"Lord Tenchi?" A familiar voice—Ayeka! "Lord Tenchi, can you hear me?"

        He wanted to respond but couldn’t find the voice. The fact was that he was having a hard time focusing on the voice. It was fading like he was falling asleep… ‘Fight it, Tenchi!’ He told himself desperately.

        "It’s no use, Ayeka." Was that Washu? It had to be… "He hasn’t recovered enough yet. You’d better leave him to his rest."

        "I thought we were so close this time…" Ayeka’s voice faded to nothing and he was floating somewhere once again, lost in a void of darkness. What had happened? Where was he last?

        Ryoko… They embraced… They kissed and the nightmare was dissipating when they went back to Sasami. She was hurt then… then Tsunami helped him contact Ayeka but—what happened next?

        Frustrated, he turned his attention to his surroundings. Floating in nothingness alone… A dream, a hallucination from unconsciousness. He felt ill. He couldn’t understand why he was incapacitated from the trip across the dimensions. A sudden flare of fear rose up in his chest: Were Sasami and Ryoko alright? He had no way of knowing. Hell, he didn’t know if he was alright…

        A surge of nausea slapped his stomach and he realized his body was trying to wake up again. He fought with every ounce of will to open his eyes, to sit up. A blurry light came into view… a face… Ayeka! "Ay… Ayeka!" He managed a whisper.

        "Lord Tenchi!" She cried, taking his hand. "Can you hear me?"

        "Yes…" He nodded once. "What happened to me?"

        "You and Ryoko were both unconscious when you came through." Ayeka looked up. "Ryoko’s life signs picked back up but she has yet to come around. Sasami is in stable condition. It appears that you were successful in your mission."

        He breathed a sigh of relief as best he could. "Good… I was beginning to wonder if I wasn’t still in Ryoko’s world."

        "No, you’re home Tenchi." She cupped his cheek in her hand gently. "Is there anything I can get you?"

        "I—"

        "He needs this!" Washu came up and placed a small gem on his forehead. She stepped back to watch the results with satisfaction.

        A moment passed before warmth flowed from his head to his toes like a slow running river through his veins. Strength touched as his fingertips, spreading to the rest of his body though not as much as he was accustomed to when in good health.

        "What happened? What was that?" He asked.

        "Just something to hurry you along the road to getting well." Washu chimed. "Gotta check on Ryoko now." She sauntered off and he returned his attentions to Ayeka.

        "Is she going to be alright?"

        Ayeka nodded. "From what Washu said, she’s just asleep."

        "What about Sasami? She was… she was shot…"

        "Sasami’s alright. When she returned, the wound was already almost healed. Washu gave her something and she’s already up and about."

        "This turned out alright after all." He allowed himself to relax and took a deep breath, happy that he was capable of such an act.

        "Yes." Ayeka agreed, squeezing his hand. "It was touch and go there for a while."

        "You’re telling me." Tenchi managed a grin. "You should’ve seen it there… GP officers against us, Kagato, Earthquakes… It was insane."

        "Oh, I do wish that I could’ve accompanied you." The concern in her voice was tinted with a little regret that didn’t go unnoticed by Tenchi.

        "Yes, you would’ve been a lot of help." Tenchi smiled at her. "It was a scary place."

        "I’d brave anything with you." Her expression became gravely serious and he lost the smile, looking deep into her eyes for a long moment.

        "I know you would, Ayeka. I know."

* * *

        Ryoko sat below Funaho, peering into the pond deep in thought. She could remember very little about what happened prior to returning to the real world but there were images playing through her mind. Fleeting really, but she was in his arms… they were floating. It was black as pitch, they were alone together yet there was another presence. Silence and screaming existed simultaneously and the paradox pushed them closer together. They confessed their love for each other…

        Did they? That was her most treasured dream. The realm of what was real and what was imagined over the last few days existed in gray portion of her mind. More than anything she wanted it be real… A sigh. What to do? How to go about it?

        "Hey." She stiffened at Tenchi’s voice. She turned to look up at him.

        "Tenchi!" He smiled at her enthusiastic tone. "You’re feeling better?"

        "Yeah, Washu said I was just fatigued."

        "I know that feeling all too well."

        He sat beside her, folding his hands in his lap. "Weird experience huh?"

        "I wish that I could say it was one I would never forget but already it’s fuzzy. Like the moments after you wake up... Memories lost to be recalled when the dream comes true."

        "That was rather philosophical." He smiled. "I imagined that you’d be happy though… I mean, pleased that it was over."

        "Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled to have all that behind me."   

        "What is it then?"

        She looked at him for a moment, her eyes narrow as she scrutinized him. "Tenchi I—" She looked away. "I don’t know. It’s nothing."

        "Are you sure?"

        "Tenchi! Ryoko! Where are you?" Sasami called from down the path. "Dinner’s ready!"

        Ryoko smiled at Tenchi, running her hand along his cheek. "Everything’s fine Tenchi."

        He squeezed her hand in response as they exchanged a knowing look. They rose together to meet Sasami, strolling away as they heard what was in store for the meal.

        A tiny man sat on a branch of Funaho, grinning as the three walked away. "I underestimated you, Space Pirate Ryoko." He folded his hands behind his head and leaned back. "We’ll meet again, though. Perhaps then, I’ll guess right." His form faded from sight as he spoke, leaving the tree to rustle in the breeze in solitude once again.