DISCLAIMERS: I Do not own Tenchi Muyo! Or Bloody Roar. Or any affiliated characters or places. Tenchi Muyo! Is owned by Pioneer. Bloody Roar is owned by Hudson and Activision. I did not create any characters herein. Fans of the Bloody Roar series will follow the story better. Those of you with a PS2 will see elements from BR3. *THIS IS A LEMON FIC! IF YOU ARE NOT 18 OR OLDER TURN BACK IMMEDIATELY! * Chapter Three: "Memories. They serve a purpose, everything does. They help us to remember our lives and to learn from our mistakes and those of others so that we may improve ourselves. Some are pleasant (Tenchi, mmmm), and some are not. Memories make us laugh and cry. They terrify us and make us happy. Everything we do becomes a memory. The lives in front of us are just memories waiting to develop. All we can do is be with those we love as much as possible, so that our memories will be of time well spent." -Uriko Tsukagami Tenchi awoke on a hard floor. He was no longer in Jurai battle gear. He looked around. He was in a cell. There was a stone wall behind him, and bars on the other three sides. Uriko was in the cage next to him, and next to her was Washu. On his other side, Alice shared a cell with Mihoshi. Mihoshi was still out, but Alice was talking to the man in the cell on the other side of her. "Are you sure you're all right?" "For the fifth time, I'm fine." "Don't worry, Yugo. We'll make that doctor pay for what he did to all of us." "It's Kenji that I'm worried about. The lunatic has him brainwashed. He's the one who put me in here." "And me" came a voice from a few cells down and across the hallway. Tenchi strained to see. The speaker stood up, her hair identifying her immediately. "Shina!" Tenchi exclaimed. "Oh, Lord Tenchi, you're awake!" came Aeka's voice from the cell directly across the hallway from him. "I was so worried." Tenchi noticed that she wasn't in Jurai battle gear either. "My powers won't work here!" "Of course not" came Busuzima's voice over a speaker. "I kept you unconscious for a few days and did some thorough analysis. There is a field specially attuned to you, the boy, and the old man. None of you can use your powers. Oh, and neither can the redhead." "Where's Ryoko?" Tenchi demanded. "I'm keeping the blue-haired one in my lab for now. She's the most interesting. I'm letting you all wake up now, because I've analyzed you all, and I want you to be awake when I experiment on you." The PA clicked off. "Tenchi?" came Uriko's voice. Tenchi went to the bars that separated them. "Yes, Uri-chan?" She put her arms through the bars in the closest thing to a hug that she could manage. "I've been awake for days. He-he kept you away so long, I thought he'd killed you." "Shh. I'm fine." "Tenchi, there's something more." "What is it?" "I.I've been throwing up." "Is this place making you sick?" "That's what I thought, but then Washu.well.some of her powers work. She.she looked me over and." ".And what Uri-chan?" "I'm pregnant." Uriko said softly. "W-w-what?" "Tenchi don't be mad." "I'm not mad. I-I just.I don't know what to think." "Tenchi, I love you. And I'll love our child when she comes, but." "She?" Tenchi said, smiling wanly. Uriko smiled. "Well, I don't know yet, but.I would want a girl. My mom's not gonna be too happy, though. Until she meets you. Then she'll love you too, and you'll be a part of the family." "Uri-chan, you're assuming we get out of this." "Don't be negative, of course we will!" "Is your mother in here with us?" "No, Shina said she saw my mother in a more reinforced cell. My mother could tear these bars from their sockets." "Well, does anybody have a plan?" "Not yet. Oh, and another thing." "Yes?" "Aeka knows.about me.about us." "Oh no!" "Don't worry, she's not mad at you. She blames me for seducing you." "Uri-chan, you didn't seduce me." She stepped back and looked at him with amusement. "Oh no? I had already made the deal with Washu a week in advance. I made sure that Ryoko was drunk off her ass before going to bed so she wouldn't interrupt. I walked in that room with every intention of losing my virginity, Tenchi. I seduced you." "Uriko!" Tenchi said, shocked. Uriko laughed. "I really do love you, Tenchi, but sometimes, you're a little slow to pick up. I dropped a lot of hints. Not to mention all the sweet-talkin' I was doing in the month before. Well, I hope our little `adventure' at least helped you loosen up about women." Nobody went anywhere for days. Tenchi learned that Ryoko would stay in the lab. He also learned where everyone was in the little jail. On the one side, starting from the door, it was: 1) Washu 2) Uriko 3) Himself 4) Mihoshi and Alice 5)Yugo. On the other side, across from Tenchi, starting at the door, was: 1) Long 2) Katsuhito 3) Aeka 4) Kiyone 5) Shina. Jenny, it seemed, had been with Shina, but only for a short time. Busuzima had taken her as soon as he was confident in his ability to contain the Juraians. In the interim, the prisoners talked. Of course Tenchi talked to Uriko, and she also wanted to talk to Washu about babies, but he also talked to Alice, when she wasn't with Yugo. He learned that she had very little memories. She had no biological family. Uriko's family was her family, as far as she was concerned. All she said she remembered was trees. Aeka, for some reason, refused to talk to Alice. And she spent a lot of time in quiet conversation with Katsuhito. Kiyone, in an effort to ignore Mihoshi, found a friend in Shina. Long usually meditated, but would sometimes talk with Katsuhito. Then, one day they got a visitor. That is, to say, Long got a visitor. A man who carried himself with a great deal of arrogance and vanity. He was dressed in what would be considered drag. Tight short shorts, and a top That looked too much like a bra. It looked odd on his muscular chest, but his face in every way resembled that of a woman. Long had recognized him immediately. "Fox!" he shouted. "You.you're dead!" "Not quite, old friend" he said in his English accent. There was something about his voice that reminded Tenchi of the American stereotype about homosexuals. "You jumped off that building." *********************** Long had climbed to the top of the Tylon building. He had to get in. They weren't going to let him go. Not without a fight. But the building was locked down, so he went up. On the roof, Fox had been waiting for him. Hans Taubemann. He had been abandoned by his parents, and grew up in the slums. He was obsessed with his own appearance, and all appearances. He believed that only beautiful things deserved to live. He worked with Bakuryu, and occasionally Long, assassinating and kidnapping. He had been the one who brought Uriko to Tylon. Now he was ready to challenge Long. In his mind, at least. Long looked him over. "You are not my equal, Fox. Don't waste your life." Fox said nothing, but immediately transformed and attacked. Long dodged and blocked, but the were-fox was too fast. He too, let the rage carry him, and felt himself transforming. Fur. Fangs. Tearing clothes. Green eyes. Feline ears. Tail. Stripes. In his tiger form, Long was much faster and much stronger than before. Using flurries of blows, he quickly forced Fox back into human form, and finished with a claw rake across his once-proud features. "My face!" he screamed. "You fucked up my face!" Long changed back. "Calm yourself, Fox. It's only a scar." If Fox heard him, he didn't react. He just curled up and cried. Long decided to leave him. As he neared the door to the building, he heard a scream behind him. Ready for an attack, he turned, and saw Fox throw himself off the building. Ending his life, rather than live without his own beauty. ********************* "But I survived" Fox said. "And the good doctor found me, said `I want you to take your old job back. Do what you do best. And I'll fix your face.' I would have sold my soul to Satan to fix my face." "You did." "Ha ha, nice one. Look, we both know that the doctor is more than a little `unhinged', but he's hardly Satan. But, when I heard that you were here, I rushed right back to the lab." "Busuzima won't let you play with his test subjects." "No, you're right. But, I know you, Long. You'll try to get out. You probably already have a plan. And when you try, I'll be waiting. Ciao." With that, he spun around and left the room. "What a fairy." Shina said. Uriko was shaken. "He.he's the one who kidnapped me." Tenchi put his arms around her through the bars. "Shh. It's okay." ************************* The door opened once again. Uriko had lost track of the days they had been in the cells. She saw a young man carrying in Kiyone over his shoulder. Fox had dragged her out earlier. The young man looked familiar.Hard to tell in this light, but. "Kenji!" she shouted. Yugo went to the bars of his cage. "Kenji! Kenji listen to me! The doctor brainwashed you! Don't you remember me? It's me, Yugo!" "And me, Uriko! Uri-chan, Kenji! It's me! Why can't you remember?!" Tears were streaming down Uriko's face. "Kenji" Yugo said, "I found you in the ruins of the lab, remember? All the fire? You didn't talk, then. I took you home, Kenji. You're like my brother.you're more than that. You're the only family I have! Kenji!" "I.am.Bakuryu" he said slowly, no emotion in his cold hard eyes. "No, you're not" Yugo said persistently. "You're who you are yourself, who I KNOW YOU ARE! Not who some doctor tells you you are!" "That's right Kenji!" Uriko said. "Kenji" Yugo said, "remember how I got into boxing to make money? Remember that time I lost real bad? And you had to take care of me? I was out of it for two months. And you had been saving all the allowance money I had been giving you over the years. And you used it to buy food. You supported us both. Come, on, Kenji! Remember!" Bakuryu stopped. He put his hand to his head and doubled over as if in pain. "Do you remember, Kenji?" Yugo pleaded. "Do remember? You always came to every fight, Kenji. You always supported me. And.heh, you.you remembered each one. Even I couldn't do that. When I was injured you told me all those stories about fights that I'd won, and you said pulling through that would be no different. You helped me, Kenji. You're my whole family, man. You're my best friend, you're my brother. I love you, man." Yugo's eyes welled up. "Y-Y-Y-Yu.Yug-g-g-o? Aaaah!" Bakuryu/Kenji clutched at his head. "Kenji!" Uriko shouted. "Do you remember me? Remember us? All the fun times we had together? Do you remember when I told Susie McKenzie that you thought she was pretty, and you got mad at me? You said you would never talk to me again. But then later that day you came over and we talked it over. You said you forgave me, because I was just trying to help you out. That day we swore that we'd be friends forever, Kenji! Don't you remember?" "U-U-Uri-k-k-ko?" She smiled at him, tears in her eyes. "Uri-chan, Kenji! You were the first one to call me that. Right after I called you Ken-chan as a joke." Bakuryu/Kenji looked at her, pain still evident on his face. His eyes softened a little. "Kenji" she called, a little more softly. "Do.do you remember that time we got caught in that huge storm in the park? We ran into that little kiddie clubhouse-thing." She laughed softly. "We were soaked. And we.we both.took off our wet clothes, well, except for underwear." Tenchi looked at her incredulously, and she blushed. "We.decided that it was okay because.because we had nothing to hide from each other." Kenji/Bakuryu was staring at her now. His eyes never left hers, and a smile began to show on his face. Uriko looked down for a moment, then looked up without raising her head. "Do you...remember our first kiss, Kenji?" Kenji/Bakuryu's gaze broke hers for a moment, and his eyes moved around, as he forced himself to remember. Then he looked at her and nodded, the smile on his lips becoming fuller. "You were shivering," he said in a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper. Uriko's eyes widened in amazement that he remembered. And new tears filled her eyes. Tears of joy. "Yes! Yes! I was cold, and you put your arms around me. You started rubbing my arms to warm me up. The we just held each other for.I don't know how long." Kenji approached her and she reached through the bars and touched his face. He closed his eyes and held her hand to his face. "Kenji, that was my first kiss. I.I'm glad it was you. You mean so much to me.I." Uriko began to cry again. "I thought I'd lost you." Kenji hugged her through the bars. Then he looked up and motioned Tenchi over to them. Tenchi approached and Kenji took his hand and placed it in Uriko's. Uriko broke away from Kenji. Kenji looked at Tenchi. "Take good care of her." Then he looked down the hall to Yugo, still speaking to Tenchi, "She's one of the two that things I love most." There was a moment of silence. Then the door slammed open. "What is going on here?!" Busuzima commanded. Kenji took a fighting stance. Busuzima laughed. "Oh, so the brainwashing wore off, huh? Well, you were due for another dose, anyway. This time, I'll make it stronger." "Run, Kenji!" Uriko screamed. Kenji charged Busuzima with a flying kick that knocked him back a few steps. The scientist righted himself. "Wanna play rough? Okay, I like it rough!" Kenji attacked again, with a flurry of kicks.Busuzima blocked every one. Everyone was shocked. How could he have such reflexes? Not to mention how strong he would have to be. Kenji did a backflip away from him. Then he brought his hands together as if in prayer.and transformed. Brown fur. Elongated snout. Whiskers. His soft shoes ripped to reveal clawed feet. His shoulders got broader, and the muscle mass of his arms increased dramatically. "A mole?" Kiyone said when the transformation was done, "That's supposed to scare this luna-" Kiyone stopped short. For when Kenji threw his arms apart, she saw what made him such a ferocious opponent. A wolf's most prominent features are its teeth. A boar's tusks make it a fearsome opponent. Those features in most zoanthropes are larger even than they would be in proportion to an animal of that large size.and Kenji was no exception. The claws on his hands were absolutely HUGE! Easily six or seven inches long. And thick, and sharp, with a curve to them that on a mole would improve digging, but at this magnitude looked extremely wicked. Kenji took a stance against Busuzima and charged him. Ant sane man would have already run by now. Busuzima had already proven himself less than sane. As Kenji charged, Busuzima raised his right hand. And just when Kenji closed in, Busuzima lashed out incredibly fast. Kenji hit the floor violently. And didn't get up. "Well" Busuzima said, "that was fun" He picked up Kenji's obviously heavy form with one arm, and carried him out. Everyone was stunned. "It seems" Shina said, "that we have underestimated the good doctor. He's not just a maniac; he's a fighter. And an effective one, at that. And I don't know what powers the rest of you have, but I saw the cyan-haired one in action. And if he could contain her, then we obviously must assume that he is quite brilliant." "A grim situation indeed" Katsuhito said quietly. Nobody spoke a word. ******************** Days passed. Tenchi was letting Alice look him over. He knew he wasn't hurt, but letting her examine him made her feel better, like she was doing something useful. Plus, she wanted to talk to him. "So, Uriko really seems quite taken with you." Tenchi smiled and nodded. "She's a great girl." Alice smiled at him. "And what are you? Chopped liver?" Tenchi gave a quiet laugh. Everyone else was asleep. "Well, she doesn't think so." "You know, Uriko and I shared everything growing up. I mean, I.I didn't remember my real family. I don't remember much of anything before Tylon caught me.just a few images. Trees, mostly. Huge, beautiful trees. And lights." She looked away wistfully. "Anyway, I used to tease Uriko.about Kenji. He loved her. Still does, I'm sure, underneath the brainwashing. And I asked her if she was going to marry Kenji.and you know what she told me?" "No, what?" "She told me that Kenji was the sweetest boy in the world. And handsome. And kind, and giving, and totally selfless." "So.yes?" "No. She said he was her best friend. She loves him. But not the way she loves you. Kenji knows that. I.I talked to him once, about it. He said that he would do anything for her. He would give her everything he possibly could, just to make her happy. There was a note of sadness in his voice, loneliness. `She doesn't love me,' he had said, `well.not in that way anyway. But.I just want her to be happy. I'll stay with her, by her side, as long as she needs me. Even if I'm not the one she's with.if she's happy.then that will make me happy. I just hope.that whomever it is.that.that he's a good man. That he takes care of her.'" Tenchi hung his head. "Fine job I've done so far" Alice put her hand on his shoulder. "You haven't disappointed anybody, Tenchi. Least of all Uriko. My point was, after telling me that she couldn't marry Kenji, I asked her what she would do. She told me that she didn't know, then she said `Maybe I'll trap my man, just like mom did.'" "Trap?" Tenchi said, raising an eyebrow. Alice smiled. "Aunt Mitsuko is a very.large woman. She's always been big-and strong-, and that sometimes scared guys off. But she is really the sweetest woman on Earth. A little overprotective sometimes.but that's because she's afraid to lose those she loves. Her husband was a very small, meek man. Very quiet, and sort of bookish. But Aunt Mitsuko loved him very much. And he saw past all the teasing other people did to her, saw her and loved her for who she was. She at first had thought he was jut teasing her, but soon came to love him as well. He.he got cancer and died when Uriko was very young." "Oh, poor Uriko" "Aunt Mitsuko raised Uriko by herself, and later me as well. She would regale us with stories about what a flirt she was in high school. She told us that she set out after her man, and when she got him alone, she `dazzled him with her charms' and he was instantly smitten. Couldn't get enough. So he begged her to marry him, and she pretended to be reluctant. Then he got down on his knees and pleaded, `Beautiful Mitsuko! I can't live without you!' So she agreed to marry him." Tenchi chuckled silently. "And how did you know which story was real?" "Because one time I found Aunt Mitsuko crying over a picture of her husband. She told me the whole truth. I asked her why she had told us the stories, and she said that all her life she had been teased for being too big. It had taken her a long time to trust people enough to open her heart to love. She felt that she would've had more time with her husband if she hadn't been insecure. She wanted Uriko to chase her dreams, and not be afraid of anything. She knew how pretty Uriko was, and encouraged her to find the man of her dreams and be happy. She wanted Uriko to believe that that's what she did, so that Uriko could do it." Alice smiled and touched Tenchi's face. "That's why Uriko is so forward. Even though she's never really had a boyfriend, she's not afraid to tell someone how she feels, and to act on those feelings. And that, I think, is why she went after you that night. She really loves you, Tenchi. She seems to wear her heart on her sleeve, but believe me, everything she feels for you is 100% genuine." Tenchi smiled. "Thanks Alice" "Anytime. Of course, her mother was sort of hoping that her and Kenji would get together. She's always liked Kenji. Used to mother him all the time. But he seemed to kind of like it." "She would call up the house and ask him to come over" Yugo said from his cell. "He said that she made him call her `mom' because `Mrs. Tsukagami' was a mouthful. Then she would make him bring all kinds of fresh baked goods home, because she had `accidentally' made too many. Not that I minded, she was a great cook." Alice turned to him. "You were listening the whole time?" He smiled. "I just couldn't sleep. Your stories reminded me of the time that she came over to my house." "She did?" Alice said incredulously. Yugo nodded. "She tried to be discreet about it, but I could tell she just wanted to know what kind of boys her daughter was hanging out with. Man, she was surprised to see me. It had been a few years after the whole Tylon thing, and we just talked together and caught up. Then she told me about Uriko and Kenji. I hadn't known about her, Kenji had never brought her over. I mean, I knew he had a friend, and that she was a girl, because I used to tease him a little. I never thought it would be the same girl that I helped rescue. And I also find out now that you were in that house, too. Small world." "Small indeed, Yugo Ohgami" Shina said, leaning on the bars of her cage. He turned to her, "How do you know my name?" She smiled. "Our fathers were best friends. I believe you already know my father, Alan Gado?" "You're Gado's daughter? Hmm, should have known, you look kinda like him." She laughed. "Not really. Adopted daughter. But I admired him a lot, and I did go out of my way to imitate him. I worked as a mercenary with him. He didn't like it at first, but I turned out to have a natural talent for the business." She went quiet. "I.I worked with your father a few times, Yugo." "My father?!" he said in disbelief. She nodded. "He was a good man. And a great soldier. He always carried a picture of you with him, so I recognized you when I saw you here." She looked down. "My father and yours always wanted me to meet you, maybe set us up. `Join the two families' so to speak." Alice tensed up. "But.I don't think we would be good for each other." Yugo swallowed and nodded. "It might nice," she said, "to start a family. But I'm not ready to settle down. I have a wild streak ten miles wide." She looked at him and smiled. "Besides, you already have a family. And." she nodded in Alice's direction, ".I think you're spoken for." Alice and Yugo looked to each other and both blushed. Yugo turned away and tried to go to sleep, Alice returned to her conversation with Tenchi. Tenchi looked at her. Looked deep into her eyes. Her ruby eyes. "Hey!" he said, "Why are your eyes red? You're not albino?" She shrugged. "Why are your eyes brown, Tenchi? Why are Shina's blue? I don't know." "But they look just like." Tenchi's voice trailed off as he looked to Aeka's cell. And saw her standing at the bars to her cell, staring at him. Katsuhito, too, was at the bars to his cell, and standing close to Aeka. *Geez * Tenchi thought, *I thought everyone was asleep. * "So you know," Aeka said softly. "Or if not, you suspect" Katsuhito said. Alice and Tenchi went to the doors of their cages, getting closer to the two Juraians. Both with curious looks on their faces. Aeka spoke first. "Miss Alice.you are not.like other humans." "Really? No shit? That whole zoanthrope thing went right over my head." "Please. I mean you are not.from Earth. Long, Uriko, Kenji, Yugo, and Shina are all native earthlings, but.not you." Alice raised an eyebrow. "I'm an alien?" "Yes, and Alice is not your name." Alice gripped the bars to her cage. "You know who I am?" Aeka and Katsuhito looked at each other. "You may not like the truth," Katsuhito said. "I don't care, I must know." Aeka was at a loss for words, so Katsuhito began. "The beastman phenomenon is not exclusive to Earth. Other plants have had this occur as well. And they all, including Earth, have one common link." Tenchi picked up immediately. "All colonized by Jurai?" Katsuhito nodded. "Very good, Tenchi. Human beings are the most widespread race in the universe. We can't even say for sure that Jurai wasn't colonized by some ancient race, but Jurai is the oldest human civilization with written records. Earth is just isolated for the most part. Nobody knows where or why the beastman phenomenon started. I've seen it on many planets, most recently Earth. Most people are very.unreceptive.to the different ones. Some hide their abilities. Others run away. Many of them are space pirates, keeping in small bands with others of their kind. Some only allow other beastmen, becoming as prejudiced as those that exiled them." "But in recent years, things have changed" Kiyone said, cutting in. "People have begun to recognize them as useful and productive members of society. This of course due to increased contact with other planets, and increased diversity. Many of them become soldiers, or even GP officers, using their increased combat skills to better themselves. And many have become well respected." "But it was not always so" Aeka interrupted. "Many planets would cast them out. Regardless of who they were." She looked down. "Jurai was.no exception." "She's from Jurai?!" Tenchi exclaimed. "No way!" Alice said. "I'm from this planet that all of you are from? But if that's true, how do you know who I am? I thought you were `royalty' and didn't associate with commoners." Aeka hid her face in shame. Katsuhito put an arm around her through the bars. "You are a member of the Jurai royal family." Katsuhito said. Alice gasped. Tenchi was shocked. "Your name is Kusari. Kusari Jurai, and at a young age, while using the Jurai power, it was discovered that you were what Earthlings call a zoanthrope." "I don't believe it." Alice said, "How can it be true?" Aeka slowly removed her tiara. Busuzima had been unable to take it off. She threw it to Tenchi. "Give it to her, have her put it on." He did so. "Now, touch the master key to the center of the tiara, and concentrate on the Jurai power." "No way!" Tenchi said. "That will activate the sword, and kill her! And that psycho took Tenchi-ken anyway." There was a whistle to his left. He looked over and saw Washu holding Tenchi-ken. She threw it to him. "No, Lord Tenchi. I doubt you could activate the blade with the field he has in this place. Even if you could, it wouldn't hurt her because the power of the tiara would protect her. Now.now do it, Tenchi!" He put the sword hilt to the tiara. *Here goes. * Alice cried out as memories flooded her brain. She sank to the floor. ********************* She was.Aeka's twin. Not identical, but her twin, nonetheless. She had been the first one out, and was thus technically older. They had grown up happy together. And both had competed for the attention-and affection-of their older brother, Yosho. She had been training one day with Aeka. Her family watched from the sidelines. Aunt Funaho, Yosho, Azusa, her father, and her mother, who was nursing her little sister, Sasami. She was sparring with Aeka. Both of them were using their Jurai powers, so the fight was getting nowhere. Then Aeka had used her power to make a flash of light that blinded Kusari for just a moment. Then Aeka had hit her. Hard. She had cried. She looked up and saw Aeka looking quite smug. She wanted to beat her up. She was angry. Anger. Rage. Frenzy. She had transformed right there. Most people don't consider rabbits to be the most dangerous creatures, but when Kusari had spun and put her full weight into one kick with one of her powerful feet.she heard her sister's ribs crack as she was thrown backwards. Then she had screamed as a powerful current washed through her. She screamed in pain, paralyzed until she was forced back into her normal form and collapsed. She blacked out. Didn't remember much after that. Even the Jurai power flowing through her now couldn't bring back all memories, some were lost to age. She remembered being exiled. Not for hurting her sister.but for being different. She remembered crying. Remembered her mother crying. And Yosho, too. Although he never broke down, just stood, with tears streaming down his face. Her father was, as always, expressionless. She hadn't even seen Aeka. She was recovering. When the ship she was to be taken on departed, she had seen Aeka on the monitor. She had run from the palace, still in bandages. When she saw that she was too late, she had reached out with her hands, screaming and crying. Yosho had put his arms around her as she fell to her knees. Funaho and Misaki, also crying, put their arms around them. Then, the slumber of suspended animation took her. Her last conscious thought was that her father hadn't even seen her off. ********************* Tenchi saw it. Maybe it was an accident, caused by his contact with the Master Key as it awakened her memories. Or maybe he had been meant to see it. Regardless, his opinion of Azusa dropped even lower. "Are you okay, Alice.uh, uh, Kusari?" Alice was not in a condition to speak. Tenchi helped her to her feet, but she didn't say a word. So Tenchi did. "Why?" he asked Katsuhito and Aeka. "Why did you let her go?" "What could we do, Lord Tenchi?" Aeka asked, obviously suffering. "We had no say.it.was the law. And it was father's word.not to be disobeyed." "Couldn't you have done something? I mean, jeez, Aeka! She was your twin sister!" At that she began to cry. "Tenchi!" Katsuhito reprimanded him. "There was nothing any of us could have done. I loved my sister. And Aeka..Tenchi, they were twins. Some people don't realize that twins share a very deep bond. Deeper than most siblings. When Kusari left, Aeka became more withdrawn. She wasn't always as refined as she is now, Tenchi. She used to express herself a lot more." "I.I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell, Aeka. I guess I just get angry when people are treated like that..But.grandfather." "Yes, Tenchi?" "I thought Kiyone said that times had changed." "Yeah" Alice said, looking up with tears in her eyes. "Why didn't you come find me? You.my family, guys. How could you forget?" "Oh, Kusari" Aeka said, reaching out. Alice made no move to reach out to touch Aeka's hand, and she withdrew it, hurt. "We did. We looked for you. Mom, Yosho, and myself. Father had ordered you forgotten, and he was too proud to help us. We never told Sasami, because if we didn't find you, we would only have gotten her hopes up." "So why wasn't I found?" "Kusari.the ship you were sent out on didn't have a destination. We didn't know where to start. Then Yosho had the idea to use Osafune, an old and powerful tree, to locate you. Your ship had crashed, but the tree had survived, and was keeping you asleep. Just when we had almost located you, Jurai was attacked." "Attacked? Who could be that stupid? Or that strong?" "Ryoko" "Ryoko? You mean.that girl that's with you?" Katsuhito broke in. "She was under the influence of a very evil man named Kagato, who wanted the Jurai power for himself. And he didn't care who got in his way. Much of Jurai was damaged, and Osafune-the only power capable of locating you-was destroyed." "So you gave up?" "No. I fought off Ryoko, and chased her all the way to Earth, where I imprisoned her. I decided to stay on Earth, for many reasons. I was not interested in the throne. Ever since father exiled you, I felt that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and I wanted no part of it. I wanted to live where my mother had lived. And also.I was pretty sure that this is where you were. I had traced you one of three systems. And of all three, only one had a planet that supported life. And since I knew your ship was alive.I figured you were here somewhere. I spent a few hundred years traveling this planet, looking for you, but I could find no trace. Earthlings don't live as long as we do on Jurai. And anyone who would have been able to give me hint had long since turned to dust." "Why didn't you say something earlier?" "Like what? `You're really an interstellar princess, and by the way, sorry for abandoning you for centuries?'" Aeka said. "Kusari" Katsuhito said, "Aeka and I have been talking a lot lately. And we had decided to tell you as soon as we were free of this place. Both our ships have taken root. But we do have contact with Jurai. And we could bring you home." "Yes," Aeka said in a voice thick with emotion. She looked at Tenchi, then to Uriko, then back to Tenchi. "Both of us. There's nothing left for me here." Tenchi felt as small as a bug. He felt like he had betrayed Aeka. And perhaps he had. He knew he had broken her heart. "What?!" Alice said. "You think I'm just going to pack up my life, and leave everything here behind? I have a life here. Those Tylon scientists cut down my treeship, that's what woke me up. I'm older than you now, Aeka. We're not even twins anymore." Aeka nodded and more tears ran down her face. "I have a family here." She looked at Uriko. "I have a new life, with people I love." She turned quickly to look at Yugo, who was wide-awake. In fact, everybody was awake, and had been for some time. "No," she said. "I'm not leaving the Earth, and I'm certainly not going back to Jurai. I don't want to see that asshole who sired me unless it's to kick his ass!" "But mother." Aeka said, "and Aunt Funaho.why punish them? Ever since your power was discovered, they pleaded with father to change the rule. They love you too, Kusari.and.and so do I." "Myself as well, Kusari" Katsuhito added. "You'll always be my sister." Alice's eyes brimmed. "My name.is Alice" This brought a sob from Aeka. "And.If they love me so much, then they'll come to see me here." "They will!" Aeka said. "When we get out of here and tell them, they'll be here so fast, your head will spin." "First problem, how do we get out?" "Well," Uriko said, speaking up, "if you're one of them, can't you use your power to undo the locks?" "Second problem," Alice said, "power dampening field." "Wait!" Tenchi said. "Didn't Busuzima say that the field was only attuned to Aeka, myself, and grandfather?" "That's right!" Mihoshi exclaimed. "We can get out!" "Don't get your hopes up, Mihoshi" Kiyone said. "Washu, could she pull it off?" Washu looked at her. "No discoveries were ever made without experimentation." Long looked at Alice. "Do you remember what to do?" "I.I guess I remember the theory, but it's been so long." "Well, it may help you to calm your mind. Relax. Start small." "I'll try." "Try not," Tenchi said-quoting the movie with both humorous and helpful intent-, ".do, or do not. There is no try." Alice smiled at him and closed her eyes, concentrating. The tiara at her brow glowed briefly, and her cage unlocked. Before anyone could give any cries of joy, the door to the prison was unlocked and swung open. Alice quickly closed her door, hoping nobody had seen it open. Busuzima walked in with Kenji.no, Bakuryu, close behind him. "Alright," he said. "I think you people are a little too cozy here. I can't get to most of you, because I'm having problems with an old experiment gone bad. So, I'm going to have Bakuryu here guard you. His presence here will serve to show you that he is completely loyal to me. Right Bakuryu?" Bakuryu bowed. "Yes, Master." Busuzima smiled. "Now that's more like it. If any of you want to bow and scrape now, I might let you work for me instead of being tortured." "Eat shit!" Yugo said. Faster than Tenchi could see, Bakuryu crossed the room and slapped Yugo. "Very good, Bakuryu. I'll be leaving now.and remember: Don't talk to them!" "Yes, Master." Busuzima left the room, slamming the door behind him. Bakuryu walked to the door and looked out the little window set into the heavy metal door. "What a shithead." he said. Everyone looked around. "Wha-?" Uriko started. He turned to her, and the cold, hard look left his eyes. "Miss me?" "Kenji!" She shouted. He gave her a quick hug, then traveled down to Yugo. "Sorry about the slap, but I had to stay in character." He said. Yugo smiled. "Don't worry, as soon as you hit me, I knew you were faking it. You're much stronger than that." Kenji smiled and unlocked Yugo's cell, and then handed him the keys. Yugo started unlocking everyone's cells, except for Alice, who just opened hers. Kenji raised an eyebrow. "Don't ask" Alice said, giving Aeka back her tiara. Just then there was the noise of bending metal. Everyone turned to see Long pull the bars to his cage apart and step through. "What!" Aeka shouted. "You could have done that at any time?" Long looked at her. "To what end? I don't think I could have gotten you all out. And we had no plan." Shina smiled at him from her cage. "Likewise" she said, and proceeded to let herself out of her cage as well. Tenchi shook his head, but said nothing. Then he felt Uriko throw her arms around him. He turned to embrace her, and felt her lips pressed against his own. He held her like that, kissing her, for several minutes. "Ahem," Aeka said. "Don't interrupt them, Aeka," Alice said. "it's cute. Ohmygod! I just realized that I am like, related to both of you! Tenchi, you're my nephew, and Uriko-well her mom adopted me, but still." Tenchi smiled and kissed Uriko again. "Uri-chan, I.I love you." Tenchi whispered in her ear. She smiled at him. "I love you too, Ten-chan. I love you too." "This is quite touching" Katsuhito said, as he patted the bokken that Kenji had given him, "but we must go now to surprise him." "Quite" Washu said. Shina and Yugo were warming up, and soon everyone did the same. Shina punched her right fist into her left palm. "It's clobberin' time!" ********************** Ryoko didn't know how long she had floated in the tube at the mercy of the sick man who had captured her. She knew it had been days. And a part of her didn't care. She felt that she had lost the one thing that meant the most to her. Tenchi had made his choice.and it wasn't her. After listening to her vehement speeches about not harming Tenchi, it occurred to him that watching the boy in his cell would be a good exercise in sadism. It hurt her to see Tenchi locked up, not conscious, barely alive, it seemed. Then, she heard the most painful thing that she had ever had to hear. She listened as Uriko told Aeka that she was pregnant. And that the child.was Tenchi's. She told her the story of how she seduced him. She told Aeka how she had made a deal with Washu so that she could seduce Tenchi. That really angered Ryoko. She was really pissed at Washu. Washu had lied to her. Her own mother had helped her rival win the object of her love. She was mad at Uriko, too. Little bitch. Ryoko wanted to kill her. But if she did, Tenchi would hate her, and that would kill Ryoko on the inside. As she watched all of them, it became apparent that Uriko really did love Tenchi, and, even if he hadn't said it yet, he loved her, too. She knew Tenchi didn't want to hurt her. He would always see her as a friend, and at least.at.at least he would probably let her stay with him. She knew she couldn't bear to be away from him. He wouldn't turn her away, and that knowledge made her feel a little better. She could stay, and maybe help him raise his family. Sort of like a live-in nanny. She remembered the time Tenchi's little cousin had come over, and the thought of playing with Tenchi's children appealed to her quite a bit. Even if they weren't hers. Back in the real world, Busuzima enjoyed torturing her. Aside from the mental and emotional anguish he was putting her through, rubbing her nose in her pain, he would torture her physically. She found herself powerless. He would violate her in many ways, fascinated with her regenerative powers. Several times he even offered her over to Shenlong for him to rape her. Fortunately for her, Shenlong had the same attitude as Kagato.that she was "beneath him". She was forced to watch his experiments. The man was disgusting. And he forced her to watch as he raped Kiyone. Repeatedly. Then he would interrogate her about space, the Galaxy Police, and more. Not exactly top-secret information, but an earthling would know nothing about anything outside the Sol system. She told him very little, if she told him anything at all. And when he was violating her, she would look at Ryoko, if she had her eyes open at all. Ryoko could do nothing but offer an apologetic glance, and watch. Not even able to turn away because of her restraints. And that Jenny.the bat-woman. The things he did to her made raping Kiyone look tame. The man was a sadist par excellance. The things he did to her would make the Marquis de Sade sick. Ryoko was sure that they would turn the stomach of the devil himself. Not even Kagato, the one being she hated most, would have ever slipped into the depravations that this man did. Kagato at least always maintained that what he did was in the interest of science and research. And power. But she had to admit, Kagato had never, ever done anything cruel or evil unless it served his purpose. Busuzima was sick for the sake of being sick. And he kept the poor woman nude, hanging by some chains inside of a metal frame in the cold lab. The boy, Bakuryu.he would often disappear for days at a time. The she-male Fox as well. Most of the time, they were apparently carrying out assassinations, but Fox did bring a live one back once. A Native American bull-zoanthrope. He didn't live very long.Busuzima eviscerated him. Bakuryu seemed only to arouse the scientist's anger. Apparently, Busuzima always sent Bakuryu out after the same person, and every time, he failed. Busuzima seemed to be afraid of this person, which only made Ryoko hope that he found the scientist. One day, after finishing with Kiyone, he sent Bakuryu to take her back, and Ryoko watched the scene unfold on the monitor. When Busuzima returned from the bathroom and saw the screen he screamed and ran to the prison. Ryoko would have put money on the boy. Ryoko, also, had underestimated his speed and skill. She already knew he was strong. He was stronger than her, and that was impressive. He locked the boy in some kind of chamber like Ryoko's. He was floating in liquid, like Ryoko, but he had wires attached to him, and a helmet over his head. No doubt it relayed the brainwashing signals to the boy. Ryoko felt sorry for him. Busuzima had then turned to the last of a series of robots he had created. She was surprised to see him interested in nonliving subjects, but she supposed all his research must have led up to something. The next day, Busuzima got a visitor that scared him shitless. Well, maybe not shitless, but he did piss his pants when he saw the intruder. Ryoko had been unable to turn around, but she had seen some of it, and she saw the damage it did afterwards. On a shiny metal surface, she wasn't able to make out any details, but she saw lightning. And a mass of fur and bone so huge that it couldn't be real. Busuzima had unleashed his new robots on it. They looked like old men, with distinctly demonic overtones. Then they transformed like zoanthropes and she saw that they were mole-type creatures like Bakuryu. Only their claws were much larger, and their bodies were made of metal. Not only that, they were packing heat. They unleashed a missile volley that knocked out the intruder. Busuzima set the intruder up in the tube next to Ryoko. He had wrapped her up, first in cloth, then in heavy chains. What Ryoko did see of the attacker was that it was a woman, well, it looked like one, anyway. She was taller than most men, with short, silver-blue hair. Busuzima had hooked up several chains and cables to plugs in her arms and head. Then her wrapped her up and threw her in a tank. She saw what the woman had done to Shenlong. He was seriously fucked up. Busuzima put him a special tank to heal him faster. The appearance of the woman had really shaken Busuzima. He kept talking to himself, muttering things like: "can't be", "should be dead", and "not fortunate". He almost forgot to feed his little "subjects", but that Jenny came out of her torpor long enough to complain. Busuzima was so busy, that he no longer paid attention to the screen, until Bakuryu was finished, and the he got the idea to send him into the prison as a guard. Fox hadn't agreed with him. "You should send me. Not this brat." Bakuryu gave him a cold look. "I know how you feel about Long, Fox. I won't let you kill him. Don't worry, once I'm done with him, I'll drug him and let you tear him apart." Fox was persistent. "Then send one of your Kohryu robots! They can't be un- brainwashed." "Ah, but the presence of one of them won't cause them pain, my dear Fox. And let's not forget (giggle) that the point is to cause suffering." "Whatever, I'm going to up to the lounge, maybe scrounge up some food." "Toodles." Fox rolled his eyes and left. Busuzima took Bakuryu into the prison, then went back to work over some files that he had dug up, apparently about the intruder-woman. He completely missed what was going on in the prison. But Ryoko didn't. She made sure that she was healed all the way. He hadn't touched her in some time, and she had recovered. Jenny wasn't so lucky. She might not survive. Ryoko prepped for battle. Bakuryu-no, Kenji-stepped out of the prison and stood before Busuzima. "What are you doing here, you little shit?!" Busuzima yelled. "I thought I told you to-" he came up short as the others stepped out and stood behind Bakuryu. Ryoko could not hide a wide grin. "So," Busuzima said, "the brainwashing didn't work." Kenji smiled. "You figure that out by yourself? You're a winner." Busuzima got real angry. "You little snot! I'll show you who's boss! Shenlong! Get over here! And I'd also like you to say hello to Kohryu, my new project. And say goodbye to your worthless lives!" Shenlong approached them from behind. And in moments, they were surrounded by the robots that Ryoko had seen Busuzima working on. There were only six, now. The intruder had destroyed one of them. "Well.shit." Kenji said. The Kohryu robots mad no attempt to attack, waiting for orders from Busuzima. Uriko, however, did not wait. "Hiiiyaaa!" she screamed as she attacked Shenlong. *Oh, no. * Ryoko thought from where she watched. *Not smart, girl. * She was surprised to find that she wanted to help Uriko, then realized it was because Tenchi loved the girl. But she could not get out. Uriko wasn't doing too badly. She was a true student of Long's particular style of Kenpo, and she managed to keep Shenlong on the defensive, even made a couple of hits on him. Then she delivered a series of flying kicks that Shenlong easily dodged. Uriko had made the same mistake as before, and landed on her behind. It was all downhill from there. Shenlong grabbed her with one hand, and picked her up. Then he smashed his head into hers, and dropped her. She pulled herself to her feet, and felt his grip like a vice on her shoulder. Then he punched her, as hard as he could. In the stomach. Uriko could feel her insides get thrown around inside, and it felt like something inside her broke. Not a bone, but.she didn't have time to think about what, for Shenlong delivered a powerful kick to her stomach that sent her flying across the room. She blacked out for a moment from the pain. She woke a few seconds later, but she couldn't move. And she couldn't keep from. "Huwughhh!" Uriko began retching violently. And she couldn't sit up, so she got some of it on herself. "YOU IDIOT!" Busuzima screamed. "YOU-YOU IMBECILE! BUFFOON! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID?" "Watch your tongue, doctor" Shenlong said coldly. Busuzima screamed again, his inhumanly long tongue hanging out, proof that he was, in fact, capable of watching his tongue. "Don't start, puppet-boy! We've been over this! You're a pawn! And you just ruined an experiment worth waiting for!" "What?" Shenlong said, annoyed. Busuzima ran up to him. "She was pregnant, you twit!" he screamed in Shenlong's face. "I was gonna have little kittens to play with!" Her ran over to Uriko. "You sick, twisted fuck!" Shina said, disgusted. Tenchi was livid, his face turning red, through the dark hue of his Jurai battle gear. A tear slid down Aeka's face, past the stripes on her cheek. Alice was in a similar state as Tenchi (sans Jurai battle garb), beyond words. Busuzima rolled Uriko over, and put his hands down her shorts. This made Kenji's knuckles turn white, as he went tight-lipped in rage. Busuzima quickly brought up his hand, and saw that it was covered in blood. He clenched his fist. "Miscarriage," he said, disgusted. "You-you-you." Alice was pissed beyond belief. Power welled up inside her, and her Jurai battle gear appeared. Then she transformed. Her normally white fur was a dark grey, and she had stripes all over her body. Her muscles were even bigger than before, and she practically radiated `ki'. Busuzima looked up at her. "Kill them all." He said. Everybody exploded into action. Mihoshi and Kiyone, who had recovered their blasters from Kenji, blew away one of the robots. Aeka used her power to isolate another, then Washu used her keyboard to disable, then destroy it.. Katsuhito separated one from the others, and was making progress with his bokken, taking off an arm with his first shot. The fight was obviously going his way. Tenchi and Kenji each faced off against one, and left Alice with one to herself. Not that she needed help. She moved incredibly fast. She hammered on it a few times, denting the armor. Then it, and the two facing Kenji and Tenchi transformed. Alice didn't slow. She continued to pound on the thing, before delivering a mighty spin kick that removed the thing's "head", which must have housed something important, because it fell to the floor. Kenji transformed to match his opponent. It was like fighting himself. None of his ninja skills would help him. This thing knew every trick he had.then again, perhaps not. He stopped fighting like a ninja, and began to do some kickboxing, using moves he had learned from Yugo. This threw the robot off for just a moment, and Kenji plunged his claws through the thing's midsection. He took hold of a suitable amount of wires, and ripped them out. It swayed back and forth. Kenji jumped on top of it, holding himself vertical, and upside-down. He then spun, twisting the thing's head off. Tenchi was faring better that he initially thought he would have. Tenchi-ken cut through the robot's armor plating like a hot knife through butter. The machine decided to be more cautious. Seeing his opponent on the defensive, Tenchi pressed the attack, and soon made short work of it. Shina was working to free Ryoko, and not having much success. Yugo, meanwhile, faced off against Busuzima. Busuzima pulled a pair of glasses from his lab coat. "You wouldn't hit a man with glasses, would you?" For an answer, Yugo delivered a series of one-two punches to his face. "That's it!" Busuzima said. "I'm pissed!" With that, he transformed into a chameleon. In response, Yugo changed into his wolf form and continued the attack, this time, ripping into him with his claws. Busuzima went absolutely buck-wild, flailing his arms and actually striking Yugo several times. Yugo backed off to a good six feet away. Not far enough, as Busuzima's arms stretched to an impossible length, hit Yugo a few times, then pulled him to the floor. Busuzima leaped upon him for a body slam, but landed flat on his stomach as Yugo rolled. Long faced off against Shenlong, neither of them transforming. They each blocked each other's moves and each one answered each hit with another hit. Soon, only Yugo and Long were fighting. Shina was still trying to save Ryoko, and Washu, Alice and Kenji were over by Uriko. Helping her up and healing her. The unborn child, unfortunately, could not be saved. Aeka and Katsuhito pulled Jenny down, and motioned Washu to help her next. Mihoshi was trying to break into the room that Shina had identified as Mitsuko's cell, and Kiyone was watching for a clean shot at Shenlong. Washu managed to stabilize Jenny, then went to helping Shina with Ryoko. Then the fight with Long changed suddenly. A cry of pain from Busuzima turned Shenlong's head for a moment, and that was all Long needed. He unloaded on Shenlong, who didn't stand up to the onslaught for long. Few men could. He soon succumbed, and fell; bruised, bleeding, and unconscious, to the floor. "Just a copy" Long said. Busuzima had been forced back into his human form, and was cowering in a corner as Yugo slavered over him. The deranged man was bleeding from several wounds, and would probably need medical attention soon. A shadow came from the stairway. Fox fell down the stairs, bleeding from his nose and ears, with bruises all over. "You useless fuck!" Busuzima screamed at him. "Where were you?!" Fox ignored him as he stood up. He saw Long and smiled. "Care to dance?" he said in his lisping British accent. Long regarded him without emotion, and proceeded to school the she-male in pain. Fox never stood a chance, and ended up getting thrown against a wall, near an open door that someone was just leaving. ****************** "Mother!" Uriko shouted, as Mihoshi, through blind luck, opened the door. Fights were still going on around her, but she didn't care. The restraints holding her mother also released and the two embraced each other tightly. "Oh, mother!" Uriko sobbed, and began to cry into her mother's arm. "Uriko! Thank heaven! You shouldn't be here!" "I-I." Uriko wanted to tell her about the mission to save her, but she was in the middle of a particularly painful emotion crisis, with her miscarriage, and she just sobbed. They held each other like that for awhile, then they left the room to rejoin the others. They left just as Fox was thrown against the wall. Mitsuko looked at him closely. "YOU!" she said. She would never forget the face of the man who had kidnapped her daughter. She just went ape-shit. Not a pretty picture given that Mitsuko is 6'2'' and well over 200 pounds, with her ample breasts being the only noticeable fat on her body. She grabbed him by the shirt (more correctly, the bra), and decked him as hard as she could. Then followed it up with a backhand. Fox's eyes were unfocused. She grabbed both his shoulders, and rammed her knee into his groin. Once. Twice. Three times. His eyes rolled up into his head, and he went limp. But Mitsuko didn't stop there. She hefted him up, and threw him ten feet across the room, where he collided with Ryoko's tank and slid down, activating something, and releasing the space pirate. "Wow mom," Kenji said, "nice throw." She smiled at him. "Thank you, Kenji. You're such a sweet-hey! What are you doing here?!" "Saving you, I would imagine." Came a voice from the stairway. A very large man walked slowly down the steps, Fox's blood still fresh on his hands. Busuzima went pale when he saw him, and Shina gasped. "Father!" she said. Yugo returned to human form. "You're a little late for the reunion party" Gado smiled. "Terribly sorry, but it took me this long to find my associate," he said, nodding in Jenny's direction, "I wasn't sure where she had gone, so I assumed the worst. Then I cleaned out the guards up top. Less than I thought there would be." "Thank us for that." Long said. Gado looked down at Busuzima. "There you are, snake. You didn't leave the country? Don't you remember what I said I'd do to you if I caught you again?" Busuzima started to cry. "Pleeeaaaasssssseee! Don't kill me!" Alice looked at Gado. "You mean you knew about him? You could have stopped all of this!" Gado shook his head. "It was before all this ZLF stuff. He wasn't doing anything illegal.that I knew of. I promised him that I would personally feed him his testicles before turning him over to my mercenary friends who haven't had a woman in years. Then I'd tie his tongue to his toes, and garrote him with his own entrails." He looked at the crying scientist. "Well," he said, pulling out a Bowie knife, "to work then." "NOOOOOOO!" Busuzima cried, clinging to Yugo's leg. "YOU CAN'T! YOU'RE ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS!! I GET A FAIR TRIAL AND ALL THAT!!" "A fair trial, eh?" Kenji said. "All right, verdict?" he said, looking at Uriko and Alice. "Guilty." They said together. "Sentence?" Kenji said, looking to Tenchi. "Sounds like the soldier's got a plan." Tenchi said coldly. Gado advanced on Busuzima. Kiyone screamed. They all turned to look at her. Shenlong had Kiyone by the neck, held up with one hand. "Kiyone!" Mihoshi yelled. Shenlong punched the detective several times, breaking several bones, and then threw her aside, ready to return his attentions to Long. "Nobody does that to my partner!" Mihoshi yelled. "Nobody!" And Mihoshi began to change before everyone's eyes. Fur, the same color as her hair, profuse and bristly. She got huge, and her arms were about as big around as Tenchi's waist. Her clothing ripped, and she threw back her arms and roared. Then, what had to be the single-largest ape Tenchi had ever seen, shot out with one hand, and grabbed Shenlong by the leg. She slammed him around several times, flinging him about like a rag doll. Then she held him up by his ponytail, watching him cough up blood. "Go ahead" he sneered at her. "You don't have the guts." "Bad move," Alice said quietly. She proved correct as the Mihoshi-Ape launched Shenlong with full-force, clear across the room. And right into the one useful thing Busuzima ever did. "NO!" Busuzima, Ryoko, Shina and Washu shouted. The containment tube exploded, and chains went everywhere. When the smoke cleared, Uriko almost fainted. What she saw was an image from her darkest nightmares. A woman, floating above the ground. She had short, silver-blue hair, and colorless eyes. Lightning periodically flashed across her body. "No, no, NO!" Busuzima screamed. He threw himself at Gado. "Kill me, kill me now, just don't let HER get me!" Ryoko grabbed him. "What is that?" "Uranus" he sniffed. "What's a Uranus?" "Chimera" Uriko said in a dead voice. The woman was getting her bearings. She saw Fox's comatose form and lifted him up without touching him, like Telekinesis. Then she ripped his head from his shoulders with one quick motion of one hand. The she turned, and fixed her gaze upon the rest of them. "We're all gonna die" Busuzima said. The shit had hit the fan.