Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fanfic (except one, but that's not the point), so don't sue me, k? Hitoshi Okuda, Pioneer, and all those people own them. Keep that in mind if you're somebody from Pioneer or anyplace, just read my fanfic (and if ya like it, tell me!!)! P.S. Negative comments, unless they're useful to making the story better, are not appreciated and any letters containing profanity will be AOL-ripped up, k? Just so you all understand. ONE MORE THING- GIVE ME FEEDBACK! A FEW LETTERS THAT TELL IF YOU LIKED MY STORY AND/OR WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER WILL REALLY MAKE MY DAY. And now, on to the fanfic! Captured Ryoko sighed and flicked an insect off her knee. "Bo-o-o-or-ing..." She leaned forward and moved a black checker piece a square over, then claimed one of the red ones and put it aside. "Tell me about it," an exact copy of Ryoko agreed, facing her from the other side of the checkers board. She, in turn, moved one of her red pieces and claimed two of Ryoko's. The original Ryoko glared at her opponent's piece, then picked up one of hers (and claimed the last of her copy's checkers on her way) to drop it in satisfaction at the opposite side of the board from where it started. "I win!" Ryoko2 groaned and vaporized the board and checkers, flopping over on her side. "What do you wanna do now?" Ryoko1 shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe terrorize Ayeka some more..." "Nah, she's already mad at us for that trick with the Tenchi copy." (Note-Obviously, Ryoko had been experimenting with copying lately.) "True..." Ryoko1 admitted, then crossed her legs and stared up at the sky. "Summer's so boring." "Hey, at least Tenchi gets to stay home all day," Ryoko2 objected. Ryoko1 stood up and stretched. "C'mon, let's go see what he's doing." Ryoko2 rose up and merged into her, and the one Ryoko teleported off the Masaki's roof to the kitchen. Sasami was chopping up some chives, Ryo-oh-ki sitting next to the cutting board on the counter and munching a carrot. "Sasami-chan, you seen Tenchi?" Ryoko asked, coming up behind her. The little girl turned around. "Oh, hi, Ryoko! I think he's upstairs. At least, he was last time I saw him." "Thanks." Ryoko grinned and ruffled Sasami's hair. "See ya." She vanished without another word, appearing an instant later in Tenchi's room. Tenchi jumped when Ryoko materialized right on top of his desk, looking across the room at him. "Hi, Tenchi!" she exclaimed, floating over to him and throwing her arms around Tenchi's neck. "Whatcha doing?" Tenchi calmed his pounding heart and elbowed his way out of Ryoko's grasp. "Something for Washu, actually," he informed her. Ryoko felt a pang of jealousy. "What is it?" "I'm looking for my encyclopedia set." Tenchi rolled his eyes. "She says she wants to study 'the human perception of creation,' whatever that means." Ryoko lightly touched down on the floor. "Hm. Well, she's always off on some new experiment or another." "Mm-hmm." Tenchi continued rummaging through his closet. He turned around when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Ryoko, looking slightly hurt to be turned away from that easily, held out a boxed set of books. "Oh, thanks, Ryoko!" He smiled, taking the set from her hand. "How'd you do that?" "Just one of my little secrets," Ryoko lied playfully. Actually, it had been sitting right in view on the floor. "You are pretty good at those, after all," Tenchi joked, leaning forward and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks." Lately, the relationships between Tenchi and both Ryoko and Ayeka had been progressing slightly. An occasional kiss on the cheek or a hug was never out of order, but Tenchi still jumped a mile up when Ryoko appeared suddenly. He had to get out of that habit. *** Down in her lab, Washu's hands were flying over her keyboard. Huge windows from the computer kept appearing and disappearing on a huge screen she had placed up to connect to what she was typing. A triumphant smile appeared on her face. "Almost done..." Two miniature Washu puppets appeared on her shoulders, one proudly displaying an "A," the other a "B." "You're the greatest, Washu!" "You're the smartest, Washu!" "No one would ever have thought up such a system but you, Washu!" "It's the best, Washu!" Washu put her hands on her hips and cackled for a few minutes while the puppets waved little fans and cheered. Then she returned to her Scientifically-Advanced-Washu3000 computer. The system she was inventing was an elaborate tracking system that would be able to locate even the most powerful of criminals, without any known way to reverse it. Plus, no little tracking button had to be placed on the person of the "trackee." (Washu was obviously trying to update her progress with the little smiley tracker when Minagi got away.) Washu heard her lab door crash open just as she finished the invention. "Yes?" Washu spun her chair around. A cheery-looking blond girl stood in the doorway, a weary green-haired one behind her. "Don't you ever knock?" Washu stood up, smiling her "I'm-inventing- the-best-thing-in-the-world" smile. "Uh... Sorry about that," Mihoshi giggled apologetically. All of a sudden, the door crashed off its hinges. Mihoshi and Kiyone were thrown inside when the floor started shaking. "Oh no! Mihoshi, you--" Washu glared, trying to keep her balance. She whirled around to her Scientifically-Advanced-Washu3000 computer and pounded a few keys. The floor stilled and a new door closed by itself in the doorway properly. Kiyone sighed in relief, while Mihoshi looked like she was about to burst out crying. Washu turned around and regarded Mihoshi with a calm but stern look. "Be careful with my door. If I didn't know what to do, then the dimension this lab is in would completely detach from the Masaki house." "Y-Y-Yes, Washu-san," Mihoshi stammered and bowed nervously. "Washu... SAN?" "Er, uh, Washu-CHAN," Mihoshi corrected herself hurriedly. "That's better. Now, what did you two want?" Washu started typing more keys on the computer; the many windows on the enormous screen across the lab all disappeared one by one, and then the screen rolled up and vanished. "Hmm... I ought to invent a system to make those close faster," Washu mused, then turned her attention back to what Kiyone was saying. "--class criminal Kagami has escaped a force of Galaxy Police again, and I was wondering if you could access the research file on the Galaxy Police computer base and look her up for me. I need some information, since they've signed me up to go after her." "Uh, me too, Kiyone!" Mihoshi tapped her arm. "Yes, how could I forget?" Kiyone put her forehead in her hand. "Of course I will." Washu typed one more invisible key and a spinny chair appeared behind her. She took a seat and started tapping numerous buttons or keys on the keyboard, then flicked a few switches on a board nearby filled with identical little levers. A long list of criminals appeared on the blue computer screen. Washu scrolled down until she found who Kiyone was looking for. The data compiled on the convict was all there: NAME: KAGAMI AGE: UNKNOWN GENDER: FEMALE OFFENSES: WANTED FOR- DESTROYING FOUR PLANETS, KILLING TWO THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, ANNIHILATING 900 SPACECRAFT, PILLAGING 800 OF THE MENTIONED SPACECRAFT, AND DEMOLISHING UNCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT WORKS LAST SEEN: PURSUED BY GALAXY POLICE FORCE 0013 DAYS AGO; ATTEMPT TO CAPTIVATE- UNSUCCESSFUL "Wow..." Kiyone remarked, looking over all the data. "She seems like quite a--" Mihoshi started bawling. "Kiyone... Kiyone, I'm scared!!" She tugged on Kiyone's sleeve. "Oh, god..." Kiyone hung her head. "This is hopeless with her around." Washu scrolled down some more to reveal the distinguishing qualities of the criminal. "Hm..." She mused. "Black hair, blue eyes... They say here that this Kagami's sword can be conjured like Ryoko's, but it and the rest of her energy is orange," she pointed out to Kiyone. "She's supposed to be very powerful. Another space pirate, I think." A knock at the lab door distracted Mihoshi. All of a sudden she was all sunshine again and cheerfully skipped to the door, opening it to reveal Sasami. "Hi, Mihoshi! Hello again, Kiyone." Sasami bowed slightly, balancing the tray. Kiyone smiled. "Hi." Sasami bustled in, Ryo-oh-ki at her heels. She brought with her a tray topped with food and some tea. "This is for you, Washu!" She smiled and set it down next to Washu's computer. "Thanks, Sasami." Washu smiled and patted Sasami's head, already sipping her tea. "Anyway, thank you, Washu." Kiyone waved and stepped out of the lab door. Mihoshi bowed, giggling. "Thanks!" She ran out after Kiyone. "Kiyone, wait for--" Her voice was cut off, the door closing and again separating the dimensions. *** Ayeka slid the door to the women's bath closed. Humming to herself, she undressed and took a towel. Ryoko was already bathing. "Hiya, Princess!" she called from the water. "Hello," Ayeka replied, startled. She rolled her eyes, hiding her disappointment at Ryoko's presence. "Ryoko, have you seen Tenchi?" she asked, sliding into the water. "Sure I have. He's in his room." Ayeka stopped short. "In his room?" she thought. "How would Ryoko know unless she snuck in, and then they--they might have--" She couldn't complete the thought; Ayeka lost her balance leaning half in and half out of the water, falling in with a splash. Ayeka surfaced rather ungracefully, gasping for air and clutching at the side of the pool. Ryoko burst out laughing. To the princess, the space pirate's laughter sounded very obnoxious. "What's wrong with you!?" She yelled, leaning against the side and washing her arms indignantly. "Oh, nothing, Ayeka-hime, just enjoying some entertainment from your rather inharmonious fall there!" and she started roaring with laughter again. "Why you....!" Ayeka ripped her washcloth in half. "Now, now, Ayeka, there's no need to get all bent out of shape just because of a little joke." Ryoko hummed the same tune Ayeka had been when she came in. Ayeka just grumbled to herself and continued washing. Suddenly, Ryoko floated up out of the water, looking out of the dimensional bath warily. "Hm?" The princess looked up. "Ryoko, what is it? Ryoko?" "Quiet!" Ryoko snapped, her red and black battle outfit appearing over her skin suddenly. Ayeka, despite being a little irate at being put off by a "mere thief," shut her mouth. She stood up, wrapping one of the towels around herself. A small, orange ball of energy with a black sphere inside of it pushed its way through the dimensional shield of the bath. It floated around the area, then stopped at Ryoko and started beeping. When it finally reached her, its beeping quickened. Ryoko conjured her sword and raised it like a tennis racket, swinging it into the sphere. The sphere beeped frantically and was thrown away, disappearing through the dimensional shield. Ryoko narrowed her eyes. "Kagami!" Ayeka stepped out of the bath and backed away. "W-Who?" "She's... Just someone I used to know." Ryoko's eyes were still on the shield. "I knew her long before I knew Tenchi. She has a grudge against me, I think... I'm afraid that by now she may have grown much more powerful than Nagi." *** Washu, Ryoko, Ayeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, Kiyone, and the Masakis sat around the dinner table later in the day. Ryoko was still in her battle outfit, and was constantly getting up to look out of the windows cautiously. "Ryoko, why are you still in your battle outfit? Have you been fighting with Ayeka?" Tenchi finally asked after swallowing a mouthful. "No more than usual, Tenchi," she replied, glancing over her shoulder. "How many times are you going to ask me today? I've already explained everything, haven't I?" "Oh, you have," Washu piped up, tapping her chopsticks on the rim of her bowl. "I think it's just that Tenchi expects Kagami to just be some other minor enemy of yours, that's all." "That's not it!" Tenchi protested. "Actually, it is..." he thought, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "EVERYONE'S got something to fight about with Ryoko." "Well, she's not just 'some other minor enemy!'" Ryoko retorted. Then she sighed and set her bowl down. "Excuse me." She stood up and vanished. "That's odd," Ayeka commented. "I don't recall ever hearing polite words out of her mouth before." Washu guffawed. "We'll keep a watch out, but I don't think anyone's going to be giving us a visit." Nobiyuki leaned forward and collected more rice. "Kagami is one tough cookie, though," Kiyone warned. "A force of Galaxy Police couldn't catch her last time she was caught, plundering a government spacecraft." Sasami looked worried. "But what if Ryoko's in danger?" Ryo-oh-ki meowed, then continued munching on a carrot. Mihoshi sniffled in fear, then was immediately cheered by the offering of more food. Katsuhito was silent, eating his supper. He sensed some sort of force coming, but didn't want to upset Sasami or Mihoshi, so kept quiet. *** After dinner, Mihoshi and Kiyone thanked them for the meal and left. Sasami was trying to help Ayeka with something, and Washu was in her dimensional lab. Tenchi was looking for Ryoko. He had thoroughly searched the house, but couldn't find her anywhere he looked. Finally, something occurred to him. The roof! Ryoko always went there when she was troubled. Tenchi didn't hesitate before trotting outside and grabbing a ladder. Sure enough, Ryoko was sitting on the edge of the roof, her legs dangling. "So here you are." Tenchi tried to keep his balance as he crossed the roof to sit next to Ryoko. "Oh!" She turned to look at him. "Hello, Tenchi." He was surprised that she didn't make some attempt to kiss him on the spot, or even move closer. Tenchi put an arm around her shoulders. "Are you still concerned about that Kagami?" Ryoko sighed. "Yeah..." "You shouldn't be. I'm sure it's only nothing, Ryoko!" He reassured her. She turned to stare at him. "'Only nothing?' Is that all you think it is?" Tenchi waved his hands nervously. "No, it's just--that I don't want you to be worried. I like it when you smile." Ryoko blushed and leaned against him. "I AM worried, though... This scares me." Tenchi hugged her. He leaned down to kiss her, and she leaned up to kiss him, but they were interrupted when Sasami poked her head up from the top of the ladder. "Here you two are!" *** Tenchi had odd dreams that night. His first dream was that Ryoko all of a sudden professed her love for him. Well, that wasn't too unusual. But then, in the dream, Tenchi saw himself accepting her affections and confessing his own for her! Then he was startled awake. He fell asleep again quickly, however, and the second dream was about Ayeka. She had confronted him and said that she loved him, promising that she would give up her royal heritage as long as she could stay with him. But she wouldn't unless he loved her back, and then he watched as he told her how much he cared about her too. Before he could awake sweating again, another dream started, this time more specific. He was standing in his front yard, but didn't know why. A black force suddenly lunged from the sky and bolted at him. He dodged just in time, but for some reason, he couldn't use his sword to fight back. Ryoko rushed out of the house trying to defend him, but the power consumed her before she could protect Tenchi. Tenchi leapt to a sitting position, waking to find himself panting. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. It was still dark out, he realized as he looked out his window. Sighing with relief, he laid back down in his bed. "It was just a dream," he told himself. But for some reason... For some reason, he couldn't get the sound of Ryoko's scream as the blackness consumed her out of his head. "Stop it!" Tenchi scolded himself as he heard the scream once again. But then he frowned, sitting up again. Wait a minute... That scream wasn't in his head! Tenchi jumped out of bed and raced out his bedroom door, tumbling down the stairs and falling against the front door. He shoved it open and ran outside. A huge black spacecraft was landed a few hundred feet away from his home, crushing a large amount of trees and sticking half in, half out of the lake. A woman about as tall as Ryoko floated in the air. She had long, spiky black hair and slanted blue eyes. Her form seemed to be wearing a black and blue battle outfit much like Ryoko's, but with a different, sharp design. In one outstretched palm, an orange ball of blazing fire swirled. She looked to be a space pirate. Tenchi realized almost too late that Ryoko's unconscious form, still in her battle outfit, hung in one of her arms. "Let her go!" He shouted. The space pirate didn't respond. Ryoko drifted up from her arm, still unconscious, and vanished. Instead, Tenchi's sword hilt took her place. Instead of killing him on the spot, the space pirate just tossed the sword hilt away as if it were insignificant. It landed a few meters from Tenchi. As Tenchi started running to get it, the space pirate threw up her hand. "Stop!" she commanded. All of a sudden, he couldn't move. "Tenchi--" It was the space pirate. Looking up at her from the corner of his eye, not able to turn his head, Tenchi listened. To his surprise, her eyes were full of pain. She didn't finish her sentence, turning her face away. As quickly as he was frozen, he was able to move again. But Tenchi didn't run to his sword. He was almost in a trance. "Hm?" he murmured to himself, walking over and picking up his sword. He shook himself and glanced up at the woman again. She looked back at him, with tears in her eyes, then suddenly appeared very upset, an evil glare on her face. "Just FIGHT!" she yelled, hurling the orange fireball at him. Tenchi's eyes widened as the orange fireball turned into a blazing mass as it flew at him. Before he could scream, it surrounded him. *** Tenchi felt a soft, cool substance on his forehead as he awakened. Opening his eyes drowsily, he saw Ayeka, Sasami, his father, and his grandfather all sitting in front of him. Both Sasami and Ayeka looked like they were about to cry when he groaned and tried to sit up. "Oh, you're all right, Tenchi!" "Mmm..." A washcloth fell from his forehead. "How long have I been asleep?" Tenchi asked sleepily, still not fully conscious. "It's a good thing you're awake!" Nobiyuki patted his shoulder. "Tenchi, what happened?" It was Katsuhito who asked the question. "By the effect that whatever it was had on you and the rate of your breathing when you were asleep, it must have been quite a doozy!" Washu was typing on her almost-transparent Scientifically-Advanced-Washu3000 laptop, sitting on the couch a little away from him. Tenchi looked around. He was laying on the floor somewhat near the front door. His sword hilt sat on one of the chairs. Staring silently at all the people in the room, he noticed one and only one thing: Ryoko wasn't there. Suddenly, he remembered it all. "Ryoko!" he yelled, leaping up and racing out the door, despite his headache. The woman and the spacecraft were gone. And so was Ryoko. *** Tenchi had to hurriedly explain the entire thing to everyone present, but had to stifle the urge to run out that moment and rescue Ryoko. He couldn't do that all by himself... Washu, unlike her usual too-confident demeanor, had a funny look on her face while he was talking. But almost the instant Tenchi noticed it, it was gone. "She must be worried about Ryoko too," he thought to himself. "Aha!" Washu cried when he was finished. "Kagami!" she hurried to her lab. Tenchi, Ayeka, Sasami, and Nobiyuki followed quickly. (Katsuhito just shook his head and sat in the kitchen, determined not to get mixed up with Washu at the moment.) "Washu-san, are you saying that the other space pirate Ryoko was worried about is the one who abducted her?" Ayeka panted as they reached her lab. Washu turned around before opening the door. With narrowed eyes, she reached out of nowhere and held a huge mallet above Ayeka's head. "How many times have I told you not to call me Washu-san?" "Washu-CHAN! Washu-CHAN!" Ayeka cringed. "That's better." The mallet disappeared. "Now, to answer your question, yes!" She opened the lab door and stepped inside, the rest hopping in quickly before she slammed it on them. Washu stalked to her spinny-chair and sat down, furiously typing on her computer. They waited for a minute, watching her back. Washu turned around in her chair after a bit. "Hm? Don't you have anyplace else to go?" The crowd face-faulted. "Uh... Aren't you going to EXPLAIN?" Tenchi asked in a loud tone. "Don't raise your voice with me, mister." Washu tapped him on the head with a folded-up fan. "I'll explain when I'm ready. Now get out, all of you." "Huh?!" They all looked at each other. "And I mean NOW!" Washu roared. Everyone disappeared before she could blink, the door to her lab closing with a click. "That's better," Washu said again, satisfied, and went to work on her computer. "It's a good thing I have the most scientifically advanced mind in the universe, or I wouldn't have that tracking system I invented to catch Kagami in the working!" Her insane cackling could be heard from all around the house. "Man, she's weird..." Tenchi groaned, hanging his head. They were all leaning against the wall next to Washu's lab door, waiting. *** Meanwhile, in her fortress on a planet far away, Ryoko opened her eyes. "Tenchi?" she murmured. "Your Tenchi is back home," she heard Kagami say near her. Ryoko snapped awake and looked around. Kagami stood a foot away from her, a hand on her hip. Ryoko tried to snatch out at her, but her hand touched something firm. She was in a huge, glass ball, and floating as if she was in water; a Sphere. "Let me out of here!" Ryoko snarled at Kagami. "This short time you spend in a mere Sphere won't nearly match to what awful misery you put me in for hundreds of years!" Kagami yelled back, fighting to urge to actually let Ryoko out of the Sphere and kill her. Ryoko looked puzzled for a minute, then her angry look returned. She snarled, "I was under Kagato's control, you--you--" She balled her hands into fists. "I couldn't HELP it! If I was free I wouldn't have DONE it!" "I DON'T CARE!" Kagami slammed her palm against the glass of the Sphere. Instantly orange crackles of energy fizzled and took up the space inside it. Kagami walked away, blocking out Ryoko's yells. *** Washu came out not too long after she had sent Tenchi & Co. away. Nobiyuki, Tenchi, Ayeka, and Sasami were all fast asleep, snoring outside her door. She gave each a few nudges with her foot, causing them to stir. "Hm?" Sasami scratched her head sleepily. "You done, Washu?" Tenchi was up like lightning. He was intent on saving Ryoko. The other three dragged themselves up, now fully awake. "Have you figured it out yet, Washu-sa--er, Washu-chan?" "As a matter of fact, I have," Washu answered triumphantly. Tenchi grabbed her by the shoulders. "How can I save Ryoko? Tell me!" "Easy, boy." Washu ducked out of his grasp and led them in her lab to the computer. "I've just invented a new tracking system, and I've located Kagami and Ryoko on the planet...right here." She pointed out a small, black planet in a diagram of interlocking galaxies. "What's the planet called?" Ayeka asked. "It doesn't have a name; I know that planet didn't used to be there. Kagami must have created it for her own fortress." "How will we get there?" Sasami asked. "I'm sorry, Sasami-chan, but only Tenchi and Ayeka are going. Stay here with Nobiyuki, Katsuhito, and I, ok?" Washu patted her head. "It would be too dangerous." "But I want to go too! Ryoko's my friend, and I have to help save her!" Sasami insisted stubbornly. "Now, Sasami-chan, be a good girl and stay at the Masaki's, all right?" Ayeka knelt down. "Please? I don't want you to get hurt." After a little bit of cajoling, Sasami reluctantly agreed to stay. "But can I come next time?" "We'll see." Washu turned back to the diagram. "And about the factor of transportation, well... I've created another space ship." She looked up at them from her small height, scratching her red hair sheepishly. "Wow!" "Really?" "That's so great!" "Oh, it was nothing." Washu waved her hand dismissively. "But... Unfortunately, you can't travel in it quite yet." "Why? Why not?" Tenchi demanded. "Because I haven't completed my data sheet on it yet." "Washuuuu!" Ayeka whined. "What?" Washu looked at her innocently. "Please, can we use it right away?" Washu seemed to be considering it. Finally, she nodded. "All right, but just this once!" *** Tenchi and Ayeka stood impatiently outside the house. "Why is this taking her so long?" Tenchi tapped his foot. "Who knows?" Ayeka sighed, looking the other way. If Tenchi didn't know any better, he could've thought she looked... Worried, even? No, it couldn't be. Sasami, Nobiyuki, and Katsuhito were all seated a little away. "I don't know," Sasami replied, shaking her head. "Maybe she has to fix something." Washu had told everyone to wait outside for her, while she, from her computer, transformed the final spacecraft from design to reality. It should have taken a while, and they all knew that, but it had been much too long for a genius like Washu to make it happen. Finally, the spacecraft appeared right in their front yard. Everyone jumped a mile into the air, especially Tenchi and Ayeka, who were the closest to it. Washu materialized in front of the spacecraft, grinning. "I've done it!" They all looked it over, calming down. The ship was huge, and dark purple everywhere but on the tips of the wings, where it was a lavendar. Washu had said that she had called it Koja, like the Soja only better. "Wow! This is great, Washu!" Tenchi exclaimed. "You ARE the most brilliant scientist in the universe!" Ayeka agreed. "'The greatest SCIENTIFIC GENIUS in the universe,' you mean," Washu corrected her. "That too," Sasami put in. "Good luck, Tenchi," Katsuhito and Nobiyuki said, patting Tenchi on the arm before going inside. Tenchi took a deep breath, tightening his hold on the sword hilt in his hand, and waved to everyone. "Thanks a lot, Washu!" He stepped up into the ship. Ayeka gave Sasami a kiss goodbye and followed him. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Washu waved. Sasami cheered as Koja rose from the ground and gained elevation a few moments later. Both she and Washu waved a final goodbye before the ship finally vanished, too high for human sight. *** Kagami drummed her fingers restlessly. "Tenchi, what's taking so long?" she muttered to herself. She wanted a fight. Kagami wanted to get back at Ryoko for what she'd done, so long before. But she couldn't just finish off Ryoko and be done with it; no compensation would come from that. Kagami would have to kill Tenchi, revenge on her enemy for her pain. Kagami glanced at the unconscious Ryoko (a result of her lightning energy) and clenched her teeth. She closed her fist, silencing her drumming fingers, and growled. "Tenchi, where are you?!" *** On the ship, Tenchi drummed his fingers nervously on one of the two floating metallic balls that acted as armrests on the chair. "How long do you think it'll be?" he asked Ayeka, who was standing a few feet away. They had been floating for days now, a surprisingly long time for the speed of a spacecraft of Washu's. But Kagami's planet was in a different galaxy, far away. "Oh, I don't know," Ayeka sighed, crossing over and sitting down in the chair attached to Tenchi's. "I think we should be there soon." "You've been really good about this, Ayeka." Tenchi put a hand on hers. "I know you don't like Ryoko very much, so it's sweet that you're doing this all for me." "Well, it's MOSTLY for you," Ayeka thought. "Thank you, Tenchi... That means a lot," she said aloud and smiled, squeezing his hand. Tenchi put one arm around her and they leaned on each other, staring ahead of them out into the black universe. Ayeka looked at Tenchi, and Tenchi looked at Ayeka. They both leaned forward, closing their eyes and... Before they could kiss, a huge image appeared on a screen. Kagami looked down at them. "Am I interrupting something?" Ayeka quickly jumped up, her fingers toying with each other. "N-no, not at all!" Then she realized who it was and glowered up at the space pirate. "What have you done with Ryoko?" "You needn't worry; she's still alive, Ayeka-hime." Kagami waved her hand dismissively. "Why are you doing this?" Tenchi asked, standing up and gripping his sword hilt. "None of you KNOW!" Kagami suddenly yelled, glaring at the screen. "None of you! You don't know the pain Ryoko put me through!" "Pain?" Ayeka frowned. "Yes, pain! Suffering, misery, whatever you want to call it, PAIN!" Kagami lowered her voice from a shout. "She defeated me with power I know wasn't hers, and locked me in a vortex for hundreds of years! Away from everything I've ever cared about." "You can't blame Ryoko when she was under Kagato's control!" Tenchi unclenched his teeth, knowing that Ryoko would never do such a thing to an "innocent" person unless she didn't have claim over her actions. "Kagato?" Kagami narrowed her eyes, remembering that Ryoko had said the same thing. "I don't believe that. Even if she was, being in that vortex was worse than anything you can imagine. It was a nightmare vortex! If anyone is locked in one, all of the things they fear are copied and made to haunt them in an inescapable darkness! For hundreds of years! And... When I finally broke out of it--everyone I cared about was dead. Murdered, all by Ryoko!" "I'm very sorry for that," Tenchi said, calming down slightly. "But just let Ryoko go. Please." "I won't..." Kagami turned away, and her image on the screen fizzled and disappeared, leaving it blank again. The collision of the ship's landing on Kagami's planet startled both Ayeka and Tenchi from their feet. *** A few minutes later, Tenchi and Ayeka, both in their battle outfits, stepped into Kagami's fortress. Everything was a foggy gray, a misty area with metallic characteristics and settings. "Geez, I figured we would be doing some mid-air fighting in the Koja," Tenchi commented quietly to Ayeka, looking around. "Me too," Ayeka admitted. "Kagami!" she shouted. Kagami appeared ahead of them. "You've finally come." "Let Ryoko come back with us, or we'll have to fight you for her!" Tenchi readied himself. She stepped indifferently up to them, and looked at them calmly. "I won't give you Ryoko to you. She will die! And so will you." "Why?" Ayeka narrowed her eyes. "Revenge!" Kagami set her glare on the princess. "But of course, you wouldn't know of any such pain as what I went through, Ayeka-HIME." "Why--you--!!" Tenchi had to hold Ayeka back from lunging at Kagami. "You couldn't POSSIBLY know." Kagami turned her back on them. "You've spent your whole life being pampered and taken care of. But, your little CRUSH on Tenchi will make his death even harder on you. Then maybe you'll know." Ayeka broke free of Tenchi's grasp and her force field appeared around Kagami. Kagami just smirked. "Angry now, hm?" She was immediately hidden by power from the wooden logs. Then her form disentigrated. Tenchi frowned and put a hand on Ayeka's arm. The force field vanished. "How could that have--" He was interrupted by a heavy blow to his back, knocking him to the floor and sending the sword hilt spinning. Tenchi tried to stand. "Wha--" Kagami stood a foot behind where he had been standing. "That was a nice display of your 'power,' Ayeka-hime," Kagami commented, crossing the floor and grabbing Tenchi by his collar. She yanked him upward and held him up above the ground. He struggled, pawing uselessly at her. "But next time you might want to save it for ME, not my shadow." Ayeka began to race over to free Tenchi, but Kagami held up her other palm and commanded, "Stop!" The princess couldn't move. "Let us go!" Tenchi shouted, trying to release himself from her grasp. The space pirate opened her hand, sending Tenchi crashing to the ground. "Always be prepared," she advised him, beginning to walk away. She vanished after a few steps. Tenchi grabbed his sword hilt and ran in the direction Kagami had gone before she disappeared. Then he was gone, as if his form had passed through a mirror. "Tenchi!" Ayeka screamed after him. "Tenchi?" She still couldn't shift. Kagami hadn't taken the spell off her. Ayeka growled, then: "GET BACK HERE! I CAN'T MOVE!!!!!" *** Ryoko regained consciousness just as she saw Kagami appear. "You!" She clenched her teeth. "Ohh." Kagami pretended to be sad. "You aren't happy to see me?" "You're damn right I'm--" She stopped as she saw Tenchi appear running out of the corner of her eye. "Tenchi!" She cried, overjoyed. "Ryoko!" Tenchi instantly reached the glass ball, pressing his free hand without the sword hilt against it. Ryoko tried her best to escape the Sphere, but couldn't. "Help me!" she pleaded to Tenchi. "Of course I will." Tenchi smiled. "Just watch." "How sweet," Kagami's sarcastic voice distracted them both. "Are you going to fight or not?" Tenchi's blue energy blade immediately appeared from the hilt. He stood in a stance, holding his sword ready. The huge room was circular; there weren't corners that Tenchi would be able to be trapped and backed into, which would improve his chances. He looked out of the corners of his eyes, observing the again gray, foggy setting and metallic settings. It was Kagami who made the first move. She conjured her orange energy sword, like Ryoko's but with little wings at the base, and jumped high in the air, holding it above her head. Tenchi blocked her just in time. He spun away and thrust his sword, parried by Kagami. She jumped back and hurled four balls of orange energy at him, and he could dodge all but three. The fourth he had to block with his sword. Ryoko watched helplessly, her face to the glass of the Sphere. One half of her was almost enjoying having Tenchi rescue her, but the other half was distressed at not being able to join in the action. Ryoko was a fighter, and her hands itched to summon her red energy sword and slash through the Sphere. Unfortunately, Kagami had disabled all of her magic. Ayeka suddenly appeared, panting and running towards the scene. Just as Kagami noticed her, she held up one hand and a swirling orange energy appeared that flew at Ayeka and imprisoned her in a Sphere next to Ryoko. Ayeka cried out, pounding her fists in surprise and anger on the glass, but it was useless. "STOP IT, Ayeka!" Ryoko glared. "Tenchi's--" But she didn't have to finish. The princess had already noticed. In the time Kagami took to cage Ayeka, Tenchi's sword struck her arm. She teleported away, holding the wound. It was bleeding, but Kagami didn't allow herself to be distracted for long. She made her energy sword appear again and lunged at Tenchi, catching him offguard with her anger. He acquired a few scrapes and scratches on his forehead, arm, and leg, while Kagami recieved another two slashes to her leg and cheek during the fight. "Tenchi!" Ayeka screamed when Kagami almost landed a blow to his shoulder. He blocked her with his sword before it hit. Tenchi twisted away from her blade and ran over to the two Spheres, with Ayeka and Ryoko inside. "I'll save you two," Tenchi told them, a little nervously (that's Tenchi). "Don't worry." Ryoko noticed Kagami advancing. "Tenchi, look out!" she shouted. Tenchi turned and jumped out of the way of Kagami's strike, her sword landing against the hard floor. "Kagami!" Ryoko got the enemy space pirate's attention. Kagami turned to face her. "Why won't you ever forgive me?" she asked quietly. Kagami was about to say something, but was unprepared for Tenchi's blow. His sword plunged straight through her from behind, emerging in the front of her chest near her right shoulder. A look of surprise was frozen on Kagami's face as her orange energy blade fizzled out. Tenchi staggered back, as startled as she; he thought Kagami was expecting his thrust. Tenchi's blue blade disappeared, the sword hilt clattering to the floor behind Kagami. He didn't notice in his suprise. Ayeka and Ryoko watched wide-eyed with astonishment. Kagami, blood-soaked and wounded, fell back. Tenchi caught her just before she hit the floor. She coughed weakly, then lifted her hand as if to push the air. "R-Ryoko--" Kagami murmured. Ryoko wished desperately that she could get out of the Sphere. "I-I'm here!" she called, feeling a lot more pitiful and distressed than she thought she would have if she had known Kagami would have been injured this way before. "I..." The space pirate coughed again frailly and looked at Ryoko through half-closed lids. "Tenchi--He's still alive... Y-You must be... glad..." Ryoko felt tears streaming down her face. "Kagami, I--" Kagami's breath slowed slightly; she seemed to be gulping air in. "I... I'm so happy...for...you..." Her eyes finally closed. Ryoko sank to the Sphere floor and curled herself into a ball, crying quietly onto her knees. Ayeka watched the other three silently, a caring frown on her face. Kagami's form vanished. Tenchi stood up, picking his sword hilt from the ground and walking over to the two Spheres. He looked down sadly and said, "I'm...sorry, Ryoko." "It's okay, Tenchi." Ryoko sniffled and wiped her eyes, slowly rising again to her feet. She pressed one hand against the Sphere glass, and Tenchi pushed his against the glass opposite hers comfortingly. Suddenly, the Sphere around Ryoko disappeared. She barely managed to make herself float in time from falling into a heap on the floor. Tenchi frowned for a minute, realization advancing on him, and touched Ayeka's Sphere as well; he had to help her catch her balance. Ayeka let her breath out and gazed across Kagami's main fortress room. "She's really gone," she sighed wistfully. "It... It doesn't seem right, does it?" Tenchi asked her, sighing as well. Ryoko snuck over to a corner of the room quietly while they were talking; she snatched what she had spotted and returned to standing where she was before they noticed her abscence. Suddenly, everything around the three started to blink. "C'mon, let's get out of here!" Tenchi shouted, and they all raced out of the fortress before it and they both disappeared. They managed to make it outside only a few moments before the whole fortress flickered and finally disappeared. Tenchi grabbed both of the girls' arms. "Let's go home, okay?" Ryoko and Ayeka nodded slowly. "Okay, Tenchi." They all walked across the barren, dark land to their spacecraft, each deep in thought. *** Tenchi, Ayeka, and Ryoko screamed as they were thrown across the space in Koja. Washu, standing nearby, typed a few things on her floating Scientifically-Advanced-Washu3000 laptop and Koja disappeared, the three landing lightly on the ground outside of the lake. Ryoko grinned slightly. "If I didn't have Ryo-oh-ki, I would want that space ship!" "Of course you would." Washu's laptop vanished. "I made it." She pointed a finger to the sky. "And that is why it is so perfect!" Everyone face-faulted. "Oh, get up." Washu kicked them. "How did things go on Kagami's planet? Since you've returned, I assume you won the battle?" Ryoko turned away, a sigh escaping her. "Kagami was...killed in the fight," Ayeka spoke for her haltingly. "Ryoko is a little upset," she whispered out of the space pirate's hearing range to Washu. "I see." Washu looked at Ryoko's back seriously. "I'm sorry about that, Ryoko." "Thanks," Ryoko replied quietly, still not turning around. "C'mon, let's go back to the house," Washu suggested, grinning. "Everyone will want to hear your story, especially me!" Everyone laughed and followed the Scientific Genius back to the Masaki's. *** Ryoko, sitting on the couch, bent her knees and leaned her chin on them. "Wow," Sasami said quietly. "That's awful!" The three had just explained Kagami's death. Mihoshi immediately started bawling, Kiyone apologized about it but congratulated them for defeating someone even the Galaxy Police couldn't catch, Nobiyuki and Katsuhito just nodded knowingly, and Sasami just looked on sadly, understanding. Washu was typing fast, recording everything they said on her Scientifically-Advanced-Washu3000 laptop for further research. The group, all assembled in the living room, started busily asking questions about how their trip was, what they did there, what was Kagami mad about, etc. Tenchi, Ayeka, and Ryoko could barely keep up with the flow of questions. They hurriedly tried to answer as best they could before a whole new barrage came on them. *** Later that night, Tenchi discovered Ryoko on the roof again. He, as last time, sat next to her and put an arm around her. "Are you okay, Ryoko?" Ryoko looked up at him. Her face looked like she had been crying. "I think I'll be fine." She smiled at him. "Um, Ryoko?" He felt very, very nervous. "What is it, Tenchi?" She replied absently. "I, um... I love you." Tenchi leaned down and kissed her before she could reply. After a minute, Ryoko pulled back and smiled. "I love you too." *** Tenchi caught Ayeka as she was coming out of the women's bath, dressed in a fresh kimono. Ayeka noticed him right away. She smiled, always happy to see him. "Hello, Tenchi! How is Ryoko?" "Oh, she's okay... She says she's starting to feel a little better. It's nice of you to ask." Tenchi hugged her. "Thanks." Ayeka hugged him back. "There's, um, something I--I--" "Yes?" Ayeka looked up at him curiously. "I--I love you." Tenchi gave her a kiss, startling her. She kissed him back, and smiled. "I love you too." *** Ryoko sat perched on a large tree branch early the next morning. Her clone sat next to her, an identically thoughtful expression on her face. "I don't know why," Ryoko1 began, "but I sort of miss Kagami." "I know," Ryoko2 agreed. "We knew her before we were under Kagato's control. It's too bad she ended up wanting revenge." Ryoko2 merged into Ryoko1. The one Ryoko sighed. In her hand, she was holding an orange energy sphere, with a black sphere inside it; both now metallic and still. ~THE END~