Welcome to Gaia! ::

The day began as any other in the Masaki household. Tenchi was working in the fields harvesting the carrot fields, Sasami working in the kitchen fixing breakfast, Washu was enraptured by an experiment in her lab. Mihoshi was absorbed watching Space Police Police Man arrest another villainous space pirate while a fuming Kiyone was yelling at her for causing another disaster with their ship, and Ryoko lazing in her bed until Sasami called them for breakfast. Ryo-Ohki stared at Sasami with large eyes, watching her cut up carrots and adding them to the meal. Ayeka was up in the bathroom washing up before breakfast, while her two guardians guarded her. Everything seemed normal, but that was about to change.

Suddenly, a couple of blasts rocked the house, causing Ryoko to fall out of bed, and enraging her. She floated out of the house, where a huge, green and orange space ship greeted her. She fired a volley of plasma blasts at the ship, doing nothing more than smudging the monstrosity. Mihoshi and Kiyone joined her with their guns pointed at the ship. “This planet is protected by the Galaxy Police. Give up now, or we will have to destroy you and your ship!” Kiyone commanded the ship’s owner. A nervous, quivering, whining Mihoshi pleaded, “Please give up? I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

A hole opened up in the ship, and a figure floated down to meet them. “Give up? Never,” he growled. Raising his hand, a couple of beams of light shot out and decimated the guns. Then he turned his head towards Ryoko. “Ah…the famous Ryoko. Finally we meet. I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time. Please, join me and my ship…” he turned and indicated the green and orange ship, “…Ta-Kuma in space.” He turned to leave. “Be sure and bring Ryo-Ohki. I want to try my hand at the notorious pirate. Meet you in a few, if you aren’t scared by competition. See ya!” He floated back to Ta-Kuma. Then they both left.

Mihoshi fell to her knees and began to cry uncontrollably. Kiyone tilted her head and began to fume. She ran into the house and stormed into Washu’s lab. She searched around, and finally found her. “Washu, I need my ship. Can you please get it out of hyper-space?” Washu turned and looked up at her. “Only if you call me…Little Washu!” A big grin crossed her face. Kiyone sighed. “Little Washu, can you please get my ship, please?” She bowed to Washu. Washu patted Kiyone’s head. “OK. This shouldn’t take but a few moments. Washu escorted Kiyone outside, then summoned her computer up in front of her. After hitting a few buttons, a black hole appeared over the lake. Then Kiyone and Mihoshi’s ship floated out and landed in the lake with a big splash, soaking the weeping Mihoshi, who began to complain and cry harder about being soaked. Kiyone saluted Washu and dragged Mihoshi on board.

Meanwhile, Sasami had just finished making another culinary delight and went to the breakfast gong and lifted a huge hammer and slammed it onto the gong, making the house quiver slightly. Ayeka was finishing her bath when the blasts rocked the house, knocking her out cold, and was woken up by the gong. “Fine guardians you two are.” Azaka and Kamadaki turned to Ayeka guiltily bowed. Azaka explained, “You told us that you were not to be disturbed, milady.” Kamadaki agreed. Ayeka huffed and turned and went to the dressing room and got dressed. She wondered about those blasts, and asked the guardians what the blasts were, but couldn’t get anything from them. Ayeka then decided to head outside to see what was going on, but stopped when her tummy demanded priority over curiosity. She then committed herself to breakfast instead. She headed down to the kitchen and kneeled at the table. She was surprised to find out that Washu was already out of her lab, and that Ryoko wasn’t there.

Sasami sent Ryo-Ohki to get Tenchi and inform him of breakfast. Ryo-Ohki went off in search of Tenchi, but was nabbed just outside by Ryoko. “Just where do you think you’re going?” Ryoko tossed Ryo-Ohki up in the air, and turned into a spaceship. Ryo-Ohki complained, but then Ryoko promised her that she would give her tons of carrots after this mission. Ryo-Ohki dreamed of all the carrots and couldn’t help but agree.

Ryoko then steered Ryo-Ohki into outer space, speeding past Mihoshi and Kiyone in their ship. She connected with their ship a communication line, “Go home and eat. This battle is mine!” There was a look of determination written on her face, that said, “Don’t argue with me…” Kiyone sighed and steered the ship back to Earth, where Washu was ready to put it back into Sub-space. Meanwhile, Ryoko continued her way to the place where she would come face-to-face with this mysterious man.

While Ryo-Ohki and Ryoko were battling it out in space, Ayeka was battling another fight with Sasami. “I don’t care if that witch is here or not…” Ayeka’s stomach complained loudly about lack of food, “…I need food!” Sasami put on her adult guise, and with a soft voice, she declared, “But Tenchi isn’t even here yet, we have to wait for Tenchi and Ryo-Ohki and Ryoko.” Mihoshi sat at her spot at the table with streams of tears flooding the floor, “…but I’m so hungry!!!”. Kiyone, her partner for the Galaxy Police, dropped her head. “You are always hungry Mihoshi.” She finished that statement with a heavy sigh.

Sasami whipped off her apron and ran out the door and ran down to the carrot fields, where she saw Tenchi cooling himself off with a slug of water from the well. He heard her huffing and trying to catch her breath. Turning, he said to her, “Oh! Hey Sasami, what’s the matter?” He directed her over to a fallen tree that Tenchi himself had carved into a bench a long while back, then he noticed that Ryo-Ohki wasn’t on her shoulder like she usually is. “Where’s Ryo-Ohki? Did something happen to her?”

Sasami, battered with the questions, answered them as such. “It’s breakfast time. I don’t know. I’m not sure.” She then dropped the adult guise and slipped back into childishness and broke down into tears. “We had better get back to the others. Ryo-Ohki and Ryoko have both gone missing. I don’t know what to do!” Sasami threw her hands around Tenchi’s neck and began to cry. She was worried that Ryoko had taken Ryo-Ohki away and that they both ran away again.

Tenchi picked up Sasami and carried her back to the house. Along the way, she had fallen asleep crying over Ryo-Ohki going missing again. He entered his house and quietly went up the stairs and to her and Ayeka's room and knocked on the door. Inside, Ayeka sat kneeling on her bed mat, feeling bad about what happened at breakfast this morning. She didn’t mean to make Sasami run away like that. She just wanted nothing to do with that witch Ryoko. Ayeka knew that she would run to Tenchi, like she always does, except for that one time that she ran away from everybody! That was a horrible night.

Ayeka looked up when she heard the knocking on the door. “Is that you, Lord Tenchi? Come in.” Tenchi opened up the door and sat on the foot of Sasami’s bed mat and leaned back to put her in her bed. He stood up and pulled the covers up over Sasami and bowed to Ayeka. “What happened at breakfast this morning that caused Sasami to run away?” he asked Ayeka in a small, soft, quiet voice. Ayeka dropped her head in shame, “I’m afraid it’s all my fault this time…” then she delved into the story of breakfast.

Tenchi listened intently, and understood the problem. “You have to understand, your quarrel with Ryoko is pointless in her eyes, she just wants you two to be friends.” Tenchi stood up and went to the door and slid it open, then he turned around to face Ayeka. “Yes…Lord Tenchi?” Ayeka asked quietly. She stared at him with wonder in her eyes. “Can…you…please, look for Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki? Please?” Tenchi requested of her.

Ayeka’s head dropped slowly. Slowly, she acquiesced to Tenchi’s request. “I…will Lord Tenchi, but only because you asked me to, not because of her.” Tenchi sighed and then nodded. “That is all that I asked for, was to search for her, nothing more. Thanks Princess Ayeka.” He turned and left the room, while a faint blush crept over Ayeka’s nose. She stood up and went into Washu’s lab and searched for her. She did find her working on something huge, and got femininely curiously about it. “Miss…ummm…Little Washu, what is that that you are working on?”
Turning to face Ayeka, Washu noted her curiosity. “Well…since you asked so nicely…I guess that I can show you. It’s a Dimensional Time Door!” A look of doubting smothered Ayeka’s face, drowning the curiosity look. *Oh great…just what I need…a non-believer* she thought to herself. “OK…let’s give this thing a test run!”

Alarmed, because most of Washus experiments turned into disasters, Ayeka interrupted Washu “Little Washu…I need to ask you a favor…can you pinpoint where Ryo-Ohki and Ryoko are at this moment? Tenchi asked me to find them…” She still can’t believe that Tenchi asked her help to find her, but she would do anything, well…almost, for Lord Tenchi. After all…he is her brother’s son, and rightful heir to the Jurian throne.
Washu gazed at Ayeka with concern seething in her eyes. “Listen Ayeka…I know that you and Ryoko aren’t the best of friends…and I must admit that my daughter can be a bit of a handful at times. You two share at least one great thing that Kiyone, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki, but in a different way, Mihoshi…and yes…even I share this one thing. Love. We all love Tenchi, even if for alternate reasons. You love him, because he is your brother’s son…and Jurian law is the ruling cause in this one, but obviously not the only reason by this time. Kiyone loves him for reasons unknown to me. Mihoshi loves him because he saved her. Sasami looks to him as a father figure. Ryo-Ohki loves him because of the carrots that he harvests. Ryoko watched him grow up while she was mummified, and learned to love him with true love. I love him for a variety of things.” She then switches to a high, innocent, girlie voice. “He’s my guinea pig!” Ayeka was floored with that response. She stood up and dusted herself off. In her normal voice, Washu continues. “Plus…I want to study his powers to further my research. It doesn’t hurt that he’s very good looking.”

Ayeka, blushing again with Washus last line, again interrupted her there, with a better insight to the other’s feelings to Lord Tenchi. “All this is interesting…but it doesn’t help in finding Ryo-Ohki and Ryoko!” Even though she shuddered at the thought of Ryoko and Tenchi together…she does miss fighting with her, and she dearly missed cute little Ryo-Ohki not being on Sasami’s shoulder. “So…how are we going to find her? And…how is my Ryo-Oh?”

Washu put her hands in mid-air, summoning her computer. “Ryo-Oh is doing fine Princess. Now then…” A lot of technical gibberish spewed forth from the genius’s mouth, completely putting the petite, polite princess to sleep, and then it all culminated at the end with this statement. “…and by following the crystal’s power trail…now that’s interesting!”

That completely shocked the princess out of the submissive grip of sleep. “What is Little Washu?” Seeing Washu surprised was either one of 2 things…a new discovery, or something terrible had happened. Plus, since its rare to see her that way, it must be big.

“It seems that that alien ship that attacked us, was also a cabbit! Judging by the energy signal, it is as strong as, or stronger than, Ryo-Ohki. This is terrible news indeed. Ryoko is in serious trouble…” She did some more tests on the foreign trail and started to shake in shock and fear, which is a major cause for alarm. “N-n-n-no…I-i-it’s impossible. It just can’t happen. Ryo-Ohki isn’t that old even…and I created her with Ryoko from the masses a long time ago.” She fell back from her computer, and it disappeared.

Ayeka knew this wasn’t good, and went over to her and put her arms around her, holding her. “What’s the matter?” Fear flooded her eyes as she gazed into Washu’s eyes.

Washu rushed out of her lab and into the main part of the house. She went on a mad-man’s hunt for Kiyone and Mihoshi. She found the latter on the back porch asleep, with a broom in one hand, and her head on the arm of the other. Washu steamed a little bit and yelled very loudly, slowly rousing Mihoshi out of her nap. Sleepily, she asked Washu what the matter is. “What the matter is is that Ryoko is in grave danger! I need to borrow your ship!”

Ayeka, blinked a while after Washu sped past her. She then went into a far corner of Washu’s lab to look at her Ryo-Oh. This plant is like the cabbit, it is a ship in disguise. Ryoko totally decimated the original Ryo-Oh by crashing both it and Ryo-Ohki to Earth. It took Ryo-Ohki a very short time to produce an egg to hatch itself after it got destroyed. Ryo-Oh, being a tree, takes a lot longer to regenerate. Meanwhile, she is shipless and needs to rely on Ryo-Ohki and Kiyone’s ship. After watering Ryo-Oh and spent some time with it so that it will recognize her as its owner, she went into the main part of the house and went to her bedroom to wake up Sasami. “It’s time to wake up now dear.”

Sasami rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced over at the clock. “Oh no! I’m late for making lunch!” She dashed out to the kitchen to prepare lunch, which is sure to be another delicacy. She grabbed fish from the fridge and carrots from the storage room, along with other various ingredients, and set about making lunch for the humans, and a special dish for Ryo-Ohki when she comes back.

Kiyone heard the howl from Washu and dropped her head in exhaustion. *What did she do now to mess up Washu’s experiments?* She then decided to investigate and followed Washu’s voice as best as she could, and wound up outside. “What did you do now, Mihoshi?” Mihoshi shook her head and shrugged her shoulder. “Washu?”

Washu turned around and went to her knees, Kiyone begging for the use of her ship, and told her everything that she had told Mihoshi. “Sure Washu, as long as you call me…Big Kiyone!” Washu, floored by that response, muttered something about stolen lines, asked again, using the requirements needed for the use of the ship. “Mihoshi! Let’s get to work! She might need our help!” Washu nodded at that last part, and landed Kiyone’s ship again, and entered the anteroom and waited for Kiyone and Mihoshi to board.

After boarding the ship, it lurched into the skies and headed to Mars. “Have you girls ever been to Mars? Better prepare yourselves for the harsh climate there.” Washu herself prepared, but not for Mars, but for the encounter with the mystery man, and the more mysterious cabbit, which is older than Ryo-Ohki herself. Once Washu bit down on a lead, like a good guard dog, she doesn’t let go for anything, regardless of risks, which often leads to danger…and adventure. She thought back into her youth, all 2000+ years of it, and tried to remember making another cabbit, other than Ryo-Ohki. It was hard to remember anything before Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki, for some very strange reason. It was just another mystery to be solved by the greatest scientific genius of the universe! Something blipped on the console, and Washu grinned a winner’s grin. The Princesses…

Back on Earth, Tenchi went into an empty house, wondering where everybody went off to.

Sasami, hidden in the cargo area, sat and thought about what might happen to Ryo-Ohki, Sasami had felt horrible about last time she ran away, and had tried her best to be nice to her. *But she’s gone again! What did I do this time?* she thought to herself. A sniffle escaped her mouth. It seemed to echo throughout the entire ship. She held her breath to see if anybody herd. Seconds dragged out into minutes, and about 10 seconds later, she exhales and began breathing again.

Ayeka, also hidden in the cargo area, but his further back, sat and thought about what Washu had told her about the love group that were in love with Tenchi. Kiyone, Sasami, Washu, Ryoko, and even Ryo-Ohki! All of them were in love with Lord Tenchi. She heard the barely audible sniffle and held her breath herself! Was that Sasami? She decided not to risk it and sat perfectly still for the entire flight, fighting off cramps and sleep, until she felt a bump of landing. She heard the rustling of Mihoshi and Kiyone exiting the ship, followed shortly by Washu disengaging from the ship.

After a while, she stood up and stretched her legs, then she went to the cargo bay area in the back of the ship to exit. “Hello Princesses Ayeka and Sasami, glad you can join us.” Said a voice from the cockpit. Sasami stood up and Ayeka turned around. Ayeka was first to speak. “How did you know I was here?” Then she did a double-take. “Sasami! You shouldn’t be here!”

Washu grinned again. “This is a Galaxy Police Ship isn’t it? It has stowaway alerts. Now…let’s get to Ryoko and Rokara.”

Washu did a double-take. “Brother? I never had or made a son.” She quickly unfroze Rokara, whose first action was to scratch his nose. Washu walked around Rokara, poking him several times in various places. “You are well made, but then again, I am Little Washu! Master Genius!” Rokara held out the picture towards Washu on her next pass. She took the picture and glanced at it, then turned away, only for her head to snap back to the picture. Her eyes widened as recognition fell across her face. He WAS hers…but then again he was a pirate. She played it cool. “Where did you get this picture? From some of your prey?”

Rokara shook his head. “My father, your husband. I was not created, well…not like Ryoko. I was conceived, but Father told me that you did some DNA work while I was still in your womb. Then I was born, and, I’m still fuzzy on the details, but either you left, or Father left you. Either way I was stuck with Father, and without you. He passed away thousands of years ago, and I was left alone, with Ta-Kuma as my only family. I have lived a pirate since Father died.” His knees buckled underneath of him and tears brimmed his eyes. “Please…be my family Washu, Ryoko.

Washu absorbed this information like water to a sponge. “It’s coming back to me now. Rokuma, my husband, those early machines, those early experiments, true love. That’s ancient history.” She denied with tears brimming her eyes. She reflected back to her past, when she was very pregnant with her son, ever inventive as ever, probably more inventive because creating machines to help with pregnancy was…thrilling for her. This was a new field of research for her. Altering DNA while in the womb was a landmark creation for her. Then she smiled as she remembered her husband in the hospital room, fainting as she gave birth to her son.

Ryoko nodded as she saw Washu’s face turn from unbelief to a believer. “So…Mother…how much family do you have hidden in the universe?”

“I have no idea Ryoko. I thought only you…but then he showed up. I need to get back to the lab!” She jumped into Kiyone’s Galaxy Police Cruiser, and Ta-Kuma and Ryo-Ohki changed into ship mode and Rokara and Ryoko phased into them. After reaching Tenchi’s home, and replacing the ship back in the other dimension, Washu rushed down to her lab.

Rokara followed, bemused at how his mother and sister could live in such a degenerative place, and began to peer around the lab. He paused at each, studying each machine and trying to figure out how each is used. He found one that looked like it needed some work on it, and he phased his head into it to study the wiring. He pulled a few out and added some in, and reversed a few chips and added a few screws. “There…that ought to do it.” He phased back out and saw it light up. He smiled. This was like his own home, his own creations that Father had fixed, and machinations that Father made and HE fixed. This was beginning to feel like home already.