Author's Note:  Yes, it's been a good long time since I've posted...
basically, I was 'dropped' from the FFML for no apparent reason, and was
too busy to return myself to it.  Anyway, I'm here again, though most of
my fics will remain unworked upon due to my continuing lack of a
computer (though I'm working on it).  So, in my promise not to start
anything more until I finish, if I post anything it will be
self-contained.  Such as this story, which is being written out of
desperation... writing is like a drug, more addictive than cigarettes
and more self-destructive than alcohol (and like most nasty drugs,
should *not* be mixed with others).

This is simply being written on lack of sleep, which is said to be the
worse of all.

Continuity Notice:  As Tenchi has all sorts of incarnations, this
particular story takes place after Manatsu no Eve, oh, and due to
accelerated growth, Mayuka is already back to being sixteen (an
assumption).
PM Productions Presents
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
The Good of the One

     "Tenchi."
     The name drifted through the house on a breeze.  As light as a
whisper, with as much force as a hurricane.  It carried the promise of
joy and endless pleasures, beyond what most men would ever venture to
dream.  It used a tone and pitch reserved singly for adoration above all
else imaginable.
     Much to the caller's consternation, the target seemed to be
effected in an exact opposite manner.  In fact, this particular
recipient happened to be searching for the nearest escape route.  This
was an act of pure self-sacrifice.  He did not want another set of
sheets ruined with red stains due to his rather sensitive ol' factory
"Hormone Ventilation System." 
     Here he was, a father, and couldn't even stand the sight of a nude
female.  Some would call him incredibly sad, none more than that
handsome fella he saw in the mirror every morning.  He fiddled with the
window for a few moments, then frowned as he realized the cold has
sealed it shut.  The winter was a particularly frosty one, and most
everything had iced over completely.  
     A moment later his attention was averted from the window itself as
a rather hideously deformed... blob appeared beyond the glass.  Tenchi
leapt backward while letting out a small cry.  The better perspective
gave way to the realization that it was the original reason for his
escaping that was hovering outside the window, her face distorted by the
jagged prisms of ice that had formed on the panes.  It was something he
was sure a person could never get used to, having a woman chase him that
could take to the air without little thought and an amazing lack of
mechanical assistance.  There was something else about Ryoko that
constantly bother him, and he was sure he was about to receive a great
demonstration.
     Sure enough, Ryoko passed through the window without disturbing the
lock, nor blinking an eye.  Her dress was all but hanging from her
shoulders for dear life, making sure Tenchi could see almost an illegal
amount of cleavage. She had always complained about the cold... though
she somehow managed to make her way through the vacuum of space with
little trouble.  At the moment, something was simply keeping her mind
from the arctic temperatures without... the rather fiery temperatures
within.
     Tenchi had no doubt he would be subject to those flames if he did
not think of something quickly.  Of course, there was always another way
his worthless carcass could be spared the rigors of Heaven's Hell.  If
he was correct, and his clock was not off, that way should be making its
appearance about... now.
     "Ryoko!  What are you doing to Tenchi-sama!?"  The exalted Crowned
Princess of the Juraian Empire stood in the doorway, casting a glare
into the room that would make thousands of servants commit ritual
suicide.  
     Tenchi, eyes still locked on the firm and rather awe inspiring
sight before him, moved an eyebrow slightly in response to his being
"liberated".
     Ryoko, for her part, was not about to give up her rather
compromising position any time soon.  "Leave us alone, little girl,
there are needs to be met."  She sent Tenchi a rather sultry gaze, and
was amused to find him focusing somewhere entirely other than her face.
"It seems Tenchi agrees... so go bother Washu or something."  She took
another step toward her captive audience.
     The future-queen would have none of it.  Her face began to match
her hair and that vein in her forehead began to work overtime to supply
the "exterminate" sector of her brain.  "Ryoko, I have had enough with
you!  If you do not leave Tenchi-sama alone I will be forced to remove
you!"
     Inside Ryoko's mind a battle was suddenly initiated.  The urge to
have Tenchi oogle her goodies fought with the urge to deliver almighty
retribution upon her highness for the assumption that she was stronger
than herself.  The persuit of truth and justice won out and she stood up
to face Ayeka, and glared.  "Would you care to repeat that, little
girl?"
     Tenchi, suddenly shaken from his euphoria, and blinking the two
spots from his vision, instantly began to formulate a way out of the
impending brawl.  Ayeka's in the doorway... window is frozen shut...
cannot phase through walls... shit out of luck.  Right before he
considered using the Light Hawk Sword to make his own little escape
hatch to the lower floor, Ayeka stormed into the room, screaming, "You
are the most disgusting creature ever to grace this Galaxy!  I would be
doing all creation a favor by removing your grotesque form from it!"
     While Tenchi was actually tempted to argue that one, the lure of
the doorway, which looked amazingly like a cloud-lined golden gate, was
simply too much.  The, arguably, most powerful person in the Universe
scooted out of the room  on his hands and knees.  He made his way down
the hallway a bit and sat with his back up against the wall, breathing
carefully in and out, trying to keep control of himself.  He glanced
back toward his room as the voices from it escalated even further.  He
wasn't sure how much more time would pass before critical mass was
reached, but he truly did not want to be around when it did.  
     At that point, a new pair of feet came up beside him.  Without
looking up he knew just who it was.  
     "What's going on, daddy?" Mayuka asked as she crouched down to look
her father in the eyes.  
     Tenchi stared at her for a moment, then knocked his head back
against the wall with a sigh.  "Ayeka and Ryoko are at it again." he
explained.  "I think they're going to destroy my room."
     "Again?" Mayuka added.
     Tenchi nodded, "Again."
     "Why do they always fight like that?" she asked, then her
expression turned to worry, "It's not because of me, is it?"
     Tenchi whipped his head around to glare at her.  "Absolutely not,
Mayuka... don't ever think that."  He looked back to the room, which was
glowing lightly as tensions inside increased.  "If it were," he
whispered, "I would never forgive them."
     "What, daddy?"
     "Nothing."  He smiled at her and stood up.  "Come one, let's not be
around when this goes, okay?"
     "Okay!"  She giggled, "Won't Washu be surprised when she has to
replicate your room, again!"  
     "Somehow, I doubt that... though I'm sure it won't change the fact
that Ayeka and Ryoko will both hear about it for the next month."
     As they passed the scientist-in-question's lair, a loud explosion
sounded from upstairs.  Mayuka hit the deck, and Tenchi threw himself
over her, ready to protect them both if necessary.  After a few minutes,
and no collapsing of the ceiling that usually accompanies such an assult
on the house's superstructure, they glanced upward cuiously. 
     Then, the door to Washu's lab opened and what seemed to be a ball
of red hair with green eyes poked out looking up as well.  Then, the
orbs turned downward and grinned at the two huddled on the floor while
flashing the victory sign.  "Do you think you become the greatest mind
in the Universe by not learning from what few mistakes you may, on
occasion, make?  I specially treated your room... it could contain a
small super-nova!  Thank me later."  With that, she vanished back into
her domain.  
     Tenchi and Mayuka blinked at the red door for a few moments, then
stood up again.  Daughter looked at father and asked, "What was that all
about?"
     He furrowed his brow, "I'm not sure, but I think it explains why I
couldn't nail up my picture yesterday."
     Mayuka suddenly lit up, "Hey, what happens when all that force is
just squeezed back into its source?"  She giggled at the small rhyme.
     The answer came limping down the stairs in the form of two animated
hunks of charcoal.  One, presumably Ayeka, stopped in front of Tenchi
and appologized for his manga collection.
     Tenchi instantly ran up the steps to see what else Washu failed to
'protect'.  Mayuka tried to make out which girl was which and failed.
"Maybe you  two should stop fighting?" she suggested cheerfully.  
     The pair of overdone hens grumbled inaudible responses and shuffled
off toward the bath.  

--------------------------------------------
Four Light Years Away
-------------------------------------------

     "Do you have any idea where you are going?" Kiyone asked Mihoshi,
who was intently staring at a 4-D star chart.  With a few button presses
she superimposed it with a sub-space scan.  A few calculations appeared,
and Mihoshi turned to Kiyone.
     And began to cry.  "I have no clue!"
     Kiyone rolled her eyes and quickly set the ship on its appropriate
course.  She should have never let Mihoshi talk her into piloting...
when the course was laid she was fine, but shooting on the fly?  Forget
it.
     A beeping began on a consol to the left of Mihoshi.  She stared at
it for a moment, then tapped Kiyone on the shoulder.  "Um, Kiyone, I
don't think this is a good thing."
     Kiyone leaned over and looked at what had drawn the blonde's
attention.  Her eyes widened and she quickly knocked a week's worth of
junk off of the forward control board.  She deftly worked a combination
of buttons on the consol, and a red light flashed through the cockpit.
     "I was right, wasn't I?" Mihoshi asked, her voice cracking and her
eyes tearing up once more.
     If Kiyone hadn't been turning suddenly religeous and praying to any
number of deities, she probably would have caused Mihoshi bodily harm.
As it was, she was scared she would never get the chance, and the bimbo
would follow her all the way to wherever they were destined to go after
death.
     A light filled the forward view.  Outside the ship a shockwave
large enough to wipe out entire solar systems was shooting toward their
ship at faster than the speed of light.  It quickly reached them and
slammed into the small vessel.  Fortunately, the wave had dissipated to
an acceptable power by the time it reached them or it would have simply
ceased their existance.  As it was, everything in the ship on tightly
secured with thrown forcefully against the ceiling.  When the rumbling
subsided, Mihoshi undid her belt and announced that she needed to change
her uniform. 
     As the door shut, Kiyone calculated the source of the blast.  She
pinpointed it in Sector J-562-C.  Nothing seemed to lie in that region,
which was fortunate because nothing could survive that.  However, she
also discovered their original path led straight through that sector of
space.  
    Kiyone stared at the door Mihoshi had exited for quite some time.

-----------------------------------------
Sector J-562-C
----------------------------------------

     "Did we make it?"
     "Yes, sir.  These are the coordinates."
     "Not exactly."
     "Within safe limits, sir."
     "Very well... take us to heading 83.4, bearing 28... take us to...
Earth."
     "Yes, sir."  A pause.  "Sir?"
     "What is it, Ky?"
     "If I may ask, what are we doing in this backwater dimension in the
middle of nowhere with the most powerful battle cruiser ever developed?"
     "First of all, Ky, the Tqu is powerful, but not the most powerful
of all.  Second of all, no you may not ask."
     "Yes, sir.  Course laid in..."

----------------------------------------
Earth, Ignorant as usual
---------------------------------------

     Washu walked out of her lab and licked her finger.  She stuck it
into the air and narrowed her eyes.
     Tenchi, passing by and grieving the loss of his signed Ranma
collection stopped and asked, "What's wrong, Washu-chan?"
     She stared at her finger a moment longer, then looked at Tenchi.
"The wind is changing, Tenchi... looks like bad weather."  With that she
walked off toward the kitchen.
     Tenchi just blinked, and the Earth fell neatly into the square peg
of destiny once more.

END PART ONE (AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!!)

Okay, so I lied... well, not really... I planned on this being one part,
but I'll have to make it two.  Web TV is actively protesting the length
of this part as it is... *mumble* stupid terminal *mumble*.  SO,
tomorrow, I *will* continue, and hopefully complete this.  Send an
E-mail if you don't think I should bother... and, out of kindness ^_^
send one if you think I should.  Either way, I'd appreciate the
feedback... haven't had much of that in a little while.
Thanks for reading,
PMasters (10-3-98)                         

"I'm only holding back the rain.  So many raindrops, so many pains.  I
want to find my train someday.  As seasons go past the station." - Tokyo
Babylon OVA 1
/ E-mail at:  PhilMasters@webtv.net /
Web page pending use of a computer!
"...has anyone ever used something alive for a coat of arms?" - The
Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (Mishima Yukio, 1965) / 
"You see, what you call a cat, we use as armor." - Rune (El-Hazard,
1994)