You know, this thing was supposed to be a nice, short 20k side-story, not
the 80k behemoth it is.

*shrug* Go figure.

Oh, well, a word of introduction:   Remember way back in the prologue for
this story, the OMB crew knew the Tenchi Muyo crew?  Well, this is why...

Things to have read: OMB 1-7, Tenchi Muyo: The One.

*********************

No Need for 'Niichan!
*********************
An Insert for Turn the Page
All characters the property of their respective owners, and are being used
without permission.  Please don't sue me.

***

If one was to look up in the sky at exactly 10:23:22 AM, on June 30, 1995,
in the Okoyama Prefecture, one would see a rather reassuring sight.

Empty sky.

However, if one could go into the state known as 'no-time' at that exact
moment, and happened to look up then, in that location, they would see a
rather odd sight.

A largish, stocky, North American male, wearing black jeans, a white dress
shirt, and a dark green trenchcoat, flying across the sky at incredible
speeds.

And if one listened very carefully, one would hear the following:

"...why is it that every single time I have a date planned He comes up with
something to ruin it?  Or my stupid sisters?  Or the other girl, or the
goddess...jeez, what am I, their personal gopher?  Need to go somewhere?
Ask Oniichan!  Need an errand ran? Ask Oniichan!  Christopher Angel, God of
Moments, and general flunky.  Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh...."

With that, he stopped and hovered in the air, pulling out a map.  "OK,
there's the mountain, so the tree should be..." he rotated in the air,
looking around, "...there! Good...good...that means the place I'm looking
for is..." a largish house came into his line of vision "...THERE!"

Chris paused and stared at the house.  "NICE place...what is that, 1000
square meters? It's freaking HUGE!"  He started to head towards the house,
stopping to place a quizzical glance on a field as he passed it.  "Somebody
likes their carrots."

As he flew towards the house at a lesiurely pace, Chris pulled the dossier
from his trenchcoat and read the instructions.  "Find the woman named Washu
Habuki, and read to her the letter placed herein."  He shook his head. "
Chris' Delivery Service. When you want it there...NOW!"

Chris landed on the porch and scratched his head.  "You know, I've got to
have a long talk with one of the other healing-aspect gods, this talking to
myself thing can't be healthy."  He stepped out of no-time and prepared to
knock on the door, when it exploded outward in a burst of red flame.

Throwing himself back and summoning his armor, Chris stared in bewilderment
at the cyan-haired woman who stood in the wreckage of the doorway.  She held
a long sword that appeared to be made of nothing but light, and wore a black
bodysuit embossed with red flames.  A glowing red crystal was embedded in
her left wrist.  The lecherous portion of Chris' mind took quite an interest
in her rather buxom figure.

"Who the hell are you?" Chris and the woman demanded in unison.

***

"You listen up and listen good, Ayeka, I'm sick and tired of you getting in
the way between Tenchi and me!" Ryoko growled, poking the princess in the
sternum with every other syllable.  "Mind your own damn business!"

Tenchi sat at the dinner table, his head in his hands.  *Why me? Which deity
did I offend to have to deal with this?*  He began to stand up to stop them,
and noticed Ayeka preparing her usual retort.  With a groan, he slumped back
to the table.  Ryo-Ohki, in her adolescent form, patted him on the back.

Ayeka made her trademark laugh, holding her sleeve up to cover her mouth.
"As if Tenchi-sama would want to spend time with a bakemono like you!"

Sasami gave Tenchi a look of sympathy, then shared a giggle with Ichi over
the antics of the two fighting women.

"Sasami-chan?" Ichi murmured softly as he watched the two fight.

"Hai?" she replied, gazing deep into his eyes.

Ichi blushed and tried to stay focussed.  *I wish she'd stop that, it's hard
to concentrate.*  "In the three years I've been here, we've watched those
two fight day in day out, and I've decided something."  He looked at Tenchi
again.  "I am NEVER getting involved with more than one girl."

"Good plan," Tenchi muttered.  "Wish I followed it."

"You'd better not," Sasami said dangerously.  "I don't share."  She paused
and considered that statement.  "Unless it was someone I REALLY liked," the
barely teenaged girl giggled, and focussed her attention back on the
argument.  "She'll be grabbing Tenchi-niichan right about...now."

Ryoko growled and teleported to kneel beside Tenchi, wrapping her arms
around him in a sensual hug.  "Tenchi doesn't feel that way, ne Tenchi? Ne?
Ne?"

The young man began to struggle out of Ryoko's grip, trying to not notice
Ryoko's assets.  "Aww, Ryoko..."

Ichi whistled softly.  "That's one of Ryoko-neechan's better hugs."

Suddenly Ryo-Ohki yelped and turned to the door to the foyer, her wild mane
of hair rising as she hissed at something.

Ryoko looked at the cabbit-girl, some communication passing between them.
She then glared at the door.  Ryoko stood, gathered a ball of power in her
hand. With a roar, she flew to the door and threw the energy blast.

***

"A summer's warm breeze
Winds through the rooms of my shrine
A lazy spirit."

Yosho grinned at the words on the page, savoring the feel of them on his
tongue.  "One of my better ones," he decided, folding the page and setting
it inside a drawer at his side.  He bent his head to write upon the page
once more.

Suddenly, he snapped his head up and stared towards the house.  A sick
feeling of dread shot up his spine.

"Dear Kami-sama, don't let them offend whichever one that is," he prayed,
and shot to his feet.  He sprinted out of the shrine at a pace that
completely belied his age.

***

Chris stared in astonishment as the woman walked warily towards him.  As she
got within a few dozen meters of him, he began backing up at the same rate.
"Now calm down! There's no reason to be violent.  I'm just here to see
someone."

"Hah!" Ryoko snorted.  "Like I'm dumb enough to let someone with a power
level like yours wander around."  Behind her, Ayeka peered through the
wreckage of the door and stepped through it, followed by Tenchi.

Tenchi looked at the man in blue-green metaillic armor and activated his
sword, moving to stand between beside Ryoko.  "A friend of yours?" he asked
Ryoko.

Sasami and Ichi looked around the doorframe at the newcomer.  Sasami
suddenly gasped, turned, and ran towards Washu's lab.  Ichi looked after her
bewildered, and moved to stand beside Ayeka.  He summoned his own dark-blue
blade, but didn't move to join Ryoko or Tenchi.

"Look, I didn't come here to fight!" Chris insisted as he backed up towards
the docks.  "Can't you people understand that?"

"Ryoko," Tenchi began, not banishing his sword but no longer advancing, "why
did you attack him?"

"Can't you feel it, Tenchi?" Ryoko growled.  "He's practically reeking with
power!  Why else would someone like that be here than to cause trouble?"

"Would you believe I'm just delivering something?" Chris suggested.

"No!" Ryoko snapped, and charged.  She swung her sword in a vicious arc that
would have bisected the giant of a man...

...if he had been there.

***

Sasami ran to Washu's lab and opened the door, not even bothering to knock.
She frantically searched the huge sub-dimension, her voice filled with
panic.  "Washu-chan!  Oh, please, Washu-chan, where are you?"

At her terminal, Washu turned towards the voice that called her.  The only
time she had ever heard Sasami sound like that was when something was REALLY
wrong.  She stood off of her cushion and ran towards the girl.  A moment
later she found the princess, and was nearly knocked off balance was Sasami
hurled herself into her arms.  "Whoa! What's wrong, Sasami-chan?"

"There's this weird man at the door, and Ryoko-neechan is trying to kill
him, and every time I see him I feel so sad!" the girl sobbed.

Washu frowned, and held Sasami up, and looked deep into her tear-filled
eyes.  "Tsunami, come forth," she commanded.  Sasami's eyes seemed to blank
out, and then the bipart triangle on her forehead disappeared and was
replaced by two golden circles.  Tsunami blinked and took a step back,
trying to control her tears.  "I was right, it's you who's sad, not Sasami."

"Hai," Tsunami replied.  "That man reminded me of something that I had hoped
to forget."  She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.  "That
man is one of THEM, Washu.  He is one of His children, and Ryoko is trying
to kill him.  That CAN'T happen."

"What are you talking..." Washu began, and then trailed off as memories came
back to her.  Memories of a time long, long past, of her earliest years. M
emories of the one who created her and her sisters.  The first person she
ever loved, and the result of that love.  Other children.  Tears came to
Washu's eyes and she fell to her knees.  "My baby girl," she sobbed.  "My
little baby girl."

Tsunami knelt, wrapped her arms around Washu and held her tightly.  "I know,
Oneesama.  I know.  But we need to save that poor man before your other
daughter kills him and brings down His wrath."

Washu nodded, rubbed at her eyes a bit, and stood, sniffling.  "Hai."  She
shrugged off Tsunami's hands and walked back to her terminal.  She punched a
key, and a black doorway appeared.  Washu nodded to Tsunami to proceed her.
"Go on." The azure-haired girl ran through the doorway, and Washu started to
follow her.  Before entering the door, she stopped, and looked off into
space.  "This time, Kami-chan, I'm not going to let it go."

***

In no-time, Chris stared at the energy blade mere inches in front of his
face and tried to avoid fainting as he tried to maintain the jump at this
close proximity to another person - and one of power at that.  "Tyr's
testicles," he swore, "that's one nutso babe."

He carefully stepped away from her, giving her a good lookover as he did so.
"Bah.  Ami with a nasty streak," he decided, then cocked his head and
considered that statement.  "Wait, she already has a nasty streak.  OK, a
VICIOUS streak."  He chuckled to himself and walked over to the young man
who accompanied 'Ryoko' - Tenchi, he recalled.

Tenchi was a remarkably handsome man, with an obviously lithe, muscular
build that reminded him of Baldur's.  His sword was much like the energy
blade Ryoko used, except it was light blue and seemed to be coming from an
odd wooden hilt in his hands.

Chris frowned.  For a mortal, this guy was giving off a LOT of timestream
interference.  He could barely come within a meter of the man without having
to strain to stay in no-time - a figure almost on the order of the gods.
Ryoko's radius was similar, he realized, as he moved back towards her, only
the adrenaline in his system allowed him to stay in no-time when he was that
close to her before.

His curiosity aroused, Chris moved on towards the two people who were
watching.  The regal-looking young woman with purple hair had a half-meter
radius, while the young man with green hair and a blue energy blade was the
same, if not a bit more.

Walking towards some steps he saw leading up to a shrine, Chris sat down and
stared at the quartet.  "Who the hell are these people?" he wondered.  "I
mean, that Tenchi guy and that Ryoko chick have near-deity magnitude power
figures...and those other two have levels FAR beyond those of normal humans,
not to mention those bloody lightsabers they're all using."  He suddenly
frowned and squinted at the people.  "Waitasec.  Cyan hair?  Purple?  NEON
GREEN?  Have I missed a fad somewhere?  That other girl - the one Skuld's
age...she had azure hair!  By Saturn's beard, these people CAN'T be human!"

He stepped back into the timestream.  "Would you PLEASE stop that? I don't
want to hurt you!"

***

Tenchi's surprise at seeing the man disappear was short lived - in fact, it
was quickly replaced by a sort of dismay as he heard the man's words, and
turned to face him.  "You REALLY shouldn't have said that."

"Hurt ME?" Ryoko growled, and laughed coldly.  "You should be more worried
about me hurting YOU."  She flicked out of existence, and appeared a few
meters above Chris' head, her sword ready for a deadly blow.  "DIE!"  she
screamed as she fell towards him, but the man dove out of the way.

"SHIT!" Chris yelled and threw up his left arm.  Ryoko's blade impacted the
shield with a sizzle, and she hung there for a moment, almost as if she was
being held up by that merest contact alone.  With a roar, she pulled back
her blade and swung it in a sideways, only to have it slam against the
sword-blade on Chris' right arm.  Chris made a feint with the broad left
blade, and Ryoko teleported away.

"That's it," he growled.  "I tried to be nice, I tried to be an easygoing
guy, but I've had ENOUGH!"  He winked out of existence again, and reappeared
above and behind Ryoko.  Just as he began to fall, the flat of his blade
ready to strike Ryoko's head, Tenchi's voice rang out.

"RYOKO! BEHIND YOU!"

Ryoko whirled, her arm outstretched in a strike that took Chris in the left
side of his torso, cutting a good two inches into his body before the power
of his armor stopped the blade.  With a scream, Chris collapsed to the
ground, cluthing his side as crimson blood streamed out of the wound.

***

"Hmm...I need to adjust the feedback on this circuit," Skuld muttered to
herself as she worked in her room.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her side that nearly sent her into
unconsciousness.  "Oniichan!" she gasped.  She worked herself to her feet
and stumbled out her room, heading down the hall to the living area.

There, she found Belldandy crumpled in Keiichi's arms. Urd was kneeling in
front of the TV, her right hand clamped to her left side while she poked at
the screen with her left.  "Why the hell can't I teleport?" she demanded.

"We have to go to him!" Skuld cried.  Tears formed in her eyes, partly from
the sympathetic pain and partly from worry.  "He's hurt!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Urd snapped.  "Something stopping me from
teleporting!"

The phone suddenly rang.  Urd stormed over and picked it up.  "WHAT?!" she
growled, then paled.  "Gomen," she said quickly, and began to frown and
flush as she listened to the voice on the other end.  "Now just wait a
minute-" she took the phone from her face, stared at it in disgust, and
slammed it back to the reciever.  She walked back to the couch, flopped
down, and proceeded to curse.

"What did He say?" Skuld demanded.

"He's prevented us from teleporting," was Urd's sullen reply.  "'It's well
in hand,' He said.  'Trust Me,' He said."  She snorted in disgust.

Skuld simply gave her sister an agast stare.  "But...but..."

"I know, but what can we do?"

"Skuld?" the two sisters turned to look at Belldandy, who was now awake,
although still pale.  "Do you think you'd be able to make a tracking
device?"

The youngest goddess gaped at her sister blankly for a moment, and then a
gleeful cast came across her face.  "You bet!" she cheered, and ran off to
her room.

"I'm surprised, Bell," Urd said with a sort of smug smile.  "Disobeying
Kami-sama?"

Belldandy stood with Keiichi's help and smiled back at her sister.  "We may
not be able to teleport, but we have other means at our disposal," she said,
and then she scowled.  "Oniichan needs us.  I know it."

***

Ryoko brought her blade up for a finishing blow, when a hand caught her arm
in a steely grip.  Looking over, she saw Yosho holding her, a grim look on
his face.  "I cannot let you do that, Ryoko-san."

The skies began to thicken with clouds.

A black portal opened in the air midway between the stairs and the house,
and Tsunami jumped out, followed a second later by Washu.  Tsunami took a
frantic look around, and then spotted Chris laying on the ground, a scarlet
stain spreading beneath him. "No," she whispered. "This can't be happening!"

Washu placed her hand on Tsunami's shoulder.  "Panic later, Tsunami.  Right
now, we have a young man to save."  Together, they ran over to the injured
man and the two people struggling near him.

The sky, now thick with grey-white clouds, began to darken.

"Let me go!" Ryoko howled as she twisted and tugged in Yosho's grip.  "He's
got to die!  Can't you see?  He's evil!  He's dangerous!  He's-" she
suddenly collapsed, and Yohso looked in surprise at Washu.

"Kagato's work," she explained, disgusted.  "I should have known he'd have
arranged for something like this."  She over her shoulder at Tenchi.  "Take
her inside and put her to bed," she ordered.  "Ayeka, call your guardians,
we need them."

Washu turned to her many-times-great-grandson.  "Ichi, I want you to go to
my lab and ready that big table near my medical room."  The young man nodded
absently, but didn't move.  Instead, he was staring at Tsunami with a
confused look.  "ICHI!"  He jumped and began running towards the portal,
stopping just before he entered to look at Tsunami again.

She walked over to the wounded man, and knelt at his side.  She carefully
pulled his hand away from his wound, and winced at what she saw.  eeling
aorund the plate that was bound to the man's torso, she frowned.  "No
latches, no attachments, it's seamless.  I wonder how he gets it off?"

"Tsunami!"  The azure-haired girl was at her side in a flash.  "I'm going to
try to get him to lose this armor.  Once it's gone, you're going to have to
hold this wound together.  Got it?"  Tsunami nodded and moved to position by
the gash.

Thunder rolled and the air, once calm, began to pick up in a brisk breeze.

Washu moved to the man's head and lifted the helmet from his head.  She
placed her hand on his cheek, feeling how cold he was and cursed.  The last
thing she needed was him going into shock, and he was.  She slapped his
cheek gently.  "Hey, you, wake up!  Come on," she slapped him a bit harder,
and he stirred a bit and looked blearly up at her.

"Skuld?" he whispered, and then looked down his torso at Tsunami.  "Bell?"
He blinked a few times and squinted up at Washu.  "Not Skuld."

"Iie, I'm not your Skuld," Washu said kindly.  "We need you to get rid of
your armor, OK?"  He nodded and closed his eyes for a second, and the
blue-green armor sort of shimmered, and faded away.  Immediately, Tsunami
pressed a piece of her clothing against the vicious slash in his side,
holding it shut.  He gasped in pain, and Washu slipped her hand in his and
gripped it tightly.  "I know.  I'll make it better.  I promise."

"Was sure it was Skuld..." the man murmured as he fell back into
unconsiousness.

Lightning began to flash about the sky, and the wind started blowing dust
and leaves into the air.

"Washu-san," Ayeka said tentatively.  "I've brought Azaka and Kamidake."

"Good," Washu said, and extracated her hand from the man's grip.  "I want
you two to put your force field around this man and Tsu-er...Sasami.  Pick
up them, the ground, everything.  Move them back though the portal to my
lab."

"HAI!" the guardians responded, and positioned themselves at opposite sides
of the pair.  A misty film came into existence, and with a jerk, they lifted
Washu's patient up off the ground.

"GENTLY!" Washu roared.  "Gently!"  She shook her head as the two gaurdians
started to carry their burden at a more sedate pace.  "I've got enough work
as it is."  She supervised as they went through the portal and then turned
to Ayeka and Yosho.  "Get eneryone inside," she said, just as a heavy,
driving rain began to fall.  "This is gonna be one hell of a storm."

*********************************

"Ayeka-neechan?"  The princess looked up from the book she was reading and
smiled at Ichi, her cousin.  "Can I talk to you?" he asked pensively.

"Of course," Ayeka said, surprised and worried by his manner.  "What's
wrong, Ichi-kun?"

Ichi looked over at the door to Washu's lab, where Yosho stood, keeping a
vigil for news about both Ryoko and their 'guest.'  "What happened to
Sasami-chan?"

Ayeka felt her blood run cold, and dropped her book, grabbing the young teen
by the shoulders.  "What are you talking about, Ichi?  Please, tell me.
What's wrong with my sister?"

"I don't know!" he snapped, frustrated.  "When she saw that man, she just
burst into tears, and then when she came back later with Washu, she was all
different!"

"Different how?" Ayeka demanded, depsite the fact that she felt she already
knew the answer.

Ichi pointed to his brow.  "She had two golden circles here," he began.
"She talked different, and walked different!"  He suddenly scowled and
looked down at the ground.  "It was like it was Sasami-chan's body, but
someone else was inside."

"Tsunami."

The teen looked up into Ayeka's face.  "Nani?"

Ayeka sighed and released Ichi, and leaned back in her chair.  "It was
Tsunami. She is part of my sister, and she must have taken over."  She
patted Ichi on the shoulder.  "Don't worry, Ichi-kun.  There's nothing to be
worried about."  *I hope.*

The boy looked slightly relieved, but still confused.  He sat down on the
couch and sulked.  "This weird guy shows up, and then all of a sudden,
Sasami-chan's possessed by this Tsunami person, Ryoko-neechan goes all
insane, and there's this huge storm!"  He gave Ayeka a plaintive look, on
the verge of tears "I don't understand, Ayeka-neechan, what's going on?"

Moving to sit beside Ichi, Ayeka wrapped her arms around him tightly.  "I
don't know, Ichi-kun, I wish I did."

***

"Hey, squirt, how's it coming?"

Skuld wiped her sweaty forehead and glared up at her eldest sister.  "The
same as it did when you asked five minutes ago, so leave me alone and let me
work!"  She stood up, stormed to the door to her room and slid it shut with
a bang.

Urd blinked the door and shrugged sheepishly.  "I was just asking."  She
wandered down to the kitchen, pulled a bottle of sake from the cupboard, and
returned to sit in front of the TV.  She turned it on and poked at the
screen a few times half-heartedly before taking a long drink from the
bottle.

"...and the strange localized storm that appeared in the remote Okoyama area
seems to be dying down."  Urd choked on the sake and sprayed it all over the
screen.  he turned the TV up and listened closely as she wiped off the glass
with her sleeve.  "This storm appeared without warning at around 10:45 this
morning, and was unusually strong for this time of year and strangely small
for its strength.  Government meteorologists have no explanation at this-"
the living room was filled with silence as Urd switched the TV off.

"I FOUND HIM!"

***

Washu closed off the screen to her impromtu operating area, and gave Tsunami
a tired smile.  "He'll be fine," she informed the azure-haired girl.  A
holoterminal appeared in front of her, and she punched a couple keys.  "And
what do you know? The boy's out of danger, and the storm starts to subside."

Tsunami sighed in relief.  "Arigato, Washu. It would have been
very...bad...for Ryoko if that man had died."

"I'm hurt," Washu said wryly.  "I'm not 'Oneesama' anymore."

"Oops."  Tsunami looked at once worried and embarrased, an odd combination
for Sasami's face.  "What do you-I mean, it was just-"

"Give it up, imouto.  I remember everything.  Kami-chan, Tokimi, our
daughters, everything."  Washu's expression was grim as she turned looked
back at the recovery area she had left their guest in.  "I remember the
empty feeling I felt when He took them from us, just like how I felt all
those years later when my second mate took my son from me.  Just like I felt
when Kagato took Ryoko."  She began to shake in anger.  "I want to see her
again, Tsunami.  I want to know my daughter again, and I want her to know
me.  Somehow, that man is connected to all this, and I'm going to find out
how."  She looked sternly at Tsunami.  "Are you going to help me?"  The
red-head's eyes widened as she realized the girl was crying.

Tsunami leapt towards Washu and embraced her in an iron grip.  "Oneesama,
it's so good to have you back!"

"Aww, come on, I hate this mushy stuff," Washu complained, but hugged her
back with all her strength.  After a few moments, she pushed Tsunami off,
and smiled kindly at her.  "It'll be a while before whomever that is wakes
up, and we have some things to do first."

"What could that be?" Tsunami asked, bewildered.

Washu nodded towards the room Ryoko was being kept in.  "I'VE got to have a
talk with my OTHER daughter, and see if I can help her undo Kagato's little
trap," she explained, and then glared at Tsunami.  "And YOU'VE got to go
explain things to my grandson."  She shook her head in disappointment.
"Really, Tsunami, didn't you think he'd notice?"

Tsunami paled.  "Oh no."

***

"Ryoko, what were you thinking?" Tenchi demanded.  He was sitting on one of
Washu's floating cushions in what she liked to call her 'sample' laboratory.
Ryoko was bound up in one of the many restraint devices Washu loved to use
on Tenchi and Ichi.  Tenchi would have found the humor in seeing someone
other than him or Ichi trussed up more amusing if it wasn't for the
seriousness of the situation.

"Why won't you believe me?" Ryoko asked plaintively.  "He's dangerous!
We're all in danger!  Please, Tenchi, let me go before it's too late!"  She
began to struggle again, causing the cables holding her to tighten.

He shook his head and stood, walking forward to cup Ryoko's cheek, calming
the woman down.  "I can't do that, and you know it."  Ryoko rubbed her cheek
in his hand, and Tenchi smiled lightly.  "Why, Ryoko?" he begged her. "Why
are you so set on this?" He pulled his hand away and turned from her to look
off into space.  "I've never seen you like this before."

"If you knew her seven hundred years ago, you would have," a wry voice
responded.  Tenchi and Ryoko looked over to see Washu lounging against one
of the many machines in the lab.  "She acted almost that unreasonable when
Kagato sent her to attack Jurai."

Washu shook her head as he paced over towards the pair.  "Tenchi-dono, do me
a favor and go tell your grandfather that our visitor should be fine,
Yosho's probably worried sick."  At Tenchi's hesitation, she moved around
him and began pushing him towards the door.  "Go on, shoo!" she ordered,
then paused and grabbed his wrist, turning him to face her.  "Unless you'd
like to stay so I can get a few samples?" she asked with an evil grin.

"Uhh...No!" Tenchi yelped, and pulled his wrist from her grip.  "I'll go see
'Jiichan now," he babbled as he made a hasty exit.

"He is SO kawaii when he's flustered," Washu giggled, staring after the
departing young man.  "Nice butt, too."

"Washu, when I get out of these..." Ryoko began threateningly, but was cut
off as Washu turned and glared at her.

"When you get out of those you're going to march over to that man and
apologise for trying to disembowl him!" Washu snapped.

"The HELL I will!  I'll kill him!"

Washu shook her head and sat down on the cushion Tenchi had vacated and
called up a holoterminal.  "Tenchi was right, Ryoko," she stated as she
typed away.  "This isn't like you, attacking someone without provocation.
Usually you have SOME reason for being homicidal."  Resting her elbows on
her knees, she propped her head up in her hands and looked quizically at
Ryoko.  "So, why?"

Ryoko began to struggle again.  "I don't know," she grunted as she tried to
free her arms.  "All I know is that he's dangerous, and that if I don't stop
him I'll regret it..."

"NOW we're getting somewhere!" Washu cheered.  "And have you ever felt this
way before?" she prompted.  "Like perhaps 700 years ago?"

"No," Ryoko grew pale and stopped struggling.  "It can't be!" she wailed,
shaking her head, and her eyes grew distant as she ran through her memories
of when she attacked Jurai.  "It is," she choked, horror, rage, and
self-loathing in her voice.  "It's just like then."  Tears formed in her
eyes and Ryoko shook her head angrily as she tried to surpress them.  "DAMN
YOU, KAGATO!"

***

Yosho blinked as Tenchi came running out of the lab.  "Problems?" he asked
amusedly.

Tenchi nodded wordlessly leaned against wall, panting.  "Don't tell Washu I
said this, but her, Ayeka, Ryoko, and Mihoshi is just a little bit more than
I can take."  He grinned sheepishly.  "One of these days I'm going to slip
and actually sleep with one of them," he sighed ruefully, "and then I'm
going to die a horrible death by the at least two of the other three."  He
looked peevishly at his grandfather as he began to chuckle.  "And what's so
funny?"

"You do realize you're complaining about a predicament most men would kill
for?" Yosho laughed.

"They can have it," the younger replied seriously.  "It's more trouble than
it's worth."

Yosho hummed in contemplation.  "Just consider your wedding night."

"To which one?!"

"Why, all of them."

Tenchi gaped at his grandfather.  "'Jiichan, you know that's illegal in
Japan, right?"

"Tenchi-kun," the elder man said in a gruff tone.  "You're a prince of
Jurai.  It's part of Royal Tradition.  You didn't think my father married
two women because he was the indecisive sort, did you?"

"Y-you-you mean..." Tenchi stammered. He trailed off and considered that
little tidbit seriously.  After a moment, a slow lecherous smile spread on
his face.  "Tradition, hmm?"

"Hai."

"All of them?"

"Indeed."

"At the same time?"

Yosho blinked and turned an astonished look on his son.  "Noboyuki's been a
bad influence on you," he said disapprovingly.

"I think I may like this," Tenchi replied expansively.  "Four wives.  I may
REALLY like this."  His cheer suddenly disappeared and he looked dejected.
"But they'd never go for it...besides, I'm not sure if I really like ALL of
them that way.  Hell, I don't know if I like ANY of them that way."

"I can't help you with that, but I think I'm going to regret telling you
about that tradition," Yosho said, shaking his head in amused dismay.  His
mein turned serious. "Is there any news on our visitor?"

"According to Washu-san, he's out of danger."

Yosho nodded, and turned to walk to the living room.  "I should have known,
the storm was dying down."  He absently rubbed his chin as he looked out the
window.  "But the question remains, why is one of THEM here, and why now?"

"Who is he, 'Jiichan?"

Turning, the elder man saw that Ayeka and Ichi had heard his musing.  Tenchi
had followed him into the livingroom, and it was he who asked the question.
Yosho smiled ruefuly and shook his head.  He moved to a free chair and
reclined with a sigh.  "Ayeka, do remember the stories I read you as a
child?"

Ayeka frowned in concentration as she thought back to her childhood, and the
time she spent with the man.  "The ones about Zao-shu, the Troublesome
Sapling?"  Tenchi and Ichi laughed.

"Not those," Yosho chuckled.  "The other ones.  The ones about the Planters.
The old Juraian poems - I have to admit I don't remember them very well."

"Ah," she nodded in understanding, and frowned as she began to recite the
story, pausing every few words to translate from Juraian.  "Lo and behold,
the Planters of the Tree, who watched the Stars form and led Jur from the
Darkness of Savagery into the Light of Civilization.  The Ones who guard the
Tree and gather the Seeds that fall, and plant every one as a new Life."
She blinked in surprise, and glowered at her half-brother.  "Yo-SHO," she
chided him.  "You don't honestly expect us to believe that...person...is a
Planter, do you?  That's ridiculous!"

"No, he isn't, but he's the Earth equivalent, and we should give him the
respect and treatment he deserves."

Ayeka shot to her feet with an outraged look.  "Under NO circumstances am I
marrying that man!" she screeched.

Tenchi and Ichi gaped, and then exchanged looks of astonishment.

Yosho waved his hands in surrender.  "No, Ayeka," he soothed.  "As I said,
he's not a Planter, he's the local quivalent.  They don't do that kind of
thing around here."

"What kind of thing?" Tenchi demanded.

Ayeka blushed and looked away.  "According to our people's history, the
first woman, Jur, married a Planter, and from their line rose the Royal
House.  There is an old family myth that a Planter will return to 'revive'
the line, and the eldest Princess of the House is to be married to him."

"Nice tradition," Ichi remarked, and shook his head disgustedly.  "Juraians.
Ow!"  He yelped as his head was swatted, and turned to look at his attacker.
"Sheesh, Sasami-chan, stop tha-" he froze as he noticed the golden circles
on the girl's forehead.   He growled, "Tsunami."

"You shouldn't talk about your own people that way, Ichi-kun," she scolded,
and then smiled sadly.  "I suppose I should explain about this," she
indicated herself with a sweeping movement, "and what it means."   She
nodded towards the door outside, where the sun had broken through the
rapidly disappearing storm clouds.  "Please?"

The green-haired teen glowered at Tsunami and stood.  "This had better be
good," he hissed as he followed her.

Ayeka watched them leave worriedly.  "Perhaps I should follow them," she
mused.  "Just in case."

"Don't," Tenchi advised.  "Trust me, he could never hurt Sasami-chan.  He's
just angry and confused."  He made a sort of rueful smile.  "I know how he
feels."  He stared after them for a moment, and then shook his head to clear
it.  "So, 'Jiichan, what do we do about that...'Planter?'"

"'God,' Tenchi-kun.  Locally, we call them 'gods,'" Yosho explained, and
once again Tenchi gaped at his grandfather.

"You're joking.  'Jiichan, that's absurd!"

"Do we have to go through this again?" Yosho asked with a pained look.

***

"Are you sure about this, Urd?" Keiichi asked skeptically.  "How do we know
that Chris-san will really be there?"

Belldandy placed her hand on Keiichi's shoulder and squeezed lightly.  "It's
pretty definite, Keiichi-san.  We have very good idea what happens when a
deity is close to death or dies," she grimaced slightly as she considered
the unpleasant thought.

"Imagine a LOT of bugs in one place," Skuld piped up as she worked on her
scanner.  "Last time a god died a volcano erupted."

"But...," Keiichi protested.  "I thought you can't be killed because of the
Doublet System..."

Urd snorted.  "That only makes sure gods have a vested interest in keeping
demons alive and vice-versa, but it doesn't stop us from HURTING each other,
and it doesn't apply to 'Niichan.  He's got no demon assigned to him yet.
Won't until he..." she trailed off as Belldandy sent a fiery glare her way.

Keiichi gave her a quizzical look.  "Until he what?"

"Uh...nevermind," Urd said uncomfortably.  "It's not important.  Let's just
say that if that mortal had actually killed 'Niichan, they would be having a
VERY bad day right now."  She grinned wickedly.  "Ygddrasil doesn't take
kindly to a mortal killing one of us."

"So you're all sure he's there, right?" Keiichi repeated.  At their
affirmation, he nodded once.  "I'll go see Tamiya and Ootaki then, they
should be able to get me a car."  With that, he picked up his helmet from
where he had left it beside the door and walked outside.

"Keiichi-san," Belldandy called, and followed him to his bike.  Before he
put his helmet on she kissed him quickly on the cheek.  "Arigato."

Keiichi blushed crimson as he put on his helmet.  "He's important to you,
Bell-chan, and besides, he's a friend."  Before he started the engine he
gripped her hand with a gloved one and squeezed.  "It'll be OK, Bell-chan,
I'll be back in less than an hour."  With that, he started the engine, and
drove off, waving goodbye.

"I hope so," Belldandy replied to the air.

***

"Aww...Rachel...more fun with two..."

Washu looked in on her patient with wide eyes. "And what are you dreaming
about, hmm?" she asked softly, and moved to his side.  She pulled the
blankets away from his side, and peeled away the bandage that covered the
wound.  "Good," he murmured, and ran her fingers lightly over the newly
sealed skin.  "Another week or so and he should be as good as new."

The man squirmed and twisted slightly.  "Stop...Ami...tickles."

"Is he awake?" Ryoko asked as she peaked into the room.  Her eyes fell on
the place where the wound had been and she whistled.  "You ARE good, aren't
you?"

"Of course, I am.  I'm the Greatest Genius in the Universe!" Washu cackled.

"Shudd'p, Skul'," the patient growled, "tryin' t' sleep."

Ryoko walked over to beside Washu and prodded lightly at the healing flesh.
Aside from what appeared to be light bruising and a sort of depression on
the area, it was undamaged.  She looked over at Washu and asked, "How did
you-huh?"  Her question was cut off as her hand was grabbed by the man and
hugged tightly.

"Rachel..."

"Aww, isn't this sweet," Washu gushed mockingly as Ryoko tried to free her
hand without waking the man.  "Come on, you," she said, and shook the man's
shoulder.  "Rise and shine."

The man used his free hand to reach up and rub his eyes, and then blinked up
at Washu.  "Who...wha?" His gaze flickered over to Ryoko, and a look of
astonishment and fear swept across his face.  Noticing her rather peeved
expression, he looked back to Washu and spoke in a harsh voice, "Let..." He
suddenly stopped and cleared his throat.  "Let me guess, this is one of
those 'I'm lucky to still be breathing' things?"

"Not if you don't let me go," Ryoko growled, and tugged at her hand.  The
man looked at the hand his was holding and let it go like a hot coal.
"Smart man."

"Stop threatening the poor boy," Washu admonished, and then raised an
eyebrow expectantly at Ryoko.  "Well, Ryoko?  We're waiting."

*Boy?* he wondered.  *She can't be more than 15!*

Ryoko blushed and looked down at the floor, she shuffled her feet slightly
before speaking in a small voice.  "About the attack this morning..."  She
trailed off and mumbled something.

"I don't think he can hear you," Washu pointed out, and smiled sweetly into
Ryoko's glare.

Turning back to the man, she looked down at the ground before clearing her
throat.  "Gomen nasai."

Blinking a few times times in surprise, the man took a deep breath, and
winced in pain.  He clamped a hand to his side, and then looked in shock at
the sealed skin he found.  "Cool," he murmured, and then looked up at Ryoko.
He replied, "Accepted," and grinned conpsiringly.  "Just promise not to
spread around I got trashed by a mortal, the boys would never let me hear
the end of it."  He suddenly shuddered. "Or they'd put me through basic
training again...ugh."

Bewildered by the man's words, but relieved that the incident had been
resolved, Ryoko looked over at Washu, in askance.  "Yes, you can go now,"
Washu sighed.  "Do me a favor and bring Tenchi back, would you?"

"What for?" Ryoko asked suspicously.  "You don't have another one of your
scemes dreamt up, do you?  I'm telling you Washu...."

Washu dismissed Ryoko's threats with a wave of her hand.  "I thought our
guest might like to bathe, and I'd expect he'd rather bathe without female
company."

"I don't know," he mused, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Might be kind
of fun.  Perks of being a god and all, I suppose."

"God?" Ryoko repeated.  "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Ah! Maybe I should introduce myself," he decided, and reached under the
blanket as if reaching into his pants, only to discovered he was unclothed.
"Exactly where are my clothes?" he asked tiredly.  Washu indicated a pile of
clothing in the corner with a tilt of her head.  "I see," he sighed, and
then shook his had.  "What is it with women and stripping me?  Every time I
fall unconscious I wake up nude....sheesh."

He pulled his hand back from under the sheets and presented Ryoko and Washu
with two business cards.  "How-where-what?" Ryoko stammered.

"Magic," the man said impishly, twiddling his fingers at her, only to have
his wrist slapped by Washu.

"Stop that," she scolded, and glared at the card she had been given.
"'Christopher Angel, God of Moments,'" she read and then glared at the man.
"That's absurd."

"Hey," Chris protested, "there ain't nothing wrong with my name!"

"Who cares about your name, I'm refering to this farce of a title!"

Chris shrugged.  "Not my fault, blame the Boss."  He scratched his head and
considered the issue.  "If it helps any, P-er..um, the Goddess of Forever,
always calls me the God of Never, while Saturn and a bunch of the other
Time-aspect gods tend to call me the God of Paradox."  He spread his hands
palm up in a sort of helpless gesture.

"Right," Washu said skeptically, and pocketted the card.  "So tell me, why
are you here?"

"Well, I'm supposed to read you something," he replied, and pointed towards
his clothing.  "Right inside breast pocket, there's a manilla envelope."
Washu rummaged through his clothes and pulled out the envelope and handed it
to him.

"OPEN," he whispered, and the word rang with a sort of authority.  The seal
on one side of the envelope appeared to become unglued, so that he was able
to pull out the single sheet that was inside.  He read over the words on the
paper, a frown forming that was suddenly banished by wide-eyed shock as he
finished.  "You've GOT to be kidding me," he remarked, and then looked at
the ceiling with an eyebrow raised.  "You just KNOW I'm going to spread this
one around, don't you?"

Washu huffed in exasperation.  "Get on with it."

"I hope this makes sense to you, becuase it's completely over my head," he
admitted, and began to read.  "'You may know them as you and they are now,
but not as you were.  It must be that way, for both you and them.  They have
come far, and are happy in their life as it is.  Do not destroy that
happiness.  Do not force My hand.  Signed, your Kami-chan.'"  He snickered.
"'Kami-chan,' He says.  Oh, that's rich."

"Do you know what this means?", Chris asked, looking up at Washu.  He was
shocked to see that Washu was as white as a sheet, and the glistening that
heralded oncoming tears that shone in her eyes.  "Hey, what's wrong?"  he
sat up in the bed and grabbed gentle hold of one of her arms.  "What did I
say?"

Washu swore, a single word in a language not made for human tongues, and
Chris looked at her in shock as she continued.  "All this time, and
nothing's changed."  She shook off his hold, and took a few steps away,
wrapping her arms around herself as if cold.  "It's not fair, damnit.  It's
not fair."

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked over to see Chris standing
behind her, clothed in a sheet from the bed.  His expression was one of
infinite sympathy.  "Life rarely is," he said softly, and a smile of
regretful understanding lit on his face.  "Especially where the Boss is
concerned."  He blinked, and then grinned as he changed the subject.  "I've
got to know, though, how exactly can you DO that without four extra arms?"

A laugh rose from Washu's throat, much to her surprise, one that was
surprisingly bright and clear.  "I'm not the Greatest Genuis Scientist in
the Universe for nothing, you know," she giggled breathlessly.

"Washu-san?" Tenchi's voice rang through the caverous lab, just slightly
touched with a big of trepidation.

Washu composed herself quickly, and shot a look of thanks to the tall man
before replying out to Tenchi.  "Over here, Tenchi-dono," she called back,
and turned to Chris.  "Come on, you can get cleaned up."

"Good," he replied, and ran his free hand through his hair, then looked at
it in disgust.  "I need it.  Feh, post-combat grimies.  Ick."  He started as
something occurred to him.  "Waitasec, I've got to know," he began, and
glared at Washu.  "Who ARE you people?"

Tenchi walked up, a sort of resigned expression on his face.  "It's a long
story," he sighed.  "It all began a few years ago..."

***

Tsunami could feel Ichi's angry gaze boring into her back as she led him
towards the Funaho, but she tried to ignore it.  She was too busy as she
frantically tried to figure out how to repair the damage she had caused by
revealing her existence to Ichi.

As she picked her way among the path, Tsunami once again tried to decide if
assimilating Sasami had been a mistake.  Ayeka was almost thankful to
Tsunami, and Ryoko was the same - the first relieved that she hadn't lost
her sister, the second because Sasami was one of her only true friends.
Both didn't want to consider how their lives would have been without Sasami.
Tenchi didn't know what to make of it, and just took it in stride.  Washu's
opinion was a mystery.  She seemed to be more interested in cracking the
secret involved than in the nature of the assimilation.  Mihoshi's opinion
was a mystery in a different way - if the sometimes brainless, sometimes
brilliant woman understood what had happened, what did she think?

Stopping before to look at a rather impressive view of the valley the Funaho
was nestled in, Tsunami shook her head to force herself back on topic.  The
one she had to worry about was Ichi.  Could he accept the truth?  That in
less than a dozen years, there would be no seperation between the Tsunami
and Sasami, but one person?  Would he accept it, or would he reject them,
and allow the burgeoning soul-bond between the pair to shatter?

A small sigh came from Tsunami.  These were things she never wanted to deal
with, never expected when she decided to save Sasami's life those centuries
ago.  Then, it was not only a chance to save a child's life, it was a chance
to experience life as it was for the other denizens of the universe, as
Washu had been doing for the past twenty centuries.  Little did she know the
price such an opportunity carried.

Tsunami didn't understand the changes coming over her until she saw Washu
again.  That woman who looked so much like the sister she remembered...and
was nothing like her.  The Washu of old was a calm, composed being, much
like a mountain in her rock-solid personality - nothing like this manic
child-woman who bore her elder sister's face, knowledge, and power.  Yet,
she soon saw, every so often the old Washu would surface in the woman, this
Washu Habuki.  In half a dozen years, there would be no Tsunami.  There
would only be Sasami Jurai, who bore Tsunami's face, knowledge, and power.
Tsunami would be a lesser partner in the merging of the two, and would
probably remain that way until the end of time.  She could feel it happening
even now.  With every passing day, she lost a little bit of herself to
Sasami's maturing personality.

And what scared Tsunami the most was the fact that she wasn't sure if she
considered that a bad thing.  There was something about the girl, an
innocence, a purity that made any sacrifice for her more than worthwhile.
Sasami loved Ichi, and Tsunami felt, no, she KNEW that she would tear the
heavens apart to keep them together and Sasami happy if need be.  After all,
she surmised, in a mere dozen years, Tsunami would be part of that
happiness.

Carefully stepping on the stones that led across the lake to the tree,
Tsunami finally decided on her course of action.  As she reached the tree,
she sat at the trunk with her back to it, facing the glowering Ichi.  She
smiled at him sadly, and then the girl's body went limp as she projected her
spirit out of it.

"Sasami!"

Tsunami's point of view had changed, and now instead of looking through
Sasami's eyes she was looking upon Sasami and Ichi from where she floated
above the waters of the lake.  As she watched, Ichi shook Sasami's
shoulder's gently, calling out her name frantically as he tried to wake her
up.  "Ichi-kun."

He turned his head to take a glance at the person calling him, and started
at seeing the beautiful woman floating over the water.  He stood and faced
her, angrily demanding, "What have you done to Sasami?"  A dark blue sphere
of energy formed in his hand, and he clenched his fist about it, forming a
long energy blade.

"She only sleeps, Ichi-kun," Tsunami assured him.  "When we finish speaking
she will awaken."

"Then we're done speaking," Ichi snapped.  "Now go away and leave Sasami
alone!"

"Ichi-kun-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!  You have no right, you bakemono!  Why did you have to
pick on Sasami?  She never hurt anyone!"

Tsunami felt herself lose her temper.  Here she was, trying to do the decent
thing and explain to this idiot BOY, and he had the unmitigated gall to
insult her?  When she was giving up her very being for that girl?  "If it
wasn't for my actions Sasami would be dead!  ICHI-KUN NO BAKA!"

Ichi's anger was wiped off his face as he looked at Tsunami in shock.  For a
second there, when she was yelling at him, he could have sworn Tsunami was a
different person.  He looked at her closely, and he noticed things that he
must have missed before.  The light freckles on the nose and cheeks.  The
way her eyes seemed to tear up just a little when she was angry, and her
fists clenched.  The way she leaned forward a little on her toes when she
yelled at him.

All of it, just like Sasami.

As she regained control of her temper, Tsunami took a deep breath. "Did the
others tell you of the time Kagato made Ryoko attack Jurai?"  Ichi nodded
wordlessly.  "During the attack, Sasami was a very young child - less than
half her biological age now.  She wandered off into the Hall of Trees, and
while playing there, fell off one of the platforms."  She turned and walked
a few steps to the side, so that Ichi no longer obstructed her view of the
girl.  "She was dying, Ichi-kun, and her wounds were beyond my ability to
heal.  The only way I could save her life was to assimilate her."

The teenager looked back at the sleeping Sasami for a moment, then back at
Tsunami, an expression of horror painted across his face.  "So...you...and
her...all this time, she was really you?" his voice echoed a horrible
anguish, the tone of one who has had something infinitely important taken
away.  "The girl I...she's just your puppet?"  His blade snapped up into a
ready stance, and he confronted her, expersion of rage and pain warring on
his face.  "Just a copy, a toy for you to play with at my expense?"

This was all wrong, not what Tsunami wanted at all.  She was going to lose
him, and it seemed that nothing she could do could stop it.  "Please," she
begged as she began to cry, "listen to me.  Sasami and I are not the same.
She didn't die, Ichi, she became a part of me," all her fears, all her
worries, all of it just became too much for Tsunami.  "Please Ichi-kun," she
reached out to touch the boy's face, to touch him like Sasami could, and he
flinched away.  She put her face in her hands, and felt to her knees.  "You
don't understand!" she sobbed, her voice muffled through her hands.  "No one
does!  When she grows up there will be no me, only her!  Don't hate her
because of me, Ichi-kun, PLEASE.  Don't make us lose you because of me."

She felt a sort of tingle on her hands, and looked up to see that Ichi had
banished his sword and was trying to touch her, but his fingers merely
passed through her hands.  "You..."  His voice was quavering, and he seemed
very hesitant.  "You're giving your life for her?"  He turned and looked
back at Sasami, then returned his gaze to Tsunami.  "If it's true...then,"
his voice grew suddenly hoarse.  "I don't know how I can thank you.
Whatever you want, whatever you need, I'll do it, just-"

"Ichi-kun," Tsunami silenced him with the name.  "Just don't push her away
because of me."

He shook his head violently.  "I could NEVER do that," he promised, but his
expression was grim.  "Even if she had just been a puppet, I...I..."  He
clamped his mouth shut, and game Tsunami a sharp glance.  "Can you keep a
secret?"

Tsunami wanted to laugh out loud, but settled for a beaming smile and a nod
of her head.  Somehow she knew he didn't quite understand the way that she
and Sasami were linked, but a mischievous little spark in her mind said it
was better that way.  She turned her head to that Ichi could whisper in her
ear, and she gasped as he spoke.  She turned to him with wide eyes, as her
heart - no, Sasami's heart - no, BOTH their hearts threatened to burst with
joy.  "Really?"

Ichi nodded soberly.  "Really."

"Then I know I have nothing to worry about," she said, her calm voice
belying the elation she felt.  "Goodbye, Ichi-kun.  I doubt we'll meet
again."  She walked over the Funaho's trunk and knelt before the comatose
girl, touching her forehead to Sasami's.  She allowed a bright smile to show
just before her projection faded.

A moment later, Sasami blinked, yawned and awoke.  She felt happy, and she
wasn't sure why.  For some reason, even though she was still confused by
what she had felt this morning before Tsunami took over, and she was worried
about her sister and the others, the world seemed to be just perfect.
Something important, something wonderful had happened.

"Sasami?"  Ichi knelt beside her, and took her hand in his.  "Are you OK?"

"Hai, Ichi-kun!" she bubbled, suddenly even more ecstatic to see the teen.
"I feel wonderful!"  She let him help her stand and then suddenly threw her
arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Wh-wh-what w-was that f-for?" he stammered, reaching a hand to touch his
cheek.

"I don't know," Sasami admitted, her cheer unabated.  "I just knew it was
the right thing to do!"  She started to skip across the stones away from the
tree, and spun in a quick pirouhette upon reaching the shore.  "Are you
coming?" she called over her shoulder as she headed towards the house.

"Coming!" he replied, and ran to catch up with her.

***

"Nice place," Chris breathed as he gazed upon the interior of the floating
bath.  "I want one."

Tenchi smiled faintly.  "One of the benefits of having Washu around.  She's
always building things like this."

Chris looked out one of the windows and frowned.  "Where was this thing when
I got here this morning?"

"I've learned not to ask questions like that," Tenchi replied with a sigh.
"I usually don't understand the answer."  Chris chuckled, went over to his
clothes and started to put them on.  Bewildered, Tenchi watched him for a
moment before he asked, "What are you doing?"

"You'll see," Chris returned mysteriously, as he finished slipping on his
pants.  He put on his socks and shoes, and then grabbed his trenchcoat.
"AWAY," he spoke, and the word rang with power.  A flash of light blocked
him from Tenchi's view, and then he was nude again.  "Just putting the
clothes somewhere safe," he grinned, and wandered over to the washing area.

Tenchi shook his head with a bemused look, and went to follow Chris to
washing area.  As the two men cleaned themselves of, an air of silence fell
over the pair - an air broken only by Chris' multiple swears as he streched,
touched, or otherwise affected his recently-healed wound.  Tenchi washed
himself silently, every so often sneaking a look at Chris.

"Tenchi," Chris suddenly said, his voice even.  "I'm not that kind of guy."

"What-hey! No!" Tenchi protested, blushing deeply and backing up.  "It's
just that...well," he paused and took a deep breath.  "You don't seem
particularly divine to me.  I expected something more...holy."

Chris suddenly burst out laughing.  "Remind me to introduce you to my sister
Belldandy.  There's a girl who just OOZES holiness."  He shook his head,
still chuckling.  "I was born a plain old human being, lad.  I was only
'inducted' into the rank of the divine a couple years ago."  He began
working on his hair, scrubbing vigorously.

"How do you become a god?"

"Officially, I made a wish that just 'happened' to get through a rejection
screening process.  UNOFFICIALLY, and we've never gotten Him to admit it,
the Boss meddled."   Chris began filling his bucket with cold water.

"The Boss?" Tenchi repeated, and then suddenly remembered his own washing to
do.

Chris dumped the water over himself.  "Gah! COLD!" he yelped, and did a sort
of full-body shiver.  "I hate that.  The Boss is the...man...I report to.
Odin, God, Buddah, Kami-sama, Allah, take your pick.  Same guy."

Tenchi shook his head in amazement.  "Now I've heard everything."

Chris made his way over to the soaking area and eased his way in while
Tenchi rinsed himself off.  "Yeeeesssss," he hissed.  "Oooh, I love this
part, I could just sit here forever."

A few seconds later Tenchi joined him.  "I kind of enjoy these rare moments
of peace myself," he admitted.

"Troubles?" Chris asked, looking sideways at him.  "Troubles of the
curvy-in-all-the-right-places orientation?"

"Hai," Tenchi said with a sigh.  "I remember when I used to have trouble
even getting a date.  Now I have to beat them off with a stick."

"Join the club," Chris said sourly.

Tenchi blinked and looked in surprise at the other man.  "You too?"

"Two mortal girls, a goddess, and three meddlesome sisters."

"Heh," the shorter man snorted.  "Four girls, a hentai father, a grandfather
who seems to enjoy getting me in trouble, and two teenagers who think it's
their own personal soap opera."

"Four girls?" Chris repeated, impressed, and considered that seriously.
"You win."

"I'm SO glad," Tenchi said sarcastically.  Chris began to snicker at
Tenchi's response.  "What's so funny?"

"Let me guess," he gasped through his chuckles.  "You don't know which one
you like the most either."  Tenchi nodded and began laughing with the other
man.  "I wonder if it's one of those cosmic rules Urd keeps on telling me
about..."  He waved off Tenchi's question.  "You don't want to know.  But
here's some advice:  don't let them waltz all over you, man.  Stand up for
yourself!"

"Has that ever worked for you?"

"Nope.  But it sounds, good, doesn't it?"

***

Ayeka peeked through the portal to the floating bath she had just seen
Tenchi and the Planter go through.  "Well, Ayeka-hime," a sarcastic voice
drawled, "I never thought you were the Peeping Tom type.  Been taking
lessons from Noboyuki?"

Releasing the door like it was made of red-hot iron, Ayeka blushed and
turned to Ryoko, tightening the towle she was tearing.  "I-I-I was going to
take my bath and I heard voices!"  She stopped as she noticed Ryoko's
attire...or lack thereof.  "And where exactly were you going dressed like
that?"

Ryoko looked down at the towel she was wearing, and then sardonically up at
Ayeka.   "Where do you THINK, Princess?" she sneered.

"But Tenchi and that...Planter are in there!"

"I know," Ryoko replied easily as she walked by Ayeka, opened the door, and
slipped inside.

"Oh," the princess said, and then jerked as if shocked.  "RYOKO!" she
howled, and raced in after the pirate.

***

"...so there I am, just minding my own business, and Ami runs out of
nowhere, jumps at me, knocks me off my feet, and proceeds to kiss me deep
enough to clear out my intestines."  Chris explained, and then sheepishly
grinned.  "I STILL want to know where the hell Urd got that camcorder from."
He looked over at Tenchi smugly.  "Top THAT."

Tenchi snorted in derision.  "That's nothing," he scoffed.  "I walk into
this bath, after first calling to make sure no one's here, right?  Except
Ayeka, who's in the bath at the time, doesn't say a word.  Then Ryoko comes
in to 'wash my back' and the real mayhem occurs."  He shook his head.  "In
the process, I came down with a killer cold.  Don't even ask about them
trying to take care of me," he shuddered.

"TEEENNNCHI!!!!"

Tenchi and Chris exchanged a surprised look.  "Creepy," Chris remarked as
Ryoko came flying towards them, Ayeka hot on her heels.  Tenchi groaned and
hid his face in his hands.

"Stop right there, bakemono!" Ayeka growled, grabbing the pirate's arm and
yanking her back.  "How dare you invade Tenchi's privacy this way?"

"Why don't you just butt out?" Ryoko demanded.  "Go have a tryst with the
Planter or something."

"Why...you...," Ayeka steamed, and then threw her bucket at the other woman,
dazing her and making Ryoko's towel slip off.

"Ite!" Ryoko yelped, and grinned evilly at Ayeka.  "So, you want to play,
huh?"

"This happens to you alot, huh?" Chris asked mildly as he watched the
fighting females with interest.  He thought about covering himself, but
realized that it was a little too late for that.

"Far too much for my own good," Tenchi complained.  He studied the walls of
the bath intently, as his skin flushed crimson.  A sudden crash made him
wince.  "What's happening now?"  At the last of response from his companion,
he snuck a peak at the women, and noticed to his mixed dismay that Ayeka had
lost her towel as well.  "Yatta," he cheered sarcastically, and looked over
at Chris, who was gaping at the women in shock.  "What's with you?"

They god pointed merely nodded his head towards the two combattants.
"They're...they're...hypnotic."

"Huh?"  Tenchi snuck another look at the pair, and his eyes gravitated
towards a specific portion of Ryoko's anatomy.  "Oh, them," he said, turning
quickly away as he felt a nosebleed coming on.  "Yeah, they are nice, ne?"

That was enought to shock Chris out of his trace.  "NICE?" he repeated in
aghast amazement, staring at the other man.  "Bacchus' balls, man, they DEFY
GRAVITY!"

"So you don't think she's sagging?" a young voice asked.  The two men
whirled to see Washu soaking in the pool a few feet off, a towel wrapped
around her body.  Tenchi yelped, turned away from her, and then began to
climb out of the pool.  Washu watched him appreciatively for a moment, and
then sighed.  "He is SUCH a prude," she complained, and then looked Chris up
and down with a speculative look.  "You know, you're not so bad yourself.
Kind of kawaii, in a big-hulking-giant sort of way."

"Why, thank you," Chris chuckled and tipped an imaginary hat.

"Not as kawaii as Tenchi, mind you."

"Of course."

"Just wanted to make myself clear."

"Crystal."

Washu giggled.  "You're silly.  I like that."  She called up her
holocomputer.  "So, tell me, you really don't think my daughter's sagging?"

"Are you kidding me?" Chris demanded.  "I know GODDESSES who would kill for
that figure!"  He scratched his head, and grinned.  "A couple inches in
height and I'd chase after her myself, if it wasn't for that
having-tried-to-kill-me thing."

"How about Ayeka?" the red-head asked, making a couple notes on her
computer.

"Who?  Oh, the regal chick."  Chris turned to the two fighters and
comtemplated the girl.  "Nice.  VERY nice.  A little slim for my tastes, but
I'm not complaining."

"How about me?"

Chris jumped, and shook his head disgustedly.  "No offense, but you are WAY
too young for me," he replied, and whistled appreciatively as Ayeka did a
rather impressive kick.

"Oh really?" Washu countered, her voice suddenly richer and more mature.
The god glanced over at her and gaped at the very adult and very buxom woman
smirking back at him, the towel barely covering her decently.

"Gah....gah....wow."  Chris shook his head to clear it.  "Whoof, that'll
wake you up," he muttered.

"I think that's all the answer I need," Washu remarked amusedly.

A shout caused them to turn to the fighting women, and Chris chuckled upon
noticing Tenchi unconscious on the ground.  Ayeka and Ryoko stood over him,
having calmed down to the point of arguing.  "Poor guy," he chuckled, and
then frowned.  "Waitasec.  She's your daughter?"  He looked back at Washu,
and blinked as he saw she was back in her juvenile form.  "Tenchi said she
was like 5000 years old!  How old are you, anyway?"

Washu pouted at him.  "Don't you know it's impolite to ask a girl's age?"

"And who said I was polite?" Chris argued.

"Let's just say I'm older than I look, and leave it at that, OK?" she said
with a pained look.  "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you more.  Kami-chan
would probably not like it."

"Great," Chris said disgustedly.  "I should have known you'd be like that.
Must rub off on people who hang around with the Bo..."  He trailed off, and
his eyes widened.  "You call the Boss 'Kami-chan.'  Whoa...you...you DATED
the Boss?"

"You might say that," Washu admitted uncomfortably.  "Please, let it go."

"All right," he sighed, and turned to contemplate the fighting women and
Tenchi.  After a moment, he burst out laughing.

Ryoko and Ayeka stopped arguing, and glared over at the laughing man.
"What's do damn funny?" Ryoko demanded.

Chris pointed a shaking finger at Ryoko.  "Ami," he guffawed.  Swinging his
arm over to point at Ayeka he continued, "Rachel." Finally, he pointed at
Tenchi.  "Me."  He paused, and considered that.  "Although, I think I'd
appreciate the arguments more if they argued over me while nude too."

Ayeka looked down at herself and yelped.  She ran for her towel and quickly
wrapped it about herself.  "Pervert," she accused.

"I am not!" he retorted indignatly.  "I'd be a pervert if I pulled the towel
off of you.  As it is, I'm just enjoying the view."  He leered over at the
still nude Ryoko.

"Don't even think about it," Ryoko warned.

"I don't chase other guy's girls," he assured, and moved to the side of the
bath and clambered out.

"Cover yourself!" Ayeka ordered, turning away.

Chris looked down at himself.  "Why?  You saw it already," he chuckled as
the princess tried to turn to yell at him while not looking at his
nakedness.  "Fine, fine," he sighed and placed his arms and legs akimbo.
"RETURN," he whispered, the word full of power.  There was a flash of light
that obscured him from view, and then Chris was clothed again, his body
completely dry.  He sauntered over to where the comatose Tenchi lay, and
picked up the man in a fireman's carry, grunting as he strained his wound.
"Come on, lad, you look like you need a bit LESS female companionship."
With that, he carried Tenchi out the bath.

"Kuso," Ryoko swore as she watched them leave, and glared at Ayeka.  "Why
did you have to butt in, anyway?"

Ayeka's response was preempted by a loud siren that blared through the bath.
"Warning!  Warning!" Washu's voice recited. "Bubblehead approaching!
Repeat, Bubblehead approaching!  Take cover!"

Ryoko turned to Washu.  "Nice invention."

"Of course it is," Washu agreed.  "I made it, after all."

"Shouldn't we be getting out of here?" Ayeka asked nervously.

"You said it, Ayeka!" Ryoko confirmed, and flew out of the bath light a
shot.  Washu and Ayeka exchanged a look and ran for the door.

***

"What's taking you so damn long?" Urd demanded of Skuld.  The three
goddesses were standing around the minivan Keiichi had managed to borrow.
Said man was sitting in the drivers seat, taking a rest from the long drive.
"We don't have all year, you know."

"Get off my back!" Skuld snapped, and went back to playing with her scanner.
"I can pick Chris up in that general direction," she pointed her arm in a
westerly direction, "but something's masking him.  I can't tell how far or
in exactly which direction he is."

Belldandy looked out over the forests and mountains of the area, and closed
her eyes.  She began to chant in a low voice.  "Spirits of the forest,
spirits of the earth, show thyselves to me.  By the ancient contract that
binds thee, come forth, a Friend of Nature summons thee!"

A nearby tree shook slightly, and then two eyes opened on the trunk.  An
attractive female face formed, soon followed by the rest of the body as the
dryad, who appeared to be little more than a 14-year old girl with pointed
ears, stepped from her tree.  "As the contract requests, I show myself to
thee," she said, and then bowed deeply to Belldandy

"I thank thee," Belldandy said, and bowed slightly to the dryad.  "I seek my
brother, the Lord of Moments.  It is our belief that he is in this area."

The dryad blinked in surprise, and turned to another tree.  The soft sound
of rustling leaves filled the air, and the dryad nodded once.  "Seek the
Eldest One, Funaho.  She lies at the bottom of a great valley, the result of
an ancient wound on the land.  Beings of great power live there.  If thine
sibling is indeed in this area, there he will be."  She turned her gaze on
the van, and her lips thinned in hatred.  "Thine foul conveyance will not
take thee there easily."  She held up a hand, and a squirrel ran from her
tree to her hand.  "Mine companion will lead thee there."  She held out her
hand to Belldandy, and the squirrel hopped to the goddess' shoulder.

Belldandy walked forward, and kissed the dryad on her forehead.  "I thank
thee again.  Return to thy sleep with my blessing, bright spirit."

"I was glad to aid one such as thee."  She looked over at the van and the
man inside.  "Thine servant is fair, Lady.  Might ye consider lending him to
me?"  The dryad looked over at Belldandy, and what she saw there distressed
her.  "Mine apologies, Lady.  No offense was intended."  With that she
quickly backed up and melded with her tree again.

"Dryads," Belldandy muttered, shaking her head.  Urd walked over and
bestowed a peeved look on her sister.

"And why didn't you do that in the first place?"

"I just thought of it," Belldandy admitted sheepishly.  She turned and
walked back to the vehicle.  "Keichii-san?" she called softly, waking the
man.  "We're walking from here."

***

"So, like, if this Mihoshi person's crashing, shouldn't we be taking cover?"

"Nope," Ryoko replied seriously.  "She'll either land in the lake or on the
house.  She ALWAYS does.  Right out in the open is safest place to be."  She
looked over at Tenchi, who was lying on the ground with a cooling towel on
his forehead.  Sasami fanned him while Ichi made sure the young man was left
in peace from his suitors.

Chris turned his gaze from Ryoko to Washu, and then back.  "So she's your
mother?"

"Yeah," Ryoko answered warily.

"Ryoko," Chris whispered, "your Mom dated God.  THE God.  She calls him
'Kami-chan.'"

Ryoko blinked as she absorbed that piece of information, and then placed a
disgusted gaze on the oblivious Washu, who was typing away on her
holocomputer.  "Why am I not surprised?" she sighed.

A high-pitched whislting sound became barely audible, and slowly gained in
volume.  "There she is!" Ayeka shouted, and pointed up into the sky.  A
small dot could be seen, one that was steadily growing in size.

"Yep," Washu confimed.  "That's her."  She punched a few more keys, and
smiled triumphantly.  "And she's heading right for the lake."

Ryoko phased out of existence, and returned a moment later with an armful of
umbrellas.  "Here," she said, and handed one to Chris.  "You'll need this."

"No, he won't," Washu insisted, and batted away the umbrella Ryoko tried to
give her.  "Just watch."  She began to type faster, multiple screens
appearing around her as she worked more quickly.  As they watched, a
gigantic black hole opened up in the air, swallowing up the falling ship and
then disappearing.

Chris looked in surprise at the portal, and then stared in astonishment at
Washu.  "That...that was AMAZING!"  He walked forward towards the lake a few
steps and then stared up at where the portal once was.  "I mean, I've never
seen anyone use a hyperspatial portal that way."

Washu absently looked up to grin at the man, and her eyes widened in shock
just as she pressed a final key.  "Wait!" she shouted as a smaller hole
opened up above the tall man.  "Don't..."

As he heard a crackle in the air above him, Chris looked up to see a smaller
portal appear several feet above him.  He barely had time to curse
"Oh...SHIT!" before an attractive blonde woman tubled out of the portal and
crashed into him.

"...stand there," the red-head completed with a sigh.

Chris was being helped up by the blonde woman, who was babbling to him as
she did so.  "Oh I'm so sorry I don't know how that happened I was just
asleep and then suddenly all these lights went off and I didn't know what
was happening and Yukinojo said we were crashing again and I didn't know
what to do and I was so scared..."  She flung herself into his arms, and
then pulled away abruptly.  "You're not Tenchi-san!"

"No, I'm not," Chris replied.  As he got a good look at the woman, he
grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her face.  "FREYA? What the
HELL are you doing here?"

The blonde looked confused and then shook her head quickly.  "Ano...I'm
Mihoshi."

***

The squirrel hopped onto the last branch before a large clearing, and
chattered impatiently at the three goddesses and Keiichi.  "All right, all
right, already," Urd snapped at the animal.  "We're moving as fast as we
can."

"Stop dawdling!" Skuld growled, pushing past Urd and storming into the
clearing.

Urd stopped and scowled at the back of her youngest sister, and then gave a
tired smile over at Belldandy.  "There are days I wish I had the endless
energy of youth too, how about you?"

"She's worried, Urd," Belldandy replied.  "That gives her a lot of
motivation."

Whatever Urd's reply would have been, it was vut off by a loud cry from
Skuld up ahead.  "ONIICHAN!"

The two goddesses exchanged a look of surprise and ran after their sister,
Keiichi on their heels.

***

"Come on, Freya, this is a lousy joke," Chris snorted, still holding the
blonde by her shoulders.  "What are you doing here?"

Once again, the woman shook her head.  "Mihoshi," she repeated.

"Chris," Ryoko asked hesitantly.  "You KNOW her?"

"ONIICHAN!"

The group whirled to see a young girl in her early teens running towards
them.  She had long black hair that was currently whipping through the air
behind her, and her clothing was an enemble of red and white that seemed to
have a decided lab-coat motif to it.  A long-hafted hammer was strapped to
her back.

"Skuld?"  Chris whispered, took a couple steps towards the running girl, and
then dropped to his knees and spread his arms.

"ONIICHAN!" she repeated, barreling into Chris' arms and almost knocking him
onto his back.  The young girl sobbed thickly into his neck as she tried to
hug him with all her might.  Her brother held Skuld just as tightly, and he
stroked her hair making soothing noises as she cried herself out.  After a
few moments, she began weakly beating on his chest as she cried.  "You baka,
you had us so worried!"

"Worried?" Chris asked, pushing the girl away from him a bit.  "Whatever
for?"

"Because of this," she snapped, and poked him in his injured side,
elliciting a yelp of pain.  "Macho jerk, when you're hurt we know!"  She
started beating on his chest harder. "Don't you ever, EVER scare me like
that again!"

"Chris-sama?" Ayeka hazarded, "is everything all right?"

The god caught his sister's flailing arms and shot a smile over to their
audience.  "Everything's fine," he replied quickly, and then looked back at
Skuld, bestowing a stern look upon her.  "Don't tell me you're here by
yourself," he demanded.  Skuld mutely shook her head and turned to point
towards the was she had came.  Chris' gaze followed her finger to see Urd,
Bell, and keiichi coming towards them.  Urd at a near sprint, Belldandy and
Keiichi at a more sedate pace.  "Oh," he said dumbly, and stood, just in
time to have Urd jump at him, throw her arms around his neck, and send the
pair of them crashing to the ground.

"You're alive!" the platinum-haired beauty gasped, and kissed her bother on
the forehead.  She pushed herself onto her hands and knees and then began
poking at the side where she was injured.  "Are you OK?  There isn't
anything else wrong is there?"  She began to pull up his shirt.  "Let me
see-hey!"

Batting away Urd's hands, Chris growled, "Will you leave it alone?"  He
shoved her to the side and clambered to his feet, and then pulled her up.
"I'm fine," he insisted, and then poked Urd in the forehead.  "YOU should
stop taking lessons from Ami."

"But she's got such a wonderful way of saying 'hello,'" Urd protested
falsely.  She looked him up and down, and her mood darkened.  "Never mind
that," she began, changing the subject.  "Who's the soon-to-be dead man who
hurt you?"  She looked over at the residences of the valley and scowled.
"Is it him?"  She pointed at Tenchi, who was sitting on the ground watching
the proceedings with a bemused expression.

"It's handled, Urd," Chris assured her.  "Just forget it."

"But-" both Urd and Skuld protested, and then glared at each other.

"If Oniichan says it's handled, then trust him," Belldandy ordered in a mild
tone that belied the command as she walked up.  As walked over to the man
and laid her hand on his chest.  "Are you sure you're you're OK?"

"Positive," he replied, and laid his hand over hers, giving it a light
squeeze.  "I'm sorry I worried you all so much."

"Of course you are," Belldandy replied with a light smile.  "And you'll be
even more so when I tell Tyr about it."  Urd and Skuld snickered at some
private joke.

Chris jumped as if goosed and then glared at Belldandy.  "Bell," he whined,
"you're supposed to be the NICE one."

"I am," she replied with a gleam in her eye.  "Urd wanted to tell Thor, and
Skuld wanted to tell P-mmph!"  She was cut off as Chris clamped his hand
over her mouth.

"Don't even SAY her name," Chris hissed, looking around fearfully.  His eyes
alighted on Keiichi and he smiled at him.  "Hey, Keiichi, they running you
ragged?"

"What else is new?" the diminutive man replied.

Ayeka coughed delicately.  "Chris-sama?  Could you please introduce us?"

"'Chris-sama?'" Urd repeated, surprised, and then bestowed a disaprroving
look on her brother.  "Collecting girls again?"

"I DO NOT COLLECT GIRLS!" Chris roared.

"Well, I never," Ayeka huffed.

"Right, 'Niichan," Urd sang, and looked over at the other people.  As she
saw Mihoshi, she gaped in shock.  "FREYA?"

"Mihoshi!" the blonde insisted.  "I'm Mihoshi!"

"But...but...but...," Urd protested, staring at the girl.  She narrowed her
eyes and looked her up and down.  "The resemblance is uncanny," she decided.

"So she's not Freya?" Chris asked, relieved.  "Freaky."

"No," Belldandy confirmed.  "But she could be her twin."

"Am I the only one bothered by that?" Ryoko murmured to Ayeka, who numbly
shook her head.

Washu, who has been silent up until now, gazing at Skuld with wide eyes,
looked over at Sasami, and saw her frowning as she looked over at Belldandy.
"Chris," she suddenly said, still looking at Skuld as she walked over to
them, "could you introduce us?"

Chris blushed an embarrasment.  "Sure," he agreed.  "I should have thought
of that."  He put his made a sort of sweeping motion which encompasses the
three goddesses in one motion.  "Meet my sisters.  Uld, Belldandy, and
Skuld, the Goddesses of the Past, Present, and Future."  He jerked his thumb
over at Keiichi.  "Oh, and Bell's boyfriend, Keiichi," he added, and grinned
as the lovers blushed.

"Sisters o' mine," he continued, "meet Washu, and Ryoko, and..."

***

"So next week Friday, just the guys, we'll go hit the town, right Tenchi?"
Chris said as the two men said their goodbyes.

"You realize we have no chance of getting away with this, don't you?" was
Tenchi's reply.

"I know," Chris sighed.  "It'll be a major miracle if I can ditch Urd."

"Don't let them waltz all over you, man," Tenchi said, his face perfectly
straight as he recited Chris' words.  "Stand up to them."

"Shut UP, Tenchi," Chris growled, and the two men shared a laugh.  "See ya,"
he said, and they shook hands.

"Ja ne."

***

Washu and Tsunami watched unseen as Chris went to join his sisters, and
continued to watch as the group walked off into the forest.  "I see why He
asked us to not tell them," Washu finally said, a weary tone in her voice.

"They're happy with their lives," Tsunami agreed.  "They've been reborn, and
they do not need mothers that they never knew they had.  They don't need the
pain we would cause, even if they did believe us."

"He was right.  This is for the best."  Washu shook her head.  "I think it's
better if we just let it go."  She looked up at the stars.  "All of us."
She sighed, and then turned her eyes onto Tsunami as she put the matter
aside in her mind.  "Now spill it, Tsunami.  What's got your other half so
chipper?  Sasami was practically floating!"

Tsunami blushed.  "That's a secret," she replied, and looked back on the
unconscious form of Sasami.  "But a very good secret."

***

Tokimi stared at Washu's image as the message played itself out for the
fourth time.  "...are happy," the image finished.  Let it go, Tokimi.  We
all have, and you should too.  Our time has passed.  Come, and discover the
life that you're missing by staying apart from it all."  The image paused,
and a sad, hopeful smile played out on Washu's face.  "We miss you, sister."

"Would you like me to play it again, Lady Tokimi?" D3 asked after a moment.

"No."

"Is there anything-"

"Quiet," Tokimi commanded.  She contemplated the message's words in silence
for a long time.  "So different," she finally said.

"Indeed" D3 affirmed.  "The assimilation has changed your sisters a great
deal."

Tokimi shook her head.  "Not just them.  Everything is different now.  I've
found her, and she does not remember me any more.  She does not need me any
more.  I've found her, and yet me daughter is still lost to me."  She looked
upon the galaxy which her sisters resided in, and sighed.  "Perhaps she is
right.  Perhaps it is time to move on."

"My lady?" D3 hazarded.

"Find me a candidate," Tokimi decided.  "Find me a girl who I can assimilate
as my sisters have."

"As you wish, my lady," D3 confirmed, in a tone that intimated he did not
like this course of action.  He bent his mind to the task, searching through
the galaxy fr a candidate.

"Oh, and D3?"  At Tokimi's voice, he focused his attention back on her.
"Find yourself a candidate as well."

D3 smiled lightly.  "As my lady commands," he replied, and went back to his
labors.


--
Christopher 'God-Boy' Angel
c_j_angel@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/~ca_godboy

NEXT PROJECT: OMB REWRITE!