DISCLAIMER: Hey, hey, this here work of fanfiction uses characters, cabbits, and red-eyed bounty hunters that are property of AIC and Pioneer. Hey, hey, some of the characters, cabbits, and bounty hunters in this fanfic are property of me, though. Hey, hey, please don't sue me and please don't use this fanfic without my permission. Hey, hey, to gain aforementioned permission, or to give me feedback, e-mail Palador98@yahoo.com This is the first chapter of the second series of "No Need For Souls!" Therefore, it's chapter eight. It begins shortly after chapter seven ends. Please recall that this is in the OAV universe and that Nagi and Ryoko have NEVER met and Ken-Ohki doesn't exist. No Need For Souls! A TM! Fanfiction By RP-Otaku Chapter Eight: Dangerous Encounters It was a bright, sunny, typical morning at the Masaki household. Tenchi woke up slowly, savoring the feel of sunlight on his face. With a loud yawn, he slowly sat up. As he opened his eyes, he jumped in surprise. There was nothing in front of him but a blank, empty, brown wall. The events of the past months came flooding back to him, and he sighed in resignation. Ryoko was gone. --- Ryo-Ohki gently docked at the space station 'Nirembel' orbiting the planet Tatakae. Ryoko walked out, expecting to see someone waiting for her. She was not disappointed; a tall, well-dressed Juraian greeted her as she disembarked. "Ah, Hakubi-san, you have arrived! And punctual as usual! You never fail to disappoint. May I unload the cargo now?" "I told you," Ryoko responded, "call me Ryoko. I don't like all these formalities. You can unload the cargo after I've been paid." "But, Haku-, err, Ryoko," he whined, "after our long history together, you still don't trust me?" Ryoko grunted. "What long history? This is only the second time I've worked for you. We agreed, 5,000 credits in advance, and 10,000 credits upon my arrival. Now pay up." Grumbling, the man fumbled in his pockets for a moment before drawing out a thin, rectangular, plastic card. "Here's your money, Ryoko-san. Now, can I *please* have my cargo?" Accepting the credit card, Ryoko graciously waved her hand. "Of course, Fujii-san. Be my guest." Immediately, the man called for his underlings, "Alright guys! Let's go! Hurry up and unload my unagi!" Ryoko walked away from the spaceport, pocketing the credit card. --- Washu slowly typed away, attempting to pinpoint the Shi's location. She mourned her lab, without which *everything* was slower and more difficult. She also mourned her daughter, whom she hadn't spoken to since her birthday a few days ago. The Shi were clever, she had to admit. They'd brought back Kagato somehow; she wasn't quite sure how they'd managed it. They had also experimented with Tenchi's Light Hawk Wings by sending Akumu Noroi. She wasn't quite certain what they would do with the data gleaned from that, but the Shi were the cleverest she'd ever encountered in disguising their intentions. There was a knock at her inter-dimensional door. Without looking up, she called out an invitation to enter. It was Aeka. "Aeka-dono? What is it?" the scientist asked distractedly. "Umm, Washu-sama..." "Washu-chan!" Washu cut in. "Gomen nasai, Washu-chan!" Aeka apologized desperately. "Washu-chan, could you help me with something?" Irritably, Washu replied, "It had better be important!" Ashamedly, Aeka turned away. "I...I suppose it's not *that* important, Washu-chan..." "Good. Then could you please leave?" "H-Hai." Aeka slowly trudged out the door. Still annoyed at the distraction, Washu returned to her work. --- Ryoko entered the small, crowded bar. She looked around for someplace to sit, then noticed a pair of empty stools at the bar. Not thinking much of the fact that the two stools were placed on either side of a lone figure, she sat on the leftmost one. The woman sitting next to her gave her a cool look with cold red eyes before returning to her drink. She was wearing a long black cloak and seemed to have some sort of warpaint on her face. Ryoko waved to the bartender and ordered some sake, before turning to the woman and attempting to strike up a conversation. "Hey, how's it going?" she asked. The woman in the cloak ignored her. "Hi, my name's Ryoko, how about you?" The woman didn't seem to acknowledge her, but after a brief moment of silence, said, "Nagi." "Hm," Ryoko remarked, "interesting name. Not very common, is it?" "No." Nagi replied. Ryoko was getting exasperated with her, but tried one last comment. "Well, I'm a freighter captain, what do you do for a living?" Nagi almost smiled. "I'm the toughest bounty hunter in the galaxy." "...O-oh really?" Ryoko replied weakly. Nagi nodded. "It's a funny thing," she remarked, "you've got the same name as the largest bounty I've ever hunted." "Is...is that so?" "Yeah. The space pirate Ryoko, a bounty of eighty-five trillion credits. A king's ransom, set by the king of Jurai himself, Azusa. It was set over 700 years ago, and it expired along with Ryoko's statute of limitations last year." "Wh-what a coincidence that she and I have the same name..." Ryoko said, thinking to herself, 'eighty-five trillion?! Kami, Azusa is *cheap*!' Nagi nodded again. "The crime was committed before I was born; for the last 200 years I've been keeping my eyes open for anyone who matched her description: cyan hair, gold cat-shaped eyes, slightly elongated ears, 163 centimeters tall, appears about 17 years old." Nagi turned to Ryoko. "Would you happen to know anyone by that description?" Ryoko smiled weakly, a sweatdrop appearing on her head. "N-no, can't say that I have..." Nagi smirked at Ryoko's discomfort. "Luckily for her, she's free to go as far as I'm concerned. I wouldn't get paid if I turned her in now. I *am* kind of curious where she's been for the last seven hundred years, however. I spent quite a bit of my time hunting for her. It would be a shame if I never got *anything* to show for it." "Oh well," Ryoko replied, "there are some battles you just can't win." "I suppose that's true. I was looking forward to fighting that woman. She's a legend among bounty hunters. But, then again, so am I." "You're awfully full of yourself, aren't you?" "Check any database in the galaxy. I'm merely stating facts." Nagi took a sip from her glass. Ryoko was about to take Nagi up on her offer when she recalled her own need to stay on the straight and narrow. Instead, she changed the subject. "So, you hunting any big bounties right now?" "No. There hasn't been anything too big lately. Not since I took down Vorall..." Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Vorall? I thought he was behind bars." Nagi shook her head. "He was, briefly. He escaped, though, and I left another job to go after him." "You left a job? I thought you said you caught all your bounties?" "Well, this one wasn't as much of a bounty as it was a bodyguard mission. Some Ojoran noble wanted revenge on some Juraians in some remote part of the galaxy. I told you, times have been tough." "Oh." Nagi flipped a couple of coins to the bartender and stood up. "Well, Ryoko, I'll see you around." Nagi walked out of the bar, her cloak swirling behind her. --- Aeka nervously paced outside of the door leading to the floating onsen. She knew Tenchi was in the middle of a bath, but she couldn't afford to miss him. She needed to know, desperately, what Tenchi's thoughts were on the whole situation of her and Ryoko. She was deathly afraid of the possibility that Tenchi might love Ryoko, and that she had blown her own chances by making the first move with him. As Aeka continued to pace, Tenchi despondently washed himself, wondering what he could do to set things right. --- Washu was searching through intergalactic databanks, searching for information on the Shi, soul separation, and rituals of darkness in the near future. As it happened, she found two of three, only because the Shi did not publish the dates and locations of their evil ceremonies. "On Zenogias, only five days ago, a young woman by the name of Kyoko Hayato was killed, quite obviously by what was a failed attempt at soul separation. The woman attempted this technique unaided and without any sort of training, which resulted in her spirit being caught halfway outside of her body. Both body and soul perished immediately. "It is recommended that no one try this technique at all, but especially not without the hundreds of years of training used by those who have been able to employ it successfully. "When the police investigated the case, they found several tools of devil worship believed to be used by a fanatic cult known as the Shi. It is hypothesized that she was coerced into attempting this extremely dangerous act by the cult in order..." Washu ignored the rest. It wasn't important what the police thought, they were wrong. The Shi had some sort of greater reason to use this woman in their plans, but Washu didn't know what. --- Aeka nearly jumped out of her skin when Tenchi finally did open the door and exit the onsen. "Oh, hello, Aeka-san." he said distractedly as he started to walk past her. Urgently, Aeka caught his elbow. Surprised, he turned back towards her. "T-Tenchi-sama?" Aeka hesitantly said. "Aeka-san, was there something you needed to talk to me about?" Aeka paused for several seconds, trying to collect her thoughts. Finally, she decided to be blunt. "Tenchi-sama... You never responded to my kiss." Tenchi looked down at his toes, blushing. "Well, ah, Aeka-san..." "Better start packing, because we're leaving!" Washu called to them from down the hall. Tenchi and Aeka looked at her curiously. "What do you mean, Washu-chan?" Tenchi asked. "What do you think I mean? I've got a clue as to the Shi's whereabouts, and we need to go check it out!" "We're going to leave the earth?" Tenchi asked. Washu nodded. "Only for a few days, if all goes well. Zenogias isn't that far away." "What if all *doesn't* go well?" asked Aeka. "Then we could be away for months! It doesn't matter! Once again it's up to us to save the galaxy from eternal slavery!" "Ano, Washu-chan," Tenchi interjected, "we've never saved the galaxy from eternal slavery." Washu winked at him. "No, but it sounds good, doesn't it?" Tenchi sighed, defeated. "I suppose so." --- Ryoko sat quietly in the back seat of a hovercar heading for a warehouse in 'downtown' Nirembel. She considered her decision to take up a job as a freighter. It had some advantages and disadvantages. For one, she was able to travel around the galaxy, an experience she had been unable to enjoy under Kagato's control. However, she longed to take Tenchi with her, to be able to turn to him and point out a particularly bright star, or to share in the peace of a planet's unique beauty. There were times when she turned to her side, about to exclaim how lovely some landmark or cosmic presentation was, only to realize that Tenchi was not there. Also, when Ryoko was busy, unloading cargo and cutting deals, or simply hanging out at a local tavern, she didn't have any time to think of Tenchi, so occupied was she. But on those long trips where she had nothing to keep her company but Ryo-Ohki...oh, how she longed for him. The hovercar suddenly jounced to a stop. The thin, violet- skinned man driving turned to her. "That'll be 123 credits, Miss." his shrill voice requested of her. Ryoko silently paid and exited the car. Ryoko stood in front of a squat, ugly apartment building. The exterior was covered in trash and graffiti, and most of the windows were either broken or boarded over. Ryoko looked it over skeptically. "I can't believe he wants to meet me *here*." Ryoko muttered to herself. Within the building was no different. The stained and torn carpet smelled of urine. Ryoko cut off her respiratory system until she located unit 117 and entered. Inside the small, cramped living space she resumed breathing, and found it to be a pleasant, if somewhat overpowering, pine tree scent. Her first thought was 'why would there be pine tree air fresheners on a foreign planet?'. The answer became clear immediately. A middle-aged American man in a navy blue business suit greeted her. Ryoko took an involuntary step back. "Hello," he said, "Miss Hakubi, I've heard so much about you from my friend, Nobu Fujii. You're consistently on time and you don't charge too much. I'm William Brown, and I'd like to enlist your services to take a shipment of goods to a colleague of mine on planet Zenogias." Ryoko gulped. "Do you happen to...ah...be with the MiNB?" William Brown looked surprised for a moment. "How did you know about us?!" he demanded. Ryoko grinned at him. Apparently this guy didn't know about her little 'run-in' with the agency. "Oh, I have my sources. But that's not important. So, Zenogias is where you get all those ancient relics you call weapons from, eh?" Brown looked irritated. "Hakubi-san! I try my best, but I really am not a very good negotiator with things like that, considering that I am supposed to uphold the law, and all." Ryoko waved it off as unimportant. "Well, it's none of my business. My business is how much I'm going to get paid for running last millennium's technology over to Zenogias." "2,000 credits up front. 5,000 on delivery." "That's lower than what I usually get..." "Plus, show the receiver of the cargo this card, and tell him I sent you. He'll have a big job for you." "Oh really? How big?" "He said that he'd be willing to pay up to 50,000 credits for it, total." Ryoko smiled for a moment, then replied, "and what guarantee do I have that this is true?" Brown gave her a plastic card. "This card has 20,000 credits on it; consider it your up-front payment." Ryoko blinked for a moment, then accepted the card, along with a business card that simply said on it 'MiNB'. "Alright," she said, "let's get those museum pieces loaded up!" --- "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first flight of the Imperial Battleship of the Republic of The Greatest, Most Brilliant, Most Kawaii Scientific Genius in the Universe, Little Washu!!" (Authors Note: Yes, Washu managed to officially become her own country. At the moment, she's still trying to figure out how to fit an army inside of herself.) Washu's announcement echoed in the ears of Tenchi, Aeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, Nobuyuki, and Yosho. The six residents of the Masaki home covered their ears and cringed as Washu's voice was amplified far too much by her microphone. As for the genius in question, she was standing on a raised platform, her arm gesturing to the tiny pleasure yacht sitting behind her in the grass. "Washu-chan," Tenchi interjected, "if that's a battleship, then couldn't this possibly be construed as a hostile act towards Japan?" Washu grinned. "Let 'em come! I'll show them this baby's *real* power!" A sweatdrop appeared on Tenchi's head as he sighed in resignation. "Washu-san, that ship looks awfully cramped for all seven of us." Mihoshi observed. "That, my little snag in the tapestry of perfection, is where the 'genius' of 'greatest scientific genius in the universe' comes in! You see, I folded up a whole 'nother *dimension* in here! When you enter the ship, you will be in a dimension TEN TIMES the size of a typical luxury liner!" Tenchi & Co. 'ooh'd and 'aah'd appreciatively. "Now, we've got to go without any more delay! I'm serious when I say that this could be our biggest adventure yet, and this experience may change us all forever!" Tenchi looked a little green. "Really?" he asked nervously. Washu giggled. "Nah!" she laughed. "Just having a bit of fun! Let's go!" "Um, Washu-sama, what about my Ryu-Oh?" Aeka asked Washu. Washu waved it aside as unimportant. "Don't worry, Aeka-dono, Ryu-Oh will be fine. Remember, it's in another dimension, and I've kicked in the auto-caretakers, so it will be fine. Same for you, Mihoshi. Yukinojo is in good hands." "Arigato!" Aeka and Mihoshi thanked her. Tenchi, Aeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, Yosho, and Nobuyuki started to file onboard, but Washu put out her hand to stop Nobuyuki. "Sorry, Nobuyuki-dono, but you're going to have to stay." "But, Washu..." "Ah, no buts! You would just be a liability. Don't worry, I'll bring your son home safe and sound...and maybe with a bride or two!" Nobuyuki's eyes sparkled. "Let me go get my camcorder..." Washu winked. "Don't worry, I've got my own video equipment." Nobuyuki chuckled. "Thanks, Washu-chan! You're the best!" As Tenchi's father walked away, Washu laughed madly. "Of course, I'm the Number One Scientist in the UNIVERSE!" Washu entered her ship, and the entry hatch closed behind her. Nobuyuki watched apprehensively as the ship took off and headed for space. He had no idea when he would ever see his son again. --- Ryoko watched the dockworkers load her cargo into Ryo-Ohki's cargo bay. The cargo bay hadn't been there originally, but Ryoko had simply persuaded the cabbit-ship to attach a large freighter to her underbelly, in much the same way she had done with Ryu-Oh's cockpit oh so long ago. Now Ryoko had a huge cargo ship, and a perfect getaway vehicle if she ever had to abandon Ryo-Ohki. Of course, she wouldn't do something like that intentionally, but if she ever got into another situation like when Aeka had captured her on Ryu-Oh... After the dock workers loaded Ryo-Ohki and left, Ryoko teleported to Ryo-Ohki's bridge. She was immediately greeted by a plaintive 'miyaa'. "Yeah, I know. You don't like this form as much as your cabbit form. But it's necessary for us, Ryo-Ohki! If anyone realized that the owner of a ship that also turns into a furry animal has to be the 'infamous Ryoko', then I could, *we* would be in serious trouble!" "Miya!" "What?! You think I'm going to bribe you?" "Miya, miya, miyaa." "That's insane! How many carrots do you think I can *fit* into the cargo bay?!" "Miya." "Oh, jeez. You little wheedler. Alright, alright, I'll try and get you all those carrots...but you'd better not be too bloated to fly!" "Miya!" "Don't get too cocky. Now, set a course for Zenogias. We've got some cash to collect." Ryoko laughed in delight. Ryo-Ohki took off and set her course for a small planet not too far from Earth. --- A few days later, Washu's little ship was maneuvering through a thin asteroid field. The six passengers were sitting in a simulated beach, and enjoying the warm sun and cool water, when an alarm went off without warning. Washu immediately materialized her phantom laptop and punched a few keys. "Hmm," she said to herself, "an unidentified ship, heading our way. Looks like a pirate to me." Tenchi's head shot up at those words, and without thinking, asked Washu, "Ryoko?" Washu sat a moment, looking at the screen, before answering. "No, not that pirate. This is a drastically different make than Ryo-Ohki." "Oh." Tenchi said despondently. Washu shot him an odd glance, then proceeded to say, "They're hailing us, I'll call them up on the big screen, so you all can see them too." "Big screen?" Aeka echoed, just a moment before a huge video screen lowered itself from a hidden compartment in the ceiling. The screen flickered on to reveal a dangerous-looking thin man with white hair. He smiled, showing sharp teeth, before face-faulting. "Huh? How can that be- But... Your ship's bigger on the inside than out!" It was then that he noticed all of the women and whistled. "Hey, man, you've got a nice haul there, I think they'd make a great prize for me, the magnificent Kaji the Pirate! And that ship! What a beauty!" Kaji the Pirate cleared his throat before proceeding. "Anyway, back to business. I've got hundreds of men just waiting to pounce on you the moment you make a single wrong move! Now, hand over your women, your money, and that ship, and I'll let you go in an escape pod." A murmur of uneasiness ran through Tenchi and the gang. Washu turned to her companions. "Alright, if we're to believe stereotypes, then this fellow here is lying through his teeth about the hundreds of men part so he can easily claim all of our riches. Even if he had hundreds of men, however, all of his guns couldn't get through our incredibly tough shields, making any assault on us useless. Therefore, I'm led to believe that the wisest course of action would be to blast this Koji Pirouette fellow out of the sky and continue on our way. Any objections?" Everyone else was silent, except Kaji himself. "That's KAJI the PIRATE!! And what makes you so damn cocky, woman?! I'll tell ya what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna blast ya!" Washu whispered to the others, in a stage whisper of course, "You see, this guy isn't too smart. He totally forgot that he wanted to steal from us and is instead relying on the 'brawn over brains' rule." "I heard that! Evil Space Pirates That Serve Under Kaji the Pirate, ready the Ion Cannon!" Hundreds of voices crackled over the com-link, "Yes, oh great Kaji the Pirate!" A sweatdrop appeared on Washu's head. "Awfully full of yourself, aren't you, Kiji the Primate! Well I've got some... Hold on a second! Ion cannons are available in mass numbers nowadays!? Wow, I *have* been asleep for awhile, haven't I?" Washu smiled nervously. "Tenchi-dono, I believe that now would be a good time to head for an escape pod." Tenchi face-faulted, but quickly regained his composure. "Ano...Washu-chan...where is the escape pod?" With a few quick taps of her keyboard, Washu created a doorway in the middle of the room. "Also, I would suggest some decent clothing. There should be spares in the pod." Tenchi, Aeka, Sasami and Yosho all headed through the doorway, but Mihoshi stayed with Washu on the beach. "Washu-chan, why didn't you install anything to counter an ion cannon?" Washu slammed her fists on her laptop, dissipating it. "Because I didn't know they were available to common thieves! Maybe if someone had kept me updated during the five thousand years I was *asleep* I could have prevented this, but..." Washu was cut off as a sudden explosion rocked the ship, and the sand disappeared around the two of them. Within a second or two, the dimensional door disappeared as well. "This..." Washu murmured, "is *not* good." "Washu-chan, what's going on? Where did the beach go?" Mihoshi asked, just as the lights flickered out. "Simple, oh blundering one, they hit us with an ion beam. All of the electronics of the ship are burnt out by now. We have no lights, no working doors, no simulated beach scene, and only limited life support. That dimensional door flickered out because it connected to an actual door on the ship, which is now non-operative." "So how do we escape? And can Tenchi-san and Sasami-chan and the rest of them escape now?" "The escape pod's electronics aren't connected to the ship's in any way. They'll get out safely, and so will we." --- Tenchi pushed Aeka, Sasami and Yosho in the pod before him, and when he was about to enter, Sasami asked, "Tenchi-niichan! Mihoshi-neechan isn't here! We have to go back!" Tenchi looked around, panicking, just as the lights went out. "Stay here! I'll try and go back to find her!" "I'll come too!" Sasami cried out after him, scrambling to get out of the confines of the escape pod. "No, Sasami-chan!" Tenchi cautioned her, turning back. "It's too dangerous! If I'm not back in three minutes, go without me!" "Forget it, Tenchi-sama!" Aeka yelled, "We're not leaving without anybody!" At that moment, the ship jerked around, throwing Tenchi to his knees. He cried out in pain. "Ah! I think I cut my leg on something!" Aeka's eyes widened. "Tenchi-sama! We have to leave NOW! They're initiating a tractor beam! If we get caught by that, the escape pod will never be able to escape!" "But Mihoshi..." "Oh, Tenchi-san!" Mihoshi's voice chirped. "Miho-san? Where are you?" Washu's voice cut in. "There's no time to explain! All of you, escape quickly! I'll hold off the tractor beam for you to escape, then Mihoshi and I will get out on our own!" "Washu-san! We can't leave you!" Tenchi cried out desperately, making his way back towards the emergency lights illuminating the circular entrance to the escape pod. "That's Washu-*chan* to you, buddy! Just go! I have my own escape route!" Tenchi dove into the escape pod, Sasami closed the hatch just as he got in. Aeka wrenched at the lever to start the pod, and the escape pod flew away from the ship like it was being shot out of a cannon. Watching the stars spin around through the single porthole in the pod, Tenchi breathed a sigh of relief. They had all escaped from that pirate loon. At least he *hoped* Washu and Mihoshi had escaped. He would just have to trust in the scientist. Tenchi jumped as something stung his shin. He looked down to see Aeka cleaning a shallow cut that he had received in the darkness, trying to escape. "Thank you very much, Aeka-san." Aeka blushed and nodded. Whether Tenchi loved her or not, she still loved him, and would protect him as best she could. She vowed to herself that nothing would ever harm Tenchi while she had any say about it. No matter his feelings toward...that other woman. Suddenly they all realized that they still wore their bathing suits. Aeka immediately hit a button that opened a hatch full of clothing. "Wow," Sasami remarked, "Washu-neechan prepares for everything!" Yosho flipped another switch on the inside of the pod. Tenchi looked over to his grandfather with interest. "What is it, Jiichan?" Yosho replied as a tiny computer console raised itself up from the ground, "I'm going to find out where we are and set a course for the nearest planet. According to this, the nearest planet is Chiyo, but it's in the wrong direction. Aeka, if you will direct us to the coordinates 1243x8832y5430z we should reach Sakaguchi in less than 24 hours." Tenchi looked at his grandfather in awe. "How did you learn all this stuff about space travel?" he asked. "Don't be stupid, boy," Yosho reprimanded Tenchi, "700 years ago I was royalty in this region!" "So we're near Jurai?" Aeka sighed. "Tenchi-sama, please. The Juraian Empire is the largest in the galaxy. This sector is just a tiny piece of it. It would take nearly a week at full speed to reach Jurai from here." "Oh." "Uh-oh." Alarmed, Tenchi turned to his grandfather. "Jiichan, what's wrong?" Yosho rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Everyone should hold on to something. An asteroid is about to collide with us." "What?!" "Actually, it will only deal a glancing blow. If it collided, there would be no way we could survive." The proximity alert inside the escape pod went off. Running through Tenchi's mind was the thought, 'Why must I be put through these sorts of things?!' With a sickening lurch and an echoing crash, the pod and asteroid collided. Tenchi and his friends were thrown against the walls terrifyingly hard. With a crack, Tenchi felt pain ripple through his left arm and he let go of the seat he was hanging on to. Tenchi lay on the floor groggily, his brain only barely registering the fact that everyone else seemed to be unconscious. He thought to himself, what are the chances of an asteroid colliding with us just now of all times? It just doesn't make sense... Then everything went black. --- Comforting, reassuring darkness. A bright, painful spear of light. Back to the darkness, but the memory of the light remains, along with the knowledge that he must once again face it. Tenchi opened his eyes. He was lying in a not-comfortable-but-not- quite-uncomfortable bed. The next detail he noticed was that he was in some sort of hut, with three other beds in a row to his left. In each one was lying a resident of the Masaki home. Tenchi tried to get up, but his first movement disabused him of the notion. His body ached everywhere. To his right was a door, which, as he watched, slowly swung open. In the doorway stood a tall dark-haired man, about in his late thirties. He wore long red robes and a curiously designed silver pendant. Tenchi thought the design could be best described as an Omega symbol, but many other interwoven decorations confused the pattern. In a deep, rumbling voice the man said, "Good morning, o falling stars. I am Minister Joban of the Tikanese Sect. May I ask whom you might be?" Tenchi responded groggily, "Where are we?" "On the planet Souryou, about 150 seth north of the equator." "Seth?" "Uh, it is how we measure length on this world." "How big is one?" "Well, if you've never been to this planet, it would be too hard to explain. Let's just say you are about halfway between the equator and the north pole, in the western hemisphere." "Okay..." "May I ask your names?" "Oh, sorry. My name is Tenchi, that's Aeka and Sasami, and the old man is my grandfather..." "Yosho." Minister Joban interjected. "What? How did you know?" Joban drew from his robes the Master Key, Tenchi-ken. "I know certain things about Jurai's royalty. This answers many questions, however, about recent goings-on." "Can we get a ship from here to Zenogias?" "Normally, you would be able to, but you've caught us in something of an awkward situation...Souryou is in the middle of a huge political upheaval. Well, technically, there's a civil war going on. No ships arrive or leave without permission from the High Council of the Empire, or the Matriarch of the Rebellion." "Could we get permission from one of them?" "No, unless you're some kind of war hero. And if you try to escape on your own, you'll get shot down quicker than a Wraith in a nest of Spore Colonies." "What?" "Err, nothing. Just an expression. If you sit tight, you can probably get off this rock when the war's over. It'll probably be in less than a decade or so..." "What?! We can't wait that long!" Joban shrugged. "Sorry, there's nothing else I can do. You Juraian nobles have long life spans anyway, why should you worry?" "We...kind of have something to do. Something urgent." "Like what?" Joban challenged. "Uh...well...you see...I'm not really sure." Joban stared at Tenchi blankly. "Washu told us we had to go to Zenogias to stop the Shi and she didn't tell us anything else." "Hold on. You're mixed with Hakubi Washu AND the Shi?! You guys are the craziest bunch I've ever seen! Alright, I'll help you however I can, it's the least I can do for Yosho-sama." "Domo arigato." Tenchi thanked him. A beep went off on Joban's person. The man casually reached into his robes and withdrew a walkie-talkie. After a brief conversation, Joban hung up and addressed Tenchi. "It looks like I've got to go for now. Sorry to leave you all alone, but I have to attend to church business." "Church business?" "Yes. I'm a minister in the Tikanese Sect, remember?" "Tikanese Sect?" "Do you repeat everything people say? It's a religious sect here on Souryou. And I'm a minister of it. Got it? Now, I've really got to go." Minister Joban waved and left, shutting and locking the door behind him. Now *that's* odd, Tenchi thought. Why would he lock us in? We're obviously no threat to him, and he seems pretty friendly. Though he sure knows a lot about the Juraian Royal Family. He even knew that jiichan is Yosho, even though he looks so much older! --- Tenchi's three companions had woken up, and he had just finished explaining the situation to them. Yosho nodded silently. "If it is anybody that I knew on Jurai, they have changed their name. I knew no one named Joban, and very few religions flourish on Jurai. You see, though religion is not actively suppressed, so many people worship Tsunami and the Trees as deities that other religions don't have much of a chance to grow. There certainly was no Tikanese religion. However, he must have known me from somewhere...unless he is one of our enemies?" "Do you really think so?" Aeka asked. "It is a possibility we should not overlook. In the mean time, we should try to glean more information about this world and its civil war from our host. And we need food, and soon." On cue, Yosho's stomach growled. The Juraians all turned as one at the sound of a crash from outside. Muffled yelling, then the sound of someone running followed it. The runner neared the room and the door suddenly splintered open with a crash. A bald man with an ax stood in the entryway. "I knew it!" the man shouted. He pulled a walkie-talkie out of his leather jacket. "Four unregistereds in Joban's house. Two match the ID's of princesses Aeka and Sasami of Jurai!" "We're on our way." a voice crackled from the walkie-talkie. Aeka stood up, shouting imperiously, "What is the meaning of this? I am a princess of the royal house of Jurai! One does not break into my chamb-" Aeka cut herself off and dove to the floor as the man drew a laser pistol. "Aeka and Sasami come with me. You two others stand against the wall." Several other men crowded into the room, leveling lasers at the Juraians. The Juraians did as they were told. Tenchi looked at his grandfather, seeking guidance. Yosho simply stared straight ahead at their captors. Aeka and Sasami were led out of the room by the first man that had arrived. Just outside of the doorway he was met by Minister Joban. Joban handed over a small box, saying, "This is the Master Key. I'm sure you'll find it useful in some way, Maestro." Joban bowed deeply and retreated out of the Juraians sight. Tenchi's eyes widened as he realized Joban's betrayal. He could only watch helplessly as Aeka and Sasami were handcuffed with what seemed to be ropes of green-white energy. Sasami cast Tenchi one last mournful glance as she was led away. The remaining men shackled Tenchi and Yosho in steel manacles and roughly shoved them out of the room. "Where are you taking us?" Tenchi asked one of the men. The man grinned at him. "To Hell, boy. You're going to Hell." He began to chuckle evilly. Tenchi felt his heart sink. Well, enough of Chapter Eight! In Chapter Nine: A special appearance from a GP officer, and Nagi returns. Oh yeah, and what in the world happened to Washu and Mihoshi? E-Mail Palador98@yahoo.com with Questions, Comments, and Criticism! If you don't, I'll hunt you down and...well, I won't find you, since I don't know who you are or where you live, and if you don't e-mail me I won't know your e-mail address either, so it would really be pretty pointless for me to threaten you or your family, actually, I wouldn't even hunt you down, since I'm not even sure you read this, well, I know you read this, since you must be reading it or you wouldn't know what I was saying, but I don't really know that you read this, because I don't know who you are or anything like that, but if you're not reading this you don't know I'm writing that I don't know you're reading this even though I know you're reading this. Um...bye.