The Ways of the Goddesses Part two- Training for the Apocalypse By F. Van Assche Disclaimer: I don’t own Tenchi Muyo- Pioneer and AIC do. I used their characters. It doesn’t mean I’m a bad person. Don’t sue me. I’m really a nice guy. Marty’s my character, though. You can take the fic if you want, just give me credit if you ever use it. Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------ Recap "You, must travel to Jurai. Finish your training there, then return and we will confront Tokimi together." "How do I get there?" "Well, you are descended from a Jurian tree, you know..." "What!!!!?" Chapter One An Earth warrior once said that the only shot that you don’t hear, is the one that gets you. Marty experienced this truism firsthand. Being told that he was related to a tree, (even a Juraian one... hell, especially a Juraian one) was not something that he was expecting to hear.... Marty gaped in disbelief. "Could you say that again? I’m related to a what??" "A tree," said Tsunami. "A tree..... So, how exactly did this happen?" "Well, the gems were sent across the void between the dimensions, and a Juraian ship was pulled across the void as well." "That’s not exactly helpful- I can’t see a tree as one of my ancestors...." "But the Jurian on board is your maternal great-great-grandfather. He’s royalty, minor, a third price..." "But, he’s not a tree!" "Technically, no... but is part of that tree that was his ship." "So, I’m NOT really related to a tree." Tsunami shrugged enigmatically. "You are still related to Jurai in this way, and thus, to me." "Okay... then why didn’t you just tell me that?" "Cathartic release, I suppose..." Marty groaned. It had been a LONG night. "Don’t worry, we’ll get you to Jurai somehow!" Tsunami said with an enthusiasm, that masked her concern. Marty pondered, somewhat dejectedly. "All right then, what about the gems?" he said. "How can I be connected to both you, and Washu?" "Ah... that’s a long story..." "Well, I’ve certainly got the time," he said. Tsunami sighed. "When Tokimi made her first attempt to escape the dimensional prison, she sent her followers after the gems. They function as keys to the barrier that holds her there. To prevent her from retrieving the gems, I attempted to send one of the minor royalty at the time to fetch them, so that I could protect Washu. She had lost her memory, and had no idea how important the gems were. To this day, she only sees them as a power source. " "But I was too late... Kagato was able to imprison her. She did use three of the gems to create Ryoko, where they could not be used to help Tokimi, but after that, she was sealed away." "But, what about my gems? How did they get to my Earth?" "The Jurian noble, that I sent to obtain the gems from Washu, tracked down Kagato. He stole two of the gems and destroyed the lab where they were held. However, Kagato succeeded in corrupting the energy of these gems before they were stolen. As a result, they lost most of their dimensional stability. The prince escaped, but vanished shortly afterwards, due to the gems’ instability. He was able, with my help, to make it to your version of Earth. Kagato refined the technique of controlling the gems’ energy without making them unmanageable. He sent back one of these last six gems to Tokimi, but kept the rest to power the Soja and Ryoko, then prepared to invade Jurai, so that he could capture me, and thus find the last two of the gems." "But, Ryoko’s not under Tokimi’s control now..." Marty said. "When Yosho reclaimed the gems from Ryoko, I found I could correct their energies, so that Tokimi could not exert any influence on them." "What about my gems? Can you fix them?" "No. I’m sorry, but they are what is holding you here, in this dimension. To correct their energies, I would have to remove them, and that might cause you to discorporate..." "Hmm. Well, what do I do from here?" Marty asked "Perhaps Mihoshi might be of some assistance?" Tsunami asked. Marty sighed and walked toward the house, carrying Tenchi. ------------------------------------------------------------ Amazingly, Mihoshi was awake. "Mihoshi, could you use that cube of yours to find a way for me to get to Jurai?" After only 5 minutes of frenzied twisting, the cube yielded a communication line. Mihoshi promptly forgot why she was calling, leaving Marty to arrange his own ride. After nailing down the particulars, he carried Tenchi to Washu’s lab for an examination. After checking Tenchi out for injury, Washu turned to Marty and asked for an explanation. "You know more than you’re telling, Marty. You’d better level with me..." So Marty told her of the things to come (OVA 8-12/ Come on! You know you were wondering how she knew what was going on, didn’t you?) She just stared at him, and then a split second surge of clarity punched through her mind... and for a moment, she understood. After that moment, she remembered none of what she saw in that brief second, but she promised, she would not repeat his message. "Good luck, Marty" "Thank you, Washu-san" At this, Washu recovered from her state of revelation, and pouted a bit, at being called an adult, but laughed. Marty walked out. He dumped the sleeping Tenchi into his room, then crashed on the couch downstairs. 7:35:27 AM the next morning.... Ayeka and Ryoko awoke in the same room. Any hopes of a quiet day vanished. Marty flew up to meet his ride. En route to Jurai, he contacted an aide to the queens to inform them of his arrival, using a message given to him by Tsunami. "Yes, tell them the message is, ‘Yumemireba Yumemo Yume Janai.’ Yes, thank you." , he thought. Chapter Two Upon arriving on Jurai, Marty was blown away by the beauty and architecture, that was this planet’s trademark. He allowed himself to gaze at the surroundings for only a few seconds, though. He had an audience with the Queens, and it was never a good idea to be late (especially in this case). He then realized that his worn clothes (borrowed from our favorite indecisive hero) were probably inappropriate for the situation. he thought. So with a brilliant flash of light, that scared the hell out of many bystanders, he attired himself in his nobler garb. The two queens were delighted to have his audience, having been briefed by their aide, (I gather the opening theme of "Pretty Sammy TV" holds a lot of influence on Jurai) prior to Marty’s arrival. His first impression of Funaho was quite strong. Wisdom seemed to emanate from her very being. Misaki, on the other hand, was eyeing him in a way, that was particularly uncomfortable, especially from what he already knew about her. Funaho asked about the situation on earth, and at his first mention of Ayeka and Sasami, Misaki leapt from her throne and subsequently liquefied most of the tissue inside his body with a sickeningly powerful bear hug. Fortunately, the gems allowed him to heal before the injuries proved incapacitating. He coughed, then informed them of his desire to train on Jurai. They were ecstatic. "Well, Misaki, we’ve got someone to practice on," Funaho said. Misaki let loose a laugh, that left no doubt, where Ayeka got hers. To say the least, Marty was quite unsettled by it all. ------------------------------------------------------------ Marty had been brought up with the notion, that it was not polite to hit a woman. He was disabused of that notion. Quickly. Funaho let loose on him with a skill that far surpassed Yosho’s, landing blows that would have surely broken bones, had he been completely human. Misaki was no different, using nearly equal sword skills, along with the Juraian force fields Marty had wondered so much about. After that first day, the Empresses only ended the massive ass-kicking session out of pure exhaustion. Azusa probably would have thanked him (Sorry, honey, we’re too tired/ Thank God). Marty thought, as he slumped onto the bed inside the quarters, courtesy of the sadistic sovereigns of the realm. < At least I’m improving.> That much was true. He had managed to break through both their defenses at some point during the day, the accomplishment made more worthy, because he used a bokken instead of his usual plasma sword. Still, it wasn’t much. The second day was much different. His parries were more expert, and for the first time, he actually defeated Misaki. Funaho, though, still was killing him. Despite this... she seemed to be having a bit harder time of it now. At the end of the session, he inquired at his progress (also examining how aggravated his adversaries were- after all, pissing them off would probably get him killed). "Well, Lady Funaho? How am I doing?" Marty said. "Not bad, for a puny Earthling, I guess," she laughed. He got the joke, and laughed back. At that point, Marty knew he was going to be all right. The next months passed quickly. Marty sparred with many of the nobles and their sons, Ayeka’s potential suitors. He beat them handily, thanks to Funaho’s training. Except one. The son of a Juraian senator bested him, but no one who knew what happened would consider it a fair fight. It had become clear, that the Queens favored Marty in the fights(knowing his skill), so they convinced Azusa that anyone who couldn’t beat Marty should not be allowed to court Ayeka. Truthfully, Marty thought it a great irony that he was the reason none of the suitors had ever come to Earth. He couldn’t complain though; it was good practice. But back to the fight. The senator’s rather foppish son, Seiryo, was a decent swordsman in his own right, but had no qualms about cheating to obtain Ayeka’s hand. Up until the poisoned knife, the fight was actually decent. First class, in fact. " I won’t even need to use my full power on you, hah ha!" "I’ve heard that before. Nice hat." Then Seiryo brought out the fans. "Put those away, before I haul your prissy ass over the coal!" "Do you envy my beauty?" Marty thought. He slashed the fan out of the pretty-boy’s hands. Seiryo retaliated, and the battle began in earnest. Seiryo was good at avoiding the thrusts of the earthling, but was clearly losing ground. Marty set Seiryo up for a fight ending slash, but midstrike was met with a throwing knife that buried deep into his chest. Someone in the audience had flicked it at him, undoubtedly someone who had something to gain from Marty’s defeat.. The poison spread quickly, and before Marty could recover, Seiryo slashed into Marty’s shoulder, then smashed his sword hilt into his opponent’s head, knocking him out. The gallery was stunned. But, a rule was a rule. The emperor agreed to take Seiryo to earth, to face Tenchi for Ayeka’s hand. The Queens suspected something, and their suspicions were confirmed by Marty once he had recovered. "I’m going back with you to Earth," he said. They agreed that he should accompany them, to keep the wayward suitor honest. "I think we also might want to check up on his FATHER as well, Misaki," Funaho said with a venomous leer. Marty almost pitied the guy. Azusa demanded Marty’s audience after the fight. "Well, you certainly have messed up my plans for my daughter, you miserable little half-breed. You have beaten all the decent suitors! Now I have the choice of that inbred swine or my obstinate son’s grandson... An impotent fop or a boor from a backwater planet! You failed, at the only point when it was not acceptable to do so." "With all due respect, your majesty, failure at any other point would have been unacceptable. The others fought fairly. Treachery to win the throne leaves little choice... sir." "You DARE counsel me? You DARE?!" The Emperor backhanded Marty with a force that might have killed him, under previous circumstances. "Tell me why I should not kill you where you stand!" "If you truly believe that I oppose you, by all means, try. If you mean to kill me, I cannot stop you. But do not think yourself so loved that you have no enemies, my lord." Azusa’s eyes narrowed. "I will consider what you have said. Get out of my sight." Marty bowed, then turned and departed. It was with extreme regret that the senator in question resigned the next day, citing "personal reasons" for stepping down. The days before departing for Earth, Marty decided to explore the planet he had thought so beautiful upon arriving. He visited shops around the province, talking to the natives, flying over plains and mountains, basking in the natural splendor of the globe. At nightfall one day, Marty found himself nearly 100 miles away from the capitol in a medium sized town called Helm, in the Rumia province. A sudden sound caught his attention, a familiar one... iron on bone... He ran down the cobblestone road into an alley. There he saw a man thrashing at someone with a metal rod. The man’s next swing did not land exactly where he planned. Marty appeared out of nowhere and stopped it cold with his forearm. "I don’t think you want to do that," he said. "Fuck off, man, she’s mine. Get your own," the man growled, his eyes flicking to the girl behind Marty. In that split second, he launched the man back. "Don’t do that, man, I’m dangerous," he said, whipping out a knife. The man stepped forward, met with a green *swoosh* of energy. The blade of the knife, and the bar above his hand clattered to the ground. "I’ll say this once. Leave, or I kill you. Your choice." Marty snarled, eyes glowing blue-green. As the man sprinted away, he turned his attention to the girl behind him. She was clutching her arm and crying. She looked to be about 18, with cerulean blue hair and a familiar patch on her clothing. he thought. "Hey, are you all right? Do you need some help to get home?" "Ow... thanks.." she said, her eyes rimmed with tears, "that guy surprised me. I’m on vacation out here. My father said it would be good for me to get out of the capitol for a while." Her countenance improved slightly, displaying a pained smile. "Oh, where are my manners? I’m Mokona," she said. "Marty. If you need to get back to the capitol, I can give you a ride." "Thank you!" "First, let’s go get that arm looked at, eh?" ------------------------------------------------------------ D3 looked at Tokimi in disbelief. "Why do we not take him now, my lady? He is ready, and close at hand..." "No... he is alert... an attack may cost me one of the Fallen. Have you forgotten about Ryuji? He is too powerful now. Of the Fallen, only you and Aemon remain... we will wait..." "Yes, my lady." ------------------------------------------------------------ "A minor fracture, huh?" Marty said, gazing at Mokona’s bandaged arm as they walked through the hallway of the nearby infirmary. "It seems like you got off easy... that guy did NOT look like the average purse thief." "I guess that’ll teach me to go out without an escort," Mokona replied, opening the door to the clinic. "At least, not while you’re wearing the robes of a senator’s daughter..." Marty added, fingering the patch on the material for emphasis. "Ha, ha. As if you should talk about unusual clothing... that outfit’s strange, even for Jurai..." Marty shrugged cryptically. "I didn’t have much choice in the matter," he said. "Ok, where’s your car? How are we getting back to the capitol?" To this, Marty said nothing. He clutched Mokona around the waist and took off into the sky. To his surprise, she reached up and lightly whacked him in the face. "You could have said something, you jerk," she laughed. "And spoil the surprise? What fun would that be?" he replied. After a long, slightly drawn out flight, the two descended onto the senator’s compound. "Come in, I want you to meet my father," Mokona said. Marty was reasonably surprised to find that the senator, or rather, EX-senator, was the father of one pink-haired fop named Seryuu. More surprising, he was received warmly. "Welcome to my home, young knight," he said sincerely, "I am Jubei Sorento." "The honor is mine, sir," replied Marty. "I thank you for your hospitality." "Yes, well... I believe I have an apology to make. My impudent son has disgraced himself in an honorable fight, and does not deserve to court the princess. I ask pardon for his treason." The expression on Jubei’s face left no doubt in Marty’s mind that he was telling the truth. "I don’t hold you responsible for that. I am happy to know you had no part in it," Marty said, "But... I will deal with him on my own time, sir." "Do what you must." "Thank you," said Marty as they each bowed in turn. After this exchange, Mokona grabbed Marty’s arm. "I thought you would never finish that!" "Yes, well," Marty smiled wanly, "your brother and I have something we have to work out..." "Hm! So you’re not going to spend any time with me before you go back to... uh, to.." "Earth." "That’s it, Earth! Before you go back to Earth..." "I didn’t say that..." "All right, then! Let’s go out! Where do you want to eat?" "Where can you get some decent Italian food on this planet...?" "What’s Italian food?" "Oh, that’s right...you don’t have that here, do you? Okay... what would you suggest?" ------------------------------------------------------------ The next few days, they spent every waking moment together. Mokona told Marty about Jurai, its history, its accomplishments, and together, they witnessed its beauty firsthand. Marty told her about his Earth, and how he had come to be what he was. The night before he was to travel back to Earth, in their separate rooms, they ruminated on the same topic. she thought. he thought. In the morning, he bid Mokona farewell. "Goodbye, Mokona, for now..." "I.. I’ll miss you, Marty..." she said, embracing him tenderly. "I’ll be back, I promise." "Take care," she said, then fled into the senator’s mansion, crying. Jubei said his piece. "I’ll be blunt. You are an honorable man, so I will let you know that you have my approval. You are always welcome here." "Thank you, sir," Marty replied, then took off towards the palace. ------------------------------------------------------------ Before leaving for earth, Marty visited the royal gardens, and spoke with Tsunami. "I’m returning to Earth." "I know. You’ve received the best training I can give you." "I thank you for that. I think I’m ready." Tsunami nodded and Marty turned to go. she thought sadly. Chapter Three Funaho and Misaki were sent to Earth first, and they requested Marty as their personal bodyguard. All in all, the trip was reasonably quiet. Only one assassination attempt was close enough for the queens to be aware of it. That one Marty had to deal with personally. It was a rather interesting battle, truth be told. The hit man was a gun toting robot, well constructed, but it had no sense of subtlety. The battle was quick and messy, leaving parts of the machine smashed into all six sides of the antechamber where the fight took place.(Marty saw no point in showing any restraint, after all, he didn’t have any problem with killing an assassin) This was also the reason that Funaho and Misaki found out. It is usually quite rare to see metal appendages jutting out of walls on most Juraian ships. ------------------------------------------------------------ Once arriving at Planet III of the Sol system, Misaki and Funaho disembarked onto the planet’s surface. Marty was left to wait for the Emperor’s arrival. He stayed in the ship until the emperor arrived, then went outside to plot his course down to the planet for a little payback. It was the first time (outside of his initial freefall to the Earth) that he had ever really been in space. Undoubtedly it was a unique experience... genuinely pleasant... at least until Mihoshi crashed into him with her shuttle... ------------------------------------------------------------ For once in her life, Mihoshi was actually landing properly. She engaged the retrothrusters, leveled off her flight path, and was on position to touchdown perfectly, (Yukinojo was singularly delighted) until the 4th law of thermodynamics kicked in. She smashed into a vaguely familiar form, who was flying around up there. The resulting vector sent the ship (and Marty) on a very steep drop into the atmosphere. So the trip proceeded according to Mihoshi protocol, with an interesting attachment to the underside of the ship. ------------------------------------------------------------ "What’s your bet, Little Washu?" "(stuffed with popcorn) I bet on Mihoshi!" This remark was followed with numerous facefaults, with the subsequent unfurling of umbrellas when the meaning of that statement became clear. The ship crashed into the pond at a high velocity, sending up a large wave and spray. Marty was buried deep in the silt under the water. Chapter Four "So, Tsunami, what brings you to my humble laboratory?" Washu asked. "Washu... something is about to happen here. I think you know that," Tsunami said. "Tokimi, eh... well, I’ve been expecting this. Ever since that pedophile Clay tried to kidnap me, I’ve known what’s been going on. Zero’s memory included a vast amount of knowledge, and by fusing her and Ryoko, I was able to access it. There’s also that added benefit of Ryoko calming down thanks to Zero’s modesty..." "So you also know why I’m going to let this happen..." "I think so. I won’t interfere, but make sure all this doesn’t get out of hand. We can’t afford to make that mistake again..." ------------------------------------------------------------ Smashing into the ground was definitely not Marty’s preferred mode of planetary descent. The impact left him under about 10 feet of dirt. Since he lacked Ryoko’s ability to phase through solid matter, he had to dig his way out. It was in the early morning hours before he finally made it above ground. He collapsed, exhausted, underneath the infinite stars. ------------------------------------------------------------ ---- In Tokimi’s galaxy "Do not lay a hand on him..." "I understand..." D3 replied, then vanished. "Do not lay a hand on this boy," she said, gazing at the shadowy outline of a young man, whose wrists glowed with the power of two dark gems.... D3 advanced toward Earth for his mistress’ prize. ------------------------------------------------------------ Author’s notes: Ahhhhh! This makes two! I think the story is pretty much pure OAV now. I don’t think that any other time line will sneak in. (Just save it for the next one, I guess.) I’ll bet you’re kind of wondering about where this fic is going (Teaser!!!!!)- Well, imagine that the reason Kagato could control Ryoko was because he had tampered with the energy of the gems to control whatever or whoever was using them... Interesting?? I hope so! C&C, flames, thoughts, MST’s, whatever? Send them to Thanks for reading!