Ok, by now you know that I don't own these characters, except Marty,Mokona, Jubei, and Aemon, but I'm using them in a good, respectful way. Pioneer and AIC own the ones not mentioned above and I love them for creating them. Please don't sue me. I'm just trying to advance the cause of Anime in America ******************************************************************************** Part 4 : The Ways of the Goddesses: Endgame Martin Van Assche "Is this the way the Gods die?" -Mario Puzo ******************************************************************************** Tokimi saw the battle and the death of her warrior. She was not worried. She could not be worried. Fear is a human condition, and of the Goddesses, Tokimi alone did not possess the quality of humanity. Tsunami acquired it in her assimilation with Sasami, Washu by living among the human race, but not Tokimi. Her sisters had given up much of their powers to acquire it, and since it appeared that her sisters were weaker for the possession of this feature, she viewed it as foolish and unwise to possess. She did not know the implications of denying such a gift. It's a funny thing about people; we have the strangest effect on the universe. Tokimi disregarded the image and turned to her servant. "Bring him to me," she said. D3 disappeared and sped towards Earth. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the third planet of the star Sol, in the Juraian territories, a unique human displayed a uniquely human reaction. "Dead?... how could this happen?" Ryoko asked, grief-stricken. "He gave me this, Ryoko... what could it mean?" Tenchi replied. Ryoko examined the paper. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, Aeka sobbed hysterically in her room. "She-she's gone, it's all my fault. How could I let this happen ... I swear I will kill that monster for this." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryoko looked up at Tenchi. "We're going. If this Tokimi could make him do THIS, what else is she capable of? We've got to stop this, NOW. You go get Ryo-Ohki, I'll tell Aeka." "Got it," Tenchi snarled. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryoko floated up the stairs quietly, contemplating how to tell Aeka about all this. She figured the direct approach would be best. "Tenchi and I are going put an end to this. You're staying here." "Damn you! That bastard killed my sister, though it's not like you care. I'm going to destroy him myself! Now get out of my way!" Aeka moved towards the door, only to find Ryoko blocking it. "Let's get something straight, princess. HE didn't do it. I was under Kagato's control for a long time, and I did things that I wish I could take back more than anything. One of those things was killing Sasami when I attacked Jurai. I'm not going to let your sanctimonious anger stop me from righting that. That kid was like a sister to me, and if you think I don't care, well, then FUCK YOU. I've got a job to do, and you're not a part of it." Aeka was not to be moved by the words. She tried to push past Ryoko, only to be sucker-punched by the pirate. "I am really sorry, Aeka. You have the harder task to perform here. Be brave," Ryoko said, as Aeka fell. Ryoko flew out the window to the waiting Ryo-Ohki. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "RYYYYYAAAAAOOOOOWWWW!!!!!" Ryo-Ohki screamed, as she roared towards D3's beacon outside the border of Juraian space. A thought surfaced in Ryoko's consciousness, as they passed the border and disappeared into D3's jump portal. >Abandon all hope, you who enter here< -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back on Earth, First Class Detective Mihoshi reported the death of the Princess Sasami, and departed after Ryo-Ohki in Yukenojo. On Jurai, the Royal family left for Earth after the message was received. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Ryo-Ohki finally landed, she was inside of a giant ballroom, with two passages leading off into other rooms. They looked at the passages and at each other, then wordlessly began walking. Tenchi took one hall, Ryoko took the other, and Ryo-Ohki sat down and waited. Tenchi arrived at the next room first, and was greeted by the gigantic form of D3. "Well, the young prince has finally decided to die! How fortunate that it will be I who completes the task of slaying the slayer! Let's dance!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryoko stepped into an empty room. "Is this all you've got?" she bellowed, "Show yourself!" The answer to her summons came from all directions at once. "So, my brother's little toy-soldier wants to play..." it said in a serpentine voice. Ryoko's blood froze as she processed that information. "Your brother ... no ..." "I think so, my dear," Aemon said. The darkness in the room focused in the shape of a tall man in a cape. "I think so ..." he said, savoring the words, as he advanced towards her. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tsunami and Washu finished their work just before dawn. "And now, Tsunami, we wait. Funaho can probably sustain him for three days, then..." "Then we will know who will rule this universe," Tsunami finished. "Right. Let's go get drunk," Washu said. Tsunami sighed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tenchi experienced an odd sense of deja vu as D3 attacked. In a split second, he saw his life and all that had happened to him; he saw that he had been on his guard since the beginning of his life. He had pushed away everyone and everything trying to achieve some sort of inner peace. Then memories came to him unbidden, his attempt to escape Ryoko, how by his inaction, he had nearly lost her to Kagato, how his indecision was causing the problems that plagued him, and he finally realized what he had been doing. He had been running his whole life. He had run far too long. At that instant, everything snapped into place. He made peace with himself. Tenchi became an aggressor. He looked into the soul of his opponent and saw his fears and agonies, and the black soul of Kain, eldest of the Fallen. He summoned the Wings of the Light Hawk and, with a terrifying cry, thrust them through D3. The servant roared in pain and rage, slashing and pounding on the heir of Jurai, but Tenchi kept pushing with all the power he could summon. "He KILLED her, you bastard! He killed her, and it is YOUR fault." He hissed. D3 began to collapse from the inside. He evaporated into nothingness, screaming all the way until nothing remained but a smoking hole. Tenchi dropped to his knees and wept. >If I could have defeated Kain like this, maybe...< Then he heard a faint whisper in his mind ... his mother's voice, and looked up. There was nothing, but a breeze swept back towards the way he had come. >RYOKO!!< He picked up the sword and sprinted back down the passage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mihoshi arrived in a sphere with a giant gyroscope in the middle. She walked around the room, gun drawn, only to trip and throw the gun into the center of the three rings. Mihoshi tried to extract the gun from the gyroscope, but only succeeded in starting their motion. As they began to spin faster and faster, a black mass formed around the center of the sphere, absorbing the gun. The black mass solidified into an onyx globe with eight small holes in its surface. Tokimi was incapable of panic, but even without that emotion, she saw the need for action. She channeled her energies into the globe, forming the obsidian stone into the image of herself, then reached out for the detective. Mihoshi looked around, fiddling with her control cube, when she felt a cold, smooth hand grab her by the head. She yelped and twisted away, but the dark figure kept a firm grip on her headband and ripped it away... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryoko could only stand, petrified, as Aemon walked around her, searching. She made a desperate telepathic call for Ryo-Ohki, even though she was held still by the demon's gaze. "Kagato did have his faults, but I must admit, he had a fine eye for ... detail ..." Aemon said, eyeing Ryoko hungrily. "He bragged about your ... prowess, shall we say? Oh yes, he spoke of you often. It also seems that you were rather inefficient in your last mission, in his own words. I think he was simply afraid to challenge that upstart prince. Kagato always was a bit of a weakling. Ah, but I digress. It has been quite a while since I have been in the presence of a woman. The mistress said I cause too much trouble when I go out, but I say, what are a few ... hundred rapes between friends?" Aemon laughed, with all the mirth of a thermonuclear device. "It has been too long ..." he said, running his hand along her thigh and up her side, then drawing it away, leaving Ryoko with the distinct feeling that maggots had been crawling on her skin. It was at that moment, Tenchi made his entrance, bearing witness to this act. He was on Aemon in a second, slightly wounding him and diverting his attention away from holding Ryoko captive. Aemon knocked Tenchi away, but let his guard drop for a second. That second was all Ryoko needed. Seven hundred, one and one-half earth years of rage were all channeled towards Aemon in that moment. When Ryoko was created, she had been taught by Kagato, each of the planets she had pillaged and destroyed had been important for their resources and raw materials, and nothing more. For a time, she came to believe this. Then she had been imprisoned by Yosho, and allowed to see what actually transpired among the people she thought so unimportant. She experienced love, hatred ... and loss. Through the experiences of others, she became what Washu had envisioned; a human. She learned to love one special person, and for the possibility that we might threaten him, God help us all. Tenchi had never seen Ryoko fight this hard before. He saw part of her battle against Kagato, yes, but nothing like THIS! She was a berserker, using any and every weapon at her disposal to claw, maim, break, smash, gouge, cut, or tear her enemy to bits. It was only after Ryoko had knocked Aemon to the ground and mashed his head to a bloody green pulp, that he interfered and lead her away. "Ryoko," Tenchi asked, as Ryo-Ohki hopped into the room, "are you all right?" Ryoko embraced him tightly and nodded. "Don't leave me, Tenchi. Please, don't ever leave me...." Tenchi clasped Ryoko's shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. "Ryoko, I promise you, leaving you is something I will never let happen," he said as he bent over to kiss her ... but was stopped short by the sight of Aemon, rising up like a bloody phoenix from the stone floor. He stepped forward to attack, but his efforts were unneeded, as Ryo-Ohki metamorphosed into her spaceship form, scissoring Aemon between the upper formations of her hull and crushing him to death. Tenchi looked at the carnage surrounding him and spoke. "This will be the end. Let's find Tokimi." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the band was torn from her hair, Mihoshi froze, twisting the cube as she slumped to the floor. The sequence prior to the final turn could be used to summon the standard issue revolver, or discharge it remotely. Mihoshi's last act was the latter. The gun fired wildly within the ebony silhouette, punching holes throughout its mass. The dark stone cracked, then crumbled into dust. The link from the lower dimension had been broken. As Tokimi watched from her quiet perch in the high dimension, her beautiful galaxy vanished. The cold, empty, pitiless darkness enveloped her, and she was afraid. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tenchi and Ryoko dashed into the spherical chamber, only to see an unconscious Mihoshi and a swirl of black particles that seemed to be massing in the center of the room. "Ryoko, I think we should go," Tenchi whispered. "NOW." Ryoko glanced at the center of the room. She had seen things like this before. Kagato had destroyed a giant red star with a material like this. Of course, he had spread about one-millionth of the quantity in the room AROUND the star to destroy it... Ryoko grabbed Mihoshi and flew for her life. Ryo-Ohki was waiting just outside the antechamber where they had entered, and when they were aboard, sailed away. The shock wave from the blast propelled them into the jump point at 95.6% of light-speed, warping them out of the local time continuum for approximately 2.3 days. Fortunately, due to Washu's use of extensive cellulose reinforcement, Ryo-Ohki's crystalline structure prevented any serious temporal or structural decay from the strain. The ship would arrive in Juraian space safely, and head for Earth. And Mihoshi dreamed... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Earth, the Juraian tree Funaho began to stir. A branch extended from the trunk, with a little red ball hanging from it like some bizarre fruit. The small orb began to grow. Tsunami and Washu watched it with interest. "I suppose this means they've won, doesn't it?" Tsunami asked. "I guess so. I suppose that you'll be all right, now that the gem is supporting her energies." "Yes. The assimilation process works both ways. Sasami is 'on file' inside Funaho. All she needs is a new body, then she should be fine, but we need to keep it quiet until then." Washu nodded. "What is Funaho doing now?" "I can't really tell, myself. Maybe Tenchi and Ryoko have some idea." "That's assuming they make it back..." "Can't you tell? Don't you have that link to Ryoko?" "She's gotten a lot better at blocking it when she's doing something she doesn't want me knowing about," Washu explained. Tsunami looked at her a bit puzzled, then blushed as she realized what Washu was implying. "Washu! You must be kidding!" Washu smiled at her sweetly. "Aeka is going to be ... PISSED," she said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mihoshi dreamed. In her dreams, she was a superhero. A normal GP officer by day, she became the Queen of Blocks, thwarting evil with her Magical Cube of Death. This particular night had been her finest hour, taking down the Empress of Globes with her Final Attack, the Mortal Twist, earning herself a well deserved rest. Sometimes, even Mihoshi gets it right. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The day of the funeral was appropriately dark and stormy. Aeka did allvshe could to hold back her tears as Misaki and Funaho approached her. "I'm so sorry..." she said. For the three women, no other words were necessary. Azusa stood away from the rest of his party, looking dazedly into the distance at nothing in particular. >So terrible that I must return to this place under THESE circumstances... though, almost fitting, I suppose ... my greatest happiness and sadness in the same place...< Though few saw it, and even fewer believed it, the Emperor of Jurai began to cry as he stared at the horizon. After a few minutes, the group began to walk towards Funaho to perform the service. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the tree, the gem, now dangling from the branch, cracked open, and its contents spilled onto the damp rock. Washu was working quietly on one of her many great inventions, and thus was taken completely by surprise when Tsunami appeared out of nowhere and scared her senseless. The end result led to the destruction of several of Washu's dimensions, most of which had no sentient life, but a few that just might have been OUR reality. All this was unimportant, compared to her message. "Washu!!!!! She's alive!!" "And...?" "Yes! Get down there before something happens!!!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The solemn party moved down the hill towards the tree. In the distance, however, the mist began to stir. A tall figure staggered from the fog, carrying something in a small bundle with one hand, and leaning on a glowing green sword for support in the other. Azusa and Aeka stared at the figure with fire in their eyes. They blasted at him in unison, hurling globes of Juraian energy at Marty. He made no effort to dodge the projectiles, only twisted slightly to keep them from hitting the bundle. The princess and Emperor continued their barrage as Marty plodded closer. The guards joined in and swung at him as he neared the Emperor. Marty was forced to brandish his sword around to keep them at bay, almost keeling over from lack of support. Marty managed to hold them off as he neared Azusa, who had gathered the blade of his master key and was preparing to end the knight's life for a second time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perhaps he did not deserve the chance to explain himself. He had killed the youngest child of the King of Jurai. He had slaughtered a whole colony, and a multitude of citizens on the ships he destroyed. He had become one of them and then tried to destroy everything any of them had ever known. He had cheated death when those he had slain could not. But his eyes spoke differently. His soul carried the pain of a million deaths, their anguish etched into his soul. He remembered all their faces. That he could reverse one of these deaths, he would gladly die again. The question of whether or not Martin, Knight of Jurai, deserved another chance was irrelevant. The fact that he would receive one; that was everything. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Salvation for Marty came in the form of a very grown-up Washu-san, who blocked the Emperor's strike, but failed to notice Aeka charging up for one final attack. Marty staggered the last few steps towards the emperor, then dropped to one knee, firmly planting the blade in the ground. He set the bundle on the ground. Aeka had finally gathered up enough energy, and loosed it at the prostrate knight. He took the blast full force and collapsed onto the ground, releasing the hilt of the sword, which remained embedded in the earth. The sword's glow dimmed, then the glow completely subsided, leaving behind a metallic green Light Hawk Wing Sword. The bundle stirred, and a pair of pink eyes peered cautiously from the cloak. Sasami looked out of Marty's cloak, then blinked as she saw her father trying to push Washu away with his sword. "Father?" she said. With that word, all activity ceased, and the gaze of everyone present locked on her face. For a moment, it was as though nothing else existed. Azusa found his voice first. "Sasami??" he choked out, running to her. The Emperor hefted his youngest child into his arms, and was surrounded by his wives and daughters. He made no attempt to hide his feelings, and cried out with joy. Washu looked at the happy reunion, then turned her attention to Marty. She walked slowly towards his unmoving form. >This is as bad as I've ever seen him.< she thought. He lay sprawled on the sodden ground, smoking, as the rain poured down upon him. >All this way ... he made it home, just to be killed ... by his friends ... damn ...< She was shocked out of her trance by a feeble hacking. She looked down, and saw that Marty had coughed up a mass of blood onto his face. She turned and called out frantically, "AZAKA!!! KAMADAKE!! GET DOWN HERE! GET HIM TO MY LAB!!!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Water. It's just like water ...< he thought. Washu looked up at the readout screen on the regeneration tube. So far, Marty was healing, with exceptional speed. >I sure designed those gems right,< Washu wanly thought. His lack of mental progress was rather disturbing, however. He had not managed a coherent thought since she sealed him inside. Washu sighed and went out to get some dinner. Along the way, she was accosted by Funaho and Misaki, who inquired about Marty's condition. The Emperor had decided to stay on Earth for a little while to have a vacation with his daughters. At least, that was the official reason. Funaho and Misaki were a bit peeved that Azusa had almost killed their favorite bodyguard (again), and were determined to elicit an apology from him. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and when you've managed to piss off BOTH of your wives, you're REALLY in trouble. So Azusa had to stay at the Masaki home, and had to be nice to Tenchi and Ryoko. To his credit, he had done a pretty decent job, and Ryoko wasn't pushing it, so it was a pleasant few days. When Washu returned to her lab, she saw a significant change, and she hit THE BUTTON. Subsequently, everyone in the house appeared in the lab. Fortunately, Mihoshi was outside. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Dark ... it's so ... no! Tokimi's got me again! NO!!! I've got to get out! Got to ...< Washu watched as Marty's thought patterns became increasingly panicked. >He's not going to last long if he keeps doing this. I guess I should let him out ...< She pressed another button to open the tube. >Light? What? This ... this wasn't here before ... It's got to be a trick ... but what choice do I have?< Everyone watched as one hand reached out over the lip of the tank and pulled its owner up. >What??? I'm ... I'm ... home ...< he thought ecstatically, as he looked over the side. "Is he all right?" Funaho asked. "Oh, man..."Tenchi said. Azusa looked pained. Aeka and Ryoko remained speechless. They all stared. He was bare from the waist up, displaying deep burns in the chest, and a scarring wound running from the right side of his neck, around both sides of his body, to underneath his rib cage. "Hey... how's it going?" he said. "Hi, Marty!" Mihoshi said, heading over to a control panel that regulated the energies in Marty's body. Washu screamed and ripped off Mihoshi's headband. Mihoshi twitched, then fell silent. Tenchi looked at Washu warily. "Why did you do that to her, little Washu?" "Do you have any idea how much damage she does in here?? She was about to kill Marty! I'm just protecting my interests here! Ok, so I did plant the suggestion that her brain shuts down for a while, whenever the hairband gets taken off. I just use it to put her to sleep, so I can get some work done. Whenever she wakes up, she always comes in here! Why in the world do you think she sleeps so much? It's not because she needs it, that's for sure." "You done?" Marty asked. Washu nodded "Could I get something for this?" he said, pointing at the wound. "Sure thing. Wanna be a guinea pig?" Marty's eyes widened in shock. "Just kidding...." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After Washu dressed the wound, she herded him off to bed. The first evening Marty spent outside the lab, he barely slept at all. Every time he closed his eyes, he dreamed. Not the restful dreams of a normal man, but the nightmares of a being who had lived one. There he was, in the void, with D3 coming to rip his eyes out again. He stood back and did the only thing he could. He summoned ... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marty was shaken awake by a tearful Sasami. "I had a scary dream..." Marty wiped his face with his hand. "Yeah... me too. Whew... Care to go for a walk? I don't think we're going to get too much sleep anyway," he said. So they walked out under the stars, and talked. "So, how have you been, Sasami?" "Pretty good, I guess ..." she replied, throwing a stone in the general direction of the lake. "Well, at least your nightmares will probably stop from now on. That's good news, isn't it?" "Mmmhhhmmm ... what about you?" "Me?" "Yes, you, silly." "I don't really know. Washu keeps telling me I'm 'up to specs', whatever that may mean. I don't feel all that great to tell you the truth. I suppose that feeling will go away though ..." Marty sighed. "Well, Sasami, would you like to go back now?" Sasami nodded drowsily. "We'll go the quick way," he said, as he picked her up and flew away. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Sleep well, princess," Marty said as he placed a slumbering Sasami into her bed. Marty walked downstairs to await the morning. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marty was lying on the couch in a state of deep meditation, when Washu popped out of her lab and interrupted him. "Hey... Washu! What are you doing?" "Just checking your reflexes. They're great!" "I think we've been over this already. I don't like being prodded. Don't you ever drop the professor pretense?" Washu blanched. "That's not very nice, Marty." "It wasn't meant to be. You're not acting like I'm a person." A few seconds passed. "All right, how have you been doing?" "As opposed to being..." "Dead, for one." "Ah. Well, I feel better than that ... not much, but better." "I can give you something for the pain." "I guess I didn't say that right. I don't hurt... not that much, anyway, but I feel really empty ..." "Heh. I can't help you there." "I guess not. Thanks anyway, little Washu." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Empresses visited after breakfast. They were naturally happy to see their favorite training dummy... er, bodyguard. "Well, Marty, there's a couple of things you could do, once you get back to Jurai. We could place you as an officer in the Juraian Defence Force and reinstall you as our bodyguard ... or we ..." "Could stick you in that vacant spot in the Senate!" Misaki exclaimed. Funaho scowled at her. "Um, actually, I think I'll take the bodyguard spot, if that's all right..." he said. "That's fine with us. But why not the Senate spot?" "I'm not ready for that. Besides," Marty added with a smile, "I've learned a couple new moves since the last time we 'trained'. I'm looking forward to testing them." The queens looked suitably apprehensive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Emperor was sufficiently penitent, owing to the fact that his wives were present, and gave a simple apology, offering many positions in the Juraian government, even the position of Senator. He was truly surprised when the offers were rejected for a job that mostly involved fighting his wives. >This half-breed is even dumber than I believed.< thought Azusa, as he saw the empresses excitedly conversing with their trainer/bodyguard/punching bag. He only caught part of the conversation, but it had to do with shaving cream and a feather, and he thought he heard his name somewhere in there. >Or is he ... ?< -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After his conversation with the Royal family, Marty left the house. He had someone to thank. The day was quiet, overcast, yet not dark. >It's a perfect day for a new beginning ...< he thought, as he approached the tree named Funaho. "I wanted to talk to you. Those three days that you held me, those were more valuable to me than anything. You have given me more than I deserved. Thank you." "She can't hear you, you know..." a voice said from nowhere. "Tsunami!" "She gave up a lot of power to keep you alive, and she hasn't regenerated enough to become conscious again. One day, though, you'll have your chance to thank her." "I guess I owe you some thanks too. You gave me a way to escape Tokimi's power. I'm forever in your debt." "That is completely incorrect. It is I who am in your debt." "How do you figure that?" "I don't think you realize what's happened here. You provided a way through Tokimi's defenses, and sacrificed all you had to allow us to exploit that weakness." "Yeah, I remember that part," he said, absentmindedly rubbing along the scar. "You have given us a chance for real peace in this universe. Always remember that." "I will." "Take this," she said, handing him the green Light Hawk Wing. "Washu and I felt it was only right to let you have one sword, since we took your others when we brought you back. Use it well." "I can use this?" he asked, but Tsunami was nowhere to be found. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marty wasn't trying to be stealthy, so it rather surprised him when he accidently scared Tenchi into throwing a hoe at him for saying hi. "I'm glad I wasn't TRYING to scare you," Marty said, snatching the tool out of the air. "Do you remember what happened the last time you and I were in the vicinity of this field?" Tenchi replied. "You do have a point there ..." "Hm. So when do they go home?" "Later today. I'm going to go with them." "But you just got back!" "What, are you afraid I'm going to leave you guys for good? I'll visit occasionally, and you all can visit me on Jurai anytime you want." "Well, I mean, it's going to be pretty exciting around here again, pretty soon ..." "Isn't it always? You're going to be the emperor of the galaxy, and here you're worrying about a little domestic..." "Ryoko and I ... On the way back from fighting Tokimi." Marty looked at Tenchi like an arm had just sprouted out of his forehead. "Did I just hear that right?" Tenchi nodded. "I take it all back. You have MORE problems than the emperor ALREADY. Azusa is at least already married." "Like I said, it's going to get exciting." "I wish I could help. But anything I say is just going to make it worse. Now you HAVE to make a decision, don't you?" "Yeah, I do." "Just remember this. If one was good, two will be even better..." "Marty!" "What? That's what I would do ... well, wait. Washu and Mihoshi are pretty sweet on you too, so..." "I get your point. Now stop it before I feel the need to hurt you." "Oh no, not that!!" Marty replied sarcastically, "Come on, you know I'm telling you the truth, Tenchi. Just remember to come to Jurai when all this gets settled." Tenchi smiled. "All right, all right, just don't say anything to Aeka, ok?" "Sure thing.... uh, you DID tell Ryoko not to mention it either, didn't you..." Tenchi's eyes reached the diameter of dinner saucers. "Uh-oh..." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aeka was doing her best to apologize to Ryoko about her words after Sasami's death, when Ryoko told her about her and Tenchi. Thankfully, Ryoko did not inform Aeka of this new development in her usual blunt manner. She simply said, "It's your turn now," and left it at that. It was only after the Royal family and Marty had left, that Aeka grasped the meaning of Ryoko's words. It was to be a very interesting month. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In reality, it had only been six days since Marty arrived on Earth, but to him, it felt like an eon had passed. >I almost can't believe it ...< he thought, as he leaned against the glass on the main observation deck that evening. >I'm actually going to make it back ...< He was so deep in thought that the emperor approached him without notice. "They're beautiful, aren't they? The stars, I mean," Azusa said. Marty turned his head. "I'm glad I got to see them again, sire." "What do you mean, lad?" "By all rights, I'm an A-1 criminal.... you would be within your rights to have me executed once we're back on Jurai." "I'm not going to kill you. I almost did that once already, and I was wrong to try. You have a second chance. Use it well." "Thank you, your majesty," Marty said, extending his hand. To his surprise, Azusa shook it. "This time, no poisoned knives, I promise." "You..." Marty's eyes widened, then he relaxed. "Don't fall asleep until after 3 tonight. You owe me big now." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azusa managed to stay awake, and avoided the spray of shaving cream and feathers the queens had set in the bed. He did not, however, avoid the bucket of liquid caramel that was placed as a backup. Everything had gone according to plan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Jurai, the Empresses insisted that Marty wore the uniform of the Juraian guard, but allowed him to keep the cloak, saying that it lent 'personality'. Fully decked out, Marty soared to the Sorento estate. Heart in hand, he knocked on the door. The servant admitted him, and he stood in the antechamber of the building as the manservant summoned Mokona. She appeared at the far end of the room. "Marty ...? Marty!" she said, sprinting across the tiled floor. "I'm home," he said, as he swept her into his arms. ******************************************************************************** Author's notes. *thud* sorry. fell out of my chair.... I did it! I did it! 46 and 1\2 typed pages, but I did it! This was great, guys. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Maybe I'll write more... I'd like to thank Leon-san for his tireless efforts to keep me on track. I couldn't have done it without you! Also thanks to BGlanders, Happosai, and allthe other authors who I stole, er, borrowed ideas from. Plus, a final thanks to my friend James, who, despite knowing nothing at all about TM! or anime in general, read this. C&C, MST, Atomic Flames, Marriage Proposals, they all go to Thanks for reading!!!! Mokona says hi. The sequel? Maybe... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Epilogue Ten months later.... It was a beautiful day. Jubei Sorento, after a ten month sabbatical, was reinstated in the Juraian senate, in no small way related to therelentless support of his son-in-law. Marty also had much to celebrate. His son James was born on that same day, and his wife Mokona was doing well. Two months later.... "What's this? A letter... from Earth? Juraian mail... they deliver everywhere... a wedding invitation? Oh good, he finally..." Marty stopped short as he read the invitation. "It was a JOKE, Tenchi!!! A JOKE!!!!" The invitation read... You are cordianally invited to the wedding of Masaki Tenchi and Jurai Aeka, Habiki Ryoko, Habiki Washu, and Karimitsu Mihoshi, on September 26 of the year 2001....