And the plot comes and messes things up! I have created a few new 
characters for this part of the tale, who hopefully (my ideas for this series 
change daily, although I know where I want it to go) will continue at some later 
time. And for those of you (I know you're out there) who think I have misnamed 
the Marshal, I remind you I am not basing this series on the True Tenchi novels, 
and his name isn't given in the OAVs, so technically I'm not doing anything 
wrong. This is a vision of what may have happened after Episode 13 in the OAV 
Tenchi Muyo! series. And now for the standard legalese. Tenchi and the gang are 
members of Pioneer LCD and do not belong to me. Tanell is a modification on the 
fire-lizards in *The Dragonriders of Pern* series and does not belong to me. 
Karasu and new characters Suzumebachi, Sasori, and Kumo are totally my creation. 
To gain permission to use them, or to give comments or ask questions about this 
series, E-mail me at QueenIsis94@aol.com. Thank you.
          
          Please note that I in no way condone the building up, then taking of 
cobra venom in order to get high. Snake venom is a very dangerous substance and 
should only be handled by an experienced person, such as a veterinarian or 
zookeeper, and even then should not be used to get high.
          
       Tenchi Muyo: Manifest Destiny!
         Episode 6: Sting Operation!
         
          	Sasori listened to her partner Kumo relay the information that they 
had finally landed on Planet Earth. She did not envy Kumo. Although the Marshal 
did not care one way or another how events in the Galaxy Police turned out, he 
could be very animated when his granddaughter was concerned. If the Marshal was 
not the Marshal, Sasori would have been tempted to term the Marshal's behavior 
"apoplectic." But Sasori knew her place. She was a Spycatcher, a member of a 
secret sect of assassin-kidnappers the Marshal had created to further the 
goddess Tokimi's means. Although she did not have to obey any authority lower 
than the Marshal, she and all her sect owed absolute obedience to the Marshal--
otherwise he would take away Lady Tokimi's blessing. Sasori did not know how she 
would get along without the Elder Goddess's blessing. Losing it now would be 
like losing a limb. She brushed against one of her twin-ended eyebrows in what 
had become over the years a nervous gesture.
          	"Yes, sir, we have only just now landed on the Earth's surface," 
Kumo was saying to their superior. His hair, a light silver in color, quivered 
along with the rest of his body. Obviously the Marshal was upsetting Kumo. 
Sasori listened intently, gently practicing the intricate movements that were 
necessary to activate Lady Tokimi's blessing as an excuse to be so close.
          	"You've only reached Planet Earth *now?*" the Marshal demanded. "I 
sent you off only a week after I sent off my fools of a personal guard! How is 
it possible you reached your destination more than a month after them?"
          	Kumo took several minutes to compose himself. Then he said, "Sir, we 
were traveling in a much smaller vessel than they were. Smaller vessels have 
more trouble reaching a sufficient speed to break through the light barrier, and 
even the fuel you provided us blessed by Lady Tokimi had trouble recharging 
itself fast enough. But we are here now, and Ryoko and Mihoshi will believe the 
danger is past. Capturing them will be easy." Kumo spoke with confidence. He had 
reason to. He and Sasori had been working for the Marshal for 2,000 years now, 
and they had not yet failed an assignment.
          	Hearing this, the Marshal relaxed into his usual poker-faced 
expression. "See that you do. But remember, while Ryoko is fair game, do not 
harm my granddaughter." He seemed about to terminate the connection, then added, 
"Are you working well with Suzumebachi?"
          	Sasori, despite her years of training, shuddered at the mention of 
Suzumebachi. He was the poison expert of the Spycatchers, and possessed 
          . . . well, a twisted mind was an understatement. Back at Central 
Command, there were rumors that he had killed numerous Galaxy Police officers 
just to see if his poisons worked. And he could make both the hypnotic drugs 
that put a humanoid under one's control, the hallucinogenics that rendered them 
helpless, and the "stimulant" drugs that made you think of only one thing, 
usually a base impulse, for days on end in addition to the regular poisons. All 
this thanks to Lady Tokimi's blessing. Due to an almost obsessive need for 
solitude, coupled with fear of Suzumebachi's loosely-threaded morals and shady 
reputation, Sasori and Kumo had been as cordial to the poison expert as they 
could be, leaving him to his own devices. Now they would need him. Only 
Suzumebachi's twisted genius could fashion a poison which moved so sluggishly as 
to be able to put out Ryoko. (The space pirate's files had only been deleted 
from the computer programs of the Galaxy Police with no access to Kyoshin's 
"inner circle.")
          	"Suzumebachi has been no trouble at all," Kumo answered truthfully.
          He and Sasori had taken care to keep a wide girth between themselves 
and Suzumebachi, only coming close when necessity dictated. Since Suzumeba-
          chi flourished in solitude, Sasori and Kumo had successfully avoided 
irritating the poison expert. Thus Suzumebachi had caused them no trouble. 
Although the poison expert was as dedicated to Lady Tokimi as Kumo and Sasori 
were, his rapid turns of mood could have easily made one or both of them a 
subject for one of his twisted experiments. Sasori was thankful they hadn't run 
out of squiats. The downside of this was that neither Kumo nor Sasori knew what 
kind of poisons Suzumebachi had in store for Ryoko. "It's almost like he hasn't 
been here," Kumo continued, masterfully keeping a straight face. 
          	Sasori mentally thanked Lady Tokimi that it was not possible for 
minds to be read through vidscreens. "Good," the Marshal said, his face beaming. 
Sasori was beginning to forget that he had been so full of rage only a few 
minutes before. "Few teams have worked with him so well. Sasori, will you input 
the coordinates of where you've landed, please?" The Marshal glanced in her 
direction. 
          	"Yes, sir." Sasori quickly tapped in the coordinates of her landing 
point. She was the one who piloted all of Kumo's and her trips, and was quite 
skilled at handing space vessels of any size by now. She knew the Marshal 
wouldn't be dissatisfied with her flying.
          	"Ahhhh." The Marshal exhaled deeply. "Yes, you have demonstrated 
your usual precision, Sasori . . . you managed to land inside the Masaki 
family's property line, but not so far inside it that they would be aware of 
you. I am glad you have lived up to your record."
          	Sasori beamed at the Marshal's approval. "So am I, sir."
          	"Now you know what you have to do. Capture Ryoko and bring Mihoshi 
home to me. I would prefer to have both of them alive this time, so tell 
Suzumebachi not to get too excited."
          	"Yes, sir," Sasori and Kumo said in unison and saluted, and the 
image of the Marshal faded out.
          	Sasori brushed her fingers through her long, wine-red hair and said, 
"We'd better go see what Suzumebachi has for us. We brought him with us for a 
reason, after all."
          	"I suppose you're right," Kumo said. "It's just that I can't imagine 
why Lady Tokimi would want to recruit a person with so twisted a mind."
          	"We probably would not be able to comprehend the Elder Goddess's 
purposes. They are not for mortals to know," Sasori said with a sigh. She nodded 
at Kumo, and the two of them went to see Suzumebachi in his special room.
          	"Suzumebachi," Kumo spoke up hesitantly. "We've landed."
	Suzumebachi turned to face them. Hair too yellow to be considered blond 
fell down in long locks around his face with its beakish nose and bulging eyes. 
His body was muscular, but Sasori knew his seemingly peak physical condition was 
from taking his mega-steroid drugs. He took a step towards them, his 
incongruously tiny feet not making a sound on the floor. He clicked his tongue 
rhythmically. "I can see that for myself," he snapped. Sasori recoiled despite 
herself. Suzumebachi's waspish temper was legendary. "I assume the Marshal 
ordered nonlethal methods on the targets? Bah. I can see by your expressions 
that he did. How boring. Making a sleeping drug is so easy. I must admit I had a 
little fun concocting a suitable poison for that Ryoko creature, though. Her 
biology simply fascinates me. It's . . . unique in the galaxy." He handed Kumo a 
white hypodermic needle and Sasori a blue one. "The white one is the sleeping 
potion. Give that one to Mihoshi. The blue one is for Ryoko. Don't mix them up." 
He turned around. "Well, what are you waiting for! You're Spycatchers, this is 
your duty! Go!" 
          	"But what will you do while we're gone, Suzumebachi?" Kumo asked.
          	Suzumebachi smiled with a mixture of malevolence and lechery. "Keep 
watch," he said.
          	There was really nothing more to say. Sasori suspected what he would 
do to Earthling bystanders, but was helpless to prevent it from happening. At 
least she knew he was unable to steal the spaceship. Only she knew how to pilot 
it. She set all that behind her now, as Kumo was doing. Only one thing mattered 
now: their mission. The targets, and how to achieve pinning them. She and Kumo 
left the spaceship, and, their minds void of any other thoughts, ran to the 
forest that surrounded the Masaki residence.
          
          	Ayeka absently stroked the oval protuberance on Ryu'o's key that hid 
the gem that binded her to Tokimi. After she had first woken up from that 
dreamlike encounter--except it was much to vivid to have been a dream--she had 
almost forgotten that she was the First Princess of Jurai, bound to proper 
behavior and obedience. It was still hard to remember. Tokimi, while seemingly 
elegant and serene on the outside, had a wild inner spirit that saw things very 
differently than Ayeka normally would. For the first time in her life, she was 
discovering the joys of laughing at oneself. Had she really been so prudish 
before? Had she always been so, or had those traits been learned from the Jurian 
nobles, who seemed to have suspended living as well as aging? She was aware of 
her link with Tokimi now that she had met the imprisoned goddess. She was aware 
of it begging her to set her free. For the past two weeks, she had been debating 
telling someone of her newfound knowledge. She remembered Karasu's advice. "My 
door is always open, Ayeka," the falcon had said. And nothing anyone had said so 
far had succeeded in ruffling Karasu's feathers. And Karasu was close to Washu, 
even if the two of them seemed to be on the outs lately.
          	Ayeka set down the knitting that she had been doing and took a 
laundry basket of hers and Sasami's dirty clothes down to be washed. Now that 
she was aware of her bond with Tokimi, she was possessed with a strange desire 
to be *useful.* She had already cleaned most of the house and finished all the 
minor chores that the household needed doing. Ryoko was starting to give her 
looks that a madwoman would deserve. Ayeka found she no longer cared that much. 
Ryoko had been forced into slave labor for most of her life. It was no surprise 
that she was ignorant as to what she was. 
          	Karasu was sitting on the porch, writing in her Book. Ayeka now 
comprehended the true nature of her Book and noted with appreciation the rapid 
strokes she was making on the paper, now and then going back to erase what she 
had written and substitute something else. "Hello, Karasu," she said cordially.
          	"Hello, Ayeka," Karasu said without bothering to look up. "Doing 
laundry again?"
          	"Yes, Karasu," Ayeka said cheerfully. She had learned not to be 
surprised by any observations the falcon made while seemingly not paying 
attention to ongoing events. Karasu's sharp senses were not limited to sight. 
"Karasu . . . a while back you said something to me about getting off my 
pedestal, I believe you called it, and joining the rest of mankind."
          	"Yes, and you've done a good job of that on your own," Karasu said. 
"You've made amazing progress in the past two weeks. You're not quite there yet, 
though. But that will come." She went back to her Book.
          	"And then you said that your door would always be open," Ayeka 
continued. "Karasu, there's something I need to talk to you about. Two weeks 
ago, when I was sick, I dreamed I was talking to a goddess called Tokimi except 
. . . it was too real to be called a dream. It was more like a vision. She said 
that she and I were partially assimilated. She also said she was being held 
captive by a god called D3, and I promised to set her free. She told me that 
Zero, who resides in Ryoko now, had memory of herself . . . ourself blocked off, 
and that if the blockage was removed, whoever was near could travel to where she 
was being held prisoner."
          	Ayeka had the satisfaction of seeing Karasu look utterly shocked. 
"What did you say?" Karasu whispered, looking up and gazing straight into 
Ayeka's eyes. Before Ayeka could repeat what she had said, Karasu sighed. "Damn, 
it's true. How long have you known that you're partially assimilated with 
Tokimi?"
          	"Ever since I fell ill, two weeks ago," Ayeka answered.
          	"You don't happen to know where she is, do you?" Karasu asked with 
what seemed suspiciously like a note of hope in her voice.
          	"She was not sure herself. She thought it was at the very center of 
the universe, but that was only her guess."
          	"I really should talk to Washu about this," Karasu said, reaching 
her fingers up to brush her hair, which for the past couple of weeks she had 
been wearing without her braids, covering her head and back with small, kinked 
curls. "I'm going for a run to decide."
          	"Would you care to explain that logic to me?" Ayeka asked, honestly 
bewildered.
          	"It's a simple concept," Karasu said. "When I run, I can't feel 
angry about anything and I'm more open to unbiased reflection. Therefore, I'll 
be able to decide whether Washu has done something I can't forgive or whether 
she's just acting normally for her and I've misread the situation according to 
my species' customs." Not embarrassed at all of Ayeka's nearness, she stripped 
off her blouse and put on an old T-shirt. This did not bother Ayeka as much as 
it might have once. For one thing, nudity (around people of the same gender, at 
least) did not embarrass *her* as much as it would have once. Also, she 
understood that Karasu was accustomed to walking around essentially naked in the 
body that she had been born with, and regarded clothes as ways to keep heat in 
in the absence of natural bodily covering. Other than that, clothes were just 
another of those weird customs humanoids insisted on following. Ayeka did wonder 
why Karasu had even packed that change of clothes. She never used them. Possibly 
it was just a way to escape questions that were difficult to answer.
          	"'Bye, Ayeka," Karasu said and walked away. Ayeka heard her pick up 
speed as she left. Ayeka began to wash clothes. 
          	"Ayeka?" Mihoshi asked. 
          	"Yes, Mihoshi?" Ayeka returned politely.
          	"Have you seen Karasu around anywhere? I thought that we could have 
a little bit of girl talk! She knows so much about everything! It's like she's a 
god that lives among mortals!"
          	Ayeka knew that what Mihoshi regarded as "girl talk" would probably 
bore Karasu to tears. So she answered truthfully. "Karasu just left to take a 
run. I expect she'll be gone for quite some time."
          	"Ohhh," said Mihoshi. "Well, I'll just wait outside for her! She 
can't take all *that* long. She's a really fast runner." She walked over to the 
porch and sat on it. After a while, Ayeka heard her wander off into the woods 
inside Yosho's property. About then, Ayeka observed that the clothes she was 
washing were clean. She put some of hers' and Sasami's clothing on the 
clotheslines (not all of them would fit) and decided she'd do Karasu's bedding 
as a signature of goodwill. No one had bothered to wash the sheets Karasu slept 
in since she'd arrived at the Masaki residence. Karasu didn't seem to mind, but 
Ayeka put them in the wash anyway. "Chrrk?" Tanell materialized on the dryer and 
watched Ayeka put Karasu's sheets, blankets, and pillowcases into the bucket of 
soapy water intently. After it was done, the fire-dragonet sat back on her 
haunches. "Well?" Ayeka asked Tanell, laughing softly. "Do you approve?" Tanell 
flew up and perched on Ayeka's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek with her eye-
ridges, the eyes themselves glowing blue, and disappeared. Ayeka interpreted 
that as a "yes."
          	Ayeka had just finished putting the last of hers' and Sasami's 
clothes in the on the clotheslines that the Masaki family used to dry clothes 
and was sitting down for a short break when Kiyone walked over to her. "Have you 
seen Karasu around?" she asked the Princess of Jurai. 
          	"I talked to her not long ago. She said she was going out to run, 
and she hasn't come back yet," Ayeka said. "Why?" 
          	"I had a very strange conversation with her a few days ago--and this 
is taking into account that any subject you bring up with Karasu is bound to 
take a unusual turn. She asked me what I would do if I were going to kidnap 
someone and had control of a lot of people. I told her that the logical course 
to take was to send a diversionary squad of people who weren't very tough 
adversaries while also sending another squad of far more capable abilities to 
capture the target. She then asked me what the Special Corpsmen did. I told her 
that they were the Marshal's personal guard. She thanked me and left. Then I got 
to thinking. The Marshal lied to *me* about what Mihoshi was really doing on 
Earth. He wanted me to bring her back to Central Command. I'm not sure for what, 
now. Not any more. Then the Special Corpsmen showed up and turned out to be 
ineffective at kidnapping Mihoshi also, and they seemed to be looking for Ryoko. 
Now I can't help but wonder if the Marshal is still after Ryoko and Mihoshi, and 
what his true intentions are."
          	"I see," said Ayeka. "You want me to warn Ryoko about this."
          	"If I don't get to it first," Kiyone said. "Ryoko isn't really such 
a bad person, Ayeka. You know that."
          	"Yes, she just comes off that way," said Ayeka.
          	Kiyone's eyes widened. "You just made a joke! Don't deny it . . . ," 
Ayeka couldn't help laughing quietly at Kiyone's amazed expression. Had she 
really been so humorless before?
          	Kiyone walked off, probably looking for Yosho, and Ayeka went back 
to washing Karasu's blankets, pillowcases, and sheets. She smiled softly to 
herself. Being useful was a lot more fulfilling than being royal.
          	
          	Ryoko yawned and sat up from the ceiling beam she used as a bed. 
Natural agility kept her from falling off. She smiled with half-asleep 
recollections from her dreams. After she had been freed from Kagato's influence, 
she had been pleased to learn that she could control her dreams and live 
whatever life she chose when she slept. During the long years of her 
imprisonment, she had dreamed only of tasting the blood of all on this planet, a 
suitable outlet for her mental anguish. Now there were more pleasant things to 
dream about. She was not sure what had first attracted her to Tenchi, but she 
knew she couldn't live without him. She had gone so far as to try to blend in 
with the primitive humanoids on this planet, but even so it was hard to win his 
approval. But she *would* persevere.
          	She yawned and flew down to the floor. She saw Kiyone. She seemed to 
be trying to go over some Galaxy Police documents, but they kept slipping out of 
the folder and falling haphazardly on the floor. Ryoko would have helped, but 
Kiyone had a sense of intense pride. She would not allow anyone to help with her 
persistent bad luck. Also, Ryoko suspected that Kiyone would not appreciate a 
space pirate (even if that space pirate had committed those crimes against her 
will) getting a look at Galaxy Police documents. But she could still ask Kiyone 
about them. She *was* curious. Kiyone didn't have a very cordial look on her 
face, but that was no deterrent to Ryoko.
          	Walking over to Kiyone, Ryoko said, "Hey, is it okay for me to ask 
what those sheets contain?"
          	"Well, I can't tell you much, but they're documents about the inner 
workings of Central Command. It seems that Central Command is rife with rumors 
about this secret organization called the Spycatchers. They're considered to be 
the best assassination society in the Galaxy. Problem is, no one knows who 
controls them. I've found speculations ranging from the King of Jurai to 
Kagato."
          	"Don't you have an opinion of your own?" Ryoko asked.
          	Kiyone shook her head. "I'm not entitled to one. I've never been to 
Central Command, you see. My entire career has been spent in Galaxy Police 
Station Seven."	
          	Ryoko thought for a minute. "What if they're really controlled by--
what was that guy's title again, oh yeah--the Marshal?"
          	"That's just plain silly, Ryoko," Kiyone said with a hint of 
derision in her voice. "The Marshal is in charge of the whole Galaxy Police. Why 
would he need a secret organization of assassins to do what we already do?"
          	"Just trying to help," Ryoko said, feeling in mortification her 
cheeks turn red. 
          	Kiyone smiled at Ryoko. "I know you mean well, Ryoko," she said. 
"That's why I need--,"
          	"Excuse me, Little Ryoko," Washu said, who was suddenly standing in 
front of Ryoko and Kiyone. "I'm going for a walk in the forest, and I'd like you 
to come with me. You know, a sort of mother-daughter thing."
          	"What?" said Ryoko, rendered completely confused by her mother's 
sudden display of kindness towards her.
          	"If you don't want to come along, that's okay," Washu said, and 
Ryoko thought she heard a note of worry in Washu's normal childlike tones.
          	"No, no, I want to come, really." Ryoko hastened to correct her last 
statement.
          	"Really? Good. Let's go, then." Washu took Ryoko by the arm and 
started walking towards the door with her daughter in tow.
          	"Washu, Ryoko, wait, I'll go with you," Kiyone said, remembering she 
had not yet told her friend about the possible danger to her life yet.
          	Washu shrugged. "Well, I suppose that would be all right," she said 
in a tone that suggested it didn't really matter to her one way or another.
          	They left. Kiyone noted that Ayeka had finished hanging up all of 
the laundry to dry and had now left, probably to visit Ryu'o or bathe in the 
onsen. "Washu, Ryoko," she said, "there's something I need to talk about with 
the two of you . . . ,"
          	
          	Mihoshi was wandering around the woods, looking at the wilting 
flowers and bright foliage of the trees. It was all fascinating to her. She was 
suddenly distracted by a rustling in the bushes in front of her. Without even 
stopping to think about why she was doing it, she ran towards the bushes and 
made a grab for whatever animal was behind it. Tripping on a rock, she fell in 
the bushes. Whatever animal that had been hiding behind it had fled. Mihoshi 
pulled herself out of the bushes. "Ugh, prickers!" she complained, pulling out 
sharp thorns out of her arms and legs. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her 
neck. "What--what was that? Did a bee sting me?" She yawned and suddenly fell 
asleep in the middle of the ground.
          	Kumo suddenly appeared from the background scenery of the forest. 
"Lady Tokimi's blessings certainly do come in handy," he observed. Turning to 
the bushes, he called, "Are you all right, Sasori?"
          	"Yes, fine," Sasori said, also dissolving her invisibility spell. 
"Although I had to back up in a hurry. She almost had me there for a second. I 
wonder how she knew I was there."
          	"I think you're giving Mihoshi too much credit," Kumo said. "She had 
no idea anything was going on. My attack took her completely by surprise. Even 
when she was stung, she had no idea she's been attacked. She thought a bee had 
stung her, for the Lady's sake."
          	"You may be right," Sasori conceded. "C'mon, let's bring Mihoshi's 
body back to the cruiser. Capturing Ryoko will no doubt be more difficult than 
capturing this bubblehead, and I'd rather not be encumbered by the extra 
luggage."
          	"That's a good idea," said Kumo. Picking up the unconscious Mihoshi, 
he and Sasori started to walk back to their cruiser.
          
          	Karasu was running past the carrot fields when she saw Tenchi 
sitting on the edge of the fields, lost in thought. Karasu waved to him. "Hello, 
Tenchi," she said cordially. When Tenchi didn't respond, she repeated the 
greeting. He remained silent. Karasu went and sat down next to him. "Is anything 
the matter?" she asked him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
          	Tenchi started, then looked at Karasu with first bemusement on his 
face and then relief. "Oh, hello, Karasu," he said, laughing nervously. "I 
really should be getting back to work," he said, starting to stand up.
          	"Oh no you don't," Karasu said. "Reading minds may be considered 
impolite without permission but reading emotions isn't, and I may not be the 
world's best Empath, but something's definitely the matter with you.  Would you 
mind cluing in a falcon? Maybe I can help. Besides, I could use a rest."
          	Tenchi sighed. "All right. But don't tell anyone, all right?"
          	"The exchange here will not leave my lips," swore Karasu.
          	"Well, it's two things, really," Tenchi said. "The first . . . you 
remember our little battle at the museum? I hate killing. I always have. I can't 
even eat whale meat because I've seen so many shows about their intelligence. It 
feels like eating a sapient being. Does that seem strange to you?"
          	"Of course not," Karasu said. "I don't even eat tuna fish because so 
many dolphins are killed in those drift nets."
          	"Well, the problem is . . . I seem to be *really good* at killing 
people. And at that museum, I started to enjoy it. I was disgusted with myself 
afterwards, but it was just . . . the battle was so fast-moving . . . I couldn't 
control myself. I'm responsible for the deaths of so many people now . . ."
          	"Tenchi, don't worry," Karasu said. "I can honestly tell you in this 
case that you weren't in love with killing, you were in love with *the battle.* 
Fights have a way of doing that to humans . . . the hormones running through 
your brain are so potent and moving so fast, anger can be mistaken for love, and 
you can lose control of yourself. A friend of mine once said, 'I have never seen 
a person kill who was not, for the moment at least, insane.' Just don't give 
into the insanity and you'll be fine."
          	"But when I fought with Kagato, I was in complete control of 
myself," Tenchi protested. "Why should I have control of the madness one time 
and then lose it later?"
          	"Weeell . . . when you fought Kagato, you weren't exactly on this 
plane of existence. Battle-madness doesn't exist for beings on that plane."
          	"What are you talking about?" Tenchi asked.
          	"I can't tell you right now. You aren't ready for it. If you were 
ready for it, I wouldn't have to tell you," Karasu said enigmatically. "What's 
the other thing?"
          	"I'm going back to school in a little less than two weeks," Tenchi 
said. "I've grown so much in some ways . . . but in others I feel exactly the 
same. I'm going to be seventeen in December . . . but emotionally I still feel 
like a barely sixteen-year-old kid unsure about so many things. I haven't even 
grown a quarter of an inch since the battle with Kagato. And then there's you 
and everyone else. I mean, I know you guys annoy me sometimes . . . no offense 
intended, Karasu,"
          	"Absolutely none taken," Karasu interjected.
          	" . . . but I'll really miss all of you when I'm back in school and 
having to do homework all the time. Even though I'll be repeating sophmore year 
because thanks to Ryoko our whole school blew up and they only finished 
rebuilding it over the summer, I'll have a lot of homework. I might not be able 
to spend so much time with all of you. I'll miss that."
          	"I don't think you'll have to worry about that, Tenchi," Karasu 
said. "We all won't disappear from your life because school starts again! And 
being seventeen isn't much different than being sixteen. I don't think any of 
your worries on this subject are founded."
          	"Thanks, Karasu," Tenchi said. He went back to thinning the new 
carrot crop. Karasu got up and began to run again. A ways down the road, Tanell 
appeared next to her, flying to keep up with Karasu's quick run. "Well?" she 
asked her friend. Being able to read Karasu's mind whenever she liked, she knew 
about Karasu's conversation with Tenchi.
          	"He was lying about some things . . . about one thing in particular, 
actually. I may not be the world's strongest Empath but I can sense *that* 
emotion after two straight nights of rain. And the things I lied about I think 
he bought."
          	"Well, that's good," Tanell said. "I take it you still need time to 
work on your dilemma about Washu."
          	"I'm afraid I do. Care to keep me company?"
          	"Why not? I don't really have anything better to do." Fire-dragonet 
and bodyshifted raptor ran along the carrot fields, keeping each other company 
in their presence.
          
          	"Hello, Sasami," Ayeka greeted her sister at the table where she was 
reading another one of Noboyuki's old hen-books. "Do you know where everyone 
is?" She had just finished her daily tending of Ryu'o in Washu's lab--all Ryu'o 
really needed was to be talked to and a little water and it was fine. By now it 
had grown into a healthy young tree. Although Ryu'o was not even as tall as 
herself yet, Ayeka had noticed recently that there seemed to be something 
*wrong* with her tree--not due to her tending or the unique setting in which it 
was growing--but something more fundamental. Maybe Ryu'o had had that problem 
all along, and she was just sensing it now due to her reinforced link with 
Tokimi.
          	Sasami sighed. "Washu, Ryoko and Kiyone are out for a walk in the 
woods. I don't know where Mihoshi and Karasu are."
          	"Karasu said she was going out for a long run this morning," said 
Ayeka. "Mihoshi probably went looking for her. With her luck, she just might 
find her."
          	"I'm glad she ate yesterday," Sasami said. "I don't like to think 
about what Karasu might do to Mihoshi if she surprised her."
          	"With Mihoshi, that is singularly unlikely," said Ayeka with a trace 
of irony in her voice. "Sasami, I've been wondering for a while . . . Could you 
teach me how to cook? I'm not asking to replace your role in the household . . . 
you cook better than anyone! It would just be nice to know."
          	"Really? You want to learn something from me?" Sasami exclaimed in 
excitement. "We'll start now! Come on, it starts out hard but you learn to love 
it!" She rushed into the kitchen.
          	"Karasu would probably say this is due to hero-worship among 
siblings and I'm showing Sasami that I treat her as an equal," Ayeka muttered to 
herself, and followed Sasami into the kitchen.
          
          	Karasu was running through part of the wooded area that formed part 
of Yosho's property when she smelled both things familiar and unfamiliar. 
"Mihoshi . . . I smell her, in the company of others whose scent I don't 
recognize," she told Tanell mentally. Glad of her ability to run silently, she 
moved into a watching position and made herself invisible. Tanell did so also.
          	What she saw confirmed the suspicions she'd had for a while. A 
slender man with light silver hair and a woman with a long loose ponytail of 
wine-red were walking into a very small spacecraft. Although they were some 
distance away, Karasu could clearly see the twin-branched eyebrows that were the 
signature of one who worked for whoever was controlling Tokimi. Smell was not 
the only sense that Karasu had in greater capacity than humanoids. The man was 
holding an unconscious Mihoshi in his arms. Karasu smelled drug-scent on 
Mihoshi. 
          	"I suppose this means we'll have to rescue her," Tanell said.
          	"Well, she is Family," Karasu pointed out. "Let's just wait until 
they go . . . I smell three people besides Mihoshi, but it makes sense that 
they'd leave a guard. We can take him, though. It'll be easy--he smells of 
drugs."
          	"Gotcha," Tanell assented.
          	Karasu waited, but she was used to waiting. When she hunted prey, 
she usually waited for hours before springing an ambush. This time the wait was 
much shorter. The man and woman Karasu had seen before left the cruiser and 
departed in a different direction. Karasu knew where they were going. "Tanell, 
please tell Washu that Ryoko is in danger--and show her what those people look 
like." 
          	Already relaying the information, Tanell nodded.
          	Karasu walked silently toward the cruiser, Tanell on her shoulder. 
The door had a keypad that required entering a password to get in, but Karasu's 
hearing wasn't bad, and she simply repeated the exact words that the woman had 
spoken, in the exact same inflection just to be sure, and the door opened for 
her.
          	Karasu was impressed by the cruiser's luxurious interior. The door 
opened into a sitting room filled with expensive ornamentations and the best 
furniture. There were two passageways. Karasu sniffed the left side. There were 
beds and a bathroom, both unoccupied. Mihoshi's scent was beckoning her, though, 
and from the right corridor. The third man's scent was very strong in there. 
Karasu knew he would be in there also. Figuring that it would be good to get the 
battle over as soon as possible, she dropped the invisibility spell and walked 
inside.
          	As soon as she walked in she realized she should have kept it up. 
She could smell the third man (and her acute sense of smell allowed her to tell  
that the being was indeed male) crouching behind the corner, invisible. It 
seemed that D3 (where had she heard that name before? Well, not that name, but 
the deity associated with that name) had used Tokimi's power to give unsuitable 
people Priestess Gifts. This was really serious. If magical Gifts were in the 
minds of those who were not properly equipped to know them, insanity and death 
would follow. There was nothing she could do about it now, though. Keeping his 
position in mind, she walked over to where Mihoshi was being held, got out her 
bloodcopper knife, and began to cut through the steel that held her.
          	Karasu abruptly jumped high and to the side. Several hypodermic 
needles stood in place of where her arm had been. She sniffed the air again. The 
man had moved.
          	"You're quick for an Earthling, I'll give you that," the invisible 
man said. "Fantastic gymnastic abilities, too. Where do you know that woman 
from? Is she your friend?" Karasu somersaulted out of the way as vial of acid 
poured onto the floor. It didn't eat through the floor, which was made of steel. 
Karasu sighed mentally at that fact. Steel walls would make it a lot harder for 
her to work magic.
          	"Your reflex time is simply amazing," the man's voice said. Karasu 
could sense a note of anger in his voice. He smelled of steroids, so the falcon 
figured she'd better end this before whoever-it-was got *really* angry. "I do 
not think you are even an Earthling, young lady. No Earthling could move even 
close to your speed. Would you care to tell me your planet of origin?"
          	Instead of answering, Karasu pounced at him, her legs moving to kick 
him in the belly. One leg landed there, but the man moved and the other one 
landed in his groin. All in all, she was not displeased with the error. With her 
added weight on the man's frame combined with the force of her successful kick, 
the man fell over onto a tray of hypodermic needles. "Nice try, you primitive 
bitch, but I immunized myself to these poisons long ago," he said. "Take these 
if you're so into poisons!" He moved to strike Karasu with hypodermic needles. 
She jumped off of his body and to the side, and the needles ended up on the 
floor in front of the invisible man's figure. As she landed, she felt her left 
heel land on something soft. There was a hissing noise, and a sharp pain in her 
leg. She instinctively grabbed the biter and came up with a familiar sight. 
*"Naja haje,"* she whispered, smiling softly. So. Her adversary probably thought 
he'd won. He was wrong. Egyptian priestesses were immune to the bite of this 
snake, through built-up resistance. Karasu would be a little hazy for a few 
hours, but she'd be fine.
          	"Yes, the Egyptian cobra," said Karasu's literally invisible 
assailant. "I took a side trip to pick one up in case of emergency. Their bite 
is extremely poisonous, fatal in fact, unless you get a shot of antivenin--which 
I'm not about to give you. Pity that you're going to die--you would have made 
*such* a spirited subject." Karasu felt his hands caress her in totally 
inappropriate ways and places. Karasu moved as if to give him a good left hook, 
but her swing was clumsy and she missed the place where his scent was 
concentrated. Colors of every hue were beginning to flood the room. Holding the 
Egyptian cobra in her hands, now totally calm in the presence of one who worked 
for its creator, she Sang softly in Priestess's Speech, telling it to go home. 
The snake vanished, and Karasu could "hear" it land in hot desert sands. She 
judged it was a good time to pretend to pass out.
          
          	"And, if you make certain to cut off the flowers of this plant on 
the first day they bloom, they make quite an exquisite cure for insomnia," Washu 
said, holding what looked to Kiyone like a weed between her fingers. Yet she 
could sense the truth of what Washu said, and Ryoko looked fascinated. Who would 
have guessed that inside such an angry mind was a healer's heart? She just hoped 
Ryoko heeded her advice.
          	"Really?" asked Ryoko, sounding entranced. "And what does this one 
do?" holding a plant with red and gold flowers up. 
          	"That one . . . well, there isn't a part of that flower that isn't 
useful! The roots, if taken with a liquid, cure balding, and without, makes one 
lose wrinkles. The sap is a very potent aphrodisiac, the stem and leaves, if 
woven into a patch, will cure any skin infection, and the flowers, if clipped 
and slipped into one's food, will cause a virgin's hymen to disappear. Learned 
that one the hard way. I'm just thankful that some people are born without 'em."
          	"Meow! Meow!" Ryo'oki, in her cabbit body, hopped up to Washu, stood 
on her hind legs, and pawed at the flower. 
          	"No, Ryo'oki, this isn't for you," Ryoko said, stroking the cabbit 
in an almost gentle motion.
          	"Meow!" cried Ryo'oki, and grabbed the flower in her mouth, only to 
find it relocated to Washu's hand. "No, little one, this isn't good to eat," she 
said.
          	Kiyone only then realized how late it was. "We probably should be 
heading back," she said. "Sasami will have dinner ready soon."
          	"That seems like a good idea," Washu agreed.
          	"Do we have to, Mom?" Ryoko begged. That surprised Kiyone. She had 
never heard Ryoko call her mother by name before.
          	Washu didn't look any less surprised, but soon her expression 
softened. "I'm afraid so," she said. Then her head jerked up. "Hold it!" she 
said, not looking at Ryoko but past her. Ryoko's body was tensed for action. 
Kiyone's forehead throbbed with sudden pain. She would be in for a bad migraine 
later.
          	"I'm warning you two, don't come any closer, or you'll regret it," 
Ryoko said. "Hey! What did I just say? *Now* you're in for it!" Kiyone's ears 
rang as Ryoko sped towards her invisible target.
          	"Ryoko!" Washu cried. Then she sighed. "She must learn this lesson 
on her own. C'mon, Kiyone." She dragged the Galaxy Policewoman into the brush. 
"We'll hide in here until they're done."
          	"But, Miz Washu, won't they remember we're behind here?" Kiyone 
asked in an urgent whisper.
          	"Don't worry," Washu said. "They've forgotten we even exist. I would 
do the same thing for Ryoko but it's kind of hard to forget someone who's 
attacking you." She didn't look very happy with that fact. 
          	Meanwhile, Ryoko was fighting her invisible enemies. She flew around 
them, disappearing and reappearing periodically, apparently trying to pinpoint 
their location. Kiyone realized that although Ryoko knew that there were two 
beings threatening her, she didn't know exactly where they were. She grinned 
suddenly and a fierce dry wind blew up, apparently intended to blow her 
attackers into a hard object, most likely a tree around here. Kiyone could 
faintly make out two humanoid figures unaffected by the windbreak. She could 
also see their footprints dug deeply into the sand. Kiyone was surprised. If it 
hadn't been for Washu's tight grip on her arm and leg, she would have been blown 
away herself. Why were these two unaffected? She had her answer as the ground 
under Ryoko opened up into a pit. Ryoko, unprepared, fell into it but soon 
recovered, flying up from what was opening up into endless depths. "Sorcerers," 
Kiyone breathed.
          	"If only it were that simple," muttered Washu next to her.
          	Electrical impulses flowed across the ground and up to where Ryoko 
was hovering. Ryoko flew several fancy maneuvers to avoid it until they died 
out. Grinning, she hefted her left palm and gathered bright crimson energy into 
it. She blasted it at one of the figures. The humanoid managed to shield most of 
it, but a little bit got through. He screamed in agony as the power scalded his 
skin. Ryoko smiled in triumph.
          	And then suddenly went limp and fell over. A woman with wine-red 
hair suddenly appeared behind Ryoko's limp form. a hypodermic needle of blue 
liquid. "Poison!" breathed Washu. "Let me see if I can analyze its content . . . 
ah, there we go," she said, her laptop suddenly appearing in front of her. "It 
works on metabolisms even faster than Karasu's, yet is long-lasting. There must 
be a third on this team. Neither of these humanoids look like the type that 
would know how to make this sort of poison."
          	Kiyone looked at the lane. A second humanoid, this one male with 
light silver hair, was getting up slowly, favoring his right leg. "Are you all 
right, Kumo?" the woman asked.
          	"I'll live," said the man called Kumo wryly. "I see you got Ryoko. 
Her and Mihoshi both--very good work, Sasori. The Marshal will be very pleased 
with us."
          	"So, Ryoko was actually right," Kiyone whispered in shock. "The 
Marshal *does* control the Spycatchers."
          	"Yes, but who controls the Marshal?" Washu wondered. Then she looked 
at their heads. "Twin double-branched eyebrows! I was afraid of this."
          	"Come on, let's take her back to the cruiser. I want to get back to 
Central Command and away from Suzumebachi as soon as possible," Sasori said. 
Kumo picked up the unconscious (at least Kiyone *hoped* she was unconscious) 
Ryoko and walked away.
          	"What do we do, Washu? They have Mihoshi *and* Ryoko! And where did 
Ryo'oki go?" Kiyone asked.
          	"At the moment, nothing. They have unholy power, and I don't want to 
find out if they obey the telepathy rules. At least they don't seem to be after 
any of the rest of us. I've got them on a trace. We'll find out where they're 
going, don't worry. As for Ryo'oki, she skedaddled back home during the fight. 
Now let's get everyone else." She helped Kiyone up, and the two of them started 
walking back to the Masaki residence.
          	Kiyone felt her forehead. "My headache's gone," she observed with 
surprise.
          	"Those two humanoids gave you a headache?" observed Washu with some 
surprise.
          	"Yes. It's strange, because Mihoshi gives me them all the time, but 
I always attributed it to stress. But those two just seemed . . . *wrong.*"
          	Washu said nothing, but she looked thoughtful.
          	
          	Karasu heard the door to her room open. She wanted to ignore it, 
(her brain was more interested in composing music at the moment than paying 
attention to real-life events) but she had been under the influence of snake 
venom before and she managed to force her eyes open a crack to look. Those two 
humanoids she'd seen before were carrying in an unconscious Ryoko. Her assailant 
was now visible. Karasu saw him as an impossibly muscled man with yellow (not 
blond; yellow) hair and a beakish nose. His appearance was almost as unsavory as 
his smell. Karasu closed her eyes again. She was supposed to be dead, after all.
          	The silver-haired man said, "We have Ryoko. Let's get her locked up 
now, before she comes to. Wait a minute, who's that?" He had presumably noticed 
her. "You can't abduct a native of this planet, Suzumebachi, alive *or* dead. 
The Marshal wouldn't be able to stand still for that. King Azusa would have his 
head or be banished from Queen Funaho's room for a *very* long time."
          	"I am quite convinced that this young woman is not an Earthling at 
all," Karasu's adversary . . . *Suzumebachi . . .* said. "I fought against her, 
and her reflexes were faster than the fastest Earthling's ever could be. And she 
seemed to know Mihoshi. She was trying to free her when I first saw her. *Quite* 
a worthy adversary. And she was bitten by an Egyptian cobra, a species of snake 
fatal to humans, and she has managed to cling to life."
          	Karasu swore mentally. She had thought Suzumebachi thought her dead, 
and would toss her out before she left. No such luck. Apparently she was on a 
trip to Central Command.
          	"Well, for your sake you'd better be right, Suzumebachi," the woman 
said. "If she really is an Earthling, you'll be cut off permanently, and that's 
if you're lucky. Now let's get back to Central Command."
          	"Oh, that's right. The Marshal sent a message while you were out. He 
was anxious to see his granddaughter again, so he wants us to meet at Galaxy 
Police Station Seven. From there, he will convey Mihoshi and Ryoko to their 
final destination, and the stranger will become a subject for study."
          	Karasu blinked. She could see the astral colors of Washu's tracer on 
the two who had just walked in, and she knew Washu would not be able to follow 
them once they had left the solar system. She probably assumed that this unholy 
trio were headed for Central Command, as well. How was she supposed to convey 
this new information? 
          	"Should I deliver it, Karasu?"	
          	Tanell! In her hallucinations, Karasu had forgotten about her fire-
dragonet friend still sitting invisibly on the shelf. She replied, in the 
special form of telepathy that the two of them shared, "Yes. Deliver the 
message. But not from here. They'll sense you if you tell Washu from here. 
Teleport back to the house and tell them there."
          	"But you'll be alone," Tanell protested.
          	"No sense in getting both of us captured. And Washu won't know where 
to look for us if you don't tell her. Go! Now!"
          	"I'll come after you," Tanell promised, and left the spaceship. 
Karasu lay unresponding, sinking back into her hallucinations, as Suzumebachi 
tied her to the table she was on just a little *too* tightly, and the cruiser 
took off, leaving Earth far behind.
          
          	Tenchi sat with Ayeka, Sasami, his father, and his grandfather 
Katsuhito as Sasami cooked dinner. They were all talking quietly, trying to 
avoid the subject that no one knew just exactly where almost everyone was. As 
much as he normally hated having everyone together in the house, he had to admit 
it was lonely without those missing.
          	Ryo'oki suddenly burst into the living room. She changed into her 
human body and said urgently, "Gone! Gone Ryoko! Taken!"
          	"Ryo'oki, calm down," Ayeka said. "You'll be able to talk more 
clearly if you're calmer." Ryo'oki grabbed Ayeka's legs and clung on, crying. 
          	"Here, Miss Ayeka, let me help you," Tenchi said, and tried to 
comfort Ryo'oki and get her off Ayeka.
          	Washu and Kiyone burst into the room then. "The Galaxy Police have 
Ryoko and Mihoshi!" Washu cried out. "We have to--"
          	She was interrupted by Tanell appearing in the middle of the room 
and keening mournfully at the top of her lungs for so long that even Sasami came 
to see what was the matter. The sheer anguish of it tore at Tenchi's heart. He 
wished Tanell could communicate her feelings. Then, to his surprise, she did. 
"The Spycatchers have Karasu!" she wailed in a mental voice pitched for everyone 
to hear. "Those unholy Galaxy Police Spycatchers have Karasu!"