.
A multitude of sparkling lights rose up from the lake. The form of 
Tsunami appeared.

"Stop!" She ordered the specter.

The specter looked at her angrily. "What do you want, woman?"

"Wraith! Begone! This girl is under *my* protection tonight! Leave her
in peace!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that." A ball of roiling flame appeared in one
of the specter's gloved hands. "Prepare to face my wrath!" The 
fireball shot towards Tsunami.

The fireball passed through her, and Tsunami did not even flinch. She
raised one hand, and a great gout of water rose up and washed towards
the specter. The specter screamed as it was doused in water, and it
vanished. Ryoko didn't stir. Tsunami's determined eyes watched the
specter disappear. Her expression softened as she looked back towards
Ryoko. "Sleep, child. Tonight no one will trouble you. When you
awake, you will seek out Washu, and learn the truth and purpose of
these visions. Oyasumi, Ryoko-chan." Slowly, Tsunami faded back into
the night.

---

Ryoko yawned and stretched. Hmmm, she thought, I fell asleep out here.
And not a dream! For once a relaxing night! Grinning, she tried to 
push herself off the ground. She felt her hands sliding on soaking wet
grass. Ryoko slipped and fell, hitting her head against Funaho.

"Ouch." She muttered. Ryoko felt the ground all around her, and 
Funaho. Everything around her was soaked. Did it rain last night? 
Couldn't have. I'm totally dry! What the hell? She teleported across 
the lake. Funaho and the grass around it sparkled faintly with water.
With an irritated glance back at the tree, Ryoko teleported to the
Masaki home.

---

Tenchi was putting on his work shoes as Ryoko teleported into the air
right above him. He glanced up as he felt an unexpected presence above
him. A split-second later, when he realized he was looking up the 
skirt of a familiar blue and yellow dress, he turned a bright shade of
red and a drop of blood dripped out of his nose.

Ryoko heard a crash right below her, and glanced downward. Tenchi was
lying on the ground, blushing furiously with a bloody nose. "Oh!
Tenchi!" Ryoko sat down next to him. "Are you alright?"

Tenchi nodded. "Yes. I'll be fine."

"Oh! That's so great, Tenchi!" Ryoko cooed, hugging him. It was about
that time that she recalled her decision. No more seducing Tenchi. She
sighed and released him. "You gonna be alright?"

Tenchi was incredibly surprised when Ryoko released him before Aeka
barged in and tried to blast her. "Yeah Ryoko. Um, I've got to go to
the fields now, okay?"

"Sure Tenchi." Ryoko smiled and waved as Tenchi walked out the door.
When he was gone, she relaxed and sat back against a wall. "Well, that
wasn't too tough. No problem." She shivered. Ryoko suddenly felt an
urge to fly after him, catch up and apologize. Apologize for what? 
Apologize for ignoring him. She sighed. I won't have to do this for
long. No way he'll kick me out if I don't fight with Aeka. That's all
I have to do, avoid fighting with...

"Ryoko-san?" Aeka asked from the doorway of the kitchen.

"Aeka." Ryoko turned to the object of her thoughts. "Ohayo."

"Ohayo. Sasami saved breakfast for you, she said it's in the oven."

"Arigato, Princess." Ryoko teleported into the kitchen. To her 
surprise, Washu was sitting at the table, enjoying a bowl of miso
soup. "Ohayo, Washu."

Washu looked up, "Ohayo, Ryoko-chan. Listen, we need to talk about the
dreams you've been having lately."

"Sure." Ryoko didn't really feel like talking about them, but she just
felt compelled to talk to Washu about them. She retrieved a bowl of
miso soup from the oven. She set the bowl down, waiting for the 
steaming hot soup to cool off. "What's up?"

Washu looked at Ryoko very seriously. "They're being sent to you by
someone else."

Ryoko chuckled and downed some soup. "Sure. Sounds interesting. Next
you'll tell me that you're a goddess."

Washu looked cross. "Ryoko-chan. I'm serious. And, though I'm kawaii
enough, I'm *not* a goddess. Now, let me tell you about this facet of
your powers. It's an off-shoot of the Masu's power to think together
in a 'hive-mind' type of relation-"

"Hold on a sec. The Masu? Who're they?"

"The Masu is your father."

"It's a *guy*? Not only a guy, but a guy with a stupid name. You must
have *really* been unpopular with men if you married a guy named
'Masu.'" Ryoko laughed.

"It's *not* a guy!!" Washu yelled. Ryoko shut up. "Now, stay quiet as
I explain this to you. It's not important what the Masu are, as long
as you know that with the proper skill and equipment, it would be
possible to implant suggestions into your mind, via dreams. Of course,
unlike Kagato, whomever is doing this cannot control you fully, so
they are resorting to suggestion. I don't know how they hope to 
convince you to do anything as drastic as kill everyone but--"

"Hold on a sec. How do *you* know what my dreams are about?"

"I said to stay quiet! You forget, daughter, that I have the same
connection to you as you have to Ryo-Ohki."

"Yeah, but it's like empathy! You can't tell what I'm thinking or
dreaming."

"Well, I can, but it's a pain in the butt and not really worth it for 
*your* mind. But, actually, being the genius that I am, I went for
the most efficient method."

"Which was...?"

"I asked Tenchi."

Ryoko face-faulted.

"Anyway, if you manage to resist his-"

"I don't know for sure it's a him."

"It doesn't matter! It's probably a him, men are so violence-prone.
Always thinking with testosterone and testicles, never with their
brains, like normal people."

Ryoko cleared her throat. "I think that I've proven that *Tenchi* 
doesn't think with his balls."

"Possibly...but your breasts *are* sagging!"

"They are not!"

"Oh yes they are."

"No they're not!"

"Yes they are."

"They aren't! And how can *you* tell!?"

"Call it 'Mother's Intuition'. And, they are."

Ryoko's clothes vanished in a flash of light. "Look at them! They are
*obviously* not!" She hefted her breasts to demonstrate.

Tenchi, just entering with a basket of carrots, fainted.

A sweatdrop appeared on both Ryoko and Washu's heads. Washu turned 
back to Ryoko and said, "Remember, Ryoko-chan, you can kick him out 
of your dreams very easily. Just kill him while he's trying to 
manipulate you."

"And another thing!" Ryoko said. "He keeps calling me 'Hakubi Ryoko'!
That's the worst part of it all!" The former space pirate disappeared.

Washu reached out a hand toward her. As her daughter disappeared, 
Washu sighed. 'Is it really so horrible?' was Washu's first thought. 
Her second was 'Isn't there anything I can do to fix it?' She 
dejectedly trudged back to her lab. As she reached out to push the 
door open, she wondered to herself. What am I really doing in here?
Curing every disease ever known? No. Hiding from the world and 
performing useless experiments. I'm the Greatest Scientific Mind this
side of the Big Bang, and I can't even have a little fun, or make 
peace with my daughter! Aeka passed by her, and Washu reached out and
grabbed the sleeve of her kimono.

"Um... Washu-sama? What is it?" Aeka asked her curiously.

Washu fidgeted for a moment, then asked, "Um, how about we all go on 
a picnic a little later on?"

Caught off-guard, Aeka hesitated. "Well, sure. Washu-sama... I'll go
mention it to Sasami."

"Arigato. I'll be in my lab if you need me." Washu quickly entered her
lab and let out a breath. Well, step one in operation Be Social. Now,
I suppose I'll surf this planet's internet, make online friends. It
always seems to work in the movies. Well, actually, in the movies
everyone's a psychopathic terrorist, but that's celluloid for you.

Outside the lab, Aeka walked over to Sasami, thinking. Washu thanked
me? She *wants* to go on a picnic? I didn't find Ryoko molesting 
Tenchi-sama? This is definitely the strangest day of my life. "Sasami?"

"Oneesama?"

"How would you like to go on a picnic with Washu and me?"

"Really? That's great! I'll start on lunch!"

---

Tenchi slowly regained consciousness on the kitchen floor. He had
heard part of the conversation leading up to Ryoko's disappearing
clothes. Feeling the drop of blood that ran out of his nose, he 
decided that Ryoko was probably the winner in that argument. Tenchi 
sat up. He was surprised that Ryoko hadn't grabbed him before he hit 
the floor and teleported him to his room and tried to undress him as
soon as he woke up. Perhaps Aeka interrupted.

"Tenchi-niichan! You're back! Want to come on a picnic?" Sasami asked
him as she entered the kitchen.

"Sure, Sasami-chan."

"Great! I'll just toss something together and we'll go eat!"

---

Ryoko sat atop the Masaki shrine, enjoying an apple. She dozed for a
while, not in a deep enough sleep to dream, but just tired enough to
pass the time. At one point she heard Sasami giggling. What is Sasami
doing up here? she thought to herself. Deciding to drop in and say hi,
Ryoko flew towards the source of the noise. What she saw stunned her.

Everyone, including Yosho, sat in a clearing enjoying a picnic lunch.
There was Tenchi, and Aeka, sitting on the grass, slurping noodles!
Ryoko was stunned. She saw Aeka laugh at something, and rage boiled
within her. Princess! How *dare* you take away my Tenchi!! I'll kill
you! I'll rip you apart from the inside out!! Ryoko dove towards the
group sitting together in the forest. 

Washu looked straight up at Ryoko. [Stop!] The command echoed in 
Ryoko's mind.

Ryoko halted in mid-air, floating confusedly. There was no one close
enough to talk to her...

[Listen Up, Daughter, This Takes A Lot Of Energy. If You Flew In Here
Now And Started Blasting, No One Would Enjoy It, Especially Not 
Tenchi-Dono. I Suggested This Picnic, If You Would Like To Join Us, 
Come Peacefully And Avoid Fighting With Aeka-Dono.]

Mystified, Ryoko watched from above as Washu leaned over and served
herself some more noodles. Her gaze shifted to Tenchi, and she sighed
as she watched him enjoy himself. He was having fun without her! Is it
so wrong, she thought, to want to spend every moment I can with him?
Discontented, Ryoko disappeared.

In a moment she reappeared not too far from the gathering. She slowly
approached them. Tenchi and Yosho were not facing her, but Sasami and
Mihoshi were looking straight at her. Sasami cried out with joy,
"Ryoko-neechan! You found us! We were wondering where you were, we
couldn't find you *anywhere*!"

"Yes," Mihoshi added, "We even found Yosho-sama on the way
here! He was over by the river, watching grass grow!"

"It is a very relaxing exercise, and aids in meditation." Yosho 
interjected.

Mihoshi continued as if never interrupted. "But we couldn't find you,
Ryoko! You weren't on the roof, or with Funaho, or *any* of
your usual places, and Aeka said that the only good Ryoko is a
dead-"

"Mihoshi!" Aeka clapped a hand over her the detective's mouth. 
"That's quite enough, Mihoshi. You needn't bore her with the details
of our long, arduous search." Aeka smiled nervously at Ryoko, a
sweatdrop appearing on her head.

Ryoko smirked. "Quite alright. I understand how you felt about 
including me. I'm very touched by your concern." She was on the verge
of adding "And Aeka, I'm glad you've already figured out that you
have no hope of winning Tenchi against me", but remembered her
promise to herself. As she walked over to sit beside Tenchi, Aeka
cleared her throat. Once again, Ryoko painfully acknowledged her
promise, and sat next to her mother.

"So, Sasami, what'd you bring?"

The picnic continued in relative peace, Tenchi both mystified and 
relieved at the lack of combat between the two women. During the 
picnic, a thought occurred to Ryoko. She leaned over and whispered in
Washu's ear. "Hey, Washu."

"Call me 'Mom'" Washu replied.

"Whatever. Y'know that dream? Well, I've been kinda slacking off in
my training and..."

"You want to be ready for the battle if it comes to that. Well, it 
just so happens that I've been working on a little something that 
could help you with that..."

---

Ryoko stood on the roof of the Masaki home, wearing an odd variation
of her combat outfit (see the cover of the Tenchi Muyo Collection Vol.
1, or for a picture, e-mail me). Her lithe form silhoutted against the 
full moon, she brandished a stolen laser rifle. A dozen battle droids 
rushed at her, charging up lasers. All fired simultaneously, spreading 
a net of laser fire over Ryoko. She easily teleported away and fired 
the laser rifle into their midst. They scattered, though she caught one 
of them with a glancing blow. It merely shrugged it off and returned 
fire. Cursing, Ryoko dropped the rifle as the barrel was blown in half. 
A ball of electricity appeared in one hand, and she released it towards 
a cluster of three of the droids. They scattered, firing at her, and 
her shot blew a sizable chunk out of the roof.

All twelve droids clustered together again, and fired a concentrated
salvo straight at Ryoko. With lightning-quick reflexes Ryoko flew out
of the way, narrowly dodging a shot aimed straight for her head. An
oval of energy appeared before her, and she grabbed it, then released
an answering salvo of energy back at the droids. Two of them she hit
dead-on, and they detonated in a bright blast of fire. The remaining
ten surrounded her, still firing their lasers. She teleported away yet
again, and conjured her energy sword. Ryoko teleported back to the
rooftop, right in front of one of the droids. With a growl, she heaved
her saber straight through the droid, and it detonated, along with two
robots straight behind it.

Chuckling, Ryoko slashed another droid in half, reducing their number
to six. Another droid ventured a bit closer to her, and as it charged
it's laser cannon, she sliced it off. Immediately, it revealed a
secondary minigun, and started to fire at her. Ryoko flipped away,
created her energy saber, and threw it at the droid. It reacted 
instantly and dodged. More than a little irritated, Ryoko teleported 
behind it. As it attempted to pivot, she brought her hand back, then
with a flash of light and a fantastic release of power, she unleashed
a huge beam of energy, and blew the robot to dust. Two more droids
brought out miniguns and began to fire. Ryoko responded with a hail
of electrical blasts, decimating them. One droid opened a missile 
launcher and called out in a monotone voice: "Preparing Nuclear 
Warhead One". Ryoko gulped, decided that would be rather painful, and
aimed for it. The other two droids moved in front of it, and unleashed
a terrific salvo of laser blasts and gunfire simultaneously. Ryoko
teleported next to one of them and slashed it in half vertically. The
other turned towards her, firing. Ryoko sank into the roof. The robot
began to fire downward as Ryoko appeared above it's head and rammed her
sword into it.

The other robot fired the nuclear missile. Ryoko teleported away, but
when she turned back, the missile was correcting it's course and 
heading towards her again. As it approached, Ryoko caught it. She gave
a weak laugh. Well! That was fun. I gotta get rid of this thing! She
heaved it towards the sun, as hard as she could. Then she turned back
to the robot, which was fleeing like a hare. In an instant she was in
front of it. It barrelled straight into her, and bounced off. It 
crashed to the ground, and Ryoko rested one foot on it. "Ah ah ah. You
tried to kill me. That's *not* a good thing. For you."

The droid shoved her foot off and stood. Ryoko smirked and rammed her
fist through it's chest. Her hand firmly planted inside of it's guts,
she summoned her powers and detonated an energy blast. The ensuing
fireball lit up the night sky for miles in every direction.

---

"So, what do you think?" Ryoko took off the headset as Washu requested
an opinion on her latest masterpiece. Ryoko was drenched with sweat.
"I like it." She replied. "It's incredibly realistic. But what kind
of AI did you put in this thing? The guards on Jurai weren't this 
smart!"

Washu grinned. "I programmed it myself. This isn't quite *my* 
intelligence, but it's pretty good. I'd say it's just a bit dumber
than say, Tenchi."

Ryoko looked at her mother suspiciously. "Did you use his DNA for 
these things?"

"Of course not! I told you, it's all programming! I didn't give it
anyone's brain, especially since you never know what could happen with
the emotional part... It does, however, have a 'learning chip', so the
same strategies won't work over and over again. You did pretty well
for only having one gem in that one."

"Thanks. Actually, there were a couple of moments I was tempted to 
summon a few spirits to distract some of them, but I remembered that
I only have one jewel."

"That's good. I figure that with this, you can keep in shape, get 
those breasts back up, and be in prime fighting condition the next
time a psychotic megalomaniacal alien superpower decides to drop in
and steal Tsunami."

"My breasts are *not* sagging!"

"If you say so. But don't say I didn't warn you!"

"Why you..." Ryoko trailed off. "Washu, how did you talk to me today?
While you and Tenchi were at the picnic?"

"Ryoko-chan, I told you. I can put out a bit more energy and 
communicate with you like that. It's no problem for me. We can't with
Ryo-Ohki because she doesn't think in any normal language, though she
can understand ours. You can't do it because you don't have access to
that kind of power. If you had three gems, maybe only two, you would
have enough energy at your disposal. But, otherwise, it's only a 
one-way conversation."

"Okay. Why was everyone at that picnic?"

"I asked Aeka-dono if she and Sasami would like to go on a picnic 
with me, Sasami found Tenchi-dono in the kitchen, and Katsuhito-dono 
was, as Mihoshi so blithely pointed out, watching the grass grow."

"Do you think you could get Aeka and Tenchi to train too? If I had
all my gems I wouldn't be worried, but at this point I think it would
be best if we all stood a fighting chance against whoever it is that's 
trying to kill us."

"Well, I'll see what I can do about a Virtual Reality program for
Aeka-dono, though I don't know how she'll react to a suggestion that 
she isn't good enough to protect Tenchi-dono as she is. Tenchi-dono, 
however, is already in training."

"He is?" Ryoko asked, surprised.

"Of course. Katsuhito-dono has been training him since an early age.
He is one of the masters, I doubt I could give Tenchi-dono better
training myself."

"But... Tenchi's still no match for him! Yosho could beat him in a
swordfight any day!"

"Katsuhito-dono is still one of the finest swordsmen the galaxy has
to offer. Besides, if Tenchi-dono was in a real life and death sword
fight, you'd be surprised at how well he'd fare."

"But he totally *sucked* when he fought Kagato at the lake!" Ryoko
pointed out.

"He did? You know, if I had that sperm sample, I'd be able to judge
his possible actions and reactions much better..."

"Washu!" Ryoko protested.

Washu laughed. "Lighten up, Ryoko-chan, I was only joking. And call 
me 'Mom'!"

Hesitantly, Ryoko asked, "Mom... Can I have your honest opinion?"

"Of course, Ryoko-chan."

"No tricks? No games?"

"No games."

"Who do you think has a better chance of getting Tenchi, me or Aeka?"

"I don't know."

"WHAT?!"

"I have made it a point not to observe Tenchi's behavior on this 
subject, because I knew that at least one of you would eventually ask.
So, I don't know."

"Oh." Ryoko was a bit sad, but excited at the same time. At least she
didn't get the answer she *didn't* want!

"Don't worry about it, Ryoko-chan. I'm sure that if your heart's in
the right place, every thing will come out all right in the end."

"You think so?"

"I was in love once, too. Don't feel like you're the only one." Washu
chuckled and nudged her daughter in the ribs. "You'll be fine. Except,
I think it might be a good idea for you to stop trying to get Tenchi
in bed. I think you ought to wait until after he declares his love for
you to try that."

"Alright. I already decided to do that, since Tenchi said he was going
to throw me out if Aeka and I fought again."

"That seems unlikely. Tenchi-dono is a very kind person, I doubt he
would follow through on something like that." Washu thought for a
moment. "But then again, you and Aeka-dono can get *very* trying at 
times. I think you should try to make peace."

"Hey hey! Don't push it! This family feeling isn't going to last 
forever!"

Washu sighed. "Unfortunately, you're right. I think you should go to
bed, Ryoko-chan, it's been a long day. And remember, if your nightmare
occurs again, you must kill the creator, the man in the cloak."

"Or the *woman* in the cloak." Ryoko winked at Washu.

Washu chuckled as Ryoko faded from view. As soon as her daughter was
gone, Washu sighed in regret. She longed for these times when she 
could be a mother again. And yet... Somehow the genius scientist knew
that there would be precious few of these moments in the days to come.





That's it! Chapter Three's over! In the upcoming Chapter Four: Ryoko has 
a dream showdown with her nightmare assailant. Mihoshi gets to play with 
Washu's VR machine. And... Ryo-Ohki says "Miya!"
Please, send Questions, Comments, Criticism and requests for pictures of
Ryoko's outfits to Palador98@yahoo.com