AUTHORS NOTE : Oh, by the way, this IS, of course, the final chapter in the epic DARKEST HELL saga, written by me, THE MAGICIAN!!! I would like to express my thanks for reading, whether it be only this story or the entire series or whatever. Those who should receive SPECIAL THANX will be thanked at the end of the story. I'd like to thank everyone for their loving support, but most of all, I'd like to thank the people who pissed on my story and set it on fire, shouting about how much garbage it is, because without dickheads like you, I wouldn't have the sheer audacity and lack of love for my fellow man to continue the series. ^_^ Oh yeah... two warnings. 1 ) This fic contains acts of violence, so, if you don't like DarkFics, don't read this. 2 ) If you haven't read the original 12 chapters of Darkest Hell, then you won't recongize almost anything that is going on in this story. I suggest you read them first, if you haven't already. If you think they are horrible, don't hold it against me, they are only rough drafts... ____________________________________________________________________________ THE DARKEST HELL CHAPTER 13 F I N A L L I G H T By Anthony "The Magician" Murlin **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** PROLOGUE ____________________________________________________________________________ "Door open..." a soft, feminine voice rang out. A soft beam of light sliced through the darkness, gradually becoming wider and wider, until the full bridge of the salvage ship THE NARCISSUS was revealed. The owner of the voice, Captain Sasha Zhurr, stepped through the entrance, the cold air condensing her warm breath in little white puffs. With a slight shiver, Sasha sat down at her padded metallic chair and turned her gaze toward the only other person in the room. "Iho, gimme a report." She commanded as she looked over toward her left. Sitting at a terminal, surrounded by monitors and wearing a large pair of ear phones sat Iho, the ship's navigator. Effortlessly, Iho pushed the ear phones back and turned toward his captain. "We've just been notified that there has been a ship sighted entering Juraian airspace." He answered. "What ship?" Sasha asked, suppressing a yawn. "The GP ship Commodore, ma'am." "What!?" Sasha yelled as she jerked her entire body toward Iho, leaping from the chair and bounding toward the skinny, balding man. "That's what I said. Sensor scans and vehicle registration confirms that it's The Commodore..." Iho said as his nerves relaxed a bit from Sasha's rapid paced jaunt over to his terminal. "But I thought The Commodore was lost shortly after the Dark Juraian War?" Sasha asked, her eye twitching with confusion slightly. "According to all known records, that is the true story, but, here it is, less than a parsec away, oh, and you want to know something else? Here's the kicker, the Juraian government wants us to do a sweep of the ship." "Are you kidding? Why would the Jurai care about some ghost ship floating through their territory?" Sasha inquired. "The Juraian government's been on full alert in recent months, due to nearly being destroyed and all..." Iho told Sasha with a slightly condescending tone of voice. Sasha eyed him evilly, promising him much pain and discomfort to come. "What's the payment?" Sasha continued. "Payment to be disclosed after final report." Iho said slowly, reading off of one of the monitors in front of him. Sasha began to rub her eyes. "Assholes... ," Sasha muttered, "fine, let's go. Chart a course for the Commodore, and make it quick, before I lose my patience." "Aye-Aye Captain..." Iho said with a small salute. Sasha scoffed and plopped back into her chair, not happy with the turnout of today's events. **************************************************************************** "Captain... Captain, wake up..." said a voice, as someone began nudging Sasha's arm. Sasha snapped awake, only to be confronted by Iho's 'not so warm' disposition. "What?" Sasha asked groggily. She reached up and scratched her head, adorned with shoulder length green hair. "We've arrived..." Iho said pointing out the nearest porthole. Curious, Sasha stood up and stammered her way across the bridge, her feet aching from the cold, metal floor. ( MUSIC : THE BEGINNING OF THE END by ROB ZOMBIE ) Sasha stared out the porthole, and saw something that would stay etched into her memory for the rest of her days. Before her was a visage of darkness and foreboding infamy. The GP ship THE COMMODORE, a city sized prison ship, used primarily to haul numerous amounts of criminals across the universe, hovered before her, in all its vile glory. Its massive girth outmatched even the huge Juraian sun, causing a mysterious, ominous aura to be cast over it, blocking out much of the light and casting the Narcissus into an unnatural darkness. The Narcissus glided quickly past the behemoth's massive inactive engines, and skidded quickly advanced to its starboard side. Sasha stared at the monstrosity, impressed by its vastness. A slight shuddering from the Narcissus brought her out of her reverie, and snapped her back into reality. "Docking procedures initiated." Iho called out. "Excellent. Be sure to remember where we parked." Sasha blurted, jokingly. "Aye-Aye sir." Iho said with a smile. With a swift motion, Iho turned back around and activated the intercom. "Attention all crew members, docking sequence has been initiated, prep for evac in ten minutes..." Iho smiled as he listened to his announcement blare through the speakers and echo throughout the ship. **************************************************************************** Sasha stood, along with her crew mates, in the umbilicus that connected her ship to The Commodore. Gregory, the ship's resident computer expert, tinkered with some electrical box several feet in front of the group. Philip and Trent, the Narcissus' security experts, and ex-GP operatives, stood guard, ready for any minor infraction to give them just cause to fire off their impressive weaponry. Marcus stood several feet behind them, awaiting for Greg's final word, while Iho cowered behind Sasha, not too thrilled at being made to follow the rest of the crew on board. Gregory tinkered with a few switches and wires, the occasional electric ZAP and several sparks being emitted. Seconds later, a klaxon sounded and a soft red light filled the umbilicus. Greg made an "A-okay" motion with his hands and backed away behind Trent. Seconds later, following a loud, metallic, rusted grinding noise, the door opened. The stench of stale air filled the room, along with a cold breeze. Sasha, ever professionally, motioned with her index and middle finger toward Trent and Philip. The two silently nodded and ran into the ship, covering the opening. Marcus and Gregory filed into the ship mere seconds later, pulling out two small GP issue laser pistols. Moments later, Sasha, shivering in the cold, walking in, with Iho nipping at her heels. She stopped unexpectedly, too unexpectedly, for Iho slammed into her, leaping back and yelping. Sasha eyed him angrily, once again giving him the "evil eye". Iho lowered his sunken eyes and bowed his head. Sighing, Sasha turned toward Gregory. "Okay, Greg, find us the bridge..." she asked, patting him twice on the back. "You got it." Greg winked. He promptly turned around and walked over to a terminal, labeled "Information Kiosk", and began messing with the keys. His fingers blurred over the keyboard with lightning fast speed and agility. Hundreds of pictures and maps flooded the huge wall screen, until one final map appeared, showing the entire layout of the ship. Their position was marked with a little orange dot, and their route marked with a small, thin, white line. Eventually, the area of the ship marked "The Bridge" began to blink on and off. Gregory turned toward the rest of the crew and smiled. He motioned vibrantly toward the screen, showing off his achievement. "Good. Okay, everyone, you know the drill, we split off into two teams, and search the ship. Alpha Team will be me, Philip, and Gregory. Iho, Marcus, and Trent will be Omega Team. Omega Team... your mission objectives are to search for survivors. Alpha Team, we're going to the bridge to check the main data files and secure the ship." Sasha belted, her voice thick with authority. After the habitual chorus of "Aye-Aye" and "Yes Ma'am" 's , the two teams headed down opposite sides of the corridor. **************************************************************************** Inside the bridge, everything was silent, when suddenly, there was a massive explosion. The door was blown off its frame, and launched several feet into the room, nearly hitting some sensitive machinery. In through the blast hole entered Alpha Team, comprised of Sasha, Philip, and Gregory. The three walked into the door, and Gregory immediately ran up to the main consul, constructed out of hundreds of separate monitors and a massive terminal. Gregory sat down in the seat and reached behind his head, lifting the pseudo-skin flaps and pulling out several wires. He plugged the wires into various locations on the terminal and took a deep breath. "Alright, jacking in..." he muttered. Then, he convulsed ever so quickly, then relaxed. The monitors, one by one, began to click on, until they all read of boot up screens and data scans. "Okay, Greg, I need for you to find us the flight recorder." Sasha asked politely. "Compliance..." Gregory said, in a light and disconnected voice. Several seconds went by without a single action, causing Sasha to get annoyed. "Well?" she asked, tapping her foot. "The Main Flight Recorder, including a majority of the security information, has been deleted. I all I can find is some various security camera information." Gregory returned in his creepy voice. "... Okay. Find the latest entry and play it back for us." Sasha said, disappointed. "Compliance." Greg uttered once again. A second later, several of the monitors went from black to snow, then ultimately replaced by a black and white security camera playback. Sasha watched, seeing a crew member, sneaking off to a junction labeled 207, and taking out a cigar out of his vest. He looks at the camera and scoffs, lighting up his cigar and blowing some smoke at it. A second later, the lights go out, provoking several very nasty swear words from the crew member. Sasha stared at the darkness for just about a minute, until she heard a hissing. Her heart skipped several beats when the screaming started, loud and painful. During the high point of one particularly brutal scream, the camera blinked off, being replaced by snow. Sasha resumed her breathing and lowered her head a bit, thinking about what she just saw. Something interesting came to mind. "Greg, playback, starting at position 37047734." She asked. Suddenly, we see the crew member's scoffing face, and then the smoke floods the screen. But this time, something is different. Sasha looked closer and saw something move behind the smoke. "Greg, did you see that? Extrapolate and bring up passenger, and prisoner, manifests. I want to know who that is running behind that crew member." "Yes ma'am." Greg said, smiling. Suddenly, the playback was once again replayed, but in ultra slow motion. A computer wire frame was fitted around the person running in the background, and all other information was removed. The computer analyzed the apparent facial features, and a lifelike image was brought up on the screen. It was a picture of a young girl with long black hair that was just a little longer than shoulder length. She had this perpetual look of fright on her face. "Name, unknown. Data, none. This picture was taken shortly before most of the files were deleted. Apparently, she was found on board. When questioned on what she was doing here and how she got there, she ran off and wasn't found again." Greg muttered. Sasha nodded and rubbed her temples slightly. "So, what you're saying is that we may have a potential survivor on our hands." Sasha returned. "I guess so." Greg said. **************************************************************************** "Geez! This place is HUGE! How in the hell are we supposed to find any survivors in something like this!? ... Room 1436B Clear." Iho complained as he ducked in and out of a small room. Marcus and Trent gazed at each other slightly, and then continued their search, disregarding Iho's bitching. Marcus sighed as he announced that yet another room was clear. "Alpha team, this is Omega, all rooms from junctions 205 and 206 are clear. Heading toward 207." Marcus said with a slight tinge of dreariness. He was beginning to agree with Iho. The task of checking the ship, room by room, was an arduous task, if not impossible. They had been wondering through these large halls for an hour now, looking for any signs of life. So far, they had found none. Marcus continued down the hall, and stopped upon hearing Sasha talking over the radio. "This is Marcus, repeat, over." Marcus droned into the walkie-talkie. "Marc eck area for signs of ggle. < Crackle > We may hav vivor..." The radio blared. "You're breaking up! Repeat, You are breaking up! Over!" Marcus shouted as he banged the radio over and over. Suddenly, the radio went dead. "Goddamn it!" Marcus swore as he tossed the radio into the wall, causing it to explode into a million pieces. Iho literally leaped into the air and spun around, as lithe as a cat, and glared at Marcus, both sweating and hyperventilating. "What the HELL did you do THAT for!? You nearly gave me a goddamned heart attack!" Iho screamed. "So, what did she say?" Trent asked, interrupting Iho's continuous bitching and moaning. "I don't know, something about a survivor." Marcus mumbled as he looked upward, his gaze fixed on the security camera. A light bulb suddenly went off in his head. "What?" Trent asked, confused. "I'll bet we can search this place easier if we got the security cameras back on-line..." Marcus wondered. "Well duh..." Iho muttered to himself in the background as he took a seat in one of the many benches littered ceremoniously down the hall, placing his flash light on the floor. Iho sighed wearily and checked his watch. " 'Bout time for a break..." Iho thought to himself. "One more word out of you, and you'll be searching the cesspool." Warned Trent, a demented smile on his face. "Well, I gotta go find the security annex, that's where all these wires will end up going." Marcus said as he motioned to the camera's wires. A second later, he trotted off down the hall. Trent watched him disappear into the darkness, almost as if it was absorbing him. He shuttered at the way it almost seemed to flow, like a slow moving river of blood. He rubbed his eyes and began walking up to Junction 207. "Well, you coming, or not?" Trent asked Iho as he walked by the sniveling little snot. "Yeah, yeah. Hold on a second..." Iho snapped as he grabbed his flash light. As he moved, he accidentally kicked it with his shoe, causing light to flood further down the hallway. Iho, by some strange inclination or instinct, looked up, and saw something so evil, so repugnant, that he almost fainted right then and there. Down the hallway, several meters up from Trent, Iho saw a robed, bat winged figure, its tattered masses swirling in some sort of pseudo-wind. It's fingers were long and tapered, ending in a curved, sharp, serrated claw, which had the appearance of being able to slice a man in two with one flick of the wrist. The figure motioned up to Iho, pointing its clawed finger at him, and then brought it up to its hooded, hidden face, forming the "be quiet" gesture, the creature's red, glowing eyes glaring at him with supreme evil and ill-will. And with that, the creature was gone, faded into the ever flowing darkness, almost as if he was part of it. "Oh, god..." Iho whispered, too low to be audible to anyone but him. With that, he stood up and ran to Trent, his lungs burning from the exertion. Trent turned around and saw Iho running toward him, and extended his arms, catching Iho in mid stride. Trent looked at Iho's ashen face, and saw the sheer terror in his eyes. "Iho! What is it!? What's wrong!?" Trent asked him apprehensively. "I... sssaw something... something horrible..." Iho chattered through clenched teeth. Iho felt faint. He had NEVER been so frightened in his life. He just wanted to run, run away from the vile creature that he had seen. But, no matter how much he struggled, Iho couldn't break free from Trent's iron grip. "Will you CALM DOWN!!! Tell me what you saw..." Trent commanded. Iho's hyperventilating skipped a few breaths as he grasped Trent's arms and looked him straight in the eyes. "I saw... death...." Iho babbled, almost incoherently. Trent let loose a small chuckle. "Oh, come on. Snap out of it. You're letting this place get to you. Sure, it's dark, dank, dreary, and huge, but there's nothing here. Most likely, we're here all alone, with maybe a survivor or two. Relax, or I'll MAKE you relax." Trent reassured... rather threateningly. Iho gulped and forced his fears down. "He's probably right..." Iho thought, and stopped struggling. Trent released him and Iho immediately stuck and arm out and leaned against the wall, grasping his overly beating heart. Trent patted Iho on the back, somewhat hard, for Iho had to struggle to maintain his balance. "There... better?" Trent asked. "Yeah..." Iho said, still breathing rather hard. Trent noticed that the color was beginning to return to his face. "Good. Come on, the mess hall is just down the corner. Let's check it out, maybe get a cup of coffee, 'kay?" Trent said with a encouraging voice. Iho merely nodded and picked himself up off the wall. **************************************************************************** "Are you monitoring any form of activity anywhere?" Sasha asked, a tinge of lethargy in her voice. "Other than our group? None. But I am registering some mechanical activity from security annex 10, over by Junction 208." Greg returned, still plugged into the computer. "Mechanical activity?" "Yes, someone is accessing the security data net and is patching though to several lines. Wait... receiving transmission..." "Transmission? From where..." Sasha asked before she was cut off by a familiar voice. "Alpha team, this is Omega, come in. This is Marcus, Sasha, you there?" Marcus' voice echoed throughout the large bridge as his picture popped into view on several screens. "Hi Mark. I see you've fixed the security cameras." Smiled Sasha, happily stating the obvious. "Yep. We were hoping that this'll make it easier on us. I know you hate it when we start complaining, but searching this place is a BITCH. This place is a big as the freaking GP headquarters, maybe bigger..." "Well, I never said to search the whole SHIP. I just said search for survivors. We're looking for living beings here, nothing else." Sasha said with a trace of smugness. "Remind me to hurt you when we get out of here..." Marcus said as he jokingly glared at Sasha. "Yeah, whatever. So... did you find anything?" Sasha asked, a small smile forming on her lips. "No. Nothing at all. We haven't even found traces that this place was even occupied. Trent did find quite a stash of nudie mags in room 403C, though." "Trying to make a profit?" The captain joked. "Whenever I can... Anyway, I've also fixed the intercom system, 'cause those damned walkie-talkies suck." "Hey, don't look at me, I'm not the one who decided to buy them so we could save a few bucks..." Sasha quipped. But then, her expression changed. She noticed that, slowly, the floor was changed from its familiar metal grating patter to a strange, flowing black. "Hey, what's happening to the floor?" Sasha asked him. "What?" Marcus returned. "The floor stupid, what's going on?" She asked again, slightly agitated. Marcus curiously looked at the floor, and noticed that he couldn't see his feet. He was ankle high in some sort of black mist. Sasha watched as he turned around and looked about the security annex. Suddenly, the camera went black. "Mark!? Marcus!? Are still there!?" Sasha shouted, worriedly, into the intercom. "Yeah. There's some strange mist all over the place." Marcus' voice rang out, but with no picture. "Marcus, do me a favor and get the hell out of there..." Sasha commanded, her voice wavering a little. "I was thinking the same thing..." Marcus said. Sasha could hear his footsteps echoing as he took a few steps away from the camera. "What the hell...?" Sasha heard Marcus say. Suddenly, Marcus' curious voice was replaced by a horrendous bout of screaming and pleas of mercy. "NO! MARCUS! COME IN!" Sasha shouted. But still the screaming went on as Marcus was screaming for God to help him. No one was listening... "MARCUS!" Sasha shouted into the intercom, trying to get some sort of response, if any, from her crew mate and friend. As fast as the screaming started, it ceased. Suddenly, the monitors began to flicker back to life. Sasha's eyes widened when she saw the utter carnage before her. There Marcus lay, laid out and displayed right in front of the camera, all his internal organs spilling out over his mutilated carcass. Sasha bent over, retching. Philip turned around and bent his head, using every lesson taught to him in the GP to help him cope. Gregory shed a tear and turned off the monitor. "That must be why the former residents of this ship initiated the self-destruct." Greg muttered. "What...?" Sasha asked, straightening up slightly. "It says right here on monitor twelve... the last thing the computer was ordered to do, before we began accessing it, was to initiate the self-destruct sequence. But no one was around to activate it. My guess is that thing killed them before they had a chance to." Gregory stated. "You mean we are standing on a city sized bomb, prepped and ready to explode at a moments notice?!" Sasha yelled angrily. In her mind, she cursed whomever forced this job upon them. "So, what are we gonna do now?" Philip's deep voice resonated from the hole that they used as a door. "Greg, you're gonna jack out and we're gonna get the hell out of here before the rest of us die." Sasha ordered. "Screw Jurai. If they want to know if there's any survivors, then they can get their asses up here and search it themselves." She again uttered as she brushed by Greg and over to the intercom. **************************************************************************** "Bah! Piece of crap!" Trent growled as he kicked the coffee machine. Iho stood in the mess hall, staring blankly into the dark room. The only light stemmed from the secondary lights, which illuminated the room only slightly. Iho wandered down the massive cafeteria, over to the kitchen area. Nonchalantly, Iho began to poke around the cabinets, gazing at all the canned foods. Intertwined with Trent's continuous swearing and beating of the coffee machine, Iho heard a soft, shallow breathing. With his hair standing on end, Iho slowly knelt down and opened the cabinet. "Trent..." Iho muttered, unheard by anyone but himself. "Goddamned piece of crap wanna-be coffee machine! Work damn you!" Trent said as he slammed his hand against the side, trying to beat the machine into submission. "Trent..." Iho said again, but louder this time, and somewhat more urgently. "Let's see why this bucket of coffee and bolts won't work..." Trent said as he ripped the metal cover off of the front. "Trent..." Iho said, much louder this time. "Oh... it's empty..." Trent said sheepishly. He chuckled at himself as he patted the machine apologetically. "TRENT!" Iho screamed at the top of his lungs, finally prompting a response from Trent. "WHAT!?" Trent said as he ran over to Iho. "Look..." Iho said as he motioned over to the cabinet that he knelt in front of. Trent nudged his way past Iho and looked in. "Shit..." Trent said, his face contorting into a serious expression. Inside, lay a small girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen years of age ( Earth years that is... ). She simply layed there, unconscious and barely breathing. Her lips looked dry and cracked from dehydration. Suddenly, the intercom system came to life and Sasha's worried voice rang throughout the room. Iho's nerves snapped, and he leapt back, screaming, into a pile of cans, spilling them all over the floor. Trent rose up and stepped over to the intercom. "Trent here..." He answered. "Thank god. Is Iho there with you?" She asked, her voice mechanical and littered with static. "Yeah." He said, looking over at the exasperated Iho. "Listen, we don't have time to chit chat. Grab him and lets get the hell out of here." Sasha blurted out as Trent was about to announce their findings. "...Why?" Trent asked. "Something's here with us... something evil..." Sasha's voice answered ominously. "Evil? What the hell are you talking about?" Trent curiously asked the captain. "Don't argue with me, just get out of there and run, and I do mean run, to the ship. We're leaving in fifteen minutes, regardless if you're there or not..." Sasha warned. "We can't just go, we found a survivor! She seems to be in critical condition. At least give me enough time to get her to the infirmary and make sure she'll survive the jump to hyperspace..." Trent bargained. "You've got ten extra minutes, then we leave as scheduled." Sasha said after a second or two of silence. "More than enough." Trent said as he turned back around to Iho, who had long since picked himself up from the pile of cans. Trent bent down and picked up the girl. It was then that he noticed the pendant that she wore. It was merely a stone with a gold chain wrapped around it. Trent was amazed that it actually held tight. "What now?" Iho asked, his voice shaken. "Now, we go to the infirmary, and make sure she isn't gonna die on us. We have to be quick, or we're gonna spend the rest of our short lives on this thing." Trent said as he motioned all around, indicating the ship. Iho shuddered at the thought. And with that, Trent, Iho, and the mysterious young girl departed from the mess hall. **************************************************************************** "Careful... careful... okay, one, two, three... now." Trent said as Iho and himself placed the young girl gently onto the cold, metallic medical table inside the infirmary. Iho stood back as Trent began typing on some sort of terminal, but nothing happened. "Come on, damn it! We don't have time for this... WORK!" Trent shouted as he slammed a fist into the terminal, provoking a reaction. Immediately, a little scanner poked out of the table and began taking all sorts of readings. "Excellent. Okay... level two dehydration... level four blunt force trauma to the head, geez, that'll kill most people... sever scarring on the front torso... that's it. She's perfectly safe to go into hyperspace." "So we can go now?" Iho said as he fidgeted back and forth, anxious to leave. "Not yet. Hand me that cup over there..." Trent motioned over to the counter. On it were a stack of plastic cups. Iho ran over and grabbed one, and tossed it over to Trent, who caught it without looking. "Thanks." He muttered as he placed the cup onto a circular plate off to the side of the terminal. "Water." Trent ordered into the machine, and with a slight glow, the cup was instantly filled with water. He took the cup and brought it to the girl's lips. He tipped her head slightly and poured it into her mouth. As soon as the contents were spent, Trent looked over at Iho. "Okay, now it's time for you to do something worthwhile. I want you to take this girl and run as fast as those scrawny legs will carry you back to the ship." "What!? Why me!?" Iho screamed in horror. "Because you can run faster than me, and I have to cover your ass in case anyone, or anything, decides to impede our progress, got it?" Trent reasoned. Iho took a few labored breaths and reluctantly nodded his head. "Good, that's what I like to see, participation. Here, take her and run." Trent said as he lifted the girl from the table and handed her to Iho. Iho took another labored breath and turned around. He walked slowly out of the infirmary and looked down both directions when he came to the hallway. And, a second later, tore ass down the hall, toward the docking bay, where the Narcissus was located. Trent watched him go, and whistled to himself, impressed with his speed. He walked over to the door and look down the right side of the hall. Nothing. He turned his head, to look down the left, and barely dodged an attack aimed for his head. A huge claw nearly swiped his head off, but only managed to snag a few hairs. Yelling in fright and surprise, Trent shut the infirmary door and locked it tight. He took a few deep breaths and grabbed his gun, which was slung around his shoulder. For what seemed to be an eternity of seconds, there was silence. The silence was then penetrated by a loud pounding noise. Soon, there were several, very large dents in the six inch thick metal door. Trent took his gun and pumped it, prepping it for action. Suddenly, the top left corner of the door bent forward, and a black mist started to flow into the room. Trent watched as the mist seemed to come after him, seeking him out. Trent backed up until he ran into one of the medical tables. He took a brief look at it and leapt up on it, watching the mist flow past him and eventually filling the room. In the darkness of the infirmary, it almost seemed as if the floor faded away, and that he was suspended on absolutely nothing. A flutter of motion off to the side gained Trent's attention. He watched as something swam in the mist, as if it was liquid. All around him, he saw several snake like humps protruding from the mist. He estimated the creature's length to be at LEAST thirty feet, and he was surprised anything that BIG could fit in a room this small. The creature then began rubbing up against the table, causing it to shake violently. Screaming at the top of his lungs, Trent unloaded several loud shots into the mist, close to the creature. The shaking stopped, and Trent took an easy breath, thinking that he must have driven it off. Then, quicker than he had ever seen before, the huge snake-like creature rose up out of the mist, and glared at Trent with evil, red eyes. Trent saw the creature's back bulge, as two large bat wings protruded from it, followed immediately by the creature's skin peeling and melting off. The peeling skin then metamorphosed into a large, flowing, tattered death robe. But the eyes never changed, they still remained red, and evil. "Eat this..." Trent said as he pointed the gun directly at the creature's head. He pulled the trigger and prepared for the blast to come. But there was nothing but a click, and silence. Trent looked at the bullet counter of his gun and saw that it read "0". "Shit..." Trent whimpered as the creature hissed loudly. Trent saw the creature pull back its mighty claw, and a second later, darkness... **************************************************************************** Iho's lungs burnt like fire as he ran down the labyrinth of hallways, intersections, and junctions. He was beginning to slow when he heard the weapons fire, and then a loud scream of pain, causing him to run with even more enthusiasm than before. Finally, he came to the docking bay that The Narcissus was stationed at. He ran right for the switched marked "Open Door", and slammed into it hard. No response. Iho pounded it a few more times, almost bordering on punching the small red button. But still, the door didn't flinch. "DAMN IT! WORK!" Iho screamed as he pounded the button over and over and over. His shirt, as was his face, was drenched with sweat, which poured off of him like a fountain. "IHO!" shouted a familiar, almost angelic voice. Iho turned and breathed a sigh of relief. Down the hall came Alpha team, all packed and ready to go. "Where's Trent?" Sasha asked when they came to a stop. The look in Iho's eyes spoke volumes more than what was needed. "SHIT!" Philip swore as he punched the hull, eliciting a loud, metallic BANG. "Calm Down! Let' s just get the hell out of here...." Sasha said as she pressed the DOOR OPEN button, but receiving as much of a response as Iho did. "It won't open, I've been trying it already." Iho explained. "Here's why." Greg said as he pointed his flashlight over to a bundle of wires. They appeared to be completely shredded apart, utterly destroyed. "This ship's going nowhere." He continued as Sasha placed her hand over her face. She felt like crying. She didn't want to die, and she CERTAINLY didn't want to die on this miserable flying metal turd. And idea flashed into her head for the briefest second, long enough to set her into motion. "Where the hell you going?" Iho muttered as he tried to catch his breath. "The escape pods! They're our only chance!" Sasha shouted as she took off down the hall. Greg ran after her, shouting for her to wait up. Iho began to whine. He didn't want to run anymore and carry this heavy ass kid around everywhere. Suddenly, Philip walked up to him. "Lighten your load?" Philip asked, motioning to the girl. Iho spiritedly nodded and handed the girl over to Philip. He took several more breaths and then took off running, Philip following close behind. **************************************************************************** "OVER HERE!" Sasha shouted. Seconds later, Greg, Iho, and Philip, who held onto the survivor, came to a stop, a few meters away from the point she indicated. Sasha pressed the button. No response. "Shit!" She yelled as she ran further down the hall, checking each of the escape ships, but none responding to her. Finally, one was operational. The door slowly opened, and a klaxon sounded, followed by several blinking red lights. Sasha looked over to her left and saw a self-destruct initiation device, covered with blood. Sasha smiled at their fortune and ran back to the group. "I found a working pod and a self-destruct button. First, we load the survivor, then we press the button and get the hell out of this fucking place, got me?" Sasha ordered as she scooped the survivor out of Philip's arms. She began to run down the hall toward the pod, followed by Gregory. Philip ran about two steps and turned around, checking on Iho. He was breathing rather hard. "Come on! Get the lead out, we're almost out of here!" He shouted. Iho nodded his response, his wheezing almost as loud as the annoying klaxons. Iho pulled himself together and took a few steps forward. He stopped when something warm and wet fell onto his balding head. He reached up and poked it with his fingers. Iho stared at the red fluid for a few seconds before he realized it was blood. He reluctantly gazed upward. On the ceiling was the horrid creature that tormented his mind from earlier. Once again it made the "be quiet" motion with its clawed hand, and then, with a loud roaring hiss, dropped upon the scrawny, middle aged man. "NO!" Philip roared as he whipped his gun around. He took aim and was temporarily stopped by Iho's gurgling and muffled screaming. When the ripping began, Philip yelled at the top of his lungs and let loose a barrage of gun fire. The creature merely looked up and glared at him, squeezing Iho's spleen in its hand, causing its juices to seep out and spill on the floor. "Shit!" Greg yelled when the gunfire started. Sasha turned her head and looked down the hall and watched Philip pumping round after round into the vile creature, only slowing it's progress marginally. "We've got to help him!" Sasha screamed. Greg looked at her and inhaled deeply. "No, not we. You've got to get your ass on that pod and get the hell out of here." Greg said, still watching Philip's futile battle against the horrendous, bat winged creature. "I'm not leaving..." Sasha began to say, until she was silenced by Greg, who grasped her arms and forced her into the pod, pressing the CLOSE DOOR button. Sasha screamed her loudest in protest. "Women and children first..." Greg smiled as he watched the pod disconnect from the bay, Sasha screaming all the way. Greg stopped watching when he heard a loud, painful scream. He ducked behind the corner and watched the creature grasp Philip's neck, and with a flick of its wrist and a loud snap, Philip fell limp, blood trickling from his nose. "Oh god..." Greg muttered under his breath. The creature then looked up and glared evilly at him with its deep red, piercing eyes. With unnatural speed, the creature was soon upon him, standing at least ten feet above Greg's head. Greg looked up at the creature, not flinching in the slightest, although inside he felt like screaming and running. The creature stared at its prey, a bit confused that it didn't try to run and hide like the little rat that it was. Suddenly, a loud, feminine, computerized voice rang out all over the entire ship. "SELF-DESTRUCT INITIATED. TEN..." The voice bellowed. The creature whined with shock. He looked at the puny human and noticed the way he leaned on a particular panel. The creature grasped his neck and pulled him back, and noticed the button said PRESS TO INITIATE SELF DESTRUCT in several different languages. The creature roared in protest, as suddenly a loud rumbling began. "Nine... eight... seven..." The voice continued. "Enjoy hell you son of a bitch..." Greg spoke to the creature. "Six... five... four... three..." "At least I won't go alone..." The creature growled into Greg's ear, almost in a mocking tone. The creature then laughed out loud, although the laugh resembled more of a roar than a haughty chuckle. Greg's eyes widened massively as the rumbling became louder and the ship began to vibrate intensely. "Two... One..." Said the voice finally, after what seemed to be an eternity. Greg was then surrounded by intense white light, and the slightest nanosecond of fiery pain. **************************************************************************** Inside the escape pod, Sasha watched as The Commodore grew smaller and smaller. The Commodore was then replaced by an intense white light. Suddenly, the ship began to jolt ferociously. Sasha screamed loudly as she held onto the small, unconscious girl as tightly as possible. Then, everything was silent. Sasha could hear nothing but the hum of the engines, the occasional beep of the computers, and the rhythmic breathing of the girl she was holding in her arms. Sasha began to breath again, and gazed around the empty pod. The near silence was beginning to wear on Sasha's nerves, when the young girl moaned and turned onto her side, still locked into her feverish unconsciousness. Sasha looked down upon her and sighed, lightly stroking her black hair. "Everything's going to be alright... now..." Sasha assured the comatose girl, unsure if what she said was true. **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** A C T O N E T H E B O O K O F H E A V E N "Peace? Peace!? I hate the word, as I hate Hell... all Montegues... and thee..." - Tybalt Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET ( Opening Credits Song : ULTRA by KMFDM ) ____________________________________________________________________________ Today was supposed to have been another good day, and, for what it was worth, it was. But now, Tenchi wasn't so sure. He huddled himself behind the couch, hoping and praying to anyone who would listen that she wouldn't find him. He would gladly take on any torture, hurdle any obstacle, or swim any ocean, but he couldn't handle the hell that she would have him undergo. "Oh TEEENNNNNCHHHHHIIII!!" summoned her almost angelic voice. 'How can such a lovely voice belong to such a cruel person...' Tenchi wondered. Suddenly, a hand fell upon his shoulder. With sweat dripping from every pore, Tenchi turned his gaze to that very shoulder, and noticed the hand was sticking THROUGH the couch. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" Tenchi screamed. He was used to her doing that, but in this very instance, it was a horrible sight. Tenchi forced his legs to work as he stood up and ran as fast as he could out of the house. Ducking, he passed a curious Togusa and Nagi, who eyed him suspiciously, and dove out the door, trying not to look back. But, his curiosity gained the better of him as he turned his head ever so slightly to assure himself that no one followed. Appeased, he returned his gaze to the front, only to be confronted by a well endowed chest, wearing a familiar blue dress. Tenchi attempted to stop, but he had too much inertia and slammed into said chest, and fell to the grassy floor. He looked up at his imminent doom, and was greeted by a warm smile and the brightest pair of yellow eyes on all of Jurai. "Oh, so much fuss over little 'ol me. I'm touched. Now come on, open wide..." Ryoko said as she shoved a spoonful of some sort of steaming hot, semi-gelatinous, stew-like... stuff... in front of Tenchi. Tenchi could feel the fear growing, his well preserved oasis of courage seeping away like so much muddy water. Finally, Tenchi reached the acceptance stage and let loose a deep sigh. He looked up at Ryoko's smiling face, and thought of what would happen if he were to refuse. He saw her face, and how dejected she would look, and thought if he could live with himself afterwards. He hated it when she got angry or sad, and decided that he might as well do it. If he was to die today, at least it was to make her happy. With a trembling hand, Tenchi took hold of the spoon, as if it were so much poison. Summoning whatever bravery her could muster, Tenchi placed the warm pseudo-food to his mouth, and quickly ate it, not taking the time to relish its flavor. Suddenly, Tenchi's entire body felt like it was on fire, especially his mouth. The sensation was far worse than he has ever experienced before, and immediately, thoughts of ending all the pain, once and for all, entered his mind. Ryoko watched curiously as Tenchi began turning all sorts of reddish colors, and a tear began to form at his eye. "So... how is it?" Ryoko asked, apprehensively. "It's... an... acquired taste..." was all Tenchi could say without screaming at the top of his lungs. "A little hot?" Ryoko asked innocently. "Just a little..." Tenchi muttered, rather hoarsely. "Okay. Thanks Tenchi!" Ryoko happily said as she made a mental note and teleported back into the kitchen. It was then that Tenchi decided to let loose all his pent up pain and anxiety. In short, he screamed as loud as he could. Togusa and Nagi just exited the house when they were confronted by Tenchi's loud, pained scream. They looked at each other questioningly and slowly strode toward the shouting young man. They came up behind him just in time to stop him from plunging his index finger down his throat, to force himself to regurgitate the demon-food. "Hey now! It's probably as bad coming back up as it is going down..." Togusa quipped as he materialized a glass of water. Tenchi saw the key to his salvation in that small glass and reached for it like it was the only antidote for the poison he had just ingested. Nagi laughed as Tenchi downed the glass in one gulp, breathing heavily afterwards. "Oh, come on. It can't be THAT bad..." Nagi reasoned. Both Tenchi and Togusa looked up at her, their eyes full of painful knowledge. "You've never tried her cooking before..." Tenchi coughed. "Yeah, that stuff could kill a Tarsonis Sand worm..." Togusa muttered. Nagi looked at him incredulously. Something in Togusa's eyes told her that he wasn't kidding. " Th...thanks. I don't know how long I could have lasted..." Tenchi said as he tried not to gag. "No problem. We came out here to talk to you anyway. We just came by to say 'See ya'." Togusa chatted. "What? You're leaving? Why?" Tenchi asked, surprised at this latest revelation. "Well, me and Nagi, we're bounty hunters. Always have been, and always will be 'till the day we die. It's our calling, and it's calling us back into business." Togusa explained. "Yeah. We just came by to say thanks for your hospitality and to, as they said in the old days, 'Shove off'." Nagi continued. "So, you're just gonna leave, you're not even going to stay for dinner?" Tenchi said, then he shuddered, for he mentally answered his own question. Togusa and Nagi smiled, for they watched him convulse slightly in the discovery. **************************************************************************** Leo-Ohki gazed up into the evening sky, and felt the warm breeze flow over his thick, black coat. He looked around and didn't see Ryo-Ohki or Ken-Ohki anywhere. He smiled, since he was the reason why. He loved tormenting his weaker "cousins". They were so much fun to mess with. But Togusa, his new master ( since his old master's death ), had mentioned that he will be allowing the strange blue-haired woman to come along. Well, at least ONE of the strange blue-haired women. Leo-oki didn't care which one, they were all the same to him, except the one blue-haired woman, the one called Gillian, who, he was told, died in a great battle against a huge demon. He had liked her, for some odd reason. Oh well, Leo-Ohki quipped to himself. He knelt down really low, and prepped himself for liftoff, when suddenly, a very familiar, and utterly delicious, scent flowed through the evening breeze. He spun around, and saw the royal child, Takeshi, standing before him, holding two of the largest, and juiciest, steaks he had EVER seen in all his days. It was nearly impossible for him to contain himself, but he straightened up when he realized that the boy wasn't going to just GIVE him the steaks. Oh no, he wanted something in return... "Hello, you... cute... little thing." Takeshi muttered. Leo-Ohki scoffed at the pathetic attempt at flattery. "Yeah, yeah. I know, let's get down to business. I want to come along. I want to leave this dismal little rock. You grant me a little living space, somewhere where I won't be seen, and I'll give you these steaks, no questions asked. Deal?" Takeshi negotiated. Leo-Ohki thought about it. Even though it was against his better judgment, he refused, and once again began preparations for lift off. "How about for three?" Takeshi asked, whipping out a third steak from out of nowhere. Leo-Ohki froze in mid-stance. Three? Three whole steaks, just for him? Leo-Ohki's iron resolve melted and he was nothing more than a starving cabbit. He leapt up and down, and would have agreed to sell his own mother for three of THOSE steaks. Takeshi smiled and tossed one down to him. "You get one now, and the other two when I get what I want." Takeshi told the hungry cabbit. Leo-Ohki growled in anger, and eyed him hatefully. **************************************************************************** "Well, I wish you two the best of luck. Come back soon, and stay a while." Tenchi said as he waved fair well to the departing duo. Off in the distance, Tenchi heard a loud ROAR and he saw an immense black ship appear. Leo-Ohki flew over to Togusa and Nagi, and hovered for several seconds. "See ya Ten-man. Don't let those two get you down. Hey... you're a Juraian prince... why don't you just take BOTH of them?" Togusa shouted as he and Nagi faded away. They left behind a dumbstruck Tenchi. He merely stood there, astounded by Togusa's comment. True, he could just choose them both, but Tenchi, for some ODD reason, didn't want to. "No. I can't choose both, that would be greedy, and I doubt it would work out. Nope, it's like what they said in that one movie... There can be only one..." Tenchi joked. But he cleared his throat and corrected his stance when he realized he was talking to himself. Forgetting his past troubles, Tenchi nonchalantly walked back to the house. Tenchi crept slowly through the door, and wandered into the spacious living room. He decided to have a seat and see what was on the old "Boob-tube", but after a half an hour of pointless soap operas and endless commercials, Tenchi sighed and turned the massive 52 inch screen off. 'A huge TV with thousands of channels, and not a SINGLE thing on...' Tenchi thought somberly. The day had been slow and boring, and Tenchi was becoming fairly exasperated by it. Back on Earth, there was ALWAYS something for him to do, whether it be weeding the near endless carrot patches ( thanks to Ryo-Ohki's endless appetite... ), practicing Kendo with his grandfather, or even just taking a walk around the grounds. But now, being a member of the Jurai Royal Family AND a war hero, Tenchi couldn't even step outside without being mobbed by admirers. What ever had happened to the slow, quiet life Tenchi had wished so much he could lead? Somewhat depressed now, Tenchi stood up, and began to walk toward the kitchen. Maybe he could do something to prevent tonight's inevitable disaster of a meal, or, as she so lovingly put it earlier on, "Ryoko Surprise"... "Hi Tenchi!" came a familiar voice behind him. Tenchi turned around to be greeted by Tsunami's wondrous pink eyes. Tenchi let loose a smile, maybe she could help him salvage what was left of the day... "Hi Tsunami. Is there anything I can help you with?" Tenchi asked, getting his hopes up. "Nope. Sorry." Came Tsunami's inevitable response. 'Why do I even try...' Tenchi though to himself. Tsunami looked into his disappointed eyes and "Read him like a book". "If you're so bored, why don't you go ask Yosho if he'll spar with you for a while?" Tsunami asked, deciding to throw some suggestions into the mix. "Already did. He's too busy being doing Emperor stuff. It's okay, thanks anyway. I guess I'll go see what Ayeka's doing." Tenchi shrugged. Tsunami patted him on the back and mouthed "Cheer up" as she exited into the kitchen. As Tenchi was preparing to walk up the stairs, he heard a slight mumbling in the kitchen. "Hi Tsunami! Would you do me a favor?" said Ryoko's cheerful voice. "Sure!" came Tsunami' light-hearted response. "Will you try this for me?" Beseeched Ryoko. Tenchi let loose a smile and chuckled as the predicted screaming started. "Still a little too spicy?" Inquired Ryoko. **************************************************************************** Back at the royal palace, it was business as usual. Yosho was in a conference room, discussing budgets and politics with some of his advisors, and remembering WHY he escaped to Earth in the first place and Keiko, the Empress of Jurai, was walking down the hall, humming a little tune to herself and accomplishing whatever she could. As she recalled the events of the day to herself, she found that there was indeed a lack of something familiar. All day, she had not seen neither hide nor hair of her son, Takeshi. 'I wonder what that boy's up to...' Keiko wondered as she made her way to his room. She opened the door to the strange sound of papers flapping in the wind. She entered, knocking ever so slightly on the door. "Takeshi? Are you here?" Keiko asked sweetly. No answer. Keiko opened the door fully and looked inside. The lights were off and the windows were thrown wide open. Being an obsessive nit-picker, Keiko walked slowly into the dark room and shut the windows, causing the flapping papers to cease their annoying racket. Keiko frowned, attempting to think where Takeshi could be, and turned around to leave. But, as she did so, she saw something that was out of place, a small piece of paper on Takeshi's uncommonly tidy bed. She picked it up and looked at it, casually, thinking it was just one of the papers from his desk that accidentally blew over to his bed due to the wind. But, as she read the neatly inscribed Juraian on the note, she found that it wasn't so. It took Keiko a while to register the full impact of what was written on the note, and when she did, her legs gave out on her. Crying, she fell on her knees, eliciting a response from several servants who just happened to be passing by. Worried, they helped the distressed Empress to her feet. Upon regaining her balance, Keiko ran from Takeshi's room and further down the hall, quicker than she ever had before. **************************************************************************** "I still don't see any need to raise taxes. I believe we have enough money." Yosho uttered, a perpetually bored expression on his face. His advisors' words seemed to meld together as Yosho began to daydream. He once again was back in his little shrine on Earth. The sun was bright and the wind was cool, and everything was completely peaceful. He was shaken violently out of his daydream by Keiko, who looked terrible. He gazed around the room and saw that the advisors had left, Keiko having ordered them out. Yosho let himself smile at this briefly, before tackling the situation at hand. "What is the matter?" Yosho asked as he stood up. Keiko, who normally was only an inch shorter than he was, seemed unusually small and frail. Yosho's heart began to beat faster, as fear raced through his system. "Takeshi... he ran away! He... claims he got tired of this 'Royal' life! Oh, god, Yosho, please do something!" Keiko cried, sobbing heavily into Yosho's chest. Yosho felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Takeshi ran away? Why? He had everything he could have ever wanted! Yosho was full of questions, but one stood out in his mind more than the others. Why does this simply REEK of familiarity? Yosho sighed when the answer came to him. Like father like son. Yosho looked at Keiko, and gazed into her red rimmed eyes. "He takes after his father just a little too much. I'll have a search party out looking for him... he couldn't have gone far." Yosho explained her, hoping to calm her down. Keiko embraced Yosho even harder, drawing strength from his seemingly impervious will, until a knock at the door ended their shared moment. A second later, a general walked in, bowing humbly to the rulers of Jurai. "Yes? What is it?" Yosho asked, a bit perturbed by his intrusion. "Please except my humblest apologies for this intrusion, your highness, but I have a matter of a potentially great importance to discuss with you." The general meekly requested. Yosho gazed at Keiko lovingly. She nodded her head slightly and took a seat in the chair Yosho formally occupied. Sighing, Yosho walked out of the room alongside the general. "Make this quick, I have an emergency to attend to." Yosho snapped. "Yes sir. The Galaxy Police has just given us the final report on the Prison Ship that we recorded entering Juraian space less than a week ago." The general began. "And this should concern me how?" Yosho asked contemptuously, "Well, this matter concerns the crew of the salvage ship sent in to retrieve any survivors. Now, we had a complete sweep of the ship ordered, due to the command of the Imperial Defense Advisor. Six crew members entered that ship. Only one came out alive." The general continued. "What happened?" Yosho queried, now curious and morbidly fascinated. "That's just it, we don't know. The surviving crew member, one Captain Sasha Zhurr, hasn't spoken a word since she was found two days later, hovering dangerously close to the planet of Jurai. We brought her down and all she's done since is scream, or babble incoherently. But, the more interesting part is the survivor that was found on the ship." "There was a survivor?" Asked Yosho. "Yes. But, for some reason, she doesn't register on ANY galactic databases or even on the GP civilian database. She has no file whatsoever, no past, not even a name. She's been knocked into a short-term coma due to some blunt force trauma to the side of the head, so we can't get anything from her. But, the doctors found something interesting on her person. I have been asked to advise you to take a look for yourself." "Fine. I will look into it as soon as I take care of this matter. Tell the royal physicians to have her ready for my arrival. And send a messenger down to the Masaki home, and have them retrieve Washu for me. She should be of some use in this matter." Yosho commanded. "Yes sir." The general said as he bowed and ran off to complete his emperor's tasks. **************************************************************************** "This way, your highness." The physician said as she guided Emperor Yosho and Washu to the Royal Physicians Operating room. She opened the door for the two, and gestured for them to walk on in. Washu walked in and gazed at all the surgical equipment, centuries more advanced than our own. "Barbaric..." She muttered as she shook her head. Yosho smiled at her comment and came to a stop in front of a wooden medical table. On the table laid a young girl, no older than Tenchi, maybe younger. She had a massive bruise on the left side of her head, and tossed and turned in some sort of nightmarish dream state. She wore a soft Juraian medical robe, which all patients typically wore. Yosho gazed at the unfortunate girl, and turned to the nearest doctor. "So, what was so important that I had to be called from my regular duties to look at this poor child?" Yosho asked, wanting to get to the point. "This, your highness..." The lead doctor muttered. With that, he reached over to the comatose girl and began to undo the robe, exposing her upper torso. Yosho gasped at the horrific sight before him. Several vaguely familiar shapes were cut into the girl's chest. Yosho stared hard at the objects scarred into the young girl's chest, and was overcome with a sense of Deja Vu, but he just couldn't place it. He turned his gaze over to Washu, who was completely ashen. All the color drained from her shocked face. Yosho was beginning to worry if she was going to faint, and was prepared to catch her. "Have you seen these symbols before?" He asked her. Washu nodded slowly. "Yes, and so have you..." She eventually said to the emperor. Yosho gaped at her with a confused appearance. Washu saw this and grasped a mirror lying on a nearby table. She took the mirror and positioned it just so, and gestured for Yosho to look. Yosho gazed into the mirror and blinked. He couldn't believe his eyes. "It's Juraian..." Yosho uttered. All the doctors took turns looking into the mirror, noticing that it was indeed Juraian writing. "But it makes no sense..." One of the doctors mentioned. "It does if you reverse the order of the alphabet." Washu informed. The doctors began to chatter back and forth, muttering incoherently. Yosho walked up to Washu, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. "Washu, how did you know all of this?" Yosho asked her softly. "I saw the same lettering in the Dark Dimension..." Washu responded with a shudder. Yosho's knees became weak, and he leaned slightly on Washu for support. If there was one thing Yosho didn't ever want to hear again, it was ANYTHING about the Dark Dimension. "What... does it... say..." Yosho asked slowly, not really wanting to find out. "We are coming for you..." was Washu's slightly delayed response. **************************************************************************** "Oh god..." Said a soft, feminine voice. The darkness was everywhere. No light penetrated this eternal blackness. But, the blackness was not empty, for it contained the consciousness of a young woman. She searched everywhere, high and low, for a way out, an exit of some sort, but she could find nothing of the sort. "Somebody PLEASE HELP ME!" The girl cried out. Her words echoed for an eternity, and the girl was beginning to think that no one was listening. But someone was... Suddenly, there was a bright, blinding light, brighter than a million suns. Screaming in agony, the girl fell onto herself in a fetal position, attempting to block the intense light. Even through her shut eyes, the light blared into her optic nerves, searing them with their power. And after what seemed to be a sempiternity, the light began to fade, until in became tolerable, even a little dark. She opened her burning eyes and watched as a completely different world faded into view. She gazed at the floor, which had become cold and metallic, and at the walls, which were metallic too, and looked somewhat biomechanical. From the impossibly high ceiling hung hundreds of spiked chains, which swung in some sort of breeze, clashing together in a cacophonous fashion. A thick, viscous liquid flowed down these chains, splattering on the metal floor in a chorus of sickening dripping noises. Down this unusual hallway, the girl saw a small oaken door, maybe about four feet high. Taking care not to injure herself on the chains, the girl walked toward the door and entered, curious as to what was on the other side. Upon exiting the door, the girl was confronted by a tremendously loud roaring noise, as if something was on fire. She quickly looked up, and saw hundreds, maybe thousands of crosses, littered unceremoniously around her. Each of these ten foot tall crosses harbored a poor soul, crying out for release from this hell. This sight was much more horrid for the girl, for these crosses were also on fire, burning, but never stopping. The screams of pain were almost as loud as the burning crucifixes, but they were subsequently drowned out by the roar of the fire. The girl screamed in fright and agony, unable to bare such a horrible sight. Intermixed with the thousands of burning Damned, there was a figure, floating ever so softly toward the screaming girl. This figure was the epitome of evil to the young girl, as it gazed at her with deep, blood red eyes. The creature wore its bat like wings like a cloak, covering the immense, tattered death robes it already wore. She watched as the creature pointed at her with its long, clawed fingers. "We are coming for you..." Said a voice from all around, a voice more horrifying than death. **************************************************************************** Tenchi awoke to the sound of a horrified shriek, the likes of which he has never had the displeasure of hearing before. Fearing the worst, Tenchi tossed the sheets surrounding him off and ran from his room, full stride. Eventually, Tenchi discerned the location of the screaming, and flung open the door. To his surprise, his new houseguest had regained consciousness. Worried, Tenchi literally hurdled over the threshold and leapt to the distressed young girl's side. "Hey now, it's okay, everything's okay..." Tenchi reassured the fearful adolescent. Tenchi could tell that there didn't seem to be any signs of stopping. Sighing, Tenchi lightly grasped the girl by the shoulders and forced her to look him in the eyes. He managed to keep the girl from screaming, shortening her howls to a faint whimper, but Tenchi received an unexpected outcome to this action. Without provocation, the girl wrapped both arms around him, grasping him in an iron embrace. Tenchi was about to fight her off, conditioned to Ryoko's advances and responding like Pavlov's dog, but a new stimulus was introduced. The girl released several long sobs into Tenchi's shoulder, bringing out Tenchi's softer, gentler side. Being ever the inexperienced one, Tenchi had no idea how to handle this new situation. Ryoko had done this a few times, but normally it was to keep him from doing something stupid and dangerous. Blushing slightly, Tenchi decided to try something new, and returned her embrace, trying to comfort the poor, wretched child. It was at this time, Tenchi heard several gasps emanating from the doorway. Turning his head slightly, but maintaining his embrace, Tenchi glanced over his shoulder, and saw a confused Ryoko and Ayeka. "Lord Tenchi... what is going on?" Asked the princess, unsure of what she was to expect. "Yeah, Tenchi, what's all the racket?" added Ryoko, as caustic as ever. "It... it's not what it looks like..." Tenchi stuttered, afraid of what the girls' might do. The moment of tension was broken by another unusually long sob by the girl in Tenchi's arms. Ayeka and Ryoko considered the situation for a bit, and then relaxed, the conclusion as plain as day. Pitying the young girl, the two assumed a less defensive stance, and approached, looking to help Tenchi calm her down. "What has happened, Lord Tenchi?" asked Ayeka, staring down at the disturbed young one. "I don't know... she woke up and started screaming. I came in here and she just... well..." muttered Tenchi in his usual, fearful demeanor. After a long while of sobbing, the young girl's crying apparently came to a stop, as she slowly lifted her trembling head up. Tenchi gazed into her red rimmed black eyes, and saw the pure terror coursing through her mind and body, a terror which seemed to be gaining strength... "Wh... where am I..." uttered the girl in a hoarse whisper. "Well..." Tenchi began to explain. He stopped when he noticed that the girl had broken her embrace with him, and cowered away from him, shrinking to the opposite corner of the bed. "Listen, it's okay, we're not going to hurt you..." assured Ryoko as she neared her, causing the girl to gasp in fear. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, and the fear she felt was evident. The girl tried to stay a good distance from Ryoko, even as Ryoko climbed up on the bed next to her. Ryoko gazed at the frightened girl with soft, yellow eyes, trying to seem as congenial as possible. It didn't work. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Screamed the girl in absolute horror as she leapt off the bed and dashed out the door, nearly tripping on the way out. "Aww, man..." Groaned Tenchi as he rose up and began jogging after her. Ryoko released a "Hmph" as she faded away into the darkness of the room, leaving Ayeka alone, feeling rather ineffectual. **************************************************************************** Fear. Fear was the one coherent thought and feeling in this young woman's head. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the unknown people, places, smells and emotions. Fear of the strangers that surrounded her, fear of the strange house that she was now running out of. Nothing about this place she was at sparked any form of familiarity in her mind. She couldn't concentrate, couldn't barely even think. As far as she was concerned, she was running on pure instinct, encoded into her mind through millions of millennia of evolution. Her chest burned as she inhaled and exhaled the cool night air, her breath forming vapor clouds in the clear night. "WAIT! STOP!" Shouted a masculine voice from far behind her. It belonged to that strange boy whom she unconsciously embraced in that unfamiliar room. She wanted to stop and make sense of all this confusion, but the fear coursing through her veins told her otherwise. So, she continued running. "Gotcha!" said a voice, disconnected from any body that the girl could see. Suddenly, the frightening, yellow eyed woman appeared out of thin air and tried to grab her. The girl barely dodged just in time to evade her grasp and continue running, leaving the seemingly dimwitted woman behind. Why were they trying to capture her? What has she ever done to deserve this type of treatment? Who are these people and what do they want? And more importantly, who am I? All of these questions flowed into the girl's mind, and were subsequently flushed out as she continued her race against the evil forces intent on her capture. Everything was new and strange to her. The air was different, the grass was different, even the stars were different. The stars... The girl gazed upward and noticed the unfamiliar constellations and star clusters. Although she didn't remember much, she knew that she loved the stars very, very much. Unconsciously slowing her pace until she came to a full stop, the girl continued her upward gaze, trying to comprehend the entirety of her situation. It was then that she realized that she had nothing, no memory, no past, and now her stars were taken away from her, replaced by a whole new, strange canvas of celestial benevolence. Although these stars were indeed strange, they still had the same effect on her soul, the same calming, peace inducing agent that the stars from... before... seemed to possess. The sounds of footsteps rapidly approaching woke her from her preoccupation. "Whew... you sure can run..." replied Tenchi as he grasped his knees and took a breather, having finally caught up to this strange young woman. Tenchi watched as her gaze moved from the Juraian night sky to him, and watched as her expressions changed from one of wonderment, to one of trepidation. "It's okay... I'm not going to hurt you... everything will be okay, just let me explain..." commented Tenchi slowly as he took a cautious step forward. Tenchi released a sigh of relief when the girl did not move. "Who... who are you...where am I... why am I here...?" the mysterious young girl asked, a tear forming in her eye. "Well... I'm Tenchi, this is Jurai, and as why you're here... I dunno, Washu brought you here a couple of days ago, and mentioned that you might need some help..." Tenchi slowly and softly answered. The girl considered his answers carefully. Jurai? What was she doing on Jurai? She quickly looked all around, seeing the Jurai royal palace not too far away, and all sorts of other famous Juraian landmarks littered about. Seeing his chance to convince her of his sincerity, Tenchi took yet another step forward, and extended his hand to her, as unthreateningly as he could manage. The girl stopped looking about and noticed his gesture. The girl looked into Tenchi's soft brown eyes and saw no trace of malice or evil in his expression. Summoning all the courage she could muster, the girl took Tenchi's hand. Tenchi felt her trembling, almost violently, with fear and confusion. The two, in the cool Juraian night, had a brief moment together, each staring into the other's eyes , seemingly gazing into each other's soul. The moment was cut short by the untimely intrusion of Ayeka and Ryoko, the former being teleported by the latter. The unsettling way Ryoko just seems to appear out of nowhere shocked the distraught young woman, so she backed away behind Tenchi, the only person who she felt might be able to understand her. "Hiya Tenchi!" Smiled Ryoko as she released her hold on Ayeka shortly after they finished phasing back into reality. "Hello, Lord Tenchi... uh..." Began Ayeka, as she looked down and saw that the girl and Tenchi were STILL holding hands. Tenchi noticed the location of her gaze and looked for himself, and saw the situation he was in. Blushing slightly, Tenchi reluctantly, yet gently, peeled off the girl's hand from his own and placed his hands where both Ryoko, who didn't seem to notice, and Ayeka, who was a bit perturbed and confused, could see them. "I see you got her..." Ayeka finally mentioned. The young girl eyed Ayeka suspiciously from behind Tenchi, remaining close to him. Ayeka saw these various glances and started to feel somewhat angered. 'What is she LOOKING at!?' thought Ayeka to herself, wondering if she forgot to brush her long purple hair, or something of the like. "Boy, she's pretty fast! Quick reflexes too." Added Ryoko as she neared Tenchi and the girl. Ryoko then saw how close she was to Tenchi, and a faint jealousy flew over her. 'Whenever I get that close to Tenchi, he always runs off, even after all this time...' thought Ryoko sullenly to herself. But, she snapped herself out of her potential funk and smiled at the newest guest. "Hi! Are you alright? You gave us quite a scare." Said Ryoko as she attempted to be bright and cheerful, in order to impress Tenchi. And it did have some level of effect, for Tenchi did shift facial expressions, from embarrassed to somewhat impressed. Ryoko was nearly floating on air from her accomplishment, but maintained the needed amount of control. As she approached the two, Ryoko's sensitive ears picked up a new noise, the sound of several more footsteps making their way toward the small group. "Is everyone alright?" asked Tsunami as she and Washu came to a stop, the look of concern in their eyes readily apparent. Tenchi could hear the girl's normal breathing stop as the goddesses approached, becoming short, rapid gasps. Tenchi eyed her cautiously, and noticed as the pendant around her neck began to emit a faint glow. Tenchi blinked several times to reassure himself that the pendant was indeed glowing... it was. Suddenly, the girl began walking toward Tsunami and Washu, her eyes transfixed on them. Ayeka and Ryoko watched as the entranced young girl walked up to the two, and lightly touched them, caressing their faces lovingly. Tsunami and Washu looked at each other awkwardly as they watched these events transpire, wondering what was going on. The group's attention was then focused on the girl as the pendant flared brightly, sending a brief explosion of bright light all the way into the stratosphere. Tenchi tried to shield his eyes from the light, but was only marginally effective. Tenchi, beyond everyone's screaming in confusion and horror, could hear the sound of a body drop heavily to the ground. Shortly after, the light faded away, almost as if it never existed. The air around the area was permeated by an eerie calm. Tenchi opened his eyes and allowed himself a few seconds to adjust to the dark. When his eyesight finally returned, he was shocked to see the young girl sprawled out on the wet grass, apparently unconscious. Immediately, he ran to her, followed by Ryoko and Ayeka, and picked her up off of the ground. Silently, or maybe still in awe over the events that had just ensued, the group headed back into the house. **************************************************************************** There Tenchi stood, in front of the young girl's temporary room, waiting worriedly for something. "Hi Tenchi. Is she speaking yet?" asked Tsunami as she walked up behind him. Slowly, he turned around and shook his head. Tsunami sighed, wishing for a better outcome for this situation. "How long have you been here?" she eventually asked. "About five minutes. I knocked, but there was no answer. I was debating whether or not I should go in there." Tenchi explained. Tsunami nodded her head in understanding. "Maybe you should. We need to check on her every now and again, you know, make sure she doesn't do something... rash." Tsunami informed, not in the happiest of moods. Tenchi sighed as he slowly opened the door to the room. As the door slid open, Tenchi could hear the sound of someone running to the other side of the room. Tenchi peeked in and saw the young girl, huddled in the corner in a fetal position, almost as if she was trying to hide from Tenchi. Slowly, and carefully, Tenchi entered the room and shut the door behind him, attempting not to scare the poor, withdrawn female. Gradually, Tenchi knelt down next to the girl, who gasped fearfully and scooted away from Tenchi, her eyes wide with fear. "You don't have to be afraid of me..." Tenchi assured. Still, the young girl before him didn't quite believe it. "I know you're scared, being on a strange planet, in a strange house with strange people, but we're not going to hurt you. Please, just say something..." pleaded Tenchi. But, as the minutes dragged on by, the silence grew to be deafening... **************************************************************************** "I have this bag of black market rice... just for you..." Muttered the man on the TV. "Oh my..." was the only response he received from the young woman in front of him. "Why do we consistently watch this drivel?" asked Ayeka as she and Ryoko paid closer attention to the TV. "Oh my... not so fast... not SO fast... OH! NOT SO FAST!" cried the young woman as Ayeka and Ryoko huddled closer to the TV. Then, to their misfortune, the screen went black and the ending credits began. "Damn it, and they were just getting to the good part..." Uttered Ryoko unenthusiastically. "Yes... a climatic moment..." agreed Ayeka. The two girl's let loose an exasperated sigh as they turned off the TV and stood up. Ryoko then looked over at Ayeka. "Hey princess, where's Tenchi?" "I have no idea. Maybe he's with that strange girl." She replied. "Boy, she IS a strange one. I wonder why she's so freaked out?" Ryoko continued. "We just have to give her time to come around, then everything will come into place." Ayeka said. "I know, but does Tenchi have to spend so much time with her? It's almost as if he'd rather be with her than us..." "Don't be silly Ryoko. Tenchi is just trying to help that poor girl. He would do the same for any of us." Guaranteed Ayeka, confident in her reasoning. "I'm not being silly. There's something about that kid that rubs me the wrong way..." Ryoko argued. "Now, now, you say that about everyone." Ayeka countered. "I do NOT!" Ryoko gasped, appalled by the accusation. "Yes, you do! Remember that poor messenger boy? He should be able to WALK by now!" Ayeka blurted, getting angry. "He was trying to steal money from Washu's purse! I saw him!" Ryoko disputed "Sure Ryoko." snorted the princess. "Eat me, your royal lowness." Growled Ryoko. "What... did... you... SAY!?" growled Ayeka in return. "You heard me, or do you have your head too far up your butt to hear me?" mocked the Space Pirate. "Why you... you... MONSTER WOMAN!" Screamed Ayeka as logs began to float about the room. Ryoko smiled fiendishly. "Let's go..." muttered Ryoko as energy arced all around her fingers. 'I'm gonna fry that snobby bitch once and for ALL' thought Ryoko. But then, she began to remember all of the...interesting... times they had over the past few months, the hardships and victories, and just plain fun. Then Ryoko began to remember how angry Tenchi became when they fought and destroyed parts of the house. That was CERTAINLY not what she wanted, especially now. There was only one thing Ryoko could do... "Whaa...?" wondered Ayeka as she saw Ryoko slump over slightly and the energy around her hands dissipated. Still suspicious, Ayeka willed her logs away. The only thing that could be heard was the breathing of the two girls. "What are we doing? This is they way we USED to be, not how we are now. I thought we had matured slightly..." mused Ryoko. Ayeka was a little taken back. Ryoko backing down? That was a first. But Ayeka admitted to herself that, after all they have been through, Ryoko has calmed down exponentially. She was almost someone Ayeka could proudly walk down the streets of Jurai with, if she didn't still insist on wearing those revealing clothes. Ayeka sighed... "You are right. We shouldn't do this, no good could come of it." responded Ayeka. The sound of footsteps walking down the stairs diverted their attention. They watched as Tenchi walked down the steps and stopped a few feet away from the girls. "Hi Ayeka... Hi Ryoko. What's up?" asked Tenchi, a little down. "N...nothing Tenchi! We were just talking about the new girl. Is she speaking yet?" asked Ryoko, deciding to change the subject... "No. She won't talk, despite what I say or promise. She just stares at me with those frightened eyes..." muttered a depressed Tenchi. Ryoko and Ayeka picked up on his mood immediately. "Well, Lord Tenchi, if there is anything we can do, just ask." Promised Ayeka. "Hey, why don't you let me try talking to her? Woman to woman?" Ryoko pondered. "I dunno. I doubt she'd say anything at all to you either..." Tenchi hypothesized. Ryoko merely shrugged. "It's worth a try." Ryoko said as she took off up the stairs. "Ryoko! Ryoko stop!" begged Tenchi, but it was too late, she was already up the stairs and opening the door to her room. "Hello? Are you in here?" asked Ryoko as she walked calmly into the room. She, of course, knew that she was still in the room, but hey, it got the ball rolling. Ryoko saw the girl still huddled up against the wall, shivering with fear and staring at her with bloodshot eyes. Ryoko had never seen anyone so afraid before, or at least not in the last millennium or so. Slowly, she walked closer to her, making sure not to make any sudden movements, trying not to frighten her. It almost seemed to work, for she almost didn't scoot away from Ryoko... almost. "Hi... can we talk?" asked Ryoko in an uncharacteristically soft voice. The young girl only stared blankly at her, shivering. Shrugging mentally to herself, Ryoko walked over to the wall and sat down, never taking her eyes off the young woman. The girl was frozen, gazing at her with a haunted, blank stare. "Okay, well at least I know you're paying attention..." Ryoko joked, albeit not victoriously. She sighed, as her half-assed attempt at humor didn't receive even an iota of response. "So... let me start by introducing myself, I'm Ryoko." said Ryoko as she extended her hand, hoping for an easy way out of a potentially awkward conversation. Like usual, there was none. "Uh, well, are you going to tell me your name?" asked Ryoko. No response other than a blank stare. Ryoko felt a tinge of annoyance at this, she wasn't used to being blatantly ignored like this, or so she thought. "Come on, you can do it, you've talked before... who are you?" she repeated, with the same response. If one were to look closely, one would be able to notice the peculiar way Ryoko's eye twitched. 'This is starting to get to me...' thought Ryoko, trying to keep her anger in check. "Okay, so we've established that you can sit and stare, very good. Now, please, do you hear me, I said please, what... is... your... name?" Grumbled Ryoko. This time, she received a response... the girl looked away, gazing at the floor. "I told you..." said a voice from the door. Ryoko looked up and saw Tenchi, standing at the threshold, watching the entire conversation, if it could be called as such. Ryoko's anger began to elevate, not only was this freakish little girl apparently making fun of her, but so was Tenchi. Ryoko then became determined to get an answer from this little... bitch, no matter how long it takes. "Tell me who you are DAMN IT!!" Shouted Ryoko bellicosely, pulling her hand into a fist. "I DON'T KNOW!!!! THERE! WAS THAT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!?!?!" Came the response she wanted. Ryoko was taken back by the force of the young woman's rancorous scream. Ryoko gawked at the strange creature before her, unsure of what her counter response was to be. Luckily, the hand grasping her shoulder prevented her from doing so. "Ryoko, may I see you out in the hall... please..." Tenchi asked Ryoko. The tone of his voice was NOT very encouraging. Reluctantly, Ryoko stood up, took one last look at the strange young woman on the floor, and slowly stammered out into the hall. "That was completely uncalled for Ryoko." Tenchi scorned. Ryoko's eyes stared down at the floor. "I'm sorry Tenchi, but she wouldn't talk, and..." Ryoko began. "But she's a guest in this house, and I will not have anyone mistreating a guest like that." Tenchi said authoritatively. 'Why is it that Tenchi has a backbone only when he yells at me....?" wondered Ryoko somberly. "Oh, and what am I, a pet?" snapped Ryoko back. Tenchi looked as if he were to say something, but nothing came out. Tenchi couldn't answer, he simply couldn't. She had transcended being an annoying houseguest, to being a loved and cherished member of the family. "Of course not..." Tenchi tried to explain, but it was too late, his reply came too late, for Ryoko had phased away, eyeing Tenchi both dolefully and angrily. Tenchi was just confused. For some reason, everything that happened to him happened too fast. Tenchi decided that he needed to take a few minutes and sort out what the heck was going on, but first, he had to attend to his guest. Tenchi turned around to head back into the room, and saw Ayeka, standing further down the hall, watching him. "Oh, Ayeka... how... how long have you been standing there...?" Tenchi inquired nervously. Ayeka simply sighed and walked up to him. "I'll go talk to Ryoko, you make sure your... guest... is feeling alright." Ayeka told Tenchi as she stepped past him. And with that, she walked down the stairs and out of Tenchi's sight. Tenchi sighed as she rubbed his eyes, stressed out to the max. Taking a second to collect himself, he cautiously stepped back into the spare room. He was surprised to see the mysterious young woman sitting on the bed, still staring at the floor. She looked up as Tenchi walked in, then returned her gaze to the carpet. "I'm terribly sorry about that, I didn't mean for her to yell at you..." apologized Tenchi, but, as he expected, there was no response. 'Why does she do that!?' thought Tenchi. Before he could remark on his thoughts, he stopped himself and sighed. "Fine. Don't say anything." Tenchi muttered as he turned around and started out the door. "Are you going to yell at me too?" asked a quiet voice from behind. Surprised, Tenchi turned around and saw the girl gaping at him, tears forming at her eyes. "No, of course not. It's just frustrating when you just sit there and stare, not saying anything." Tenchi explained. "I guessed as much..." Said the girl sullenly. "Then why did you do it?" asked Tenchi as he walked up and sat next to the girl on the bed. "Oh, right, like I'm going to initiate a conversation with people from another world, with people who appear out of nowhere and keep trying to catch me, like I'm some sort of mouse. I don't think so." The young woman mumbled. Tenchi smiled. 'At least she's talking now...', he thought. "Well, don't worry, we aren't going to hurt you." Tenchi assured. "How... did I get here, anyway?" She asked after a moment of silence. "All I know is that Washu brought you here one day and said that we needed to take care of you. When I asked why, she just told me to trust her, and that was the end of it. If you want a better answer, you'll have to ask her..." Tenchi said. "Okay..." "Oh, by the way, I'm Tenchi, Tenchi Masaki." Tenchi said as he held out his hand. He sat there like that for several seconds waiting for the girl to shake his hand, but she just sat there and bit her lip. "What's wrong?" asked Tenchi. "Well, I don't know my name, or much of anything else for that matter. I'm glad that I found at least ONE somewhat normal person here, though, someone who'll make staying here a little easier." She said. She looked up at Tenchi and saw a highly contemplative face shrouding his handsome features. "What?" She asked. "Well, it's just that you remind me of someone from the school on my old homeworld of Earth." He told her. "Really?" "You bet. The resemblance is almost uncanny, except her eyes were brown." Tenchi said to the girl before him. She smiled somewhat at this minute revelation. "So? I look like someone else, your point?" she asked him curiously. "My point is," Tenchi smiled, "until we discover your real identity, I don't think she'd mind if you borrowed her name. "Oh, and what is this name, by chance?" Asked the girl as her smile widened. "She was named Meira. Like it?" Asked Tenchi. "Meira. Hm... sounds interesting. I guess it'll work." The girl told Tenchi. "Okay, well, hello Meira, I'm Tenchi." voiced Tenchi as he gently grasped her hand and shook it. At first, the girl that will be now known as Meira didn't understand the gesture, but picked it up quickly and shook back, smiling at the first friend she'd made since this strange ordeal befell her. She looked up at Tenchi and met his gaze with hers, staring into his friendly brown eyes. It must have been several minutes before she regained enough of her sense of reality to realize that they had stopped shaking hands, and just sat there, hand in hand, gazing into each other's eyes. A flood of warmth flooded her face as she pulled back, watching Tenchi do the same. "Uh, sorry..." They both said at the exact same moment. After a second of shock, the two chuckled and Tenchi stood up, offering his hand to Meira. "Come on, let's meet everyone else. I think you already met Ryoko, though." "Yeah. She scares me." Meira admitted. "She scared me too, for a while, but then she grows on you. She's actually a very kind and gentle person, it's just that she has a little trouble holding back her emotions." "I can tell..." Meira said as she grasped Tenchi's outstretched hand and pulled herself up and off the bed. **************************************************************************** 'I've checked all over... where can she be?' thought Ayeka as she stood in front of the house. She listened very, very closely, and heard a faint weeping. She turned around and looked up at the roof, and low and behold, there she was. Ayeka knocked herself on the head for not thinking of checking there. It didn't take her long to reach the roof, and within minutes she stood mere feet behind the upset space pirate. "Come here to gloat?" Ryoko asked without looking. "I might have if this were a year ago, but now... no. I can leave if you wish me to." Ayeka told the angered space pirate. She began to turn, but saw Ryoko quickly twirl around and look at her with pained, red-rimmed eyes. "Please, don't go." Ryoko begged, a sight that convinced Ayeka that reality was going to collapse in on itself. Well, stranger things have happened... "Sure." Ayeka answered as she took a seat next to Ryoko, who forced a smile. Several moments of silence followed. "I don't like her." Ryoko finally admitted. "Why? What is wrong with her?" Ayeka asked, a little shocked. "I just get a bad feeling from her." Ryoko explained. "Well, you said the same thing about Mayuka..." Ayeka began. "And look what happened THEN!" Ryoko countered before Ayeka could finish. Once more, and awkward silence intervened. "You're probably right and I might just be paranoid..." Ryoko acknowledged. "Well, you have never been paranoid without good reason. Let's just keep an eye on her, and make sure the whole Mayuka thing doesn't happen again..." Ayeka returned. "... Or another war with the Dark Juraians..." Ryoko added. The two girls shuddered at the thought. So many people died in order to ensure the destruction of that vile race. Just the thought of the horrors that Ryoko and Ayeka experienced caused them to tremble in fear. "Come on, it's starting to get cold, let's go inside." Ryoko suggested as the sun went down over the Juraian horizon. "I agree. Shall we?" Said Ayeka as she gestured toward the way back into the house. Ryoko smiled and stood up, walking up to Ayeka. "Ayeka, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but... thanks... your royal lowness." Ryoko teased. "You're welcome, you monster woman." Smiled Ayeka as they walked back into the house. **************************************************************************** Tenchi was just about finished showing Meira around the expansive Masaki household when they heard someone enter from the front. The two made their way to the door, when they were confronted by Tsunami. "Hi Tenchi. Everything going well?" She asked. "I guess..." Shrugged Tenchi. Tsunami looked over at Meira, who simply grinned and nodded "yes". "That's good... oh, by the way, Tenchi, where's your father? I was just out and I didn't see hide nor hair of him." She asked. "He's out with Naoka again. They went to some sort of festival." Replied Tenchi. "Ah. Boy, those two are getting pretty close. I think you'll be calling her 'Mom' soon..." smirked Tsunami. "If that's how things turn out, then I'd be glad to. She's a nice woman." Said Tenchi. "Well, do you want some tea?." Tsunami said as she gestured toward the Dinning room. "Sure." Agreed both Tenchi and Meira simultaneously, surprising each other. "Jinx! You two have to serve dinner!" said Tsunami quickly. She began to laugh as she walked off, leaving Meira and Tenchi with two large sweat drops on their heads. **************************************************************************** "I had a marvelous time, Nobuyuki. Thank you." Remarked the tall, slender woman walking next to Nobuyuki. "Well, I'm glad Naoka. I had fun today, of course it's always fun spending time with you..." Blandished the clean-shaven Nobuyuki. Naoka blushed at the remark, lightly taping him on the shoulder with her hand. The two came to the front door, and Nobuyuki opened it, motioning for Naoka to enter first. Smiling, Naoka complied and entered, removing her shoes, momentarily followed by Nobuyuki. They walked onto the house and up to Tenchi, Meira, and Tsunami. Tenchi turned and saw them approach, and how his father held her close, his arm wrapped around her waist in a loving manner. He tried to picture Naoka as his step-mother, but as he did so, the mental image of Achika kept popping into his head, replacing the object of his musings. Tenchi shrugged it off and feigned a smile. "Hello Tenchi, how's things going?" asked Nobuyuki as he walked up and patted Tenchi on the back. Tenchi cringed slightly at this action, but "took it like a man". "Uh, just... great." Tenchi answered, his old nervous self. "Oh, I see our guest woke up... Hi, I'm Nobuyuki, Tenchi's father." Greeted Nobuyuki as he shook Meira's hand. "H...hello Mr. Masaki..." Returned Meira. "No, no, no... call me Nobuyuki!" exclaimed Nobuyuki. Meira shrugged and then nodded, agreeing to his decree. Meira looked up at Nobuyuki's smiling, smooth-face, and then over to the woman next to him, whom he held close. "Hello, I'm Naoka." She said as she bowed slightly at Meira. "Hello, I'm..." said Meira as she glanced over at Tenchi, "Meira." Meira returned her bow deeply. "Well, I think you know just about everyone else..." Wondered Nobuyuki, when a set of footsteps descended the stairs. The group turned and saw Ayeka and Ryoko. "Oh, I don't think you've met Ayeka..." Said Nobuyuki. He turned and saw Naoka bowing deeply and respectively to the princess. "Hello, your highness..." She muttered humbly, her voice quivering somewhat. "Oh... please, there's no need for that here. While I am in this house, just regard me as you would a commoner. I'm no different than you." Ayeka addressed. Naoka looked up at her, confused somewhat, but then straightened her posture. "Very well, your highness... I mean, A...Ayeka..." She stuttered, not really comfortable talking to Royalty like this. Ayeka blushed and giggled, her ego being tremendously inflated. "She's a princess?" Whispered Meira to Tenchi. Tenchi nodded. "Yeah. My Grandfather is the Emperor and I'm one of the crown princes of Jurai. Tsunami is the Goddess of Jurai, and controls the entire Juraian fleet. Let's see... Washu is also a goddess and Ryoko is her daughter, uh..." said Tenchi as he began to trace the entire Masaki family tree. After several seconds, his head began to hurt, and he looked over at Meira, who had a perplexed look on her face. "Hey?! Am I going to be the only one who drinks this tea!?" Yelled Tsunami from the Dinning Room. The group in the foyer looked toward the yell and several huge sweat drops fell as the group dashed to the Dinning room. **************************************************************************** "... and there was Tenchi, all red faced and embarrassed! It was so funny, I almost died laughing! Poor Tenchi, I don't know how Tenchi ever lived it down! I mean, he's always been mortified around girls, but this was almost ridiculous!" laughed Nobuyuki as he enlightened the group with an embarrassing story of Tenchi's childhood. Everyone laughed, some more than others, at Tenchi's misfortune. Tenchi just sat there, motionless and mortified, looking as red as in Nobuyuki's anecdote. All of the blood rushed up into Tenchi's face, and he was mere seconds away from fainting, when Naoka disrupted Tenchi's ignominy by standing up. "Thank you all, I had a WONDERFUL time, but I must be leaving. I hope to see you all again." Said Naoka as Nobuyuki stood up and moved over to her. "Tenchi, I'm going to take Naoka home, you watch the house for me, okay?" commanded Nobuyuki. "Oh, like I've never done it before..." muttered Tenchi, still perturbed by his father's apparent necessity to harass him. He put his face in his hands and willed the embarrassment to go away, and listened as his father and Naoka walked out of the house. When they left, Tenchi gazed up, and then fell backwards, landing on his back in a thud, embarrassed beyond all comprehension. Ayeka and Tsunami were still laughing, casually looking at Tenchi every now and then, their laughter renewing every time. Tsunami still giggled as she took all the tea cups into the kitchen to be washed. Meira looked over at Tenchi, a little confounded by his reaction. Ryoko crawled over to him and looked Tenchi in the eye. "Oh, come on. It wasn't THAT embarrassing... was it?" She asked, her soft yellow eyes attempting to soothe the distressed young man. "Yes..." Groaned Tenchi as he sighed heavily, wondering how he'll EVER live this down. Ryoko looked up when Meira let loose a little giggle. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I didn't laugh... too much..." Ryoko said, not taking her eyes off of the "intruder". Meira felt Ryoko's gaze on her and stopped giggling. Instead she just looked away and began munching on one of the last crackers on the plate. Meira watched as Ryoko helped Tenchi sit up and then moved in between him and herself. Ryoko looked at Meira, a glimmer of mistrust in her eyes. "Are you going to eat that last cracker?" Ryoko asked, a trace of acid on her tongue. Ryoko WAS trying to be civil, attempting to make sure this didn't turn into another Mayuka incident. 'Speaking of Mayuka... where is she?' Ryoko wondered as she gnawed on the cracker, still eyeing Meira suspiciously. The hostility pounded on Meira's mind, and she began to fidget under all the pressure. She scooted away from Ryoko, but her gaze still cut like a knife. "Ryoko... stop it." Tenchi told her, noticing Meira's wiggling. Ryoko turned and looked over at Tenchi, and saw Tenchi's "I'm warning you" face, the face he used whenever he decided to be a man about something. "D...did I do something wrong...?" whimpered Meira, upset at the prospect of wronging her new friends. Ryoko turned to her with a vile smirk and opened her mouth to respond... "No." Came Tenchi's voice. Ryoko's eyebrow lifted as she turned back over to Tenchi, and saw him glaring at her, on the threshold of anger. Ryoko merely frowned and shoved the cracker into her mouth, crunching on it loudly. "Hello everyone!" Came a happy voice from the door. Into the Dinning room walked Washu. She took several steps into the room and saw Meira sitting at the table with the rest of the group. Washu was shocked... for about a nanosecond. "Well! Look who decided to join the group. I'm glad to see that you will be alright. You gave us quite a scare last night. How are you feeling?" Washu politely asked, walking up to Meira. "Uh, just fine, thank you." she replied. "Oh, and so polite too! Well, I'm Washu, and if there is anything you need, just come to me, okay?" Washu offered. Meira blinked, unsure of how to respond. Washu picked up on this immediately. "How about you tell me your name?" Washu asked. "I...I'm Meira..." stuttered Meira. Ryoko made a disgusted face and mimicked Meira silently, which Washu also saw. Washu frowned for a second before replacing it with her normal demeanor. "Ryoko dear, may I see you for a second?" Washu asked sweetly. "No." Snarled Ryoko. Washu sighed and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, Ryoko found herself in the kitchen, and standing in front of her was Washu. "Ryoko, what have I told you? Haven't I asked you to be nice to this girl?" Washu reproached. Ryoko just crossed her arms and turned her head, not interested in discussing this. "Fine, you want to be stubborn, that's okay with me. I'll just have to wait till you're asleep, and then plant hypnotic suggestions into your head, and I'll MAKE you be nice to this girl..." Washu warned. Ryoko whipped her head back around and stared at her mother. "You wouldn't DARE!" Ryoko gasped. Washu smiled at this, for she had gained the upper hand. "Wanna try me?" She admonished. Ryoko looked into Washu's mischievous green eyes, and saw no trace of fear in them. As far as Ryoko knew, Washu was telling the truth. "Fine... I'll make nice with our 'guest' out there, but if she does anything to harm Tenchi, I'll hold you personally responsible..." Ryoko growled. She stared at Washu and then turned around. She stomped out of the kitchen, leaving Washu behind. Ryoko reentered the dinning room and sat down across from Meira, instead of next to her. She looked like she was pouting, or at least Meira thought so. Washu entered a second later, sitting down next to Meira. "You might want to be careful around Ryoko, she has a really, really, REALLY short temper, especially around new people." Whispered Washu into Meira's ear, but loud enough for Ryoko to pick up on it. Anger swelled in her heart and she clenched her fingers into fists. "Oh... okay..." agreed Meira as she watched Ryoko out of the corner of her eye. After that, Meira heard a very audible growl coming from Ryoko's general direction. She turned her head and saw that Ryoko's fists were arcing with energy, and her eyes were wide in wrath. Fearing for her life, Meira quickly stood up and excused herself, running up into her room. Ryoko saw this little event take place and smiled, having caused such fear into her loathed enemy. Tenchi could only stare at her. Washu, however, leaned across the table and glared at her daughter. "Why are you being so damn... bitchy!" snapped Washu. "I have my reasons." Returned Ryoko. "I know you aren't going to tell me anything, and I'm not going to violate you by ripping it from your memory, but remember what I told you, and remember that I still mean it!" Washu scolded as she stood up. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone. 'Night my little Ryoko..." Mocked Washu as she blew Ryoko a little kiss. This served to piss her off a little more, causing Ryoko's teeth to grind. She glared at Washu as she slowly walked upstairs, thinking some very violent thoughts. Ryoko then diverted her gaze toward Tenchi, who was looking rather disappointed in her. A wind of depression blew over Ryoko, and she no longer wanted to be at the end of a gaze like that, especially from Tenchi. So, after sighing, she teleported into the living room and laid down on the couch. 'I hate it when he looks at me like that... what do I keep doing wrong? Ever since this "Meira" girl came here, she's been nothing but trouble, even after I went through all the trouble to be nice to her and everything... Man, I'm really beginning to not like this girl. If she continues being like that, then I'm going to have to do something drastic. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to hurt her, but if she comes in between me and my Tenchi, I will not hesitate in killing her. But, I guess I'll have to be more understanding when it comes to her, and maybe things won't have to come to that.' Thought Ryoko to herself as she began to drift to sleep. Her last thoughts were of doing some vile and brutal things to Meira... and then some provocative things to Tenchi. Regardless, she fell asleep with a smile on her face. **************************************************************************** Tenchi awoke the next morning at the crack of dawn, as he usually did. The Juraian sun had just begun to crest over the immense tree line and huge mountains. Luckily, the Masaki house rested on a large hill, so the sunrises weren't hidden by all the trees. Tenchi enjoyed waking up to see the sunrise, and it had become a regular hobby for him. As he stood up and stumbled out toward the balcony, Tenchi groaned tiredly and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Tenchi was out on the balcony by the time he removed his hand from his eyes. Tenchi gazed up, but then saw that someone was out on the balcony already. As Tenchi suspected, it was Meira. She heard his footsteps, and his surprised gasp, and turned around. She was still in the sleeping outfit that she had borrowed from Ayeka. "Oh, good morning Tenchi." She said. Tenchi was still calming down from the shock, and was speechless. "I'm sorry if surprised you, I didn't think you'd wake up this early. I just wanted to watch the sunrise..." Meira started to explain. "You don't have to apologize. I was just shocked to see someone out here. Usually when someone comes into my room, I wake up immediately. You must be a really quiet walker..." Chatted Tenchi as he walked up closer to Meira and leaned against the railing. Meira followed suit and leaned up against the railing exactly like Tenchi. "It's beautiful..." Meira muttered as she watched the sun slowly poke up above the mountains. The huge star cast hundreds of warm colors across the sky, multitudes of orange, reds, pinks, and even a little blue here and there. The stars of the previous night disappeared under the blanket of colors as the entire world seemed to come alive. Birds flew and sang, people walked out of their homes, and life resumed as normal. The sun, this early in the morning, was not as bright as it would be later, but its light poured through the Masaki house's windows, causing everything to take on an orange like hue. Tenchi and Meira simply stood there, in awe of this spectacle of nature most people took for granted. And while they stood there and stared, huddling closer together in order to share their warmth in the cool morning air, a pair of shocked amethyst eyes spied upon them from the cracked door. 'Oh no...' thought Ayeka as she nearly ran down the stairs. When she reached the first floor, Ayeka worriedly gazed around searching for some kind of sign of Ryoko. Eventually, she saw Ryoko's spiky, cyan hair sticking out from the side of the couch. Ayeka hot footed it over to her, and saw that she was still sleeping. Slowly, Ayeka kneeled down and shook the dozing space pirate awake. "Whaa... what are you doing princess? I was sleeping, you know... I've never gone and woken you up this early in morning... what time is it anyway?" grumbled the semi-conscious Ryoko. "It is sunrise... but that is not what is important right now! I have reason to believe that that Meira woman is attempting to steal our Tenchi!" exclaimed Ayeka quietly, not trying to wake up the others. "What are you babbling about?" groaned Ryoko loudly as she sat up. "SSSHHHH!! Do you want to alert the ENTIRE house of our conversation?!" chided Ayeka in a loud whisper. Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Fine... is this better?" Ryoko whispered. Ayeka nodded. "Like I was saying, I was passing by Tenchi's door, when I heard someone talking. I peaking in through the cracked open door and saw Meira and Tenchi together! I know that we agreed to stop vying violently for Tenchi's affections, but what if Tenchi does not pick one of us?! What if he decides he wants that... strange girl!?" fretted Ayeka, speaking a mile a minute. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... slow down princess. So, what you're saying is Meira's putting the moves on our Tenchi, and you think he might actually consider choosing her instead of one... or both, this is Jurai you know, of us? That's crazy. He's only known her for a day, it's not like they're going to mysteriously elope or something. Tenchi hates change, he likes things exactly the way they are, and he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his current lifestyle." Ryoko rebutted. Ayeka still seemed a little skittish. "Yes, I agree, but what do we have that this girl does not? She has beauty, intelligence... she's really polite, and... and..." stuttered Ayeka. "Ayeka, chill out! That's all bull. I know Tenchi. I've known him longer than anyone here. He won't choose her, he's not like that." Ryoko restated, but her resolve shuddering a bit. "Still, I do not know what would happen to us now is Tenchi were to choose someone else, we need to get that woman out of here, and now, before she does something to Tenchi to sway his mind from us forever!" muttered Ayeka worriedly, kneading her hands together nervously. Ryoko smiled brightly. "Wow, princess, aren't we underhanded today?" laughed Ryoko, nudging Ayeka on the shoulder, which seemed to calm her down. "I learned from the best..." Ayeka said, winking at Ryoko. "Well, my apt pupil, I think we're in agreement about what must be done..." stated Ryoko as she extended her hand. "Yes, I believe we are..." Ayeka returned, shaking Ryoko's outstretched hand. Under their breath, the two laughed wickedly, both mentally pulling together a plan to exterminate this... pest... from their lives. **************************************************************************** The door to the bathroom opened, and Meira walked in, wearing a kimono. She slowly closed the door and removed her clothing. Even though she believed she was alone, Meira still felt self-conscious about herself, even though, in reality ( or what serves as reality... ) she had a beautiful body, except for the nasty scars all over her chest. She slipped into the warm water, feeling her somewhat tense muscles relaxing. When she was almost totally submerged, Meira immediately took notice of her surroundings. When Tenchi gave her the "Grand Tour", he explained that Washu created two bathrooms in alternate dimensions, and then demonstrated. He opened the door to the man's bath, which looked very much like the Woman's bath in the TV series, and then he had her open the door to the women's bath. When she did, her senses were bludgeoned by the most majestic sight she had ever seen. She was astounded by the hugeness of the bathroom, and the fact that it had a forest and an atmosphere... Basically, it looked like something out of the Garden of Eden ( The Bathroom of Eden... what an interesting concept... ^_^ ). Meira was still astounded by the awesome sight, still unsure as to how Washu could do something like this. Tenchi had attempted to explain, but the explanation soared right over her head. Meira decided not to induce another headache by thinking about it and sat there and moaned in pleasure from the warmth of the water. After a few seconds, something on the other side of the massive bath attracted her attention. Meira looked up and through the swirling steam saw two pairs of eyes, one pair amethyst, the other pair gold, staring at her with sheer disgust and utter rancor. Meira watched as the mist swirled and Ryoko and Ayeka swam from where they were toward her. They way they stared at her made her feel instantaneously self-conscious, and she sank deeper into the water, until it touched her chin. Ryoko noticed this reaction and gazed over to Ayeka, who smirked as much as Ryoko did. The two waded over to either side of Meira, who had an extremely worried look on her face. The only thing coursing through her mind was fear. She knew these two were going to do something, but she couldn't think what. "Ayeka, have you seen that new girl lately?" Ryoko asked the princess, not looking at Meira. "New Girl? No, I'm sorry, I'm afraid not, you will have to be more specific." Ayeka responded, ignoring Meira's existence. "Well, let's see... I think she's that ugly slut. Does that help a little?" Ryoko cursed, casting her burning gaze at Meira during the derogatory part of the insult. "Oh, yes, now I know who you are referring to, the woman of loose morals who enjoys stealing the men of other women. Yes, what about her?" Ayeka affronted. Meira stopped breathing, both shocked and upset at the slaps to her character. A tear made its way down her cheek as Ryoko and Ayeka continued their fiendish plan. "Oh, I just wanted you to know that if she lays a hand on Tenchi, I'll make sure she's never found again. I REALLY don't like her, at all, and if she makes me angry, I'll do something to her that'll be really painful and lasts a LONG time." Ryoko growled as she stared Meira down. She could see the girl shiver with fear as she began to cry openly. Meira pushed past Ayeka and ran out of the pool, putting on her kimono and running out of the bath, Ryoko and Ayeka jeering all the way. "Wow, that worked surprisingly well. She'll be out of here in no time." Ryoko said to Ayeka who smiled in triumph. But, somewhere in the back of Ayeka's mind, she heard a little voice tell her that this was wrong, oh so wrong. But then another voice came into conflict with that one. 'Do you want Tenchi to run off with HER, or stay with you?' thought the voice. Instantaneously, the little voice was muted. **************************************************************************** Meira finally stopped running somewhere down the road. Her vision was blinded by all the tears and her legs burned from the effort. She fell at the base of a large tree and huddled up into a fetal position, balling uncontrollably. "Oh Boo Hoo Hoo." Came a mocking voice. Meira lifted her head and saw Ryoko, with Ayeka standing behind her, simply watching. "What do you want from me!?" Screamed Meira at the top of her lungs, the tears streaming out of her eyes even faster. "We want you to leave Tenchi alone." Said Ayeka from behind Ryoko. "W...what?" Sniffled Meira. "We know what you're trying to do, you're trying to take our Tenchi away from us, but we want you to know that we won't let it happen, you get me?" Ryoko threatened. She was surprised to hear Meira's mocking chuckle. "What the hell are YOU laughing at?" Ryoko growled. "You. I don't want Tenchi! He's just a friend, and only a friend. That's all he ever was! I have no interest in him beyond the platonic level. All you're insults and threats were for nothing. I just hope you can live with yourselves." Meira explained. She was lying, though. She liked Tenchi more than on the "platonic level", as is the case with every girl Tenchi seems to meet, but she'd rather disavow it and live then state it and die horribly. But Ryoko and Ayeka seemed to be sated with her answer. "Well... good. Keep it like that. Tenchi's got enough problems with out you having to come and screw everything up even worse for him." Ryoko berated. A second later, the two of them were gone, Ryoko having teleported them back to the house. After realizing that she was alone, Meira resumed her uncontrollable sobbing. **************************************************************************** Tenchi entered his room, fresh from the baths, and put on some clothes. Once he was decent, Tenchi took a moment to reconsider the events of this morning, and smiled. For some reason, he really enjoyed watching the sunrise with Meira today. Tenchi laid down on his bed and began to think to himself, about... her. Tenchi barely knew this girl, but already he felt strongly for her, which was strange for him, because he still found himself getting nervous around Ryoko and Ayeka. 'I don't know, maybe because Meira doesn't attach herself to me like some sort of crustacean and assume to know my thoughts and feelings... which is a drastic change for me, because the only girls in this house that don't do that have no interest in me, which is probably the way it is with Meira. She probably sees me as a friend, and nothing more. I don't know... I don't know anything anymore. All I know is that I like her. Well, she sure is a change from all the other girls who I've met, well, Tsunami is kinda like her, but I don't really think she's very interested in me like that. She isn't pushy and arrogant like Ryoko, or condescending like Ayeka... Meira's so down to earth and, I dunno, human I guess. Don't get me wrong, I love Ryoko and Ayeka, they're my best friends, or maybe even more, but they still haven't learned a thing about me, no matter how much I complain about it. They still fight over me, although we managed to keep THIS house intact, which is a blessing. They just creep me out, and no matter what I tell them, they just go on and keep doing it. I guess I'm a fool to expect them to change, 'cause if they did, they wouldn't be Ayeka and Ryoko. But Meira, she treats me like an equal, not as some prize to be won, or some piece of meat. She has a great sense of humor, and does the cutest thing with her lip... wait, what am I thinking about? I shouldn't think like that. If I think about her like that and it turns out she doesn't like me, there's gonna be a lot of heartache and misery, especially if Ryoko and Ayeka find out. I can't help but think like that though... I really, really like her... I really wish I knew more about her, but I guess knowing as much as I do now is a blessing, cause she has about as much an idea about herself as I do... I wish I could help her remember who she is, I just can't imagine what it would be like not to know who you are or where you're from, or even who you're family is. I guess I'm lucky. Well, even if we never find out, I hope she stays for a long time. She's such a warm and gentile person, so kind and caring. And she has the blackest eyes I've ever seen... she has this real exotic quality about her. I don't know if thinking like this is right, but I guess just thinking it won't do any harm, as long as I don't think about anything hentai... then I'd never be able to keep a straight face in front of her. But, she is rather good looking, I have to admit. She might not be as busty as Ryoko, but she... there I go, I'm a perverted freak. I guess I'm on my way to collecting decades worth of comics for girls and all sorts of other... merchandise. I shouldn't think like that, it's not right. I don't want to soil Meira's image in my mind, I want to keep her as perfect... as she already is... < Sigh > I can't seem to think when I'm around her, my mind just goes blank and my stomach knots up. I haven't felt like this before... I guess... I guess... I guess I love her...' Tenchi sighed at this latest revelation. He felt funny all over and his head spun. Ryoko would probably kill him if she knew what he was thinking, but it was too late to worry about it now. Tenchi needed to clear his head, so he rose up and stumbled over to the window. As he was about to toss the window open, when he saw Meira run across the lawn and from the looks of it, she was crying. Without a second thought, Tenchi was out the room, down the stairs, and heading toward the door. He stopped just in time to see Meira enter the house, tears still streaming down her face. When she saw him, Meira stumbled, nearly falling on the ground, surprised at his unexpected presence. "T...Tenchi...uh, hi..." mumbled Meira nervously. She stood completely still as Tenchi slowly walked up to her, looking at her with deeply concerned eyes. "What happened?" Tenchi asked, looking Meira into the red-rimmed, teary eyes. Meira felt like crying again, but she knew she had to be strong. She quickly averted her gaze, but instead ended up seeing Ayeka and Ryoko, eyeing her abhorrently. Suddenly, every word those two said to her came back into her head, including the threats. "Nothing, nothing happened Tenchi. Just leave it be, alright Tenchi?" she told him after a brief moments silence. The look in Tenchi's eyes turned from concerned to incredulous. "I doesn't LOOK like nothing happened. Come on, you can tell me..." Tenchi asked again. As a response, all he got was Meira's head on his chest, as she embraced him softly, eliciting several silent gasps from the hidden observers of this transgression. "Please Tenchi, don't... don't do this. I don't want to talk about it, and if you were my friend, you'd stop prying." Uttered Meira, her face buried in Tenchi's shoulder. Meira stood there and felt Tenchi breath, and listened to the total silence as Tenchi considered what she had just said. "Fine. I won't say another word about it. But if you want to talk to me, you know where you can find me..." Tenchi told her as he pulled her away from him. Meira looked up at his somewhat sad expression and nodded her agreement. "Tenchi! Meira! If you would, I'd like to have some help in the Kitchen!" Came Tsunami's voice. "We'd better go, we don't want to make her mad." Meira told Tenchi. "Not possible. She's too nice, she'll get a little angry here and there, but then she perks right up. I wish I knew how she did it." Tenchi admitted as they walked toward the kitchen, being silently followed by two frightened and somewhat confused young women. Tenchi walked behind Meira as she wiped her eyes of all the tears and made her way to the kitchen, but she was stopped by two small "meows" resonating from below her. Curiously, Meira gazed down and saw Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki. But her reaction was anything but expected, for she took several steps back and hid behind Tenchi, pulling him back away from the little creatures. "What ARE those... things?!" Meira asked frightfully. Tenchi looked at Meira and then at the two confused cabbits on the floor. "That's just Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki. It's alright, they're not going to hurt you." Reassured Tenchi. Meira looked at him, offended, and looked once more at the two creatures. They were the strangest creatures Meira had ever seen before, and she didn't know what to make of them. "Well, is there some way you can make them go away, or something?" Meira said, gesturing toward Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki. From behind, Meira could here a quiet snickering. She looked back and saw Ryoko and Ayeka barely suppressing their laughter. Meira quickly reverted her gaze back toward the two cabbits, who she found didn't offend her as much as those two. Suddenly Tenchi bent forward, and began petting the two little creatures. "Come on, they won't hurt you at all. All they eat is carrots. Come here, trust me..." Tenchi said as he lightly took Meira's hand, not even looking at her. He gently led her toward the cabbits and placed her hand on Ryo-Ohki, despite her various protests. After moving her and over Ryo-Ohki's soft fur, Meira seemed to gain a little courage and continued on her own, glancing nonchalantly ever so often over at the two seriously "not impressed" harassing women. Even Ryo-Ohki was getting into it, rubbing lovingly on Meira's hand, purring contentedly. "Well, aren't you a cute little thing." Meira eventually said. "See, I told you. You just have to relax and give life a chance. It took me a while to learn that, but when I did, everything seemed to get better." Enlightened Tenchi, in a moment of unusual clarity. Meira simply looked at him, and then stood up, upon hearing Tsunami's only slightly annoyed foot tapping. "I know I don't ask for help too much, but even a little would be well appreciated." She said, waiting for Tenchi and Meira to help her. Meira smiled at Tenchi and the two headed for the kitchen. And, minutes later, a hot, delicious meal was served. Within seconds afterward, the entire group was assembled at the table, arming themselves with chopsticks and attacking the appetizing morsels, everyone, that is, except one. It didn't take long for everyone to notice the oddity of the person sitting at their table not devouring Tsunami's exquisite cooking. "What's wrong Meira? Is there something wrong? Don't you like Juraian cooking?" asked Tsunami, worried that someone in this universe might actually not like her cooking. Promptly, Meira shook her head no, a confused and embarrassed look on her face. "What's wrong then?" asked Tenchi. Meira picked up the chopsticks and motioned toward them, eliciting several blank stares. "She doesn't know how to use them." Said Washu, breaking up the confused tension. "Ha! That's incredible! Everyone and their mother knows how to use them! Come ON! What rock were YOU living under?!" Laughed Ryoko. Ayeka looked like she wanted to say something to her, but she stopped herself. "Ryoko! Stop it!" Shouted Tenchi. Ryoko was still laughing. "HAHHAHAAHAHAHAAAA! SHE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO USE THEM!!! AH-HA!!!" Laughed Ryoko mockingly. She was determined to drive this hussy out of her and Tenchi's house as soon as possible, and she would stop at nothing to make sure she pulled it off. And, apparently it was working, for Meira began to sniffle, and before she could begin crying, she stood up, excused herself, and ran off, heading upstairs. "Ryoko, this is the LAST time I am going to warn you. Do it again, and you can start packing your things." Tenchi growled as he stood up and hurried upstairs after Meira. Ryoko was extremely hurt by the way Tenchi yelled at her, and soon she felt a lump rising in her throat. "Ryoko, I think we may have taken things too far..." Ayeka said, the voice of reason finally showing through. Ryoko looked over at the saddened Ayeka and a tear fell from her eye. "So you're turning on me too?" accused Ryoko. "No... it's just that I think we need to tone it down a little. I fear our harassment might be having the opposite effect..." Ayeka mentioned. Ryoko just glared at her. **************************************************************************** 'Where did she go...? Damn it Ryoko, why did you have to do that?' thought Tenchi as he walked past his room. He stopped when he noticed the door cracked ever so slightly. 'Why'd she go in there?' he thought as he opened the door, and saw Meira sitting on the ledge of the balcony, her feet dangling over the edge. Slowly, he walked up to her. The closer Tenchi walked to her, the louder her insistent crying became. ( Music : MORE THAN THIS by THE CURE) "Do you want me to come back?" asked Tenchi when he was sure that she knew he was there. She stopped her crying briefly and looked at him. Tenchi was turning around when she suddenly said "no". Tenchi righted himself and walked over to the ledge, and leaned up against it, looking at Meira as she took a quick gaze at him, and then stared up at the stars. "Ever... ever since I woke up, all those two have done was insult and threaten me. Especially that Ryoko woman. I don't know why... I never did anything to them..." she cried. Tenchi was aghast, "both of them"? Ayeka too? This was almost too much to believe. He could see Ryoko doing this, 'cause for such a nice girl, she had a mean jealous streak. But Ayeka? Ayeka making threats? This was almost to much to comprehend. "Well then, they have to go. I can't have guests threatening other guests in my house. I'll give them the rest of tonight, but after that, they have to find somewhere else to live..." Tenchi said. "No. Please, don't... don't kick them out. They may be doing something cruel and vicious, but they have a good reason for doing it..." Meira said quietly, a little too quietly, for Tenchi only heard her say not to kick them out. Tenchi became EXTREMELY confused. "But... but WHY?! They've been threatening you! Why do you defend them?! I admit, I don't want to have to do this, but if they're becoming violent, then they need to go!" Tenchi exclaimed. Meira kept on looking at the sky. "The stars are beautiful tonight, aren't they Tenchi? The way they seem to light up the night is simply magical. Why don't you come and join me?" asked Meira, diverting the conversation. Tenchi, confused out of his mind, blindly followed her suggestion and sat down on the ledge next to her. "Which one was you're star, Tenchi?" she asked. Tenchi looked at her and then returned his gaze up at the night sky. "I'm not really too sure. Washu said that it was somewhere over there..." Tenchi said as he pointed up at the sky, toward a far away mass of stars. The sky seemed to twinkle brightly as they gazed up at all the strange constellations and star clusters. "What was you're homeworld like? Tell me about this Earth you told me about, about its mountains, its trees, its lakes..." wondered Meira. "Well, Earth wasn't too different than Jurai, except it was a lot more primitive and had less trees. I miss it dearly..." Tenchi reminisced. Memories flashed into his head about all the times he spent on Earth, the planet of his birth. "Then why did you come here?" she asked. "The Earth was destroyed. Months back, the Jurai was at war with an evil demon and a race called the Dark Juraians. Billions of people died that day..." explained Tenchi. "Oh, god... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Meira apologized. "Don't be, it's not your fault. We paid them back, guaranteed, but after that, everything changed. My grandfather ran away from his imperial duties to become a priest in some lonely shrine on a backwater planet in the middle of nowhere, only to become Jurai's emperor during the war. Ayeka and Ryoko, they hated each other, but by the end of the war, they changed so much. Everything around me shifted so suddenly, and I'm still running to catch up..." Tenchi informed. Meira scooted closer to him, in an attempt to comfort him. "I guess I know how you feel... I wake up one day, and I'm surrounded by strangers, two women threaten me constantly, and not only that, but I have these burning scars on my chest. I've lost my memories, and pretty much everything else. At least you remember where you came from, who your parents are, who you loved..." Meira added. The two looked at each other despondently for a second, before diverting their gaze away from each other, blanketing themselves in silence. After a while, Meira sighed and looked over towards Tenchi. "...Don't be mad at them, Tenchi. I'm not... I should be, but I'm not. Just... just don't give it another thought." Meira told Tenchi. Tenchi looked up at Meira, his face about a foot from hers. "Those two... I just don't know what to do about them anymore..." Tenchi sighed. "Just... do what's in your heart... and you can never go wrong..." Meira said to Tenchi, her face not six inches from his. Tenchi was too busy staring into Meira's deep black eyes to notice how close she was, but Tenchi didn't much care. Before long, their noses met, sending strange tingles throughout each other's bodies, but they didn't stop there. A second or two later, their lips met, touching lightly, almost being unfelt by the two. As the seconds drew by, the two cast off their uncertainties and really began to kiss. Meira moaned in pleasure as Tenchi took his hand and gently caressed her cheek, and then clamping it lightly over the side of her face, subsequently deepening the kiss. For the two, everything seemed to stop, the wind, the stars, the hubbub of the Juraian streets... everything. They didn't even see the cyan spikes of hair phase through Tenchi's door, followed by Ryoko's apprehensive face. She looked up and saw the two, holding each other in the cool night, locked in a passionate kiss. Ryoko's world seemed to fall apart as she witnessed all her hopes and dreams burning to a cinder. Before she could be discovered, Ryoko pulled her head back into the hallway, but not before releasing a single tear. **************************************************************************** Ayeka crested the stairs, tired from the days events. She felt terrible for assisting Ryoko in insulting and threatening poor Meira. What made it worse was that it was her idea. She planned on apologizing to her in the morning, hoping that she would accept her deepest and sincerest apologies. Ayeka was shaken from her thoughts by a loud crying emanating from Ryoko's room. Curious, she headed into the room, to see Ryoko huddled up on her bed, crying a river of tears. "My goodness, Ryoko! What happened?" Ayeka asked. Ryoko looked up at her and snorted loudly and wetly, almost causing Ayeka's stomach to turn. "T...Tenchi and that... bitch... they were... they were... kissing!" stuttered Ryoko as she sobbed deeply. Ayeka looked pale and nearly fainted from all the conflicting emotions. At first she was angry, how could that woman do this, and Ayeka was even going to apologize! Then there was sadness, for another woman had won over her Lord Tenchi's heart. But finally, there was some worse than anger, something deeper and more primitive, an emotion a million times more intense than any star in any universe. Ayeka didn't know what to make of this feeling, and was frightened dearly by it. Without a single word, Ayeka turned around and walked out of Ryoko's room, a look of fear and horrible wrath in her eyes. Ryoko watched her leave, then resumed her mournful crying. **************************************************************************** For a moment, a minute, or maybe an eternity, Meira and Tenchi felt as if they were one, sharing the same feelings and emotions and everything else. It took Meira a tremendous amount of willpower to break off of the kiss, which she reluctantly did. Tenchi was still in the making out position, his eyes closed. He was so numb with emotion that he didn't know she had pulled back. With a giggle, Meira cleared her throat, snapping Tenchi out of his daze. "I should go..." Meira said as she motioned toward the door. "But... why?" Asked Tenchi, his mind still discombobulated. Meira just smiled and walked back into the house, leaving Tenchi all alone. She darted into the hallway and into her room without being seen and happily jumped into her bed. Meira felt warm all over, and almost didn't know how to contain herself. For some reason, intermixed with all the satisfaction and happiness, there was this overwhelming sense of victory, a feeling she couldn't explain. But still, Meira reveled in her happiness, dwelling on it until she finally fell asleep. Tenchi too felt a similar happiness, but also an overwhelming sense of foreboding, for he had just stepped into unknown, and dangerous, territory. But, Tenchi eventually decided, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it. He fell asleep thinking of Meira, totally unaware of the weeping space pirate standing over him, and who will continue to do so for the rest of the night... **************************************************************************** The next morning, for most of the group, it was business as usual. Tsunami served a nice breakfast, as usual. Washu sat and ate, observing her surroundings, as usual. Mayuka ate breakfast up in her room again before going out to do whatever she did, as usual. Nobuyuki was nowhere to be seen, most likely with his soon to be fiancee ( as he put it ), as usual. But what was not usual was the way Tenchi and Meira sat with each other. Tenchi seemed totally at ease with her closeness, something new for him, as Washu observed. Meira seemed happier than normal, giggling at nothing and talking almost exclusively to Tenchi, which wasn't REALLY new, but the fact that she seemed so animated while doing so was... And then there was Ryoko and Ayeka, who seemed a little worse for wear. They eyed Tenchi and especially Meira with sadness and a hint of betrayal. All through breakfast, which just ended, Tenchi and Meira blatantly flirted as Tenchi showed her how to use chopsticks. Ryoko and Ayeka, tired looking and groggy, watched all these events transpire, Ryoko barely containing her anger at some points. Washu guessed that Tenchi didn't know he was flirting with Meira, but she could tell Meira did so intentionally. Washu simply sat there and observed, not wishing to partake in the events she could easily see will take place. After some time, she stood up and walked away, not saying a word, but no one seemed to notice. Shortly thereafter, Tenchi stood up. "I'm gonna go for a walk, burn off some of this food, anyone want to join me?" Asked Tenchi. Ryoko and Ayeka slowly shook their heads. The two seemed to be zombies, they haven't touched their food, haven't said a word, they just sat there and stared at Meira. Tenchi suspected something was wrong, and began to wonder if Ryoko or Ayeka had found out about the previous night. Tenchi decided to keep the walk short, in case something was going to happen. He walked over the Meira, who was smiling brightly, and bent down to her. "Maybe you should come with me... I don't really feel comfortable leaving you alone... especially with those two looking like that..." Tenchi whispered to her. "Don't be silly. Go for your walk. You really need to relax Tenchi." she responded. With a quick look, Tenchi walked off, a pang of doubt still in his mind. Before long, there was only three people in the room : Meira, Ryoko, and Ayeka, the latter two's stares of longing rapidly becoming those of rancor. For a while, Meira didn't even look at the two, rather content in cleaning up her dress, borrowed from Mayuka. It fit rather nicely, showing off her form perfectly. But, eventually, Meira looked up and her eyes connected with the evil glares emanating from across the table. "What? Do I have something on my chin?" she asked innocently, attempting to break up the heavy atmosphere. She failed miserably. "Don't play stupid, you KNOW what's wrong..." Ryoko growled, her yellow, cat-like eyes glowing with anger. Meira jumped when she heard a snap. She looked over to see that Ayeka had been grasping onto a chopstick, which cracked under the stress. Once again, a familiar feeling of fear swept over Meira's body, her muscles tensed and every instinct in her brain told her to run, to just forget everything and RUN. But she managed to keep control of those impulses. She knew how much these girls cared for Tenchi, and how long they've been waiting for him to choose between them. And the fact that Tenchi had fallen for Meira, who had done the same, just made matters worse. "I...I'm sorry. It was an accident. I didn't mean to..." Meira attempted to apologize, but she stopped when Ryoko shot straight up, clenching her fists in anger. "Don't... you... TELL ME... that... you... are SORRY!!! I know you're not, you little hussy! You... stole Tenchi... for me..." cried a desperate and dismal Ryoko. Ayeka merely sat there, tears streaming down her face. "Isn't there some way we could talk about this?! Please, I don't want you to hate me!" Meira pleaded. Her answer came in the peculiar sight of hundreds of logs hovering in the air, all of them humming with energy, the noise of which was almost drowned out by the crackling of the energy arcing between Ryoko's fingertips. Meira didn't know much about these two, but she knew that this definitely wasn't right. Summoning all of her courage, she got up and ran as fast as she could out of the house, using the back door. Meira was running in the back yard only a few seconds before a beneficial stroke of luck caused her to duck, just in time to avoid being decapitated by Ryoko's energy sword. Meira managed to catch a glimpse of Ryoko's eyes before she ran off toward a small clump of trees. They seemed inhuman, completely animalistic, with no trace of sympathy or mercy lining their angered boundaries. Ryoko nearly roared in anger when she missed, causing the grass below her to spontaneously erupt into flames. Meira didn't sit around and wait for her to finish with her tantrum, for within seconds she was inside a dense clump of trees, which might provide some sort of protection. Meira knew she was as good as dead when she saw the small wooden log in the corner of her eye. A second later, Meira was surrounded by energy, which coursed through every fiber of her being, inflicting her with a horrible torture. The energy burnt her like the eternal fires of hell, ripping fissures into her skin, causing her blood to fall to the grass. The pain was so enormous that Meira couldn't even be given the privilege of screaming. She yelled a few silent breaths, the world around her turning white. The pain had seared her nerves, so she didn't feel it when the energy stopped and tossed her to the ground. Meira was beyond pain, beyond torture, she was in a place worse than any hell of any religion and, as far as her inactivity could tell, would be staying for eternity. Her blood poured over the grass, staining it so red that the color of the substance was reminiscent of black. Meira's breathing was so shallow, that it could not be distinguished from not breathing at all. Such was her mental and physical anguish that a lesser man, or woman, would have died. Meira simply laid there, hovering close to death, unsure when its immense gravity would pull her in. **************************************************************************** 'Ayeka must've got her, cause I don't hear her running anymore. I swear, I'll make her pay... I'll make her BEG for mercy before I... I... do whatever I decide to do to her...' thought Ryoko as she pushed past a few low limbs and a pair of bushes. Ryoko thought about killing her several times, but decided that doing so would not be beneficial for her. Ryoko stopped as a familiar smell drifted into the air, a salty, organic smell. The smell of blood. 'She must have cut herself... excellent, now there'll be NO hiding...' continued Ryoko. The further forward Ryoko walked, the stronger the smell became, until, even in her distressed state, Ryoko suspected that something wasn't right. Intermixed with the blood smell was the smell of burning wood, confirming her suspicions that Ayeka managed to zap her before she got away. Ryoko then came to the outer periphery of a large burn mark in the grass. The leaves burning as high as ten feet into the canopy. Ryoko pushed her way past some annoying limbs, and then found that, in her bare feet, she had stepped in something. She lifted her foot, to show that it was covered in a deep red liquid, with the all too familiar smell of blood. For some reason, Ryoko's mind refused to work, she just couldn't process the information. As she placed her foot down, her body trembling somewhat, partly from the rage, but primarily that her intuition told her something definitely was not right, her acute vision caught the sight of a shoe, not a foot away. Several inches from there, was a limp body, covered in singed branches that fell from higher up. On that body was a familiar dress, and then, Ryoko saw a shocking sight. The face on the limp body was Meira's. Ryoko took a step forward and saw how the area was literally painted with her blood. Ryoko then looked at Meira's ashen face, and how she stared forward, not blinking, not moving her eyes, not even breathing. Ryoko didn't have to think very hard to determine that the young woman before her was dead. All of the blood rushed into Ryoko's head, and tears fell from her eyes like rain from the sky. "Oh god... what have we done..." Ryoko muttered quietly as she stumbled backwards, nearly tripping on a tree root, but the interaction of another party prevented her fall. "My Ryoko, you sure are heavy. Come on, she couldn't have gone far..." Ayeka urged as she helped Ryoko to her feet. Before she set off, Ayeka managed to catch a glimpse of Ryoko's eyes, and the pure fear, terror, and, most prominently, remorse flooding from them. "Ryoko... what is the matter? Did I get her?" she asked, trying to make a sport out of it. But, Ryoko's tear ridden, frightful countenance told her a different tale. Ayeka immediately picked up that something was, indeed, wrong. "Ryoko, speak to me! Where is Meira!?" said Ayeka, nearly screaming. Ayeka then tried to force her way into the trees, but Ryoko stopped her, holding firm onto her shoulders. "Ryoko, let go of me, why are you trying to stop me!?" demanded Ayeka, but in her mind, she answered her own question. The realization hit her like a supernova, and her legs quickly gave out on her. Ayeka was too distraught to scream, she couldn't barely even think. As was Ryoko, she was working mostly on instinct now. Her mind told her that she had to run, had to escape before anyone found out, which is what she did. Ryoko suddenly ran off, running away from the Masaki household and the hideous sight behind her. Ayeka could only watch her as Ryoko ran, and eventually summoned up enough will power to follow suit, running in the same direction as Ryoko, her fear fueling every step. **************************************************************************** From Meira's vantage point, she could not see much, just a small section of the road a few feet ahead of her. She couldn't move, or speak, or even breath too hard. Then, off in the distance, Meira's blurred vision recognized a familiar shape in the distance. 'Ten... chi...' was all Meira's mind could comprehend. The world around her faded into blackness as the pendent around her neck began to glow brightly. **************************************************************************** Tenchi was worried. He had heard some strange noises at home, and decided to take a shorter way back. He tried to let memories of the events of the previous night rid him of his anxieties, but that didn't work. Every fiber of his being was intent on convincing him something was wrong. Tenchi was muttering himself about how he shouldn't have left when there came a movement in the leaves of a nearby clump of trees. Tenchi turned just in time to catch a falling body who had walked out of the mass of trees. It took Tenchi less than a second to determine the identity of the limp, fallen form in his arms. "Oh GOD! MEIRA!" Screamed Tenchi as he held her nearly dead, bloody body in his arms. **************************************************************************** "Washu, Tsunami, come on, you're gonna miss the end of the show." said Mayuka from the living room. The two goddesses stood in front of the window, wondering about the whereabouts of Ryoko, Ayeka and Meira, a feeling of overwhelming dread flowing through them like a powerful current. Suddenly, the back door burst open, and in walked Tenchi, holding a bloody, unconscious body in his arms. Mayuka screamed in horror and surprise, but the goddesses wasted no time. Washu and Tsunami took the body from Tenchi, who was worried beyond all human comprehension, and set it gently on the couch. They began to use their magnificent, and unusual, powers to try to bring the young girl back from the brink of death. During the whole process, Tenchi held Meira's hand, praying to anyone in the universe who would listen for her safety. **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** A C T T W O T H E B O O K O F E A R T H "Hell is just a word... but the reality is so much worse..." - Sam Neil EVENT HORIZON ____________________________________________________________________________ The night air was permeated with a strange winter-like chill, causing the dew to adhere onto the leaves of the trees of Jurai in little, icy droplets. The wind blew harshly, causing the long branches of the numerous trees to hit the sides of the Masaki home, from which a horrible racket ensued. The residence itself was dark and silent, its tenants in various stages of sleep. But, inside the house, there was activity. The door to the Masaki home slowly crept open, the wind taking this opportunity to violate the building's sanctity. In the midst of the near total darkness, two figures tip toed into the hallowed establishment, not wishing to be seen or heard. The floorboards beneath them resonated with a loud, deep, annoying creek upon the delivery of each continuing step. After what seemed to be an eternity, the first of the figures began to make their way up the steps toward the second floor. But a voice halted them in their gradual progress. "Stop right there..." came a voice from the interconnected living room. The two figures emitted several surprised gasps as their progress came to an abrupt halt. "Get in here... now!" said the irate voice again, full of wrath and disappointment. With their heads held low, the two figures, whom we have now guessed to be Ayeka and Ryoko, marched into the living room, with the same enthusiasm as a man walking to his execution. The two gathered in the living room, awaiting their inevitable punishment. "Where were you?" asked the voice of Tenchi in a low, angry manner. The two merely stood there, not wishing to incur any more wrath than was required. Ryoko could hear Tenchi shift his position on the couch, his anger building with the continual silence. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" continued Tenchi, even more rancorous than before. His voice pierced Ryoko and Ayeka's hearts like fiery knives, unrelenting in their evil purpose. Still, they did not provide an answer. With a click, light flooded the room, revealing the guilty pair to Tenchi. Their eyes were heavily rimmed with red, for they had spent hour upon hour crying, wishing that things were not as they have come to pass. Ryoko and Ayeka took this opportunity to gaze upon Tenchi's wrathful countenance. The look that he bore down on the two actually made Ryoko and Ayeka fear for their lives. "I'm only going to ask this one more time... what do you have to say for yourselves?" Tenchi repeated, his voice poisonous with anger. Out of fear, more than the previous shame, the two continued to keep silent. Ayeka took a step back, away from Tenchi, and bumped into Ryoko, who trembled violently. Many moments passed as Tenchi awaited an answer, but none came. With every passing second, Tenchi's anger mounted, until it no longer could be contained. Tenchi shouted an angered, furious cry and his grip tightened on the lamp before him. With a mighty heave, Tenchi tossed the lamp to the other side of the room. The lamp connected with the wall and shattered into a million individual pieces, once again bathing the room in darkness. Ryoko and Ayeka jumped at the loud shattering, and opted to move backward, unused to seeing Tenchi this incensed. In the silence that followed, Ayeka debated whether it would be safer to simply run, or beg for mercy. Finally, the silence was broken. "Give me a reason not to throw you out right now and break off ALL contact with you two for as long as we all live, just one good reason..." growled Tenchi, his fists tightening angrily. Upon hearing this ultimatum, Ryoko fell to her knees, preparing to beg for forgiveness, her tears staining the soft carpet below. Ayeka, however, was almost prepared to faint as she grasped hold of the floor below her, lowering herself in a position similar to Ryoko's. "Tenchi... stop it." came a voice from the staircase, a voice that shouldn't be heard. The two girls stared in disbelief a the figure of Meira limped into the living room, brushing past the two genuflecting sinners and walking up to the volcano of fury known as Tenchi. "But... Why!? They almost KILLED you! If I hadn't of found you when I did and gotten you to Tsunami and Washu so soon, you would have DIED! Why should I show these two ANY mercy!?" growled Tenchi angrily. Tenchi then felt a soft hand grasp his, with barely enough pressure to be recognizable. "I'm not angry at them. I don't think I could be... for very long. I know that they didn't mean to hurt me so much, they were just afraid of losing you. I acknowledge the fact that they must be punished for what they did, but I want you to go easy on them..." Meira rebutted. Tenchi was shocked by what she was saying. "So you want me to say 'Ayeka... Ryoko... for trying to kill Meira, you two have to wash the dishes for a month'!? Did those two knock a screw loose!? I'm NOT going to go easy on them for trying to kill you!" Tenchi argued. "Tenchi... it doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done! All that matters is that I'm here, right now. If you feel ANYTHING for any of us, if last night meant ANYTHING to you, you'll honor my request. Please Tenchi... I'm begging you." Meira pleaded. Now Ryoko and Ayeka were in shock too. "Why?" asked Tenchi. "Why what?" returned Meira. "Why are you being so forgiving? These two tormented you the minute you woke up, and then tried to KILL you! Why are you being so forgiving?" Tenchi asked. "Because I think they've been through enough..." responded Meira. "What? What're you talking about?" asked a now REALLY confused Tenchi. "Think about it. They've spent the last twelve hours worrying over what was going to happen and torturing themselves for what did happen. I wouldn't wish that type of anguish on anyone. Physical pain goes away... scars heal, bruises vanish, but a tortured mind stays with you forever. They're going to remember the events of today for the rest of their lives, and every time they look back, they will feel nothing but pain and sorrow over their poor decision. Coupling that pain with the fact that the one that they cherish so much never wishes to see them again would certainly drive them to make even worse decisions, ones that will effect them even worse than this one. I couldn't live with myself if I knew I was responsible for someone's death... I don't think I could ever recover..." Meira's words lingered in the dark atmosphere, casting a faint light of hope for the two guilty women, still kneeling before their judge, jury... and executioner. "Meira..." muttered Ryoko as the guilt multiplied within her a hundred fold. Before her stood someone too pure for this horrible existence, too innocent to corrupt herself with the likes of mere mortals, yet here she stood, defending her would-be murderers with every fiber of her being. "I still think you're being too nice to them..." persisted Tenchi. Ryoko could literally feel Meira's annoyance. "Well then, Tenchi, how's this? It's either all of us, or none of us. Take you're pick." Meira said, her voice lower and angrier. Tenchi's only response, a few moments later, was a defeated sigh. "Fine," Tenchi told Meira, then turned to where the others were stationed in the totally dark living room, "I don't even want to SEE you two for a while. I want you to get out of my sight while I think of what I'm going to do with you..." With that, Ryoko and Ayeka wordlessly marched upstairs, not to be seen nor heard until Tenchi could think of a proper punishment. Once again, there was nothing but darkness and silence. The silence made Meira a tad uncomfortable, especially in such a tense atmosphere. "You broke your father's lamp..." Meira kidded. Tenchi didn't say a word, but simply stood there, rubbing his eyes, his mind afire with rage and consternation for the future. The weather outside seemed to match Tenchi's acrimonious mood, for the storm outside evolved into a heavy electrical storm, giving the trees of Jurai their much needed sustenance. Like the raging torrents outside, Tenchi's mind was a fury of different emotions, nearly all of them negative. Meira could sense Tenchi's conflicting thoughts, and sought to soothe them by gently caressing his face. Tenchi felt her warm, comforting hand touch his cheek, and a great deal of the discord inside his troubled mind dissipated. Tenchi gazed at Meira's face, hidden by the deep blackness of the dark room. Then, as if summoned by Tenchi's thoughts, a bolt of lightning flooded the living room in a second's worth of intense, bright light. He then saw, at this time, Meira's bruised and battered face. Her face was spotted by abrasions and superficial lacerations. She was, thanks to the arcane magic of the two goddesses, healing quickly, and should be her normal, beauteous self by the next day. Moments after the light disappeared, Meira softly embraced Tenchi, holding him close. Tenchi too held her, hugging her like his life depended on it. "I still think you're being too generous." Tenchi muttered. "You're spoiling the moment..." she answered. Tenchi allowed himself a small chuckle as the minutes flew by, content being in Meira's arms. Tenchi tightened his grip on Meira somewhat, and felt her wince in pain. Quickly, Tenchi let go. "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?" He worriedly asked. It was Meira's turn to chuckle now. "No. It's just my rib's still a little sore. Washu said it's cracked, but healing nicely..." Meira informed. She could tell Tenchi was attempting to suppress his anger. Before Tenchi could say, or do, anything, Meira bent up and kissed him, gently, on the lips. All of Tenchi's fierceness melted away as he seemed to go limp. After a few seconds, she parted from him, and caressed his face once again. "Goodnight Tenchi. Sleep well, and don't let it bother you..." she told him as she slowly limped up the stairs. Tenchi stood there for god knows how long, amazed at the events that just transpired. **************************************************************************** In docking bay 2501, there was no sound, barely any light, and no human activity. Inside this docking bay laid several ships, the most important being an escape pod labeled THE COMMADORE on both of its sides. The fairly large escape pod was almost every bit as gothic and corrupt looking as its mother ship, but not nearly as immense. But, inside, something was stirring, moving rapidly, impatient and tired of waiting. Slowly, something strange began to happen to the starboard side of the pod. With several long, drawn out, metallic grinding noises, something started to rip its way out of the ship. After leaving a large hole in the side, someone flew out of the ship, faster than the blink of an eye, growling viciously. Seconds after the mysterious creature escaped the ship, the engines of the craft quivered, softly at first, but with each passing millisecond grew more and more violent, until the entire back end of the pod exploded off. Standing in the center of the destruction stood a monstrous sight. The ten foot tall monster, seemingly made of some sort of rock, grasped the sides of the huge hole it had just made in the ship with its three fingered hands and pulled its massive girth from the craft, grunting with minimal effort. The creature scanned the area with its red, beady eyes and then walked in the same direction as the creature before it, its footsteps banging hard into the surface. Immediately following the rock monster a pale, ghost like figure sauntered seductively out of the massive hole. She wore a light blue prison uniform, with the words GP : A1 - MAXIMUM SECURITY written on the back, and strained to hold her arms up because of the heavy restraints on her wrists. When she finally hit the floor, the thin, apparition of a woman ran off into the dark recesses of the docking bay. Finally, the ship's fourth and final occupant wandered out, carrying out with him a certain air of dignity. His dark purple, almost black, hair was cut short, a requirement for all GP maximum security prisoners, and had grown long enough to attain a certain spiky quality to it, similar to Tenchi, but different in some aspects. His face carried a long, jagged scar over his right eye, which was fogged over and white. His other eye, on the contrary, still contained its brilliant, deep amethyst brilliance. Like the woman before him, he wore a Galaxy Police Maximum Security prison uniform. With a smile, the mysterious man took a deep breath and sighed happily, finally free. **************************************************************************** "I hate the graveyard shift... this place gives me the creeps..." muttered one of the two guards walking down the corridor of Royal Juraian Docking Facility. His partner smiled and laughed mockingly at him. "Wuss. There isn't anything wrong with this place. Nothing ever happens here, not since the war..." the other guard replied. The frightened guard merely raised an eyebrow, and then observed his surroundings. Most of the lights were turned off, and most of the staff was at home, asleep. Besides him and his coworker, there must have been maybe thirty people here, maximum. He attempted to take solace from the other guard's words, but none came. Something told him that tonight was going to be a bad night. "Docking Bays 2498 through 2500 clear..." muttered the guard into a strange looking Juraian version of a walkie-talkie. The silence on the other end indicated to him that they were either ignoring him, or received his message and were too busy to reply. But too busy with what? " I'm tired. I wanna go home now and sleep..." complained the guard. The other guard slapped him hard against the side of the head. "How did you ever graduate from the Juraian Military Academy? You complain so much, it's ridiculous. If you don't shape up, I'm going to report you." his guard, who also happened to be his superior, warned. The subordinate guard gulped, and nodded his agreement. His superior grinned. "Good. Now, go check bay 2501, and report back to me. And make it quick." He ordered. The subordinate did a solute and hobbled off to check the bay. With fear of a demotion overriding his fear of the creepy, forbidding building, the guard did his duty quickly and correctly, and would have made his superior proud, if he was still there... "Sir? Where are you?" The guard asked in the semi dark room when he returned to find himself alone. His voice echoed in the deep, empty hallway, and no answer came to him. He took several steps forward, but then felt movement behind him. With the speed of a professional, the guard turned around and whipped out his light sword. The light sword's blue blade flew forth from the hilt, immersing the hall with a soft blue light, and revealing a nightmarish sight. Behind him was a ghastly creature, with long black, stringy hair and claws that must measure a foot long. These claws were busy ripping and shredding something soft and fleshy. The guard gasped at what he put together to be the remains of his superior. Fear once again overtook him, and his legs decided to leave, with or without the rest of him. But, before he could clear even a foot, a thin, near invisible fiber shot forth from above and enclosed around his neck. Gasping for air, the guard found that he was being lifted up, several feet off of the floor. He gazed upward, his pupils fixated in fear, and saw a strange, pale woman, literally sticking to the wall and holding him up with the thin, frail looking wire. The guard's blood flowed freely as the wire cut into his flesh. He struggled and pulled at the wire, and would have begged to be set free, but he could barely even breath, so talking was out of the question. Out of the shadows stepped two more figures, a strange man who seemed unusually regal, and a huge monster rock creature with long spikes protruding from its shoulders. The strange regal man walked up to the struggling guard, and took hold of his light sword. "I'll take this, thank you very much..." he muttered. A second later, he motioned toward the evil rock creature. "Yorr, plaything." He said, pointing at the guard. The creature growled harshly and took several steps forward. The regal man seemed to take a few seconds to consider something. "Yorr, wait!" he shouted. The creature, named Yorr, stopped and stared confusedly at the man. The man then walked a few feet away and looked up at the guard. "This is going to be messy, I don't want to get all soiled... especially when for my meeting with the Jurai royal family...Yorr, continue." the man muttered to the guard before emitting a loud, hoarse laugh. The guard was in tears now, frightened nearly to the point of losing control of his bowels. Yorr moved ever closer, and grasped the guard by the waist, his fingers nearly meeting. The guard let loose a hellishly loud yell, which tore his throat violently, but not as violently as Yorr tore him... **************************************************************************** The next morning at the Masaki household was extremely tense. Mayuka decided to eat breakfast with the group, for the first time in a while (for she had developed a life outside the house... unlike some of the others...), but was rapidly beginning to wish she hadn't. She gazed at her father Tenchi, and saw the way he glared at Ryoko and Ayeka as he ate. Then she saw the way Ryoko and Ayeka simply sat there and played with their food, their appetites non-existent. Mayuka cursed herself for not being around for the past couple of days, for she didn't know what the heck was going on. She guessed it must have something to do with that new girl. It was strange seeing her father so angry, it seemed so... alien. She'd never seen him glare so much in her ( short ) life, but then, neither has anyone else. The breakfast table was silent that morning, but mostly because everyone else was smart enough to get away from the house for the day. 'Of all the days I pick to be with the family, I pick today... why me?' thought Mayuka as she chewed silently on her rice. Her thoughts paused with the arrival of a new guest at the table. 'Well, there she is...' Mayuka thought as Meira came down the stairs. She watched as Meira entered the dining room and observed the current situation. She looked at Tenchi, frowned, and then took a seat in the middle of Ayeka and Ryoko, producing several confused looks from the downtrodden pair. Tenchi, too, looked confused. Meira and Tenchi then seemed to hold an entire conversation with nothing but stares and facial movements. Eventually, Tenchi backed down and sighed, continuing to eat his breakfast. Mayuka saw Meira smile in triumph. "What was THAT all about?" Mayuka asked. Meira turned her head, and then her triumphant face turned into a confused one. "Tenchi, I don't believe I met her before..." Meira muttered toward Tenchi. Tenchi looked up at Meira, then Mayuka, and then relaxed at the change of subject. "This is my daughter Mayuka." Tenchi introduced. Mayuka smiled brightly and waved. Meira raised and eyebrow and a small sweat drop fell. "D...Daughter?!" she exclaimed. Tenchi and Mayuka both nodded simultaneously. "It's a long story..." Tenchi groaned. Mayuka's bright expression faded into a slightly tired one and she nodded in agreement. "I'd love to hear it sometime. I'm sure it's an... interesting one..." Meira added as she began to eat. Tenchi merely shrugged. 'It's no different then the crap that usually happens around here....' Tenchi thought. He was extremely tired, for he barely slept a wink the night before. Eventually, he found himself in Meira's room, watching her sleep, making sure she was still okay. Then, of course, the long bouts of silence in the middle of the night caused Tenchi's mind to wander. He ended up comparing his current actions with those of Ryoko's oh-so-long ago, and found that the two situations were completely similar. Tenchi then began to ponder the entire purpose of love, and ended up asking himself hundreds of rhetorical questions. Finally, the fire in his mind seemed to flounder, and he grew tired, only to have to wake up nearly an hour and a half later for breakfast. He then ran into Ryoko on the way down, his emotions once again flowing into conflict. His nicer, gentler side wished to go to her and forgive her for her actions, and to ask her if this was what being in love felt like... but his analytical side told him that doing so was completely illogical, that Ryoko hurt not only a guest in his house, but a girl he loved more than all the others, or so he believed. Actually being the one in love was still new to Tenchi, and this new emotion contradicted every other thought and emotion Tenchi had ever known. He knew that he'd fall in love eventually, but he didn't know it would be like this. This new emotion filled Tenchi with so much joy and contentment, but then it also left a large emptiness inside of him, a strange weight on his soul. Every time he kissed Meira, Tenchi received mental pictures of Ryoko and Ayeka, sobbing wildly and running away. Every single time Tenchi came close to the object of his affections, these pictures surfaced, each time weighing him down more and more. Yesterday was almost the last straw, and Tenchi was bound and determined to rid his life of these violent creatures before they caused even more damage. They had nearly taken the one he cared most for away from him, yet, Tenchi simply couldn't rid himself of the memories of all the good times they had shared, and all the holidays and celebrations that they've participated in. He tried to tell himself that those memories were simply the past, but his mind persisted in arguing his point. These two contradicting thoughts left Tenchi with an immense feeling of betrayal, one that he believed he would never rid himself of. But the actions and words of Meira, that strangely forgiving young woman that Tenchi so loved, helped heal some of his mental strife. She worked hard to repair the breech between the three, and for the most part was succeeding. Tenchi simply didn't have enough energy to be mad for every long, he never did... Meira gazed over at Tenchi, who looked like he was several seconds away from falling asleep in his miso soup, and smiled to herself. She'd only known him for a short while, but right now she felt like she'd known him for her entire life. Time has just been moving so fast lately that Meira barely could keep up, and still was waiting to awaken from this strange, lovely, slightly painful dream. Personally, she hoped she never would, even though she could have lived without the last few hours. While chewing on the wonderful meal before her, Meira turned her gaze over to Ryoko. Now here was a strange one, a violent, conniving, drunken, lazy woman ( who hated her guts ), with, from what would appear from first glance, no conscience or reason. But a second look, a deep, soul probing look, would reveal the real woman hidden under the tough exterior. The love that was contained in this unusual feline woman burned with a passion that could only be mirrored by the defiant, independent look in her yellow eyes. Meira knew it the moment she first saw her, she saw her independent spirit, how it literally radiated from her, and knew that this unbridled female was something special... which is why she defended her the night before. She knew that Ryoko and Ayeka were attached to Tenchi by something more than mere love and desire, it was fate. But now, as Meira sits, looking at Ryoko, the burning fire of passion seemed to be nothing more than embers, swiftly dying out. Ryoko turned her head and stared into her eyes with a heartbreaking, pleading look, one that gave the impression that she was about to cry. Meira merely smiled, not taking her eyes off of the emotionally forlorn space pirate, and placed a caring hand on Ryoko's tired shoulder. This abnormally kind gesture served only to shock Ryoko, but soon the shock disappeared, replaced by a calmness. Meira saw the primal gleam return to her eyes, and guessed that everything was going to be fine from then on. Meira then turned over to the other perpetrator sitting next to her. Ayeka still stared at her rapidly cooling breakfast, discontented with everything her life has become. Her perfect, regal posture was replaced by a depressed slouch, and her proud, royal flare about her seemed to be all but snuffed. Meira looked at her, pitying the poor creature, and then placed a reassuring hand on her forearm. Ayeka once again looked up at Meira, and forced a small smile. "Ayeka..." Meira said softly as she tightened her grip on Ayeka's arm ever so softly. Ayeka seemed to draw strength from the action, as her posture corrected ever so slightly, and some of that haughty royalness returned, although just a little. Tenchi watched the events unfold in front of him, and nearly fainted. It was completely beyond him why Meira would treat Ryoko and Ayeka with such kindness and sympathy, especially after what happened between them. Tenchi was beginning to believe that no one in the universe had such love and compassion in them, but then he met Meira. Although still reeling from the shock, Tenchi was conscious enough to notice Meira excuse herself, gab with Mayuka for a second, and then leave. What she said didn't really register, but he saw that she was heading toward the baths. Seconds later, Ryoko stood up and simply vanished into the air after a brief, and somewhat abrupt, "excuse me". Tenchi, Mayuka, and Ayeka stared at each other for an unknown amount of time, attempting to comprehend what in the universe was going on. **************************************************************************** 'Well, today certainly is better than yesterday...' Meira thought with a shiver at the remembrance of the previous day. Nevertheless, that hell could be forgotten and placed where it should be, in the past. Meira slowly sunk one foot into the water, then the other, and soon her whole body followed as the water's gentle warmth flowed over her, soothing her aching muscles. The thick steam in the air made it slightly difficult to breath, but Meira soon adapted to it. After a few seconds of a relaxing silence, the door to the bath slowly opened, and a soft breeze of cool air flowed into the room. "Hello..." Meira said, not turning around. Behind her stood a bewildered Ryoko. "What are you?" Ryoko asked quietly, not knowing if she should bow or run away in fear. All Ryoko knew was that this girl was not simply "Special", but she was different... too different... "That's a silly question." Meira laughed, not mockingly, but more surprised. She still had her back to Ryoko. "Are you... an angel?" Continued Ryoko. Her lip quivered slightly, as the anxiety built in her. For the first time Ryoko felt fear, not a frightened fear, but the same fear man has in his God. But Ryoko knew this wasn't any God... was it?... no, she couldn't be. She was too... human. The only answer to her question was a stifled giggle and a sigh. Finally, Meira turned around and faced the Space Pirate. Ryoko was amazed on how fast Tsunami and Washu's power worked on healing her. Aside from a few bumps on her face, and a few other assorted injuries, she was nearly totally healed. "Well, are you?" Ryoko asked again, taking a few steps closer and kneeling down to face Meira eye to eye. Once again there was a slight giggle, which was subsequently followed by Meira shaking her head. "Then why are you being so nice? What have I done to deserve such kindness from you? I mean, I tried to KILL you! Shouldn't that at least make you angry at me or something?" asked Ryoko, now completely confused. "Should it?" Meira returned. "Well... YES! I'd be PISSED if someone tried to kill me! But, you aren't answering my question..." Said Ryoko as she scooted closer to the bath, dipping her naked feet into the warm, steamy water. "Ryoko, answer me this one question, then I will answer yours..." Was all Meira said. "Uh... okay, shoot." Ryoko agreed. "Are you so used to negative emotions, to people hating you and you hating others, that the you cannot except the fact that someone has actually forgiven you? Have you been wronged so much in your life that all the kindness and compassion in your heart has nearly been frozen into non-existence?" "That's two questions." Ryoko noted. "No, it's the same question asked twice..." Meira corrected. Ryoko considered what Meira asked, and thought about her life thus far... about Washu, her mother... about Kagato... about Tenchi and all the others... and found that she was at a loss for words. It was true that she as been wronged, many times as a matter of fact, but then there were also many times where she had been shown such incalculable love and compassion. But, as Ryoko thought, she found that the bad times outnumbered the good, even though if she had to do it all over again, she wouldn't even think twice... "Well, do you have an answer?" Meira asked. "I... I... don't know..." Ryoko muttered as she suddenly became frustrated at her own indecision. "I think you do... It's a shame." Came Meira's unexpected answer. Meira looked up and saw Ryoko's sad, awe-filled expression, and how it continually stared back at her. The silence, plus the fact that Ryoko was staring at her with a strange, near emotionless face, began to wear on Meira's nerves. Unpleasant Memories of the last time she was in the bathroom with Ryoko flooded back into her mind, so, as she usually does, she began to fidget anxiously. Ryoko noticed this and attempted to save her from further discomfort by lowering her gaze. The silence was finally broken by Meira's despondent sigh. "I never meant for any of this to happen..." she uttered, close to crying. Meira folded her arms on the side of the bath and then rested her head on her forearms, the sadness and bad memories overwhelming her mind. "I'm sorry... for..." She sobbed. Ryoko's awe inspired and fearful attitude suddenly shattered when she saw this mystical creature, this angel of mercy, weeping for Ryoko's forgiveness. The girl was indeed strange... if not emotionally unstable. This girl confused Ryoko more and more every single second that they were together. Something inside Ryoko's head, something from her deepest primal instincts, told her to seize this opportunity and crush her opponent once and for all. That's when Ryoko decided to rid herself of yet another adversary... "Huh?" sniffled Meira as Ryoko placed a hand on her new friend's shoulder. Now it was Ryoko's turn to be the strangely forgiving and loving one. Meira took this kind gesture easier than Ryoko did, for she smiled and nodded, acknowledging Ryoko's forgiveness. The two former enemies then shared a moment of harmony, of pure compassion for one another, until Meira moaned loudly in pain. Her loud moan then transformed into a muffled scream as she fell into the water, clutching at her ribs. "MEIRA!" Screamed Ryoko as she sent her hand in after the tormented girl. She managed to grasp onto Meira's wet, shoulder length hair, and then proceeded to pull her up out of the warm water. Once her head breached the water's surface, Ryoko grasped her shoulders, prepared to lift her out of the bath. "...No... I can do it myself..." Sputtered Meira as she heaved water from her lungs. Her cracked rib, although it was nearly healed, hurt like hell. The pain was almost too much to bare, as the notion of passing out crept into her mind every few seconds. With all the strength she could muster, Meira grasped onto the edge of the bath, the pain flaring within her, stabbing at her with knives of hellfire. Intermingled with her ragged breathing, Meira groaned and screamed in agony as she lifted herself out of the water, a feat considered trivial by most, but for her... an astounding acomplishment. Ryoko was deeply and genuinely impressed with her seemingly indomitable strength and spirit... and then realized why Tenchi loves her so much. This sad realization should have caused Ryoko great pain and emotional suffering, but then she realized that Meira was good for Tenchi, that they seemed to "click". She remembered how lovingly they looked into each other's eyes, and even though Ryoko was depressed that Tenchi has never, and now will never, look at HER like that, Ryoko knew that these two seemed to be made for each other. As long as she and Tenchi were still friends, then she would never lose him. All throughout this sad rationalization, Ryoko watched as Meira stood up, breathing heavily and clutching her sore rib. Meira reluctantly allowed Ryoko to help her dry off and dress herself, although she protested every step of the way. But, inside, Ryoko knew that she was grateful. Meira then took several deep breaths and convincingly hid most of the pain and casually walked toward the door. Before it opened, Meira turned back toward Ryoko. "...Thanks..." She said hoarsely, the pain still evident in her voice. And with that... she was gone. Ryoko just stood there in the warm atmosphere, a small tear falling from her eye. **************************************************************************** Meira exited the bath just in time to see Tenchi put on his favorite jacket and slip into his shoes. Taking a second to collect her thoughts, Meira approached him from behind, and then wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace. "Where ya goin' ?" Meira said, adorably curious. "Grandpa asked me to join him at some sort of festival. He requested that the entire royal family be there, but Ayeka decided not to go. Washu and Tsunami left already, so their probably waiting on me..." Tenchi explained as he turned around and faced Meira, still in her embrace. "Oh, a festival? Well then, I hope you have fun." Meira said to him lovingly. "I doubt it. Grandpa asked me to help him Keiko and the new baby. She's been having a tough time, ever since Takeshi ran away... they both have." Tenchi said, a little depressed. "Oh..." Meira muttered, sensing Tenchi's depressed feelings. "It's okay, you don't have to worry. Grandpa's got the best of the best out there looking for him, so he'll be back in no time. But, I pity him when he does get back, 'cause Keiko isn't EVER going to let him out of the palace after they find him..." Joked Tenchi. Meira let out an amused giggle, and then moved her head toward Tenchi's, meeting her lips with his in a gentle kiss. A second or two (or three, Tenchi didn't really count...), they parted, and Meira found a concerned look had spread on his face. "Maybe you should come with me..." He suggested. "Don't be silly! You go to your little festival and help your grandfather. I'll be fine here... now." Smiled Meira. "I don't know... you said that the last time and you nearly died... now every time I leave I'm going to think something bad is going to happen..." worried Tenchi. "Tenchi, let it go, will you? You'll never lose me... no matter where I am, I'll always be with you. Please, take those words to heart and go to your damned festival." Said Meira seriously. This was the first time Tenchi's ever heard her cuss, and it shocked him... slightly. Tenchi still had doubts about leaving, but, he didn't want to get Meira angry at him, so he forced his fears back and departed after another brief kiss and a goodbye. Meira watched him go, waving casually as he turned around for one last look before he left. Before long, Meira could no longer see the gradually shrinking Tenchi as he walked off into the distance toward the city. After a moment, Meira shut the door, feeling strangely alone... **************************************************************************** "Your Highness?" asked a Juraian Royal guard as he knocked on an office door. Funaho, queen of Jurai, lifted her head upwards to meet his gaze. "Yes?" returned Funaho. "The Emperor has arrived at the festival as scheduled. Shall we depart?" The guard asked. "Not quiet yet. I have a few things to finish, but then we shall leave." Funaho answered, returning her gaze to the script below her. The guard merely smiled and bowed, slowly and quietly walking away. A few moments later, Funaho sighed. She lifted her head, and began messaging her soar neck muscles. The faint sound of falling footsteps broke her from her concentration. She turned her head and looked down the hall, expecting to see a patrol of royal guards. But instead, she saw only a lone figure, dressed in familiar Juraian garments. Funaho focused her slightly blurry eyes and strained to see the approaching figure's face. She analyzed his rugged, stately features, and the nasty scar down the right side of his face... "Oh god..." Funaho whispered when she recognized who it was. The figure stared at her with bloodshot, maniacal eyes. A soft blue light emanated from behind his back, which he slowly revealed to be a stolen light sword. Thinking swiftly, Funaho stood up and ran out of the room, accidentally banging her shoulder against the door. She turned left down the hall and was met by another strange man, his long, thin black hair hid most of his vile features, but Funaho clearly saw his foot long, razor sharp claws. The strange man, clad in a silk-like Juraian material, all black, let loose a horrid, raspy laughter as Funaho did the swiftest 180 she has EVER done. "Guards! GUARDS!" She screamed as she ran past the man she recognized as Ivan, his muscular hands tightening around his bloodstained weapon. The fear pumped through her veins as she desperately hoped and prayed for a way to escape. She ran to every door she could see, but found that all of them were locked, or welded shut. She followed the apparently preconceived pathway until she found herself in the palace's main hall. But, as she emerged, her senses were assaulted by the most vile sight she has ever seen in her long life. Before her were hundreds of guards, servants, and dignitaries, all brutally mutilated. Several guards were stung up by every limb, their arteries cut, and were forced to watch themselves and the others as they bled to death. Once again, several faint footsteps broke her out of her trance. Quickly, she spun around, only to be met by a hard hit to her face, knocking her to the ground. The world around Funaho became blurry as she attempted to regain consciousness. "Yorr, pick her up..." said a horrid, yet familiar, voice. Funaho felt herself begin lifted by two very large hands. Finally, her wits started to come about her again as her vision cleared. "You...." she growled as the man known as Ivan walked into her line of sight. "Hello, your highness. Miss me?" He mocked. "You're supposed to be dead..." Funaho remarked. A smile formed on Ivan's lips. "I almost was, but thanks to a... strange reversal of fortune, I managed to get free... no thanks to you..." Ivan growled. "You're the one who served the wrong side during the war, traitor, not me. You got off light, dark preacher. Oh, by the way... your little friends lost..." Funaho ridiculed defiantly. "That much I know. But that was just a battle... the war is far from over. Which brings me to the point of my visit... where is the child?" said Ivan seriously. His low, dark tone sent chills down Funaho's spine. "What child?" Funaho asked. She knew the answer, but she wasn't going to say anything, especially to him. "No more games. I'll give you one more chance. Tell me where the Child of Light is, or I'll make this as painful as possible, and trust me... the possibilities are endless..." "Child of light? What are you talking about?" stalled Funaho. "Not smart..." Ivan said as he snapped his fingers. Then, from behind him stepped a pale, skinny, ghost-like woman. "Let me introduce you to Asha, your highness. Years of mistreatment by the GP has left her in her emaciated disposition, but her skills more than make up for her unsettling appearance." "Skills? What, is she a seamstress?" Laughed Funaho. "Not quite. Asha, dear, give her a demonstration..." Ivan said as he took several steps backward. Silently, Asha produced a thin needle from somewhere in her wrist. Funaho watched in horror as Asha brought the needle closer and closer to her left shoulder. Then, with a flick of her wrist, Asha brought Funaho's world crashing down around her. The pain was so intense that she couldn't find the mental or physical power to scream, but she just shuttered and yelled soundless shouts of torture. Soon, everything became white and Funaho could feel her muscles spasm violently. After about ten seconds of watching Funaho in such pain, Ivan smiled at nodded at Asha. Ever so quickly, Asha jerked the needle out of Funaho's shoulder, and took a step back, her ghostly facial features etched in stone. Funaho noticed that the world was beginning to form again, and found Ivan's evil face staring back at her. Suddenly Ivan, in the blink of an eye, threw out his arm. Before she could react, Funaho found herself dangling a foot in the air. "It can only get worse. Now tell me... WHERE IS SHE!?" screamed Ivan as his grip tightened around Funaho's throat. "I never... should have allowed... your mother to... bring such an insufferable bastard... into this... world..." Funaho sputtered. "Oh really." Ivan snarled. "I knew you were... an accident... ever since your father married... your mother." Funaho mocked, still defiant. "Even after all these years, you still mock my father. And I thought all you Terrans stuck together. Pity... but still, I AM family, Auntie Funaho." "Not by choice..." "Heh.... Well, I tire of this game. Asha, stop holding back... and have some fun. Goodbye Funaho, I hope you enjoy eternity." Ivan said as he rudely dropped Funaho to the floor. She managed to crawl onto her hands and knees as she coughed, a small trickle of blood falling from the corner of her mouth. A blood covered boot then took a step in her line of sight. She followed the leather boot up to the tight battle suit, and farther up to the ghastly pale face. Asha stared down at Funaho, and a vile smirk crossed her cold features. In Asha's hand, Funaho noticed, were hundreds of little, thin needles. Funaho barely had time to scream before Asha commenced her dark duty. **************************************************************************** 'Well, that sure was interesting...' thought Tenchi as he walked back to the palace with Emperor Yosho and Empress Keiko. In Keiko's arms slept the recent addition to Tenchi's rather large family, Miyoko. Tenchi moved his gaze from the sleeping infant, to his silent grandfather. He looked like he hasn't slept in days, as did Keiko. "You know, despite everything that's been going on lately, you've been doing a great job, Grandpa..." Tenchi said, hoping to cheer up his miserable Grandfather. Yosho looked up at his grandson and smiled, although his eyes remained tired and sad. "Thank you, Tenchi. These past few days haven't been the easiest that I've known. With Takeshi running away, things haven't been very happy, especially for Keiko. That boy has the absolute worst timing in the world... running away, upsetting his mother in such a weakened condition. She's the one that's been suffering the most..." Yosho said as he looked tenderly at his wife. She clutched onto Miyoko, and looked as if she was about to cry. Tenchi watched as Yosho stopped walking and hugged his wife. Tenchi's never seen his grandfather get so emotional before, it was strange. Tenchi looked at the two, and somewhere in his mind, he saw himself and Meira, holding each other as they were. Tenchi knew how easy it would be to get lost in thinking about her, so Tenchi shook the thoughts out of his head, and not too soon, for Yosho and Keiko looked like they were beginning to part from each other. Tenchi sighed and turned around, deciding to give Yosho and Keiko their privacy. But, as he did, he saw a great cloud of smoke emerge from the distant tree line. Tenchi caught his breath when he realized that the palace was burning... **************************************************************************** "WHAT HAPPENED!?" Screamed Yosho at a group of guards. They seemed white with shock and they trembled violently. Keiko looked all around at the palace, and saw that it was in total ruins. Everything was either slashed, burned, or covered in blood. Tenchi stood by her side, like a silent guardian. All around, emergency crews worked hard to revive the dead and heal the injured, but their work was mostly in vain. Tenchi and Keiko saw an emergency crew member running from down the hall, and continued watching as he ran right up to the emperor. "Sire!" He shouted breathlessly as he did a quick bow. Yosho, exasperated by the lack of answers he was receiving, turned toward the crew member. "What is it?!" Yosho growled, annoyed. "Your Highness, it's Lady Funaho! Come quickly!" The crew member informed. "Oh god... Mother!" Yosho exclaimed before he took off in the same direction as the emergency crew member. Yosho ran as fast as he could, and eventually found a large mass of crew members surrounding his mother. Funaho, Yosho saw, was stuck to the wall about three feet up from the floor. She had long, thin, sharp, serrated needle thin blades protruding throughout her body. Yosho watched in horror as the crew members pulled the unnaturally long needle blades from Funaho's body, producing a sickening ripping sound and several gushes of blood. Funaho gasped weakly in pain as they did this, her unblinking gaze staring off into the unknown. Eventually, the last one was pulled, and the crew members hoisted Funaho's limp, bloody body to the floor. Immediately, Yosho was at her side. "Oh, God... mother... what happened...!?" Cried Yosho. Funaho gasped for breath as she tried to talk, but the most she produced was a gurgling noise. Yosho's sobs deepened as he held his mother, grasping her close to himself. Several sniffles and shocked gasps pulled his eyesight upward, as he watched Tenchi and Keiko walk up to the dying woman. Yosho then saw Funaho's arm reach out to Tenchi. With tears streaming down his cheeks, Tenchi knelt down and took his great grandmother's hand. Funaho swallowed several times as she took a few exhausted gasps. "T...Ten...chi..." She mumbled quietly. "No... Don't try to talk, save your strength." Tenchi said as his crying deepened. "Th... They... c...came... for... h... her..." Funaho said as her breathing slowed and her head went limp. "Mother? Mother!? NO! MOTHER!" Screamed Yosho as he desperately felt for a pulse, but found none. His mother had died in his arms, and there was nothing he could do except scream. And scream he did, in fear, in pain, in anger. Tenchi still held her hand as he rested his forehead against it, sobbing uncontrollably. Keiko walked over to her husband, her head light from the shock and sadness. Slowly, she sat down next to Yosho and put an arm around him, the other still holding Miyoko. Yosho was beyond grief, beyond misery. What he was, there is no word for, no way to describe it. Lesser men have died when they experienced this unnamed, torturous emotion. Everything in Yosho's world seemed to fade away, as his mind became blank with negative emotions. He just sat there and hugged his dead mother, crying deeply. But Tenchi was another story... his mind ran over what Funaho said to him. "They came for her..." he whispered to himself as his eyes widened and he ran off, leaving his distressed grandparents behind without saying goodbye... **************************************************************************** "I swear, that woman snores louder than anyone I have ever met!" complained Ayeka as she watched the sleeping Ryoko. For once, though, she was asleep WITHOUT an empty bottle of sake in her hands. Once again, the typical, pointless drivel was blaring on the TV. "No wonder why she fell asleep..." muttered Ayeka as she watched the soap opera that played on the large TV set in front of her. When the urge to fall asleep started to overtake her, Ayeka forced herself to stand up and walk around. She was up and about for barely two seconds before she saw Meira gazing out the window. 'That's strange...' she thought as she approached her. A gentle hand on her should brought Meira out of her strange trance, although her worried look was still etched on her soft features. "Meira, what is it? What is the matter? Is something wrong?" Asked Ayeka. "I don't know... I just... I just have a bad feeling, that's all..." she explained. Ayeka shrugged and stood there with her for a few seconds before she turned around. Meira turned her head and watched as Ayeka just stood there, joining Meira in her apparently pointless staring. Ayeka turned and looked at the pleasantly surprised Meira. Their shared moment was broken by the soft knocking emanating from the door. "Whaa..." Mumbled Ryoko, who was awakened by the knocking at the door. "Someone's knocking at the door..." Meira said to the groggy Ryoko, her voice faint and distant. As Ayeka turned to answer the door, she shook the notion out of her head that Meira's amulet was glowing... "Hello? May I help... you..." said Ayeka when she opened the door. Before her stood a physical impossibility, something that should not, and could not, be standing in front of her. "Hello, princess..." muttered Ivan as his eyes glowed with anger and insanity. Suddenly, the window in front of Meira exploded, sending hundreds of shards of broken glass, and Meira herself, flying several feet back, slamming into the nearest wall. Meira screamed in pain and fear when she saw several shards of broken glass protruding into her left leg. "MEIRA!!" Screamed Ryoko as her battle suit formed over her in the blink of an eye. Without even having to think about it, Ryoko appeared at her side, but a deep, feral growl, and a sharp pain in her side caused her stumble back several feet. In front of her stood a thin, pale looking man with razor sharp teeth, long stringy black hair, and her blood dripping from his foot long, sharp finger tips, which he subsequently licked off in a mocking manner. "You bastard..." Grunted Ryoko in pain. "I can smell your fear... come child, let us dance..." He growled poetically, his hoarse, raspy voice almost containing an alluring musical quality. "You got it." stated Ryoko as she summoned her laser sword. Then, with a smile, the villain before her disappeared. "What!?" Said Ryoko as she turned around just in time to parry an extremely fast, and almost lethal, attack. Ryoko didn't even have time to breath, much less register what the creature was doing, for the monster before her began unleashing a multitude of superhumanly fast attacks, drawing Ryoko's blood from her less protected regions. Her opponent, however, was impressed with her ability to block his attacks. "Very good. We know you can block, but why not take the offensive for once, child?" he hissed. "I AM NOT A CHILD!" Screamed Ryoko as she went all out on the creature, summoning every ounce of strength and speed she had in her. All her opponent did was laugh as he dodged her attacks easily. Ryoko concentrated totally on the task beforehand, and not even Ayeka's grunting and screaming broke her attention. "Is that ALL you have princess?" said Ivan as he merely walked through Ayeka's force fields. Nothing she did seemed to work, so she began tossing various objects at him. Most of them missed, but the couch hit dead on, or would have if Ivan wasn't protected by a force field of his own. With a demented smile on his face, Ivan walked closer to Ayeka, clutching his laser sword so hard his knuckles began to turn white. But soon after, he stopped. 'What?! What is the meaning of this!?' thought Ayeka when she witnessed his peculiar action. Ayeka wasn't aware of the huge, ten foot tall rock formation silently forming behind her, but Ryoko did. "AYEKA! BEHIND YOU!" she screamed, and as a result, suffered another painful slash to her person, only this time the claws dug deep into her back. She screamed in pain as she fell to the floor. "RYOKO!" Ayeka screamed as she turned, and as she did, the huge rock formation took a more familiar shape, which then bared its ugly, yellow, hippopotamus like teeth at her. The creature, who we know as Yorr, then balled up its massive, three fingered hand into a fist. Ayeka summoned up her strongest force field just in time to see Yorr launch his immense fist at her. Ayeka then shrieked, the strain almost too much to bare. Ivan looked around at the battle before him, and was amazed that no huge level of destruction came to the house. Ivan continued to look around until he saw the object of his search, his prize, his reason for existing. "At last, I have found you..." he said as he approached the screaming Meira, who crawled as quickly as possible to get away, but only exceeding in pushing the glass further into her leg. Ivan was merely three steps away from her when a strange tingling in the back of his mind forced him to stop. Suddenly, Ivan jerked his head to the side, then watched as a sharp, purple claw shot past his face. With his lightening quick reflexes, Ivan grasped the strange claw and hurled it, plus the lightweight body it was attached to, around and around, tossing it into the wall. The figure merely shook off the damage from the impact like it was a small slap. Ivan gazed at the strange creature before him, both ferocious and beautiful, her eyes glowing red with anger. "You must be Mayuka, Yuzuha's greatest creation, the Daughter of Darkness..." smirked Ivan as Mayuka growled viciously at him. Ivan had only time to blink before she leapt at him, baring her demonic claws and summoning her blue laser sword. All of Ryoko's training instantly flooded Mayuka's mind as she contemplated ways to finish her enemy off. A flash of dark blue, a sort of glowing navy blue, light brought her back to reality as she blocked a slash from a laser sword from out of nowhere. Ivan turned his head slightly and saw Asha, her face cold and expressionless, her arm only barely straining against Mayuka's ferocity. "Good girl." Ivan said as the two began to duel. He simply walked around Asha and Mayuka, reveling in their grunts and growls of combat. Ivan then knelt down, eyeing the injured young woman before him. "No... please..." Meira muttered feebly as Ivan effortlessly lifted her up. "We mustn't be late, we have an appointment to keep. You did very well, hiding from us in that ship, but now... we win." Ivan mocked, turning toward the door. During her horrendous battle, Ryoko managed to catch a glimpse of Ivan leaving with Meira, and at that moment, her blood boiled. "NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!!" She screamed as she teleported away, leaving her opponent temporarily confused. Ivan took a second to admire the sunlight breaching the Juraian canopy before ducking his head and dodging the nearly fatal laser sword attack. With a smile on his face, and a look that defied death itself, Ivan turned around and caught the burning, hateful gaze of Ryoko. "Give her to me and I may let you live." She threatened, her teeth clenched tightly. Her only response was seeing Ivan's eyes dart around to spy something behind her. Quickly, Ryoko turned, and caught a claw right to the face. The pain was enormous, but it did not match her fear, for Ryoko felt her blood flow freely over the hands that clenched her suffering face. Ryoko tried to look at her attacker, but she was blind. The blood that seeped over her face had covered her eyes, denying her of her sight. But she could still hear the insidious laughter of her enemies. "Excellent Shirow. Tell the others that we leave in exactly one minute." Ivan said as he adjusted the struggling weight on his back. "Yes sir." The creature Ryoko was fighting, named Shirow, hissed evilly. Suddenly, Ryoko felt someone, or something, rudely grasp her spiky, sweaty hair and pull it back, lifting her head up. The pain emerging from her wounds tripled as she cried out in pain and agony. Then, she felt something long, wet, and rough slide up and down her wound. Shirow was licking the blood from her fresh wound, moaning loudly in ecstasy. Shirow's tongue managed to clean off her right eye, and finally her vision was restored. Ryoko then took the time to view her surroundings, and saw her home, burning and trashed, gradually falling apart piece by piece. Her attention was called to the loud shriek inside the house, and then the body soaring out of it, or more appropriately, through the wall. Ryoko then saw this body, which resembled Ayeka, only bloody and battered, fall to the dusty ground with a dull thud. From inside the house, a loud, inhuman roar could be heard. A second later, her head was rudely tossed to the ground, causing Ryoko's head to throb and ache dreadfully. "I will let you live child, but we will meet again, and next time things will be different." Shirow warned as he took a few steps away from Ryoko. "...Next time... we meet... you will... die..." Ryoko threatened weakly. "Oh? Is that a threat?" Shirow laughed incredulously. "No... it's a promise..." Ryoko uttered with a smile. Shirow frowned at her, baring his razor sharp teeth. His only response was a deep growl and a punt to Ryoko's stomach, which sent her flying several feet back and was more than efficient to shut her up. Although her consciousness was rapidly fading, Ryoko could see Shirow saunter back into the burning house, and then all was silent. **************************************************************************** "Oh god..." cried Tenchi as he saw the destruction that was his home. In the front yard he saw the bodies of Ryoko and Ayeka, and he wasn't totally sure if they were still alive or not. After running to check, making sure they were still among the living, Tenchi gazed at the burning house, and heard a faint weeping. Running like a wildman, Tenchi leapt through the broken window and into the blazing house, a strange sense of Deja Vu flooding his mind. On the wall before him was Mayuka, stapled to it much like Funaho was. Using all of his strength, and ignoring the fact that the needles were cutting into his own flesh, Tenchi pulled them out of Mayuka and took her to safety, away from the burning house. 'Okay, I have to calm down. I've got one, and she will live... I hope. I have to check the others more thoroughly' he thought as he ran to the closest body, which was Ayeka. Tenchi checked her over, and saw that she was seriously bruised, and probably was bleeding internally. But, she was breathing, which was a good sign. Seconds later, he was at Ryoko's side, checking her over exactly as he did Ayeka. "T... Tenchi..." said Ryoko, her voice a faint whisper. "Ryoko! Oh thank god you're okay! What HAPPENED!?" Tenchi screamed as he hugged onto the bleeding Ryoko. "He... came for... her..." She sputtered as blood trickled down her mouth. "WHO!? Who came for her?!" "The... devil..." Said Ryoko as her eyes began to drift to the back of her head. "Ryoko, stay with me! Ryoko! Where is she!? Where's Meira!?" "They... they came... for... her." Said Ryoko the moment she lost consciousness yet again. **************************************************************************** Keiko entered the darkened room, unsure of what she would see next. But, all she saw before her was Yosho, hunched close to a monitor with bags under his red eyes. "Replay 600421." He said gruffly. Once again, the monitor before him flickered and all he saw was snow. "Yosho... there is nothing to be gained from this..." Keiko muttered. Yosho didn't look at her, but merely stared at the monitor. "Yosho, please... there is NOTHING there! Nothing! It's all STATIC! Leave it be!" Keiko said as she forced Yosho to look at her. "Leave me. You wouldn't understand." Yosho said as he turned back toward the monitor. "Try me." Keiko said, much to Yosho's annoyance. "Fine. Something is masking the signal, causing all this disruption. There's something there, I can barely see it, and it's taken me hours to clear it up THIS much." "Well, why don't you get Washu over here and have her analyze this for you?" Keiko returned. "Because, whoever was here attacked the others. She's too busy trying to keep them alive." Yosho answered flatly. "Oh no..." gasped Keiko as she put a hand up to her mouth. "Wait... there it is, see?" Yosho said as he pointed to the monitor. Keiko stepped forward and took a closer look. There was definitely an image imbedded in the static, but it was blurred and misshapen. "What could it be?" Keiko asked. "I don't know. It looks like a face, but... it's too grotesque to be human or Juraian. I've catalogued it with every known species and still there are no matches." "Well, the image IS very distorted, maybe the computer couldn't take a reading?" Keiko suggested. "No, the computer doesn't work like that. The distortion shouldn't matter, the computer can clear it up." "Then why does are you staring at this horrible picture if the computer can clear it up." "I meant the computer can clear up the visual data, and only the data, this is as clear as the image gets." "Oh." Keiko said discontentedly. "I... I don't know. I think I've run out of options." Yosho said as he rubbed his eyes. "Why don't you catalogue it with the criminals in the GP database? He's bound to show up there." "I did. No match." "Okay... what about the criminals that were sentenced to subspace?" Keiko suggested. "That makes no sense. No one could escape from subspace, it'd be a waste of time." "You never know unless you try." Keiko said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Yosho looked up at her, and stared deeply into her soft, amethyst eyes. "Fine." Yosho sighed as he tapped a few buttons. A second later, another monitor appeared and thousands of faces flew by. For minutes, Yosho and Keiko stood there in silence, awaiting some sort of answer. The answer came with the phrase "POSSIBILITY MATCH OVER SEVENTY PERCENT", which flashed over the new monitor. Suddenly, hundreds of little measurements flooded the older screen, little numbers flashing here and there. Finally, all the action on both screens stopped, except for the writing that appeared on the newer screen. "Probability : 98.62 ." Keiko read out loud. Yosho's breath stopped as he brought up the file that matched, and was greeted by the ugliest face he had ever seen in all his life. The thing in the picture had small, beady, evil red and black eyes, no nose, and teeth resembling a hippopotamus. "Yorr en Drathmet... That's Viterian for Yorr the Deathmetal." Said Yosho. "Yorr the Deathmetal? Where have I heard that name before?" Keiko asked. "Serial killer on planet Viterial. Probably the most brutal ever recorded. It says here that he was a product of scientific Mass Assimilation with the rare material called 'Drathmet'." "Mass Assimilation? Isn't that something Washu invented?" "Well, no, she didn't INVENT it, but she was the first to discover the scientific applications for it. She was the only one who knew the entire secrets behind Mass Assimilation, but apparently someone tried to duplicate her work, and this was the result." Yosho said as he motioned to the monitor. Keiko perused Yorr's list of offenses. The list went on and on, spanning a career of thousands of years, resulting in millions of dollars stolen and twice as much in damages. His final offense, before today, was assisting the Dark Juraians in their campaign to destroy our universe. "Hey, look at this... sentenced to death for conspiracy to commit genocide, awaiting sentence in subspace. Sentence to be carried out on Galaxy Police Prison ship, The Commodore... and then there's nothing." Yosho said. "Check the database of the other war criminals captured after the fall of Dark Jurai. I'll bet you they were his accomplices. "Accomplices? You don't think this was a lone act of vengeance?" Yosho asked. "No. This was obviously deliberate. They were looking for something... or someone." "The girl." Yosho said as he began typing. There was a silence as the monitors pulled together lists upon lists of war criminals captured after Dark Jurai's fall. "Okay... I guess we should narrow the search..." Keiko said quietly. Yosho quickly typed in A1 class War Criminals and a list of fifty were came up, which was drastically smaller than the original. "Here... move." Keiko said as she lightly pushed Yosho away from the keyboard. Swiftly, she typed in COMMODORE and moved back, the list was then shortened to four. "There you go. There's you're criminals." Keiko said, smiling to herself. Yosho looked up at her and smiled. **************************************************************************** "... two days, and NOTHING! What, doesn't anyone commit crimes anymore?" Muttered Nagi to herself as she monitored all the local broadcasts for anything that might come in handy. Nagi had to resort to talking to herself, for she couldn't hear herself think through Togusa's insistent snoring. "Man, even in his SLEEP he makes too much noise." She said to herself as she rolled her eyes. Just then, a little beep emanated from the monitor in front of her, and several new bounties appeared, each of them worth more money than she could count. Needless to say, Nagi was absolutely DROOLING. "Hey, wake up. Wake up motorboat, let's go!" Nagi shouted as she hit Togusa on the shoulder, waking him up. "IN THE NAME OF EVERYTHING THAT IS HOLY WILL YOU KNOCK IT THE HELL OFF!" He screamed into Nagi's unimpressed face. Her only response was a motion toward the monitor. "What, did you find... some...thing..." Togusa managed to spit out before he saw the monitor and erupted in a fit of orgasmic moaning. Nagi just had to smile at him. "Wow, did that hurt?" He said when he saw her smiling. "What? I don't know what you're talking about!" Nagi said as her face returned to it's normal, intense countenance. "Right. Anyway... alright Leo-oki, show us the money!" Togusa said to his ship. Leo-oki roared loudly. "What do you MEAN you don't know where to start? You have the whole freaking file! Just do SOMETHING!" Togusa argued. Nagi just rolled her eyes. "Don't take that tone with ME!" Growled Togusa after Leo-oki made several growls. After a few minutes of pointless arguing, Leo-oki gave up and started to change course, while Togusa fluffed up his seat and began to drift back to sleep. Nagi was too busy reading the files on the new bounties to notice Togusa's open right eye, which was looking her over. Togusa's only though was about how gorgeous she was before he drifted back to sleep. **************************************************************************** "Now where are we going?" Togusa asked as he popped a cigarillo in his mouth and lit it. "A recent sighting has placed the criminal Yorr en Drathmet on this planet. The officials won't go anywhere near him, and for good reason..." Nagi answered. "Yeah, I know, I read the file. That's one sick fu..." Togusa began to say. "Watch the language." Nagi said to him without even looking at him. Togusa just took an extra long drag off of his cigarillo, trying to ignore her. "Anyway, we need to get on that planet and find us that ugly mother..." Togusa said, but a sharp gaze from Nagi cut him off. "Geez...", Togusa said, "< Exasperated sigh>, okay Leo-oki, search the planet and find us the arch criminal Yorr, then cloak and pursuit." Leo-oki roared in compliance, then suddenly the black ship turned crystal clear. Slowly, as not to rouse the suspicion of the planet's security satellites, Leo-oki descended through the thick, smoggy clouds. The invisible ship soared over the heavily industrial world, swiftly dodging the noxious gases pouring from the mile high smoke stacks. Eventually, Leo-oki came to a stop above a less industrial sector of the planet, and teleported Togusa and Nagi in front of an old, ugly, moldy, yet very huge, run down church. "I guess they're in there..." Togusa decided. "Well duh..." Nagi said as she stealthily bounded toward the old church. Togusa took a moment to admire the way her butt moved as she "stealthily bounded" and then followed suit. Instead of using the door, the two crawled through a fairly large opening to the side, which led directly into the chapel. The inside of the church was as bad as the outside, all dark and moldy. Togusa was about to comment on something when Nagi put her hand out, motioning for silence. Suddenly, the huge oaken doors flew open and four very ugly, and very evil, people came through. Nagi immediately recognized the large, ugly face of Yorr, and unsheathed her sword. "Who's that?" Whispered Togusa. Nagi looked at him questioningly. Togusa pointed to the girl being carried by the muscular Juraian man at the head of the party. Nagi merely shrugged. "So, you want to get started?" Nagi whispered quietly with a smile. "Wait... there's more..." Togusa said as he motioned to the alter. They watched as the Juraian man set the girl down on the alter, and seven robed individuals hiding in the shadows then stepped out into the faint light. "Whoa..." Muttered Nagi as the robed men began to walk into each other, forming into one robed thing, from which a huge pair of bat wings grew. The pale flesh on the creature's hands rotted away as the fingers grew longer and sharper, transforming into a pair of extensive, evil claws. The creature's eyes glowed brightly, burning red with evil. Togusa's eyes widened with surprise. "Those eyes..." he muttered. Nagi gently placed a hand over his gaping mouth, and told him to be quiet. "I see you were worth my time and energy." The creature said to the Juraian. "I told you that I was, sire." The Juraian, Ivan, said. "Was she difficult to find?" "At first, we DID run into a little trouble, but nothing we couldn't take care of." "And were you discrete?" The creature asked, moving closer to Ivan. "Y...yes sir..." Ivan stuttered. "Ivan... you're lying to me. Don't forget, I see all." The creature said as it placed a hand on Ivan's shoulder. Ivan instantly froze with fear, sweat and tears streaming down his face. "Make your report quick, the light bothers me." The creature said, backing into the shadows. " yes sir..." Ivan said as he gasped for air, as if he held it for a very, very long time. "I... trust this is the girl you... were looking for..." Ivan said as the air returned to his lungs. Togusa watched as the creature's vile hand came from the darkness and touched the girl on the chest. The pendant she wore glowed brightly, exposing the creature in the darkness. Quickly, the creature took it's hand away and the light subsided. "Yes, it is her. You have done well Juraian, where many have failed. You shall be rewarded you well. Now you must prepare the ship, for our finest hour is at hand." "Where are we to go master?" Shirow said from behind Ivan. "You will know once the ship is ready." The creature answered. Nagi was tense at the moment. In front of her stood all four bounties, each one worth more than she has ever collected in her lifetime. And not to mention there might be a reward for the kidnapped girl, but still she was not happy. The most vicious criminals EVER where standing mere feet from her, each one more powerful then she has ever known, so a direct attack was out of the question. 'This one's going to be difficult...' she thought as her hand accidentally touched a jagged piece of glass, placing a slight cut on one of her fingers. A small drop of blood emerged from the cut. Suddenly, everything was still, except Shirow, who's head perked up, sniffing the air. "What is it?" Ivan asked as he hoisted Meira over his shoulder. "We are not alone... someone has followed us here..." Shirow remarked. "Well then, FIND THEM! Asha and I will prepare the ship. Don't take long." Ivan said as Asha and he walked out of the church, leaving Shirow and Yorr in the building. Immediately, they began overturning pews and knocking over boxes, searching for the intruders. "We need to get the hell out of here..." Togusa said to Nagi as he prepared himself to run. "I agree." Nagi said as she placed her injured finger into her mouth. Togusa stood up, still hidden by tons of boxes, and turned around, only to smack his face into the chest of someone rock hard and every pissed. "Uh... good doggy..." He said as he backed up a foot or two. Nagi turned and saw this latest development. Without a second thought, she started to slash at Yorr with her sword, but her sword never made it. She turned to see Shirow holding the blade, a demented smile showcasing his sharp teeth. "No-no, child. That is a BAD girl!" Mocked Shirow as his grip tightened around Nagi's sword. Both Nagi and Shirow's attention was diverted to Togusa as he summoned his laser scimitar, it's blue light flooding the chapel. With a scream, Togusa slashed at Yorr, connecting dead on with his right shoulder. But, much to his dismay, Togusa found that slashing Yorr with a laser sword was like trying to cut water with a knife. His sword phased right through Yorr like he wasn't solid at all. "Oh shit..." Togusa muttered right before Yorr punched him with his massive fists, sending him soaring toward the alter. Yorr then took off after him, his footsteps landing loudly against the cold, hard surface. Nagi wasn't faring any better, for she was in a life and death struggle with Shirow over her sword. "Give it BACK!" She commanded through gritted teeth. Shirow simply laughed at her, as if he was just toying with her. Then, with an angered scream, Nagi kicked Shirow in the groin, sending him to his knees, moaning and groaning. She yanked her laser sword out of his hands and then kicked him in the face, a triumphant smirk on her face. Nagi was about to take off to help Togusa, when she heard Shirow stand up. "For that, you DIE!" He screamed as he lunged. Nagi barely dodged him with great difficulty, but managed to slash him in the arm. Shirow turned to her, smiling as the cut sealed up on it's own, not losing a single drop of blood. Then, Shirow extended his left arm, and pointed at Nagi with a long, demonic claw. "Excellent attempt, child. Now, it is my turn." Shirow growled as he swiped at Nagi with his outstretched finger. The attack didn't even come close to Nagi, which she parried with her sword quite easily. "That it?" She asked condescendingly. Shirow shrugged and just waited. A second later, the sword fell in half. "Ah, Crap..." Nagi groaned a second before she dodged a near fatal attack to her face. Togusa, however, was doing a little better. Being small and lithe, he easily dodged Yorr's attacks, which put holes in everything. Togusa laughed as Yorr roared in displeasure. Finally, Togusa found his opening, and then he pressed his attack. He swung with all his might, summoning ever ounce of strength he was capable of, and with expert accuracy. A punch like this would have killed any ordinary person, but Yorr was far from ordinary. The punch connected with Yorr's stomach on schedule, and resulted in a loud, sickening SNAP being echoed throughout the church. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!! MOTHERFUCK!!!! OWWWWW!" Cussed Togusa as he held his injured hand. Through the pain he could hear Yorr laughing at him, and he could also see him send his fist at a downward arch toward him. Togusa dodged just in time, and Yorr ended up sending his fist into the cold concrete, putting yet another hole in the church. Togusa, pissed as hell, concentrated, and focused all his energies on his good hand. Instantly, a huge gun, larger than he was, appeared out of nowhere and came to rest on his shoulder. Matsui 4000 was written on the side of the massive weapon. "My turn." Togusa said as he pulled the trigger. Light, fire, and noise erupted absolutely everywhere as a massive green energy ball plummeted toward Yorr, and hit dead on, exploding violently and punching a hole in his huge chest. But, much to Togusa's dismay, his chest began to close in on itself, making a noise much like that of cracking glass. In a matter of seconds, the hole was no more. Yorr growled angrily and Togusa's eyes widened larger than saucers. "Bastard!" screamed Nagi as Shirow slashed at her yet again. 'He's managed to avoid every single one of my attacks, and I haven't been able to do ANYTHING to him... there is only one thing left to do...' thought Nagi. Immediately after Shirow's next attack, Nagi turned and ran... "This is it, only one of us is going to walk away from this alive..." Togusa said to Yorr as they stood apart from each other, showdown style. Togusa then summoned his Laser Scimitar. Yorr flexed his large arms and cracked his thick fingers. After a moment of silence, Togusa screamed a raging battle cry and ran full stride toward Yorr, who did the same thing. Togusa's shout became louder and louder the closer he came. Then, just as he was about to attack, he felt a force pull him to the side. He watched as Yorr, surprised, overextended his attack and nearly fell over. He looked up and saw that Nagi had grabbed his shirt and pulled him away. She was running so fast that he didn't even touch the ground. Yorr saw the two running for the door, and with a pissed off growl, he began to sink into the ground, almost as if he was melding with it. Nagi finally let Togusa down, and the two ran and ran, closer and closer to the doors. Their legs hurt and their lungs burned, but at least they were alive to feel it. Deep inside her mind, Nagi prayed to live through this, something she hasn't needed to do in quite a long while. As she was going to dive for the door, two huge, hulking arms appeared out of the floor, blocking her path. Nagi and Togusa leapt back, and watched as Yorr began to pull himself out of the floor. Togusa turned around and saw that Shirow was blocking the other way, walking toward them slowly, the look in his eyes promising them much pain. "We're screwed..." Togusa muttered to Nagi. Nagi didn't answer, but only felt a lump grow in her throat. Suddenly, Yorr began to roar loudly, and thrash violently. Togusa and Nagi turned back around and saw a thin blue blade protruding from his face, slicing him in the eyes. And no matter how much he reached, his arms were too short to reach the person behind him, stabbing his eyes. "COME ON! HURRY! I CAN'T HOLD HIM ALL DAY!" Takeshi screamed. Togusa and Nagi looked at each other briefly, and then took off, bounding over Yorr like he was a hurdle. The two crashed through the door within seconds and immediately were picked up by Leo-oki's teleportation beam. Takeshi watched them disappear, and then, with a smirk directed at the confused and surprised Shirow, he leapt off of Yorr, his feet pushing off Yorr's head. Takeshi never even hit the ground, for he disappeared as soon as he cleared the church, barely missing the rapid slashing of Shirow's claws. Togusa looked down and watched as the two ran out of the building and glared up at them, but then their faces were hidden behind the thick smoggy clouds of this heavily industrial planet. Yorr watched the ship disappear into the cloud cover, and roared in anger, the one of the few emotions his primitive brain could conceive of. His roar was so loud that the decrepit windows of the church shattered, sending a rain of multicolored glass flying in all directions. Behind him stood Shirow, who suddenly cowered away, disappearing into the air. Yorr was still roaring as someone placed their rotted, sharp claw on his spiked shoulder. Yorr's yelling ceased when he turned and saw who was touching him. His angered red and black eyes softened with fear, and the hulking giant seemed to cower in this creature's presence. Yorr watched as the creature took its hand back, and was brought back into reality by the sound of a familiar voice. "Yorr! Snap out of it! Come on, it's time to go." Ivan told him. Yorr took one last look toward the direction the creature was at, but saw that it was now gone. Without muttering a single noise, Yorr complied, following Ivan into their stolen ship. He took his regular seat in the back and finally relaxed. Ivan, however, continued up toward the cabin of the ship, where Asha sat, flicking a switch here and pressing a button there. Shirow sat in the other seat, awaiting Ivan's arrival. "Well, the ship is ready. Where does the master wish to go?" Shirow asked. "The 'Master' wishes to depart to space sector 11669-3. And prep the warp engines, this trip will take a while." Ivan informed. "What is the destination?" Shirow then asked. Hundreds of star charts appeared on the monitors in front of them. Ivan inspected them closely, and then pointed at a small red dot on one of the charts. The chart then zoomed in on the location, and revealed that it wasn't just a red dot, but an entire galaxy, surrounded by an immense red shield. "We go there..." Ivan said as he turned around and took his regular seat, eyeing the unconscious girl next to him evilly. Her pendant shimmered at his evil gaze... **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** A C T T H R E E T H E B O O K O F S P A C E We seek savage swords We, Iron Kings, servants of fate Bringing deadly weapons Spring from the earth Against the enemy in war We control high spirited horses Shaking their proud heads Spirits if dead, give death and bitter grief To the enemy who must be laid low. -Raiders of Doom ( Basil Poledouris ) Beyond light years and light years of empty space, around massive stars and minute interstellar particles, there lies a simple, yellow star. Orbiting this insignificant ball of swirling, chaotic, fiery gases are hundreds of millions of asteroids, some as small as a speck of dust, others as huge as a large country. At one particular point in this massive cluster of celestial rock hovers a peculiar clump of asteroids. The equidistant asteroid is the most massive of all, with miles upon miles extending from it's central point. And, marking this central point with profound accuracy... a tree. But this is no ordinary tree, no sir, but a special tree, older then the human race itself (and smarter than most of them too). Its beauty and splendor goes unmatched, accept for the streams of multicolored light that have begun to rocket off of the tree's browning leaves. On one side of the tree stems an irregularity. On the side rests a wooden object, measuring about a foot long, with an articulate and convoluted natural structure. On it's farthest end away from the tree rest two red, glowing gems, each one emanating a strange, spectral glow... **************************************************************************** "Will he be alright?" Tsunami asked Washu as they gradually sipped some tea and watched Tenchi as he paced back and forth, his fists clenched tight and a tired look on his face. "I hope." Washu sighed. Sitting in the chairs next to them were Ryoko and Ayeka, both bandaged and bruised, but living and breathing. They sat there and watched quietly as Tenchi slowly, and metaphorically, ate himself up inside. It was several days since the widely publicized attack on the Juraian Palace. The media ate it up and spit it out as quickly as possible, and it was all that was seen on the television. Tenchi, however, was not doing as well as the media. He felt like dying. Twice he's left Meira and twice she's been either abducted or nearly killed. And what was worse, he didn't know where to start looking for her. But he did make a solemn promise to himself... he was never going to leave her again. But another thought crept up in his head after his countless hours of pointless pacing... Do I truly love her this much? It's been only a few days since he's first met her, but it almost seems to have been a lifetime. This whole time Tenchi suspected he would fall for either Ayeka or Ryoko... but it ended up being some obscure young woman that he just recently met. But was it truly love? Tenchi didn't know. If a girl can make him feel like this, then it surely must be... mustn't it? "Oh god..." muttered Tsunami as she dropped the teacup she was holding. It fell and shattered into a million little pieces, making a very, very loud noise. "What? What is it?" Asked Washu. She saw the tears beginning to stream down Tsunami's face. "Their still... alive!" Tsunami gulped. She then broke out into a fit of giddy laughter, hugging a confused Washu tightly. "Who?" muttered Washu hoarsely as Tsunami embraced her tightly. "Funaho and Ryu-oh! They're talking to me..." Tsunami said as she let go of Washu, who's face had turned as red as her hair. "But, that is impossible... they were destroyed with the Earth..." Ayeka added. "No. They managed to survive. If we hurry, we can still save them!" said Tsunami ecstatically. "But, what help can they be? They can't turn into ships, they have no real offensive power... it'd be a waste of our time." Ryoko said. Afterwards she returned her gaze to Tenchi, who still paced back and forth, thinking to himself. "It's not the trees that will help us, it's what they have that will..." Tsunami blurted out. "What do they have?" Washu asked, watching Tsunami closely. "... The Master Key..." "WHAT!" Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka shouted unanimously. "But... the master key was... still on Earth..." Tenchi argued. "Well, I guess it still is." Tsunami retorted. Then, for a while, there was only silence. "Well, what are we waiting for!? We can't waste a single moment! Let's get moving!" commanded Ryoko, bolstering the group's spirit. Soon after, the little room in the palace which the group had occupied was empty. **************************************************************************** The red sands of Mars flew effortlessly as the massive whirlwind crisscrossed over the planet's surface, blocking the view of the vast canyons and dried up riverbeds that the astronomers of Earth loved so well. Tenchi didn't much care to see the red planet, and ignored it, as he, plus all the others, flew by it on Ryo-oki. Ryoko looked up at the asteroids that were formerly her home and sighed. Memories of the destruction flowed through her consciousness, clouding her vision with tears of pain and sorrow. Mustering all of her strength, she cleared her throat and wiped away the tears, concentrating at the task before her. "Over there..." directed Tsunami, pointing a few degrees to the right. Ryo-oki effortlessly glided past the asteroids, which slammed and exploded into each other in bright flashes of light. After making way past a particularly massive asteroid, the group was struck by the awesome sight growing closer and closer in front of them. They saw the old Masaki residence, or whatever wasn't burnt to a cinder, in all it's former glory. Tenchi could still make out the steps leading to the shrine, not to mention the shrine itself. He saw Ryoko's cave, where he had spent countless hours of his youth playing and pretending, and then, of course he saw Funaho, and Ryu-oh, the two massive trees spiraling majestically upward, reaching toward the outer reaches of space. The sight was nothing short of breathtaking. "Tenchi, get ready, you're going down there." Said Washu's voice. Tenchi turned to her with a "Who... me?" expression. She nodded yes and snapped her fingers, instantly covering Tenchi in some sort of lightweight suit. Tenchi saw that the same was placed over Ayeka, who marveled at the suit's intricate aerodynamical design. Within seconds, the familiar hull of Ryo-oki disappeared as Tenchi and Ayeka instantly found themselves teleported onto the asteroid, along with Ryoko. **************************************************************************** However, millions of light years away, another ship was nearing a different, but equally as breathtaking, sight. The small ship was merely a spec, a molecule, when compared to the gigantic galaxy that it approached. The closer the ship became, the more it was doused in a flood of red light, emanating from the massive energy shield surrounding the galaxy. But still, the ship did not stop, but instead went faster toward the shield, daring it... mocking it. Nanoseconds before impact, strange happenings began around the ship. Huge bolts of energy arched around the tiny ship, followed by a strange force which attempted to push the ship away. But, despite all its hard work, the force failed, and the ship slid effortlessly through the shield, completely unharmed. **************************************************************************** "Oh, my beautiful Ryu-oh... I am so happy to see that you are alright..." sighed Ayeka as she lightly touched the bark of her former ship. As to how Ryu-oh became rooted into the soil, much less survived the destruction of earth, Ayeka could not even begin to fathom. She was just happy to see that Ryu-oh was indeed alive and well. Ayeka lightly touched Ryu-oh's leaves, which were frozen stiff in the cold. Ayeka casually looked behind her and spied Tenchi and Ryoko, waiting for her to finish her little reunion, and decided not to keep them waiting. With one last look, Ayeka said goodbye, and as if responding, Ryu-oh shimmered in the faint light. With her eyebrow raised in confusion, Ayeka watched as a small droplet of water raced its way down several of Ryu-oh's leaves. After finishing its little run through the convoluted pathway of leaves, the droplet fell to the dusty ground, despite the absence of any gravity. The drop fell, smashing into the ground and uplifting a minuscule amount of dirt and tossing it upward, revealing something wooden and golden yellow beneath the soil. "Tenchi... come here please..." Ayeka called as she inspected the patch of yellow wood that was revealed to her. Within seconds, Tenchi and Ryoko had bounded up to Ayeka, and were kneeling next to her. "What is it Ayeka?" Tenchi asked. "Cross your fingers, lord Tenchi, and hope that this is what I think it is..." she told him as she swept away the dirt to reveal familiar blue Kanji. "Well, look who it is... knock on wood..." Joked Ryoko as Tenchi cleared more dirt away, revealing a second set of Kanji, only red. "Azaka... Kamidake... it is them... I cannot believe it..." Ayeka said as a few tears of joy fell down her cheek. With a some more sweeping, and a little digging, the trio had eventually uncovered a large majority of the former guardians of Jurai, Azaka and Kamidake. The light that used to burn in their optic sensors was snuffed, but the simple fact that they were still in one peace filled Ayeka was hope. "Can they be repaired?" Ayeka sniffled into the communicator to Washu, who was still on Ryo-oki. "You never know unless you try!" came Washu's voice, resembling the way she was months and months ago. Ayeka sniffled some more and breathed a sigh of happiness as the lifeless bodies of Azaka and Kamidake were teleported onto Ryo-oki in a bright flash of white light. **************************************************************************** Tokimi's realm was, to say the least, awe inspiring. Rivers flowed for light years in zero gravity, and then fell off at some point or another in massive waterfalls. These rivers were filled with all sorts life, ranging from the size of a germ to larger than the biggest animals earth could even imagine. The nature of the existence of these oddities is incomprehensible, but not as incomprehensible as the mistress who rules this realm, for her very existence is a paradox, an enigma with no hopes of being solved. In the millions of years that this realm has existed, never has the rivers ran red with blood, and never has the realm stopped moving simultaneously. If one were to gaze at the massive trail of blood and destruction leading to the immense palace trillions of miles ahead, they would never had even guessed at the realm's former beauty. All they would see was a holocaust, and all they would hear would be silence. **************************************************************************** Tenchi and company finally came to rest a few meters from the massive tree, Funaho. The tree's leaves had begun to brown, but Funaho still maintained its majestic beauty. Tenchi, Ayeka, and Ryoko made their way down the massive hill, occasionally slipping and kicking up lots of dust along the way down. The tree Funaho stood tall, its branches heaving upward. The frozen droplets of water on Funaho's leaves reflected the light from the sun and separated it into a kaleidoscope of all the colors of the rainbow. The leaves, too, seemed to emit a strange ethereal light, which grew brighter and brighter as the trio continued forward. A soft glimmer caught Tenchi's eye as he turned. There, imbedded into the base of the mighty tree, was the object of his quest... **************************************************************************** "Something is amiss..." said a deep, calm, yet ominous, voice. Inside the massive chamber, a huge head phased into existence, its long flowing beard and even longer hair flowing as if they themselves lived. "Indeed, D3..." replied a soft, feminine, but even more ominous voice. "I cannot sense who it is. All I see is a black cloud." D3 returned. "I cannot see them either, but I know who it is..." said the feminine voice as several shadowy figures appeared behind D3, forming two rows of columns. And, in the middle of these two rows, the goddess Tokimi appeared. Her purple eyes seemed to glare as she gazed off into nothingness. "You are looking at the future." D3 stated. But this time, no vile smirk crossed Tokimi's divine lips. "Is there a future?" asked D3 moments later. "I do not know..." Tokimi answered, her voice unwavering. **************************************************************************** "I... can't... reach..." groaned Tenchi as he reached for the master key. Unfortunately, it was imbedded into Funaho a few feet more than Tenchi could muster. Suddenly, Tenchi felt a strange sensation, almost as if his equilibrium had shifted. Tenchi turned just slightly and noticed Ryoko, ever smiling, and hoisting Tenchi up towards the sword. Within seconds, the Tenchi-ken was within reaching distance. There was a slight electrical discharge as Tenchi pulled the mighty sword from the base of Funaho, but it subsided as Tenchi-ken's bright blue blade peeked out. Tenchi felt the familiar old surge of power he received every time he wielded the weapon, and for a split second felt totally invincible. But, the feeling faded into nothing as Tenchi was lowered back onto the dusty floor. **************************************************************************** With all of her divine power, Tokimi pushed her vision farther and farther into the future, but still received nothing. The harder she tried, the more horrible the memories of the Dark Dimension and of the demons became, until she realized that the visions before her were not only memories, but things to come. Her vast concentration was broken by a violent rumbling, emanating from all around her palace. "They have arrived." Tokimi muttered as the massive doors to the chamber opened ever so slowly. "You are not worthy to be in the presence of the Lady Tokimi. Leave now." Warned D3. "D3, SILENCE!" Tokimi hissed. Promptly, he quieted. "Time for our part of the bargain..." said a dark, deep, raspy voice which seethed with evil. "My part was never received." Glared Tokimi. "Wrong. You wasted our gift on Washu and the Masaki boy. Your worthless exploits at regaining this universe failed you. You gave up your side of the bargain, and now we are here to collect." "I freed you so that I may regain control of this universe! Instead, you held me captive!" "We held you captive because your obsession with your sisters stood in the way of our objective. You remember the contract you signed, don't you? You get power unimaginable and hundreds of our conquered dimensions, in exchange for yourself. You thought you could control us, use the power we gave you to destroy us, but you were wrong. It is payment time, oh divine one." "You will have to destroy me first." Growled Tokimi. "If it comes to that, we will. My compatriots may not have the power to lay a hand on you, but I certainly can." Mocked the dark voice coming from the strange, alien darkness spilling from the open doors. "I am Tokimi! Goddess of Power! I AM THE UNIVERSE!" Screamed Tokimi as the darkness continued forth. "We no longer have any need for your services, Tokimi. But YOU may come in handy in the near future..." laughed the Darkness as it enveloped most of the room. "D3! Protect me!" Screamed Tokimi in almost what could be construed as fear. D3 immediately appeared and fired forth toward the darkness as it came closer, and closer, and closer.... **************************************************************************** "What in the hell were you thinking?! You could've been KILLED! Don't tell me the Royal Family of Jurai is THAT stupid!" chided Nagi as an emotionless Takeshi stood, taking the punishment. "Will you give him a break for goddess' sake!? He kid saved our lives! Granted, he needs his ass beat for running away from home and SNEAKING ABOARD my SHIP! But he deserves a pat on the back nonetheless." Argued Togusa. "I should have KNOWN you would've taken HIS side! I mean, god forbid that you'd listen to ANYTHING I'd say!" Nagi bitched at Togusa, her attention devoted squarely on him at the present time. Takeshi merely stood there with a very passive, Katsuhito-like face, watching the encounter between the two. "Oh yeah, I'm always AGAINST you! THAT'S RIGHT! I FORGOT!" Screamed Togusa, his face reddening. Takeshi's eyes glided from him to the extremely pissed Nagi standing in front of him. "You've NEVER backed me in ANYTHING! Ever since I first MET you, you've been a major pain in my ASS!" roared Nagi, placing a ton of emphasis on the last word she screamed. "HEY!!! WATCH THE LANGUAGE!" Mocked Togusa. At this, Takeshi cleared his throat. "DON'T YOU MOCK ME! ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS HELP YOUR SUBSTANDARD SOCIAL SKILLS!" "SUBSTANDARD!!!???" Togusa shouted, shocked at the accusation. "HELL YEAH SUBSTANDARD! YOU THINK THAT GOING AROUND WITH A VOCABULARY WORSE THAN A SAILOR'LL GIVE YOU ANY SORT OF SOCIAL EDGE, THEN I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU MISTER!" Nagi screamed, a small tear forming at her eye. Once again, with a very dignified manner, Takeshi cleared his throat, only a little louder. As he guessed, no one heard him. "YEAH!!! WELL I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU!!! GO TO HELL!" Togusa yelled as he made an extremely rude Juraian hand motion, stating his beliefs of the looseness of Nagi's morals. "Excuse me..." Takeshi butted in during the eerie silence that followed. The two glared at him with murder in their eyes. "Well, uh, heh... well, what I wanted to say was that I AM a big boy, and quite capable of taking care of myself. I am of the legal age to go about my business and do whatever I want to do, and for all intensive purposes, I wanted to sneak aboard this ship and see the universe for a change. Now, there's no need to argue about this, let's just try to calm down and decide what to do next." Takeshi reasoned. Nagi and Togusa then seemed to calm down slightly. "Ugly bitch." Togusa muttered as he flopped back down into his chair. "Macho idiot." Nagi growled as she turned and looked out into the stars, wiping the tear from her eye. She wouldn't allow that cretin to get to her. To show any weakness would mean defeat, and Nagi's never lost before, and doesn't plan to yet. But, what she doesn't know was that Takeshi saw her wipe away the tear. "Well, that still doesn't excuse the fact that you left without telling anyone. You may be of legal age, but you are royalty, and are not subjected to the same rules as others." Nagi continued, still looking out at the stars. "How many times do I have to say that I'm old enough to take care of myself?" Groaned Takeshi as he began to grow impatient. "He has a point." Togusa said, not looking at either of them. "Shut up." Nagi returned. Togusa silently mimicked Nagi in a disdainful manner. "You say that you are mature and responsible enough to take care of yourself, but what you did proves otherwise. What you did shows just how irresponsible and immature you are!" Nagi reprimanded, finally turning around and looking at Takeshi with a stern gaze. "She's right." Togusa told Takeshi, deciding to try to get back on Nagi's good side. "Shut UP!" Both Nagi and Takeshi growled in unison. Togusa merely shrugged and sighed, returning his gaze to the controls and star charts sitting before him. He was about to manually set course for Jurai, when suddenly everything around Togusa turned white. Off in the distance, he saw a strange, yet familiar feminine shape. Her long fingers beckoned to him, begging him to join her. As Togusa wandered closer, he saw that her face was covered in blood, as was the ground around her. Togusa shouted for her to stay there, that he was on his way, as he ran to her, but the closer he ran, the further she became. Then, the world around Togusa began to shift and shake uncontrollably, knocking him to the floor. Togusa watched as a black explosion rocked the heavens, spilling darkness everywhere. The last image he remembered seeing was of his brother, Matsui, and Gillian, his brother's girlfriend, and how they reached for him, pleading silently for Togusa to help them somehow. The next thing he knew, he was staring up at a pair of very worried, exotic eyes. "Am I in heaven?" He asked wearily. "No... why?" asked Takeshi from off to the side. "Because I see an angel..." Togusa smiled. Ever so briefly, Takeshi noticed Nagi blushing slightly. "Oh come on! That's the oldest come on in the book! Even I could do better than THAT!" Takeshi groaned. Both Nagi and Togusa glared at him, so... he decided that it would be in his best interest to remain quiet, no matter how tacky they got. "Togusa... are... are you okay?" Nagi asked softly. "Yeah, I'm fine. What in the HELL am I doing on the floor?" Togusa uttered as he rubbed his eyes. "You just lost consciousness and collapsed. Is there anything wrong, or anything I can get you?" Nagi asked. Takeshi thought that it was amazing that these two could have a completely earth shattering argument one minute, and then become sappy, love sick weirdos the next. He merely shrugged it off, already pondering other things, as to what his mother will say when he gets back. For once, he'd like to see that woman get angry. Never has she punished him for ANYTHING! Takeshi admitted to himself that he wasn't a masochist, and wasn't LOOKING for punishment, but it cannot be healthy to never be mad. Can it? He's never seen Mihoshi just get up and yell at someone, but she isn't the most... uh, mentally viable... subject around. Everyone else seems to cop a fit at a regular basis. Takeshi squeezed his eyes shut briefly and shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. And immediately afterward, he wished he had remained in his own little world, for the next thing he saw was Nagi and Togusa, making out like mad and groping each other's "nether regions" like it was going out of style. Once again, he cleared his throat. But this time, they heard him. "I think we have more... important... things to do at this moment, other than being 'naughty'." Smirked Takeshi. "I swear... I'm gonna kill that kid..." muttered Togusa as he once again plopped into his chair. Seconds later, he was entering coordinates into Leo-oki's navigational grid. Nagi stared at the coordinates for a few seconds, something not quite registering. "What's all the way out there?" Nagi questioned with her deep, sultry voice. "Someone who desperately needs our help." Togusa answered. "Who?" Nagi returned. "I... don't know..." **************************************************************************** "Amazing... the entire property was saved from Earth's destruction..." marveled Washu as she stared at the phenomenon before her. "Yosho should be happy..." smiled Tsunami. Washu nodded in agreement, following a small chuckle. The playful communication between the two goddesses was cut short by a sharp, shrill scream echoing through their heads. The goddesses collectively cupped their bleeding ears and fell to their knees, screaming in agony. Tenchi, who, along with Ryoko and Ayeka, had returned mere moments ago, ran to them. "Washu! Tsunami! What's wrong!?" Tenchi screamed, but his worried inquires fell on deaf ears. After a few seconds, the goddesses stopped screaming, and fell to the floor in exhaustion. Ryoko and Ayeka soon joined Tenchi, and knelt next to the fallen deities. "Washu! Washu!!" Screamed Ryoko, but she didn't respond. Washu didn't even look like she was breathing. "Oh god... MOTHER! WAKE UP!" cried Ryoko, tears forming at her eyes. After minutes of slapping, shaking and shouting, one of the goddesses finally woke. "Tsunami! What happened!?" questioned Ayeka. "We... w...we mu...musssst..." was all she managed to speak before she drifted back into unconsciousness. "What! MUST WHAT!?" Tenchi yelled. "T...To...to..." Muttered an only semi-conscious Washu. "What?" Ryoko asked softly. "To...ki...mi..." whispered Washu before she fell silent yet again. "Tokimi?" muttered Tenchi as he stood up. "You mean that strange woman who was kidnapped with Washu and Tsunami? What's she got to do with it?" Ayeka asked. "Probably a lot, from what my instincts tell me." Ryoko grumbled. "Well, where do we find this Tokimi?" Tenchi asked. Then, as if to answer, the Master Key flew from his hands and hovered in the center of Ryo-oki. Seconds later, several red laser beams shot out of the two gems in the hilt, causing the crystals flying around the center of Ryo-oki's cabin to turn a similar red. "What in the hell..." uttered a confused Ryoko moments before she found herself falling onto her rear, due to the immense shifting and changing of speed Ryo-oki was undergoing. "What is going on!?" fretted Ayeka. "The gems... they must be driving the ship!" hypothesized Ryoko. 'Whoa... this is creepy...' Ryoko thought as Ryo-oki continued off into some unknown destination. **************************************************************************** "Will ya look at that..." muttered Ryoko, amazed at the spectacle before her. The cabin of Ryo-oki was flooded with a soft red light as the ship neared closer and closer to its mysterious destination. "Wow..." whispered Tenchi, more amazed than Ryoko. He simply stared at the massive red energy shield coating the galaxy they were approaching. "Yes, it is quite spectacular, but how are we going to get in?" Ayeka asked, her eyes not moving off of the immense red shield. A second later, a monitor popped up, answering her question. The monitor showed a small hole in the galactic shielding, plenty large enough for them to enter. Surrounding the hole were millions of bolts of pure energy, slashing through the black empty space and reaching into the great unknown. Dodging these mammoth energy blasts was no problem for Ryo-oki, but the strange gravitational current pushing against her as she attempted to enter the opening posed a problem. Ryo-oki shook with the effort, eliciting many screams from the passengers inside. Tenchi felt sick to his stomach. It was like something was pushing on every square inch of his body, forcing him to go back. The force had already pushed him into the wall of Ryo-oki, and was only getting stronger. The phenomenal gravitational forces managed to squeeze a few tears from Tenchi, pushing them off of his face and against the wall. Tenchi didn't feel this weird since he rode the GRAVITRON when he was ten. His father had taken him to a fair and rode all the rides with him. The GRAVITRON was the only one he vowed never to ride again. And here he was, riding the celestial equivalent. And not only were the forces pushing him against the wall getting more powerful and violent, but the soft red glow illuminating the cabin had become an unbearable optic torture. Tenchi looked over to his side and saw Ayeka, screaming in fear and pain, her eyes shut tight against the vile light. He also saw, off in the distance, the two unconscious goddesses, both plastered unceremoniously against the wall. Using all his power, Tenchi reached out to her in an attempt to comfort her, to gesture to her that everything will be alright, but he just couldn't reach. A scream to his left refocused his attention elsewhere. With great difficulty, Tenchi pushed his head to the other side, straining all the muscles in his upper back and neck in the process, to see Ryoko screaming and reaching for him, her stomach against the wall. "TTTTTTEEEENNNNCCCHHHHIIIII!!!!" Ryoko screamed through clenched teeth and the inhuman roar of the ship vibrating violently. Tenchi tried to reach out to her, but as he did, everything around him became all fuzzy and blurry. A euphoric feeling wrapped itself around Tenchi as his consciousness slowly slipped away. He was about to become unconscious when another strange feeling overcame him. This feeling wasn't euphoric at all, but rather painful. Something was pressing itself against his face rather harshly, and Tenchi didn't like it. Slowly, Tenchi opened his eyes and noticed the absence of red light. Slowly, Tenchi twiddled his fingers, and felt them swish through the air as freely as they had always been able to. It took him a few seconds to realize that the object which so rudely pushed against his face was the floor, and that he was no longer being pushed against the wall. "Ow..." Tenchi groaned as he pushed himself up. Once again he looked over to his side and saw Ayeka, having a little more trouble picking herself up than he had. Over to his left, Tenchi saw Ryoko, already on her hands and knees, shaking the weirdness out of her head. "Ayeka... are you... okay..." Tenchi grumbled weakly as he turned his gaze back to Ayeka. With what seemed to be much effort, Ayeka picked her head up and look at him. "Why yes... lord Tenchi... I am... just fine..." Ayeka muttered with a tinge of sarcasm. "I guess we're through..." Ryoko commented. Tenchi finally stood up. "I hope so..." Tenchi muttered as he helped Ayeka to her feet. Ryoko was about to be jealous when Tenchi suddenly offered his hand to her. Blushing slightly, she took it and stood up, looping her arm around Tenchi's and resting her head on his shoulder. "Oh, Tenchi, I was so frightened! I'm so glad I have such a strong, handsome man to protect little old me!" Ryoko cooed. Tenchi smiled, because, due to recent events, Ryoko didn't do this too much anymore. Tenchi knew that she didn't love him any less... she just didn't have the time to get all mushy over him anymore. A nanosecond later, there was a slight tug on his other arm. He turned and saw Ayeka, mimicking Ryoko almost perfectly. "Oh lord Tenchi! You promised to always protect ME, didn't you?" Smiled Ayeka. As to what brought on all this playful tenderness ( might have been the intense situation they just been through, thought Tenchi ), he wasn't sure of, but Tenchi ( for once in his life... ) had no complaints. He actually missed the constant affection, sort of... "Okay, okay... we've got a job to do. After that, you can swoon over me all you want. Okay?" Laughed Tenchi as the girls let go of his arms. Simultaneously, the two girls smiled and nodded, answering "Right!" before they walked away from him. It was hard for Tenchi to wipe the smile off of his face after that, no matter how hard he tried. Tenchi looked over at the center of the cabin, and saw that Tenchi-ken was still in control of Ryo-oki, guiding the ship to god-knows-where. Tenchi crossed his fingers and hoped the rest of the trip was smoother than the beginning... **************************************************************************** It took the group a few hours to reach the center of the galaxy, but when they made it, Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka were shocked and astounded at what they saw. They saw devastation, total and complete, an absolute holocaust. The eternal waters which flowed in zero gravity were now rivers of blood, oozing its way through light years upon light years of empty space. All around them, they saw the bodies of hundreds of different species of animals, all of them floating lifelessly through outer space. The only thing even mildly intact was the unimaginably massive center structure, which overshadowed the infinitesimally smaller ship. Eventually, Ryo-oki came to a stop a few miles away from the colossal building. "Well, how do we get in?" repeated Ayeka, causing several angry stares to float in her direction. "There has got to be a way." Muttered Tsunami, who, along with Washu, had regained consciousness a few moment earlier. "There is, and here it comes." Said Washu as she pointed out toward the building. Off in the horizon, the group saw a strange ring like object soaring toward the ship. After it reached a few meters away from Ryo-oki, the ring stopped, and just hovered, confusing Ryoko and Ayeka. "Now what?" Ryoko asked. Her only answer was the shocked screams of the group as they found themselves vanishing, and reappearing on the ring's surface. The ring seemed to generate a gravity of it's own, because Tenchi and Washu appeared on the underside of the ring and they did not fall. Tenchi noticed that his clothes didn't even dangle, but remained as if he were right side up. 'This is almost too strange...' thought Tenchi as they loomed ever closer to the gargantuan structure. **************************************************************************** As the group ever slowly inched forward, they cautiously eyed their surroundings. Evidently, there was some sort of struggle, for there were many places where the wall was slashed and broken, not to mention the eviscerated bodies of those chosen to defend Tokimi's realm. The group eventually found themselves entering a truly massive chamber, comprised of some sort of marble like rock. Here too, it seems, a fight had erupted. Ryoko noticed that the dust hadn't even finished settling yet. "My god... what happened..." uttered Tsunami. "I cannot even begin to imagine..." Washu returned. "Sss... sissstersss..." said a voice shrouded by a thick layer of dust. Both Washu and Tsunami's heads perked up immediately a second later, as they shuffled closer to the weak voice. "TENCHI!" screamed Tsunami as she bent down in the middle of one particularly thick cloud. Immediately, the entire crew ran over. Tenchi knelt down and helped the fallen figure to sit up straight. Before the group sat Tokimi, slowly dying, her blood flowing over the white floor. "How!?" Washu questioned worriedly. Washu and Tsunami were mortal only because they had assimilated into a human form, Tsunami by assimilating with Sasami, and Washu by assimilating with an unborn child. But Tokimi had not "fallen from grace" as they had, but opted to remain a higher dimensional lifeform. Yet, now, before the entire group lies Tokimi, every ounce of her flesh and blood. "Itt... hurrts..." Tokimi whispered. "Don't worry, everything will be alright, you'll see..." Tenchi attempted to reassure. "Tokimi... how did this happen?!" Tsunami asked. "It wassssss... the only... wwwway... to... kkkkilllll....me...." Smirked Tokimi as she, a second later, coughed up two lungfulls of blood. "What in Jurai are we dealing with...?" muttered Ayeka, astounded. "Tttthheee powerrr... I hhave nevver seeen such... ppower..." mumbled Tokimi as she began to drift. "No! Sister, don't die! Please!" Begged Tsunami as she grasped onto Tokimi's hand. "This... iss how... it shall be... It is funny... though..." Tokimi smiled, eliciting many strange looks from the others. "All this... time... I've destroyed... mortals... and now... I will die one..." Tokimi continued as she began to drift even farther. "Ssss...sisters... the triad is... broken..." Said Tokimi as she finally succumbed to her grievous injuries. Tsunami hugged onto her sister and sobbed, while Washu turned her head and allowed a few tears to fall. "It's a shame, really. Oh, well, that'll teach her." Said a raspy, evil voice. The group barely had time to prepare themselves before the dust blew away, due to a strange wind, revealing to them the perpetrators of this travesty. Standing before them was Ivan, his sword in hand, and behind him was Yorr and Shirow, seething and ready for combat. Farther off stood Asha, a strange, cold, yet calm expression on her ashen face. Then, movement caught Tsunami's eyes as she saw someone float down from above. She saw it's decrepit, flowing cloak, which hid the creature's features in a shroud of blackness, followed by two long, sharp claws. She didn't need to think twice before the memories resurfaced, memories which included the evil being that she is now seeing. Her mind traveled back a little over a year and placed her back into the darkness. She saw herself as she was before. She remembered the pain, the confusion, which surrounded her, blanketing her like the infinite black before her. She remembered how the darkness flowed like a river of blood, and then... he... came for her. He blended into the darkness perfectly, if it wasn't for the vile, glowing red eyes. She remembered how he came to her and caressed her with his sharp claws, placing small gnashes in her soft, pink flesh. He didn't speak, but he didn't have to. Sasami knew what he was going to do, and why. And all she could do was scream... "YOU!" Tsunami growled as she returned to reality. The creature stood in front of Ivan, his glowing red eyes piercing into her very soul. "I am happy to see that you remember. It is nice to know that I made a... lasting impression..." mocked the creature. Tsunami clenched her small fist and glared at the evil one, her teeth grinding, much like Ryoko was doing at that same moment. The space pirate's eyes promised death to the object of her glare, the monster that nearly killed her earlier. "Hello, child." Smirked Shirow. "There's no way that both of us are walking out of here alive, you realize that." Threatened Ryoko. This only caused Shirow's smile to widen even further. After several seconds of a tense silence, Ryoko screamed and rushed forward. "RYOKO NO...AAAAHH!" screamed Tenchi. Around him were three very large stone fingers. He turned his head to see the grotesque face of Yorr, who smiled at Tenchi and bared his sharp, hippopotamus-like teeth. Tenchi struggled as much as he could, and the more he did, the stronger Yorr's grip became. Soon, Yorr's fingers had constricted around Tenchi so much that he could barely breath. "Lord Tenchi!" yelled Ayeka as she flew at Yorr with blinding speed. She focused all her Jurai power and fired an energy attack at the monster which would have leveled the entire Masaki home. Tenchi fell to the floor as Yorr's grip loosened. He then saw the massive hole in Yorr's chest. "No..." whispered Ayeka as the hole began to seal itself. Yorr's eyes glowed red with anger as he glared at Ayeka. Before Tenchi could get away, Yorr backhanded him, sending him flying into a nearby pillar, and into unconsciousness. "LORD TENCHI! You... you ANIMAL! I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS!" raged Ayeka as hundreds of little logs formed around Yorr's immense bulk. Ayeka concentrated and pumped every ounce of energy she had into the vile beast, eliciting many roars of pain and anger from it. 'This monster must PAY for harming lord Tenchi!' thought Ayeka repeatedly. She was so blinded by her rage that she didn't notice Yorr slowly walking closer and closer. By the time she finally DID notice, it was too late. Before Ayeka could escape, Yorr had his massive hands around her, and began to squeeze. "Ayeka!" yelped Tsunami as she ran to her distressed sister. 'Hold on Ayeka, I'm on my way, just please be alright! Almost there, almo...OW! That... hurrrttt...' thought Tsunami as she fell to the cold, white floor. A few moments later, Asha walked up to her body and began to pull it away from the battleground. Ayeka was in no better shape than her sister. She managed to take one last look at Tenchi before her whole world faded to black... "Well child, we meet again. I was hoping that you would learn from our first encounter and run away, but I guess you are more stubborn than I imagined." Shirow ridiculed. This only made a very pissed Ryoko even angrier. "You bastard. This is your last chance to live. Run away now and never cross my path AGAIN!" Offered Ryoko. Shirow's response was a small chuckle. "Then, you die." Ryoko growled as she formed her laser sword. "Let's go!" Shirow said as he phased out of existence. "Two can play that game!" Ryoko yelled. Then, she followed suit and teleported away just as Shirow's claws almost tore her in half. Ryoko reappeared and tossed several energy balls at her opponent, screaming her opinion of him in several unsavory phrases. Shirow had time to look up before the energy smacked into the ground around him. Ryoko smiled contentedly as she heard his pained scream. Ryoko floated down and watched as the smoke cleared, revealing a very pissed Shirow. "Bitch! You ruined my suit!" Shirow chided as he motioned to his smoldering clothes. "B-o-o-h-o-o." spelled Ryoko mockingly. "Well, isn't that nice, we can spell. You must be one of those 'hooked on phonics' children." Returned Shirow. "I'm going to be the one who spells your name on your goddamned GRAVESTONE!" screamed Ryoko as she rushed in for another attack. "Bring it on." Said Shirow as he rushed in also, his claws bared, as well as his sharp teeth. The two clashed with unmatched ferocity, screaming and slashing. For the most part, Ryoko, Shirow noticed, was doing much better than before. He hadn't been able to land a single blow yet. Needless to say, he was quite impressed. "You've improved, child! There still might be hope for you!" insulted Shirow as he dodged several nearly lethal blows. 'Bastard! He's just toying with me!' thought Ryoko. Shirow seemed to sense what she was thinking and smiled. "It's time to end this." Shirow growled almost regretfully. "You know... you're RIGHT!" roared Ryoko as she made an almost impossibly fast lunging attack. She was too close to stop when she saw Shirow move, his speed matching hers. Before any thoughts could register, Shirow twirled around, dodging her attack, and then extended his elbow, smacking Ryoko right in the face. A moment later, she promptly fell to the floor, her momentum carrying her a little farther forward. Shirow walked up to Ryoko, who was wailing in pain and clutching her face. "You could never hope to beat me child. Fortunately for you, I have been instructed to let you live. Consider this a gift." Shirow informed her. A second later, while emitting a horrid roar, he slammed his foot into Ryoko's side, drawing all of the air out of her lungs. Ryoko slowly felt consciousness slipping away, but she didn't know if it was from the pain, or the defeat... **************************************************************************** "We've won. The trouble makers have been dealt with and the red head surrendered willingly." Ivan informed the cloaked one. "Excellent... It is time. Bring them to the ship." The evil, bat winged monster instructed as he faded away. "Yes, dark one." Muttered Ivan as he bowed to the rapidly fading figure. A moment later, he stood up and turned to the others. "You heard him. Bring them to the ship, and quickly, before they regain consciousness." Ivan ordered as he started to walk out of the chamber. "Blah, blah, blah... bring them to the ship... bite me, you little errand boy..." whispered Shirow to Yorr, who chuckled deeply. "I heard that." Ivan said as he walked out of the chamber. **************************************************************************** "What, exactly, are we doing here?" Nagi asked. She turned her head away from the strange galaxy on the monitor and toward Togusa, who literally sat at the edge of his seat as he watched the same monitor. "That." Togusa said as he pointed at the screen. Nagi saw a little spec fly out of the galaxy and, a second later, it was gone. "What was THAT!?" Nagi asked. "Our meal ticket." "You mean...?" "Yep, Yorr." Answered Togusa. "You still think we can get him? Last time was a disaster." "Giving up? You? No way! Besides, my instincts are telling me to follow them." Togusa said as he smiled an adventurous smile. "Then make it so..." returned Nagi. "You watch too much TV..." groaned Togusa. Nagi made a quick, rude gesture, but then returned her gaze to the monitor. "Wait... what if they went into hyperspace? They could be anywhere..." "Watch this..." Togusa reassured. "Leo-oki! Analyze ship's trajectory and pursue. Check every half parsec for hyperspace distortions." Togusa ordered. "What are you..." Nagi tried to ask. "Hold on, this is going to be fun!" Togusa warned as Leo-oki soared into hyperspace in a flash of light. **************************************************************************** "Ow... my head..." groaned Tenchi as he tried to grasp his aching forehead. He would have succeeded if it wasn't for the fact that his hands didn't move. "What the..." Tenchi muttered as he opened his eyes. In the low light, he could see that his hands were shackled to a wall of gray rock, kind of like granite. He moved his head and saw that all the others were in the same predicament, that is, shackled to a cold granite wall above a huge, deep pit, even Ryo-oki. "Why me..." Tenchi groaned. "Tenchi!" Came Ryoko's worried voice across the near darkness. "Ryoko! Are you alright?!" Tenchi shouted in response. "Yeah, but I can't teleport! Where are you?! I can't see you!" shouted Ryoko. "I don't know! This is starting to freak me out!" At that moment, Tenchi saw a strange light flood out of a gaping hole situated next to him. The light flooded the room, showing Tenchi the entire situation. "It THAT better, your highness?" said Ivan's voice from within the hole. Tenchi strained to see him, but couldn't, Ivan was just too deep into the cave. "Let us go!" yelled Tenchi. "Sorry, can't. You will make a great sacrifice for He Who Sleeps." Said Ivan. His head peeked out of the cave and smirked at Tenchi. 'If I only had Tenchi-ken... I'd...' thought Tenchi as he gazed over to his right and saw Tenchi-ken, shackled to the wall next to him. Tenchi reached for the weapon as best he could, but it was too far away... "TENCHI!" shrieked a familiar voice. At that exact moment, Tenchi ceased struggling and looked in the opposite direction. "MEIRA!" screamed Tenchi when he saw Meira, who was being held over the large pit by Ivan's muscular arm. "Awe, how cute. Young love." Mocked Ivan. "Let her go!" Tenchi commanded, his eyes glowing with rage. "Gladly." Ivan responded. A second later, Meira was on her way down the evil pit. "NO!" Tenchi yelled as he used all his strength and power to get out, short of summoning the wings of the light hawk. He tried and tried, but nothing came. All he could do is struggle and scream Meira's name over and over... **************************************************************************** Some say that it's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end. Well, this time, the sudden stop wasn't powerful enough to kill the young woman named Meira. She's survived worse than a little fall, much worse. A few seconds after hitting the hard, stone ground, Meira managed to stand up. Her side, which was still a little tender, was killing her, but now her shoulder felt dislocated too. Meira looked around and saw nothing but darkness. "I wish there was some light..." Meira muttered to herself. But, the strange thing was, something responded. The pendant she wore began to emit a bright glow, bathing the dark pit in bright light. Meira looked up and saw Tenchi and the others, shackled against the wall. She could barely hear Tenchi calling to her, but she was so far down that she couldn't dream of doing anything. Meira sighed and then looked around. She noticed four huge stone monoliths protruding from the dark gray rock. Written on the monoliths were thirteen strange symbols, nothing like anyone's seen before, at least, except Meira. "Oh no..." Meira muttered as she stepped away from the tall, black, onyx pillars. Then, like water, the black rock began to fluctuate as several thin tendrils extended from it. "GET AWAY!" screamed Meira as she ran away from the tendrils, only to be met by even more tendrils protruding from the other monoliths. They all seemed to get to a certain distance, and then stop. However, Meira was not fooled by this, and was not surprised when they began to lunge at her like snakes. Meira leapt out of the way, her mind screaming in fear. Meira hit the floor hard, and looked up just in time to see several tendrils descend towards her. **************************************************************************** "...Oh my god..." Togusa whispered as he stared at the massive, gray planet before him. The planet must have been as large as a blue star, with at least three hundred moons orbiting it. "What?" asked Nagi. "This planet... I've been having some weird dreams about it... I just thought it was a figment of my screwed up imagination..." wondered Togusa. Nagi just shot some confused looks at him as a response. "Okay, here's how the dream goes. I find myself floating above the planet, and then the planet turns black and all the moons explode. Then, everything turns black and I keep hearing the word 'Freedom'. I've been having this dream a lot recently, and I can't explain it. Now I know why..." "So... now what?" Nagi eventually asked. "Well, you stay here and keep an eye out. When I tell you to get us the hell out of here... well... you get us the hell out of here." Togusa instructed. "What?! You're not going down there alone, buster! You aren't cutting ME out of the action!" "Don't worry, I think there'll be plenty for you later. Just trust me on this one." "But..." "No buts. Hey... I'll be back..." Togusa smiled. "You've been waiting for a long time to say that, haven't you?" Nagi grumbled, her expression dark. "You bet. Well, see ya." Togusa said as he teleported away. "Good luck..." **************************************************************************** "MEIRA!" Screamed Tenchi when he saw the tendrils start their descent on Meira. And, as he watched, he heard someone else shouting their displeasure. As the nanoseconds flew by, the voice became louder and louder, until suddenly, Togusa phased through the rocky ceiling. He went so fast that time seemed to slow down, all the time thinking to himself 'can't let it happen, can't let my dream come true'. He was mere inches away from Meira when he saw it happen. Three tendrils plummeted down and pierced her chest. And then he heard her scream. She shrieked so loud that it must have shaken the heavens. "Meira..." muttered a shocked Tenchi, who saw the whole thing. Togusa watched as her blood spurted all around the pit, which was absorbed by the rock the moment it hit a surface. Slowly, the tendrils backed away from Meira's limp, bleeding form and merged once again with the monoliths, which began to shake violently. "The blood is the key, to unlock forever the gateway to oblivion!" laughed a dark, evil voice. "The time has come, BEHOLD! THE FINAL DEMON - THE DEMON OF DARKNESS!" added the voice before breaking out into a vicious bout of laughter. "NAGI! NOW!" Screamed Togusa. Tenchi felt a strange lurching in the pit of his stomach when suddenly, he found himself on Leo-oki. He stood for a second before running to Meira's screaming body. "My god... look at the planet!" Ryoko muttered. Everyone looked up and at the massive, gray planet, which was rapidly shrinking and turning black. "It's going to collapse in on itself! Togusa, get us out of here!" warned Washu, as she stared at the planet apprehensively. "On my way..." Togusa said as he took the controls. Leo-oki began flying at top speed the same moment the planet collapsed on itself, and the resulting explosion emitted a gigantic shockwave. Ryoko watched as the massive wall of energy sped forward, faster and faster. "Togusa! Hurry the hell up, it's gaining!" she yelled. "I'm trying!" he told her. "WELL TRY HARDER!" she argued. Togusa merely looked up at her and frowned. A second later, Leo-oki let loose a small growl. "Great, I'm glad! Now do it!" Togusa yelled out to the ship. "Ryoko, I'd grab onto something if I were you..." Togusa warned. "Why sho...." Was all Ryoko could ask before Leo-oki made the leap to hyperspace, knocking Ryoko on her butt. Through a monitor, Togusa watched as the shockwave shred through the moons, disintegrating them into so much sand. He continued to watch as a black cloud of energy erupted from the surface of the now earth sized black planet. Pure evil seemed to emanate from the cloud as it grew larger and larger at a geometric rate. "I am the darkness... I am death incarnate... I am the demon of darkness... there is no salvation..." roared a dark, vile, and deathly calm voice from all around. "Death is the only way out..." **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** A C T F O U R T H E B O O K O F H E L L There is a secret song in the center of the Earth... and it's sound is like razors through flesh... oh come, you can hear it's faint echo even now. I'm here to turn up the volume... - Pinhead HELLRAISER 3 ____________________________________________________________________________ ( Music : HAUNTED by TYPE O NEGATIVE ) In space, no one can hear you scream, or at least that's what they say. The scream of complete and total anguish being emitted from Tenchi Masaki, however, might be a valid argument against this old dictum. No one dared to go near him as the young man held Meira in his arms, her lifeblood draining from her body. Mere moments ago he was begging for the goddesses to do something, to help the poor girl, but their response was negative. "It's too late, there is nothing we can do..." they said. No matter how much Tenchi argued, bringing up old memories of their battle with Kagato, and how Tsunami had brought him back, the goddesses continued with their excuses. They had tried, and they had failed, but Tenchi was too blind by grief to notice. Meira, too, was wailing herself hoarse, in both fear and pain. "It's okay... everything's going to be... okay..." Tenchi reassured her as he choked back the sobs. "I'mmm sssooo ccooldd..." stuttered Meira, her teeth chattering loudly. Tenchi gazed into her somewhat unfocused eyes and held her closer, allowing a few warm tears to fall onto her pale face. "Don't worry, you're going to get better, and then I'm NEVER leaving you out of my sight again, I swear!" said Tenchi half-heartedly joked . "Tenchi... TENCHI! I CAN'T SEE YOU! WHERE DID YOU GO!?" Screamed Meira, her weak grasp tightening onto Tenchi's bloodied shirt. "I'm right here... I'm... right here..." Tenchi repeated over and over as he held her even tighter. The others looked on and watched as the young woman slipped slowly away from them, her red blood flowing all over Leo-oki's purple floor. Ryoko watched on, the tears flowing freely for this young girl, the one girl that came closest to capturing Tenchi's heart. For the longest time, she thought nothing, until one small sentence popped into her head. 'I'm sorry, Tenchi...' Ayeka, however, was balling her eyes out, her head cradled in her soft, delicate hands. She wasn't the only one, though. It was impossible to find a dry eye in the entire ship. Even the self reputed "tough as nails" bounty hunters Nagi and Togusa were weeping for this young woman dying before them. But none of them felt more grief than Tenchi, nor could they ever come close to. After a few moments of struggling, Meira suddenly became extremely calm and still, scaring Tenchi out of his mind and causing his stomach to tie itself into several knots. "T...Tenchi... have you found your... star... yet?" Meira asked, her voice barely a whisper. "Yes... I have..." Tenchi said as he caressed her face. "I'm... glad..." She wheezed happily. "Tenchi... promise me that you'll never let me go..." she eventually asked. "I promise." Sobbed Tenchi as he buried his face into her chest. He then felt her trembling, blood drenched hand run through his spiky, black hair. "Don't... grieve... someday we'll be... stars in... the sky... to...togeth...er..." gasped Meira, her breathing slowing drastically as the moments sped by. "I... I love you..." Tenchi told her, the tears streaming faster and faster down his face. "...I... lo...ve... y...y..." she began to say, but she never finished. Tenchi felt her hand tense for a moment, after which it fell limp onto the floor. Tenchi lifted his head off of her red stained chest and looked at Meira's face. Her pained expression was forever etched into her smooth features as her eyes stared up at nothingness. Once again, Tenchi screamed, this one matching, no... exceeding, that of his previous scream. Ryoko looked at Tenchi, once again powerless to stop the seemingly endless barrage of tragedy that seemed to continue on and on in his life. But this time, she was flesh, and could go to him and comfort him. She didn't know if she should or not, though. So, just like she had so many times before, she ignored her head and followed her heart. Slowly, she walked up to Tenchi and wrapped her arms around him, letting him know that she was mourning too. However, she noted, Tenchi didn't seem to take notice of her affectionate gesture, but just sat and stared at Meira's lifeless form. For what seemed to be an eternity, silence pervaded the room. "They all must die." Muttered a hoarse voice. Ryoko heard the words exit from Tenchi's mouth, but she couldn't believe he was the one who said it. This surprised Ayeka too, for she has never heard Tenchi speak in such a manner. "Now... Lord Tenchi, I understand that you must be in a lot of pain at this moment, but you should still listen to reason..." argued the princess. "No, he's right. How many others will die if we don't do something, and do it now? We have to end this, this whole bullshit dark, nether dimension crap. We have to send them where they're never going to return." Rebutted Togusa. The return of the deafening silence served as a collective agreement from the entire group, well, all except one. "I agree that they must pay for what they have done, but we cannot win! We've done everything in our power to combat these... creatures... but nothing we have done even phases them!" Ayeka argued. "So, you're giving up, is that it, princess?" Ryoko asked as she glared at Ayeka. "No! Of course not! What I am saying is that we need to formulate a strategy to defeat these things! Going in, guns blazing, won't work!" "Oh? It's worked for me." Togusa said. "Me too." Nagi agreed. "Same here." Ryoko continued. Ayeka merely shrugged and sighed. "Fine. If you want to get us all killed, then by all means, go right ahead." "Great." Togusa said, confusing ( and worrying ) Ayeka. A moment later, Togusa was analyzing trajectories and eliminating variables on Leo-oki's navigational computer. Washu seemed to be the only one who could understand what was going on. "Okay. According to this, the most logical solution would be the planet Tristan 8228, which is about three light years that way." Said Togusa, who pointed off into an obscure direction while staring at the monitor. "How do you know?" Asked Tsunami. "Well, after analyzing all the information and synthesizing a fairly accurate flight path, taking into account the location of various star clusters and the such, it seems that their trajectory points directly to Tristan 8228. Unless they wanted to fly through the planet, I would assume that they would want to land on its surface." Informed Togusa, still staring at the monitor. "Why would they want to go there?" Ayeka asked. "I have no clue." Togusa groaned, rubbing his forehead. "It must have something to do with that massive, growing black spatial distortion that we witnessed. At the rate it was growing, and assuming that it is growing faster with the passage of time, I would say that the distortion will reach Tristan in about three and a half hours, give or take ten or so minutes." Lectured Washu. 'Old habits die hard, I guess' she thought afterwards. "If we hurry, we can make it in a little over three hours... hey, what in the hell..." Togusa said as he watched Tenchi stand up and grasp Ryo-oki by the scruff of her neck. "Tenchi, what are you doing?" Ryoko asked. Tenchi said nothing, but looked at Ryoko with deadly determined eyes. Meira's blood still soaked a large portion of his face and chest, which added to the eerie effect. With a mighty heave, Tenchi tossed the cabbit, which swiftly phased through Leo-oki's hull into outer space and transformed into her ship form. "Lord Tenchi, no!" screamed Ayeka as she tried to tackle him. She was a second too late, for the moment she leapt, Ryo-oki beamed him, and only him, aboard, causing Ayeka to slam hard against the floor. Ayeka groaned in pain, but mostly because of the fact that she fell on something other than the floor. She lifted herself up and saw that she was lying upon Tenchi-ken. "Oh my." She muttered as she picked up the sword. The two gems in the hilt glittered brightly with power as Ryoko walked closer. As Ryoko neared, she stopped briefly at where Meira lay dead on the floor. She gazed at the girl for a moment, allowing memories of her to wash over her. But, nevertheless, the memory of her smiling face was replaced by the terrified, soulless one before her. With loving care, she bent down and placed her fingers on her cold forehead. With extreme tenderness, Ryoko brushed her fingers down to Meira's cheeks, causing Meira to close her eyes for the final time. It was then that she noticed that Meira's pendant, which she never took off under any circumstances, was missing. **************************************************************************** No one could describe the emotions flying through Tenchi's head at that moment in time, for the words angry, sad, and homicidal weren't accurate enough. The feelings he felt were far more intense, more overwhelming than anything he'd ever felt before. Tenchi stood on the bridge of Ryo-oki, letting the wrath and sorrow wash over him as visions of the last few minutes flew by, only adding kindle to the fire of his hatred. The more that he thought about the blood, the screams, about Meira, the angrier he became. Over the course of approximately thirty minutes of this type of thinking, Tenchi was able to contain his anger, but, finally, the flood gates burst open and he began to lash out. He slammed his fists against Ryo-oki's hull so hard that the poor cabbit wasn't sure if she could maintain structural integrity. Tenchi soon noticed that his right hand hurt worse than the other, as if something was cutting into the flesh. He looked at his injured hand and saw that Meira's pendant was resting there, nice and snug in his tight grip. Tenchi stood there for a few seconds, utterly confused and wondering how the pendant got there... until he remembered his anger and resumed his tantrum, but only after carefully placing the pendant around his neck. **************************************************************************** A gloved hand delicately smoothed over a highly elaborate, and decorated, uniform as a recently reinstated teal haired Galaxy Police officer made one last check. The uniform fit like a glove, accentuating this young woman's feminine curves. And, of course, one last time, the young woman checked her name-tag. "Kiyone... you are perfect." She said to herself, happy for a multitude of reasons. The first reason... she was FINALLY promoted. After all the pain, sadness, hell, and demotions, she finally was rising up the proverbial ladder. The second reason was that her promotion put her in a different department, and away from Mihoshi. The third reason was the cancellation of her sedatives. For the past two Juraian years, Kiyone has been off duty, with pay ( Fortunately... ), and been constantly taking sedatives, due to trauma received from her ventures with the darkworlders and the Demon of Death. The very thought of the evil creatures brought a shiver down her spine, so she quickly initiated the breathing exercises that her therapist had taught her. Soon, she was calm and relaxed all over again. She turned and looked at her nice, large desk, situated in her own office. Giggling like a ditz ( must have been all the exposure to Mihoshi... ), she flopped down on her soft, plush chair and breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm finally free..." she said to herself. With nothing else to do at the moment, Kiyone decided to see what was going on in the universe. So... she turned on the TV. "... Thanks John. Also, the Empire of Jurai received a cause to celebrate today as they rejoiced the return of Prince Takeshi, who had been missing for some time..." Said the overly cheery anchorwoman. "Huh... how about that. I didn't even know he was missing..." Kiyone commented to herself with a shrug. Her attention returned to the TV when the reporter received a "Special Bulletin". "This just in... for reasons unknown to the station this time, signal reception in several sister stations has been cut off. We will continue to broadcast, but viewers in space sectors three through thirteen will experience an unscheduled disruption and possible temporary termination of service. Please stay tuned for further details." Kiyone watched as, just as the woman on the TV had reported, the reception became worse and worse until, finally, there was nothing but snow and hissing. Slightly perturbed, Kiyone changed the channels several times, but was still met with the same snowy picture. Kiyone set the remote down and rubbed her eyes, convincing herself that a migraine was about to form, but a strange beeping forced her back to reality. She looked up at the television and saw that the channels were still flicking by every few seconds. She looked down at the remote and inspected it. Finding nothing wrong made her a little more miffed. "Great, my first day back, and already the TV's busted." Muttered Kiyone to herself. Then, as if it was a response to her complaining, the soft beeping, signaling the changing of the stations became faster. Kiyone looked up and saw the stations flick by faster and faster, and began grinding her teeth when the beeping became irritating. Growling, she picked up the remote and pressed the OFF button, which, of course, had no effect. A bit confused, Kiyone stood up out of her chair and walked over to the TV. She pressed the POWER button, which had the desired effect. The annoying snow faded into blackness before her eyes, eliciting a wide smile on Kiyone's soft features. Kiyone had just turned around when she heard a click, followed by a familiar hissing noise. The beeping noise continued, becoming more of a prolonged screech, as the channels flew by faster and faster. Now Kiyone was beginning to freak out. Trembling slightly, she returned to her desk and pulled open one of the drawers. Her smile returned as she procured a small pill bottle from the desk containing her old prescription. She had saved some for a rainy day, and today was becoming steadily far too stressful. She dry swallowed the pill with a loud gulp and allowed it a few seconds, which was all the pill needed, to take effect. A lovely warmth spread its way around Kiyone's body, enveloping her in happiness and calming her nerves. She managed to regain at least some coherent thought, and noticed that the beeping had ceased. Just as she had expected... it was all in her imagination. She slowly turned around and saw that the TV, although, was still on. She looked up at the channel counter and her eyes widened. "Channel six hundred and sixty... five?" she said to herself, slightly confused. Then, before her eyes, the channel clicked up one, hitting a far more infamous number. Kiyone was about to ingest another pill when she thought she heard something. Kiyone lowered the pill bottle and listened closely. The more she strained her ears, the louder the noise became, until the hissing transformed into a form of methodical chanting, and not in a language that Kiyone could recognize. The chanting was soon deafening, and Kiyone couldn't take it anymore. She covered her ears and screamed, and then repeatedly attempted to turn the TV off. But the TV didn't want to listen, and the chanting only became louder and more intense. Still screaming, Kiyone tossed the remote control at the TV, shattering the sensitive plastics and electronics inside. But the silence stopped... and that was all that mattered to Kiyone. Kiyone managed to let out a sigh of relief right before the lights suddenly turned off. "DAMN IT!" cursed Kiyone. She took a while, used her breathing exercises, and regained her composure. "Room, lights." She said, but the room didn't respond. "Room... Lights..." she repeated, only this time a little louder. Still, no response. "ROOM! LIGHTS!" she shouted. And still, she was bathed in darkness. Shaking violently, Kiyone stumbled over to the shutters and pressed the OPEN button. But, just like the lights, there was no response. She tried the buttons several more times, but they still didn't respond. Kiyone loosened her perfect collar and walked to one end of the shutters. With a mighty heave, she slowly pulled them open. The soft light from the planet below flooded into the room, providing much of the illumination that Kiyone had sought. Suddenly, several bright flashes caught the corner of Kiyone's eye. Kiyone swiftly leapt in front of the fairly large window and saw what was happening. Ship after ship leapt into hyperspace in all directions. Farther out into space, a massive black cloud soared closer and closer toward the HQ. Kiyone watched as tens of hundreds of ships were swallowed by the dark cloud, almost as if they weren't anything but flies. Kiyone's mind screamed for her to run, to get away, but the rational side of her mind argued that she'd never make it in time. She could only muster a whimper as she fell to her knees, mere seconds before the blackness surrounded her. **************************************************************************** "What are we doing on this miserable dustball?" moaned Shirow as he adjusted the hat which blocked the intense sunlight hammering into his eyes. The area, much like the entire planet of Tristan 8228, was an endless desert, covered in dunes and blistering heat. "We are here because the master wants us to be here." Ivan lectured. Shirow looked at him briefly, and shortly thereafter rolled his eyes. Shirow wasn't sure of how much more he could take from this moronic conformist. "Don't you ever ASK QUESTIONS!?" Shirow roared at Ivan, the heat burning his pale flesh. "No, and you shouldn't either. By the way, where the hell did you get that hat? It's simply amusing..." chuckled Ivan mockingly. Shirow lightly touched his extra wide brimmed hat lovingly and then returned his glare at his "Leader". "Listen, slave-boy, I'm getting sick and tired of your brown-nosing. Now you go up to the master and ask him the hell why we are here!" threatened Shirow. "Or what..." urged Ivan. "Or I'll..." began Shirow, but he couldn't finish. A second before his could have made his threat, a hand touched his shoulder, and a moment later he was completely filled to the brim of his odd hat with fear. The cold he felt within was far greater than the heat of the raging inferno on the outside. "Patience." Said a deep, raspy, evil voice. "Yes Master..." Shirow and Ivan muttered in unison. "You wish to know why we have stopped on such a despicable little planet." The Dark One said to Shirow. "Y...Yes Master." Shirow gulped, not moving an inch. "Soon, we shall be one with He Who Sleeps, and our power will grow a hundred fold. The Dark energies will course through our very being, and WE - WILL - BE - GODS!" The Dark One informed. A bestial smile formed on Shirow's lips, as well as on Ivan's. The sheer thought of being all powerful awakened some previously undiscovered resolve inside the two vile creatures. The two stood there and contemplated about the immense possibilities. "Someone is here..." The Dark One muttered before he faded away. Ivan and Shirow immediately snapped out of their trances and looked straight ahead. A figure, shrouded in the clouds of dust and sand, slowly approached. A soft, blue light emanated from his direction, covering him in a veil of darkness. Ivan didn't need to guess who it was, for he knew the moment he was informed of the intruders presence. Minutes later, the mysterious form walked out of the horrid sandstorm, revealing himself to be Tenchi. He was still wearing the clothes he wore before, which were still covered in blood. Shirow prepared to launch an all out attack against the young man, but was prevented by Ivan. "No! He's mine." Ivan grinned. Cocky as ever, Ivan walked up to the seriously pissed Tenchi. Ivan was almost taken aback by the change in the boy, not only in physical appearance, but in attitude. Tenchi's eyes glared at Ivan fiercely, not letting him out of his sight. "Glad you could join us." Ivan pseudo-welcomed. "You killed her. For that, you will die." Tenchi muttered through clenched teeth. "I enjoyed killing your pathetic little girlfriend, but it doesn't match the fun we had with her before her death. And to think, the whole time she was screaming your name. I was a tad insulted to tell you the truth." Mocked Ivan. Tenchi's face became even darker, but did not show any signs of faltering. "What are you going to do with that, carve a turkey?" Ivan continued as he pointed at the Light Hawk Sword. Tenchi tightened his grip on the mighty sword. "What, do you think you scare me? Watch this." Ivan warned. A moment later, he moved his arms out in front of him and concentrated. Ivan's muscles tensed as the dark energy billowed through him and into his hands. Seconds later, the energies began converting into a more solid, and familiar, form. In his hands, Ivan held the Dark Hawk Sword, the "trademarked" weapon of the forces of darkness. Ivan's eyes glowed with power as his usually avaricious grin became more crazed, more psychotic. Yet, Tenchi did not utter a single word, although he silently entered a determined battle stance. Ivan momentarily entered the same stance, the grin still spread across his face. Then, with a scream of primal wrath, Tenchi lashed out, the two swords connecting with preternatural power. Using his hatred fueled power, Tenchi swung the sword on a downward arch so fast that Ivan could barely dodge it. Ivan, his body coursing with otherworldly power, returned his own attack, which took a few hairs off of Tenchi's head as he ducked. Tenchi could barely contain his rage as he lunged forward, screaming at the top of his lungs. But Ivan didn't move, but he just stood there with a hollow smile on his face. Just as Tenchi was about to slice the smirk off of Ivan's face, the sand below him shifted violently. A second later, Tenchi found himself eight feet in the air and in the center of a crushing grip. Tenchi struggled with all his might, but he couldn't move. He turned his head and stared into the dark, wrathful eyes of Yorr. "Yorr... Crush him!" Ivan ordered. "Crush..." Yorr growled as he tightened his grip. "TENCHI!" Screamed a familiar, feminine voice. Nanoseconds later, Yorr found himself the target of a barrage of several well aimed laser blasts. Tenchi was still struggling under Yorr's grip, when suddenly, he let go. Tenchi managed to let loose a small yelp before he began to fall. Much to Tenchi's surprise, he never hit the floor. "Hi!" Smiled Ryoko as she cradled Tenchi in her arms. Tenchi managed a small smile as Ryoko set him down on the soft, sandy ground. Tenchi looked behind Ryoko and saw that she wasn't alone. Behind her stood everyone, and I do mean everyone. "He big boy... we've got unfinished business." Shouted Togusa from a distance away. Yorr immediately turned around and growled at the sound of Togusa's voice. "Hello Child." Greeted Shirow. "You..." glowered Ryoko. "Shall we dance?" Shirow offered. "You might be let down, I'm not going to lose this time." Ryoko smirked. "Oh really?" questioned Shirow incredulously. Tenchi looked at Ryoko, and indeed, something was different. He gazed at her, and then saw why. She had all of her gems. Tenchi took another look at Ryoko and noted that she seemed to simply radiate power. "How?" Tenchi asked. "You dropped Tenchi-ken, and Tsunami freed them up for me. Thank her later. Right now, I think you have work to do." Ryoko said. Tenchi nodded at returned his glare toward Ivan, who stood there and watched the events transpire. "Took you long enough. I was wondering when the happy little reunion was going to end." "Now, you die." Tenchi growled. Ivan smirked and resumed his battle stance. **************************************************************************** ( Music : SUPERBEAST by ROB ZOMBIE ) Togusa was surprised that such a large creature could be so fast, for he barely missed Yorr's attacks. One after another they came, each one getting closer and closer. Every time Togusa returned some of his own attacks, the holes and slashes would seal up within seconds. 'Great, this is getting me nowhere...' he thought to himself. He was about to dodge another attack when Yorr roared an earsplitting, primitive scream, after which he began to thrash around violently. Togusa looked behind the raging beast and saw... "Nagi!" Togusa shouted happily. "Get away while I hold him! Hurry!" Nagi commanded as she tightened her grip on her laser whip. Togusa didn't argue, and began running. Nagi had given him the time he needed to formulate a new strategy against the hulking beast. Then, it hit him. How do you kill a beast that can heal its wounds instantaneously? Blow him apart. With a thought, Togusa willed his favorite gun, "The Big Boomer", into existence. The gun was massive, to say the least. Togusa cradled it on his shoulder like a bazooka, and pressed a fairly obvious red button. In response, a handle and trigger popped down and several fairly large legs appeared out of the side, which slammed into the ground and held the gun, and Togusa, firmly in place. With great care, Togusa took aim, placing the vile creature in his sights. "Gotcha." He muttered as he pulled the trigger. The blast was deafening, and the kickback, despite the legs sticking into the ground, pushed Togusa nearly ten feet back, leaving deep gnashes into the sandy floor. Nagi heard the blast and saw the massive ball of blazing white energy soaring toward her. With a grunt, she leapt off of Yorr's back and rolled on the blistering hot sand. Yorr heard the cacophony too, and dove into the sand right at the last minute. Nagi was almost to her feet when the explosion flung her several feet into the air, along with hoards of sand. "Damn it!" growled Togusa. Yorr slowly resurfaced, his eyes glowing red with rage. The moment his arms were freed, he slammed his gargantuan hands into the sand and shot out of the earth like a rocket, landing with a loud grunt. He looked at Togusa for a second before he began running toward him, roaring the whole way. Togusa took aim at the immense creature readily coming nearer and nearer. "Come on... WORK!" screamed Togusa as he pressed the trigger again. "CHARGING" muttered a mechanical voice, emanating from a small speaker next to Togusa's ear. "Charging!? GOD DAMN IT!" clamored Togusa. He looked over at Yorr, who was not a hundred feet away. "Power level Fifty Percent." The computer informed. "Hurry up damn you!" muttered a worried Togusa. Yorr was close to fifty feet away. "Power level Eighty Percent." The computer again enlightened the fretting Togusa. Yorr was twenty feet away. "GOOD GOD IN HEAVEN... HURRY THE HELL UP!!!!!" Togusa screamed. "Charged." The computer finally said. "See ya." Togusa winked, relieved. Yorr had just made the ten foot mark as Togusa pressed the button. Once again, the deafening explosion rung out, throwing Togusa an extra ten feet back. Yorr wasn't as lucky, though. By the time he saw the blast, it was too late. The blazing white laser blast slammed into him, surrounding him in intense bright light. By the time the light faded, there wasn't enough of Yorr to fill a suitcase. **************************************************************************** "DIE!" screamed Shirow as he sliced at Ryoko yet again. Once again, all he managed to touch was thin air, for Ryoko was no longer in front of him. Shirow felt the hair on the back of his head raise, and a second later, barely dodged a near fatal attack from Ryoko. Shirow saw an opening and slammed his elbow hard into Ryoko's stomach, eliciting a winded groan from her. In response, she decked him, and decked him hard, launching him several feet away. Shirow touched the ground for a second before throwing himself into the air, his razor sharp claws aimed to kill. Ryoko saw this and rolled away, and was missed by only a mere inch. As Ryoko rolled to her feet, she was hit by a surprisingly hard roundhouse, which sent her sprawling. "Not going to lose this time, eh? Not quite, child." Shirow chuckled. His smile became a snarl as he kicked her in the stomach. She groaned loudly, her face sliding all over the hot sand. 'It's been nearly seven hundred years since I had all three gems... but I have to remember how to use them... I thought it would just come naturally, stupid me, now I'm paying for it.' thought Ryoko. Ryoko then concentrated, willing her gems make her remember. Memories instantaneously flew through her head, most of them unpleasant ones. With each memory, her gems shimmered brighter and brighter. As the memories flew by, one after another, Ryoko forced herself to stand, despite the pain. She clenched her teeth and ignored the aches and pains, finally wobbling to her feet. "So, you wish for more. I didn't know you were such a masochist. Goodbye, dear child." Shirow said as he raised his claw. As the final blow was initiated, Ryoko's eyes opened wider than ever and, in the blink of an eye, Shirow found that his arm was unable to move. Ryoko glared at him evilly, her hand wrapped around his wrist in a crushing grasp. "QUIT..." she screamed as she decked him in the face. "CALLING..." she continued as she elbowed him in the gut. "ME..." she roared as she kneed him in the groin. "CHILD!" she screamed as she tossed Shirow over her shoulder, into the smoldering sand. Shirow's hat flew off his head and was carried away by the violent winds. Ryoko glared at him, and vice versa. Shirow flexed his claws and yelled a demonic, unintelligible curse as he leapt into the air, prepared to kill. Ryoko, on the other hand, summoned her laser sword, which, because of the addition of her other gems, had become thicker and more broadswordish ( Much Like Kagato's ). The two of them roared a ear splitting battle cry and clashed. And then all was still. Ryoko stood, unaffected. Shirow landed several feet away... his head came to rest a few feet after that. **************************************************************************** A few feet away from the current battles, a figure watched, her pale countenance featureless. A flicker in the corner of her eye redirected her attention to behind her. When she did turn, she was confronted with the odd sight of tons of small logs floating in the air. Asha barely had enough time to raise and eyebrow before her body was pumped full of energy. Her nerves felt as if they were on fire, but it finally subsided and she fell to her knees. "That was for Funaho, you vile creature." Said a regal voice. Moments later, Ayeka, Washu, and Tsunami stepped in Asha's field of vision. The pale faced woman glared at the princess, slowly pulling several long needles from her wrist. In a second, with the flick of her wrist, Asha sent the long, metallic needles out toward her as she rolled away. Quick as ever, Washu stuck her hand out and caught the needles before they hit. Washu smiled and sent them back to where they came from. Asha didn't make it far when she was subject to a horrible stinging pain ringing throughout her whole body. Her blue blood flowed freely from her body, having pierced her Femoral artery. "And that was for us." Washu spit. The three turned and walked away, leaving the ugly woman to bleed to death. **************************************************************************** Soon, all was quiet, except for the sound of two clanging swords. Tenchi and Ivan still fought, neither making headway in the fierce battle. The others, exhausted from their exploits, watched the two wage war on each other. "I've got twenty saying Tenchi wins." Togusa muttered to Ryoko, who looked at him with disgust. Ivan tried a stabbing motion, but his sword was deflected by the swift upward motion of Tenchi's Light Hawk Sword. The action merely put a smile on Ivan's face. "I bet you know nothing of your little slut girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend, I guess I should say. That little jail bait bitch was nothing more than a small time con artist little whore." Mocked Ivan. "Shut up!" Growled Tenchi. "She never loved you. She was one of us from day one. She was the one that came up with the plan to con the Emperor of Jurai out of millions to fund our little expedition. Unfortunately, she was no longer needed." Continued Ivan. "I SAID SHUT UP!" Tenchi screamed. Ryoko and the other's breath caught in their throats during this. It was all Ryoko could do to keep from flying in and ripping the bastard's throat out. "Oh, we had our fun with that dirty little bitch. Oh, we had lots of fun. And she liked - every - minute..." That was the last straw. Tenchi screamed in rage and bright, blinding light flooded out of the Light Hawk Sword. Ivan yelled in pain as he tried to shield his eyes from the terrible light, but his attempts didn't work as well as planned. Ivan could barely see the quick, blurry object approaching him. Reflexively, Ivan lashed out, hoping to catch something with his sword, but to no avail. So, he decided to go to plan B... run. And run he did, away from the horrible blinding light piercing his eyes. The blurry figure ran too, and was soon right next to him. He slashed out some more, deflecting several of the blurry persons attacks, but not doing much damage. But still, his vision was blurred, and was not getting better very fast. Just as he was going to let loose a barrage of quick attacks on the blurry person, something came out and smacked his legs. With a yelp, Ivan hit the sand. He heard the person chasing him stop not two feet away from him. His vision had cleared enough to see Tenchi's angered face, smirking in vile triumph. The Dark Hawk Sword faded away as Ivan slowly sat up. "Go ahead. Finish it." Ivan muttered. "Gladly." Tenchi said as he prepared to slice the bastard in two. "Just remember that if you do, you are no better than I am. So go ahead, embrace the darkness." Ivan returned. This made Tenchi stop in his tracks. He could almost hear Meira's voice in his head, telling him to stop, that the battle was over and Ivan had lost. There was no sense in going any further. Ivan's eyes widened at he saw the Light Hawk Sword dematerialize. "What... what are you doing!? FINISH IT!" Ivan screamed. "Damn you and your black heart." Tenchi uttered as he turned around to walk away. "DON'T YOU TURN YOUR BACK ON ME! FINISH IT!!!" Ivan roared, but his commands fell on deaf ears. Unfortunately for Tenchi, he didn't see Ivan reach behind him. "Mr. Better Than Thou Masaki. Prince of Poedunk Nowheresville. I've heard stories of your generosity and kindness. I knew you wouldn't be a man and end this." Ivan chided as he whipped a knife out. It's silver blade glimmered in the intense sunlight. "So I will!" He yelled as he prepared to toss the knife. "TENCHI! LOOK OUT!" Ryoko screamed just as Tenchi started to turn around. Ivan was just about to release the knife, when suddenly, a loud blast rang out. The knife flew from Ivan's hand and sunk into the dirt several feet away from Tenchi. Ivan's snobbish smirk was replaced by a pained frown as several drops of blood fell from his mouth. Ivan fell dead a second later, and behind him stood Togusa, who brandished a small hand gun. The gun's barrel released a small amount of smoke from its recent use. "No hesitation." Togusa informed Tenchi, who nodded dumbly. With a flick of his wrist, the gun in Togusa's hand dematerialized. And then, there was silence. "What in the hell..." Ryoko muttered as she looked into the sky. The clear sky was steadily becoming black with fearsome looking storm clouds. Lightning ripped through the air, disturbing the almost tranquil moment. "That, my dear, is the arrival of Armageddon. The Demon approaches." Said a deep, dark, evil voice from behind the group. Everyone turned their heads to see flowing death robes and large bat wings of The Dark One. "Oh no..." Washu whispered to herself. She felt the winds pick up, causing the sand storm to gain in intensity. The winds and sand pushed on the group, causing them to use all of their power to keep standing. "Soon, we will be one, and the universe will be mine." The Dark One spoke, his immense robes whipping all over the place in the hurricane force winds. Tenchi wasted no time in making his way toward the others. "RYOKO! GET EVERYONE OUT OF HERE!" Tenchi yelled over the loud screaming of the wind. "NO! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!" she returned. "DON'T ARGUE WITH ME! JUST GO!" "NEVER! IF YOU DIE, YOU WON'T DIE ALONE!" Ryoko argued. That seemed to make Tenchi shut up. A second later, a body flew by them, having been picked up by the wind and tossed around. "MAN! THIS IS SOME WIND!" Togusa said as he flew by. Tenchi and Ryoko looked at each other and nodded. Immediately after, they both leapt up and let the wind carry them. They eventually landed a few feet away from Togusa, who had a large grin on his face. He seemed to be enjoying himself. "TOGUSA, GET EVERYONE AWAY FROM THE PLANET, AND HURRY!" Tenchi commanded. "HEY! YOU CAN'T GET RID OF ME THAT EASILY! BUT DON'T WORRY, I'LL MAKE SURE EVERYONE GETS AWAY SAFELY!" nodded Togusa. A second later, he vanished and reappeared next to Nagi. "NAGI!" He shouted. "WHAT?!" she screamed. "TAKE LEO-OKI AND GET EVERYONE OFF THIS FREAKING PLANET!" He yelled. "IDIOT! YOU ARE NOT STAYING HERE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND! YOUR LEAVING WITH ME!" Nagi blared. "LISTEN, DON'T ARGUE WITH ME! JUST DO IT!" Togusa ordered. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK..." Nagi began, but was silenced when Togusa kissed her deeply. "Please..." Togusa muttered, which was barely heard over the winds. Nagi exhaled a deep sigh and nodded. "Just promise me that you'll come back..." she said just as loud. A few seconds later, Leo-oki appeared above the crew, roaring loudly back at the wind. Togusa looked up at the massive ship and said nothing, but Leo-oki roared in response to whatever mental commands Togusa gave him. Before Togusa could blink, Leo-oki had already teleported the others aboard and was beginning its escape. Togusa looked up at the sky as the storms became darker and more violent. Suddenly, several city sized black tendrils speared through the clouds and into the planet, causing the earth to shake. The tendrils were followed by more and more of the strange, black mass as it coated the planet like an ocean of dark blood. The trio watched at the massive tidal wave of darkness loomed ever closer. "HERE IT COMES!" Togusa screamed. Tenchi felt something grasp his hand, and it took him a moment to realize it was Ryoko, who stared frightfully up at the huge black wave. His hand, in turn, grasped hers even tighter as the wave flowed over them. **************************************************************************** Tenchi saw nothing but darkness, but he wasn't sure if his eyes were shut or not. He tried to move his arms, but was met with much resistance. He managed to free one arm, which he used to touch his face. 'Still there... that's a promising start.' Tenchi thought. And, just as he suspected, his eyes were indeed shut. Slowly, and with great care, he opened his eyes, afraid of the horrors he might see. But what he saw was not horrific, but absurd. "Snow?" he asked himself. The sky was black as night, but the pure white snow fell constantly. The land all around him was flat as could be, not a single mountain or dune in sight. Tenchi attempted to sit up, but was pulled back down by an odd weight on his other arm. He turned his head and saw Ryoko, lying unconscious on that very arm. "Ryoko! Wake up! Please!" Tenchi urged as he shook her limp form. Eventually, she began to stir, apparently having some sort of dream. She awoke with a start, whipping her head around, looking for Tenchi. The moment she found him, she wrapped her arms around him in a loving bear hug. "Oh, thank goodness! I thought we were all dead!" She said. She stopped hugging Tenchi when she heard a soft groan emanating from out of nowhere. A small bulge appeared in the snow a few feet away, which later revealed itself to be Togusa. "Warm snow?" Togusa coughed in confusion. Indeed the snow and a strange warmth to it. He looked over at Tenchi and Ryoko, happy that they are both alright. But his happiness was short lived, for he was interrupted by a loud rumbling noise. "Welcome... avatars..." A loud, deep, otherworldly voice roared. "Avatars?" Tenchi asked. "Yes... You are the Avatar of the goddess Tsunami. The woman is the Avatar of Washu and the loud one is the Avatar of Tokimi." The voice answered. "How come I never heard of this?" Togusa asked. "Tokimi was sealed away, so she could not be there to hone your powers... or inform you of the secret behind your creation." "Never mind that... what do you want..." Tenchi asked. In response, the ground began to shake violently. A few meters off, the snow opened up and out of the half a mile wide hole erupted a vortex of light. The trio stood up and stared at the wondrous sight. Suddenly, a stray beam of light broke off of the vortex and lit the area in front of Togusa. A small bulge formed in the snow as something began to push its way out. And what Togusa saw, he wouldn't dare believe. "Hello brother." Matsui said as he brushed the snow off of his shoulder. Togusa saw his hand, and noticed that it wasn't neither gloved or mechanical, but flesh and blood. Togusa, not completely convinced that this was reality, reached out and touched the person in front of him. He was as real as Togusa was. "No... this isn't possible. You're dead..." he said as he took several steps back. "No, Togusa, I'm not dead, just part of a power greater than myself." Smiled Matsui. "No... you're dead." Argued Togusa. "Fine. I'm dead. Happy? But, I just wanted to tell you that I've finally found peace. Oh, and Gillian says hi." Said Matsui, his smile not leaving his face. Togusa still doesn't believe it. He merely shakes his head and takes a few more steps back. "Togusa, do you remember when we were children and mother took us to carnival on Jurai? Do you remember how much fun we had?" "What are you getting at?" Togusa asked. "Togusa, I want you to join me. Come with me into the light and all of your troubles and worries will end. You'll finally find peace and we can be together forever, just like before. Then everyday can be like the carnival." Matsui offered as he reached his hand out to his brother. "Come on, take it. Join me." Matsui once again offered. "No. This isn't real. No matter how real you SEEM to be, you aren't my brother." Togusa said as he looked away. Matsui's smile turned into a disappointed frown. "Then I guess that is how it shall be..." Matsui said as he turned around and walked into the vortex. The next thing Togusa knew, he was being shaken violently by Tenchi. "TOGUSA! WAKE UP!" he yelled. "Alright already! I'm up, I'm up!" He said, slapping Tenchi's hands away. "What happened to you?" Ryoko asked from beside Tenchi. "What, didn't you see it?" Togusa asked. "See what?" Tenchi questioned. A second later, two stray beams of light flew out of the vortex and landed in front of Tenchi and Ryoko. "Tenchi?" A feminine voice rang out. Tenchi's eyes became extremely wide at the sound of the voice as he slowly turned around, suddenly finding himself alone with the speaker. "Tenchi, what's wrong?" Ryoko asked, but then a voice interrupted her, her own voice. "Hi." Said the Ryoko in front of her, who wore an odd dress which resembled the face of a cat. Ryoko looked all over, and found herself all alone. **************************************************************************** "Meira..." Tenchi's voice echoed out through the vast wasteland. Meira stood before him, smiling as bright as ever. "Hello." She giggled. "You're not real. You can't be... you're dead..." Tenchi whispered. "I'm as real as you are, silly." She laughed. "How?" Tenchi hoarsely asked. "He brought me here." She said, chipper as ever. "He who?" "He..." Meira said as she gestured all around. "No! This is just a trick! An Illusion!" Tenchi screamed. "Tenchi, remember the night we had out under the stars? The night you kissed me? I do. It was a magical night... do you think so?" "NO! YOU'RE DEAD!" Tenchi screamed angrily. Still smiling, she reached up and lightly touched Tenchi's face. Tenchi, continuing to deny her existence, batted her hand away and took several steps backward. This caused Meira to frown. Tenchi released a sigh, content in the resolution that he was right. In that moment, Meira lunged in, pulled his head down and kissed him deeply. All the resolve in Tenchi seemed to melt away as he returned her kiss in full. The warm snow falling around them enhanced the romanticism of the moment, drawing Tenchi in deeper and deeper. After what seemed to be an eternity, Meira slowly backed away, a smile forming on her lips. Tenchi was still stupefied. Lovingly, Meira grasped Tenchi's hand and began to lead him towards the light. **************************************************************************** "What the...!?" Ryoko questioned, her thin blue eyebrow arched high. Her double just seemed to tilt her head curiously. "What? Do I have something in my teeth?" she joked. The other Ryoko didn't find it very funny. "Jeez. I don't remember you being such a sour puss." The double frowned. "Who are you?" Asked one of the Ryokos. "I'm you. Or at least half of you..." The other said. "Half of me...? You mean...?" "Yep." "Zero?" "Ding! Co-rrect!" Laughed Zero. "But how?" Ryoko asked. "I was brought here to help you attain that which you seek." Zero informed. "What do you MEAN 'help me attain that which I seek'?" "Tenchi, you dummy! I'm here to help you win over Tenchi's heart, simple as that." "But how?" Asked Ryoko, now REALLY curious. "All you have to do is follow him into the light, see? Easy, isn't it?" Said Zero as she gestured over toward the light. Ryoko cautiously peeked over Zero's shoulder, being careful not to fall blindly into some sort of trap, only to witness Tenchi, walking sleepily toward the massive pillar of light. She watched apprehensively as his fingers danced over the surface of the vortex, causing it to ripple and contort, as if it was trying to crawl its way up his hand. "TENCHI!" Screamed Ryoko. Her shout echoed across the vast wasteland, and managed to get the attention of a very confused Togusa. "Hey!? Where in the hell is HE going? Wha... RYOKO WAIT!" Shouted Togusa as he witnessed Ryoko zoom off after the man she loved. Togusa put everything he had into his takeoff, and managed to pull Ryoko away from the pillar, just as Tenchi stepped through. The two landed in the snow a few feet away from the illuminated whirlwind of energy. "WHATAREYOUDOINGLETMEGOTENCHI'SINTHERE!" screamed Ryoko as she struggled aggressively in Togusa's fairly strong grasp. "I CAN'T LET YOU GO IN THERE!" He screamed in response. "LET - ME - GO!" Ryoko screamed as, suddenly, her three gems flared brightly. Togusa felt an extremely awesome force grasp him all over and pull him away from Ryoko, who growled deeply with anger and worry. All of the emotions in Ryoko's very essence boiled up within her as every muscle in her body tensed. Pure energy seethed off her lithe form, beginning to emit a light almost more brilliant than that of the vortex. "TENCHI!!" She screamed, the fierce, boiling energy finally spilling fourth. As she screamed, the energies gathered at several points around her, and commenced in slicing the very fabric of space-time in three, long, bright lines. And, finally, when the energies hit their peak, they erupted from the slits into an majestic brilliance that only one other person had been able to conjure, forming the Wings of the Light Hawk. Togusa didn't even see her lift off, for in the next moment, she was gone. Fortunately, he knew where she went, and immediately followed suit. **************************************************************************** The light came from everywhere, bathed everything, and was all that existed. Although Ryoko could make out the definite shape of a tunnel, she could not see a beginning, nor an end, to the massively expansive vortex. The natural flow of things seemed to pull her upwards, so she followed accordingly, flying faster than she has ever flown before, for the one person she ever cared about was in danger, and she knew that she was the only one who could save him. Finally, far above her, she spotted an odd, discolored spot on the almost perfect, white light. 'It could only be him.' Ryoko thought as she picked up the pace. The faster she flew, the closer she became to her beloved, which made her in turn fly faster, till she was right below his feet. She screamed his name, but no noise came out, not even a whisper. She reached out with everything she had and grasped his shoe, gradually pulling herself up even with Tenchi ( or pulling him down even with herself... ). Ryoko held on to him fast as the incomprehensible forces pushed and pulled at the two, striving to rip them apart. Ryoko could feel her grip loosening, and did everything she could to hold on tighter. But still her grip didn't suffice, and was steadily being pulled away. The tears fell freely from her eyes as she watched Tenchi leave her grasp, only to feel an odd, manly grip clutch her outstretched hand. Ryoko looked down into the smiling face of Togusa, who managed to get hold of Tenchi too. Using all the strength he could muster, he brought the two together, his teeth grinding with the effort. Ryoko took hold of both Tenchi and Togusa, her muscles bulging from the exertion. Suddenly, the light began to grow more and more intense as the seconds raced by. The last thing Ryoko saw before the light became blinding was Tenchi, gradually awakening from his trance. **************************************************************************** Tenchi's mind was afire, not to mention that his entire body ached as well. He slowly regained his wits and eventually sat up. He surveyed the odd landscape, which appeared to be a mirror image of the one that he just departed from, or, more appropriately, a shadow image. The air around him was exquisitely cold, his breath gathering in front of him in diminutive white puffs, which contrasted sharply with the strange, black snow. "Ah, god. More snow. I swear, I'm going to live on the beach after this." groaned Togusa from somewhere behind him. "If we live after this." muttered Ryoko. Tenchi turned and watched the two stand up, apparently as achy as he was. "So, what now?" Tenchi asked. "Now... congratulations are in order." Responded a familiar loud, deep, otherworldly voice. The trio turned around and gazed upon the visage of The Dark One, his large, convoluted bat wings stretching high into the air. "Congratulations for what?" Togusa growled, setting himself up in a battle stance. "Congratulations for returning me to my rightful place. Now my power is whole again." "You mean that YOU are the Demon? I thought this Demon of Darkness was supposed to be sealed away?!" Tenchi argued. "In a sense, I was. My power was stolen from me by the goddess of light, the creator of the three current goddesses of your realm, and sealed away. I was forced to exist in the mortal plane for centuries while I abided my time, awaiting for the most opportune time to strike. Thankfully, you... Tenchi... came along and released the dark energies with the destruction of the Tree of Darkness. I played 'Advisor' to my brother in his feeble quest to destroy your realm, and laughed as he failed. During his little war, I searched this universe, finding the most easily corruptible minds I could, so I could use them to find the one who held the key to my... release..." The creature explained. "Meira..." Tenchi whispered. "Yes. She held the key to my release in her pure blood, the blood of the ancients. Only the blood of the absolute pure could have released me, and now I am complete... Now - I - am - a - GOD!" The demon roared as he grew and contorted. His solid form transformed into an evil, flowing blackness. From the hood, a face formed, almost skeletal, but with long, sharp piranha like teeth and red, burning eyes. "Tenchi, we gotta leave... NOW!" said Ryoko as she grasped Tenchi's wrist and took off into the air. Tenchi released a small yelp as she yanked him off the nice, solid ground. He looked down and saw Togusa take off a second later. "Tremble, all who witness, for I am the Darkness. I am what always was and what always will be..." the demon roared. Shortly thereafter, his burning eyes glared up at the escaping trio. He released a malignant growl like chuckle before ripping into the air after them. "SHIT! HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET OUT OF HERE!?" screamed Togusa as he rocketed up next to Ryoko. "I don't know! But what I do know is that I can't keep this up much longer!" she responded. Indeed, Togusa noted, Ryoko was slowing down as the perspiration leapt off of her face, only to freeze in mid air. Tenchi saw this too, and wracked his fairly intelligent brain for an idea. "What the heck!?" Tenchi uttered to himself after hearing someone say his voice. Tenchi closed his eyes momentarily, concentrating hard. Suddenly, strange images appeared in Tenchi's head. He saw the demon raise Cain in the universe, destroying countless civilizations and species. He saw the climatic battle between the Goddess of Light and the God of Darkness, which was fought through their creations, the goddesses Tsunami, Washu, and Tokimi and the Demons of Corruption, Death, and Darkness. He saw the Dark God forced, along with his progeny, into the realm of darkness, only to see the most powerful demon, the Demon of Darkness, make one last ditch attempt at total destruction. He saw the sacrifice the Goddess of Light made in order to seal away the demon, reducing herself into a mortal and sealing her powers into a stone in order to put down the beast. He gazed into the deep black eyes of the former goddess, and finally everything made sense. Finally, the visions stopped, and Tenchi knew what he must do. He looked up at Ryoko, and watched her strain herself to the limit, for even with her gems, the strange nether dimension still drained her completely. Tenchi inhaled deeply and reached up to Ryoko's hand, which gripped his wrist. With the minimal amount of force needed, Tenchi pulled himself free and initiated a free fall, much to Ryoko and Togusa's dismay. "Tenchi!" Ryoko screamed when she felt him struggle loose. She wasted no time in making a 180 and soaring after him. The cold chill bit at his very being, but Tenchi ignored it. He knew that this was what must be done, what must be done to rid existence of this abomination once and for all. Struggling against the odd gravitational forces, Tenchi forced his hand up to the pendant he wore and tore it loose. It glowed brightly in his hand, its warmth swarming through his entire body. He looked down, and saw the red, gleaming eyes of the embodiment of evil, the holocaust personified. The thought about the countless millions that were killed, or worse, by this vile being, and about how, if he was allowed to continue on living, he would destroy everything, eventually shredding the very fabric of reality into nothingness. Tenchi felt the power surge forth from the stone as he rose it behind his head, and saw the light soar ahead, revealing the face of the creature before him. And then, for an odd reason, everything was still as time seemed to slow, or at least in Tenchi's perception. Tenchi summoned all of the strength he could attain and released the small relic from his grasp, but what he threw was not a stone, but, rather, a beautiful shaft of bright, blue light. At that moment, he felt a pair of warm arms embrace him, but he was too transfixed on the light to take any notice. The beam rocketed forth at speeds unimaginable, striking the beast dead in the center of its chest. The energies wrapped themselves around it, almost as if in a loving embrace, eliciting a nightmarish roar from the demon. The light began to grow at the base of the shaft emanating from Tenchi's hand, forming two very large dove like wings, each feather comprised of a Light Hawk Wing. Tenchi and the others shielded their eyes from the light, for it burned like a hundred supernovas. And, as the light grew in intensity, so did the roar of the beast, which fought the light at every turn, and was failing. And with that, the darkness was gone, replaced by the brilliance of outer space. Tenchi watched as the conflicting energies collapsed onto each other, fighting a final war of supremacy. **************************************************************************** "Whaa?" muttered Kiyone as suddenly, everything was back to normal. Her TV was still smashed, but, other than that, everything was a-okay. Even the lights worked. After about a half an hour of confusion, Kiyone was brought out of her reverie by the sound of her door opening. "Hi Kiyone! I'm BACK! And I brought some candies from the planet Aldaris!" Greeted Mihoshi as she entered Kiyone's office. Kiyone just stared at Mihoshi with a pair of freaked out eyes. **************************************************************************** "RYO-OKI!" Screamed Ryoko, as she held onto Tenchi, who was bathed in a strange blue light, which was apparently protecting him from the harshness of space. Seconds later, the familiar space ship appeared, meowing its happiness at their return. "Ryo-oki! We have to get the hell out of here! NOW!" Togusa screamed. "Why?" asked Ryoko. "What happens when you put matter and anti-matter together?!" He asked hurriedly. "It explodes... so? Oh no..." Ryoko groaned as she realized what was going to happen. "RYO-OKI! GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO!" She commanded. Immediately, the ship rocketed off, tossing the group to the rear of the ship. Then, just as Togusa had hypothesized, there was a gargantuan flash of light, followed by the most massive shockwave that three of them had ever seen before in their lives. "IT'S COMING IN TOO FAST! WE'LL NEVER MAKE IT!" Ryoko screamed in despair. After hearing Ryoko's fretting, Tenchi stood up, his face stern and resolute. His features became strained to the extreme as he concentrated, and concentrated hard. Outside Ryo-oki's hull, the familiar brilliance of the Light Hawk Wings appeared, bathing the ship in light. Ryoko saw this and stood up, her fists clenched in determination. She began concentrating just as hard as Tenchi after placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Seconds afterward, the three Light Hawk Wings were joined by three more. Togusa watched the two, and then spied out of the ship's transparent hull. Upon seeing the shockwave approaching even closer, Togusa decided to join in. 'Well, let's see if this works...' he thought to himself as he placed a hand on Tenchi's other shoulder and meditated deeply, drawing out the untapped energies from within. The six were then made nine. And not a moment too soon, for a half a second later, the shockwave smashed into the ship. The trio groaned and roared with effort as Ryo-oki began to vibrate violently. The last thing Tenchi saw when everything went black was Ryoko shrieking in pain. **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** E P I L O G U E ( Epilogue Music : DANTE'S PRAYER by LOREENA MCKENNITT ) ____________________________________________________________________________ On a distant planet, millions of light years away, a single drop of water fell on a small gravestone, which was darkened by a large shadow. Casting the shadow was a young man not from this world. Another drop of water fell on the small gravestone, and then another. The small droplets fell from the strange young man's sad, brown eyes. With much disconsolation, the young man, whom we have known as Tenchi Masaki, placed a single, solitary flower on the small grave, a flower more commonly known as a Royal Teardrop to the residents of this wondrous civilization. Tenchi then stood back up and read the intricately written lettering on the stone : MASAKI MEIRA UNKNOWN BY ALL , LOVED BY MANY. With one last glance, Tenchi turned around to walk away, but found his path blocked. Before him stood Ryoko and Ayeka, both their heads held low and their eyes red rimmed from mourning. No words passed between the three, and none were needed. Ryoko slowly approached Tenchi and wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace. Shortly thereafter, Ayeka followed suit, lightly burying her head into Tenchi's shoulder as he wrapped one of his arms around her. A light rain began to fall, but I don't think that they noticed... ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** T E N C H I M U Y O T H E D A R K E S T H E L L C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N F I N A L L I G H T ( Credit Music : SOMETHING I CAN NEVER HAVE by NINE INCH NAILS ) WRITTEN BY THE MAGICIAN DIRECTED BY THE MAGICIAN PRODUCED BY THE MAGICIAN PROOFREADERS / PREREADERS TENMAN LEON-SAN TOGUSA M U S I C THE BEGINNING OF THE END DANTE'S PRAYER Performed by ROB ZOMBIE Lyrics by LOREENA MCKENNIT Appears courtesy of GEFFEN RECORDS Performed by LOREENA MCKENNIT Appears courtesy of WARNER BROS. MORE THAN THIS ULTRA Lyrics by ROBERT SMITH Lyrics by KMFDM Performed by THE CURE Performed by KMFDM Appears courtesy of FICTION Appears courtesy of TVT RECORDS RECORDS / ELEKTRA SUPERBEAST SOMETHING I CAN NEVER HAVE Lyrics by ROB ZOMBIE Lyrics by TRENT REZNOR Performed by ROB ZOMBIE Performed by NINE INCH NAILS Appears courtesy of GEFFEN RECORDS Appears courtesy of NOTHING RECORDS HAUNTED Lyrics by PETER STEELE Performed by TYPE O NEGATIVE Appears Courtesy of ROADRUNNER RECORDS S P E C I A L T H A N K S J O E : Without him, most of Darkest Hell could not have been written (So BLAME HIM!!) T E N M A N and L E O N - S A N : Thanks for reading this garbage for me! P I O N E E R / A I C : Without whom this story would not exist, and I think we all know why... C A F F I N E : Another reason why this story exists... M E : Because I spent all the time writing this bloody mess. ( Vanity is my favorite sin... ) TENCHI, RYOKO, AYEKA, WASHU, AND ALL THE OTHER CHARACTERS OF TENCHI MUYO BELONG TO PIONEER AND AIC. MEIRA, MATSUI, AND ALL OTHER ORIGINAL CHARACTERS BELONG TO ME. TOGUSA IS PROPERTY OF MY FRIEND JOE ( Leoshark@swbell.net ), AND IS USED WITH HIS EXPRESSED PERMISSION. NO CABBITS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF THIS FAN FIC. ALL THE CHARACTERS AND SITUATIONS ARE FICTIONAL, AND ANY LIKENESS TO ANYONE PERSON OR SITUATION IS PURELY A COINCIDENCE. IF ANY OF THE CHARACTERS OR SITUATIONS ARE IDENTICAL TO THOSE YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED, PLEASE SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP. CONTACT ME AT ruby@pa.net FOR QUESTIONS, COMPLEMENTS OR CRITICISMS. ( AND PLEASE, NO FLAMES... ) T H E E N D... ( For Now )