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 "Tools of Destruction" The Yagami had been traveling in what seemed like random directions for about a week. Kiyone programmed the latest set of coordinates Washu had sent up into the Yagami's navigational computer. "I hope this set takes us somewhere this time," muttered the teal haired GP. "What was that?" came Washu's nazel voice from behind. Kiyone jumped and hit her head on the ceiling. Grumbling several choice phrases she turned and scowled down at the scientist. Washu was wearing her usual black with gold trim shirt and tan shorts with white stockings. "Did you ever hear of knocking?" she growled. Washu ignored her outburst completely and plopped down into the copilot's chair. "Did you program the new coordinates yet?" Rubbing her head fiercely, Kiyone sat down in her chair and powered up the hyperdrive. "Yeah, I just took care of it." The stars outside the window became lines and the Yagami was off at full speed. "Will there actually be something at the end of the road this time?" she asked hopefully. "Of course there will be," answered Washu. "I'm sure of it this time. There is nothing that I, the greatest scientific genius in the universe, cannot figure out eventually." She crossed her legs and stared out the window. Her voice lost its playful tone and became very serious. "I don't think it was Clay who moved it. He was smart, but he was too arrogant not to want to show off his lab. Whoever Clay was working for when he came after me moved the lab with the event of his capture. Whatever Clay did steal from my computer at the Academy, it must be one of my nastier projects, and his employer doesn't want anyone to find it until it's finished." It had taken another half a day before Washu had found the missing data in her computer. Then, much to her angered dismay, the twenty thousand year old red head discovered that the files had been deleted. She had tried to figure out what those files had once been, but even Washu had to admit that she had created so many things, that even she was unable to remember them all. "How is Sasami feeling today?" asked Kiyone. Ever since her attack a week ago, the little princess had been under the weather. "The pain has finally stopped," said Washu. She looked at Kiyone with tired eyes. "But Sasami is still too weak to move around for long periods. Whatever has happened to Tsunami is having a direct affect on Sasami." This was all very disturbing to Kiyone partly because it was way out of her league. A lot of this was taking place on a level that she did not understand at all. "Have you tried to contact Tsunami through Sasami?" Washu nodded. "I've tried to get Sasami to talk to Tsunami, but she seems to be is some sort of shock. Sasami says that she still feels Tsunami's presence, but it's just dormant." "Hmmm," was Kiyone's only response. The GP leaned forward to check their ETA for the last jump. "Well, we've got about six hours before we reach the latest coordinates. "I'm gonna switch over to autopilot till we get there." She rose and started for the door. "I'm going to check on Sasami and then get some sleep. You going to be okay up here?" "Yes," was all the scientist said. Kiyone nodded silently and left the bridge. _____ For the next several hours, the greatest scientific genius in the known universe sat in the Yagami's copilot's chair watching star lines zoom past. Washu hated this feeling. The feeling of helplessness that came with not understanding why some things were happening. Over all the millennia of her life, the one constant was that she had always known what was going on around her. Her beloved science gave her all the answers she desired. Even when she had been a prisoner on Souja, she had still known what was going on through her link with Ryoko. For the millionth time in the past two weeks, Washu started to try and piece together what she did know. There was a maniac out there named Ziasha Corodune who could create dark Light Hawk Wings. He was the one responsible for destroying Jurai. Ziasha had access to demon hordes that decimated the Juraian fleet in a surprise attack. Ziasha was the one in command of this force, but he was still answering to a higher power. "Tokimi," whispered Washu. She was not sure how she knew, but this Tokimi person was the one behind Ziasha. She had been the one behind Clay's attack all those years ago. Then there were the attacks on Earth. It was now obvious that Ziasha was seeking both herself and Sasami. Washu suddenly remembered something from the last attack at the Masaki home. The lizard monsters had ignored her and Sasami completely. At first Washu had believed that the attack was just to get them to come to Jurai, but now there was another factor that she had not focused on before. The creatures had tried to take Mayuka. Correction, they had Mayuka. This thought made Washu grimace. There was the possibility that she was just to be used as bait, but considering what Mayuka was that was unlikely. Mayuka was a creation of both Light and Darkness. She was a perfect balance of the two. Either of her sides, with the proper influence, could take control at any time. This made her potential power very high. But why would they go after her? Why were they after herself and Sasami in the first place? Most importantly, who is this Tokimi? The name bounced back and forth inside her mind. Why was it so familiar? Why did the name invoke a feeling of sadness in her? Washu closed her eyes and pushed herself to remember. It was so close she could almost grasp it, but then the answer would fly away from her mind. The scientist opened her eyes and sighed. Perhaps when they found Clay's lab there would be some clues about this Tokimi. Washu slammed her fist into the chair. If only she could remember what her relationship with Tokimi was. Some deep part of her mind told her that when that answer was there, and then all would become clear. Accepting her current lack of progress, Washu leaned back and waited until the Yagami arrived at the coordinates she had provided. She was a patient woman. She could wait a bit longer for all the answers....she hoped. _____ Kiyone had returned to the bridge just in time to strap in for reentry into normal space. Washu looked away from the window just to check who was behind her. Seeing Kiyone in the pilot's chair, she just returned to watching the star lines. "Thirty seconds till we're back in normal space," reported Kiyone. Washu spun her seat around and strapped in. The ethereal keyboard appeared and her youthful fingers started to glide over the keys. A blank view screen opened up over the laptop. "Returning to real space, now." Kiyone pushed forward on a lever. The Yagami lurched slightly as it came out of hyperspace. Washu was typing madly on her computer. Data streamed across the laptop's screen. She smiled when her scans showed a signal directly a head of them. "I've got something!" she cheered. "Keep us going straight ahead!" Fingers danced over the keyboard creating a series of beeps. Seconds passed, and Washu quickly confirmed the location of their target. Washu transferred the data to the view screen above her. It fizzled and revealed a small space station in the shape of an octopus. The energy readings coming from it were off the scale. "This is definitely Clay's place," confirmed Washu. Washu's hands were still typing. "I've deactivated all his defense and security systems." Her eyes thinned. "There is a subspace distortion around the lab, though. I can't seem to stabilize it. We'll have to go inside if I am going to find out what's causing the warp in subspace." Kiyone pulled her GP issue blaster from the holster under her left shoulder and powered it up. "Let's get going then." Both women unstrapped and headed for the transporters. They stopped in front of Sasami's room. Washu looked down both ends of the hall. "Azaka! Kamidake!" she called out. There was a slight distortion in the air, and the two Guardians of Jurai appeared. "Yes, Miss Washu?" they asked in unison. Washu had found them several days earlier powered down and stashed in a cargo hold. Neither remembered who had put them there or taken Mayuka. Washu had recharged both Guardians the previous day. "Watch Sasami while we go over to the lab," she ordered them. "Yes, Ma'am," they answered as one. The two logs floated over and took their places on either side of the door. Satisfied, Washu and Kiyone proceeded to the transporter and went over to Clay's old lab. The two women materialized at the end of one of the up curled tentacles. Kiyone drew her blaster and scanned the area for hostiles. Washu simply strode forward without a care for whatever was ahead. They both descended a set of stairs and walked down the length of the tentacle. It only took a few minutes, and they did not encounter any resistance along the way. When they finally reached the center of the station, Washu heard Kiyone gasp. The core of the lab was a gigantic mass of cables and wires protruding from a multitude of computers. With her first glance, Washu could see that the computers were all working to either maintain the subspace field behind the station, or they were controlling what looked to be construction drones. "That's odd," said Washu. "That thing is giving readouts for large amounts of worker drones, but I don't see or sense anything being worked on in the lab itself." "It has to be whatever is behind that subspace field outside," concluded Kiyone. Washu nodded. "You're right." Without another word, she broke into a run towards the mass of computers. The scientist stopped right in front of it and summoned her own keyboard. Her fingers once again began to dance across the keys. "There is something very familiar about the readings I'm getting," commented Washu. Kiyone came up behind her and looked at all the screens she could see. "Whatever those drones are working on, it's soaking up a lot of power from this place." She was interrupted by a beeping from her wrist scanner. The GP holstered her gun and twisted the little yellow sphere. "Dammit!" "What?" asked Washu without stopping. "Yagami's picked up another ship coming out of hyperspace right on top of this thing," answered Kiyone. "Someone's transporting right here!" She drew her gun and started searching for their new guest. There was a flash of light, and a golden scaled humanoid was crouching on one of the ramps leading to the computer. Washu ignored the new arrival and continued typing. Something from her memory was screaming a warning at her, but she wasn't sure why. _____ "Freeze, pal!" shouted Kiyone. "Galaxy Police! Drop whatever weapons you have and get you hands up, now!" She took aim at his golden head. The humanoid rose slowly. Kiyone noticed he was wearing some sort of body armor. Just before it was standing completely straight, the alien jerked its legs and jumped high into the air. Kiyone fired off a few yellow blasts, but missed her target. The gold scaled humanoid landed on another ramp on the other side of the computer. Kiyone cursed and pursued it. She turned the corner just in time to see her foe finish running down the ramp and charge her. It extended five claws on each hand and slashed at Kiyone's chest. Years of working with Mihoshi had honed the teal haired GP's reflexes. Kiyone jumped back and threw out a front kick to bat away the claws. She took aim to fire her blaster, but the alien countered by shooting out its tongue which yanked the gun right out of her hands. Forgetting her gun immediately, Kiyone flicked both her wrists. A pair of gray hilts shot up into her hands, and the GP activated two white, plasma energy knives. She dropped back into a defensive fighting stance. The gold alien opened its mouth and shot out its tongue again. Prepared for it this time, Kiyone dropped into a crouch and kicked for its legs. The humanoid back flipped over the kick. It landed and lunged claws first. Kiyone back peddled using her knives to keep her foe at arm's length. A left claw went for her face. Kiyone blocked the attack with her left forearm and countered with a stab of her right knife. The gold scaled humanoid disengaged and jumped back. Its eyes started to glow black. Kiyone dove to her right as two black beams shot from the golden alien's eyes. As she fell to the ground, Kiyone threw the knife in her right hand. The white blade flew end over end and embedded itself in the creature's left leg. Her foe hissed in pain and charged up its eyes to fire again. Kiyone started to scramble to her feet. "I've done it!" cried Washu triumphantly. Both combatants stopped and looked in the direction of the scientist. A view screen appeared in the air. "I've broken the subspace field!" she proclaimed with pride. The screen fizzled and showed the area behind the lab. Space seemed to distort and turn in on itself for a moment. Then, suddenly, space expanded to reveal the largest ship Kiyone had ever seen. Its main body almost seemed to take on the shape of a cobra ready to strike. A pair of metallic, demon like wings extended in both directions sideways seemingly giving the ship the look of a monster preparing to destroy the galaxy. "THAT RAT BASTARD SON OF A BITCH SCREWING PIECE OF CABBIT CRAP!!!!!!!!!" thundered Washu. "HOW IN HELL DID HE GET THAT OUT OF MY COMPUTER?" "What is it?" asked Kiyone without taking her eyes off the view screen. "It's the Souja!" cried Washu. "At least it is the Souja's model!" She saw the alien for the first time. Washu raised her right hand and fired an orange bolt of energy at it. The alien dodged and started running back up the ramp. "Thank you for doing all the work, ladiesss," it hissed. It touched a button on one of his gauntlets and disappeared in a flash of light. Washu looked at her laptop and went white. "He's somehow teleported right to the bridge of that thing!" She bolted down the ramp and grabbed Kiyone by the arm. Kiyone felt her very being suddenly separated into billions of pieces. When she reformed, Kiyone found herself on the bridge of the Yagami. "Get us the hell out of here before he turns the battleship's weapons on us!" The GP did not need to be told twice. She jumped into the pilot's chair and threw the Yagami into full power. The red ship's engines flared to life, and she was zooming away from the lab and the Souja class battleship. "I've got some coordinates programmed into the computer," said Washu quickly. "Hit the hyperdrive now!" Kiyone pulled back on the levers and the Yagami shot into hyperspace. _____ Washu was sitting in her room looking at the screen of her laptop. The shock of seeing another Souja had passed, and now it was replaced by anger. The sheer fact that Clay had somehow broken into her computer was infuriating, but that he stole the plans for the Souja was beyond infuriating. It created emotions inside of Washu that had no earthly name. The scientist scrolled down the screen and continued reading. Her laptop had downloaded Clay's entire database while she had been breaking down the subspace distortion hiding the new Souja. She scanned through some of Clay's early entries. They were nothing important. Most of them were just rants about how much he hated her. Then she found what she was looking for, the first entries on Tokimi. She opened the first file and read it: "I have had the most amazing experiences. I believe I have finally found the power that will make me greater than Washu. Her Majesty, Lady Tokimi. I cannot even begin to find the words that are worthy of describing her. All I can say us that she is beyond anything that I can comprehend. Most of my meetings have been with her servant, D3. He speaks for her and is the one who gives me my instructions. After my meeting today, I have had an inspiration to build the perfect espionage robot. I will call this project ZERO." Washu paused for a second to consider what she had just learned. This Tokimi was definitely not human. She went through a few other logs, but they never stated where he met her or this D3, or where he had first been contacted. From this point on, all of Clay's entries had two things in common: One, he ranted constantly about how much he hated her. Two, Tokimi's name was praised over and over again. Washu skipped over several millennia and stopped when she discovered some interesting notes about herself: "Over these many years, I have done everything in my power to surpass Washu. That stupid little bitch was the reason for all my woes in the past. When I find her, I will destroy everything that she holds dear. But I have recently had a thought. It seems that my Lady Tokimi is very interested in Washu as well. I have tried hard to find out what their connection is, but I am unable to. So I have been researching Washu's past. From what I have compiled, her life begins at the Royal Science Academy. There are no records of where she came from. All my leads have turned up dead, but at last I believe I have a clue to her past. I was completing a mission for Her Majesty years ago, when I came upon a ruined city on some unknown planet. Being the scientist that I am, I could not pass up this opportunity to explore some ruins that that fool Kagato had not destroyed first. Zero and I went down to the surface and began to record data. After hours of picking through the ruins, I found a temple of sorts. That was when I..." Pain suddenly shot through Washu's head. Her body suddenly went limp and her senses numb. Washu did not even have time to curse before passing out. _____ Kiyone brought the Yagami out of hyperspace and sighed with relief. From the stories she had heard about the power of the original Souja, she had no desire to witness the strength of this new one. The scanners said that they were in the middle of nowhere. "A perfect place to gather our thoughts," she said. The GP rose and left the bridge. Kiyone decided to go and see how Washu was doing. The little scientist had been pretty miffed when she left the bridge a couple of hours ago. Kiyone knocked on Washu's door. There was no answer. She knocked again. When there was no response a second time, she opened the door slightly. "Washu? I just wanted to...Oh my god!" Kiyone ran to the prone red head and lifted her onto the bed. She slapped her face lightly. "Washu! Wake up!" "Uuuuhhhhh," groaned the other woman. Her green eyes flittered open. "What the hell hit me?" "Are you okay, Washu?" asked Kiyone. "What happened?" Washu sat up gingerly holding her head. "I was reading one of Clay's logs about me, when a pain in my head suddenly shut down my entire body." Her eyes became distant for a moment. "Kiyone, I want you to read what is on the screen for me. I have a feeling that I'm not allowed to read it. Start from 'That was when I'." Kiyone nodded and read from where she was told. "That was when I came upon the temple. Zero could not translate any of the glyphs, but it was what I found among the glyphs that excited me. There, among all these alien glyphs, was undeniably a picture of Washu's head. I wanted to stay longer to research this discovery, but my task for Lady Tokimi had to be completed first. I believe that when I finish this next mission for Lady Tokimi, I will have time to finally return to this planet. On a side note, a priceless vase I have been searching for is being transported on a GP battle ship. I will attack the ship and take the vase when it passes throught his sector." Washu had her eyes closed as she leaned back against the wall. "Run a search for coordinates for that planet mentioned in the log. Once you have them, please program them into the navigation system and take us there." Kiyone knew better than to question Washu when she was this serious. She ran the search and got the coordinates. "These take us nearly to the core of the galaxy." She turned and saw Washu asleep on the bed. The GP shut off the lights and headed back to the bridge to put them on course to their next destination. _____ Ziasha as meditating in his chambers, when a powerful presence came over his mind. He bowed his head. "What do wish of me, my Lady?" "You must return to my Temple immediately, Ziasha," came her sweet voice in his mind. "Bring the Child of Light and Darkness with you. Once that is completed, I have a mission that I wish you to oversee personally. There must be no more mistakes." The weight of her presence increased in his mind. Sweat was dripping down his forehead in waves. "I understand, my Lady Tokimi. I live for only your glory." Then she was gone. Ziasha rose and left his personal chambers. As he walked down the halls of the Imperial Palace, he summoned the small humanoid Ortav to meet him at the docking bay of the Dark Heart. The small man was waiting for him when he arrived. "What do you desire of me, my Lord?" he asked with a bow. "Aside from D3, you are in charge while I am away. Our Lady requests my presence, and I shall be gone for some time. Watch the growth of the demon tree ships and report their progress to D3. I also expect a report from Draytif in several days. Remind him to wipe out the Juraians, and that he is not to return here until that is done. And when Sezen returns with my new prize have all our technicians make sure that it is at one hundred percent before I return. Do you understand?" "I understand and obey, Master Ziasha." The Champion of Tokimi did not spare the small man another glance as he teleported onto the Dark Heart's bridge. He charged the ship's engines and programmed the current coordinates for the Temple. The black stasis crystal holding Mayuka appeared in the air behind him, and Ziasha left the planet Jurai. To be continued... Notes- Well if it has felt like the story is dragging, then it is really going to pick up in the next couple of chapters. I know that I have had Washu be fairly serious more often than not, but I think that there is some serious stuff going on here. She still does some of her normal things, but I am having her face up to the fact that there is a time to be crazy and a time to act her age. Expect characters to start going through changes in the up and coming chapters. Again, this is all my opinion on how they would all mature in the OAV timeline. If you are actually reading this and enjoying all this insanity, then great. If you hate it, then don't keep reading it. Regardless, please send comments if you have them to Roas1@hotmail.com.