Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! is owned by AIC and Pioneer. Not me. I just wrote the story. So there. Author's Opening Thoughts: I like to stay consistent with my Tenchiverses, so instead of crossing them, this is set in the Tenchi Universe (Tenchi TV) setting. I needed Kiyone in it to make it work... so yeah. Have fun... "Partners In Crime" by: Jacob McDonald Mitsuki was having a bad day. True, she had gotten Kiyone kicked off the force (finally) and she had gotten Mihoshi put in a retraining course (for the safety of the universe) and she had been given comendations by HQ for her actions in catching Kiyone consorting with known criminals. However, they had also passed the asignment of capturing Ryoko off to her. As soon as she had been given the asignment, she had felt a dull pain start in the back of her head, and it had only grown worse since then. The stupid whore pirate and the twice damned princess were tougher to capture then she had thought they would be. Apparently, Kiyone had been trying harder then she thought. Now she was desperat. A transmistion from HQ had informed her that if she didn't capture them within the next month, that she would be realed back in and reassigned. She didn't want a failure like this on her perfect record, so she was determined to get the two law breakers more then ever. It was because of all this that the red haired GP officer found herself sitting in her quarters with her hair up in a coloring wrap (she wasn't a natral red head, she was blond) scaning pictures on her personal computer screen of the duo who had caused her such grief. It was definetly the princess, but with Kiyone's new Juri knight boyfriend breathing treaties and diplomicy down her neck, she couldn't go public with the news. The GP was only interested in Ryoko it seemed, but Mitsuki knew she'd have to get the princess too... or get her out of the way... to get to the pirate. She sighed as she scaned another picture taken during one of the many daring escapes the two had made. She sat bolt upright as she noticed something. Flipping back through several more combat pictures she saw the same thing several more times. The princess's sword was glowing with blue light. "The Juri power..." she breathed. She was familure with most of the powers granted to the Jurians, especially the nobility, and she didn't seem to remember one about channalling the power though a solid object. The creation of energy swords and other weapons was common, but not enchanting a blade... Zooming in on it, she got a good picture of the whole blade and saved it. Tapping into her official GP regisration, she contacted the GP office in the capital of Juri. "Sir?" a sleepy eyed second class detective ansawered the comunication, "It's the middle of the night here Sir, what can I do for you?" his eyes popped open a little bit wider when he saw that she was dressed for bed as well. "I'm sending you a file now." Mitsuki barked, "I want you to look in the library tomarrow, and take it to the Juri Inteligence Office as well. I want all the information on the blade you can get me. Translate the writing on the side, and include that in the report. Is that understood?" "Yes Sir!" the detective saluted smartly. "Good. Goodnight Detective." "Goodnight Sir. Sleep well." "You too..." Mitsuki smiled wanly, "Though you may wish to do it AFTER your watch is over." The detective blushed slightly, "Yes Sir." and the screen went blank. Mitsuki sat back. She would wait for the information on that sword before she made another move on the two pirates. If she came up with something that would help her, she would be in the green and ready to take them down. If she didn't... She frowned. She just wouldn't think of what would happen if she didn't. Ryo Ohki streaked through space, a silent black form against a silent black back drop. Inside the large red dome that adorned the top of her space ship form, two figures sat in thought, disturbed by what they had just heard. The news had just reported that Kiyone had been tried and discharged from the Galaxy Police for consorting with Ryoko and her gang. It had made the two woman feel bad for having her help them so much, and for helping her to rescue Mihoshi. "We sholdn't have let her come..." Ryoko said, clenching her fist so tightly she thought for a moment she was going to break her own hand. "We couldn't have stopped her. She knew the risk when she asked for our help..." Ayeka grit her teeth at having to be the voice of reason. She didn't really like the situation any more then Ryoko did. They sat in silence for a few minutes more, then Ryoko looked up, "Ryo-Ohki, where are we exactly?" "Meyow!" the space craft replied and a screen popped up. Ryoko and Ayeka inspected it. "We'll be inside Juri's check point space in a day and a half." Ryoko said. "Then we should get a new ship soon. If we're just passing through then they wont stop us." Ayeka nodded. "Alright, we'll keep an eye open for posibal ships we can steal then. Ryo-Ohki! Land us on the next major planet that has a space port." The black ship spun off into space. Nagi berated herself for the hundreth time in a week. How could she have let them slip past her? She let her gaurd down for one night to have a little fun, and they left. Had they known she was still following them? No, they couldn't have... Ken-Ohki was a blessing to her once again. He was able to follow Ryo-Ohki's ether trail as if he was a cabbit in heat going after his mate. "And that had better not be the case..." Nagi growled at her ship, knowing it could hear her thoughts. "Kahow!" Ken-Ohki responded moarnfully. Nagi growled again and then inspected the course they were on. It seemed to be leading them directly to Juri. So they were going to seek sancuary in the royal coart. Not a bad idea with half the GP on their tails, and Kiyone out of the picture. Nagi passed off the fact that the ex-GP officer no longer employed her, and the fact that she was still carrying out the orders she had been given by Kiyone, by thinking that she had already been paid, and she was just finishing her job. Deep down though, even if she wouldn't ever admit to it, Nagi was interested. She wanted to know how things turned out, and she was going to find out. "Ken-Ohki! They're course is taking them to Trinit 4, probobly because it has a space port. Take us there, and land us just outside the Jurian colony." "Kahow!" Ken-Ohki replied and flew deeper into space. "So you two were going to steal a ship so you could pass through the Juri border checks, and Nagi was following you still?" Sasami asked, her eyes twinkling. "That's right," Ayeka said, "but I think Kamidake may have something to add here..." "Well, yes..." Kamidake looked around the room and took a deep breath, "This is where the story gets really nasty. You see, with Kiyone out of the picture and in detainment, I was keeping tabs on Mitsuki, knowing that she had been given command of the opperation to capture Ryoko. I found out she had been snooping around trying to get information on a particular Jurian artifact." he pointed to Ayeka's belt, "The sword called Star Reaver." Mitsuki rushed down the hall of Galaxy Police Maximum Security Sub-Space Prison Block 16 with a sence of urgency. She wanted to get this over with. Her investigation into that sword had turned out to be a bigger lead then she had thought it would be. As it turned out, the sword was called Star Reaver, and had belonged to a now dead family line several thousand years ago. How Ayeka had come into posetion of it still baffled her, but she did know something very interesting about it. It seemed that it was forged by a master smith who had made it of a mettle called Surkrit. Using an anciant Jurian forging technique, he had infused it with part of his own soul, and given it the ability to chanalle and enhance Juri's power. More digging had revealed why he had made such a weapon. During the Yano Era when the sword had been made, there had been a man named Korsha who had a strange power that not even the Jurian emporess could match. The man's energy was said to be beyond anything the univerese had ever seen. The power had driven him mad however, and he tried to over throw the empire and instate his own kingdom. As invincibal as Korsha was however, there were two things that were discovered that seemed to be able to hurt him. The Juri power and the rare mettle Surkirt. The smith had hit upon the idea that combining the two might produce a weapon that could kill Korsha. He had forged the sword and given it to one of the most powerful and noble men in the court. That man had been called Euric Hamelt, and he had battled the mad man and won. Korsha had been imprisoned in a stasis crystal, and then in a sub-space prison area when the GP had developed them. He was considered a Class A criminal, and his sentence was eternity. Mitsuki came to the gaurd stationed outside the control area and saluted smartly. The gaurd saluted back. "I need access to this area." she said, "For some information." "I'm sorry, but my orders are to not let anyone enter here, EVER." the young gaurd replied, "I'll need written orders from my commanding officer and your ID..." "Never mind that. I out rank your commanding officer, and this is my ID..." she held up her GP pen and her ID slid out of it. The gaurd inspected it and nodded. "You can go through as soon as I have confrimation of you being able to use this area from Captian Grengytle. One momnet please." he turned to a computer pad next to him and was about to start entering in a code when Mitsuki pulled a small blaster out of her uniform. She fiered one shot and it hit the guard squarly in the back. He fell to the floor, convulsing from the shock blast. "You'll be better in a few hours..." she said to him, "If you're still alive. I have no idea what Korsha will do." Stepping over his body she walked through the doors and into a large round room. It had moniters all over it, showing varius read outs on the stability of the sub-space generators, and other important functions of the prison. She walked over to one of the control pads and weakened the sub-space pulse emitter on one side of the containment area. A grey energy crackled there, and a face appeared. "Who is it that would diturb my eternal imprisonment?" asked the face. It was made of some strange grey protomatter, and the eyes and mouth were just open black voids. There were no nostrials. "My name is Mitsuki, and I'm with the Galaxy Police." she replied to it, smiling, "My friend... Korasha... I have an interesting proposition for you...." The evil man listened. Kamidake had been traveling at high speed for several hours. He now had the GP sub-space holding area in his crusing speed distence, and was rapidly coming up on it. How could that woman be so stupid? She wasn't planing on releasing one of the most dangerous criminals the galaxy had ever known just to get a promotion was she? His worst fears were realised as the contanment block vanished in a surge of grey light. He came up to the remains and scaned for life signs. Finding only one, he went to it and saw it was Mitsuki in an escape pod. Always thinking of herself first. As he took the red headed GPO abord, he scaned for signitures of Korasha's power and found a trail heading on a b-line for Juri. He cursed under his breath as he stalked off to Mitsuki's pod. Upon ariving he found her climbing out of it. He strode forward and grabbed her by the throat. Lifting her small form bodily off the ground with one hand he began to scream, shaking with pure fury. "Do you have any idea what you've done? You have released one of the Galaxy's most dangerous men, EVER! For your sake, Princess Ayeka had better be able to use that sword to slay him, or I will make sure you die a slow, painful death! What were you thinking? Did you think you could control him? Offer him a lesser sentence? Talk to me!" she was choking by then, so he threw her to the floor where she gasped for breath. He scowled down at her, "You are hereby taken into the custudy of the Juri Empire. You will be imprisoned upon our return to Juri." a tree cage sprang up around her and she remained on the floor, sobbing and holding her throat. "See any promising ships?" Ayeka asked as she walked up behind Ryoko. The space pirate was staring out over the docking ports of Trinit 4, inspecting every ship, and the security around them. She and Ayeka stood on top of a large building in the central city area of the colony. "A few..." Ryoko seemed distracted by something. "What's wrong?" Ayeka asked. "I have a funny feeling... like we're being watched..." Ryoko shook her head and turned to the princess, "Forget about it. Did you get the suplies we need?" "Yes, and some clothes for you as well." They had decided that civilian clothing would be needed to get past the Juri border checks, as their pireting gear was a little suspitious. Ayeka was the Princess, but they still wanted to get to Juri without detection, simply because the GP seemed to be fanatical about capturing them. They weren't sure they would be left alone, even in Juri space. "Thanks." Ryoko took the clothing and stepped back from the edge of the building. Ayeka watched her as she quickly undressed and changed. Ayeka had already changed her own clothing, and now wore a simple Jurian dress and a mid-drift exposing long sleaved shirt. Ryoko's outfit consisted of red leggings and a white dress, slit up both sides, with a low cut blouse that amplified the effect of her sizable chest. "You got the style right for me," Ryoko grinned at her, "But what's up with your top Ayeka?" "I've grown used to the air across my belly..." Ayeka blushed slightly, "I'll change back into my normal clothes before we reach Juri..." "You shouldn't." Ryoko smiled even wider, "You should just give your parents the shock of a life time." "I don't feel like being Empress yet, thank you, and I fear that would give them both heart attacks..." Ryoko laughed with the princess and they started off to the elevator that would bring them to the ground. "So what ship do you think?" Ayeka asked as they stepped onto the lift. "The Lighthawk Legacy." Ryoko responded without even pausing to think about it. "It's a Jurian ship?" Ayeka bit her lip. "Yeah. Not a tree ship, but it is a Brushido class gun boat, and we'll be safe in it." "I don't know if we should steal a Jurian ship..." "Come off it Princess. If they knew who you were they'd give it to you." "I would never except it. It's not suposed to work that way... they could give me passage, but never their whole ship. The Royal Family doesn't just take what it wants... we're not heartless monarchs." "I see... well, I just thought it'd be a good ship to get us there... that and I know the captian." "You know a Jurian Captian?" "It's a private vessle. Not all Jurian's are perfect, Ayeka. This one happens to be a thief, a kidnapper, and a murderer. Captian Harveck is a pretty nasty guy." "Then we'll take his ship and put him to death." Ayeka said off handedly. Ryoko gagged. "What? We can't just kill him!" "Why not? If he's as bad as you say he is, Jurian law demands that he die! I'll do it, don't worry your pretty little head over it." she patted Ryoko's cyan hair and smiled. "You're a fanatic, you know that?" the space pirate was simply dumbfounded by the princess. "Yes." was Ayeka's only reply. Captain Harveck looked up as the two woman approched his loading area. He had been supervising the loading of a spesific and highly valubal (not to mention highly illigal) cargo when he saw her... Ryoko. His last brush with the cyan haired space pirate had been nearly five years earlier, and had ended after his advances had pissed her off enough to get her to destroy half his crew and cripple his ship in deep space. He'd come off none the worse for wear, but still several thousand Jurian dollars short. He'd kept tabs on her since then, but had never presued her. Now it seemed she was coming right to him. A perfect time to take his revenge. "All hands to arms! Space pirate coming this way! Some one alert the port athorities!" he yelled. One man made a dash for the port security office, but Ryoko appeared in front of him and a swift uppercut sent him flying back to his crew mates, who all drew blasters. A ring of Jurian power logs popped into exictnce and zapped them from all sides. The huddle of men fell to the ground, out cold. Harveck looked up at the other girl, and saw her floating inches above the ground, the Jurian energy flowing about her. He knew at once who she was, for her face adorned a Jurian bill, and he had memorized every last detail (to conterfit them properly...) "You are found guilting of several crimes against Juri and it's citizens, Captain Harveck." she said, her voice full of power and athority, "How do you plead?" "Guilty!" he growled, and pulled a blaster and shot her. Might as well add assasin to his long list of crimes. A Jurian shield blocked the blast and Ayeka suddenly had a saber in one hand. Not a light sword, a real saber! She flew in quickly and slid it under his gun arm before he could get another shot off. When he finally did pull the trigger again, the shot went straight up, as the princess had jerked her sword back, throwing his arm up and sending a spray of blood across the ground. He howled in pain and stumbled back. "I sentence you to death, by royal edict!" Ayeka said in a quite dangerous tone, "My judgment is final." her eyes and tone softened, "May Tsunami judge you less harshly then I have." her eyes grew cold again and with one swipe, his head left his body, still wide eyed and contorted into an exprestion of pain. Ayeka cleaned her sword on his slumped body and turned to Ryoko, who was just finishing clearing the rest of the crew off the ship. The space pirate turned to the passer-bys who had witness the scene and flew down to Ayeka. "We'd better jet, Princess." she said softly and they vanished. An instnat latter, all doors and ports of the ship closed and the trusters powered up. People ran in fear and the crew members that could still get up and move did so. There was a blast of flame, and the ship was off the ground and headed for the atmosphere. Only one GP ship got in the way, and a well aimed blast from the Lighthawk Legacy put it out of their way, but not seriously hurt. They entered subspace just above the atmosphere, and were gone. Nagi just looked at the mess the two pirates had left at the space port in awe. Fifteen dead, including the decapitated captian of the ship they had stolen. At least they were playing it smart, but damn... they sure knew how to screw things up. "Oh well. Ken-Ohki!" Nagi called and the cabbit bounded over to her, "Let's blow this joint. We can catch up to them now that they're in a slower ship." "Kahow!" Ken-Ohki replied happily and jumped into the air, expanding into his ship form. Nagi laughed as she stood on the bridge and watched the port athorities scrabled away from the space craft that suddenly dominated the sky over the disaster area the pirates had left behind. "See ya!" she called as Ken-Ohki blasted off into space. Ryoko and Ayeka munched on the beef bowl lunch they had ordered at the cafe on the check point station. They were both so absorbed in the meal that they didn't notice Nagi until she sat down at their table. "Hello, girls." she said smoothly. "Nagi!" Ryoko hissed, and reached down to her side for the blaster concealed there. "I'm not here to bring you in Ryoko." Nagi said flatly. "Why are you protecting us?" Ayeka demanded with a hard look. "Because I'm being paid well to do it. Don't think this has anything to do with me liking you, because it doesn't." "Who hired you?" Ryoko didn't move her hand from where it rested on the blaster at her side. "That's none of your concern. What is of your concern is that you have to make it to Juri in one piece." Nagi smiled at them. "We're in Jurian space now," Ayeka replied, "no one can harm us." "I wouldn't be so sure. The GP put Mitsuki on this case now, and if I know her, she'll do anything to get you, even if it means chasing you into Juri Space and blasting your ship apart around you." "She wouldn't dare!" Ayeka lifted her chin proudly. "She would. In fact, I have reason to beleive that she's already on her way here." Ryoko looked around briefly, then back to Nagi, "Thanks." she said forceablly, and grabbed Ayeka's arm, "Come on Ayeka, we should go." "Indeed." Ayeka dropped a few bills on the table top and walked off with Ryoko. Nagi watched them go and sighed. She pulled the princesses beff bowl up to her and began to eat what was left. "So Nagi continued to help you after I was out of the game?" Kiyone asked. "That's what's weird about it." Ryoko nodded. "I think she really wanted to help us." Ayeka shrugged, "I guess maybe she's not so bad after all." "So you made it to Juri okay then?" Sasami asked. Ayeka shifted in her seat, "Have you recived any mesages from home, Sasami?" "No, why?" she paled, "Mother and Father are okay, aren't they?" she sounded worried. "They're fine, don't worry!" Ayeka smoothed her sister's hair, "But there were some troubles... we ran into a bit of it on our way to Juri..." The Light Hawk Legacy cruised at a normal speed. Ryoko didn't want to seem like they were in a big rush to get anywere. In truth, they really didn't look like they were in a big rush to get anywhere. Ayeka sat in a chair in the loung, her legs drapped over the arm on one side. As she read the book about varius blaster styles she had found in the Captian's quarters, her bare feet whispered against the side of the chair as she kicked her feet. Ryoko sat not too far away, cleaning her blaster. It lay in parts all around her. They appeared to be simply relaxing on their way back to Juri. The ship was rocked by a sudden force to it's aft side. Ryoko jumped up and teleported to the bridge in a heart beat, and Ayeka was about to follow when she felt it. There was a pressence in the room with her. It seemed to radiate power, and it hurt her head. She pushed back a little with the Juri power and the pain stopped. She felt the presence draw back a little, then it seemed to draw in on it's self and become solid. She turned and saw a man standing in the room with her. He wasn't an imposting figure, but he was definetly frightning all the same. His grey hair and pale skin reminded her of a vampire from a horror movie, but his gaze was what scared her. Cold, grey eyes, penetrating to her soul. She shuddered as she backed up a few steps to the table where Ryoko had been cleaning her blaster. She felt behind her until she found her sword, which sat there also. "You control the Juri power..." the man said in a voice that made Ayeka shudder uncontrolablly. It felt like a thousand needles had been stabbed into her heart. It was evil. Pure evil. "Yes..." she slowly drew the sword from it's scabbard and held it in front of her, "Who are you?" "Are you the Queen then, that you wield Star Reaver?" "No. I am the First Princess. Who are you?" "Then give this message to your Mother, child. Tell her that Korasha has returned, and that I will see her or her champion on the summit of Mount Joren on Juri Delta. We will decide the fate of the Empire their." Ayeka gaped at him. She knew of Korasha and the evil he had wraught upon her Empire years and years ago. She was able to place the blade she held aloft now. It must have been this sword that defeated the darkness so many years ago. Korasha smiled and laughed. An evil sound. Ayeka cried out and fell to her knees, clutching her head. It hurt. God's it hurt. His laughter echoed even after he left, and when it finnally subsided, she fell to the ground and curled up into a ball. She whimpered as lay on the ground shaking. Ryoko returned scratching her head, "Well, I couldn't detect any kind of disturbence out there that would make us-" she spotted Ayeka on the floor and rushed to her side, "Ayeka!" she yelled as she yanked the princess up to a sitting position. She was suprised to find her partner hugging her close and bawling loudly into her shoulder. Ryoko stroaked her friend's hair and whispered words of comfort into her ear. When Ayeka had composed her self she sat back and stared at Ryoko with a haunted look. Ryoko stared back before she asked, "What the hell happened?" "An anciant evil has been released to destroy the empire...." she shook her head, "I don't know any details... we must make all haste back to my home. My Mother and Father must know of this at once!" "Alright...." Ryoko nodded, "I'll get us there in a few hours. We just came into Juri's system. I'll make a sub-space jump then max cruising speed. Sound good?" "Yes. Thank you. I'll be in my room." Ryoko nodded and helped her friend to her room before she went to the bridge. "One of Korasha's most frightning powers was his ability to cause other's pain just by projecting a psioninc force," Kamidake said to the assembled family, "It could be pushed away with the Juri power, but few could push hard enough." "I figured that out on my own after I thought about it." Ayeka said, nodding, "We made it to Juri in no time, just as Ryoko had promised." "Oh!" Ryoko burst out laughing, "You should have seen the look on the Queen's face when Ayeka burst into the thrown room wearing those clothes! She was so worried about the Empire that she forgot to change!" The doors to the thrown room were flung open and the Lithilon Ambassador stopped his address of the King and Queen. He had been explaining that the stipulations set by the treaty between the two peoples demanded that Juri assist them in the mining opperation on a planet they shared at their border. He looked annoyed at the intrusion, and turned to rebuke whoever had just burst in. His eyes widened as Ryoko shoved him out of her way. Ayeka strode at her partners side and they stopped before the throwns and bowed. The King and Queen of Juri both rose and stared with open mouths. "Ayeka?" the Queen breathed. "Yes Mother. I'm home." she stepped forward and hugged her mother who hegged back and then pushed her to arms length. She turned her daughter around and inspected her. "I'm fine Mother..." Ayeka said, a little embaresed. "Your clothes..." the Queen breathed. "Oh... sorry.... I've um... grown used to feeling of the air across my midsection... my piratig clothes you see-" "We've seen pictures." the King said with a twinkle in his eye, "You make quite a fearsom warrior daughter." "Thank you Father." "Your hair..." the Queen breathed. "Yes, isn't it lovely?" Ayeka bounced it a little, "It's much shorted then it was, but I find it to my liking." "Ryoko," the King said, stepping down and walking up to her, "Kamidake has informed us that you've done a wonderful job keeping our daughter in trouble!" his eyes still twinkled and he smiled, "Thank you!" "Any time, your Highness." Ryoko smirked. "I'd love to stand around and chat some more, but I come with some news that cannot wait." Ayeka was suddenly all buisness, "Mother, Father... Korasha has escaped and is waiting for us to bring him our champion." The King gave a sharp intake of breath, and the Queen fainted dead away. A shadow next to the thrown moved and Azaka stepped out from around it, "That demon is lose again? This does not bode well, your Highness." The King stumbled and Ryoko grabbed his arm to suport him. He patted her shoulder in thanks and looked up at Ayeka, "Daughter... we need to bring him our champion then... someone with enough Juri power to control the sword Star Rever, and then we must find the sword..." "I've already found it." she replied and held the gowing sword up for him to see. His eyes widened. "Can you control it?" "Not as well as I'll need to be able to... and I don't know if I have enough power.... maybe Yosho, or Tenchi..." "Yes! Tenchi defeated Kagato, and he was much stronger then Korasha ever was!" the King pounded a fist into his palm and he straightened up, "We will send for him right away!" "I'm afraid that wont be possible." a deep voice boomed from the other side of the chamber. They all looked to see Kamidake walk into the room, dragging Mitsuki behind him. "Why not?" Ryoko said, suddenly fearful, "Has something happened to Tenchi?" "No, of course not." Kamidake replied. "He speaks of the Star Reaver's other power. The one you don't know about." Azaka interjected, "It bonds to it's weilder, becoming one with their soul until they die. In this case, Ayeka." "So I must be the champion." the princess said with only a slight waver in her voice. There was a very pregnant pause, then she sighed and closed her eyes, "Very well. I must prepare." "I'm coming with you." Ryoko growled. Ayeka looked at her and was about to argue, but the space pirate cut her off, "Tenchi would nver fogive me if something happened to you. I'm going to make sure you stay alive out there Princess. You can bet on that." "I too will be joining them." Kamidake stepped forward, "If it is okay with you, your Highness." he added, looking to the King. Slowly, the King nodded. He looked a great deal older now, and he took a deep breath. He nodded again and went to tend to his wife. "We must prepare." Ayeka said. Ryoko and Kamidake nodded. Azaka put a hand on the King's shoulder, and the King grasped it for a moment. He nodded again, and the older Knight walked off to join the Princess, the pirate, and his partner knight. The next day, Ayeka stood in the forest that covered almost all of Juri. Having returned to her pirating clothes, she felt the cool air pass over her belly, and down the front of her top. The coolness on her brests and stomach, passing through her hair, making her baggy pants flap slightly, and blowing her cape around her brought peace to her heart. The air filled her nose with the sent of the trees, and her ears with the songs of the birds. She felt as one with the nature around her, as was the Jurian way. Life flowed through her, and she felt the power build. Drawing her sword, she pushed the power into the blade. It glowed brightly blue-white, and she held it aloft. Energy flowed around her, up into the blade and focused into a beam of light that flew up into the sky, and out into space. The Juri power faned her hair out behind her, and lifted her off the ground. Ayeka closed her eyes and let it consume her, giving her the rush that only it's power could bring. It was a heady experience, and she reveled in it. Slowly, she let herself come down. She had been repeating this excersize, and Azaka had instructed her to, for most of the day. She didn't feel tiered at all, an after effect of the life bringing power of Juri. Each time she repeated the process, she felt her power grow slightly. It was like streching one's musscles. When done slowly and offten enough, they grew loser and more flexible. This was the same concept. By repeating the process of bringing the power all the way out, then letting it receade, she was able to draw on slightly more each time. Ryoko watched from a distence, then sighed. She turned back to Kamidake, who stood ready with his staff out before him. "One more time then, Ryoko?" he asked. "One more time. Then we eat dinner. Should we bring Ayeka with us?" "No. She will come back to the palace when she is ready to face Korasha." "How long will that be?" "Until she is ready." "How will she know when she is ready?" "She'll know." "Okay. I guess I'll just have to trust you on this one." "Defend yourself Ryoko." Kamidake grinned as he sprang forward and Ryoko formed an energy sword. She parried his strike and they began to fight in ernest. "I expect some more of those sparing sessions now that we're both on Earth, Kamidake." Ryoko said pointedly at him. "Very well. If you insist on being beaten again and again, then I will indulge you." he waved it off like it was nothing. Kiyone giggled. "Shut up Kiyone." Ryoko grinned all the same. "I'll have to try that excersize." Tenchi said with a frown, "Why didn't you ever teach me that Grandpa?" "You still can't hold your own against me for more then a few minutes with a wooden sword, Tenchi. I don't know if you're ready to start playing with the Juri power yet." "Aw, come on!" Tenchi looked miffed, "I beat Kagato didn't I?" "Lucky." Yosho shrugged. "You're just jealous." Tenchi's eyes narrowed. "We shall see who is the jealous one tomarrow when I've beaten you again." Tenchi was about to reply, when Ayeka cleared her throat. He stopped and grinned at her sheepishly, "Go on. Sorry to interupt." "Quite alright. Now then... oh yes. We trained for that entier day, and by the end of it, I had nearly doubled my power. The next day, we set out in Ryo-Ohki..." "There it is." Ryoko nodded as the veiw screen popped up. Mount Joren rose before them on the forth planet in the Jurian Star System. It was a massive mountian, having once been a volcano. It had died millian ago, but not before it had bubbled over with lava. As the magma turned to black stone, it left the whole top on the mountian flat. It was almost a mile across, and the same place where Korasha had been defeated so many years ago. "We will fight him to the last, Princess." Kamidake said quietly. She turned and placed a hand on his arm. "Don't die today." was all she said. Her voice was soft and sad, and it made Kamidake worry. Ryo-Ohki hovered over the massice top of the mountian and teleported her passangers down to it. Ryoko turned back to her ship, "You'd better clear off until this is over, Ryo-Ohki! We'll need you to get home!" "Miya!" came the moarnful responce from the ship, but she flew away just the same. Ayeka was looking at a point off in the distence. Korasha was walking towards them. "Here he comes." Kamidake said, hefting his power staff. "Remember what we talked about now." Ryoko said to her comrades, "We fight as a team. Ayeka is the only one who can really hurt him, so we have to give her as man openings as possible. Clear?" "Clear." Kamidake said. "Stay here." Ayeka said softly, and began walking forward. "Ayeka?!?" Ryoko flew forward, "What are you doing?" she came to a sudden hault as Ayeka drew Star Rever and held it at the pirates throat. "This is my fight Ryoko. Stay back." and she turned back to Korasha. She advanced to meet him. "She'll die." Ryoko whispered. "If she has to, for the Empire." Kamidake replied stepping up next to her. "I'm not going to stand here..." "Nor am I. We will give Ayeka a chance to duel with him by herself for now. When she needs our help, we will give it." "Okay." Ryoko nodded in understanding. This was something Ayeka had to do. Ayeka stopped ten feet from Korasha, "I'm here." she held the blade up for him to see. "So they did send you. Pitty. If you are the best they have to offer, then the Empire really has gone to pot." Ayeka took a threatening step forward, and Korasha laughed. It didn't effect her this time, but it was still a chilling sound, "Pitty," he said off handedly, "You really are a pretty thing. I wont find as much pleasure in killing you now." "Shut UP!" Ayeka screamed as she lunged forward and slashed at him. Korasha side stepped and reached into his cloak. He drew his own sword, a mettle one, like hers, only it was made of some black mettle, and hummed with dangerous power. Ayeka gulped. "Prepare to meet your Tsunami Tree." Korasha laughed, and lunged. Ayeka parried the blow and countered. They began to fence back and forth, slashing and stabbing as quickly as they could. "You are quite good!" Korasha exclaimed as he blocked another slash, "Who was your teacher?" "The blade teaches me on it's own." Ayeka replied, which was true. She hadn't known much about sword fighting until she had started using the blade. It seemed to store the souls and memories of all it's previous users, and project them to her. She had become quite good as a result. Now all her skill was being put to the test. "You seem to rely too much on your blade." Korasha grinned an evil grin, and darted in close to her. His blade rode along hers until they were locked pommle to pommle. He bashed his head into her face, blasting her back to the ground. As she fellt, he flicked his sword to the side, slashing across her shoulder as he disarmed her. He stepped back and sheathed his own sword. "Let us see how you do now, Princess." and he advanced on her. Ayeka scrambled to her feet and took up the Jurian Martial Arts fighting stance she knew so well. He darted in with a quick left to her face, which she blocked and returned with her right elbow. Her blow connected and he stumbled back. She basked in her moment of glory, but had forgoten about his feet. A sharp kick caught her in the solar- plexus and knocked the wind out of her. She gasped as he darted in again and slammed an elbow into the back of her head. She fell to her knees and he slammed his own knee into her face, sending her to her back. She gasped again. He kicked her in the side and she rolled over. Korasha laughed. He drew his sword again and advanced on her, "Goodbye Princess." he said and rasied his sword. A sudden red flash passed above him and his sword clattered to the ground. He growled as his arm reapeared where Ryoko had cut it off, and turned to her as she decended with another blow. Korasha simply reached out and grabbed her wrist as she came within striking distence, and spun her about like a rag doll. He slammed her into the ground, creating a small Ryoko shaped hole, then flung her away. She landed and skidded to a hault by the edge of the mountian. "Fool." he mumbled. He reached behind him and Grabbed Kamidake's enegry staff as it decended at his head. Yanking it from the knight's grasp, he spun about and slammed him in the face with it, blasting him several meters away. Kamidake groaned as he tried to get to his feet, but Korasha was already there. He smashed the staff into the knight's back again, sending him back to the ground. Kamidake's hand shot out and grabbed hold of his ankle. Juri energy surged through him and Korasha hissed in pain. With his other foot, the evil man smashed Kamidake's wrist into the ground, breaking every bone there. The knight screamed. A red energy blast bounced off of Korasha's back. He turned in annoyence and threw the Power Staff he still held like a spear. It struck Ryoko in the chest and she was thrown back over the edge of the cliff with the staff. She didn't reapear. Turning back to Kamidake, he found the knight was standing again. "Ready for more then?" he asked in amusment, and held his hand to his side, where it grew claws. He slashed up and Kamidake flew back, long bloody tears going up his torso. He landed with a sick thud and didn't move. He groaned, but stayed down. "And now the Princess." Korasha turned and found her crawling towards her sword. He bent down and lifted his own before advancing on her. He stomped on he ankle when she was just five feet from her sword and twisted his foot. The loud snap brought a smile to his face, and Ayeka's scream made him laugh out loud. "You stupid whore! Did you think you could beat me?" He kenlt and held her down on her stomach while he started to slam his fist into her back, just above her kidneys and into her head, slamming her face into the sharp rocks on the ground, "What arrogence you've displayed. True to the Juri empire to the last. Well, the former Empire, I should say, since I'll be destroying it after I'm done with you-" A bolt of blue energy hit him in the side and he stumbled. He looked back to see Kamidake in a sitting position, his arm extended, and another shot powering up. Korasha frowned and held his hand out, blasting Kamidake back to the ground and sevral more meters away. "You bastard!" Ayeka spit through bloodied lips and she held her hands against his back. Korasha's eyes went wide as he felt the power build and then he was blasted forward. He landed on his face, but rolled up quickly. Ayeka stood favoring her right left ankle, and prepared to gather more energy. "So you want to play like that huh? Fine!" and he disipated into a cloud of grey protomatter. He flew up into the sky and expanded until he became a massive face, with no nose. The eyes and mouth were large gaping holes, and when he laughed, they seemed to throw flames into the air. Black energy crackled around Ayeka and she fell to her knees. He power logs formed and held the evil energy at bay, but it was closing in on her. "You fool!" Korasha's voice was deep and distorted, "Nothing you do can save you! Give in to your fate!" "Ayeka!" Ryoko screamed as she flew up behind the cloud that was Korasha and hurled the Power Staff straight though him. Korasha screamed and recondenced into his huminoid shape, his hands both claws now, and fangs in his mouth. He drew his sword and pointed it at Ryoko. She dropped from the air and hit the ground with a dull thud. Ayeka had fallen to her knees and watched in horror as Korasha turned and charged her. "Ayeka!" a voice in her head that sounded like Ryoko's called, "The sword!" her eyes widened and she lunged behind her. She grabbed up Star Reaver and spun about, holding it out like a pike. Korasha ran himself through upon it almost to the hilt. He stopped, his sword still lifted above his head, and looked down at the glowing blade shoved through his body. His sword clattered to the ground and he lowered his arms to feel the blade. He looked dumbly up at Ayeka. "You can't beat me." he said, "It's not possible." "Euric Hamelt wounded and imprisoned you. I wont be so kind. This Galaxy has seen enough of your evil deeds." Ayeka tightened her grip on Star Reaver, "Tsunami Damn you to hell." she spat, and yanked her sword free of his midsection. She spun a full circle and brought the sword around, lobbing his head from his shuolders. Korasha fell to the ground and his body and head both disipated into nothingness. Ayeka wavered, then fell to the ground, out cold. Slowly, Ryoko swam back to life. She sat up and looked around. Whatever Korasha had done to her, it had hurt like a bitch. She saw Kamidake, sitting next to Ayeka, checking over her injuries. She got to her feet with a slight wobble, and stummbled over to them. A mentle signal to Ryo-Ohki and the cabit ship was on it's way. "How is she?" she croaked out. Kamidake replied with a faint smile, "She'll live. She won Ryoko. She beat him." "Good... saves me the trouble of kicking his ass for blasting me out of the sky..." Kamidake laughed. Long and hard. After Ryo-Ohki had picked them up, and they were half way back to Juri, he was still laughing. Ryoko chuckled as well. "I'm damn proud of you Ayeka." she said softly, glancing at where Ayeka lay a short ways away, smiling in her sleep, "Damn proud." Mihoshi and Sasami were marveling at the scars on Kamidake's chest from Korasha's claws as Ryoko finished with that part of the story. Kiyone beamed at her boyfriend for being so brave, and Tenchi stared in awe at Ayeka. "Ayeka... I never knew you had such a warrior's spirit..." he said. "I didn't until Ryoko brought it out in me. I told you I'd changed, and now you know how. In fact, I've changed so much, that we ran into a few more probloms when we had all healed up from the fight..." "Ayeka," her mother said, "this is Jomon, the Fist Prince of Harum." "Mother!" Ayeka squealled, "Do NOT start with this again!" "Whatever do you mean Dear?" the Queen asked in an inoccent voice. "You are constantly trying to marry me off! Am I really that dispicable?" "Ayeka!" her mother looked geuienly hurt. "I'm sorry Mother..." Ayeka's voice became softer, "I've been spending too much time with Ryoko... I tend to speak my mind now, and I've grown a slight sarcastic edge as well..." "I'll say!" Jomon smirked, "I like that." "I'm not going to marry you." Ayeka said bluntly. Jomon's smirk wavered, "My heart belongs to another." "Ayeka, we've been over this..." the Queen said. "Yes we have, and as I recall, you told me I could go back to Earth and persue Tenchi! You agreed he would make a fine husband!" "Funny, I never knew this." Ryoko said as she floated over. She was dressed in palace finery, as was Ayeka. It made Ryoko look strange however. She kept tugging at the collar as if it were too tight, and pulling it down. She didn't seem to like not showing any cleavage. Prince Jomon looked at her in awe. "And who would this vision of lovliness be?" he asked, taking her hand and kissing the back of her wrist. "Space Pirate Ryoko, Most Wanted Crimnal in the Galaxy five years running. Charmed." she replied and he recoiled. "You're who? What the hell are you doing here?" he stumbled back and looked for a quick escape rout. "She is a guest at this palace, as are you!" the Queen said sharply, and glared at him, "She has helped to save this Empire more then once now, and you will treat her with respect!" "Like hell I will!" Jomon replied with a wild glance around the room, "You people are crazy!" and he dashed through the door of the dining room they were in. "I seem to have scared him off." Ryoko shruged, "Sorry Highness." it was her pet name for the Queen, who seemed to enjoy the rudeness more then she was offended by it. "Quite alright. Ayeka?" "Yes Mother?" Ayeka was still rubbing her temples. "I want you to make me a pomise." "Yes Mother." "Promise me that you will check with Ryoko and make sure she approves of whomever you decide to marry." Ayeka looked up at her mother with a small grin and didn't hesitate, "Yes Mother." "Good." the Queen nodded. "Ryoko," Ayeka turned to the space pirate, "I wish to marry Tenchi Masaki. Do you aprove?" "Only if you get him first!" she replied with a devilish grin. "Then that's settled. Thank you Mother." The two younger woman walked out of the hall, leaving the Queen wondering what had just happened. "I feel so stifled here..." "It's the Pirating. It's in your blood now. You can't shake it once you've tried it." Ryoko and Ayeka walked throught the gardens on the palace grounds, dressed once again in their civilian clothing. Ayeka rubbed her bare belly and smiled. "I guess we should decide what to do now. Maybe contact Washu and see if things are cooled down on Earth yet." Ryoko stretched as she spoke and yawned. Ayeka cocked her head to the side and stared off at the sky, "I have a better idea...." "Your Highness!" a gaurd rushed into the thrown room and right past the Lithilon Ambassador, who threw his hands in the air and walked off to get a glass of water, "This note was found in the Princess Ayeka's room!" he rushed up and handed it to the King who read it aloud. "Mother and Father. Ryoko and I have decided to go back to Earth and have a little fun along the way. We will be hitting the Heptlagonagal Sector Forclon Gas Facility along the way to free the slaves there, so don't worry about sending that task force. Just thought you'd like to know, Ayeka." he looked over at the Queen and shrugged. She shrugged back. "Thank you for the note. You are dismissed." the gaurd saluted the King and left, "Ambassador! You were saying before the interuprion?" "So we just took off again!" Ryoko said with glee, "And boy did we have the time of our lives! Remeber the Ugondon merchant ship?" Ayeka burst out laughing, "The First Mate pissed himself when you told him you'd castrate him if he didn't give you the access codes to the storage bay! Or wait, what about that time on Illian Prime?" "With the guy chasing us for trashing his shop in that fight? Man could that guy run!" Ryoko chuckled at the memory. "And he threw everything he could lift at us! I guess we're lucky he didn't have a blaster!" the two partners in crime laughed until they had tears in their eyes. The rest of the family just stared at them in awe. "Um..." everyone turned to look at Siria as she spoke, and Ryoko and Ayeka stopped laughing, "I have a question..." "Go right ahead and ask." Ryoko smiled at her. "If you made it all the way across the Galaxy wreaking havoc along the way, and getting away all the time, how did you crash?" "Oh yeah..." Ryoko scratched her head, "I'd forgotten about that." "We were shot down by a Res'katal gun boat." Ayeka said with a grin, "They didn't like that we robbed their First Bank." "But we're in Juri space! That's an act of War!" Kiyone exclaimed. "And I imagin they'll be finding us soon as well..." Ayeka frowned. "No worries." Washu stood up and walked to her lab. The family chit chatted for a few moments until she returned, "I talked to them. Told them we had you in our custudy for crimes against the Empire. They said they'd leave you to us." "Alright!" Ryoko glomped on to Tenchi, "Hey you want to see how bad a girl I can REALLY be Tenchi? Should the Crown Prince punish me?" Tenchi gulped, but his shock didn't stop there. Ayeka suddenly lifted one leg across his lap and wrapped her arms around him as well, "I've been a very bad girl as well Tenchi... but be gentle on me... I am a first time offendor after all..." Before the blood could start gushing from Tenchi's nose, there was a click and a flash. Nobuyuki stood with his camera pointed at them, grinning like a fool. Ryoko laughed. Ayeka giggled. Sasami hugged her sister. Kiyone and Kamidake cuddled closer together. Washu went to work in her lab. Yosho smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. Mihoshi and Sirria stood to go find some food in the kitchen. Tenchi looked around at his family, then back and forth at the two girls still holding on to him. He gulped and settled back in defeat. Whiping the blood off his face, he sighed. Things were definetly about to get a lot more interesting. Hey, I finished it, okay. Stop mailing me about how you want it finished and start mailing me about how great the second part here was. Thanks, and see ya latter. Jacob McDonald, auhor