Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Morpheus, the Reaper ❯ Dream an Endless Dream ( Chapter 1 )

Morpheus the Reaper

Dream an Endless Dream...

All characters, settings, and trademarks are owned by Pioneer and not by the author

The sun shone down brightly on the Masaki shrine as Tenchi swept the leaves from the ancient stone courtyard. The birds chirped sweetly in the trees surrounding the serene mountainside and the young man sighed and wiped his forehead, smiling at the work he had done as he leaned on his broomstick.

Over the soft sounds of the forest and mountain he heard footsteps coming up the stair.

The house had been empty for almost a week, what with the princesses Sasami and Ayeka having recently left for a special Juraian council meeting, and Ryoko and Washu off performing a series of endurance experiments with Ryo-Ohki. Mihoshi had been called back to the GXP headquarters on tribunal to do something about her mounting damage claims.

Somewhat puzzled by the unexpected visitor, he shouldered his broom and walked towards the staircase and peered around the bordering foliage.

To his surprise, there was no one walking up the ancient staircase. He let out a derisive little chuckle, scratching the back of his head. "Guess with the house so quiet recently I'm starting to hear things. Heh, I must miss everyone running around all the time more than I thought."

He sighed and turned around to resume his work, then let out a yelp and fell roughly onto his rump, the broom falling with a clatter. Directly behind him had stood a person wearing an odd, ornate robe with a deep cowl pulled over their face. Tenchi found it hard to look at the person as they seemed to jerk and shift, but never actually moved, their body almost appearing to be made of a flickering light.

"W-who are you?" He asked, standing slowly and picking up his broom.

"You know me Tenchi." The voice sounded like half a dozen people talking at once, seeming to yell and whisper at the same time. The youth pulled back, wincing at the sound.

After a moment the figure reached up gloved hands and grasped the edges of its cowl and pulled it back. A cold sweat broke out over Tenchi's forehead, his eyes wide with fear and an odd sense of recognition. The face revealed could hardly even be called as such, a shifting, vague suggestion of features and tone, the edges seeming to phase in and out, jerking into sharp lines before fading back to normal and then going fuzzy again.

"Tenchi…you need…to WAKE UP."

Tenchi jerked awake, his eyes wide, laying half-off his bed. He relaxed, realizing he was home and sighed, coughing into his hand as he pulled himself slowly into a sitting position. He sat there for a moment, knees bent with his face in his hands, rubbing at his bleary eyes.

That dream again… He let out another sigh and scratched at the darkening stubble on his cheek.

Almost fifteen years since he'd seen that place. Almost fifteen years since he'd been anywhere near Japan. He let out a groan as he stood, stretching and shuffled across his cramped, dingy apartment and opened the curtains. With a sad chuckle he leaned his forehead against the cold glass, looking out over the city.

Raining again…

It had not been anything but that terrible gray since he could remember.

When had he moved to this city of shadows? It was almost a lifetime ago for him, and the reasons still didn't fit together right.

Nineteen, almost his twentieth birthday, he had made a choice. It was the only one he thought he had at the time. How did that old song go? "If I knew then, what I know now…" Tenchi looked at his alarm clock in the early morning half-light of the city. Four A-M, two hours before he should be awake,

Might as well get ready for work… He thought, groaning as he turned on the low-watt lights in his drab loft, their dim glow only serving to throw the shadows into greater contrast.

He straightened his tie and shrugged on his smoke-colored jacket, taking a swig of his quickly cooling coffee before pouring the rest of the mug out into the sink and heading for the stepped out into the drizzling rain, pulling his jacket closer around his body as he adjusted his grip on his grey briefcase.

It took five minutes to walk from his loft to the rail station, but in this city of ash and shadows five minutes could seem like an eternity. In the center of a crowd of people Tenchi made his way to the staircase, walking down the rain-slicked steps, taking a look up at the drab, cloudy sky, feeling the misting rain cold on his skin.

He chuckled broken-heartedly and felt his eyes prick with old memories before he shook them away and continued down the stairs.

The train rocketing by filled the rail station with noise and vibration, muting the sparse conversations and phone calls of others awaiting the morning train.

Tenchi yawned, shaking his head as he tried to focus on the workday ahead of him. That dream…What the hell is wrong with me? I feel like I'm trying to walk through molasses… The northbound train shot through the station and Tenchi looked up, seeing the people flashing past him through the windows, wondering briefly what their day held in store.

In the final car passing the rail station he could swear he saw a figure sitting amongst the somberly dressed business folk, dressed in a white robe…

"MASAKI!"

Tenchi jumped in his seat, startled awake. Shit, I dozed off! Guess I'm still tired… Rubbing his eyes he looked around himself. Hope I wasn't snoring…I…wait… I'm at work? When did I get here…?

"Er, Yes, sir?" Tenchi called back, realizing his manager wasn't standing over his shoulder.

"Masaki! I'll need those reports on my desk by the end of the day!" The voice bellowed from within the office at the end of the aisle.

"Yes sir, Mr. Murdock!" Tenchi replied, shaking his head and redoubling his efforts on his computer terminal Rotten old bastard didn't even come out of his office. Taskmaster… He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

As he worked, his eyes unfocused and Tenchi saw himself in the shadow of his computer screen. He wasn't eating as well as he should have been, and had lost his slim physique, now much scrawnier than he had been. His hair had grown little thinner, a bit of grey at his temples, and he had sheared off his ponytail for the office dress code.

The years had stripped the youth from Tenchi's face, replacing them with the angles of age and the wrinkles of lost dreams and hard times. Even now as he stared at his computer screen Tenchi hardly recognized the old man in the shadow of his monitor. Thirty three years old this year and he looked like he was pushing a good forty.

Shaking his head again he forced himself to hammer on his keyboard, crunching data and fitting it into bills and claims and sales. Invoices filled his day from eight thirty A-M till five P-M, the glorious life of an accountant in this city that never seemed to sleep.

The walls of this office were obviously white at one time, but Gregory Murdock's constant cigar smoke and time had changed them to a dusty yellowish grey. Not even a window pierced the murky walls

Not that it would provide anything to look at…Numbers, numbers, numbers. His office-mate, Trent Horrace, leaned around the partition wall, smirking past his horn rimmed glasses, his light colored hair slightly ruffled

"Pssst! Tenchi!" Trent hissed, his eyes sparkling.

With a half-smile Tenchi looked over at him. "Yeah Trent? What's up?"

"I'm heading over to the Silver Hog tonight if you want to meet up, grab a brew?"

Tenchi sighed, remembering this morning and shaking his head. "I…I don't know. I'm not feeling so hot today."

Trent pulled a face. "Come on man, when was the last time you had any fun? This city has a way of sucking a man dry if he's not careful." With a grin he added "And you look pretty dried up to me." Tenchi shook his head, sighing and finished up the form he was working on.

The Silver Hog was one of those horrible little hole-in-the-wall bars where you know the liquor is watered down, the beer is going to be warm, and they've only got bud light to boot.

Tenchi pulled his jacket tight as he stood outside the bar, hunkering down against the steady downpour of mist that while it was falling like a feather, was so dense that it had already almost soaked his shirt. With a sigh he shook himself, only serving to get himself wetter, and stepped forward into the dive.

Trent was sitting at the bar, nursing a pint of beer so light it was almost clear. "Hey, Tenchi!" He toasted his co-worker and took another drink. Tenchi popped his coat, shaking the water off and took a seat beside his friend, the bar almost empty. "Glad you could make it man." He smiled, motioning the bartender over to get a beer for Tenchi.

"Well, I almost didn't, I mean, I haven't felt up to doing anything for quite a while." The glass was set before Tenchi, beads of condensation streaking down its side to pool against the polished bar.

"Well I'm sure glad you did, a man's got to wind down every now and again, am I right?" Trent chuckled, taking a drink. Tenchi smiled again, somewhat more heartfelt this time, taking a drink of his own beer.

"So, what really made you want to get into accounting, Tenchi?" Trent asked as he swallowed the lasts of his beer, setting the empty glass down and gesturing for another.

"It was the only job I could find, really." He replied, nursing his pint. "You know I moved here fourteen years ago, and I had to do something. " He chuckled some. "I can't just be a beggar, and all I really knew was farming from ba….my life before. "

"Yeah, no farms around here." Trent chuckled, missing Tenchi's slip. Tenchi sighed slightly in relief, dipping back into his pint and looking around.

"Trent…" He began"…Have you noticed that this city is always so grey?"

The other man laughed some, shaking his head "That's how it always is in big cities. You smash a lot of big buildings together and even the neon girly signs don't shine so bright."

Tenchi smirked, looking over at his friend. "I know, but I mean…I really can't remember the last time I saw a splash of life in this town." He sighed, taking another sip of beer.

Trent nodded, taking a drink of his fresh beer. "I know what you mean, this place is dying, little by little…" Tenchi sighed, knowing his friend didn't get what he meant.

"So what's going on, man? You seemed kinda drawn out today." Trent took his beer and brought it to his lips, taking a long drink.

Tenchi swallowed a mouthful of beer and looked over at him. "I don't know…I just had a weird dream last night. I hardly felt like I slept at all…"

Trent chuckled, bumping him with his elbow. "Dreaming about those girls again? Those, what was it, eight women who all wanted your body?" Trent grinned.

"No…well, not really…" Tenchi shook his head. Over the course of their friendship Tenchi had mentioned his previous life to Trent, but never really expounded upon the situation or how their odd, mix matched family had come to be. Every now and again it felt good to talk about it, but it never ended well, always leaving Tenchi feeling somber and reserved.

"…It was really just a weird dream is all, nothing to worry about, I'd say." Tenchi took a drink of his beer, shrugging his shoulders dismissively.

"Well, you seem to have perked up a good bit since this morning. I'm telling you, you need to come out with me more often. It'll do you good!" Trent chuckled, finishing his beer. "You'll feel more like a young man again and you won't be so troubled at night."

Tenchi laughed, eyeing his friend. "Yeah, I'll have too many beers under my belt to worry about dreaming."

Trent laughed back, nodding. "Exactly!"

Shaking his head, Tenchi got up, pulling a few bills from his wallet and placing them on the counter. "I'll think about it. But hey, I'll see you tomorrow at work, alright?"

Trent nodded. "Sure thing, have a good one." Tenchi nodded back, heading for the door, then stopped, looking back.

"Oh, and Trent? Thanks." The two men smiled at each other for a moment before Tenchi walked out into the drizzling night.

The rain slowed, and then stopped, leaving the sand-colored sidewalks dark with moisture in the grey morning light.

Tenchi shook himself some and brushed the drops of water from his hair and jacket, holding his briefcase over his shoulder as he walked. Trent was right, he felt great today. No dreams had kept him awake the night before, and he even found that the sun was shining just a little brighter today, hidden behind the slate colored clouds though it was. He hummed softly to himself as he walked towards the rail station, and descended the stairs to the platform.

The platform was fairly deserted this morning, giving him pause and making him check his watch. No…I'm not that early… He glanced around, taking in the perhaps two dozen others in varying degrees of business attire. Tenchi shook his head, wondering just what it was that had kept so many from their work this morning.

He resigned himself to the scarce population of the rail station this morning and looked around, seeing a few of the familiar faces he noticed each morning. Over to one side on the opposite platform motion caught his eye and he saw a couple of vagrants crouched against the far wall, he snorted derisively as one of them lit a cigarette.

As they looked up to blow out the smoke, he realized that this was no vagrant, but a poorly dressed hoodlum, her dark, tattered hoodie pulled up over a shock of hair dyed a disquieting shade of cyan.

It suddenly became hard to swallow, looking into that familiar, angular face as the miscreant looked directly at him, taking another slow drag on her cigarette. Her eyes shone a shocking amber color, flashing briefly in the fluorescent lights of the station.

R…Ryo…Tenchi felt himself drawn towards her, pulled into those large, striking eyes and took a step forward.

The train horn blared, shocking him out of his reverie and making him stumble back as the railcar shot past him, barely inches away.

A few people looked up, but most just continued talking on their cellular phones or reading the morning paper. His heart thundering in his chest, Tenchi stood with his hand on his chest, panting and covered with a fine layer of cold sweat, the breeze from the passing train chilling him further. He looked up and searched for the young hoodlum, but the passing train made it impossible to see the far platform. By the time the train passed the woman was gone, cigarette left smoldering on the cracked tile floor.

As Tenchi rode the shaking train, his mind raced. First these dreams…now I see Ryoko…No, I saw someone who LOOKED like her…It couldn't have been… He walked out at his stop like a sleeping man, eyes forward but unseeing and his steps shuffling. He entered his office with barely a glance at Trent, sliding into his seat and setting his briefcase down, the picture of that young woman flashing in his head over and over again. If she wasn't…Then who…?

"Hey, Tenchi, you still with us man?" Trent's voice finally got through Tenchi's thoughts and he jumped slightly.

"Oh, hey, sorry I'm miles away." He said and chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "I thought I saw…someone I used to know. This morning at the train station, and it's been picking at my head all morning." He smirked, leaning back and looking around the cubicle at Trent. "Hey, thanks again for last night. I really had a good time."

Trent shrugged, waving Tenchi's remark away. "Hey, no problem man, anytime. So, hey, this person you saw? Was it a lady?" He grinned lecherously "Was she hot?"

Tenchi chuckled "Beautiful…" He said it in almost a whisper, reverently. "Whether it was who I thought it was or not, she was so enchanting that I almost walked right into the train." He laughed, smirking.

Trent whistled, shaking his head. "Damn, you're a lucky son of a bitch. I wish I'd seen something so nice this morning."

"If you two stupid sons of bitches would get to work instead of jabbering all day we MIGHT make some money around here!" The bellowing voice of Mr. Murock echoed in the small office as Tenchi and Trent flinched back, turning to their monitors and starting to work. Before he pulled back completely Trent flashed a grin at Tenchi, who smiled and shook his head, turning to his reports.

Over the next few days Tenchi found himself at the Silver Hog more than he had ever visited it before. He and Trent spent their nights talking and found themselves deep in cups more than once. Despite his recent upsets, Tenchi found himself opening up more to Trent, even going so far as to talk about his youth, telling him about his lost mother, his father's work, helping his grandfather with his shrine and the training he went through.

"So, what, you know kung fu or something?" Trent asked, well into his fourth pint.

Tenchi chuckled, shaking his head. "No, it was more sword play than martial arts, but I know how to fight if that's what you mean."

"What der fuck is dis shit, den?" A heavily accented voice sounded out from the back of the bar, and Tenchi looked over his shoulder to see the owner holding an oddly shaped bottle, turning it around and around in his thick, meaty hands.

"Dunno boss, just came with the shipment…" The young bar-back responded, taking the bottle from the owner. Tenchi's eyes grew wide as he saw what they held. Forgetting his beer he half ran half stumbled over to the two of them, snatching the bottle from the owners grasp.

"Oy, watch it now!" The barrel-shaped man snapped.

"W-w-where did you find this…?" Tenchi managed to gasp out.

"Like he jus' said, it jus' came wit da shipment, why?" Tenchi barely heard his reply as he gazed at the round, corked jug in his trembling hands, the coarse rope hanging over his hands.

R-Ryoko….?

The more he stared the more certain he was that this was Ryoko Hakubi's sake bottle. He could almost smell her on it, that odd mixture of fresh, clean earth and crisp autumn leaves, warm and feeling of home.

"….so dere you go, it jus' wound up in our bottles. Don't know how da heck it got in dere, mus' be some crazy foreign stuff…"

"…How much…?"

"What's dat?"

"How much do you want for it?" Tenchi asked again, dreamlike and far away.

The owner stood back, looking at the bottle and rubbing his chin with one thick hand. "Well, I dunno…I mean it looks like da good stuff, and it's definitely imported."

Tenchi smiled sadly, giving the bottle a slight shake, hearing it slosh "…She always got the good stuff…"

He shook his head, coming back to the present, and dug into his pocket. He withdrew and pressing a crumpled wad of bills into the owners' chubby palm "Here, you didn't order it, didn't pay for it, and now you've made a profit…"He turned away, hugging the bottle tight to his chest as he walked past Trent.

"H-hey, where are you off to?" Trent called out from the bar, causing Tenchi to turn quickly and almost making him trip over his own feet.

"I…I'm sorry, I've got to go… S-see you tomorrow?" Without waiting for a reply he turned and half ran out into the rain soaked streets.

Ryoko…she's not….no, she's gone. I made sure of that….Tenchi pounded down the streets of the city, rain cascading off of his jacket, gurgling in the gutters and rain-traps along the road. Panting he turned into an alleyway, leaning against a wall and pulled the bottle out of his jacket.

He turned it over in his hands, the heavy ceramic smooth under his fingers from constant use, he bit his lip, and tipped the bottle up to see under it, choking back a sob as he saw it. Ryoko's name, printed on the bottom of it as clear as the day it was inked.

He almost dropped the bottle then, such a shock from his past as this was and slumped against the wall, a hand pressed over his eyes as he felt stinging tears leak past his tightly shut eyelids.

Gods…why? Why now? What have I done to bring this back? He choked back his tears and wrenched out the cork, the sweetly sour smell of rice wine exploding into the night.

"It tastes best right from the bottle…"

He lifted the jar slowly, his tears becoming lost in the rain

"I got it…so we could drink it together…Tenchi…"

He put his lips to the mouth of the bottle and started to swallow. Slowly at first, then fiercely, gulping down the sweet, slightly bitter wine. His breath came in gasping, ragged sobs every few gulps. Before he knew it, the bottle grew light, his head spinning as he gasped for air, shoulders shaking and lips trembling, even beyond tears.

He slipped down the wall, sitting on the soaked ground, letting the bottle fall to the ground, the taste of sake in his mouth and the smell of Ryoko in his nose. As the bottle rolled onto the ground a faint tinkling sound issued from within. His vision blurring as heat suffused his body, Tenchi managed to grab the bottle on the third try and shook it, the tinkling sound coming again.

He tipped the bottle up over his hand, the last dregs of the sake poured into his curled fingers, along with a small, black ball. Blearily he tried to focus on the ball, rubbing his numb fingers over it. With a soft crackling sound the sooty black substance flaked off, exposing a small, ruby sphere, a shimmering beacon of color in the grey night.

The brilliant sunlight burned Tenchi's eyes as he awoke, resting back against an ancient tree. "Oh wow…I must have dozed off." He stood, dusting himself off "Looks like Mihoshi is starting to teach me bad habits…." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. He picked up his hoe from where it had fallen, returning to his fields, stretching and then planting his feet and striking the soil, tilling it into rows.

"Teeeennnnnchiiii!" A sweet, high voice rang over the fields and he looked up to see a young, teal haired girl skipping up the path, a carrot-shaped backpack over her shoulders with a fluffy brown creature bounding after her.

"Oh, Sasami! How are you today?" As she got closer he stumbled back, seeing her face blank and featureless beneath her light blue bangs. She stopped and leaned back, wary of his sudden change in expression.

"T-Tenchi? Are you okay?" He shook his head, rubbing his eyes and looked again, her young features wrinkled with worry.

"Y-yeah…I guess I'm just tired is all. What's up?"

She smiled softly at him, reaching back into her backpack and pulling out a handkerchief wrapped box "I brought your lunch for you!"

"Oh, thank you Sasami, I'm starving!" Tenchi chuckled, settling down on the stone wall nearby. "Will you sit and talk with me while I eat?" The little girl nodded and giggled, hopping up on the ledge herself.

With a jump and a soft MYAAA the cabbit Ryo-Ohki pulled herself up onto the young girl's shoulder, positioning herself to nuzzle against the girl's cheek. "He he, Ryo-ohki will sit with us too."

Tenchi chuckled as he opened the boxed lunch, taking the pair of chopsticks out and starting to eat. "You know, not too long ago I caught myself napping. I don't even remember sitting down… Isn't that weird?" He chuckled, looking at the young girl.

With a clatter the box fell to the ground, rice and omelet spilling out onto the dirt.

Where the princess had sat now was the hooded figure, but something was different than in his dreams. While the face still was featureless, faint hints of faces seemed to rush past, like faces in the window of a speeding car. A glimpse of amber, the shadow of magenta, the curve of a lip and the tip of a nose. The hue began to shift as well, fading from porcelain to deep tan and several shades between, but never actually resolving as any of them.

Tenchi stood, stepping back slowly, his body trembling uncontrollably. "Y…you can't…I don't know you…w-why are you here? What do you want from me?"

The blank face turned to him, and seemed to pinch as if smiling. "I want YOU, Tenchi. I want you back. Back with us…"

Tenchi shook his head, cold sweat streaming down his face and back. "N-no… I… I don't want that… I can't…"

The figure stood without any motion, simply flowing from sitting to standing in a blink. "Then why am I here? I wouldn't be if you didn't call to us." The figure gently pulled one of its gloves off, revealing a hand that shifted like water, leaving trails in the air as it moved before condensing again.

"Come back, Tenchi. Join us. Don't you miss us at all?" The figure walked towards him, hand extended and reaching for him.

"I… it's not that…. I can't, I can't do it again… I won't!" He felt a weight at his shoulder and turned to look, all the while screaming in his head to run, don't look just run.

On his shoulder sat a brown mass, flowing like some kind of over-sized amoeba up his back to bunch and form the vague shape of the long-eared cabbit, turning jet black hollows to look at him, a mouth opening in its muzzle like a gaping wound MYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH

The sound was not so much a meow as an enunciated exhalation of breath, far too much for such a small form to hold.

With a cry Tenchi shrugged and tried to push the horror from his shoulder, but the thing grew blackened nails to dig into his shirt, holding fast. The figure was upon him then, the liquid-like hand caressing his face "She likes you…you can tell, right?" The amalgamation of voices was almost singsong in its amusement. "Tenchi…you don't know what you've done… come back…"

Tenchi struggled, but couldn't seem to move his feet, the hand on his cheek starting to spread over his face, the fingers extending like spilling rivulets over him, winding through his hair and over his brow. "I…Just… WHY WON'T YOU JUST LET ME BE …."

"….NORMAL?"

Tenchi jerked bolt upright in his bed, panting and soaked with sweat. His alarm clock was blaring and his head pounded from the night before. As the events of the last night came flowing back to him he searched frantically, tearing the bedclothes from his mattress and kicking the clothes from his floor. He looked up and stopped.

There on the counter in his little kitchenette, the sake bottle stood. Swallowing hard he walked over to it, placing a trembling hand on the side of it. Suddenly his senses seemed to explode with pent-up memories. The fresh, hot, humid air of the onsen, the slightly antiseptic, chemical smell of Washu's lab, the feather-soft feel of Ayeka's hair, blossoming rose petals and cinnamon that was Mihoshi's perfume, the slight smell of ozone when Ryoko teleported…

Behind his back he heard the odd, shimmering sound of molecular teleportation. Turning swiftly, his heart racing and chest heaving, Tenchi scanned his apartment.

Empty.

He took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm himself. It's just old memories… I can't go back, and they won't come for me. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, bending his wrist and wincing from the sharp, unexpected pain.

"What the…" He looked at his wrist, an inch or two down his forearm there was a swollen bulge, red and inflamed. He touched it and winced again, the flesh tender and hot to the touch. What the hell is this…first I find this bottle, and …was it? ...No…He shook his head and reached into his pocket, taking out his pen knife, flipping open the blade. Trembling slightly and biting his lower lip, Tenchi dragged the razor just above the edge of the bulge, fresh blood trickling down his arm as the flesh parted into a nasty gash.

Swallowing hard he pulled the cut open slowly and looked inside. An alien glimmer greeted him.

Wincing, he put his thumb against the swelling and pushed. Gritting his teeth as he pressed, he felt the bulge give and pain shot up his arm as something round and hard popped out of the wound with a small squirt of blood. He quickly slammed his hand onto it to keep it from skittering off the countertop, panting from pain and panic.

As he lifted his hand he saw, sitting in a small pool of his blood, a scarlet gemstone; perfectly round and very recognizable. Tenchi could almost hear his blood pounding in his ears as he picked the gem up with a sweaty hand, letting the stone roll back and forth across his palm. One of the gems from the master key… He remembered the soot-covered gemstone in the sake from last night, but how had it gotten into his arm?

The last thing he remembered was the alleyway, and then that awful dream. More than that, where had it come from and why was it in the bottle of sake? He shook his head, trying to calm these thoughts, holding the stone tight in his hand as he looked out over the grey city, blood trickling down his palm to drip off of his fingertips.

Tenchi checked his watch and swore under his breath. Late…Again.

He sighed, redoubling his efforts to squeeze through the crowd of people heading down into the subway station. The arched tunnel always made him think of some great underground monster, luring people in to their doom. Maybe that was just what the big city did to you, made you see monsters everywhere and sucked away the life and color from everything.

He took a look around and took in the towering grey monstrosities that were the skyscrapers around him, businessmen and businesswomen scuttling to and fro like frenzied ants. For a moment he stood still in that sea of ties and charcoal business suits, thinking of himself as a point of dwindling light in this shadow city.

He chuckled and shook his head, knowing deep down that the light in him had died long ago. Tenchi started back down the stairs when a smear of brilliant teal flashed in his peripheral vision, making him stop and stare. What…?

He turned against the wave of people and fought his way back up the stairs. Someone's briefcase struck his arm as he pushed past, making his newly bandaged wrist ache slightly but he didn't care. Within moments he reached the top of the staircase and pushed through the throng of people, but whatever it was he saw was gone. He stood there, panting for a moment, feeling rather silly.

I've got to get a grip on myself. I'm starting to lose it… He ran the back of his hand across his forehead, letting out a long, slow breath to calm himself. He felt something shift in his pocket, and grow warm against his thigh. Simultaneously the wound at his wrist began to sting fiercely. Wincing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the gemstone, feeling it hum and pulse in his hand, a faint glow shimmering from between his caged fingers.

Realizing he was out in the open, holding a glowing gemstone Tenchi clenched his fist and dashed into a nearby alleyway, feeling his heart speed up. He opened his hand again and saw that the glow was stronger, ebbing as he moved his hand to and away from the alley.

He looked around, making sure that no-one was looking and picked up the gemstone between two fingers, peering into it. The glow suddenly spiked, growing brilliant and a flash of teal ran across the surface.

A reflection? Tenchi looked around, putting the glowing gem in his pocket, spotting movement at the end of the alleyway.

Forgetting how late he was for work, he pounded down the alleyway, his dress shoes splashing in puddles as he followed the glimpses of movement through the maze of alleys.

A familiar, nostalgic smell wafted down a nearby alley, making Tenchi's eyes sting with longing. "….S-Sasami?" He turned the corner and tentatively followed the smell, walking down the trash strewn alleyway, what light there was in the alley drowned out by the towering buildings. As he neared the end, the smell of food was almost overpowering, leading through a ragged curtain at the end of the alley.

Tenchi moved a shaking hand to the curtain, pulling it aside to reveal a small, groomed courtyard, stunningly bright and hemmed in with lush shrubbery and flower boxes. A flowering cherry tree was planted and flourishing in one corner, set in the center of a stone Zen garden. Sitting against the far wall of the courtyard was a small shack with a row of stools in front of the high counter.

"Irashaimase!"

Tenchi jumped, startled by the young woman standing behind the counter. He blushed slightly as she giggled at his reaction.

"I'm sorry to startle you." She said, smiling warmly as he walked closer and took a seat. "We do not get many visitors, and you seemed sort of lost…" Tenchi just nodded, looking at the young woman.

She was likely in her early twenties, probably five foot four, slim, but with subtle curves. Her face however was what struck him the most. Her smooth black hair was pulled under a white scarf, but her bangs hung over her forehead, hiding it from view. If she had grown like a human, Sasami might look like this now…

"Sir?"

Again Tenchi jumped, pulled out of his thoughts by the young woman's voice. "You were staring… are you okay?"

Tenchi coughed and nodded, smiling slightly, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he took a seat on one of the stools, setting his briefcase down beside it. "Ah, yes, you just….remind me of someone I once knew."

The girl smiled, her own cheeks flushing slightly "Oh? Was she special to you?"

His smile faded slowly, turning sad. "She was, very." The girls smile faltered slightly, then renewed as she pulled out a cup and filled it from a steaming pot.

"Sounds like a long story…." She smiled wider, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, leaning over the counter. "What brought you here anyways? Like I said, we really don't get many visitors…"

Tenchi sat up and took a sip from the cup, smiling over at her "Your cooking smelled so good, I had to follow it to the source."

The girl laughed and nodded, handing him a stiff canvas menu. "I like a man with an appetite. My name is Kiyo."

Tenchi took the menu and blinked hard, chuckling softly. "It…it's been a long time since I read Japanese…" He looked up at her. "My name is Tenchi." She just smiled and refilled his tea.

"Woof…." Tenchi set down his chopsticks, wiping his mouth and observing the half dozen plates before him. He wasn't really that hungry, but he couldn't stop himself.

For fourteen years he hadn't tasted food like this, it could almost have come right from Sasami herself it was so good.

"My my…so much!" Kiyo chuckled, gathering up some of the plates, looking up at the sky past the shed awning. "It's getting late too, I guess time passes quickly when you're talking with someone so interesting."

Tenchi looked up himself, shocked at the passage of the sun, checking his watch and cursing inwardly. "I completely missed work… I'm going to be in such trouble." He smiled over at Kiyo, shaking his head. "Thank you for such a lovely meal, and helping me have the best day I've had in longer than I think I can remember."

Kiyo blushed, bowing slightly. "You will come back, won't you? Lord Tenchi?"

He laughed, nodding. "Of course, I don't think I could stay away…." He stopped suddenly, his eyes wide as he looked over at where Kiyo stood.

Where the young girl stood was not a small shack, or the cooking area, or even a bar. The brilliant sunshine was gone, replaced once again by the thick grey pall that covered the city. A bit of crumpled, soggy newspaper inched across the concrete in a breeze as Tenchi stared at the brick wall, sitting on a wooden crate, his hands shaking.

"What is wrong with me…Why…why is this happening? Why now?" He fished out the small gemstone from his pocket, the ruby sphere dark, almost black in his palm.

Furious and confused, he clenched his fist around it and stood in one motion, swinging his fist at the brick wall. In a brilliant flash of scarlet he felt the masonry buckle and he was thrown back, skidding on the dirty, trash strewn ground.

Panting, he looked up at where he had struck the wall, shaking slightly as he observed the hemispherical impression and the web of cracks leading out from it. So…it is real…one of Ryoko's gems… He shook his head, and stumbled to his feet, running back out into the alleyway, the torn curtain flapping behind him.

Such was his rush to escape this nightmare he didn't even notice the cherry blossom petals littering the ground or the short figure hidden within the shadows at the edge of the courtyard.

The next couple of days passed without much incident, and Tenchi tried to forget about Kiyo, the gemstone, and the events of the past week.

He managed, with a little bit of creative acting, to convince Mr. Murdock that he was very ill the day he missed work and even managed to scribble out a false doctors visit notation as proof. Trent still wondered what was going on, but didn't press the matter when Tenchi refused to explain why he had to run off the other night.

As the rest of the week wore on, normalcy began to creep back into Tenchi's life. He got up for work, completed his shift, had his meager dinner and went back to bed to start the cycle again, even finding himself sleeping peacefully. He put the sake bottle in a top cupboard and the gemstone he put into a small box in his nightstand, unable to throw either away. Despite the fact that their appearance in his life so suddenly caused him quite a bit of stress and confusion he could not bear to part with them.

Tenchi had his small television set on for background noise as he washed his dinner dish and utensils, his work shirt rolled up to the elbows as he scrubbed.

"... Sadly the miscreant was not apprehended on the scene, but escaped in an unmarked car of indiscriminate make. Please be on the lookout for this person and inform the local authorities if you have any information of the whereabouts of this criminal..."

Tenchi glanced over his shoulder, shaking his head at the somewhat fuzzy image taken by a security camera of a tall form in a hooded sweater that obscured its features. Sure, ask us to identify them? Oh, that's hood-face, my next door neighbor. A bit odd, but more or less a good guy… He scoffed, drying his dish with a small towel as he leaned against the counter, watching the screen.

" In further news, an odd weather pattern is emerging this evening in the downtown area. Local meteorologists are baffled by the sudden front, commenting that 'This is a phenomenon that probably has not been seen for hundreds of years and may not be seen again in this lifetime.' A great many residents have taken to the streets to watch the display of what has been dubbed 'light hawk wings' by scientists, called as such due to the odd shape the lightning takes in its ion path…"

The dish slipped from Tenchi's hands to crash against the floor as his knees went weak and he had to catch himself on the counter. He felt his heart slamming in his chest and his stomach twist on itself in response to the words "L-light hawk wings…?" The anchor continued on but the sound of their voice was like a mosquito in his ears compared to his rushing blood.

As Tenchi stood there, transfixed he heard a slow creak sound above his head, and he jumped to the side just as the sake bottle smashed to the floor where he had stood a moment before.

Before he could stop himself he had to choke back a sob as the ceramic shattered and he closed his eyes tightly to keep a tear from falling down his face. When he opened them again he saw the box with the master key gemstone inside sitting on the counter, and on the inside of one of the largest pieces of jug was a smear of writing, still wet, that read: "Come to the roof, It's no fun watching the show alone."

Swallowing hard, Tenchi picked up the shard in trembling hands, touching the writing, trying to see if it was real. He closed his eyes and let out a slow sigh as his fingers came away wet and black. He set the piece on the counter where it rocked slowly back and forth as he braced himself on the flat surface, taking slow, deep breaths to steady himself.

He opened his eyes and looked at his black stained fingertips, wiping them on the counter, leaving inky trails. You're not going crazy… are you? A strangled laugh escaped his throat as he considered it.

Maybe I am… He grasped the box and opened it, the gem glistening in the dim light, a faint ember of scarlet brilliance glowing at its center. He closed the box and slipped it into his pocket, opening his door and headed for the emergency staircase of his apartment building.

Puffing slightly from the long walk, Tenchi pushed open the roof access door at the top of the staircase, grunting slightly as he pushed against the growing wind.

As he stepped out onto the roof he looked up at the boiling black clouds and stood, mesmerized as a bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens only to arch back up towards the sky, spreading out into a fan of glorious blue light before fading away into a tremendous crash of thunder.

"Fantastic, isn't it?"

Despite the wind, the voice sounded out like a bell behind him, cool and calm in the face of such splendor. He turned around and looked up to see a small figure sitting on top of the angled roof access, legs crossed. "You wouldn't believe what it takes to make lightning do that…" The figure hopped down and landed softly on the rooftop, dressed in a long, heavy coat of some slick-looking material with the collar pulled up high against a knitted cap.

"You wrote that note, didn't you?" Tenchi asked, stepping back some. "It's you, YOU are bringing all of this back, AREN'T YOU?" He found himself yelling, the stress and confusion and rage and hurt of all the years boiling up.

"YOU sent the bottle, YOU hid the gemstone, YOU are the cause of all of this, AREN'T YOU?" He found himself crying, the tears hot against his unshaved cheeks. All at once the clouds opened up, sending a silver grey sheet of rain against the city, soaking the rooftop and both its occupants.

His fists clenching and unclenching as he took heavy steps towards the figure, Tenchi yelled against the wind."Why are you doing this? I left all of that behind, so why, why are you tormenting me?" The figure stood there, not saying a word, its face tucked into the collar of the jacket, hunched against the rain.

His teeth grinding, Tenchi found himself trembling with pent up rage and frustration, and before he knew it he lashed out, his fist finding the side of that figures' face, sending them sprawling. "I DO NOT WANT THIS! I NEVER WANTED THIS! AND NOW YOU COME ALONG AND DRAG IT ALL BACK UP! THE DREAMS, THE NIGHTMARES, IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"

He strode to the prone figure and stood over them, fist cocked back to throw another punch, and stopped, looking down at the small form. It's shoulders shook and he heard the soft sobs as it looked up at him, knitted hat fallen aside showing a shock of magenta hair, and the familiar face of Washu Hakubi looked up at him with tears in her eyes, a trickle of blood slowly falling from her mouth.

Suddenly exhausted, Tenchi fell to his knees and started to sob. "Why… why did you have to come back? What have I done? I can't deal with this, not again…"

Slowly Washu stood back up and wiped the blood from her chin, using her tongue to feel inside her mouth and make sure no teeth were loose. "I came... because you called. And…"

Tenchi shot her a look, fierce through his tears. "I NEVER called you… I made my choice before and I stick to it." Washu's face fell as she saw his rage, sighing and spitting blood to the side from her split lip.

"You might not have…not knowingly at least, but I felt it… we felt it, Lord Tenchi."

He glared up at her. "Lord… You sent Kiyo to me, didn't you? You made that horrible illusion…"

Despite the pain, she smiled slightly. The motion caused her quickly swelling lip to split further, sending a trickle of blood down her chin. "That was no illusion, and you aren't going crazy… Kiyo is real, or real enough at least… As real as any character played by an actress can be."

"A-actress?" Tenchi asked, sitting in the chill rain, soaked to the bone.

"Yes…" Washu nodded. "I've been trying to get to you for some time…but you've got yourself locked here pretty tightly, so I only found a few cracks in your armor. One was her. She didn't want to come, not at first. You hurt her too badly."

Tenchi looked up at her, confused. "Hurt? Who?"

Washu's face suddenly became very serious. "Sasami." He paled suddenly, remembering what he first thought about Kiyo, and shook his head.

"That's not…I mean…how?"

"When you left…when you rejected who you were, you rejected her. She loved you…loves you, Tenchi. Like a brother, like a father, you were her protector for so long that when you denied what you were and tried to make it go away…it broke her heart." Washu looked away from him then, looking out over the city.

"…When she came back, none of us could stop her crying. I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did…poor girl. She still cares for you, quite deeply." She shot a fierce glance back at him, her brow furrowed. "You have warped the world, the universe to what YOU wanted, YOUR selfish, childish desires and you expect there to be no consequences? That no one would get hurt?"

The universe in tatters, soon to be repaired by the Triad of Goddesses, the Choushin, and the boy groomed to be the most powerful being in the multiverse. A God. An Emperor. Crowned prince of Jurai, the mate and father of the Goddesses that ruled this universe and others.

Two and a half years ago, he was a seventeen year old boy. Normal problems, normal life, normal days and normal nights, just like every other seventeen year old boy on Earth. He did his homework, he blushed when talking to girls, he tried his best to keep fit and work hard.

The Tenchi two and a half years ago was embarrassed by his father, admired his grandfather, and hid girly magazines under his bed. His worst problem was trying to find time from his schoolwork to hang out with his friends on the weekend.

Everything changed thanks to his grandfather's old stories. Demons, spirits, great warriors and heroes of honor and grand power, these stories were fed to Tenchi daily on his visits to the shrine. If only then he had known they were all lies, or at least modified truths.

Aliens and pirates and ancient races were the fuel for these tales, and his own foolish actions brought everything to bear.

Suddenly his life was so complicated he barely recognized it as his own. He was brought up to be an accommodating young man, but enough was enough. He was to take his place among the planet Jurai's royal family, then to become a champion and mate to three all powerful trans-dimensional beings, and in turn become the progenitor of their triad.

In his fight to protect the universe against the powerful Z, for an instant he became the yang to the Choushin yin, the God at the head of the three Goddesses, and in turn used this power to reject it, all of it. His bloodline, his power, the careful preening and pruning of time and space that the goddesses had performed.

To be normal, just a boy again was all that he wanted. Human again, simple again. Never to have awakened this unwanted power nor the interest of all-powerful super women and alien royalty. To undo it all and become just Tenchi again.

"That's right, Tenchi, you turned your back on us, ALL of us." Now the rage belonged to Washu, and tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"You broke our hearts, MY HEART, but more than that, MORE THAN THAT, you created a schism in time and space! YOU remember being a God, for a brief instant, but YOU REMEMBER. That alone has split time and space into three different universes. One where you accepted your responsibilities and performed as you were expected to, one where none of this EVER happened, and then there is YOU."

She advanced on him, an admonishing finger trembling with rage and pain. "You selfish man, you had the hearts of all of us, my daughter the most. I wanted you for Tsunami and Tomiki and my own sake at first, and then for myself as I grew to know you, but Ryoko…she ALWAYS loved you! From the moment you first saw her she ADORED you."

Despite her size she grasped the front of Tenchi's shirt and lifted him from his knees with ease. "Are you going to sit there and tell me she meant NOTHING to you?"

Tenchi looked up at her, this furious, ancient woman and let his eyes fall to the side. "No…Ryoko…she meant so much to me…all of you did…but I couldn't, I mean…even as a God, for the briefest of moments, I was still such a boy…I couldn't take it. All the thoughts and emotions and knowledge at once, it was too much…"

He looked back up at her, his eyes bright. "I couldn't take it. I'm sorry."

Washu studied him for a moment and then let him go with a snort. "I can't say I blame you…it is a lot to take in. But to act so rashly you have broken the timeline and destroyed our world."

He looked up, tilting his head some, rain streaming down his face through his graying hair. "Broken your…how?"

Washu began to pace, throwing her arms into the air. "There is a Tenchi-shaped hole in our world! There is a place and there are events that SHOULD have happened but don't because YOU aren't there anymore! And we all know that they happened but they haven't. Because YOU REMEMBER. YOU WERE THERE. YOU ARE STILL SUPPOSED TO BE THERE!"

She advanced on him again, pushing him down into the water pooled on the rooftop. "But NO. You lock yourself away in your psyche, you hide from us, from ME, and force us to hunt you down to try to put our broken world back in order and YOU say sorry. Well excuse me but FUCK YOU!"

Washu stood there trembling for a moment in the rain as Tenchi stared up at her. Never before had she raged at him like this. The building tears in Washu's eyes fell as she collapsed to her knees. "Tenchi…oh Tenchi, my love…I yearned for you, wanted you, not just to play with, but as a husband and lover, but to do so would break my sweet Ryoko's heart. She loved you before me and before us all…to steal that would be too cruel."

She shot him a hard look through her tears. "Crueler than you. We need you, Tenchi, our WORLD needs you. And when you refused what you were and what you were to become your mind locked down, your body disappeared but your mind and soul brought you to this place. This city does not exist but inside your mind."

She swept a hand at the sky and parted the clouds, letting the second ray of light Tenchi had seen in more years than he remembered to shine down upon them. "Come back to us, Tenchi…repair our world and yourself as well."

Wiping her eyes and leaning in, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and stood, turning away from him. "To come back to us, you will need a show of faith. You still hold the spark of the divine inside of you, and your blood still burns with the power of Jurai, if you let it do so. You and only you can do this. I can't bring you back, not now."

She walked towards the edge of the building and phased out, leaving only a shimmer of light in the column of sun and the faint smell of sweet anise the residue of chemicals. As she faded the clouds returned, bringing with them the rain to sting and chill the wounds in his heart that his magenta-haired maiden had torn open again.

Soaked, his heart aching with sorrow and regret, Tenchi stumbled back into his apartment, barely remembering to close the door after him. He leaned back against the door, his eyes red and heart pounding in his chest.

He never thought what his decision would do. He knew that once he denied his birthright Sasami and Ayeka had left, saying things just didn't feel right anymore and since they were no longer family it was rude to impose on a stranger, even a friendly one. Mihoshi was re-assigned, the parting a tearful but short one. Washu was offered her old position back at the Academy, tenured and financed beyond imagining.

Ryoko was the last to leave. She lingered on, trying to use the privacy to her advantage, even managing to bed her long lusted-after Tenchi. But soon she became distant and aloof, disinterested in the prize she had won. She knew he blamed his release of her from that forsaken, frozen prison as the start of his troubles and quickly grew to hate him for it.

They all sensed his betrayal, and rejected him for it as he had rejected them.

A fresh series of choked sobs racked his near middle aged form as Tenchi recalled Ryoko's final words to him.

"Tenchi…you are a fool and a coward. May you live your life as you see fit, because it seems you do not find me worthy enough to be part of it. And I will not play this charade anymore."

She had no softness for him then, no sweet words and no gentle caress. Straight-forward as she always had been. She knew, as they all knew that he had cut his ties with not only his royal blood and divine grooming, but with them as well, subconsciously blaming their presence as part of his current 'dilemma'.

His eyes strayed to one of his cupboards and he walked forward, opening the wooden door, reaching within to find a bottle of whiskey he been given as a gift years ago. He uncorked it, fetching a glass and filling it with the amber liquid, knowing that normal sleep would not find him this night.

The Masaki residence stood tall and wide, well built on its peninsula of wood and earth. Tenchi found himself sitting in the main room, hands folded in his lap.

Rain pounded the earth and splashed into the lake outside, the downpour lending an almost soothing white noise to the scene. No longer was he the boy of his youth, but he sat strong and tall, his graying hair combed neatly and his dress somber.

A knocking sounded at the door and he stood, walking to the entrance and leading in the enrobed figure of his nightmares without a second thought. The figure bowed slightly before walking in, taking a seat on the opposing couch.

"So…you have accepted what you are, and what you were…but can you see what will be? What will become of you?"

Tenchi smiled softly and shook his head. "No…but I will find out. This is all I can be assured of."

The featureless face pinched again, smiling at him. "Good. I look forward to seeing you again…" The figure took off its glove and outstretched its hand. Tenchi leaned in, offering himself to the creature or spirit, whatever it was, feeling the chill of its fluid palm touch his cheek, beginning to spread.

"Know this, I do this out of grief, not duty…" Tenchi said as the odd sensation crept against him skin.

Again the face pinched at him, amused. "Perhaps you will change your mind…"

As the fleshy fluid covered his face, closing off his breathing and sight, Tenchi felt almost at ease, as if the covering on his face was a warm blanket, coaxing him to relax. As it slowly receded and his eyes found light again, he sat, staring at himself, the symbol of the Light Hawk emblazoned on his forehead, his robes long and cut in the elaborate Juraian style. His hair long enough to reach his shoulders and a neatly trimmed goatee on his chin.

"Tenchi…Tenchi…T enchi…Tenchi…" The voiced of his family echoed out from the words of this God form.

Family… He thought. I haven't considered them as such in many years…

"You have accepted what you are, or at the least, what you would have been. I am you. Or perhaps you are me. In either case we are each other, simply mirror images of the same picture. Picture…Picture…Picture." The God Tenchi chuckled then, as if at a personal joke.

"What power you could wield, you simply cannot comprehend. The entire UNIVERSE at your fingertips and yet you balk at the chance to remake the worlds of the universe as YOU see fit. Fit…Fit…Fit… "

Tenchi just smiled softly, shaking his head. "I don't want to remake the universe. It seems to work well enough as I've seen it. I don't think it needs much reshaping."

The God Tenchi laughed again. "But to have the ability to do so if you wish, is this not a great gift? Gift…gift…giftâ€&brvb ar;"

Tenchi nodded, his smile sad. "It is a great gift, but I don't want that. I've never wanted any of that. Not royal precedence, not limitless power. That's not what I want from my life."

The God Tenchi furrowed his brow, giving Tenchi a smoldering stare. "Want it or not, it is what you were meant for, and what you are. Are…Are…Are… " Tenchi shook his head, meeting the God Tenchi's stare.

"No, I choose what I will be, not some cabal of Goddesses, not some high lord from an uppity planet, and not some divine spark cultivated within me against my will." Tenchi stood, fists at his sides. "I just want to be me…and to…to…be with…my family."

The God Tenchi stood as well, a sneer crossing his face "Family…? You rejected your family when you rejected your birthright. You bled yourself dry of Juraian blood and undid the work of countless years when you stripped me away. What could your family do when you would not take help from them, take strength and love from them? Love… Love...Love…?"

Tenchi shook his head, closing his eyes. "I loved them too…I loved them all, but I couldn't be what they wanted me to be."

The God Tenchi snorted at him. "What did they want you to be? What demands did they make of you but to love them and be loved? Even Washu, one of the Goddesses who groomed you to join their ranks grew to love you not as the man who would be a God, but as a friend. Friend…Friend…Friend"

Ten chi slowly sat back down, then looked up at the God Tenchi. "They…they wanted….didn't they?"

The God Tenchi laughed and shook his head. "You tore your family apart in an attempt to have some peace, to try to run away from what you thought they all wanted…when all they wanted was you…You…Youâ€&brv bar;You…" With a smirk the God Tenchi turned towards the door, walking away.

"And all you had to do to be normal again was one little thing…Remember? Remember…Remember…Rememberâ ;€¦.Tenchi…" With that the God Tenchi was gone, slipping out into the pouring grey rain…a grey that seeped into the carpet and began to fill the house, leeching away all color.

"Remember? Remember what?" The grey reached his feet and began to leech away his color as well, the chill of the grave seeping into him through the soles of his feet and creeping up his leg.

As the dream receded, a face pulled out of the shadows, a violet eye opening from the grey. "Remember…."

For once Tenchi awoke without a start from these awful dreams, he simply opened his eyes, laying there on his bed and staring up at the ceiling.

He felt the presence of a terrifying hangover behind his eyes and his mouth felt like it had been wrung out and washed on a sandstone board. His head pounding, he drug himself up and out of bed, the grey light of the city stinging his eyes as he shuffled into the bathroom.

The dim light cast shadows over his haggard face, his skin pale and slack, and dark rings discolored his eyes. The faucet squeaked as he turned it on, and he caught the cold water in his cupped hands. He splashed his face, wiping it away with trembling hands as his stomach knotted with more than alcohol induced nausea. Staring into his own cold, dark eyes, he knew what he had to do.

He dressed and readied himself as usual, taking a handful of aspirin with his morning coffee, making a face at the thick, bitter taste that now seemed so foul and inelegant now that he had tasted Kiyo… No…Sasami's tea again.

Tenchi walked to his nightstand and opened the drawer, pulling out the box that held the gemstone. He stripped off his shirt and sighed, flexing his arm, looking at the wound he had made before, steeling himself to what had to be done.

With a deep breath he drew his pen knife across the wounded flesh, grunting at the sharp, sudden pain. Blood welled out of the deep slash and dripped down his arm to splatter onto the floor. He opened the box and pulled out the gem, watching as it blazed a brilliant crimson as he touched it to the opened wound.

Gritting his teeth he pushed, crying out as the blood lubricated its path into his flesh, the sphere popping back into the hollow where he found it.

Panting heavily, he reached for a strip of gauze he had cut, but stopped as he felt his flesh tingle and tighten. As he watched, a scarlet light flowed out of the wound, slowly dwindling to a pinpoint on his newly formed flesh. Tenchi let out a chuckle as he flexed his arm, the pain and throbbing gone as the gem glowed under his skin.

He looked around his drab apartment and sighed, knowing that this would be the last time he saw it, one way or another.

He descended the staircase and stepped out into the city like a man who had opened his eyes for the first time. The grey skies of the city had parted, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, Tenchi saw the city in sunlight. A sad smile split his face as he looked up at the sun, letting his body grow warm in the light.

It was a shame he couldn't have seen it lit so brightly more often. As he walked to the rail station, even the people seemed to be less somber.

"Masaki!" Gregory Murdock passed his smoldering cigar from one side of his mouth to the other, His overweight form filling the doorway to his office.

"What the hell are you doing? You're two hours late and you look like shi…" The end of his sentence was cut off my Tenchi's fist ramming into the bridge of his nose, making a loud, wet crack to sound through the office. Mr. Murdock stumbled back, his nose a mass of red ruin.

"TENCHI, what are you doing?" Trent stood up in his cubicle, watching Mr. Murdock fall over his desk, holding his swelling nose with one meaty hand.

"Trent, I need to talk to you…let's go to your place. I want you to help me with something." Trent nodded dazedly, looking from Tenchi's bloodied fist to Mr. Murdock and back again.

"Y-yeah, sure…" Tenchi smiled and turned, to walk out of the office, then smiled and turned back to Trent

"I never noticed how blue your eyes are…" He chuckled and exited the room.

Trent paced his apartment, thinking back to Tenchi's unexpected attack earlier that day, and then jumped as he heard a knocking at his door, walking over and opening it with a shaking hand. Tenchi stood there, his hands in his pockets.

"Hey there Trent, thanks for having me over. I needed some help with something…." Tenchi said, altogether far more cheerful than he should be for an unemployed man.

Trent nodded, looking his co-worker up and down. "Tenchi...I've got to say, you're kind of freaking me out…you hit our boss, you look awful…I mean you look really sick."

Tenchi chuckled, shaking his head. "I just drank a bit too much last night." He sighed, hitching his pants up a bit and smirking. "So, you have a gun, don't you?"

Trent took a step back "I…wait, what? Why do you want a gun?"

Tenchi chuckled and shook his head, his pale face pulling tight into a smile as he regarded his friend. "I need a gun because I have to die."

Trent stumbled back, shaking his head. "What the FUCK are you talking about? You want to die? Why?"

Tenchi shook his head "No, I don't want to, but I need to. You see, back in Japan, those women I lived with? They were aliens, and so was I but I didn't know it. But two of them were actually goddesses in disguise who wanted me to become a god and then the aliens wanted me to be their new king and the demon woman wanted me to be her husband but the other god candidate wanted to kill me so that he could be the new god and the goddesses would resurrect me."

"The thing is when I did become a god, I made it all go away because I was scared, and that broke their time stream into different paths so I need to die so they can resurrect me and I can become part of their world again and make everything work the way it needs to again."

Tenchi chuckled, his eyes wild. "So you see, it's very simple."

Trent had gone pale, sweat dripping down his face as he shook his head, stepping back. "What. The. Hell. Tenchi, man, you're insane…I…I can't just shoot you…and I won't let you shoot yourself either…"

He stumbled back, pulling the phone from its cradle. "Look, you need help, man…I…I'll just get you some help, okay?" His trembling fingers punched at the numbers, but two fingers held down the receiver.

"Trent…" Tenchi sighed. "I'm not making it up, look at me…" He chuckled, smiling. "I'm fine…here, look." He pulled back his sleeve, showing the glowing gemstone. "This is one of the jewels of power one of the women wore. It was part of one of the goddesses and she split her powers and memories into these three gems, yeah?"

Trent paled and retched as he saw the gaping wound in Tenchi's arm. "What…what the fuck did you do to yourself?"

Tenchi chuckled, shaking his head. "What do you mean…?" He looked at his arm, then started to shake, seeing his forearm slashed open, the wound gaping and inflamed, ringed with dried blood.

"No…it…it was healed…I put the gem in and it…I…" The dark, dried blood flaked away as he scratched at the wound, breaking it open again and causing fresh blood to trickle down his forearm.

Trent rushed over, snatching his hand away. "Gods man, what is wrong with you? Here, sit down, we've got to clean this and get you to a hospital!"

Tenchi pushed away, shaking his head. "You don't understand…I have to do this…I have to fix what I've done, and this is the only way I know how."

Trent slowly advanced on his friend, smiling faintly. "Look, I don't understand what's going on, but let me help you… We can figure this out, man."

Tenchi felt the gem embedded in his arm pulse and begin to grow warm as Trent's outstretched hand came close. "…No…" Tenchi backed further away, reaching behind himself for the doorknob. "…She told me I had to show faith…and I will, with or without you."

He swallowed hard and flashed a sad smile to his friend. "Goodbye, Trent."

He pulled the door open and ran down the hallway, his footsteps echoing on the hard, tile floor.

"TENCHI! WAIT!" Trent's voice bounced off the walls, following him as he pounded down the corridor and out into the night.

A soft splattering of rain on the still-warm concrete greeted him as he ran in the darkness of the city. Breathing hard, he pulled up his shirt-sleeve as he ran, looking at where the gash had re-appeared, running his fingers over the new, smooth skin.

I knew it…it was a trick… He smiled as he ran in the rain, water trickling down his face to drip off his chin. I will make things right, Washu…I promise.

The city seemed so small from up here, the wind tugging at his shirt as Tenchi stood atop the stone retaining wall that enclosed the roof of his apartment building. The tallest skyscrapers seemed to be but stick-thin shanties, and the buildings below were but squat, dwarfish things, mere shadows of what they once were.

This world…I…I made it? He chuckled, looking around at the hustle of activity below him on the street. I made this world, and now that I'm about to leave it, it's starting to break down.

The rain fell in a persistent drizzle, making the sodium lamps on the street send out halos of light to shine on the faces of the gathered people below, looking up at their creator. Red and blue lights flashed in the shadows, looking like distant fireworks on a crisp autumn evening.

The crash of thunder masked the sounds of someone trying to force their way through the roof-access door, but Tenchi just smiled, knowing he barricaded it quite securely. A screeching siren made its way through the night, echoing and dwindling, swelling and fading as it passed through the streets.

In a way, I'm going to miss this place…But I'm going home now…

A bolt of lightning split the sky and the crash of thunder echoed between the buildings. Another crash sounded behind him as the access door finally gave way, splintering and falling from its hinges.

Tenchi looked back and saw Trent standing beside a pair of fully-kitted police officers who held the battering ram. Behind them was another pair of men, these in pale green jumpsuits with white jackets over them. He just smiled and chuckled as they advanced. "Tenchi! Don't do this!" Trent cried over the wind, cupping his hands as he yelled. "We can help you!"

Tenchi turned on the narrow surface to look at the men and shook his head.

"Trent…" He sighed, smiling happily to see his friend, his creation, so concerned. "Thank you. I don't think I could have stood this place without you here. I'll remember you fondly."

Trent pushed past the officers, his blue eyes sparkling behind his glasses. "Please, man… just step down… come back down here and everything will be fine, I promise."

Tenchi shook his head, stretching his arms wide. "Everything is fine…and I am coming down, and going home…"

The first tilt seemed to take an eternity, falling backwards like an ancient tree, creaking and crackling in the forest. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.

He saw Trent and the officers start running forward, their feet rising and falling like men trying to wade through deep snow. He saw Trent's hand outstretched, reaching for him, his fingertips brushing against his shirt too late as he felt the wind catch him and swirl around his body. Tenchi's feet left the stone wall and for a moment he had become one with the sky.

Suddenly the world caught up, and he felt the pull of gravity, tearing him down and away from the roof. Tenchi smiled serenely, feeling the gemstone burn at his wrist, glowing with a terrible light through his skin. He felt the heat of the power burn through his body, filling him up as he plunged through the night sky, the windows on either side of him falling quicker and quicker.

Tenchi maneuvered himself to turn over, looking at the distant ground as it shot up at him, closing his eyes and reveling in the rush of wind past his ears and through his hair. He felt his blood boil with the familiar feeling of material conversion and could almost hear his body returning to its youthful state.

His hands, now free of their heavy veins and wrinkles, his body slim and muscular once more, his hair jet black and full, even his ponytail seemed to whistle in the wind as he fell.

"Washu…Ayeka…Mihoshiâ ;€¦Sasami…Noike…Ryok o…" He felt his eyes prickle as tears formed and floated up in the wind, glittering like diamonds in the night sky.

"I'm coming home…" As the ground neared and he could see the shocked faces of the gathered crowd, he felt himself slowing, and could feel pairs of arms wrapping around his body, holding him tight. A warm breath caressed the back of his neck, and fingers twined themselves in his hair, holding him tight and close as he began to cry, shaking at the feeling of being loved, and the touch of those he cared for the most.

"Tenchi…" He heard the voices whisper, the words carried to his ear by sweet, warm breath.

"I…I'm so sorry…I'm sorry for everything…I…I couldn't…." A spectral finger pushed to his lips and stopped his words as the ground rose to meet him.

Blinding white light enveloped his world, and through the haze, shadowy figures formed, and words echoed in his ears as he felt something break inside of him, a tenuous, gossamer thread, snapping in an instant.

"We forgive you."