About friggin' time!  I've finished Chapter 4 of "Mother's Day", with more
on the way.  Anyone who's missing previous parts can email me or visit my
website at 

http://soyokaze.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~mathews/

Comments appreciated!

TENCHI MUYO! : "Mother's Day"
by Ryan Mathews

CHAPTER THREE

        "What kind of errand?" asked Ryoko.
        "All in good time," said Lhim-Zen.  "First, give me the sword."
        Ryoko gave him a confused look, then manifested her energy blade.
"Just stand still, and you can have it."
        Lhim-Zen sighed and rolled his eyes.  "The sword in your pocket,
please."
        Still clueless as to what Lhim-Zen was talking about, Ryoko
vanished
the sword and reached into her pocket.  She was rewarded with a flash of
excruciating pain.  She pulled Tenchi's sword out of her pocket and flung
it
towards Zen, then clutched her hand, now burnt worse than before.
        Lhim-Zen stared at her, curious.  "Why don't you just cut it off
and
grow a new one?"
        "Why don't I just cut *you* up?" Ryoko spat back.
        Zen smiled.  "You're welcome to try."  He bent over and picked up
sword, which did not react to his touch.  "Force field in the glove," he  
explained.  "The sword's unaware that it's being touched.  I suppose I
could 
have lent you one when I had you steal it, but I didn't see the point.  You

weren't feeling anything in your state anyway."
        "You used me," said Ryoko bitterly.
        "No Ryoko," Zen corrected, "I *am* using you.  The sooner you
accept
that, the less painful this will be.  You were designed as a tool, after
all."  He examined the sword.
        "That sword's useless to you," Ryoko said.  "Only Juraian royalty
can make it work."
        "It's not the sword in which I'm interested.  It's the gems in the
hilt."  He placed the sword into a socket on top on one of the newly-
installed consoles.  "And the gems are fairly simple to remove, if you know
how."
        He opened a small case and removed two clear spheres, the same size
as the ruby gems embeddded in the sword.  He opened a compartment in the
console and placed the clear gems inside.  He touched a switch.  The sword
glowed briefly, and the gems in the hilt faded from red to clear.  Lhim-Zen

opened the compartment and removed the ruby gems.
        "Are you going tell me what you need them for?" Ryoko asked.
        "I wasn't planning to."
        "If you want me to cooperate, I have to know what the plan is!"
        "You'll cooperate because you have no choice," said Lhim-Zen
coldly.
        Ryoko shuddered.  <He may have a point>, she thought.  When Kagato
had used the controller on her, she had managed to get the device away from
him and destroy it.  (Of course, Kagato had responded by making a much
smaller version of the device which he incorporated into his body.)  But
Kagato had not used those gloves.  He couldn't make the controller appear
and disappear at will.  It would be much more difficult to take it away
from
Lhim-Zen.  On top of that, she'd likely get only one chance.  The
controller
was capable of turning Ryoko's mind off.
        The best thing to do was to play along for the time being, act the
obedient slave in the hope of lulling him into complancency, perhaps
beginning with some subtle flattery.  Ryoko assumed the posture of a
pouting
child.  "Please tell me?  Please?  The way you hijacked Ryo-oh-ki and
kidnapped me, it was just brilliant!  If you don't tell me why, I'm just
gonna die of curiosity!"
        "I suppose you'll continue to nag me until I give in?"
        Ryoko nodded eagerly.  "Mm-hm!  Mm-hm!"
        "I could just turn you off."
        Ryoko paled.
        Zen sighed.  "But until I experiment with the controller some more,
I can't be certain I could reactivate you.  I suppose an explanation is a
small price to pay to shut you up.  Although I sincerely doubt you'll
understand it."
        Zen touched a switch and a hologram appeared, a bizarre shape.
"This is a three-dimensional representation of the six-dimensional
meta-chronic properties of the sword gems.  It's not an exact
representation, but I will correct it after a detailed examination of the
actual gems."  The shape turned slowly, warping and folding.  Another
similarly bizarre hologram appeared.  "This is a similar representation of
the meta-chronic properties of the Juraian power trees.  My studies of work
by Kagato and others have determined that half of the properties of the
gems
correspond to properties in the tree.  In other words, if we rotate the
shapes just so, we can fit them together."  He demonstrated.  The two
shapes
connected like a jigsaw puzzle, forming a less weird shape, a shape that
looked symmetrical on one side.
        Zen continued.  "My belief is that there is a third piece to this
puzzle, a third power item whose properties correspond to the properties in
which the gem and tree do not correspond to each other."
        "So," said Ryoko, "you're looking for this item."
        "No, I'm going to make it.  The Souja's core has enough power to
synthesize a less powerful version of the item, once everything is known
about its properties.  However, to know that, I'll need a more exact
representation of the properties of the Juraian trees."
        Ryoko understood.  "Which means you'll need a sample."
        Lhim-Zen smiled.  "Precisely.  You're going to steal one for me."

        Tenchi fussed with the hem of his robe.  He thought it looked
alright, but how was he to know?  When Aeka's mother had asked him to dress
in traditional Juraian clothing for their arrival on the homeworld, he had
thought his battlesuit would suffice, only to be told that it would be
completely inappropriate.  He had been given a robe appropriate for a Crown
Prince, but had only the vaguest idea of how to wear it.  He was trying to
work from his memory of the Emperor, but wasn't having much luck.
        Aeka's voice came from outside.  "Tenchi are you ready?  We're
about
to disembark!"
        "Could you help me with my robe?"
        There was a moment of silence, then Aeka answered in a halting
voice.  "You want me to come inside?"
        Tenchi laughed to himself, imagining Aeka blushing.  "I'm fully
dressed.  I just can't seem to get the robe to look right."
        "Oh!"  A relieved Aeka entered Tenchi's cabin and began helping him
with the proper adjustments.  "You see, the belt needs to be around like
this, and the collar is more like this."  Aeka knew all the vagaries of
Juraian royal dress, but she'd never done this before.  All her life
servants had performed this task.  Although, it occurred to her, she had
seen both her mother and her aunt helping her father in just such a manner
on several different occasions.  The thought that she was acting like
Tenchi's wife brought a flush to Aeka's cheeks.
        Now properly attired, Tenchi joined the others near the ship's main
hatch.  "Wow, Tenchi!  You look so handsome!" exclaimed Sasami.
        The others were also wearing their "Sunday best".  Washuu looked
especially fetching, decked out in the most formal version of her Science
Academy uniform.
        "Shall we go?" Funaho asked Misaki.
        "After you, sis!"
        The hatch opened, and the group stepped out into the glare of
lights.
        Surrounding the ships landing area, held back only by officers of
the Juraian Royal Guard, were reporters, hundreds of them, snapping
pictures
and recording video.
        "Now this is what I call a reception!" said Washuu.
        "Yes, isn't it," agreed Funaho, with much less enthusiasm. 
"Someone
must have tipped off the media."  She gave Misaki a dirty look.  Misaki
didn't notice, being too busy smiling and waving to the reporters.
        As they walked toward a waiting shuttle, a female reporter shouted
questions at Tenchi.  "Lord Tenchi!  Is it true that the wedding is planned
for this week?"
        "W-what wedding?" stammered Tenchi.
        "Why the wedding between you and Princess Aeka, of course!  All the
news services in the galaxy are buzzing with tales of your torrid love
affair!  So, will it be a traditional or private wedding?"
        "I... I... uh..."
        "For goodness sake don't *talk* to them!" said Funaho, irritatedly
pulling Tenchi away.  "Guards!  Please do something about this woman!"
        "The public has a right to know!" the reporter shouted as she was
pushed to the back of the crowd.
        The group got on board the shuttle and it lifted off, accompanied
by
a fighter craft escort.
        Once the shuttle reached cruising altitude, Funaho stood up.  "If
you'll excuse me, I need to powder my nose.  And so does my 'sister'."
        "No, I don't," said Misaki.
        "Yes, you do."  Funaho grabbed Misaki by the ear and pulled her
into
the women's restroom.  "It was you, wasn't it?"
        "It was me what?" asked Misaki, innocently.
        Funaho just stared at her.
        "Okay," admitted Misaki, "I might have made one eensy-teensy leak
to
the press."
        "What were you thinking?  You're going to turn Tenchi's visit into
a
media circus!  I thought the idea was to keep this a secret from our
husband."
        "But it's for Darling that I'm doing this!" protested Misaki.
"Don't you understand, once Tenchi becomes loved by the Juraian people,
Darling will have no choice but to consent to the wedding!"
        "Or he could become even more hardened against the idea," said
Funaho.  "Besides, we don't even know if Tenchi *wants* to have a wedding.
He hasn't even kissed Aeka yet, much less proposed to her!"
        "Oh, don't be silly.  No man can resist my daughter's charms for
long."
        Funaho sighed.  "Please, sister.  Don't meddle."
        Misaki smiled.  "Well, okay.  Since you asked so nicely.  Shall we
rejoin the others?"
                   
        Lhim-Zen had been planning Ryoko's "mission" for a long time. 
Since
Ryoko's last attack, Jurai's defenses had been significantly improved,
including a force field that surrounded the entire planet.  Of course, with
Ryo-oh-ki's ship body enhanced by the Souja's core, nothing short of
Lighthawk wings could stop it.  Nevertheless, blasting through the force
field would undoubtedly bring all of Jurai's defenses to bear, which would
complicate the task at hand.  Fortunately, there was another option.
        This was a special time on Jurai.  A periodic meteor shower was
taking place.  A festival had been held to celebrate this event since the
beginning of recorded history, and the Juraian people were not about to
give
up the celebration, whatever the need for planetary security might be.  So
the Juraian Defense Force scanned the incoming objects, and anything on the
planet's night side that matched the profile of a meteor was allowed
through, to burn up colorfully in the atmosphere.
        Inside one of the meteoroids, cold and nervous, was Ryoko. 
Lhim-Zen
had used Ryo-oh-ki to hollow out a space just big enough to contain Ryoko,
curled into a fetal ball.  She didn't need air, and was impervious to the
near absolute-zero temperatures, but it didn't make her feel any less
scared, scared of what the Juraians might throw at her, scared of what Zen
would do to her if she failed, scared of what he'd do if she succeeded.  In
her mind, she was just "playing along"; however, she knew she might have to
play along for quite some time.
        The meteor drifted through the weakened force field and fell into
the atmosphere.  The temperature changed quickly, becoming hot enough to
burn the rock away.  Preparing for what came next, Ryoko made herself
invisible.
        The meteor exploded around her.  Before any scanning devices could
recognize her presence, Ryoko flew downward at top speed, reaching the
surface in seconds.  She turned quickly and flew toward the day side of
Jurai, flying as close as possible to the surface.

        The shuttle landed at the royal family's private airstrip, located
on the palace grounds, far away from the Juraian paparazzi.  There the
party
of six boarded a hovercraft to take them to the palace.
        Sasami stared out the window excitedly.  "Wow!  It hasn't changed
at
all!"
        "I've kept your room exactly the way you left it," said Misaki.
        "Really?" Sasami asked.  "What about Minko and Chibi and Stasan?"
        "All your stuffed animals are on your bed waiting for you!  Your
room is exactly the same as well, Aeka!"
        Aeka fidgeted.  "Um, *exactly* the same?"
        Misaki nodded.  "All your posters are in perfect condition!"
        "What kind of posters?" asked Washu.
        "Oh, nothing really," laughed Aeka.  "Just some childish things I'd
planned to throw away..."
        "They're posters of all of Aeka's favorite singers and movie
stars!"
shouted Sasami.
        Aeka blushed, embarassed that Tenchi knew of her childish hobby.
She turned to explain it to him, but Tenchi was staring at the beautifully
landscaped palace grounds.  He hadn't heard a single word.
        Aeka touched him on the shoulder.  "Tenchi?  Are you alright?"
        Tenchi started as he was jolted back to reality.  "I'm fine.  Just
a
little overwhelmed, I guess."
        Funaho smiled.  "If you think this is impressive, wait until we're
inside the palace."
        
        Ryoko was reaching her point of fatigue.  Flying close to the 
surface meant not exceeding the speed of sound; the sonic boom would give
her away.  Staying invisible was to Ryoko a lot like holding one's breath
was for a human.  She knew she couldn't keep it up much longer.
        She changed course and flew to the nearest city.  Landing, she took
note of the current fashions and ducked into an alley.  She materialized,
dressed as a typical middle-class Juraian woman, her blue hair tied into
the
traditional ponytails.  She sat down on a bench and took a deep breath.
        In front of her was a storefront selling the latest in 3D vidcoms.
The floor models were all tuned to a news channel.  The channel was
broadcasting the arrival of the royal flagship, bringing the returning
queens.  Ryoko was surprised, and a little concerned, to see them home
early.  But her surprise and concern increased a thousand-fold when she
saw who was with them.
        Ryoko lept to her feet and ran to the window, knocking over a young
woman in the process.  Her eyes bulged and her jaw dropped.  Right there,
standing beside Aeka, was Tenchi, dressed as the Crown Prince of Jurai, no
less!  What was Tenchi doing here?  Surely Aeka hadn't broken her word?
        "Isn't it beautiful?" asked a woman next to her, the same woman
she'd bowled over a moment before.  "I hear they're very much in love."
        "Are... are they getting married?"
        "Well, of course!  Why else would they be here?"
        Ryoko turned back to the vidcom, still in a state of shock.  She
stared intently at the image of Tenchi's face.  He looked as he often did
when thrust by Ryoko or Aeka into an uncomfortable situation, fidgety and
embarrassed.  If he had proposed to Aeka, he didn't look very eager about
it.  Then again, he didn't look like he was being forced into marriage,
either.
        No, thought Ryoko.  She would not believe it.  She *refused* to
believe it!  Tenchi was not getting married.  It wasn't possible!  And if
she was wrong, if Aeka had lied and somehow coerced Tenchi into agreeing to
a wedding, then Ryoko would simply have to crash the ceremony and
        ### RYOKO!!! ###
        Ryoko grimaced and put her hands to her head as the voice screamed
into her mind.  "Leave me alone!"
        ### WHY HAVE YOU STOPPED?! ###
        Ryoko sank to her knees in pain, a small crowd gathering around
her.
"I'm tired!  I had to rest!  I'll get you your damned seed!  Just give me
time!"
        ### THERE IS NO TIME!! ###
        "AAAH!  Please!  Turn it down!  My head!  The pain..."  The woman
to
whom she'd been talking was now screaming to the onlookers to call for
medical help.  Ryoko couldn't hear her through the pain.  Her vision was
starting to blur.  Blood trickled out of her nose and dripped onto the
pavement.
        # Is this better? # asked Lhim-Zen.
        "Yes.  Please, I just needed to rest.  I'm on my way to the nursery
right now."
        # I am not a patient man, Ryoko.  Do not make me contact you
again. #
        "Yes, Lhim-Zen."
        # And let me warn you once more against making contact with any of
the natives.  If I suspect for one moment that you've told anyone about me,
I will detonate your body.  I estimate the explosion will be equivalent to
a
small asteroid crashing into the surface.  In the confusion, I may be able
to take the seed myself.  Zen out. #
        Ryoko stood up, straining to keep her balance, her head still
pounding.  "You shouldn't move," said the woman.  "You've obviously had a
seizure or something!"  Ryoko pushed her away.  She ran into the nearest
alley, became invisible once more and flew off.

        The interior of the palace was everything Funaho implied.  Immense
and ornate, the whole building was a work of art.  It was all Tenchi could
do not to gawk at the place like a tourist.  He reminded himself that he
was
a part of all this, that it in a sense belonged to him.  A lump formed in
his stomach and he wished he'd left that thought alone.  How could a simple
boy like him even begin to understand this way of life, let alone live it
himself?
        "Just relax," said Funaho, sensing his discomfort.  "Be yourself.
We're not in public here."
        "That's easy for you to say," Tenchi replied.
        "Is it?"
        Tenchi apologized nervously.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean--"
        "Don't worry, I'm not offended.  I just want to point out that I
went through precisely the same thing when I first came to Jurai.  I was a
simple peasant's daughter without a clue about how nobility behaved."
        "No way."
        Funaho smiled.  "It's true."
        Misaki nodded.  "In fact, she still acts like a peasant girl today!
You know what they say: you can take the girl out of the farm, but you
can't
take the farm out of the girl!"
        "Are you quite through?" said Funaho through clenched teeth.
        "Oh, don't mind me!"
        "Your highnesses!" said a voice from ahead.
        The servants who had been leading them through the palace stopped
as
they were joined by a man in military dress.  He appeared to be in his
fifties, with gray bangs on his otherwise black hair.
        Funaho greeted the man, then turned to the others.  "Everyone, this
is D'Guerran, Captain of the Palace Guard."
        "I'm pleased to meet you all.  Especially you," he said to Tenchi.
"I take it you're the new crown prince?"
        "That's what everyone tells me," Tenchi replied with an embarassed
laugh.  He changed the subject.  "So Captain of the Palace Guard, huh?
Sounds like an important job!"
        "It's a fancy name for head of security.  Which, I might add, has
been a royal pain in the neck lately.  If I find the idiot who leaked your
arrival to the media, I'm going to wring his neck!"
        Misaki turned beet red.  "Ahem.  Well, I'd better oversee the
servants as they unpack.  I wouldn't want them to misplace the choc-, uh,
my
new dresses!"
        Aeka started as Misaki walked off.  "Oh!  I need to see to my room
as well!"  She ran out of the room as well.
        Sasami followed after.  "Wait for me!  If you're throwing those
posters away, I want them!"
        Funaho sighed.  "Looks like we're all splitting up.  I guess this
is
as good a time as any.  Washu, would you like to tour the nursery?"
        "Would I?!" Washu exclaimed, her eyes alight with excitement.
"Let's go!"
        "Are you sure that's wise?" asked D'Guerran.
        "Don't worry," said Funaho, "it's a just a tour.  I won't give away
any secrets.  Come Washu."
        And with that, Funaho and Washu left, leaving Tenchi all alone.
        "Stranded you, did they?" said D'Guerran.
        "Tell you what, I'll give you a tour of the place.  After all, a
Crown Prince needs to know his palace, doesn't he?"

        At long last, Ryoko reached the outer perimeter of the palace
grounds.  This was merely the outermost wall; neither the palace itself nor
the nursery was visible.  Tourists lined up to have their picture taken
next
to the wall, but what Ryoko was interested in were the birds.  Ryoko waited
and waited for a bird to fly over the wall.  When one finally did, she had
the proof she needed: there was no force-field surrounding the grounds.
        Still invisible, Ryoko flew up... and over.
        And through something.
        It was like flying through ice water.  The effect chilled every
cell
in her body.  She exhaled uncontrollably, her muscles tensing.  She curled
into a ball and landed painfully, bouncing on the grass.
        "What... was *that*?"
        "Ma'am, are you alright?"
        Ryoko looked up to see an officer of the Palace Guard staring at
her.  She had become visible again without realizing it.
        "I, uh, got separated from my tour group.  I don't feel so good..."
        "I'll get help--"  The soldier's voice stopped suddenly, and he
paled.  Ryoko put her hands to her head and understood what had happened.
She was still in Jurain dress, but the impact had torn the fabric from her
ponytail.  Her distinctive hair was showing.
        Oh well, Ryoko thought, might as well make the best of it.  She
drew
herself to her feet and made a big show of being confident.  "So!  You know
who I am.  Then you know there's no point in resisting my power!"  She
drew her sword and pointed it at the guard.  "Submit!"
        The guard instead pulled a gun, an odd-looking device she'd never
seen before.  "D-don't move."
        "Get real!  Do you really think you can threaten me with a mere--"
        The guard fired.
        The beam went right through Ryoko's force field and struck her in
the chest.  It felt the same as when she had flown over the wall, only
much,
much worse.  Her entire chest felt as if it had been frozen solid.  She
screamed silently and collapsed.
        She could hear the guard as if from a great distance.  "Yes, that's
right, Ryoko!  Of course I'm sure!  How many Ryokos are there?  The gun
worked on her, didn't it?"
        Fighting the urge to lose consciousness, she stood up.  She tried
to
fly away, but fell back to the ground.
        That caught the guard's attention.  "Hey!!  Stop!!  Stop or I'll
shoot!"
        Ryoko summoned every ounce of strength she had and flew away.  She
didn't care about direction, just "away", as straight and as fast as she
could.  The guard fired once, but missed.
        She tried to call to Lhim-Zen but got no response.  There was
something good about that, but she couldn't place it.  She put the thought
aside and concentrated on flying, flying, flying...
        Blackness.

END CHAPTER THREE

------RM