Enjoy the plot twists. Reply privately.
-->Luna
Tenchi-Muyo! (No Need For Tenchi!, This End Up) is (c) AIC * Pioneer LDC, Inc.
Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh My Goddess!) is (c) by Kousuke Fujishima, Kodansha, TBS
and KSS Films.
Aa! Megami-sama Muyo! (Ah! No Need For My Goddess!)
A Tenchi-Muyo! and Aa! Megami-sama! crossover fan fiction
By Luna Hinomura
http://fly.to/Luna's
Chapter 11: The Goddess of Time
<What? Where am I?> The darkness still surrounded him, and he tried to
reach up a hand to touch his head. Unfortunately, he could not comprehend
exactly what a "hand" or "head" was. He thought about how nice it would be
to sleep forever, and he felt his consciousness slipping.
<'Consciousness'? Am I alive? Wait -- what does 'alive' mean? Oh, I'm
so confused...>
<<Are you awake?>> he heard a man say.
<<Awake?>> he replied. <<I-I think so.>>
<<Good.>>
<<Who are you?>> he asked.
<>
<<'The Almighty One'? Who is he? She?>>
<<You should know *her* very well. You are friends with her sisters and
colleagues.>>
When he opened his eyes and stood up, he could almost see light shining
around him. He couldn't understand the scenery around him, either. He had
apparently been laying on a smooth, flat, round thing, but it was much bigger
than he was, almost the size of his house. He couldn't tell very well,
though; it seemed his eyes didn't work very well. They couldn't adjust to
his surroundings.
<Uhh... 'Surroundings'?> He wondered, but ignored the word. "Her
colleagues? What do you mean? Who *are* you?!" he asked again, but with
more urgency.
<<Do you not remember Ayeka? Washu?>> A pause. <<Tsunami...?>>
"Tsunami?"
Flashes of images began flowing through his mind, painful memories that
caused him to gasp and wince. But others were beautiful, things like sitting
on a cliff in the middle of autumn, shyly placing an arm around the shoulders
of the slender young oman beside him and hugging her... Hugging...
Hugging Tsunami? Was she that blue-haired woman? But then...
"Tsunami. That's right; I remember. I love her. Wait -- where am I?!
Where is *she*?! Let me go to her! Why are you keeping me here?!"
<<We are keeping you here because it is safer for you. We saved you. As
for Tsunami... Lady Tokimi will tell you herself. Have patience.>>
"WHO *ARE* YOU?! SHOW YOURSELF!!" Now he could see everything; and the
words he used no longer seemed foreign to him. He understood.
<<Very well.>> An oblong gem shaped like an elongated ellipse appeared,
and floated in midair. Gradually, the disembodied head of an old bald man
with a long beard and long eyebrows appeared behind the gem, floating in the
same pattern with it, for it seemed as if the gem were attached to the middle
of his forehead. From top to bottom, the head was larger than he was tall.
<<Lady Tokimi will now descend and reveal herself,>> the man said, and
disappeared.
Strange silhouettes appeared from beneath where the man had been and
stretched up higher than the boy could see. Two silhouettes appeared in the
center, one of Washu facing left, the other of Tsunami facing right. A
brunette woman, larger than the old man had been, appeared between them. Her
gown was much more elaborate than either Tsunami's or Washu's clothes, with a
green collar that stretched up past her neck and across her cheeks. Orange
feather-like appendages were attached to another gem or hair ornament right
above her forehead, and from the clasp of her gown billowed two long, white
ribbons. She radiated more power in her appearance alone than Tsunami or
Washu did when actually casting spells. Like Tsunami, she also had two green
circles on her forehead. Then, she opened her eyes and looked at him. Her
eerie, blue-violet eyes stared with both apathy and concern at the same time.
"<<So,>>" said she, her child-like voice piercing the silence. "<<You
are Tenchi. I have been anxiously awaiting the moment when I would finally
meet you.>>"
"Hello," he said when he was certain his voice wouldn't crack. "It's a
pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Tokimi. Where am I?"
"<<You are on Jurai. Or, rather, you are actually in my 'office,' if you
could call it that.>>"
"Your 'office'?" Tenchi asked, glancing around and noticing more than he
had previously, when his eyes were only beginning to work again.
"<<In layman's terms, yes. This is where D3 and I conduct business,>>"
explained she.
"And D3 was that strange disembodied head?"
"<<Yes,>>" answered Tokimi. "<<Let me explain to you why you were
brought here: with Washu gone on an extended leave of absence, I have been
monitoring both my sisters' activities. You are lucky.>>"
"Lucky? How so?"
"<<Kagato chose to kill you because he wanted Ryoko back. He aimed for
you, Tenchi. If not for us, he would have succeeded.>>"
"What do you mean, 'kill me'? I'm not dead!"
"<<You are not anymore. You died, for an instant, before we were able to
transport you to Jurai. It was not a particularly long, but it took its
toll. I am truly sorry.>>"
"You mean... I can't go back to Earth?"
"<<It is more than that, Tenchi. It concerns your wish.>>"
"My wish? For Tsunami to be with me forever?"
"<<Yes... It seems that I must be the one to break the news to you.
When you died, the wish still bound you to Tsunami, and vice versa. You have
shared many happy times with Tsunami, have you not? Those times add to your
wish, reinforcing it. Each time you smiled at her, each time you
complimented her... The instant before you died, your wish was stronger than
ever. Tsunami is the Goddess of Kindness, and thrives wherever kindness
lives, just as Washu thrives upon chaos. It is within you, Tenchi. You have
the Gift of kindness.>>"
"But what happened to Tsunami?"
"<<When you died...>>" Pausing, Tokimi seemed as if she were unable to
continue, or didn't want to continue. A part of Tenchi screamed and wanted
to shout at her to stop, that he didn't want to hear it, that he couldn't
take it if he heard it. Unfortunately, no words came out, and Tokimi spoke
again. "<<When you died... Tsunami died as well.>>"
Tears welled up in Tenchi's eyes, and he lashed out verbally. "But
Goddesses *can't* die! They can't! She... She can't die... Tsunami..."
He collapsed to the ground of the strange circle he was standing on. "She
can't..." he sobbed again, but turned back to Lady Tokimi. "I won't let
her... Tell me what I can do! How can I get her back?!"
"<<As D3 said, you must have patience. It takes time to gather up your
strength when you've just come back from the dead. Normally, Goddesses
cannot die, as you said, but Tsunami had stated to you that the wishes that
Jurai grants are stronger than any Goddesses, including me. And I am the
most powerful, for I am the Goddess of Time, and I am older and wiser than
Time itself.>>"
"But I don't understand -- why are you running a business like this if
you are the Goddess of Time? Why do I have to have patience in order to find
Tsunami?"
"<<Time is endless. I am eternal. However, it becomes rather dull at
times. I decided to do this for a millennium or so, and I enjoy it. When
this business ends, I will find something else to do.>>"
No other questions came to Tenchi's mind, but it seemed to him that
Tokimi didn't expect an answer, either. While he was still pondering, she
spoke again.
"<<Kagato killed you, Tenchi, and therefore Kagato killed Tsunami as
well. I believe that by destroying Kagato, Tsunami will reappear. Do you
still have the sword, the Tenchi-ken?>>"
Tenchi looked down at his hand and was startled to see the hilt of the
Tenchi-ken still clasped within his fist. "Yes," he answered without looking
up. "I still have it."
"<<Then watch,>>" said she, closing her eyes. A circle beneath his feet
appeared, then focused on a battle. A battle between Kagato and the adult
Washu. "<<There he is, Tenchi. But you are not yet fully recovered. You
can only watch for now, and I am afraid we will be unable to hear any sounds.
That is why you must have patience. Save your stamina for your battle with
Kagato.>>"
Bending down on one knee, Tenchi leaned in to watched the ensuing battle
between Goddess and Demon.
* * * * *
Washu screamed and struggled to release herself from the grip Kagato had
on her Life-force Energy. "Stop, Kagato!" She lashed out with her right arm
and dissipated the force he'd used to attack her with. "What do you want
from us?!" she screamed.
"I believe it should be obvious to you, Washu. I want the secret to the
power of Jurai. I *want* the power of Jurai," he replied, attacking again.
This time, Washu was able to erect her Life-force shield in time.
"Why? And how do you plan on being able to obtain it?" she asked,
gritting her teeth.
"At first, it was easy, really. Our son, Yosho."
Washu winced, but her shield remained in place. "How could you use *me*
like that? How could you use your *own son*?!"
Shrugging, Kagato only replied, "Feh. I knew Yosho would be given a link
to Jurai to enhance his power, and I believed he had a power of his own."
Kagato looked down at Ayeka. "He's not half-mortal, *Princess*, he's
half-Demon, half-God."
The realization came to her swiftly, and Ayeka pushed herself back up.
"Then his appearance as an old grandfather is merely a farce. I see, now,
but I don't care." She ignited her sword and leapt at Kagato, her navy-blue
blade blazing. Kagato merely parried with his own green sword.
"Such child's play," he quipped. "Come, Ayeka, don't be so hostile. You
and I must have a talk. But first..." He threw her back down and pointed
his palm at Washu. Green lightning began engulfing her body, even with her
shield in place. She screamed, a long wail of pain and torture, pain worse
than she had ever known. When Kagato finally released her, she was back in
her 12-year-old form; Little Washu. She lay on the floor where Kagato had
released her, panting from the exertion.
"Isn't that enough to send you back to Jurai?" Kagato asked. "I must
say, 20,000-year-long grudges are quite unbecoming of you." He snapped his
fingers, and Washu seemingly melted into the ground. "Now, it's your turn,
Ayeka..." He walked over to her. "Tell me, what is the secret of Jurai?
What is *your* link? I bet I know."
Right before he reached her, Ayeka rose up and stuck at Kagato with her
sword once more. Unfazed, Kagato merely scoffed and slashed at her with the
sword that he'd never released. Suddenly, Ayeka's sword disappeared beneath
her fingers.
An instant later, her crown clattered to the floor, sliced neatly in two
halves. She clutched at the pieces with trembling hands and stared at them
in disbelief. "Oh, no..." she whimpered. "No, no, no, no, no..." She
raised the pieces up and tried to match them together again. Her entire body
began to tremble violently, and she clutched the two pieces so hard that they
began to cut into her hands. Her crimson blood dripped to the floor.
In response to Ayeka's display of weakness, Kagato swiped at her with his
sword again. Before his sword could touch her, she melted into the ground as
Washu had before.
"Clever, clever, Funaho," he said, smiling. "You've discovered the
secret to Souja. Even *I* can't reach Ayeka now that she's on the reverse
side with you. But I still have your daughter, and if you take her there,
too, there's no one left to fight against me for Jurai, except your sister,
Tokimi. Will you forfeit Ryoko's fight?"
Nothing happened.
"Good," Kagato said, striding over to Ryoko instead. "You know, I helped
you create Ryoko as your husband, Isamu. You Goddesses are much too easy to
deceive! So gullible! I wanted Yosho, first, because I knew he and I would
be linked by blood, and therefore I could reach Jurai through him. He knows
that he is half-Demon, Washu. He was able to block me.
"That's why I gave Ryoko those gems, the gems meant to enhance a Demon's
power. Ryoko may look like you, but her blood is completely Demon. She was
to attack Jurai and discover its secrets, but Yosho stopped her. And now,
you've taken Ayeka from me. Though Yosho still exists, I cannot use him to
overtake Jurai. But I have Ryoko again, and you cannot come back into this
plane to stop me. Your pathetic Yagami cannot match up to the power of
Souja. Nothing stands in my way now." He broke off into his menacing, evil
laughter.
"Come, Ryoko," he said. "Let us destroy Earth, and then I'll take over
Jurai."
"No! I won't let you!" Ryoko screamed, jumping up suddenly and flying
towards Kagato with her red-orange sword scintillating. She met his blade
and shoved him back a few feet, but he resisted her. While she was still in
the air, he grabbed her foot and slammed her into the ground, creating a
crater in the floor. He stabbed his sword at her abdomen, but she
disappeared into the ground as Ayeka had.
"Have you gone mad?!" he bellowed. "Washu, you can't take Ryoko from me!
She rightfully belongs to me! I helped you create her, and I can destroy
her as well! Do you want that? Do you want me to destroy *your daughter*?"
Suddenly, a giant gray fist rose up from the ground, and encircled
Kagato. A stone Ryoko came out, and the hand began to crush Kagato. "I'm
going to enjoy doing this, Kagato," the statue said in Ryoko's voice.
"You can't be serious," Kagato said, breaking free of the grasp. The
statue shattered, and the actual Ryoko whom had encased herself in stone fell
to the ground. "Your tricks are nothing compared to what I could do to you!"
he declared.
Her energy spent, Ryoko fell to the ground amongst the slabs of stone
left from the statue she'd created. She felt something pulling at the gems
embedded at her wrist, and she felt her energy surge through her being and
drawn out through the gems. She screamed in pain as both Washu and Ayeka had
done before her.
"With this power, I will first destroy Earth, and then I will conquer
Jurai. Marvelous power! The gems are mine!" He turned an eager face
towards Earth, but then glanced back at Ryoko. "You're holding back, aren't
you? This isn't all the power there is! There *must* be more! Ahh...
Well, even if you're dead, I can still extract the nessessary energy to
destroy Earth. So if you don't want to die, give in to me."
Ryoko looked at Kagato with a pleading look that implored him to stop.
"Please... I don't have the real gems. The one on my left wrist is a
replacement, and it only has half the power of the originals. The Tenchi-ken
holds the other two gems, but you killed Tenchi. You killed Tenchi!!"
Kagato sneered when Ryoko raised her voice at that last sentence, but he was
unmoved.
"I see," he said. "I do believe you're lying, Ryoko."
"No! Please--"
"I'll just kill you, too," he said, converging the energy from Ryoko's
gems towards her in a perverse manner of killing Ryoko with her own power.
A flash shot past him suddenly, and the energy dissipated. Kagato took a
step back and tried to see what had stopped him.
Ryoko felt someone's strong arms embracing her, and she opened her eyes
and turned to look at her rescuer. "Ohh..." she gasped. "Are you real?"
"I'm no ghost," Tenchi replied, smiling.
End of Chapter 11