Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki: Earth & Sky: Sister's Tears by Achariyth Tenchi Muyo! is the property of A.I.C. and Pioneer and not my own. If I ever claimed otherwise, A.I.C. would send Ryoko to my house to use me for target practice. Earth & Sky is an original series inspired by the OAV series. However, some elements of Shin Tenchi and Tenchi TV will probably will be present. So far, three stories are in the works. The first, tentatively titled _Heavens_, should be finished by mid-October. "Ryoko, let go of Tenchi this instant," Ayeka commanded even as she attached herself to Tenchi's arm. "Hey, Ayeka, three's a crowd. Get lost!" Ryoko growled back, trying to pull Tenchi away from Ayeka's grasp. "And leave him alone with you? No way, Miss Ryoko!" Ayeka, too, tried to pull Tenchi out of her rival's grasp. "Ahh! Let go of me!" Tenchi yelled, trying to keep his shoulders from separating. It was only a few days after the Royal Family of Jurai had visited the Masaki residence, and things had pretty much re- turned to normal. Ayeka and Ryoko still fought over Tenchi, Mihoshi was still stumbling into the most peculiar situations and disturbing Washu's research progress, Tenchi was trying to sur- vive everyday life with his limbs intact, and Ryo-ohki was learn- ing to talk, when she was not munching carrots. Yes, Emperor Azusa was on his throneship on his way back to Jurai, and all was well at the Masaki residence. "Stop it, Miss Ayeka. Please stop, Ryoko," Mihoshi pleaded. Washu suddenly appeared. "Tenchi, you should really chose a more mature woman than these two," she said. "Stay out of this, Mom!" Ryoko hissed angrily. "Yeah, leave Tenchi alone, Miss Washu!" "Ahh! Why me?!" Tenchi pondered aloud, not quit masking the pain Ryoko and Ayeka were inflicting in their not-so-friendly game of tug-o-war. "Tenchi would be better off with me!" Ryoko shouted at Ayeka. Sasami looked out the kitchen window towards the commotion and sighed. One of these days, the fighting would have to stop. She knew that both Ayeka and Ryoko were infatuated with Tenchi, but Sasami wished that they'd get along when Tenchi was within sight. Move Tenchi out of sight, and the girls could sometimes put their differences aside. But when Tenchi was in the same room as the girls, it became a free-for-all. She heard giggling. Sasami turned to see if anyone was around. Seeing no one, she shrugged and turned back to her cooking. Tsunami giggled in her tree form on Jurai. She could not help it. She just found Tenchi's situation hilarious. It often was difficult for her to believe that she would be joining the household soon, albeit as Sasami. Still, the daily hijinks of the Masaki residence seen through Sasami's eyes were alot more interesting than remembering to replenish the energy of the Royal Garden or obeying the Emperor's commands. Lately Tsunami had not felt so mirthful. After the Kagato incident, Tsunami had felt a presence she had not felt in a long time, filling her with dread. At the time, Tokimi was in a nearby dimension looking for Washu and soon would arrive in Tsunami's dimension. Many years ago, three sisters of a race of what could be termed higher dimensional creatures, Washu, Tokimi, and Tsunami, lived in relative harmony as each delved deeper into the various forms of knowledge that captivated their minds. Washu had delved deep into various forms of technology. Tsunami's main interest was botany and ecology. Tokimi poured all of her energy into bending the laws of the universes. In fact, it was Tokimi who first learned the secret of the Light Hawk Wings, and passed this knowledge on to her sisters. For many thousand years, the sisters grew in power and lived together in peace. However, this was shattered quickly when Tokimi became obsessed with one word: dominion. She began to desire power over other beings. Washu had stumbled onto her sister's plans, then the two sisters confronted Tokimi. The fighting began soon afterwards, lasting for many years. The battle ended twenty thousand years ago, with Tokimi stripping Washu of her memory and higher dimensional form, just as Washu stripped Tokimi of a physical body and a considerable portion of her power that included the Light Hawk Wings. Tsunami, severely injured in the fighting, used all her power to send Tokimi's energy form hurtling across many thousands of dimensions, giving Tsunami the chance to retreat with Washu's prone form to into a nearby dimension. Tsunami's injuries were serious enough that she needed time to heal, so she released Washu to go her own way. Before Tsunami left Washu, she im- planted a directive in Washu's subconscious enhancing Washu's natural curiosity and aptitude with technology. It was Tsunami's hope that Washu would regain her memories of herself and the powers she had learned before the conflict with Tokimi. After leaving Washu at the Royal Science Academy, Tsunami fled to a nearby planet and collapsed. A thousand years later, she awoke, fully healed. Knowing that Tokimi would be searching for Washu to regain her powers and that a second confrontation with Tokimi was inevitable, Tsunami began to integrate the energy of the Light Hawk Wings into the planet's ecology. This began Jurai's rise to power in the galaxy. After six thousand years, Tsunami's project was completed. During that time, Tsunami learned that the energy needed to be sustained by herself in order for her project to work. After discovering a species of tree that stored energy more efficiently than any other lifeform on Jurai, Tsunami altered the DNA to allow them to be even more efficient storers of energy. Somehow, during this process, the trees gained sentience. Many years later, Jurai was threatened by an alien species that decimated the Jurai space fleet. Tsunami, in order to preserve her plans, gave all the trees of the Royal Garden the ability to turn into powerful starships that used the Light Hawk Wings as shields and weapons. Defending their home system with the ship-tree fleet, the Jurai destroyed the attacking alien force, furthering Jurai's emerging dominance in galactic matters. Seven hundred years in the past, Ryoko attacked Jurai. During the attack, Princess Sasami was playing in the Royal Garden. A ship-tree crashed into the Royal Tower where the Garden was held causing Sasami to fall, mortally injuring the young princess. Tsunami assimilated with Sasami, saving her life and becoming the young princess as well. Tsunami enjoyed sharing Sasami's experiences, especially since they gave her a chance to forget for awhile the omnipresent preparations for Tokimi's in- evitable return. One thing that distressed Tsunami was Sasami's belief that she was a replicant of the original Sasami, who she believed died in the Royal Garden during the attack. Tsunami wanted to tell Sasami the truth, but it would have sped up the final assimilation process. Sasami would one day discover for herself who she really was, and when that happened, she will have grown mentally into the final from of the Tsunami/Sasami composite being. Besides, Tsunami felt uneasy about robbing Sasami of her childhood. The aftermath of Ryoko's attack distressed Tsunami. First, Crown Prince Yosho, Tsunami's most promising attempt to create a being with the ability to harness the energy of the Light Hawk Wings, left with Tenchi-ken, the strongest Jurai energy sword, to chase down Ryoko. He had no plans of returning to Jurai. His pursuit of Ryoko was to try to resolve the in- evitable conflict for ascension between Ayeka and himself. Then Ayeka, madly in love with Yosho, took both the ship-tree _Ryuoh_ and Princess Sasami with her in her determined search for her love. Against her will, Yosho convinced Tsunami to mask his location from any Jurai scouting parties and to change his out- ward appearance to hide his longevity. Since Ayeka could not find her beloved, she sealed her sister and herself in stasis, until Ryoko was found. Finally, Ryoko had used power gems that were Washu's trademark. Tsunami searched for her sister to find out how Ryoko obtained those gems, only to find her sister had been kidnapped many years ago and was now missing. Tsunami would have interrogated Ryoko about Washu whereabouts, but Yosho had already tracked down Ryoko, defeated her, and imprisoned her inside a cave on Earth before Tsunami could have the chance. Knowing that Ryoko was controlled by Kagato, who desired her ship-tree, Tsunami dared not risk freeing her from her prison. Just recently, when Tsunami was considering finding a new plan to defend herself from Tokimi, the most unlikely things happened. First, Yosho's descendant, Tenchi, had reawakened Ryoko and the starship _Ryo-ohki_. This had awakened Ayeka and Sasami from stasis (Tsunami could not have been more pleased to exist as Sasami once again) and to Earth, where Yosho, along with Tenchi-ken, had hidden himself in a self-imposed exile from Jurai. Mihoshi had arrived soon afterwards. Tsunami learned that Tenchi had become the being she had been striving to create, one who held the ability to use the Light Hawk Wings as well as other powers. Then Kagato came looking for Ryoko and her power gems. He also wanted Tsunami's ship-tree form as well. A battle raged at the Masaki home until Yosho drove off Kagato, who had kidnapped Ryoko, with the more powerful Tenchi-ken. (After defeating Ryoko, Yosho had imbedded her power gems into the hilt of Tenchi-ken, increasing its considerable power.) Ayeka, Mihoshi, and Tenchi had chased Kagato in an attempt to rescue Ryoko. During that attempt, Tenchi was killed when Kagato's _Souja_ destroyed _Ryuoh_. Tsunami had resurrected Tenchi, afterwards informing him of his latent power in an innocently seductive manner. Meanwhile, Ryoko had escaped, and, upon the news of Tenchi's death, had joined Ayeka and Mihoshi in storming _Souja_. While on board, Mihoshi had stumbled across Washu, who had been Kagato's prisoner for over two thousand years, while the other two girls faced off against Kagato himself. Kagato defeated Ryoko and claimed the gems as his own. Then Tenchi joined the fight. Using his newfound powers and Tenchi-ken, he destroyed Kagato with one slash of the energy sword. Afterwards, the five alien women raced each other to be the first to "congratulate" (lavish copious amounts of affection upon) Tenchi. Tsunami, in Sasami's guise, had won, irking Ryoko and Ayeka to no end. Within minutes, they learned the true extent of Tenchi's power as _Souja_ slid apart, sliced in half by the stroke that killed Kagato. After that, life at the Masaki residence was rather routine, until Sasami's dreams came. Sasami had always been a minor precognitive, and Tsunami's power had amplified the young girl's talent. Unlike most of her dreams, but like most beings who dreamt of Tokimi, Sasami would forget the dream as soon as she awoke, but Tsunami would be chilled to her bones and roots at the meaning. Tokimi was in this dimension, looking for Washu and the restoration of her powers. If she was successful, and unless Tokimi had changed her intentions during the interim, the fighting would begin anew. Tsunami had no illusions about the relative strength of the three sisters. Unless a miracle happen, or Tenchi gained conscious control over enough of his power, Tokimi would win. At best, Tsunami and Washu would be exiled to the farthest dimension from Tokimi, stripped of their powers and memory. At worst, they would die, and their powers and knowledge would be absorbed by a vengeful Tokimi. Either way, Sasami's body would be the host for Tokimi's presence, and, if Tenchi had not been killed in the battle, he would most likely become Tokimi's consort. The first person to search for Washu in Tokimi's name was Dr. Clay, a vengeful doctor who felt he had suffered at Washu's hand. Looking for some revenge against Washu and control over a galaxy, Clay vowed to deliver Washu to Tokimi. He infiltrated his assassin robot, Zero, into the Masaki home by having Zero copy Ryoko's physical, mental and emotional characteristics. However, Washu had discovered the pseudo-Ryoko, who subsequently fled to Dr. Clay's battleship. Washu, Mihoshi, Ayeka, and Tenchi pursued the fleeing Zero to the battleship where Washu faced off against Clay while the others were trapped in a Mobius maze. Washu had been just captured by Clay when Zero demanded that Tenchi not be hurt. Washu escaped and defeated Clay, who, in his escape, turned his cruiser into a black hole that threatened Earth. Tenchi had eliminated the black hole using the Light Hawk Wings. All in all, a close call for Tsunami. Right now, Tokimi had probably learned of Tenchi's power and was most likely pondering how to deal with the adolescent. Others courting Tokimi's favor would be on their way soon, maybe even the Lady herself. With all this to ponder, Tsunami was glad for the daily antics around the Masaki home, even if Sasami was growing weary of her sister's and Washu's daughter's seemingly incessant sparring. She smiled as she recalled that time she had met Tenchi aboard the bridge of her ship-tree. Tsunami had never expected to merge with Sasami (it had taken her by surprise), but she never regretted it even once. There were too many benefits to the experience. The greatest of these was the sheer joy of being Sasami and knowing her pain, savoring her joy, and sharing her dreams, no, _their_ dreams. One of which just happened to revolve around a certain young man in their life. It was also useful to be able to check upon on Washu daily. Tsunami was rather disappointed that Washu had manifested a new personality, instead of regaining her memory. While post-conflict Washu had a personality similar to the Washu Tsunami had known for many millennia, she also had a most peculiar sense of dark humor. Also it angered Tsunami to find out about Washu's "nursing games" with Tenchi and the way Washu antagonized her own daughter. But what could she do? Sasami had finished preparing the noon meal. She walked to the door, ready to call the others to the dining room to eat. Before she opened her mouth to speak, her eyes lost their focus, and her surroundings darkened, even as a picture formed itself in her mind. Tsunami watched carefully, lest she miss something important in Sasami's vision. Sasami floated a foot above the Masaki carrot fields. The sounds of fighting echoed around her. She turned to see Tenchi-ken and another energy sword cross blades while an unknown woman waved her hands frantically, trying to separate the swords. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and Sasami looked to the sun. It had been blotted out by a giant fish in the sky. Two ships, _Ryo-ohki_ and a ship that the woman from before owned, flew of to combat it. Then a bush rustled on the border of the field. Sasami could not see them, but she perceived that men were surrounding her. One wore the mask of a harlequin. The sky darkened further, with a shaft of light descending on a lone tree. She could see Tenchi holding a baby in one arm, and with the other, he held a girl around Sasami's age. Finally, the ray of light vanished, and the sky was starless, dark, and void. A grey figure, familiar but elusive, greeted her as a sister. The a figure behind the first one emerged in a flash of light. Standing in her full glory, and with the shadows of her sisters behind her, she said but one word, "Sister," as she held Earth in one hand and Jurai in the other. "Tokimi! NO!" Tsunami shouted into the void as the figure's hands crushed the two planets into dust. "Tokimi! NO!" Sasami screamed into the air. Her inner sight faded away as the house and yard registered again in her mind. She saw Tenchi and ran towards him, crying. "Tenchi, I'm scared," she sobbed. Tenchi took her into his arms, and held her. Not knowing what to say, he let Sasami cry until she was her normal cheerful self. "Tokimi. I'm sure I've heard that name before, but where?" Washu pondered aloud. After Sasami had stopped crying, Ayeka suggested that they eat lunch, hoping that Sasami would forget about whatever had spooked her. At the table, Sasami tried to recall what she had seen, but the images were rapidly receding from her grasp. All that remained was the two figures, now nothing more than silhouettes, calling her "Sister." "But, Ayeka's my only sister," Sasami thought. Suddenly, without warning, a stray thought materialized. "Who am I?" Alone, in her tree form in the Royal Garden of Jurai, Tsunami wept silently. A drop of water fell from one of her branches, then others joined it in a puddle surrounding Jurai's chief guardian. Author's Notes: As I said before, this is part of a series I am working on entitled Earth & Sky. My conjecture about the Three Sisters' past has been influenced somewhat by the TM: Heaven and Earth series. If memory serves me correctly, that work only mentioned an arguement between the Sisters that lead to the present situation seen in the OAVs. My ideas are similar, but developed along different, more agressive, lines. No infringement of ideas was intended at all. Second, this is my first attempt at a serious fanfic. My previous work, An Outland-ish Proposal (acessible at the RAAC ftp site), was written along different lines. This was an experiement in writing and an idea I had to write while I had the concept. I am sure these ideas have some holes in them, so if something is not consistant with the OAV's please tell me so I can make changes accordingly. Any and all C&C should be sent to Achariyth@aol.com.