Someplace like home by Robert Hazelton

	Disclaimer: The characters within are used without permission for the sheer non profit

enjoyment of fans of the Tenchi Muyo! genre.  The author claims no ownership.

Episode 3:  No Need for Waiting

            Tenchi opened the door to the lab and stepped in, head bowed.  “Miss Washu?”  His voice was quiet but filled with resolve.

            “Hey Tenchi.”  Washu looked at the clock.  “You’re a little early aren’t you?”

            “I want you to send me now… without the others.”

            “Without the others-- Why?”

            “They don’t all need to try something so dangerous… Let me go through first and ascertain that it’s safe.  Then, we can send them through.”

            “But Tenchi—“

            “Washu, please… Ryoko’s already in trouble.  Just let me try.”

            Washu frowned in thought, finger and thumb rubbing her chin.  “This is against my better judgment but… alright.”

            Tenchi smiled at her.  “Thanks Washu.”

            “Just sit down before I change my mind.”  She started to tap at several panels as he took a seat beneath a huge cylinder with a gigantic ruby in the hole.  “Ready?”  She asked, her hand hovering over a blue button.

            He nodded once and braced himself as she pressed the button.  A red light covered him and his eyes involuntarily closed.  A numbing sensation began in his feet and floated up through the rest of his body—he became weightless and drowsy.  He felt his consciousness fading… light appeared before him, somewhere off to the right and then…

*           *            *

            “Tenchi are you listening to me?”  Ryoko sighed and folded her arms over her chest.

            “Huh?”  He asked confusion setting in. 

            “Have you listened to a word I told you?”

            “Ryoko?”  He looked around at his bedroom.  “What…. Oh!  I made it through!”

            “What are you talking about?”  Ryoko tilted her head.

            “Ryoko!  I came to find you!  Washu made a device to send me to this dimension!  It worked apparently!”

            “You mean… you’re the real Tenchi?”  She asked hopefully.

            “The real… well, yeah of course I am”

            “Tenchi, this place it’s… it’s straight from my dreams and there’s people here—versions of everyone I know apparently—which includes some creature that’s looking for me.”

            “Yeah, Miss Washu figured some of it out.  We need to get you out of here.”

            “We don’t know how to yet.  I can’t teleport out, I’ve tried.  Washu thought that I might have been able to do it because the gateway was opened for me, that the veil between the real world and this one was thin enough for me to breach.”

            Tenchi nodded.  “Okay, we have to figure out how to get out of here soon… The others will be here soon so we’ll at least have some help.”

            “The others are coming through too?”

            “Yeah, probably in the next half hour or so.”

            “Wait a minute.”  Ryoko looked out the window in thought.  “When you came through here, you took over the body of the Tenchi on this world…  if everyone does that, then we’ve got a problem…”

            “What’s that?”

            Ayeka’s dead on this world.”

            “What?”  Tenchi vaulted to his feet.  “We’ve got to talk to Washu!  Maybe the Washu on this world can find a way to communicate with the Wasu on our world.”

            “This is going to get confusing really fast isn’t it?”  Ryoko sighed and nodded.  “Let’s hurry.”

            Tenchi touched the door and the window exploded, glass shards breaking against the wall as they both turned to see a thick smoke pour into the room.  A figure emerged, floating above the ground.  Wearing a black cowl, the cloth billowed with the wind as a beam of purple light exploded from one of the hands and formed a sword.

*           *            *

            “Yosho!”  Washu ran out of her lab and stopped at the foot of the stairs.  “Anyone!  We’ve got a major problem!!”

            “What’s wrong, Washu?”  Kiyone was the first one at the top of the stairs.

            “It’s Tenchi… He went through early and now… well, the machine it sort of… well, it sort of broke.”

            “And?”

            “And Tenchi was sent through already… I can’t get him back until it’s repaired.”

            “Oh no.”  Kiyone started down the stairs slowly and Ayeka was the next to be filled in on what happened.

            “What about Lord Tenchi’s body?”

            “It’s fine… I’ve got him on support til he gets back for it.” 

            “And we can’t send anyone else through?”

            “Not at this time.”

            “Why did you send him through without anyone else?”  Ayeka folded her arms over her chest, looking irritated.  “He could be in real trouble!”

            “He asked me to.  He wanted to make sure that it was safe.  Obviously, it wasn’t.  He knew the risk.”

            “How did it ‘break’ anyway?”

            “The gem used to power the device exploded… I pumped too much energy through it.”

            “Everyone needs to relax.”  Yosho stepped in from outside.  “Tenchi will be fine.  Let’s just get about getting the machine repaired and being prepared to help out when the time comes to do so.”  He walked into the kitchen with three pairs of eyes staring at him.

            “That man is so odd.”  Kiyone stated before turning back to Washu.  “Okay, so what’s the ETA on fixing the machine?”

            “Not sure… Couple hours, maybe more.”

            “Okay, we’ll be on hand if you need anything.”  Kiyone disappeared into the hallway.

            “I’ll wait with you while you fix it.”  Ayeka followed Washu back to the lab.

*           *            *

            “What the hell?”  Ryoko called above the racket.

            “Glad I could find you.”  A thousand voices spoke from the figure in varying pitch from child to adult, woman to man.  “I’ve been waiting a long time.”

            “Who the hell are you?”  Ryoko balled her fist and prepared for conflict but she was trembling.  ‘What’s my problem?’

            “You know full well who I am… You fled once but you won’t get away again.”

            “I won’t let you hurt her!”  Tenchi stepped in front of Ryoko and postured before the figure.

            “You have no power over me my friend… You’re not even the real Tenchi.”

            “So you think.”  Tenchi clasped his hands and the light hawk sword exploded to life.

            “Juraian scum… I don’t know how you arrived here but I’ll destroy you just the same.”

            “I’m not going to run this time, whatever you are.”  Ryoko held her hand out and her own sword appeared.  “Bring it on.”

            It darted to the left of the room, on Tenchi’s side taking a high swipe with the sword.  Tenchi parried the attack and kicked toward its chest but it floated back and made a dive at Ryoko.           

            Ryoko disappeared, teleporting behind the thing and swiping at its side.  Her sword passed completely through the being, destroying the cowl and severing the body in half.  “You weren’t so tough.”  She floated back to watch, her eyes widening as the part she removed began to glow and reconnected to the upper half.

            “Really, Ryoko you’ll have to do much better than that.”  It spun and hacked at her head but she ducked out of the way.  Tenchi plunged the light hawk sword into its back and it spun, throwing him across the room and into the wall.  “I told you that I’d finish you both!”  The voice boomed through the house, shaking the foundation.

            Ryoko looked at Tenchi then back to the creature.  “What about these?”  She hurled a ball of light, engulfing the thing in the attack.  It let forth a howl as she hurried over to Tenchi and picked him up.  “I think we should go now.”  She carried him through the window and into the rain, flying as fast as she could, leaving the creatures screams behind them.

*           *            *

            They had Tenchi lying on a bed, a blanket pulled up to his chin.  Ayeka sat beside him, staring at him with a frown.  “How long Washu?”  She asked for probably the fiftieth time.

            “The same time that I told you last time.”  Washu called from under the machine.  “When I’m finished, you’ll be the first to know.”

            “Oh Tenchi…” Ayeka sighed, taking his hand.  “You should’ve waited for us.  Please be okay.”

            “I don’t know that we should send someone else through when I finish this thing—rather, we should use it to contact them and get them to come back through.  If I can punch a hole in the veil that keeps the two worlds a part, then I think that Ryoko could find her way through.”

            “Just hurry up with it, Washu!”

            “It’s done, Ayeka.”  Washu hopped into her chair and tapped several buttons.  “Tell Yosho and the others.  We’ll make contact in just a moment.”

            Ayeka nodded and hurried out the door, yelling for everyone to come quickly.  Washu paused as everyone poured into the room and tapped the last button.  “Watch your eyes everyone!”  She called out as the new ruby began to glow brightly.  A rectangle appeared in the middle of the room and a vision of a storm appeared in the center.  Ryoko was flying and she was carrying Tenchi with her.     

            “Tenchi!”  Ayeka cried.  Ryoko responded to her voice, looking up. 

            “Hey everyone!”  Her tone was obviously relieved.  “Please tell me that’s our way out?”

            “We’ve pierced the veil, Ryoko.”  Washu called.  “Teleport back… but focus, you’ve got to help Tenchi too.”

            “No problem.”  They watched as she slowed to a halt, their bodies beginning to glow.

            “Ryoko watch out!”  Tenchi yelled.  As they disappeared from the screen, a purple beam swept the area they occupied moments before.  Washu tapped a button quickly and the ruby went dead, the image faded as two wicked red eyes looked up and into the lab.

*           *            *

            Tenchi sat up from the bed and looked around with a moan.  “That was… that was amazing.”

            “Are you okay Tenchi?”  Mihoshi asked, peering from behind Kiyone.

            “Yeah, I… I think so.”  Tenchi looked around.  “Where’s Ryoko?”

            “She didn’t appear in here.”  Washu looked around.

            “I’ll check upstairs.”  Kiyone turned to leave.

            “Oh, Lord Tenchi…”  Ayeka took his hand.  “I’m glad you’re alright.”

            Tenchi pushed himself up and held his head.  “Just a little head ache…”

            “You might need some rest, Tenchi.”  Washu got out of her chair.  “What was that thing that was chasing you?”

            “I really don’t know… It… it attacked Ryoko and I in the house.  We couldn’t beat it.”  Tenchi shook his head.  “Ryoko cut it in half and it… just reformed.”

            Random gasps sounded in the room.

            “What could it be, Washu?”  Ayeka turned to her.

            “Something immensely powerful apparently.”  Washu frowned.

            “That’s a statement I’d expect to hear out of Mihoshi.”  Ryoko stood at the door, her head bowed.  “Maybe you can tell us something we don’t know, Washu?”

            “Ryoko!”  Mihoshi turned.

            “Yeah, I’m back.”

            “Are you okay?”  Tenchi took a step toward her and stopped, leaning against the wall to keep from falling.

            “I think I’m fine.”  Ryoko ran a hand through her hair.  “We need to talk about what that thing is… I don’t think it’s done yet.”

            “Did it give you any clue as to what it might be?  By appearance or statement?”

            “Only that I should know what it was.”  Ryoko scratched her chin.  “Did you notice anything Tenchi?”

            “It’s voice… It was like a thousand people speaking at once.”  Tenchi shrugged.  “Its sword reminded me of the light hawk sword in a way… I got a similar impression from it.”

            “Yeah?”  Washu shook her head.  “Here’s what we know:  It is from a world based on Ryoko’s dreams.  Further, it’s just as real as that world is now—in that it has the same powers that were devised when it was just a thought only now they are actually effective.  My surmise is that it’s a nightmare that has become corporeal.”

            “A nightmare?”  Ryoko frowned.  “That would explain why I’m so… so afraid of it.”

            “Of course, your mind invented it to be scary to you.  It needed something very powerful to do that though—it couldn’t be any old monster.  It had to be a real nasty one.”  Washu sat back down.

            “It figures that Ryoko would have dreams that were more vile than normal people’s.”  Ayeka crossed her arms.

            “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean, Ayeka?”   Ryoko took a step toward her.

            “Now’s not the time for fighting you two.”  Tenchi stepped in between them.

            “Tenchi’s right.”  Washu looked at her machine.  “Indeed, that thing will be coming back for Ryoko soon…”

            “When?”  Ayeka, Tenchi and Ryoko asked at the same time.

            “There’s no way to tell for sure… I should be able to give us some warning though now that I recognize the signature its travel creates in the temporal alignment.”

            “What do we do til then?”  Mihoshi asked quietly.

            Washu looked at everyone in turn and cracked a smile.  “Why, wait of course.”  She shrugged and kicked back on the chair.  “It’s not through yet.”

*           *            *

            Ryoko sat in a full lotus on the porch, eyes staring off in the distance.  Ayeka paused at the door and watched her for a moment, taking a deep breath before clearing her throat and stepping out.

            “Ryoko?”  She asked.

            “What is it, Ayeka?”  Ryoko’s voice was even and calm.

            “I… I wanted to talk to you about something.”

            “I’m not going anywhere.”

            Ayeka frowned.  ‘Why does she have to be so infuriating?’  She pushed the thought out of her head.  “Tenchi told me a little about the… your dream world.”

            Ryoko sighed. 

            “He said that I was… well, that I was.”

            “Dead?”  Ryoko paused.  “Yes, somehow you were dead there.  The events surrounding when Sasami was taken by Yazuha happened differently and you were killed.”

            Ayeka looked down.  “I got the impression that you were… well, that you were concerned about it.”

            “We may have our differences but I don’t want to see you die.”

            “I’m… touched by that, Ryoko.”

            “A criminal doesn’t have to be callous, Ayeka.”  Ryoko turned this time and Ayeka barely held back a gasp.  Dark circles hugged her eyes and her cheeks were sunk a bit.  She looked exhausted.

            “Ryoko, are you alright?”  Ayeka knelt beside her, concern etched on her expression.

            “I’m fine, Ayeka.”  Ryoko frowned.  “You know how I feel about that concern stuff.”

            “But Ryoko… Have you slept?”

            “Not since Tenchi and I got back from the other world.”

            “But Ryoko, that was three days ago now!”

            “Really?”  Ryoko looked back over the yard, her tone distant.  “I hadn’t noticed.”

            “You need to get some sleep!”
            “No thanks.”  Ryoko shook her head.  “Last place I want to go is back to that world where—where it’s waiting.”  A genuine amount of fear entered her tone—something Ayeka was completely unfamiliar with.

            “Ryoko… If it comes through to this world, you won’t be able to face it in your current state…”

            “And I can’t handle it in that world either—it has complete control there.”

            Ayeka snapped her fingers.  “But of course!”

            “Huh?”  Ryoko looked at her oddly.

            “You should have the same control over that world!  I mean, you invented it didn’t you?”

            “What are you getting on about?”  Ryoko shook her head.

            “Don’t you see?  It’s your dream!  You made that place up.  You should have power over the entire world there.”

            “Huh…”  Ryoko thought a moment.  “That could very well be true but when you normally sleep, you don’t have control over your dreams.”

            “It’s not hard to be aware of your dreaming.  It just takes a bit of practice.”

            “The time for practice is over.  A mistake now can be fatal.”

            “You did it once now though—went to the world.”

            “Yeah but I’d have to do that with Washu’s help…”

            “Exactly.”  Ayeka smiled.

            “You’re proposing I have Washu send me back to that world only consciously and face it?”

            “I hadn’t thought of that but maybe you should choose the tactic that suits you best: go on the offensive.”

            Ryoko pushed herself up and smiled at Ayeka.  “I never thought I’d agree with any of the hair brained schemes you come up with but for once you really put it together—that or I’m just so tired it seems like a good idea.”

            Ayeka frowned.  “You’re incorrigible.”

            Ryoko grinned as she passed into the house.