To my readers (still not even sure I have any, none of my work is
posted as I am writing this.  My fault, not the website's): As you know if
you've read my previous chapter, I had planned to write this one the very
same day to finish within a week.  It's been two weeks since I sat down at
my
computer and got back into this story.  I had a great deal of planning to do
on this one so it couldn't be pounded out like the last five were.  Also, I
hate to bring personal issues into this, but I just couldn't get myself into
the mode to type all this time.  In fact, this slow, cautious manor I'm
using
to write this chapter is so different from my usual style, it prompted my
predicessor/sounding board Aubinimity to write me asking where I've been for
so long.  Sorry to worry you like that, I'll try to avoid it in the future.
In any case, I'm back now, so on with it.  Can't afford to hold up the story
any further.  My public needs me (you can stop laughing anytime now, you
know).
    "Tenchi Muyo and all characters there in are the property of Pioneer
LDC, Inc and Pioneer Entertainment (USA) L.P., as well as any company I may
have missed.  If so, my apologies to you.  The author owns only the writings
and any characters he see fit to create himself.  However, all chapters
prior to chapter twenty of this story are the property of Aubinimity only,
as
are any characters he has created.  Thank you."
    Oh yeah, and once again; James Bond is the property of MGM/UA.  I'm
only borrowing one of the titles (again).  FYI-My favorite of the series.
Best James (Roger Moore) and a good villain (Christopher Walken), best end
sequence, and of course best group doing the theme song (Duran Duran).  Rent
it sometime, just not too often if you live in California.  I don't want to
find it's checked out at my Blockbuster when *I* want to see it.  Anyway,
I'm
getting side tracked and rambling.  On to the story (this is the last
chapter!).  Though, I will be sad to see it end.  My big begining in
writing,
finished in under a month.  But, plus side, onto my own plots after this.
    Enjoy!

    Chapter 25
        View to a Kill, a Birth, and a Fresh Start
        a.k.a.- Crash History Course
    (I couldn't decide)

    Things were tense aboard the Ryo-Ohki.  Washu had been filled in on
the recent events, and was trying to stay out of the way for both Victor and
Ryoko.  Things were going to be hard enough when they reached the moon as it
was, no need to cloud their minds by bringing something like this into it.
Worse, it didn't look like either of them had slept much lately.  Victor was
in the lead though as far as looking terrible went.  Washu ran a quick scan
of his endurance levels.  They had dropped greatly from normal, more so then
they had after he and Sasami revived Mitsuki the day before.  To put a finer
point on it, they were on the edge of an unhealthy level.  The wrong side of
said border no less.
    Washu decided to focus on the possitive side of all this.  Ryoko was
healthy enough. <Barely you mean> <Shut up brain, I don't want truth at the
moment, got it?>.  Her dimensional cannon XB 5 [tm.] was in working order.
<Now, do you mean better working order than the last four by any chance?> <I
thought I said no truth> <This isn't truth, it's nagging logic> <Well, none
of that either>.  And, it was still a ways off since she wasn't trying to
hurry anymore then need be, so maybe she could get Victor to rest a bit
before they arrived.  <Or, you could use his illness to your advantage.  He
would be perfect as a deversionary target> <Alright, what do you call this
approach, brain?> <Um, how does 'critical reasoning' strike you?> <Um, how
does the floor strike *you*?> <Huh?>.  With that, Washu dropped to the
ground
and banged he skull against the metal.  <Okay, I get the idea, you can stop
now> <Glad you see things my way>.  Washu softly pressed her head to the
cool
metal floor again.  It helped bring down the bump she had raised.  Granted,
her hair had cushioned most of the blow, but not enough apparently.

    Meanwhile, Victor was giving sleep a third try.  He knew deep down in
his mind that he needed to rest, even without reading Washu's mind as she
scanned his (he had resolved not to read any of his friend's minds, it
wasn't
his place to invade such privacy).  He decided to see what was happening on
Earth.  He had given up sending messages to the humans after that one time
he
tried to let Tenchi know how Ayeka, Ryoko, and Sasami were doing.  That had
been a less then eventful coversation.  He had forgoten most of it, all he
could remeber was Tenchi blaming him on something called a 'hang-over' a
lot.
But, he found it eased his mind to take in the drama that seemed to be going
on down there everyday.  Sometimes, it even soothed him into sleep.  <Here's
hoping.>
    He saw a young couple, still in school but not for long.  Both were
in their last weeks at the 'high school' as it was called and would be into
the real world soon enough.  <What a coincidence, his nick-name is Taka, the
same name as one of the Guardians at the cerimony>.
    Another couple, slightly younger, at the same school.  He had watched
them before once or twice.  <Lord, you'd swear they were joined at the lips!
Do they ever break it up long enough to try *talking*?>.
    A third couple, the same age as the second.  Or rather, what used to
be a couple.  Victor looked into their history together.  It didn't help his
depression to see how this youth had been tossed aside in such a manor.  And
she didn't even have the guts to say it to his face.  <Ironic really.  It
starts and ends with a note, read only when the writer was too far off to
see
how it was taken by the reader>.  He decided to forget about the Earth for
the night.  It only served to show what he didn't have in some, but also to
mirror his feelings in most. <What qift is this Knowing, if it only lets one
know how painfully life is in every part of the universe?>
    Victor went back to hopelessly trying to sleep.  He didn't make it by
the time they reached the moon.

    Ryoko, while all this was happening, was sitting almost motionless in
her cabin.  She was lost in thought, and utterly unresponsive to the world
around her.  <Why now?  Why did he have to go and tell me something like
that
right after I agree to go on this suicide mission for Washu?  Of course,
it's
not helping the matter that he's coming with us.  Now, I have to face an
evil
creature on the moon, probably just as leathal as his brother was, with no
hope of coming back alive, *plus* I have to look at him the whole time,
after
what he said to me?  I swear, sometimes I think life is trying to punish me
at every turn for what I've done.  But oh, this little trick was the best of
it's kind yet.  Death when she couldn't even think straight.  All because of
one person coming into her life at the wrong time.  It was actually ironic,
when she thought about it.  She had died in a similar fshion before,
couldn't
think straight because of a person in her life at the wrong time.  Tenchi.
However, this was a very different situation then when she died for Tenchi>.
    She mumbled under her breath, "Damn you, Victor."

    Finally and all too soon, they had reached the moon.  Washu pulled
her two passengers out of their private ruminations and helped them get to
Ryo-Ohki's bridge for a final breifing.
    "Okay you two, cut this crap and focus on the task at hand.  Outside
is a monster bent on keeping the royal family of Jurai contained on Earth.
Tenchi and Yosho are down there, as you both know, and if you fail today,
neither of them will be leaving the planet again.  Abel will se to it that
they die, along with any future offspring that Tenchi may have.  Ryoko, I'm
sure you don't want to see that happen, do you?  Neither does Ayeka, and she
being another branch of the royal family, she has every right to order us to
die if need be as long as we take Abel with us.  If he wins here, what will
stop him from doing this to Ayeka's family?  So, now that everything is in a
proper perspective for you, hear this; you are two weaken and/or distract
Abel using any tactics possible, and then you are to get the hell away from
him so I don't have to say you died taking Abel with you.  I'm going to need
at least ten minutes to get this cannon into orbit and aimed at our target.
I'm aware it's a long time under these circumstances, but that's the way
life
goes sometimes."  Both Ryoko and Victor were hit by how close this statement
was to what they had both been thinking earlier.  "In short, make sure you
come back alive, both of you.  I'm not about to tell her highness that she
lost either her best gardener or her advicer."  A smile crossed Washu's
face.
"You know she thinks of you both as some of her closest friends.  Don't
die."
    That all said, Ryoko touched Victor's shoulder and teleported them
both down to the surface.  Washu set about her work with the cannon, but now
she was having trouble keeping her mind on the task in front of her.  This
mission seemed to have that effect on people.

    Having rematerialized, Ryoko shifted into her combat uniform.  Victor
had to be honest with himself.  This sight *seriously* was not helping him
at
the moment.  Then, he shifted into his own, as Washu had taught him to do.
His was not unlike Ryoko's in that it was form-fitting and primarily black
in
color.  However, his didn't have as much of any other color as she did.  His
hands up to about mid forearm were almost neon green, as were his feet up to
his knees, as though he was wearing gloves and boots over the suit.  Lastly,
a small metal circle appeared roughly where the center pice of a pendent is
worn.  Washu had explained that to him as well.  He hoped it would be
enough.
    The two set out in the direction the radar had indicated.  They
didn't need to walk too far.  Ahead of them was a throne carved into a lunar
cliff.  Hovering inside of it, they saw the face of their enemy.  Abel his
very own self.
    "Ah, greetings!"
    They were stunned to hear this creature calling out to them.  Kain
would no doubt have simply tried to kill them on the spot.  Could this thing
really be related to him?
    "Please, come closer, I can't see you very well.  Tell me, have you
come to pay homage to your future ruler?  But, how could you be, nobody
knows
I'm..."
    A look of shock crossed his massive face.  It didn't seem to fit if
Abel was at all like his brother.  Could this be a mix up of some kind?
What
if someone else is containing the Earth?  Well, if they were right and it
was
Abel, at least they wouldn't have to worry about those ten minutes.  If, of
course, he kept talking.
    "How can this be?  Ryoko *and* Victor Maroo Toumbes here before me?
This is truly an unexpected twist."
    Victor stepped forward.  "What do you mean by that, how so is this a
'twist'?"
    "Of course, I forget, you never *knew*."
    "Never knew what?"
    "Well, my people, the Strayed, have-"
    "You lie.  I do not know of such people.  I know of everything in the
universe."
    "There you are wrong, Victor.  Behold, this vision will explain more
easily than words."
    Victor's head was actually thrown back by the force from Abel's mind
flooding his own.  <Lord, he's powerful!>
    {People, Juraians, aboard a primative ship.  They also seem to be
dressed in litle more than animal hides.  Victor knows these people.  They
are the ones he saw that first day, the ones who died when they were hit by
an annomily in space.  Then it happened.  They were hit.  Yet the vision
went
on.  The annomily spoke to them.  It called itself Addom Aneeve.  It guided
the people to a small planet, tucked far away from the rest of the universe.
The people hailed the annomily as a god, and it helped them to survive.}
    The vision became all white, then returned to focus on a scene some
years later.
    {The annomily was telling the people it was leaving, that they now
had to guide themselves.  However, only half of it would leave.  The
annomily
divided itself in two.  The new beings called themselves Kain and Abel, the
two children of Addom Aneeve.}
    Abel's voice broke into Victor's mind.  "This story somehow reached
the Earth.  Granted, our parent's name was bastardized into two names, Adam
and Eve, and it didn't speak of the people.  It only spoke of the two young,
killing the mother in birth.  And of course, the name of the planet, Eden."
    {Saddly however, the annomily split not only it's form, but also it's
personality.  While Abel was blessed with all the dominnant genes and the
good will of Addom, Kain was inflicted with the resessive genes and what
tiny
bit of evil his father had.  That evil grew inside him, as he had no other
emotion to speak of.  The saving grace was that he left and Abel remained.}
    Victor shook his head to clear his mind once the vision was out of
him.  "But why couldn't I read any of this with my powers?"
    "You couldn't read it because Father wiped the people's minds as soon
as he came upon them.  Nobody outside that race was to know who he was.
And,
every generation that is born to the people has been born with their minds
blocked, so none of your knid knew they were there."
    Ryoko stepped forward.  "But what does that have to do with us?"
    "As I was sying in the first place, the Strayed (so named because
they are lost to the rest of the universe) are rather advanced in countless
arts.  Science above all else.  I can't recall how long ago, but at one
point
they stumbbled upon the ability to clone living beings.  They could think of
no practical use for the skill though, that is until it came to pass that a
ship had often drifted a hair or so too close for comfort.  You see, Eden is
not the only secret area in that part of space, and the ship needed to hide
nearby on several occasions.  We managed to slip into the hiding place once
and found some fresh blood on the ground from the pilot's wound, likely from
a laser grazing them during a getaway on planet.  With this, we cloned the
pilot and tried to figure out the quickest way to get the attention of the
GP
to arrest the real pilot.  Finally-"
    "You decided," Ryoko cut in.  "To kill a young officers sister with
the clone in a public area."
    "That's right.  How did you-"
    "The officer turned bounty hunter told a friend of mine, who told me.
Though, I could have guessed since that is the very thing I stood trial for
back on Juria."
    "I'm sorry, but you could have lead the GP right to us.  We couldn't
risk it."
    "And where exactly is my clone now?  Maybe Nagi could focus on her
instead of me since it wasn't my crime."
    Victor sent a message to Washu.  <How long do we have left?>
    <About five minutes.  Glad to see you're lasting that long.  I hate
to say, I expected Abel to have killed you by now.>
    <Actually, he's, well...>
    <He's well what?>
    <Chatting right now.>
    He heard Washu laugh in his mind.  <Well, keep it up.  This might go
smoother than I thought.>
    "Actually Ryoko, you're clone is long since dead.  That was how we
knew you'd get caught and not her.  At that time, we were still learning.
Cloning was no problem, we just couldn't keep them from liquifying
thirty-six
hours later.  It was the only failure we're proud of."
    Victor stepped forward.  "And me?  Why were you so shocked to see me
earlier?"
    "My boy, you were our first *success*."
    "I was what?"
    "The only clone so far that has lived so long.  We think it has to do
with the alterations in the genes."
    "Alterations?"
    "Yes, hair pigmentation, the vocal cords, reduction of natural
strength.  Things we had to change last minute, considering what happened."
    It sank into Victor's mind at last.  "You mean when it turned out
that the person being cloned was the emporor of Juria?"
    "Correct.  We only wanted a guard to keep out people who get close,
seeing as we couldn't pull that clone stunt everytime.  If we didn't alter
the genes, you could have been recognized, thus drawing *more* attention to
us.  While Kagato was ruling, you were born and a new memory was programed
into you to replace Kagato's.  At the time, you had long since passed your
time limit, so we felt it was safe to take the time perfecting you so.  In
the end though, we choose to scrap the project and set you free (mind wiped
of your time on Eden of course).  This was after we set up our ace in the
hole.  Don't cut me off this time please, whether you want to venture a
guess
or not.  One officer *did* find out about us, an Officer Tathers.  Kain was
locked up at GPHQ, and he laid out his plan for Tathers.  Tathers lets Kain
out, Kain raises some hell, Tathers lives, he's promoted since he survived
the Kain attack, Tathers keep the Galaxy Police away from us, happy-happy
all around.  So, we didn't need you anymore.  But, if Tathers ever died, he
was told to send me a signal on the little box I sent over, so we could
track
you down.  Thanks to Aubinimity though, *you* get bumped into the palace one
day before we need you.  I of course wasn't going to go after you there, so
I just choose to take over my brother's work.  Just, non-violently.  I can
wait till those royal fools die out to take command.  It's the perfect
plan."
    <Victor, the cannon will be in possition right over Abel in ninety
seconds.>
    <Good Washu, I'm sure we can keep him talking that long.>
    <No, you don't get it.  The cannon alone isn't enough.  I worked out
the numbers after you last contacted me.  I still need you to weaken him, or
we can't stop him.>
    <Alright.  It won't be easy with this short of notice, but...>.  He
sighed mentally.  <Thanks Washu.  For...everything.  Tell the others I'll
miss them.>
    <Don't give me that!  You aren't dead yet.  Sixty seconds.  Get to it
now, or we'll never have another shot at it.>
    Victor stepped forward.  "At first, you seemed like a peaceful enough
being, unlike Kain.  But anyone who would do something so sick as what
you're
doing, what you've already *done*!  Ryoko's clone, mine, Tathers, all of it,
solely to maintain privacy?  I'm sorry, but I can't let you go on living."
    "Victor, what the hell are you doing?  Washu-"
    "Isn't going to be able to do it alone.  Get back to the ship, I can
handle this."
    "No, you can't, and I'm not going anywhere.  You're half dead as it
is from lack of rest.  We just proved I'm not a murderer, but I will be if I
leave you here to die."
    "Excuse me, but I think it's safe to say you're *both* going to die
if you plan to keep ignoring me while you bicker between yourselves."
    Victor faced Abel.  "Tell me something, Abel.  You only altered
Kagato's *natural* strength you said?"
    "Yes, what of it?"
    "Well, that means you left his un-natural strengths, his powers, in
my body.  Before you say it, yes, you wiped *my* mind of that knowledge.
But
I can still get it from Kagato's own mind."  With that, Kagato's sword grew
out of Victor's hand.  He glared at Abel, then lobbed the blade straight
into
the creatures third, central eye.  Purple blood flowed out of the wound.
    <Victor, you're down to fifteen seconds!  Do it now, then *get the
hell back to the ship*!>
    His hands cupped the metal disk on his chest.  Ryoko noticed sweat
standing out on his strained face.  He looked as though his whole soul was
going into whatever he was about to do.
    "KA...MAY...YA...MAYA!"
    Victor pushed off from his chest, a mammoth ball of golden light
pouring out of him.  Just as the ball hit Abel head on, a beam of whiteness
dropped out of the sky onto him as well.  Ryoko had just enough time to grab
Victor as he fell and teleport them back to the ship before the two powers
condensed into one and let out a massive explosion.  The last she saw as the
scene faded around her was Abel's form bursting into several small pieces.
    He was dead, and all else were saved.

    Back on the ship, the pair came into focus right in front of Washu.
She dropped to Victor's side as soon as she saw how spent he looked.  She
ran a scan of his vital signs.  Her whole body slumped when the results came
back to her.
    "I thought this might happen.  I tried to get him to rest up for just
this, but he never did.  That last shot killed him."
    Ryoko grabbed Washu by the throat.  "You mean you knew he was going
to die out there, and you didn't tell us?  WHY!"
    "Ryoko, I'm sorry, given his condition, he still had an eight percent
chance of surviving.  Besides, I didn't even know he'd need to use that
attack.  It wasn't possitive enough to-"
    "It *was* possitive enough, Washu!  If there was any chance at all,
you should have told us!"
    "You mean told him."
    "No, us.  You should have told *us*."
    "Ryoko, what did it matter to you?  You were avoiding him ever since
the planning phase.  Why should I have warned you of the danger to him?"
    A tear rolled down Ryoko's face.
    "Because I loved him."

    Author's notes:

    A mob makes it's way down the street waving weapons in the air; guns,
knives, sticks, frying pans, pool cues, fire place pokers, rocks, bricks,
molotov cocktails, baseball bats, pointy objects, chainsaws, hammers,
crowbars, other random tools, a bucket opener (you'd have to see one to
understand), meathooks, a cattle prood, chains, two dobbermans *on* chains,
ice picks, pick axes, picket signs, picket fence posts, non-picket fence
posts, tassers, golf clubs, plumbers with pipes, nature-boy types with blow
pipes, high schoolers with pipe *bombs*, a bananna, two monkeys, a stack of
CDs and DVDs, the top section of a lava lamp, a computer keyboard, a tire
iron, a tire, an iron, a shoe horn, a shoe, a horn, a copy of "The Pelican
Breif", a pelican, a pair of breifs, a toilet seat, eggs, toilet paper, a
plunger, some golf balls, tennis balls, footballs, baseballs, a wiffle ball,
a hockey puck, brass knuckles, twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers
piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking,
seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling
birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, a partridge in a pear tree,
Happy, Sleepy, Grumpy, Sneezy, Doopy, Bashful, *AND* Doc, hearts, stars,
horseshoes, clovers, blue moons, pots of gold, rainbows, red balloons, and
last but not least the occasional small import vehicle.  Every last one of
them after the blood of a single writer.  Me.
    One of them steps forward with a bullhorn.  The rest of the mob waits
in the street, mumbling an incoherent sentence to the spokesman now and
then.
    "Alright, we know you're in there, we can hear the keyboard clicking!
Come out now, and we won't hurt you!"
    "Murmur mumble mumble?"
    "Well, yeah, we're still gonna hurt him.  It's just funnier if he
believes he can get out of it by giving himself up!"
    "Mumble mumble."
    "What do you mean, put down the bullhorn?!"
    "Mum-"
    "Listen, I'M running this show, don't make me have you mutilated like
that hack inside!  And don't think I won't do it too, unless I'm worn out
from the hours of beating this writer's gonna get!"
    "Mumble mumble."
    "He can hear this?!"
    "Murmur."
    "Oh!  Crap!"
    At this point, I run to my window.  A medium-large cow is hurled at
my head, barely missing.  "Attention violent mob of faithful readers!  There
*will be* another part to this story!  But, it's going to be an epilogue,
not
really another chapter.  It will take a little time however, so don't kill
me
yet."
    "Mumble murmur?"
    "Oh, I guess you could kill me in two weeks if I'm not done yet.  See
you then.  Thank you for taking such a devoted, yet creepy, interest in my
work.  Watch for more in the future.  The *near* future, hopefully."
    "Oh, and by the way.  That's my neighbor's car, not mine.  Please
refrain from slashing the other tires. (hissssss) Okay, too late.  Please
just go away now, thank you."

Write to me with *your* personal death threats at VM Toumbes@AOL.com. Thank
you.