Vengeance Part Four: The Search for Justice So I'm finally ready. The new power I have discovered is unbelievable. I know how I got them, but I don't know how I have the knowledge to use them. It is like instinct to me. I sure hope we find Nagi. I know we will. We must. For Ayeka. "Time to get up Tenchi." Ryoko's voice penetrated his dreams. He opened his eyes just in time to see Ryoko before she phased into her usual clothes. "You have to see your true power before we leave to find that bitch Nagi. Let's get started." "What about breakfast?" Tenchi asked, still half asleep. "Forget breakfast, we have to perfect ourselves. First of all, you and I must tell everyone about our little trip. They will notice your absence you know. Let's go." She said as she turned to leave. "I'm right behind you." Tenchi said as he floated out of bed. A quick phase later and he too was clothed. They walked downstairs and towards the table where everyone was eating breakfast. Seeing the serious look on Tenchi and Ryoko's faces, Katsuhito spoke up. "Something is troubling you two. I have a feeling a large change is up ahead. Sit down and tell us about it." He spoke in his usual, calm voice. As the two sat, Sasami poured them some tea. After taking a short sip, Tenchi and Ryoko looked at each other and sighed. "Ryoko and I are leaving to find Nagi. After finding her, we will avenge Ayeka's death. I have come upon a new level of power. I have combined the powers Ryoko bestowed upon me with the power of Jurai. With this power, I hope to destroy Nagi. We must perfect my skills, however. That is why I can't stay any longer." With Tenchi's conclusion, Nobuyuki walked up to Tenchi and patted him on the back. "Good luck, my son. I hope I am to see you again. Please come home when you have done what you have to do." His voice started to quiver. "Also, please don't die on me. Please come home alive." "I will do my best father." He spoke softly. His eyes then fixed on Katsuhito. "And I expect a duel when I return, grandfather. I want to finally beat you." He spoke with a grin. "Powers or not, I will be victorious. Be careful young one." "I will. I will also keep in touch. Kiyone and Mihoshi will be our contacts. They will relay any massage they get from us straight to you. We must go now." As they left, Tenchi could hear a sniffle from Nobuyuki. He forced himself now to look back. In the training dimension, Tenchi stood in a spotlight. He held his shield in one hand and an energy sword in the other. Ryoko and Washu stood far away and observed through a monitor. "Can you hear me Tenchi?" Washu's voice appeared over a loudspeaker. "Loud and clear little Washu. What do you have in store for me?" "I have created three monsters with power and speed thirty times greater that of Katsuhito. At any time you feel you cannot handle it, just say so. I will destroy them with a flick of my wrists. I have a detonation command on my computer. Are you ready?" she asked. "Of course." He replied confidently. A low rumble could be felt as the three monsters charged towards Tenchi. "Time for some fun" he spoke with unfaltering confidence. Seeing that the creatures resembled that of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Tenchi formed his healing ball. As he stepped inside, the warmth soothed him. "There is no way a normal blow will destroy my orb." Just then, one monster opened his mouth and shot a large blast towards him. Thinking fast, he dove out of the way just as the bubble was decimated. Regaining his senses, he reformed his shield and lunged after one monster, his eyes burning a bright gold. He landed on the monster's neck and shot a blast down on it. The monster was caught off guard and staggered. Tenchi slipped off of the creature and fell to the ground. As he did, He was met with two energy blasts. He blocked both with his shield, but was knocked over in the process. A tail was brought down in Tenchi's direction but his instinct made him pull his healing orb into action. The tail cracked up against it and knocked Tenchi to his knees. The orb held as he jumped onto one monster's back. He then bent down and hugged the monster tightly. Washu was monitoring it all from her computer. She gasped as she realized what Tenchi was doing. "I can't believe it. He is actually making the monster's cells highly unstable. It is like a walking bomb!" she screamed in disbelief. Tenchi was content with his work as he leapt off its back. Floating there, he chuckled as he formed an energy projectile. In a flash, the creature was no more that a dark spot on the floor. His celebration would have to wait, however. Quickly he turned toward another of the monsters and formed his shield just in time to absorb a blast that was hurled towards him. "That should be more than enough power." He said while aiming his shield in his attacker's direction. A purple beam tore through its flesh and seared it shut in a blink of an eye. The third creature charged at him faster that any other had done. Tenchi, feeling bold, charged after it. When it seemed they would collide, Tenchi phased out and passed into it. The abomination stood there in obvious pain. Light began to shoot out of it before it exploded into greasy chunks. There, in the center of it all, was Tenchi. He held his sword before him and was breathing heavily. "Oh my. That was incredible." Washu said in disbelief. "That's my Tenchi for you." Ryoko sighed. They watched the monitor as Tenchi extinguished his sword and walked over to the two of them. As he approaches, Ryoko gives him a hug. "That was fun." Tenchi said contentedly. "You where great." Ryoko complimented. After a brief kiss, Tenchi looked over to Washu. She just stared at him. "What is the matter?" He asked curiously. "How can this be possible? Your body shouldn't be able to handle such energy. Also, your neuro-kinetics are way above the base line for any humanoid, Juraian or not." "I can't explain it, but I like it a lot. With this, we will be able to finally be able to avenge Ayeka." Tenchi said seriously. At that, they all left the dimension. As they stepped out the entire group greeted them. "Tenchi, Ryoko, today we will have a feast in your honor." Nobuyuki said proudly. "And after that, I must duel you Tenchi." Katsuhito reminded him. "Don't underestimate me, however, for I will not hold back this time." Washu and Ryoko just smiled at the old man's silly boasts. "Whatever you say grandpa. I hope I don't hurt you." Tenchi laughed as he spoke. With an icy stare, Katsuhito silenced him. All of them entered the house and sat down at a much larger table. On the table was every food you could imagine. After many prayers, the group started in on the meal. Many jokes and remarks where shared and no one even mentioned the impending departure. Sasami finished eating early so she could play with Ryo-Ohki one more time before she left on the journey. Tenchi and Katsuhito finished last and left for the shrine. All of the others followed in anticipation. Nobuyuki, like always, had his camcorder in hand. "Are you ready Tenchi?" Katsuhito asked sternly. "Of course grandfather." He replied calmly. Katsuhito stood there for a moment, grabbed his bokken, and stared at Tenchi. All of the sudden, his wrinkles faded and his face grew young. He looked just slightly older that Tenchi. Everyone was taken aback by this. Kiyone stood in disbelief. "Yosho! You are Katsuhito? The Juraian royal family had all but given up on ever finding you. I can't believe this." She spoke in pure shock. "Yes, it is true. I am Yosho. I'm deeply sorry for keeping you all in the dark. It was wrong. It is also too late to worry about it. Tenchi! Are you ready to see my true power?" "It will be an honor." Tenchi spoke with unblinking eyes. He quickly shot an energy blast to the left of Yosho. As he dove to the right to escape the explosion, he found himself bokken to bokken with the advancing pupil. "Silly tricks will not win you this match Tenchi. I am just warming up." Yosho spoke with his usual calm voice. Forcing Tenchi back, he launched himself into a barrage of stabs, swipes, and parries. Tenchi phased out just in time to avoid the attacks. As he passed through Yosho, he turned to attack. As he swung his weapon sideways to come across his grandfather's waist, Yosho brought his bokken over his head and down his back, blocking Tenchi's attack. One quick cut later, Yosho disarmed Tenchi. "Damn!" he cursed as his bokken flew through the air. Yosho walked over to his obviously defeated foe. As he did, Tenchi jumped high over him. As he flew backwards he launched an energy projectile just in front of his lost weapon. The blast created by this flung the bokken into the air towards Tenchi. He grabbed it, landed and charged at Yosho. Just as he was about to engage in another fray, he disappeared. Yosho stood there waiting for his target to come into view. To his surprise, four Tenchis appeared, surrounding him. All four sliced downward, narrowly missing Yosho. He leapt up to dodge the attacks. As he did, the real Tenchi appeared above him and knocked Yosho out of the sky. "Yes! I finally got you grandfather!" Tenchi spoke excitedly as he floated back down to the ground. "Indeed you did. I haven't had a fight worthy of my sweat in so long. It was fun." Yosho said as he rubbed his head. "You are a superb warrior Katsuhito, or do you prefer Yosho?" Tenchi spoke as he offered a hand to his grandfather. "I would be honored if you where to come with us to smote Nagi." Yosho looked over at Ryoko. "Wouldn't I be intruding?" he asked. Tenchi followed his gaze. "Not at all. It's not like the two of us will be consummating our love while in hot pursuit or anything." Tenchi laughed. "And the shrine. Who will take care of it?" Yosho continued. "I could always make a clone of you." Washu said. "It would not be difficult. Give me five minutes and some blood." "Then it's settled. I shall accompany you on your mission." Yosho declared. "By the way, I should probably be called Yosho. Nagi will be reluctant to attack another Juraian royal body. It could be used as an advantage." "Now that we are on the topic of blood, I used some of Ryoko and Tenchi's blood and made Med-Kits for them. Just strap these on yourselves and when you sustain massive damage, it activates. It fully restores health and condition once then it is destroyed. Do you like it?" Washu spoke quickly as she attached them to Ryoko and Tenchi. "Thank you." They both spoke at once. "Shall we?" Ryoko said as she called forth Ryo-Ohki. Tenchi and Ryoko both took one of Yosho's arms and entered the ship. Ryoko took command and ordered Ryo-Ohki to set out for the closest star system. With a loud "Miya!" they left the backwater planet behind and set forth on a great adventure. "This brings back memories." Yosho sighed as he looked at one of screens that displayed the space outside of Ryo-Ohki. "We are going to the star system Omega 5. It is the last civilized star system on the outer rim. Maybe we can get a few leads on Nagi's whereabouts." Ryoko said in a stern yet hopeful voice. "This is going to be one hell of a journey. I sure hope we find Nagi quickly. I have some plans for afterwards. I hope they work out." Tenchi said wishfully. "Well, I told Ryo-Ohki to warn us when we enter the star system. This way we can all get some rest before we get there." Ryoko stated as she unfolded three futons. "We should have about three hours." "Alright. I am so tired." Tenchi said as he stretched. "Yes. We must get our rest. Energy is just as important as strength while in battle." Yosho declared as he climbed into the futon closest to the screen showing the outside. Tenchi took the middle futon and Ryoko claimed the last one. Ryo-Ohki's lights dimmed and the starlight shone through several windows at the top of the ship. Looking over at Yosho, Tenchi saw that he was on his side looking at the stars. Tenchi then looked at Ryoko. She seemed to be lonely despite the two warriors that where with her. She was curled into a ball and had her head bent down. Her hair was the last thing he saw before succumbing to sleep. "Lord Tenchi. Look at me." A voice called from behind Tenchi. He rolled over and sat up. After rubbing his eyes, he saw who had awakened him. Ayeka stood before him. "Ayeka? How?" Tenchi wondered aloud. "Tenchi." She whispered. Slowly she began to drift backwards. Suddenly, Nagi appeared behind her. "Ayeka look out!" he warned her. She continued to drift back as if not hearing him. "Tenchi." she said once more. Nagi was directly behind her now. Without making a noise, she wrapped her arms around Ayeka and they both disappeared. "NO!" Tenchi screamed as he sat up. Sweat rolled down his face as he sat there in the darkness. "It was all a dream. No. a nightmare." He whispered to himself. After calming down, he looked over at Ryoko. Her loneliness was still apparent as she slept on her side. Her back was towards Tenchi. Slowly, he got up and walked over to her. He climbed into her futon settled in behind her. When he draped one arm over Ryoko's waist her eyes fluttered open. "Tenchi?" she asked quietly. "Yes. Sorry to have woke you my Ryoko. I just couldn't stand to be alone anymore. Do you mind if I slept with you tonight?" he whispered into her ear. "Not at all." She replied, grabbing his hand with hers. Together, they drifted off to sleep. They woke up to a buzzer going off. Tenchi was first to rise. He ran over to a flashing monitor and read the message that was displayed on it. It read, "Waypoint met. Entering specified star system." "It looks like we're here." Yosho declared. "Alright. I know some people on the fifth planet. We should probably see if they know something about Nagi's location." Ryoko said confidently. "You two should stay on board while I check it out. I don't want them to think I'm joining forces with Jurai or anything." "Understood." Yosho said while patting Tenchi in the back. "I'll see you soon." Tenchi said softly. Before departing, Ryoko gave him a quick yet passionate kiss. After that, Tenchi created his healing orb and Ryoko entered. After the warmth subsided, she flew down into the planets atmosphere. After landing she stepped out of the bubble and clipped it with her energy sword, therefore extinguishing it. Ryoko looked around for a few minutes to pinpoint exactly where she was. After finding her senses, she headed in the direction of the settlement she was looking for. When she reached the town, she looked for the house her acquaintance dwelled in. After passing a few businesses, she came across her favorite restaurant. She stood in front of the building and took a deep breath. The familiar smells made her head spin. "This brings me back." She sighed dreamily while looking through the front window. To her surprise, the one she sought out for was seated in the restaurant. After opening the door, she proceeded towards the tall male. The man saw Ryoko coming and pulled a seat out for her. "I knew you where coming Ryoko," he spoke softly. "And I know what you want." "That is no surprise, wise seer. I have not seen you in ages." Ryoko spoke as she ate the food the man had already ordered for her. Her eyes rolled back in her head, as she tasted pure euphoria. "You seek the one called Nagi, do you not? I am sorry but no one can locate a target with such a chaotic path. I do see, however, that your paths will indeed cross. I bid you farewell." "Thank you." Ryoko bowed and turned to leave. She turned back around, grabbed the leftovers, and left the building. As she headed back to where she started, she felt a chill. She could feel someone watching her. As Ryoko spun around, she saw no one. Confused, she headed back to the starting point. I'm back Tenchi. Come down and get me. Just a few seconds later; Tenchi landed, he scooped Ryoko up in his arms, and flew back to the ship in his little bubble. "Any luck?" he asked when they stepped out of the orb. "I'm afraid not. This is a disappointment. I wanted this to end quickly. I guess it will take a while." She said sadly. "I have a plan if you'd care to hear it." Yosho said quickly. "How about we get an updated Most Wanted list from Kiyone and Mihoshi, find the one with the highest price on his or her head, and find his current location. When we find him, Nagi should find him also. When she comes to collect her prize, We jump her." "That's a damn good plan." Ryoko spoke. "Let's do it." "I'll get the list." Tenchi said. He walked over to the controls and asked Ryo-Ohki to contact the two galaxy police officers. With an affirmative "Miya!" a screen popped up and Kiyone sat in front of it. "Tenchi! How are things going?" she asked excitedly. "Not to well. Kiyone, we need you to send us the most recent Most Wanted list in galaxy police record. Can you do that?" "No problem. Give me a second." After a few clicks of her keyboard the list was transferred to Ryo-Ohki's main computer. "Thank you." Tenchi said and saluted. Kiyone returned the salute and the screen disappeared. Tenchi clicked a few buttons on the console and printed a wanted poster of the highest priced space pirate on the list, next to Ryoko of course. "Let's go to the next planet. There are a lot of scumbags and cutthroats in the numerous bars on this planet. It is basically one giant super-city, "Ryoko said. Without any objection, Ryo-Ohki set off for the next planet. After landing, Ryoko gave out a copy of the wanted poster to Tenchi and Yosho. Each one went their separate ways and decided to meet back at the ship by sundown. Tenchi entered the first bar he could find. The doorman was weary of Tenchi's age. Tenchi turned his eyes gold and growled at him. This quickly persuaded the doorman to let him pass. Once inside, he could not believe his eyes. It was bigger than his house! He showed the poster to one of the bartenders. After a brief conversation the bartender told him the man's usual hide out. Thanking him, Tenchi left. Ryoko, I got it. I know where the man's hideout is located. Find Grandfather and meet me back at the ship. Tenchi then teleported back inside Ryo-Ohki and waited. After several minutes, Ryoko entered the ship. Yosho entered right behind her. "He's usually at a bar called "Saki and Sucky". It's a sleaze bar on planet Gamma 2. Let's go." Tenchi announced. Ryoko just looked at him. "Do you have any idea how far that is? At top speeds it would still take us about one and a half months. We are in for one hell of a trip," she said grimly. "Well, we might as well get comfortable, right Tenchi?" Yosho said calmly. Ryoko floated behind Tenchi and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Slowly, she leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "I like that idea, don't you Tenchi? You're tense. I could help you relieve your pressure. What do you say?" As Tenchi heard this a drop of blood trickled down his face. He had not expected this response from Ryoko during such a serious time. Unable to think of anything to do, Tenchi just stood there. Ryoko then continued her assault on Tenchi's hormones. After a few minutes of this, Tenchi excused himself and walked over to his futon. As he reached the space it was in he didn't see it. Confused, he looked over at Yosho. "Oh yes. That reminds me. Last night when I woke up and saw you two in the same bed, I decided to contact Washu. She sent me some portable bedrooms. Just tap your foot three times where your bed was." Yosho commanded. As Tenchi did, a door popped up from the floor. "Nice. I'm gonna check it out." He said as he entered the doorway. Ryoko floated over to where Tenchi was just standing and looked at Yosho innocently. She tapped three times and the door appeared again. "I. uh, am gonna check it out too." She said quickly before walking through the door. Yosho just smiled and chuckled. "Young love." He said before sitting down at a screen that displayed the surrounding space before Ryo-Ohki. He sat down and meditated. The months passed slowly due to lack of activity. Once they where at the outskirts of the star system they set out for, Ryoko and Tenchi looked at each other, then to Yosho. "There it is. The planet we have been looking for. We are finally here." Ryoko spoke. "Be prepared. We may meet Nagi here. All of your training has been for this one battle. Are you ready Tenchi?" Yosho asked intensely. "Yes grandfather. I am ready. I shall not forget what you have taught me over many years of my life." He replied. Tenchi attached his Med-Kit and tossed Ryoko hers. After snapping it on, Ryoko turned towards the door. "Well, let's go." Ryoko said calmly. Ryo-Ohki set down near a settlement and changed into cabbit form. The group headed for the settlement, Ryo-Ohki hopping behind them. The buildings in this settlement where run down and dirty. Most buildings had immense vines growing up their walls. Stopping at a little house to ask for directions, an old lady answered the door and quickly slammed it shut when she saw the travelers. "That was rude." Ryoko growled. Yosho stepped up to the door and rapped on it slightly. The same old lady answered. Just as she was about to slam the door again, Yosho spoke up. "We mean you no harm, we just need direction. Could you please help us out? We need to know how to get to the bar "Saki and Sucky" to meet up with someone. Can you help us?" he pleaded softly. Without saying a word, the old lady pointed in a direction and shut the door. After walking for a few hours, they came upon the bar. After trying repeatedly to get in, Tenchi decided to "persuade" the doorman a little. With a flash his sword was ignited and buried deep within the man's genitals. Quickly, they barged into the bar and started to scan the many faces. After a while, a fight broke out. Pushing through the crowd, Ryoko and Tenchi made their way to the front to see who was fighting. When they got a good view, Ryoko froze. The two who where fighting where none other that Nagi and the second most wanted criminal in the universe. As the two watched, Tenchi could see the rage build in Ryoko's eyes. After Nagi took the man's head, the crowd dispersed. All of them believed they had seen the end of the fight. Ryoko then flew at the bounty hunter with pure fury in her eyes. Ryoko tore after her, screaming. The bounty hunter froze in shock. "Nagi!"