Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters, places, or events from the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki OAV's or Manatsu No Eve. These are the property of AIC and Pioneer. I do own all new events, characters, and places that have occurred during and after Tenchi Muyo! Will of the Goddesses. Tenchi Muyo! Shadows of a Forgotten Sin "A Mother's Mistake" The rectangular Juraian shuttlecraft came out of hyperspace right at the edge of the Solar System. Gerin sat in the small cockpit's pilot's seat with a serious look on his normally amused face. He checked the results of the shuttle's last long range scan. "Dammit," he muttered. "What's the matter?" asked Daisar. The young prince was sitting at one of the stations behind him. "They're still following us, kid," Gerin told him. "And it looks like their numbers have increased." Daisar got up to look at the scan readout. "Will we make it to Earth?" "Yeah," replied the knight. "But in about five standard hours we're going to have a Juraian fleet on our doorstep." The scanners started beeping. Daisar returned to his station to check the sensors. "I've got a ship on radar," he reported. "It's coming right for us." Gerin flipped several switches to extend the shuttle's maneuvering wings. "Can you get a make on it?" "Wait a moment." While Daisar did a second scan, Gerin powered up the shields and weapons. "Readouts coming in. Galaxy Police Patrol Cruiser: class- unknown. Uh, Gerin. It's coming at us pretty fast, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down!" "Oh crap!" cried Gerin. He threw on the shuttle's reverse thrusters and jerked the control stick just in time to avoid the GP cruiser. "I should've remembered this." "Remembered what?" asked Daisar as he strapped himself in. The COM system crackled to life before Gerin could answer. "Um, this is the Galaxy Police cruiser Yukinojo," announced a bubbly voice. "I'm going to have to ask you to please leave this system because you're not allowed to be here." Gerin keyed the COM system. "Mihoshi, this is Gerin. Do you read me?" "Oh, hi, Gerin!" came a cheerful reply. "What are you doing here? I thought after that night at the last Startica Festival, we decided to not talk for a while..." The red headed knight slapped his face. He looked over his shoulder at Daisar, who was trying to hide his smile. "Mihoshi," he interrupted. "I'd love to just float here and chat all day, but we're kinda in a hurry. I have Prince Daisar here, and we need to get to Earth immediately and talk to Lord Tenchi. You see in a few short hours several thousand Juraian battleships are going to be right where we are know. Just check your long range scanners for confirmation." Gerin waited while Mihoshi audibly fumbled with her controls. "Oh my," she said finally. "This is not good at all. I think we need to go and tell Tenchi." He loosed a long sigh. "That's what I've been trying to say." "All right then!" she cheered. "Follow me!" Yukinojo sped past them at an incredible speed towards Earth. Gerin just shook his head and followed as fast as he could. _____ "This really sucks," muttered Rei. The raven haired teen held up a jar of some unknown green liquid and frowned. "Feel lucky that I took pity on you," Ryoko told her. "Imagine how much longer this would take all by your lonesome." "Yeah, yeah," she continued to mutter. Because of her "accident" at school and the fact she took one of her experiments out of the lab, Washu was punishing Rei by making her clean out some of the more messy parts of the lab. Rei had been at it for three days now without making much headway. Ryoko had finally decided to help her daughter on the fourth day. So it was that the two of them were rummaging around, in pairs of blue overalls and white T-shirts, in what looked like an oversized broom closet. "Oh gross!" cried Rei. "One of these things is moving!" She released a purple blast from her right hand, sending parts and pieces all over the place. "Not anymore," commented Ryoko with a smirk. The pirate tossed a large, unmoving robot out of the way. Rei smiled at her mother's humor and continued rummaging and sorting. The next item she picked up caused her to stop. "What's this?" She held an old videotape in her hands with the name "Ryoko" written on the identification sticker. "Hey, mom. Look at this." Ryoko appeared at her side and took the tape. "I wonder what this is? Where did you find it?" "In the pile," answered Rei with a gesture. "Do you have any idea what could be on it?" Her space pirate mother gave her a crooked smile. "We just found this in your grandmother's junk pile. It could be anything from random clips of me, to me giving birth," she started giggling, "or a naughty video of me and your father." Rei backed away from the tape. "Nasty," she hissed while making a face. "I hope it's just some everyday clips." Ryoko started tossing the tape up and down in her right hand. "Why don't we take a break and go see?" she suggested with a mischievous smile. It took the pair only a few minutes to fly to the exit and return to the first floor of the Masaki home. There was no one else in the living room, so Ryoko immediately slid the tape into the rarely used VCR. She pressed play, and they sat down as the TV wall came to life. Mother and daughter continued to joke about the possible content of the tape right up to the moment the first images appeared. Rei's jaw dropped, and she started blushing slightly as a picture of her mother, wearing a small, purple tanktop and nothing from the waist down, appeared. Ryoko was being held in the air by several robotic cables and hands with a gag around her mouth and one of Washu's brain analyzers around her head. Except for a small green light behind her, everything else was dark. It took a while, but Ryoko finally removed the gag from her mouth and started crying out. "Hey, let me go! Release me!" she yelled. "Damn you, Washu!" "Hey, Washu!" "Washu, Washu, Washu!" she continued to yell angrily. Ryoko continued to yell for the scientist for several more minutes. Eventually the anger on her face was replaced by fear. "Hey, do you hear me at all?" Worry started to edge into her tone. "Hello? Hello there? Washu? Dear little Washu? Are you there?" she now cried not with anger, but with anguish and fear. "Washu? Washu? Anybody?" Finally tears started falling from Ryoko's golden eyes. "Washu?" Ryoko went on crying for some time yet with no one coming to help her. "Mommy, please release me," she cried. "Moommyyy!' she sobbed. "Moooommmmyyyy! Please, Mommy! Please!" "Don't leave me here!" Ryoko wailed. "Don't leave me behind, please! I don't wanna be alone! It's dark. It's scary!" "Mommy?" "Mooommmyyyy!" The screen fizzled for a moment before going completely dark. Rei was dumbfounded by the video she had just seen. Her head slowly turned to look at her mother. Ryoko was now standing stiffly with her fists clenched tightly. "Mom? Are...are you okay?" Rei jumped at the sound of a dish breaking. She looked over and saw her grandmother standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Washu was dressed in a purple turtleneck and a one piece, sleeveless black dress that ran to her knees. Her eyes were wide and her hands were shaking. "Ryoko..." she whispered. "How could you?" hissed the cyan haired woman. She spun around with righteous fury blazing in her eyes. "How could you!" Washu walked into the room with her hands raised. "Ryoko, we've talked about this..." "We talked about it, but you never said you recorded it!" she screamed. "I've first started to forgive you for that, but now I find out that you recorded it like one of your damn experiments!" "Ryoko, I..." Washu tried to say. "I'm your daughter, god dammit!" Ryoko threw her hands up. "You were there the entire time! You stood there and watched me cry! You stood there and did nothing!" Tears were forming at the edges of her eyes. "You left me there! In the dark!" The enraged woman dropped her hands, took a deep breath, and looked over at Rei. "I'm going out for a while. Achika is with Mayuka, and the men are up at the Shrine." Ryoko sniffed once and headed for the front door. She stopped at the hall table to grab her purse and the keys to the latest family van. Washu ran after her and managed to lay a hand on her shoulder. The pirate shrugged it off aggressively. "Do that again, and it'll come back a nub." The door slammed shut after her. Rei could hear the van's engine start followed by the vehicle pulling away. Washu stared at the door for a few moments without making a sound. When she finally turned around, Rei was there to meet her with a hard gaze. "I don't understand, Grandma. How could you do that to her?" Washu looked forlornly at her granddaughter. "I...I thought I had the right. I thought I..." "I don't even know you right now," Rei told her quietly. Ryoko's raven haired daughter pushed past the scientist and went up to her room. _____ Tenchi almost tripped up the stairs when Ryoko's wave of anger hit him. He stopped at the Shrine's entrance and looked down towards the house. *Ryoko? What's the matter?* he called out telepathically. Her anger was so fierce that it almost consumed him as well. *I can't believe her!* she yelled. *That damned, egomaniacal, little bitch!* Tenchi was very confused. *What? Who? Ryoko, you're not making any sense.* There was a brief respite from her anger as Ryoko turned her attention to him. *I'm going out for a while. Don't worry about dinner, I'll just bring home takeout.* Then she cut off the link before he could answer. "Huh?" he said out loud. "Is something the matter, Tenchi?" asked Katsuhito from the door. "It's been over twenty years, and she still confuses me sometimes, Grandpa," he said with an exasperated sigh. The old man gave him a knowing smile. "Trust me, my boy. It will never get any easier." _____ Washu sat on the front steps staring out at the lake. The greatest scientific genius in the universe and former goddess could only sit there and stare dumbly at the rippling water. Ryoko had been gone for two hours now with no sign of returning any time soon. She had managed to sever their link, so Washu had no idea whether her daughter was all right or not. "But she isn't all right," Washu told herself. "She's hurt, and it's all your fault." She slammed her left fist on the wooden deck. "What made me think I had the right to do that to her?" *You were her creator," replied her mind. *You thought you had the right to experiment on her as you pleased.* "I'm her mother!" Washu shouted. "She had just been bonded with another life form. I wanted to make sure she was all right." *So you tied her up and left her alone in the dark to get a reaction,* said the voice. *You tortured her just like Kagato. No, you were worse. You knew better. You knew that she was deathly afraid of the dark after her experience in the cave.* Washu laid her face in her hands. "I thought I had the right," she sobbed. "I don't know why, but I thought I had the right to make judgements for her." *Just like Him?* her mind whispered. Washu jumped to her feet. "No! That was different. We had no choice...we had to do it." *Understandably.* "What?" gasped the scientist. What was going on? How was she having such a conversation? Unfortunately, Washu's personal questions were halted by the sudden surge of Light Hawk Power from the space above. She looked up at the sky, and everything suddenly clicked into place. The strange readings! "How?" was all she could manage to say. _____ Alarms were going off everywhere. Gerin didn't even bother to check his sensors. Several large white portals opened up ahead of him spilling what had to be almost ten thousand Juraian battleships. "Son of a..." he started to say when Mihoshi's ship didn't stop along with his. "Mihoshi!" he shouted into the COM. "They aren't friendly!" "But this is a restricted area," she replied. "It's going to be tough, but if they don't leave I'm going to have to arrest all of them." There was some small sniffling over the COM. Gerin slapped his forehead. "Now I know why Kiyone moved to Jurai after she married Mastir. Buckle up, your Highness." The knight put all power into the engines and aimed the shuttle right at the Yukinojo. Even with the obvious technological advancements the Yukinojo had, Gerin was very surprised that his small shuttle caught and actually crashed into the GP cruiser. With both ships out of commition, he could only watch as the Juraian fleet surrounded the Earth. _____ Washu actually trembled at the overwhelming amount of power being used. For one of the only times in her long life, the former goddess just stood there speechless and frozen as she watched a massive Juraian warship descend and hover over the lake. She recognized it as one of the Royal family's flag ships. Flashes of blue light appeared all around the front yard. At least forty heavily armed Juraian soldiers were soon standing ready before the house. Azusa stood in front of them all smiling arrogantly at her. Washu, however, instantly saw past the flesh. That was when the final piece fell into place. This was the feeling she had always gotten whenever she had seen the former Emperor over the years. "No," she gasped. "This isn't possible." There was a small psychic shift within the powerful Juraian. "Oh, but you of all people should know that anything is possible, my dear Lady Washu." He pointed a black gloved hand at her. "Time for you to sleep." The former goddess could do nothing to avoid his blast of white power. The attack struck so quickly, that Washu simply stiffened in pain before falling deep into unconsciousness. _____ Tenchi halted his exorcise when the backwash of power overcame him. He slowly opened his eyes to see the sky over his home. "Grandpa!" _____ Mayuka looked on with worry when Hiro and Rei both grabbed their heads in pain. "What's wrong?" she asked quickly, while clutching a squirming Achika in her arms. All the Masaki children were in Mayuka's room. Rei had just finished relating what she had seen on the videotape, when both twins suddenly started grabbing their heads. "So...much...power!" said Hiro through clenched teeth. "Achika, watch them," ordered Mayuka as she got up and ran to find help. She stopped when she passed a window over looking the front yard. The young woman became quite confused at the sight of the man she remembered as the former Emperor Azusa standing with over thirty troops in the yard and pointing at her grandmother. "Washu!" she cried out as Azusa attacked her. The other three kids ran out of her room to see what had caused the outcry. "What happened?" asked Hiro while rubbing the side of his head, but Mayuka was already running up to the third floor. She entered her parents' room and went straight to her father's night table. The top drawer flew open to reveal Tenchi-ken. Mayuka reached for the weapon, but her hand hesitated for a second. Her father's words from long ago echoed in her mind. *And one day, if you work really hard, maybe you will get to hold Tenchi- ken again,* he had told her shortly before the twins had been born. Ever since that day she had trained hard with the hope that one day, she could actually learn the use of the ancient weapon. "Trouble's in the front yard, and I don't have time to argue the point with myself." Mayuka threw out all remaining hesitation and grabbed the wooden hilt. Her siblings were waiting for her on the second floor. "What's going on, Mayuka?" asked Rei this time. "Look out the window," she told her. They both went rigid at what they saw. "That man is Azusa, our great great grandfather. He just attacked Grandma, and I'm going outside to do something about it. Who's coming with me?" Despite the grievous thing Washu had just done to their mother, both twins leveled serious gazes at their older sister and nodded. Mayuka nodded back and then leaned down to Achika. "Listen to what I'm about to say, Achika. Something very dangerous is probably about to happen outside. No matter what, you have to stay in here where it's safe. Got me?" The cyan haired little girl frowned back at her. "I can fight, Mayuka." She opened her little right hand to produce a small amount of crackling yellow energy. "See!" Mayuka smiled warmly and ruffled her spiky hair. "I know, kiddo, but Mommy would get really upset if you were hurt. So you have to stay here? Okay?" Achika continued to frown, but nodded all the same. "Okay." Mayuka straightened and looked back at the twins. All three nodded and ran downstairs. When they reached the front door, Mayuka exited first with the other two walking out slowly behind her. Washu was lying seemingly unconscious only a few feet away. Mayuka pulled her gaze from her fallen grandmother to Azusa. "What is the meaning of this, Azusa?" she asked flatly. The Juraian gave her a thin smile. "You are the boy's oldest if I remember correctly. Tell me, child, where are your father and grandfather?" "Rot in hell, asshole!" snapped Hiro. Azusa's smile didn't alter. "Detain these children until their parents arrive," he told the soldiers. Ten Juraian soldiers in white combat suits with black straps and harnesses advanced on the three with rifles and ignited energy weapons. Mayuka simply grinned. "Big mistake, pal." Drawing on the power of all the local space trees, she activated Tenchi-ken's blue blade with a snap hiss. There were similar sounds behind her as the twins summoned their energy weapons. The ten soldiers spread out to attack the three Masaki siblings from all sides. They all charged at once, however, their targets were already gone. Rei flew straight up, Hiro disappeared, and Mayuka simply back flipped away. Each soldier skidded to a stop, but their confusion was only momentary as the three Masakis counter attacked. Bodies went flying everywhere as purple energy lances blew the ground out from under them. Two soldiers went down from a pair of swift kicks by Mayuka. Three of the Juraians were trying to slash at Hiro with their energy weapons, but the teenager merely teleported away from each attack and then knocked out each man with a single punch. A nod from Azusa sent all the remaining soldiers into the battle. All troops with guns opened fire on Rei, but she nimbly dodged the shots. The raven haired teen swooped down and easily sliced the barrels off of each gun. While Rei disarmed her foes, Mayuka easily defended herself from two different attackers. One slashed at her left, but she quickly shuffled backwards and batted his blade into his companion's oncoming one. The eldest sibling followed up by ramming Tenchi-ken's hilt into the first soldier's face, dropping him to the ground. The other soldier lunged at her, but Mayuka simply spun around the attack and rammed Tenchi-ken's pommel into the back of his head. Hiro appeared behind two soldiers and knocked their heads together. He laughed and teleported away before three more soldiers could lay a hand on him. Mayuka disarmed and knocked out another soldier. Next she took a quick moment to survey the yard. By now the better part of the Juraian soldiers were scattered around the yard unconscious but alive. Each of the siblings had been very careful not to kill any of their attackers. Hiro suddenly appeared next to her, and Rei was now hovering above her. There were only five soldiers left, and each one was backing away towards Azusa. "All right old man," challenged Hiro. "What else ya got?" The Juraian Lord's thin smile remained. "You three are stronger than I antisipated. It seems I misjudged your abilities. No matter, though. Zorin! Ashra! Timerra!" There were three flashes, and two men and a woman were standing in front of Azusa. "Deal with these three, but do not kill them." "Yes, sire," they all replied. The three new fighters slowly started walking towards them. "Time to choose dancing partners," announced Mayuka. "I'll take the big one," Hiro told her. "The other guy's mine," added Rei. Mayuka shrugged. "Guess that leaves the woman for me. Be careful guys. I doubt these three are push overs." The twins nodded before moving off to the sides and drawing away their chosen opponents. Mayuka was now left to face the woman with the long, brown braid. "You are not the Daughter of Washu, but you will do until she arrives." Mayuka raised Tenchi-ken. "Don't underestimate me, lady." The woman, Timerra, ignited an orange energy sword in her right hand. Both women took fighting postures and charged. _____ Hiro spun his green blade in his right hand while eyeing the large, bald man. His senses were telling him that this guy was even stronger than he looked. Despite that, Hiro smiled confidently. "All right, big fella. Let's see what you've got." Energy sword gripped in both hands, he charged his foe. The teenager loosed a surprised cry when the man caught his sword with his right hand. "My *name* is Zorin," rumbled the man. "Heeeyyyy!" Hiro shouted as the man grabbed him by the right arm and slammed him into the ground. Through blurred vision Hiro saw a huge boot coming at his head. It took only a thought to teleport away. He reappeared behind his opponent and drove his right elbow at his neck. To his surprise, Zorin easily side stepped the attack and threw a counter punch at Hiro's head. The cyan haired teen caught the punch, threw it off, and jumped back. "Nothing's ever easy," he muttered. _____ Rei hovered several feet off the ground and away from her chosen "dancing partner." He folded his arm across his stomach and bowed deeply. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ashra." A purple energy bo came to life in Rei's hands. "Are you always so polite to people you're trying to hurt?" Ashra's smile sent a chill down her spine. "Only the ones I plan to eventually kill." A dark red energy sword appeared in his hands, and he charged. The raven haired teen parried the first two slashes and countered in kind. Ashra deflected her attacks to his midsection and disappeared. Rei's danger senses flared. She launched herself into the air just in time to avoid a slash to her head. A glance downwards alerted her to a pair of red blasts screaming towards her. She batted the blasts aside, but was too slow to parry Ashra as he appeared and slashed at her torso. Rei barely dodged the slash, which succeeded in catching her left shoulder. "Dammit," she hissed. The silver haired man spun around and proceeded to pursue her through the air. The only thing Rei could do was kick herself into high gear and lead her foe in an aerial chase. _____ Mayuka parried successive thrusts at her head. Tenchi-ken's blade slipped around the orange one and darted for Timerra's neck. The agile woman somehow moved around the attack and drove her left knee at Mayuka's stomach who lunged forward to roll over the thrust. Once on her feet again, Mayuka brought up her blade to parry Timerra's next attack. The two exchanged a series of slashes and parries before leaping away from each other. Timerra threw her sword at Mayuka, which she easily dodged. Unfortunately, the sword had been a false attack. Timerra's long, brown braid snapped out to wrap itself around Mayuka's right wrist. The braid pulled her forward, wrenching Tenchi-ken painfully from her hand. Mayuka fell forward and landed hard on the ground. Tenchi-ken was now at least ten feet away. "You were impressive, child," complimented Timerra. "But you were no real challenge to me." The brown haired woman raised her sword to end the fight. "I can't kill you, yet, but I can still hurt you severely." "Crap," cursed Mayuka. Her mind raced for some solution to save her, but in the end all she could do was send out a mental distress call. _____ "Damn that Washu," muttered Ryoko. The Masaki family van sped down the final road to the house with a still very angry Ryoko behind the wheel. It had been over two hours, but she was still just as angry with Washu. Tenchi's wife absently opened one of the pizza boxes on the passenger seat and pulled out a slice of cheese pizza. She unconsciously ate the slice while continuing to grumble about her mother. Ryoko was still ten miles away from the house when Mayuka's mental distress call hit her. *Help!* Ryoko dropped the pizza slice and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands. "Mayuka!" The entire van fizzled for a moment and then disappeared completely. _____ Mayuka tried to grab a hold of her any sort of power within her, but she was too shaken to get any sort of grasp. She started back crawling away from Timerra's hot blade. Both of them suddenly turned their heads to the sound of a car engine. At first there was nothing there, but suddenly the family van shimmered into sight going at full speed. Mayuka rolled away from the oncoming vehicle, but Timerra looked on with shock right up until the van hit her and continued into the side of the house. "You all right, sweetie?" asked Ryoko. Her mother suddenly appeared to help her up. Everyone who had been fighting had stopped with Ryoko's sudden arrival. There was a creaking sound followed by metal bending. With an explosive force, Timerra threw off the van and walked back into the yard. The woman briefly brushed some dust from her coat. "Welcome, Daughter of Washu," she greeted. "I've been awaiting your arrival." Ryoko moved between Mayuka and Timerra. "If you've got a bone to pick with me fine, but leave my kids out of this." Red energy began crackling in Ryoko's hands. Her demenor suddenly changed from protective to deadly. "You want some of this?" she asked with a now eager grin. A similar grin appeared on Timerra's face followed by a pair of orange swords in her hands. Then, just as suddenly as it had stopped, the battle in the front yard resumed all around. Mayuka watched silently as her mother attacked first with a series of energy blasts. Timerra leapt over the attacks, forward flipped, and dove right at her swords first. Ryoko reacted instantly by igniting her own energy sword and launching herself right at her oncoming foe. Colored sparks filled the air as the two women passed each other, stopped on dimes, turned, and then attacked one another again. Mayuka watched with awe at Ryoko fight. In all her years she had never really seen her mother in combat. The space pirate ducked and dodged gracefully through the air while at the same time trying to slice her opponent in two. Timerra managed to pin Ryoko's sword, but the cyan haired woman grinned and vanished only to reappear as two Ryokos. Ryokos A and B quickly teleported on opposite sides of Timerra and drove their elbows into her sides. They followed up with a pair of spin kicks that sent the brown haired woman hurtling across the ground. The Ryokos merged back into the original and moved in for the kill. Unfortunately, Timerra recovered quickly and loosed a storm of energy lances at her. Mayuka finally managed to pull her eyes away from the fight when it hit her that she was unarmed and just standing there while everyone else was fighting. She moved to grab Tenchi-ken from its resting place a few feet away, when the weapon suddenly lifted into the air and flew over her head. Mayuka tried to grab it, but there was nothing she could do to stop its flight to Azusa's waiting hand. "I believe that weapon is unworthy of you, young lady." The sword was almost in his right hand, when it suddenly stopped mid flight and zipped away to the left. Mayuka found it hard not to cheer as her father easily caught the wooden hilt. "That's enough, Azusa," Tenchi announced loudly. "You have no right to be doing this, father," added Katsuhito from Tenchi's side. "This family has done nothing to incur your wrath." With arrival of the two priests, all the combatants had ceased their actions once again. All fighters slowly moved away from each other to opposite ends of the yard. Eventually the Masaki family stood facing Azusa and his three servants. "So the boy arrives at last," purred Azusa. "Tell me something, Tenchi. Will you submit to me now, or will I have to force it upon you?" "My family has no ill will towards you, Azusa," replied Tenchi. "You have no cause to attack my home in this way." Azusa barked out a laugh. "So says the boy who convinced my daughters not to aide their ailing father." "What are you talking about, father?" demanded Katsuhito. "Ayeka did everything she could to help you! Where have you gotten these ideas from?" "Be silent, Yosho!" shouted his father. "I only speak the truth, which you well know, since you did not aide me, either." Azusa shook his head and waved his right hand in a dismissive manner. "Enough of this idle chattering. I see that you are not going to give yourself over without a fight." Azusa's three servants stepped forward. "Show them your true powers, my loyal servants." "Yes, Lord Azusa," they all replied in unison. _____ Tenchi's muscles instinctively tightened as the three warriors before his family summoned forth the impossible. Three different sets of tri-Light Hawk Wings opened in front of Azusa's minions. The Wings in front of the one Hiro identified as Zorin were a deep, sea blue, and the large man sported a blue star on his bald forehead. The one Rei called Ashra had three blood red Wings with a red circle around an X on his forehead. Through his link with Ryoko, Tenchi was able to know Timerra's name as her three orange Wings and diamond forehead rune appeared. "This isn't happening," muttered Mayuka. "I thought that you needed to be connected to one of the three original goddesses to summon Light Hawk Wings?" "So did I," answered Tenchi and Ryoko at the same time. Tenchi felt the surge of power as Ryoko summoned her own Wings. There was a red flash as her four Light Hawk Wings opened in an X formation. They slowly passed over her creating her Light Hawk Armor. "They wanna play it hard, then we play it hard. Game on, kids." Hiro smiled, and Rei just nodded seriously. There was a green flash in front of Hiro and two green Wings appeared in a horizontal line in front of him. They passed over the teenager creating Light Hawk armor similar to Tenchi's except that there were no sleeves, and wherever Tenchi's was blue his son's was green. A green, vertical oval also appeared on Hiro's forehead. Two purple Wings in the same pattern as Hiro's appeared in front of Rei, as did a purple oval on her forehead. Her Light Hawk Armor was also reminiscent of Tenchi's except for the purple portions and the fact that the lower half was a flowing battle dress. A green bladed Light Hawk Sword appeared in Hiro's right hand, and what could be only called a Light Hawk Bo appeared in Rei's hands. The bo was mostly white with the center grip area being purple and the ends gold. "All right, you bunch of flying butt chunks!" taunted Hiro. "Let's get it on!" Ryoko, Hiro, and Rei lifted off and charged Azusa's three Light Hawk Warriors. Only Tenchi, Mayuka, and Katsuhito remained grounded to face the former Emperor. Tenchi watched solemnly as his wife and two of his children engaged their foes. This was not what he wanted, but Azusa was forcing them to react. And unfortunately, Ryoko's first instincts were always to deal with a problem head on. Even motherhood and many years of maturation had not changed that fact. Tenchi returned his attention to his technical great grandfather. "I'm just going to ask you once more, Azusa. Call your people off and leave my family in peace. I don't want to have to fight you." Azusa laughed lightly. "Oh, you will not be fighting me, Tenchi. I have a special surprise for you." He slowly moved to his left to reveal another man with his head bowed and dressed in a pair of baggy black pants and shirt. "Who are you?" asked Tenchi. The man giggled. "I was her first." He laughed a little harder. "Yes, I was her first before Ziasha. But since he fought you first, that might make me the second." Tenchi tensed as the man's laughter became obviously insane. "Well whether I was first or second there is one definite fact." His head snapped up to reveal the madness and sudden focus in his different colored eyes. "I was always destined to kill you, Knight of Tsunami!" This new enemy threw his head back and roared. Tenchi was forced to shield his eyes as five, fiery black Light Hawk Wings appeared in front of this maddened man. The flames flew backwards creating completely black Light Hawk Armor. Fire ran along his right arm to coalesce into a black Light Hawk Sword. "DDDDIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!" he screamed and flew right at Tenchi. "Shit!" cried Tenchi in surprise. Three green triangles appeared on his forehead as did five blue Light Hawk Wings before him just in time to block the insane warrior's attack. Keeping his eyes on his opponent, Tenchi launched himself backwards into the air. Blue energy rippled across his body forming Light Hawk Armor. He banked right to avoid a pair of fiery discs. The black armored Light Hawk Warrior rose to Tenchi's level in the air. "Who are you?" demanded Tsunami's Knight. "My name is Rashoch," he purred. "I am the original Champion of Tokimi. If you had been facing me instead of that pretender Ziasha during the Goddess War, well let's just say this conversation would not be happening." His mouth peeled back into an insane grin followed by a series of giggles. A single blue Wing appeared, and Tenchi converted it to a Sword. "The Goddess War is over, Rashoch. Tokimi lost." Rashoch's amused look vanished to be replaced by pure anger. "I don't give a damn about that bitch!" he shouted. "She locked me up and threw away the key! I'm only sorry it wasn't my sword that killed her!" He roared in anger again and launched himself at Tenchi. Tsunami's Knight deflected the first attack and countered. Rashoch backed off just as Tenchi's Sword sliced the air where his head had been. The mad man roared yet again and lunged with a series of powerful slashes. It took everything Tenchi had not to buckle under each parry. It was soon very clear to him that the situation had gone far beyond reasonable talking. Steeling himself, Tenchi pushed aside his gentler instincts and began fighting back against his insane foe. _____ Mayuka watched as everyone around her engaged in life and death battles. The one between her father and the man named Rashoch seemed to be the most intense, though. Both warriors were now exchanging vicious attacks with their swords. Small thunder claps sounded every time their weapons crossed. Despite all the other explosions, screaming, and sheer brawling going on around the house those two seemed to be in their own little world. White and black blades crossed again. Rashoch muscled Tenchi's sword aside and threw out a headbutt that rocked Tenchi back, making him vulnerable to attack. Rashoch aimed the tip of his blade for her father's chest and thrust. Inches from its target, a transparent blue shield formed around the black blade's tip. The former Champion of Tokimi screamed with rage. Tenchi's eyes just thinned as the shield suddenly transformed into a wave of energy that sent Rashoch hurtling across the sky. Not wasting any time, Tenchi gripped his sword with both hands and charged after his opponent. The eldest of the Masaki children glanced quickly at the entire war raging around her home. She caught a glimpse of Ryoko and Timerra in the middle of a flurry of kicks and punches. Timerra threw a left and jerked right before driving her knee at Ryoko's stomach. Ryoko managed to move her head away from the punch, block the knee thrust with both hands, and then do a mid air flip that landed a kick right on top of Timerra's head, sending the woman crashing to the ground. A pair of Light Hawk Swords appeared in Ryoko's hands, and she dove after her prey. A scream split the air as the warrior named Ashra struck Rei with a pair of energy ribbons. The raven haired teen pitched backwards, only to have her opponent appear, grab her by the hair, and throw her into the green house. Hiro had heard the scream and was attempting to aide his twin, but the large Zorin was not having any of it. Light Hawk Swords clashed repeatedly as the two of them dualed ferociously. Hiro finally managed to slip his blade past Zorin's defenses. But instead of stabbing, he converted the blade into a beam of power that sent the large warrior shooting off into the sky. The path cleared, Hiro flew onward and tackled Ashra just before he could release an energy disc at Rei. Mayuka's attention was drawn away from the fighting by some movement to her left. Her great grandfather was slowly approaching Azusa. "Call this off, now, father," he ordered calmly. "This battle does not have to continue." "Do shut up, Yosho," answered the powerful Juraian. "I don't really wish to hear your pathetic reasonings at this time. Your fate is already sealed, so please be an obedient boy and be silent." There was a flash, and the old man was holding a blue energy sword. "I do not wish to fight you, father. But if I must, then I am ready to do so without regret." He took up a fighting stance. Azusa's face peeled back into amused awe. "Are you seriously thinking of challenging me, Yosho?" He started laughing. "Well then, what are you waiting for, boy? Come at me!" Katsuhito stepped back slightly before launching himself at his father. Mayuka would not have believed what happened next of she had not seen it herself. Her great grandfather was halted in mid air by a pair of white whips of energy. The two whips lifted him higher into the air and slammed him into the ground. He tried to rise, but power surged from the whips to flow violently over his body. Katsuhito screamed in pain until the electrocution ceased. "Have we had enough, traitorous boy?" asked Azusa. He burgundy eyes moved away from the still form of his son to fall on Mayuka. "Do you wish to try your luck, child?" _____ Azusa began to gather his power to attack the girl, when he felt his body suddenly freeze. *Do not hurt the girl, Azusa,* commanded the voice. *There is something about her that interests me.* *But...* he started to protest. *Remember who is really in charge here, Azusa! You exist only because you are a means to an end! Remember that! Now end this pointless fight and get your little bit of revenge over with so we can move on!* "As you wish," he muttered. The Juraian lord looked away from the girl at the battles going on around him. His minions all seemed to be holding their own, if not winning in some cases. The most violent battle between the boy and Rashoch was starting to escalate. The two of them were beginning to exchange energy fire along with their dueling. Azusa knew he could stop Rashoch if need be, but it would take more to halt the boy. The former Emperor's eyes drifted until they fell on the second floor of the house. Standing in the window watching the events outside was a small, cyan haired little girl. Azusa smiled darkly to himself. _____ Tenchi released a pair of energy ribbons at Rashoch. The insane warrior batted them aside easily and charged. In response Tenchi darted to his left to avoid the powerful slash and followed with a counter thrust at his enemy's shoulder. Rashoch spun away leaving Tenchi's attack to kill only air. The two Light Hawk Warriors righted themselves in the air and faced each other down. Blue fire began to flow around Tenchi's sword while black flames swirled up and down Rashoch's. "Are you ready to die, Masaki?" sneered the dark man. "I'm sure that Tokimi is lonely in hell." "I don't enjoy killing, Rashoch." Tenchi raised his sword carefully. "Unfortunately, it seems that you are leaving me with little choice in this matter." Both men raised their weapons to attack, when Azusa's voice interrupted them. "Enough! This battle ends now!" Everyone fighting in the yard stopped in mid movement at the Juraian's below. Rashoch started to move again, but Azusa's yell stopped him. "Rashoch!" Tenchi slowly looked away from Rashoch down at Azusa. What he saw chilled his blood. The Juraian lord was standing there holding Achika in his left arm. "Achika!" cried Ryoko. The space pirate blew past Timerra at Azusa, but stopped short when he raised his glowing right hand to the child's head. "I wouldn't, you piece of space trash. While I do not wish to hurt the child, I will if I must." He looked away from her to the rest of the combatants. "If you do not want this child harmed, all members of this household are to release their Light Hawk Wings." He nodded, and his servants all flew over and landed behind him. Each one released his or her power, except for Rashoch. Tenchi landed right behind Ryoko and carefully took a hold of her. Hiro and Rei landed near Katsuhito and helped the old man to his feet. Mayuka ran up to him with a shamed look. "I'm sorry, dad. He just raised his hand, and Achika appeared. There wasn't anything I could do." "It's okay, Mayuka," he assured her. "It's okay." Tenchi stepped in front of Ryoko to face Azusa. "All right, Azusa, we've complied. Now release my daughter." The Juraian lord smiled haughtily. "This was only to get your attention, boy." He tossed a squirming Achika at them. There was a flash as Ryoko caught the child and teleported back behind Tenchi. Tenchi felt Hiro reembrace his Light Hawk Wings. "Not smart, asshole! You just threw away the only thing keeping us from kicking your asses!" The teen was about to lunge at them, but a bracing arm from his father stopped him. Azusa was laughing the whole time. "Fools. You will continue to do everything I say, or else," he pulled out a flat, golden disk, "Ayeka and her husband will suffer the consequences." The former Emperor tossed the disk onto the ground between himself and the Masaki family. There was a small flash, and a holographic image of Ayeka and Shoytal appeared over the disk. The Empress and her husband were bound, gagged, and showing signs of abuse. Tenchi couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You son of a bitch! That's your own daughter!" "My traitorous daughter!" shouted Azusa. His face was red with rage. "You and your space whore of a wife convinced my daughter to leave me in that hover chair to rot away for the rest of my life! She betrayed me and the Royal family of Jurai." Realizing his momentary loss of self control, the Juraian calmed his face and cleared his throat. "You will do as I say or else two things will happen, boy." He raised his finger. "First, Ayeka and her husband will be killed instantly. Secondly, I have this puny planet surrounded by ten thousand of my warships. Failure to comply will also result in that fleet turning this piece of dirt to dust." It took all of Tenchi's training and self control not to release all the Light Hawk Power he could control at this monster. "What do you want from me?" he asked through clenched teeth. Azusa folded his arms. "You and my worthless son are to be my prisoners. You will be taken to Jurai to stand trial before the Holy Council for treason against the throne along with my traitorous daughter." Hiro tried to move. But Tenchi's arm, kept him in place. "And remember the fates of Ayeka and this planet rest on your decision." Tenchi slowly turned around to meet the eyes of his family. Hiro had stepped back beside Rei, and both twins just stared at him waiting for his decision. Mayuka, as well, looked back with waiting eyes. Tenchi looked into the eyes of his grandfather next, deliberately avoiding Ryoko's gaze. Katsuhito meet his eyes and nodded. He already knew what his grandson's decision was going to be. There was no other choice to make. "All right, Azusa," he told him. "You have a deal." He moved to look at the Juraian. "We'll come with you. I have just one small request. Let me say goodbye to my family first." Azusa gave him a flip nod. "Fine. Take as long as you need." Tenchi slowly turned back to the others. Katsuhito nodded once and walked towards his father. First Tenchi looked to Rei. The raven haired teenager was trying very hard not to start crying. "Daddy," she whispered. "It's going to be okay, sweetie," he told her while reaching out to lay a hand on the side of her head. "I'll be just fine, and I'll be even better knowing that you are here helping to take care of everything." He tried to give her a strong smile. "Okay?" Rei made small nod. "Okay," she whispered. She lunged forward to hug him tightly. "I love you, dad." Tenchi closed his eyes as he hugged back. "I love you, too, kitten." They released each other, and he moved on to Hiro. He gave the boy a half smile. "You're the man of the house now, son." "Come on, dad," urged the teen. "We can take these guys." His father just shook his head. "Not this time, Hiro. There's too much at stake. I can't risk your lives nor your Aunt and Uncle's. That's beside the fact that the entire Earth is threatened as well. No, we can't just fight our way out of this. If there is anything I've tried to teach you it's that fighting is not always the best solution. Sometimes we have to use our minds first and our swords second." Hiro looked away and down at the ground. "I understand." "Good," said Tenchi with a pat on his son's shoulder. "Be strong for the others, Hiro." He quickly pulled him into a hug. "I love you, son." They exchanged pats on the back. "I love you, too, dad." Next Tenchi found himself meeting Mayuka's shaken gaze. "Dad...I..." "Shhh," he said while resting his hands on her shoulders. "It's okay, Mayuka. You did your best. There wasn't anything you could have done to alter this eventuality." He moved his arms back and pulled something from his robe's belt. "I guess it's time you had this. You're ready." Tenchi held up his right hand with Tenchi-ken in it. Tears started forming in Mayuka's brown eyes. "Dad," she whispered. She slowly raised her right hand to take the ancient weapon. A series of small blue bolts of electricity passed between her hand and Tenchi-ken. The energy disappeared when she grasped the ancient tool. "I don't think I'm..." "You *are* ready," he told her. "I'm very proud of the woman you have become. You have a strong will and a mind of your own. Just remember who you are and everything will be fine." They hugged tightly with Mayuka barely holding back the tears. "I love you, dad," she whispered. He kissed her forehead. "I love you, too, my little jewel." Finally, he found himself facing Ryoko. Her face was turned away from his, but Achika was in her arms staring at him. Tenchi could tell that the child was trying her best to understand everything that was going on. "Daddy, are you going away?" Ryoko released the child as Tenchi took her into his arms. "Yes, sweetie. I have to go away for a while." He found himself forcing a brave smile. "But I'll be back as soon as I can." She smiled at him and wrapped her little arms around his neck. "Okay, Daddy. I love you." Tenchi held her close. "I love you, too," he whispered. "Mayuka, take your sister, please." She nodded and took Achika from him. Tenchi steeled himself for what he had to do next. Ryoko was just standing there with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her eyes were downcast, avoiding Tenchi's. He carefully reached out and lifted her face by the chin. Their eyes locked. Ryoko blinked her golden eyes once, and tears began cascading down her cheeks. "Ryoko," Tenchi whispered. "You can't do this," she pleaded weakly. "You can't just let them take you away from us." Her breaths became short and quick. "From me." Tenchi quickly threw his arms around her. "There's no other way," he said quietly. "If I don't go the rest of you will be in danger." Ryoko's arms were now wrapped around his body. "I can't lose you like this." She lifted her head to look at him. "We haven't been apart for twenty years. I can't live without you. You're my life," she started choking on air, "my love." It took everything Tenchi had not to break down right there. "You have to be strong, Ryoko," he whispered. They leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching. "I know you can do this. You're the strongest person I've ever known." He blinked and a tear rolled down his right cheek. "I love you so much, Ryoko. Never forget that." She took his face between her hands. "I have *always* loved you, my Tenchi," she whispered back. The couple shared a tender kiss that lasted for several moments. Tenchi felt a part of him die when he stepped away and started walking towards Azusa. Ryoko moved to run to him, but Hiro was faster and held her in place. Keeping his face straight, Tenchi nodded once and moved over to Azusa. "I'm ready." The Juraian lord kept his face emotionless. "Zorin, give me a collar." The large man stepped up beside his master and handed him a black ring. Azusa opened it up and placed the item around Tenchi's neck. Tenchi felt its power instantly. One second his Light Hawk Wings and Jurai Power were there, and then they were gone. And even worse, his link with Ryoko had been completely severed. He reached up and tugged at the collar. "What is this thing?" "This collar is made from the Tree of Darkness," explained Azusa. "We don't need you getting any ideas about escaping or trying anything heroic." He waved his right hand sharply. "Put a collar on my son and take them to the ship." Zorin placed a second collar around Katsuhito's neck. The air surrounding the old man wavered for a moment. There was a rippling effect, and suddenly Katsuhito was gone. In his place stood Yosho. The collar's powers completely negated anything related to Tsunami and the power of the Royal family. That meant that Yosho's disguise was shattered as well. Azusa smirked at his son. "Take these two away." Zorin and Ashra each placed a restraining hand on Tenchi and his grandfather. As the teleportation beams took a hold of him, Tenchi saw Ryoko make one last attempt to get to him. It took both Rei and Hiro to restrain their mother. All Tenchi could do was close his eyes and look away. The last thing he heard was Ryoko cry out his name. "Teeennnccchhhiiiii!" To be continued... Notes- let the games begin. On a side note- the scene taken from episode 13.5 is done word for word. Through the magic of DVD I took each each line word for word using subtitles and a lot of going back and forth. All comments please go to Roas1@hotmail.com.