All characters, except the ones I create on my own, belong to AIC and 
Pioneer.  On with the show!
Forever Part 2:
Forever Masaki
By: Emily Stamm

	"Well my son, are you ready?"
	Tenchi Masaki turned to his father, who had come astride to stand 
abreast with him on the hill overlooking the lake.  The twenty-year old 
smiled.  "Of course dad.  I've been ready for at least a year and now 
that the time has finally come-"
	"You don't know if it's the real thing." Nobuyuki finished for 
him with a solemn bowing of the head.
	"Yeah," Turning back to the landscape that arched before him, the 
anxious groom squeezed and released his fists which lay at both sides.  
"But it's all worth it."  His thoughts drifted from the ceremony itself 
to his beautiful bride.  He could just see Ryoko now, nose red from the 
drinking party last night, a playful glint in those entrancing golden 
eyes.
	His daydream was interrupted with a pat on the shoulder from his 
father.  "Tenchi, if only your mother could see you now, standing at 
the very brink of this new world you and Ryoko are about to explore 
together.  You have no idea how proud your mother and I are of the both 
of you."
	Old as he may get, Tenchi still reddened every time something 
like this happened.  Anytime there was talk of his mother.oh well, she 
would understand if she had lived to see this day.  "Thanks dad."
	The wind came down from the northern foothills of the mountain 
range, gathering the fallen flower petals into a cloud, exploding like 
crashing waves as it hit the hill on which father and son stood. 
	Nobuyuki watched the meandering petals with fleeting glances. 
"It's time."
	Looking to the side of where the last blossom had fallen, Tenchi 
took a breath, and turned his gaze back up to the sky.  
"I know," Squinting he could almost swear that the clouds' 
dimples and shadows formed the adoring face of his mother.  The 
crevasses and fissures left open through the collision of five massive 
clouds formed her cheeks, dark eyes, and a wide, approving smile.  Some 
rays from the sun played upon the cirrus clouds which gave the 
appearance of her hair as it had been in youth, long and in strands, as 
opposed to the restrictive tail that she had worn in her later years.  
Facing his father's familiar face once more, Tenchi's tone drew 
low in respect.  "Do you think mother approves?"
His father's face fell in surprise.  "Tenchi, do you seriously 
think that she'd disapprove?" Shaking his head, he continued on.  "No," 
his eyes looked up to the blue heavens above along with his son's.  "I 
believe that she's looking down on us right now, and couldn't be 
happier."
"Ya know dad?" Tenchi gently pushed past his father and started 
down the hill.  "I think you're right." He turned back with a smile 
that could kill.
	"Wait Tenchi!" His father shouted back.
	Standing at attention, looking back over his shoulder, the groom 
waited for Nobuyuki to follow.  As soon as he had caught up to the 
short distance his son had gained on him, Mr. Masaki huffed and said, 
"Let me at least walk with my son to his wedding ceremony."
	That trademark blush overwhelmed Tenchi and he pressed cool 
fingers to the hot cheeks.  
	Searching for conversation, his father blurted out, "Ryoko's a 
great girl,"
	Shoving his numb hands down into warm pockets, Tenchi kicked a 
stone out of the path and replied, "Don't I know it."
	"You should after four years."
	"Believe me dad," he stopped, turned his head to meet Nobuyuki's, 
and stared him hard in the eye.  "I know."
	"Well, no time like the present right?  It was good that you two 
waited until you were twenty and she was." with hand motions he sought 
for the missing age.  "Oh, I forget."
	"704 dad, approximately." Tenchi filled in the blank, mumbling it 
beneath his breath.  "Please don't remind me."  It was a subject that 
had been on his mind too much.ever since their talk about two years ago 
in the bath.  Ever since Ryoko had promised to age along with him, so 
that when he went, she would never have to endure such grief and go 
along with him.
	"Well she has the physical appearance of at least 18 years," His 
father continued on, seeming not to notice any distress from the man 
walking with him.  "That has to be good for something, if not fooling 
the neighbors."
	Tenchi chuckled and sighed.  "Yeah, but I don't know.  There's 
just something that isn't right about cheating her immortality."
	"It was her decision." Nobuyuki contended, wagging a finger.  
"Let her live with it."
	"But I'm the one living with her!" He cried, dragging the 
wonderfully warmed hands out of their pockets and into the air.  "How 
am I supposed to live with it?"
	"Now see," the father put a hand firmly on the son's shoulder.  
"You're getting all worked up over nothing.  It's jitters my boy, pure 
and simple jitters."

	"It's jitters Ryoko, pure and simple jitters."
	The space pirate looked up from underneath the hood of her 
wedding kimono.  Her eyes glared between the cyan spikes crushed under 
the weight of the ivory hood.  "Don't tell me they're jitters." She 
seethed,  "I'm not the one who's nervous."
	Glancing around Ryoko's old room, Aeka surveyed the damage.  
"Well, let's see here," she pointed to the shattered remnants of a 
looking glass, "There's the broken mirror-"
	Crossing her arms over her chest, the other woman replied, "So?  
Seven years bad luck isn't going to affect me any."
	"And the dresser-"
	Ryoko's gaze followed the accusing finger to the shards of wood 
lining the floor and the massive hole in the wall where the beautiful 
cherry pine bureau used to be.  "We needed another window in here 
anyway." She explained.
	The princess turned and threw a glance over to the first kimono, 
lying in shreds on its hanger.
	"It wasn't very figure flattering," Ryoko huffed, smoothing the 
creases out of the new kimono that she wore.  Brushing the fabric, she 
ran her nimble fingers down her flanks and came back up around the 
hips.  "Don't you think this is better Aeka?"
	Pursing her lips in thought, the First princess of Jurai answered 
shortly, "Yes, well at least you didn't blow the door down."
	"Hey, what's going on in here?" Washu poked her head in, the rest 
of her body following soon after.  She strode on over to the twosome.  
Nodding approvingly at the ceremonial gown, she bent and looked into 
the eyes burning from beneath the hood.  "Is there a Ryoko in there?"
	The woman in question ran a quick tongue over her teeth and 
replied, "Yes there is," in monotone.
	"Feeling a little tense, are we?" The genius snickered as she 
began to walk about the room, examining the damaged artifacts with 
care.  Picking up a shard of wood, she cocked a brow and gave a look to 
Aeka.
	"I believe it's simply jitters, Miss Washu."  The Princess told 
her, then pointed silently behind to the sitting woman in the wedding 
kimono.  "Don't you think?"
	Before Washu had a chance to answer, the lounging figure in the 
chair rose effortlessly in the air, turned, and let the golden eyes 
endowed to her glow and burn.  "I believe that the Princess has 
outstayed her welcome for a time." Locking elbows and forming the 
attack position, the other two women stood frozen in horror and 
bewilderment as energy trickled down the tips of Ryoko's fingers and 
coalesced into a ball in her palms.  "What do you think, Washu?" the 
space pirate questioned the genius, the hood still covering her eyes in 
shadow.
	"What do I think?" Washu squeaked before dragging Aeka out the 
door just as a ball of red, glistening fire crashed into the door with 
a laugh from Ryoko.  "I think I'm safer downstairs!" shouted the 
magenta crested woman, falling down onto the couch in the living room 
with Aeka safely lying on the ground beside her.
	The busybodies diverted, Ryoko levitated back down into her chair 
and blew cool air onto her burning hands.  Leaning back as far as the 
chair allowed her, the space pirate took a breath and looked up, saw 
through the ceiling, and to the great vastness of the blue sky above.  
	"Tenchi," she breathed as her lids shut closed, her mind 
wandering to that field of flowers behind a lonesome hill.  It was 
there that she had cried for him, cried so hard that she thought she 
might have lost all the water inside her that there was to cry.  During 
those first few days after he ran into the woods, she had spent so much 
time there; consoling herself and at times firing confused and 
aggravated blasts at a flower as target practice.  It was also there 
that she and Aeka talked about what would happen if they did find him.  
All these scenes of the past filtered through her mind as she lay 
there, too excited to sleep and too exhausted to wake.  That field of 
flowers was her mind; a place where history repeated itself and dreams 
came true.like children.
	They hadn't really talked about little ones that much since their 
engagement.  He was always off at school, leaving Ryoko to dream about 
a son or a daughter.  Having children with the man that she loved, a 
man that she would do anything for was a blessing, and she hoped with 
all her heart that someone was hearing her prayers.  And if someone 
where to take all that away, like this EVIL character that had her head 
marked, she would become angry, spiteful, and resentful once again of 
life and it's promises that it never could hold.
	Oh well, on with the wedding.then children.

	"They really didn't need that door anyway, right?" Kiyone asked 
Washu and Aeka.  All the "bridesmaids" were dressed in simple pale 
lavender kimonos, with light blue, almost sky blue sashes around their 
waists and pink cherry blossoms sitting behind each left ear.
"Oh, you don't live here anymore do you?" Washu grunted 
sarcastically, taking a long sip of sake.  "You need some sort of sound 
barrier with those two."
	Wrinkling her nose, the teal-tressed GP officer shook her head, 
trying to erase that mental picture.  
	"Never mind that," Aeka continued on, grabbing the rice wine 
bottle out of the genius' hands.  She took a mouthful and swallowed.  
"What are we going to about Ryoko?"
	"I don't know, she's awfully moody these days and those firings?"  
Kiyone shrugged and took the bottle from the Princess's hands.  "Do you 
think she's pregnant?"
	"Who's pregnant?" Mihoshi asked innocently, walking out of the 
kitchen with Sasami following behind, a tray precariously balanced in 
her arms.
	"No one is," Aeka said sternly.  "At least I hope not."
	"That would make things a whole lot worse." Washu smiled evilly.  
"I mean, we have EVIL on her tail, not to mention a wedding to pull 
off."
	"And now a baby!"
	Kiyone scowled at her partner.  "We don't know if there even is a 
baby, Mihoshi."
	"Exactly.  It's most likely jitters."
	"You can't attest every action Ryoko makes to jitters, Aeka." 
Washu pointed out, swiping the sake from Kiyone's dawdling grasp.  
"Remember your fight two years ago?"
	"Of course I do, but,"
	Kiyone rose and took the bottle back from Washu. "No 'buts' 
Princess Aeka.  Ryoko just does what she does."  
	"And there is never a reason why." Aeka mumbled grouchily.
	"No, there's a reason.' Washu put the mouth of the bottle to her 
lips and threw back her head.  "We just never know what it is."

	"Pregnant?" Odosuoni had just sat down at the consul when 
Mihoshi's words echoed through the pool.  Completely ignoring the rest 
of their conversation, the re-haired woman jumped up and sang, "Oh yes!  
I shall strike them down in one swift blow!"
	Her ship hummed under her boots as she stood at the control 
panel, looking out over the blueness of the Atlantic Ocean.  She was 
far enough out of the atmosphere to see both North America on the left 
and Europe on the right.  Surveying these two landmasses and taking 
quick dives over the Caribbean, she came to the conclusion that Japan 
wasn't in this particular hemisphere of this speck in the universe.  
Why does Jurai even bother with this water-droplet? She thought 
exasperatedly as maps keyed into the ship's systems were brought up for 
her viewing.  Every large, mainstream island complex was a hologram, 
appearing with blips and beeps from the mastermind computer.
	"Ah," Odosuoni looked over the Galapagos, Cuban, Mediterranean, 
Hawaiian, Japanese, Aleutian, and even upper Arctic ocean Islands, 
hoping to see something that would point her in the right direction.  
Finally, again considering the possibility that she misjudged the 
calculations of the hemisphere, she came to the conclusion that she was 
indeed lost.
	"Oh well, if Ryoko's pregnant like they say she is," she reached 
over the panel to flip up a few navigational switches, "I have a good 
nine months to stop and ask for directions."
	
	Leaning over the banister from ground level, Aeka summoned all 
her Jurai strength to fill her lungs with air and project, "RYOKO!!!!"  
And yet there was still no answer.
	"Maybe she has the door closed," Mihoshi tried casually, plopping 
down on the couch aside Sasami.
	"It can't.  It was incinerated due to that last blast, remember?" 
Washu reminded the blond GP officer through gritted teeth.
	"RYOKO!" Aeka let out again, this time taking not one, but three 
bold steps up the stairs, "GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"
	"Well yelling isn't doing any good," Sasami pouted, giving Ryo-
ohki reassuring pets as her older sister took a few more steps towards 
the Space Pirate's lair.  She cringed and covered her ears as the whole 
house should've shook.  "And yet you keep on trying Aeka."
	Sucking in a deep breath, (Full of courage and bravery, she 
hoped.) the First Princess was gone in a purple flash, charging full 
speed up the stairs.  Before anyone knew where the first one had gone 
to, Kiyone was following as guard.  Grabbing her subatomic particle 
converter from seemingly nowhere, the genius disappeared as well behind 
the other two.  Upon reaching the second floor, Washu found both Aeka 
and Kiyone pressed against the walls surrounding the smoldering crater 
where the door had once been.  
	Laser brandished against her lavender breast, the teal-headed GP 
officer leapt out from her hiding place and over into the room, gun 
ready to use. The other cowards, (er, women) shut their eyes tight, 
expecting a cry from Kiyone, and a fiery glow burning outside their 
vision.  
	When all was quiet, the other two waiting outside opened their 
eyes slowly and, feeling their way along the wall, went inside the room 
and stood next to their friend.  There, damaged and torn as the mirror, 
bureau, and kimono were, they were still there.  But the anxious bride 
was nowhere to be seen.
	"Where is she?" Aeka turned to Washu.
	The genius shot her a 'don't look at me' look and countered, 
"Where do you think?" 
	"Well don't ask me," Kiyone replied to the women guarding her 
back, her focus still on the empty, lonely room.
	"She didn't run away.did she?" Washu cocked a brow as she took 
inventory along with the officer.
	"Don't be stupid." Aeka shot back, "She loves Lord Tenchi, we all 
know that, and she knew it first."
	"Well, she's not here now, and the wedding," Kiyone shook her 
wrist free of the sleeve to check her watch.  "Is in two hours!" 
	"Great, better send the search party out.any ideas where she 
could be?" Washu grunted, standing on tiptoe in order to look out of 
the high windows.
	Without a thought, Aeka raised a hand and said, "My guess would 
be wherever Lord Tenchi is." 
	 
	"Tenchi?"
	Letting Nobuyuki continue on ahead, still preaching about marital 
bliss and spousal tips, Tenchi slowed his pace and stopped by a tree.
	"Ryoko?"
	"Yes."
	Putting a hand against the bark, the groom leaned closer to the 
edge, wanting to hear her voice, but never to see her before the 
ceremony.  "What are you doing here?"
	"Oh," her voice was heavy and exhausted, "Everyone is making such 
a big fuss.  Why didn't we elope?"
	He chuckled, that whole discussion flooding back into his memory.  
Finally, he spoke exactly his reason that he had come up with that 
night.  "Because we have family who want to see us up there at the 
Shrine.  Family who love us and care for us."
	"Family who do anything to piss us off." She took a sigh.  "You 
should've seen Washu; all 'is there a little Ryoko in there'?"
	Tenchi stifled some laughter with a hand on his mouth.
	"Oh, and Aeka.so what if I'm a little emotional these days?"
	Laughter abruptly stopping, Tenchi paused.  "What exactly do you 
mean when you say 'emotional', Ryoko?"
	"Uh, well, like my fire when you kiss me?"
	"Did you?"
	"No.no.  None of the others are injured, though Washu could be." 
he could hear her inhalation as she pressed on with the recountence, "I 
don't really know for certain, I heard a thud after I blew away the 
door."
	"You're joking." 
	"Tenchi, I wish I was."
	He stepped back as she reached a hand out from behind the tree.  
It was soft and delicate, the simple embroidery around the sleeve's hem 
giving the admirer an idea of what the rest of the gown looked like.  
Stepping back up to accept it, he gave it a squeeze of reassurance.  
	"Don't worry about it dearest." He consoled, gently massaging 
their tightness with his thumb.  "In a few hours it'll all be over and 
we will be off in Space on our honeymoon."
	Now it was her turn to give his hand a squeeze and then pulled 
away.  "If we even make it till then."
"What?" He had never heard this sad, sorry tone before.
"I'm scared this time Tenchi."
"About EVIL?"
"Yes, and also."
He grabbed her hand back and saw one of the cyan side locks fall 
into view, then out again.  "Now it's my turn.  If I ever lost you." He 
purposefully didn't finish, wanting the thought to sink in and perhaps 
change her mind about the aging thing.
"I know." She answered in barely a whisper.  
"We've never lost before."
"We've never been married before."
A long, dead silence came between them as reality itself became 
more and more real.  Any minute now, a giant ship could land and take 
Ryoko away forever.  At least let her marry him first, and be known as 
Ryoko Masaki for real for a minute.  Finally he spoke up.  "See you in 
a couple hours." 
 Pulling her hand back, she waved goodbye.  "See you then 
Tenchi."
	"Love you Ryoko." She could have no idea how much he wanted to 
hold her and tell her that everything was all right.
	"I love you."  
	He stood awhile longer, listening to the leaves brush against her 
skin as she raced towards the Shrine.  He really was lucky to have her.  
As so many times before, he thanked fate for throwing them together, 
and the stars up above for making the right decision.
	
	"Ryoko, there you are!" Sasami cried happily, standing at the top 
of the stairs.  Turning back to the bridesmaid procession following 
her, she called down to them, "Hey you guys I found her!"
	Aeka was the first to come up.  "Ryoko!  Don't you ever do that 
to us again!"  She came to the bride's side at a gallop, with Ryoko 
remaining as calm as ever, hands drawn to her sides.  "Do you hear me?"
	"She hears ya, but I bet my atomic charger that she's not 
listening."
	The pirate beamed, "Damn straight."
	"Oh Ryoko!" Mihoshi made a beeline from the steps.  She gave 
Ryoko a bear hug, then straightened back, brushed away all the 
imaginary dust on the ivory kimono, and turned serious.  "You really 
shouldn't go running off like this, not in your condition."
	"Mihoshi!" her partner screamed as she came to the other two 
standing with a miffed and confused Ryoko.
	"Huh?" What condition?"
	"Look Bubble-brain," she threatened, pulling the blond away by 
the large lavender collar.  "I told you that there isn't a baby."
	"Baby?"
	But before Ryoko could have her questions answered, Washu had 
pulled her into the woods.  "We only have approximately one hour and 
thirty-five minutes left until you make your vows."
	"I know, but what were they-"
	Washu looked up from brushing away the loose petals and twigs 
caught in the kimono.  "Crossed wires.that's all."
	Submitting to the whims of the scientist, Ryoko stood with hood 
drawn, sparkle in her eye, ready for the main event to commence.

	"Alright!" Odosuoni yelled as the other maps blinked off and 
descended into darkness, leaving only the Islands of Japan.  The ship 
was hovering just off the coast of New Zealand, a mere hour from Japan 
by space.  "Now let's get Okayama on gear and move out!"
	
	"Wow.it's so beautiful."  Mihoshi exclaimed, looking about her as 
she made her way through the aisle made by the separation rows of 
chairs.  On one side was Tenchi's immediate family, on the other were 
his friends from school.  Mihoshi only recognized a couple of his 
classmates, but none of the actual aunts and uncles.  It wasn't a very 
big gathering, just the people who mattered most to the Groom, since 
the bride had no family to speak of.  
	"Will you watch where you're going?" Kiyone gave her a little 
shove, throwing her partner out of her thoughts.  Behind Kiyone was 
Washu, and behind her, Sasami.  Last, but never least was Aeka, with 
Ryo-ohki hopping behind.  After every girl had made their presentation, 
they came to kneel on the ground leading to the Shrine office stairs, 
facing the seated guests.  Heads bowed, as the Shinto priest appeared 
at the edge of the clearing, each woman had her fingers crossed in her 
lap, giving the bride a nudge if any should be needed.
	Yosho came to stand in front of the girls, at the head of the 
chair rows, and opened a large tome in his hands.  
	All lay silent.  The wind whipped, tossing unbound hair and 
flower petals alike up from their respective grounds.  Then suddenly, 
from out of the left corner of the guest's vision came the groom, 
dressed down in almost black mandarin collar coat and sheer wide-leg 
pants, his growing hair tied at the nape of his neck with a single blue 
ribbon.  His head raised, Tenchi walked forward to meet his bride.
	At the same time, Ryoko had also appeared, shuffling in from the 
right.  The ivory kimono that she wore glistened like new fallen snow 
in the sun's light.  Her head bowed, she walked quietly along, face 
completely covered in shadow.  As she neared their meeting place, the 
intricate stitching on the hems of hood, sleeves, and kimono rim became 
much clearer to the guests.  They were in fact tiny silver balls, sewn 
in 3D star- bursts; each swapping places with a gold leaf from time to 
time.  It was symbolic of their marriage; silver stars from space for 
the bride and golden foliage from Earth for the groom. 
	Drawing nearer and nearer to stand in front of Yosho, both Tenchi 
and Ryoko suddenly stopped and looked up.  For high above them was a 
ship, dark almost blood red in color, streaming a line of blackened 
carbonic steam, which shattered as it touched the cool atmosphere.
	Screams of horror wrenched themselves from the guests as the red 
dot became larger and larger until a white flash of light blinded their 
vision, followed by an explosion behind the Shrine.  Then another 
between the fallen bride and groom.
	By this time, the Masaki family had thrown themselves to the 
ground, covering their heads and necks with flailing hands.  The guests 
had ran down the steps back to the house where their cars were parked 
and were most likely never coming back to the quiet countryside of 
Okayama ever again.
	Meanwhile, back up at the Shrine, the blasts were still pelting 
the hillside.  The women were screaming, trying to run for the cover of 
the forest.  Tenchi came to Ryoko's side, dodging the smoldering crater 
blown between them.  Still conscious, she got up and ran hand in hand 
along with her love, in the direction the others had gone. 
Subconsciously, only a few knew where it was safe.Washu's old cave.
	Pushing her little sister ahead of her, the two Juraians 
collapsed at the entrance of the cave, Sasami sobbing out of fear, and 
Aeka frozen with thoughts for the others.  Kiyone and Mihoshi had been 
right behind them.
	BOOM!
	The smoke from a recent blast shrouded the two GP officers as 
they came running and coughing to the cave entrance.  Composing 
themselves, Aeka and Sasami pulled them in and, all together, withdrew 
themselves from the entrance, and started to recede farther within the 
rocky lair.  Again the ground shook, this time knocking Kiyone off her 
feet and onto the floor. 
	"Damn!" She swore under her breath, but a smile passed through 
her lips when Sasami held out a hand to help her up.
	The little princess suddenly looked around her and pondered, 
"Where are Tenchi and Ryoko?"
	"And Washu?" Mihoshi wondered aloud.  "And Grandfather and Mr. 
Masaki?"
	"Great, we're separated again!" Aeka slid down the cave wall to 
sit against it and stretched out her legs.  Taking a breath, she rubbed 
her face exasperatedly.
	"Of all the times that EVIL could've attacked." Kiyone mumbled, 
slunking down opposite Aeka.
	"Well, I'll tell you one thing.  We've been together long enough 
to know that we seek out each other when there's trouble.  Chances are 
they're all together like we are now." Aeka told them, lighting each 
face with a flicker of hope.
	"Do you think so Aeka?"
	"If you think about it Sasami, you will too."
	Kiyone grabbed a loose pebble and threw it down the dark 
corridor. "Where could they be?"
	"Hey," the light blue pigtails of the second princess jerked up 
in alarm.  "Where's Ryo-ohki?"
	
	"How could this have happened?"
	Ryoko sighed, burying her head deeper into her fianc‚'s chest.  
"I knew something was going to happen today besides a wedding."
	Tenchi's father looked up in despair.  "You two were so close, 
just so close.a couple minutes and you would at least have been legally 
married."
	Both Tenchi and Ryoko looked up solemnly and replied in unison.  
"Please don't remind us," 
	"Well, since we're not winning or losing any battles in here, 
let's go." Ryoko abruptly moved out of his arms and stood at the 
entrance to the basement.  Leaning against the frame with her right 
shoulder.  Ryo-ohki scrambled up to the left one in support.  "They 
ruined my wedding.my day," She started, her back to the Masaki men.  "I 
intend to let EVIL know exactly what I think about interruptions."  
Looking over her right shoulder, Tenchi saw the wetness that her eyes 
held.  This was really important to her.  "Tenchi?"
	He nodded to the men standing aside him and came up behind her.  
"Ryoko." Linking his arm through hers, they ascended the stairs in 
respectful silence.
	The other Masaki men stood in awe of their bravery and love.

	"MIYA!" Ryo-ohki screamed as she sped towards the Shrine, where 
the red, roughly same-sized ship was sending blast after blast after 
blast.
	"Show 'em Ryo-ohki!" Ryoko bit at the words harshly, a crazed 
expression on her face as she sent her ship careening up into the 
atmosphere at top speed.  They came back at full momentum, using the 
air current as a slide to skim the treetops and send the red orbs 
directly into EVIL's ship.  They crashed into what appeared to be the 
hull, making it teeter wildly as it tried to stay level with space and 
ground.
	"Ha!" The space pirate leaned in closer to the orbs which she 
piloted and pushed them forward, giving Ryo-ohki a spurt of energy to 
skirt the ship, soar over the range, and come back for another pass.
	"Uh Ryoko," Tenchi managed through a gulp, "You're beginning to 
scare me."
	"Beginning to?" Ryoko answered back with a coy smirk.
	He looked her up and down, taking in the image of his soon-to-be-
wife-if-she-didn't-get-killed-first completely at ease in her element.  
She had taken off the wedding kimono, folding it neatly into a cement 
safe and buried it ten feet under the floorboards of the living room, 
then had donned her black and red battle suit.  He, himself had done 
practically the same thing with his ceremonial garb, and taken on his 
Juraian Samurai outfit that Azaka and Kamidake had presented him at his 
departure from the royal planet.
	"Damn it!" Ryoko cursed loudly, swinging Ryo-ohki out of the way 
of an oncoming blast, the edge of the projectile skimming along one of 
the ship's 'wings'.  As if to join her pilot's rage, Ryo-ohki let out a 
blood-curdling scream of pain.
	"Is she okay?" Tenchi asked, leaning in with her as she wove 
through the range, coming back at a different angle of attack.  He 
could feel Ryoko's body tense, the anxious, nervous heats emanate off 
her and hit him in the face.  
	"A bit shaken, but we've had worse," she swerved suddenly as a 
stray bolt from the red ship sped its way towards them.  "Now all we 
need to do is hit the consul and we have EVIL at bay.at least for now."
	"How do you know?"
	"Tenchi, don't you see that," another blast shot by them, "Shit! 
Don't you see that pulsing beacon at the top?  That's a static signal, 
meaning that's where the navigation, control, life-support systems 
are."
	"You hit that, and the ship is dead?"
	"Yep, and that's what I'm going to do if mister or misses EVIL 
doesn't mind."
	Setting a firm hand on her shoulder from behind, Tenchi smiled 
and said, "My Ryoko, you are a fighter."
	"You bet your sweet ass I am.  Born and ready for this type of 
action."
	His other hand found her cheek just as Ryo-ohki was hit again, 
this time on the consul orb in her center.
	"Tenchi, hold on," Ryoko sent Ryo-ohki flying straight into the 
air, reaching the atmosphere, then Ozone layer in a matter of minutes.  
Ryoko rose from the levitating sitting chair and walked to the right of 
the control orbs.  Bending, a crystal of Ryo-ohki rose from the floor 
and met her golden eye to golden eye.  From that connection, a new, 
never before seen viewing screen opened directly above them.  
	Looking up, Tenchi held his breath and Ryoko came to his side.  
She wrapped her arms about him and stared up along with him.  For 
there, hovering directly over Ryo-ohki was the mother or all ships.  It 
stretched for miles in a great white arc, on which an acropolis of 
gigantic proportions sat in the middle.             	
	
	"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Washu screamed, pounding her fist on 
the happily humming machine.  "Why won't you work?"
	"Data input insufficient." It spat back in its electronic 
monotone tongue.  "Data input insufficient." It repeated again, lights 
flashing in annoyance.
	"Data input insufficient?" She asked her creation, hands on hips.  
Angrily, she punched the keyboard forcefully with her fingertips.  
"I'll give you some sufficient data." Biting her lip, she continued on, 
entering all information relevant from the past year or so into its 
memory bank.  Finally, after three pages of binary code, she lurched 
back and pulled the red lever down hard.
	The machine stalled a minute before beeping, "Data sufficient, 
scrolling."
	"Ha!" the genius leaned back in her chair, very satisfied with 
herself.  She could hear the explosions, like mere echoes from her 
dimension.  As soon as the first blast struck the Shrine, she had 
immediately teleported to the lab with the help of her first and 
greatest invention.the handheld teleporter.  Since then she'd been 
frantically running around, hoping that some electronic computer, or 
splicer would spit out the information she needed to deal with this 
interruption.
	"Data secure.translating."
	Stretching, Washu sat back up and leaned in towards the screen 
with a single blinking cursor.  Suddenly the pages jumped as words, 
sentences, paragraphs started to fill the system up.  Clicking back to 
the top, the Genius skimmed through all the technical jargon, mish-mash 
of computer errors and finally to the records of the ships zooming 
about in the Milky Way.  Scrolling slowly, she finally came to the one 
marked, 'Abandoned'.  It fit all the specifics of the one that was now 
wreaking havoc on the Okayama countryside, not to mention the local 
Shinto Shrine.  Red, carbonic fuel plates, compact, a white fire only 
known as 'Blaze', and even a descriptive detail on where it was found.  
	"Wow," the little genius breathed after reading the inventory on 
this ship dubbed 'Cell I'.  "And yet this ship has traveled across the 
universe without any crew to pilot it."  Coming back to the location 
part, she read the account of the Galaxy Police officer who had 
discovered it.  "Completely abandoned, eh?  Wait," Skimming through it, 
she came to the description of one of the rooms.  " '.White, dark, but 
warm.  It felt like someone was breathing on the back of my neck as I 
walked through it.  Finally, opposite the front door, was a giant 
machine.  It was triangular, about twenty feet in length, wide enough 
for a humanoid to lie down on.  Next to it was a lever, thirty feet 
long, pointing out horizontally, 90 degrees to the floor.  Aside from 
it was a standard tuner or converter of some sort, with readings of "1-
2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10" on it.'"  She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, 
taking in the information shining right in front of her.  "Converter." 
she pondered aloud, gazing around her lab for something that matched 
the description.  "Could it be."
	From out of the corner of her emerald eye, she could see her own 
converter, but instead of numerical symbols, such as the mundane, '1-2-
3-4.' it used physics language to explain what it did to, (And most 
likely bewilder) a visitor.  Indeed, it matched the description 
proportion to proportion.  It was, in fact, a dimension tuner.

	"Well, the explosions seem to be coming from farther and farther 
away," Mihoshi observed, pushed up against one of the neon green 
crystals in the cave center.  "Maybe it's safe to go outside and look 
for the others?"
	"Don't bet your life on it Mihoshi." Kiyone blurted out from 
beneath her breath, her chin on her chest in exhaustion.  Then in 
forethought, continued,  "Actually, go ahead, bet."
	"Please," Sasami looked up from her own slumber, huddled against 
her sister.  "Go back to sleep all of you."  She preferred not to think 
of where her friends and family were, just in case they couldn't escape 
those white fires showering down from the alien ship.
	"I can't now!" Kiyone grumbled, slowly stretching and rising to 
her feet, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.  "I'm, *yawn* awake."
	"Really, I can tell from that bright, conscious attitude you have 
there, Miss Kiyone." Aeka spoke up, herself stretching and thereby 
displacing Sasami.
	"Aeka!"
	"Now Sasami, we owe it to the others as friends and," she cleared 
her throat, "Relatives to go out there and search for them."
	"I can hardly hear any blasts Aeka," Mihoshi informed the First 
Princess.  "Maybe it is safe enough to leave the cave."
	"Fine, but before you do, I have one little favor to ask of you,"
	All turned in surprise to find the cutest little genius this side 
of Ursa Minor, or any constellation for that matter, still decked out 
in her ceremonial gown, standing in the cave entrance.
	"Washu it's you!" Sasami got up with a start and ran to hug her 
friend.  "We were so worried about what happened to you all."
	"Uh huh, so I can tell." Washu commented looking at all of the 
girls' tired appearances. 
	"Oh Miss Washu!" Aeka came up beside her.  "Are Lord Tenchi and 
Ryoko with you?"
	"Afraid not Princess," the genius actually sounded regretful, 
"But I do have some interesting news for you all."
	
	No sound dared to echo off the cave interior.  All the girls sat 
around in a circle, heads bowed in pondersome thoughts.  What Washu had 
just told them.it changed everything.
Aeka sat back in astonishment. "A different dimension?"
	"Yep.  And a created one at that."
	Sasami drew her knees up to her chest.  "But how could Nagi have 
met them then?"
	"Simple," the genius smiled in satisfaction.  She drew a circle 
in the air with a twirling finger.  "EVIL obviously saw her coming from 
a dimensional porthole.  Then they just flipped the switch and it 
carried them from their dimension to ours."
	"Obviously." Sarcastically, Kiyone nudged her partner in the 
ribs.
	"Yes it is obvious." Washu replied with a glare of annoyance.
	Mihoshi leaned into the scientist's line of view. "So you're 
trying to tell us that if EVIL's ship was attacked, they would go 
down?" 
	"No.  From their porthole, and, what must be some implant that 
allows them to literally jump from dimension to dimension, they are 
connected to this world.  Meaning that if they fired at an oncoming 
ship it would miss-"
	"Oh,"
	"However, if they fired it into the porthole, or physically 
fought and the switch was thrown, they would make an impact."
	"So," Aeka put both palms face up and weighed the options.  "If 
the switch was destroyed, they would be locked in their own creation."
	"Or they would be locked out of it." Sasami ventured a scenario.
	Washu's finger went up.  "But the porthole would still work.  
Destroy the porthole, and all they can do is fight hand to hand.I wish 
I knew what type of implant we're dealing with."
	"Well we don't have any idea," Kiyone rose to her feet and walked 
over to the center chamber's entrance.
	Mihoshi, concerned about her partner's sudden rise from the 
conversation, got up to follow her.
	"So in order to beat EVIL," Kiyone turned about face and walked 
back to stand on the outside of the circle.  "We destroy the pool and 
the switch."
	"Locking them in or locking them out," Sasami continued on with 
her theory.
	"And from there, we kick ass." The teal tresses of the GP officer 
swayed as she slammed her fist in her palm.
	"Right."
	All were silent, the realness of their situation becoming 
apparent minute by minute, their useful plan becoming dismal and 
worthless.  Finally, Sasami, the innocent, spoke up.  
	"How are we going to get there?"
	Heads to the ceiling, Washu was the only one to shrug and stand 
up.  "Find Ryo-ohki of course."
	"Where could she be?"
	"I don't know Sasami." Her older sister wrapped consoling arms 
about the little princess.  "But she would have followed Ryoko to where 
ever the others ran off to."
	"I don't hear any blasts, maybe we should go look for the 
others?"
	Purple, blue, teal, and magenta heads turned in the direction of 
the blonde, a spaced out expression on her tanned face.
	"You know Mihoshi," Kiyone started, waiting for the others to 
rise and head out into the sunshine and whatever remained of the 
forest, "For once you have a good idea."

	"We were so worried about you girls!" Nobuyuki cried as he ran to 
embrace the lot of them.  Standing back he could see the new, confident 
expression plastered on each face.  "Do you have a plan?" he asked 
knowingly.
	"Of course we do!" Washu chirped, a fist shooting into the air.  
"We just need to know where Ryo-ohki is."
	"Well," Calm as always, Yosho lifted an arm and pointed to the 
sky.
	"She's in the clouds?"
	Kiyone sighed.  "No bubble-brain she's in space."
	"With Lord Tenchi and Ryoko I assume." Aeka bent her head.
	Nobuyuki's eyes lit up with hope. "Yes, how did you know?"
 	"She didn't, but after knowing those two for years, we wouldn't 
have expected anything less." Kiyone answered for the First Princess, 
whose emotions were beginning to build.
	Suddenly, an almost familiar cry could be heard from above.  
Heads looked up to see a light gray ship stream through the blue sky.  
Hovering purposefully over the Shrine, it continued, getting larger 
every time it descended, until it was resting ever so lightly on the 
ground aside the battered and smoldering hill.  Cell I had disappeared 
by now, so this new ship was able to come down fully.  As it set itself 
low, the compressed air was forced from beneath it, spraying the newly 
reunited family with a jet of air.  As the jet, and subsequent vapor 
cloud dissipated, there stood Nagi, hood drawn, with Ken-ohki on her 
shoulder.

	"And you want me," Nagi stood up abruptly, pointing to herself, 
"To go up there and warn my sworn rival, Ryoko, and her man that the 
only way to come out victorious is to flip a switch and destroy a 
dimensional porthole?"
	"In so many words, yes." Washu nodded in agreement.  
	"Would I have to take all of you along with me?"
	Kiyone leaned back on the grass where they were all sitting, 
including the men.  "If you want to help Nagi, it's all up to 
you.unless."
	The bounty hunter took one look at that cat grin on the GP 
officer's face and lifted her brow.  "Unless what officer."
	Just as the words were forming, Mihoshi jumped in and with vigor 
filled in the gap with, "Unless you let us borrow Ken-ohki."
	"MIHOSHI!!!!"
	"That's quite alright," Nagi held up a hand to silence poor 
Kiyone's whine for credit.  "It doesn't matter which officer answered 
my question.  My answer still stands as a firm no."
	"No?" Sasami asked, those pink eyes glistening with renewed 
tears.  "Really Nagi?"
	The woman in question did a double take at the little princess, 
then rolled her eyes and shook her head.  "Cry all you want little 
girl.  Ryoko would understand."
	"How could she understand?" Aeka looked up violently, shaking 
loose the tears that had clung close to her cheeks.  "Why do you say 
such things Nagi?"
	"Only because I know Ryoko better than anyone of you here.  She 
would understand why I have to let things do as Fate wills them to." 
Holding up a finger to silence yet another royal outburst, she 
continued on, "Don't get me wrong Princess, she is a friend, but only a 
friend to need when the time calls for it."
	"Doesn't this call for it?!"
	Nagi drew back from Aeka's words and went deep within her mind.  
She had been thinking about the whole chase and how it was beginning to 
wear on her.  True, she was the bounty hunter that one did not mess 
with.  Still, seeing that pirate live a life that she herself had long 
since given up made Nagi think twice about.well.the hunt..  Ryoko was 
living a life that one dreamt of.  And though she was prideful, Nagi 
wasn't about to take that away.at least she could, but she wouldn't be 
the one responsible.
	"Enough!" the hooded woman cried out as her mind collapsed in an 
unidentifiable pile around her.  She stood facing the emotional first 
Princess.  "You are right.  It does call for it."
	"You'll do it then?" Careful to let all her worries and hopes 
slide into that one question, Sasami began to smile.
	"Only because of one thing." Turning back and sensing the others 
rise to follow, Nagi began to walk to Ken-ohki, still in his ship form.  
"Ryoko is my prey.  No one else shall get the chance to hunt her."

	Yosho looked up at the sound of the silver ship brush against the 
trees and ascend into the heavens.  How he envied it.
	The old Shinto priest shook his head and took a deep breath.  
Crossing his legs in meditation, he relaxed and sat completely still.  
Back straight and eyelids almost shut, he took yet another breath, let 
the air fill his lungs, expand, deflate with poisonous carbon dioxide, 
than inflate once again.  Such a viscous cycle patience is, he thought 
solemnly, waiting for her face to illuminate the dark chamber.very much 
as it had done in life.
	A stray wind wrapped itself around his shirt and tugged it in the 
direction of the doorway.  With only slight resistance, he kept his 
position until the wind coalesced into the form of a supple young 
woman, cloaked only by a tunic of heavenly white.  Ebony hair rumbled 
with Cornelia blossoms braided into the thick strands, his first love 
breathed once again.
	In her eyes, the aged face of Yosho was nonexistent.  To Haruna, 
he was caring and sweet Yosho, those dark eyes that teared not hidden 
by wide brims of bifocal glasses.
Arms wrapped around his neck, lying in his lap, she rested her head on 
his chest, like so many times before.
	"Haruna, it is not my time yet."
	Her brown eyes blinked up at him, the mulberry lips quivering in 
angst.  "Why?" 
	"Well, for one thing, he still has to finish training my son." 
Achika spoke up from her stance to the left of her father.  Her arms 
were crossed over her favorite kimono, definitely not pleased with the 
other woman's whines and demands.
	Reaching up and prying the ghostly arms loose, Yosho stood, 
prepared to deal with the next apparition that was beginning to phase 
in.  Itsuki smiled at her husband and came to embrace her daughter.
	"Achika, go to Nobuyuki now.  I have to deal with Father myself." 
She whispered in her daughter's ear.  
	Achika motioned to Haruna with her head and with a nod from her 
mother, bowed in respect to Yosho and disappeared.  
	Blossoms falling with each step from her rival, Haruna stood up, 
not in total disrespect, but also not directly in it either.
	"Dearest," Itsuki started her plead, her eyes soft with hope.  
"You can not leave yet, though she desires it."
	The Juraian smirked and leaned on her love's shoulder.  "I've 
known Yosho longer than you, he'll do as he wishes."
	"Keep that in mind Haruna," Lord Katsuhito reminded her with a 
wag from his finger, only to have her glare redirected towards him.
	"Please, I mean no disrespect.  My spirit," a hand came to 
Haruna's breast, "may have been quieted with dear Yosho's apology, and 
it might have been calmed by my first visit, but that certainly doesn't 
mean that I don't feel the need to have him with me any less."
	Narrowing her eyes, Itsuki cleared her throat.  After a long 
period of silence, she spoke, "I love him also."
	Yosho stood yet again torn between his first and second loves. 
Looking down, he spread his hands apart, one towards each woman.  
"Haruna, Itsuki, I wish to remain here, instructing Tenchi for the 
battles that he will have to fight so that he can carry on the Juraian 
ways to his own children."  He looked up fiercely.  "But not before."
	Haruna, appearing as if she was caught in mid sentence, raised a 
hand but dropped it.  "Very well Yosho.  If that is what you wish."  
With that she phased out in a gust of wind that burst through the door.
	Lord Katsuhito watched her leave, then turned back to Itsuki.  
"As for these visits, I don't think I can manage one more.  It's too 
hard my wife."
	"I know."
	"I loved you as much as Haruna, Dearest please believe me."
	Head hung, Itsuki looked up and set her transparent palm against 
his cheek.  "I will be waiting."
	Putting his hand over it, imagining what solid, real flesh would 
feel like, Lord Katsuhito maintained eye contact.  "You all will be 
waiting."
	With an affirming nod, Itsuki faded out from the dark room, 
leaving a confused, aggravated old man to his thoughts and meditations.

	"Achika!" Nobuyuki shouted with a start as he came down the steps 
into the living room.  His wife, flowing Juraian robes, gathered hair 
streaming out on invisible winds, and face like alabaster.  All 
glowing...a painful reminder that she was only entity, not reality.
	"Nobuyuki," She acknowledged, floating to his side at the foot of 
the stairs.  "I must talk with you."
	"It's been two years, why haven't I seen you since?"
	They started to walk, falling back into a groove of life that had 
long since been abandoned.  "Never mind that Love,"
	"Oh."
	"It's about Tenchi and Ryoko."
	Mr. Masaki beamed.  "Ah yes, they do make a fine couple, don't 
they?"
	Achika smiled and joined the parental beam.  "Yes.  Today was an 
absolute disaster though."
	"Like the day I fell for you." He held open the sliding door in a 
gentlemanly fashion, face high in expectation.  It soon fell when she 
passed right through it, not noticing his effort.
	She chuckled softly as her memory flooded with images of a 
sprightly pair of high schoolers, one holding a camera as the leaves of 
Fall fell all around them.  He taped the other as she walked, suddenly 
catching him in the act and turning with a blush on her cheeks.  "My, 
we were a pair."
	He chuckled too, but the sounds soon dimmed and went out like a 
wisp of smoke.  "I do miss you my darling."  Nobuyuki spoke quietly; 
kicking rocks and twigs out of the way in frustration.  "I was never 
that good at showing my feelings before."
	His wife stopped and caught his eye with a look of sheer 
abhorrence.  "No!  You did, Nobuyuki, you did."  Lowering her eyes, she 
tugged at her kimono anxiously.  "I know you love me and still 
desperately do.  But you've done wonders for our son,"
	"I did the best, considering the circumstances." 
	"I'm only sorry that our life together was over before it truly 
began.  You have no idea how much I wanted to comfort you on that 
winter day." she looked off into the distance and he could feel her 
slip her hand into his.  "I truly love you."
	"This family is blessed by that kind of 'forever' love." Her 
husband whispered, bringing her to face him.
 Her face reflected his by way of their emotions. "Or cursed with 
it." She choked through tears.  He reached a hand to feel the illusion, 
but as a reflection as he touched the cheek; Achika vanished like a 
ripple on the lake.  
 
	Meanwhile, still trapped by his own reality, Tenchi looked over 
to his fianc‚e, sitting cross-legged in serious thought.
	"I never thought that I would see that ship again." She muttered 
aloud, after a long silence.
	"What do you mean?"
	Standing, Ryoko smiled and shook her head.  "Oh, that," taking a 
good long look up to the white arc above them, she growled.  "I am a 
Space Pirate after all.  And I was young and impetuous, looking for 
anything to hoard or pillage."
	"Huh?"
	"Well.I sorta looted it?" she tried in effort to explain.  "It 
was just sitting unattended."
	Tenchi rubbed his face in sweaty palms.
	Ryoko, sensing his emotions swing wildly from adoration to 
disgust, came down to kneel at his side, putting on her sweetest 
disposition.  "Tenchi, it was a long time ago, and no one was hurt."
	"Are you sure it was abandoned?"
	Her golden eyes sought through the memories with darting, anxious 
motions.  Finally she answered, "Yes."
	He leaned back and could feel her rest against his shoulder, 
completely worn out, as he was, from the events of what should've been 
the happiest day in their lives.
	"I can't believe this is how we spend the evening of our wedding 
day." His right arm pulled her snug against him.  "Sitting, and waiting 
for our impending doom."
	"HEY!!!"
	Both looked up at the sound of Washu, her nasal, child-like voice 
echoing through Ryo-ohki's viewing windows, to behold the little 
genius, still clad in her lavender Kimono and sky blue sash.  Tenchi 
glanced down to see his beloved wince with regret.  The look soon 
vanished and was replaced with that wild battle grin.
	"So," Ryoko started, disengaging herself from the twenty-year-
old's protective embrace.  "Finally figured out where we were, huh?"
	"Not exactly." Washu stepped aside to reveal the hooded figure of 
the bounty hunter and sworn enemy of the Space Pirate.
	Catching her breath in surprise and recovering, Ryoko set a hand 
on her hip and questioned, "Nagi, just what are you doing here?" In a 
sarcastic tone.
	"I could ask you the very same thing Ryoko."
	"Me?" she pointed to herself and laughed.  "Protecting my life, 
as always.  You?"
	"Doing the very same thing."
	"Only to take it later." Fierce bitterness took over her words as 
she spat them out.
	"Hey, can we just get on with it?" Came the genius from off-
screen.
	Through the shadow due to her hood, Ryoko could only guess that 
Nagi's sigh was accompanied by an equally exasperating eye-roll.  
"Fine."
	The visage of Washu appeared once again, this time very serious 
instead of cheeky.
	"Listen up you two.  I have some incredible, scientific news for 
you. -"
	Her sentence was interrupted by a groan from Ryoko, to which 
Washu shot a look of contempt in the Space Pirate's direction.
	"While the red ship attacked the Shrine, I was in my lab, doing 
some research on it.  It was found abandoned by a Galaxy Police 
officer, but showed high signs of life.  Inside the ship itself, he 
described a converter or tuner of sorts and low and behold, I had a 
more sophisticated version of such a machine sitting in my lab.  It's a 
dimension tuner."
	Tenchi, who now was aside his fianc‚e and holding her closely, 
felt his throat go dry and panic begin to seep in.  This wasn't the 
average; run of the mill assassin they were dealing with here.
	"Anyway, there is absolutely no way that a regular dimension 
could be controlled by such a mundane tool.  So, the only way such a 
unstable mechanism could be harnessed and controlled would be to create 
it of your own accord."  She stopped suddenly in her explanation, her 
green eyes shimmering with pride in her own accomplishment.  "It isn't 
that big of a deal you know.  The whole idea of dimension creation was 
pioneered by myself in my early career as a scientific genius."
	Letting the whole ego thing slide, and breathing out a low 
whistle of disbelief, Ryoko straightened her posture to the point of 
torture, then looked up to the screen for help.  "This guy can control 
dimensions and yet he wants to kill me?"
	"Apparently."
	"Why?" Escaped from her protector's mouth.  "What would Ryoko's 
death possibly provide for him?"
	"EVIL has some reason.  Throughout my exhausted research I can't 
come up with any answer as of yet."
	"Well you better sit your little ass right in front of the laptop 
and figure it out Washu!" Ryoko screamed, forgetting about how brave 
and courageous her fa‡ade and true self had grown to be.  "Meanwhile-"
	"Don't yell at me!" Washu commanded, interrupting Ryoko once 
again. "I am incapable of stopping him.  That's up to you two.  We'll 
drop by and pick you up; I've set up an interstellar doorway from 
within Ken-ohki that will lead you directly to the ship's control 
consul."
	"No need for that, Washu." Tenchi told her, suddenly remembering 
his fianc‚e's story.  "Ryoko's already been there."
	"Fine, if you have your own way in I can't persuade you further.  
We'll meet you on the ARC." Washu huffed.  "Once there, we have to 
destroy two machines.  One is the tuner itself, the other is the pool 
from where they surveyed both of you and our entire family."
	"Surveyed?" Ryoko squeaked, visions of her private, intimate 
nights with Tenchi being exploited throughout the galaxy emerging from 
that damnable imagination of hers.  
	"It's only a guess, but due to just how much they knew about you 
in order to drag Nagi into all of this.it would be my only guess.  I'll 
explain later when we're in the ship and our objectives are closer at 
hand."
	"Fine." Through searing golden eyes Ryoko pulled Tenchi's arms 
closer about her body and with a farewell wave, both were gone in a 
shimmer of distorted light.
	
	"Alright Nagi, you can go now!" Mihoshi called cheerily from the 
interstellar doorway hovering above Ken-ohki's main crystal control 
panel. 
	Footsteps could be heard from within the dark universal hallway 
until Kiyone stood next to her partner.  "Mihoshi!!!  Accept our 
deepest apologies Nagi, but Washu definitely does not want you to 
leave."
	To her surprise, the bounty hunter nodded her head and smiled.  
"I'm happy to stay here and act as a safe house if battle becomes too 
fierce."  She nodded over to the gray cabbit meowing to a control 
crystal.  "Ryo-ohki refuses to leave Ken-ohki, even in his current 
state," turning back she almost seemed sincere.  "It would be best if 
we stay where we are.  I'm here to protect my bounty after all."
	The teal tresses of the galaxy police officer swayed uneasily as 
Kiyone took in this swell of emotions coming from who was once thought 
to be a mortal enemy to the Masaki family.  Finally she thanked Nagi 
and, turning back to the porthole, vanished in the dark, wavering 
hallway that linked a battlefield to safety.
	Nagi stood as the door itself vanished to where ever it had 
manifested itself from.  It was strange to think that the hunter had 
helped the prey.my she was losing her touch.  Well, she definitely 
hadn't lost it.it was more like it had become softer.  Oh god, that 
sounded even worse.
	"Ken-ohki, settle down for awhile.  We'll be here until Ryoko 
comes away safely."

	The great ARC as Washu called it was exactly as the anonymous 
officer had described it as.  Dark, mysterious.and yet strangely alive.
	"What is it with this place?" Ryoko wondered aloud, hand in hand 
with her beloved.  They looked about their surroundings, which reminded 
Tenchi and the rest of the group of the abandoned ship they had 
encountered while in space just three short years ago.  The hall 
supports were old and rusting.  Occasionally there would be a glint 
that caught an eye, but would turn out to be but a streak of unabridged 
metal in all its unrusted glory. Quiet sounds like one's normal 
patterns of breath were amplified; one's whisper turned into a shout; 
footsteps fell like thunder.  Still, persisting through the dank and 
unappealing surroundings was the constant feeling that they were being 
watched.

	"So, no need to drag them into battle.  They just come to me 
themselves." The Master snickered as he watched the seven wander around 
in the first line of defense for his ship, the ADAM'S RIB: the spiral 
staircase.  It gradually descended, (Though so slightly that you could 
have never guessed that you were actually traveling down without 
turning on the center light as a frame of reference.) into a massive 
docking bay.  It was a simple flip of the dimensional switch then 
another flip of the bay hatch to dispose of Ryoko.  
	His attentions were directed away from the feudal efforts of the 
Space Pirate and her crew to the smaller docking bay near the top of 
the acropolis from where the command consul was.  Sure enough it was 
Cell 1, Odosuoni's ship, defeated.so to speak.
	"Ah, my poor creation.  You can't function without daddy's 
assistance, can you?"  He questioned sadistically, putting on a fake 
pout.
	She suddenly appeared before him, stripped of her outfit, floor-
length red hair clung to her body, accentuating her every curve that 
was endowed to her.  
	"Master, I have failed," the ember eyes glowed sadly, their light 
suddenly doused as she bowed her head in forgiveness.  "I see that they 
have come to you despite my efforts. -"
	Reaching a hand out, he tucked it beneath her chin and raised her 
head to face his.  "Now, now.  You were impatient Odosuoni, and I must 
say that that does not bode well in your profession."
	"I never asked for it." The woman replied in monotone, defying 
her Master with insolence.
	Expressions making no transition from anger to hope, they 
switched from one to the other in the blink of an eye.  "My dear, you 
have not failed.I will give you one more chance.  If you fail, then and 
only then will I pronounce your failure to your sisters."
	"I understand they've been waiting for me to lose this battle."
	"Yes, and patiently at that." His hand still leading her chin, he 
lifted it until the whole naked body followed it into the air.  "Their 
efforts will soon be rewarded."
	"I swore I would kill Ryoko." Odosuoni spat out, her eyes 
desperately seeking his, but at the angle she was held at, it was 
utterly impossible to do so.  "I will continue as planned." As if to 
prove her claim, she let the free-flowing energy drip off the tips of 
her fingers and grow to two red plasma balls in each hand.  "I'm just 
as powerful as she is."
	The Master grinned appreciatively.  "I appreciate your optimism.  
Really I do.  But as of now they are in the third dimension, wandering 
about that corkscrew."
	"I see, you want me to attack now."
	"No." Setting her feet back on the cold metal floor, he went back 
to stand in front of the pool.  "No.  Let's have some fun first."
	"Fun?" Odosuoni asked, hands on bared hips.  "Shall I begin?"
	"To make the most of your time left in this dimension I insist."
	Strolling leisurely over to stand next to The Master, Odosuoni 
smiled wickedly and let the glowing orbs rotating in her palms drop 
into the pool.  Landing without a splash, they watched as the seven 
scattered.  The ball barely missed its intended target by a matter of 
inches, then continued to fly down the hallway.  As soon as he saw it 
drop out of sight, the Master knew they had made a disastrous mistake.  
The light had been turned on.

	"Where the hell did that come from?" Ryoko cursed under her 
breath as Tenchi helped her up. 
	"It came out of nowhere!" Kiyone answered, still shaken, (As they 
all were) from that first blast.
	"Are you sure you're all right?" Tenchi asked the millionth time, 
(At least to Ryoko's ears) brushing away some accumulating beads of 
sweat off his love's forehead.
	"Yes, I'm fine." She reassured him calmly, annoyed with his 
questions, but endeared by his devotion.  "I'm sure Tenchi."
	"Did you see that fireball?" Washu yelled out, straining on 
tiptoe to see why the ball was directed in that direction as opposed to 
where they had just come from.  "It streamed down there and turned what 
appears to be a corner."
	"A corner?" Kiyone looked over to where she thought Washu was 
pointing.  "I don't see anything."
	"Exactly," excited, the scientist ran down to where the ball had 
curved.  She went continued beyond it and turned a very slight corner.  
"Now can you see me?"
	"No, but turn on your head light and then maybe we can!" Mihoshi 
dumbly called out.
	"Shhh.  No, I can't see you!"
	Washu popped back out and delivered a bright blinding light to 
the whole group, sitting bewildered and confused by what had just 
happened.  "See me now?"
	Ignoring her partner's request of 'shhh', Mihoshi chirped, "Well 
of course we can, you just turned on the head light!"
	"Will you both keep it down!" Aeka shouted, her hands over her 
ears.  "With this echo effect we have to speak in whispers if we don't 
want to go deaf!"
	Taking cue from the First Princess, Kiyone turned back to where 
Washu stood and whispered, "Yes I can!"
	"Good, now run to me and continue until you can see the light."  
As she said this, the light vanished as Washu once again turned the 
corner and began to run.  She wanted to test her theory with an 
impartial party.  The exasperated officer was as good as a guinea pig 
as anyone.
	After passing five corners, Kiyone caught up with Washu and 
suddenly understood why Washu wanted her to follow at a run. 
	"Now I get it.  It feels like I've been running down-hill." 
Reaching down to feel her shins, Kiyone began to rub them.
	"Yes.  This hallway is going around in a circle.  If it had been 
a level hallway, the fireball's light would have disappeared as it 
wound its way around the corners.  However, if you continue to follow 
it, you can still see the light, coming from the descent below."
	Sure enough, as Kiyone followed the genius down the many twists 
and turns, there began to develop a pattern.  This was indeed a 
corkscrew, slowly.very slowly descending into the depths of the ship.

	"So, if my guess it correct,"
	"As it's been so far,"
	"We should retrace our steps back the way we came.  Up is where 
the acropolis is and up is where the red beacon of a control center 
is."
	"Right.  Let's go back and tell the others."

	"Wow.  Ingenious." Aeka muttered breathlessly, as they started 
back up the slow incline that would bring them to their goal.  
	"So explain this dimension tuner again," Ryoko started, as she 
flew above the others.  She lay out on the air, lounging almost.  Hey, 
she could be rescuing her own life, but she was now and forever Ryoko, 
proclaimed 'lazy' but a certain purple haired princess.  After 
beginning to feel the incline grow steadily faster, and having 
consulted Tenchi about leaving him out of the walk, Ryoko had decided 
to resume her old past time of flight.
	"It's really quite simple," the genius replied.  "EVIL created a 
separate dimension, like I did with my lab.  All he has to do 'jump' 
from his created one to ours, the 'Third Dimension', with the help of a 
transplant, switch, and a pool."
	Arching her back and throwing her arms behind her, Ryoko flew 
down to Washu's side.  "And we need to destroy all of them?"
	"Exactly."
	"Locking them in, or locking them out." Sasami repeated her 
theory to which Washu nodded in agreement.
	"Powerful," The cyan-spiked woman flew up to the ceiling, falling 
back into her lounge position above the heads of her comrades.  
	"A little too powerful for my taste," Her fianc‚ barely mouthed 
the words, trying to achieve a whisper for his love's ears only in this 
echo chamber.  
	Long, large ears perking at the sound of his voice, Ryoko phased 
out and reappeared walking aside him.  "I agree."
	Tenchi did a double take then sighing, put his right arm about 
her shoulders.  "It will be alright.  We've faced worse."
	"Kagato, who I heard you defeated," She snickered, the first sign 
of smile he had seen since they had boarded the ship.  Suddenly, the 
smile faded and her gold eyes lowered in reminiscence.  "Haruna."
	Giving the shoulder a quick squeeze, he smiled reassuringly. "Now 
I heard that you defeated her all alone."
	 The farthest corner of her mouth rose up in half a smile.  "Why 
do you always have to cheer me up?" she grumbled playfully. "Every 
time, without fail?"
	Shrugging, Tenchi was about to explain, but she planted a kiss on 
his cheek and phased out to the ceiling before he could get a word in.   

	"Damn!"  The Master slammed his fist in an open palm.  "Why did 
you do that?  Now they're heading up here, Washu has figured it all out 
with the exception of why we need Ryoko dead."
	Odosuoni was still in shock that the seven had come to the 
conclusion so fast.  Standing in the shadows, listening to her Master 
rant and rave about her stupidity, she cursed her own stupid ambitions.  
To be free.  To be free of a life that had been created for her before 
she herself had been created.  Two years had passed since her 
assignment to survey and watch the Space Pirate and her lover, Ryoko 
and her friends and her close bond between the man she loved.  Two 
years of sitting in front of the pool, planning for the day when they 
would meet and face off; a mirror image to the image itself.
	"Master, they are on their way up anyway.  Tenchi will most 
likely destroy the switch and we'll use the pool as defense until then.  
It really isn't that bad."
	His back turned to his creation; The Master heaved a heavy sigh 
and turned to face Odosuoni.  "No, sympathetic as you always were, you 
were always optimistic as well.  It isn't that bad.  You'll just have 
to engage in battle much more quickly than was first anticipated."
	"Fine.  If it's as you wish."
	"And it is."
	Odosuoni smiled briefly, imagining her victory; standing 
triumphantly over Ryoko's lifeless body, both princesses, Galaxy Police 
Officers, and one meddling scientist wounded and mourning the death of 
their friend.  And poor Tenchi, their lives will end as they both 
wished.together.
	"Why the smile?"
	Her thoughts shaken from their dreamy grounds, she threw her head 
up to face his.  "I feel the optimism that you mention so much."
	He nodded, then returned back to the pool, watching the group 
proceed up the ramp and finally come to the real second floor of ADAM'S 
RIB.  If only they knew just how close they were to their second 
goal.the dimension tuner.
	
	The second floor was strange to say the least.  With low, buckled 
ceilings, Ryoko was grounded.  From their hallway, the path branched 
out into three different halls.  Lights emanated from each doorway: one 
red, one pitch black, and the other blinding white.  It was here, at 
the crossroads, where the seven stood.  
"Do you think we're lost?" Mihoshi squeaked, crowding Kiyone from 
behind.  
	Coming up through the crowd, Washu grinned and replied, "No, I 
think we are very much found." And continued to take the lead.
	"What do you mean Miss Washu?" Aeka asked through a yawn.
	"Well," she summoned her laptop from one of her own created 
dimensions and started typing in the coordinates of where they were.  
"According to the account taken by the anonymous officer that 
discovered the other ship; Cell I; this floor is identical to the one 
in it.  So," Fingers flying furious over the keys, the scientist bit 
her lip and after some silence shouted, "the tuner should be that way!" 
her finger pointed to the blackest, almost abysmal light.  
	"I think we should split up." Kiyone blurted out, shoving her 
flashlight into her blue sash. 
	"You don't trust me?" Washu confronted the teal haired GP officer 
with a glare. 
	The bright pink eyes of the second princess started to tear at 
the notion.  "No, we can't."
	Hands up in defense, Kiyone smiled and said, "No, no it isn't 
that I don't trust you, it's just that."
	"Now Sasami, don't be rash to judge from past experiences," her 
sister scolded, giving her a stern look.
	"Well if we split up, me and Tenchi are together," Ryoko shouted 
above the growing din.  
	"WE KNOW!" They yelled back before returning to their own 
predicaments.
	"What makes my judgements untrustworthy?"  The curt little nose 
of the genius flared in indignancy.   
	"They aren't untrustworthy, Washu, that's not what I meant."
	"Aeka, history repeats itself, I don't want to get lost!"
	"Fine Sasami, but please, don't worry."
	"Well, when has my data every led you astray?"
	"This is getting tedious." Tenchi mumbled under his breath, 
running a hand down the front of his face.  "We're falling apart."
	Leaning her head against his shoulder, Ryoko closed her eyes.  
"The events of the day are wearing thin on everyone's consciences." 
Before Tenchi could comment on the sudden growth spurt of her 
vocabulary, she squeezed her eyes tighter and groaned through a smile, 
"I know, it's from a day of Washu."
	"But you're right Ryoko," Tenchi stood, knocking her head off its 
place on his soft, comforting shoulder.  "EVERYONE BE QUIET!"
	The bickering stopped abruptly as it had begun to hear the young 
man that had always been their hero, the victorious.
	"Let's just split up and explore, not demeaning anyone's 
judgements," his brown eyes sought the green and blue eyes.  "And no 
one will be lost.  In half an hour, we'll all return to this spot, and 
tell each other what we've found." Sasami smiled as Aeka did so.  
Mihoshi, the odd one out on the argument nodded.
	"Good.  Let's just get on with it then.  Washu, you and Aeka go 
down the white hallway, since you both can shield yourselves from the 
glare." Even as he spoke, the pair were securing the strapless, 
multidimensional goggles and summoning the Juraian energy orb.
	"Mihoshi and Kiyone go down the red one." Ryoko directed, close 
by her love's side.
	"And Sasami you come with us." He held out a hand and the twelve-
year-old grabbed onto it with hope in her wet eyes.  Disappointed, 
Ryoko soon cheered up as Tenchi took her left hand in his free one.
	With that, they all departed down the halls.

	"They got smart."
	"Apparently EVIL always was."  Ryoko sighed at Tenchi's mumble.  
"Why else would they deliberately switch dimensions so they could get 
in contact with Nagi?"
	Sasami's eyes shone like beacons in the very dark corridor, along 
with reflective gold and brown ones.  "What about the attack on Jurai's 
three main battleships?  That had to be a part of the plan as well."
	"You're right Sasami, EVIL certainly knows what they're doing and 
who they're doing it to." Tenchi stopped and scanned the area.  Running 
fingers along the narrow hallway was the only way to detect exactly 
where were they in the abysmal, artificial night.well; even night was 
lighter than this.  In fact, the light from the main floor was a mere 
pin prick behind them, casting no light or shadow of its own.
	"I just want to find the tuner, fire a couple fire balls at it, 
leave and be on our way with meeting 'Mister EVIL'." Ryoko slammed a 
fist into her open palm.  "Show that guy not to mess with the greatest 
Space Pirate in the Universe."
	Placing a tentative hand on her left shoulder, Tenchi whispered, 
"And try not to get killed in the process."
	Before Ryoko could respond to that most enlightening comment, 
Sasami shouted, "There!  Light up ahead!"  For off in the distance was 
what seemed to be an open door, a natural light spilling out into the 
hallway from behind the security of the walls.  

	Standing at the entrance of their assigned hall, both Galaxy 
Police officers worked on getting their 'intensive infrared' suits on; 
of which Washu had pulled from her lab back at the Masaki broom closet 
via the laptop.  Kiyone hadn't argued with Washu's generosity, and even 
praised the genius for her forethought.  She was not getting into 
another fight about the little scientist's logic or judgement.
	"Kiyone?"
	Teal tresses pulled back to allow for the helmet; Kiyone looked 
over to her partner, who was vigorously pulling on the slick red gloves 
hemmed at the elbow and continuing with the foil undersuit.  "What is 
it now Mihoshi?"
	"Well," the blonde stopped for a moment and looked over the pile 
of materials that comprised the entire safety suit.  "I was just 
wondering," again another pause to pull on the thigh high red boots 
over the foil tights.
	"Wondering," her partner urged her to go on with the thought 
before it fell out of that pretty little head with hand motions.  And 
for a second, a serious look plastered on the tanned face, Kiyone 
actually believed that there might be an equally serious question 
emerging from the bits and pieces of reality that was Mihoshi's concept 
of life.
	"Does this suit make me look fat?"
	Kiyone stumbled in surprise.  Then, with a look of utter horror 
at how such stupidity could run so rampant in one person, so often, 
yelled, "WHAT?!"
	"I mean red really isn't my color, I wonder if that could be it." 
	"MIHOSHI!!!"
	"What?"
	Fingers grotesquely twisted in the strangle position, Kiyone 
lunged at the bubble-head, the ditz, the stereotypical blonde with a 
perfect waistline and skin tone that had stolen one too many 
perspective husbands or even boyfriends away from her partner before 
Kiyone could even say something to win them over.  No, this was the 
last straw.
	The bright blue eyes shrunk like a deer's when caught in the 
headlights.  Except this time, the two-ton pile of metal was a 112 lb. 
Galaxy Police officer.  Mihoshi squeaked a frightened, "Kiyone?" then 
went down on the floor, rolling under the weight of a furious partner.
	They rolled until the blonde lay pinned by a knee on her stomach. 
Hands around the tanned flesh of Mihoshi's throat, Kiyone briefly 
entertained the notion of strangling her annoying little friend right 
then and there.  But, there it was.  Staring her straight in the face 
was that word, 'friend'.  She couldn't do it.not even under these 
circumstances.  No, Mihoshi was the way she was; her behavior couldn't 
be helped.  Just as Kiyone was high-strung and quick to raise the 
volume of her voice, Mihoshi was just as easily apt to jump into a 
situation, then continue along on another trail without any transition 
whatsoever.  
	Suddenly aware of the situation Kiyone had put herself in, she 
backed off, letting her knee slide off the flat stomach and come under 
its respective thigh.  Her fingers let go of her partner's neck 
simultaneously as she withdrew from the attack position.

	"Well, I'll say one thing about Ryoko,"
	"Only one?" Aeka looked away from within her floating orb, "I, 
myself can think of a hundred at least."
	Youthful little features hidden by the monstrous pair of black 
goggles, Washu couldn't give the princess the glare that she hoped for 
as she went on despite the interruption.  "That girl doesn't give a 
damn whose ship she pillages, even if they have enough power to create 
dimensions."
	Aeka smiled politely and nodded her head in agreement.  She 
should've known that as soon as they were paired up, Washu wouldn't 
stop deducting and examining if her life depended on it.  She was, 
after all, a born genius who could never sacrifice the boredom of a 
friend if it meant the pursuit of discovery in the name of science.  
Sighing, she averted her gaze from the continuously blaring light and 
down to the floor.  Biting her tongue, as she was about to point it out 
to Washu, she looked quickly back up and blinked her eyes.  The floor 
wasn't a regular floor; it was a long, thin mirror, which reflected the 
light back ten times more brightly.  Of course, she was protected and 
becoming accustomed to it, that Aeka barely noticed the higher 
intensity.
	"This really is fascinating Princess Aeka," Washu chattered on, 
touching her left hand to the side of the hall.  "The light burns so 
brightly, but the walls don't burn.  In fact they're cool to the 
touch.just as a mirror would be."
	"We're walking on them."
	"The whole hallway is made of them."
Suddenly, the entire concept of the light-way, as Washu had coined it, 
became simple and sensical.  "One light illuminates the mirrors."
	"It reminds me of the funhouses on planet earth.don't you agree 
Miss Washu?"
	"Yes," the scientist leapt forward in anticipation and 
realization. "Which means that their principle will be the same."
	The electrifying whir of discovery started to draw Aeka in just 
as it had always engulfed Washu.  "And that means, that far ahead is 
only one light or set of lights.  Aside from that, it's all tricks with 
mirrors."
	"Right!" With a resounding howl of agreement, she took off, 
towards the direction of the end of the hallway, Aeka hovering after 
her.

	"Some control room," Ryoko observed unenthusiastically.
	Tenchi brushed by her with Sasami as they made their way through 
the doorway to stand in the spacious and humid, dimly lit chamber.  
"Well, this is where the tuner should be located, let's just find it 
and get out of here."
	"Could that be it?" Sasami pointed to a cylindrical contraption, 
capped with a settings bar and a lever laying horizontally affixed to 
it.  The pole itself was set onto what appeared to be a surgical 
flatbed/platform.  
	Ryoko phased out and over across the room beside the machine.  
"Looks like Washu's description," Squatting, she examined the underside 
of the flatbed, "But I'm not sure about this platform."
	"Reminds me of Frankenstein's table," Tenchi told her, coming 
across the room with Sasami in tow. 
	"Well, if this is what it's supposed to be, then," Ryoko jumped 
into the air, drew her arms together, locked elbows, shouted, "Get 
down!" and shot a fireball directly into the pole.  Seeing the fire go 
out in a wisp of smoke, she forced three more out and onto different 
areas around the machine, but to no avail.
	"Damn it," she swore under her breath, touching down beside her 
fianc‚ and little friend, both laying on their stomachs to avoid the 
potential blast.  "Four should've done it."
	"Mind if I give it a try Ryoko?" Tenchi asked as he rose from the 
floor, withdrawing sword-Tenchi from his belt.
	"Be my guest,"
	The Juraian energy surged forth through the hilt, hitting the 
ceiling in a bolt that could rival Achika's.  But, there was no time to 
admire his growth for the blade went out in a whisper as it struck the 
dial's surface.
	"What the-" Before Tenchi could finish the room was engulfed in a 
bright luminous light, evil cackling filling the air.
	"That's right young prince," Odosuoni appeared out of the 
spotlight, floating in front of them, her hair completely free of its 
triple bun binding, fanning the sides of her body.  With a wink, she 
turned to the wide-eyed Ryoko, the whites already thinning into pure 
golden rage.  "Pleasure to meet the famous Ryoko," she bowed almost 
sincerely then shot back up in jest.  Eyeing the glaring Space Pirate, 
Odosuoni continued, "I still can't see why the Master says you are,"
	"I'm what."
	"Silence!"  Curling herself into a fetal position in midair, the 
creation shielded herself from the creator's blow to her back.  
	"Ryoko!"  Tenchi screamed as he landed in front of her, 
protecting both women with the sword and his body.  Yet, all eyes 
turned to the beating that was ensuing right before them.
	"Damn fool!" The Master yelled as he pounded her in the small of 
her back with his clenched fist.  "You are good for nothing Odosuoni!"
	"Please," she started to beg, even throwing a glance in the 
direction of her sworn enemy and her kin.  She coughed and blood 
spattered the floor, "Master, I meant no harm.  It's almost the end 
anyway."
	The blows coming to an abrupt halt, he turned and the shadow that 
had hidden his face was lifted.  He had the face of Kagato, pale and 
deceitful.  His eyes were every color and yet had no color of their 
own.a dull gray that could assume the tint of any color in the rainbow, 
or the storm.
	Seeing her chance as the Master lived up his glory, Ryoko grabbed 
for Tenchi's arm and pushed Sasami against her side, trying to make a 
go for it.  But familiar electric pulses sunk their dangerous fingers 
into her flesh before she could get to the ceiling.  

	The Master stopped his reveling to see his prey fall like a 
wounded pigeon, bodies that had held tight now pried loose as Ryoko lay 
there sputtering and gasping for air after the shock.          
	"My, my, my.what do we have here?" he floated effortlessly over 
the floor and raised Ryoko's limp form with a flick of his finger.  
	It was about that time that the lids finally twitched open to 
reveal the entrancing golden eyes of the Space Pirate.  Blinking to 
regain perception she suddenly stared straight into his gaze, boring 
through his skull to see what made this Master of Creation tick.
	"I take it you're the one," she snickered as he felt heated 
plasma emanate from her fingertips, forming the precious defense system 
that he had longed to study up close.  "Who wants me dead.but just 
can't get his wish,"
"Your confidence is impressive Ryoko, one comparable with your 
stature."
"Yeah, that reminds me, just what is my stature?"
The Master smiled and cocked a gray brow.  "Do you think I'd tell 
you before I kill you?  Do you think I would let you have the pleasure 
of knowing just how promising your life and self would have been?  Do 
you honestly think I am that compassionate?"
"Do you think," Ryoko started off in the perfect impression of 
his tone, "That I would let you have me without a," With a sudden 
spasmodic move, her feet came together, pressed against his chest, and 
sprang away from his mental grasp, "Fight?"  A flip in the air and she 
was landed by Tenchi's unconscious side.
"Tenchi?" she patted his cheek softly with one hand, forming an 
energy ball in the other.  "Tenchi?"  The Master's shadow drew nearer, 
illuminated by her first shot.  "Tenchi?!" her voice was as shrill as 
Ryoko-ably possible.  "TENCHI!" 

Tenchi could see her face, see her eyes with that special little 
secret sparkle, smell her breath as she drew so close to him in that 
universe of her desires.  He could almost touch her and then he didn't 
know what to say, "Ryoko, I - I am,"
"Don't say anything now Tenchi," god if she only knew how he 
loved the way she said his name, if only.  "Otherwise we might not make 
it back." 
 "Ryoko," there it was again, that stupid tone that came with 
saying her name.  Idiot!  How did you let her get so close to you and 
not have say in it!  You thought it was so simple, just withdraw and 
fade out of the picture, but now. 
	"But someday Tenchi, I will take you on a real journey with me,"  
	Oh no!  You're losing her!  How could it hurt so much to lose 
something you never had?  She's right, you can't say anything now, not 
after we've come this far.  Light, reality, her smiles as we drove out 
in the desert, that sweet smile of hers.
	"I will, someday," 
	Darkness, nightmares, reality.Ryoko.It's time to say it, it's 
time to say it.  Ryoko, I am.

	"SORRY!" Tenchi awoke with a start, reaching up to grab a hold of 
a cyan lock and never let go.
	"About what?"
	He suddenly listened to the humming of Ken-ohki's control panel 
and looked at the respective gaze of Nagi.  Throwing himself up, out of 
the emergency futon, the rush of adrenaline pulsed through his every 
vein.  "Ryoko.  I have to save her!" A shot of prickling pain seized 
his right leg, throwing him off balance and back into the mattress.
	"Not with an injury like that you're not." The bounty hunter 
replied coolly, sipping at her tea.
	Tossing his head back in frustration, Tenchi gritted his teeth, 
and squeezing his eyes shut let out an exasperated growl.  "I'm going 
to help her if it takes my life to do it."
	"My, you really must be in love with Ryoko to make a pledge so," 
Nagi came to kneel by his side, touching her middle finger to his 
forehead.  "Or maybe it's the fever."
	"Tell me," he huffed at the struggle to control and sequester the 
pain.  "Why am I here?"
	"Washu and Aeka brought you back, along with the princess."
	"And Ryoko?"
	Nagi took a long look off onto the horizon of earth before 
replying, "The room was deserted when they found both of you."
	With a sudden surge of energy, Tenchi was up and standing on both 
legs.  Fists clenched at his sides, he took a breath.  "I'm going 
back."
	"As I thought you might." She handed him the sword with a 
nonchalant grin.  "Here, go and protect her for both of us."
	Bowing, Tenchi made a run for the door and disappeared to the 
other side.
	Nagi waited awhile longer, watching the sun rise and slowly cover 
earth with the yellow rays.  A day gone.like all others.for some.

	 Ryoko phased through the wall before actually hitting it, 
reforming on the other side more determined than ever to beat the hell 
out of this little red-head.
	"Oh come now Ryoko," the Master's voice resonated about her ears.  
"You said so yourself that you wanted to fight, so," that's when he had 
let Odosuoni free from the confines of her powers and into Ryoko's.  
Levitation, flight, orbs.it was all there.  A complete and perfect 
duplicate of her powerful self.
	"I've waited two years for this!" Odosuoni was now calling; 
floating among the columns that populated the vast command center.  
"Let's see what you're made of!"
	Ryoko spun out of midair, coming down in a graceful breast dive, 
arms drawn to the best wind-reducing position possible.  "Try this," 
the grace fell flat as she put on the brakes, locked her elbows and let 
out a shower of orbs, each missing the target by a hairsbreadth.  
"Bitch!"
	"Oh, you know, I really don't like your language Ryoko," her 
opponent suddenly appeared from above, wound in a tight ball.  Suddenly 
she unfurled, letting a shower of red energy 'rain' from every part of 
her body.  One dragged across Ryoko's cheek, another singed a cyan 
spike.  "After the battle is won, your mouth will be made into a soap-
dish."
	"Ha!" Swerving off another attack, Ryoko turned back and ducked 
at the oncoming orbs.  "If you haven't researched any farther than two 
years, you obviously don't know who you're dealing with!"
	"I do!  A Goddess!"
	"Huh?"
	"ODOSUONI!!!"
	Suddenly forgetting about the newly revealed information, Ryoko 
wagged her finger in her assailant's direction.  "Oooooh.  Now you're 
gonna get it!"
	Grinning, she watched Odosuoni pulled back from their fight and 
thrown down onto the floor in front of her.  
	"That's it!  I have put up with enough slacking from you!  You 
are simply a waste of time!  The first experiments always go awry.  
Besides, there are two more just like you at home!"
"Master," Ryoko watched with at first satisfaction, then distaste 
as her fearsome opponent was reduced to a cowering, sniveling spectacle 
of a humanoid.  
"Beg for mercy all you want.  I'm letting Ryoko have her revenge 
on you.  Die, win, or lose, I don't give a damn!"
"But Master!"  
Silence.
"MASTER!!!" 
Silence.  Knuckles cracking in anticipation.
Odosuoni's lost face suddenly was consumed with frantic rage.  
"I-I'll kill you," a finger jutted out into Ryoko's direction, "Then-
then he'll be proud of me!  I'll finally do something right." Her brown 
eyes became glazed over as her breathing increased to a rampant pant, 
her head swiveling in all directions, looking about for answers to her 
questions.  "I-I'll kill you, and-and Tenchi, and-and he'll take me 
back!  He'll have to.  He can't take away my powers!"
Ryoko stood aside as the woman completely lost it.  "Shame too."
The glare, which had been focused on an inconspicuous column, was 
now back on her. "What?  Did-did you say something?"
"Uh, no?"
"Good," suddenly, her hands were at Ryoko's neck.  It was all too 
fast to teleport.  Using the same kick maneuver that she had exercised 
on The Master, Ryoko backed away, hands at her sides, drawing all the 
energy she could from these static surroundings.
	"Damn it!" Odosuoni swore before lunging after her prey, orbs and 
spikes flying from her palms in pursuit.
	"Ryoko!" It was at that moment that Tenchi had found the entrance 
to the center and stood in full direct sight of his fianc‚e.  
	"Tenchi," her head turned in a desperate attempt to see him, 
taking her sights off dodging the attack.
	
	Time seemed to stand still.  There she was, in midair, fending 
off the attack.  Then suddenly, her eyes met his in longing and love.  
It was as if she knew.
	Zing!
	The sound cut through him ten-thousand times, flashes of their 
past together brighten then fade, brighten then fade.  It was like 
remembering them with Haruna.so brief and yet tangible.  Tenchi tried 
to scream but even if he had it would have done no good.  He could feel 
her pain, as the old injury from a time long past flare up again in 
pain ten-fold of what it had been when it was freshly cut.  The entire 
left side convulsed in agony, a grimace and then a blood-curdling 
scream wrenched itself from her mouth.  It was all so fast.  Too fast.  
And then.she was on the ground in front of him, lying there bleeding, 
struggling to breathe.  
	"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" With a last, heaving effort, she slunk down on 
the ground, struggling no more.  
	
	"Ryoko, I'm so sorry," he sobbed into her hair.  "I loved you 
then, and I love you now, oh Ryoko."
	"Well, well, well.  If it isn't the Juraian Prince.  Now that 
I've taken out your girlfriend, perhaps I'll dispose of you as well."
	Tenchi saw red.  
	"Why, why her?" was all he could ask, calm and yet spitting fire 
at the smug expression of the slave that had done her Master's bidding.  
He cradled her form, lips already becoming blue, blood caking black 
along her mouth, neck, and left arm.  With lids shut closed, he could 
only dream of seeing those eyes of hers ever again.  So full of 
life.and now.no pulse, no thrum of existence, no heart.
	Odosuoni yawned at his last glances at the woman he loved and 
again set victorious hands on hips.  She herself bore battle scars, but 
they were small and in the process of healing and fading away.  "Well, 
it's very simple actually Tenchi.  We couldn't allow Ryoko to reproduce 
and form a tight bond with someone of equal or greater power, so I was 
sent to kill her.  Now that a child possessing both Juraian and her own 
capabilities can never possibly come to existence, we can rule the 
universe!"
	"Why Ryoko, why-why us?  Why not some other powerful being?" Lost 
in grievance, Tenchi could only rock back and forth, trying to find 
some sign of life in the lifeless body that he held onto.  
	Sighing, the auburn hair of the woman went back up in its triple 
bun and she sat down a few feet away, facing Tenchi.  "Who am I 
kidding, the Master doesn't care.  Hell, I don't care."
	"What?"
	"He always said that I was cursed with sympathy-the only one out 
of my sisters that was so-and he always taunted me with that fact.  
When I broke away from his hold, I just kept on doing what I was told 
to do, never ever questioning his authority, even though he treated me 
so unkindly."
	"You've studied us for two years, and you still went through with 
it." Tenchi couldn't believe this woman!  She was even more 
unpredictable than Ryoko had been when he first met her.  One minute, 
she was going to kill, then next she was at a therapy session, spilling 
her deepest innermost feelings to one of her marked targets! 
	"I did." Throughout this weird turn of emotions and events, 
Odosuoni had kept her head down, not even chancing a look from the man 
she had destroyed emotionally.  Now, knowing what her true purpose was, 
she raised her head to meet a tear-filled gaze from the twenty-year-
old.  "And I'm sorry."
	Tenchi stood, realizing that death was not an honorable thing, 
nor was assassination.  Holding in all the pain, and powerful urges to 
let ideas of revenge loose and become real, he gritted his teeth and 
breathed,  "You do realize that I can't let Ryoko's death go 
unavenged."
	"I do."
	Unsheathing Sword-Tenchi from its place at his side, Tenchi 
summoned the Jurai energy within himself, and poised it directly over 
the woman's head.  As he brought it down, he muttered a small Shinto 
prayer he had learned from his Grandfather.  Instead of hitting hard 
bone, the blade cut through transparent space.  Tenchi looked up to 
find a great cloud of red and white dust swirl about him, white dust 
turning, and heading straight for Ryoko's body.  The red dust spun into 
a whirlpool draining in the center of the room to oblivion or somewhere 
near it. 
	Stalking confusedly over to his beloved's side, Tenchi came down 
on his knees and watched with fascination as the pure white, 
unadulterated life energy began to sink into Ryoko's flesh.  It spread 
out like a cloak, blanketing her from feet up. As her legs assumed 
their natural pale, soft tone, so did the rest of her skin leading to 
the blue tint her lips held, slowly warming back up to a rosy pink.
	And finally, as he lay his left ear to her breast: a heartbeat.  
A solid thud-dump, thud-dump, thud-dump.  It was followed with a sudden 
rise of her chest, and soft breath gracing the top of his forehead.  He 
pulled away just in time to witness her lids flutter open with a wince 
of pain.
	"Ryoko?"
	"T-Tenchi?" she closed her eyes and reopened them again with 
uncertainty.  "Tenchi?"
	He brought her right hand to his cheek and held it there.  
Nodding, he answered her question before she had the chance to say it.  
"You're alive."
	"Oh Tenchi!" the hand that had cupped his cheek slid up and 
around his neck, pulling herself up from death.  Suddenly, she squeezed 
her eyes shut and gritted her teeth in bearance of the pain shooting 
directly from her left side.  Her free hand held her side, hoping to 
quiet the screams of her muscles as she struggled to kiss him, or at 
least hug him and know that she was indeed alive.
	Tenchi noticed the personal struggle and drew his arms around 
her, supporting her and quickly easing the ordeal that was sitting up.  
Slowly he pulled her into his lap, taking severe caution of her left 
side.
	"Old battle scar," she grumbled laying her head against his 
chest.  "Still hurts." 
	"Shh, save your strength."
	   	   
	"I can not believe this!"
	"Nor can we Master."
	The Master held Odosuoni in his hands, the red dust of her 
existence that is.  "Why, why, why?"
	Hi stood up, followed by her sister Kaze.  "Her time had come." 
	"Poor Odosuoni."
	His emotions shifted sharply with a mere sigh.  "Yes, well, all 
in due time.  It was bound to happen and now comes your 
inheritance.Hi."
	At the sound of her name, the bouncy black haired woman jumped.  
A look of pure surprise overcame the round, reddening cheeks.  "Me?"
	"Why her?"
	"Don't look so glum Kaze," The Master gave the look that one 
gives to a pouting ten-year-old.  "Your turn will come soon enough."
	"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the mere idea of an opportunity like this was 
rapidly stripping Hi of all her memories as a slave to her Master.  
"Just give me Odosuoni's memories and let me get on with killing R-Rya-
"
	"It's Ryoko idiot," Kaze seethed under her breath, just barely 
loud enough for the Master to hear.  "See, I haven't even studied her 
and I know the Space Pirate's name!" Throwing herself down onto her 
knees, Kaze assumed the begging position she had seen her former sister 
take some many times before.  "Please Master, I beg of you.let me do 
it."
	"Absolutely not." The Master turned back to the patient Hi, well 
more like stunned-and-completely-ignorant-of-the-time-lost-due-to-his-
conversation-with-her-sister Hi.  "Now, back to the task at hand."  He 
began to walk forward to a podium situated directly in the center of 
their lair.  A wide, room width ramp curled around the base and 
followed upward to the podium becoming narrower and narrower until it 
reached the top.  Their goals were the viewing and containment orbs 
hovering over the podium.  The rest of Odosuoni lay in the first orb: 
glittering red sand.  Through the viewing orbs could be seen different 
angles taken of a door with a ship like porthole in the center, towards 
the top.  There was no action and no sound, making no difference to the 
viewers.
	The Master turned as he started the incline to find Hi following 
behind him, with Kaze staying away at a far distance in a dark corner. 
	"Master, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for me giving me 
this chance.  I swear on my life that I will not fail in my mission."
	"Your life means little to me, so such a pledge makes no 
difference."  The Master let the words roll off his tongue at such ease 
it would make a human with morals absolutely sick.  "However, before 
you even attempt to console me with your pitiful promises, let us 
implant your sister's fond memories into your psyche."
	Now, as they reached the center, the orb containing the last 
remnants of the "first experiment" rose into the air and came willingly 
into the arms of her Master.  His hands greedily caught it under 
sleeves of ebony and onyx.  "I'm assuming you're ready."
	Hi nodded emphatically, mouth agape at the same idea of it all.
	"Well then, let's get started."

	"Three o clock.three o one.three o two."
	Aeka glanced over to the jittery twenty year old, wringing his 
hands, looking at the clock, reciting the time minute by minute.  
	Finally Tenchi jumped up. "Damn it!  What is taking so long," He 
demanded, head to the ground, slamming a fist to the lab door.
	All the girls rushed towards him, minus one blonde galaxy police 
officer, prepared to hold him up if he were to fall.  Sensing their 
need, Tenchi spread out his arms as if to ward them off.  Looking up, 
his brown eyes were wet with worried tears.  "I'm going in there, it's 
been too long."
	"Tenchi!" Kiyone called as he kicked open the lab door.  "Washu 
warned us not to enter!"
	But he didn't hear her.  Ryoko had been in the hands of that mad 
scientist for over six hours.  Six hours of worrying, pacing, sweating, 
and crying: four things that Tenchi had not been accustomed to since 
his mother's death.
	Yet, just as he entered the genius's lair, he was stopped by the 
denizen herself, clad in a white kimono with red shawl draped over her 
shoulders and wild magenta fringes tamed by a single white nurse's cap, 
with the exception of the two curved tendrils that always framed her 
face.  
	"Tenchi, exactly what were you going to do?" She asked 
quizzically, making the already anxious groom flare out in anger.very 
uncharacteristic for him..
	"What was I going to do?  How about you?  For the past six hours, 
I've been waiting, without a single word of her condition.  Is she 
herself, is she some mix of that woman's life force and her own, or is 
she even alive?"
	Washu took a breath and looked past him to the two Princesses and 
Galaxy Police officer, then squinted her eyes to focus on the blonde 
sleeping on the couch.as usual.  She pulled back and looked back into 
his brown eyes, blood shot veins curving over them.
	"Now, now Tenchi," Washu reached up and patted his shoulder 
consolingly and continued in a sweet tone,  "If your fianc‚e were to 
die, do you think I would honestly keep you waiting out here?"
	Tenchi paused a moment, memories of all the inconsiderate and 
quick-spoken things the little scientist had done throughout her stay 
in his household.  A hard slap to his breast brought him back from 
thought and to the angry little glare of Washu. 
	"Don't even kid around," she looked back to the dark recesses of 
her lab behind them.  
	"Miss Washu?"
	Washu again moved her head to look past Tenchi and meet the eyes 
of the fifteen-year-old second princess. "Yes Sasami,"
	"Is Ryoko going to recover?"
	"Well," to Tenchi's surprise the woman in front of him turned on 
her heel, and with a beckoning finger over her beshawled left shoulder, 
went back in the lab, leaving the door open for everyone to follow.
	"I was apprehensive at first when I found the both of you," Washu 
continued, leading the foursome through the first dimension, then 
stopped suddenly to summon the second, causing Kiyone to run into Aeka. 
	"Now, even I was surprised by her condition," she looked back up 
from the inter-dimensional laptop to the new world slowly coalescing 
before them.  There, through the haze, Tenchi could see a room 
illuminated in blue.  The source of the light was a floating 
rectangular glass box centered in the room.  A larger cube hallowed out 
in the center so that it fit nicely over the width of the device, ran 
continuously up and down the length of the box, shooting a warm blue 
laser wall directly down over the patient hovering inside.  
	"You'll be happy to know that she will recover and is recovering 
very well, Sasami," Washu resumed after the dimension had come up 
clearly without static.  As she led them inside Ryoko's room, the box 
slowly moved over to them.more like them moved over to it.  In 
surprise, each mouth was open in question when Washu held up her hand 
to stop them, "It's my latest invention, 'second teleportation'.  It 
has to do with speeding up time by seconds instead of minutes, thereby 
negating the vertigo aspect of moving in three dimensions and in two 
directions at once,"
	But Tenchi, Aeka, Kiyone, and Sasami were looking down into the 
medical device that levitated the sleeping form of their fianc‚e and 
friend, not listening to the happy explanations of the scientist.  She 
was definitely asleep and breathing, her love breathing a sigh of 
relief at the sight of her chest rising and falling under a thin 
translucent silver gown.  The methodical cube running up and down the 
box slowed a bit as it passed over her face, sped up over her shoulders 
and arms where the most damage had been done, slowed over her stomach, 
and sped up once again over her scratched up legs, their pale luster 
lost in bruises and healing pink wounds.  Suddenly from out of nowhere 
came side beams that took everyone off guard.  They "fired" on either 
side of Ryoko, concentrating their efforts on her slender neck, 
shoulder blades, ribs, battle-scar on her left side, but not on the 
right side, thighs, legs, and finally toes. 
	Tenchi's face lit up as her eyes twitched in a dream.  However, 
there was one thing that puzzled him.
	"Washu, why is," he pointed to her midsection, where the cube had 
just slowed over.  Stopping in mid-sentence, his brown eyes were caught 
by the scientist's gaze.  It told him to stop and all would be 
explained later.  By then, with eyes roving over to the monitors 
humming in the back, then to the peaceful sleeping form of his beloved, 
Tenchi could already guess what her explanation would be.
	Sensing his need to talk, Washu took a breath and, looking around 
her surroundings, walked towards the rest of the group, with Tenchi 
remaining behind by the recovery tube.  Crossing her arms over her 
chest, she looked at the women and huffed, "Alright now, I think we 
should leave Tenchi alone with his fianc‚e for awhile,"
	"Aren't you coming Miss Washu?" Aeka asked as they were forced 
out, being shoved by an invisible force from the additional dimension 
and retreating to the first.  
	"No.it's my lab.I'll stay if you don't mind." Washu spoke rather 
fast, trying to usher them out with ease, but not succeeding.  By now 
the foursome were at the lab door.
	"But Washu.what about-"
	"Tenchi?" She blurted out for them in the sweetest squeak 
possible.  "Oh, he'll be along.I just have to talk to him for a few 
moments.that's all."
	Now Sasami, Aeka, and Kiyone were back in the living room with 
the still snoring Mihoshi, standing at the door in complete surprise.  
"But-"
	"Oh, sorry, can't talk anymore, call me for dinner won't ya?" And 
with that the door was slammed in their faces.

	"I don't believe it."
	"Believe what?" Hi chirped, shrugging her bare shoulders in 
complete and total apathy.  
	"You can't inherit your sister's memories." The Master stalked 
away in aggravation.  He clomped down the spiral, each step taking him 
closer and closer to insanity.  "Don't you understand why we need to 
destroy Ryoko?"
	"Ryoko?" Hi got up from her seat at the podium, "What does she 
have to do with this whole thing?"
	The Master turned back to look at her, nostrils flared in anger.  
"You've got to be kidding me."
	"Who's kidding?"
	Throwing his hands up in the air and continuing on his decent, he 
growled over his shoulder, "I should have spent more time on you."
	"What's the problem?"
	The Master looked above him to find Kaze floating cross-legged in 
the air, almost perched in mid-flight.          
	 "One of your siblings is again a disappointment.that's what the 
problem is."
	"I suddenly get the feeling that you're angry with me Master," 
Concerned, Hi also took to the air, levitating on her side as The 
Master stalked along to his open, inviting suite.
"Suddenly?" He spat in an incredulous tone.  "No wonder I can't 
fit all of Odosuoni's memories into your," his teeth ground together 
now as he seethed, "teeny tiny brain."
Kaze stifled a chuckle with a hand over her mouth and smiled back 
to her dimwitted sister.  Regaining her composure, she turned to the 
dark figure below her and touched down at his feet.  "So, I expect 
you'll be sending me in her stead?"
In response to this, the Master simply groaned and stared at her.  
"That would be the most logical reasoning Kaze."
Pleased with the compliment, the buxom creation drew her arms 
together over her chest, squeezing her breasts together in a crease in 
hopes of rewarding him for his kindness.  "Thank you sir."
"But it will take some time to rethink my plans," his fierce eyes 
bore through her head, as if searching for any extra space in there.  
"Be patient and your time will come."                 
	
	"I'm sorry Tenchi, they just wouldn't leave and I knew that you 
wouldn't want everyone around.especially Aeka."
	Tenchi didn't hear her.  He wanted desperately for Ryoko to wake 
up.  He sat on one of Washu's floating pillows, leaning over the tube, 
waiting for something to happen.
	"Tenchi?" He felt a hand on his right shoulder, but didn't make 
the connection between the little genius and her show of concern.  His 
eyes shifted only slightly towards her direction, but came once again 
to rest on her body.
	Swallowing, he closed his eyes and slowly reopened them again.  
"I don't know what to say."
	"I figured as much." She pulled over another pillow and sat 
cross-legged with elbows on her knees, knuckles propped under her chin.  
	"I mean.I was so not expecting this." He really wasn't.  His 
voice was dry and cracked and he licked his lips.  "What-what can I 
say?"  Looking over to the monitor he smiled, then turned his head to 
focus back on his beloved, the smile gone, and replaced by a look of 
confusion and bewilderment all in one.
	"As I told you, I was surprised by her condition." Washu 
chattered, trying to fill the gap between his anxious realizations.  "I 
was expecting some sort of gene splice, life force mixing with life 
force.something other than this."
	"Does she know?" Tenchi kept his eyes focused on Ryoko's face, 
trying to block out the hums of the heart monitors behind them.  
	"She will." Washu was up now, walking behind the box in the line 
of Tenchi's vision.  "I'm sure she has an inkling of what's going on.  
I'm sure I would know if the same were to happen to me."
	For the first time, Tenchi stopped thinking about Ryoko and 
rubbed his face with the heel of his palm.  "Is-"
	"Everything's fine." She answered for him, her scientific, know-
it-all tone slowly becoming softer and more innocent.  He could see her 
half-smile as she looked down at her patient, sleeping peaceably in the 
glass box.  "I took the liberty though of giving her the extra 
treatment.considering."
	"Thank you." His voice was monotone, thoughtful, hell, what else 
would he be at a time like this?
	"Tenchi?"
	"Yes."
	She had made her circle and was now at his left side, kneeling 
down to look into his face and read his answer if he wasn't prepared to 
give it.  "Are you happy?"
	"Happy?" Without sparing a single second, he answered his own 
question.  "Ecstatically happy."
	"Then," through his unwavering stare, her green eyes tried to 
challenge his.  "May I ask why are you so silent?"
	"I want Ryoko to wake up so we can share this happiness 
together."
	Washu shook her head, and seeing that there was no way Tenchi was 
leaving this dimension of her lab until his beloved woke up, walked 
away to her main lab in the original dimension.  As she passed the 
outside of the room, she threw a glance over to the heart monitors 
beeping with second peaks.  One recorded and shouted the beats of the 
greatest Space Pirate that the known universe has ever known. not to 
mention the luckiest.  She had fallen to another world, lived when 
others would have died, and loved a man with an undying passion like no 
one else.  Now she had escaped her own death once again which saved not 
only herself but.
	Washu smiled before closing the dimension behind her.  On one 
monitor were the adult pulses of Ryoko.on the other were the fetal 
pulses of her child.

To be continued.


So, whadya think?  Send all comments, negative, positive, or otherwise 
to StarHopper 730@aol.com