The usual. Tenchi and the gang are creations of AIC/Pioneer LCD and do not belong to me. Tanell is a creation loosely based on the fire-lizards from "The Dragonriders of Pern" series and belongs to Anne McCaffrey, not me. Karasu is my creation and belongs to me. In case no one knows this, this series is based on what might have happened in the OAV series after Episode 13. Tenchi Muyo: Manifest Destiny! Episode 4: The Trouble with Dinosaurs Tenchi pulled up carrot after carrot in the fields. Sasami was there to help him as well as Ryo'oki in her childform. The cabbit had not quite mastered walking yet and sometimes when she straightened after bending to pick up a carrot she would trip and instinctively shift back into her cabbit body. Sasami was a lot more help. Her hands were quick and deft with the carrots and helped fill the basket much faster. Of course, that meant that he had to make a lot more trips back to the storeroom near the house with the filled basket, but he was getting finished faster than he usually did. "Tenchi!" Tenchi heard a voice behind him. He looked up and saw Kiyone approaching. "Hello!" she called. She was dressed in simple, working clothes. "Hello, Kiyone!" Sasami called. "Did you come to help?" "Well, as a matter of fact, I did," Kiyone said. "I need to do something to occupy my mind--honestly, nothing ever *happens* way out here in this solar system--so I came to help. I might as well keep my body busy if I can't keep my mind stop focusing on--" She looked down and flushed. Sasami giggled. "Meow?" asked Ryo'oki, confused. "Well, that's very nice of you to offer to help, Kiyone," Tenchi said, "but Sasami's really all the help I can handle. There wouldn't really be too much for you to do--I only harvest the carrots until the basket gets full, and then I carry it back. I'm sorry, but--," "Perhaps I could speed things along?" a voice asked from behind Tenchi. "Yaahh!" cried Tenchi, and spun around, only to be facing Karasu carrying the spare basket on her back. She was looking at him curiously. "Honestly, Karasu, don't do that! You scared me half to death." "Do what?" asked Karasu in a confused tone. She then unslung the bag from her shoulders. "I saw Kiyone head out to help you, Tenchi, but I knew she'd only be a third wheel, so I headed out to help. Don't protest and say you don't need it. It'll take you forever to do so many carrots, even with Sasami's and Ryo'oki's help. Besides, I could use the exercise and I'm bored." She began to deftly pick carrots and put them in her basket. Kiyone moved to help her. "How does she move so silently?" Tenchi asked himself mentally. He started to put the carrots Sasami had picked for him in the basket again. "Kiyone, did Grandpa get back from that farm yet?" He was wondering about that demon that was attacking culls from farms around Yosho's shrine. Tenchi thought it was probably just a feral dog, but all the farmers who had gotten a glimpse of it swore the animal was a demon. Now it had struck a farm six days ago that Yosho had already blessed. He had gone to the farmer to try to pacify him. No matter that the demon, or whatever it was, was only taking culls. The farmer demanded to know why Katsuhito's blessing hadn't worked. "Yes, a little while ago. He said that the farmer had been very angry, but Yosho told him that maybe this demon was too powerful for the last blessing, and he'd try a stronger one. That satisfied him. He was very tired when he got back. He'd been up all night." "A demon, attacking farms around here? That's scary. I hope it doesn't think we have cows and comes here! I wouldn't want to be demon food." Sasami shivered and shrunk back. Tenchi moved to comfort Sasami. He cared for Sasami, and he hated to see her scared. "Don't worry, Sasami. The animal probably isn't a demon anyway, and the farmers Grandpa talked to all said the animal ran away when they approached it. Of course, none of them approached it while it was eating, but still. It's probably more afraid of us than we are of it." "It's not a demon," Karasu said in a definitive tone. "Neither is Ryoko, while we're at it. I've fought demons before, and they don't eat physical food. They steal people and gorge themselves on their spirits, their life-force. While Ryoko has numerous faults, she doesn't do that." She shouldered the basket she had brought, which was already full with carrots, and headed at a trot back to the house." Kiyone looked at Karasu's disappearing figure. "She acts perfectly normal, and you begin to forget she's a sorceress. Then, bam! She says something like that as if she was talking about an everyday occurrence, and you recall in a hurry." Tanell, Karasu's pet golden dragon, suddenly materialized right in front of Kiyone's face. She yelled in surprise, tripped, and stumbled onto a muddy area near the road. "Chrrk? Chee, chee!" Tanell seemed to be trying to apologize for her action. Then she abruptly vanished again. "Here, let me help you up, Kiyone." Tenchi offered Kiyone his hand and pulled her up out of the muck. Kiyone stared in disgust at herself. Almost every part of her was covered in mud, even her dark blue-green hair. "Why is it that things like this only happen to me?" she asked herself quietly. "Wow, Kiyone, you're all muddy! Why don't you go to the bathhouse to dry off?" Sasami asked. "No, Karasu would be disappointed. She's decided to help me, and I can't just desert her." Kiyone looked down at herself. "Although it is tempting . . ." "Don't worry, Kiyone, you're just new at this. I can't recall how many times I tripped or scratched myself before I got the feel for this sort of thing," said Tenchi in an attempt to cheer up Kiyone. "Although you do seem to have an unusual flair for misfortune . . ." Ignoring Tenchi, Kiyone said, "I've been monitoring the actions of this demon. I don't think it's just an animal, Tenchi, no matter what Karasu says. It attacks farms every Saturday night without fail. And . . . I know you aren't going to like this, Tenchi, but the farms it attacked all fall within a few miles away from this house in all direction. It also seems to be attacking them in a counterclockwise order. That is not the action of a dumb animal. But I don't think it's humanoid, either." Kiyone took a breath. "I talked to Yosho privately, and he said that at the farm he'd blessed last night he did some snooping in the woods. He found some black feathers and a very strange footprint. He said it was unlike any footprint he'd seen before, on any planet. He doesn't know what the animal that's attacking the farms is. That was when I told him what I'd figured out." Tenchi chuckled mentally. He knew very well what Kiyone's true feelings for Yosho were. But as he reflected on Kiyone's words, he realized he had no idea what Yosho's feelings for Kiyone were. Could Yosho actually return Kiyone's feelings? The idea was almost too bizarre to consider. Somehow he had never visualized either his father or his grandfather finding new love. But, he concluded reluctantly, he supposed it was possible. "Tenchi! Tenchi!" Sasami was tugging at his waist. She looked strangely pale, and her face afraid. Ryo'oki had changed back into her cabbit body and was hopping around the carrot fields, meowing frantically. "What is it, Sasami?" Tenchi asked the little girl. "When we get back . . . there's something I have to show you. It's very important!" She looked really scared. "All right, Sasami. But what makes it so important?" Tenchi asked. "It's Friday night!" declared Sasami. "Hi, everyone. Ready to do some more work?" It was Karasu, with Tanell riding on her shoulder. "Hello, Kiyone. Tannie wishes to express her sincerest apologies for making you fall in the mud." "Oh, so now your pet dragon is telepathic?" Kiyone asked sarcastically. "No, she pretty much always was," Karasu answered blithely. She began to pull up carrots again and put them in the basket. After a short pause, Kiyone moved to help her. "Wow, she got back fast," Tenchi thought, but began to pluck carrots again also. Sasami was quick to help, and soon the congenial atmosphere was back. Nobody mentioned the animal attacking farms again. Washu pressed buttons on her little computer made of dark matter. It was not in truth a computer, but a variation on Karasu's Book, a source of all the information in the Multiverse compacted into one small object. Only those truly favored by Queen Tokimi had one. It had disturbed her that Clay had possessed obviously not one but several of this creation. Tokimi could not turn her colors. She could learn over time, but her basic personality was fixed from the time of the First Battle. Washu knew this as did no other. Tokimi was not destroyed. The Multiverse would have been destroyed by now as well. Creation could not exist without its Queen. So where was she, and why could she not be reached? Washu was beginning to suspect foul play. Washu turned to her subject for this experiment. "Are you comfortable, Ayeka?" "Of course I'm not!" Ayeka turned an angry glare towards Washu. She was held, stark naked, in Washu's body scanner. The forehead sensor had had to go over Ayeka's head ornament, since she had refused to take it off, but that made no difference in the outcome of the body scanner reports. "You had better remember your promise about that video of Ryoko you claim you taped." Washu shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, I remember. One embarrassing video of my daughter in exchange for an embarrassing study session with you. I'll give it to you as soon as I'm finished." She pressed keys on her computer. Ayeka seemed to be fine physically, which was strange considering the obvious sickness she was fighting. All that was wrong with her seemed to be a lack of nourishment and rest. Washu went deeper, into her astral patterns and astral form. It was there she discovered the problem. "This isn't right," she said. "No, this isn't right. Tokimi . . . why? Why would you do this? You escaped. You were free!" She had wanted to believe the theory she and Karasu had cobbled up was not true for so long. Yet it seemed it was. Just in case the patterns were misleading, and also to be thorough, she made a full analysis of Ayeka's astral patterns and astral form. She did not realize how late it was until Mihoshi stumbled inside her lab. "Hello, Washu! It's teatime! Wow, imagine finding you inside the broom closet. That's the last place I would have thought to have looked! Isn't this your lab? Oh, hi Ayeka. Are you playing doctor with Washu? She seems to need to find a lot of new playmates. Doctor must not be a very fun game." "Don't touch a thing, Mihoshi. And however you found your way in here, find a way out. I'll be finished soon, then we can watch our soap." "Well, I don't really know how to find a way out, since I don't know how I got here . . . " Mihoshi began to walk away, and disappeared into nothingness. "I really have to find a way to shield this place against that," Washu grumbled. She turned back to her computer. To her surprise, she found that the computer had finished on its own what she had nearly completed. "Oh well." She gently loosened Ayeka from her bonds. The Jurian princess dropped to the floor. Washu noticed she did it more gracefully than she would have done two weeks before. She was going through a period of stability right now. Washu was grateful for that. She had not missed the attention Tenchi was paying towards Ayeka. Maybe her sickness had awakened dormant feelings. She would miss not having a chance to tease Tenchi, but Washu did have to admit Ayeka suited Tenchi better than any other woman in the household. The prophecy . . . she and Karasu were working on that. Under the descriptions of the three suitors, Karasu had noticed hieroglyphs that she swore were the names, written out, of Ryoko, Ayeka, and Sasami. Washu wasn't so sure, but then, her Middle Egyptian was a little rusty. "All right, Ayeka, here's your tape." Washu handed her the cassette she had taped the night after Funaho, Misaki and Azusa had left. "Pleasure doing business with ya. Now let's go watch our soap!" "Miz Washu," Ayeka asked, "what is that?" She pointed to an Abyssinian cat that was poking around Washu's instruments. "Oh, her?" Washu asked. "She's a widdle kitty cat! She showed up a few days ago and I didn't have the heart to turn her out. I've always loved cats. C'mon, let's go now. You first, Miss Ayeka." They walked through the door leading from Washu's lab and went to watch the soap the alien women all enjoyed. Yosho sat in his shrine, thinking. Right now he was very confused. He was beginning to learn that age did not necessarily bring wisdom. Not that he was old, by Jurian standards, but a long life on Earth combined with Tsunami's disguise had taught him to consider himself as such. He tried to concentrate on the problem of the demon that the farmers had claimed to have seen, but his thoughts kept traitorously drifting back to Kiyone. Yosho had never thought that any woman could have put such fire in his veins. He had known many women in his lifetime, and he had thought he had learned everything there was to know about love. Yet Kiyone had awakened feelings of his that he had never known existed. He blushed whenever he saw her (fortunately Tsunami's shields had been able to disguise that) and he longed to tell her the truth about himself, drop Tsunami's shields, and take her in his arms and show her the sky. But he did not. Like Tenchi, Yosho was shy around women. The feeling had deteriorated some with age, but Kiyone seemed to have awakened them again. He wanted to be truthful with her. That was why he had shown her the cast demon footprint and the feather that he had found. Why had he done that? It was a priest's business, not a member of the Galaxy Police's. But Kiyone had surprised Yosho with what she had learned of the demon's hunting patterns. The fact that the demon lived near the Masaki home surprised him. Not that he thought the animal was really a demon. Demons were much more violent than this creature was. But Yosho was at a loss as to what this animal was. He looked at the plaster cast of the demon's footprint. It had two toes, but it had obviously started out with three. But there was no imprint of a third toe. Yosho suspected that the animal had been born without one, for it was hard to balance on a two-toed foot, yet the animal had been described as all the farmers as very agile. Kiyone thought the animal was sentient. Was it? Certainly Kiyone had made a convincing case. At dinner, he meant o share his findings and to tell everyone to be careful. Yosho could not concentrate any longer. His thoughts drifted back to tantalizingly provocative dreams of him and Kiyone. Tenchi sighed. Finally, a long day of work was over. Now he could go to his room and get what relaxation he could. He would have some private time, at last. In his rush for relaxation, he had completely forgotten about Sasami. Karasu accompanied him on the way home. The woman had been invaluable to him as a worker. She kept up lively banter, and could travel incredible distances in astounding time with a basket of carrots on her back. But tonight, she seemed different. Her muscular form seemed even more lean, her breasts almost nonexistent. Her already overlong front canines seemed longer, and there was a strange gleam in her round amber eyes that spoke of things Tenchi could not comprehend. She seemed . . . wild, with the heart of a hunter. Then the light shifted, and Karasu was just Karasu again. She smiled at him. Tenchi grinned nervously back, fearing his mind was playing tricks on him. Ayeka was waiting for him at the door. For a moment, Tenchi's heart soared in both anticipation and fear, but those emotions were cut off quickly when she said, "Lord Tenchi, Sasami has been in a state of panic ever since she came back from helping you harvest carrots. She will not tell us what is wrong. She insisted on waiting until you got back until she divested her secret." Tenchi said, "Well, I'm back now. Where is she?" "Up in our room. She won't even let me in there, she's in such a fright." Tenchi went up to the room Ayeka and Sasami shared. Ayeka followed, and wished secretly, so secretly her conscious mind barely heard it, that Tenchi was going up to her room in different circumstances. She did not mind that he shined with a golden color she hardly understood. That was part of what attracted her to him, though if asked to explain that thought she could not. Many thoughts of hers slipped through her mind with her barely knowing them. It was almost as if someone else was thinking them. She turned and saw Karasu next to Tenchi. Her amber eyes looked at hers, probing deep. She could not stand up to the intense searching of those eyes, and looked away. Washu, with Ryoko and Mihoshi in tow, was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "Well, let's see what Sasami has found," said Washu enthusiastically. "She wouldn't be so panicked without a reason. Maybe I'll be able to capitalize on this secret of hers and make a discovery!" Everyone missed the dirty look Karasu shot Washu. "She probably just saw a wild dog and got scared. Kids are afraid of their own shadows," growled Ryoko, but she stayed where she was. "Well, whatever Sasami has to show us, it's waited long enough! Let's go up and see." "Wait a minute, Tenchi." Yosho approached the small group, with Kiyone in tow. "Kiyone told me that she told you and some of you, including Sasami, about this wild animal that has been killing culls. I don't approve of her having done so, but if Sasami has any information pertaining to this animal, I must go with you." Again, everyone missed Karasu's sudden intake of breath as she casually sniffed the air. Sasami was in her room waiting for them. She ran to embrace Tenchi. "Tenchi! You're finally home! I have something to show you! I didn't mean to pick them up, I really didn't! But I thought they were just from a big bird! I didn't know they were from a demon!" She burst into a child's shameless tears. Tenchi patted Sasami's head. "Easy, Sasami. Whatever they were from, it couldn't have been that bad. Show us. It's probably just a harmless animal." When he saw the feathers strewn about Sasami and Ayeka's room, however, his attitude changed swiftly. Large feathers were placed carefully around the room, none touching. Some were in the shape of body feathers, others had the look of primaries. They were all a dark black in color. Kiyone held a wingfeather up and looked at it. "Hmm. Shaft down the middle . . . this was a ground bird, no doubt. And from the look of these feathers and the number of them, it was molting. I don't think this is a demon at all." "But there's no bird on Earth this big!" Tenchi protested. "Maybe it's an alien prisoner that survived Ryu'o's crash," Washu suggested. "That's the most likely possibility. But . . . just to make sure, I'm going to run a DNA check on these feathers. If it exists on Earth, I'll find out what it is!" "Wait, Washu!" Sasami ran and got several plastic bags from a cabinet. "Huh, what is she doing, saving up for the tooth fairy?" Ryoko muttered. "Are you making fun of my sister?" Ayeka demanded. "Here, Washu!" Sasami said, interrupting the fight. Ryo'oki, in her cabbit form, was now sitting on her head. "I also found these where the demon left its feathers! They might help. I kept them in separate bags so the demon couldn't gain power from them together." Mihoshi stared at the feathers. "I've . . . seen these somewhere before!" she said to herself. "But I can't remember where!" Karasu's head snapped around sharply. "Yes, they definitely look familiar," Mihoshi asserted. "Hmm," Washu said. "These teeth will help, certainly. Thank you, Sasami!" Tenchi saw Yosho look intently at Sasami's collection of feathers. He saw his grandfather open his palm, revealing a feather similar to one of Sasami's bodyfeathers. Yosho then stood up slowly and said. "We all have to talk. I was going to tell you all after dinner, but Sasami's evidence renders the talk necessary. Although I think some of you have heard it already." Kiyone flushed nervously. "A *demon?* asked Ayeka. "All right! This'll be fun! Tenchi, dear, I need you to give me another jewel back now," said Ryoko. "No," said Tenchi. "That other demon you called up didn't have any physical leavings like feathers or teeth." "Oh, that was just a primitive demon. This one must be an oni. They can imitate Earthly forms much better than that one. Give me the jewel, Tenchi." "No," said both Tenchi and Washu at the same time. "The time will come for you to regain that jewel, Ryoko," Washu added. "But now is not that time." "It's not a demon, anyway," Kiyone said. "I don't know what it is, but it's not that." "If it lives around here, it could be dangerous even if it's not a demon!" Ayeka declared. "It should be eliminated." Then, suddenly, she clasped her hand to her forehead as if she was in pain. "Oh, I don't think it means any serious harm, Ayeka!" Mihoshi assured her. "Mihoshi, what exactly are you basing that on?" Kiyone asked Mihoshi tiredly. "Oh, you know, it's just a feeling," Mihoshi said. "Carrot," said Ryo'oki, who was sitting next to them in her child body. When everyone turned to look at her, she made doe eyes at them and asked in a pleading tone, "Carrot?" "Yeah, I guess dinner is a little late," Sasami sighed. "SILENCE!" Yosho said suddenly. Everyone immediately shut up. "This animal has been living near this house. Every week it goes to a farm to feed. It will go tomorrow. I will be there to stop it, by whatever means I have. I ask you all to stay out of this. This is a Shinto priest's business. Except Tenchi. He is my apprentice, so he goes with me." "What?" choked out Tenchi. "Well, I suppose I should make dinner now," said Sasami, and talk was suspended. But that did not stop minds from working. Late that night, in the nest in the laundry room that had been informally designated as her room, Karasu conversed with Tanell. "You know I have to eat, Tannie. I am not a reptile." "I know that," Tanell responded with her mind, "but couldn't you break your pattern and just go to one of the other farms? No one would be expecting you there." "I realize that, but . . . maybe I am tired of keeping secrets. Maybe it is time I start revealing them." "*All* of them?" "Not at once. I want them to get used to me slowly, and not treat me with the deference even Tokimi used to hate. But you have to realize we're on call, Tannie. Secrets are always a bad thing to have when you're dealing with the Usurper." "You think he's involved?" "He has to be. I just can't figure out where he fits in yet. Well, no use worrying about it now. All we have to do is stop thinking about it. Epiphanies always come when you're thinking of something else entirely. Good night, Tannie." Karasu curled into a circle and closed her eyes. "Good night, Karasu." Tanell twined her tail around Karasu's neck and went to sleep on her hair. Down in her lab, Washu was still awake. This did not blur her mind in the least. She never truly needed to sleep, although she could if she chose. She was working on the samples of the demon Sasami had gave her. Her computer divined exactly what she meant from it and brought up no false alarms with using the wrong keywords. So far she had not come up with anything resembling a match. She had gone through all the current species of Earth in this universe and had come up with nothing even resembling a match. "Wait a minute," she said to herself. "I was wondering where Karasu was getting her meals. She's too proud to beg charity." She tapped into the computer the keywords *Deinonychus isidor.* It was an 100% match. Washu sighed. "Oh no. What have they got themselves into?" It was Saturday night. Tenchi and Yosho had drove off to the farm where the demon was due to strike. Ryoko was in a fury. To have a real oni's head on her wall . . . now that was a prize! And she could use the exercise. Who cared what Yosho said? Tenchi would probably need her help capturing the thing, and she had dealt with worse. She grinned and started to levitate out the door. "Ryoko, what are you up to?" Ayeka. Figured. "I am going to save Tenchi from the demon. You can come along if you want. The demon probably would like some bait." "Grandfather said that we should all stay here, safe! You would defy the order of the Crown Prince of Jurai?" Ayeka demanded. "Last I heard, he'd abdicated. Anyway, onis are powerful. Tenchi and your brother are probably going to need all the help they can get. Besides, I've always wanted to have a stuffed demon!" Ryoko snickered. "You don't care about Tenchi at all!" Ayeka cried. "You just want to fight the demon. Very well, I will come with you. But only to protect Lord Tenchi from *you!*" "I'm coming too." It was Kiyone. She was in full Galaxy Police uniform. "You? Why?" asked Ryoko. "I don't know if that animal is a demon or not, but it definitely is sentient. I don't think Yosho has taken that into account. He could use my help." "I'm coming too!" Sasami rushed to Ayeka's side. "Sasami," Ayeka said, "you really shouldn't come. You're too young, you'd get hurt." "But the demon has never so much as threatened a human and all I want to do is see it. I'll stay out of the way, I promise!" Ayeka sighed. "All right. But only if you stay hidden." "Come? I come?" Ryo'oki, on the tail of Sasami, voiced. She was in her child body. Ayeka stared at Ryo'oki. "When did she learn to talk?" Ayeka asked. "Karasu's been teaching her. I thought you knew," explained Sasami. "Geez, where does the woman find time in the day?" Ryoko asked sarcastically. "Oh, there you all are! What are you up to?" Mihoshi asked. "We're going demon-hunting, and you should stay out of it, you bonehead," snapped Ryoko. "No! If you're all going, I'm going too," declared Mihoshi. "After all, Kiyone's going. As her partner, I have to go too." Washu ascended the stairs. "Well, where's the fire?" she asked. "We'd better get going if we want to catch the demon!" "You mean you're going too, Miz Washu?" asked Ayeka in surprise. She knew Washu preferred to spend her time in her lab. "Only to stop you all from doing something you'll prob'ly later regret. Well, Ryo'oki? You ready?" Washu smiled at the cabbit. "Go!" said Ryo'oki enthusiastically, and changed back into her cabbit body, jumped through the door, and changed into the spaceship Ryo'oki. The six alien women walked outside and Ryo'oki's tractor beam brought them inside. Ryoko had Ryo'oki put a trace on Tenchi's unique signal. It would be a short trip to him. It wasn't until they were well on their way that Mihoshi exclaimed, "Ryoko, go back! We're forgetting Karasu!" "Oh, I doubt she'd want to go," Washu said. "She'll enjoy having the house to herself. Anyway, she tends to rise and fall with the sun, y'know? We'll just have to do without her this time." Ryo'oki flew towards Tenchi's signal. "Meoww!" cried Ryo'oki, in joy or warning, not even Washu knew. Tenchi crouched in the bushes behind the cull pen next to Yosho. "Are you sure this is the right farm? Maybe Kiyone was wrong," he said. "Kiyone is not wrong. That animal will be here, whatever it is." snapped Yosho. "Why is he so tense all of a sudden? We've faced worse and he didn't even bat an eyelid," thought Tenchi. "How would the animal even get inside the pens? The walls are much too high for a dog to jump over," Tenchi asked. "Maybe it's a remnant of a tiger species or some other big cat. Maybe the animal can jump well," Yosho said. By unspoken consent, they were not referring to the animal as a demon, because if that was what the animal really was, they were pretty much lost. Yosho had confided to Tenchi long ago that the "spells" performed by a Shinto priest had degenerated to meaningless mumbo-jumbo. Much later he had confessed to Tenchi that they had been real once, there had been memories of priests with strong magical power when he had first landed on Earth, but that had been a long time ago. Magic seemed to have left the world, except for creatures like Karasu. "Tenchi! Look!" Yosho hissed into Tenchi's ear. Tenchi looked into the shadowy light around the cull pen. At first he thought it was just another shadow. Then as his eyes focused on the shape, he let out an involuntary gasp. It was black, black as night. It was bipedal, but not in the way humanoids were bipedal. Its neck, thickly blanketed with feathers and locked into a loose S-curve, topped a horizontal spine with long, lean arms folded up on themselves. It had long fingers with sharp, curved claws, and a long tail that it held out straight behind its spine, making its back seem longer than it was. Its mouth was horselike, but as it yawned, Tenchi saw a long muzzle filled with backwardly curving teeth. But its legs were the most astonishing thing of all. They were long and muscular, ending in feet where two toes touched the ground. "So it was built for three toes," Yosho murmured. Its inward toes on each foot sported an overlarge claw, curved wickedly like a sickle. It reminded Tenchi of something, but he was not sure of what. As he watched, it effortlessly jumped over the cull fence, not even making a sound at its landing. Then Tenchi knew where he had seen the animal before. "Grandpa, wait!" he cried, holding his grandfather back, who was trying to creep towards the animal. Yes, animal, Tenchi was sure of it now. "That's not a demon, it's a dinosaur! A velociraptor! You know, from that movie Ryoko likes so much, *Mesozoic Park!*" "Really? Yes, now that you mention it, it does look a little like those creatures in the movie. I must be getting behind the times." Yosho stopped. "This is an entirely different situation. We must reach the farmer, and tell him to call Animal Control. Poor Kiyone. She wanted so much for it to be sapient. But that dinosaur is different from the ones in the movie in at least one respect." "Which is?" Tenchi asked his grandfather. "Those animals didn't have feathers." Tenchi sighed in relief, and the two began to crawl around the bushes to drive back to the farmer's house. However, they hadn't gotten far when they heard the "Meow!" of Ryo'oki and Ryoko's call, "Tenchi! Tenchi dear! Where is that demon that's been antagonizing you so much?" Ryoko flew over the cull pen. "I can't see Tenchi anywhere," she complained. Then she saw a scuffle in the cull pen, a fleet black shape, and a cull crumple under the black shape. "What's that? It must be the demon!" she said. "Oh, this is gonna be good." She dove towards the demon, who was ripping pieces from the cull and gulping them down whole. She pointed her wrist towards it and fired a bright red shot of power at it. It bounced off without even singeing the demon's feathers. The demon looked up at Ryoko with an expression in its eyes that clearly conveyed the expression, "Do you mind? I'm EATING here," and went back to gorging itself on the flesh of the cull. Back in Ryo'oki, Washu said, "This is bad. Karasu's shields can't hold forever against Ryoko's power, even in her current condition. We have to stop Ryoko from killing that dinosaur!" She jumped out of Ryo'oki. "It looks like a demon to me," Kiyone said, looking down at the feeding dinosaur. "Kiyone, please don't kill it!" Mihoshi begged. "Yeah, it's cute!" Sasami exclaimed. Kiyone gave Sasami an odd look. "I wouldn't fight that monster for anything," Ayeka whispered to herself. Then a sight made her shout. "TENCHI!!" Tenchi rushed in the cull pen. Ryoko had drawn her sword and was approaching the velociraptor, who seemed intent on ignoring her. "Ryoko, stop!" he called. "That's not a demon, it's a dinosaur! It's just an animal!" Ryoko looked at Tenchi. "A dinosaur? Isn't that what they called those animals in *Mesozoic Park?"* Tenchi nodded dumbly. "All right!" yelled Ryoko. "A dinosaur demon on my wall is even better than an oni!" She readied her sword and rushed at the velociraptor, only to be stopped by the blue glow of Tenchi-ken. "I'm sorry, Ryoko, but I can't let you kill that animal," Tenchi said gravely. "Tenchi, what's gotten into you?" Ryoko asked, trying hard to disentangle her sword from Tenchi-ken. "Lord Tenchi!" A bright blue glow enveloped Ryoko. She screamed and fell over. Tenchi looked up and saw Ayeka. "Oh, Lord Tenchi, I was so worried for you, that demon- woman attacked you! I knew it would come to this someday! Are you hurt?" she asked. "Ayeka, Ryoko wasn't attacking me, I was defending the dinosaur from her. She wanted to kill it!" Ayeka looked and saw the velociraptor eating the cull, its muzzle bloody. She gasped, and then fell, clasping her head. "Miss Ayeka, what's the matter?" Tenchi asked the Jurian princess. "I tried to contain it . . . but something stopped me. It hurt. My body was on fire," Ayeka whispered. "Well, it's probably better we don't antagonize it. It looks like it just wants dinner," Tenchi said. "Tenchi, Ayeka! Are you all right?" Yosho approached his grandson. "Yes, I don't think the dinosaur means us any harm," Tenchi said. "It's a very strange animal," Yosho said. "It displays no fear of us. Every other animal on the planet fears man. Why doesn't this one?" Up in Ryo'oki, Kiyone cried, "Yosho!" and jumped out. "Don't leave me, Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi and jumped out after her. Sasami was now in Ryo'oki all alone. But she had promised she would stay out of the way, and she would. She just wanted to see the demon. But you couldn't get a very good look from so far up . . . "Ryo'oki, can you get me a close-up of the demon?" Sasami asked. "Meow!" agreed Ryo'oki. Sasami stared at every part of the demon in detail. "Wow . . . it's amazing," she whispered. Kiyone jumped down. "Yosho . . . why isn't that demon attacking us?" "It's not a demon, Kiyone, it's a dinosaur," Tenchi said tiredly. "But if it's a dinosaur, why is it here? Dinosaurs went extinct sixty-five million years ago! And why does it have feathers?" Kiyone asked, perplexed. "I don't know," said Tenchi tiredly. He wished he had another answer to give, for he was tired of the one he was giving. It didn't satisfy. He opened his mouth to say something more, but Ryoko had woken up. Her sword was in her hand, and, before Tenchi could say or do anything, she sliced her sword at the dinosaur. Tenchi held his breath. The dinosaur caught the sword in a hand with two long, gracile fingers and a long thumb. The area around its forearm glowed bright scarlet. The dinosaur, before Ryoko even had time to react, swung around and threw Ryoko against the wall of the cull pen. Ryoko looked at the dinosaur and threw herself against it, pummeling it with her fists. The dinosaur growled, somehow managing to convey a sense of irritation, and somersaulted backwards. It was then that Tenchi saw its *tyet* pendant. It looked exactly like Karasu's. He had often wondered why Karasu kept her amulet on such a long string. The amulet was at her waist. He turned to Kiyone and Ayeka. "Did Karasu come with you?" he asked. "No, Lord Tenchi. In fact, we didn't even see her all night. Washu said she was probably sleeping." "Where is Washu, anyway?" Kiyone wondered aloud. "She left Ryo'oki before we did." "Tanell! What are you doing here?" It was Mihoshi, holding the miniature dragon by the neck. She struggled frantically, her eyes whirling red. Her forepaws opened and closed frantically. The look she gave Ryoko was rapacious. "Kaarr!" she screamed. "Where's Karasu? She's never far from you? And why are you eating that poor cow? There's plenty of fresh meat for you at home!" She smiled and tucked the fire-dragonet in her embrace. Tenchi looked at Tanell, a dreadful suspicion growing in him. "*RYOKO! STOP!*" yelled Tenchi. Ryoko had been forming another energy blast at the dinosaur. "Why, Tenchi! I didn't know you cared! But you don't have to worry. This demon is nowhere as powerful as I suspected. It'll be mincemeat in a few minutes." Ryoko smiled. Ayeka massaged her temples. "Something about that animal! I've seen it before! And I can't protect Lord Tenchi from it!" Mihoshi looked at the dinosaur. "Yeah, she does look familiar." Tanell hissed. Yosho turned to look at Mihoshi. "Why did you refer to that animal as a 'she?'" "Because she looks like a girl," replied Mihoshi stoutly. Kiyone sighed. "Just *stop,*, Ryoko. I don't think that this dinosaur means us any harm. It could have killed you easily before now, but it didn't." He looked into the dinosaur's eyes. With a start, he realized they were a bright amber. He looked into its eyes, the mirrors to the soul, he had read somewhere, and saw a familiar face lurking deep within. "Karasu," he said. "How did you end up like this?" "Karasu?" exclaimed Ryoko. "You mean that demon is really Karasu?" "Yep, that's right!" Washu appeared from out of nowhere. "I knew about it, of course. I spent some time on Earth a long time ago . . . not exactly as you see me now, but I was here. I got to know Karasu back then. Believe it or not, that falcon is almost as old as I am! Maybe even older--I don't think she keeps count." "Washu, may I tell my own tale?" The words were Karasu's and yet not Karasu's. It emerged from her mind and reached everyone present. "First of all, you should know that I am not human. This raptor-form is my true form. That's why I keep Shifting back to my trueform. I have to remember who I really am. Besides, this body demands food even when I'm not using it. And what this body likes best is red, raw meat. Hunting wild animals would take too long . . . while normally I enjoy that practice, the prey gets away too often. So I raided culls. What's the big deal with that? The farmers would just have had to kill them in fall anyway. But I forgot how attached humans can get to what they perceive as their 'property.' As to my age, when I was created, a gene was inserted into my DNA from a fungal life that says I should never age. Once I matured, I stayed the same age throughout eternity, and I will stay the same age, unless someone kills me." "Hah! Never aging because of a fungus. That's funny," Ryoko said, snickering. "Don't laugh too soon, Little Ryoko. I used the same gene when I created you," Washu said smugly. Ryoko looked stricken. "So . . . you are a created being?" Ayeka asked. She was surprised. It had taken millennia of genetic improvements plus a link to the royal trees to ensure Jurians never aged, and whoever had created Karasu had only had to insert one extra gene. " 'Improved' would be more accurate, but essentially, yes." "I don't understand, Karasu," Tenchi said. "Why didn't you tell us this as soon as you met us?" "Most humans are not that tolerant of other sentient life. They deny it exists. I knew you would be more tolerant than most, living with all these alien women as you do, not to mention your heritage . . . but I was not sure as to how tolerant you would be to something non-humanoid. I only wanted to be careful." "Well, you don't have to worry, Karasu," Ayeka said. "We like you as you are, no matter what species you really are." "Ayeka. You have grown so much. I am proud of you. This planet suits you well." Ryoko looked at the dinosaur strangely. "I don't care about your form, Karasu!" Mihoshi said cheerily. "I love you no matter what!" "I always knew you would, Mihoshi." "Let me go, vile wench!" Everyone looked around for the speaker. The voice was contralto and feminine, and sounded almost--but not quite--like Karasu. "Let Tanell go, Mihoshi," said Karasu patiently. "Oh!" said Mihoshi, and released the fire-dragonet from her grasp. She flew to Karasu and sat on her head, eyes glowing red. "Karasu, it really doesn't matter to me what you look like," Tenchi said. Karasu nodded, apparently sure of his sincerity. "But what should we call you? You don't look exactly like any dinosaur I've ever seen, although you resemble many." "Just call me a raptor, like in *Mesozoic Park.* Ever since that book came out, my kind have fallen in love with that name. Its meaning, "bird of prey," satisfies us. For sex, you may refer to me as 'falcon.' It is our word for 'woman.' Males are called 'tiercels.' That piece of knowledge may come in handy one day." "Are you done eating, Karasu?" Yosho asked. "Yes. I ate all I wanted while you were all arguing. Now all I want is sleep. I will walk home in this form." "Now, how would that be hospitable to a member of the Masaki residence?" Washu asked rhetorically. "Take a ride home in Ryo'oki!" "Thank you, Washu," Karasu said. "Wait a second," said Ryoko. "If this demon is really Karasu, does that mean I can't kill her?" Washu gave Ryoko a disparaging look. "Let's go home," said Tenchi. "Grandpa and I will take the car, and you all go in Ryo'oki. See you when I get home. Feel better, Ayeka." "Thank you, Lord Tenchi," said Ayeka, flushing a little. "Well, how do you like that?" Ryoko growled. "I get beat up all over and he doesn't even inquire as to my health, and all the princess gets is a headache and Tenchi asks if she's feeling okay?" "Ryoko, let's get Ryo'oki to take us up," said Washu, successfully forestalling a fight. When they were all back in Ryo'oki, Sasami looked in awe at the dinosaur-bodied Karasu. "Did you decide to bring the demon home to study, Washu?" she asked. "Nope," Washu said. "Believe it or not, this is Karasu as she really is. But she's friendly." "Oh," said Sasami. "Nice to see you again, Karasu." "Wait a second," Ayeka said. "If Karasu can't raid farms anymore, what will she eat? She has to remain well-fed." "Well, someone's sure turned her colors," Ryoko said. For once Ayeka ignored her, probably due to Washu's fingers on her ear. "Don't worry," Washu said. "I'm sure Yosho will come up with somethin'." The next morning, Tenchi was awakened by Sasami's voice. "Tenchi! Ayeka! Karasu! Come see!" Everyone rushed outside to see what Sasami was so excited about. The culls from the farmer's pen last night were milling around in a small fenced-in area. Yosho stood at the front of it. Karasu looked at it, eyes glinting. Tenchi noticed she seemed more substantial, her body possessing more of the curves of a woman, than it had Friday night. "All for me?" she asked. Tenchi wondered how she kept from drooling at the mouth. "Yes, all for you," said Yosho. "I got the farmers from the other three farms to sell me their culls, too. I offered much too high a price, and they couldn't resist that. Are you happy, Karasu?" Karasu cried silent tears of joy. "You have no idea how important family is to one of my kind," she said. "I believe I have found in you all a true family, in the best way. You should feel very honored by that." "I do," said Yosho. "Now, why don't you help pay back the money I spent for your dinners and help Tenchi harvest carrots?"