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The Tenchi continuity issues are tricky... as will become apparent, I'm
using the continuity after the second movie, and assuming that elements
of both the OAV and Universe series are used (since they are). Hopefully
it will all make sense in the end. If not... you know who to send the
C&C to.
"Another peaceful spring morning," remarked Kamidake from his post
out front of the Masaki residence.
"Beautiful weather indeed," agreed Azaka.
"You know, it seems that whenever it starts out as a nice day,
something happens to disrupt it."
"I wonder what surprises today will bring."
"How about no surprises at all?" suggested Kamidake. "That would
surprise me!"
Before Azaka could reply, an explosion rocked the air.
"Unfortunately, it appears that once again, tradition holds more power
than mere desires can obstruct."
*************************************************
"What was that?" shouted Tenchi as the fading echoes of the
explosion finally died down.
"It came from the forest to the north," said Ayeka.
Mihoshi and Kiyone ran out of the house with their weapons drawn,
Sasami and Mayuka not far behind. "Everybody remain calm!" ordered
Kiyone. "As Galaxy Police officers, Mihoshi and I are prepared to handle
this situation."
"That's right," agreed Mihoshi. "We're fully trained in bomb
dispersal, criminal injustice, protecting the indecent, and, uh... what
was the fifth thing again?"
Kiyone sighed. "Well, I'M prepared to handle the situation at any
rate."
"I want to go too!" cried Sasami. "I never get to see you in
action!"
"A Galaxy Police investigation is not for little girls," said
Mihoshi.
"Oh, but I wanna go!" whined Sasami.
Ryoko materialized between the officers and the younger girls. "Say,
what's all the fuss over a little thunder?"
"That was no thunder, Ryoko," said Mihoshi. "That was a third degree
explosion, of magnitude that's completely off the scale!"
"That's impossible!" argued Ryoko. "If the explosion was that
powerful, the entire planet would have been destroyed!"
"No, it's true!" insisted Mihoshi. She pulled out a small device and
showed it to Ryoko. "See? The screen's totally blank!"
Ryoko grabbed the device and prodded it liberally. "Hmmm..." She
handed it back to Mihoshi.
"Well? Now do you get it?"
"I get it perfectly," said Ryoko. "You forgot to push the power
button."
Mihoshi facefaulted. "I forgot how forgetful I am!"
"Get up, Mihoshi!" groaned Kiyone, pulling Mihoshi to her feet.
"We've got to investigate!"
Ryoko grinned. "Are you investigating the explosion? I'd better come
along with you. I know how to handle dangerous criminals."
"Mostly because you're one yourself," murmured Kiyone.
"Come again?" asked Ryoko, charging up a fireball.
"We're wasting time!" shouted Ayeka, bringing everyone to attention.
"I think perhaps I should go too, just to make sure you're going to get
the job done. Tenchi, you're coming too."
"What?" asked Tenchi. "Why am I going?"
"If Tenchi's going, it'll be okay if I go too," said Sasami,
stamping her foot. "Tenchi's a grownup, and I'm allowed to go anywhere I
want with a grownup."
"I want to go with my daddy too!" insisted Mayuka.
Ayeka sighed. "Very well, you two can come along if you promise to
stay near Tenchi."
"Yay!" cheered Mayuka. "We'll all go!"
"We'll all go nowhere!" announced Washu as she stepped out of the
house.
"Washu, do you know what caused that explosion?" asked Tenchi.
Washu shook her head. "All I know is that it was some kind of
Space/Time Anomaly."
"Not another one of those!" groaned Tenchi. Then, in a more subdued
voice, he continued, "Only a few months ago, I never thought I'd be
saying that about a Space/Time Anomaly..."
"It's big," said Washu, tapping at her keyboard. "And it's moving
this way."
"What are we going to do?" shouted Tenchi.
Kiyone shouldered her pistol. "Mihoshi and I will check it out.
Everyone else stay here. And I mean, EVERYONE." She glared at Sasami and
Mayuka.
"Be careful," advised Washu. Kiyone and Mihoshi nodded, then took
off at a run, disappearing into the forest.
"Do you think they'll be all right?" asked Ayeka worriedly.
"Of course they will," Washu assured her. "This is their job, after
all."
Suddenly, the air was filled with horrible screams from deep within
the forest. "Oh no!" shouted Sasami. "They're hurt!"
"Everybody stay here!" ordered Washu. "If we go in there, we'll only
get in the way!"
Kiyone emerged from the forest, panting. "It's a demon! It - it
killed Mihoshi, and it's coming this way! Everybody run! I'll cover
you!"
"No way am I running from a demon," said Ryoko, floating above the
house. "I'll help you."
Kiyone gritted her teeth. "I'm not normally supposed to accept help
from a civilian, but I can't refuse you in this case."
"Come on, everyone!" shouted Tenchi. "Let's get out of here!"
Everyone except Ryoko and Kiyone ran as a dark shape emerged from the
forest. Kiyone fired at the demon with her pistol while Ryoko blasted it
with a fireball. The shots hit their marks, but didn't slow down the
creature.
"Damn! This isn't working!" growled Ryoko. Suddenly, a beam of light
shot out of the demon and enveloped Ryoko. As the light vanished, so did
the space pirate. Kiyone turned to run, but the next beam struck her and
dissolved her into thin air.
"They've been hit!" reported Ayeka. "They're both gone!"
"Washu, you have to do something!" shouted Tenchi as they ran toward
the shrine. "We'll never be able to outrun that thing!"
"I can't use my terminal while we're moving," said Washu. "If we can
reach the shrine, I may be able to come up with something."
"We'll never make it!" shouted Sasami as she began to fall behind.
"Don't give up!" urged Mayuka, grabbing Sasami's hand and pulling
her along. Sasami's foot hit a rock and both girls fell to the ground.
As Mayuka turned back to help Sasami, the younger Jurai sister was
struck by the white beam and vanished. Mayuka barely had time to scream
before she, too, fell victim to the demon's beam.
"We're going to be next!" shouted Ayeka.
Washu snapped her fingers. "I've got it!" She put her fingers in her
mouth and whistled. "Ryo-Ohki! Come to me!"
"MEOW!" Ryo-Ohki leapt into the air and converted to spaceship mode.
"Ryo-Ohki, try to hold it off until we can get aboard," ordered
Washu, turning to run toward the spaceship.
"Brilliant idea, Washu," commended Ayeka, as Ryo-Ohki's beam struck
the demon. The demon simply turned its beam toward the spaceship,
disintegrating it.
"Too bad it didn't work," moaned Tenchi, as the demon turned back
toward them.
"I'm going to have to risk using my terminal," said Washu. "You two
get to the shrine, quickly, before -" The beam struck again, narrowly
missing Washu. "I thought my shield would block that beam, but it
doesn't!" She turned to Tenchi and Ayeka. "You have to get to the shrine
and find the -" The beam struck Washu and she vanished.
"Tenchi!" screamed Ayeka. "What are we going to do?"
"I'll distract the demon," said Tenchi. "You get to the shrine!"
"Tenchi, no!" shouted Ayeka, as Tenchi ran away from the shrine,
leading the demon away from Ayeka. Ayeka ran after him. "I won't leave
you!"
"Ayeka, look out!" shouted Tenchi as the demon fired its beam again.
He dove into Ayeka's path, knocking her aside as the beam struck him
instead, sending him into oblivion.
"Tenchi..." Ayeka stared at the spot where Tenchi had been,
transfixed. She offered no resistance as the beam descended for the
final time, striking her and dissipating her body completely.
Alone at last, the demon uttered a single word before vanishing into
the same air that had claimed the entire roster of Masaki houseguests.
"TENCHI..."
TENCHI 1/2 -- Dimensions in Peril
-------------------------------------------------------------
BURNS: What is this? Some kind of force field around these vegetables!
HOMER: That's the sneeze guard. You have to lean under it to get food or
sneeze on stuff.
JOHNNY BRAVO: *sigh* The only woman I ever really loved... and she's
gone. I wonder if I'll ever get over - Hey! Nuggets!
JACKIE CHAN: Oh, sorry. I broke your spy camera! (pause) SPY CAMERA?!
My webpage: http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~katinamp