Another chapter is finally complete. I'd like to take the opportunity
to thank everyone who voted for this fic in the past voting season. I'm
absolutely thrilled to know so many people enjoy reading my drivel and
hope you all enjoy the chapters to follow.

*PLEASE* send me your comments on this fic. I consider all C&C helpful,
both possitive and negative. I can't improve as an author if I don't 
get any feedback. Send all mail to cav@wpi.edu

Special thanks go out to Thomas "Davner" Doscher, Brook and Owen Kuhn,
Megami-Ryoko *huggles*, Ssedrey, J-Pikachu, Bobert, and anyone else I
forgot for their help during the process of creating this thing. 

Tenchi Muyo! is the property of AIC/Pioneer. I don't own it nor the 
characters from it. Please don't sue me, I'm flat out broke. The story 
itself is mine and I ask that you don't post it, alter it, or use it in
any way without my permission or use it for any means of profit. All
rights reserved.



Tenchi Muyo! Heaven and Night Episode I :
Happy Birthday Ryoko!
Chapter 3 : Wounded Pride
        by Cav



	"I can't believe that we had to bail her out of jail," Kiyone 
spoke as she started to wrap her gift. She, Mihoshi, and Noboyuki were 
sitting in the living room, readying the presents for Ryoko. Needless to 
say, the trio had definitely been shocked by what had happened. Kiyone 
herself knew the shame many people went through when being arrested. For 
someone so prideful as Aeka it had to be simply devastating. 
	"Poor Aeka. She must feel awful," Mihoshi said dismally, as she 
attempted to pull some of the wrapping off of the roll of paper. Before 
she could figure it out, she managed to pull too hard and sent her and 
the roll flying backward towards the ground.
	Kiyone smiled at her partner. When they had gotten home, Aeka had 
immediately gone upstairs to her room, where she had been hiding ever 
since. She had no desire to want to face anyone at this time. "I'm sure 
she'll be fine. She just needs a bit of time to herself right now."
	Noboyuki smiled. "I'm sure that's all she needs. After all, Aeka's 
a very strong woman. Not much can keep her down for lo..." he started to 
say as the door to Washu's lab flung open revealing...
	Nothing.
	The three looked at the door, wondering what exactly was going on. 
For a number of seconds, everyone simply watched, waiting for some sign 
of life to reveal itself from the dark opening of the door. They all 
figured Washu was going to pop out any second with some new and absurd 
invention, trying to impress the group. "Little Washu?" Kiyone called 
out, breaking the silence.
	Noboyuki stood up. "Miss Washu? Are you there?" he said, echoing 
Kiyone's inquiry. A small round orb was suddenly flung out of the 
portal, landing on the floor.
	Kiyone stared at the device and narrowed her eyes, trying to get a 
closer look. Her eyes widened in horror realization struck as to what 
she was looking at. "Get down!" she screamed as she tackled Noboyuki to 
the ground, to be followed seconds later by the orb exploding. 


	The smell of chemicals and machinery filled Washu's nostrils as 
she started to come around. Her body ached as she felt the effects of 
her attacker from earlier. So wrapped up in what was happening with 
Ryoko, she failed to notice the warning of the computer and had paid the 
price. Taking a deep breath, her lungs filled with the noxious vapors 
that could only be produced within one of her biological labs. Slowly 
opening her eyes, Washu adjusted to the light and confirmed what her 
other senses were telling her.
	Attempting to move, the petite scientist found herself restrained. 
She tried to teleport out of the restraints, only to find that something 
was suppressing her powers. Gazing down, she found herself shackled to a 
table reserved for holding specimens as she worked on them. She never 
imagined she'd be the one strapped into one. Trying to summon her holo-
computer, she found it to be offline. <It must be out of my control like 
the rest of the lab.> "Whoever you are, release me now and I might show 
mercy on you." There was no response. "You can't honestly expect to hold 
the lab of the greatest scientific genius in the universe captive from 
her!" 
	"Oh, but I can," the computer spoke to her. 
	"Who are you?" Washu barked at the computer. 
	"You will find out soon enough," the voice replied, sounding just 
like the normal AI voice of her computer. The computer started to laugh, 
sounding so superior, so mocking; the sound of someone who knew they had 
won and was toying with their prey. Washu struggled against her bonds 
fruitlessly as she witnessed her own creations disobeying her.
	The sounds of machinery going active started to fill the room. 
Washu looked around as various computers and contraptions started to 
perform some task that their creator had no knowledge of. "Soon, very 
soon, we will be able to speak, face to face." Washu looked away from 
the computer, totally helpless from whatever threat now controlled her 
lab. 


	Nothing was ever simple for Tenchi Masaki. Although he spent many 
days thankful for the "family" he now had, he probably spent equally as 
many days cursing the position they often put him in. All he had wanted 
to do was to help two friends, and instead he had managed to make things 
worse for the pair and make one of those friends mad at him. That was 
the part he hated. 
	Human feelings were so delicate. This was the lesson Tenchi was 
forced to learn constantly, surrounded by females who kept their 
thoughts hidden from him constantly. They kept him guessing, trying to 
figure out a mystery, but whenever he played a wrong move, he paid for 
it in spades. Why couldn't he just be friendly towards one without the 
whole world coming to an end? 
	Their feelings: that's why. For a long time, Tenchi had refused to 
acknowledge them. Slowly, realization struck him and one by one he 
realized that several of the girls had real feelings towards him. The 
harmless flirting of one woman and the few subtle moves of another 
always made it hard to tell if they were serious. If he didn't love 
them, couldn't he at least be their friend? He just didn't know why it 
was so dire to win his affections that the girls couldn't stop for a bit 
and become friends. Of course, he never understood women very well.
As he entered the lounge on the train, he looked around to try to spot 
his target. Luckily, the spiky-haired female stuck out like a sore 
thumb. She was sitting at a table, nursing a drink and looking out the 
window. Taking a deep breath, Tenchi approached her.
	"You dropped this," Tenchi said as he held out the plushie for 
her. Ryoko didn't even bother to turn to look at him. "Ryoko," he 
started to say as he sat down. "I had no idea Washu was doing that."
      "Why did you bring me out then?" Ryoko solemnly asked.
	"Is it so wrong to spend a day out with a friend?" Tenchi asked.
	"What do you mean?" Ryoko asked.
	Tenchi spoke softly. "You girls are always fighting at the house. 
Any time I even remotely try to act friendly towards one of you the 
other has a coronary and explosions then follow. We never talk at the 
house and you do so much for Mayuka. I was just hoping we could have 
some fun for once. You know, like most friends do."
	Ryoko looked down at her drink. "Why does she act like that?"
	"Because she's your mother, and she's concerned about you?" Tenchi 
asked seriously.
	Ryoko turned towards him with an icy glare. "Don't you dare call 
her my mother!" 
	Tenchi looked coldly back at her. "Why the hell do you two have to 
always fight?!" Tenchi looked away from her, showing a painful 
expression. 
	"Tenchi..."
	"Don't you know how hard it is to look at you two and to think 
that you got a second chance to be a family and you don't want it?" 
Tenchi held back tears as he looked towards her with the most serious 
expression he had ever had. "I lost my mother when I was so young. I 
barely remember anything about her, and as time goes on it seems I 
remember even less. There isn't anything I wouldn't give for just a few 
days, even hours more to see her again. But she's dead, and she's never 
coming back." 
	Ryoko looked away from him, not sure what to say. "Ryoko," he 
continued. "Your mother loves you. I know she does. But both of you are 
so different and you've had such unique pasts that she doesn't know how 
to express it."
	"You're telling me," Ryoko responded. 
	"But if you don't take that second chance, you'll regret it 
someday," Tenchi finished.
      Ryoko paused for a moment before speaking again, reflecting on his 
words. "Tenchi, I'm... I'm sorry I put so much pressure on you, but..." 
she paused after saying that.
	Tenchi looked at her and smiled. "Don't worry, we had fun today. 
That's all that matters."
	As he began to stand up, Ryoko grabbed his arm. "Tenchi, thanks 
for today."
	Tenchi smiled at her. "You're welcome."


	Ryoko watched him leave and thought about his words. When he was 
out of sight, she looked down at her drink sadly. <Friends. Great. Don't 
you get it, Tenchi? It's not friends that I want to be...>


	The "date" was over. Ryoko walked along the path towards the 
Masaki house realizing just that. She sighed to herself. She figured she 
had blown her chance. She glanced quickly at Tenchi to see him smiling 
as he walked along. <Ok, so it wasn't a total disaster. Just a giant 
one...>
	"You ready for Aeka's wrath?" Tenchi joked as he walked along the 
path. 
	Ryoko tried to smile. "If I was in her spot I'd already have cut 
your head off by this point."
	The two of them erupted into laughter as they exaggerated "You 
know, Ryoko. If we can actually spend time together like this, maybe 
there's hope for spending more time with you and Aeka after all."
	Ryoko stopped dead in her tracks. "Tenchi, please..." she started 
to say when something caused her to suddenly become totally still. 
	"What are..."
	"Shhh!" Ryoko motioned him to be silent. She listened closely and 
heard it again. It was a very distinct noise; too soft to be heard by 
most, but her hearing was better then Tenchi's. The sound she heard she 
knew very well; the dull, thumping, clanging sound somewhere in the 
distance. "Shit!" Ryoko cursed as she suddenly donned her combat suit.
	"Ryoko, what are you doing?!" Tenchi screamed at her.
	"I can hear combat up ahead."
	Tenchi didn't waste time to react. Concentrating, he summoned the 
Light Hawk Wings and formed his combat armor. "Then let's go." 


	"Give me cover!" Kiyone screamed towards Mihoshi as the duo 
continued to duck behind the trees outside the Masaki house. They had 
been forced to fall back outside the house by... something. Two large 
attack droids equipped with some automatic weaponry were laying down 
cover for the house's occupants as they continued to fortify their 
position, setting up a series of shield generators, armor emplacements, 
and stationary defense weaponry. If they didn't get them out of there 
soon, then they'd soon have a very sturdy base. 
	Kiyone advanced towards a tree that was forward to her left side 
as the blonde GP fired off a round of blaster fire, a few bolts 
connecting with a smaller droid and destroying it. The larger ones, 
however, were shielded and were proving far too difficult to take out. 
	Kiyone judged how far she was from the house and took out a GP 
control cube. Materializing three EMP grenades, she threw them one by 
one towards the house, hoping to disable the attackers. The larger 
shielded opponents were not affected, however the smaller units went 
silent, preventing them from continuing their work. Turning to the side, 
Kiyone gazed at one of the sentries launching a trio of rockets at a 
woman who was running towards her. The woman managed to dodge two of 
them and block a third with her shield. 
	"Miss Kiyone," she yelled as she ran up to a tree nearby. Aeka 
looked completely out of breath. "The rear of the house has been guarded 
too."
	Kiyone swore under her breath. "We can't take out those two," she 
said, pointing to the two mammoths that were merely shrugging off their 
current attacks. "And if we can't find a way to damage them, then we're 
in trouble."
	Aeka nodded. "Even my attacks were of no use against them."
	Looking at the readout on her watch, Kiyone read the stats on the 
two droids. "They're advanced model sentry droids, and some of the 
toughest pieces of machinery around too. Only a few of the more powerful 
militaries use them. Not exactly something for commercial use."
	Aeka blinked. "So why does our current attacker have them?"
	"They don't only have them," Kiyone said. "They're modified 
versions. Otherwise your Jurai energy would've torn right through them. 
Their shields are actually linked together and being fed from a device 
probably inside the house. We can hit it with everything we've got and 
it won't matter unless we can completely overpower that shield."
	Aeka cursed. Probably the only one with the power to do that was 
currently not here. 
	Taking the control cube, Kiyone maneuvered the sides a bit and 
materialized a rather powerful anti-armor plasma launcher. "This is the 
most powerful thing this gizmo can generate. If this doesn't do it, 
we're in serious trouble."
	Readying the weapon, Kiyone made a quick strafe to the right, 
aimed the weapon at one of the droids, and fired. For a moment, there 
was complete silence as a cloud formed from the impact of the blast 
covered the area. Kiyone breathed heavily, unmoving. That was until she 
saw the flashes of bright yellow flying out of the cloud.
	"Damnit!" Kiyone cursed as she ducked for cover again. "That was 
powerful enough to rip through the hull of a space cruiser! What kind of 
land weaponry has that level of power?!" The droid on the left had taken 
notice of its attacker though, and was readying to retaliate. <Shit!> 
Kiyone cursed as she realized it was going to fire at her. Standing up, 
she tried to run. The droid on the right fired off a few laser blasts 
towards that direction, causing her to fall back as she tried to dodge 
them. She looked towards the droids to see that the droid on the left 
was about to fire its rockets. <I'm screwed.>
	Just as the droid fired, she felt someone pick her up and carry 
her to the cover of one of the nearby trees. Picking herself up, Kiyone 
turned to see Katsuhito standing there. "Getting careless is not your 
style. Try to be more cautious in the future," he said with a smile.
	It was then that Kiyone heard a number of energy blasts that were 
headed towards the droids. The source of the blasts were not from her 
partner or Aeka however, they were from above. Kiyone looked up in the 
sky above the droids to see Ryoko swooping down, launching a series of 
energy blasts at the droids as she went. 
	"Get out of there, Ryoko!" Kiyone screamed at her. "Energy blasts 
aren't..." she continued, stopping her warning when she realized that 
the cyan-haired woman wasn't attacking, but merely distracting. From out 
of nowhere, Tenchi appeared and sliced through one of the droids with 
the Light Hawk Sword, continuing his movement forward to cut right 
through the other. With that, the nearly impregnable weaponry was 
destroyed with as much ease as cutting through a piece of paper.
	

	Ryoko de-materialized her sword as she flew back into the living 
room. "I think we got them all," she proclaimed to the group.
	"Good," Kiyone responded, as she was busy fiddling with a laptop, 
analyzing the data of the attackers.
	"So who are they?" Tenchi asked as he sat on the couch, holding 
Mayuka, rocking her back and forth in an effort to try to calm the 
toddler. 
	"They came from the lab," Kiyone answered. "We were sitting in 
here wrapping... I mean watching TV when they came through. Eventually 
they drove us out of the house and brought in those sentries."
	"So why haven't they sent reinforcements yet?" Aeka asked as she 
sat on the couch next to Sasami, who was still shaken from the whole 
experience. She had been hiding with Mayuka and Noboyuki, away from the 
war zone, with Azaka and Kamidake keeping guard over them. 
	"That I don't know," Kiyone responded.
	"Because whoever "they" are they've gotten what they were looking 
for," Ryoko coldly stated.
	"They failed to take the house, though," Noboyuki answered. "I 
might not be a military expert, but that seems to be what they were 
trying to do."
	"No, Ryoko's onto something," Kiyone said. "It seems they sent 
just enough forces to keep us busy until someone could get here to 
actually take out those droids."
	"You mean me," Tenchi answered.
	"Our opponent definitely knows us," Katsuhito responded. 
	Aeka took the opportunity to join in the conversation. "So they 
knew us, they knew Lord Tenchi wasn't here, and they wanted to make sure 
we were kept busy until he arrived. This doesn't make much sense."
	"Well add to it that whoever our enemy is, they were using very 
advanced military equipment that nobody outside the military should 
have. And not only that, but modified versions powerful enough to shrug 
off even Jurai ener..."
	"It's part of Washu's defense system for the lab," Ryoko concluded 
as she looked at the computer.
	"What?" the teal-tressed GP inquired.
	"I've seen this type of droid before. She has a bunch of those 
sentries as part of her defense system."
	"Are you sure?" Kiyone asked.
	"Positive."
	"But what would Miss Washu want to attack us for?" Mihoshi 
squeaked. 
	Mayuka took the opportunity to start crying again.
	"I'll go get her bottle," Ryoko said with a slight smile as she 
started to teleport into the kitchen.
	"No, Ryoko! Don't go in there!" Sasami yelled after her.
	

	Ryoko looked at the sight in front of her. Like much of the rest 
of the Masaki house, the kitchen had taken serious damage. And in the 
center of the room was one of the objects that had been destroyed in the 
fighting. The remnants of a giant cake were splattered between the 
kitchen counter and the floor. The top layer of the cake was lying on 
the floor. The words on it had caused Ryoko to stop completely.
	Staring at it for a few more moments, Ryoko turned away and moved 
towards the fridge. <Birthday? What a joke,> she thought to herself.


	Sasami looked nervously up at Ryoko as she re-entered the living 
room, carrying Mayuka's bottle. "Ryoko, I'm..."
	"Come on, ya little brat," Ryoko said with a smile as she took the 
crying infant from Tenchi's arms.
	Sasami noticed that everyone was looking at Ryoko, worried about 
how she would react. Yet there was no indication of any whatsoever. 
<She... She doesn't care?> the little princess asked herself. The others 
were giving looks to each other. Looks indicating that they shouldn't 
say anything and just pretend there was nothing on their minds. 
	Kiyone took the opportunity to break the momentary silence. 
"There's no way Washu would actually send those herself. Which means 
someone has control of the forces in her lab."
	"That's impossible," Aeka said, jumping in. "Take over Miss 
Washu's lab? Nobody could do that."
	Ryoko laughed. "Someone already beat her once. She can be beaten."
	"But by who?" Tenchi asked.
	"Well there's no use in just sitting here and yapping," Ryoko 
interjected. "I say we go find out."
	"Are you crazy?" Kiyone barked at Ryoko. "Whoever is behind this 
has control of the lab's defense systems: systems that were designed to 
take on entire armies. It'd be suicide."
	"I've taken on entire armies," Ryoko smiled. "I'll be fine."
	"Kiyone is right, Ryoko," Katsuhito finally spoke up. "Our enemy 
not only knows us, but is inviting us to come."
	"And they want me," Tenchi said as he stood up, a determined look 
appearing on his face. "Then I'll go too." 
	Kiyone looked at Katsuhito, who tried to put on his normal look of 
having no reaction. She could read the worry in his face. "All right, 
but I don't think this is a good idea. You and Ryoko..."
	"And I," Aeka added.
	The cyan-haired woman glared at her. "Aeka, this isn't a game!" 
Ryoko snarled at her.
	"And you two will need help," she responded. "We'd have a better 
chance with all three of us then just you two.
	Sasami, meanwhile, watched the whole situation unfold, watching 
helplessly as she always was forced to. Aeka had been sitting here all 
this time and hadn't even looked at her, Ryoko was acting strangely, 
and, on top of that, she watched her friends ready to jump into battle 
again, risking their lives, when all she could do was watch. <Tsunami, 
who's behind this?> she called out to the tree spirit. <They're going to 
get hurt, I just know it! Who's doing this?!> No reply came.
	"Fine, but I think this is a bad idea," Ryoko surrendered. 
	"Well that's perfect, because this whole thing is a bad idea," 
Kiyone sighed. "Please try to just find out what's happening there. We 
shouldn't confront whoever's behind this until we know more about what 
they're doing."
	"Oh you know me. I'm always careful," Ryoko smiled and then began 
to cackle.
	Everyone simply stared at her.
	"We're doomed," Aeka sighed.
	"I know," Tenchi whined.


	Washu, still trapped as she was, watched the three unwary figures 
enter her lab. She wanted to scream to them to run. They were walking 
right into a trap, and she knew it. "What are you planning?" Washu 
called out to the entity that had done all this.
	That same demeaning laughter that had filled the room entered 
again. "Something... spectacular!" said the voice with a great deal of 
flourish.
      Even though there was no image to match with the voice, Washu 
could just feel an overpowering sense of superiority from the voice. 
"You can't stop them." 
	The voice laughed. "I don't plan on stopping them at all. In fact, 
I want them to come here." 
      <Come here?! He wants the boy with the Light Hawk Wings to come 
here?> Washu refused to let the fear she felt surface on her face. 
Whoever this was, they were not just talk. 
      The sound of machinery going active came from behind Washu. She 
turned to watch a gene sequence encoding a very specifically engineered 
DNA strand. "So you're a scientist?" she asked the entity.
      "A very astute observation, professor," the voice mocked her.
      A cold chill went up Washu's spine. Something registered in her 
mind that caused her to suddenly feel fear the likes of which she had 
never known. Cold sweat formed on her skin as she started to breath 
heavily. <No. You're just imagining things...> her mind tried to quiet 
her. 
      "Now, shall we see about that chat you wished to have," the voice 
replied. The gene sequencer fell silent as it completed the DNA strand. 
A large machine in the middle of the room sounded off as it became 
active. Wires from all over the lab hooked into this machine, the focal 
point of her genetics lab. The device was for building the organism that 
had just been programmed.
      Washu looked back up at the screen. <Be careful.> 


      The three warriors stood in the immediate area after entering the 
lab. Everything was quiet: far too quiet. 
      Ryoko looked around and quickly took in the situation. "Finding 
her in this place is going to be a pain."
      "Well normal scientists usually don't require five planets for 
their work," Aeka said.
      "Why don't we split up," Tenchi said as he looked around the area. 
"I'll check this area while you two girls can take the elevator and look 
elsewhere."
	Ryoko nodded in agreement. "Be careful."
	"You too," Tenchi said as he started to head off down the hallway.
	

	Silence. Silence was what filled the atmosphere of the inter-
dimensional elevator, as the occupants didn't say a word. These 
elevators were what connected the five planets of Washu's sub-space 
laboratory. They were the only devices that could possibly transport 
people to the various destinations of the lab in time. Ryoko, knowing 
more about the lab than anyone else, was leading the pair towards the 
security section of the lab, given that the only thing they knew at the 
moment was that someone had taken control of the lab's security forces.
	Aeka simply stared at Ryoko, who stared back at her as they stood 
across from each other. Each of them was waiting for the other to break 
the silence. Time seemed to stand still. The elevator refused to stop. 
Half of Aeka's mind kept saying, <Just ask her!> The other half was 
screaming at her, <Now's not the time!> It wasn't the time. She knew 
that very well. Yet, she was being tortured from not being able to know 
what happened. 
	Silence. It continued throughout the entire ride. Complete and 
total silence.


	With great trepidation, Tenchi slowly moved his way through the 
corridors of the lab, careful to check in all directions for signs of 
activity. Breathing steadily and trying to remain calm, he continued to 
walk through the long corridors and endless rooms of the giant structure 
that was Washu's design. <Why the hell does she need five planets for 
this place?> Tenchi groaned as he continued to look around. He had left 
the Light Hawk Sword dematerialized, but was ready to summon it at any 
moment, and just in case, he had already donned his armor. 
	Walking up to another door, Tenchi watched the two halves slide 
apart, opening the way for him to continue his search. He sighed to 
himself and took a deep breath as he entered a room that looked like 
countless others he had already seen. So far, there were no signs of 
activity from security, no signs of Washu, and no signs of the force 
behind the attack.
	It wasn't going very well at all. 


	Eyes wandering around the room, checking for anything unusual, the 
cyan-haired woman slowly made her way towards her destination. Aeka 
trailed behind her, her eyes scanning the area for similar reasons. The 
two had failed to say a word to each other yet: Aeka simply following 
Ryoko. The ex-pirate had a surprisingly small amount of knowledge about 
her mother's "home," wishing to spend as little time in the place as she 
had to. Accessing the computer, she was able to gather enough 
information to lead to this place. Now it was just a matter of carrying 
out the task ahead of her.
	Unlike the rest of the lab, this area was devoid of decoration. 
The elevator had deposited the girls in a long hallway that had no 
ceiling. Washu had fortified the planets that made up her laboratory 
enough so that it could withstand an attack from an entire fleet of 
ships, and with enough ground forces to defeat even a large invasion 
force. <It's a good thing she's never declared war on anyone,> Ryoko 
thought to herself. So far, there wasn't even a peep from the security 
forces that normally should've been protecting this area of the lab like 
junkyard dogs. 
	Silence was the worst part. Ryoko had learned quite a bit in her 
five thousand years of existence. She had learned through that 
experience that if a situation looked wrong, then you were about to get 
your teeth kicked in by something that you didn't see coming. Waiting 
for that something was the worst part.
	Approaching the large structure in front of the pair, Ryoko saw 
Aeka gaze in awe at the mammoth structure that was central security for 
the lab. The structure seemingly went up for kilometers, appearing as if 
it was more a mountain than a building. The "hallway" was nothing more 
then a valley between two halves of the super-structure that led to the 
actual entrance. A direct entrance into the citadel from an elevator 
would've proved to be tactically unwise, thus one could only transport 
to just outside of the structure. Standing hundreds of feet tall, the 
citadel of the lab was meant to be the very definition of impenetrable. 
Various weapons could be seen throughout. Several slightly caved in 
portions of the walls could be seen, which housed bays for fighters, 
shuttles, and other automated defense forces. The climate in this area 
had been changed to look dark and ominous, playing off the fears of many 
cultures. It definitely would prove unsettling to all but the calmest of 
solider. 
If whoever had sent the droids into the house had wanted to, Ryoko 
knew she and Aeka would have had hell unleashed upon them the instant 
they had exited the elevator and would probably have been reduced to 
atoms by now. Luckily for her, the guess that the force at work here 
wanted them to come here had been correct. 
It was then that the first words spoken between the girls since 
they had left the house finally surfaced. "So what are we doing?" Aeka 
queried the woman standing next to her.
	Ryoko continued to look forward, refusing to even look at the 
woman. "We have to shut down security from here to take care of those 
droids," she answered the princess.
	"And you think you can shut down your mother's security grid?" 
Aeka asked with a rather amused tone. 
	"One way or another, I'll take care of it." Ryoko's determined 
gaze studied the main gate. "Hold on," Ryoko said as she reached out and 
grabbed a hold of Aeka.
	"Hey!" Aeka said as she reflexively tried to throw the ex-pirate's 
arm off of her. Ryoko held onto her and transported the pair past the 
front gate and into the fortress. 


	<This is hopeless,> the frustrated farm boy thought to himself. He 
read the sign informing him he was exiting hydroponics and sighed to 
himself. It was turning out to be a fruitless endeavor. The lab was just 
too large, and without any clue as to where Washu was, this was simply 
turning out to be wasted time. Tenchi quickly looked around the area, 
and then decided that if he were a villain he wouldn't have chosen 
hydroponics as his headquarters either. 
	Tenchi stepped into the elevator and started to think. <Where 
would you be if you were a villain?> 
Tenchi facefaulted when his mind answered him with an old 
abandoned warehouse. 
      "There's not going to be an old abandoned warehouse in this place, 
you moron!" Starting to sweat as he realized just how silly he looked, 
he looked down and started to laugh. "Well, it's too bad this thing 
doesn't work like Star Trek," he said out loud to nobody in particular. 
"Computer, take me to Washu," he said in his best impression of Captain 
Picard. Finally realizing how stupid he sounded, he looked down and 
sighed. 
	The strangest thing suddenly happened: the elevator started to 
move on it's own. <What the...?> Tenchi started to think to himself. He 
looked at the control panel to see it flashing like crazy. His hearted 
started to race as he realized he was out of control. Pressing the stop 
button, he found that the controls were not functioning. <Shit!> Bracing 
himself for the worst, Tenchi summoned the Light Hawk Wings to perform a 
protective shield, safeguarding him from whatever was about to happen.
	Then, the elevator stopped.
	Hesitantly, Tenchi dropped the field around him and looked around 
to make sure nothing odd was happening. Tenchi looked up at the 
elevator's destination sign to read that he was now in the central 
genetics lab. 
	Cautiously, Tenchi stepped outside of the elevator and surveyed 
the area. The smell of chemicals entered his nostrils as he whiffed the 
varying odors of the room. Slowly entering the lab, he felt the immense 
heat, apparently brought on by the large amount of equipment recently 
being used. It had appeared as if the place had recently been in use. 
	Moving in slowly, Tenchi continued to walk down the hall, moving 
past various equipments of all sorts, scanning the area for some sign of 
life. 
	He found it as he entered the large, central room of the complex. 
Strapped to a table was the petite redhead scientist, who was out cold. 
Running over to her, Tenchi started to remove the bonds that kept Washu 
strapped to the table. As he removed the final one, he picked the woman 
up on his shoulder and carefully laid her on the floor. "Wake up, 
Washu," he said as he started to gently slap her on the cheeks, trying 
to wake her. 
	Slowly coming around, Washu groggily stirred about, slowly pulling 
herself together. Opening her eyes gradually, Tenchi saw her eyes meet 
his gaze. He smiled as he saw she was okay. "About time you..." he 
started to say as lied up from her position, grabbing him and looking 
into his face with a look of complete fear. 
"Tenchi," she started to speak. 
	After a few moments, Tenchi understood that fear. 


	The building was too big. This was the conclusion Ryoko had come 
to as she and Aeka went past countless floors, making their way up 
towards the central operations room, directly in the heart of the 
titanic complex. Ryoko tried to calm herself, although the thrill of 
combat always seemed to get her blood pumping, and she was positive that 
something was waiting to pounce on her. It was just what she needed to 
work out the frustration from today's earlier events.
	Finally coming to a stop, the elevator doors opened, leading into 
the lobby of the room. A secretarial droid stood waiting for the pair at 
a desk in front of the gates to the room. "May I help you, madams," the 
droid chirped.
	Ryoko grinned at the droid and then put on her best innocent act. 
"Why, yes you can! My... mother..." she said, as she nearly choked on 
the words, before continuing. "She asked me to come over here and work 
on the shield generator system. I need to get access to the main 
security computer to enter the new program." <I hope these things are as 
dumb as they look,> she thought to herself.
	The droid looked at her for a second, apparently scanning her, 
before pressing a button to open the room. "Go right on in, Mistress 
Ryoko. And please tell me if you require assistance."
	Holding back a laugh, Ryoko replied cheerfully, "Thank you."
	The pair of girls proceeded to enter the room ahead of them. As 
soon as they had entered, the doors closed, leaving them trapped in the 
room.
	"I can't believe she bought that," Aeka said as she looked at her 
surroundings.
	"Don't worry," Ryoko turned to look at her. "Now I know for sure 
it's a trap." She had known that ever since they had entered the lab. 
This was just one giant invitation for them to come here. They had few 
options, though. Ryoko knew what it would mean if the lab fell into the 
wrong hands. And with a door leading right into the Masaki home, it put 
them all at risk. The next attack would be a lot more vicious.  
      Studying the area, the cyan-haired woman looked at the interior of 
the room. The main computer was standing in the center of the room. It 
had to have been several stories tall, connected into the various 
computer systems lining the wall. The fate of five planets depended on 
this behemoth to defend them in case of assault. Ryoko eyed the monster 
and started to move towards it. "Wait here," she told Aeka.
	Approaching one of the consoles on the beast, Ryoko continued to 
check to make sure their opponent was not waiting nearby. Reaching the 
console, she checked once more to make sure the situation was clear. 
When satisfied, she looked down at the keyboard and began to type away, 
searching for the source of what was controlling the lab.
	"Hurry up," Aeka called from where she stood. "I don't like the 
looks of this place."
	"That makes two of us," Ryoko softly spoke as she continued to 
type. As she looked at the screen, she noticed something odd was 
happening. Her keystrokes were doing nothing. <What the...> Suddenly, 
the keys started to move by themselves and the display went blank.
	Ryoko wasted no time in adopting a fighting stance. The trap was 
about to be sprung. Aeka had apparently noticed what was happening too 
and was readying herself. 
	Nothing happened.
	Ryoko could feel herself breathing heavier as she became unsteady 
from the silence. A soft sound started to fill the air. It was 
unidentifiable at first; sounding so soft she could barely make it out. 
As it started to grow louder, something struck Ryoko. Her blood started 
to run cold as she felt a familiarity in the sound. Her eyes wandered 
over to the computer, where she realized that the keyboard had started 
to move in almost a pattern. Scanning the other terminals in the room, 
she could make out the same sort of pattern. The pattern was starting to 
make sense too as the sound became louder and louder.
	"What's going on?!" Aeka screamed. She had been thrown off totally 
by all this, looking around frantically for a source of the sound.
	Saying nothing in response, Ryoko continued to listen to the sound 
become louder. And as it became louder, it became more familiar. <Oh god 
no!> Her mind screamed. When it finally struck her, she had only one 
reaction. "Run!" she screamed to Aeka as she made a beeline for the 
door, flying as fast as she could. 
	A field suddenly came up around the door, growing in size until it 
gelled to the walls of the room. They were trapped, like insects. And 
the sound was becoming louder.
	There was no mistaking the sound now. Both girls recognized it. 
Ryoko's mind tried to block out the noise: the awful, awful noise that 
caused her entire body to shiver in terror, that penetrated deep into 
her soul and froze her very essence.   
	Organ music.
	Laughter: that same demeaning laughter of superiority that had 
given her so many nightmares. That's what followed next. Frantically 
searching for the source, Ryoko was losing any semblance of being calm 
at the moment. The noise was coming from every direction, making it 
impossible to find the source. "Come on out!" she finally yelled.
	"My, my, Ryoko. You're as impatient as ever," a sly voice answered 
her. Staring in the direction of the voice, a green ball of energy began 
to descend from the ceiling.
 	<Why did it have to be him?!> her mind screamed at her as the 
energy ball finally reached the surface, materializing into the figure 
she had learned to fear more then anything death could throw at her. The 
huge white gloves that covered nothing but specters of hands, the green 
cape, flowing behind him, the white hair that seemed to indicate just 
how old he was when he still failed to have aged physically, the 
glasses, seemingly nothing more then decoration, to complete the look of 
a husk of a body that seemed to have no more meaning with his current 
genetic makeup, and the wry smile that always let you know that he had 
you and there was nothing you could do to stop him. Kagato was here.
      "How?" was all Ryoko could say as she stood her ground, her entire 
body fueled by the fury of thousands of years of slavery to this madman, 
and yet her experience with him knowing that if she reacted too quickly 
she would be playing right into his hands. "Shouldn't you be roasting in 
the flames of hell by now?"
      Kagato simply smiled and gave a smug laugh. "Ah, but it's so much 
better to be here than within that rather unpleasant scenery you 
depict."
      "What do you want?" Aeka demanded, she too apparently showing fury 
towards the man. Ryoko had no idea that Aeka hated him as much as she 
was showing.
      "It's simple. I've come to collect an item which belongs to me," 
he replied. "Now, are you going to give me the gems willingly, Ryoko, or 
should I see what amusing form of matter I can turn you into today?" 
Kagato smiled at her. "Perhaps we should try a mold of slime? I always 
thought you'd look better in green, after all."
      It was so hard fighting back the rage. Ryoko wanted nothing more 
than to launch herself at the bastard and pay him back for the years of 
torment he had caused her. "If you want the gems, you're out of luck. I 
only have one. And you're not getting it!" she yelled as she launched an 
energy projectile, not at Kagato, but at something hiding in the 
shadows. The projectile exploded on contact, confirming a hit on her 
target.
      A laugh started to come from the shadows as green energy began to 
illuminate the darkness. "Much better than last time, Ryoko," he started 
to clap, applauding her. "But I'm afraid, you're out of luck. You see, 
your mother's lab has offered me so much more power..."
      "... Then I previously had!" a voice answered her from the left. 
<What the...> Ryoko looked in the direction of the latest voice to find 
yet another green energy ball. <Impossible! He can't split himself that 
many times!>
"Oh, I bet you're asking which one of these lovely figures is my true 
form," the three figures spoke simultaneously.
      "But, you've been looking in the wrong direction all this time," 
Ryoko heard from behind her as she felt the heat of Kagato's energy 
blade coming down on her. She fell back, turning herself around and 
bringing up her energy sword to block her opponent. "Not bad," he 
smirked. "Your reflexes have finally returned."
      Staring at him with a determined look, Ryoko pushed him back with 
her sword and swung at him several times, each time his sword blocking 
the attack. Firing off an energy blast at him, she watched as he simply 
teleported onto a ledge above her. He started to clap in mock applause. 
"Not bad at all."
      "Don't tell me you're done already?" Ryoko said as she smiled at 
him. 
"Now, now, Ryoko. You must learn..." Kagato started to speak when a pair 
of energy blasts struck him in the side, causing him to scream in pain. 
Looking down at the source of the blasts, he spotted the princess who 
had launched the attack. "What's the matter, Ryoko? Have to call in your 
friends to help? Well, it's not a problem, really. I'll simply even the 
odds!"
      Kagato launched a pair of green energy blasts towards Aeka, who 
raised her shield in time to block. Meanwhile, Ryoko came in from behind 
Kagato and resumed her attack, lashing out with her sword at him. "Give 
it up, Kagato. You can't beat both of us," Ryoko demanded as she 
continued her attack. <Boy is that a bluff> she thought to herself, 
knowing Kagato had already done just that.
      "Ah, but I'm afraid I can't do that, my dear," he said as he 
blocked the last of Ryoko's blows and teleported away.
      <Shit, where did he go?> Ryoko started to frantically search the 
room for where he teleported. 
      "It's been a fun workout, my dears, however, I'm afraid I've grown 
weary of the fight," a voice boomed, sounding as if it came from miles 
away. Now, be good girls and give up."
      "Not a..." Ryoko started to reply as she looked as the field 
around the room was suddenly caving in. It was moving inward, covering 
all the computer equipment and creating almost a second wall inside of 
the room. The field closed in, as if a box lid was being shut, forming 
the top of it above where Ryoko was standing. Just in front of the main 
computer, the field had shot up from the floor and formed the final 
wall, encasing the pair inside of the field. <Shit!> Ryoko thought as 
she tried to teleport out, realizing the trap she had fallen into. The 
field was blocking her, however. Looking down at Aeka, a warning flashed 
in her head. "Aeka! Get your shield up!" she screamed.
      Aeka looked up at her confused, then looked towards the force 
field as it started to glow. Quickly putting up her shield, she got it 
up just in time as an energy wave encompassed the area within the field, 
hitting the two girls.
Ryoko screamed in pain as the energy wave blasted her. Falling off of 
the platform she had been fighting Kagato on, back to the ground below, 
she could barely move. Looking over weakly at Aeka, she saw her stirring 
slowly. She was still alive. Her shield had lasted just long enough to 
protect her from most of the blast.
      The next thing Ryoko felt was a hand grabbing her, picking her up 
like a rag doll. She weakly looked up at the smiling face of Kagato. She 
felt like crying. Her greatest nightmare was returning. "You see, Ryoko, 
I have control of you dear sweet mother's lab now, including all the 
wondrous security systems therein. You never had a chance of defeating 
me in here. Now let's be a good girl and don't make this anymore 
troublesome than it has to be, and I'll see to it that you get a nice 
shady spot somewhere in this lab to stick to as a mold," Kagato mocked 
her. He then threw her to the ground.
      Trying to get up, Ryoko felt every muscle in her body ache. <I 
can't let him win!> her mind screamed at her, yet knowing at the same 
time that she had already lost. Suddenly, she felt electricity start to 
course threw her body. She had felt it only one time before. It was the 
type of pain you could never quite describe; the type that felt as if 
someone was ripping your entire body right out of the skin. She looked 
down at the floor to see the electricity coming through it. Although it 
wasn't visible, she knew what giant structure lie below. 
      Kagato was draining her gem. 
	Slowly, the glow of the gem began to weaken. Ryoko could feel her 
energy being sapped from her, being pulled out of her and given to the 
madman once again. The nightmares returned. She hated this. She just 
wanted to die right now. Anything to just stop having to endure losing 
to him again. 
	Slowly, the energy was drained from the gem. The pain became worse 
as her healing systems slowed down, not being able to work as 
efficiently without the added gem power. Finally, the gem went black as 
the last drop of power was pulled into the massive gem somewhere floors 
below.
	She could hear the laughter from above her. He'd won. He'd beaten 
her yet again. And he loved every moment of it. Just to prove his 
superiority one more time over the pile of useless molecules he thought 
she was. She tried once again to stand, falling back to the ground, too 
weak to move. Tears nearly formed in her eyes, though she managed to 
hold them back.
	Kagato reached down and picked her up again. "Now, my dear, I 
think it's time we see how you look in green."
	<Tenchi, I'm sorry,> she thought to herself as she closed her eyes 
and awaited her fate. 
	"Let her go," a voice screamed from the far end of the room. Ryoko 
turned her head to see Tenchi standing there, Light Hawk Sword in hand, 
with Washu standing behind him.
	Kagato smiled. "Well, boy, it's about time you got here." Kagato 
reached back and tossed Ryoko towards him. Tenchi dematerialized the 
sword and caught her. Ryoko could feel herself nearly blacking out as 
she tried to stay awake just a little bit longer. "Take her, I already 
have what I want," Kagato said as he bowed. "Please don't make a mess on 
your way out." With that, Kagato disappeared, leaving the four remaining 
in the room along.
	"Washu, can you carry Aeka?" Tenchi asked the redhead.
	"Sure," Washu responded, walking towards the princess.
	"We have to get..." Tenchi started to say. That was the last thing 
Ryoko heard as she slipped into unconsciousness. 


	She had run out of her own lab. Run like a coward. He'd beaten her 
once again: this time, even worse than the last. He'd stolen her lab 
right out from under her and turned it into his own. And now, he had 
hurt her daughter, stealing the energy from her gems, putting her in the 
bed she was lying in right now.
	Washu hated Kagato worse than ever.
	Tenchi applied a cloth to Ryoko's forehead as she lay in his bed. 
He looked over towards Washu, who was sitting on a chair on the opposite 
side of the bed from where he was. "How?"
	She looked down, too ashamed to meet his gaze. "I... I don't 
know." 
	"He's supposed to be dead, Washu! I killed him myself!" Tenchi 
looked at her with a hurt gaze. She could see the concern in his eyes 
for Ryoko. Aeka had been hurt as well, but her shield had taken the 
brunt of the attack, leaving her with only minor bruises, though she had 
one giant headache.
	"I know. I... I can't explain it," Washu answered him 
emotionlessly.
	Tenchi looked down at the injured Ryoko. "I... I let him hurt her 
again."
	"It wasn't your fault, Tenchi," Washu tried to reassure him. "None 
of us could've ever seen this coming."
	"I should've gone with them!" Tenchi said, clenching his fists and 
ignoring Washu's words.
	Washu just continued to stare at the floor. <What a joke I am.>
	"We have to go back," Tenchi said, looking at her determined.
	"Are you crazy?!" Washu said, suddenly bolting her head up from 
its previous seemingly unmoving position. "He just beat us bad, Tenchi. 
He has my lab now, and all the forces therein. Do you realize how 
powerful he's become?!" 
	"It doesn't matter," Tenchi said, meeting her gaze with an 
unwavering look. "I have the Light Hawk Wings. He knows it too. That's 
why he retreated before." 
	Washu started to laugh.
	"What's so funny?" Tenchi asked, looking annoyed.
	"Tenchi, that attitude is going to get you killed. Kagato knows 
that. You think he hasn't anticipated it?" 
	Tenchi looked back down at Ryoko. "It doesn't matter if he 
anticipated it or not. I won't allow him to hurt anyone here any 
longer."
	Washu sighed in defeat. <The fool's going to get himself killed.> 
Washu then thought of something. "Tenchi, go get the Master Key."
	"Why?" he inquired.
	"Ryoko's healing system isn't working like it normally does 
because the gem's been drained. The blast she took would've killed a 
normal human.  Without the gems as a power source, she's extremely 
limited as to what she can do, and the rapid healing she normally 
benefits from is severely hampered. With the severe internal injuries, 
she'll probably remain unconscious for some time so that the Masu can 
utilize more energy in repairing the damage. But the sword still has the 
other two gems, intact. She can heal a lot faster with them," Washu said 
as she finished her speech.
	She didn't expect Tenchi's reaction. He was silent, simply staring 
back down at Ryoko.
	"What's the matter?" she asked.
	"I... I don't know. It's..."
	"You're afraid of her being at full power, right?"
	Tenchi looked down and gathered himself. "I don't know why. We've 
lived together for years now, yet I still fear her for some reason."
	Washu smiled. "That's all right. So do I."
	Tenchi stifled a laugh. "I'll go get the sword."

	
	Ryoko ached. As her consciousness returned, so did the pain. She 
felt like she had just been run over by a star cruiser. As she opened 
her eyes, she realized she was in Tenchi's room. The memories of the 
events that had just occurred refreshed themselves in her mind. 
Something hit her. <I can feel the gem's energy, but how can it still 
have power if it was drained?> Looking down at her left wrist, she saw 
the blackened gem. That's when she noticed the gem on her right wrist. 
Reaching up weakly with her right hand, she felt the gem on her neck. 
Tenchi had returned her gems while she was asleep.
	Staring up at the ceiling, she didn't know how to react. The gems 
had always been a mixed curse and blessing. She had her powers back. Did 
she really want them? Those powers had caused so much death...
	"You're finally awake," Ryoko heard Tenchi's voice as he entered 
the room carrying a tray. Ryoko tried to move, but found herself still 
too weak. "Don't strain yourself. You took a nasty beating back there," 
he said as he put the tray down and picked up a bowl of soup.
	"I'm not hungry," Ryoko told him.
	"It'll help you..." 
	"I said I'm not hungry!" she screamed, although her scream was 
weakened by the fatigue.


	"Ryoko..."
	"Why did it have to be him?!" she yelled.
	"I... I don't know," Tenchi responded. That's when he saw it on 
her face. There were tears: tears of humility and defeat. She tried to 
hide them, but she wasn't doing a very good job of it. "But I'll make 
sure he doesn't hurt anyone again..."
	"No!" she shouted at him, bolting up in the bed, barely able to 
keep herself up. 
	"Don't move!" he ordered as he moved over to the bed and held her 
up.
	"I'm fine!" she screamed, pushing him back and forcing herself to 
stand. She wobbled a bit and then fell forward, unable to keep her 
balance. Tenchi quickly ran and caught her before she fell to the 
ground, supporting her in his arms.
	"I told you not to move. You're hurt," Tenchi said as he held her. 
	"I'm not going to lie here like an invalid! That bastard is going 
to pay for what he's done!" she screamed at him, her voice filled with 
rage.
	He laughed at her. "You're in no condition to fight. Besides, he 
won't be able to beat me."
	"You idiot!" He killed you before! Are you insane enough to fight 
him again?" she screamed frantically at Tenchi.
	"And I've got the Light Hawk Wings this time," Tenchi countered.
	"It doesn't matter! You don't know him like I do, Tenchi. It's not 
about power. He's ready for you. He knows you'll come after him with the 
wings and he'll find some way to beat you! I know he will!" She was 
pleading with him, her words containing so much emotion they were barely 
understandable. "Let me go. I'm the only one who knows him. I might be 
able to..."
	Tenchi looked down at her. "Ryoko, you don't need to worry like 
this."
	Ryoko squeezed Tenchi tighter. "Don't go, Tenchi! Please! He'll 
hurt you. I know he will. You don't understand, he's..." Ryoko was 
frantically screaming in his face.
	She was scared. She was scared out of her mind. Tenchi had never 
seen Ryoko scared of anything. Yet she sat there, terrified. He hugged 
her, and let her head rest on his shoulder. He could feel the tears fall 
onto his shirt. "Shhh," he said, trying to soothe her. "He won't hurt 
any of us."
	"Tenchi..." Ryoko started to say, choking on tears as she spoke. 
"Don't... don't let them see me like this." 
	Tenchi let her sit on her own again as he smiled at her. "I 
won't," he said as he walked over to the door and locked it.
 She looked up at him and smiled weakly. 	"T... thanks."


      Exiting the room, Tenchi closed the door behind him and then stood 
in the hallway for a moment. He breathed in heavily and pondered what 
had just happened. He was thankful now that everyone had been told to 
wait downstairs while Ryoko healed. She was so embarrassed to be seen so 
weak and terrified. 
      Weak and terrified were definitely not what he normally thought of 
Ryoko. Only the man who now threatened them again could get that 
reaction out of her. She was absolutely scared to death of him. And he 
couldn't blame her one bit.
      Walking down the hall, he knocked on the door to Aeka's room. 
"Come in," Sasami's voice answered from inside the room. 
      Sliding the door open, Tenchi put on his best attempt at a smile 
and walked in to see Sasami tending to Aeka who was lying in her futon. 
"Feeling better?" he asked as he looked down at the princess.
      Aeka smiled. "It was just a few scratches. I'm fine," she replied.
      Sasami looked towards Aeka and smiled. Tenchi thought it was odd 
when Aeka then turned her head away from her sister. Looking away from 
Aeka almost as if she was ashamed, Sasami stood up. "I'll go check on 
Ryoko," Sasami said as she quickly tried to rush out of the room.
      "She's asleep right now," Tenchi said. Ryoko had fallen back 
asleep after the earlier conversation between them.
      "Um... okay. I'll go get dinner ready then. Everyone must be 
starved by now," Sasami said as she rushed out of the room.
      <What's she in such a hurry for?> Tenchi wondered before looking 
back at the violet-tressed woman.
      "How's Ryoko," Aeka asked as she sat up in her futon. 
      "She's doing just fine."
      "That's... that's wonderful," she responded. Her reaction was 
mixed, as if she was honestly concerned and yet something was bothering 
her at the same time. 
      Tenchi guessed at what the problem was. "Listen, Aeka..."
      "I better go help the others," she quickly said before Tenchi 
could say anymore. Tenchi simply stood there silent as she rushed out of 
the room.  
      What could he do? 
      Everything had happened so fast. Yesterday, it had been a normal 
day. Everyone had been their normal self, going about their normal 
everyday life and their everyday tasks. Today, it was absolute chaos. 
Tenchi sighed.
	Ryoko was scared out of her mind, and Aeka had been hurt. And now, 
the madman that had once killed him now had the means to create an 
entire army under his whim. He was sitting within striking distance of 
his home, poised to bring destruction to it and the people within. 
	He couldn't let him. 
	He couldn't let him harm his friends any longer.
	Kagato had to die. 


	"So what does this do?" Mihoshi asked in her normal bubbly tone.
	"Don't touch that!" Kiyone yelled at her, extremely protective of 
the device in front of them.
	Tenchi watched the scene unfold as he walked down the stairs to 
find the pair, along with Washu, in front of the door to her lab. Washu 
was typing away at her computer. "I thought it wasn't working," he 
commented.
	Washu continued to type away, not bothering to look up at him. "I 
bypassed the link to the lab and reset the software so that it can 
operate independently."
	"Oh," Tenchi answered, starting to sweat, as he had absolutely no 
clue as to what Washu had just said.
	Stopping her typing, Washu picked one finger up high and brought 
it back down hitting a key on the keyboard before putting on a 
triumphant smile. "Ah ha! Take that you bastard!"
	"What did you do?" Tenchi inquired.
	"She's setup an inter-dimensional doorstep, so to speak," Kiyone 
responded.
	"A what?"
	"It's simple, Lord Tenchi. Anything that comes through the lab 
will pass over this doorstep, which will transport the person or thing 
to a different location, namely in this case the red hot core of the 
sun," Washu said as she started to cackle. 
	"Um... don't you think that's a little dangerous?" Tenchi said, 
starting to sweat again. "I mean, what if one of us steps on it by 
accident. Or what if for some odd reason it's not an enemy that comes 
through the door?"
	Washu pondered the comment, looking up blankly. "I hadn't thought 
of that," she responded. "Alright, I'll setup something with Kiyone in 
the backyard where they'll be transported there instead and we'll setup 
defense systems to take care of it."
	Tenchi smiled. "That sounds much... safer. Thanks, Little Washu."
	Letting go of her confident look, Washu became serious again. 
"How's she doing?" she asked.
	"She's doing fine," Tenchi said with a smile.
	"Good," Washu whispered before looking down. Tenchi could tell 
this was bothering Washu. Why it was he wasn't sure, but something was 
definitely bothering her.
	Just when things looked like they were going to be calm for a 
moment, the bombshell hit. "I don't see any robots inside of here," 
Mihoshi chimed, standing on the "doorstep" with the dimensional door 
wide open.
	"Mihoshi!" Kiyone screamed. "Get out of there!" 
	Washu looked at Mihoshi and growled. "You broke the doorstep, 
didn't you?" she accused.
	"I was just looking for the nasty robots, that's all!" Mihoshi 
said as she started to whimper. "I'm sorry I broke your machine!" With 
that, Mihoshi burst into tears. 
	Kiyone meanwhile pulled her partner away from the door and tried 
to calm her. Washu growled and left the room, apparently going to look 
for a place to setup the new deposit point for the doorstep. 
	It was the perfect opportunity.
	While nobody was looking, Tenchi carefully stepped on the same 
spot Mihoshi had been on, mimicking her movements, and entered into 
Washu's lab.
	It was time to end this.


	Stepping into the same room he had been in earlier, Tenchi looked 
around the central security room for signs of activity. He couldn't hide 
the fact that he was nervous, even frightened. This man had killed him 
before after all. The question of how he had come back and why was 
irrelevant right now. What was important was stopping him. "I know 
you're here, Kagato. Come out and face me."
	The sound of someone clapping came from the distance. "Ah, so the 
hero has come to challenge the villain in the name of revenge for his 
friends and loved ones. How touching," Kagato said with sarcasm as he 
appeared in front of Tenchi from behind the large structure of the main 
computer. "Well, I'm standing right here. Why don't you take your 
revenge?"
	<He can't beat me,> Tenchi thought to himself. <Just trust in the 
Light Hawk Wings and my own power.> He growled and lunged towards him, 
Light Hawk Sword at his side. He ran forward, running right through 
Kagato. He turned around and saw...
	Nothing.
	"Is this proving satisfactory for you? I hope this is proving to 
be all you hoped it to be. After all, I'd hate to disappoint that primal 
rage of yours that hopes to be quenched," a voice mocked from above. 
	Scolding himself, Tenchi readied himself to attack again. 
<Concentrate, Tenchi. You have to end this.> The images of Ryoko's fear 
and Aeka's injured body from earlier entered his head as he tightened 
his grip on the sword.
	

	Kiyone wiped the sweat off her brow as she finished constructing 
another laser turret. They had brought in equipment from the Yagami and 
the Yukinojo to help setup the defenses Washu had requested, since she 
didn't have access to her lab's equipment.
	"Kiyone!" she heard someone call her name. She turned to look at 
the young princess of Jurai. "Have you seen Tenchi around?" Sasami 
asked.
	Thinking on it for a moment, Kiyone responded, "Not since about 
half an hour ago."
	Sasami looked a bit worried. "I can't find him anywhere," she 
said.
	"I'm sure he's fine," Kiyone tried to comfort her.
	"I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right," she said. 

	
	Tenchi landed on the walkway he had heard the voice from. He tried 
to breathe in steadily, attempting to calm himself. <No slipups,> he 
told himself. He looked ahead to see...
	Nothing.
	"You can be so predictable at times, boy," Kagato spoke again, 
this time his voice coming from the opposite end of the room. "I believe 
it's safe to assume you ran in here without thinking things through or 
bothering to tell anyone what you were up to? Well, it really doesn't 
matter at this point," he said, finishing his mocking.
      That's when something began to click in Tenchi's head. 
      He was getting weaker.


      "Tenchi!" Sasami called out as she had made her way all the way 
over to the shrine in her search. Nobody had any idea where Tenchi had 
gone off to, and he hadn't said one word as to what he was doing.
      "Is something the matter, Sasami?" Sasami heard the voice of a man 
asking her from her left. 
      Sasami turned to see Lord Katsuhito standing there. "Grandfather, 
we can't find Tenchi," she answered him.
	"Hmmm, that's rather odd for Tenchi to run off like that," he said 
with a tone that showed about as much worry as Katsuhito ever showed, or 
in other words barely any. He looked up at the sky for a second, seeming 
to be lost in his thoughts. "This is not a good sign."
	The scared look on Sasami said more then any words could. <Tenchi, 
please be okay.>


	The Light Hawk Sword dematerialized right in front of Tenchi's 
eyes, followed by the armor. Panic. That's all he could feel. <What... 
What's happening?!> his mind shouted at him as he began to lose all 
control.
	Kagato appeared in front of him. Tenchi was totally defenseless. 
"What..."
	"Oh, it's very simple, boy. You honestly didn't think I wouldn't 
be prepared for this, did you?" he screeched at him as he flung an 
energy blast at Tenchi, sending him flying backwards, all the way across 
the walkway and into the wall. 
	Tenchi fell to the ground, feeling as if he had just been run over 
by a truck. He began to cough, watching as blood spilled out of his 
mouth. 
	He was scared.
	"You see, it's quite simple, boy," Kagato began to explain. "The 
Dimension of Darkness offered the perfect means of rendering you 
helpless. Our dear Professor Washu has been studying that very dimension 
and what caused the power drain on you for over a year now. And I have 
been waiting patiently for her to gather the information I needed." 
	Tenchi looked up at Kagato weakly, trying to pick himself up. 
Kagato made a motion with his sword, causing a current of air to send 
him back into the wall. 


	Sasami rushed into the house. Panic had totally set in now. Nobody 
had any idea where Tenchi was. She just knew something bad was 
happening. Running up the stairs, she was planning on checking to see if 
he was with Ryoko again, when she ran into Aeka.
	"Aeka!" she cried as she tried to embrace her sister.
	Aeka backed away. "Sasami, I told you..."
	"But, Aeka!" 
	"No buts!" Aeka said, looking coldly at her sister. "You have to 
learn..."
	"Tenchi's missing!" Sasami yelled at her.
      Aeka's expression changed. "What did you say?" 
	"Tenchi's gone! I've checked everywhere and I can't find him!" 
Sasami said, tears flowing down her cheeks freely. She reached out 
again, hugging her sister. Aeka made no attempt to push her off this 
time. 


	Tenchi could barely move. Not only had he been defeated, now 
Kagato was just toying with him. <Ryoko, I'm sorry I didn't listen to 
you,> he thought to himself as he fought back tears. He'd failed his 
friends. 
	He'd been such an idiot. 
	Kagato stood above him, smiling over his conquered prey. 
"Unfortunately, Washu could not find a power source that could simulate 
the energies of the dimension. She neglected to think of dear Ryoko's 
precious gems. The energy within them was more then capable of powering 
the field to bring about your defeat," he said as he started to laugh at 
Tenchi's defeat.
	Reaching down, Kagato picked up Tenchi by the throat, choking him 
as if he was an animal. "And now, I shall take from you what I desire."
	Tenchi screamed as green energy began to surge through his body. 
There was no pain he had ever felt that could even be compared to what 
he was feeling now. It was as if someone was trying to tear his insides 
right out of his body.
	"Now, now, Tsunami. I know you're watching this,"
	Barely able to recognize what Kagato was saying through his own 
screams and the sound of the electricity, Tenchi still was able to hear 
what Kagato had just spoken. <What does he need Tsunami for?> 
	"Come out, Tsunami. I don't think you can really afford to lose 
this one if he's as important to you as I have concluded." Kagato 
returned his gaze to Tenchi. "You see, boy: I have done more then simply 
produced a new body for myself. I have encoded your very own DNA into my 
code. You could say, I am partially your clone," he said with a smile. 
	Tenchi tried to speak through his pain. "But... that won't do 
anything! The Light Hawk Wings aren't transferred genetically!" he 
screamed at him as he continued to cry out in pain.
	"That's quite correct. However, that little obstacle will soon be 
out of the way." Kagato smiled at him before looking up again. "Tsunami, 
you are trying my patience."
	"Stop this," came a voice from behind Tenchi. Though he had only 
heard it twice before, he recognized Tsunami's voice instantly. "If you 
don't stop this..."
	"You'll do nothing, my dear Tsunami," Kagato scoffed at her. 
"Unlike the others, I am quite aware of the limitations on your powers. 
And even if you could, I can snap your precious prince's neck with a 
mere motion of my hand." Kagato knew he had won. You could see it in his 
face and in his voice. It was just now a matter of ceremony. "Release 
your protection on the boy."
	"Never," Tsunami defied him. "I would never give a monster like 
you that kind of power."
	"Please, spare me the pointless banter," Kagato said, annoyed by 
Tsunami's attempts to buy time. "Now, release your protection and stop 
wasting my time," he said, smiling boldly at her.
	Tenchi could barely follow the discussion, continuing to thrash 
about in pain. It was intolerable. He just wanted it to stop. Anything 
to end this torment would be welcome.
	"Tenchi," he heard a whisper from behind him. "I'm sorry," Tsunami 
spoke softly, filled with apparent sadness as she released the field 
protecting him.
	Screaming loudly, Tenchi felt as something was being pulled out of 
him. He looked towards Kagato to see energy flowing into him. The 
process seemed to go on forever, every second it went on the pain 
getting worse and worse. 
	When it was over, Kagato dropped Tenchi to the ground as if he was 
disposing of a waste product. Tenchi could barely keep himself conscious 
now, feeling incredibly weak. He could barely look up, but when he did, 
he wished he hadn't.
	Kagato was standing there, but he looked different. He now wore a 
set of black and green armor, his cape now flowing from the back of it. 
In his hand he held a sword. It wasn't the same sword he normally used, 
but instead it was solid instead of energy. The sword had a black handle 
with a dark green trim, and a light green blade extended from the hilt. 
Although the colors and design were different, Tenchi realized in horror 
what he was looking at.
	Kagato had the Light Hawk Wings. 
	Laughter. Laughter was all Tenchi could hear as he passed out. 



Well I hope you enjoyed yet another chapter of this stuff. :) A 
reminder: please send the author email. The author likes email. The
author likes email so much he doesn't care if you call him a complete
idiot. Just send him some email, please? ^_^  cav@wpi.edu