Brian Burke Tenchii@hotmail.com ========== Standard Disclaimer: Pioneer and AIC own Tenchi Muyo! and all related characters. I am just borrowing them for a little bit. Don't sue me, because you can't get anything out of me. HOWEVER! Monstra is 100% mine. Feel free to use her IF you get my permission, and IF you give me credit. Otherwise, you're on her hit list. And, you know how those turn out. Monstra: Tenchi Muyo! ========== October 29th, 1998, 3:13 a.m. "Tenchi! Stop!" she yells. "Tenchi! Don't leave! Come back!" Sasami awakes in tears, "don't leave..." Looking around, she sees Ayeka sound asleep. Standing up, she wanders out into the hall. Knocking on his door, she is hoping to wake up "Tenchi..." she calls tearfully. Opening the door, "another nightmare, Sasami?" Tenchi asks. "Yeah," she responds. "Can I sleep with you, tonight?" "Of course you can, Sasami." Stepping aside, Tenchi lets Sasami in. As he watches the little princess hop into his bed, Tenchi pulls out a futon from underneath it. "Goodnight, Sasami." ========== Meanwhile, a short distance away, Monstra appears from the woods. "There's a great deal of power here, I can feel it!" Wandering into the house, she cloakes herself. As she enters the house, she notices that there is someone in the rafters. Floating up, "this one has a great deal of power. And, it looks like she uses it frequently." Looking closer, "ah, I see. The power is contained in those gems. I might have a use for them." She lands on the floor and continues on. Phasing into one of the rooms, she sees a violet-haired woman sleeping on a futon. "This one also has a lot of power. But, not contained in anything but herself. She also uses it frequently, I see. I wonder if the two use them against each other?" Moving on, she sees another woman. This one having blue hair. "This is the third girl I've seen here. What kind of a house is this? But, this is one is as powerful as the one I saw just a moment ago." Phasing into the hall, she walks towards another room. Phasing in, she sees a smaller version of the girl she just saw. "This is interesting. They're the same person, only this one is younger. And, I feel a massive power in her. One that she hasn't used yet. I'll have to do something about that." Looking down, "four girls and one guy? He must be lucky! And with the power he has, they must feel good too. I think I might have fun with this one." "Meow?" the cabbit wonders. "What is this now? It looks like a cross between a cat and a rabbit." "Meow..." it sighs, falling back asleep. "Did it see me?" Monstra wonders, phasing out. Phasing through the floor, Monstra ends up back in the living room. Phasing through the closet door, "this isn't a closet! It looks like a lab." Seeing yet another girl, "I should've known, another girl. But, I feel a great intelligence in this one." "Who's there?" she calls out. "Another one that can sense me? I gotta be more careful," she says, phasing out. "Must be my imagination." Back in the living room, "these people have unique powers, and a lot of it. If my plans are to succeed, then I have to do something about this. I know that they have power, but I might learn more if I watch them. One day should be enough." ========== October 29, 7 a.m. Tenchi, walking downstairs, Looking into the kitchen, he sees that Misa is already cooking breakfast. "Good morning, Misa." "Good morning, Tenchi. I didn't see Sasami cooking, so I started." "Sasami had a nightmare last night. She slept in my bed as a result." "Did she say what it was about?" "No. She seemed pretty shaken, though." Ryoko teleports in, and sits down. "Ryo-Ohki felt something last night, but I didn't." "I bet. After last night, you couldn't feel anything," Misa comments. "I mean, you hit the bottle kinda hard." "Quiet, you!" Ryoko shouts. "When did Ryo-Ohki feel it?" Tenchi asks. "Shortly after Sasami went in," Ryoko answers. Ayeka walks in and sees that almost everyone is present. "Sasami must have had a nightmare." "Yeah, she did." Ryoko answers. "And why didn't you help her?" "I was asleep!" she responds. "You mean, she didn't ask her older sister for help?" Ryoko asks. Sitting down, "she prefers to ask for Tenchi's help." "Now, don't you two start fighting," Misa states. "Honestly, it's too early to start a fight." Sasami walks in, "morning everyone." "Did you sleep better, Sasami?" Tenchi asks. "Yes, I did, thank you," she replies, sitting down. "So, what happened?" Misa asks. "It was really strange. Tenchi was fighting this woman, and then they both walked away." "And, where were we?" Ryoko asks. "I couldn't move to see. Actually, I could barely see at all." "Did you notice anything distinctive about her?" Tenchi asks. "Well, she had long blonde hair and a black sword." "We'll have to watch for her," Ryoko states. Misa, setting the meals on the table, "don't worry, Sasami. I doubt that the nightmare you had will come true." "Why is that?" she asks. "With Tenchi, Ayeka, Ryoko, and myself, the house is pretty well defended." "I guess you're right." ========== The day proceeds as usual. Ayeka and Ryoko fight most the day, and Tenchi tries to avoid flying objects, namely beamswords and flying logs. Sasami, although thinking about her dream, remains cheerful throughout the day. Also, Washu isn't seen until later. And, as it all unfolds, they don't know they're being watched. ========== October 30th, 1998, 2:30 a.m. After watching the household for the past day, Monstra makes her move. Uncloaking, she changes her appearance to that of Sasami. Monstra exitedly thinks. Knocking on Tenchi's door, 'Sasami' is greeted by Tenchi. "Can I sleep with you?" she says, tearful. "Sure," he says, letting her in. 'Sasami' thinks, smiling. Tenchi, lying on the futon, tries to fall back to sleep. 'Sasami,' lying on Tenchi's bed, is enjoying herself. Sliding to the edge of the bed, she looks down at Tenchi, who is sleeping soundly. She hops over Tenchi's side and kneels over his face. Reaching her head down, she presses her lips to his, awakening him. Pulling away, "Sasami? What's going on?" Dropping her disguise, "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that!" "Who are you?" "I'm Monstra. And you are mine." "Not likely," he says, grabbing Sword Tenchi from his dresser. Igniting the blade, "I have enough girls to deal with. I don't need you." "In 24 hours, you won't care about the others. There will only be me." "What makes you so sure?" "When I kissed you, I implanted something within you. In time, that will grow and overcome you. You will then follow my every order." "You seem to know quite a bit about us. You must've seen what we are capable of. I'm sure this implant can be removed." "It can. But I wouldn't, if I were you. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone because of it. Especially your little Sasami." "Leave her out of this." "Fine. But don't tell anyone about me. Or those people will get hurt." "What is it that you want, anyway?" "To rule the world, like everyone else. But, I don't want to be alone when I do. And, I need certain people out of my way. Sasami, for example." "You won't hurt her." "Oh, no. I won't. You see, I don't want Tsunami getting in my way, either. And killing Sasami would bring Tsunami to Earth now, instead of later. But, there will be time enough later for fighting. Now, sleep." With that, Tenchi instantly loses conciousness and falls to the floor. ========== October 30th, 7:00 a.m. Tenchi awakes to his usual alarm clock, but he knows that this won't be a usual day. "Less than 20 hours. Then, I'm a goner." Downstairs, Tenchi can hear Sasami working in the kitchen. Remembering last night, "she won't hurt you," he says to himself. Looking in, he can already see Misa, Ayeka and Ryoko gathered around the table. However, when he approaches, they all glare at him. "What's going on?" "Sasami had another nightmare, last night," Ayeka starts. "But, when she went to your room, she heard you talking to some woman." "Is there something we don't know about, Tenchi?" Ryoko asks. "Or someone?" Misa corrects. "No, of course not," he replies. "Then who was she?" Ayeka inquires. "It's best that I don't tell you." "Why?" Misa asks. "She said that people might get hurt otherwise." Sasami turns, "was she the woman from my dream?" "Yeah, she was," he reluctantly says. "By the way, Sasami, what was your nightmare about?" he says, trying to change the subject. "That woman and lots of monsters hurt a lot of people." "We gotta stop her," Ryoko says. "And soon," Misa adds. ========== The day progresses, but with no sign of Monstra. Washu has scanned the area around and in the house a dozen times, but to no avail. Ryoko, Misa and both cabbits walked around, searching for clues to Monstra's whereabouts, but with no luck. Tenchi has grown intensively worried. He knows what will happen if he tries to tell them about Monstra's "gift" to him. But, he doesn't like the fact of leaving them, either. ========== Halloween, 2:25 a.m. Looking at his clock, "five more minutes, and everything changes. At least Sasami isn't here this time. If she found out, she would never be the same." Just then, Monstra shows up. "Ready to go?" Grabbing his sword, Tenchi leaps out of bed to face her. "I will fight you. To protect the girls, I will fight you." "Come on. I don't want to hurt them. But, if they get in my way..." 2:26 "Clock's ticking. You gonna fight or not? See, if I die, then you'll be released." Charging, Tenchi takes a swipe at Monstra. In response, she calls her Moon Blade to block it. "If I have to kill you, I will." A couple of sword strokes, "do you really think you can win?" 2:27 "I have to!" Ayeka, Sasami and Misa enter the room. "Tenchi," Ayeka says, "what's going on?" "YOU!" Sasami screams. "You're the one!" 2:28 Tenchi and Monstra continue to exchange sword strokes, while neither gets the upper hand. "You are quite good," Monstra comments. "But, you can't fight the clock." 2:29 "You see, in one minute, you will forget about all these girls. Only I will remain." "No, you're wrong," Tenchi states. "I won't forget any one of them, Monstra. For they all hold a place in my heart." "Not anymore." 2:30 "Time's up." Tenchi gives a couple more sword strokes, but very weak ones. "You...won't...win..." he says, trying to fight. Monstra gives him a light tap, and he falls. "TENCHI!" the three shout, running to him. However, they only get within a foot when a force pushes them away. "Sorry girls. He's mine now," Monstra gloats. Tenchi stands and walks over to Monstra, and then looks at the other girls. Ryoko and Washu charge into the room, the latter in her battle outfit. "Tenchi?" Ryoko stammers, "what has she done to you?" "Sorry, Ryoko. He's mine," Monstra says. "No!" Ryoko screams. Summoning her beam sword, she charges. "Let him go!" "I don't think so," Monstra responds, blocking the attack. After a couple of rounds of sword fighting, Monstra blocks one for an extended period of time. "Now, Tenchi!" she commands. Tenchi takes his sword and dissipates the blade. Holding the hilt toward Ryoko, he manages to extract the gems from her. He then transfers them to Monstra's Moon Blade. After the task is complete, Monstra sends Ryoko across the room. Misa, seeing this, charges Monstra with her Sword Tenchi. "You'll pay for that!" After a bit of swordplay, "this is getting old." Knocking Misa's sword from her hand, she watches it crash through the window. With that, Monstra sends out a shock that sends Misa next to Ryoko. "Anyone else?" Seeing no volunteers, "good. I was getting bored with that repeated scenario." Looking at Sasami, "now, Tenchi, let's get our other prize and leave." Tenchi starts to walk over to the princesses, when the cabbits grab onto his arms. Tenchi just slaps his arms together, sending the cabbits into one another. The dazed animals fall, and Tenchi continues his approach. Using his Jurai power, he contains Ayeka and Washu with in the doorway. "Leave her alone, Tenchi! Do you hear me?" Tenchi picks up the blue haired princess, while ignoring Ayeka's protests. "Put me down!" Sasami yells. "Tenchi! Why are you helping her?" Tenchi just ignores her and returns to Monstra. "Excellent, now we can go." As the two leave, Tenchi lets Ayeka and Washu through the doorway. "Sasami!" Ayeka yells. "Ayeka! Help me!" Sasami yells back. "We gotta follow them," Washu states. "How?" Washu picks up Ryo-Ohki and slaps her back to conciousness. "Come on, Ryo-Ohki, wake up!" "Meow?" "Great!" Washu says, whipping the cabbit into the night sky. After instinctively transforming, she takes Ayeka and Washu up to her bridge. "After them, Ryo-Ohki!" Washu commands. "MEOW!" she screams, chasing after the runaways. ========== Monstra and Tenchi stop in a field. "Tenchi, hold her still." "Tenchi," Sasami pleads, "don't listen to her. She's evil!" Tenchi just holds her by the shoulders as Monstra points her sword at the little girl. After a few seconds, the blade starts to glow. "Close your eyes, Sasami. You're going to bed." Sasami does so, only because there's nothing else to do. Then, her body starts to feel numb as tinted crystal starts to engulf her. "This isn't over," is the last thing she says as the crystal finishes covering her body. Ryo-Ohki appears overhead, and beams down her crew. "Monstra!" Ayeka yells. "What have you done?" "I just put your sister in safe keeping. She'll be fine. But, I wouldn't try to take her back to Jurai. You see, the Moon Blade will keep her in stasis, but only when she's in range. If you take her past the moon's orbit, she'll die in that crystal. But, you don't need to worry about that." With a brief flash from the Moon Blade, the crystal disappears. "Give her back!" Ayeka demands. "Nah. I don't think so. But don't worry, I'll take care of her." "Bring her back!" Ayeka yells. "Otherwise, I'll take her by force." "You mean the Juraian fleet? Last I heard, this area was off limits to starships. Besides. Do you know where she is?" "No...I don't." "Then, I'll see you later." Looking at Tenchi, "let's go." A portal opens, and they both step inside. "This isn't over!" Ayeka yells. And indeed it isn't...