Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any of the characters in this story, even the ones I invented, since their not making me any money and because I made them up in about ten seconds. No need for Royalty. The sunlight slowly filtered in through the window blinds. The warming rays crept across the floor and climbed up the bedside before sliding over the two sleeping figures it held. Tenchi stirred slightly as the light forced it's way into his eyes. He tried to roll away but something was holding him down. He looked over at the still sleeping form of his wife. He ran his hand through her spiky, cyan hair. Ryoko's arm was draped across his chest, holding him. He gently swept her hair away from her face and kissed her softly on her mouth. He pulled back slowly and found her eyes partly opened, watching him. " Ohayo", he said. " Ohayo", she responded. She pulled him back in for another kiss. Tenchi caressed the side of her face as they kissed. Ryoko's hands slid down his arms as she savored the feeling and taste of him. She inhaled deeply, taking in the strong, pleasant aroma of his being. She moaned slightly as his hand made it's way slowly down her body. " It's time to get up, isn't it", she asked sleepily. " It sure is", he answered. Neither of them moved. " I don't think we're getting anywhere", Ryoko observed. Tenchi kissed her again, but this time it was a bit more forceful and filled with passion. " Sure we are, just not how you meant it", he told her. Ryoko laughed slightly. " Oh really. You want some of what you got last night?", she asked. Tenchi smiled and started trailing small kisses down her neck. " Don't you?", he asked back between kisses. " You want to know what I want?", she asked. " What?", he questioned. " Breakfast", she answered. He stopped and looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression. " Breakfast?", he asked. Ryoko nodded her head. " Yes, breakfast would be so nice right about now.", she told him. He looked at her for a few more seconds, then a smile made it's way across his face. It quickly turned into a grin. "Is that so?", he said as his hand made it's way to her stomach. " Tenchi, what are...oh no, ah, aha ha ha ha, no tickling, ha ha ha, stop it", she cried out as his fingers darted across her stomach. " Ha ha ha, stop, ha ha, I....can't....take....much....more" Her protests just encouraged Tenchi and he redoubled his efforts. " If you....don't...stop I'll....make....you", she warned. Tenchi just ignored her. Suddenly Ryoko vanished from his grasp. She reappeared behind him and grabbed him in a crushing hug that pinned his arms against his body. He could feel her still shaking with laughter. " How dare you do that to the most vicious space pirate in the galaxy", she said, her voice still filled with slight giggles. " Now you must be punished " " Punished huh?", he asked. " I take it that's there's no hope in changing your mind?" " Did you have something in mind?", she asked him. " Well, you said you wanted breakfast", he said. " Is there anything special you wanted?" " Are you trying to bribe me?", she questioned. " Would you accept?", he asked. " Well....maybe, but only if it's the best breakfast I've ever had.", she told him. " Hey that's not fair. How am I suppose to compete with Sasami's cooking?", he complained.. " Oh alright, just as long as it's good.", she offered. " Your lucky I've gotten soft. The old me would never have relented so easily." Ryoko let him go and floated around in front of him. " I'm going to take a bath, you better be done when I get out." She kissed him and then vanished. Tenchi smiled as he got dressed and headed downstairs. As Tenchi prepared breakfast his mind wandered, thinking back to how things used to be before he got married. Even though five years had passed, it still seemed strange that he and Ryoko were the only people still living in the Masaki home. The house still felt empty from time to time. After the wedding everyone had started to leave, except Ayeka since she had left before. He didn't blame her for not being there. He couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for her. When Tenchi had finally confessed his love for Ryoko he had thought she was going to die. She'd ran off crying to her room and refused to come out for two weeks. Even after Sasami had managed to convince her to come out she had seemed little more than a shell of her former self. Tenchi had tried desperately to mend the damage his love had caused in their friendship, but Ayeka had simply ignored him. She had spent days shuffling around, like a living ghost. It was to everyone's shock and amazement when Ryoko began to try and help her. Even more amazing was that she actually got through to Ayeka. Tenchi still didn't know what she'd done, but somehow Ryoko managed to help Ayeka get over it. They would probably never be friends, but they shared a mutual respect for each other now, and that was enough to put Tenchi at ease. Kiyone and Mihoshi were the first to leave after the wedding. Due to budget cutbacks at the Galaxy Police Headquarters the Sol system had been declared too unimportant to warrant having resident officers. It had been hell trying to get Mihoshi to leave. She nearly drove the Chief crazy trying to convince him to let her and Kiyone stay. After that she went through a phase of trying to pretend it wasn't really happening. When the day came for her and Kiyone to leave, she'd cried and pitched a huge fit. She'd even threatened to quit just so she could stay. This time it was Washu who came to the rescue, but not through consoling. She had solved the problem in her normal method, a new invention, or in this case, an improved one. She had informed everyone that she'd enhanced her dimensional portal so that it would work over any distance. When Mihoshi learned she'd be able to come back anytime she wanted she immediately cheered up and had given Washu a hug that nearly choked the life out of the little scientist. Washu had left a few weeks later. Before she'd left however she turned the closet that had held her lab into the gateway for her warping device. She had set up four gateways, one on Earth, one on Juri, one that led to her lab, and the final one to Kiyone's and Mihoshi's home. Thanks to the gateways anyone could visit anyone else when ever they wanted. This however had turned out to be a big problem until Washu had installed locks and doorbells on the gateways to insure everyone's privacy, though Tenchi had a hunch it was really to keep Mihoshi out of her lab. A year ago she had to add a fifth gateway when Mihoshi had gotten married and moved into her own house. After the gateways were put up Sasami had gone back to living on Juri, but she still had come back everyday to fix breakfast. However, Tenchi knew she couldn't keep cooking for them forever. So he'd done the only thing he could, he got her to teach him how to cook. As he had figured, Sasami's duties on Juri grew more numerous, and she had had less and less free time. Now he handled the cooking in the house. Ryoko had tried to learn as well, but she just didn't get it. She could boil water, but anything more complicated was beyond her abilities. Tenchi didn't care though, he rather enjoyed cooking for her. After Sasami had left it had been just him, Ryoko, and Noboyuki. A few months later Tenchi discovered that his father had been secretly building an addition to the shrine. Noboyuki then gave the house to Tenchi and Ryoko and moved in with Katsuhito at the shrine. Tenchi smiled at the memory. It was a true testament to a father's love for his son. After breakfast was served and consumed and Ryoko decided that she would let Tenchi off the hook, but just this one time, Tenchi headed out to the shrine for his daily training. Ryoko accompanied him as she usually did. She liked watching him. It thrilled her on some primitive, instinctual level. Tenchi was very powerful, and his skill with Juri's power was becoming quite impressive. Ryoko was a bit disappointed by the fact that she was no longer stronger than he was. She had particularly enjoyed sneaking up on him or chasing him around when she had been competing for his attention. Now she couldn't get within a hundred feet of him without his knowing, and she would have a hard time catching him if he ran, not that he would need to. Katsuhito was already waiting for them. He was standing in the middle of the training field, his back facing them. Ryoko floated over to her usual spot to watch. Tenchi walked up behind his grandfather. " Ohayo Jiichan, how are you..." Tenchi's greeting was cut short as Katsuhito suddenly spun around, swinging a bokken in a wide arc. Tenchi ducked under the wooden sword just before it would have cracked his skull. He then stepped backward as Katsuhito slid toward him with a thrusting movement. Ryoko leaned forward to watch as Katsuhito basically chased Tenchi around the field. Tenchi was having trouble avoiding his grandfather's attacks. There was something in the attacks that felt different. It took Tenchi a few minutes to realize what it was. Katsuhito was actually trying to hit him. He was attacking full on, with no restraints or hesitation. "Well, if he's not going to hold back, then I won't either.", Tenchi decided. He began to summon upon Juri's power. He felt the mystical energy swell within him for a brief moment before it flowed throughout his body. The power spread through his being, increasing his every ability and granting him ones he never would had possessed otherwise. His strength quadrupled, his senses became three times more sensitive, and his reaction time increased until it seemed the rest of the world was moving in slow motion. The energy field of Juri's power spread out from his body, allowing him to feel everything that surrounded him. Fully empowered he turned his complete attention back to the fight. Katsuhito was lunging forward, the bokken raised overhead to come crashing down on Tenchi's skull. His heightened reflexes gave Tenchi plenty of time to plan his next move. He could easily grab the bokken as it was brought down, but he decided against that. His grandfather always told him to treat the bokken as if it was a real blade. For that reason he also decided against using his power to simply smash the wood sword apart. As Katsuhito swung, Tenchi sidestepped the blow. The sword passed inches from his arm. Before his grandfather could recover from the lunge Tenchi spun and in the same motion grabbed his outstretched arms at the wrist. Tenchi stepped forward, using Katsuhito's own momentum to move him forward and pull him off balance. To keep from falling on his face Katsuhito had to throw his weight backward, a move Tenchi had anticipated. He brought his grandfather's arms up and stepped back. The motion pulled Katsuhito's arms over his head. Tenchi then pulled down. His grandfather's feet left the ground and he fell flat on his back. The impact stunned him just long enough for Tenchi to pry the bokken out of his hands. Before he could make his next move though, Katsuhito's hand shot out. His palm pressed against Tenchi's chest and a blast of energy shot forth. The blast lifted Tenchi off his feet and launched him twenty feet across the field. He recovered in mid-flight and managed to land on his feet. However he had barely touched down when his grandfather reached him. Katsuhito was now using his own powers, and though they weren't as powerful as Tenchi's, they easily evened up the fight. Tenchi took a rather painful knee to the stomach that doubled him over, followed by an elbow to the back of his head that knocked him into the dirt. He landed hard and the bokken went spinning out of his grasp. Laying face down didn't offer much in ways of counterattacking, but it wasn't a hopeless situation. Tenchi knew of a few techniques that could be used, but he also knew that he wasn't skilled enough in any of them to beat his grandfather with. Instead, he chose to use brute force. He concentrated all his power into a tiny ball of energy, then released it. The energy flew from his body in a wave that picked up Katsuhito and tossed him in the air. Tenchi sprung to his feet as his grandfather landed. Tenchi unleashed a blast of energy, but Katsuhito easily sidestepped it. His return shot found it's target, but Tenchi absorbed the blast with little effort. Tenchi stood stone still, watching. Katsuhito waited as well. For several minutes they stood and stared, neither one moving. As Tenchi waited he saw Katsuhito's eyes shift, as if noticing something behind his opponent. Tenchi almost smiled. It was an old trick, one that his grandfather had used many times to get him to look behind him. Tenchi wasn't going to be fooled this time. He looked behind him. As soon as his head moved, Katsuhito rushed forward. This time however, Tenchi didn't snap his head back around to try and get his sights back on his opponent. He knew where he was. Tenchi's hand shot out and a monestrous energy wave blasted forth. It caught Katsuhito in mid-leap and blew him clear across the field. Tenchi finally looked back at his grandfather. Slowly he got back to his feet, swaying a bit. He stared at Tenchi for a long while before he spoke. " Very good Tenchi, your finally learning." He turned toward the shire. " Your training is over." He started to leave but stopped when Tenchi spoke up. " Wait! What do mean over?", Tenchi asked, his confusion clear upon his face. " There is nothing I have left to teach you.", he replied without turning around. " All that is left for you to do is perfect your movements, an impossible feat, but that is what you will strive for anyway, just as I have." He finally looked back at Tenchi and for the first time, Tenchi saw him for what he was. He might be the most skilled warrior in the galaxy, but he was also an old man who's glory was behind him. Tenchi realized that this was the first time he'd ever truly beaten him. He had bested his grandfather on a few occasions, but he had never beaten him to the point were he couldn't go on. Tenchi had always felt very proud of the few victories he held other his grandfather, but for some reason this one left him with an uneasy feeling. The idea that he was stronger was unsettling because it shattered his view of the world as it related to Katsuhito. His grandfather had always been better, that was how it was. This change didn't sit well with Tenchi. He barely reacted as Ryoko floated behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. " What's wrong Tenchi?", she asked. " You seem upset." " I don't know. I guess it's just hard to believe. I've been training for seventeen years. Now all of a sudden, bam!, it's over. No warning, no preparation", he replied. Ryoko laid her head on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. Several weeks later Tenchi was outside preparing his fields for planting. As a member of Juri's royal family, along with the fact that he had saved all of Juri from Kagato, Tenchi was set for life. However his sense of honor made him work. He simply couldn't sit back all his life and live without responsibility. Farming was the answer. The money he made was meager, but it satisfied his honor. It was also starting to, if you can ignore the bad pun, grow on him. When he was younger it had simply been a chore, and with the arrival of Ryo-ohki, a necessity. However now that the cute, furry space ship was living on Juri with Sasami, he didn't have to work as hard and he was free to plant whatever he wanted. As he paused to wipe the sweat from his face he glanced at the half finished form of the greenhouse he was building. Once completed, it would allow him to grow whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. When Washu had found out about it she had offered to build him one herself. However Tenchi had politely turned down her offer, explaining that he wanted to build it himself. Washu had understood completely, and instead offered to merely design it for him. After an exhausting period of trying to explain that he didn't want hyper stimulants, self nurturing soil, corrective nano probes and about three dozen other devices that would have done all the work for him and created the biggest vegetables on earth, Washu finally designed him a nice, efficient, and most importantly, normal greenhouse. Ryoko sat on the edge of the fields watching him. She didn't understand what it was that drove him to do so much unnecessary work, but she knew it made him happy. Besides, she loved watching him work. Especially on the hot days when he would take off his shirt and she could see his muscles straining as he tore up the hard soil. On those days she would watch him for a while before going inside and getting him a nice, cold drink. She would take it to him and he would take a break with her under the shade of a tree. Around noon Ryoko decided that Tenchi could use his break. After taking one last look at him, she vanished, reappearing inside the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and after a moment of consideration, selected the pitcher of lemonade. Gathering a tray and two glasses, she phased back to the field. " Tenchi!", she called out. He stopped working to turn and look at her. Seeing the pitcher he smiled brightly and left his field to be with her. They both walked over to a large tree that stood by the edge of the field. Ryoko poured the lemonade into the glasses and handed one to him. " Thank you", he told her. She smiled as she watched him drink. They both leaned back against the tree. Tenchi had his eyes shut as he relaxed, but Ryoko's were wide open. She stared at him, at the field, and at the house. When they had first got married, times like this seemed like a dream. It was hard to believe it was real. She had always been afraid that one day she would wake up and find everything back the way it used to be. Now when she looked around, Ryoko knew with certainty that it was real. That she didn't have to be alone, that she had a home, that she didn't have to worry. Now it seemed that her life before had been a dream. She had been a pirate all her life, and yet, the idea of piracy held no appeal to her anymore. She used to live for the thrill of stealing, of making narrow escapes, of staying ahead of the law. However, that life had also been a lonely one. She had only had Ryo-ohki. Sure, there had been the occasional guy or two that she'd see, but she'd never been able to have a normal relationship. Most law-abiding citizens were too scared of her to be interested, and those on the other side of the law she just couldn't trust. So for the most part she'd run through a relationship in about a week and then move on. At the time she had been content with that. Love and romance had been something she'd never thought about. Now though, she saw what she had been missing all those years. Life on Earth was quiet and undemanding. It was perfect. She wouldn't trade it for anything in the universe. Ryoko's gaze returned to Tenchi, who was now looking at her. He reached out and took her hand in his. Ryoko let him pull her closer and their lips met. As they kissed, Ryoko could detect a change in the air. She inhaled deeply, getting a good whiff. The air was full of pheromones, sexual pheromones. Even as she identified the airborne chemicals, she could feel Tenchi's kisses becoming more urgent, more passionate. The natural stimulants were starting to have their effect on her, increasing her desire. She leaned into him, pressing their bodies together. Tenchi wrapped his arms around her as she gently pushed him down. Ryoko sat on top of him as she leaned over to kiss him. She began to grind her hips into him, causing Tenchi to release small grunts of pleasure. The air was so full of pheromones she could taste them. Sexual desire exploded in Ryoko and she gave herself totally to it. She kissed him, ran her hands over his body, ground into him, moaned loudly, doing everything she could to push Tenchi into the same frenzy she felt herself in. It didn't take long at all. Tenchi was grabbing her all over, his tongue working the inside of her mouth. Ryoko was hit with an urgent need for release, but at the same time she knew the ground would be a poor place for it. However she certainly didn't feel like stopping and walking back to the house. She glanced over at her home, looking at the window of the bedroom she shared with Tenchi. She quickly judged the distance to the window, then the distance from the window to the bed. Once she was sure of the range she willed herself and Tenchi to their destination. They vanished from under the tree and reappeared right above the bed. As soon as they landed she phased them both out of their clothing. Tenchi looked slightly annoyed, Ryoko knew he loved to undress her, but she just couldn't wait. She quickly positioned herself over him, then, allowing for some restraint, slowly slid Tenchi's manhood into her. She felt his hands tighten and dig into her arms, though just barely. One thing Ryoko had learned early on was the need to be careful with her strength. The first time she and Tenchi had 'made out', she nearly broke his arm. When they had gotten married and were on their honeymoon, Ryoko had actually been the one to be reluctant about having sex. She had been afraid she'd hurt him. However, Tenchi had had a big surprise for her that night. When she had told him of her concern, he'd laughed lightly and grabbed her arm. Imagine her surprise when a small tinge of pain shot up her arm. She must of had the mother of all dumb, shocked looks because Tenchi had just laughed harder. He let go of her arm and caressed her face, telling her not to worry, that the Juri power had more uses than just combat. At that point she pounced on Tenchi in eager anticipation, only to have him flip her around so she ended up on the bed and he was on top. Tenchi had dominated her that night and it was still the best night of her life that Ryoko could remember. Now she waited for Tenchi to power up, so she could screw him without worrying about breaking anything. She felt a faint electric tingle that pulsed between her and Tenchi everywhere their bodies touched. It felt wonderful, especially where his penis rubbed against her vaginal walls. She felt the strength in his grip increase and knew he was ready. Unable to wait any longer, Ryoko began to bounce in Tenchi lap. The simplicity of the action belied the amount of pleasure it brought. The gentle rubbing of Tenchi's shaft against her inner sides sent waves of bliss radiating through her body. Tenchi grabbed Ryoko by the hips and began to thrust into her motion, increasing the feeling. Ryoko's breaths came in short, shallow gasps broken periodically by moans that came faster and louder with each passing second. After every moan she would say his name. At first she just whispered it, but as the feelings increased, so did the volume. The euphoric sensation soon became the only tactile sensation Ryoko was aware of. It even began to block out her other senses as it escalated. Her eyes began to roll back in her head and she was only dimly aware of the sounds of Tenchi's rapid breathing and the banging of the headboard on the wall. Suddenly she felt his whole body tense and flush hot. There was a wild, pulsing sensation against her inner walls and a liquid warmth shot into her. Ryoko screamed in ecstasy as these new feelings overwhelmed her, pushing her body past it's built in sensory limit. Ignorance truly became bliss as Ryoko was aware of nothing beyond the sensations shooting through her. Seconds were drawn out as hours and Ryoko could imagine spending the rest of eternity in that moment. Then, gradually, the world came back into focus, and exhaustion drug her down on top of her lover. As the air cooled the perspiration on her arms, legs, and back the warmth between her stomach and chest and Tenchi's seemed to increase. It was a soothing warmth that calmed her body and mind. Ryoko was only partially aware when Tenchi rolled her onto her side. For a brief instant the warmth left, but quickly returned along with a light, soft weight that covered her body. She snuggled into Tenchi underneath the covers and fell asleep thinking how good he felt. A few hours later Ryoko and Tenchi were jarred from sleep by a tremendous explosion that shook the entire house. Tenchi jumped out of the bed and got to the window before Ryoko even sat up. She quickly joined him. " What the hell was that?", Ryoko asked. She searched the landscape for some sign of the blast. Suddenly Tenchi pointed skyward. " Up there", He exclaimed. Ryoko followed his finger up and let out a small gasp. A ship was streaking earthward as columns of smoke poured forth from it. However, they didn't pay much attention to the smoke. It was the ship's design that held their attention. While neither one of them had ever seen this particular ship before, they had seen the design. Four wing-like structures surrounding a cone shaped center with a domed middle. They only knew of two ships that shared that design, Ryo-ohki and Ken-ohki. This ship was clearly neither of the two. It was bright red with a sky blue dome. It's wings were crescent shaped and split at the tip into three spines. As Tenchi and Ryoko watched the ship fired at something that was still hidden by the clouds. A ball of electric energy formed behind it before a bolt of lightning flashed into the clouds. From the clouds four other ships appeared. Ryoko gasped in surprise when she saw they too were cabbit ships. The lead ship was orange with black stripes and spike like wings that were folded back at a steep angle. To it's left was a green ship with fore facing wings that curved in like the mandibles of some carnivorous insect. The ship to the right was yellow with red, wavy stripes and spiked wings that bent half way down away from the center and then back. The last ship was silver with razor like wings that split a third of the way from the end at a forty-five degree angle. A ball of greenish energy formed in front of the lead ship before splitting into five separate burst that arced out before zeroing in on the smoking ship. It dodged to the right but the blasts followed it. Another monestrous explosion resulted and Tenchi and Ryoko were forced to close their eyes to protect them form the brightness of the blast. When they looked again the ship was smoking even worse than before. A wing broke loose and it went into a nose dive that landed it in the forest about seven miles from the house. The attacking formation then broke up. The three rearward ships flew over the wreak and sent their own blasts down upon it. The lead ship turned and headed straight for the house. " Ryoko, our clothes", Tenchi ordered. Ryoko quickly obeyed and in a second they were both dressed again. " Take us across the field" Ryoko grabbed hold of Tenchi and teleported them both to the far end of the field. Once there Tenchi pulled her into the forest. They watched as the ship came to a stop near the house. For a moment Ryoko was worried that it was going to blast the house to ashes. Instead though it floated out over the field. A beam of light shot from the bottom and deposited a man on the field. He wore a black suit that had a red stripe on the right shoulder and four red dots on his left. He was a small man, only a little over five feet tall. His hair was bright yellow. However what caught Tenchi's attention was his eyes. Except for being red, they looked exactly like Ryoko's. He glanced down and was equally shocked to find that the man had a short tail. As soon as he landed his ship transformed into a cabbit that quickly took it's place on his shoulder. Soon after the other three ships returned and their pilots joined him. The green ship deposited a huge giant of an individual who had on an identical suit with the exception of only having three dots on the shoulder. He had brown hair and eyes, but his eyes were also very cat like and he had a tail as well. The pilot of the yellow ship was a young man with black hair and blue eyes. He also had only three shoulder dots on his outfit. The final individual was a tall, thin man with a black beard and hair. He only sported two dots on his outfit. The short man took a step toward the forest. " Ryoko, I know your in there. Show yourself or we'll be forced to blast you out!", he bellowed in a surprising loud voice. Ryoko glanced over at Tenchi. " What should we do?", she asked him. Tenchi kept his gaze straight ahead. " Let me handle this", he told her. With that he stepped forward out of the trees. Ryoko followed behind him. " What do you want?", he yelled to the man. The man didn't even look at Tenchi. His gaze was solely upon Ryoko. " Ryoko, you are coming with us. If you resist than we will take you by force.", he stated. " Now just a damn minute!", Tenchi yelled. " I don't know who the hell you think you are but no one talks to my wife like that!" The man finally turned his head to acknowledge Tenchi's presence. " I am Hushira, third captain of the fifth fleet of the xon alliance. I am under orders to capture Ryoko and Ryo-ohki and bring them back alive. Do not interfere or you will die." His eyes narrowed "You got that?" " Yeah, I got it", Tenchi replied calmly. He reached into his shirt and pulled out the Jurian sword that shared his name. In a flash the blue-white blade sprung to life as Tenchi let his energy flow into the handle. " Now get this. No one takes my wife anywhere against her will." " Fool", Hushira spat. He turned to face his companions. " Kill him, I will capture Ryoko" The three men nodded and stepped forward. Suddenly there came three quick flashes and each one held forth a glowing blade of energy in their hand. Tenchi watched with no noticeable reaction. He slowly dropped down into a fighting stance. " Come get me", he challenged. With a thunderous yell the giant launched himself at Tenchi. At the same instant the other vanished and reappeared on either side of him. Tenchi ducked as they swung their swords in an effort to remove his head from his neck. Before they could recover from their swing, Tenchi released a wave of energy that threw them backwards. He then brought his sword up to block as the giant swung his blade in a downward arc that would have split Tenchi's left side from his right. Tenchi knocked the giant's blade to his left and buried his knee in the big man's gut. The man doubled over form the blow and Tenchi smashed him on the back of his head. He then pushed off the man's back as the other two flew at him. He blocked one sword with his own and the other with a small energy shield. As soon as he touched the ground Tenchi threw himself forward and between the two. He swung upward and the man to his right lost his arm at the wrist. Spinning, Tenchi brought the blade down at his other opponent who barely managed to block it. A flash of light from his left warned Tenchi of the energy blast the giant had sent toward him. Tenchi leapt backward and the beam scorch the air he had previously occupied. The giant teleported next to his partner. The third man joined them, his arm newly regenerated. Tenchi stared down the trio as he waited for them to make their next move. It only took three moves for Ryoko to realize that she didn't have a chance at beating Hushira. Ryoko had blocked his overhead swing easily enough, but then he had pulled back and swung at her in a horizontal arc with such speed that she had barely had time to react. She hadn't even recovered from the shock of the blow when Hushira swung completely around and bashed her in the side of the head with the bottom of his fist. If he had been trying to kill her, Ryoko knew she would be dead now. However he was trying to take her alive, and she intended to take full advantage of that fact. While the blow had staggered her, it hadn't done as much damage as it could have. However Ryoko let herself fall to the ground, acting like she was hurt much more than she really was. Hushira fell for it and moved in with his guard down. Ryoko spun onto her back and let loose as powerful a blast as she could. However it missed as Hushira twisted sideways with incredible speed. Ryoko was stunned. He had dodged her blast even though he was a mere three feet away form her. He lashed out with a savage kick that caught her under the chin and sent her skidding across the ground. Ryoko dug her fingers into the soil to stop herself. She looked up just in time to see Hushira flying toward her. She rolled to her right as his foot crashed through the ground where her head had been. Before she could get up though he drove his knee into her stomach, pinning her to ground. Hushira pulled his fist back and took aim at Ryoko's face. She knew she couldn't beat his speed, and with him on top of her she couldn't dodge the blow. However she was far from ready to give up. As he drove his fist at her, Ryoko chose to head in the same direction, down. Hushira's punch connected with the ground as Ryoko phased down into the soil. A second later he followed her. As the fight increased in intensity, Tenchi began to worry that he might not be able to win. Individually he could have beaten each one of them barehanded. However they fought as a team and clearly had fought together for a long time. Each one used his own strengths to compensate for any weakness of his teammates. Tenchi realized he would have to split them up if he hoped to beat them. " But how do you scatter a group of opponents who can teleport back together in an instant.", Tenchi asked himself. The trio had him entirely on the defensive, their attacks coming too fast for him to make his own. They were slowly pushing him back toward the lake. Tenchi saw this for the bad situation that it was. He couldn't fight them and swim at the same time. He also couldn't outrun them. Tenchi's energy field told him he was only a dozen or so steps from the water's edge. If he didn't think of something fast, he was dead. Unfortunately being in the middle of a three on one sword fight didn't leave him much time to think. Tenchi took a step back and instead of landing on solid ground, his foot sunk up to the ankle in wet mud. Unbalanced, Tenchi was forced to take some of his attention off the fight to keep himself from falling over. This left a huge opening in his defenses that his opponents were quick to take advantage of. The giant man's foot contacted squarely with his ribs and Tenchi felt and heard several crack. He landed face up in the mud, his sword fell from his grasp. Cut off from it's power supply the blade vanished. " Gotcha", the giant grunted as he raised his blade, aiming it straight down at Tenchi's heart. Tenchi felt his body tense up and he fought the urge to close his eyes. " Excuse me", spoke a calm, quite voice from behind the trio. " Who the...", the giant's words were cut off by a loud crack. The big man teetered for a second, then fell flat on his face. His view now unobstructed, Tenchi could now see his grandfather, bokken in hand, facing down the remaining two fighters. " It would be wise if you two left and took your friend with you", Katsuhito calmly informed the remaining fighters. He stood straight up, his bokken casually draped across his shoulder. The men looked down at the unconscious form of the giant, then at Katsuhito. Anger twisted their faces and they attacked. Ryoko quickly phased down through the surface soil and into the underlying bedrock. She headed straight down, moving as fast as she could through the dense rock. Half a mile down she made a ninety degree turn and moved a few hundred feet off her original path before continuing back down. After three more coarse changes and five more miles she stopped to try and locate Hushira. Being underground and out of phase with reality however only left her with one sense she could still use, her hearing. She strained her ears as she listened for the distinct sound made by phased matter passing through unphased matter. As she waited, Ryoko could feel a pressure building up inside her. She had never been out of phase with reality for this long before, she wasn't sure how long she could hold out. " At least I don't have to breath when I'm phased, I doubt I could hold my breath very long.", she thought. She still couldn't hear Hushira and she began to worry. She didn't want to move because it would give away her position, but the pressure was starting to become difficult to hold back. She was about to head back up when something slammed into her from behind. From the feel of it, Ryoko guessed it to be Hushira's boot. His kick nailed her in the shoulder and sent her flying through the rocks. She flew into a layer of denser stone and it hit her like a human belly-flopping into a pool. She recovered just in time to dodge the next attack. Ryoko heard the blow phase past her ear. She moved back quickly but still got brushed in the arm by another attack. Ryoko allowed it to spin her around and she headed down again. This time she didn't bother trying to throw him off, she dove straight down, aiming for the planet's core. Both men brought their swords around in an overhead arc as they rushed Katsuhito. To Tenchi's amazement he didn't try to dodge, but instead brought his bokken up to block the twin strikes. Even more amazing was the fact that the wooden sword wasn't cut in half, but actually stopped the energy blades. The beam swords struck the wood and released a storm of electric energy. Tenchi suddenly realized what his grandfather had done. He had surrounded the bokken with his energy, forming a force field that protected the wood. Katsuhito's opponents were completely caught off guard when their swords did not slice through the wood as they had expected. Katsuhito took full advantage and swept both their blades to the side before striking the man on his left in the temple. He collapsed bonelessly to the ground. The other man fired a blast of energy, but Katsuhito easily sidestepped it. " You should have left", Katsuhito said. At that the man lost it. Losing a fight seemed to be something he wasn't used to, and having his opponent mock him pushed his anger to it's limits. He let out a earthshaking yell and flew up into the sky. He thrust his hands out toward Katsuhito as he gathered up all the power he could, forming it into a massive ball of energy. Unfortunately he was so focused on Katsuhito, he forgot all about Tenchi. He never saw the blast coming. Tenchi's shot struck the energy sphere, causing it to exploded right in the man's face. He fell to ground with wisps of smoke trailing off his body. Tenchi didn't even bother to watch him land. He was already running back toward the fields. "Tenchi, where are you going!?", his grandfather shouted. " There's one more, and he's after Ryoko!", Tenchi called back as he ran. Katsuhito watched his grandson run until he vanished over a hill. He then turned his attention back the three mysterious warriors just as the big one sat up. He walked up to the man and calmly knocked him out again. The temperature was becoming considerately uncomfortable, even for Ryoko. Being out of phase helped a lot, but Ryoko could feel sweat forming all over her body. Unfortunately without any air to evaporate it away, her perspiration could do little to cool her. Even so she continued down. She could hear Hushira right behind her, and she could hear him getting closer. Ryoko knew she couldn't change direction without him catching up with her. She had a plan, but she didn't know if it would work, or if she could even survive doing it, but it required her to keep heading down anyway. Ryoko tried to move faster, but it was getting hard to focus on her powers. The pressure in her body was becoming painful. Ryoko wasn't about to give in to a little pain though. She gritted her teeth and pushed on. The heat was unbearable, but she forced herself to take it. " Almost there, just a little more." Suddenly Ryoko was jerked to a stop. She felt a powerful hand wrapped around her ankle. Hushira pulled her toward him. " Let go!", Ryoko screamed as she kicked out. Her foot hit him, though she wasn't sure were. She kicked again and felt his grip weaken. A third kick broke his grip and she flew away from him, still heading down. A few minutes later, Ryoko found what she was looking for, the point were the heat was so great that the rock turned from solid to liquid. Ryoko knew she wouldn't be able to take the heat for very long, but she only need a few seconds. The melting line gave her what she needed, cover. As the rocks melted they cracked, split, and broke apart, causing endless creaking, groaning, and cracking. The noise would make it impossible for Hushira to follow her. Ryoko flew along the line, throwing in several random turns to make sure she'd lost him. By now the heat was beginning to burn her skin, and Ryoko was forced to head up. As she moved back toward the surface she struggled to keep focused over the pain that flowed through her. The pressure was now excruciating; it felt like her body was about to burst. Ryoko tried not to panic, she couldn't afford to lose it now. She didn't know what would happen if she unphased while in solid rock, and she certainly didn't feel like finding out. However she was running out of time, and of control. It was taking all she had to keep her powers working. At one point she lost focus for a second a she felt a painful scraping run along her hand. That quickly brought her attention back. Ryoko drew more power into her phasing ability. This slowed down her rate of travel. She found herself trapped in a circular power struggle. She had to keep herself phased, no matter what. However it was becoming harder and harder to stay phased. Because of this she had to feed more power to that ability, but that in turn took energy from her flight, slowing her down. That in turn increased the amount of time she would have to stay phased. The effects were taking their toll on her. Ryoko was starting to feel light headed and weak. She felt like she was just barely moving, crawling at a painfully slow rate. The real pain was still there, but it had become almost a background feeling. " Must...keep...focused...just a...little...further" Ryoko crossed the last few hundred feet only half conscious. She phased out of the ground and into the lake. Though she was still underwater, Ryoko couldn't hold out any more. Her powers failed her and she found herself submerged. She swallowed a mouthful of water before remembering that she had to hold her breath now. Ryoko half swam, half flew to the surface. She barely managed to crawl out of the water before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. " Have a good swim?" Ryoko looked up to find Hushira standing over her, his arm stretched out with his palm an inch from her face. There was a flash of light, and darkness overcame her. " Ryoko! Ryoko where are you!?", Tenchi called out as he ran. He did his best to ignore the sharp pains in his side as he ran. The fields were empty save for the four cabbits sitting near the edge. " Ryoko!" Tenchi stopped as he heard the familiar sound of teleportation come from behind him. " Ryoko?" Tenchi turned around and found Ryoko, but not how he wanted to. Ryoko was out cold, draped across Hushira's shoulder. Her skin was bright red from first degree burns. Her left hand was cut open and blood dripped slowly from her fingers. Her face was a mess, the skin cracked and a huge bruise forming at her temple. At the sight Tenchi felt something inside snap. Incredible anger and hatred filled him. The last time he had felt this way was when Kagato was about to kill Ayeka. However that was nothing compared to the feeling that surged through him at the sight of his wife, battered and beaten, being carried around like luggage. The blade of sword Tenchi erupted from the handle. Waves of energy radiated of the blade as his rage fueled his powers. Hushira had to form a shield to keep the waves from knocking him over. His face remained impassive, but Tenchi could see the fear in his eyes. It made him feel a little better. " Sui-noki, it's time to go!", Hushira called out. Immediately the orange and black striped cabbit jumped into the air, transforming into it's spaceship form. The other three cabbits quickly joined the first. " YOUR NOT GOING ANYWHERE BUT TO HELL!", Tenchi yelled. He leapt at Hushira, thrusting his blade toward the man heart. However his strike missed as Hushira was teleported onto his ship. " COME BACK HERE!" Tenchi swung the sword around, sending an arc of energy at the ship. However even with his powers pushed to their maximum by his anger, Tenchi simply couldn't match the ship in power, not by a long shot. The blast was easily deflected by the ship's shielding. The three other ships flew off to collect their pilots, while Hushira's remained floating above the field. Suddenly a crystal flew down and stopped in front of Tenchi. On it Hushira's smiling face appeared. " You know, I could kill you quite easily, but I don't think that's good enough for me now. Instead, I'm going to let you live for a while. I'll be back someday to finish you off. That way you can suffer knowing you'll never see your wife again, and that you couldn't do anything to save her." " This isn't over. I swear I'll get you for this" Upon hearing this, Hushira laughed. " And how do you plan to do that. Your people don't even have interplanetary ships yet, let alone interstellar ones. You have no way to follow us. Your stuck on..." The rest of Hushira's words were cut off as Tenchi sliced the crystal in half. The three other ships rejoined Hushira's, forming a floating diamond. Then all four ships streaked off, disappearing in seconds. " Where do you suppose their taking her?" Tenchi looked over his shoulder to see his grandfather standing behind him. " I know where their going", Tenchi said. Katsuhito's eyebrows shifted up slightly at Tenchi's words. " Hushira said he was to capture Ryoko and Ryo- ohki." Tenchi turned his gaze out over the forest, to the column of smoke that marked the crash site of the fifth ship. " Their going to Juri", Tenchi said as he started out toward the crashed ship. " And when they get there, I'll be waiting for them." To be continued... Writing a good story is hard. I must have reread and altered this story about ten times now to get it to have the right feel. So you better like it! Sorry. Alright, time to calm down. Anyway I hope you liked it, otherwise all the time I'll spend on the second half will be a waste of my time. So you have to like it! And you better read the second half as well, got it! Sorry. I sometimes get too emotional about my work. You don't have to like it if you don't want to, but I hope you do. Please write me and tell me what you think. And please don't write anything ignorant. If you didn't like it, don't write ," Your story sucks!" Instead try, " Your story sucks, how the hell could you let Ryoko get the shit kicked out of her like that." See the difference. The first kind of response, I'll just ignore. The second kind, I'll read and think, " maybe they have a point." Then I'll ignore it.