Disclaimer: You know, I don't know what keeps me going at times. Here I sit, writing this story, with no claim to anything that could actually make me money, such as Tenchi, Ryoko, Washu, etc. Instead, all I've got is the actual story and a few sub-characters. I must really be enjoying myself to put up with such conditions. I hope I am, or I'm just wasting a lot of time. Boy that sounds depressing. Well, at least you've read this far, that's all I care about. So sit back, put your feet up, and forget about the real world for a while cause here we go. No Need For Royalty Part IV Instinct, look it up. You'll find several definitions for the word, some more long winded than others, but all will mean the same basic thing. Action without thought. Instinct is usually thought of as something your born with that never changes. This is not true. Instinct can be learned, or forgotten. Just talk to anyone who's seen a lot of combat. Instinct is what saved Ryoko. The image of the grenade laying at her feet shot into her brain. Her rapid response neurons quickly recognized the danger the grenade represented and sent the image to her instinct control center. Working on it's own, her instinctual nerve net took over Ryoko's body. By this time, the image of the grenade had reached Ryoko's normal neural pathways, alerting her main processing nerves to the existence and proximity of the grenade. However, she was already in motion, acting even though her conscious self was just now aware of the threat. Ryoko dove at the grenade, literally. She flipped over with fluid grace, her body bent double for an instant before straightening out. She grabbed the grenade and willed it out of phase. Using her downward motion, she pushed the explosive through the floor. Ryoko went shoulder deep before releasing the grenade. However the device did not immediately return to phase with the universe. It held onto the energy field that surrounded it for another half- second, which was all the time it needed for it's timer to run out. Ryoko's fingers were just clearing the surface of the floor when the grenade went off. The explosion cracked the hardened ceramic flooring, pushing up with a rapid bulging action that sent razor edged chips flying. Being directly over the blast point, Ryoko intercepted the vast majority of the tiny missiles. She gave a short cry of surprise and pain as they dug under her skin. Blood squirted out from the wounds, running in tiny streams down her body. Her natural reaction, to move as far away from the source of her pain as fast as possible, only served to cause her to jerk back and run into the wall. Her head slammed into the heavy wood with a dull cracking sound. Fortunately it was the wood that cracked and not her skull, but the impact jarred Ryoko badly and her vision lost focus. She slumped down to the floor, holding her head in her hands as pain proceeded to play soccer with her brain. There came a sound like gravel being walked on and Ryoko looked up. At first all she could see was a dark blur outlined by a blinding light. She focused her healing abilities slightly and the image jumped into focus. The blur turned out to be a rather large, powerful looking woman holding a rather large, powerful looking gun. Ryoko tried to move, but her body couldn't comply. She was still too disoriented, her body needed time to get in sync. A glance at Kiyone revealed she wasn't going to be able to do anything either. A fair sized piece of the floor had struck her along the temple, cutting a nasty gash clear to the bone. She had landed on her side and the blood was running in her eyes, blinding her. Mihoshi seemed equally helpless, the blonde detective curled up in a tight ball that suggested she'd been hit in the stomach. The large woman seemed to agree that the two officers were no threat to her. She ignored them as she lifted her weapon at Ryoko. She was so focused on eliminating what she perceived as the greatest threat, that she left herself totally unguarded. As it turned out, Mihoshi wasn't hurt as bad as she seemed. The officer exploded off the floor, slamming into the woman with a vicious elbow to the kidney. Taken completely off guard, the woman was pitched forward, though she managed to regain her balance before falling on her face. She somehow sensed Mihoshi moving in for a second attack, and she jabbed backward with the butt of her gun, aiming for the detective's face. An inch from connecting though, Mihoshi pivoted on her heel, sweeping the gun past her head at the same time with her hand. Her other arm struck out, hitting the connecting point between the shoulder and the arm with a twin finger strike that jammed between the cartilage around the joint, sending a shockwave of pain down the woman's arm the sprung her hand open. Mihoshi jerked the gun out of her grasp and pitched it aside. She then closed the woman's gasping mouth with a palm strike that loosened several teeth and snapped her head back. She was knocked out while still on her feet. Instead of being knocked down, she fell down when her legs stopped receiving signals from her brain. " Holy shit!" Ryoko gasped. For a moment she considered that she might be delusional from hitting her head. She'd never seen Mihoshi move with such speed or coordination. " Are you alright?" Mihoshi asked Ryoko. " I'm fine," Ryoko lied. She was still pretty messed up, but her body would repair itself quickly enough. There was a sudden movement outside the doorway. Two armed men moved in quickly, their weapons held ready. Mihoshi jumped sideways as one of the men took a shot at her, the energy blast barely missing the office. She landed in a roll and sprung back to her feet, pulling her blaster in the same motion. Taking aim as she rose, Mihoshi was about to fire, when she tripped over the body of the fallen woman and fell on her butt. " Oww! That hurt!" she complained. Ryoko would have rolled her eyes if she'd had the time. However there were more important things to do at that moment. Fortunately Mihoshi's actions had diverted the men's attention away from Ryoko. The pirate let loose a blast of energy that fried them were they stood. The blackened corpses crumbled to the floor, raising tiny clouds of dust. Mihoshi stood up slowly, looking quite embarrassed. Ryoko managed to climb to he feet by supporting most her weight with her flight powers. Mihoshi suddenly remembered Kiyone and rushed to check on her partner. " How is she?" Ryoko asked. " I don't know," Mihoshi replied. " I think she's really hurt." Ryoko could hear the officer's voice starting to waver. " Kiyone, hey Kiyone wake up. Kiyone!" Ryoko limped over to were Mihoshi was cradling Kiyone's head in her lap. " Ryoko, I think she needs a doctor." " Oh great, what else can go wrong?" Just then the lights flickered, and then went off completely. " The longer I stay here, the more I hate this place," Nagi complained. " Who the hell builds a ship without a backup generator?" " Actually there is a backup," Ydal's voice answered from the darkness. " But it's reserved for the engineering section of the ship." " Leaving us to deal with the darkness." " You make it sound so dire." " Normally it wouldn't be, but normally there isn't an all out war going on." " Can't fight if you can't see." " Exactly my point, we can't see. But anyone or anything that doesn't perceive their surroundings by visible light isn't handicapped like we are." " You know, I might not be able to see, but that doesn't mean I'm blind." " What do you mean?" " I can send out psy-waves and use the reflections like sonar. It's crude and doesn't give much detail, but we should be able to get around without running into anything." " Fine, just as long as it will get us out of here. Now where are you?" " Over here" Ydal reached through the darkness for Nagi. However when he found her, he was surprised by how soft she felt. Suddenly something smashed him across the face. " Watch your hands!" Nagi exploded. Ydal rubbed his jaw, trying to restore the feeling. " Sorry." He reached out, higher this time, and grabbed her shoulder. He felt Nagi take his hand in hers with an iron grip. " Lead the way," she ordered. " I live to serve." Ydal said under his breath. He headed into the darkness, pulling Nagi along with him. His jaw was starting to throb, but at least nothing felt broken. " Well that could have gone smoother" Despite the pain, Ydal smiled to himself. " On the plus side, it was worth it." Ryoko lead the way, holding her sword overhead so they could see. She was really on edge, her senses straining to see through the darkness. Her sword made a poor flashlight, and even worse, it made her and the two officers great targets. Even worse, none of them was in any condition to fight. Kiyone was completely out, and Mihoshi had been rendered useless by having to carry her unconscious partner. Ryoko was still hurting from her injuries. Her rapid healing abilities were working much slower than normal due the fact that she was running low on energy. She badly needed to rest. Unfortunately there wasn't time. It was getting less and less safe to be anywhere in Pirate City. The war was totally out of control, even the darkness did little to slow the fighting. In fact the darkness itself was a sign of how bad things had gotten. It meant the battle had spread out of the city and into the rest of the ship. It was definitely time to leave. Loss of lighting was one thing, loss of life support, or reactor containment, was something else entirely. " Which way?" Mihoshi asked. " I don't know," Ryoko answered. " You don't? But I thought you knew your way around this place." " I do, but we can't leave yet." " Why?" " We got to find someone first." " Who?" " Nagi" " What?! Why would you want to find her, and how do you know she's here?" " Because I came here with her. Look it's a long story and we don't have time right now. The only way we're getting out of here is to find Nagi, otherwise I doubt Ken-ohki here will help us." " Choa!" the cabbit confirmed. " Wait a minute, that's Ken-ohki? But..." " I know, he looks like Ryo-ohki. It's a disguise. Like I said, long story." " But Ryoko, Kiyone and I have a ship. It's in the docking bay." " It won't do us any good there." " What do you mean?" " By now the docking bay's been totally locked down, there's no way any ship will be leaving now. Even if we could get in, we'd have to blast are way through the bay doors, then we'd have to deal with the particle cannons around the entrance, then we'd have to avoid the anti-matter launchers on the hull. Sorry, but that's more than even I'm willing to risk." " Well then I hope we find Nagi soon." " As much as it pains me to say, so do I." Ryoko picked a direction a random. She tried to stay close to the buildings, hoping they would provide some cover. She could hear the war raging through the city, but for now it seemed to be moving away from them. She hoped it would keep moving away. Behind her, Mihoshi stumbled and nearly dropped her partner. Ryoko waited for her to get up. She wished she could help more, but she was even more messed up than Mihoshi. If it wasn't for her powers she would in worse shape than Kiyone. " You want to rest?" she asked. " No, I can make it." Mihoshi took a moment to get a better hold on Kiyone. " Lets go." Ten minutes later, though it felt more like ten hours, Ryoko was having a hard time not screaming. Trying to find someone in pitch darkness with a ten foot light radius seemed just about impossible. To make things worse, everything looked the same under the orange glow of her sword, making it feel like they were going in circles. Ryoko was actually debating the wisdom of calling out Nagi's name when she caught the scent of burnt flesh. That itself wasn't surprising, considering the state of things, but the smell seemed even stronger than normal. Ryoko wasn't sure what it meant, but it put her even more on edge. Her ears twitched as she walked, searching for anything her eyes might miss. The smell was becoming unbearable. She started breathing through her mouth in a vain attempt to block out the stench. Something was defiantly wrong, but what? Three more steps brought her to the answer. With an audible crunch, Ryoko felt her foot sink into something partly hard and crunchy, partly soft and gooey. She looked down and for a moment wasn't sure what she was looking at. She shifted her sword, changing the angle of the light. The image jumped out at her, of burnt skin and blackened bones. She was standing in the charred remains of some poor individual who had apparently suffered a slow, agonizing death. His or hers or it's remains were twisted in the last spasms of pain, the mouth frozen open in a dead scream. Ryoko barely managed not to scream as she yanked her foot out of the corpse. She took a step back, and froze as she felt and heard something else crunch underfoot. This time she did scream, a short, cutoff yell as she kicked her foot free, sending the other body flying into the darkness. Then the darkness vanished, replaced by a blinding light. Ryoko felt an intense heat and realized that she'd walked right into a trap. She dodged to her right, but she couldn't totally avoid the fire. The plasma thrower raked ultra heated gas across her arm, instantly charring the flesh. Ryoko screamed in mindless pain. She heard a high pitched whine that part of her brain recognized as the plasma thrower pulling in air for the next burst, but that thought never made it past the pain clouding her mind. The heat struck again, but this time it was mild compared to before. It was still blazing hot, but not so much that it burned. Ryoko risked opening her eyes and saw the glowing hot gas of the plasma burst, but it seemed to flowing around her. Then she saw it, a faint glimmer under the plasma. It was an energy field of some kind, and the only reason she was still alive. The plasma burst ended and Ryoko could hear the confused voices of the gun's operators yelling. Ryoko was equally confused, but she didn't waste time yelling. Pulling up her last reserves of energy, she sent as powerful a blast as she could manage in the direction of the plasma thrower. Her aim was dead on and the thrower exploded with a muffled boom. Then the fire set off the fuel tank, and the whole block shook with the ensuing explosion. Windows shattered for blocks and the shock wave knocked the air from Ryoko's lungs. She must of blacked out, because the next thing she knew, Nagi was standing over her, shaking her awake. Ryoko's natural reaction to finding herself in such close proximity to Nagi took over and she threw a punch at the hunter. As weak as she was though, Nagi caught her fist without effort. " Knock it off," she told Ryoko. Nagi pulled her to her feet. Ryoko felt light headed and she almost fell over before Nagi caught her. " Pathetic," Nagi muttered. Ryoko shoved the bounty hunter, but only succeeded in unbalancing herself. This time Mihoshi caught her. " Ryoko, are you okay?" she asked. " I could really use a stiff drink about now," Ryoko answered weakly. She managed to stand up by leaning on Mihoshi's shoulder. " Hey, where's Kiyone?" " I got her," an unfamiliar voice called out. Ryoko looked over to see a young man with blond hair and well kept clothing covered with expensive metals and gems. He was carrying Kiyone over his shoulder with no apparent effort. " Wait a minute, I remember you. I saw you at Pol's bar. What are you doing here?" " He's a freeloader who needs a ride out of here," Nagi answered for him. " Unfortunately he's got some useful skills, so he's worth having around." By now the fires from the explosion were starting to die down and it was getting hard to see again. Ryoko tried to form her sword, but it died after a second. " Shit, I'm totally spent." " Your useless is what you are," Nagi told her. " Your lucky I plan to kill you some day, or I'd leave you here." " It's so comforting to know how little you care." " If we could put the animosity aside for the moment, we still need to get out of here," Ydal interrupted. " I hate to find myself agreeing with you, but your right," Nagi said. " Ken-ohki, lets go!" " Choa!" The cabbit leapt skyward, transforming into it's spaceship form. A second later Ryoko and the others found themselves inside the ship. " Ken-ohki, lower the damned lights and then get us out of here," Nagi ordered. The lights dimmed to the point that everyone could see without squinting. Nagi took the controls and steered them toward the Dome's ceiling. " Nagi, not to be doubting your decisions but what the hell are you doing?" Ydal asked. " I'm getting us the hell out of here." Nagi threw the controls full forward, and the cabbit shot toward the ceiling like a rocket. " Holy shit!" Ydal yelled. On the view screen the ceiling came rocketing toward them, and then it was gone, replaced by the swirling gases of the planet. " What...what just happened?" " I'll be damned," Ryoko uttered. " Ken-ohki knows how to move out of phase while transformed!" " You make it sound like such a big deal Ryoko," Nagi said. She managed to fly them out of the planet quickly and make a jump into hyperspace. " I'm sure Ryo-ohki could do the same, if you ever took the time to train her properly. But I suppose you have more important things to do since you married that half breed primate excuse for a..." Nagi was cut off as Ryoko punched her across the jaw. " I don't give a fuck what you think or say about me, but don't you ever, ever talk that way about Tenchi." " What are you going do about it?!" Nagi responded with a hard jab. Ryoko kicked her in the stomach, but Nagi managed to catch her leg before she pulled back and dumped her on her back. " Pretty sad Ryoko, defiantly not up to your usual standard." Ryoko started to get up, but Nagi pushed her back down with her foot. " At least wait until you get your strength back before trying anything again, it's not much fun otherwise." She gave Ryoko a hard kick in the ribs to keep her down, then headed off for another part of the ship. " Ken-ohki, set a course for Juri and alert me when we get there." She paused in the doorway to her quarters and looked back over her shoulder. " You all can use the holding chambers to sleep if you want, just ask Ken-ohki to show you the way." She took another step and the door slammed shut. Tenchi sat in the dark, back straight, fingers intertwined. He gazed off into the darkness, trying to clear his mind of all thoughts. His ribs were still sore, but the Juri power had done a good job of mending the cracked bone and he was able to ignore it. He was aware of his surrounds and of his own state of being, but in an objective way. His pulse and breathing slowed as his body relaxed. Tenchi could feel his mind starting to drift, become disconnected from his body. He became aware of the swirling energy fields of the planet as his mind became further removed. He let them carry his thoughts with them. The energy flowed from the life force of every living creature on Juri, only to caught by the field of the planet itself and swept back into the core where it spread back out to be used again. Tenchi let his thoughts be carried by this current. He could feel the immense power flowing through the planet. " Tenchi" " Ryoko!" Tenchi's meditative state crumbled as Ryoko's voice filled his ears. His eyes snapped into focus and he could see her standing before him. " Tenchi" She reached for him and he grabbed her hand, only to have the image fade to nothing. Tenchi was left frozen, his hand still outstretched. He felt a dark hole open inside him and suck in his heart as he realized he had just been hallucinating. " AaaaaaaaaaAAAAHHHHHH!!" Anger quickly filled the void left within him and he released his frustration through his power. " Tenchi?" He looked up and saw Washu peering in the doorway at him. Behind her he could see the broken remains of the door. When he didn't respond, Washu slowly made her way toward him, stepping carefully among the ruined furniture. She sat down in front of him and waited. Tenchi wasn't sure what to say, so he looked off to the side to avoid her gaze. After a few moments it was obvious to Washu that she would have to get things started. " Are you all right Tenchi?" " I'm fine," Tenchi snapped. He still wouldn't look at her. Washu took a quick survey of the room. " Well then, if this is what you consider fine then I'd hate to imagine what your like when your upset." The coldness in her voice snapped his head toward her. Her face was one of disapproval, like a parent angry with her child. Tenchi felt his rage rebuilding, but he couldn't hold onto it. It slipped away, leaving him feeling drained. " I'm sorry Washu, I didn't mean to be rude." " Tenchi, Tenchi, Tenchi...what am I going to do with you?" " What do you mean?" " You know Tenchi, you are the biggest, and for the most part, only source of constant mystery in my life. I have spent more time trying to figure you out then I'm willing to admit." " I don't understand." " Of course you don't, that's how you are. You've got an amazing ability to just accept things, whether they make sense or not. After all, you seemed to think nothing of having six extraterrestrial women just show up and stay at your house with a minimal of explanation and without any prior warning. The fact that you were able to just accept that is astounding, especially considering that until then you had no idea if life existed elsewhere in the universe or not. But that didn't matter to you. The answer to the question half the scientists on Earth would give their right arms for moves in with you and soon it's just another part of your life." " Ah, now I understand." " Do you?" " Yes, your trying to distract me so I'm not thinking about Ryoko." " So what if I am." Tenchi let out a slight chuckle that turned into a sigh. He reached out and gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. " Thank you Washu." " Your welcome, and don't worry, we'll get her back." " I know, it's just hard to sit here and wait." " Well it shouldn't be too much longer." She stood up and pulled him to his feet. " You go find something to do while I take care of this mess. And try not to blow up anything else, I don't think Ayeka would approve." " Thank you, and I'm sor..." " No," Washu interrupted. " No apologies, just go." " But..." " Don't argue with me, you won't win. You can't win." Tenchi could only smile in response. " Get going Tenchi." " Alright," Tenchi held his hands up in surrender. He started to leave, but stopped in the doorway. " I am though," he said softly " What?" " Nothing, just talking to myself, sorry." He left quickly before Washu could reply. " I don't think I'm ever going to understand him," Washu said to herself. She then summoned her holo-top and began instructing her robots to repair the room. Nagi was busy repairing her blaster-sword when there came a knock on door. She was going to ignore it, but a moment later she felt something, like a gentle tugging on her mind. " Come in," she spoke loudly. The door opened and Ydal walked in. He took a minute to glance around the room. The room was bare except for a small bed and a stand that held her weapons and various tools. " You know, it makes one wonder, where does he store these things when he's not a ship?" Ydal said. " You want something?" Nagi asked, ignoring his question. Ydal went on with missing a beat. " Just came to see how your doing." " I'm fine" " That you are, even more so now that you took off that disguise. I like your hair better like it is now," Ydal said with a slight grin. Nagi took half a second to glare at him, then went back to work on her sword. With a sigh, Ydal walked over and sat down by her on the floor. " You know, you could use some work on taking compliments." " Why, I don't ask for them. Makes no difference to me how you feel, as long as you don't piss me off." " You know you say that very convincingly." " That's because it's the truth." " Nagi, has anyone ever told you what a great liar you are?" Nagi put down her sword and turned to face him. " Oh really?" she asked in a low voice. " Yeah, you are. Any normal person would have believed you." " Yes, but your not normal are you?" Nagi's hand suddenly shot out, grabbed Ydal by the hair, and pulled him in close before he could react. " Lets get something straight right now," she hissed into his ear. " Stay out of my head, or I'll take yours off your shoulders." To his credit, Ydal kept talking as if nothing had happened. " I wasn't in your head. I'm only telepathic at extremely close range." " How close?" " Forehead to forehead. Beyond that, things get fuzzy. However, my empathic abilities work as far as my power's range. That's how I could tell you were lying, I could sense the dishonesty in you." " So there's no possible way to lie to you?" " Not without me knowing." " So how do I know when your lying or not?" " About what?" " All these things you been saying to me. What are you up to?" " I'm not up to anything, I say what I say because that's how I feel." " And I'm just suppose to buy that?" " Not if you don't want to, but if my word won't convince you, maybe this will." Nagi felt something surround her, a pressing feeling that held her tightly but without hurting her. She felt her fingers pried open and Ydal sifted positions so he was kneeling in front of her. Nagi struggled to move, but it was like trying to stand up in a ten g gravity field. Ydal grabbed ether side of her head and brought his forehead to rest against hers. Nagi steeled herself for his first push, thankful she'd had some training on resisting mental probes. However, instead of trying to push his mind into hers, Ydal drew Nagi into him. She had no idea how to block against that, she'd never even heard of such a thing. In an instant she was bombarded by thoughts. Hundreds of memories flowed past her, but she could only get a feel of them. She saw things, events, thoughts, fantasies, ideas, memories, feelings. It was overwhelming. Nagi felt she was going to lose herself among it all. Then she felt a strong, friendly aura wash over her. It helped stabilize her, allowing her to separate herself from the mental storm. " Go on Nagi, see for yourself," Ydal's voice spoke, though Nagi heard it as if it was her own thought. " See what?" she demanded. " You wanted to know how I feel, wether I meant what I've said or if I'm just trying to trick you. Well now you can find out. Go on, you read my mind." Nagi couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she didn't waste time. It felt strange to go through another persons mind and part of her wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that he has a guy. She searched until she found something that for some reason, felt right. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she knew as certainly as if it was stamped with a big label that read 'Nagi'. She hesitated though. After all, she was about to look into another persons thoughts. There would be no guessing, no interpreting, no secretes. She would know exactly how he felt about her with perfect accuracy. Nagi started to look, but stopped herself. It just felt wrong, she couldn't do it. " LET ME GO!" Abruptly everything shifted and Nagi felt herself snap back into her own mind. She stared at Ydal who wore a look of utter surprise. Nagi found herself short of breath and her skin was cool and damp from sweat. Ydal seemed a little better off, but he was also sweating and breathing hard. " You didn't look," Ydal said after a few minutes. " I...I couldn't do it," Nagi responded slowly. " It...it just didn't...didn't feel right." " But I thought you want to know." " I did, but I didn't need to look. The fact that you were going to let me is more than enough." She reached out and grabbed him by the hair again. " Hey, what did..." " Shut up," Nagi interrupted. Then she silenced his protests with a strong, lustful kiss. She used his hair to pull him down to the floor where she climbed on top of him. " Are you just going to lie there?" she asked of his stunned inactivity. " Or do I have to take my clothes off myself?" She kissed him again, one hand still holding his hair while the other began undoing any buttons, latches and other such things as she could find. Nagi finally felt his hands start to wander across her body, searching deeply into any nook or cranny that they found. She growled in his face while he groped her. She eventually got his shirt undone and flung the heavy cloth across the room. Nagi drug her nails across his chest, leaving red marks and making him gasp in a mix of pain and pleasure. Ydal was having some trouble trying to remove the tight fitting body suit that Nagi wore. She bent down so her mouth was by his ear. " I've got dozens of them," she said softly. Ydal looked at her in confusion for a second, then he grinned as he caught her meaning. He placed his hand on her chest and Nagi felt a soft rippling sensation run across her skin before her clothes burst outward, shredding into pieces as Ydal used his telekinesis to obliterate the material. He then flipped her over so he was on top and attacked her breasts with his mouth. He sucked viciously while pulling her nipples with his teeth. " Oh yes, oh, oh shi..., damn it, OH FUCK!," Nagi dug her fingers into his shoulders as he continued to lavish attention on her breasts. She could feel his muscles tense under the pressure, but he didn't let the pain slow him down. Nagi let him pleasure her for a few more minutes, then pulled his head back by his hair again. She gave him a push that gave her enough room to get her feet on his stomach, then she pulled him back while kicking out. Ydal went flying over her and landed on his back on the bed. Before he could move, Nagi flipped to her feet and leapt on the bed, landing in a crouch with her feet on ether side of his head. Gently she traced her finger down one of the scratches she had left on his chest. The wounds only served to make the skin more sensitive and Ydal sucked air in through his teeth to keep for gasping. Nagi bent forward as she ran her finger further down his body until she reached his belt buckle. She unhooked it and gave the belt a firm yank to remove it. Tossing it aside, Nagi began to undo his pants. In doing so she had to kneel down to reach, and Ydal took advantage of the new position. Nagi almost screamed as his tongue slid into her. Her whole body tensed as he slowly ran his tongue in widening circles. Determined to finish what she started, Nagi returned to the tasked of undressing him. She finally got the top off his pants opened and pushed them down. Grabbing the base of his manhood she shoved the whole thing in her mouth in one quick motion. " OH SHIT!," she heard Ydal cry out. Quite satisfied at breaking his silence, Nagi slowed down, softly rubbing her tongue in circles across the tip. Ydal tried to hold back the sounds she drug out of him, but he progressively doing worse with each moment. Nagi came up for a moment to catch her breath, only to have Ydal grab her ass and give her a good push. She almost fell off the bed but managed to stop on the edge. Then she felt his hands grab her by the shoulders, pulling her back. Nagi started to struggle, but was forced to stop as she felt his power flow over her. It was like nothing she'd ever felt, as if hundreds of glass smooth hands were rubbing all over her body. Her strength completely failed her and she sank back into Ydal's embrace. He kissed her on the back of her neck, then a bit further down, then to the right. Each kiss set her nerves a fire, pleasure burning through her skin. Then each spot would cool and turn icy and tender. Nagi had no idea how he was doing this but she didn't give a damn because it felt so good. She could feel his hands, his real hands, spiraling up her breasts, shocking her with what felt like tiny static bursts. Nagi desperately needed release, but Ydal wasn't giving it to her, carefully keeping her trapped in a pleasure filled limbo. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore she felt herself lifted up, and then felt his hard, warm shaft slide into her. He pulled back slowly before quickly thrusting in again. Then another slow pull back. The whole rhythm gradually built up speed as waves of bliss coursed through them. With her mind nearly numb from pleasure, Nagi almost missed his next movement. Ydal leaned forward slightly, and pressed the side of his head against hers. Instantly everything was taking to a whole new level as Nagi felt him open a link between them. She could now feel everything he felt along with her own sensations. Also, each new jolt of pleasure ceased to fade, but became trapped in an expanding cycle as it traveled back and forth between their minds. Time seemed to slow and Nagi could feel every enjoyable detail as Ydal drove into her. Years passed in her mind, every second filled with nothing but lustful pleasure. Then finally, time kicked back into high gear and Nagi screamed as both her own and Ydal's orgasm slammed into her. Her vision turned white and the next thing she knew she was lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling which seemed to be spinning in circles. Nagi could see Ydal's arm hanging over the side of the bed. She was struggling to breath, her lungs burning with each movement of her chest. She made one futile attempt to sit up, then just decided to curl up and go to sleep where she was. Sasami found Tenchi on one of the palace's upper balconies, staring at the stars. She was hesitant about walking over to him. She didn't want to interrupt him if he wanted to be alone. So she just stood there, watching him. " How long are you going to stare at me?" Tenchi suddenly asked. He looked over his shoulder at her. While his voice had been flat and toneless, his face held a ghost of a smile that suggested he didn't care one way or the other. He turned back to stars and Sasami slowly walked over to stand next to him. " I'm sorry, I wasn't sure if you wanted any company or not," she explained. Tenchi smiled slightly. " I always welcome your company Sasami," he told her. Sasami smiled as well. She joined him in staring at the night sky. " So, how have you been?" Tenchi asked after a few minutes. " Alright, how about you?" " Fine, at least until all this happened." His face turned hard in suppressed anger. " Oh Tenchi don't worry, we'll get Ryoko back. I know we will. After all, Washu is certain her plan will work, and you know how smart she is. She's always right. It'll be okay, right?" The words came pouring out of the princess as her emotions started to get the better of her. She was on the verge of tears when Tenchi put his arm around her. " Hey, hey now, calm down Sasami." She took several deep breaths and managed to pull herself together. " I'm sorry Tenchi, but I just can't stand to see you like this. I've never seen you this angry before." " I'm not angry, just upset." " Yeah right, you may be able to hid it from my sister, but not from me Tenchi. Your angry, mad straight to your soul. You hate him, don't you?" Tenchi didn't have to ask to know who she was talking about. When he didn't answer, she pressed on. " Please Tenchi, don't let your anger get the best of you. Don't be blinded by hatred, your too nice of a person. If you let yourself be controlled like that, you'll never forgive yourself, and I couldn't bear it if you had to carry that kind of guilt with you for the rest of your life." Tenchi let his arm drop and he turned away from her. " I can't just let it go Sasami. I have to face him, I have to settle this. For my honor, and Ryoko's." " If that's how you feel then," Sasami's voice wavered as she spoke. " So when he comes you'll go to face him. Fine, but please Tenchi, consider what I've said. Don't let him turn you into a monster like he is." She finally broke into tears and ran off, leaving Tenchi alone with a churning sensation in his gut. She was right after all, he could feel it. If he faced Hushira again, would he be able to control himself, to show mercy. Or was it too late for that? Tenchi looked skyward, trying to sort out the clash of emotions running through his mind. To be continued... You know there one thing I've noticed when reading or writing a Tenchi fan fic that I just have to mention. Any time the writing involves Sasami getting upset, it makes the whole mood of the story very depressing. If you don't believe me try reading Fukanzen by BGlanders. That is one of the saddest stories I've ever read. Well hopefully I'll be able to finish this story with the next chapter, then you'll all get to find out what exactly is so special about Ryoko.