An Inevitable Outcome Feature

                          Written and Directed
                          by C. Richard Davies

                             TOGETHER AGAIN

                        Silver Millenium Chapter

                          Based on the works of
                    Naoko Takeuchi, Rumiko Takahashi,
                    Masaki Kajishima, Hideki Kakinuma,
                              George Lucas,
                   and various interpretations therof.

                              Incorporating
                       original characters created
                          by C. Richard Davies

                       Dedicated to Hayao Miyazaki,
                  Leiji Matsumoto, and Tomino Yoshiyuki.

                                ACT THREE

Establishing Shot: OYUKI, seated at a desk with papers in organized piles, her hands steepled before her.  She is staring forward at the darkness of the room with a frightening intensity.

Flash cut to the same office, but lit.  OYUKI sits, her hands in her lap, and listens to BROTHER LE-I, a young man in clerical robes.

                              BROTHER LE-I
                  No, your Highness, I'm afraid that
                  none of the orders have ever had
                  much luck in keeping track of the
                  Lady Pluto.  It's a particular shame
                  for my order, since --

                                 OYUKI
                  That was its stated purpose when it
                  was founded.  I see.  And you have
                  no reliable means of communicating
                  with her either.

LE-I shakes his head, sadly.

                                 OYUKI
                  Unfortunate.  I apologize for taking
                  up your time, Brother Le-I.  Good
                  day.

LE-I rises and bows, and turns to go ... but pauses.

                              BROTHER LE-I
                  Your Highness ... is something wrong
                  that you need to contact Lady Pluto?

OYUKI gazes calmly at him for a long moment.

                                 OYUKI
                  I do not know, yet.

Flash cut to the darkened room.  OYUKI still sits.

Flash cut to OYUKI standing by a large window that looks out on her city. She half-turns as the door to her office opens.

BENTEN enters the room at a brisk pace.

                                 BENTEN
                  A bunch of Earthers just came in
                  through the gate.  Fugitives, they
                  say.

OYUKI lets out a faint sigh and turns back to the view.

                                 OYUKI
                  Subdue and bind them.  We'll put
                  them back through with abject
                  apologies to Rheannion, and hope
                  she doesn't retract our priveleges.

                                 BENTEN
                  I don't think they're actually
                  fugitives. <beat> One of them looks
                  like *her*.

OYUKI slowly turns completely around to look at BENTEN.

                                 OYUKI
                  Like Pluto's adversary?

BENTEN nods.

                                 OYUKI
                  Does this collection of oddities
                  have a leader?

Flash cut to the darkened room.  OYUKI's lips move in what, on someone
else, might be called a faint smile.

Flash cut to OYUKI sitting behind the desk, her hands on the arm rests of her chair.  BENTEN is standing behind and to the left of her, looking quietly forboding.

                                 OYUKI
                  Pardon me for saying so, but you
                  seem oddly ... anxious, Sir --

TENCHI is sitting on the other side of his desk.

                                 TENCHI
                  Tenchi, ma'am.  Masaki Tenchi.
                  <beat> And I'm not anxious, just ...
                  concerned that we might be causing
                  you troubles.

                                 OYUKI
                  Indeed.  Please don't be concerned,
                  Sir Tenchi.  We can certainly deal
                  with any troubles you cause us.

For some strange reason, that doesn't mollify him.

                                 OYUKI
                  Now, as I understand it, you claim
                  to be ... <trails off>

                                 TENCHI
                  <rehearsed> My friends and I, after
                  learning that we had magical power,
                  decided to flee Earth and seek
                  refuge on one of the other planets.

                                 OYUKI
                  I see.  <beat>  We were of course
                  aware that Rheannion practices a
                  form of impressment of magical
                  talents.  It is a terrible thing.

TENCHI nods agreement.

OYUKI *frowns*.

                                 OYUKI
                  On the other hand, it is common
                  knowledge that Rheannion forces her
                  people to believe that all human
                  colonies beyond Earth were overrun
                  by demons, long ago ... with the
                  exception of this outpost, which
                  uses human slaves to trade with the
                  last bastion of humanity.

Frost begins to form on the window.

                                 TENCHI
                  Well ... we kind of guessed that
                  wasn't true.

He grins and rubs the back of his head.  OYUKI isn't impressed.

                                 OYUKI
                  Young man ... I dislike being lied
                  to.

The frost has covered half the window, and both BENTEN and TENCHI (more he than her) express a certain amount of discomfort.

                                 TENCHI
                  Lady Oyuki ... please believe me
                  when I say that I lie only because
                  the truth is unbelievable.

                                 OYUKI
                  I have a very high capacity for
                  belief.

                                 TENCHI
                  <deep breath> The truth is, my
                  friends and I are stranded time
                  travellers from the future.

BENTEN is visibly disgusted by the answer, and opens her mouth to make a sharp reply.

                                 OYUKI
                  Well-done.  Aside from your name,
                  that's the first true answer you've
                  given me thus far.

BENTEN turns to look at her in shock.

The frost line begins to slowly sink.

                                 TENCHI
                  Then ... I mean, you believe me?

                                 OYUKI
                  Obviously, my belief is irrelevant,
                  since you are telling the truth.

[Here, due to an annoying disk failure, endeth the completed portion of the story.]

Oyuki further determines that the person who sent the Tenchi family back in time was not Pluto, but was the red haired woman she saw fighting with Pluto. After determining this, she dismisses him, but not before asking one final question.


                                 OYUKI
                  Sir Tenchi, why exactly were you
                  anxious?

TENCHI looks at her, then looks at BENTEN, and looks back with a half-
hearted grin.

                                TENCHI
                  You *really* wouldn't believe me
                  if I told you.

                                 OYUKI
                  <beat> Yes, I suspect that you may
                  be correct. Good day.


Cut to Oyuki in her office alone, as she realizes that "this will not do at all". She gets up and heads down into a sub-basement on the palace, arriving at a sealed chamber. Oyuki opens the seal by pressing her hand to a scanner, which identifies her as "Triton's Heir".

Within, she speaks the name of "Zeus", causing a hologram of him to appear before her. Zeus, who is now revealed to be Oyuki's uncle, is a bit surprised that his brother's chamber is still functioning, but he agrees to speak with her. Oyuki proposes an alliance between Jupiter and herself -- she can't commit the other Neptunian principalities, but there is no reason she can't offer her own troops -- specifically, a small unit of special operations troops she just "acquired", to be followed by other soldiers. They can negotiate the price later.

Now that the bargain is sealed, Oyuki casually asks if Zeus has seen a
red-haired female godling of unusual power recently. He hesitates before asking what she means by that. She continues to speak casually, telling him that she knows that he is lying to her, and informing Zeus that she glimpsed the mystery woman fighting with Pluto. Zeus erupts at this, commenting that Pluto has never done him or any of his family a bit of good, and so he doesn't care if a thousand godlings elect to attack her. Oyuki then comments that it really doesn't matter, since he doesn't know what she's talking about. Zeus realizes that Oyuki has caught him in a lie, but doesn't admit to anything. Oyuki allows him to break the communication.

The door of the chamber is covered in steaming frost.


Cut to Europa, as Zeus strides down a corridor, looking much more anxious than he did during his conversation with Oyuki. He has a short discussion with Callistra, in which she essentially tells him to stop worrying and let her deal with the problem. When he tells her that Oyuki claims to have seen her fighting with Pluto, she sniffs disdainfully.

                                  CALLISTRA
                      That is *extremely* unlikely. Anyone
                      close enough to see the fight would
                      have been annihilated.

                                    ZEUS
                      <astounded> Then you *did* fight
                      with her? <beat> Who won?

She looks at him with clear contempt.

                                  CALLISTRA
                      Is it likely that I'd be standing
                      here talking with you if I'd lost?

Cut to the Moon, where the Senshi Inanna guides Ambassador Vulcan down into a secret catacomb beneath Millenias, where she stashed Princess Leda. Leda, of course, is very upset to be held captive in the presence of her enemy, and Vulcan is no less pleased to see her again. Inanna finally snaps that they are behaving like children; they are not each other's enemies, and their governments are at war only because they have been manipulated into it by the real enemy, Ourrannos. When Leda scoffs at Vulcan's explanation of Anhur Khan's
motive for invading Jupiter, Inanna tells him that he has to reveal his secret -- only then will Leda realize that he's incapable of breaking his word.

Vulcan very reluctantly removes an illusion disguise which hid the shape of his pointed ears.

Vulcan is an elf.

["Loreena" apparently means "the elves surely exist". At least, that's what a site dedicated to Loreena McKennit claimed ...]

Leda is devastated by this revelation for some reason that she will not reveal, and Inanna and Vulcan finally withdraw. Inanna tells Leda that if she wants to contact her, Queen Astarte of Venus knows where to find her. Leda is left alone, shaking her head in horrified disbelief.

                                   INANNA
                      It can't be him. Not *him* ...


Cut back to a jail cell on Triton, where the Tenchi family (Tenchi, Ayeka, Ryouko, Mihoshi, Kiyone and Mayuka) and Daimon are awaiting judgement. They've realized that while they could easily break out of the cell, that would bring down every guard in the entire city on their heads, and they have no way of getting off-planet. Still, Mihoshi is a bit worried.


                                  MIHOSHI
                      Um ... Kiyone, do you think this
                      will look bad on our permanent
                      records with the Galaxy Police?

                                   KIYONE
                      <beat> No, Mihoshi, given the unusual
                      -- indeed, completely *unbelievable*
                      nature of this situation -- <getting
                      worked up> at least, completely
                      unbelievable to anyone who doesn't
                      realize that situations like this
                      happen *every* *single* *time* that
                      certain people do *anything* --
                      <calms, very restrained> I'm sure
                      that it will be all right for *some*
                      of us!

                                   MIHOSHI
                      <beat> Oh good!


At this point, Benten arrives to escort them (including Daimon, who seems absolutely unfazed by anything that has happened or been said) to a meeting with Oyuki. Oyuki quickly explains the situation in Jovian space, much to the shock of Ayeka, who only knows about this period from Raye's stories. Then Oyuki lowers the boom. She wants to send them into the war zone, because she believes that the mysterious figure whom she saw fighting Pluto (Callistra) is the woman they are looking for -- and she wants *them* to deal with her.


                                    OYUKI
                      The prospect of a being able to
                      defeat the Guardian of Time,
                      unassisted ... frightens me.


She will give them any support that she can, but she stresses that her
resources are limited.

Ayeka is the first to agree. She feels that she owes it to her first human friend to find out more about the history of her people, for good or ill. Of course, Tenchi can't conceivably let her go into danger unaccompanied, and Ryouko's not letting them out of her sight. Mihoshi and Kiyone agree as well. Oyuki thanks them and offers to place the infant Mayuka in the care of her own nurse while they are away. She also offers to send Daimon back through the gate as soon as it opens.


                                  DAIMON
                      <very sincere> But Lady Oyuki, I
                      will be accompanying them to the
                      war zone. <beat, glomps TENCHI>
                      I cannot bear to be out of the
                      presence of *my* Tenchi-sama!

KIYONE just sighs with the annoyance of one whose worst expectations have been met, as the shouts and tears begin. OYUKI and BENTEN take a *long* look at each other, BENTEN looking stunned.


Cut to Io, as the Gaffer leads his "ragged band of freedom fighters" (which now includes Ta'aru) on a raid against a Martian encampment. Ta'aru, who was already somewhat uncertain about his new patron due to his abandonment of the other refugees to certain death (last episode), grows even more so as it becomes clear that the Gaffer is choosing the targets of his raids with an eye towards enriching himself (capturing key booty) and settling old scores with other Ionian villages. Still, Ta'aru saves his captain's life from the Martian soldier Bast (from the first episode), and is hailed as a hero.

Ta'aru tries to voice his concerns to Binoshu, who is working overtime as a medic/healer to the freedom fighters. Unfortunately, his comments that the Gaffer isn't fighting honorably only anger her.


                                   BINOSHU
                      Ta'aru Starfallen ... until this day
                      I viewed you as a somewhat eccentric
                      fool. Not until now have I realized
                      what a *stupid* man you are.

                                    TA'ARU
                      Batte --

                                   BINOSHU
                      <slow, furious, gradually picking up
                      steam as she goes> This is not one of
                      your bloody ballads! This is a war!
                      People are really dying! It doesn't
                      matter if they're dying with honor or
                      if they're dying in shame, they're
                      still dying! And all you care about
                      is whether or not *you* *look* *good*?!

                                    TA'ARU
                      <drops accent> That's not what honor --

                                   BINOSHU
                      FUCK your honor! To the Abyss with
                      your bloody masculine pride! If it
                      stops the bloody Martians a bit, I
                      don't care if the Gaffer has to kill
                      Heaven-King Zeus himself! <beat>
                      Get the hell out of here -- I've got
                      lives to save.

She angrily turns away from him and starts to angrily sort medicines, not seeing the hurt and confused expression on his face. After a long moment, TA'ARU turns and walks out of the infirmirary.

                                   TA'ARU
                      <unaccented> But if to defeat them,
                      we become them ... <accented> watte
                      den arru wui faitin' for? [What then
                      are we fightin' for?]


Before he can go much further with this chain of thought, the mountain
stronghold of the freedom fighters is rocked -- the Martians have finally traced them back to their lair, and they are beseiged.

The Gaffer quickly realizes that the cause is lost, and orders his people to fall back, every man for himself. Ta'aru rescues Binoshu over her protests, literally carrying her out of the infirmirary seconds before the Martians burst in and start killing the wounded. He then spies the Gaffer heading deep into the stronghold, and follows him on a hunch.

Ta'aru's hunch plays out -- the Gaffer has a small aerospace craft hidden in a concealed cave. It's a special prototype without any weapons, but it's faster than anything in the Martian arsenal. (It looks quite a bit like the "planes" flown by the Solenoids.) And its cargo space is just large enough to fit Ta'aru and Binoshu.

The plane shoots out of the side of the moon just before explosions begin to shatter the mountain. It flies up past the orbiting Martian battleships and loops towards Europa.


Cut to the White Sun as it passes through the asteroid belt. Inside the spaceship, Angelus and Ho-Ang are having an animated discussion on what they expect to find when they arrive at Europa, while they dine with Captain Lumis. Ho-Ang is very optimistic that they can defuse the violence, while Angelus is more skeptical and pessimistic. In his view, the war is only a symptom of a greater problem, one which he can't envision solving.


                                   ANGELUS
                      Humanity has come so far since the
                      the beginnings of the Age of the
                      Godlings, and yet ... I think we've
                      lost something, along the way. But
                      I can't imagine what that might be.
                      <beat> In any event, if the claims
                      that Anhur Khan makes are true,
                      then our problem is even greater,
                      since we'll be dealing with the
                      one of the oldest desires of
                      humanity.

Suddenly, the door to the dining room bursts open and RABBY, carrying  a blaster rifle, rolls in and takes aim at HO-ANG with a snarled hiss.

                                  SUBTITLE
                      Retribution.


Lumis and Angelus *barely* get their colleague out alive as they escape the dining room. Checking with his security staff, Lumis discovers that Rabby has quickly incapacitated (without killing) most of them before anyone could raise an alarm. They head towards the most secure area of the ship -- the bridge -- and Angelus demands that Ho-Ang explain who that woman is. To his mind, she seems less like a human being than some demon out of legend -- an erinyes.

[And now you know why Sheila Ten'kai has that as an alternate identity.]

Meanwhile, Rabby is steadily following them, effectively (but non-fatally) dealing with anyone who gets in her way.

As they reach the bridge and Lumis finds out that the helmsman and the three of them are the only ones remaining out of the entire crew, Ho-Ang finally breaks down and reveals what Rabby is -- a simulacrum who has apparently regained some of the memories of her prior existence. Angelus is horrified at the very idea.

The bridge speaker activates, and one of the crew speaks through it. He claims to be on the other side of the fortified bridge door, held hostage by Rabby -- who seems to be indicating that she'll kill him if they don't let her through. Ho-Ang all but begs Lumis for his life, infuriating the captain.

On the other side of the door, Rabby waits, holding the muzzle of her rifle to the neck of the terrified crewman. The locks on the door suddenly disengage, and she gets ready for an ambush.

Ho-Ang falls through the doorway, cowering. Rabby wasn't expecting that, and so she's distracted when Lumis rolls out right after him, both wand-like guns blazing at her. She dodges out of the path of the beams, and reflexively shoots back at him -- burning a bolt into his chest.


Suddenly, everything goes into slow motion from RABBY's perspective. She slowly takes in the military style of LUMIS' garments -- especially their similarity to those of the CREWMAN -- and as he falls, she looks at him with helpless pity and regret, whispering a single word.

                                  SUBTITLE
                      I'm sorry.

LUMIS is already dead.


[An explanation: Rabby was fixated on her retribution against the three who'd been present when she regained consciousness in the tube. She didn't want to kill anyone else -- and since her last memories are of fighting against other Solenoids over Chaos/the Moon, the military element reminds her that these people are just trying to do their duty, just as she did.]

Rabby drops her gun and sinks to the floor, hand over her face. Angelus looks out into the corridor, and is about to speak when the ship is rocked by an explosion.

All this confusion has caused the ship to drift slightly off course, and it has come under attack by Martian fighters. They aren't responding to the helmsman's frantic hails, the captain is dead --

Angelus abruptly takes command, ordering the helmsman to take the ship into overdrive on a course for Europa. The White Sun peels away from the attackers, who pursue her.


Cut to night on Ganymede. Ramia is alone in the tent, shivering as she sleeps, or at least dozes. We are shown flashes of her abuse by Rumia.

[In answer to a question that someone will probably ask, I'm not entirely sure why Chihiro hasn't noticed what Rumia is doing to their charge. There are two plausible answers:

1. She has, but she hasn't any idea what she ought to do about it. After all, they are behind enemy lines (can't expect any support from the local authorities) and Rumia has shown that he's willing to kill in order to stay in control of the situation (remember Driano?).

2. Because of her nature as part of a two-part entity, Ramia heals very quickly as long as one of her bodies isn't damaged. Since Rumia is only abusing her humanoid form, the signs of injury fade quickly.

The truth is probably a combination of the two.]

Suddenly, she awakens, and sees the Martian general Martius looming over her. She stares back at him with an apprehensive expression.


Slowly, MARTIUS reaches out a hand and caresses one of the bruises on RAMIA's face. She shivers a bit as he does.

                                  MARTIUS
                    <soft> Poor child. <beat> Do you
                    know that I have a daughter about
                    your age? You reminds me of her.
                    <beat> He is a despicable being.
                    Were he a soldier under my command,
                    I would have him killed for this.

RAMIA's eyes widen, in sudden fear.

                                  MARTIUS
                    <soothing> I know, I know ... you
                    do not wish that. Indeed, you *can*
                    not wish that, without breaking
                    your loyalty programming. <beat;
                    regretful> And so I can do nothing.
                    If you were loyal to me, and not
                    him, I could protect you. But to
                    break your loyalty ... I could not
                    ask that of you.

He draws back, pulling his cape around him.

                                  MARTIUS
                    <formal> Good night, little one.

RAMIA follows him with her gaze as he strides out of the tent, and bites her lip in indecision.

Outside the tent, MARTIUS' face momentarily twists in self-contempt as he walks away from it.


Cut to a shuttle flying Neptunian colors (blue and green) as it moves through the Martian lines towards the besieged moon of Europa. Within the shuttle, Tenchi and company are looking out at the ships. Ryouko makes a few comments that while the technology that this era uses is more primitive than the Jurai use, but not *much* more -- then she realizes that Daimon is listening very carefully to her every word and shuts up.

The shuttle is allowed through the force screen and comes into land in the fortress moon's spacedock, amid a very large honor guard. Zeus is somewhat nonplussed to see the apparent youth of the "special operations troops" that Oyuki has sent him, but before anyone can disabuse him of that idea, word comes that a pair of ships are heading on collision courses for Europa -- one is flying Lunar colors (silver, natch) while the other is broadcasting the Ganymedan state song.

Zeus orders the force screen to drop as the two ships approach -- over Cybele's protests, as she believes that at least one of them must be a trap of some sort -- and has the dock get ready for crash procedures. The Tenchi-gumi get split up in the confusion.

The screen only goes down for a few seconds each time, but the Martian fleet seizes the opportunity to rain down a few shots at the fortress, further increasing the confusion within.

Ayeka manages to stumble into a passage marked "off-limits" and ends up in Tsunami's private docking bay. She recognizes the ship immediately, and starts to walk toward the access tube. Tsunami appears in the access tube, and politely greets her -- but looks confused when Ayeka calls her Sasami.


                                   AYEKA
                    <very confused> But if you're here
                    ... and this is all those millenia
                    ago ... but then ...

                               CALLISTRA (O.S.)
                    You shouldn't talk to strangers,
                    Tsunami.

AYEKA whirls and stares at CALLISTRA SKYWALKER, recognizing her as the older version of WASHUU -- but somehow younger, less weathered -- just as CALLISTRA pulls a cyllinder from where it hangs from her belt, and presses a button on its side.

                                 CALLISTRA
                    <to AYEKA> And you should not have
                    come here.

As she speaks, the red light sabre ignites. CALLISTRA brings it up, throwing her face into dark shadows, and then swings it down at AYEKA and --


Cut to the docking bay where the Ganymedan flyer came down. It was a good landing -- in a loose sense -- and Zeus is present to greet the Gaffer, who introduces himself as the Supreme Commander of the Ionian Resistance, and Ta'aru and Binoshu, whom the Gaffer dismisses as simple refugees. Zeus isn't completely buying it, though.

We see Daimon staring speculatively at the Gaffer, who meets her gaze with a grin, and doffs his hat to her. She smiles back.

Meanwhile, in another part of the docking bay, the White Sun has made a much worse landing. Cybele coordinates rescue efforts. Suddenly, Ho-Ang comes running out of the ship, dragging a wounded Angelus with him, and pursued by Rabby. She has an even more desperate expression on her face -- which only gets worse when she realizes that she's surrounded by Jovian guardsmen, pointing beam rifles just like hers at her.


For a moment, RABBY just looks wearily at the guardsmen ... and then slowly, she kneels and brings her rifle up to point at them. The rifles begin to charge, visibly and audibly, and --

                               TENCHI
                    STOP!

Incredibly, everyone pauses. CYBELE turns to look at him with a startled expression as he slowly walks toward RABBY. He's speaking globally.

                               TENCHI
                    I don't know what's going on
                    here. But I *do* know that
                    the fleet outside the force
                    screen is going to kill all
                    of us if we don't stop it.
                    <beat> We can't be fighting
                    each other. No matter what's
                    gone before, we have to come
                    together now, or none of us
                    will survive.

He has crossed the line of the guardsmen, and is walking towards RABBY. She looks at him with a confused, uncomprehending expression, clutching her rifle.

                                TENCHI
                    <soothing> It's all right. I
                    promise that no one will hurt
                    you. I promise.

She stares at him, as he slowly reaches out and places his hands on the rifle. She doesn't resist as he takes it from her, and sets it down. After a moment, she begins to tremble, and almost collapses into his arms -- and now TENCHI looks confused and uncomprehending as she trembles, and whispers in a language only he understands.

                               SUBTITLES
                    I don't understand. I don't
                    understand any of this. Why do
                    I feel so safe?

TENCHI speaks in the same language.

                               SUBTITLES
                    Because you are. I promise.


Cut to the Moon Kingdom, where Leda, covered in dust, steps out into a hallway of the palace. She looks very shaken as she approaches Queen Astarte of Venus to quietly ask if she would be willing to relay a message to a certain masked individual. Astarte agrees, and Leda says two words before heading off to take a much-needed shower.

"I'm in."


ASTARTE smiles privately, and turns to head down the hallway ... then
pauses, looking stricken.

OURRANNOS is standing nearby, watching with vague interest.

                               OURRANNOS
                    Good day, your grace.

Slowly, ASTARTE curtsies to him, and walks past him without saying a word. When his shadow touches her, she shivers. But ASTARTE doesn't pause as she walks through a pair of double doors, which shut behind her, sounding ominously like the closing of a tomb.

                         To Be Continued




Chris Davies, Advocate for Darkness, Part Time Champion of Light
Fanfics: http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/banks/277/
Fanfic Revolution: http://come.to/hauthor
"One down, two to go." -- me.

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