LEGAL DISCLIMER: Tenchi Muyo is the register copyright and trademark of AIC and 
Pioneer.  All Rights Reserved.  This work of fiction is written for 
entertainment purposes only and not for profit.
=============================
NOTES:  The Dune series of novels were very well written.  The movie by Dino De 
Larentis didn't go the novels much justice.  You know the one that had Sting in 
it.  Well, the Sci-Fi Channel version was more true to the actual novel.  What 
really fascinated me was the hidden power aspect.  Paul had a hidden power that 
was awesome, but it had to be awakened.  Tenchi in a way was the same way.  
Consider this chapter my tribute to the late Frank Herbert.
=============================
THE DARK LORD OF JURAI
EPISODE THREE - NO NEED FOR AN APPOCALYPSE
By Michael "The-Zorch" Haney

CHAPTER TWO:  THE SLEEPER AWAKENS  
=============================
	
	Tenchi watched in horror as his lethal blow failed to kill the Regent.  
Kagato whirled around to face him and gathered an immense energy blasts towards 
him.  "You!" he snarled.  The blast struck him in the chest and the pain was 
immense.  Tenchi felt darkness close in around him, and was unconscious before 
he hit the wall and landed outside the throne room.  He did not remember Ryoko 
lying across his battered body wracked with sobs, nor his transport to Washu's 
lab where he was hocked up to various medical monitors.
	Darkness surrounded him now.  He could not see anything in the blackness.  
The darkness was so complete, so thorough.  He could not even see himself for 
murkiness of it all.
	"Where am I?" he asked nobody in particular.  His voice echoed in the 
darkness.
	"Ryoko, Aeka, anybody!" he shouted.
	It was at that moment that Tenchi realized that he could not feel Aeka and 
Ryoko anymore.  It was an uneasy feeling, a queasy feeling, and he did not like 
it.  It was as if he were naked.  He grew accustomed to not being alone in own 
mind for so long, a few months at least.
	"What is this place?" Tenchi shouted into the darkness.

	Ryoko sat next to Tenchi's hospital bed since he was brought to the lab.  
Washu looked in the room and could only feel sorrow for the look on her face.  
Ryoko's greatest dreaming of finally having Tenchi's love had come true, she had 
him for a few months, but not all of that was taken away.  He was alive, but in 
a coma.  There was no telling for how long, but Washu proposed a tricky 
solution.  Since Ryoko and Aeka have a spiritual and telepathic link with 
Tenchi, then the two of them together might be able to combine their minds 
together to awaken him.  There was one problem with that solution.  Soon after 
Kagato struck Tenchi down he grabbed Aeka and ran off with her as his hostage.
	"Hey." Washu said softly.
	"Hi mom." Ryoko replied tiredly.
	"You haven't slept since we brought him in.  Go lay down for a while.  
I'll keep and eye on things here." Washu told her.
	"Any luck picking up Kagato's trail yet?" Ryoko asked.
	"I have a possible trace, but it's very far away.  I have my instruments 
doing a detailed scan and should have an answer in a few hours." Washu replied.
	Ryoko stood up and did something she very rarely ever did.  She walked up 
and hugged her mother.  Utterly surprised, Washu did not return the hug 
immediately, but soon after the shock wore off she returned her daughter's 
embrace.
	"Thanks mom." Ryoko told her.
	"Go lay down before you fall down." Washu said with a crooked smile.
	Ryoko smiled back and teleported away.  Washu walked up to Tenchi's 
bedside and looked at the monitors.  He was laying her for two days so far and 
there was no change.  It has been known for coma patients to sleep for years, 
even decades, but she hoped it would not be that long before he came out of it.  
She could not help but feel that there was something more to this coma than 
meets the eye also.  It was as if she felt something, a feeling, or a presence 
she had not felt in a long time.  She shook it off quickly as nerves, printed 
out the latest medical data onto a strip, and headed for the main part of the 
lab to see how the search for Aeka was going.
	
	The people of Jurai started picking up the pieces of the short conflict on 
their planet immediately after the battle was over.  Small groups of Darkling 
survivors were found in different places in the city.  Most of the parts of the 
capital not leveled by Kagato's nuclear bomb were severely damaged during the 
battle to retake the city.  Damage was estimated in the hundreds of millions, 
but there was more than enough in the treasury to pay for the expense of 
restoring the capital to its former glory.  What could not be so easily restored 
were the lives of those who the Darklings victimized.  Psychological wounds were 
left behind on men, women and children alike from the occupation.  Not only the 
psychological effects of being feed upon by Darklings, but the physical and 
sexual abuse.  A majority of the sexual abuse reports came from children.  It 
was an alarming number, and it had the social workers scrambling like mad.  It 
would not be the physical destruction the Darklings caused that would be 
remembered throughout history on Jurai, but the psychological damage they 
inflicted upon the people, and especially the children of Jurai.
	Repairing the damage to the palace was placed on the back burner for a 
while.  Azusa concentrated on the reconstruction of the capital and the 
rebuilding of those ships lost during the battle in space.  Those who gave and 
risked their lives in the fighting were honored in a formal ceremony.  Darius 
and Sasami received the Jurai Star medal for their courage in destroying the 
Xevius.  Ryoko, Orrin, Katsuhito, Noboyuki, and Tenchi received the highest 
honor possible.  That was the Medal of Glory.  It was made to resemble the Tree 
of Light.  Ryoko was asked to be in charge of the medal intended for Aeka and 
Tenchi.  She unquestioningly accepted the duty.  The ceremony was more to boost 
the moral of the Juraian people than to search the purpose of honoring those who 
fought to free the planet.  Ryoko understood this very well.
	The throne room was a real mess, and the servants cleaned up what they 
could.  The trees that made up the palace did much of the rest, but it would 
take major construction work to repair the holes in the walls.  The throne 
itself was intact.  Azusa used his upper arm strength to move himself from the 
hover chair to the throne.  This also was to boost moral.  If they saw the 
Emperor on the throne again it would let the people know the royal family had 
everything under control again.
	"The Royal Guard has discovered several dozen booby traps left by the 
Darklings throughout the palace, sire." Duncan Kirasawa reported.  The new 
chairman of the Secret Police was now finally able to get to his regular job 
instead of fighting a war.  Zarlova, the former chairman who stepped down of his 
own choice, had not been heard from since the fighting started.
	"Thank you.  How are things going for you in your new position?" Azusa 
asked him.
	"Slow as can be expected.  The government buildings for the Secret Police 
are partially intact, so that is making our work a little difficult." Duncan 
told him.
	"Sasami tells me the two of you are considering marriage." The Emperor 
said.
	Duncan blushed a little.  They had talked a little about it and he didn't 
expect her to say anything to her father about just yet.  "Well, sire, I do love 
her very much." He said.
	"I couldn't think of anyone better for her.  Have you set a date yet?" 
Azusa asked.
	Duncan was surprised.  He half expected Azusa to say something like Sasami 
should marry nobility or something, but he was accepting the situation without a 
hassle.  "Not yet, actually we just talked briefly about it.  We haven't had a 
chance to really make a formal decision on it yet." Duncan replied.
	"Well, when you do let me know and I'll have all the formal arrangement 
made." The Emperor said.  Duncan looked totally surprised, and it showed so much 
that Azusa picked up on it.  "Surprised that I accept it so easily.  You're a 
good man Duncan, and I would be proud to have someone like you in my family." 
Azusa told him.
	Duncan blushed and then bowed low.  "Thank you, sire." He said.
	
	Misaki sat in the middle of the room that seven hundred years ago had been 
Aeka's.  It still looked the same way it had the day she and Sasami ran away to 
search for Yosho.  The servants kept up the room, making sure it was dusted and 
ready for her the moment she returned.  Katsuhito, noticing the door to the room 
was open, looked inside and sighed at the sight of Misaki sitting on the bed 
sobbing.
	"Misaki." He said softly.
	Misaki turned around, eyes filled with tears, and smiled weakly at him.  
Katsuhito walked in and sat down next to her.  "Aeka would not want you to be 
like this." He said.
	"I know, but I can't help it.  I miss my little Aeka." She sobbed.
	"Washu says she is closing to finding her, and when she does Orrin said he 
would take us out to bring her home." Katsuhito told her.
	"Oh, Yosho, what if that monster does something horrible to her?" Misaki 
asked.
	"He will be made to pay for what he has done." Katsuhito said calmly 
without showing any emotion.
	"How is Tenchi?" Misaki asked as she whipped the tears from her eyes.
	"He is the same.  Washu says he has a chance, but it involves Aeka's help, 
so we much rescue her first." Katsuhito replied.
	Misaki picked up a holographic projector off the nightstand next to the 
bed.  It was small, the size of a compact.  She depressed the activator and the 
recording in it started playing.  A younger looking Aeka appeared in the air 
above the device.
	
	"Dearest mother and father.  Sasami and I have left planet Jurai to search 
for our brother Yosho.  He has been gone for so long, and I fear what that 
monster woman may have done with him.  We will all return to planet Jurai once 
we have found him.  Please do not send search parties for us.  We will be safe.  
We love you very much.  Farewell for now."

	The projector beeped and the image vanished.
	"She recorded this a month after you disappeared." Misaki said.
	"I had no idea that her heart was set on me until she arrived on Earth." 
Katsuhito said.
	"She adored you Yosho.  She loved you so much.  You were brother and 
sister, but she wanted so much to marry you and rule Jurai together." Misaki 
told him.
	"It would not have worked out as well as she wanted.  The prejudice in 
those times was great, and it would have torn our empire apart." Katsuhito 
replied.
	Misaki put the projector down and turned to her half-son.  "Tell me about 
Tenchi's mother." She said.
	Katsuhito took on a look as if he were looking far away.  "Achika was full 
of life.  She loved to live, and took pleasure in the beautiful things around 
us.  Sometimes she was little serious, but she was sweet and caring.  She was a 
good mother to Tenchi, and wonderful daughter." He said.
	"I wish I could have met her." Misaki said.
	There was sound at the door and the two looked that way.  Fonaho was in 
the doorway.  "So this is where you two are hiding out." She said.
	"Mother." Katsuhito said with a nod.
	"The day after I was sitting in this room also." Fonaho said.
	"We will bring her back." Katsuhito said.
	Fonaho sat down next to her son and said, "That I do not doubt.  Ryoko is 
determined to leave now to find her.  On one side she wants to save Aeka, and on 
the other she wants to avenge Tenchi."
	"How is husband handling this?" Misaki asked.  Ever since all this 
happened the Emperor kept his inner thoughts a secret, and blocked the two of 
them out.
	"Hard to say since he is blocking us out most of the time.  But, I think 
he is taking it as well as can be expected.  He's trying to show strength to 
keep our moral up." Fonaho told her.
	Katsuhito stood up and bowed to his mother and stepmother.  "I am going to 
Washu's lab now.  I want to see if she has made any progress in searching for 
Aeka." He told them.
	"Good luck, Yosho." Fonaho said as he left the room.
	"I hope she has, I fear so much for my little Aeka." Misaki said.

	Once regular communication traffic began to come from Jurai space, the 
Galaxy Police decided to investigate as to what had happened.  A large fleet of 
GP battleships arrived in Jurai orbit a few days after the battle ended.  They 
arrived to find the debris of hundreds of ships, both unknown and Juraian in 
nature.  The Marshal went down to Jurai to speak directly with the Emperor about 
the incident.  He was lead to the throne room and marveled at the damage around 
him.  As his shuttle headed towards the capital city his face was glued to the 
view port.  He had never seen such destruction before.  Whatever went down on 
Jurai it was indeed very serious.
	The Marshal was expecting it to be nothing more than an attempted coup of 
the government, but to his surprise it was something else entirely.  The Emperor 
detailed the invasion of Jurai by the monsters in Mihoshi's report.  The fact 
that these monsters could destroy Juraian battleships was enough to let the 
Marshal know they were a major threat.  He was also shocked to learn that some 
of the monsters escaped into space.  That meant he would have to put the entire 
GP on red alert for the time being.  Hostile monsters of that destructive 
potential were nothing to take lightly.
	Soon after his meeting the Marshal's escort lead him into the heart of the 
palace.  In a courtyard he found someone he was hoping to see.  Mihoshi sat on a 
bench looking at the beautiful gardens outside the palace.  During all the 
fighting they had miraculous survived without a scratch.
	"Mihoshi." He said.
	The blonde detective whirled around at her name and the voice of her 
grandfather.  She ran to him and flung her arms around his neck.  "Grandfather!" 
she cried.
	"Oh, Mihoshi, its been so long since I've seen you." The Marshal said.
	"When did you get here?" Mihoshi asked.
	"I've been here for a while speaking to the Emperor.  I understand you 
helped out quite a bit during this war." The Marshal replied.
	"Well, just a little really.  Tenchi and the others did most of the really 
dangerous work." She told him.
	"Yes, Tenchi.  He was in your first report after the Kagato Incident." The 
Marshal said.
	"Now, he's in a coma.  Kagato really hit him hard, and he's kidnapped Aeka 
too." Mihoshi said and was about to break out into tears.
	The Marshal caught movement in his peripheral vision and turned to see a 
woman walking out into the courtyard.  He recognized her immediately.  She had 
at one time been the most wanted criminal in the entire galaxy second only to 
Kagato himself.  Ryoko saw Mihoshi talking to and older man in a GP dress 
uniform.  Curious she walked up to introduce herself.  She was not afraid around 
GP officers anymore, not that she was afraid of them, but that she was no longer 
on the most wanted list.  Her file had long ago been destroyed by order of the 
Holy Council of Jurai.
	"Hey, Mihoshi, who is this?" she asked.
	"Oh, Ryoko, this is my grandfather.  The Marshal of the Galaxy Police." 
Mihoshi said with a beaming smile.
	"Ryoko, case number 2719.  Now its Princess Ryoko if I'm not mistaken." 
The Marshal said.
	"Ironic I become a member of the same royal family I attacked seven 
hundred years ago, isn't it." Ryoko laughed.
	"I hear Kagato kidnapped Princess Aeka.  What leads do you have so far?" 
the Marshal asked.
	Ryoko put up her hands and looked at him sternly.  "This guy is way out 
the GP's league.  He could destroy half your entire fleet by himself without 
trying." She told him.
	"So as I am to understand.  The Emperor pretty much warned me of the same 
thing." The Marshal said.
	"Your would be wise to accept what we say.  Kagato is a lot more dangerous 
now than he has ever been." Ryoko said.
	"But truly, how close are you to finding her?" asked the Marshal.
	"Mom, I mean Washu, says she might have something for us soon." Ryoko told 
him.
	"I wish you luck, but if you do need some assistance I want you to know 
the GP will be ready and able to assist." The Marshal said.
	"Thanks, but your forces would just be an all you can eat buffet for the 
Darklings." Ryoko told him with a smirk.  The Marshal returned it with a crooked 
smile of his own.  He liked Ryoko.  She had a certain quality about her.
	He turned back to Mihoshi and said, "Well, sweetie, I'm giving you a 
couple months time off.  You deserve it after all you've been through.  And, as 
for me, I have to get back to headquarters."
	Mihoshi hugged her grandfather goodbye and they parted.  "Good luck on 
finding the Princess." He said as he left the courtyard.
	"He's nice.  Not quite what I expected." Said Ryoko.

	Total, absolute, complete darkness; there was a story in a western 
religious text that spoke of such a void.  For a moment Tenchi felt like saying, 
"Let there be light", but he knew nothing would happen.  There was nothing here 
to show the passage of time, but he guessed it was probably several days.  The 
infinite blackness and quiet of this place was getting to him.  He tried many of 
the relaxation techniques his grandfather taught him to try and keep his sanity, 
but he could feel his mind trying to slip into the early stages of dementia.
	"Huh, now I'm starting to hallucinate." He said.
	It almost looked like a small spot of light was starting to form out in 
the dark void.  He ignored it for a long time, but when it started to grow 
brighter and brighter he decided to investigate.  He went closer and closer to 
the light.  It was the first time he moved around in this dark void, and to his 
surprise he realized that was nothing here.  There was no floor, no ceiling, no 
walls, no nothing.  He could see his body and his arms as he neared the light.  
It was the only thing he was able to see in days.  Just the sight of his own 
hands was enough to bring him to tears.
	"Aeka, Ryoko, is that you?" he asked, speaking towards the bright light.
	"Tenchi." Came a voice from the light.  He did not recognize it.  It was 
the voice of a man.
	"Who are you?" he asked.
	"Come into the light Tenchi." The voice said.  
	Suddenly a memory of an old horror movie from Steven Spielberg came to 
mind.  Tenchi started to back away from the light.  No way, I can't be dead, he 
though to himself.
	"No you are not dead, come into the light Tenchi." Said the voice.
	"I will if you tell me who you are?" he asked.
	"A friend." Said the voice.
	Reluctantly Tenchi went towards the light.  It was warm, the closer he got 
to the light, the warmer it felt.  Soon, he was traveling down a tunnel of 
bright light.  He remembered hearing stories of near death experiences, and 
maybe he was having one.  Maybe he will wake up with his family around him, and 
this would all be a bad dream.  The tunnel of light ended and Tenchi found 
himself in new surroundings.  He was in a huge room that looked like some kind 
of temple or chapel.  He was standing on a platform raised far above the ground.
	A massive translucent face of an old man with gray hair appeared in front 
of him.  The man had a red crystal in his forehead.
	"A-a-a-are you God?" Tenchi asked him.
	"I am D3." The entity said with the same voice Tenchi heard from the light 
in the dark void.
	"D3?  I've never heard of you before." Tenchi said.
	"I am not surprised." The entity said.
	"Why did you bring me here, what is this place?" Tenchi asked.
	"There is someone who wishes to speak with you Tenchi Masaki." D3 told 
him.  The entity vanished leaving only his red crystal.  Suddenly, the 
surrounding area began to grow dark again.  Black forms appeared in the air, and 
in the midst of all this the figure of a woman appeared.  She descended from the 
depths of this darkness and touched down with delicate lightness onto the 
platform.  She had inhuman eyes the color of blue with no pupils; on her face 
was some sort of face paint, and her dress as extravagant and grand at the same 
time.  She was both beautiful and imposing all at once.
	"I have wanted to meet you for some time, Tenchi Masaki." She said.  Her 
voice was melodious and soft.  It was similar to Aeka's voice, but smoother and 
higher in pitch.  He realized that Tsunami's voice has a similar quality.
	"Who are you?" he asked her.
	"You may have heard of me, Tenchi.  I am Lady Tokimi." She said.
	Tenchi almost jumped out his skin.  He remembered what Washu had told him 
about her sister, and he also remembered the monster she created back on that 
planet in the Dead Zone.  What have you gotten into this time, Tenchi, he said 
to himself.
	"Tenchi, I am not sure what my sisters may have told you about me, but I 
am not your enemy." Tokimi said.
	"Well, that's not how they see it." Tenchi told her.
	"We may not always see eye to eye, but I am not as evil as they let on." 
Tokimi said with a smile.
	"What do you want with me?" Tenchi asked.
	"I want to help you.  Tenchi, there is a great evil coming, and you must 
be ready to face it." Tokimi told him.
	Tenchi was surprised.  Everything Washu had said about her had said to 
avoid her at all costs.  Now she wanted to help him.
	"An evil.  What kind of great evil?" he asked her, still suspicious.
	"An evil beyond your worst nightmares.  An evil greater than Kagato, 
greater than anything you have ever faced before." Tokimi told him.
	"What can I do?" he asked.
	Tokimi walked up to him and looked into his eyes.  Those eyes were 
unnatural and beautiful at the same time.  "The sleeper must awaken." She said.  
Suddenly, a bright light shown from her eyes and Tenchi felt himself traveling 
at incredible speed.

	Ryoko, Katsuhito, Orrin, Darius, and Yuko were gathered in the lab where 
Washu was reading sensor data.  She looked at the complex readouts, and even 
Orrin found himself having trouble keeping up with the rapid stream of data.  
She turned around and did a victory "V" sign with her hand.
	"I found her.  She's in the Sol System." She said.
	"Sol System, that's Earth!" Ryoko shouted.
	"Yup, she's there alright.  No doubt about it." Washu told them.
	"How the hell did they get that far?  It took us weeks to get to Jurai 
from Earth." Ryoko asked.
	"Well, remember we took the long way around through the Dead Zone.  
Besides, the Darklings may have outfitted their ships with some special 
technology for faster space travel." Washu told her.
	"Kryton can reach the Sol System from here in two hours.  And that is at 
half throttle." Orrin said.
	"The question is, why did he take her to Earth?" Katsuhito asked.
	"I have no clue other than the fact that it was there that Tenchi last 
defeated him, and he may be expecting Tenchi to come there to rescue Aeka." Said 
Washu.
	"So, he returned to Earth for a rematch with Tenchi, then." Ryoko said.
	"Sounds reasonable." Darius commented.
	"That is assuming Kagato doesn't know Tenchi is in a coma.  Which means he 
didn't intend for that to happen to him at all." Yuko added.
	Katsuhito thought for a moment and Ryoko looked down at the floor.  She 
had thought Tenchi's condition had been caused by Kagato's powers somehow, but 
in light of this it looked like it was all an accident.  "Then we have a sliver 
of a hope that we can save Tenchi if we can rescue Aeka." She said.
	"More than a sliver.  Your combined link with his mind will give you a 
massive psionic boost." Washu told her.
	"That would also mean that Kagato will be expecting company soon.  So I 
guess surprising him will be out of the question." Darius said.
	"Kagato is a skilled tactician." Katsuhito told them.
	"Kryton can go in cloaked.  That is our only small advantage.  Also, 
Kagato is the only one in charge of the Darklings now, and he is likely still 
unskilled at such a task.  With the Regis dead the burden on his mind will be 
great until he gets used to the immense psychic load." Orrin explained.
	"Dad, I just got a very disturbing thought just now.  Remember the Regis 
was grooming Emperor Valdamir as the next host for her master." Darius told his 
father.
	Orrin's eyes went wide.  He had forgotten about that.  The Regis here had 
been the same one he faced on Primus Imperia, the former seat of power for the 
entire Imperium.   Emperor Valdamir had been a Darkling Regent.  He was using 
his ethereal powers to control his forces and increase their physical dexterity 
and reflexes in battle.  He had also placed a mind leech on General Redbon, his 
first lieutenant, and for years forced him to commit horrible acts in the name 
of the Imperium.  Redbon still carried the emotional scares from that even 
today, hundreds of years after the falls of the Imperium.  The Regis had 
appeared as a young girl.  She wore a white dress and walked around barefoot 
most of the time.  She acted very mature for her physical age, and had an 
intense sexual appetite.  There were those who told him that she often took 
members of the imperial court into a private room in the palace on Primus 
Imperia.  Orrin did not discount those accounts after seeing her in person.
	"Kagato." Orrin said.
	"What do you mean, Darius?" Katsuhito asked.
	"The Elo'Quin killed the Darkling's lord and master.  They call him the 
Dark One.  The Regis was grooming the Emperor of the Imperium as his next host 
body." Orrin explained.
	"The Dark One is capable of generating a great deal of power, and he needs 
a host capable of withstanding that energy.  If the host can't physically handle 
the metabolic strain on his or her system the body will die quickly.  He needs a 
robust body that can withstand the stresses he will put it through." Darius 
added.
	"Kagato would fit that bill quite nicely." Washu said.
	"If he is resurrected it would be very bad." Yuko said.
	"Yeah, like extremely bad." Said Darius.
	"When they defeated him, it took ten thousand Elo'Quin combining their 
powers together to destroy him.  Expending that much energy was lethal for them, 
and they all died.  We have nobody in this universe capable of generating that 
much energy.  Not even Tenchi." Orrin told them.
	"What do they have to do to resurrect the Dark One?" Katsuhito asked.
	"Well, they need a massive amount of spiritual energy.  A powerful holy 
place would be enough to allow him to travel to this dimension." Orrin said.  
"But he is trapped in the spirit plain and is unable to effect the physical 
plain until he entered his intended host." Yuko added.
	"There is only one place with that much power on Earth." Katsuhito said.
	"The shrine?" Orrin asked.
	"No, the five color Fudo temples surrounding Tokyo." Katsuhito told him.
	"Ah!  The five temples of Fudo Meyuoh erected to protect the Edo castle 
from supernatural enemies back in Japan's feudal past." Shouted Washu.
	"Exactly." Katsuhito said.
	"Kagato isn't likely going to volunteer to become a host for this Dark 
One." Ryoko said.  The others looked at her.  She had been silent through most 
of the conversation.
	"No matter how strong a Darkling is, the Dark One can implant suggestions 
into their minds to make them to do he will.  He may be doing that to Kagato 
now." Orrin explained.
	"But, what does he need Aeka for other than to draw Tenchi to him?" Ryoko 
asked.
	"Energy.  When the Dark One takes control he will need a great deal of 
energy, and Tenchi has a lot of it." Orrin said.
	Ryoko teleported over to Orrin and grabbed him by his shirtfront.  "So 
your saying he's planning on luring Tenchi to him so he can have him for 
breakfast!" she shouted into his face.
	"Ryoko, calm down.  He isn't the one you should be pissed at." Washu 
scolded her.
	Ryoko released Orrin and said, "I'm sorry."
	"Its ok." Orrin replied.
	"So, we're going back to Earth.  If we're to face Kagato there we will 
have to do what we did here to keep him from suppressing your powers." Washu 
said.
	"We don't have that kind of time." Orrin told her.
	"Ok, then I'll make smaller counter wave emitters for you to wear." She 
said.
	"We still have a problem.  Tenchi and I both took him on and he still 
overpowered us." Orrin said.
	"Maybe me, Aeka, Katsuhito, and you can combine our powers to defeat him." 
Ryoko suggested.
	"Tenchi is stronger than all of us combined, Ryoko." Katsuhito told her.
	"Yes, you may be able to generate six Light Hawk Wings, but despite him 
only being able to generate three he can still do matter-energy conversion.  
That is normally only possible with six or more Light Hawk Wings." Washu 
explained.
	Ryoko scratched the back of her head Tenchi style.  "I never thought of it 
that way." She said.
	"Its risky, but I may have something that might take Kagato out." Washu 
said.
	"What is it?" Orrin asked.
	"I never tested it.  I built it a long time ago and filed it away in my 
lab so long ago I forgot about it.  It's called the Trans-dimensional Temporal 
Inversion Cannon." She said.
	"What the hell does that do?" Ryoko asked.
	"Basically this.  The weapon destabilizes the quantum and temporal matrix 
of the intended target causing temporal inversion and counter extinction of the 
quantum energy particles." Washu said with a smile.
	Everyone looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.  Even Orrin had a 
hard time trying to understand what she just said.  "What the hell does that 
mean?" Ryoko asked.
	Washu groaned inwardly and shouted, "It completely and utterly erases your 
target from the fabric of space and time!  In other words he simply ceases to 
exist without a trace, molecular or otherwise!"
	"Son of a bitch." Darius gasped.
	Orrin looked at Washu in disbelief.  "A weapon of that much destructive 
potential could theoretically destroy an entire universe." He said.
	"Why do you think I hid it deep inside my lab for?" she asked him.
	"Why the hell did you build it in the first place?" Orrin asked in an 
exasperated tone.
	Washu shrugged.  "I was bored." She said.
	Everyone groaned and face faltered at once.

	The feeling of acceleration ceased as quickly as it started and Tenchi 
found himself in new surroundings.  He was in the midst of a vast alien city of 
unbelievable majesty.  The gleaming towers and sparking buildings were more 
beautiful than his wildest imagination.
	"What is this place?" he asked.
	"Eli Prime.  The homeworld of the Elo'Quin in a universe far from your 
own." Tokimi said.  Her voice came from behind.
	Tenchi turned around and saw her standing not far from him.  She looked 
around and he started to do the same.  It was at that moment that he noticed 
that they were not alone.  There were people walking around.  They looked human 
accept for the slight blue tint to their skin and their unusual hair colors.
	"Ah, hello.  Can you tell where I am?" he asked one of the people.  They 
did not seem to notice him and walked right by.
	"They can't hear you.  In fact they can't even see you." Tokimi said.  As 
she said that an Elo'Quin walking down the street passed right through her body 
without noticing at all.
	"Wait a minute, I thought the Elo'Quin were all destroyed." Tenchi said.
	"Look in there, Tenchi." Tokimi told him and pointed to one of the 
buildings.  Tenchi turned to where she was pointing and saw a low building 
shaped like a dome.  He hesitantly walked towards the building, but after a 
moment he started running as fast as he could.  To his surprise he found that he 
could pass through the walls of the structure and soon found himself in the 
midst of a vast laboratory that would have made even Washu envious.
	"Implant subject one appears to be stable and doing well, doctor." A 
female Elo'Quin said to an older male who was wearing a white set of robes.
	"Yes, the living ethereal implants are operating per exact specifications.  
Very good work, everyone." The doctor said.  There was applause from all over 
the room.
	"I still have some reservations about this, Doctor.  We never did fully 
study the natural behavior of this species before we modified its genetic 
matrix." Another Elo'Quin chimed in.
	"Nonsense, the living implants pose no danger what so ever.  You worry too 
much Lidos." The doctor said.
	Tenchi looked where everyone's attention was placed.  A man lay inside of 
a transparent tube in the middle of the room.  He was wearing only a white 
blanket over his midsection.  Apparently he was unconscious, because his eyes 
were closed.
	"I think its time for us to awaken our patient and being a new chapter in 
ethereal science." The doctor said.  He walked over the transparent tube and 
touched a button on a side panel.
	"All seems normal." The woman said.
	"He should start to awaken in a few minutes." The doctor said.
	"Doctor, I'm detecting an unusual reaction inside the implant." Lidos 
said.
	"Only a minor energy flux.  It's to be expected after first activation.  
It happened during the simulation tests." The doctor told him.
	"No, this is different.  Come look at this." Lidos said.  The doctor 
walked around to the console Lidos was looking at and read the data on the 
screen.  Tenchi moved around to see also, and found the text was completely 
foreign to him.
	"This can't be right.  This energy pattern never appeared during the 
testing phases." The doctor said.
	"Maybe we should abort his awakening." Lidos suggested.
	"No. This may be an unexpected anomaly.  Nothing more.  The ethereal 
energy battery implant is a major project that has cost us billions to research.  
If we cut it off now the council could cancel our funding.  We're five years 
behind schedule as it is." The doctor said.
	Suddenly the man in the transparent tube opened his eyes and looked 
around.  Everyone applauded and the doctor ran to the tube and opened it.  The 
man sat up and started to climb to his feet.  Tenchi suddenly felt a chill go 
down his back.  There was a look to the man's eyes he had seen before.  It 
suddenly struck him that he had seen it in the eyes of Kagato and the Regis.
	"How are you feeling, Mr. Gitalo?" the doctor asked.
	The man turned to him and simply said, "Hungry."
	Everyone in the lab screamed in horror as a translucent tentacle shot out 
from the man's hand and partway phased into the doctor's body.  The doctor 
convulsed for a few seconds as blue energy pulsed down the tentacle.  In seconds 
the doctor fell to the floor.  His body was brown and withered.  The man leaped 
into the air and transformed into a massive, hideous entity.  It was so large 
that its body broke the roof of the building.  Thousands of translucent 
tentacles dropped down from the lower half of its body.  Within seconds every 
living thing in the building was drained of their life essence.  Tenchi watched 
all of this in absolute horror, and then he witnessed the monster cut a swath of 
death and destruction across the Elo'Quin city.
	"Oh my god.   This is where they came from isn't it?  This is the origin 
of the Darkness." Tenchi said.
	"Yes.  In their arrogance and lack of foresight the Elo'Quin caused their 
own destruction.  They created the Darkness." Tokimi explained.
	"Why didn't Orrin tell us this?" Tenchi said.  It was more of a statement 
than a question.
	"Because he did not know.  This event in their history was such an 
embarrassment that the Elo'Quin that they erased it from their history.  They 
did not want to be known as the race that fathered the Darkness." Tokimi told 
him.
	Tenchi dropped to his knees.  He could not look up at the thousands of 
corpses that now littered the streets around him.
	"There is more you must see." Tokimi said, and the world around Tenchi 
dropped away into bright light.

	Once again the Kryton was docked inside the royal hanger bay underneath 
the palace.  This time the palace was once again in Juraian control.  Washu and 
Orrin swept the entire compound of the palace and surrounding areas with their 
sensors looking for booby traps the Darkness could have left behind.  They 
didn't find anything.  What were able to do though was disconnected the 
Cerebrate from the rest of the Juraian computer network and move it to a more 
secure location.  The study of the Cerebrate and how it functioned was a major 
undertaking for the Juraian intelligence community.
	Orrin was prepping Kryton for the flight back to Earth.  This was going to 
be a hard fight without Tenchi coming along.  Ryoko had already come aboard and 
went to the room she shared with Aeka and Tenchi.  The others were preparing to 
leave.  It was possible that this might end up a one-way trip for many of them.  
Katsuhito and Sasami took time to meet with their parents before going to the 
ship.
	"Mother, I do not know what will happen when we reach Kagato and Aeka." 
Katsuhito said.
	"Yosho, don't talk like that.  You're acting as if I won't see you again." 
Fonaho scolded him.
	"Kagato is so much more powerful than he once was before.  I have doubts 
that any of us will walk away from this battle alive." Katsuhito told her.
	"Without Tenchi this is going to be a really tough fight." Sasami added.
	"Let me send a full legion of my best troops to help you." Azusa 
suggested.
	"Actually I was going to suggest such a thing, myself." Sasami replied.
	"We'll keep watch over Tenchi and inform you the moment he makes any 
progress.  I've assigned him the best medical staff on the planet in Washu's 
absence." Misaki said.
	"Thank you.  And, I am certain Ryoko thanks you also." Katsuhito said with 
a bow.
	"Speaking of Ryoko, where is she?" Fonaho asked.
	"She's already on the Kryton.  This situation has really hit her hard.  
She wants to help save Aeka, but at the same time she doesn't want to leave 
Tenchi's side." Sasami replied.
	"The poor thing." Misaki said with a sad expression.
	"Ryoko is a young and determined woman.  I fear she means to avenge Tenchi 
and Aeka, even if it means her own life." Katsuhito said.
	None of them could speak after what he said.  The implications were too 
horrible for them to dwell on.  It took Sasami to break the silence.
	"I have been feeling a presence since Tenchi fell into his coma." She 
said.
	They looked at her in surprise and curiosity.  "Huh?" Misaki said.
	"A presence I have felt in hundreds of thousands of years." Sasami said.
	Immediately they all knew that it was that part of Sasami that was Tsunami 
talking.  The now adult Princess Sasami closed her eyes and leaned her head 
back.  "I haven't said anything before because I chalked it up to nerves, but 
now there is no doubt anymore.  I sense an ancient presence I haven't felt in a 
long long time." Sasami told him.

	A few hours later everyone but Sasami arrived at the boarding ramp for the 
Kryton.  They all waited for her come to the ship before launching.  Off in 
another part of palace Tenchi lay in a hospital bed.  Dozens of medical monitors 
of all types were connected to him.  A team of five doctors looked at the 
reading from the machines and they were all scratching their heads.  They could 
understand the data they were receiving, but they could not understand why 
Tenchi was in this coma.  The readings did not match what was consistent with a 
normal coma patient.  At that moment, Sasami entered the room.
	"Could I have some time alone with him, please." She said.
	The head doctor told the others to clear the room, and he closed the door 
behind him when he left.  Sasami walked up to Tenchi slowly.  She leaned over 
and touched her forehead to his.  Tenchi's symbol of power reacted as it did 
back on the Tsunami before the battle with Kagato.  This time, when she touched 
Tenchi she felt the presence again.
	"Sister, why are you here?  What are you doing with Tenchi?" she asked.

	Tenchi landed on his feet after traveling through another white tunnel and 
arrived in a place straight out of a fantasy.  Parts of this place looked like 
Washu's subspace lab, but this place was grander and larger.  As if Washu's lab 
could be any larger than it already was.  Tokimi was already here, and she 
pointed in the direction of a darkened corridor.  Tenchi followed and soon found 
himself in a small chamber.  Washu was here, and it filled Tenchi with elation 
to see her.
	"Washu!" he cried, but when he ran up to her his hands passed through her 
body.
	"Now, lets see.  All biophysical functions are fully operational.  The 
gems are in place.  Now its time to begin electrostatic stimulation." Washu 
said.  Tenchi noticed that was in her child like form again.  With Orrin in her 
life full time now she stayed in adult form.
	"What-" Tenchi was about to ask Tokimi, but she pointed and said, "Watch 
Tenchi."
	Tokimi pointed to a large tube that stood in the middle of the room.  A 
pair of electronic probes came down from the ceiling and attached to the sides 
of the tube.  Washu pressed a few buttons on her holographic laptop computer and 
the electrodes started to discharge.  There were a few bright sparks of 
electricity in the tube, and then a medical monitor started to issue the sounds 
of a heartbeat.
	"Yes!  I've done it!  Full cardiovascular function!  She's alive!" Washu 
shouted.
	The liquid in the tube drained and Tenchi gasped at the sight inside.  A 
slightly younger Ryoko stood inside the tube completely naked.  She was the most 
beautiful sight he had ever seen.  Of course he had seen Ryoko naked many times 
before, and recently enjoyed having that body very close to his.  Seeing her 
made him long to be in those supple arms again.
	The tube dropped into the floor and Ryoko stepped forward slowly.  She 
walked awkwardly at first, but slowly got the knack of it.  Washu was there to 
help her.
	"Who are you?" Ryoko asked Washu.
	"I'm your mother." Washu told her.
	"Who am I?" Ryoko asked.
	"You are you lovely Little Ryoko." Washu said with a smile.
	Tenchi felt a chill go down his back and he looked around quickly to find 
the source of what was disturbing him.  In the shadows stood a dark figure.  If 
Tenchi had not felt its presence he would never have seen it.  Tenchi walked 
closer and found himself looking into the face of the man he hated more than any 
other in the universe, Kagato.  The evil man who at this time was Washu's 
brightest student seemed oblivious to his presence.
	Kagato walked out of the shadows and approached Washu and Ryoko.  "You've 
done it, Professor.  And the rest of the academy council said it could not be 
done." He said.  "Oh, Kagato, I'd know you were here." Washu said.
	"Keep away form them, Kagato!" Tenchi shouted.  To his surprise Kagato 
turned around in surprise and looked around.
	"What is it?" Washu asked.
	"Nothing, I thought I heard something." Kagato said.

	Tenchi felt the familiar sensation of acceleration reaching him again.  
Soon he was traveling down another tunnel.  This time he emerged in familiar 
surrounds.  It was the royal palace of Jurai, but somehow it all seemed so 
different.  In the distance he could hear a strange sound.  It was high pitched 
and it rolled over the capital city.  The hairs on the back of Tenchi neck went 
up and he realized that what he was hearing were air raid warning sirens.  
Tokimi watched at Tenchi ran around the courtyard and looked up into the sky.  
Suddenly, the unmistakable form of Ryo-Ohki cast her shadow over the palace and 
energy blasts issued from her cannons.  Whole sections of the palace started to 
explode and rain down on the courtyard.  Tenchi raised his hands to protect 
himself, but massive pieces of wood fell onto and through his body as if he was 
wasn't even there.
	Soon after that first attack Tenchi heard a cry from a young man.  "You 
devil!  AHHHHHH!" a young man in white robes cried.  He was running towards Ryo-
Ohki with the Master Key in his hands.  "Grandfather." Tenchi said.
	"Yosho, take me with you!  Yosho, take me with you!" cried Princess Aeka 
as she ran out of the ruined palace.  Following close behind was the tiny figure 
of a very preteen Sasami.  She looked so cute with her little ponytails tied up 
with bows.  Her hair had not grown very long yet, so the ponytails right now ere 
very short.  "Aeka, its too dangerous.  I have to chase Ryoko down alone.  Only 
I can stop this madness." Yosho told her.  "Oh, please come back to me, my 
dearest Yosho." Aeka sobbed.  Yosho took her in his arms and hugged her tight, 
and then without a word he turned and in the direction of Ryo-Ohki.
	"Why are you showing me this?" Tenchi asked.
	"Ryoko is very powerful, but she was not the one." Tokimi said.
	"What do you mean?  Not the one what?" he asked her.
	"My sisters and I could look into the future and we saw the great evil 
coming.  We knew our powers would be useless against this evil, so we endeavored 
to create a champion who could fight them.  We collaborated to create the 
ultimate warrior at first, but due to our difference we went our separate ways 
to carry out our plans.  Washu gave up her divinity and back human, Tsunami went 
to Jurai and merged with the intelligent trees there, and as for me I attempted 
to create the ultimate warrior also." She said.
	Tenchi turned to her.  "Those monsters on that planet in the Dead Zone." 
He said.
	"Where a failed attempt to create the ultimate warrior.  I placed that 
planet n the Dead Zone so my mistake would not before a threat to the universe." 
Tokimi said.
	"Ryoko was an attempt to create this ultimate warrior too, wasn't she." 
Tenchi said.
	"Washu did not have the memories of her past divinity, but she had 
implanted a subconscious directive that she use her intellect to create the 
ultimate being." Tokimi replied.
	"But of all three of you the one who succeeded was Tsunami.  And that 
ultimate warrior was me." Tenchi said.
	"You catch on quickly." Tokimi told him with a smile.
	"But, why did all of this have to happen?" Tenchi asked waving his hand at 
the destruction of the palace around him.
	"This was unexpected, but my sister used it to her advantage.  She 
intended for you and Ryoko to meet one another when the time was right.  That is 
why your grandfather gave you the keys to her cave." Tokimi replied.
	"Gave me.  Oh, yea.  I guess it was strange that I was able to get those 
keys from grandpa so easily.  I should have known better back then." Tenchi said 
and scratched the back of his head.
	Tokimi nodded and smiled at him.  "But, Sasami already told me about that 
part.  She said Tsunami intended my birth to take place and intended for me to 
meet Ryoko." Tenchi added.
	"Yes, but much more took place in your first meeting with Ryoko than you 
realize.  A portion of the power in Ryoko's gems became a part of you.  That 
power is hidden deep inside of you, and it must be awakened." Tokimi told him.
	Tenchi found himself accelerating again through the white tunnel.  The 
trip was longer this time, and when it ended he was in a much darker place.  He 
looked around and did not recognize anything of what he saw.  He was on the 
surface of some alien planet at night.  The area looked dead, there were no 
plants or animals, and all seemed quiet.  Suddenly, the familiar form of the 
monster from Eli Prime appeared in the twilight sky.  All around thousands of 
Elo'Quin suddenly appeared and ran towards the monster.
	"What's going on?" Tenchi asked.
	"Watch Tenchi." Tokimi told him.
	The Elo'Quin, thousands of them, stood side by side in a great circle 
around the monster.  Tokimi took Tenchi's hand and they flew into the air.  From 
their new vantage point Tenchi could see a vast ring of people surround the 
monster.  Suddenly, a bright surge of energy worked its way around the circle of 
people and then concentrated into one point directly below the hovering monster.  
Tenchi could feel the immense power from this distance, and when the surge of 
energy burst into a beam he had to shield his eyes.  The beam shot straight up 
and into the body of the monster.  The creature writhed and screamed in an 
unholy voice.  The Energy burst continued for several minutes and the loud cries 
from the monster reached a high pitch.  Suddenly, the body of the monster 
withered and disintegrated in midair.  The beam ceased immediately after.  
Tenchi expected to hear a loud cheer form those who destroyed the monster, but 
he was struck with horror as he saw the vast circle of people fall to the 
ground.
	"What!  What happened to them?" Tenchi asked in surprise.
	"Destroying the Dark One took a great deal of power, and in expending that 
much power these people sacrificed their lives." Tokimi told him.
	"But, there must be thousand of people down there." Tenchi said in horror.
	"Ten thousand, exactly." Tokimi replied.
	"Ten thousand people died to destroy just one creature." Tenchi said, and 
he put his hands over his face.
	"The creature you saw can come back, but only if a suitable host for it 
can be found.  That host must be powerful enough to withstand the strain it can 
put on the body." Tokimi told him.
	Tenchi looked up and suddenly realized in horror what she was getting to.  
Tenchi looked down at the sight of death below him and said, "Kagato is the new 
host, isn't he."
	"Yes." Tokimi replied.

	Sasami arrived at the Kryton and Orrin took little time getting the ship 
into the air.  The sleek vessel streaked through the Juraian skies at top speed 
making a loud sonic boom as it passed over the royal palace.  Once they reached 
space everyone on the bridge could see the thousands of Juraian ships massed in 
orbit.  Eventually, over the past day or so the rest of the fleet from other 
parts of the galaxy had arrived at Jurai.  Everyone on those ships watched in 
fascination as the Kryton formed a portal into subspace and passed into it.
	"At this speed we'll reach Earth in two hours." Orrin said.
	"Mmmm.  We'd better use this time to get ready." Katsuhito said.  He put 
his hands into the sleeves of his priest's robes and turned towards the exit.  
"I will be in meditation in my quarters." He added.
	"You got anything like a training room or gym on this ship?" Ryoko asked.  
Darius stood up and said, "Glad you asked that.  Follow me."
	Ryoko looked at the young man with a funny expression.  He was a good 
sort, but his eyes roved over her body way too much.  She followed him towards 
the exit of the bridge and out into the corridor.  As they walked she began to 
realize that she did not recognize the areas of the ship they were entering.  
She also realized that as far as they walked couldn't be possible knowing the 
size of the ship.  Ryoko looked back in the direction they had come and saw that 
it was no illusion.  Darius turned and saw the look on her face.
	"Interested in how we pulled this off, huh?" he asked.
	"The inside of the ship is bigger than the outside." Ryoko said.
	"It's done in a similar manner to how your mother's lab works." Darius 
explained.
	"I see." Ryoko said, but she didn't understand how her mother had created 
the lab anymore than she knew how they did this to the ship.
	Darius lead her to a set of large double doors.  He inputted an access 
code into a panel next to the doors.  With a loud hiss the double doors slid 
open and revealed a wondrous sight.  Beyond the doors was a vast landscape of 
rolling hills and trees.  An afternoon sky shaded with reds and blues painted 
the land in a mixture of ambient light.  There was a warm breeze and the smell 
of exotic plant life in the air.
	"Oh my God." Was all Ryoko could manage to say.
	"This is the Arboretum.  We come here to relax on long space trips." 
Darius said.
	"Its incredibly beautiful.  It looks like it's an entire planet." Ryoko 
said.
 	"Technically it is a planet, just in another subspace pocket inside of a 
pocket.  Your mother would be the one to appreciate how it works." Darius 
explained.
	Ryoko stepped out into the Arboretum and looked back towards the doors.  
The entrance was a small building that set in the middle of a clearing.  Behind 
the doors were more trees and rolling hills as far as the eyes could see.  
"Wow." She said in awe.
	"Hey, come one.  You want to see the room we use to exercise in?" Darius 
asked.
	"I'm almost afraid to found out what it is." Ryoko admitted.
	They left the Arboretum and walked on for several more minutes until they 
came to set of massive doors.  They looked imposing and huge.  Darius walked to 
a second smaller door and again entered an access code.  "Wait here and I'll let 
you in." he told Ryoko.  He went into the smaller entrance and vanished.  Ryoko 
looked up at the huge doors again and wondered what they could have been 
designed to contain.  She jumped when a jet of steam shot out from between the 
doors as they slowly slid open.  Ryoko squinted through the mist and into the 
interior of the room beyond.
	"Ok, you can enter now." Came Darius' voice over an intercom.
	Ryoko walked through the huge doorway and into a vast chamber that looked 
like a huge spherical arena.  The walls were metallic and smooth, so smooth that 
they were semi-reflective.  On one side of the arena far above the floor was a 
large, rectangular window.  Ryoko could see Darius waving at her through it.
	"This is the Arena.  Its our training center." Darius said over the 
intercom.
	"What do you train with?" Ryoko asked him.
	"I'm glad you asked that." Darius said.  Suddenly, something told Ryoko to 
get airborne quickly.  She complied with her sudden sixth sense feeling and 
launched herself upwards.  Sure enough, a large explosion erupted where she had 
been standing.  Ryoko whirled around and gasped as she realized that her 
surroundings suddenly changed.  No longer was she in a huge metal sphere, but 
now she was inside of a huge cavern.  Stalagmites and stalactites rose from the 
floor and ceiling of the cavern.  Hovering in the air ahead and below her were 
dozens of heavily armed robotic war machines.  The machines had a spindle shaped 
lower torso with a humanoid upper body.  The heads sported only one large red 
optical sensor, and its two arms ended with a pair of oversized energy cannons.
	Before Ryoko could say a word the robots cut loose on her with their 
cannons.  She dodged as many as she could and deflected a few shots with her 
shield, but the impact of those shots was tremendous.  Tired of getting boxed 
around by these robots and their weaponry, Ryoko decided to show them just how 
much power she had.  She swooped below their guns and fired off several energy 
blasts into the first robot.  The impacts of her shots knocked the robot 
backwards, but seemed to do little or no damage.
	"Oh, shit." Ryoko said as the robot advanced on her and increased its 
firing rate.  She immediately teleported out of its line of sight and 
rematerialized behind it.  Ryoko's eyes went wide when she realized that she was 
now in the line of sight for a dozen other robots.  They opened up on her, but 
she was too quick for them and teleported to safety.  The robot she had been 
hiding behind was not for fortunate.  It took the full brunt of the shots and 
exploded in a huge fireball.
	It did not take long for the robots to hone in on where Ryoko was.  They 
quickly chased her down near the ceiling of the cavern.  Ryoko dove underneath 
the robots and came up behind the last one in the group.  The robot whirled 
around to open fire but did so only in time to see Ryoko's energy sword heading 
for its head.  With the head gone the robot malfunctioned and dropped out of the 
air.  The other robots engaged Ryoko quickly making her franticly dodge around 
their shots.  One robot used a strategy of trying to box her in with its cannon 
fire.  This strategy backfired as Ryoko lured the machine to open fire on a set 
of stalactites hanging down directly above it.  The stalactites were huge, and 
as they fell the largest pierced the armor of the robot.  The machine exploded 
when it hit the ground far below.  The fight went on like this for nearly and 
hour and finally there was just one robot left.
	Ryoko noticed that each time she defeated one of the robots they gradually 
got smarter and smarter.  This robot had gotten very smart now.  It did not fire 
directly at any stalactites on the ceiling above it, and then generated a force 
field to prevent her from slicing off its head, and lastly its targeting 
accuracy wax very high.  Ryoko was hard pressed to deal with this machine.  She 
thought of a strategy that might work out, but it was risky.  She flew past the 
machine at high speed and kept on going allowing the robot to follow.  The 
machine matched her speed and then gradually got faster.  Ryoko poured on the 
speed as well and headed for the sheer wall of the cavern.  She waited for the 
machine to get close to her and she saw it was powering up its cannons for a 
powerful shot to finish her off.  Just as she reached the wall of the cave, 
Ryoko phased through it.  The robot did not, and its impact was so hard that it 
exploded.  Ryoko phased out of the rock in time to see the wreckage of the 
machine fall to the floor of the cavern below.
	Ryoko was stunned when the cavern setting changed back to the spherical 
room, and there was no evidence that a battle had taken place at all.
	"That was very good.  You beat the novice level." Darius said over the 
intercom.
	"What!  That was the novice level!  Those things nearly creamed me!" Ryoko 
shouted at him.
	"My dad designed this training center." Darius told her.
	"What level does your father train at?" Ryoko asked.  Considering how 
powerful the alien prince was she was almost afraid to find out.
	"The maximum level.  It's called the Doom Level." Darius told her.
  	Ryoko thought for a moment and then said, "Let go for it."  Darius was 
taken aback.  "You sure about that?  You had a hard time on the first level." He 
said.
	"Come on, we don't got all day!" Ryoko shouted at him.
	"Ok, but its your funeral." Darius told her.
	The surroundings changed immediately to an alien jungle.  To be more 
accurate, Ryoko found herself high up in the canopy of a jungle of massively 
tall trees.  She could see through the floor of the canopy and saw that the 
ground was so far down that she couldn't see it.  Another level of the canopy 
was above her several hundred feet up.  The jungle was vast and the trees were 
several hundred yards across.  Clearly they were larger than any trees she had 
ever seen on any planet.
	Ryoko heard all sorts of exotic alien noises and could smell all sorts of 
exotic aromas that were all foreign to her.  She noticed one sound that made the 
hairs on the back of her neck rise.  She whirled around and found herself face 
to face with a horde of flying monsters.  The crystalline horns on their heads 
clearly marketed the creatures as Darklings, and they sported bat like wings.  
There were only three of the monsters here.  Ryoko assumed this would be an easy 
fight, since she battle Darklings before and won, and so she rushed at the 
creatures.  Ryoko received an important lesson in humility when her intended 
target simply raised its hand and ensnared her in a force field bubble.
	"Huh?" Ryoko said in surprise.
	She fired off a blast of energy that just splashed off the interior of the 
bubble.  Then, she summoned her sword and started to lash out, but the sword had 
no effect either.  The Darkling approached her and effortlessly reached into the 
bubble and cupped one of her breasts in its clawed hand.
	"Let go, you slime ball!" she yelled and attacked the monster's hand.
	In response the creature moved its hand out of the way, but in doing so it 
ripped off the entire front half of her clothes revealing her ample bosoms.  
Ryoko growled in rage.
	"Your toast, you son of a bitch!" she said, and she summoned the full 
power of her Light Hawk Wings.  This time the bubble shattered and Ryoko took 
little time to summon he sword and rush the creature that accosted her.  The 
monster quickly lost its head and the other two quickly followed it into 
oblivion.  When the fight was over the room returned to normal.  Darius came out 
into the arena and said, "Wow, you did really well."
	"Thank you." Ryoko said, but then she realized something.  There was a 
trickle of blood rolling down the young man's face from his nose, and his eyes 
were almost bulging out of their sockets.  Ryoko looked down and saw surprise to 
see she was still exposed.
	Ryoko waved her hand in front of the young man's face and he appeared to 
be in a catatonic state.  "Hello, Earth to Darius." Ryoko said into his ear.
	The young son of Orrin jumped and turned to face her.  His eyes got a full 
look at her glorious womanhood again and his face turned candy apple red.  
Darius though the woman was beautiful, one of the most beautiful creatures he 
had ever seen.  She was obviously off limits because she was married, but he 
still had a hard time not looking at her.  He did not intend for the Darkling to 
rip off her clothes like that, and when it happened he got a good look.  Darius 
for the first time knew he was looking at womanly perfection incarnate.
	"Darius.  You don't happen to have an extra shirt I could borrow do you?" 
Ryoko asked him.  She saw his reaction and decided to pay the young man back by 
making him a tad bit uncomfortable.
	"Oh, ah!  Yea." Was all he said.  Darius went into the control area and 
returned with a white t-shirt for Ryoko to put on.  Ryoko stripped off the 
remnants of her old shirt in front of him.  She took pleasure in seeing his 
reaction, and almost laughed out loud when he realized he was staring and turned 
around.  When she was done Ryoko decided to put the topping on and finish her 
payback.  She walked up to the young man and stood so close that her breasts 
pressed against his back.  She could feel he body tense up.  It reminded her of 
Tenchi and how he reacted to being this close to her years ago.
	"Thank for the workout." She said in a sultry voice.
	"Ah, well, uh." Darius stumbled to speak.
	"Did you like what you saw?" she asked him, whispering in his ear.
	"Uh." He croaked.
	"Consider this payback for not warning me you were going to set this thing 
loose on me." Ryoko said with a giggle.
	Ryoko left the room leaving Darius dumbfounded and looking like was about 
to collapse.  He sat down in the middle of the room and just looked out into 
space for a few minutes.  Before he got up to head back to the bridge he said to 
himself out loud, "Damn, and I thought Mihoshi was a goddess."

	Tenchi sat up not realizing that he had been asleep.  He did not remember 
going to sleep at all.  He looked around at his surroundings and suddenly 
realized what they were.  He was in Ryoko's cave, but not just that he could 
feel the chill of water all around him.  He looked around and found that he was 
sitting in the pool of water that had been Ryoko's prison for seven hundred long 
years.  The only light in the chamber was the one coming from the pool of water 
he had been laying in.
	A sound from off in the darkness startles him.  Tenchi turned and looked 
in the direction of the sound and is shocked to see himself.  He was lying on 
his back at the bottom of the entrance ramp.  An object fell out of the shadows 
and struck his double on the forehead.  Unseen before, Tenchi noticed that for a 
moment his symbol of power appeared and then vanished.  The entire events of his 
first meeting with Ryoko played out before his eyes, with him in Ryoko's role.  
Suddenly Tenchi felt himself loosing control of his own body.  He layed back 
down into the water and waited.  He saw his double walked up to the edge of the 
pool and look inside.  His double reached down to pick up the Master Key, and 
Tenchi sat up and reached out for his double's hand.  In his thought Tenchi 
could feel Ryoko's at the time this happened.  She was experiencing elation 
beyond description.  The young man who she watched grow up had come to save her 
from her prison, and in that moment she devoted her love to him forevermore.  
But, pain interrupted those thoughts as the Master Key lashed out and Tenchi 
watched his double race away into the murky darkness.
	"If only I knew then what I know now.  This would have happened a little 
differently." Tenchi said.
	"But, it didn't.  And you have no way to change history." Lady Tokimi 
said.  She appeared from the dark recesses of the cave.
	"When the sword hit my head after my fall.  That is when it happened." 
Tenchi said.
	"Yes." Lady Tokimi told him.
	"How do I awaken this new power inside of me?" Tenchi asked her.  He was 
now himself again and standing outside of the pool.  Ryoko in her mummified form 
stood up in the water and started to regenerate herself.
	"That is up to you, Tenchi." Lady Tokimi said, and the world fell away 
from around them again.

	Under cloak Kryton raced into Earth orbit at full speed.  It had been a 
long time since they had been back to this planet.  Ryoko looked out at the 
familiar blue orb that had been her home for so long, and the sight of it made 
her heart yearn for her dearest Tenchi.  She could feel small impressions coming 
from him on the other end of the link.  It started a half-hour after he fight in 
the Arena.  She knew Tenchi wasn't fully awake, but the tiny impulses of though 
told her he might be recovering.  On the other side of the coin, she could not 
feel anything from Aeka at all.  Either she was blocking off her end of the 
link, or she was unconscious.  Ryoko could not bring herself to consider the 
unthinkable that Aeka could be dead.
	"Man, sure looks like home." Darius said.
	"Yea, but there's no space traffic." Yuko added.
	"I am detecting a large vessel with Darkling energy signatures in low 
orbit." Kryton said.
	Washu looked at her console and said, "It's the big command ship Kiyone 
described to us."
	"I detect multiple humanoid life signs onboard." Kryton added.
	"Any sign of Kagato?" Orrin asked.
	"None that I can detect." Kryton replied.
	Orrin flew the ship close to the Darkling vessel and stopped just above 
its hull.  At this range, if Kryton were to de-cloak, the ion emissions from the 
ship should conceal their presence.
	"Can you lock onto the individual life signs and teleport them onboard?" 
Washu asked the ship.
	"Ionic distortions inside the ship prevent me from getting a teleporter 
lock on everyone, but I can manage to get a lock on small groups." Kryton said.
	"It will take time to move that many people.  I'm reading over six hundred 
on that ship." Washu said.
	"Precisely.  I suggest we get started immediately in order to prevent 
detection." Kryton suggested.
	"Ok, start moving them, Kryton." Orrin said.
	Yuko got up from her post and headed for the exit.  "Kryton, send them to 
cargo bay three, its large enough for that many people." She said before heading 
through the exit.  "Certainly." The sentient ship replied.

	 The elderly Oscoda woman Shoudowa was giving a young woman a drink of 
water from a basin jar.  It had been a long time since Kiyone and her young 
grand daughter Chani left.  She hoped beyond hope that they made it away safely.  
She had no way of knowing for certain, but something deep inside of her Owasso 
soul told her they were safe.
	The Darklings were no in the room at the moment, thus giving her some time 
to relax.  Life inside the Darkling ship was harsh to say the least.  The 
monsters did feed their captives, but they provided no means of cleaning up and 
no waste disposal.  A makeshift bathroom had been setup near an airshaft that 
lead strait down in the middle of the room.  The smell that wafted up from the 
bottom of the shaft was enough to make even someone with an iron stomach gag.
	Shoudowa decided to continue her rounds with the water when suddenly she 
felt a strange sensation.  She felt a momentary feeling of weightlessness, and 
for a second through the monsters had turned off the gravity on them for laughs.  
However, as the world around her began to fade away into white light the Oscoda 
woman realized something else was happening.  There was a sudden feeling of 
acceleration, and then she found herself in new surrounds.  The pungent smell of 
body odor was gone replaced by a sterile, alien scent.  She looked around and 
noticed that several others that had been around her were with her.  The room 
she was in saw huge, the walls were lined with what appeared some kind of cargo 
carriers.
	"Is everyone here alright?  Anybody need medical attention?" someone asked 
from across the room.  Shoudowa turned and looked into the face of a beautiful 
young girl in a strange uniform.
	"Yes, the two young girls here need help." Shoudowa spoke up and pointed 
to a pair of young twin girls lying next to one another on the floor.
	The young woman rushed to the girls and passed what appeared to be a 
medical scanner on them.  "They have severe dehydration." The woman said.
	"All they give us to drink is this." Shoudowa showed the woman the basin 
jar.  She scanned it and her face scowled.
	"Oh, god.  That stuff is contaminated with some kind of engine fuel or 
some other chemical." The woman said.
	"Will these two be alright?" Shoudowa asked.  She did not bother to ask 
who the woman was.  It was obvious that she was a part of a rescue effort to 
free the prisoners of the Darkling ship.  She did not want to slow things down 
by asking a bunch of useless questions that could wait until later.
	"Well, they are pretty ill, but I think I can help them.  And, oh no." the 
woman said as she scanned the girls again.  "What is it?" Shoudowa asked.
	"The poor things.  They've been repeatedly raped." The woman said, and she 
appeared to be on the verge of tears.
 	"You will find many like this." Shoudowa said.
	"I'm sorry, my name is Yuko, what is your name?" the woman asked.
	"I am Shoudowa of the Oscoda Clan of the Owasso." Shoudowa told her.
	Yuko's eyes lit up and she said, "Oh, your little Chani's grand mother."
	"Chani is alive?" Shoudowa asked in excitement.
	"Yes, alive and well on planet Jurai." Yuko replied.
	Shoudowa dropped to her knees and put her hands together.  "Praise be the 
great creator, Zaloom!" she cried.

	A hour later every prisoner on the Darkling ship was teleported onto the 
Kryton.  Within that time, Kryton made a disturbing discovery.  In his sensor 
sweeps of the Darkling ship he noticed something that bothered him very much.
	"Sire, I am detecting no Darkling energy signatures inside the ship.  The 
vessel has the signature of Darkling technology, but the crew is missing." 
Kryton said.
	"Missing?" Darius asked.
	Orrin, Washu, and Ryoko looked at the globe of the Earth hanging in space 
in the forward view screen.  "I don't like the sound of this." Ryoko said.
	"Kryton, start scanning for Darkling signatures on the planet.  Leave no 
stone unturned." Orrin ordered.
	"At once, milord." The ship replied.
	A sensor sweep of the planet appeared on Washu's console.  Almost 
immediately a large red botch appeared in the scan.  "Found them!" Kryton 
exclaimed.
	"Oh my god, they're in the middle of Tokyo." Washu said.
	"Worse yet, I've started monitoring the local communications traffic.  You 
might want to see this." Kryton said in a somber voice.
	A holographic display materialized and a television image appeared.  A man 
in his late twenties wearing a business suit was running down a street in Tokyo.  
In his hand he held a microphone.
	"This is Walter Pierson for CNN News.  It has been nearly twenty-four 
hours since the creatures first arrived in Tokyo, Japan.  At this time there has 
been no attempts at communication from the creatures, and any attempt to contact 
them by local authorities here in Tokyo has meet with disaster.  It is estimated 
that over four hundred may be dead or wounded from the first attack by these 
monsters, and there is speculation that a number of people caught up in the 
first firefight have been captured and are being held in Tokyo Tower."
	The camera angle changed to show Tokyo Tower.  The huge structure no worse 
for wear in the aftermath of a battle.  The camera on the ground zoomed in and 
the reporter spoke again.
	"Witnesses who saw the arrival and their first attack describe something 
out of a horror movie.  They describe people being grabbed by the monsters and 
suddenly turning dark brown and withered.  It is not know how this had happened 
and if it is the result of a weapon of some kind.  Local officials will not 
comment on the situation, but have informed me that a call for aid from the 
local U.S. military naval base was made hours ago."

	"Holy shit!" Ryoko exclaimed.
	
	The broadcast changed to a reporter siding behind a studio desk.
	"This is just one more strange event that has struck since the Great 
Upheaval several weeks prior.  The global earthquake, called the Great Upheaval, 
has had its effect on the global economy, and has put a strain on many already 
threadbare relationships between certain nations.  It has been confirmed that 
for the past week Pakistan and India have been on the verge of launching nuclear 
strikes against one another.  Rioting has raged throughout the United States as 
a race war between white, black, Arab, and Hispanic ethnic groups broke out in 
Detroit, Michigan, Los Angeles, California, Chicago, Illinois, and New York 
City.
	It has been reported that for the past few days NORAD has been at Defcon 
2, according to Pentagon sources.  The situation in Tokyo, Japan has made an 
already dangerous global climate even worse.  Never since the Cuban Missile 
Crisis in the nineteen sixties has we come so close to nuclear war."

	"If we're going to do something about this we'd better act fast." Washu 
said.
	"Yea, things down there are falling apart fast." Ryoko added.
	"Setting a course for Tokyo, now." Orrin said.
	"Sire, what do we do about this Darkling ship?" Kryton asked.
	Orrin looked at the ship in the view screen display and then looked down 
at the planet.  "Cut loose with a load of quantum torpedoes as we leave." Orrin 
said.
	"Yes, sir." Kryton replied.
	As the ship dove towards the Earth, it loosed a volley of torpedoes.  The 
illuminated munitions ranged in on the Darkling ship and struck it in several 
places.  The explosions were large, and they ripped into the hull of the ship.  
Soon after, the entire vessel exploded into a massive fireball.

	Donald Chapman liked his job, it had a lot of prestige, and he got to 
travel around the world.  Today he was facing the biggest challenge of his 
career.  Donald walked up to a seemingly unimposing door.  Standing to either 
side were a two men in dark business suites wearing dark sunglasses.  It was 
their trademark, but Donald felt it was too stereotypical.  One of the men 
nodded to him and Donald opened the door.  He walked into one of the most 
important offices in the entire world.  A group of people we gathered around an 
old antique desk.  Donald could not see the person seated at the table, but he 
knew that person was there.  
	"I just received word from the Japanese conciliate that there are 
Americans among the people being held in Tokyo Tower." Donald announced.  
Everyone turned around and looked at him.  Many of them had sad expressions on 
their faces, and one was totally unreadable.
	"Have they made any demands at all, anything?" the person at the desk 
asked.
	Donald approached the desk and the others moved out of his way.  "No, 
Madam President.  All attempts to communicate with the creatures have ended in 
failure or worse." Donald replied.  In the past few hours, Donald had learned 
that being Vice President was a hard job after all.
	President Natalie Harrison sighed and looked over the various surveillance 
photos of Tokyo Tower.  It was not an all that impressive structure compared to 
other sights around the world, but it was the one extraordinary landmark in 
Tokyo that drew the most tourists.  It didn't have the old grand majesty of the 
Empire State building or the futuristic look and feel of the Toronto CN Tower.  
Yet, this seemingly ordinary tourist landmark now held a place in history.  It 
was the sight of mankind's first contact with what appears to be alien life.
	President Harrison only wished it could have been a friendlier first 
meeting.  "What are our options, gentlemen?" she asked.  The people in the room 
were representatives of all the major branches of the Defense Department.  The 
Navy, Air Force, and Special Forces were represented in the form of Brigadier 
General Maxwell Van Borne from the Army, Admiral Scott Randal from the Navy, and 
General William McKinney, Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  The rest were 
Alexander DeLandra, Director of the CIA, Defense Secretary Edward Bach, and 
White House Press Secretary Kelly Atkinson.
	"The Japanese have ruled out an air assault because of the civilians in 
the tower.  They want to try and minimize civilian casualties.  Also, the tower 
is in the middle of Tokyo, one of the most heavily populated cities in Japan." 
Gen. McKinney said.
	"That would look good on the front of Newsweek.  United States blows up  
tourist attraction to kill twelve alien invaders." Kelly Atkinson said.
	"We are not blowing anything up if we can't find another way out of this.  
Now, I want solutions that don't involve killing innocent people." President 
Harrison said.
	"That might be unavoidable.  These beings have demonstrated that they are 
hostile.  Attempts to communicate with them have met with no response and 
sometimes violent actions." Gen. Van Borne said.
	"I have to agree.  We are facing a crisis greater than the Upheaval here, 
and either we nip it in the bud now or we could be looking at something worse in 
the long run." Admiral Randal said, his Texan draw was still has heavy as ever.
	The phone reserved for military and intelligence personnel to contact the 
Oval Office rang at that moment.  President Harrison continued to debate the use 
of force while Vice President Donald Chapman answered it.  He spoke for a short 
time with the person on the other end for a short time.  Natalie noticed 
Donald's face turn white before he put the phone down.
	"I just received word from NORAD that a large explosion occurred in Earth 
orbit.  Also, the large alien ship the satellite radar has been detecting is no 
longer there." Donald told them.
	"When did it happen?" CIA Director DeLandra asked.
	"Just five minutes ago.  Not only that, but a second object has been 
detected and it is on a direct course for Tokyo.  And, the Soviet nuclear 
missile network has just gone to full alert." Donald continued.
	"Christ!" Gen. Van Borne hissed.
	"We don't have much time.  I need a strategy and I need one now." 
President Harrison told them.  She looked around at the others in the room 
looking for the answers she wanted.  Donald knew with the current situation 
going on he was going to have to leave the capital.  Whenever the military went 
on alert, which was only during the Upheaval, did he have to leave D.C.  Well, 
he heard autumn leaves at Camp David were pretty this time of year.

	Kryton reached the Japanese coast in only a few minutes after reentry.  It 
did not take long for a dozen U.S. F15 Eagles to arrive.  The planes, the staple 
of the U.S. naval carrier arsenal, took off from the U.S.S. Jamestown, which was 
stationed at the U.S. Naval base at Japan.  They flew past the Kryton and the 
pilots were awed by the size of the ship.  The F15 fighters posed no threat to 
the Kryton at all, even if its shields were down they could not cause any damage 
to the hull.
	"Tokyo Tower is that big structure directly ahead.  We went there on a 
trip with Tenchi's father three years ago.  That was when Tenchi was living in 
Tokyo." Sasami said as she pointed to the big structure.
	Ryoko flinched.  She was hoping to get that episode in their lives behind 
them.  She especially wanted get Sakuya out of her mind as well.  Despite how 
she hated the girl for stealing Tenchi away from her, Ryoko still could not help 
feel sorry for her at the same time.  After all, she wasn't a real person and 
was just a shadow of Yugi.  The experiences of having a different Sakuya back at 
the house pregnant and all was what really changed her thoughts concerning the 
girl.  "Kryton can you get a lock on where Aeka might be in there?" Orrin asked.
	"Scanning for Juraian life signs." Kryton said.
	After only a moment Kryton said, "She is on the far side of the middle 
observation deck, and I am detecting over thirty-five human life signs as well."
	"Damn.  They have hostages.  I've never known them to take hostages like 
this before." Darius said.
	"Kagato is controlling the Darklings now.  This is his doing." Washu told 
him.
	"She is in close proximity to Kagato, and I am detecting twelve Darkling 
energy signatures." Kryton added.
	"Only twelve.  That was a big ship up there, and it was devoid of 
Darklings." Washu said.
	"I don't like this either.  Kryton, do a long range scan for any other 
Darkling signatures in the area." Orrin said.
	"Yes, sir." The ship replied.
	"Why are we just sitting here?  Lets go get Aeka out of there." Ryoko said 
with an impatient growl.
	"Because we have no idea what we could be walking into.  That is why we 
are just sitting here." Washu told her.
	"We want to save her too, but we won't do her any good if we're dead 
before we reach her.  Besides, she is very close to Kagato now." Orrin added.
	"I am detecting multiple Darkling signatures in several locations around 
the city.  They correlate with positions of the Fudo temples in my geological 
database of Earth in this region." Kryton said.  A holographic representation of 
the sensor report appeared in from them.
	"Holy shit!  There are two thousand and four Darklings total out there!" 
Darius exclaimed.
	Washu's eyes went wide and she gasped.  "They must be channeling the 
energy needed for the Dark One to come here and merge with Kagato!" she shouted.
	"How long does it take them to do that?" Ryoko asked.
	"I hate to interrupt but I am detecting a massive surge of ethereal energy 
in the area.  It is localized around the transmitter tower and the five 
temples." Kryton announced.  A holographic display of what was happening 
appeared where the map of the city had been before.
	"Oh god.  We're too late.  He's here." Orrin said.  Everyone on the bridge 
gasped in horror.  Elsewhere inside the ship, Katsuhito sat in meditation on the 
floor of his cabin.  He sensed something and opened his eyes.
	"I see.  It has begun." He said without showing any emotion.

	Tenchi arrived at what he noticed was Eli Prime.  This time it was at 
night.  The lights of the city had gone out, but in the light of the twin moons 
he could see the bodies of the dead littering the ground.
	"Why are we back here?" he asked.
	He turned around expecting Tokimi to be there behind him, but she was 
nowhere to be seen.
	"Lady Tokimi!" he shouted into the darkness.
	"The sleeper must awaken." Came Tokimi's voice from everywhere and nowhere 
all at the same time.
	Tenchi heard a sound behind him.  It was far away, but he noticed it in 
the eerie quiet of the dead city.  It was the sound of scuffing feet walking.  
Another, and another joined the sound, and they got closer.  To his horror, 
Tenchi watched as the bodies of the dead lying around him started to clumsily 
climb to their feet.
	"WAAHH!!!" he shouted as the walking corpses turned towards him and 
started shambling his direction.
	Tenchi whirled around and started running as fast as his feet would carry 
him.  His eyes bugged out of his head when he met a on coming wall of zombies in 
the opposite direction.  After a quick glance around he noticed that they were 
boxing him in from all sides.  Thousands packed the streets, slowly walking 
towards him.  Tenchi ran and kicked in a door to a building next to him.  It 
appeared to be vacant as he ran through the corridors and up a flight of stairs.  
All the while, he could hear the scuffing feet of the dead behind him.  He 
reached an upstairs room, and he closed the door behind him.  Then, he pushed 
several large pieces of furniture in front of the door.
	"Ok, genius, think." He said to himself.
	Outside a hideous sound began to roll over the throng of zombies.  It was 
low at first, but grew louder and louder.  Tenchi went to the windows and opened 
on of them.  He heard the same thing over and over again like a hellish mantra.
	"Redeem us!  Redeem us!  Redeem us!" came the horrendous, inhuman voices 
of the dead.  
	The sound of pounding on the door caught Tenchi's attention and he turned 
around in time to see a twisted hand punch through the door.  Other hands 
started to reach in and push the furniture away.  All the while they chanted the 
same thing over and over again.  "Redeem us!  Redeem us!  Redeem us!"
	Tenchi grabbed either side of his head and covered his ears.  The chanting 
had gotten louder and louder, and was actually starting to hurt it was so loud.  
"Stop it!" he shouted.
	Then, Tenchi was something that filled with utter horror.  The first 
zombie to enter the room appeared to be that of a woman.  That in alone was not 
what terrified him, but it was the fact that he recognized the dress she was 
wearing.  The zombie had soiled, powder blue hair that was once in a spiked 
style, and her dress was long and made with green and white stripes.  The second 
had a tattered kimono with a tangled mop of purple hair.
	"Tenchi, why didn't you save us?" the Ryoko zombie asked.  Her voice was 
inhuman, yet mournful at the same time.
	"We died when you left us." The Aeka zombie added.
	"NO!" Tenchi shouted.  The undead forms of his two wives walked towards 
him with their arms out stretched.
	"We need you Tenchi, be with us." The zombie Ryoko said.
	"Be one of us." The Aeka zombie said.
	"This isn't real, this isn't real!" Tenchi shouted as he stepped back from 
the two.
	"Don't you love us anymore, Tenchi?" the Ryoko zombie asked.
	"Your not Aeka and Ryoko!  This is all an illusion!" Tenchi cried.  He 
turned and climbed onto the windowsill.  He looked down at the thousands of 
undead in the streets around him and he knew of only one thing to do.  He 
jumped.
	The Ryoko and Aeka zombies tried to reach out for him, but Tenchi was 
already I the air.  As he fell towards the ground he thought about what was 
happening with the girls.  He wondered if they could actually be dead, and this 
was Tokimi's twisted way of letting him know.  Or, this could be a test, and 
they are alive.  Either way Tenchi had enough.  Before he reached the uplifted 
hands of the zombies below him, Tenchi reached deep down inside himself and 
called forth his power.  In his current state Tenchi did not realize that he 
reached deep within his soul and pulled with all of the might his mind could 
muster.  As he reached the undead on the ground Tenchi felt a surge of power the 
likes of which he had never felt before.  A bright red burst of energy flew from 
his body and vaporized all of the zombies around him instantly.  In that moment, 
Tenchi was suddenly in a different place.  He was floating among the stars in 
deep space.  Below him was the giant form of a spiral galaxy.  The scene was 
giving him a horrendous case of vertigo, but he could not help but admire the 
beauty of the scene.
	"Now you understand." Came the voice of Lady Tokimi.
	Tenchi did.  Somehow he did understand.  With the surge of new power came 
a strange realization.  An insight as you will.  He understood things now that 
he had not understood before.
	"Thank you." Tenchi replied.
	"Go now, Tenchi, your family needs you." Tokimi said, and with that 
everything around him turned to bright white light.

	Noboyuki and Kiyone sat in a hospital room on the palace grounds.  The 
doctors left to discuss new strategies for Tenchi's treatment, and so this game 
his father and fiancé some time to see him.  Tenchi was still unconscious.  A 
number of medical devices were connected to him.  Most of them were from Washu's 
lab.
	"I wish I could have done more." Noboyuki said.
	"It wasn't your fault." Kiyone told him.
	"I just stood there." He said on the verge of tears.
	"It was your first major battle.  How else did you expect to react?" 
Kiyone asked him.  She hated seeing the love of her life this way.
	Fonaho came to the door and looked in.  "Hello, Lady Fonaho." Said 
Noboyuki.
	"I came to let you know the cooks have dinner in the small dining hall if 
you're hungry." She said.
	"Thank you.  But, I don't seem to get hungry anymore.  Kiyone might want 
something." Noboyuki said.  
	"I'll be down in a while, I want to stay here for a while." Kiyone told 
her.
	"Alright." Fonaho said.  She turned to leave, but a sound from the bed 
made her stop in her tracks.
	"Mmmm." Came a sound from Tenchi's bed.
	Everyone immediately went to the bed.  The medical monitors started to go 
wild and issued loud beeping sounds.  A throng of doctors and nurses ran into 
the room.  At that moment, Tenchi opened his eyes.
	"Tenchi!" Noboyuki cried.  He threw his arms around his son's neck and 
started to cry.
	"I'm alright Dad." Tenchi said.
	"I am so glad to see you back with us, Tenchi." Fonaho said.
	"Where are Ryoko and Aeka?" Tenchi asked.
	Fonaho looked over at Noboyuki and Kiyone.  She was not sure how to answer 
that question.  Her hesitation to answer wasn't lost on Tenchi.  He sat up and 
asked the question again, but this time with a little more force.
	"Aeka was kidnapped by Kagato, and now Orrin, grandfather, and Ryoko have 
gone after him." Noboyuki told him.
	"Where did they go?" Tenchi asked.
	"I think they said Kagato took Aeka back to Earth." Kiyone said.
	"Thank you." Tenchi said to her.  A second late a red glow surrounded 
Tenchi's body and then suddenly he was gone.  The bed covers that covered his 
legs slowly fell to the bed.  His sudden departure went with only a slight sound 
like a soft "poof!" sound.
	"Tenchi!" Fonaho shouted after seeing him vanish.
	"What the hell is going on?" Noboyuki asked.  The team of doctors and 
nurses all seemed at a total loss as to what just took place.

	Ryoko, Orrin and Katsuhito examined scans of Tokyo Tower and formulated a 
plan to get in, grab Aeka, and get out.  There were others in the tower also, 
but Orrin planned to use the teleporter on Kryton to bring them out just like 
the prisoners on the Darkling command ship.  Ryoko teleported them to the roof 
of the tower and then she phased them into the upper observation level.  This 
area was where the creatures were holding people hostage.  The people, who were 
already very frightened, did not know what to make of these new comers.  A pair 
of Darklings attacked almost as soon as they appeared.  Ryoko conjured her 
sword, dove under the swinging arms of her attacker, and brought up her sword to 
sever its head.  Katsuhito took on the second monster.  He leaped into the air 
with a loud Karate battle cry and ignited the Master Key.  The Darkling saw the 
weapon and called forth its own powers.  Katsuhito deflected several energy 
blasts from the beast and rushed it while swinging high.  The blade sliced into 
the creature's chest causing a torrent of green energy to spill out into the 
room.  The creature hissed in rage and grabbed for the old priest, but Katsuhito 
was too fast for it, and before it know what was coming the blade of the Master 
Key took its head.
	As the bodies of the two defeated monsters decayed into green slime the 
hostage all started to cheer and applaud.
	"Kryton, start teleporting these people out of here." Orrin said into his 
wrist computer.
	"Acknowledge." Kryton replied.  Immediately, small groups of people began 
to vanish from the room as Kryton teleported them onboard.
	"I am still unable to get a lock on Aeka." Kryton told him.
	"Looks like we'll have to get her out of here the old fashioned way." 
Orrin said.  He formed an energy ball and hurled it at the floor.  It blasts a 
huge hole into the floor and the three quickly jumped into it to take advantage 
of any confusion.  When the dust cleared they found themselves surround by 
Darklings.  Behind them stood Kagato with Aeka held in a force field bubble.  
The princess was conscious and totally naked.  She banged on the inside of her 
bubble and covered her womanhood with the other hand at the same time.
	"Let Aeka go!" Ryoko shouted.
	"Interesting, where is your precious Tenchi?  I thought he would be here 
by now." Kagato asked with a sarcastic tone.
	"He's on his way." Ryoko lied.  "You'd better let Aeka go before he gets 
here or you will pay the price." She added.
	"You take me for a fool, Ryoko.  Your Tenchi isn't coming is he." Said 
Kagato.
	Ryoko groaned and the rage within her increased in intensity.  "Because of 
you he's lying in a hospital bed in a coma, and I'll make you pay for it!" she 
cried.
	"Take your best shot." He said, and the Darklings that surrounded them 
attacked.  They did not get very far, however.  Orrin summoned his powers and 
the entire level was bathed in a bright white light.  The Darklings that were 
touched by the light screamed in agony as they were slowly disintegrated.  
Kagato seemed totally unaffected.  When the light diminished the Darklings were 
gone save for Kagato.
	"You were saying." Orrin said.
	"Ah, you are the Elo'Quin's champion the Regis kept telling me about.  You 
are truly as powerful as she claimed." Kagato said.
	"We already met at the palace on Jurai.  I came to finish what I started." 
Orrin said and he teleported to Kagato's side and swung at him with his energy 
sword.  Kagato turned and countered the strike with his own weapon.  The two 
began to exchange attacks rapidly.  Ryoko and Katsuhito entered the fray and the 
Regent found himself faced with three determined opponents.
	"Three on one hardly seemed fair.  Fair for you that is." Kagato said with 
a sneer.
	Suddenly, Orrin's blade struck Kagato in the chest.  Green energy sprayed 
forth into the room and the Regent cried out in pain.  In race, Kagato swung for 
Orrin but the prince deflected each attack effortlessly.  That was when the 
others moved in.  Katsuhito and Ryoko charged and swung their swords in hope 
that one of them out makes the killing blow.  They both hit, and their weapons 
pierced deep into their victim.  Kagato, energy leaking rapidly from his 
terrible wounds, staggered backwards and fell onto his back.
	"This is for Tenchi!" Ryoko cried as she raised her sword over her head to 
swing the killing blow.  A dark form appeared out of nowhere.  It moved light 
lightning and covered Kagato's body.  Within the shadowy form Ryoko could see a 
pair of alien, malevolent eyes stare back at her.  She saw the ultimate evil in 
those eyes and it frighten her unlike anything she had ever felt before.  The 
darkness melded into Kagato's body and the Regent rolled over and started 
screaming as if in intense pain.  In that moment the shield around Aeka winked 
out of existence.
	"Ryoko, get Aeka, we have to get the hell out of here!" Orrin cried.
	She moved swiftly to Aeka and grabbed her by the hand.  The Princess 
looked at Kagato with disgust, but she could also feel the immense malevolence 
that had just moved among them.
	"W-w-w-what was that thing?" Aeka asked.
	Kagato stopped screaming and sat up.  He looked at the four of them with 
those same malevolent eyes.  The infinite evil of the thing penetrated their 
souls and Aeka felt petrified with terror.
	"I am reborn." The Kagato thing said in a voice that sounded like it had 
come from the eight level of hell itself.
	Orrin grabbed Ryoko and Aeka's arms and shouted, "Lets get the fuck out of 
here!"  The four of them turned and ran for it.  Kryton, detecting what was 
going on, locked onto them and teleported them to the ship.  As soon as they 
materialized inside the ship Orrin cried out, "Destroy the tower Kryton!  Full 
fire power!"
	Kryton unloaded everything at once on Tokyo Tower.  A mammoth fireball 
engulfed the structure.  The thousands of people on the ground watching what was 
going on screamed in terror and ran for their lives as the fireball spread and 
engulfed the alien space ship that fired the blast.  The police and fire crews 
at the base of the tower scrambled as fast as they could as the flames splashed 
against the ground and raced towards them like a shockwave.  Super headed gusts 
of wind measuring more than a hundred miles an hour tore through the streets of 
the city throwing parked cars into the air and shattering windows for dozens of 
miles.  The intense heat set trees for more than a mile from Tokyo Tower ablaze, 
and the police cars and fire trucks at the base of the tower were melted into 
slag within seconds.
	In the aftermath of the blast, the people on the ground began to help each 
other up.  A giant pillar of smoke shrouded where Tokyo Tower had once stood, 
and a massive crater replaced the location of the tower and the open land that 
surrounded.  Miraculously, only a handful of people would later be found to have 
perished in the blast.  During all of this Kryton was shaken with incredible 
intensity.  The ship had never fired full power at a target point blank before, 
but it managed to survive the intensity of the counter flow of the excess 
energy.  The four reached the bridge once the deck stopped shaking and looked 
out onto the devastation for the first time.
	"Oh God." Orrin said as he saw the huge crater.
	"You had to do it.  Either that or let that thing get loose upon the 
universe." Washu told him.  She had been on the bridge through the whole thing.
	A wind from the ocean came in and started to move the smoke from the 
crater away.  As the smoke diminished Washu began to see a dark form suspended I 
the air.
	"Oh shit!  He's still alive!" she cried.
	The others looked at the view screen.  Aeka and Ryoko gasped in fright as 
they saw Kagato, completely unscathed, hovering in mid air.  In their minds they 
heard the thing's voice say, "Pathetic."
	"Kryton put some distance between us and that thing." Orrin said as calmly 
as he could.
	"Yes sir." The ship said softly and slowly moved back a distance.  The on 
lookers on the ground also saw the figure in the sky and they were awe by the 
spectacle, and frightened at the same time.
	"Kryton, broadcast this over all forms of Terran communication waves using 
all Terran languages." Orrin said.  "Ready sir." Kryton replied.
	"Attention people of Earth.  The being that hovers in the sky where Tokyo 
Tower once stood is a creature of unimaginable, malevolent power greater than 
anything this universe has ever seen.  Make no attempt to communicate or attack 
it.  Evacuate the entire area around the former tower immediately.  It is a 
danger to all living things.  The destruction of the tower and the surrounding 
area is unfortunate, but was done in an attempt to destroy this creature.  Stay 
away from this area, save yourselves, and we will do what we can to draw this 
creature away from the Earth.  That is all.  Good luck." Orrin said.
	Kryton closed the connection and Washu hugged Orrin with all over might.  
"You just did a wonderful thing." She told him.  "Yea, but now what the hell do 
we do?" he asked.
	"They apparently received your message sir.  I am detecting a mass exodus 
of the entire surrounding area for several miles.  They are moving on foot 
slowly, but they are leaving the area." Kryton said.
	"At least nobody else will get hurt.  That is if anyone was hurt when 
Kryton blasted that tower to hell." Ryoko said.
	"With the power Kryton unleashed there would have to be some casualties." 
Washu said.
	"Washu, if we use that cannon of yours how much destruction will it 
cause?" Orrin asked.
	"None.  Only your intended target will be destroyed." She told him.
	"Kryton, deploy Washu's cannon, target that creature, and fire." Orrin 
ordered.
	The weapon in question, the Trans-dimensional Temporal Inversion Cannon, 
rose out a hatch on Kryton's upper hull.  The weapon, for its immense power, did 
not look that all impressive.  It basically looked like a giant tuning fork on a 
swiveling base.  Multiple devices hung off the machine that made up the barrel 
of the cannon.  What was the most frightening about its appearance was the rats 
nest of cables that went to every device on the thing.
	"I have a target lock." Kryton announced.
	"Fire!" Orrin ordered.
	 An intense surge of energy formed between the two forks of the barrel of 
the weapon.  The light of the building energy became almost as bright as the sun 
that hung in the sky above.  A strong vibration shuttered through the entire 
ship.
	"What might this little toy be, eh?" The thing in Kagato's body said.
	The cannon fired and the shot rang like a million thunderclaps.  The 
white-hot beam stretched out and splashed against its target.  When the 
maelstrom was over Washu looked through the view screen and gasped in horror.
	"It had no effect!  That's impossible!" she cried.
	"This is not good." Ryoko said.
	"Oh no." Aeka said in fear.
	"We're fucked." Darius said.
	"Fire another one!" Orrin shouted.
	The weapon charged again and fired its intense blasts at the Kagato thing.  
Once again the blast had no effect.
	"Again!" Orrin cried.
	"We can't sir.  The cannon subsystems have overheated and are shutting 
down." Kryton reported.
	"We are serious fucked." Darius said.
	"Would you shut the fuck up!" Ryoko yelled at him.
	Orrin went through every possible solution to this problem in his mind.  
There had to some way of stopping this monster.  He remembered what it 
originally took to kill the thing and the thought of it made him shutter.  Ten 
thousand Elo'Quin died to vanquish thing beast once before.  Now, they were all 
that stood between it and the rest of the galaxy.
	"Is that all you have?  I guess this means it's my turn." The Kagato thing 
said.  He formed a small energy ball in his hand the hurled it at Kryton.  The 
ship raised his deflector shields just in time, but the explosion that the 
energy ball made was immense.  The force was strong enough to send the ship 
tumbling through the air.  Everyone on the bridge cried out in shock.  Sparks 
showered them from consoles that blew out, and smoke filled the cabin.
	"Sir, shields are down eighty five percent!  We cannot survive another 
direct hit!" Kryton warned.  His voice sounded crackly like static.
	The ship stopped tumbling and Orrin climbed to his feet.  He helped Washu 
stand up and then went to the flight controls.  "Give me flight control." Orrin 
said.  The consoles engaged and Orrin worked the controls.  He brought the ship 
around, set the throttle to full, and shouted into the microphone for the 
external speakers saying, "If you want us, come and get us you son of a bitch!"
	The Kagato thing looked at the departing ship, raised his hand, and said 
in an emotionless tone, "I don't think so."  He gripped his hand into a fist and 
suddenly the ship stopped in place.
	"What the hell!" Orrin shouted.  The throttle was at full but the ship 
wasn't moving.  The Kagato thing swung his hand down with great force, and 
Kryton suddenly accelerated towards the ground.
	"Oh my god!" Washu cried as they were thrown from the deck of the bridge.  
The Kryton hit the ground with tremendous force sending up a huge plume of dust 
and fire.  Everyone slowly climbed to their feet on unsteady legs and found 
their surroundings in total ruins.  Almost all of the consoles were blown out, 
and a huge hole in the hull allowed sunlight to shine into the bridge.
	"Kryton!" Orrin cried out.
	"Ninety percent system failure------multiple hull breaches-----engines off 
line------weapons off line------life support off line------main computer core 
shutdown in ten seconds." Came the voice of Kryton filled with static.
	"I'm sorry old friend.  I'm so sorry." Orrin said as he ran his hand over 
one of the wrecked consoles.
	Washu grabbed Orrin's arm and started to pull him away from the console.  
The others were already heading for the breach in the hull to escape the wrecked 
ship.  "Orrin we have to go!" she shouted at him.  "We've been through so much 
together." Orrin said.  "Orrin, sweetheart, please!" Washu pleaded.  Orrin came 
to and looked at her.  "We're sitting ducks here, we have to go now." She said 
to him more calmly this time.  Orrin nodded and followed her to the breach.  
Before leaving the ruined bridge he looked back and said, "I will avenge you my 
friend.  This monster is toast."

=============================
TO BE CONTINUED...

NEXT TIME...
CAHPTER THREE:  THE DARK ONE

Aeka has been rescued, but Kryton was destroyed in the process.  Now the gang, 
minus Tenchi, must find a way to stop the Ultimate Evil in the Universe.  The 
greatest climatic battle of The Dark Lord of Jurai has begun.