Legal stuff : Tenchi Muyo is a trademark of AIC and Pioneer. ************************************************************ THE DARKEST HELL 12 : DARK VALHALLA Falling, that was the only sensation. There was no light, no sound other than his own screaming, but Tenchi could feel himself falling. The more he fell, the colder he got. Soon, every sensation disappeared. He didn't feel himself falling anymore. As a matter of fact, Tenchi felt as though he was standing. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a stone corridor. Every now and then an arc of electricity flowed by, bathing the corridor in a faint light. Shock and curiosity forced Tenchi forward. Occasionally, he'd look behind him, to check and see if anyone else had followed him. No one was there, so he kept on walking. ************************************************************ Fear. Fear was all Ryoko felt as she ran down the biomechanical hallway. Spiked metal ropes hung from the ceiling, occasionally pinching her as she ran. The further she ran, the more fear worked it's way into her. Soon, black blood began to drip from the walls, adding to Ryoko's perception of the hell this place was. It wasn't long before this place began to eat away at her, and her sense of reality began to crash around her feet. Before long, she was wading, waist deep, in the black blood. Soon, everything seemed to look the same. This made Ryoko curious. She summoned a ball of energy and placed it a foot above her head. Then she hovered above the growing mass of flowing blood. The darkness soon enveloped her eyes as she turned another bend, and was confronted by a gentile orange glow. "No." She muttered as she got closer to the gentile glow. It was the ball of energy that she had summoned. Then it hit her. 'I've been going around in circles.' she thought with fear. She began to breath heavily as the realization hit her fully. She closed her eyes and prayed that it wasn't so. When she opened them, the black blood, that used to be several feet below her, was now up to her chest. Her eyes bulged in fear as she saw this. The air was beginning to get thinner and soon, she was up against the ceiling. The blood flowed faster and faster as it touched her chin. Then, something else happened. Something brushed by Ryoko's leg. The feeling of this caused Ryoko to whimper in fear. She has never experienced dread like this before. The feeling was totally alien to her, and it made her even more scared. Finally, it had broken whatever courage she had. As the blood made it's way to her bottom lip, she screamed as loud as her lungs could manage. She screamed so loud that the walls seemed to shake. And she continued to scream as the blood enveloped her whole. ************************************************************ Tenchi was still walking down the stone corridor when he heard something. It was a scream. Not only that, but it was Ryoko. "RYOKO!" Tenchi shouted as he summoned his Light Hawk Sword. He closed his eyes and let the sword guide him to the source of the screaming. The sword pulled him to a section of the wall. Shortly after Tenchi opened his eyes, the screaming stopped. "RYOKO! NO!" He shouted as he swiped the wall. The marks he made seemed to heal themselves faster than he could cut them. Rage and sorrow took control as he screamed "RYOKO!" and summoned the full force of his Jurai powers. Three light hawk wings, larger than he had ever summoned before, sliced their way through the darkness. They combined into one massive disk and fired a bolt of pure Juraian energy, blasting a hole in the wall. Blood came rushing through the hole, black blood, and thousands of gallons of it. The force of the gushing, black mass knocked Tenchi into the wall. Slowly, he got up and fought the rushing blood making his way forward. Suddenly, Tenchi heard a dull thump. He saw, through all the blood, that it was Ryoko, unconscious. Nearly swimming, Tenchi made his way to Ryoko and picked her up. Then, he leapt up in air and let the force of the rushing blood take him as far as it could. After what seemed a mile, the blood finally stopped flowing with mad force. Tenchi laid Ryoko down on the only slightly blood soaked ground. He checked her pulse. It was still there, even though it was very faint. He checked her breathing, there was none. "Oh, God." Tenchi muttered as he wiped some of the blood off of Ryoko's face. Then, using what he had learned in school, when it still existed, he began to do CPR on Ryoko. Although he wasn't very good at it, he still tried his damnedest. He pinched her nose and breathed into her mouth, then he placed his hands on her mid-chest and began to push. "One-one thousand, Two-one thousand, Three-one thousand, Four-one thousand, Five-one-thousand, COME ON RYOKO! BREATH!" He shouted as he then repeated the procedure. After about three minutes of doing this, Tenchi was starting to think that she wasn't going to wake up. But he kept to it, and soon, Ryoko's hand twitched. Immediately following that, Ryoko spat up a lot of the black blood. Tenchi was laughing with relief and a tear fell from his eye. Using his bloody hand, he wiped the new blood away from Ryoko's face. Ryoko opened her eyelids and Tenchi saw that her eyes were rolled back into her head. Finally, Ryoko's eyes slowly rolled into their proper position. She was sputtering and coughing as she weakly grasped Tenchi in an embrace. She was trembling and hyperventilating. "Oh, god Ryoko, I thought I lost you." Tenchi whispered. Still trying to catch her breath, Ryoko looked over at Tenchi. "T.Tenchi. what. kind of. place. is this?" Ryoko stuttered. "I don't know, but I have a feeling that it's gonna get worse from now on." Tenchi realized. ************************************************************ Washu awoke with a start. She swiftly took a look at her surroundings, and saw that she was in a corridor of some sort. Washu heard a groan from right next to her. It was Tsunami. Quickly, Washu crawled over to Tsunami and helped her sit up. Tsunami gasped when she opened her eyes and gazed upon her surroundings. "Where the HELL are we?" Tsunami voiced. "Hell is EXACTLY where we are. We better keep moving, 'cause right now, we're sitting ducks." Washu expressed. Tsunami nodded and stood up, as did Washu, and they began to walk. The corridor that they now walked in had an impossibly low ceiling, and was covered in an archaic writing. Tsunami stuck her hand in front of Washu. Both of the women had to duck under the low ceiling. Tsunami gestured to the writing on the wall. "What do you think it says?" She asked. "Well, let me see." Washu stared at the wall for a minute. The writing was SO familiar, but she still couldn't read it. Then, an idea occurred to her. Out of nowhere, she produced a small mirror. Washu motioned over to Tsunami, who knew what she wanted. Tsunami held up her hand and the corridor was bathed in a soft, white light. Washu, content with the lighting, held up her mirror to the writing. "Oh, my god." Washu uttered. "It's Juraian. only backwards." Tsunami added. "But, it doesn't make any sense. It's all gibberish." Tsunami continued after reading the writing through the mirror. "Not, if you consider that it is TOTALLY backwards. Even the arrangement of the alphabet." Washu informed. "Oh, okay, I'll try to read it, then." Tsunami quipped. For what seemed like an hour, she studied the walls, her lips moving. Tsunami was mumbling something under her breath, something Washu couldn't make out. Being trapped on Soja for so long taught Washu to be patient, and her patience served her well, until now. "Will you HURRY UP!?" Washu roared. "AH! OKAY!" Tsunami screamed, a sweat drop popping up on her head. "It says here that in a time before time, many eternities ago, there was a war between the two gods. One god, representing the Yin, and one representing the Yang. After countless universes were destroyed, the God of darkness and Death was cast into the shadow world, never to return. Now, the two gods were brothers, and shared a link, much like you and Ryoko, and the God of Darkness knew every move the Goddess of light and Creation made. After some time, the Goddess of Light created three Minor goddesses, and likewise, the God of Darkness created three Minor demons, the Demon of Darkness, the Demon of Corruption, and the Demon of Death. The Demon of Darkness was sealed away by the forces of light, never to return, the Demon of Corruption became one with the tree of Darkness, but soon became corrupted herself with the power of the light, and so she perished, along with the tree of darkness, and the Demon of Death became the new ruler of the shadow dimension. Then it goes on about how there will be a light-worlder who will bring them the prize they seek most, their only opposition. He will bring them the tree of Light, and the three goddesses. That's all it says." Tsunami muttered. Suddenly, memories flooded into Washu's head, memories of a past life that she thought were only flights of fancy. She had dreamed many times that she was more than a mere mortal, but, what these memories told her was that she was right. She was a goddess. And they wanted her. "My god, we have to get out of here." Washu told her. "I agree." Tsunami returned as they turned around and ran back down the corridor. Three steps later, the floor became muddy, and turned into quicksand. Out of the soggy floor, several spiked metallic ropes wrapped themselves around Tsunami and Washu's wrists and ankles. Screaming in fear and pain, they were pulled under. Once again, the corridor was silent. ************************************************************ Matsui looked up and around the strange corridor. The walls around him were dark green and scaly, like a snake. He took a few more steps, when, he noticed, he felt a slight trembling in the floor. 'Oh, shit.' He thought as he barely dodged the spike that nearly impaled him. He kept dodging the spikes that flew out of the walls, floor, and ceiling, as he ran down the corridor. Something in his head made him stop, so he did. The spikes had stopped coming for him, so he knew something was wrong. Matsui held out his hand and summoned a large gun that attached itself to his still missing arm. With a swift press of a button, Matsui blew a hole in the wall. It led to another corridor. Then, Matsui heard the rumbling. At first it was soft, but with every second, it got louder and louder. Matsui turned from the hole to see what it was, but the corridor was too dark. He took a second and summoned a blue ball of energy. Casually, he tossed it toward the source of the rumbling. What the light revealed was something from Matsui's worst nightmares. Going faster and faster was a massive snake like creature, its head was almost as large as the corridor. Matsui looked at the hole he made and saw that it was sealing up. Without thinking, Matsui leapt through the shrinking hole and ran down the new corridor. The snake head popped through the same hole just in time and quickly was upon Matsui. Matsui closed his eyes and said a quick prayer, for the snake had him. But, when he expected death, it wouldn't come. He opened his eyes and saw that the snake had stopped about three feet short of Matsui. The hole had completely sealed itself, cutting the snakes head from the rest of its body. Matsui smiled and said thanks to every god he ever heard of, then he got up and ran down the corridor. ************************************************************ Gillian was beginning to get sick and tired of walking down this bleak hallway. There was nothing decorating the walls, and there was no sound. Gillian sighed deeply. After she sighed, she looked down at the floor, to see that there was no more floor in front of her. Below her was a churning pool of liquid rock and burning fire. And, to her surprise, she found that she couldn't fly or teleport anymore. Nothing could be done to prevent her from falling. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she slipped off the ledge, but she didn't fall anymore than a few feet. She stopped screaming, looked down at the lava pit, and then up to see Matsui, his smiling face sweating from the heat, was grasping onto her hand for dear life. Slowly, Matsui hauled Gillian back up to ground level. He took a deep breath as Gillian panted for a few seconds. "I guess I owe you a great deal of thanks love." Gillian said, a smile forming. The small moment was interrupted by a loud BOOM, as the lava began to rise. "Shit." Gillian cussed as Matsui yanked her off her ass and ran with her down the corridor. The lava began to seep over the floor as Matsui made Gillian stop running. With complete accuracy and unnatural strength, Matsui side kicked the wall, breaking a hole in it. Gillian looked at Matsui with a 'You want me to go in THERE!?' face and was subsequently pushed into the new corridor just in time before the surging tide of molten rock flowed over the spot where they were standing. A few seconds later, the hole had sealed itself fully. Matsui took a deep breath and grabbed Gillian's hand. Slowly, they transcended the corridor. ************************************************************ Tenchi and Ryoko walked down the hallway, amazed at the effect the mirrored walls gave. Ryoko seemed hypnotized as she looked up at the ceiling. Tenchi looked all around. When he looked over to the left, Tenchi knocked into something, and hard. He fell on his butt. Rubbing his lower back, he looked at Ryoko, who had just now noticed that Tenchi had fallen. Tenchi sighed and looked straight ahead, and immediately, was confused. In front of him was his reflection. "Guess I bumped into a mirror." Tenchi reasoned. "Yeah, so did I, I guess." His reflection said. Then, both the reflections screamed in the typical 'Scared Tenchi' manner. He stood up and walked over to his reflection, as did his reflection. The two Ryokos just stood there, silently glaring at each other. Tenchi and his reflection gazed at each other, amazed. They walked around each other in a circle and gasped. "My god, you're REAL!" The newer Tenchi gasped. "So are YOU!" The other Tenchi exclaimed. Without warning, from behind, the two Tenchi's heard the two Ryokos growl in fury. They turned around just in time to see that they had summoned their laser swords and were fighting. Both the Tenchis got really confused. "Which ones MY Ryoko?" One of the Tenchis asked. "I dunno. Just pick one and try not to get killed." The other one said. Both the Tenchi's nodded and ran in for the battle. They both pulled one of the Ryokos away from the violent battle. "RYOKO! What the hell's gotten into you?" The Tenchi on the left asked his Ryoko. "Tenchi, can't you see!? It's a trick! They're gonna kill us!" Ryoko yelled. "Kill you? We ARE you!" The other Tenchi shouted. That was when the Ryoko on his side resummoned her laser sword and downward sliced the unwitting Tenchi. But, instead of erupting in a gush of blood, this Tenchi seemed to break apart, like glass. A black smoke erupted from him briefly. "Ryoko?" The only remaining Tenchi whispered. "TENCHI! LOOK OUT!" Ryoko screamed in anguish. Tenchi turned just in time to see the other Ryoko swipe at him. Luckily, he dodged it just in time. The mirror Ryoko leaped up in the air and prepared to strike, but was deflected by the other Ryoko. The two started to duel at a furious pace. Soon, one of the Ryokos swords flickered and faded, as she looked deathly tired. The other Ryoko screamed a battle cry and prepared to kill the fallen enemy. Mere seconds before the battle was to be over, Tenchi leapt in between the two and deflected the blow with his translucent arm shield. When Ryoko landed, she had a look of anger, mixed with fear, in her eyes. "Tenchi, why did you stop me?" Ryoko pleaded. "How do I know that you are MY Ryoko, and not the doppleganger? I'm not gonna sit here and watch as Ryoko dies. I will never do that." Tenchi grimaced. The weakened Ryoko got up and walked over to Tenchi, hugging his right side. "Oh, thank you Tenchi, that evil duplicate was gonna kill me. This place has sapped all my strength. I didn't know how long I would've lasted!" She cooed. The other Ryoko began to get worse with fear. "Don't listen to her Tenchi, she's the clone! Not me! Listen to my voice! I'm the only one worried about YOU! Even I know that this is not the place to be cuddling!" the other Ryoko shouted as tears formed at her eyes. The Ryoko holding onto Tenchi let go of him and limped over to her copy. "Don't give him that crap! You're just trying to confuse him, you evil BITCH!" Ryoko said as she slapped her duplicate in the face. Tenchi took a step forward, his hand outstretched. "Tenchi," the weaker Ryoko told him, " the only way that you will know is if you kill us both. Do it, Tenchi. I don't want you to be killed by this evil monster. I'd rather die, than to watch you go in my place. not again. And remember that I will always love you." Tenchi shook his head and a tear fell from his eye. "Tenchi. ARE YOU ACTUALLY CONCIDERING IT?!" The other Ryoko yelled, maniacally. Tenchi nodded and then summoned his Light Hawk Sword. He took several steps forward. Tenchi rose his sword above his head and swung. But instead of hitting the two Ryokos, he pounded the ground. A bright light emanated from the sword. In the light, the stronger Ryoko summoned her laser sword and sliced. Tenchi heard a gasp. The light disappeared as he saw the weaker Ryoko, a look of sheer terror and pain on her face. Then, she crumbled into a million shards of broken glass and out erupted a black smoke. Ryoko looked dazed as Tenchi ran up to her and hugged her. "How did you know what to do?" Ryoko asked. "I know you Ryoko. I knew you'd take the opportunity to defeat your opponent, and you did. And besides, you have NEVER cuddled up to me during a life and death situation. It just wasn't like you." " How did you know that I'd react like that, though?" Ryoko returned. "I didn't. That was a major chance I took. It's a good thing I trust you, Ryoko, or I might have actually sliced you both." Tenchi said with a grin. Ryoko looked scared for a second, then smiled too. All around them, the mirrors faded away, until there was only granite. Before them, was a doorway. "Might as well." Tenchi decided. He grabbed Ryoko's hand, which surprised her, and they walked down the corridor to the door, together. ************************************************************ "AAHHH! KIYONNE!!" Mihoshi screamed as a few thousand giant blood sucking bats flew towards the two. Kiyonne grunted as she ducked and rolled an attack from one of them. "DAMN!" She shouted as she took out her GP laser gun. She fired a few blasts and took down a few of them. After a few minutes, a little red light in the back of the gun started to blink. "Crap! Come ON Mihoshi! We have to go. NOW!" Kiyonne screamed as she grabbed the shrieking Mihoshi's hand and ran with her down the corridor. The whole flock of bats did a monstrous U-turn and followed the two detectives. Soon, the bats were almost upon them. Kiyonne and Mihoshi screamed as they ran. They were then tossed back several feet by the explosion in the wall. Out of the massive, gaping whole stepped Togusa, Matsui, and Gillian. "Well, look who I found NOW!" Togusa gloated. Immediately, the trio leapt through the hole, which began to reseal itself, and ran in front of the two women. Then, fighting with a animal-like wrath, the trio blasted, shot, and sliced as many bats as they could. The battle seemed to go on forever, but soon, the trio were ankle high in bat corpses. They were also covered in bat guts. "Ew. When we get back, I'm gonna spend a week in the shower." Gillian said as she nearly gagged at the sight of all the guts. "You already DO, Goldylocks." Togusa mocked. Gillian gave him the finger and continued to wipe the bat guts off of her body tight battle suit. Matsui waded through the dead bats and helped Kiyonne and Mihoshi up. Kiyonne was shivering in fright, while Mihoshi looked unfazed. "Boy, I'm glad YOU two showed up. We were having a tough time for a while there. Boy, this is GROSS!" Mihoshi commented as she lifted her shoe and saw the slimy bat guts clinging to it's sole. Matsui let out a sigh. Then, he perked his ears up, and looked behind the two, further down the corridor. "Hey, look, a door!" Togusa said from behind Matsui. Matsui didn't pay any attention. Once again, he summoned a blue energy ball. This time, her hurled it with as much force as he could muster. The blue ball careened down the corridor, until it was absorbed by the liquid like black wall of living, pulsating blood that began to flow down the corridor, toward the small group. ". we gotta go." Togusa muttered as he saw this. "No shit Sherlock." Gillian responded as she ran past him at full speed. "Hey! Who's Sherlock?" Togusa shouted as he began to run. Gillian looked up at the door, and saw that it seemed to remain at the same distance from them, even though they were running at full speed toward it. Gillian's concentration was broken when she felt herself trip on something. "HELP ME!" She shouted as she tried to get up. It was much harder than it looked. Matsui heard her pleas of help and turned around. 'Oh, God.' he thought, as the seen before him took on a strange feeling of Deja Vu. Tossing his weird feelings to the side, he ran to Gillian, grabbing her arms and dragging her up to her feet. The blackness was almost upon them as they started to run. Gillian was running so fast that her long, blue hair streaked and flowed behind her. Suddenly, a tendril broke out of the wall of blood and grasped her exorbitantly long hair. She still ran, but she screamed. The pool of blood grasped every filament of hair and began to climb it's way up. Togusa and the rest stopped and looked at the screaming girl. "Oh, god no." Togusa said, as the scene looked far too familiar to him. The black blood flowed further and further up her hair. Then, in a brief flash of light, Gillian found herself free. Gillian felt the back of her head and felt that her hair had been cut short. It stopped just short of her shoulders now. She kept on running, but looked behind her, and saw Matsui struggling against the blood. It had grasped his green hooded cape and was pulling him in. He tried to slice it, but the blood grasped his arm before he could do it. He struggled more, but could not break free. The arm inside the blood felt like it was on fire. The more the blood flowed onto him, the louder the voices in his head got. They kept chanting the same thing. Death is the only way out. Soon, Matsui felt the tendrils of blood surround most his body. "NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!" Gillian screamed. She began to run towards Matsui, to try to save him, but something stopped her. An arm was wrapped around her waist. She looked behind her and saw Togusa. He looked down at her, his eyes full of sadness, and shook his head. "L.let GO of me! I can still HELP him!" She pleaded, but Togusa still refused. "No, you can't. Trust me." Togusa said, his heart brimming with sorrow. With strength much greater than hers, Togusa dragged Gillian back. Still, she struggled to get out of his iron grip, but she couldn't. She looked at Matsui's face. He smiled weakly and painfully, his whole body felt like it was on fire. He gave her a wink as the jewel at the base of his neck began to glow. In the other side of the blood, the other gem in the other side of his neck, the gem that was his primary power source for his mechanical body, began to glow too. Finally, the black, opaque blood flowed over Matsui's face as he reflexively held his breath. "MATSUI!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Gillian cried. She stopped struggling and went limp, her eyes fixated on the black wall of blood. Togusa let her go, knowing that she would not go anywhere. Her eyes poured tears like a fountain. She then felt herself being lifted up and carried over Togusa's back. "What do you think you DOING?!" Gillian demanded. "If I know my brother, he initiated the self-destruct system in his false body, as well as the one I gave him. There's gonna be a BIG boom, and I don't really wish to be in the middle of it." Togusa said as he ran. The door stopped moving and they had finally caught up to it. Gillian watched as everyone ran through the small door. At first, the wall of blood seemed to implode, and then, in a bright flash of light, ignited in a bright, fiery wall of fire and blood. The fire spread quickly as the large fireball rushed towards Gillian and Togusa. Togusa squeezed his way through the small door, followed by Gillian. She slammed the door just in time, before the wall of fire hit the door and caused a large shaking to occur. Gillian looked at the small door, as it began to fade away. She kissed her hand and placed it on the wall. "Goodbye. my love." Gillian muttered in between sobs. Slowly, Togusa grabbed her and gently hugged her. And they stayed like that for a long while. ************************************************************ Takeshi and Yosho roared a battle cry as they fought an armored warrior. This "Dark Knight" carried a staff, much like the Juraian Royal Guard, but it was black and corrupted. Yosho was bleeding and bruised, as was Takeshi. Slowly, they sensed movement behind them. Ayeka had finally regained consciousness, after taking a hard blow to the head. She shook her head and looked down. Her head ornament was busted up and broken. "It must have taken most of the blow and saved my life." Ayeka mumbled to herself. She looked up and saw Yosho and Takeshi fighting a Dark Juraian warrior. And they looked like they were losing. The Dark Juraian Knight thumped Takeshi in the back of the head and knocked Takeshi several feet behind him as he leaped up into the air and twisted around. He prepared to connect with a downward strike to kill the young man, but his attack never made it. He was deflected by a force field emanating from several or so logs hovering in midair. Yosho quickly looked behind him and saw Ayeka, her body pulsated with energy. And she looked pissed as well. Quicker than a blink of an eye she leapt into the air and soared at the Knight. Her fist connected with his armored chest as the pure energy pulsating through and around Ayeka caused his insides to liquefy. The knight gurgled somewhat and collapsed on the floor. As he faded away in a gush of black smoke, Ayeka noticed a door fade into view far down the corridor. "Yosho, this way." Ayeka directed. Yosho nodded. The two ran to Takeshi and helped him up. Then they made a mad dash for the door. Ayeka, for some unknown reason, stopped and looked behind her. Not two feet away from her face was a large, ugly demonic monster. It grinned evilly and slashed at her. Luckily, for Ayeka it missed. She set up a force field around the trio and they all resumed running for the door. The monster slashed and roared at them, but could not get them. Ayeka was beginning to look tired. "I. can't hold. this. up much. longer." She huffed as they reached the door. Takeshi swung it open and almost flew inside, followed by Yosho, and then Ayeka. When the door shut and the force field disappeared, the demon reared back. Then it smiled and let loose and evil laughter. ************************************************************ Ayeka found herself in a large room, much like the Juraian Royal Throne Room, but dark and vile looking. She looked around and saw not only Yosho and Takeshi, but everyone else. Totally ecstatic, she ran for them, arms open wide. She ran past Yosho, Gillian, Togusa, and Ryoko, and headed right for Tenchi. She gripped him in a massive hug. Ryoko cleared her throat and glared at Ayeka. Ayeka caught this and gave Tenchi a quick peck on the cheek before letting him go. Ryoko's eyes bulged slightly. Ayeka, smiling, turned around and looked at the group. Then she frowned. "Hey, someone's missing." she realized. "Matsui. didn't. make it." Gillian sobbed. Ayeka's heart dropped and she lost the ability to breath. 'Oh, no. Not Matsui.' she thought. Then she looked up at the group. "But. there's still more people missing." she thought. Then, she heard a door slam, scaring her out of her wits. She jerked her head over to the source of the scare and saw Nagi. She was scared shitless and was breathing heavily. Her bulging eyes gazed at the group. "Do NOT go in there." She said, freaked out. Ayeka shook her head and still looked around. "There STILL is someone missing. where's." Ayeka began. Before she could finish, a deep, dark, evil voice rang out. "Where's Washu and Tsunami? Well, right here, of course." the voice said confidently. A soft light flickered on over three transparent, black crystals. Inside them were Washu, Tsunami, and Tokimi. The still unseen voice chuckled. "Now they are ours. The corruption of the tree of life is almost complete and the new spirit of the tree is almost at full strength. Your efforts, although annoying to me, are futile." The voice mocked. "WHO ARE YOU!?" Yosho shouted out, his voice enraged. "Ah, Yosho. One of the greatest warriors of the light world, and soon to be one of MY greatest warriors." "What are you talking about?" Yosho said through grinding teeth. "Didn't Tenchi tell you? I corrupted your mind during the fight on Jurai. Your rage showed me a doorway into your soul. And now that you are here, it will not be long before you are mine. Welcome to eternity." The voice growled. Yosho was unfazed by this revelation, for the Demon Tenchi already told him this. "Grandpa!" Tenchi shouted when he heard this. "Ah, Tenchi. You did well. You brought me the three goddesses AND Jurai. The Dark Juraian empire owes you great thanks. Your reward will be an eternity of servitude under my command. Enjoy." The voice laughed. "Damn you!" Tenchi spat. "Too late. You'll like it here my boy. Everyday I will force you to watch as I rape the women you love, Ryoko. Ayeka. Tsunami. Washu. Gillian. Nagi. your mother. everyone. You'll love it. And if you don't, then I'll have to torture you. Now THAT will be the fun part." The voice chided as it broke into laughter. Tenchi grew impossibly angry. He felt a loving hand on his shoulder. It was Ryoko. She shook her head. "Don't listen to him Tenchi, he's full of hot air." Ryoko said, looking around the nearly empty room. "Oh, am I? Does this ring a bell?" The voice rang out. "Hello, Ryoko. It's time for some.exercise. Come here, and take off that suit." Kagato's voice rang out. Suddenly, Ryoko felt sick as she found herself a thirteen year old looking girl again. Kagato stood down the hall, tapping his foot impatiently. Ryoko's mind screamed "NO!" as she watched herself comply to Kagato's wishes. "Ryoko! WAKE UP!" Tenchi said as he shook Ryoko. She snapped back into reality and saw the whole group. In her mind, a voice laughed out loud as various scenes from her memory flashed before her. What she didn't know was that the whole group saw them too, for her memories were being broadcast to everyone. Ayeka stared at Ryoko, her eyes watering. "Oh, Ryoko. why didn't you ever tell me." She whispered as a particularly horrible memory flooded through her. The last memory was of the time Togusa and Matsui looted the Soja. Gillian saw this, and heard Ryoko cry "TAKE ME WITH YOU!" and was filled with rage. "You bastard. You killed him. You killed Matsui. You'll pay. YOU'LL PAY!" Gillian shouted as she ran toward the shadows at the back of the room, where the throne was. The Darkness seemed to shift as a gloved hand grasped her neck and lifted her six feet off the floor. "A pitiful try. I am disappointed in you Gillian. I thought Matsui meant much more to you than THAT feeble attempt. Tisk, Tisk." The voice mocked. Gillian struggled in his grip, the air being expelled before it can be replaced. She began to lose consciousness. Everyone in the group shouted "NO!" when this happened. Togusa stepped forward. "NO! Take ME! Let her live!" He pleaded. "Oh, I plan on taking you too. Your brother was nothing compared to the torture I plan on forcing this poor soul to participate in. Too bad he managed to escape my grasp. Oh, well." The voice verbally shrugged. Then, the darkness shifted more as Gillian screamed. The glove turned into a more gaseous form as it surrounded her neck and eventually most of her body. Then, Ryoko retched when she heard Gillian's entire spine shatter and her blood vessels explode. Gillian fell limp to the floor, blood flowing freely from just about everywhere. Togusa fell to his knees and shouted in defeat and sorrow. Everyone seemed to collapse when they witnessed the brutal death of their friend. The voice in the darkness moaned with pleasure. "Ah. pain. suffering. so, refreshing. So. cherished. I want more. Come, choose who will die next." "What the FUCK are you?" Togusa shouted from his spot on the floor. "I am what always was and what always will be. I am the Demon of Death, the ruler of all you see, and soon, of your own universe. I have named this as the time for vengeance, for you destroyed our Tree of Darkness, and as soon as the new tree spirit comes to full power, the tree of life, Tsunami, will become the tree of darkness. Oh, shall we meet our newest member of the family? Yes, I think we shall." The voice chuckled as it snapped its fingers. A small body fell from the darkness above the group and fell a few feet in front of them. Tenchi nearly fainted when he saw who it was. "Mayuka!?" he shouted. "Yes. The daughter of the old tree spirit. It seemed almost fitting. I'm afraid that she hasn't been too. cooperative. Of course, we had to take her by force, for your aunt put up a fight. Of course, she didn't fight too much more when we tore her grandson apart. I still remember the warmth of his blood, and the penetrating silence, very well. Then, I killed her and took the infant Mayuka. Yuzuha may have been sloppy, but she crafted this young woman skillfully. It was a waste of my time to have to grow her from an infant, but when you have eternity, what is a few days, eh?" he voice said in a mocking manner. Tenchi felt like throwing up. His Aunt? Taro? 'No, it can't be true." Tenchi thought. The voice chuckled again. Two red, glowing orbs flashed for a second as Tenchi arched his back in anguish. He doubled over and vomited. Ryoko and Ayeka ran to him, as did everyone else. "Now are you convinced that it is true? Do you see the blood? Do you hear the screams? Do you taste the entrails of your aunt and her grandson? Do you enjoy it?" The voice growled. Tenchi was still gagging and retching, although nothing came out. Ryoko was angered beyond all words. As she ascended the steps, the pure energy being expelled from her hands caused the ground to shake and the stone floor to break up. Ryoko was so mad, that she didn't even see that Ayeka was following her, just as mad as she was. The voice just scoffed. "So, you wish to fight me. Go ahead, take the first strike." The voice offered. Both Ryoko and Ayeka flew at the shadows, only to be stopped by a force field of black electricity. The energy coursed through their veins and singed every nerve in their bodies. The demon laughed so loud the room shook. "Now you know the TRUE power of Dark Jurai. I can make you see, say, and do anything I desire. I know your darkest secrets and your worst fears. I AM Hell!" The demon roared. But, something caught his attention. The red orbs reappeared and looked over at the three crystals. The crystal Washu was imbedded in shook and began to crack. In the near opaque crystal, two small, bright lights appeared. The crystal exploded with a mighty force, knocking Ryoko and Ayeka back to the group. Standing in the crystals place was Washu. She wore a Kimono, much like Tsunami's, only it was red and green. Her face as a mask of rage as her eyes glowed with power waiting to become unleashed. "Ah, so the mighty goddess wishes to fight me. You know that you cannot beat me, especially on my own turf." "I may not be able to beat you demon, but we can." Washu said as she snapped her fingers. The other two crystals shattered and Tsunami and Tokimi stood, just as pissed as Washu. The voice seemed to smile. "I am the darkness. I am death. Soon, my brother will come, and you all will die. I am FAR too powerful here, and I cannot die." The voice mocked with certainty. "Then, if you won't die here, than this place shall be your coffin!" Tsunami said as she stretched out her hands. Washu and Tokimi did the exact same thing and bright light covered the room. The shadow where the Demon of Death stood faded away to show the Dark Juraian emperor. The light then blew the armor away to reveal what the demon truly looked like. It looked like a small, ugly child that looked exactly like Yuzuha. It's large wings helped to shield it's eyes from the bright light that the three goddesses expelled. It screamed in anger as the light intensified. "We now SEAL you in this dark hell, never to leave this pitiful dimension again! We STRIP you of your powers, so that you are nothing more than an impetuous little IMP! We ENCASE you in a bright, glowing crystalline prison for all eternity!" The three goddesses chanted. The demon let out a large roar as it leapt at the three goddesses. But, before it could reach, it froze in midair. The area around it became encased in a spherical crystal. And, after the light subsided, all was silent. Washu looked down and the group and ran to them. Ryoko, still weak, stood up and gave Washu a big hug. Washu looked at the group briefly. "Where's Matsui?" She asked. In her mind, she knew the answer. "He's. gone. mom." Ryoko mumbled. Washu shed some tears as she grasped her daughter even tighter. She began to cry when she saw the crumpled mass of Gillian. Ryoko hugged her and joined her in her sadness. Tsunami, at that same moment, walked up to the unconscious Ayeka. She slowly, and gently, picked her up. Tokimi sauntered over to the still heaving Tenchi. Tokimi snapped her fingers and Tenchi fell unconscious, almost falling on his own vomit. Takeshi looked up at Tokimi. "Will he be alright?" he asked. "Of course. When he awakens, he will remember nothing the demon showed him." She replied. Yosho bent down and picked up his grandson. Then he looked at Tokimi. "What will happen now?" he asked her. "We will dismantle the majority of this dimension, and seal the rest of it for all eternity. Then, we will go back." "What about Jurai?" Takeshi asked. "It's coming with us, silly boy. Luckily, most of the trees are still alive, especially Tsunami. Within a generation or two, Jurai will be back to it's former glory." Tokimi said, somewhat flatly. "And what of you? Will you still be a thorn in our side?" Yosho asked the goddess. "I am not interested in such things anymore. What I have seen here had shown me the way I was heading. These. monsters. are too evil, even for me." Everyone nodded in agreement. Tokimi let out a small smile. "So. what do we do now?" Nagi asked. "Well, first, we get out of here." Tokimi muttered. She waved her hand and the room disintegrated away. All around, they saw the devastated ruins of the planet of Jurai. Many of the trees were black and dead, but a whole lot more still lived. Tokimi grabbed up Tenchi and Mayuka, and walked toward the biggest tree any of the non-Juraians group have ever seen. It was Tsunami. The three goddesses walked up to the mighty tree and set down the ones that they carried. The three goddesses joined hands and soon, the deep blackness of the evil dimension faded into a starlit sky, with the sun rising over the horizon. Ryoko sighed deeply. "Were back." She mumbled. "Yes, we're back, in the exact same location that Jurai is supposed to be. I have sent out a signal to every ship in the immediate area of the universe, telling them of our return. They shall spread the word and finally, this nightmare can be forgotten. Life can begin anew." Tsunami said. A few hours later, a GP ship arrived, and after all of the astounded GP officers flooded out, Keiko, Nobuyuki, Misaki, Funaho, Ryo-oki, Ken-oki, and Leo-oki ran out of the ship. The GP officers built a temporary shelter for those on the planet and threw a large celebration. Some danced, and some made merry, while others didn't. After a mere hour of the loud party, two of the guests, one Red headed warrior, and one mutated cabbit, soared off, not wishing to be seen. But the others celebrated, and laughed. Some cried, but it was for joy, not sorrow. And, hours after the celebration, just about everyone had fallen asleep under the spell of a drunken influence. At last, peace was found. Someone had shown a light into this Darkest Hell. ************************************************************ THE DARKEST HELL 12.5 : TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS - The Aftermath ( Recommended Music : Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness by Smashing Pumpkins ) 'I've been thinking about these past few days, asking myself all sorts of questions, yet, no answer has come yet. It's been about six months now since we stopped the evil Demon of Death and the Dark Juraian Empire from taking over our universe, and things have quieted down A LOT! Listen to me. I sound like some damned cartoon character, ".stopped the evil Demon, blah, blah, blah ", but what has happened is no laughing matter. The Earth is still gone and billions of people died. At to WHY this had to happen, especially to us, I don't ever think that will ever be answered. Dad seems to be handling all this well. He and the rest of the group are rebuilding the old house. I admit, it'll be weird to wake up in my old bed, only to look out the window and see Jurai. Dad's quieter now, he doesn't talk as much anymore, and he has stopped being such a. well, you know. Sasami. I mean, Tsunami, is almost back to her old, happy, wide eyed self again. She still likes to cook and help around the house like she used to, but a good portion of the pep she had before is gone. Sometimes, she looks downright sad, which is weird to see, especially for her. Ayeka, as soon as her room was completed, ran right up to her bed and slept for about two or three days straight. She seems to have changed a lot. She doesn't insult Ryoko even a fraction as much as she used to before, as a matter of fact, they seem to be getting along quite well, which is another shocking thing to see. Speaking of Ryoko, well, I haven't seen too much of her lately. She usually spends her time walking around, lost in thought. I only wish I knew what she was thinking. She still coos at me and hugs me, but she isn't nearly as aggressive as she used to be. A lot of the fire in her eyes has burned out, but she still goes on. Washu, on the other hand, spends almost ALL her time around us now. This whole week, I haven't seen her pull up her holo-computer, or even do one small bit of research. She still wears that new kimono of hers, which is something else that freaks me out. I have NEVER seen her wear one of those before. Oh, sure, I've seen her wear many things, one of them being that tight fitting nurses uniform , but NEVER a kimono. Something else new about Washu is her continuance of staying in her adult form. Whenever I ask her about it, all she says is "Tenchi, I have found that I can enjoy life just fine without being a physical child. It isn't how old you LOOK, it's how old you FEEL." I can't say I disagree. I see her cry from time to time whenever someone mentions Matsui, or Gillian. The pain of loss still keeps hurting till long afterwards, this I know. Grandpa took his rightful place as Jurai's emperor, and is now overseeing the palace's reconstruction. He married Keiko, but when I call her Grandma, she gets really mad and tells me to just call her "Keiko". Grandpa misses the Earth, I can tell, but he's willing to perform his rightful duties now. I can tell that things are going to change on Jurai, and soon the whole universe. At one point, a reporter asked me if I was upset that my Grandfather had usurped my chance at being Emperor, but I just smiled and shook my head. I'm glad that he finally decided to do what EVERYONE thought that he should do, and so is he, I can tell. He's currently teaching Takeshi how to properly use his powers. Tsunami says that he's going to be extremely powerful one of these days, maybe even more powerful than me. I shrugged and said "Well, someone has to be.". I knew she was just joking, but hey, anything's possible. A month or so later, the news was spread that Keiko was going to have another child. Man, now I'll NEVER get a moment alone. Anyway, shortly after the battle with the Demon of Death, the Goddess Tokimi disappeared. When I asked Tsunami and Washu where she went, all I got was a shrug. I know that they know, so I won't press the point any further. The former Empresses Misaki and Funaho still live in the palace, which is almost done being rebuilt. Grandpa still lets them make Imperial decisions from time to time, to humor them, or so he says. Ever since the we got back from this adventure, I haven't had anything to do other than help with the rebuilding. The shrine's gone, and we don't have any more vegetable gardens, a fact that breaks Ryo-oki's heart. But, Ryo-oki spends lots of time with Ken-oki, so I wouldn't worry. Nagi stayed behind an extra week or two to help us with the rebuilding, and then, she disappeared, without Ken-oki. Ryoko says that she'll be back, so, I guess I'll just sit back and wait. But, the only two that I cannot account for is Togusa and Leo-oki. During the victory celebration, they just up and left. I haven't seen or heard from him since. I remember once Ayeka said "Well, maybe he's dead.", but I just smiled and shook my head. He's not dead. I know that we will meet again. After all, we are the only family he has in the universe. But I wouldn't hold my breath. Washu and Tsunami set up a massive memorial in front of the nearly completed palace for all those the Dark Juraians had killed. It is a statue of the Earth and Orion 3, surrounded by a small replica of every ship lost in the war. Standing on top of the two planets are two lovers embracing, symbolizing that no matter what happens, love and honor will live on. I find it a strange coincidence that the two lovers look very familiar, one with long, shaggy, shoulder-length red hair and a mechanical body, the other, with long flowing blue hair. But, of course I KNOW that it isn't a coincidence, I'm not that stupid. I see Washu standing in front the memorial and staring at the two statuettes. One time, I followed her, and she asked me "Tenchi, do you think they found each other again?". It was a very strange question, especially coming from a goddess. I nodded and answered "I know they did.". It made Washu much happier after I said that. So, now, here I am, sitting under Tsunami, recounting the events of late. I must be bored out of my mind.' Tenchi thought to himself. "TENCHI!" Ryoko shouted. Tenchi looked up from his restful position under the tree. Slowly, the blue haired space pirate came up and knelt close to him. "Yes, Ryoko?" Tenchi replied. "It's time for dinner. Your father wanted me to round everyone up. Tsunami cooked a feast today, and for a good reason." Ryoko said, smiling. "What reason.?" Tenchi asked. Ryoko just winked and gently grasped his arm. She pulled slightly on Tenchi, an indication that she wanted him to get up. He smiled and complied. Then, running like two happy children, they approached the nearly complete, slightly bigger, house. The roof was still blue and everything looked almost exactly the same as it used to. Ryo-oki and Ken-oki pranced around the back yard, playing some sort of game. Ken-oki looked like he was winning, but Ryo-oki had a plan. After chasing Ryo-oki, Ken-oki had the misfortune of looking away, and bumped into a leg of some sort. He looked up and saw Ryo-oki, in her human form, smiling devilishly. "Meow." She said with a certain amount of sadism. Ken-oki gulped as he turned back around and ran off as fast as he could, Ryo-oki following right behind him. Tenchi was nearly rolling on the ground laughing when he saw this, but didn't get the chance, for Ryoko was still pulling him into the house. When he entered, he was led through the kitchen, where Funaho, Misaki, Ayeka, and Tsunami were preparing dinner. Okay, so Misaki , Funaho and Tsunami were preparing dinner, and Ayeka just stood and watched, for they didn't even let her touch the food. "Well, how ELSE am I gonna learn!?" She complained. "We'll teach you some other time, dear, but this dinner is too important to risk your. taint." Misaki chided. "MOTHER!" Ayeka screamed as she turned red and clenched her fists. Tsunami laughed as she kept on cooking. Ayeka merely crossed her arms and stepped away from her mother, towards Tsunami. Tenchi entered just in time to hear about the importance of the dinner. "Excusemebutwhatissoimportantaboutthisdinner." Tenchi managed to blurt out as Ryoko dragged him through the Kitchen, into the dinning room. The three women turned around, looking confused. "Did you hear something?" Tsunami asked. "I thought I did." Ayeka said. Ryoko finally stopped when she led Tenchi to his spot at the table. Tenchi, rubbing the wrist Ryoko had used to drag him here, sat down and looked at the incredibly big table. Washu was already there, sitting and smiling, as was Funaho. Suddenly, something landed on Tenchi's back. When Tenchi recoiled from the impact, he found that he was blind. "Guess who!" A squeaky, childish voice rang out. "Uh. Mayuka?" Tenchi guessed. Tenchi knew immediately who it was when the she jumped on him, because Ryoko doesn't do that too much anymore. "That's Right! Hi Daddy!" Mayuka said as she got off of Tenchi and sat next to him. She looked older than when Yuzuha had sent her to them, maybe twenty or so, instead of fifteen or sixteen. When they had brought back Jurai to it's rightful place, she was unconscious and in her demon form. The Dark Juraians were pumping her full of evil energy and soon, she would have been Yuzuha reborn, but the three goddesses used their boggling powers to bring her back. She was weak and tired for about two or three weeks, but then was right back to her, somewhat, normal ways. She didn't get as wild as trying to follow Tenchi into the baths, but she was still her bouncy, lovable self. Tenchi was smiling at her when he heard someone descending the stairs. He looked and saw Kiyonne and Mihoshi walking into the dinning room. Shortly after the war, Kiyonne had undergone mental therapy for what she witnessed in the Dark Juraian dimension. The GP gave her the rest of the Juraian year off and gave her a ton of anti-depressants to take. She was VERY bright and cheery for a time. Recently, the GP physicians lowered her dosage and now she was more like she was before. Mihoshi, too, seems unfazed. Tenchi wondered how she did it. Was it some sort of mental complex where she enveloped herself in a blanket of childlike innocence, or was is all a clever facade, hiding the true pain and sorrow that she was really feeling? Or was it that she was a complete airhead with the mental capacity of a microscopic organism? Whatever the reason, Tenchi was glad to see that at least two of his friends SEEMED unfazed by what had happened. Soon after Kiyonne and Mihoshi sat at the table, the door opened and Yosho, Takeshi, a pregnant Keiko, and Nobuyuki walked in, laughing and enjoying life. 'This is the most relaxed I've seen dad in, well, ages." Tenchi thought as his father walked into the dinning room after taking his shoes off at the door. He stood taller than he did before and spoke with more integrity since "The Incident" ended. When Keiko walked in, Tsunami ran from the kitchen, right to her, her eyes beaming with happiness. "KEIKO! Hello! So. what is it?" She asked. Keiko smiled. "A girl." She said, a glow all about her. Tsunami smiled even brighter. Tenchi chuckled nervously. 'Great... someone ELSE to fall in love with me.' he thought. But, he shook it off. 'Oh, well, come what may.' he thought to himself once again. Yosho lightly grabbed her arm and slowly led Keiko into the dinning room, making sure that she was comfortable. Then he took a seat across from Tenchi. "Aren't you going to sit at the head of the table, Grandpa?" Tenchi asked, confused. "Not this time, my boy. I may be the leader of the most powerful empire in the universe, but I still am good 'ol goofy Katsuhito." Yosho smiled. A smirk crossed Tenchi's face. "Goofy? You were always so damned serious and anal retentive. The only time you joked was when a lesson could be learned from it." Tenchi mocked, not really serious. "Watch it, boy, or I'll teach you a NEW lesson, how to pull your head from your rear." Yosho returned, his smile growing into a smirk like Tenchi's. Then, they both broke into a small fit of laughter. 'It's nice to see Grandpa this loose. Everyone seems to be enjoying life now.' Tenchi thought. "Well, Tenchi, you never realize how precious something is until you risk losing it." a voice came from behind. Tenchi did a swift one-eighty and saw a familiar face in the wall. The rest of the person materialized through the wall, to reveal a sight Tenchi hadn't counted on seeing in a long while. "Togusa!" Tenchi said, shocked and pleased at the same time. Washu immediately got up and hugged him, almost refusing to let him go. Then, almost reluctantly, he hugged her back, but only slightly. But then he shrugged, and returned her hug full force. "How heartwarming." Keiko said, her eyes glittering. After a short while, Togusa broke off the hug and sighed. Washu took his hand and sat him down right next to her. Then she slapped him in the back of the head. "Where the HELL did you go?! You didn't write, you didn't call. I thought something happened to you!" Washu yelled, but more out of love than anger. "Relax. I just had some things to think out. You know, I wasn't going to come back at all, but, that blue haired woman tracked me down and told me that she'd strap by balls to a laser cannon if I didn't come back. Something told me she was serious, so I did, and here I am." "Blue haired woman? Who, Ryoko?" Washu asked. Suddenly, Ryoko's head came popping out of the wall a few meters away. "Did someone call me?" she asked innocently. "No, you old bag. No one called your stupid name!" Togusa said in a playfully mocking manner, a devilish smile crossing his face. Ryoko turned red with annoyance. "I'm gonna GET YOU!" She threatened as she leapt out of the wall and stormed toward Togusa, flying over everyone else's head. Togusa let out a playful laugh and faded into the air. Ryoko stopped in midair, sniffed the air, turned around, and soared like lightning in the other direction. Tenchi had a really confused look on his face. 'Life seems to have gotten more like it used to. somewhat.' He thought. "Well then, who WAS it?" Washu demanded. "I did." a voice muttered from the hallway. Suddenly, into the dinning room, stepped Nagi, but something was different. Instead of her usual garb, she wore a dress that looked like something Ryoko would have picked out. "NAGI!" Tenchi gasped. Nagi nodded her head and walked up to the table, taking a seat at the far end. "I was taking a ride to a far off star system when I saw him. I caught up to him and convinced him to come back. It took a lot of persuasion, but I managed to turn him around." Nagi said as Togusa teleported back into the dinning room, but he wasn't alone. Ryoko stood over him, grasping his ear. She had a very evil smile on her face. "OW! Aren't you going a bit to FAR?! Let go of my EAR!" Togusa asked. Ryoko shook her head. "I haven't gone even REMOTELY as far as I'm going to." she said as she noticed Nagi sitting at the table. Finally, Togusa broke free, rubbed his ear, and gleefully sat down at the spot at the table Washu had pointed out for him. Ryoko was shocked to see Nagi sitting there, and she was SMILING! "Uh, Nagi. what are you doing here?" Ryoko asked nervously. "I was under the impression that I was welcome here. So I brought back the child prodigy over there, and changed my clothes. I feel kind of nervous in these." Nagi said, poking at the dress. Ryoko lightly touched down on the carpeted floor and sat next to Nagi. They began to talk quietly, and Tenchi strained to hear, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. So he shrugged and looked at the table. The whole room was full of conversation as friends and family laughed until they cried and reminisced about the good old days. Finally, Funaho, Tsunami, Ayeka, and Misaki came out of the kitchen, every arm holding a tray full of food. Tenchi, being a gentleman, stood up and offered to help, but they told him to "sit" and that "they had everything under control". Soon, the whole table was full, and not a place was to be found. Suddenly, Ryo-oki and Ken-oki ran in the house and up the stairs, frightened out of their wits. And trailing close behind was Leo-oki, a look of pure evil etched on his cat like face. Everyone looked at Togusa. A small sweat drop formed over his head. "He's just playing. They'll live." He assured. Everyone then resumed what they had been doing before, eating, talking, kissing, reminiscing, and over all, enjoying life to its fullest. Two or three hours later, the meal ended. Yosho, Keiko, and Takeshi went back to the palace, so did Misaki and Funaho. Nobuyuki wondered up to his room and went straight to bed. Washu, Tsunami, and Ayeka did the dishes. Togusa and Ryoko arm wrestled, and Togusa, much to Ryoko's surprise, seemed to be winning. Ryo-oki and Ken-oki hid from the ravages of Leo-oki, and were nowhere to be found. Leo-oki, chuckling slightly to himself, curled up on the couch and slept. And Tenchi seemed to disappear altogether. After Ryoko finished wiping the floor with Togusa in a stunning upset victory, she stepped outside. It was somewhat cold out tonight, even though Juraians could control the weather. "Tenchi!" Ryoko called out. There was no answer, but she knew where he was. 'What a beautiful night. These stars are so strange though. I guess I have to learn the constellations all over again. Oh, well. Man, what a night. Now I know what was so special about today. Ever since everything started to settle down, we hardly ever got to spend even an hour or two as a family. It was nice to see everyone smile again. Man, I'm so stuffed that I can hardly move! Tsunami sure did cook a LOT of food. I. feel so. tired. If I don't. get up soon. I might. fall asleep. right here.' Tenchi thought as the conscious world seemed to fade away. And soon, a warm darkness enveloped him. Ryoko reappeared a few feet from The Tree of Life and lightly came into contact with the ground. And there, she saw Tenchi. He was asleep. Ryoko got up close and watched him as he slept, breathing in and out, and moving every now and then. 'Look how cute an innocent he is when he sleeps. Poor guy, he must have been exhausted.' She thought as she lightly ran her fingers through his spiky, black hair. Soon, Ryoko started to feel tired and put her head on Tenchi's chest. She smiled as she listened to the rhythmic beating of his heart and the sound of his lungs taking in and expelling air. And soon, she too, drifted off into unconsciousness. Above the slumbering man and woman, a shooting star streaked across the sky. Half an hour later, everyone in the new Masaki household flowed to their respective rooms and fell asleep. Tsunami, on the most part, was totally exhausted. She had cooked a majority of the food that they ate. Their compliments and thanks were payment enough, but right now, all she wanted was a good nights rest. As she drifted deeper and deeper into the realm of Dreamland, the two marks on her forehead began to glow. Inside Tsunami's mind, all she heard was a loud, ghastly voice repeating the same phrase over and over. "I am the darkness. I am death. Soon my brother will come, and you all will die." ************************************************************ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It is DONE ( for the most part. )! You didn't expect THAT ending, DID YOU!? Well, like all good series, especially on TV, it needs a movie, so GUESS WHAT!! One more chapter to go. But, all things considered, I am finished. I wish to thank all my fan(s) who write me and tell me how good I am ( ^_^ ). I would also like to thank Gensao@geocities.com for posting my story on his site, and I would like to thank all of the Fan Fic writers who inspired me to write this story (It's pretty much everyone who wrote one before April of 1998). Well, send me Email at ruby@pa.net if you get a chance, I love to hear from you. Whatever criticism you can give me will be well appreciated ( Unless it is cruel, sarcastic, and unnecessary, then I will seek you out, find out where you live and do things to you that would make the villains in this story cringe! That means you TOO Joe! < PS Read my friend Joe's story, called Tenchi Muyo: Telling the difference. It can be found in the LEMON section of Gensao's site [SHAMELESS PLUG]>