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 "Boiling Point" Hiro watched as his opponents circled him carefully. The cyan haired teen gripped his bokken lightly while keeping his expression emotionless. Gerin and Daisar, both dressed in gray gi's, stopped on opposite sides of him. A bird chirped somewhere around clearing, and the two Juraians attacked Hiro. Wooden weapons screamed at the teen from all directions, but he didn't even break a sweat. He batted Daisar's bokken aside with one smooth strike, dropped to his knees, and rolled backwards under Gerin's swipe. On his feet immediately, Hiro lunged for the knight's midsection. Gerin reacted instantly and spun to the left away from Hiro's attack. Tenchi's son stopped, pivoted on his right foot, and launched himself after his foe. The knight stopped his retreat to meet Hiro's quick slashes with his bo. He deflected the attacks downward and followed up with a combination strike at the teen's head. Without missing a beat, Hiro phased right through the attack. Gerin had only a moment to cry out before Hiro knocked him off his feet and tapped him on the neck with his wooden blade. A series of light steps behind him alerted Hiro to Daisar's charge. At the last moment he moved slightly to his left, reached out, grabbed Daisar's wrists, pulled the young prince into the air, and drove his left knee into his stomach. Daisar landed on the ground with a loud grunt. Just to add insult to injury, Hiro tapped the prince on the head with his bokken. "You lose," he told the two Juraians evenly. He made a pair of small bows and started back towards the Shrine steps. "Geez, Hiro," wheezed Gerin as he and Daisar ran to catch up. "You could take it a bit easier. I mean, it is only practice." "That's what I used to think," he replied without looking back. "Life was nothing but a game three weeks ago. Then my family was shattered because I wasn't strong enough." He stopped and leveled a serious gaze at the knight. "Nothing is ever just practice, now." The teenager turned and continued back towards the house without another word. _____ "How's that look?" Rei asked. Mayuka, Achika, and Mihoshi were standing in the living room looking at the now repaired hole in the side of the house. Everyone was dressed in sweats and T-shirts, except for Rei who had on a pair of paint stained blue overalls. "I think it looks great, Rei," answered Mihoshi happily. Mayuka forced out a smile for her sister. Christmas had come and gone over the past two weeks doing little to lighten the dark atmosphere over the house. Hiro did nothing but train with Gerin and Daisar now, and Rei was doing everything and anything possible to avoid talking about her feelings, except going back to school. "It looks good," replied the eldest of the Masaki children. "Now that it's done maybe you can go back to school." Rei looked over at her with a smile of disbelief. "Are you kidding? I still have to fiz the green house. Besides, who will look after Grandma?" Mayuka groaned inwardly. This was the beginning to the argument they had been having since both twins decided not to go back to school when Christmas was over. Every time she brought it up, each one would either blow her off or start making up excuses to stay home. For the first week Mayuka had let it go, but now it was getting to be serious. "You can't keeping missing this much school, Rei," she said sternly. "What would dad say..." "Dad's not here, Mayuka!" Rei shouted suddenly. "He's gone and not coming back!" Before she could stop herself, Mayuka stepped forward and slapped her sister across the face. "Dammit, Rei!" she hissed. "Achika is standing right there!" Rei looked from her elder sister to her younger one in complete shock. When her eyes returned to Mayuka they were red rimmed and filled with unshed tears. "Mayuka..." she whispered. "I..." Mayuka reached out and pulled her into a tight hug. Rei, having spent all her will power, just thrust her face into her sister's shoulder and cried. "Shhh. It's okay, Rei. I'm sorry." The door opened at that moment to let the men inside. Hiro stopped in the hall and looked over at them. "What's going on in here?" he asked with little sign of emotion. "Nothing," replied Mayuka. "Just tempers flaring." She looked him up and down. "Feel better after blowing things up?" "Bite me, May," he sneered. "At least I'm preparing for the battles to come." She shot her brother a dangerous glare. "Stop talking like that, Hiro. We can't start any fights, at least not yet." "Well then when, Mayuka?" he shouted while storming into the living room. "When will we fight back? How long are we going to sit on our hands?" Mayuka walked Rei over to the couch and sat her down. "We'll talk about this later." "No," snapped Hiro. He vanished and reappeared in front of her. "We've been avoiding the subject for weeks. We talk about this now." He placed himself face to face with her, but Mayuka turned her head to Mihoshi. "Mihoshi, would you please take Achika into the other room..." "No," Hiro said again. "This is a family decision, and they're both family." He raised himself to his full height and stared his sister down. "When do we fight back?" Mayuka shoved him hard on the chest. "Now is not the time, Hiro," she growled. "When is the time?" he screamed. "When mom finally rots away up in her room? When Grandma never wakes up? Or how about when they finally televise dad's execution?" Mayuka's fist shot out at his face, but he caught it centimeters from his nose. "When, Mayuka?" he whispered. "When?" Mayuka was about to reply when a sudden explosion shook the entire house. All heads snapped around to see smoke billowing down the stairs and out the open front door. Forgetting their arguments for the moment, everyone gathered inside the living room ran for the stairs. They all stopped short when they saw her slowly floating through the smoke. "Mommy!" cried Achika happily. Ryoko slowly floated down the stairs wearing her old red and black battle suit with Ryo-ohki perched on her left shoulder. Achika ran from Mihoshi's legs and jumped into her mother's arms. The pirate stroked the back of her youngest child's head without stopping her progress. She came to a halt in front of the group and lowered herself to the ground. "You want to know when we start fighting back?" she asked calmly. Her golden eyes flashed dangerously at them. "Right now." _____ "I don't know about this, mom," Mayuka was saying. "It's pretty risky." It was a couple hours later, and everyone was now gathered back in the living room. Ryoko, still holding Achika, shook her head. "It has to be done this way. It won't be convincing otherwise. Trust me, sweetie, I've been working on this for a while." She looked over at Rei. "Can you do it?" The raven haired young woman thought about it for a moment. "Yes," she said finally. "There should be enough of everything down in the lab." "Good," said Ryoko with a nod. Now Hiro fell under her gaze. "Can you pull it off?" she asked him. The smile he gave her was genuine. "Definitely." Next she looked at Gerin. "What about you?" The red headed knight scratched his chin and smiled. "I never could turn down a request from a pretty lady." "All right then." The pirate rose from her seat on the couch. "Everyone get to work. We move at sunrise." _____ Lieutenant Itara Volun yawned as he stared at the tree ship's radar. The only things out there were the Terrans' pathetic satellites. Why on Jurai two thousand ships needed to be guarding this little ball of dirt was beyond him. What could possibly be so dangerous as to require all this firepower? Then a small blip caught his attention. The lieutenant jerked up right in his chair and tapped a few keys. His eyes perked up when it was confirmed that there was something definitely coming up from the planet's surface. He even smiled when it was coming right for his ship. "Sir!" he called over his shoulder. The brown bearded captain leaned over the railing of the command station to look down at him. "What is it, lieutenant?" "Sir, there seems to be something coming up from the planet's surface." The captain scratched his chin. "Get me a visual." "Aye, sir." It took a moment, but Itara was finally able to get a picture of the advancing object. At first no one could see anything except a red dot. Then, all at once, the entire bridge crew could make out the rising black, crystalline spikes. The captain's mouth opened to order the shields raised, but he was seconds too late. The tip of one of the black spikes suddenly released a stream of red energy that vaporized the battleship instantly. _____ Ryoko smiled grimly at the results of her first blast. "Power to all batteries, Ryo-ohki," she ordered. "Meow meow!" The pirate's eyes thinned as row after row of tree ships lined up to take pot shots at her. "Just remember," she whispered to herself. "They started this, not you." Streams of yellow energy erupted from the Juraian fleet. "Evasive maneuvers!" shouted Ryoko. The cabbit battleship juked and jutted around the endless barrage of yellow power. Ryoko took control at the last moment and steered them right at a cluster of tree ships. Feeding her own power into Ryo-ohki's systems, the ship was surrounded by a globe of red energy as it slammed into one tree ship after another. Thirty explosions later, Ryo-ohki zoomed away with at least three hundred Juraian battleships trying to blow her out of space. "Meoooow meeeoow!" "Don't worry," Ryoko assured her friend. "We just have to keep this up for a little bit longer." A series of blasts raked them across the side. "Almost there," she said through clenched teeth. *Okay, mom,* echoed Mayuka's voice in her mind. *Everything's ready.* "Great," she replied out loud and mentally. "Tell Hiro to do it in five...four...three..." _____ "Communication from Earth, my lord," announced Timerra. Gabriel folded his fingers and looked down at her. "Put it through." A view screen appeared in front of the throne with a blond haired Juraian in its center. "Sorry to disturb you, Majesty, but the Ryo-ohki has just launched an attack on the fleet. It looks like it is trying to get past our defense line." "Really?" The entity couldn't help but smile. "I was wondering when she would try something. Do what you can, captain. Destroy the ship if you must." The captain was about to speak when a soldier ran up and whispered something in his right ear. "Sire," the captain began, "it appears that several of our ships have gotten the drop on the enemy and destroyed it. What are your orders?" Gabriel lowered his hands and leaned forward. "Pity," he said to himself. "Get your crews out there and collect what remains you can, captain. I want to be certain of this." The Juraian office saluted. "Yes, Emperor." The screen blinked away. Gabriel leaned back once more. "What are you thinking, my lord?" asked Timerra from below. "Possibilities," he replied after a moment. "Summon Rashoch back from his 'game' and tell Zorin to come here as well." She bowed deeply to him. "As you command." Gabriel's smile returned soon after she was gone. "Let's see if this cat really does have nine lives." _____ Mayuka stood on the bridge of Yukinojo watching the battle with a great deal of concern. Her heart threatened to stop when she saw Ryo-ohki explode, or at least pretend to explode. She couldn't stop fretting until the door to the bridge opened and her mother walked inside with Ryo-ohki on her left shoulder and Hiro and Rei following close behind. Mayuka rushed Ryoko and threw her arms around her. "I'm so glad that you're okay," she said quietly. She turned her head slightly and scrathed the cabbit on her little head, eliciting a purr. Ryoko moved her back slightly and smiled. "It'll take a little bit more than a couple thousand Juraian ships to take us out." Rei, with a relieved look on her face, walked over to the sensor station. "Juraian crews are gathering up the fake Ryo-ohki parts I put through Hiro's portal." "Are you sure they'll pick up our DNA traces?" asked her mother. Rei looked back with a smile Washu would be proud of. "I coated the parts with enough of our replicated DNA to convince them we were all vaporized in the explosion." "Good," said the pirate. A beeping noise pulled everyone's attention away from the sensors to the COM station. Yukiniojo's robotic head detached from the ceiling and blinked his yellow eyes. "Mihoshi, I'm getting a signal from the Juraian fleet." "What is it, Yukinojo?" asked the GP from the pilot's chair. His eyes blinked again. "It appears to be a confirmation beacon from Sir Gerin. He has successfully infiltrated the fleet with his shuttle." "I do hope Gerin will be all right," commented Daisar. "Don't worry, kid," assured Ryoko. "He's annoying, but resourceful." The pirate looked at everyone. "As soon as the Juraians leave, we go ahead with part two of my plan." "Rei, you, your little sister, and Daisar will take your Grandmother and go find the People of the Gem," she explained. "They are the only ones who might have a chance at waking her up. I want you to use Washu's gem ship. That way they will at least not hide themselves from you." "Are you sure we should take Achika, mom?" asked the raven haired teen. "Wouldn't it be safer to leave her with Grandpa Noboyuki?" Ryoko was shaking her head. "Noboyuki is a good grandfather, but he can't protect her if the Juraians decide to take a closer look at Earth. She'll be safest with you and all the People of the Gem around her." She looked at Mayuka and Mihoshi next. "I want you two to go the Galaxy Police HQ and find out what happened to Sasami and Kiyone." "Okay, mom," replied Mayuka without argument. It was very clear that her mother had been planning this for several weeks now. Ryoko nodded. "You two have the frequency Gerin will be sending on. He'll report to you when he has a lead on Ayeka's whereabouts. As long as she's a prisoner we can't attack Azusa directly." "What about me?" Hiro asked with a hint of urgency. Ryoko walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You're coming with me and Ryo-ohki." His brown eyes lit up at her half smile. "We're going to find your father and bring him home." _____ "Reports coming in, my lord," Timerra announced from the bottom of the dais. A few moments passed before she continued. "Traces of the Masaki family's DNA have been found on the remaining pieces of the Ryo-ohki." "Names," was all the entity said. She paused a moment. "Ryoko Masaki, Rei Masaki, Hiro Masaki, Mayuka Masaki, Achika Masaki, First Class Detective Mihoshi Kuramitsu, and Washu Hakubi." Gabriel tapped the tip of his chin. Convenient that they would all be on the ship. Too convenient. At that moment the doors to the throne room opened to allow Rashoch and Zorin inside. The two men strode up to the dais, where Zorin bowed and Rashoch sneered. "What could be so important that you called me away from the fleet?" snarled the mad man. "We were just zeroing in on rebel activity." "I have a new task for you two," said Gabriel, ignoring the former Champion of Tokimi's tone. "The Masaki family on Earth just tried to break through our defensive line. The Ryo-ohki has apparently been destroyed." His all white eyes thinned. "Make sure it really was." Rashoch's sneer transformed into a chilling smile. "A hunt?" he said with a giggle. "I like it. Come on," he told Zorin. "Let's get to Earth before the trail gets too cold." Zorin quietly rose and the two of them left the room. "What should I do with this information, master?" asked Timerra. Gabriel steepled his fingers and smiled behind them. "Give it to the media. The public has a right to know that the dreaded Space Pirate Ryoko has finally met her end." _____ Tenchi and his companions entered the common room flanked by half a dozen members of the smuggler's ring. Everyone in the basketball court sized room wore gray jumpsuits with prisoner ID's over their right breasts. Inmates were spread all around the room engaging in various activities with armed guards posted at all exits and patrolling the catwalk above. Tenchi noted that there were some other prisoners already seated around the Vid Net screen watching something. It only took a few words from his smuggler companions to clear them away so that Tenchi, Shoytal, and Yosho could watch the news. As they were taking their seats in front of the screen, Raff and at least ten of his Angels walked over. Raff was a humanoid standing about six feet tall. He was broad shouldered with dark purple skin and long white hair that fell past his shoulders. His features were sharp with a beak nose and eyes the color of the setting sun. His stooges lined up behind him when he stopped in front of Tenchi. "So, Masaki," he hissed in a gravely voice, "I hope you like the gift I left you this morning." Several personal parts of one of Tenchi's new associates had been left outside his cell earlier. "You can trust he died in a lot of pain." Shoytal was on his feet immediately. "I suggest you leave, you piece of filth, before I am forced to *escort* you out." The Juraian Lord's fists were clenched tightly at his sides. Raff raised his hands defensively. "I'm only trying to be friendly, Juraian," he said with a smile. He and his boys backed away to take seats as the news came onto the screen. Tenchi had watched the exchange in silence, trying very hard to control his temper. The more time he spent on Druz, the more he felt his well trained patience becoming thin. He'd learned quickly that when dealing with the likes of Raff and the Angels, you had to push aside all feelings that would allow mercy. Mercy in a place like Druz would get you killed. The opening credits to the news finished and a green skinned reporter began his speech. "We begin our report this evening with a breaking news story. Today in the Solar System a criminal reign finally came to an explosive end." Tenchi didn't feel himself get up, but now he was standing before the screen. "In a pitched space battle, a portion of the Juraian Fleet cornered and killed the dreaded Space Pirate Ryoko and her gang aboard their ship the Ryo-ohki." A second screen appeared next to his head. "Here we have footage from the battle. As you can see, the Ryo-ohki and her crew attacked the Juraian force without just cause." Tenchi could only watch in horror as Ryo-ohki threw herself at the Juraian tree ships with a vengeance. Many of the Juraian vessels were destroyed, but eventually the numbers were too great for the cabbit battleship. Tenchi felt whatever was left inside him die when he saw Ryo-ohki explode in a ball of fire. "The Juraian government has released these pictures of Ryoko and her gang. It has been confirmed through DNA testing that all these individuals were killed in the explosion. We here at the Galactic News Network send out our heartfelt sorrow to the families of those who died in the battle today against the pirate gang." The newscaster's last comment fell on deaf ears as Tenchi watched the faces of his family flash across the screen. He couldn't even find the breath to say their names. "Ha!" barked Raff from behind. "It's about damn time somebody killed that bitch. She gives real pirates a bad name with all that hero stuff she supposedly did." Rage. Cold, pure rage filled Tenchi's entire being. He spun around and launched himself at Raff without any second thoughts, blowing right past all the Angels. His right hand grabbed the purple alien around the throat as he drove him into the ground with a resounding thud. Raff tried to break free, but Tenchi's knee in his gut stopped the attempt. Tenchi Masaki, a Juraian Crown Prince, the Knight of Tsunami, devoted father and husband, and simple shrine priest simply began to pummel the individual beneath him. While the prince rained down punch after punch onto Raff's face, he dimly heard the fight between his companions and the Angels going on behind him. He just continued to punch, punch, punch, punch, punch... It wasn't too much longer before Raff had stopped moving all together, but Tenchi didn't cease beating the now obviously dead man. His repeated action was suddenly halted as an unknown attacker grabbed him from behind. Without pause, Tenchi snatched his assaulter by the wrist, twisted, and threw him over his shoulder. The Angel landed hard on his back and went sliding across the floor. The still rage filled prince picked up the flickering shadows of two more Angels heading for him. He was on his feet instantly. A punch was thrown, but Tenchi caught it with his right hand and pulled the thug forward into his waiting left knee. The second Angel kicked at Tenchi's head, but he merely responded by ducking and spinning around with a sweep kick that dropped his foe. As Tenchi completed his spin, he rose up, lifted his right leg, and dropped the heel of his boot right onto the chest of the second Angel. If he'd even heard the cracking of the man's rib cage, he didn't show it. Soon after the remaining Angels saw their dead leader they decided to make a hasty retreat. Tenchi started to chase them, but his grandfather and Shoytal held him fast. Snarling like some enraged beast, Tenchi tried to break from their arms. The prison guards, having let the fight run its course, finally entered the common room and moved to restrain Tenchi immediately. Yosho and Shoytal were forced to release the still thrashing Tenchi. When momentarily freed, he sprang forward to pursue the now long gone Angels. However, the guards and their clubs stopped Tenchi in his tracks. A few quick hits on the back of his head dropped Tenchi more than easily. Still somewhat conscious, he felt himself picked up under the arms and dragged across the room. His movement soon stopped, and Tenchi lifted his bleary eyes to see Sso'Traknal. The lizard lifted him slightly by the chin. "Shame on you, Masaki," he rumbled. "It took me years to get a good stooge like Raff and now you've gone and killed him. Take our friend here to solitary," he told the two guards holding Tenchi, "for two weeks." Tenchi barely registered what was transpiring as he was once again pulled across the room. Time seemed to pool together into one long blur as the guards shuffled him along the metal halls of the prison. They finally stopped in front of a steel door with no visible openings. One of the guards punched in a code on the key pad to the left, and the door slid open to reveal a small room with no lights and only a single vent to allow air inside. Tenchi was thrown onto the floor of the cell. The door slid shut, leaving him in the dark and all alone. But Tenchi didn't notice. The rage had run itself dry along with his wooziness caused from the hits to the head. Now, Tenchi Masaki, once the savior of the universe, simply laid there curled into a fetal position crying over the loss of those he held most dear above all else. "Rei...Hiro...Achika...Mayuka...Washu...Mihoshi..." sobbed the broken man. He took in one long, ragged breath and screamed... "RRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKKOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" To be continued... Notes- all right I hope everyone is still interested in all this. Just to talk about Tenchi's little reaction to what he believes is Ryoko's death. Now, some may say that I have over done it here, but let's take a look at this scene. Tenchi has sacrificed his freedom to protect those he holds most dear. Now, in the position I have placed Tenchi in through out my fics, he loves Ryoko and his children more than life itself. I think his rage is justified having supposedly seen the recorded death of his family. Then to have someone he already hates make a comment like Raff did, well I think he just had to snap. You don't have to agree, but it's my story, and I'll do what I want to :P All comments please go to Roas1@hotmail.com