Disclaimer : Most characters in this story are property of AIC and Pioneer. They are in such a situation solely because of my imagination. This story was written purely for fun. This FF is based on the TV Series, with some powers drawn over from the OAV, but with no Light Hawk Wings. This story contains no sex, so please do not expect it. Before I wrote this Fanfic, I have only read 2 Fanfics, Aikan Muyo and To Love & To Hate. Since then I have read some others, and have noted some writers have a tendency to portray some characters inaccurately. I hope I have not fallen into that trap. That's about it, I'm a simple soul at heart... DARKNESS & LIGHT - No Need For Kova By Zyraen Chapter IX : No Need for Pursuit Ryoko and Kova materialised, their faces apologetic. "What happened!?" Washu cried at them. "I thought you both could handle it!" "Yosho took Tenchi’s father from the cyborg, that probably appeared as me!" Kova told her. "How was I to recognise him?" "Ryoko?" Tenchi shot her a sharp glance. She seemed to wilt before his gaze. "Yagami!" Kiyone called, holding her ring up, her face a paroxysm of anger, and the red GP spaceship entered the stratosphere above them. "Where’s Sasami?" Kova cast his eye anxiously around. "She’s gone!" Kiyone said rather acidly. "And I have failed in my duty to protect her." Tugging at her stunned partner. "Come on, Mihoshi, we have a job to do." "I’ll go with you," Kova added. "I need to get that Tachyon Blaster back." "Isn’t my sister more important than a mere weapon!?" Aeka asked, her anger showing plainly on her face. "We need to get my sister back!" "Not so." Washu pointed out. "The Tachyon Blaster is probably the most powerful invention ever. Is Sasami more important than the entire Juraian Empire?" Her eyes went to Kova. Can we trust him? She asked herself. Kova ignored her, watching the Yagami. "Your ship is too slow. I’ll take mine." He looked Kiyone in the eye. "Take care, Kiyone-chan." Kiyone smiled faintly in acknowledgement. "You too, Kova-chan." Ryoko picked the sobbing Ryo-oh-ki off the ground, where she had hopped onto the moment the cyborg asked Sasami to deliver the gun to it, and tossed her high in the air. Kova did not even bother to watch her amazing transformation into a spacecraft, but his silver rod opened a portal slightly above his height. "Shuriken!" He called, and stepped into the rift. A moment later, his ship emerged from the darkness of the portal. They caught a brief glimpse of a silver capsule, slightly larger than a car, with a glass cover like a cockpit and no visible weapons, before it streaked up and vanished into the sky. "Wow." Washu said, gazing in the direction of the vanished speck. "I had no idea…" Ryoko stared suspiciously as Koneko and Anako played with each other, gambolling and rolling about on the ground, totally oblivious to the earlier battles. "Washu, how did those cyborgs know what we were doing?" "Don’t ask me, they…" Washu fell silent as she watched Ryoko staring hard at the two kittens. "I’ll check on them." To prove her word, she picked up both the kittens. Anako spun around gently as it struggled to get back to Aeka, while Koneko licked Washu’s hand happily. Man, I sure feel bad about this, she thought to herself, looking at the two kittens. "Can we go now?" Aeka and Tenchi asked irritably. =========================================================== "Incoming transmission." "Well, have you done it?" He asked, anxiously. For a reply one cyborg held up the Tachyon Blaster, and the other an unconscious Sasami. "Excellent work, Terminus and Satellite!" Pity, I cannot lay my hands on that spacecraft of the spy. "Reporting, Stellar and Solar under pursuit." The intercom blared out behind the two cyborgs. "Two crafts detected, one of mineral and Mass origin, otherwise known as Ryo-oh-ki. The other is a GP spacecraft with enhanced weapon systems and speed. Estimated Time of Interception, ten minutes. ETA to SSS Comet, fifteen minutes." Overlord stared into the screen, "Full speed ahead! Stellar continue return to Comet at Uranus, Solar to leave this system! If they break chase on Solar to pursue Stellar, Solar is to attack! Over." The transmission screen went out. He spoke into his ship’s intercom. "Attention, all personnel. Arm major weapon systems and to set up interspace travel console!" =========================================================== "They’re splitting up!" Kiyone’s face announced to the people on board Ryo-oh-ki, as the two light red spacecrafts zoomed away, one to the left, one to the right. "I’ll take the one on the left! Ryoko, you take the one on the right." "No problem!" Ryoko gave her an okay sign. The Yagami swerved towards the one on the left, the two detectives at its helm, both in complete GP uniform. "Now, Mihoshi!" The blonde detective quickly pressed some controls, and thick metal twines with anchors at the end shot out of the Yagami at the target. The enemy ship did a quick roll over and moved up, as its green lasers emerged, slicing at tentacles. "Kiyone, look!" Mihoshi pointed as the beams cut up a few twines. "I think we’d better retract." She rather hastily pressed something. "Mihoshi!" Kiyone screamed. "That’s the missile system! We haven’t locked on yet!" She quickly pressed the right button while disengaging the missile operative system. "Oops…" They watched as three interspace missiles screamed through the space and vanished, sending a huge cloud of dust up on a distant moon, as the remaining tractor twines retracted back into the Yagami. The enemy spacecraft, realising the threat was neutralised, ceased firing and moved off. =========================================================== Kova emerged from the subspace portal. "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" All along the ship’s corridors, mounted laser guns popped out of the ceilings and walls. "Shuriken, EMP!" Kova called as he raised the laser shields on his forearms. Out in space, the small ship keeping pace beside Stellar unleashed a wave of electromagnetic pulse at the larger ship alongside it. The shockwave shook the ship, and the guns stopped moving. Kova hurried up to where he thought the bridge would be. Prototype SL-Cam Solar disengaged from its outer shell, namely the spacecraft. It watched as a blue curved blade sliced diagonally through the door behind it, which split open, as Kova stepped onto the bridge. It was… …empty His blue eyes searched, but there was no sign of anyone operating the console of the spacecraft. There were five seats, presumably for pilots, but they were empty and the controls were left untouched. He forced himself not to move forward, but looked carefully at the controls. They were shining and bright, as though they were perfectly new and untouched. Behind them the seats were also perfectly clean. Something’s wrong… =========================================================== This was not good. Ryo-oh-ki were still hot on their tails, the GP spacecraft’s flight path had not changed significantly from them and Solar was neither fleeing away nor opening fire, according to the orders he had received. "Stellar, prepare to open fire." =========================================================== Green and scarlet plasma beams burst through the darkness of space from the light red spacecraft on their right towards Ryo-oh-ki respectively. "Ryo-oh-ki, evade and return enemy fire!" Ryoko ordered. "Miya?" the cabbit replied, "Miya, miya." Disapprovingly, as it spun around avoiding the showers of lasers. "Ryoko! Sasami’s in there!" Aeka angrily told her off. "Oh yeah, force of habit, I guess." Ryoko smiled sheepishly, trying to ignore Tenchi and Aeka who were glaring at her. Washu was busy fiddling with the Anako and Koneko, who were strapped down to some metal plates. Both were mewing with frustration as Washu examined their bodies. "No sign of anything on them, Ryoko." She removed her probe and ran a hand along her forehead. "Metal detector reads nil." Shaking her head. "How’s the chase?" She turned around, seeming to notice for the first time as emerald and ruby blasts inundated Ryo-oh-ki’s view screen. "Oh, not very good, I see." "I’m glad you noticed." Ryoko replied drily. "Any ideas, Washu? We can barely gain ground on them!" "Can you get within eight hundred metres of them?" Washu looked over at the door, lying flat on the floor of Ryo-oh-ki. "Ryo-oh-ki?" Ryoko asked. "Miya!" Despondently, as another blast shook the ship. "Miya." "Difficult, but feasible." Ryoko replied, keeping her face straight. "We’ll try." "MIYA!" Ryo-oh-ki cried. "Miya, miya!" Almost angrily. "Oh all right. We’ll try if there’s a change in the situation." =========================================================== Kiyone watched as a transmission appeared on the screen, showing the empty insides of the Shuriken, mainly just a seat big enough for a person, then focusing on a monitor with Kova on it. "Kiyone-chan, the ship on your left is a dud! It’s empty - chase the other one. I’ll be returning to my own ship soon." He turned to walk out of the ship’s bridge, and Kiyone watched as the screen’s background changed so she could see the control room behind Kova’s head. Kiyone nodded. "Yes, Kova-chan." Her eyes widened as she saw something shift behind his head. "KOVA!" Then the screen dropped away from his face, and fell on the ground so she could only see the ceiling. =========================================================== He darted to the right, and pain lanced through his flesh as the green laser blast ripped into the top of his left shoulder, but then he rolled and got up as the shots ricocheted off his blue shield. Cursing, he watched as the cyborg morphed its lower self from a control seat into metallic limbs, similar to the Teranium cyborgs he had met, only this one was made of something else, slightly gold. "Solvarium…" The material had similar properties to Teranium, but due to its larger size, it had greater binding energy, and could not easily take up appearances of things other than metal. His right hand held his scythe, and he could feel blood flowing from his shoulder, seeping into his torn jacket and shirt, down his arm. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to ignore the pain. The yellowish silver thing stood there, arms up and ready to fire, blank face looking at him impassively. "I’m fine, move on without me!" He shouted at the mini-screen on the ground between him and the cyborg. His scythe streaked right at the cyborg, as it simultaneously unleashed a series of green beams at his shield. The thing pulled back as the blue blade took off its head and an arm, but it continued firing with the other, its functionality apparently unaffected by the loss. Kova rolled to the side and gripped his returning scythe, watching as the robot’s head and arm melted on the ground and joined back into its feet, even as its upper torso continued shooting non stop. He cursed as he saw the blobs form along the inclined plane his scythe had left on the thing in place of its chest, forming and growing back into another head and arm for the cyborg. Slowly, he backed away before the lasers, and the cyborg advanced, steady and unworried. Suddenly Kova leaped up, hands and legs gripping momentarily on the ceiling, and the lasers passed under him down the corridor as the scythe came arcing back to the android with a vengeance. The thing did not seem worried with the prospect of being split into two, so it did not even make a move to avoid the scythe this time. Kova smiled as the scythe detonated, splattering the corridor with globules of metal, before returning to his hand, whole again. He watched for a moment, holding his injured shoulder as the goldish silver droplets rapidly came together again, then seizing the momentary respite, a portal appeared before the silver rod and he stepped through after snatching up his fallen transmitter. Solar picked itself up, shaking its head a little, and returned to the bridge. It would have to wait until the EMP’s effect had worn off before trying to cover up for Stellar. But the attack on the ship was not without cost. Being in complete synchronisation with the ship meant it could calculate the magnitude of the pulse… =========================================================== "Professor Washu," Kova’s face appeared on the screen on board Ryo-oh-ki. "They’ve got Solvarium cyborgs too." Washu put her hands on her hip. "So what do you want me to do, mister? I’ve got pretty a lot of things on my mind." She gestured to the two wriggling cats behind. As if to prove a point, Ryo-oh-ki’s shield absorbed another blast that shook the ship. Kova appeared unperturbed, but he was trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder and not get irritated with the uncooperative scientist. "I understand only you have semi-permanent access to your chemicals and elements. Get ready another container with…" "I know, I know." Washu muttered, waving a hand irritably. "For a person who stole from me you’re expecting pretty much from me, aren’t you?" "I don’t have a choice." He gritted his teeth. "If I had the materials I’d do it myself. In elementary studies I know as much as you do." He smirked a little. "And believe me, in terms of pragmatism you are way behind me." His eye went to the kittens. "Searching for bugs?" "Nil returns on the metal detector." Washu’s face was stony. "Try organic devices. Internal." Kova smiled patronisingly. "Oh, yeah…" Washu smiled nervously and ran her fingers through her hair, forgetting herself for a moment. Then she suddenly recollected her position. "Hey, I was thinking of that, you know!" He shook his head, bemused. "Like I said, you’re way behind me, professor." Washu was about to retort, but the laughing face flickered out. "Where in the universe did Kiyone pick this guy up?" Ryoko asked, a little too brightly. "Kinda like his style." Washu glared at her. "Ryoko, quiet." Tenchi warned under his breath. "Washu, who is he anyway?" He tried to ignore the seemingly endless waves of blasts that were streaking through the darkness of space towards Ryo-oh-ki and them. "His name is Kova Kashiro, and he’s a grade A space pirate." Washu announced as she typed at her terminal, and Ryoko’s eyebrow raised questioningly. "He also happens to be the person who stole the Tachyon Blaster and everything from my Academy." "What!?" Aeka exclaimed, her expression incredulous. "You mean we’ve been worrying ourselves half to death over him and Kiyone was with that person all along!" "You’ve got to be kidding me, Washu," Ryoko shook her head, but her brow furrowed up in serious thought. "Kiyone, pick up another me? Quit pulling our legs." She thought back to Kiyone, blaster and yo-yo, heart and soul, all bent on hauling her in the day they first met. "Believe me, I’m serious." Washu said, as she removed several bottles of solutions from her portal, and started mixing them. "What about taking him in?" Aeka asked. "Oh, I can always forge a transmission to Kiyone from Galaxy Police HQ telling her to rope him in. He wouldn’t resist her, and the rest would be too easy." "HEY!!" Aeka, Ryoko, and Washu all stared at Tenchi, the outrage sounding clear in his voice. "That’s not nice, Washu!" "Tenchi!?" The astonishment showed plainly on her face, even as Ryoko and Aeka looked queerly at him. "You, are siding with him?" "Kova, if that is indeed his name, is no friend of mine." Tenchi recalled their meetings, when he had gripped his throat twice, and being woken up by the sweep of his scythe. "But if you did that, it would be very hard on Kiyone, and that’s not what a friend should do." Washu held her gaze steadily. "It’s not just that, is it, Tenchi? You’ve seen something about him, you know something." Her hands went back to their work, pouring the compound into a bottle. Unbidden, the vision flooded back. He could see, in the dim, azure light of the early dawn, the figure still as a statue, by Kiyone’s side. The way his hands clasped Kiyone’s tightly, yet so gently. His caring, tender expression, yet simultaneously so melancholy. Then he was standing over Tenchi, waking him up, not gently, but in a manner to achieve maximum utility. Not that he cared particularly for Tenchi, but simply because he was Kiyone’s friend. "Tenchi, are you all right?" Aeka asked, concerned, as he stared into space. Another blast shook the ship and returned the boy to his senses. "Uh, I’m fine." Tenchi replied, distractedly, before turning to Washu, his voice determined. "Washu, I don’t think you have read this person right… Kova and Kiyone - it’s not something you should stand in the way of." He thought of himself, about Ryoko and Aeka, how his own love was barred, in a way, by those he loved. "I wouldn’t." Washu appeared surprised, and yet thoughtful. "I can’t say I agree completely with you, Tenchi, but I’ll try to see it your way." Her mind returned to their situation, as she finally finished with the compounds and poured the final solution into another chemical spray. "Ryo-oh-ki, can you bring us nearer?" "Miya." The lasers were still coming in, and it was all Ryo-oh-ki could do to keep pace with the other ship. Through the glass, they watched as the Yagami moved in from the left, and the scarlet blasts turned to fire at the GP craft. Kiyone’s face flashed onto the screen. "Move in! We’ll cover you." "MIYA!" Ryo-oh-ki exclaimed in delight, and Ryoko smiled as they all felt the engines surge. "Get ready, people." Tenchi drew his sword grimly as Washu picked the door up. The scientist watched the space carefully, watching as through the green lasers they drew near to the pink ship. Where is Kova? Washu thought to herself. If he had participated in this battle, we surely would not have to wait till Yagami came to attack… "We’re in range! Let’s go!" Washu popped open the door. "Ryo-oh-ki, keep them busy!" Ryoko vanished into the doorway after Tenchi and Aeka. Washu picked up the two sprays, holding them tentatively, then checked that her Stasis Discharger was all set. She glanced back at the two kittens, sighed, and stepped through. =========================================================== Kiyone felt the Yagami shudder again, and pursed her lips in irritation, wondering what in the blue blazes was she and Mihoshi were supposed to do. Stuck on board the Yagami, firing was not an option, they had no way of boarding, and no way of slowing the other ship down. Basically just stay in the air and get shot at. Suddenly the scarlet beams stopped coming, and Kiyone looked through her view screen, at the empty space, devoid of lasers. Ryo-oh-ki had stopped moving, partly out of surprise, and the Yagami was cruising gently towards the enemy craft. She looked incredulously at the two other ships. Combined with the Yagami, they probably made a splendid representative of galactic peace. As if that were the case, she reminded herself. "Wish to go in and join the fun?" She heard a familiar voice ask behind her. "Kova-chan! Don’t you come sneaking into my ship like that!" As she turned around she saw Mihoshi covering her mouth to hide her sniggers, and fought the urge to blush. "Oh, by the way, I don’t believe I’ve actually introduced you to my partner." Kova, dressed in the same garb, albeit with some cloth covering his left shoulder so Kiyone would not see his wound, took a good look at the blonde, who was looking from him to Kiyone and back again, as if mentally seeing how they’d look together. "My name is Kova Kashiro, and I do believe we’ve met already, right, Mihoshi?" Mihoshi looked blankly at him, a finger before her lips. "Did Kiyone tell you my name?" "No, you told me, remember?" He grinned rascally. She wrinkled her brow in thought. "No, I don’t. But you look a little familiar, Kova." "Don’t worry about it!" He smiled, and turned back to Kiyone. "Coming?" He pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the dimensional rift behind him. Kiyone reached for her blasters, and suddenly stopped. She took a quick glance and saw Mihoshi, no longer looking at them, but staring blankly out into space, at Ryo-oh-ki and the enemy craft, trying to breathe evenly. Her blue eyes were cool and distant, her thoughts far away from where she was, and her smile had vanished from her face. "Kova-chan, I…" she turned to him, but from the look in his eyes she knew he had seen. "I understand, Kiyone-chan," he smiled slightly. Reaching into his pocket he took what looked like a larger version of a silencer out, and held it out to her. "I was hoping I could see you use this device, but I guess I was wrong." He laughed, but Kiyone still heard the slightly bitter tone in his voice he was trying to hide. "I designed this thing early in my Academy stint, as an explosive enhancer for my blaster. I think it will work really well against those robots, only you have to take care of the recoil and the radius." "Thank you." She said softly, as she took it from him. He watched her intently as she removed the silencer and fitted it on his blaster. "I’ll try it out next time, really." He nodded slightly in response. "Take care, Kova-chan." Mihoshi turned to watch as the rift vanished, and saw Kiyone still sitting in her seat, looking expressionlessly at the newly outfitted blaster. "Kiyone?" "Yes, Mihoshi?" She gently ran her fingers over the surface of the weapon. "Why did you stay, Kiyone?" Mihoshi watched her intently. "I thought you and him…" "I do love him, Mihoshi," Kiyone still kept her eyes on the blaster. "Only, you mustn’t think I don’t care for you too." She smiled faintly, half at herself. "You’re my partner, Mihoshi." Who would have thought I’d say something like that to Mihoshi? "Kiyone?" "Besides, who knows when the EMP will wear off and the other spacecraft return, or maybe reinforcements arrive. We have to stay here to look out for those things." Mihoshi beamed superficially. "And I’d never be able to handle all those by myself, so you’re staying with me, right, Kiyone?" Her voice trembled slightly, and she moved her hand over between their seats. Still keeping her eyes on the blaster, Kiyone nodded silently, and took Mihoshi’s hand. =========================================================== Tenchi, Ryoko and Aeka stood at the end of the corridor, in their respective battlesuits. Tenchi grinned a little, savouring his first time battling with both Ryoko and Aeka by his side. Washu nodded as she strolled towards them, picking her way over the debris and smouldering metal pieces that remained of the corridor’s automated, mounted laser guns. "So sad." Ryoko stared back at the debris. "That was interesting, up till the time they all suddenly stopped blasting lasers." "So did you kids enjoy yourselves?" The scientist asked as she drew near. Tenchi gave a half hearted grin, while Aeka looking offended, retorted. "What do you mean by that, Washu?" "Not completely," Ryoko intentionally ignored Aeka’s comment. "The guns suddenly stopped firing, after the ship trembled a little." Washu peered from one to the other, wondering who she should reply to. "Washu, which way do we go now?" Tenchi asked. "That way," Washu pointed. After all, it was a small ship, and she was the greatest scientific genius in the universe, so how wrong could she be about the bridge’s position? "Aww, no more fun." Ryoko sighed. The laser guns were inanimate, some only half out of the walls, others still within the walls. Tenchi lowered his sword, sighing with relief. "That was fast." Washu commented as she poked her head around the corner she had been hiding. "You people have definitely improved, by a lot." She took in the immobile turrets. "Oh." "Let’s get on with it!" Aeka growled. "I’ve got to get my sister back!" A few more turns brought them to the entrance to the ship’s bridge. "Here we go." Tenchi’s sword rose, preparing to slice the metallic door open. Aeka saw two tiny sections of the door, near Tenchi’s chest height, seeming to liquefy and form tubes facing Tenchi. "Tenchi?" "Yes, Aeka?" The sword swept down. The two tubes took on an eerie glow… "WATCH OUT!" Aeka screamed. Tenchi dived to the left, but he was too slow, and one green beam slammed into his right chest. "Aaaaargh!" as it emerged from behind him. "TENCHI!" Ryoko and Aeka screamed. He fell back from the door, his body about to hit the floor before Ryoko caught him. His sword fell to the ground, its azure blade extinguished. Ryoko and Aeka knelt down, Ryoko holding his body, feeling his blood flow through her hands, as Aeka cradled his head in her arms. "Aeka…, Ryoko…, I…" Tenchi gulped, feeling his consciousness slip away, the taste of blood on his lips. Dimly he could hear the sounds of laser weapons blasting, and he could feel his blood was everywhere, couldn’t breathe, darkness, darkness everywhere… "Get out of here!" Washu was standing between them and the door, her pink shield trembling under the emerald onslaught of a goldish silver cyborg. "Leave Tenchi!" Aeka and Ryoko, both tearful and in mourning, were lost for the moment, treasuring the last sight of their dear beloved Tenchi, who had a pencil-sized hole in his right chest, and paid her no heed. "Leave Tenchi, or I cannot save him!!" Washu screamed, half in fury and half in fear, as her Stasis Discharger crackled with energy. Ryoko felt a something grip her collar and drag her back, as Aeka briefly glimpsed a silver blur as something struck her head, knocking her away from Tenchi. "Professor, now!" Someone cried. Ryoko and Aeka looked on, horrified that they should be torn from Tenchi in his moment of need. A golden beam shot out of Washu’s bracelet, and they watched as Tenchi was encapsulated in a transparent block of golden material of side two metres, seemingly caught for all eternity treading the fine line between life and death. Washu spun around and something was tossed at her. She grabbed it on instinct - Tenchi’s sword, then a blue scythe was sweeping through the air at the android. As if on cue, the door behind the thing opened as the cyborg stepped back, its lasers momentarily ceasing their barrage. "Washu!" Sasami cried from within, held within the grasp of a form. Then her eyes lighted on the cube behind the scientist. "Tenchi…?" "Professor, get them back to Ryo-oh-ki! I’ll hold them off!" The blade arced between Sasami’s viewpoint and Washu, before Kova’s form filled the door way, cerulean scythe gleaming with power. Sasami cried out in alarm as the three cyborgs, one slightly golden and the other two pure silver, raised their arms as one. "Ryoko, Aeka, get Tenchi’s cell to safety!" Washu ordered, leaping away as the doorway exploded into scarlet light and Kova was slammed backwards, missing her by a hair’s breadth before crashing into the wall. Lost in their fear for Tenchi’s life, Ryoko and Aeka dumbly obeyed the scientist, as the trio hurried back away from the door. Kova nearly hurled his scythe forward, then remembering Sasami, halted. Bolts of crimson and emerald streaked through the doorway, as he fought valiantly to deflect the missiles with his spinning scythe and shining shields. Halfway down the corridor, Washu suddenly realised something - her door could not take in the cell, it was too big. "Kashiro! I need a portal to Ryo-oh-ki!" She called back down behind her. In reply, there was another explosion, and Kova emerged running from around the corner, his form scarred and his garb even more torn. Washu looked in surprise at his left shoulder, which was bleeding profusely, from a rather deep, reopened wound, that stained the tatters of his blue jacket and tee red. "What do you want, professor!?" He breathed, the pain showing in his voice, though he still stood tall and undefeated by his suffering. "I need you to open a portal, to Ryo-oh-ki." Swiftly, he tossed his scythe into the passageway and darted after it as several green and ruby beams shot past, along with a single glowing scarlet sphere. Flying in mid air as its master rolled onto the floor around the corner, the scythe transformed into a silver rod, and a dimensional rift opened between him and Washu. Kova reached out his hand for it as it came twirling back, and stood up so he faced the corner he came from. "Move it! Now!" An explosion erupted further down the ship, probably due to the explosive ball of energy that had missed Kova. The scythe swept down at the first sign of movement around the corner. The Solvarium cyborg, unprepared for the attack, had almost its entire upper body sliced off, but it nevertheless continued firing with the remaining hand, green lasers reflecting off Kova’s shield. "Professor, Solvarium Formula!" He called, as the deflected beams cut holes in the cyborg’s form. "It’s here, but I can’t, I must attend to Tenchi!" Washu cried as she stepped into the portal after Ryoko and Aeka, with their cargo. Cursing as the portal closed, Kova threw himself backwards and his weapon hurtled towards the partially disabled robot. There was a miniature detonation as the scythe struck before turned back into a rod and opening a portal. Kova ran forward, diving over the remains of the Solvarium cyborg, his hand snatching the returning rod out of the air as several red beams skimmed by him, and dived headfirst into the rift. "Ungh!" He grunted as sharp pain shot through his right calf. Then he was inside the Shuriken, staring into space. He waved the rod slightly, and reached in, pulling out a medical box. Shaking his head, he mused to himself. Well, Washu can attend to the other people. Me, I have only myself. =========================================================== "What happened?" Kiyone and Mihoshi exclaimed together. On their screen they could see a dispirited Ryoko sprawled on the ground, staring up into space, while beside her, a humbled Aeka knelt, praying fervently. Even from where she was Kiyone could see they had both been crying. No one was at the view screen, and in the distance she could make out Washu fussing about a golden transparent cube with something in it that she could not quite make out. "What’s going on? Can someone tell me?" "Kiyone!" Washu called from where she was. "I’m busy, because something’s happened to Tenchi. Speak to Kashiro." She paused, as if thinking. "And he’s also hurt, somewhat." Washu turned back to Tenchi, trying to think of a way to simulate his brain waves and direct his innate Jurai power. "Hello? Anyone?" Mihoshi tried again, as Kiyone sat back, absorbing the shocking news. Although there were three conscious people on Ryo-oh-ki, none of them responded anymore. Kiyone, looking despondent, quickly disengaged. Washu heaved a sigh of relief - after she had input the (loonng!) Stasis matrix that held the particles in suspended state, her computer could now send the pulses down carefully by disencoding the matrix and recoding it back almost immediately, hence apply simulation to Tenchi. Of course, oxygen molecules would also have to be sent down to keep his cells alive. "Ryoko, Aeka, you can get over here now." =========================================================== "Darn, how do you send a transmission to his ship?" She cursed. Kova’s ship was technically invisible, and one could not send a transmission without knowing a ship’s coordinates. Typing a few more buttons, "Transmit message in radius one hundred points around Yagami - ‘Kova-chan.’" After about twenty seconds, Kova’s face flashed on the transmission screen. "Hello, Kiyone-chan. That was a little tastelessly blatant, don’t you think?" "You didn’t give me much of a choice, did you?" She laughed, but she noted she could only see his face, not any part of his body, and even then she could see the beads of sweat on his forehead. "Honest, what do you expect me to do?" "Well, not something so open. I imagine the two enemy space craft are wondering what you meant by your message. Next time just send out a transmission within radius twenty points with the message - ‘K3M.’ If I don’t respond - too bad." "I’ll just expand my sweep every thirty seconds until you do." Kiyone grinned. "By fifty points, so you’d better respond quickly. Anyway, I like your message." "You do?" His eyes lighted up. "Care to tell me what I meant?" "Your initials, and mine." She smiled, trying to ignore the sniggering Mihoshi. "Touching." "I’m glad you noticed. So what did you call me for?" "What happened back there? Where’s Sasami?" Kiyone reverted to her business-like, no nonsense tone. "We had to pull out. Tenchi got hurt by a cyborg posing as a metal door." Kova’s eyes dimmed. "How badly was he injured? And was anyone else hurt?" "He… got shot through the chest. Washu kept him in stasis to keep him alive." His gaze seemed to wander and not look directly at Kiyone. "I don’t think anyone else got hurt." Kiyone frowned, her expression tense. "Don’t you dare lie to me, Kova-chan!" Kova remained silent, his face stolid and fixed, though his eyes quivered a little. Kiyone softened her tone. "Are you hurt?" "Negligibly so. I will recover." He smiled faintly. "Don’t trouble yourself, Kiyone-chan." "Come over, right now." She ordered. "It’s not serious, so come over right now and present yourself to me." She watched his eyebrows twitch in irritation. "Look, Kova-chan. I love you, I don’t deny that. I need to see that you are fine. If for nothing else, just because of that." She forced her ears to keep out the sound of Mihoshi sniffing, who was wiping a tear off her face. Kova’s face seemed to dim, as though he had been deflated. "I’ll come over, Kiyone-chan. But remember, I’ll recover, so there’s nothing to be worried too much about." The transmission went off and Kiyone turned to watched as a black rift appeared in the dimension, and Kova stepped out into the Yagami. "Well, you wanted to know, Kiyone." She stared at him, hard, as she saw the bloodstains almost halfway down his shoulder, and the dark patch on his torn dark blue trousers all the way down from his right shin. "Ko..va-chan?" She asked, as he sat down on the floor of the Yagami, whistling softly to himself. His right hand held a medicine box. "Aren’t you going to…?" "Yeah, sure," he smiled at her. Kiyone marvelled at how he hid his pain. "I was preparing my things in Shuriken halfway when you sent the message. If you’re satisfied, I’ll be returning to my ship. Nothing to worry about." "Let me see your wounds." She stepped out of her seat over to Kova. "Come on, let me see them." He looked nervously at the blonde detective staring at him as Kiyone gently reached for his shoulder in preparation to strip the cloth off. "Kiyone? Erm…" "Relax, Kova-chan." She frowned in irritation as he half wriggled away. "Mihoshi’s watching." "It’s nothing she hasn’t seen before." She shook her head as she saw his expression. "Come on, don’t be a baby! You’re a hundred and twenty years old, remember!?" "I was wondering when you’d get round to seeing that file. Mihoshi, could you please turn away?" Kiyone sighed, and tugged gently at his right shoulder. "Come on, get up. We’re going to my quarters." As Kova got up, a little more delicately than was usual for him, Kiyone turned to Mihoshi. "Mihoshi, watch out for any changes in situation. Call me if anything happens." Kiyone gently guided Kova down the passageways, taking his medical box while shaking her head in amusement as he went "Left, right, then right, then left…" "Come on, surely you don’t think I can’t get to my own room?" "I was just refreshing my memory." He smiled. Although he seemed to be walking normally, his calf was hurting badly, but at least it had stopped bleeding, and he was careful to take bigger steps only with his other leg. As they entered the room, Kiyone helped him over to her bed. "Kiyone-chan, I’ll be okay, you don’t need to do this, you’ll get your sheets all dirty." She ignored his protests and sat him down on her bed. Carefully she picked the tattered jacket off his left shoulder, and he winced as the cloth stuck to his wound. Kiyone pursed her lip in concentration, and eventually she could make out his bare shoulder. The wound was large and a little messy, and Kiyone could make out the pitted area where flesh had been consumed by laser. The wound had apparently been dried already, probably through chemical means, and was no longer bleeding, but she saw a fresh line where blood was seeping out. "A reopened wound?" She looked up and him, displeasure in her eyes. "When did you get this?" "Well, on board the decoy ship…" She recalled the cloth on his shoulder, earlier, how he had dropped the transmitter on the floor. "You were injured when you came to see me, and you didn’t tell me." Her eyes narrowed. "And you went to fight knowing full well you were hurt." "I was okay, the wound had…" his voice died as he shrank back from Kiyone’s angry face. God, not only is she fussy, she’s mad! …well, it only goes to show how much she loves me. She glared at him a moment longer, then opened his medical box, cleaned the shoulder, and added the necessary disinfectants. Reaching for a bandage, she deftly wound it around his shoulder. "Tell me if it’s too tight." She bound it up, and he nodded. It felt good to be fussed over, he realised. Kiyone knelt before his bloodied and torn trouser leg. He watched, almost as if he were another person, as she picked at them. She looked for a moment at the tattered rags, before gripping them firmly and tearing them apart. She stared at his shins, bloodied but apparently unscathed, and paused for a moment, confused. Could he be pulling my leg? "Turn around." She ordered. Hesitantly, he did so, resting his upper body on the bed, hoping she would not be too outraged at what she saw. What he knew was that it had hurt, pretty badly. He had injected anaesthetic and some clotting reagent as soon as he got back in Shuriken, but he sensed the blood was still flowing. Kiyone touched the cloth and felt it was still damp. She reached slightly above his knee, where the trousers were still dry, ripping it apart there. He winced from the pain as she carefully removed the whole piece of moist cloth from his flesh. "*This* is not serious!?" She snarled softly. The damage was rather bad, having taken out a chunk of his leg, about thirty percent of his calf muscle plus some flesh, and she was rather surprised he could move his lower leg at all. Even as she watched, blood continued oozing out of a large hole in the centre of it. "*This* is okay!?" "Well, I didn’t exactly get a chance to see it, before I received your transmission." "How in the world do you even stand? Doesn’t it hurt like crazy!?" "Not after I injected some pain-killers and clotting reagents." He peered back at her shocked and fearful face. "Geez, Kiyone-chan, is it really that bad?" She nodded, her face dark with worry. "It’s still bleeding." She took out several bottles, disinfectants, clotting reagents, liquefied synthetic fibres and flesh, protective sheaths before tenderly applied them one after another to his leg. After about twenty minutes of effort, she felt better as she looked at the beige coloured mouldable sheath, covering the gory wound from her sight, making it seem like his leg was whole again. She checked to make sure there was a gap in it so if the wound continued bleeding, the blood would drip out of the sheath, before bandaging it and gingerly pressing it. "Does it hurt, Kova-chan?" He shook his head, a warm smile on his face. "It’s just fine, Kiyone." Rather cautiously, he flexed calf his muscle. He still couldn’t feel anything, but the movement was easier now, due to the synthetic fibres that had adhered to his muscles. "Really, I’m okay, though I’ll probably have to inject some more anaesthetic soon." "You sure?" She settled on the bed beside him, looking at him, and he turned to face her. "Yup. After all, I have an artificially enhanced body, I’ll recover quickly." He smiled brightly at her, then at the sheets. "Thanks, really, Kiyone-chan." He glanced at the somewhat dirtied and rumpled sheets. "Sorry about your bed." "It’s okay," she lay herself back on the bed and stretched, relieving the tension in her, her lips curling at the corner at the sound of his voice and at the good stretch. "It isn’t that bad." She opened her eyes, only to see his eyes fixed on hers, shining… Kiyone and Kova stared at each other. Her back was on the bed, he was leaning on his elbows by her side, a slight smile lightly touching on his lips like an ethereal wisp of the future… "Kiyone-chan…?" His fingers reached out a little. "Kova-chan… " Seemingly of its own volition, her hand stretched out until their fingers met and locked together. She felt him gently pull her towards. "Please…" She saw his eyes, seemingly lost in a surge of passion, as he moved over her, and his arms went around her shoulders. "No. Not now…" His breath was warm and soothing on her face, his eyes closing slowly, his lips poised over hers. Her voice became weaker, and she felt the urge to stroke his body. "Not right…" She opened her mouth gently to receive him. "Kova-chan, no…" Something flashed in the blue eyes, and they snapped open, pupils dilated. She could feel his body tense over hers, as he struggled to contain his instincts. A great surge of sheer will went through him, convulsing his body. "Gaaah!" With a low cry of rage, his mouth opened in a snarl of frustration, and his arm muscles around her bunched up tightly, before Kova forcefully pushed himself back off the bed and from her. He’s gone! Kiyone could feel her primal self disappointed, her normal self heaving a sigh of relief and thankfulness, and all of her surprised. It was at least five seconds before she could bring herself to get up. Kova was standing before the door to the bedroom, breathing hard, his face averted from her. His right hand was clutching his shoulder wound, and Kiyone could see he was squeezing it, hard. "Kova-chan, what are you doing!?" Quickly, she ran over, tugging his right hand off his shoulder. He growled at her touch, and shrank further away, face still averted. She could see the blood seeping through the bandage she had just placed around his shoulder. "Kova-chan?" He spun around, almost as though he swung himself like he did the scythe, and she could see his face black like a thundercloud, his lips curled to reveal his canines in a savage snarl, his eyes stony and yet blazing with anger. "Damn you." His voice was soft and vehement. Kiyone took a step back, her mind reeling with fear. "Damn me." He swallowed, his face still contorted with anger. "Damn our accursed animal impulses." The stinging agony of self denial ached in his heart, marred his face, poisoned his words. Kiyone watched with fright, as his fist clenched and unclenched. "Why did I have to love you?" Kiyone shook her head, her own pain and doubt at his words biting deep into her soul. "Kova-chan, I’m sorry…" She managed, her voice trembling. "Do you know how painful it is for me!?" He growled. "If I loved anyone else, I’d have made her my own by now." Making love was not just a physical act for women, he knew. It deepens bonds almost irretrievably strong and deep, renders premature sundering not only merely heart wrenching, but close to death. He had seen ruthless, savage female space pirates who had been created through such a quirk of fate, and others whose careers had ended in a blaze of glory as they took on Kamikaze missions, not least of which were those who had fallen prey to Nagi. Not until our future has been assured. If we fail, if I die, I want her to remain human still. She *must* carry on, without me. Not consummating our love will make it that much easier, for her. He closed his eyes, and she watched as tears ran down his face, first a trickle, then a rivulet. I must have faith, in myself, in her. We *will* make it. His frame shook, on the point of collapse. Another sharp pain streaked up from his calf, and he collapsed forwards. Tender yet strong hands seized him, supported him, preventing him from falling. "Kova-chan." She whispered tenderly into his ear, taking care not to jostle his shoulder or calf, while her sad, glittering eyes watched the tears stream out. "Kiyone." His voice was broken and weak. "Why did you?" She asked, tears forming up in her eyes. "You said no…, and I must listen…" His voice shook. "Besides, you… mustn’t love me… If I die, you must continue on…" "You won’t die. We will make it." Her words were steeled with determination. "Whatever paths you choose, we’ll walk them together." She unconsciously repeated the words he had told her in a dream. "It hurt so much, so much…" "I know. I felt it too." She gently stroked his dark blue hair. "But I’m with you now." He nodded a little, and leaned on her. =========================================================== Darkness, darkness all about him. Everything was still, nothing moved. Even within his body, there was no change. There was no sense of time. I was like he was stuck. Maybe this was death. But then again, death was something more final, more definite, more conclusive. In here he just felt like he was hanging in space, suspended, neither dead nor alive. Heck, the hole in his chest was not even bleeding! He had not left his body yet, either. Of course, all these were mere observations. The nerve impulses that travelled up his spine and synapses could not even register, since they had no way of moving, or even being considered impulses. As far as this place was concerned, they were permanent uneven marks within Tenchi. This made thinking and feeling impossible. But strangely, he could think. He could observe things. He heard something speak in his mind. Something fiddled with him, and he felt impulses travel about certain neural pathways, before he could make out the words and voice. Tenchi, Washu called. Yes, he thought back. Are you in pain? No, just feeling kind of stuck. Can you use your Jurai power to heal yourself? I don’t know. I’ve never tried. Besides, I think I’d need my whole body to do it. If I mend your wounds synthetically to prevent further blood loss and normal breathing, could you function? Yeah, though that’s a strange way of putting it. Besides, I’m about dead, so do what you think is best. If you fail, well, too bad for me. Just get it done quickly, I want it decided. It feels so strange suspended here in the middle of nowhere. Okay, I’m going to… Wait, Washu. Yes, Tenchi? If I die, tell everyone I said I love them, and I’ll miss them. And… Washu, don’t ever tell anyone this last part unless I die, okay? Tenchi, your secrets are safe with me. Thank you. Please say to Ryoko and Aeka, I love them both very much, that I would have liked to marry them, and that I wish they could be friends. Fine, Tenchi. Oh, and only say that when they’ve got over me. I don’t want them to get even more upset at knowing how close they really were to me. Anything else, Tenchi? Washu sounded a little sad. No, that’s all. All the best to you and your quest, and may Kiyone find happiness, somehow. I think I’m beginning to understand that. Washu, no matter what you all do, I know you all will give your best. If the best fails, I rest in peace, knowing my friends have not let me down. Farewell. Farewell, Tenchi. =========================================================== "What did Tenchi say, Washu?" The two girls asked together as Washu removed the helmet. "He said he knew we would try our best." "What if it’s not good enough?" Aeka asked, her face pale, with lines of tears on her cheeks. "He said he would rest in peace, because we have not let him down, not in the least." Washu said solemnly. Ryoko gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to sob. "But it will be good enough, right Washu?" Washu shook her head. "I’m not very sure, but I can try. At worse I could extract his brain and body data, create an identical flesh shell for him, and place his brain within." "That won’t be necessary." Aeka said solemnly. "It will work." Ryoko nodded too, sombrely. "I know it *will*." The two girls flashed a brief smile at each other. "Very well, here goes…" She mentally ran through the number of molecules she could safely put through without upsetting the Stasis block, the procedure and the material required for each and every layer of a human’s chest. Normally she could remember, but this experiment was not something she would want to make a mistake in. Typing away at the computer, she quickly pulled out tubes of organic cells from the hole beside her for forming the necessary materials. As Washu got to work, Aeka and Ryoko sat down by each other, pensive and tense. They could feel each other trembling as they watched, and almost unconsciously, Ryoko put an arm around Aeka’s shoulders, as the princess put hers around Ryoko’s waist, while. Sitting side by side, supporting each other, the two ladies awaited the result. =========================================================== "Stellar and Solar have both been cut off, and neither of them are moving!" "What!? How can this be?" "Well, it certainly seems the case. Any orders, sir?" "Yes, radio message back to base to contact Galaxy Police. As for us, change course from outside Solar System. We’ll have to move in to assist Stellar and Solar – we can’t afford losing them now." =========================================================== Mihoshi sat, all alone, in the bridge of the Yagami. I wonder what Kiyone is doing with her boyfriend? She smiled as she remembered Kiyone had been taking him to her bedroom. Could they really be… She blushed at the thought, then brushed it aside. I’m so alone, Kiyone. What will I do if you leave me? She watched the stars, with the still Ryo-oh-ki and the light red enemy craft. In a corner was another screen, which showed the link on the decoy ship, unmoving. How lonely it is, to be like a star, all alone in the galaxy. To have thousands others share the same space with me, and none of them close. Only Kiyone and Tenchi had come close to me, and the latter only for a short while. She thought back to the night she had met Tenchi. The way he had ran by her side, and how when she was hurt, he never once considered leaving her behind, even though she was but a stranger. So different from other men she had known. Tenchi. She pressed some buttons and watched as Washu worked by the golden transparent block, while Aeka and Ryoko sat dumbly by the side back to her. The distance was rather great, she couldn’t make Tenchi out clearly, but he seemed to be in some kind of sleep. How fortunate you all are, she thought to Tenchi, Aeka and Ryoko. Her lips pressed tight against each other as she contemplated her own dire straits. With a soft sob, she pressed a button and closed the view screen. Kiyone, too, was taken now. She shook her head sadly. What was she going to do!? A red dot appeared on the space radar. "Unidentified ship approaching from point twenty by twenty degrees of hull direction." Mihoshi stared at the red alert words for a moment, stunned. "KIYONE!" === End of Chapter === NOTES: Kova is in a way, an SIed character. Pls include him in your comments, whether I have portrayed him as a person, as a friend or foe, as one of the gang, and most importantly, as a human being. I have some pictures of him, not too good pencil drawings, if you wish to take a look pls mail me. I hope you have enjoyed this Fanfic as much as I have typing it. If there are any more grammar errors, I beg your forgiveness, as my sole proofreader is myself. This is my first FF, so go ahead and mail me at zyraen@yahoo.com with comments, especially on character portrayal, realism.