{Good morning, or evening, whatever the case may be. If you are reading this, then thank you for coming back for chapter three. I know it has been a horrendous wait, but I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. There was a whole section that I wrote and then decided to cut. Anyway, I'm rambling. There is one more chapter after this. It may seem like it's over, but the last chapter is very important. There will be no notes at the end of this chapter, because it's an intense scene and I don't want to detract from it. So I'll just say right now: Please, Please, PLEASE send me some feedback. As far as I know, no one has even seen any of this. Even if you have nothing to say, just write me and say "I read it." Of course, if you have something to say, then that's even better, but I'm not picky. I can be reached at dukesr1@winthrop.edu Enough of this. On with the show, right after the Boring Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! and its characters are not my property, they are the! property of AIC and Pioneer. There are way too many lawyers in the world when I have to put a disclaimer on something that I'm not even making money off of.} Tenchi Muyo! War of Vengeance Chapter Three: The Sword of Damocles "How could this have happened?" screamed Tenchi in impotent anger. The lab was still dark, but the section they were in was now crowded with edgy people. Washu was sitting on her floating chair in front of her computer equipment with her head bowed. Sasami was standing next to her, crying. Katsuhito was sitting cross-legged against a wall away from the group with his eyes closed. Noboyuki was standing by the lab's door, trying to stay out of the way. Tenchi and Ryoko were standing in front of Washu, both looking angry. Kiyone and Mihoshi, who were just waking up, were on a pair of gurneys hovering off to the side. Azaka and Kamidake, who had been pulled into the lab by Washu, were lying on the floor and had been plugged into an energy bank to be recharged. "I have the same question," growled Ryoko, leveling an accusatory gaze at Washu. "You assured me that you wouldn't let them use their weapons. What went wrong?" "I made a mistake," the tiny genius confessed, her eyes downcast. How she hated those words. "I was overconfident." She stamped her foot and screamed in disgust with herself. "I was so sure of myself and my ability to control the situation that I overlooked the simplest of countermeasures!" Sasami was sobbing heavily. "How could you, Washu? My sister- Dammit, Washu, look what you've done!" "I know that!" she shouted, shocked. None of them had ever seen Sasami so angry. "Don't you think I've already gone through this a thousand times in my head? I can't believe how careless I was!" "It's a little late for that now, isn't it?" snarled Tenchi. "That's enough! All of you: Stop it!" Katsuhito's voice echoed through the lab, silencing the arguments. "You're right about one thing, Tenchi: It is too late to think of what could have been done differently. So stop worrying about who's to blame and think about what can be done now." "He's right, you know," said Tenchi, quietly. "I'm sorry, Washu. What do we do?" "Well," said Washu shakily, "step one is clearly-" "Hey!" interrupted Mihoshi. "Where's Noboyuki?" As soon as Daemos disappeared from Washu's screens, Noboyuki exited the lab. He had to see this for himself. He opened the door of the lab and stepped out, only to find himself falling through the air. The external door to the lab had been destroyed, but the portal still opened in the same place, which was now above a twelve foot deep crater. Noboyuki fell to the ground fast and landed on the side of his left foot. Cursing, he removed his shoe and rubbed his foot. It had probably been sprained. Then, looking around, he forgot all about his injury. The middle-aged Masaki was in the center of a black crater. He stood up and walked through the dust, looking for anything that had survived the destruction. He leaned over and picked up a handful of ash as tears began to flood his eyes. "It's all gone," he said in disbelief. "My beautiful dream house." He fell to his knees and, removing his glasses, buried his head in his hands and started sobbing. "My dearest Achika. I'm so sorry." Tenchi was standing just inside the portal with his head sticking out, watching his father. He didn't want to disturb him, but it was too dangerous to stay outside. "Dad," he called gently. Noboyuki jumped up and wiped his eyes. "What is it, son?" "Sorry, but you need to come back in. We aren't sure if the ship's left for good yet." "All right." Tenchi threw down a rope ladder and Noboyuki climbed up it. He paused at the top rung in front of the portal and looked up at his son. "Tenchi?" "Yes, dad?" "If- if there's anything I can do to help you..." Tenchi smiled sadly and gave him an understanding nod. "I'll be sure to let you know." "So what do we do now?" asked Ryoko as the portal closed behind Noboyuki. "We have to go after him and get Ayeka back," stated Tenchi evenly. "I'm afraid it isn't that simple," argued Kiyone. "We have to take on a battleship. The only ships we have are Ryo-ohki and Yagami. There's no way that's enough." "Well we weren't going to try to fight a pitched space battle anyway," Tenchi pointed out. "At least not until we got Ayeka out. And that means that we need to board Daemos." "But if we do that, won't we have to fight Dakanao again?" inquired Mihoshi. "We may," Tenchi agreed. "But we have no choice." "There's still more to it than that," contended Ryoko. "Boarding a hostile ship is a complicated task. It still requires a space battle, and we are hopelessly outgunned. I'm afraid we're back at square one." "We have more than just those ships," intoned Sasami. Everyone looked over at her. "We have the two Juraian ships: My Tsunami and my sister's Ryu- oh." "But Ryu-oh still hasn't fully regrown," stated Tenchi. "And I'm not sure what became of Tsunami." "Tsunami went through the same process as Ryu-oh. They have a different design, but the basic nature of them is the same. And we can revive them," insisted Sasami. "Ayeka told me once that if it were an emergency, it's possible to bring tree ships back to working order early, but only for a short time." "Is that true, Washu?" asked Tenchi. The genius did not hear him. She was sitting on her floating chair with her head down, mumbling. "Useless, useless." "Washu!" Ryoko yelled angrily. "Stop sulking! We need you." "Huh? Oh, right," she said, returning to the real world. "You were talking about tree ships?" She thought for a moment. "It is possible to force a tree ship to maturity. It would only last for about six hours, though, before it regressed to an ungerminated seed. And to do it would require a huge influx of Jurai energy." "I'll do it," said Sasami without hesitation. "That would be enough for Tsunami, considering your close bond to it, but I'm afraid we won't be able to safely extract enough from you to revitalize Ryu- oh. Given your age, and the fact that you're still sick-" "I'm not that sick!" she wailed. "You've barely eaten in two days. If I tried to take that much energy from you at this point, it would put your life on the line." "That's a chance I'm willing to take." "I'm sorry, Sasami, but I simply can not allow it. Your sister is already at risk because of me. She would never forgive me if I put you in danger as well. We need another Juraian." "Then I'll do it," Tenchi offered. "Ah-ah, Tenchi," interrupted Ryoko. "Think. If you use up your energy, then who's going to fight Dakanao? I think we all know you're our best shot." "She's right," agreed Washu. "Whoever does this will be out of commission for at least a day, and we'll only have six hours to pull off the entire operation. Lord Katsuhito, I think you're up. Between you and Sasami, we should be able to get both ships." He nodded. "All right," Katsuhito said. "Let's get this over with." "Not yet," said Washu. "We can't do this until we know where they are. I'm going to start searching immediately." "What about when we do find them?" asked Tenchi. "Will Ryu-oh and Tsunami be enough to turn the battle our way?" Ryoko tried to picture the capabilities of the different ships. It was tough, as it had been a while since her last space battle. "The odds are still against us, but I think we can pull something off." "We'll have to," said Katsuhito darkly. "I've got something!" shouted Washu after a few minutes. Everyone rushed over to the red-head's seat. "Juraian royals all have beacons they carry with them that constantly broadcast their locations to Jurai. They send radio signals through subspace so that they reach their destination in minutes. Ayeka's is located inside the circlet that she wears on her head. Right now I'm intercepting the radio signal. According to this, she is closer to the center of this solar system than we are, and the radio waves appear to be lengthening. The only explanation for that is the Doppler Shift, so she's still moving further away from us." Sasami spoke up hesitantly. "Ayeka- is she still-" "She's alive, Sasami," answered Washu quickly. "This beacon also transmits life signs, and your sister is fine. Let's keep it that way. Everyone out to the lake! We need to revive Tsunami and Ryu-oh now. I'll be out as soon as I get the necessary equipment ready." Washu and the rest of the group were by the lake along with a couple of machines. They were two large metal cubes, about three feet on each edge. On one side of each were a number of electrodes and on the other was a large dish that could be aimed at a target. The scientist sat Sasami and Katsuhito down on the ground and started attaching the electrodes to different body parts. "I don't see Tsunami around here," said Sasami. "Tsunami crashed farther up the mountains. But don't worry, I've got a satellite relay system hooked up so we won't have any trouble sending the energy up there." She typed in a few final pieces of data on her holo-computer. "Now we'll use Sasami's energy to bring back Tsunami and Katsuhito's to raise Ryu-oh. There's no time to explain how it works, so just trust me." Everyone's mouths dropped open. "What?" she asked. "The great Washu is not going to try to explain something?" asked a dumbfounded Ryoko. "Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are," stated Washu gravely as she flipped on the equipment. Wires on the two Juraians heated up and carried energy into the pair of dishes that shot glowing beams, one into the lake and one almost straight up. "But Ayeka's life is already in danger because of my ego. I'm not going to waste a second if it puts her any more at risk." "You know, I think you may be maturing in your old age," said Ryoko, smiling. Washu smiled back. "I guess it had to happen sooner or later." "How long will this take, Washu?" asked Tenchi. "It should be done in a few minutes." Tenchi hesitated, then turned to Ryoko. "Ryoko?" he said nervously. "Can I talk to you?" He tilted his head, indicating that they should go elsewhere. "Uh- sure, Tenchi," she answered. He walked away and she floated after him. They stopped about fifty feet away from the others. "What is it, Tenchi?" "Are you coming, Ryoko?" he asked evenly. She was taken aback at the question. "Shouldn't I?" "I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't. After all, last time you almost died against Kagato, and it is Ayeka we're talking about. I know you two have a lot of bad blood between you, and I wouldn't want you to think that you're obligated to endanger yourself. If you don't come, I won't hold it against you." Ryoko thought for a moment. He was right, of course. There wasn't any reason in the world why she should put her own neck on the chopping block for Ayeka. That bitch had been a scourge on her for her whole life, and without her, there would be no competition for Tenchi. He was offering her a way out. And yet... for some reason it seemed like she couldn't just walk away. She was too far into this to back out. And she couldn't just do nothing and let someone die. Not even Ayeka. "I'm going," she said resolutely. Tenchi nodded, smiling. "It's good to know that, Ryoko. Thank you." "We're almost done!" shouted Washu. Tenchi and Ryoko returned to the rest of the group. Sasami and Katsuhito were lying on a pair of floating gurneys and the cords had been removed from them. "What'll happen to them, Washu?" asked Tenchi worriedly. "They'll be unconscious for about a day or so. Sasami will probably take longer than your grandfather. I'll leave my puppets here to take care of them. Don't worry, they're more than just a cheering squad." {Besides,} thought Washu, {Right now I don't deserve anyone cheering for me.} "We'll take care of it, Washu!" shouted A as it hopped towards Sasami. "You can count on us, Washu!" intoned B, maneuvering towards Katsuhito. "Tenchi..." moaned the young princess, still barely awake. "What is it, Sasami?" asked Tenchi as he rushed to her. "Please- save my sister." "I will, Sasami. I promise." Sasami's eyes then fell shut. "All right," said Ryoko. "Who's flying what?" "Well," said Washu, "I know that you're taking Ryo-ohki. I can fly one of the tree ships easily. That leaves the other Juraian ship and Yagami for Kiyone and Mihoshi." "Bad move, Washu," interjected Kiyone. "I'm not sure either of us can fly a Juraian craft, and I don't want to leave Mihoshi alone anyway." "That's not fair, Kiyone!" her partner squealed. "Don't you remember the time we were on patrol in the Persei system?" "Hey, that wasn't my fault! How was I supposed to know you'd left the engines on?" "You may have a point there," nodded the tiny genius. "In that case, maybe I should pull Mecha-Washu out of retirement." "WHAT!" the whole group shouted. "Don't worry, I've fixed her programming and given her the right personality. She's no more dangerous than I am." "How reassuring," muttered Ryoko. "So let's see if we have this straight. The two Washus will fly Tsunami and Ryu-oh and the two detectives are on Yagami. Ryo-ohki is the best ship for boarding, so Tenchi and I will be on it." "Until we catch up with Daemos, though, Ryo-ohki should stay on Yagami. She needs to save her strength- this will be a tough battle." "What about me?" asked Noboyuki. "You, Dad? You're staying here until we get back." "'Fraid not, son. I'm coming with you." "Dad, it's too dangerous for you." "I don't care. No one hurts my family and gets away with it." Tenchi looked into his father's eyes and quietly nodded as he felt his arguments melt away. They were filled with a cold determination. For the first time, Tenchi truly realized how much more there was to the old man than met the eye. "All right, then," said Washu. "I don't want you in my way, so get on Yagami. We haven't a second to lose." "The signal has stabilized in one position," announced Washu. Sitting in the pilot's chair of Tsunami she looked at the data that was feeding into the computer banks. They had been traveling for half an hour, always staying at least fifteen minutes behind Daemos in hopes of getting a surprise attack. Washu was leading the other two ships and directing them all the way. "So where are they?" asked Mihoshi over the ship-to-ship communications system. "It appears that they have entered the atmosphere of the planet Venus. They took a roundabout path- I can have us there in seven minutes." "Are you sure they can't see us, Washu?" asked Ryoko skeptically. Washu paused before offering an answer. "Right now, I'm not sure of anything. It's too dangerous to be completely confident. I highly doubt that Daemos can detect our presence through the cloaking I set up, but I know that Dakanao expects us to follow. This could very well be a trap, so we have to stay alert. And use your eyes. Most of your equipment relies on infrared scans. Venus is 750 Kelvin [900 Fahrenheit]-that's hotter than the ships, so IR won't work as long as they're down there." The communications went quiet after that. All of the pilots were watching for any sign of danger. The planet Venus approached rapidly until the swirling tan clouds filled almost all of the windows. "They're just below the upper atmosphere. Get ready to drop." At that moment Washu saw an object emitted from the planet heading straight for her at breakneck speed. "Incoming projectiles!" she yelled. "Take evasive action!" She rolled Tsunami hard to the right while the other two ships turned up their engines and mobilized to avoid impact. They deftly dodged most of the oncoming explosives, but one impacted the side of Tsunami, causing Washu to fall over in her chair. "Washu, come in!" called Kiyone. "What is your condition?" "Minor hull breach. Don't worry, I'm fine. You?" "We haven't been hit yet. I wonder when they'll show themselves." As if on cue the bulk of the ship emerged from the clouds and began charging towards them. "Front shields to max!" yelled Kiyone as a rain of laser fire fell towards the three ships. Mihoshi frantically turned on the shields and caught the first volley of gunfire, which splashed green against them. Meanwhile Kiyone continued to perform complicated evasive maneuvers. "Mihoshi- punch full throttle!" The blonde nodded and complied with the order. Ryoko, who had been hovering off the floor of Yagami, noticed the ship starting to pull away from her and quickly touched down. Yagami charged towards Daemos aiming just to the left of the dreadnought. Daemos opened fire, but the smaller ship continued to evade most of the blasts. They passed the bow of the battleship and continued flying on its starboard for about a third of its immense length. "Prepare to fire!" yelled Kiyone. "And brace yourself." She grabbed the control stick and jammed it forward and to the right. The ship lurched down and everyone except the two detectives fell to the floor. It zoomed under the narrow body of Daemos and Mihoshi opened fire on the battleship's underside. Tsunami and Ryu-oh followed a similar path and then continued flying away from their foe. "Nice move, Kiyone," called Washu over the intercom. "Keep going until you can turn around and start another run." The three ships pulled back until they were well out of range of Daemos's main weapons. "There's a new group of heat signals coming from Daemos," announced Mihoshi as they began turning back toward the battleship. "I see 'em," said Washu calmly. A clump of red dots had appeared on the infrared displays near Daemos. "Fighters. I count twenty-four. Heading straight for us." Ryoko swore under her breath. "Well, we're out of range of Daemos," said Tenchi. "I'm sure our ships can take on these fighters, and after we finish with them we can deal with the big one." "It's not a matter of 'taking on,' Tenchi," Ryoko said angrily. "Yes we can beat the fighters, but by the time the battle ends we'll have taken too much damage to fight Daemos." "I thought you said we could win this?" Ryoko laughed humorlessly. "I never said it would be easy." "Here they come!" shouted Kiyone. She wove the ship around as Mihoshi grabbed the weapon controls. The fighters zoomed forward in formation and then split apart in multiple directions. Nine went to each of the Juraian ships while the other six aimed for Yagami. Lights flashed in all directions. Yagami shook as a few shots hit it. "Shields are down to 85% power," announce Kiyone. "We got one of the fighters, though." "It's about the same over here," said Washu. "I got one and so did Mecha- Washu." "We can't win like this," growled Ryoko, gritting her teeth. "You're right," confirmed Washu. "At the rate we're going, we'll all only have around ten percent of our shields left when these fighters go down. It's not a precise calculation, of course, but it's obvious that we're outmatched." "Maybe we should board Daemos with Ryo-ohki while you deal with the fighters." "Not a chance," argued Washu. "They'd turn their weapons on you the second they saw your heat signature." "Well we have to do something!" "I've got an idea," intoned Noboyuki. Everyone turned to stare at him. "I can't believe we're using a plan your father came up with," said Ryoko in a tone of voice that mixed disbelief and a sense of doom. She and Tenchi were standing in a room at the back of Yagami looking through a window that faced out the stern of the ship. "You never know- it just might work," replied Tenchi. "Meow, meow!" chimed Ryo-ohki hopefully. "The fighters have turned around and are preparing to make another run at us from behind," called Washu over an intercom Ryoko had on her wrist. "Kiyone: wait 'til I say so, then turn on full throttle. The timing has to be perfect." Tenchi looked out the window at the back of Yagami and saw the fighters approaching. He also saw Ryu-oh and Tsunami just below them to either side. The perfect triangle that those ships formed was the key to the whole plan. "Now!" shouted Washu as the fighters approached. The three ships' engines ignited simultaneously and they shot forward toward Daemos. The faster fighters continued to approach and they began exchanging fire. Tenchi flinched as laser blasts chased them and then disappeared against the shielding. "Don't worry, Tenchi," said Ryoko. "This tight formation lets our shields overlap. We're well protected." Outside one of the fighters burst into flames. "Yahoo!" she cried, slapping Tenchi on the back so that he almost fell over. The ship continued to speed towards Daemos. The fighters were a bit ahead of them as they reentered the battleship's range. "This is where it gets tricky, people," stated Washu. "Be ready to shoot down any oncoming missiles but do not attempt to dodge. Remain in formation." Lasers from the enemy ships fell harmlessly upon the overlapping shields but continued to drain at their energy. Some missiles were fired, but Mihoshi and the Washus successfully shot down most of them. One managed to make contact with Yagami. When that happened it was all they could do just to keep moving forward. "Launch Ryo-ohki!" shouted Washu as they reached very close to Daemos. The cabbit phased through the window and metamorphosed, then beamed Tenchi and Ryoko onboard. Ryoko took the controls and blindly charged after Yagami, her view completely obscured by the ship that she was staying within meters of. The fighters turned back as their foes came desperately close to the battleship. "Split now!" shouted Washu. The three lead ships split and shot around Daemos in three separate directions. The fighters followed them, leaving a clear path to the battleship. "Ryo-ohki: ram!" ordered Ryoko. "Meooowww!!" acknowledged the cabbit, turning one of her wicked spikes forward and accelerating to maximum speed. Daemos's weapons began firing wildly at Ryo-ohki, but it was far too late to stop the ship from smashing into the bridge of Daemos. A spike pierced the hull and drove all the way through the bridge, setting off explosions and sucking bodies out into the vacuum. Within a minute, the bridge was empty and silent. "Way to go, Dad!" yelled Tenchi over the intercom. "The plan worked perfectly." "Thanks," Noboyuki responded, grinning. "I got it from a Star Wars book." "Good job, everyone," announced Washu. "Now that the bridge is destroyed, the ship shouldn't be any real danger. Ayeka's at the top of the ship. Go down the hall for a way and then seven floors up. You know what to do. We'll finish up with these fighters." The intercom clicked off. "I can only teleport to places I've already been, so I'll go find the next room that has air and then come back for you." Ryoko phased through the wall of Ryo-ohki into the ruins of the bridge. The fires had died for lack of oxygen. She moved through to the next room and then teleported back to Ryo-ohki, landing next to Tenchi. "Let's go," she said, taking his hand. Tenchi nodded and the two of them disappeared. Dakanao sat in his captain's chair, facing out into space as he looked at the reports detailing the damage done to his ship. "So the bridge was depressurized," he muttered to himself. "A shame to lose such a fine crew, but I suppose all good things must come to an end." A grin passed over his face. "As you will soon learn, princess," he said, turning his head to face the glass tube on his left that held Ayeka. She stood in a cylinder that was just barely big enough to hold her with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes closed. "Please, come to me, Tenchi," she whispered as tears fell from her eyes. "I know you can do this. I have faith in you." Ryoko and Tenchi walked through the corridors that were illuminated only by dim red emergency lights. "Where is everyone?" asked Tenchi, looking around the vacant hallways. "Rats always leave a sinking ship." "Fine, but shouldn't there at least be some automated security?" "I guess he wants us to find him." "Well, then, let's oblige." They continued down the hall until they found a glowing green map posted on one of the walls. "Can we go up yet?" asked Tenchi, peering at the complex schematics. "Let's see," mumbled Ryoko. "There it is. At the top of the ship- throne room. Egotistical little bastard, ain't he? Well, let's move." She grabbed Tenchi and they floated up through the ceiling for several floors. Ryoko counted mentally until she got to seven. It placed them in a long hall with a door on either end. The one on the left was open and revealed a flight of stairs going down. "I guess we go right," stated Tenchi simply. "Guess so," Ryoko agreed as they walked toward the closed door. Tenchi took a deep breath, grabbed the handle, and pulled the door open. A flash burned in the vacuum as another fighter was destroyed. "Yay!" cheered Mihoshi. The three remaining fighters turned and began to retreat. "Should we follow them?" asked Noboyuki. "Well, none of us can do much to help Tenchi and Ryoko," replied Washu. "I'm going to high-tail it back to Earth before these ships degenerate. You guys might as well do something useful." "All right," said Mihoshi. "Prepare to pursue along vector-" "Hold it," cut off Kiyone, staring at an infrared display. "There's a new group of heat signals originating from Daemos." She looked carefully at other readouts on the new signals. "They're escape pods! The crew is abandoning ship." "Oh," said Mihoshi. "So?" "So?! Don't you get it! A pirate like this is bound to have a crew made up of other outlaws. Most of these people probably have a few dozen outstanding arrest warrants. And in escape pods they're practically helpless." Kiyone's eyes widened and she started to drool slightly. With that many collars she'd be able to write her own ticket at the GP. "This may be my lucky day." A dark, spacious room was laid out in front of Tenchi and Ryoko. It was a rectangular room that stretched about twenty yards from where they were to the far side and thirty yards to both the left and right. The two intruders were on a balcony above the main room with a staircase leading down. At the far end was an empty captain's chair and, five feet to its left, the illuminated tube that held the princess. "Ayeka!" shouted Tenchi and he began running toward her. Her eyes shot open and she looked his way. He swept down the stairs and dashed toward the capsule. As he got close, Dakanao, who had been camaflouged against the wall, faded into view and swung his sword at Tenchi. "Look out!" screamed Ryoko, teleporting over to Tenchi. She drew her sword and parried Dakanao. Tenchi didn't falter and kept moving towards the tube. He touched it to look for a handle. Suddenly bright beams of light shot through it, hitting Ayeka and then ricocheting off the glass repeatedly. Ayeka screamed in pain, then the tube exploded. Tenchi was flung backwards by the blast and fell to the floor along with shards of glass. Dakanao backed away from Ryoko and deactivated his sword. He stood back and allowed events to unfold. Ryoko kept one eye on the pirate and the other on Tenchi. As soon as he hit the ground, Tenchi rolled backwards onto his feet. "Ayeka!" he screamed, running towards her through the dust. Once he saw her, he wished he hadn't. Ayeka was lying in the shattered husk of the tube. There were black burn marks all over her body. Her hair had been completely incinerated and her scalp was charred. There was blood coming from many glass cuts. A shard of glass had lodged itself into her right eye, destroying half of her vision. "Ayeka..." Tenchi said, stunned. "Tenchi..." she moaned, opening her left eye and smiling weakly. "Ayeka, just relax. I'm going to get you out of here. I'm sure we can help you-" "No, Tenchi. I am about to die." Tenchi simply stared for a moment, looking for any words that would comfort her. Finding none, he leaned over and moved to give her a kiss. "Don't, Tenchi," she said, raising her hand to stop him. "I don't want you to pity me. And I don't want you to feel that you owe me anything." "But I do, Ayeka. You came back to Earth because of me. I'm sure you never expected it to come to this." "Tenchi, listen to me. When I was on Jurai, I didn't expect anything except to die from standing still. I was only alive when I was with you." "But without me-" "Tenchi, you must understand that I am not afraid to die. You showed me the light. There's... something I read recently. If you see the light at sunrise, it doesn't matter if you die at dusk. So many people go their whole lives without ever seeing it at all. Don't think that you've wronged me, Tenchi. You could never do that. I love you, my Tenchi. And whether you love me back or not does not matter. You have already given me more than I could have ever asked." She paused for a moment. "Ryoko...." "What is it, Ayeka?" the ex-pirate said, moving towards the fallen princess. Ayeka propped herself up on her bloody hands and put her lips close to Ryoko's ear. "Good luck," she whispered. Then she fell onto her back. Smiling, the princess shuddered and took a breath. Then she closed her eye and exhaled for the last time. And with that, she was gone. Tenchi stood up slowly and turned to face Dakanao, who was standing calmly by his chair, arms crossed. Rage shone through the tears in Tenchi's eyes. His jaw was locked and his hands were trembling. "Who do you think you are to treat us this way, Dakanao?" Tenchi spat with a cold fury. "How could you do this to her?" "How could I do it?" he asked with an amused grin. "How could you? The explosion in that capsule was set to be triggered when you, and you alone, touched the glass. If you hadn't run to save her, then nothing would have happened. But you had to be the hero." "Shut up!" he screamed. "I'm sick of hearing this bull shit logic! You did this! You killed her!" "But she wasn't really the one I wanted. It was you all along." He let it hang for a moment. "Why does it bother you so, anyway? Everyone dies sooner or later. What does it matter when?" "You just don't get it, do you? You stole her life. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" "You stole my father's life." "But I thought you said life and death are meaningless," countered Ryoko. "True. And with that in mind perhaps I could forgive you in time. Yet you still insist that somehow your killing Kagato was right while my killing Ayeka was wrong. That hypocrisy is what I truly hate about you." "Enough of this," said Tenchi. "All the philosophy in the world can't change the fact that you killed Ayeka. Thanks to you, I'll never hear her voice again." "Well, then, I suppose we should get this over with." He drew his sword. "Two men battling for revenge. Let's see how it turns out." Dakanao ignited his sword in his right hand and produced an energy sword in his left. Ryoko and Tenchi both drew swords and attacked. Dakanao stepped in front of his chair towards the center of the room and began fighting. The two swords on each side moved faster than most people could see. "And why are you fighting me, Ryoko? I would think that you'd be thanking me for removing the thorn from your side." Ryoko said nothing and simply continued to fight. Dakanao had a clear advantage and Tenchi and Ryoko could barely keep up. Tenchi blocked blow after blow, looking for a chance to attack. At one point early in the battle he failed to block and was cut across his left arm, but it did not seem to hurt his fighting skills. As the battle went on weaving across the room, Tenchi seemed able to block more and more of the attacks even faster than before. He fought as though he were in a trance, moving without even thinking. After twenty minutes of fighting, Tenchi seemed to be blocking strikes aimed at both him and Ryoko as well as launching many attacks of his own. Ryoko, who had been noticing this all along, stepped back in awe. Tenchi continued to attack even while blocking two swords. Then his sword cut his foe across the face. "How can this be happening?" shouted Dakanao Ryoko was wondering the same thing. Then it hit her. "It's Ayeka. Her Jurai energy is being released and absorbed by Tenchi-ken. And Dakanao isn't getting any of it because she willed it only to Tenchi." Tenchi was oblivious to anything but the battle, but Dakanao was shocked by the revelation. "Is this true, boy?" he spat. Tenchi didn't answer, but his continued fighting was all the answer he needed. "Die!" screamed Dakanao, leaping off the ground toward Tenchi and swinging both swords high. Tenchi ducked under him and raised his sword, slicing through Dakanao's calf. He fell through the air and landed about ten feet away, just in front of a window. Spinning around, he raised his hand and fired a ball of green energy. Tenchi moved his sword to catch it and it deflected, hitting the glass behind Dakanao. The window exploded and the rush of air outward swept the pirate off his feet. Tenchi charged forward and stabbed him through the chest. Dakanao remained hovering inside the ship through his own power, hanging on the end of the sword, and its wielder stayed with him. The pirate stared down the prince with fury in his eyes. "Fine, boy," he said, spitting blood. "Take your pyrrhic victory. Unlike my father, I will not die with a whimper." His body slackened and he fell back into space, with Tenchi helpless but to follow. Ryoko flew over and grabbed Tenchi, ceasing his fall. "Ryo-ohki, get us out of here now!" "Meowww!" said the cabbit, morphing into her giant spiked form. Ryoko teleported her and Tenchi onboard. "You all right, Tenchi?" she asked quickly. He nodded, saying nothing as he sat down silently. "Meow!" shouted Ryo-ohki as a crystal full of data appeared in front of Ryoko. "Daemos is going to explode! We gotta move! Initiate operation Speed Up Ryo-ohki!" "Meoww!" wailed the cabbit in protest. But it was too late. They were already streaking across space and were far enough away when Daemos exploded. Tenchi sat cross-legged by the window staring out with a completely blank face. Ryoko floated over and sat down on his right. She tried to think of something comforting to say but nothing came to mind. "There are an awful lot of stars you can see from space, aren't there?" she said weakly. Tenchi turned his head to the right slowly, as if just noticing her presence. "I wasn't looking at the stars. I was looking at the space between them. You know, I remember Washu once telling me how much more empty space than matter there is in the universe." Sighing, he turned his head back and continued to stare. "I can't help but wonder if maybe Dakanao was right. Ayeka's dead now, and what possible meaning could it have? Some madman wanted to settle another madman's score and killed an innocent person for it." "But at least you beat Dakanao." "I killed one monster. So what. What did it accomplish? It didn't bring back Ayeka. All it did was make the universe a little emptier." To Be Concluded...