Disclaimer- All original characters and previous events in the world of Tenchi Muyo are not mine. They are the property of AIC and Pioneer. The following story and any new characters are mine and mine alone. This story has been written because I love this series and felt that if Pioneer is not going to be prompt with a 3rd OAV then I might as well throw my hat in the ring. This story is just for fun, and I hope that anyone who reads this enjoys it. The following events will take place in the OAV timeline and one year after MNE. Well that's all for my opening rant. I hope you enjoy the show.


Tenchi Muyo!- Will of the Goddesses

"Answers That Lead No Where"


	The van came to a stop right in front of the Masaki home. Tenchi didn't even bother to turn off the engine before getting out. He threw open the side door and took Ryoko's still unconscious body in his arms. The group quickly made their way into the house. Tenchi was startled when he saw a sleeping Mihoshi on the couch. Ayeka ignored the snoring blond and carried Sasami up to their room. Seconds later, Kiyone came out of the kitchen. Her smile disappeared when she saw Ryoko. "What happened?" she asked with obvious concern.

	"We were attacked at the carnival," answered Washu. Her laptop appeared, and she started punching keys. A small subspace hole opened up in the living room, and an automated gurney came out of it. 

	Tenchi gently placed Ryoko on the gurney, which immediately rolled back through the portal. The portal closed, and Washu waved away her computer. "I'll be in my lab with Ryoko. I'll let you guys know when she wakes up." Without saying anything else, she left.

	A wave of exhaustion washed over Tenchi, and he sat down in one of the chairs. Kiyone absently pushed Mihoshi's legs aside and sat down on the couch. "So, you want to tell me what happened?"

	Tenchi looked at the teal haired GP and shrugged. "I don't really know. We were all at the carnival actually having a normal evening. No one was fighting, and we were all having a good time." He chuckled lightly. "Well," he started to say. He was suddenly unsure how to explain to Kiyone how he and Ayeka had been separated from the group. "We were separated for a short time. During that time, some strange lizard creatures attacked Sasami and Ryo-ohki. According to Sasami, Ryoko jumped in and managed to hold off those things so she and Ryo-Ohki could escape." He sighed and put his head in his hands. "By the time the rest of us got back to Ryoko, she was already down. Ayeka and I were able to handle the last of the creatures, but Ryoko had already been injured."

	He looked at Washu's door. "Washu told us that those creatures were poisonous, and that one had bitten Ryoko on the shoulder. She stabilized Ryoko, and then we drove home as fast as possible."

	Kiyone gave Tenchi a wide eyed nod and whistled. "Wow. Looks like we weren't the only ones who had a close call tonight." She quickly relayed the events of the battle in space. 

	"Geez," muttered Tenchi. "Do we ever get a break?" Both he and Kiyone laughed at that statement. 

	"What do you expect?" added Kiyone. "We live under the same roof as a mad scientist, a space pirate, a crown princess of the most powerful empire in this half of our galaxy, a goddess child, and," she gestured to her sleeping partner, "a walking natural disaster." The GP laughed again. "I'm surprised we haven't blown up this planet yet."

	Tenchi couldn't help but smile at Kiyone's humor. He got up and headed for the front door. "I think I'd better go turn the car off. I'll see you in the morning, Kiyone."

	"Good night, Tenchi," she said. "Maybe Washu can figure some of this out by the morning."

	He nodded and went outside. Tenchi slowly walked over to the car. He went around to the driver's side and sat down in the seat. There was no other sound except the hum of the engine. After a few minutes of just sitting there, Tenchi finally turned the engine off and took the keys out of the ignition. He looked down and saw Tenchi-ken lying between the front seats. Tenchi picked up the sword and stared at it for a moment. How prophetic could it have been that of all nights for his grandfather to tell him to start carrying the sword with him at all times? Tenchi knew that he would have to ask to old man about that. A few more minutes passed before Tenchi left the car and went back inside the house. 

	The lights were out in the living room. Mihoshi was curled up under a blanket on the couch and snoring contentedly. Tenchi shook his head and smiled at the blond GP. He turned his head and looked at the door to Washu's lab. Thoughts of Ryoko started to dance in his mind. Worried about her condition, Tenchi opened the door and entered the subspace lab.

_____

	There was nothing but darkness. Sasami knew that she was dreaming, but for her that held no comfort. For whenever the princess dreamed, it always meant that something bad was on the horizon. Sasami remained standing in one spot in the hopes that nothing bad would happen if she did not move. Her pink eyes went wide in fear as the darkness started to peel away. She took several involuntary steps back as a woman with purple and blue eyes stepped forward.

	"No need to fear me, sister," said the woman in a sweet voice.

	Sasami felt the triangles on her forehead begin to glow. "Stay away from me, Tokimi. I know what you want, and I will do all that is in my power to stop you."

	Tokimi chuckled lightly. "As long as you live in the body of this girl, Tsunami, you cannot do a thing to halt my advances." She raised a purple claw to her mouth. "And your boy will not be able to save you this time." 

	The darkness parted again, and a tall man in black stepped out. Despite the fact that she was no longer in complete control of herself, Sasami could still see through her eyes. His pants, shirt, and trench coat were all black. His long green hair was tied back into a ponytail. On both sides of the man's face were four green stripes. He smiled and stood next to Tokimi.

	"I have chosen my Champion," announced the goddess. "It is only a matter of time before you and Washu are mine." She nodded and the dark man walked towards Sasami.

	She tried to run, but her feet were planted firmly to the ground. Fear ran rampant all through Sasami as five dark Light Hawk Wings in the pattern of a star appeared in front of the man. He reached out and turned one into a sword that was a darker version of Tenchi's Light Hawk Sword. The dark man raised his weapon to strike, and Sasami screamed in terror.

_____

	Sasami sat up in her futon screaming. Ayeka was there in less than a heart beat with her arms around her sister. Sasami began to sob, and Ayeka just held her close and ran a soothing hand up and down the back of her head. "It's all right, Sasami. I'm right here."

	The child continued to cry for several more minutes. Ayeka knew that the tears would just have to run their course before Sasami would be able to talk about her dream. When her sobs started to lessen, Sasami looked up at Ayeka with her tear stained face. "What's going on, Ayeka? Why did those things want me?"

	Ayeka took a piece of cloth and started to wipe away the remaining tears on Sasami's face. "I do not know, Sasami." She smiled at her sister. "What I do know is that Tenchi, Ryoko, myself, and the others will do everything in our power to keep you safe."

	Sasami sniffed and wiped her nose. "Is Ryoko going to be okay?"

	Ayeka nodded. "Washu is taking care of her right now." Sasami finally gave her a little smile. "Now, do you want to talk about your dream, yet?"

	The little princess nodded and crossed her legs. "I don't really remember too much of it. I do know that Tsunami was in control during the dream, though." 

	That statement did not shock Ayeka too much. She knew exactly what it meant. Tsunami knew some of what was going on, and she was shielding Sasami from certain truths again. She made a mental note to tell the others this new piece of information. "Well, what can you remember?"

	Sasami started to play with some of her blue hair. "All I know is that someone wants to take me away." She stopped for a second before continuing. "And they want Washu, too."

	That last part struck Ayeka as odd. She knew that Sasami was probably a target because of her connection to Tsunami, but what was the reasoning for wanting Washu? Ayeka continued to puzzle over that as Sasami yawned and laid back down on her futon.

	"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep, Ayeka?" asked Sasami in a sleepy voice. 

	"Of course I will, Sasami," answered Ayeka in a soothing voice. Her sister smiled and closed her eyes. To help her sleep, Ayeka began to sing an old Juraian lullaby. 

_____

	Deep in her subspace lab, the greatest scientific genius in the entire universe sat on one of her floating pillows. Several feet to her left lay the still unconscious form of her daughter, Ryoko. To her right floated half a dozen view screens. One of them showed Tenchi and Kiyone talking in the living room. Another showed Ayeka comforting Sasami. Washu watched and listened to each of the conversations. Kiyone mentioned the space battle, and Washu pulled up any information her scanners had recorded while she was out. She raised an eyebrow at what she saw. Something beyond her scientific understanding had created a subspace portal. Her sensors hadn't picked up a single thing until the portal had opened. 

	"Strange," whispered Washu. 

	Washu was in for a second shock when she heard Sasami say that someone wanted to capture her as well. She leaned back in her pillow and thought about that. Over two years ago, Clay had tried to capture her. She knew that someone had been using him to get to her, but she had never found out whom. When the authorities had finally gotten around to questioning him, he was nothing but a gibbering idiot. 

	Then a memory came to the surface. She was on the bridge of Clay's ship. He had just trapped her in that solidifying gel. He was going to make a copy of her in order to look at her memories. She remembered that something deep in her brain started to honestly feel fear. That's when he said something. "Let us see what your relationship to Lady Tokimi is by making a copy of your memory."

	"Tokimi," she said out loud. Why did that name feel familiar? In twenty thousand years, Washu did not remember even once meeting anyone by the name of Tokimi. "Then why does it sound so familiar?" she wondered.

	Washu was pulled from her thoughts by another feeling in her mind. She pushed away all her other thoughts and focused on what could only be termed as a voice. She silently hopped off her pillow and walked over to Ryoko. Her daughter was lying on a floating bed under a blanket. Sensors hovered over her body taking readings on her life signs. Washu waved them away and stood over Ryoko. Before she knew it, the scientist was running her left hand through her daughter's spiky, cyan hair. 
	
	Ryoko was not awake yet, but her mind was active, and that was a good sign. Without thinking, Washu began to look into her daughter's mind. There were many thoughts and images, but there was one common factor to every one of Ryoko's thoughts: Tenchi. First Ryoko was concerned for Tenchi's safety. Her mind was wondering if he had survived the battle with the lizard creatures. Then her thoughts shifted to how much it pained her not to share her love with Tenchi. Washu frowned as Ryoko's inner self wept at the thought that either she or Tenchi would die before she could show him how true her feelings were.

	Shame rolled over Washu's senses. She immediately pulled away from Ryoko's mind. How could she have just done that? What mother would invade her own child's mind like that? Washu shook her head and sighed. Then again how could she really call herself Ryoko's mother? Not once since they were reunited had she acted like a true mother. She had come on to the one man Ryoko loved, insulted Ryoko, and done many other things that a real mother would never do to her child. Hell, she had never even told the girl that she loved her.

	That thought made Washu pause. Yes. She still loved Ryoko. The red head realized that was the first time she had admitted that to herself in a long time. Washu reached out again and touched Ryoko's cheek. "It may not show, my dear, but I really do love you."

	Ryoko moaned and started to move under the blanket. Her golden eyes fluttered open, and she stared at the ceiling for a moment. She moved her head and looked at Washu. "Hi," she said in a hoarse whisper. "What the hell happened to me?"

	Washu had retracted her hand before Ryoko's waking and was now typing on her keyboard. "You know that lizard that bit you?" Ryoko nodded. "Well, it was poisonous. The poison was shutting down your internal systems, but I was able to keep you stable." Washu smiled triumphantly.

	Ryoko was silent for a second. "Thanks..., mom."

	Inside Washu was blubbering with joy. On the outside, however, she gave Ryoko one of her confident smiles. "Well, I am the greatest scientific genius in the universe!"

	Washu dolls A and B appeared on her shoulders. "You're the greatest, Washu!" cheered doll A.

	"You're the greatest doctor in the universe, Washu!" added doll B.

	"Yay, Washu! Yay, Washu!" they cheered in unison and disappeared into her hair.

	Washu looked back and saw that Ryoko had already fallen asleep again. Washu's eyes softened. "Sleep well, my darling." She turned and went back to her view screens.

	Washu spent the next ten minutes scanning all her files for the name Tokimi. She was astonished when her search resulted in zero matches. "That can't be possible," she muttered. "I have one of the largest databases in the entire universe. There is nothing that my computer doesn't know." This was really starting to piss her off.

	"Hi, Little Washu. What's the matter?"

	She looked over her shoulder and saw Tenchi standing there. "Oh, hi, Tenchi." She had been so engrossed in her search that she hadn't even seen him enter the lab. "What brings you all the way down here?"

	He started to scratch the back of his head. "I...uh...just wanted to see how everything was going."

	"Uh huh," she said. *And Noboyuki's videotape collection really is about cooking*, she added in her thoughts.

	"Ryoko's awake, ya know," she added a second later. "You can talk to her if you want."

	"I guess I can do that while I'm here," he said with a goofy grin while continuing to scratch the back of his head.

_____

	Ryoko could hear the sounds of Washu's lab around her. She could even hear Washu talking to someone, but she was too groggy to place the voice. So, she just laid there in the sweet bliss of ignorance. Slowly, Ryoko could feel sleep sneaking up on her, but she did not want to let it overtake her just yet. She needed to talk to Washu and find out what had happened after she passed out. Bit by bit, Ryoko started to open her eyes again. She smiled when her vision cleared and Tenchi's face was there to greet her. 

	"Hi, Tenchi," she said in a whispered voice.

	He smiled back at her. "Hey, Ryoko. You gave us all a scare earlier."

	"Sorry," she replied with another smile. "How...how is...Sasami?"

	"A little shaken up, but all right," he replied. "You saved her and Ryo-ohki, you know."

	Ryoko attempted a chuckle, but started coughing instead. Tenchi started to help her, but she shook her head. "I'm...fine." She took a deep breath and smiled. "I'm just glad they're okay. Ryo-ohki could have leveled the place if she wanted to. She just didn't want to hurt Sasami in the process."

	Tenchi reached down and fixed her blanket. "You need to get some rest. I'll come back again later." He started to walk away.

	"You'd better," she said. "Remember, you promised me some quality time back at the shed." Tenchi's red face caused her start laughing. She continued to laugh until sleep finally took a firm hold on her.

_____

	Tenchi walked away from the sleeping Ryoko shaking his head.  The same emotions that had plagued him during the Ferris wheel were now waging a new war in his mind. It took all of his discipline to push his warring feelings about the girls aside so he could talk to Washu. "Little Washu?"

	"Yes, Tenchi?" she answered without looking at him.

	"I was wondering if you've found out what those things were tonight."

	"I haven't looked into it yet," she replied. She spun around on her pillow and smiled at him. "Why don't you stick around, and we'll see what we can find out." 

	Tenchi gave her a quizzical look. Washu touched a few keys, and a four foot portal appeared. Tenchi watched as another automated gurney rolled out with one of the dead lizard creatures on it. The corpse had a single hole in its chest.  Tenchi shivered as he remembered making that hole in the beast. 

	"Now, let's take a look at this thing," said Washu using her professor tone.

	Half a dozen machines floated or rolled over and began buzzing over the creature's body. Washu was typing rapidly on her holo keyboard. Tenchi watched her go through several facial expressions before the little scientist finally let out an "Ah hah!"

	"What?" he asked quickly.

	"That explains why they weren't visible on my scanners," she mumbled. Washu looked at Tenchi with a gleam in her green eyes. "This thing is not from our dimension."

	"What do you mean?"

	"It's simple, really." She pulled him beside her and pointed to a view screen. Washu lightly touched another key and a wavy line appeared. "This here is your dimensional pattern. Those who were born in this dimension all have a similar one. There are differences, but they can only be seen with an in depth inspection." She tapped another key, and a second pattern appeared under his. This one was spiking all over the place. "This is the creature's dimensional pattern. Notice the difference."

	"Are you sure, Little Washu?" Tenchi said in an unsure tone.

	Washu dolls A and B appeared again on her shoulders. "You don't question Washu!" shouted A.

	"Yeah! She knows everything about everything!" added B.

	"Washu's the GREATEST!" they cried together and ran back into her hair.

	Tenchi grinned sheepishly. "I'll take your word for it then."

	"This explains a few things," continued Washu as if her little dolls had never been there. "Something that has natural control over time and space was involved in both the attack at the carnival and the fight with the Yagami." Tenchi decided not to ask how Washu had found out about the space battle.

	"So do you have any idea who might be behind all this?" he asked hopefully.

	Washu didn't say anything for a minute or so. Tenchi thought he heard her curse, but decided he had been hearing things. "Not really," she said finally in a low voice. 

	Tenchi was overcome by a yawn. "Well, I think I'll go and get some sleep. I don't think this is over yet, and I want to be ready if anything else happens. Good night, Little Washu." She absently waved at him. The scientist was already deeply involved in her work again.

	As he started to leave, Tenchi stopped once more and looked at Ryoko's sleeping form. "Good night, Ryoko," he whispered and left.

_____

	Tokimi's Temple was moving slowly through space. Somewhere inside its twisting halls, Ziasha Corodune hovered in the darkness with his legs crossed. The new servant of Tokimi was reveling in his new power. He had not really used it yet, but according to his Lady, that was going to change very soon. Yes, he had experimented in the goddess child's dream, but he had been asleep himself. The criminal was looking forward to a real field test of his new power. Lady Tokimi had ingrained instructions in his mind on how to use all of his powers. She even said that there could be other aspects the Light Hawk Wings he would discover after practiced use. The powerful Wings could be summoned in a heartbeat if he so chose. The urge to release them almost overran his senses, but he was able to control himself and obey his Lady's orders.

	"Ziasha," echoed D3's voice in his head. "You are summoned to our Lady's presence."

	"I am coming," replied Ziasha coolly. He vanished and reappeared in the central chamber of the Temple.

	D3's red jewel floated in the air, but the demi-god did not appear. Suddenly, the ceiling disappeared and was replaced by a sea of stars. The image of Tokimi materialized above Ziasha. He instantly dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "You have summoned me, my Lady Tokimi."

	"Yes, Ziasha." Her sweet voice was magic in his ears. "It is time for you to make your presence felt in the universe. You know what I need. I trust that you will accomplish the task that I have set before you. Therefore, I give you permission to do things as you see fit. After all, you are my Champion." She smiled, and Ziasha smiled with her. "You have control of all my forces, and D3 will aid you in whatever way he can. Now, go and bring me what I desire."

	"I live to serve only you, your Majesty." Tokimi's Champion rose and teleported to the Dark Heart. He punched in a set of coordinates and watched as a subspace portal opened in front of the ship. If Ziasha's laughter could have traveled ahead to his destination, the people of Jurai would have cowered in fear.


To be continued...

Notes- okay this time I have some actual things to address.

1: As far as how many LHW's Ziasha can produce, I am using the information given to us at the end of OAV episode 12. While Tokimi is talking to D3 we see the image of a man with five LHW's in front of him. So, I think that he is her champion/chosen one or whatever.

2: Washu's little dolls. Okay, I know that they never appear in the OAV, but I just love those little things. I think that they are hilarious, so I felt it would not be too bad if they appeared.

I think that's everything I wanted to address. As I have stated before, this is my first Tenchi fic, so I am really trying to keep with the right kind of humor and character traits. Of course by the time anyone reads this, the whole story will be up, but send some comments if you still want to. Remember send them to Roas1@hotmail.com

Hope you are enjoying this. Later.