And, finally, the dramatic climax to Tenchi and the gang's ordeal! In 
case you're new to this series, this tale picks up after Episode 13.5 in the 
Tenchi Muyo! OAV. Tenchi and the gang (and most of the Galaxy Police staff) are 
property of AIC/Pioneer LDC and do not belong to me. Characters Karasu, Sasori 
and Kumo are of my creation (sorry Suzumebachi bit the big one, but he was 
getting too dangerous to run around unleashed). Tanell is a creation loosely 
based on the fire-lizards in the *Dragonriders of Pern* series and does not 
belong to me. If you wish to use any of my characters, living or dead, or wish 
to ask questions,  or make comments or suggestions, E-mail me at 
QueenIsis94@aol.com. I wish to add that some of the characters' natures in this 
fic are of my own creation and do not necessarily reflect the ideas of the 
people at AIC. That being said, bring on the fanfiction!
          
       Tenchi Muyo: Manifest Destiny!
         
         Chapter 8: Galaxy Police Station Seven
         
          	Tenchi watched in bewilderment as Karasu glared angrily at the two 
new aliens who had approached them while they were all having their reunion. He 
supposed Karasu knew them--her calling them by names they recognized proved 
that--but he didn't see why Karasu was acting so antagonistically towards them. 
The fact that Karasu seemed to know them somehow didn't surprise him at all. 
Ever since he had seen Karasu in her true body, nothing much about her surprised 
him. Approaching the falcon, he said to her, "Karasu--,"
          	Ryoko cut him off. "Tenchi, these are two of the people who abducted  
us. Leave us to our business." Ryoko generated her energy sword and went to 
stand beside Karasu. "Kiyone, you'd better release Ayeka and Tenchi. These 
people are capable of . . . unusual things."
          	"But, Ryoko, these are members of the Galaxy Police--," Kiyone 
started to protest.
          	"They're Spycatchers," Ryoko stated.
          	Kiyone immediately went to work on Ayeka's DNA lock.
          	The woman, Sasori, said to Karasu in a tone pitched for a child of 
six, "Earthling, please stand aside. You know nothing of what you trifle with. 
The anomaly and Detective First Class Mihoshi must be given to the Marshal, for 
Queen Tokimi desires them."
          	Washu stared at Sasori disbelievingly. "They've got to be kidding," 
she muttered beneath her breath.
          	Karasu laughed with genuine amusement. She relaxed her posture 
somewhat. The two Spycatchers, if that's what they were, seemed pleased. Tenchi 
wasn't fooled. He'd seen Karasu fight once (even if it was only a practice 
session with his grandfather) and he knew she could go from her normal easygoing 
self to cold-blooded killer in 0 seconds flat.
          	"You *idiots,*" she said. "Do you really think Tokimi would order 
something like this? If you do, you must have joined this false cult after D3 
rearranged the cosmic order. It's D3 giving the orders, not Tokimi, and his 
motives are not in the Multiverse's best interest, believe me."
          	"D3," whispered Washu hotly. "I should have known. He's been after 
control of the Multiverse ever since Tokimi tricked him into giving it up 
because of misuse of responsibility all those eons ago!"
          	"What was that, Washu?" Tenchi asked. Washu's voice had been too 
full of rage for Tenchi to catch what she had said. 
          	"Oh, nothing," said Washu lightly. 
          	"Even the power you have been given is not truly yours," Karasu 
continued. "Magic among mortals is almost completely the province of the true 
followers of Tokimi, those who she has been lost to all these millennia. Yet she 
still continues to reward the worthy with magical Gift. *Your* magical powers, 
however, were funneled to you through the corrupting influence of D3, known on 
Earth as Re, El, Yahweh, whatever suits his fancy, and your minds are not suited 
for them. If you keep on your misguided direction, your minds will melt like wax 
under a candleflame. I urge you to renounce the stolen power D3 has given you. 
It is the only way to save your sanities." She spoke softly, but Tenchi could 
see her hands reaching behind her back for the two blood red sickle swords that 
were kept there. Tenchi wondered why he had never noticed those weapons before. 
His hands itched for Tenchi-ken, but Kiyone was having some trouble with Ayeka's 
DNA lock and hadn't gotten to his yet.
          	"Earthling, what are you talking about?" Kumo asked. "It surprises 
me that you have heard of the almighty names of D3 and Lady Tokimi. I had no 
idea that their influence reached so far as a primitive planet like yours. But 
your information is incorrect. D3 is only a faithful servant of the Lady's, 
doing work that she is too busy for. An honest misconception, I'm sure, but a 
dangerous one nonetheless. You must be corrected of your misled beliefs."	
          	"I happen to think that it is *you* two who have been misled," 
Karasu stated quietly. "The Tokimi I knew would have been more than happy to 
talk to any of her Priestesses, and from your words she has never spoken to 
you." 
          	Karasu would obviously have been more than happy to continue, but 
Sasori didn't want to hear any more. "You will not be swayed? Then, die! You 
are, as an Earthling, barely worth having as an ally anyway." Bright orange fire 
appeared from out of nowhere and engulfed Karasu.
          	"Karasu!" Tenchi cried. He had no romantic feelings for the falcon, 
but loved her anyway, as he would love an aunt or cousin he was close to.
          	"Karasu!" Kiyone and Ryoko yelled, at about the same time.
          	"Oh, no! Karasu!" Sasami said, and started to cry.
          	"Kar . . . asu?" Ryo'ohki asked sadly.
          	"Oh, my . . . Karasu . . ." Mihoshi whispered.
          	"What are you people worried for? Tanell's fine!" Washu asked 
curiously. It was then that Tenchi noticed how well Karasu had integrated 
herself into their family. Despite being an Earthling, an American, and to top 
it all of  carnivorous dinosaur in disguise, she had managed to gain the whole 
group's approval and affection, something no other girl at the Masaki residence 
had been able to do. Tenchi clapped his hands twice, and said softly, "I think 
in the future we should all try to emulate that poor woman."
          	"Lord Tenchi . . . look!" Ayeka pointed. The flames were dying down. 
Either Sasori had decided to stop their carnage or she simply didn't have the 
energy to maintain them any longer. And Tenchi could see a figure, almost as 
tall as his grandfather, standing there. 
          	It was Karasu.
          	Completely unharmed by the flames, in defiance of all logic, Karasu 
stood in the place where the flames had converged upon. Tenchi had only a few 
moments to notice in bewilderment that the flames had barely singed the walls 
and floors of the hall they'd been covered in when he realized Karasu had 
undergone a complete change of dress. She now wore a very thin dress that looked 
like it was made of cotton, colored an intense red, with wings somehow sewed 
into the fabric of the dress. Tenchi could see a darker color behind the red, 
and he thought that she was wearing something beneath it until he realized the 
dark brown color was actually her skin. Two snakes the same color of her swords 
covered her forearms, twining around them almost like they were living things, 
and she was wearing sandals whose twisting patterns went up almost as far as her 
knees. Her hairstyle had also changed radically. Part of her hair was tightly 
braided and rebraided together into sidelocks that fell stiffly down the sides 
of her cheeks, probably because they were all braided into each other. The rest 
of her curly hair was free to fall down the back of her head, but instead of the 
tangled mess it had been earlier, it was elegantly styled. Then Tenchi noticed 
something that should have drawn him much earlier. Her chest had somehow gone 
from almost flat to nicely endowed, but somehow that fact was not the most 
impressing change she had underwent.
          	"Well, how do you like that?" Ryoko asked rhetorically. "The mutated 
reptile has a chest after all! How did she hide it from me for so long? More 
importantly, *why* would she hide it?"
          	"She didn't hide it, Ryoko," Washu corrected her daughter. "She had 
enough time while she was pretending to be helpless behind the flames to change 
into her fighting clothes, and do you remember what she *really* looks like? No 
mammal ever had feathers, my dear. So what a mammalian bodyshifter would see as 
a necessity would be a useless nuisance to an avian one. But any Priestess of 
Isis knows that big chests are needed to attract men, so she simply keeps some 
extra flesh handy and appropriates it when the time comes to fight."
          	"But why would Karasu wear something like that to fight in?" Kiyone 
asked in bewilderment. "Doesn't she realize that without some sort of protective 
armor she'll be annihilated?"
          	Tenchi's eyes widened, remembering the red glow that had appeared on 
Karasu's raptor body after Ryoko had fired her energy ball at it. "She *has* 
protective armor, Kiyone," he said in sudden comprehension. "She wears a magical 
shield of some kind all over her body. It protects her from almost any attack, 
physical or otherwise. So she doesn't *need* physical armor."
          	"Hmm, that's very perceptive, Tenchi," Washu said in surprise. "But 
you failed to comment on her second layer of defense. Not only does she have a 
shield around her body, she also has them around her *mind,* protecting her from 
mental attacks as well as physical. The girl's not into taking chances, I can 
tell you that much!"
          	"But what is she doing over there?" Ryoko asked. "All that jumping 
around--she's not even trying to fight them. Just putting her swords and--What 
was that?" Kumo had just released an energy blast, similar to the kind that 
Ryoko herself often used, except it was red instead of orange, and quick as you 
like, Karasu's blood-red sword lashed out--and the energy blast was absorbed by 
the sword.
          	"Ahh, I see," said Washu. "That sword is made of a copper alloy, 
which is better than anything I know of for absorbing magical attacks. I can't 
wait till we can get home so I can analyze the material!"
          	Ayeka freed, Kiyone turned to Tenchi and started forcing apart the 
half-jammed locks that held him to the DNA lock. "Are you all right, Kiyone?" 
Tenchi asked the Galaxy Police officer. "You look like you have a headache."
          	"I often do," Kiyone said as she forced apart the complex locks 
without a single false move. "I've learned to put up with them, since no 
medicine in the galaxy relieves their pain. It's just one of my many crosses to 
bear."
          	Meanwhile, Karasu was forcing the two Spycatchers to move farther 
and farther down the passage, using actual *force* to make them fall back as 
well as expert slicing with her twin sickle swords. Sasori and Kumo had 
inflicted some damage themselves, though--blood from numerous cuts trickled over 
her body. 
          	But then suddenly the tables turned. Sasori suddenly started making 
headway against the terrible force threatening to crush them, and after a few 
seconds Kumo followed her example. Karasu's eyes widened, apparently realizing 
what Sasori and Kumo had in mind for her, and sang a few notes in a language 
Tenchi could *almost* understand, obviously trying to stop the spell the 
Spycatchers had in mind for her. 
          	But it was of no use. The Spycatchers were had control of the spell 
now, albeit not as finely tuned as Karasu had had it. Tenchi could see the walls 
bulging as Sasori and Kumo forced the entire power of the spell back on Karasu. 
Karasu tried to resist, but she refused to put the rest of them in danger by 
running away, so soon they had the falcon crouched on her hands and knees in a 
small pocket free of the terrifying force. 
          	"You helped us by ridding us of Suzumebachi, so I will give you a 
chance for an honorable death," Sasori said, and threw a gun through the force 
to Karasu's small pocket of free space. 
          	"There is no such thing as an honorable death," Karasu replied, and 
pushed the gun out of her reach.
          	"Very well," Sasori said. "I gave you chance after chance, but you 
insist on following your deluded beliefs. Now you must suffer." She opened her 
mouth, but before she could say anything, a Voice, its authority impossible to 
ignore, spoke out.
          	However, Tenchi couldn't understand a thing it said!
          
          	Station Chief Uchu carried yet another cup of tea to the Seventh 
Headquarters' commander. The Commander was a Wau, worse, one whose animal genes 
were that of a tigerid's, and he was easily excited into violence. It was a 
tribute to his control that he had made Commander of a police station, although 
the ruthless way he had pursued criminals in his younger days as an officer may 
have served as an outlet for his animal instincts. In any case, now that he was 
seated behind a desk instead of seated behind a cockpit of a spaceship, he often 
needed to be calmed when things in the station became overly chaotic, as they 
were now. Hence the tea.
          	Uchu set the tea down on the Commander's desk. He took it and drank 
it serenely, looking at Uchu with a definitely carnivorous look in his eyes. 
"Section Chief, I would like to show you a few things," he said in a perfectly 
calm voice.
          	Uchu had worked with flawed Waus in his boyhood and he knew, from 
experience with the few who retained enough of their sapiency to be able to 
speak, that calmness could be a prelude to attack. However, his mind told him, 
the Commander was not a flawed Wau, he had passed all the tests needed for a Wau 
to be accepted and had been brought up normally. So, even though he did not 
particularly want to, Uchu looked at the computer screens surrounding the 
Commander's desk and searched the data shown for anything suspicious.
          	"There! Don't you *see* it?" the Commander exclaimed after Uchu had 
been examining the shown data for a few minutes.
          	"I'm sorry, Commander, but I don't see anything," Uchu said. "All I 
see are the DNA profiles of that young Earthling woman those Spycatchers brought 
in last night."
          	"Yes!" said the Commander, his enthusiasm reaching the point of 
ferocity as he pointed fiercely at the DNA profile. "That woman's DNA profile 
showed quite plainly that she was nothing more than a normal creature, without 
any kind of special abilities whatsoever, like most of the officers we have 
around here. But look at this footage the security cameras took not ten minutes 
ago!"
          	The Commander pushed a button, and another screen replaced the many 
screens of data that had been present. Unlike those screens, the one now was 
blank. The Commander pressed another button and the screen lit up, showing 
footage that was obviously recently recorded.
          	In it, two Spycatchers summoned a blazing inferno that engulfed the 
humanoid he recognized as the young Earthling woman that the Spycatchers had 
brought in earlier. "I can't believe it," Uchu said. "How could they do that? 
That poor woman . . ."
          	"Wait and watch, Uchu," the Commander said with veiled ferocity.
          	As the flames died down, Uchu was both surprised and astounded to 
see the Earthling emerge from the flames without even being singed--and dressed 
in a thin gown with a beautiful hairstyle and makeup. Voices were conversing in 
the background, but the section chief paid them no mind. "I don't understand," 
Uchu said finally. "No Earthling could have withstood that assault, and that 
woman's DNA definitely classifies her as an Earthling! How could something like 
this be possible?"
          	The Commander looked at Uchu with the look of a carnivore who has 
just caught a large kill. "I have been monitoring the DNA patterns of the known 
Spycatchers entering this station, and there's nothing in *their* DNA patterns 
to indicate the kind of power they can wield either. And then there was that 
criminal Ryoko, who is apparently able to use her powers with a DNA lock on, 
too. I have been forced to open my eyes to new possibilities, Uchu. Some things 
may not be genetic."
          	"Speaking of geneticism, where is the Marshal?" Uchu asked. 
"Considering his concern for his granddaughter, he should be trying to do 
something somewhere, shouldn't he? I'm sure Mihoshi was one of the people in 
that recording."
          	"I wonder, Uchu," the Commander said. "if some of the rumors about 
the Spycatchers being the Marshal's special force aren't true after all . . ."
          
          	Ayeka watched in horror as the two abominations raised sharp steel 
knives and bent down to maim the now cringing Karasu. Ryoko moved forward to 
fend them off, but was reined in by Washu. "No, Ryoko," she said with perfect 
serenity, as if nothing was happening. "Later you will get your chance. Now 
someone else must learn of their power." Ayeka stared at Washu in amazement. How 
could she stop Ryoko? She was Karasu's only chance! What could be done to save 
this brave soul?
          	Ryoko screamed at Washu. Mihoshi wailed loudly and clung to Kiyone. 
Kiyone screamed at Mihoshi, and Washu explained the reason why Ryoko shouldn't 
fight in a long lecture that seemed faintly philosophical. Ryo'ohki wailed. 
Ayeka felt a tug on her pants. She looked down to see Sasami with tears 
streaming down her cheeks. In those streams Tsunami was reflected, staring at 
Ayeka with faith in her eyes. Ayeka knew then what she must do. Slowly but 
determinedly she removed Ryu'oh's key, letting the bright scarlet gem in the 
middle of her forehead shine in all its magnificence. Ayeka slowly felt herself 
fading away into a wider consciousness, desperately scrambling for a moment of 
freedom.
          	She let it take over.
          	She felt herself be hidden somewhere warm and safe, where *HE* could 
never find her. Then she heard herself say, "By the name of the power I have 
vested in you, I command you to *stop!*"
          	The two Spycatchers--*Sasori and Kumo*--she remembered, two of the 
unworthies who had been given her blessing, went pale and knelt down on the 
floor of the police station, cringing and cowering. Ayeka heard herself Sing 
words she could not understand. Her favorite daughter Karasu, free of the 
abominations' spell, stood up and started to laugh with joy. Ayeka saw her 
sister Washu nod in approval, and her younger sister Ryoko, who had not come 
into her powers yet, looked bewildered.
          	"Lady Tokimi!" exclaimed Sasori. "Why have you come to us after all 
this time instead of your trusted second? Have you come to congratulate us on 
overpowering this traitor to you?"
          	"You are even more foolish than I had previously believed," 
Ayeka/Tokimi snarled. "You honestly think I gave you my Gifts willingly. No. As 
my favorite daughter told you before, they were funneled to you through the god 
D3, who even now holds me captive and steals my power for his own means. For 
your participation in D3's treachery and for attempting to kill one of my 
adopted children I hereby strip you of all your Gift." Ayeka then heard herself 
emit more words she couldn't understand. When she had finished, both Sasori and 
Kumo staggered and fell to the ground, as if the gravity of the space station 
had increased fiftyfold.
          	Deep in her mind, Ayeka heard Tokimi say, :Well done. I now give you 
back your body freely. I must return to my prison now, lest my disappearance go 
noticed by *HIM*. Goodbye, sister. We will talk soon.:
          	:Goodbye, sister.: Washu's voice intruded. Then, suddenly, Ayeka was 
in full control of her body. She stumbled forward due to weight shifted while 
Tokimi was in her and fell right into Tenchi.
          	"Miss Ayeka! Are you all right?" Tenchi asked her with a strangely 
panicked note in his voice.
          	"Yes, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka answered, slipping Ryu'oh's key back on 
her forehead, once again covering her jewel. "I'm fine." And to her surprise, 
she realized that she was.
          	
          	Ryoko stared at Ayeka with a combination of newfound respect and 
fear. She had always somewhat respected the prudish Juraian princess, she 
conceded slowly, maybe even grown to like her a little, but she had no idea that 
she was capable of the kind of power she had just displayed. She looked at the 
two Spycatchers Ayeka had successfully disposed of. They were lying on the 
ground, gray-faced, unable to even move a finger. They looked like they were 
being crushed under some kind of invisible weight. 
          	And then there was the woman, that irritatingly familiar woman, who 
had appeared over Ayeka's upper body. No, not over--*entwined.* It was if this 
woman, who must be some sort of very powerful leader, and Ayeka were the same 
person! But of course that was impossible. But something strange was going on, 
and Ryoko wanted to find out what.
          	Running up and grabbing Ayeka from Tenchi's grasp (she must have 
*really* been out of it, not to notice that Ayeka was monopolizing her Tenchi's 
time) Ryoko shook the Juraian princess violently. "What was that all about? How 
did you do that? Who was that woman?" Ayeka looked bewildered.
          	Washu's hand touched her daughter's on the shoulder. "Calm down, 
Ryoko. The truth is actually quite simple. You see, when Ayeka was very young 
she and Tokimi, the Queen of the Multiverse, assimilated. Only due to her 
recapture by the god who had held her captive for 20,000 years, the assimilation 
was never finished. Therefore, she and Tokimi maintain a connection with each 
other, but due to her imprisonment by the god who saps her energy for her own 
purposes, the assimilation remains incomplete. However, at times Tokimi seems to 
be able to manifest more strongly than others, which would lead to a scene like 
this." She gestured at Sasori and Kumo.
          	Ryoko stared at Washu for a few minutes, along with everyone else, 
with the notable exceptions of Karasu and Ayeka. They began to laugh. "Oh come 
on, Washu!" Ryoko howled. "You can't be serious! Ayeka partially assimilated by 
the most powerful being in the universe! You must think I'm gullible or 
something! I mean, I know we all heard Yosho's story, but we all know he never 
tells a true one!" Ryoko laughed and couldn't stop laughing. Ayeka and the Queen 
of the Multiverse partially assimilated? That was a good one!
          	Unnoticed by the others, Karasu walked silently over to Ayeka and 
whispered in her ear, voice made shaky from suppressed laughter. "The truth. 
Works every time." Ayeka chuckled despite herself.
          	"I hear something!" Mihoshi announced. "It sounds like the Galaxy 
Police. But that's not good! We're here as fugitives and escaped prisoners!"
          	Karasu buried her face in her hands. "Oh, no! How could I have 
missed that?"
          	Tenchi walked over and glared at Kumo. "*You* did this, didn't you?"
          	Kumo distorted his face in what was intended to be an expression of 
hatred. "You bet . . . we did. We meant . . . for them . . . to capture you . . 
. after we had . . . disposed of . . . the false priestess . . . but this will 
work . . . just as well."
          	"They're getting really close," Karasu noted, sounding oddly 
detached. "A few more turns and they'll be visible."
          	Tenchi noticed Ryoko had changed into her fighting clothes. "Well, 
let them come," she growled.
          	"Meow! Meow, meow!" protested Ryo'ohki.
          	"No!" Mihoshi yelled, trying to run forward. Kiyone grabbed her and 
held her back, but she was frantic in her struggles. "Don't hurt them! They're 
my friends! No!" Her mouth opened again, and out came that strange language 
Tenchi had heard both Ayeka and Karasu use.
          	"Mihoshi, are you all right?" Tenchi asked her. But it was of no 
use. Mihoshi ignored him. Then the song stopped and Mihoshi stopped struggling 
and dropped to the floor, spent.
          	Karasu looked intrigued. "Do that again," she said curiously.
          	"Do what again?" Mihoshi asked Karasu.
          	Karasu sighed. "Why am I not surprised," she said sardonically.
          	"Here they come!" yelled Kiyone. Her gun was at ready. Ryoko looked 
ready to charge the entire contingent in the air.
          	The contingent of Galaxy Police were just visible. Their guns were 
poised and looked ready to shoot. They were running slowly, and when they saw 
everyone their expressions left no question about their intent.
          	Ayeka sighed and straightened. "I suppose I must excercise the 
authority of Jurai now," she said regretfully, only to be stopped by a tug on 
her arm.
          	It was Washu. "It wouldn't work," the greatest scientist in the 
universe said sadly. Sasami sobbed softly and clung to Ayeka.
          	"Hey, wait a minute," Kiyone said suddenly. "What's happened to 
them? They look all tripped up, and they've stopped advancing."
          	Ryoko let some of her battle-rage die down and looked at the 
advancing Galaxy Police more closely. They seemed to be running into something 
invisible, but something that tripped them up all the same. The ones who had 
first run into it looked like they were stuck to nothing, and the ones behind 
them kept tripping on the ones that had become stuck, and in turn became stuck 
to *them.* With a few short hops, (for her) Karasu had covered the distance 
between them and the stuck Galaxy Policemen. She brushed her hand over the 
invisible barrier, causing it to briefly glow scarlet. "Hmm," she said. "A net 
shield with the bubblegum effect, plus an absorption spell wrapped into it that 
makes whoever touches a person stuck to the net will in turn become stuck. 
Crude, but effective. Good work, Mihoshi."
          	"What did all that mean?" Ryoko demanded. "Why are the Galaxy Police 
stuck where they are?"
          	Washu sighed, as if she was reliving all her encounters with stupid 
people. "Ryoko, look at the barrier closely. What do you see?"
          	Ryoko stared. Slowly, she perceived a faint red glow shaped in the 
form of a net with the members of the Galaxy Police stuck to it also glowing 
red, a color that was spreading to the Galaxy Police members stuck to them. "I 
see it too," Ayeka whispered, but Ryoko was in no mood to listen to the Juraian 
princess.
          	"Do you see?" Washu said. "Good. What Mihoshi set up was a net that 
causes all that come in contact with it to become stuck to it, and due to a 
rogue element in her spell, all the people who come in contact with the people 
who came in contact with the net are stuck to those people, and so on and so 
forth."
          	"Wait a second," Kiyone said. "You keep saying *Mihoshi* did this. 
How could she have? Mihoshi doesn't have enough concentration to do something 
like this, nor the power."
          	"But I didn't do it, Kiyone!" Mihoshi said. "I really didn't! I 
don't know why Karasu and Washu keep saying I did!" Kiyone paused and stared 
down at her partner in consternation.
          	"Well," said Tenchi, "no matter who did it, it's done. Where do we 
go next? We can't go back, and going forward would be pointless. How are we 
going to get out of here? Kiyone, do you--,"
          	"Wait!" cried Ryoko. "We can't leave yet. Not until we've taken care 
of the Marshal."
          	"Ryoko, why would you want to hurt my grandfather?" Mihoshi asked in 
a confused tone. "He's done no one any harm, and without him, all of the Galaxy 
Police would cease to function!"
          	"But the Spycatchers referred to him as their leader," Kiyone said. 
"The Spycatchers are led by the Marshal. But who is leading him?"
          	"D3," Karasu said flatly. "The Usurper."
          	"D3 . . ." murmured Washu. "D3 . . . of course he would be in charge 
of all of this! This entire venture is bent to his design! He wants Ryoko in 
order to bring her under his control and have even more power. Mihoshi would be 
a useful sacrifice to bring the Marshal closer to his influence, what with her 
being a blood relative. Well, supposedly a blood relative. And Karasu--,"
          	"Ah, I'm an accident," Karasu spoke up. "One of the Spycatchers 
          thought I was an alien and brought me here to . . ." she glanced at 
Sasami
          ". . . study me." 
          	"You mean in order to get out of here we have to bring the Marshal 
to justice?" Ayeka asked. "But it's like Mihoshi said--the Marshal is the core 
of the Galaxy Police. Killing him would throw the entire Galaxy Police business 
into chaos!"
          	"Which could be a good thing," Washu mused. "As far as I know, the 
Spycatchers obey only the Marshal. If the Marshal died, not only would the 
Central Command be thrown into chaos, so would the Spycatchers. They would be 
unable to perform D3's dirty work."
          	"Well, having D3's will carried out is not something I'm fond of," 
Ayeka confessed. "All right, the pros outweigh the cons as far as I'm 
concerned."
          	"All right then," Tenchi said. "But that still leaves our original 
question unanswered. Where do we go from here?"
          	"Here," Karasu spoke up. Tenchi looked and saw a portion of the wall 
open up behind the falcon.
          	"Just how did you know that was there?" Kiyone asked Karasu.
          	"Simple. When Ryoko and I were still trying to find Mihoshi, an 
acquaintance of mine showed me one of these passages that led up to the 
Marshal's quarters. I'm more familiar with secret passages than I would like, so 
I started sniffing around for ones in this corridor in case of emergency. The 
smell of the air blowing out of the seams between the walls was a dead 
giveaway."
          	"Wow! How good is your sense of smell, Karasu?" Sasami asked.
          	"Better when I'm in my natural form," Karasu answered. "Now let's 
stop wasting time and start moving, okay?"
          	"Meow!" emphasized Ryo'ohki.
          	As they started down the tunnel, Tenchi seemed to think of something 
and asked Karasu, "Karasu, what did you mean back there when you said there was 
no such thing as an honorable death?"
          	"What I meant was, while there is no thing as an honorable death, 
there is no thing as a dishonorable death either. Does the doe die with less 
honor because the wolf kills it? Does the hero on the warfield die with any less 
honor than the silent movie actress with her head in the toilet? No, of course 
not, because it all gets them the same way: dead. They all end up in the same 
place with the same fate awaiting them, so what does it matter how they died?"
          	"You mean you don't believe in the Resurrection? How Jesus died to 
give his people a second chance?" Tenchi asked, then hit himself on the side of 
the head. Of course Karasu wouldn't believe it. She was a pagan.
          	"Oh, don't even get me *started* on Jesus," Karasu said.
          	The door slid shut behind them.
          
          	Kyoshin, Marshal of the Galaxy Police, bowed and prostrated himself 
next to the figure of the god D3. Right now D3 was very angry with Kyoshin, and 
that spelled trouble for him. Deep inside, so in a place so removed he could 
hardly feel it, it angered him that he would grovel to even such a being as D3, 
the most powerful being in the universe. But he was under no illusions as to who 
was in charge of the universe in the Tokimi-D3 team. If D3 so wished, he could 
vaporize Kyoshin right where he stood, and there would be nothing either he or 
Tokimi could do to stop him.
          	"My lord, ruler of the universe, please let me express a thousand 
apologies for losing those you desired," he groveled, knocking his forehead 
against the floor. "I have assigned the remaining Spycatchers from Central 
Command to search for them, and be assured that they will be recaptured soon, 
perhaps even as we speak--,"
          	"You fool." D3's tone was heavily loathing. "Those gifted with 
Tokimi's power were robbed of their power. Only Tokimi has the power to 
permanently tear these gifts away."
          	"Is Tokimi loose again?" the Marshal asked with trepidation--
understandable, since if Tokimi ever got loose for good and destroyed D3 his 
name would be mud.
          	"No. That is what puzzles me."
          	Kyoshin wisely kept silent.
          	"Now. What will you do about this situation?" D3 asked him, sounding 
eerily calm.
          	"As soon as you leave, I will appoint all the Spycatchers resident 
in this Galaxy Police station to find Ryoko and Mihoshi, where they will be 
given to you to do your bidding. You need not worry. Some of the Spycatchers in 
Galaxy Police Station Seven are quite competent."
          	"No. That will not do. Mihoshi, Ryoko, and the people who rescued 
them are already in the secret passage system, heading towards your quarters to 
defeat you. One of them is a follower of the rebel cult who is quite powerful. 
She is an Earthling, I understand."
          	"The Earthling woman?" Kyoshin exclaimed, so surprised he spoke out 
of turn. "Mihoshi mentioned her. She said her name was Karasu."
          	"Karasu . . ." The Marshal could almost see D3 inwardly roiling with 
anger. "I see. That was why I sensed that the rebel Priestess was only using a 
fraction of her power." His voice was clipped with anger. "Anyway, Mihoshi does 
not matter. She is only a minor conquest. It is Ryoko who gives me pause." The 
red gem in the center of D3's forehead glowed briefly, and a pentagram-shaped 
box fell into Kyoshin's lap.
          	"There," D3 said, his voice returned to its normal unemotional 
tones. "I have given you a gift in order for you to deal with this rebel 
Priestess as well as the anomaly Ryoko. It is an oni, a very powerful and 
intelligent one. It will be hungry for life-force, so do not open the box until 
the rescue team has reached you. Their life-forces will be rich and sweet to the 
oni, so it will take care of your problems for you. It will not attack you as 
long as you hold the box, so you need not worry about yourself." 
          	The Marshal could only stare at the gift D3 had bequeathed at him. 
An oni! The Marshal had heard stories about their rapacious hunger and they 
impressed him. He was also greatly honored by D3's trust in him to handle one. 
Knocking his head against the floor again, he said, "Thank you, my lord. I will 
not fail you again. Soon, my Spycatchers will be readying Mihoshi and Ryoko for 
transport to your temple."
          	"You have never failed me before," D3 said. "That is why I am giving 
you a second chance. Oh, and Kyoshin . . ."
          	"Yes, my lord?" asked Kyoshin.
          	"When you have subdued the escaped prisoners' group, bring me the 
Earthling woman as well."
          	"As you wish, my lord," Kyoshin murmured. He did not know what D3 
wanted with an Earthling woman, but the god almost never let on his plans to his 
followers. D3's image then disappeared, leaving the Marshal alone in his suite.
          	Except for the pentagam-shaped box. The Marshal touched it, 
imagining he could feel the oni struggle inside. Then he stood up and started to 
prepare for the rescue group's arrival.
          
          	"How much closer are we to the Marshal's quarters?" Sasami asked.
          	"Meow, meow!" wailed Ryo'ohki.
          	"Shouldn't be too long," said Mihoshi cheerfully. "I'm pretty sure I 
recognize this passage."
          	"I told you we shouldn't've let her lead," Kiyone grumbled.
          	"What choice did we have? She's the only one of us all who knows the 
way to the Marshal's quarters," Ayeka sighed.
          	"Well, if you ask me--Ow!" Karasu cried, and tripped over, the 
falselight that lighted their way falling with her. 
          	"What is it, Karasu?" Tenchi asked. 
          	"Stairs." Karasu's falselight moved forward to highlight a set of 
stairs.
          	"Not again . . ." Sasami sighed.
          	"Well, there are no other passages, so we might as well go up them!" 
Mihoshi announced.
          	"No other passages," Ayeka said to Washu. "Do you think . . ."
          	"Don't start me hoping," Washu said wearily.
          	After a long climb, they reached the top of the stairs. There were 
no other corridors heading any other way, just a door. "This has to be a trap," 
Kiyone muttered, rubbing her forehead.
          	"That's the way it smells," concurred Karasu. "But it's the only 
way. If we don't stop the Marshal, the Spycatchers will be free to wreak havoc 
on the universe in Tokimi's name. We can't let that happen."	
          	"Well, he'll have a hard time stopping me!" Ryoko yelled, floating 
up above the ground. "Ahhhh!" She charged towards the door in midair.
          	"Ryoko, stop!" Washu cried as the door opened and Ryoko, unable to 
stop herself, flew halfway across the open room. "The door is unlocked," she 
sighed.
          	"Well, it's too late to turn back now," Ayeka sighed and they all 
ran forward into the room. The Marshal was standing there with something cradled 
in his arms, a smug smile on his face.
          	"Do you think he has some sort of trap ready?" Tenchi asked with 
trepidation.
          	"I'd say definitely," Karasu growled.
          	"Marshal!" Kiyone said, holding her gun ready. "We know the truth 
now! You have been exposed as the leader of the treacherous group the 
Spycatchers, and a follower of a false cult! Surrender or be prepared to be shot 
down!"
          	"Kiyone, you idiot," Washu sighed.
          	The Marshal made no answer, but instead opened what he had been 
cradling in his arms. A black circle opened up in the middle of the room and out 
flew a creature made of white flowing material with twelve red eyes, two long 
arms with wicked curved claws, batlike wings, and long, strong legs.
          	"Ah yes, my pet," the Marshal crooned. "Get them!"
          	The oni reached out one long arm for Karasu, but she was too fast 
for it. As the arm stretched out for Karasu, the falcon jumped backwards, 
bounced off the wall, then the other wall, then jumped backwards until she was 
at the very end of the room opposite from the oni. "Where's something sharp made 
of iron when you really need it!" the falcon complained.
          	"Don't just stand there! Get her!" the Marshal yelled.
          	Growling, the oni started to reach backwards for the Marshal, only 
to apparently change its mind and face the gang again. "Let me guess," Karasu 
said sardonically. "Whoever gave you power over the oni only specified that the 
demon would not attack you, not that it would obey you."
          	"What business is it of yours, freak?" the Marshal yelled.
          	"I see," Karasu said, correctly interpreting the Marshal's statement 
as "yes." "I wonder what Re gave you so that it would not attack you?"
          	"Grandfather Kyoshin, why would you do this?" Mihoshi asked, tears 
streaming down her cheeks. "These people are my friends! Why would you send out 
kidnappers to take them away? Why would you try to kill them?"
          	"Mihoshi, things are not as they appear," the Marshal said. "Your 
so-called 'friends' are deceiving you! Soon all will be made clear."
          	The oni was moving again. Tenchi could sense its hunger, its need 
for spirit energy. A word, unbidden, came into his mind. *Ka.* He gasped as he 
saw it move towards Mihoshi. "Get out of the way, Mihoshi!" he yelled.
          Mihoshi made a small sound, paralyzed with fear, but did not move.
          	"Oni! Get away from her!" the Marshal yelled, but the oni did not 
heed him. It continued moving towards Mihoshi with the same pondering 
inevitability. 
          	"It will not obey you, remember?" Washu commented slyly.
          	The Marshal looked trapped as the oni continued to move towards the 
frozen Mihoshi. Just before the oni scooped Mihoshi up in its arms, the Marshal 
jumped in, pushing Mihoshi out of the way. As he moved, the box that he held 
slipped out of his hands and flew into the wall, where it shattered.
          	"Slippery. Like all of D3's gifts," muttered Washu.
          	They all watched in horror as the oni absorbed all of the Marshal's 
life energy, the Marshal slowly turning into a flopping doll. When it was done 
feeding, the oni threw him aside like a spoiled child (fortunately he landed on 
the couch). Then it extended a clawed hand towards Ayeka. Ryoko moved to protect 
her, drawing her energy sword.
          	"Ayeka, Ayeka!" Sasami cried. "Meeow, meow, meow!" echoed Ryo'ohki.
          	Something inside Tenchi snapped. He moved far deep in his mind, 
unconsciously reaching for the power that lay dormant deep inside him. There was 
a flash of light, and suddenly Tenchi appeared differently dressed, with three 
Light Hawk Wings in front of his body. And he knew everything. He knew, for that 
instant, why everything was as it was, the truth about his companions, and even 
the meaning of life itself.
          	And he was completely in control of his actions.
          	"This is amazing!" Washu exclaimed. "I've never been right there 
with him when he's done this! I've got to get this data down!" She pulled out 
her Computer and began to tap furiously on the invisible keys.
          	Washu was furiously typing. "Amazing! The material to anti-material 
ratio in his body . . . it's almost as if . . . No! Too much data! Well, at 
least I got *something* this time." 
          	Tenchi released the three Light Hawk Wings. They formed a triangle 
around the oni and slowly forced it back into the black hole in the center of 
the room. The oni roared as it was forced back into the world where it came 
from. Then the Light Hawk Wings moved around the black circle, forming a 
triangle shape around it and forcing the circle to collapse in on itself. When 
they were done, the Light Hawk Wings moved back to surround Tenchi and 
disappeared, leaving Tenchi as confused as he ever had been.
          	"Grandfather Kyoshin!" cried Mihoshi, bending over his prone body. 
"Grandfather, speak to me!" There was no answer. The Marshal lay unmoving on the 
couch, his face pale and drawn underneath his chocolate-colored complexion.
          	Ayeka took his pulse. "He's not dead," she said slowly.
          	"He might as well be," Washu said. "Demons of all kinds, not just 
onis, feed on a being's *ka*-force, its life-energy. The Marshal was heavily 
drained by that oni, and he'll only live if he has good care and a strong will 
to live."
          	"Oh, my. We should get help!" Mihoshi said.
          	"Well, considering the circumstances, I'm not averse to leaving him 
here," Ryoko said, lowering herself to the floor.
          	"I'm afraid the choice has been taken from us. I hear people 
approaching," Karasu said.
          	Kiyone looked at her bracelet. "Oh, no! It's Chief Uchu and 
Commander Nobeyama! They can't know what's been going on here! They'd never 
believe it, and my sentence on Earth would be for life!"
          	Karasu touched Kiyone's shoulder. "Then do what any respectable 
Priestess would do. Lie."	
          	"I don't like that idea," Kiyone said. "But it seems to be the only 
way."
          	"Remember, keep it simple!" Karasu whispered to Kiyone as the door 
to the Marshal's suite opened.
          
          	:I have new respect for Kiyone,: Karasu quietly Mindspoke to Tanell 
as she listened to the member of the Galaxy Police rattle off a believable but 
patently untrue version of what had happened in the Marshal's suite. The Marshal 
himself was being carted out on a stretcher. He would be treated with the best 
of care in the Seventh Station infirmary. The Commander had initially wanted to 
take him to Central Command, but the medics had informed him if the Marshal 
placed on a spaceship, he would die.
          	:Me, too,: Tanell commented as she listened to Kiyone wrap up her 
tale. 
          	"Well, sub-Chief Kiyone, you have proven yourself once again to be 
an able detective," the section chief said. "And all of you were invaluable in 
this operation. What would you like from us before you leave?"
          	Karasu grinned. "I would like to eat all I can hold in your 
cafeteria!"
          	"But that's so little to ask," the section chief protested. "Don't 
you want medals, or honorary memberships, or *something* substantial?"
          	"Don't think Karasu's request is insubstantial," Washu said. "Have 
you ever *seen* her eat?"
          	"I haven't eaten anything in four days," Karasu stated. "I want to 
*gorge.*"
          	"A good meal would do us all well!" said Tenchi cheerfully.
          	"But . . . don't you want something more?" the Commander asked.
          	"We didn't really do anything," Tenchi said. "Anyway, we don't need 
things like medals to prove what we really are."
          	"I'm just glad that the statute of limitations on my capture 
expired, so you guys can't arrest me," Ryoko confessed.
          	"Well, if that's all that you want . . . let me take you to the 
officers' dining room, where the finest foods are offered," the Commander said.
          	"I can't wait!" Karasu cried.
          	"Huh," said Ayeka. "I can't shake the feeling that we're forgetting 
something."
          
          	Sasori and Kumo were walking. Every step was hard to take, for the 
blessing of Tokimi that had been ripped from their essences made their hearts 
heavy with a feeling they could not understand. They reached their cruiser, and 
collapsed into the pilot and co-pilots' seats.
          	"It couldn't have been Tokimi. Not really," Kumo said.
          	"I don't know. Only Tokimi would have the power to take our 
blessings back. Not even D3 can do that," Sasori said, panting.
          	"Tell me about this manifestation of Tokimi," a familiar voice said.
          	"D3," said Sasori. "Forgive us for not bowing, but losing Tokimi's 
blessing has sapped the strength from our bodies."
          	"I will forgive you as long as you tell me about this manifestation 
of Tokimi," D3 stated.
          	Sasori and Kumo related the story of how Tokimi's blessing had been 
rent from them.
          	"I see," said D3 when they were finished. "And who was the woman who 
the image based itself around?"
          	"I'd know her anywhere," Kumo panted. "She's Princess Ayeka, from 
the royal family of Jurai."
          	"I forgive you for losing to these people in light of these 
conditions," D3 said. "I have a proposition for you. Fly your cruiser to my 
temple in the center of the universe. Your fuel will be enough to get you there, 
and I will lend you energy for the trip. When you get there, you will be blessed 
with Tokimi's power again, power beyond your wildest dreams."
          	"Yes, sir!" Sasori and Kumo said, and, feeling revitalized, knocked 
their heads on the floor.
          	Soon after, the Galaxy Police cruiser left Galaxy Police Station 
Seven and took off for parts unknown. It was never seen or heard from again.
          
          	On their way home in *Yugami,* Tenchi opened the door to Karasu's 
guestroom and watched her sleep. *I've never seen anyone eat so much in my 
life,* he thought. She and Mihoshi had eaten at least four people's worth of 
dinners in the officers' cafe and both had been really groggy later.
          They'd gone to sleep as soon as they'd entered their rooms, soon after 
they had boarded *Yugami.* According to Kiyone, it was Mihoshi's job to pilot 
the skimmer, so it didn't matter. Tenchi yawned. It had been a big couple of 
days, and he was going to school in a few more. But he knew now that Karasu had 
been right. The adventures wouldn't stop just because school was starting again. 
His schedule would be tightly packed indeed. The spaceship was relatively quiet. 
Washu had taken Sasami home in Ryo'ohki in order to calm her. The ordeal with 
the oni had left her in hysterics. Tenchi doubted Sasami would want to go on any 
more adventures anytime soon. Tenchi yawned. It would probably be a good idea to 
go to bed.
          	BOOM! 
          	"Are you crazy, Ayeka? Tenchi rescued me! You were just in the way."
          	BOOM!
          	"Tenchi definitely rescued me! If you hadn't moved next to me you 
wouldn't even have mattered to the oni!"
          	"Will you two SHUT UP? I can't pilot this spaceship with all this 
noise!"
          	BOOM!
          	"He rescued *me!*"
          	BOOM!
          	"Me, I tell you, me!"
          	"All right, you two! Do you want me to pull over and knock some 
sense into your heads, because I will!"
          	Tenchi smiled. Some things never changed.