Disclaimer- All original characters and previous events in the world of Tenchi 
Muyo are not mine. They are the property of AIC and Pioneer. The following story 
and any new characters are mine and mine alone. This story has been written 
because I love this series and felt that if Pioneer is not going to be prompt 
with a 3rd OAV then I might as well throw my hat in the ring. This story is just 
for fun, and I hope that anyone who reads this enjoys it. The following events 
will take place in the OAV timeline and one year after MNE. Well that's all for 
my opening rant. I hope you enjoy the show.


Tenchi Muyo!- Will of the Goddesses

"Revelations"


	Ayeka watched as Tenchi left the room. When the door slid closed, she 
sighed and dropped back into the chair. She stared at the floor wondering why 
she wasn't crying. Not three months before, the cold pain now surrounding her 
heart would surly have brought on an endless stream of tears. But as she had 
told Tenchi moments before, things had changed. There was pain, but it was 
bearable. It would lessen over time. She was still sitting in the chair when the 
ringer on her door sounded.

	"Enter," she said quietly.

The door opened, and Shoytal was there. She looked at him for a moment. "I saw 
Lord Tenchi hurrying down the hall," he said finally. "I just wanted to make 
sure you were all right."

	Ayeka gave him a half smile. "I've been better, Shoytal."

	He shuffled his feet. "Is there anything I can do?"

	She looked at him with all her defenses down. She wasn't the First Crown 
Princess or the leader of the Juraian Liberation Force. She was simply Ayeka. 
"Just sit with me, please. I do not wish to be alone right now."

	Shoytal said nothing. He simply walked into the room and sat down at the 
table. Neither one said a single word. Ayeka had no wish to really talk. She had 
done enough of that with Tenchi. Now, she only wished to share the company of a 
trusted friend in complete blissful silence.

_____ 

	In deep space there is no real difference between night and day. Space 
farers merely sleep as long as they need to and remain awake as long as they 
want to. A Juraian military star base, however, is set to Jurai standard time. 
Therefore, every clock on Black Star Alpha said it was fairly late in the 
morning. Ryoko opened her eyes and found the face of the nightstand clock 
staring back at her. Of course, she was very aware of the time because she had 
never really gone to sleep. 

	She smiled happily as she counted the seconds to the beating of Tenchi's 
heart. Seconds turned to minutes, and Ryoko finally got tired of waiting for 
Tenchi to wake up by himself. She raised her head off of his chest and smiled 
down at her sleeping love. His mouth hung slightly open even though he was 
breathing through his nose. Ryoko kissed him on the cheek, but he didn't stir at 
all. She kissed him tenderly on the mouth and got the same lack of response.

	"I guess I really tired you out, didn't I?" she said with a light chuckle. 
She lowered her mouth to his ear. "Wake up, Tenchi dear."

	A barely audible moan came from his throat. Realizing that she was on to 
something, Ryoko began to nibble on his left ear. Tenchi began to stir. The cyan 
haired beauty smiled and began to kiss her way down his neck. She stopped at the 
base and lifted her face to meet his. The young man's eyes slowly opened and 
focused on her.  

	Her heart began to race when he smiled and feelings of love came across 
their link. "Good morning," he greeted in a groggy voice.

	Ryoko greeted him back with a very passionate kiss. "Good morning, lover." 
She kissed him yet again and began to make her way down his chest. 

	"Ryoko, wait," pleaded Tenchi. "I can't. I'm still tired from the last 
time."

	She stopped and looked him in the eyes. A fiendish grin appeared on her 
face. "Oh, I do believe there is some evidence to the contrary." 
	
	Before he could say anything, she leveled another passionate kiss on his 
mouth. Ryoko moaned in delight as Tenchi started to share her current mood. He 
wrapped his arms around her and rolled on top of the cyan haired beauty. He 
started to kiss her neck, and she giggled. Then they both abruptly stopped as a 
gurgling noise came from Tenchi's stomach. Both of them burst into laughter.

	Tenchi rolled to the side still laughing. "That certainly is a mood 
killer," he said between chuckles.

	Ryoko scooted up beside him and laid her head on his chest. She had 
stopped laughing, but a smile still remained on her face. She draped her arm 
across his stomach. "Oh, it's okay. If we get some food in you, it only means 
more energy for later." With that she adjusted her position so that she could 
rest her head right under his chin.

	She closed her eyes and sighed as Tenchi's strong arms embraced her. She 
was with Tenchi. Ryoko could hardly believe it. Her dream had actually come 
true. Tenchi loved her. That thought made her open her eyes. She raised herself 
up on her right elbow and looked down at her one true love.

	"What is it?" he asked.
	
	Ryoko caressed his face with her left hand. "Thank you."

	He gave her a questioning look joined by a feeling of curiosity. "What 
for?"

	"You...you didn't run away from me when I told you about my past," she 
said in a low voice. Another thought crossed her mind making her heart beat 
faster. 

	Tenchi picked up on it. "Is there something else?"

	"Well," Ryoko couldn't help but blush. "It's a little embarrassing."

	Tenchi laughed and rubbed her arm. "You? Embarrassed?" When she didn't 
laugh with him, he forced away the smile. "Come on," he prompted. "You can tell 
me."

	Ryoko began to draw circles on his chest with her index finger. 
"Thanks...for last night." Both of Tenchi's eyebrows went up. "You were my 
first, Tenchi." Ryoko felt the surprise come across the link. "Why are you so 
surprised?" she asked with a frown.

	"I...uh...um...," stammered Tenchi. "Geez, how can I put this without you 
hating me." He was quiet a moment. Ryoko could feel the nervousness in his mind. 
"I've always been afraid that Kagato might have..." he left the rest of the 
sentence hanging.

	Ryoko shuddered. "No, thank god," she whispered. "Kagato was always more 
interested in power rather than normal human needs. Besides, I was nothing but a 
machine to him. He even called me a piece of garbage once." A cold feeling 
started to creep over her. "Even if he desired such a thing, I don't think he 
would have wanted to "dirty" himself with me."

	Tenchi quickly wrapped his arms around her again and drew her close. "I'm 
sorry," he said and kissed on her forehead. "I didn't mean to hurt your 
feelings."

	Ryoko closed her eyes and bathed in the warmth of Tenchi's love. The 
coldness was no match for the power of the emotions emanating between the both 
of them. It fled, and for the first time in her life Ryoko knew that the 
darkness of her past was gone for good.

	Ryoko pressed herself closer to Tenchi. "It's okay, Tenchi. I'm not mad. 
Nothing will ever bother me as long as you're here."

	They lay there in each other's arms for a while longer. There were no 
words exchanged because there was no need to. The two lovers were communicating 
through their empathic link. Their emotions were expressing things that words 
could not come near to describing. 

	"Tenchi?" said Ryoko after a little while.

	"Yeah?"

	She tightened her hold on him. "Mayuka's not here on the base. No one 
knows where she is. Tenchi, what if she's..."

	"Shhhh," interrupted Tenchi as he began to rub her arms. "We'll find her, 
Ryoko. Don't worry. We'll find her."

	Silence returned, and the two lovers laid in each other's arms for 
comfort. Eventually, Tenchi's stomach growled for a second time. 

	"I have an idea," suggested Tenchi.

	"What?" asked Ryoko in a quiet voice.

	"Why don't I go and get us something to eat and bring it back here?" 
replied Tenchi.

	Ryoko shifted her head so that she could look at him. "Why don't I just 
come with you?"

	He smiled, and she could feel the playfulness behind his actions. "Because 
I want to bring you breakfast in bed."

	"Well if you insist," said Ryoko as if she had been defeated. Once again, 
Tenchi was being strong for the both of them. And this time, Ryoko was perfectly 
happy to let him. It was through his strength and love that she would become 
stronger. Tenchi's smile widened as he moved to kiss her. Ryoko laughed and 
floated into the air taking all the sheets with her. 

	"Ahhh!" cried Tenchi as the cold air assaulted his nakedness. "What are 
you doing?"

	The space pirate continued laughing while moving towards the bathroom. She 
so did love it when Tenchi got flustered. "You are so cute," she teased. "Since 
you are going to go and get some food, I'm going to bathe." She pulled the 
sheets tight around her body. "And if you are not going to be using the 
merchandise, then you don't get to look at it." She winked at him and teleported 
into the bathroom.

_____ 

	Ryoko's mirth traveled across the link creating a smile on Tenchi's face 
that refused to go away. Tenchi spent the next several minutes collecting his 
clothes from around the room and getting dressed. As he reached the door, the 
prince stopped once more to smile back towards the bathroom as cheerful singing 
could be heard from behind the closed door. 

	Tenchi left the room and walked down the hall towards the turbolift. He 
was trying to remember what floor the cafateria was on, when someone called his 
name.

	"Lord Tenchi!"

	The young man stopped and looked around. Juraian soldiers walked by 
without paying him much attention. Then he spotted Shoytal walking towards him. 
When the other man reached him, Tenchi smiled. "Good morning, Captain Shoytal. 
How are you today?"
	
	The knight captain gave Tenchi a small smile and nodded. "I am well, Lord 
Tenchi. And you?"

	Tenchi wondered for a moment how to answer Shoytal. He stopped for a 
moment just to feel Ryoko's presence in the back of his mind. Their minds 
touched for just a fraction of a second, but an expression of pure joy 
registered on Tenchi's face none-the-less. "Better than ever," said Tenchi 
almost more to himself than Shoytal. He shook his head once to regain focus. "Is 
something wrong?"	  

	The knight shook his head. "Oh, nothing is wrong. I just have a message 
from the Princess for you. She wishes to meet you in her office as soon as 
possible."

	"Okay," replied Tenchi. Shoytal nodded and began walking away. "Wait, 
Shoytal!" The knight captain stopped and looked back. "What level is the 
cafeteria on?" asked Tenchi with a sheepish grin.

	Shoytal gave him an understanding smile. "Level four." He nodded once more 
and proceeded down the hall. Other soldiers saluted him as he walked past.

	Tenchi stood in his place for a few moments trying to decide what to do 
first. Should he go see Ayeka now, or get the food? The emotional part of his 
mind was telling him to hurry up and get some food so that he could get back to 
Ryoko. A more reasonable portion of his brain told him that if he ate with Ryoko 
first, he would only have to rush it in order to go and meet with the princess. 

	"I'll just go and see what Ayeka wants," he told himself. "It shouldn't 
take that long." He placed his hands in his pockets and started for Ayeka's 
office.

	Tenchi was walking when he realized there was something in his right 
pocket. His right hand grasped around a familiar wooden hilt. The Juraian prince 
pulled Tenchi-ken from his pocket and stared at it while he walked down the 
hall. The two red gems in its hilt winked at him in the light. There was no 
doubt in his mind that he would give the gems back to Ryoko. He wanted nothing 
more than for Ryoko to be safe, and Tenchi knew very well that Ryoko would be 
safest if she could take care of herself.

	"After we eat," he said quietly. He smiled to himself as he thought about 
the happiness he would give Ryoko with this present. Tenchi tucked the sword 
into his belt and hurried to Ayeka's office.

	He skidded to a halt out of breath in front of the princess's office. He 
knocked on the door and waited until he heard her voice call him inside. Tenchi 
pushed the control pad next to the door and it slid open. He stepped inside, and 
Ayeka looked up from her work. 

	She looked up and smiled happily at Tenchi. "Good morning, Lord Tenchi. I 
see that Captain Shoytal found you. I do hope he did not disturb you?"
	
	"Uh...um...no," stammered Tenchi as only Tenchi could. "No. He...uh just 
found me on the way to the cafeteria." He moved over to her desk. "So, what's 
up?"
	
	Ayeka opened a drawer and took out two small items. She opened her hand 
and dropped two small golden discs on the desk. "These are messages from Miss 
Washu. She gave them to me before she left. These two are for Ryoko and 
yourself. Washu asked that I give both of them to you."

	Tenchi reached out and picked up the discs. He saw that one had his name 
and the other had Ryoko's. "What do I do with them?" he asked. 

	"Push down in the center of the disc to activate it," said Ayeka. "I 
suggest that you listen to it immediately, Tenchi." She rose from her chair. 
"You may use my office if you wish. I have some other things to take care of 
around the base." 

	"Thanks, Ayeka," said Tenchi as she left the office. 

	He placed the disc with his name back down on the table and pushed the 
center. The air above the disc shimmered for a second, and an image of Washu in 
her adult form appeared. 

	"Hello, Tenchi. I hope that this message finds you well. I am going to be 
brief and to the point since I do not have a lot of time." She smiled. "Yes, I 
can be brief if I want to. I have two important things that I need to talk to 
you about. First, I know that you truly love Ryoko. I only hope that you, too, 
have realized this by now. Love her, Tenchi. That is the most important thing 
you can do for my daughter. Due to my own mistakes, she has suffered greatly. 
Please, Tenchi, give her the love that she has been denied for so long. 
Secondly, you must teach her. I know that you will eventually give her the other 
two gems back. Just so you know, once she has all three gems Ryoko will be able 
to summon her own Light Hawk Wings. Teach her how to summon and use them. In the 
end, this whole mess will come down to how strong the two of you can be in mind, 
body, and soul. There are many other things that you need to know, but I must 
wait to explain them until later. Oh, and make sure that you give Ryoko the disc 
with her name on it. After all, she'll probably only look at it if you ask her 
too.

	Also, I know that you are probably worried about where Mayuka is. By now 
you know that none of us in the family has her. I am sorry to say that she is in 
the hands of the enemy, Tenchi. Don't worry, though. Mayuka is very important to 
them, so I can guarantee that she is fine.
	
	Good luck, Tenchi. Be careful out there. The universe can be a dangerous 
place."

	Washu's image flickered and disappeared. Tenchi suddenly realized that he 
was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk. It took several minutes 
for everything that Washu had said to sink in. She had known all along how deep 
his feelings were for Ryoko. That didn't surprise Tenchi, though. What did 
surprise him was the fact that with all her gems Ryoko could summon her own 
Light Hawk Wings. Then there was the information on Mayuka's where abouts. For 
the first time, Tenchi's fatherly instincts were trying to take over. Fear and 
panic about his daughter almost caused the young man to open a portal right to 
Jurai and take her back. His common sense won out in the end, and the prince was 
able to control himself from making a huge tactical error. Tenchi was still 
sitting in Ayeka's office trying to figure out this new revelation, when a 
definite sense of impatience flared in the back if his mind. 

	Tenchi suddenly realized that he must have been gone from the room for a 
long time. Ryoko's impatience for his return was coming across loud and clear. 
Tenchi quickly pocketed the golden discs, left Ayeka's office, and ran for the 
cafeteria. All the while he was doing his best to let Ryoko know that he was on 
his way back. The two of them may have only just become intimate, but Tenchi 
perhaps knew Ryoko better than anyone in the universe. History has shown that 
when Ryoko gets too impatient, things start to blow up. Tenchi knew that Ryoko 
didn't really mean to cause mass destruction. It was just that her anger tended 
to cloud her judgement at times. 

	The base's kitchen staff proved very helpful in providing him with quick 
service. It only took the prince several minutes to get breakfast and run at 
full speed back to the room he was now sharing with Ryoko. Tenchi quickly 
reviewed his plan to surprise Ryoko with her gems and talk to her about what he 
just learned from Washu's message. Tenchi used his left elbow to activate the 
door control. The door slid open to reveal the space pirate hovering 
horizontally in the air with her head resting on her right hand. She was wearing 
a long red dress with dark blue sleeves and a black waistband.

	Ryoko gave him a half smile and thinned her golden eyes. "And where, pray 
tell, have you been?"

	Tenchi flashed her a quick smile. "I was in the cafeteria getting 
breakfast." He knew instantly that she wasn't buying it. "Have I told you that 
you look beautiful?" he told her keeping the smile on his face.

	"Uh huh," she said with a sly grin. Ryoko floated over and took the tray 
of food from Tenchi. She placed it down on the coffee table and vanished in the 
blink of an eye. Tenchi jumped slightly as she reappeared behind him with her 
arms wrapped around his chest. 

	Tenchi smiled involuntarily as she began to rub her head against the back 
of his neck. "Please don't leave me again, Tenchi. It was so lonely here without 
you."

	He took her hands and kissed them in response. "Don't worry. I'm not going 
anywhere," he assured Ryoko. Tenchi shivered with excitement as he felt Ryoko's 
lips press against the back of his neck. Those silken lips continued to kiss 
their way around his neck.

	Tenchi gently removed himself from Ryoko's embrace and turned to face her. 
Her desire for him was clear in both her eyes and feelings. As he looked into 
her beautiful golden eyes and touched her emotions, Tenchi could feel his own 
urges starting to take hold again. Hunger, however, was proving to be just as 
strong as his desire to hold Ryoko. After a few kisses, Tenchi managed to steer 
them over to the coffee table and chairs. 

	The meal proved to be interesting when Tenchi discovered that several of 
the foods on the tray looked very odd. The prince refused to eat some of them, 
and Ryoko would playfully tease Tenchi until he would break down and try some. 
When the meal ended, they were sitting in the same chair. Ryoko was nestled in 
Tenchi's lap with her head resting on his right shoulder. Tenchi was absently 
stroking the back of her head with his right hand while drinking a cup of tea in 
the other. The minutes passed, and Tenchi finally decided it was time.

	"What is it?" asked Ryoko before he could say anything. She picked up her 
head and looked him in the eyes.

	"You know, it is going to be really hard to surprise you from now on," he 
told her with a smile.

	Her eyes brightened. "You have a surprise for me?" Ryoko started to pull 
at his shirt with both hands. "What is it? Come on, Tenchi. Tell me!"

	They were both grinning as Tenchi took her hands in his. "I'll give it to 
you if you close your eyes."

	Ryoko folded her arms. "That's it? Hell, Mihoshi could do that." Her grin 
remained as she closed her eyes.

	Tenchi carefully took Tenchi-ken from his belt. Once it was freed, he held 
it pommel up and prayed for the two remaining gems to return to Ryoko. The gems 
on the hilt glowed brightly for a moment and disappeared. Tenchi watched with 
awe as one gem appeared on Ryoko's right wrist and the other appeared just at 
the base of her neck. Ryoko's eyes snapped open immediately. She raised her 
right wrist and looked at it for a moment. Then she very slowly felt for the gem 
on her neck. She gasped as the fingers of her left hand touched it. 

	Their eyes locked. At first the only emotion coming from Ryoko was shock. 
Then Ryoko favored Tenchi with the warmest smile he had ever seen. She threw her 
arms around him and hugged her prince tightly. "Thank you," she whispered in his 
ear.

	Tenchi eased her head back and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "Anything 
for my devil princess."

	Ryoko's smile never altered as she poked him in the chest lightly. "And 
space pirate, bub." She kissed him back. "Don't you forget that. It's a packaged 
deal." 

	He pulled her close in a soft embrace and rubbed the side of her arm. "So 
how do you feel, my devil princess *and* space pirate?"

	Ryoko sighed and began to stroke his chest with the flat of her hand. 
"Even if I didn't have the gems, I feel complete. But..." She started to play 
with the collar of his shirt. "I do feel like I could take on the whole GP 
fleet." She giggled.

	"How about a work out then?" he suggested. 

	She kissed his cheek. "I see that food is going to work already."

	Tenchi chuckled. "No, not that. I mean a sparring match to test out your 
powers."

	She cocked an eyebrow at him. "A fight?" The space pirate floated off of 
his lap and touched down a few feet away. Ryoko began to stretch her arms. "That 
could be fun." Tenchi could feel her excitement growing. 

	Ryoko gave him a childlike expression. "Okay, but I want you to promise 
not to get mad when I kick your ass." 
	
	Tenchi got up and moved to her side. He wrapped his arms around her waist 
and swayed slightly. "Feeling confident, aren't we?" He let her go and walked 
over to the closet. "Let me change into the sparring jump suit I got from Somar, 
and we'll go to the training room on level twenty."

	Ryoko hooted at him while he changed into the jump suit. "Oh yeah, baby! 
Take it off!" 

	Tenchi gave her a look. "Ryoko, please." 

	She levitated into the air and floated over to him. "Hey, I can't help it 
that you're so sexy." 

	Tenchi zipped up the jump suit and turned to his love. He took her hand, 
and she lowered herself to the ground. Tenchi grabbed Tenchi-ken and tucked it 
into his belt as they walked out of the room together. They found a turbolift 
and took it directly to level twenty. When the two of them entered the training 
room, it was completely empty. The room itself was just a single, white walled 
room running fifty yards from wall to wall. The entire floor was covered with a 
blue sparring mat. 

	Ryoko removed her hand from Tenchi's and flew up to the ceiling, which was 
a good forty feet in the air. There was a flash, and she was wearing her red and 
black battle suit. The space pirate formed an energy sword in her right hand. 
"Are you ready for me, Tenchi dear?"

	Tenchi calmly walked out to the middle of the room and looked up at her. 
Tenchi-ken's blue blade snapped to life. "Whenever you are, love." He could feel 
her blushing at his response.

	"So what are the rules?" she called down. 

	"Anything goes," replied Tenchi.

	"You sure?" she asked with a smile. His only response was a nod. "All 
right then."

	The energy sword disappeared, and Ryoko fired several blasts at Tenchi. 
Each blast shattered as it slammed against the blue shield around Tenchi. Ryoko 
grimaced. "Hey, when did you learn how to do that?"
	
	"It became clear the other day," he called back. When he had gained full 
control over his Light Hawk Wings, Tenchi had also learned how to use all the 
powers of Tenchi-ken. 

	Ryoko's energy sword appeared again, and she vanished. Tenchi could feel 
her behind him before she even reappeared. Tenchi-ken's blade parried Ryoko's 
red one sending colored sparks everywhere. "No fair!" cried Ryoko. "You're using 
the link to track me!"

	"All's fair," said Tenchi with a grin.
	
	Ryoko grunted and attacked with several powerful slashes. Tenchi ducked 
and dodged the first two and parried the third. The power behind that last slash 
sent Tenchi flying across the floor. Tenchi's back hit the mat, and he threw his 
weight backwards and rolled to his feet. His senses flared as a barrage of red 
energy beams lanced at him. Tenchi dropped and rolled away from the attack. Once 
he was back on his feet, the prince charged Ryoko at full speed. She 
disappeared, and Tenchi parried her attack without pause as she reappeared next 
to him. They exchanged numerous thrusts and slashes with Tenchi forcing Ryoko 
back. 

	The space pirate dodged a low thrust and flew high into the air. Tenchi 
could see the power crackling between her hands. "Here comes the big one, 
lover," she shouted down to him.

	Ryoko raised her hands to release her attack. Tenchi tossed Tenchi-ken 
away and let his mind focus. A ball of red power flew from her hands right at 
Tenchi. He pushed at the inner barrier and embraced the power of the Light Hawk 
Wings. Three green triangles appeared on Tenchi's forehead followed by three 
blue Wings in front of him. There was a massive explosion as the red ball hit 
the Light Hawk Wings. The smoke cleared, and Ryoko teleported to the floor.

	Tenchi formed the Light Hawk Armor and created the Light Hawk Sword. Ryoko 
split herself into two and attacked Tenchi from both sides. To Tenchi, though, 
the two of them were moving in slow motion. The power of the Wings increased all 
of his abilities tenfold. With unbelievable speed, Tenchi parried the attacks of 
the two Ryokos. 

	"Tenchiiii," they both whined. "Stop cheating!"

	"I'm not," he replied. "All's fair remember." The Ryokos merged, and the 
original attacked again.
	
	Tenchi parried and pinned Ryoko's energy sword, lunged his head forward 
quickly, and kissed her on the cheek. Ryoko shrieked and laughed at the same 
time and phased ten feet into the air. She threw her head forward and released a 
wave of hair needles. Tenchi summoned a shield that stopped the needles inches 
from his face. He smirked and launched himself up at her. Ryoko's eyes went wide 
as Tenchi flew right towards her. Tenchi adjusted his speed as Ryoko started to 
back peddle. The prince made several tentative thrusts, which Ryoko parried 
easily. Tenchi darted left and right to dodge two more of Ryoko's slashes. He 
turned and flew across the room with the space pirate hot on his heels.

	A red energy ball zoomed past his head. "I'm going to get you for this, 
Tenchi!" she shouted. 

	He spun around in mid air while continuing to fly. "What?" he said with a 
smile. "Finding this not as easy as the school battle all those years ago?"

	"Ooooooo, you!" She released another barrage of blasts that he dodged 
easily. 

	Tenchi stopped suddenly, and Ryoko pulled up short a few feet away. She 
summoned another sword and prepared to charge Tenchi again. Before she could act 
Tenchi raised his left hand. "Wait a sec, Ryoko."

	She tilted her head to one side. "What?"

	"What's going through your mind right now?" he asked her.

	The space pirate lowered her sword and thought for a moment. "Well, 
nothing really. I'm just attacking on instinct and letting my anger fuel my 
power. It's how I always fight."

	Tenchi nodded. "Okay. I want you to try something different. Calm down and 
clear your mind. Then focus on creating an inner peace. Make sure that 
everything inside you is balanced and not in conflict. Focus everything on one 
peaceful thought that will keep your mind at ease." Ryoko closed her eyes. Then 
Tenchi felt it. "What do you feel?" he asked with a small smile.

	The red energy sword fizzled away. "I can feel something, Tenchi," she 
whispered. "There is something inside me." She opened her eyes, and Tenchi both 
saw and felt the fear there.

	He gave her a warm smile and sent a reassuring feeling across the link. 
"Trust me, my heart. Embrace it."

	She took a deep breath and tensed. Ryoko's eyes widened, and three green 
circles in a triangle formation appeared on her forehead. Ryoko blinked once and 
three red Light Hawk Wings appeared in the air between her and Tenchi. She 
dropped her arms to her sides, and the three red Wings passed over Ryoko. Tenchi 
watched as her red and black battle suit changed. 

	Ryoko's Light Hawk Armor remained red and black. The black portion that 
usually covered the right side of Ryoko's face disappeared, and both of her ears 
became black up to half an inch from each tip. The red of the Armor formed 
around her breasts traveling down her torso creating a black diamond shape in 
the middle. Her sleeves became all red, and the space around the shoulders 
expanded. Golden representations of the Light Hawk Wings appeared around the 
gems on each of her wrists. The Armor around each of her legs billowed out, but 
Tenchi knew that it was still just as strong. A pair of golden Wings appeared 
around the gem on her throat. Ryoko took in a breath, and the neck gem flashed. 
A pair of translucent, feathery wings sprouted from the gem. 

	"This is amazing," breathed the Daughter of Washu. The red Wings appeared 
again, and Ryoko reached out and grasped one. It transformed at her touch into a 
Light Hawk Sword similar to Tenchi's except the blade was red and slightly 
thinner.

	Ryoko tested the sword and grinned like a child on Christmas Morning. 
Tenchi raised his own Sword and motioned at Ryoko. "Ready to continue?" Ryoko's 
grin turned devilish, and she charged. 

	To any person who may have wandered into the training room at that moment 
the only thing visible would have been a pair of red and blue streaks flying 
about the room. Tenchi and Ryoko playfully fenced back and forth for the next 
hour. During that time they experimented with their powers. The most interesting 
thing they discovered was that the power of their Wings increased the strength 
of their link. The empathic link had now grown into a telepathic one. At the end 
of that hour, they found themselves hovering thirty feet off the floor with 
their swords crossed. 

	"So how do we know who wins?" asked Tenchi.

	Ryoko shrugged. "I guess one of us will have to give up."

	Tenchi raised an eyebrow. "What's the winner get?"

	Ryoko's eyes glinted. "The loser."

	Tenchi quickly banished his Sword, grabbed Ryoko's wrists, and twisted her 
Sword from her hands. Then he quickly took Ryoko's left arm, twisted it, and 
pinned it behind her back. She tried to muscle out of his grip, but Tenchi's 
Light Hawk Power enabled him to match her strength. 

	Ryoko sighed. "I guess I lose." She tilted her head over her left 
shoulder, and Tenchi responded by kissing her. "Or maybe not," she said between 
kisses.

	Tenchi released her arm, and the cyan haired beauty turned and threw both 
her arms around his neck. With a thought, Tsunami's Knight opened a blue portal 
behind them. Ryoko laughed happily as Tenchi took her in his arms and flew both 
of them into the portal back to their room.  

_____ 

	It was a little later that day, and Ryoko found herself sitting on the 
edge of the bed in the room she was now sharing with Tenchi. After she and 
Tenchi had spent a little bit more "quality" time together, he had told her 
about the message he had gotten from Washu. And since she could never really say 
no to him, Ryoko had promised to look at her own message from the genius. Tenchi 
had just gone into the bathroom to take a shower, so Ryoko figured now would be 
as good a time as any to look at it. The space pirate had phased back into the 
dress she had been wearing before the sparring match. She rolled the small 
golden disk between her fingers.

	Ryoko took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing," she said. She dropped the 
disc into her left hand and pushed down on the center. The air above the disc 
shimmered and an image of adult Washu appeared. Ryoko was slightly taken back to 
see the scientist in that form.

	"My dearest Ryoko, I don't know where to begin. I know that our 
relationship is not really the greatest in the universe." Washu frowned. "No, 
let's face it. Our relationship sucks, and for the most part it is my fault. 
Yes, you can be very difficult to deal with, but again that is not really your 
fault. I know that you think I don't give a damn about you or your life, but I 
want you to know how far from the truth that is. I admit that when I first 
created you, I only saw you as an experiment. You came along during a time in my 
life where I wanted nothing to do with the outside world ever again. All I 
wanted was to shut myself away in my lab where I had complete control over 
everything there. 

	Then you came along. Perhaps I did not truly give birth to you in a 
conventional way, but as time passed I began to see you as more than an 
experiment. I saw you as my daughter. During this time, you were as innocent as 
Sasami. Yes, you held the form you do now, but you were still a child at heart. 
You became such a joy in my life. After so long, I was truly happy again. 
Whenever you called me 'mommy' I knew I loved you. You, my Little Ryoko, had 
restored my faith in the universe. Unfortunately, it was that newfound faith 
that led me to one of my greatest mistakes ever. I trusted Kagato. I let that 
man worm his way so deep into my life and my work, that he became a necessary 
part. It got to a point where I had to have him around in order to keep all my 
work from falling apart. I became so blind to any possible malice, that it was 
no trouble for him to lure me into the subspace half of the then newly built 
Souja and trap me there."

	Tears began to slowly fall from the corner of her green eyes. "Even when I 
was trapped, my only thoughts were about your safety. Of course, since I was 
trapped in subspace you could not sense me through our link, but I could still 
feel everything that you went through." Tears were now streaming down both her 
cheeks. "I do not think that I can ever apologize enough to you for letting that 
bastard get his hands on you. I was there for every horror he subjected you to. 
It burned my very soul whenever you called out to me for help, and I was 
powerless to do nothing but watch my child suffer. 
	
	I am so sorry, my dearest one. And after Mihoshi freed me, I compounded my 
sin even more. I had vowed that if I were ever released, I would never let my 
emotions control my actions again. So when we were finally reunited on Souja, I 
went back to treating you like an experiment. I hoped that by doing that I could 
snuff out any emotion I had left in me. But then we became part of a family 
again." A small grin appeared on Washu's face. "A weird family, but a family all 
the same. I soon discovered that instead of disappearing, my human emotions were 
growing exponentially by the day. But I was so used to being the cold hearted 
scientist again, that I couldn't change my ways. I have treated you poorly these 
past few years, Ryoko. I have done things to you that no parent should even 
consider doing to their child. Again, all I can do is hope that you accept at 
least some of my apology. 

	I know that you will find that happiness you seek with Tenchi. The kind 
hearted fool does love you. He just needs a good kick in the ass to realize it. 
I only wish I could see you in person one last time, so that I could hug you and 
say I love you. 

	I love you so much, my Little Ryoko. Goodbye, and treasure those you love. 
You never know when the universe will decide to take it all away."

	The hologram fizzled once, and Washu's image disappeared. Something wet 
was repeatedly hitting Ryoko. She looked down to see tears splashing soundlessly 
on her hands. The cyan haired woman had not even realized she had started 
crying. The weight of everything she had just heard came suddenly crashing down 
on her awareness. Her lower lip began to tremble, and her vision became blurred 
with tears. Ryoko tried to hold back the tears, but she was losing ground 
quickly. She did not want to cry. She wanted to be strong and keep her 
composure. Space pirates were not supposed to cry. *She* was not supposed to 
cry. After all, Ryoko had already cried enough the previous evening when she 
thought that she had lost Tenchi forever. 

	No. She could not allow herself anymore moments of weakness. Her eyes 
moved to the disc still sitting in the palm of her left hand.	 
	  
	"Oh, mommy," she whispered before losing all control. The disc fell from 
Ryoko's hand as she dropped her head and began sobbing uncontrollably. 

	The distraught woman jumped as the bed shifted. Ryoko jerked her head up 
to see Tenchi sitting to her left. He was still wet from the shower and wrapped 
in a towel. Ryoko didn't hesitate a moment and thrust her head into his chest 
while continuing to cry. Tenchi's arms came around her trembling body and pulled 
her deeper into a comforting embrace. As he began to comfort her, Ryoko slowly 
started to regain control. Tenchi was rocking her gently in his arms, now, and 
rubbing her on the back.

	When Ryoko's sobs finally turned into a series of short sniffles, Tenchi 
spoke. "Are you all right?"

	"Tenchi?" she said in a barely audible whisper.

	"Yes?"

	Ryoko wrapped her arms around Tenchi as if he were a life preserver. "Just 
hold me."

	She calmed even more as he kissed the crown of her head. "Anything, my 
heart. Anything."

_____ 

	 Ayeka looked up from the data pad she was reading when the door chime of 
her office sounded. "Enter."  The door slid open, and Admiral Judroa walked 
inside. "Good day, Admiral."

	He nodded. "Greetings, Princess. I wanted to tell you myself that everyone 
is now gathered in the war room and awaiting you."

	Ayeka placed the data pad down and rose. "Then we shall not keep them 
waiting any longer." She walked past the desk to the door. "Come, Admiral."

	The two of them walked down the halls of Black Star Alpha. Soldiers 
saluted the pair at every turn. "Tell me something, Admiral?"

	"Yes, your Highness?"

	She smiled at him. "Doesn't your arm ever get tired of constantly 
returning salutes?" She chuckled lightly.

	"One gets used to it, Princess," he replied after a small laugh of his 
own. 

	They finally reached the war room. Judroa opened the door, and Ayeka 
walked in first. She gave the room a quick scan. Every seat at the oval table 
was taken. On one side sat all five of her Royal Guard. Shoytal was keeping his 
face straight in an attempt to look in charge, Nunar was just sitting there with 
his eyes closed, Verka and Gerin were carrying on a conversation about whose 
weapon was stronger, and Mastir was calmly reading a data pad. 

	Ayeka shifted her gaze to the opposite side of the table. She smiled 
inwardly at the sight of most of her family seated and carrying on as if they 
were all back in the Masaki home. Yosho was seated closest to the head of the 
table and talking with his grandson. Tenchi was still getting used to seeing his 
grandfather in his natural form. The younger prince was having a hard time 
remembering to refer to Yosho as "Grandpa" after every sentence. Ryoko was 
seated to the right of Tenchi. The space pirate was controlling a small red 
globe that was buzzing around Nunar's head. Ayeka wondered if her old rival 
would actually succeed in bothering the small, silent knight. To Ryoko's right 
was Kiyone. The teal haired GP was talking with her partner. Ever since the GP 
HQ had been destroyed, Mihoshi had not quite been herself. Over the past couple 
of weeks she had been slowly returning to her normal habits, but periodically 
she fell into small fits of depression. 

	Ayeka stopped at the head of the table and cleared her throat. All the 
Juraian military personal in the room and the two GP officers jumped to their 
feet and saluted her. Tenchi took one look around the table and quickly got to 
his feet. Ryoko merely yawned and remained seated. Then suddenly she gave Tenchi 
a weird look. "Fine," she mumbled and got to her feet.

	Unsure of what to make of Ryoko's last action, Ayeka nodded, and the 
gathered group sat down. Yosho offered his seat to Judroa and took a place 
standing behind Ayeka. The princess cleared her throat again and nodded to 
Mastir. The blond knight tapped the data pad in his hands, and a view screen 
appeared above Ayeka's head.

	"I thank you all for coming here so quickly," she said to the group. "I 
know that after the past twenty four hours you all must be extremely tired. 
Unfortunately, the war does not allow us to be weary." She gestured to the 
screen above her. It was a map of the Vernial system. "In the wake of our 
victory over the enemy, it is my belief that now is the time to continue our 
advance towards Jurai. We must sieze this opportunity and retake as many 
colonies as possible while Ziasha is forced to regroup."

	"Excuse me for speaking out of turn, Princess," interrupted Shoytal. "But 
I do not see how it's possible for us to continue the attacks at this point. 
Yes, we have the man power, but our fleet is even worse off than before."

	"I believe that I have your answer, Captain," said Yosho. "We may have 
lost a good amount of tree ships in the last battle, but the addition of the 
cabbit fleet is a large plus in our favor. Those ships can now take over as 
attack ships. For the time being, we will have most of the tree ships converted 
to troop carriers."

	"I still do not see how we can do this, Commander," countered Shoytal. 
"Those cabbit ships are good only for space battle. They will be no help in 
providing cover for troop ships trying to invade the colonies."

	"Again, I have an answer for you," replied Yosho with a smile. "We will 
not need to use so many troops to retake colonies now. They will only be 
required to help the rescued populations start rebuilding the cities."

	Shoytal was visibly confused. "What are you talking about? How will we 
retake colonies then?"

	Tenchi raised his hand and stood up. "I think that job is going to fall on 
me," he said with a quirky smile. "Between Ryoko and myself, I think that we can 
neutralize most of the demons on any given colony."

	Ayeka raised both her eyebrows. "Are you sure you can do that, Lord 
Tenchi? Will you be able to use the Light Hawk Wings repeatedly like that 
without getting too tired? And what about Ryoko?"

	"Don't worry about me, Princess," answered Ryoko. She flashed both her 
wrists and jerked her left thumb at her neck. "I'm runnin' on full power now." 
Ayeka easily spotted all three gems.

	"Well then," said Ayeka. "I'll leave the attack plans to Admiral Judroa. 
We must continue the attack within the next twenty four hours. Now on to other 
business." She reached into her pocket and retrieved the fourth disc Washu had 
given to her. "Before she left, Washu instructed me to play this disc once we 
were all together again. So without further delay." She placed the gold disc on 
the table and pushed down on the center. The air fizzled and a full sized image 
of Washu appeared.

	"Hi, kids. I hope that this message finds all of you well. A lot of things 
have happened, and I bet that all of you have questions about what the hell is 
actually going on. Well, I'm going to try and clear up as much as I am allowed 
to. I've told all of you several times about the Multi-Dimensional Theory." 
Everyone's faces went blank. Washu sighed as if she were really there. "The 
belief that there are more than just the dimension we are all living in!"

	"Ooohhhhh," said everyone in the room at once.

	"Anyway," continued Washu. "It's not a theory, and I'm living proof of 
that. Originally, I am the oldest of three sister goddesses from another 
dimension. The youngest of us is Tsunami. My other sister is the one responsible 
for much of this war. Her name is Tokimi. Over twenty thousand years ago, the 
three of us took an interest in this dimension. We all invested quite a lot into 
those who dwelt here. Then, one day for various reasons, I wanted to actually 
come to this dimension. My sisters also expressed a desire to experience this 
dimension. However, there were certain things that prohibited us from simply 
opening a door and walking in here, so to speak. Certain rules that I cannot 
begin to explain would not allow us to enter in our true forms. Being who we 
were, this little hurdle did not stop any of us. In the end, we had all figured 
out a way to come into this dimension. In order to do this, however, it required 
that we all combine our powers. While combining our powers, we all pledged to 
aid each other in entering this dimension. This pledge became known as the 
Will."

	All gathered in the room watched as Washu lowered her eyes. "I entered as 
a human with the potential to understand the workings of the universe. My powers 
as a goddess were sealed in the three gems that Ryoko now bears. Tsunami entered 
as the first space tree. Tsunami and myself were content to enter as we did. It 
was with these forms that we could obtain the goals we sought. Tokimi, however, 
still desired to enter as her true self and because of the Will Tsunami and I 
are required to help her attain this wish. Unfortunately, the Will does not 
allow me to tell you just how Tokimi intends to enter this dimension. And just 
so you understand, the Will has also placed certain restrictions on Tsunami. She 
had retained much of her power when she transferred over, so the Will forbade 
her from directly interfering in the affairs of mortals. That is why she has 
never been straightforward whenever we asked her for help in the past. There is 
not much else I can say. I've already pushed the limit of helping you guys out. 
The last thing I can say is that you must get back to Jurai. No matter what, 
everything is going to end there."

	She smiled softly at them all. "I hope we can all survive this and have a 
chance to be a family once again. Good luck." The hologram shimmered and 
disappeared.

	Everyone in the room was in shock. Ryoko was the first one to speak. "Well 
I'll be Washu damned! I'm the daughter of a goddess!" She started laughing and 
levitated a few feet off the floor. 

	"Oh no," groaned Kiyone. "Here we go."

	"Does that make me a goddess of sorts, too?" questioned the space pirate 
while tapping her chin with an index finger. "I certainly am beautiful enough 
for it. I suppose I should have my own religion as well." She laughed and 
lowered herself onto Tenchi. "What do you think, Tenchi?" she asked him 
following with a kiss on the cheek. 

	"Ryoko, please," said Ayeka in a slightly annoyed tone. "This is not the 
time or the place."

	"What's the matter, little princess?" taunted Ryoko. "Afraid I'll steal 
away some of your worshipers?"

	For the first time in months, Ayeka lost complete control of herself. "Why 
you flee bitten, mongrel!" shouted the princess. "How dare you!" She was 
surrounded in a blue aura of Jurai Power.

	A blue bolt shot from her right hand directly for Ryoko's head. The cyan 
haired woman laughed again, pushed Tenchi away, and vanished. Ayeka's Jurai 
Power blast exploded on the wall sending mettle shards everywhere. Ryoko 
reappeared five feet to the left and launched a red energy ball at the princess. 
Ayeka raised her force field just in time to deflect the ball. Shoytal and the 
other four knights jumped in front of her with their weapons ignited. 

	Ryoko lowered her hands and shook her head. "If you get those five, I get 
to use Tenchi."

	"Captain, please step aside," ordered Ayeka. 

	"But, Princess!"

	"Do not worry, Captain," she assured him. "This is just something we need 
to do."

	By now all the usual members of the Masaki household were making a hasty 
exit from the war room. "Don't worry, Shoytal," said Tenchi. "It'll be all 
right." The prince looked up at Ryoko and watched her for a moment. She winked 
at him. "Trust me."
	
	Ayeka watched as her knights hesitantly headed for the exit. "I got five 
bucks on the flying one," she heard Gerin say as he entered the hall. 

	"I'll take that bet," answered Mastir. Ayeka just shook her head as the 
door closed.

	With the room empty of innocent bystanders, the two old rivals went at it 
like they never had before. Twenty minutes later the war room was in a shambles. 
Any piece of furniture in the room had been turned to ash, and there were 
numerous dents and blast marks all over the walls. Ayeka and Ryoko were sprawled 
out on their backs in the middle of the room. Their clothes were torn in various 
places, and their faces sported scorch marks and small cuts. 

	"Wow," said Ryoko. She coughed out a puff of black smoke.

	"Indeed," agreed Ayeka. She eased herself up into a sitting position. "I 
am certainly glad we got that out of our systems."

	Ryoko joined her in sitting up. "You said it, Princess." The space pirate 
gave her a half smile. "You gotta admit, for a last fight that was pretty good."

	Ayeka could not help but return the smile. "Yes. That was the last fight, 
wasn't it." They were both silent for a minute. "Ryoko?" 

	"Yeah?"

	"I want you to know, that I am truly happy for the two of you," said 
Ayeka. 

	Ryoko's face lost that arrogant look she usually saved just for Ayeka. "Do 
you mean it?"

	The princess nodded. "It still hurts some, but I know now he was not meant 
for me." She laughed lightly. "That's not true. I think I figured it out some 
time ago that Tenchi and I were not going to be together that way. I just didn't 
want to accept it."

	"What made you change your mind, now?" asked Ryoko in all seriousness.

	Ayeka's smile disappeared "War changes things," replied Ayeka in a low 
tone. "It makes you see things for what they are. War does not lie to you, and 
you cannot lie to it. Otherwise, you just might die." Her smile returned. 
"Besides, I found a new strength within myself."

	Ryoko began to rub her left shoulder. "I'll say. Those Jurai Power shots 
pack a hell of a punch." She lowered her hand and looked at Ayeka again. "You 
know, Ayeka, I don't think I ever really hated you. Yeah, you piss me off a good 
amount of the time, but I think I just let the whole competition thing get the 
better of me."

	"Same here," agreed Ayeka. "Your arrogance and disgusting habits do get on 
my nerves, but I don't hate you either."

	Ryoko coughed out a laugh. "You know what this means then?" Ayeka gave her 
a questioning look. "We have to try and be friends now."

	Ayeka smirked. "Mannerless tramp."

	"Whiney bitch," countered Ryoko with a smirk of her own. 

_____ 

	
	 Tenchi watched the door to the war room slid shut. Almost immediately, 
the walls began to shake from the battle going on inside. He wasn't worried, 
though. Ryoko had assured him via their link that this was something both she 
and Ayeka had to get out of their systems. 

	There was an explosion from within, and the entire base seemed to shake. 
"Are you sure they're going to be all right in there?" asked Kiyone.

	Tenchi turned around to see the teal haired GP standing behind him. She 
was the only one besides himself left in the hall. Admiral Judroa had ordered 
Shoytal to leave the level all together. The knight captain had not liked it, 
but he had obeyed his commanding officer. The rest of the group had gone about 
their business as if the fight was not even happening.  

	Tenchi walked over and leaned against the wall. "Positive."

	Kiyone raised her left eyebrow at him. "You seem different, Tenchi. What 
happened to you out there on the other side of the galaxy?"

	He shrugged. "Lots of things. Most of all, though, I came to terms with 
myself. I realized what was most important in my life. I saw that my family and 
those I love meant more to me than anything else. I guess after that all the 
danger ahead and the unknown things out there in the universe were not so scary 
anymore."

	Kiyone smiled at him. "You know, Tenchi, you still look the same, but 
you've grown up a whole lot more." She sighed and leaned against the wall too. 
"I only wish the past couple of months had been so kind to me."

	"Sasami told me a little bit of what happened to you guys," he said. "It 
didn't sound too bad."

	"Oh yeah, it wasn't too bad," she huffed sarcastically. "Just about every 
time we got into trouble I got my ass kicked so hard it took a miracle play by 
Washu or Tsunami to save us." She thumped her head against the wall. "The only 
thing I found out is that I am way out of my league here." She chuckled. "I 
don't remember anything in the GP manual about fighting a mad man with the power 
of a god."

	"Well," began Tenchi, "if it helps any, you've got a serious Earth dirt 
farmer and a space pirate with god like powers on your side to fight the mad 
man." He gave her a half smile.

	Kiyone looked at him for a second and then burst out laughing. "What's so 
funny?" asked Tenchi.

	It took the GP a few seconds to catch her breath. "It's funny cause it's 
true," she said between gasps for air. She finally got herself back under 
control and stood up straight. "I think I'll go check on Mihoshi. I'll see you 
later, Tenchi." 

	Tenchi watched as Kiyone walked down the hall and out of sight. He decided 
to chance a mental peak at the battle going on in the war room. Then the prince 
changed his mind as another explosion rocked the base. Tenchi smiled to himself, 
thrust both hands into his pockets, and walked down the hall. He walked in 
random directions with no real set destination in mind. He had closed off his 
end of the link with Ryoko so that she could have her fun without his thoughts 
distracting her. Eventually, Tenchi found himself wandering around the upper 
levels of Black Star Alpha. He rounded a corner and arrived on an observation 
deck that presided over the black hole. The prince was slightly surprised to see 
Ukarit leaning on the railing watching space.

	"Ukarit," called Tenchi as he neared.

	The gangster turned his head. "Hey, Tenchi."

	Tenchi walked over and joined the pink man in looking out at the stars. "I 
didn't see you at the meeting in the war room. I thought you'd be there for 
sure."

	Ukarit shrugged. "I've already talked with the Princess." He raised 
himself up and struck a dignified pose. "You are now looking at the new chief 
supplier of the Juraian Liberation Force. I worked out a good deal with the 
Princess, and I'm pretty much selling her everything from guns to dental floss." 
They both laughed and returned to looking out at the view. "So what brings you 
all the way up here, kid?"

	The base shook violently for ten seconds. "Let's just say that Ryoko and 
Ayeka are working through something, and I felt that it would be better if I 
took a walk."

	"So that's what all the shaking is," said Ukarit with a whistle. "Remind 
me never to piss those ladies off." Tenchi gave him an understanding nod.
	
	They stood there in silence for a couple of minutes until Tenchi spoke 
again. "You know the fleet will be heading out immediately?"

	"Yup," said Ukarit. "That Ayeka sure doesn't waste any time. I've rounded 
up what's left of my ships and reminded them that we're in this for the long 
haul. The crews were not very receptive at first, but they had changes of heart 
when I tripled their pay." The pink man stretched his arms above his head and 
yawned. "I think I'll get some shut eye before we cast off again. I'll see you 
at the final debriefing, kid." He patted Tenchi on the back and walked off.

	The prince took in a deep breath and leaned on the railing. His mind 
started to drift around all the new things he had heard so far today. Washu was 
a goddess. That didn't surprise him all that much. This fact made Ryoko's Light 
Hawk Wings a little easier to understand. What worried him the most was Mayuka. 
Ziasha had his daughter. Tenchi yelped in pain when he realized he was making 
fists and his nails were digging into his flesh. He made a promise at that 
moment to get Mayuka back no matter what the cost.

	A smile forced its way onto his face when a familiar tingle resonated in 
back of his mind. The air to his right shimmered, and Ryoko appeared. Tenchi 
gave her a once over. Her red dress was torn in multiple places, and her face 
was sporting several fresh cuts and black scorch marks. Despite her appearance, 
she gave him a winning smile.

	"Did you have a good time?" he asked returning the smile. She moved close 
and hugged him lightly. Tenchi's nose wrinkled at the fact that Ryoko smelled 
like a fireplace.

	"Loads," she replied with a quick peck on his lips. She released him and 
sat down on the railing. "It's all over. Ayeka and I won't be fighting anymore." 
She grinned. "At least there won't be mass destruction when we fight from now 
on." 

	"I'm glad," said Tenchi with sincerity. He leaned on the railing again. He 
felt her push at the closed off end of their link. Tenchi obliged her by opening 
his end up again.

	"What's wrong?" she asked.

	"I was just doing some thinking," he answered. "About what happened today 
and what's ahead for all of us."

	"And?" 

	He looked up at her and shrugged slightly. "I don't know. All I do know is 
that we can't let Ziasha and Tokimi win." Tenchi watched as Ryoko's right hand 
moved slowly over to his. She gripped his hand lightly.

	"Now it's my turn to tell you not to worry," she told him with a tender 
smile and reassuring thoughts across their link.

	Tenchi straightened himself up and took her hand in his. He pulled her 
from the railing back to the floor. "Come on, you. You stink and need a bath."

	Ryoko cocked an eyebrow at him. "Keep talking like that, and someone won't 
be getting any later." She reached up with her left hand and tweaked his nose.

	Tenchi's only reply was a loving thought directed at her. Ryoko stuck her 
tongue out at him and slid her arm around his. The two of them walked arm in arm 
all the way back to their room.


_____ 

	Kiyone walked through the halls of Black Star Alpha with her hands in her 
pockets. She moved in silence as she made her way to the communications rooms. 
The teal haired GP reached the door and opened it. The first room was filled 
with Juraian soldiers moving about making sure that the entire fleet was able to 
communicate without any problems. Several soldiers greeted Kiyone as she walked 
towards the back rooms. They had come to know her over the past couple of weeks. 
Kiyone finally reached a door labeled COM Room D. She opened the door to a sight 
she had become fairly used to seeing.

	Mihoshi was seated in front of a COM station with data pads scattered all 
around her. Ever since the destruction of GP HQ, the blond woman had taken on 
the responsibility of trying to locate the remaining ships of the Galaxy Police 
fleet. For the past two weeks, Mihoshi had been sending messages to all known GP 
rallying points in the hopes of reaching their missing comrades. At first Kiyone 
had been very shocked to see her partner acting so orderly and together. 
Eventually, she realized that the search process was the best thing for Mihoshi. 
It was helping her deal with the loss of her grandfather. The search was keeping 
her from slipping back into the depression she had suffered from earlier.

	Kiyone smiled warmly as Mihoshi worked diligently. Despite all the things 
the blond ditz did to make her life a living hell at times, Kiyone did care 
about her. Hell, Kiyone hated to admit it, but Mihoshi was her best friend. Even 
though she threatened Mihoshi with bodily harm on numerous occasions, Kiyone 
hated to see her friend suffer in such a manner. 

	She took several steps towards Mihoshi and tapped her lightly on the 
shoulder. "Mihoshi?"

	Mihoshi's eyes darted up to see who was disturbing her work. The troubled 
look in her eyes disappeared when she saw it was just Kiyone. "Hi, Kiyone!" she 
said in her usual cheery tone. Kiyone's presence was one of the only things that 
could bring Mihoshi back to her old self. 

	"I just wanted to see if you were hungry?" Kiyone hoped she could get 
Mihoshi to eat something. Her appetite had been going up and down, but she 
always became hungry when Kiyone suggested food.

	"Okay," chimed the blond. "Let me just turn on the repeating call for 
sector 4396." She typed hurriedly on the keyboard for a few seconds. "There." 
She rose and gave Kiyone a huge smile. "Let's eat. I'm so hungry. It feels like 
I haven't eaten in days." Kiyone nodded and smiled as Mihoshi began to rattle on 
about this and that. They left the room and headed for the cafeteria. Mihoshi's 
ramblings began to become extremely annoying, and Kiyone's smile grew larger 
despite it. Things were slowly going back to normal.

_____ 

	Darkness was his solace. He could blend into it and feel secure. And so it 
was that Ziasha Corodune sat in a hidden dark chamber somewhere on Tokimi's 
Chariot. Sweat covered his body while the dark man summoned the power of his 
Light Hawk Wings. The black aura surrounding him made the darkness of the room 
blacker. He had to become stronger. He had to beat the boy. Power crackled in 
the air around him. Then there was an overwhelming presence that forced Ziasha 
to release the hold on his power.

	"Ziasha," came Tokimi's voice from everywhere yet nowhere.

	Ziasha bowed his head. "I am here, my Lady. What is your command?"

	"The time draws ever closer," said her sweet voice. "Watch our enemies 
carefully. The chance to take Tsunami will soon present itself. Then you must 
bring her to me immediately. With that one action, you will bring everyone to 
Jurai to witness my coming into this dimension."

	"I hear and obey, Lady Tokimi," said Ziasha. Then her presence was gone. 
Ziasha summoned his Wings again and encased himself in the black and gray Light 
Hawk Armor. He teleported from the room to the bridge.

	"Engage cloaking device," he bellowed to the entire bridge. "Set course to 
the edge of our territory. We are going to follow the advance of the enemy."

	"What of the rest of the fleet, my lord?" asked the captain.

	"Leave the fleet here at Jurai," ordered Ziasha. "When we strike, it will 
be tactical, and I will be leading the attack myself. We will not need the demon 
tree ships." 

	The captain saluted and started to order the crew to action. Ziasha sat 
down in his command chair and raised his right hand to his mouth. "Time to track 
the prey."

_____ 

	Another week passed. The Juraian Liberation Force advanced deeper into the 
enemy territory. The Vernial system was easily retaken, thus allowing Admiral 
Judroa's plan to create a direct road to Jurai to begin. At the same time, 
Vernial Prime became the new base of operations for the fleet. With the edition 
of the cabbit fleet and the help of Tenchi and Ryoko's Light Hawk Wings, the 
fleet was able to retake another ten star systems. The attack on the Utera 
system, the eleventh, began as each of the past ten had.

	Ryo-ohki entered the system first heading directly for the most populated 
colony. As the cabbit ship neared Utera IV, yellow blasts of plasma began to 
explode around Ryo-ohki. Then just as quickly as she had headed for the planet, 
Ryo-ohki turned and retreated. 

	Down on the planet, Tenchi and Ryoko appeared out of thin air. Clad in 
their Light Hawk Armor, the two of them took to the air and attacked the city 
directly in front of them. The flying zertin demons met them in the skies above 
the city. A white bladed sword appeared in Tenchi's hand, and he banked left 
down into the city itself. Ryoko released a wave of spinning red discs that made 
quick work of the zertins. The Daughter of Washu summoned a red bladed sword in 
each of her hands and followed Tsunami's Knight down into the city.

	Demons of all shapes and sizes attacked the two warriors from all sides, 
but all of them met the same fate. Tenchi and Ryoko left a path of gore all the 
way to the capital building of the city. Ryoko converted the Sword in her left 
hand to a five foot ball of power and loosed it at a mass of demons on the steps 
of the building. The following explosion sent a wall of smoke into the air. 
	Tenchi didn't stop his advance and flew right through it. Just to be sure, 
he released three blue ribbons ahead. There was another explosion, this one 
taking out the main doors. Tsunami's Knight entered the building and scanned the 
main hall. Ignoring the half mizren half spider demons all over the walls, 
Tenchi ran for the large golden doors at the other end of the hall. At least 
twenty of the mizren like demons dropped off the walls to attack him.

	Still ignoring the obvious threat, Tenchi ran on. They started to converge 
on him, and half a dozen red beam lances scattered them in all directions. "Took 
your time," said Tenchi over the link to Ryoko.

	Ryoko tore into the demons sending severed limbs in all directions. 
"Sorry, lover," she said out loud. "There was one of those big dragon demons out 
there that I just had to go and see."

	Tenchi looked over his shoulder to confirm the smirk that his love wore on 
her face. He shook his head and smiled. Tsunami's Knight stopped in front of the 
golden doors and pushed them open with one hand. "You cover my back, while I 
kill the overmind."

	"Hey!" cried Ryoko as she decapitated three demons at once. "It's my turn 
to take out the overmind!"

	Tenchi gave her a smirk of his own. "I got here first." He raised his 
Sword and entered the room. 

	Ryoko made a face at his back. "You're lucky I love you so much, buddy!" 
she shouted. "Otherwise I'd kick your ass!"

	As soon as Tenchi entered the conference chamber the overmind's guardians 
attacked. He jumped straight up as two ten foot, green scaled demons charged. 
Tenchi noted that these guardians each sported three horns and pincher claws. 
Tenchi dropped back onto the ground several feet behind the demons. He spun 
around and launched himself at the nearest one. His Light Hawk Sword severed it 
in two easily. The other demon reached for his head. Tenchi dropped to his 
knees, rolled backwards, and thrust the white blade into the monster's chest. 
The beast reared back and roared in pain. Just for good measure Tenchi released 
a blue blast of power through the blade incinerating the upper body of the 
demon.

	Tenchi jumped to his feet and scanned the room for anymore guardians. The 
only other thing in the room was the brown, pulsating mass in front of a space 
tree. The prince raised his left hand and fired a beam of blue Light Hawk Power 
right at the demon overmind. When the light from the blast faded, there was 
nothing left of the overmind. Tenchi calmly walked out of the chamber back into 
the main hall. Demon corpses filled the hall from wall to wall. Tenchi felt a 
quick rush of air just before Ryoko landed next to him. 

	"Things are going as normal," she reported. "The beasties are killing each 
other without the overmind."

	Tenchi reached into his belt and pulled out a communicator. "Royal Pride 
this is Light Hawk One, do you copy?"

	"This is Royal Pride, copy," came a male voice. "Go ahead Light Hawk One."

	"Overmind neutralized. Send in Exterminator, over," replied Tenchi.

	"We read you, Light Hawk One. See you soon."

	Tenchi placed the communicator back on his belt. He looked over, and Ryoko 
was smiling at him. He smiled back. "What?"

	She moseyed closer to him and placed her left hand on his shoulder. "I 
watched you fighting in the chamber." Her left hand snaked around his waste, and 
the right one took its place. Ryoko leaned close to whisper in his ear. "You 
were very impressive."

	In the past week, Tenchi had learned one very important thing about Ryoko. 
She tended to become very passionate after a victorious fight. After one of 
their first missions earlier in the week, Ryoko had somehow convinced him that 
it would be okay for them to start "celebrating" their victory right then and 
there. Of course luck would have it that a maddened horde of demons burst into 
the chamber at the precise moment they had started kissing. Ever since that day 
Tenchi had made it a habit to call in the troops immediately after the overmind 
had been killed. With several thousand Juraians around, Tenchi found it easier 
to convince her to wait until they were alone to start "celebrating." 

	Tenchi was snapped out of his thoughts as Ryoko's tongue started to trace 
his right ear. Having also learned that all his self control had a tendency to 
leave the room whenever Ryoko was in the mood to be intimate, Tenchi started to 
sputter a protest to her current actions. 

	"R...Ryoko," he stuttered. "We can't. You remember what happened last 
time."

	She stopped licking his ear and whispered. "I put a shield up this time. 
No one will come to save you, Tenchi dear." Tenchi jumped as she squeezed his 
rear.

	Tenchi banished the sword in his right hand, and took Ryoko in his arms. 
He looked deep into her eyes. "Did you know that you're a bad influence on me?"

	Ryoko pretended to think about what he had just said. She looked away for 
a second and then favored him with one of her devious smiles. "Yup. Someone has 
to teach you how to have fun." Ryoko leaned forward and kissed him quickly.

	Tenchi watched Ryoko move her head back after the kiss. She wrinkled her 
nose and looked around the room. "Let's get out of here. These corpses are 
starting to smell worse than when they were alive."

	The communicator on Tenchi's belt started beeping. He released Ryoko and 
pulled it free. "This is Light Hawk One. Go ahead."

	"Light Hawk One, this is Exterminator. We're encountering more resistance 
out here than anticipated. We'd appreciate it if you and Light Hawk Two could 
hit these bastards from behind, over."

	"Copy, Exterminator," said Tenchi. "Light Hawk One out." Tenchi's Sword 
appeared in his right hand. "Ready to go back to work?" he asked Ryoko.

	A sword materialized in each of her hands. "What do you think?" The space 
pirate started to twirl both blades with deadly ease. "The sooner we clean up 
the city, the sooner we go home." She winked once, made a kissing noise at 
Tenchi, and teleported outside.

	 Tenchi stood there in the middle of the hall staring at the spot where 
Ryoko had just been. The things she could make him do. Tenchi had come to 
realize that Ryoko brought out a part of him that was usually suppressed by his 
serious nature. Whenever he was around her Tenchi always felt so alive. Ryoko 
made him want to live life to its fullest and experience every possible 
adventure that was out there. Tenchi was jolted from his reverie as the east 
wall exploded inward. When the smoke cleared he saw a twenty foot demon with 
multiple arms and tails lying in a heap. 

	Ryoko stuck her head through the hole and looked around. "Oops," she said 
with a sheepish grin. "I hope Ayeka doesn't charge me for this." Then her head 
disappeared. There was another flash of red light, and a similar demon came 
crashing through the rest of the wall.

	"Oops!" came Ryoko's voice from outside. Tenchi just laughed and shook his 
head. At least it wasn't the house back on Earth.

_____ 

	Ayeka paced back and forth on the bridge of the Royal Pride. It had been 
an hour since her troops had landed on Utera IV. The COM station suddenly 
registered an incoming transmission. Ayeka spun around and moved quickly over 
there. She pushed the COM officer aside and hit the receive button.

	"This is the Royal Pride, over," she said quickly.

	"Royal Pride, this is Light Hawk One," came Tenchi's voice over the 
speaker. Ayeka breathed a sigh of relief. "Utera IV is secure. You can start 
your approach."

	"We read you, Light Hawk One," she answered. "What took you so long?"

	Tenchi laughed. "Turns out there were twice as many demons as expected. It 
just took a little longer for us to clear them out."

	"Understood," said Ayeka. "We'll be down there soon, over." She clicked 
off the COM and turned to leave the bridge.

	Her Royal Guard fell into step behind her on the way to the shuttle bay. 
Ayeka and her knights boarded a shuttle and were landing on Utera IV within 
minutes. Tenchi and Ryoko were there to meet them. Ayeka took a look at the 
devastated city and scowled at Ryoko. "I thought I told you to take it easy this 
time?"

	Ryoko folded her arms. "Hey, there was a dragon down here. Is it my fault 
that when I hit the damn thing that it crashes into buildings?"

	Ignoring Ryoko's statement, Ayeka looked to Tenchi. "Is the capital 
building clear?"

	He nodded. "Yeah. We also found what's left of the locals, and the men are 
freeing them as we speak."

	"Excellent," said Ayeka. "Captain Shoytal, find out who is the highest 
ranking official among the survivors and begin the usual rebuilding process."

	"Yes, your Highness," he said with a salute. "Mastir, you're with me. 
Verka, Gerin, and Nunar stay with the Princess."

	"Yes, sir," they all said at once. 

	Shoytal made a small bow to Ayeka, and he and Mastir ran off. Ayeka turned 
back to Tenchi. "What do you plan to do now, Lord Tenchi?"

	Tenchi scratched his chin. "Well, there are only two more colonies in this 
system, so I thought that Ryoko and I would just go and take out the overminds 
before dinner." 

	"Geez, don't we have an ego," muttered Gerin. He yelped in pain as Ayeka 
elbowed him in the ribs.

	"That will be fine, Lord Tenchi," she told him. "I wish you two luck. 
Contact me when your mission is completed."

	Tenchi gave her a sloppy salute. "Yes, Ma'am." He lowered his hand and 
turned to Ryoko. "Ready?" The space pirate was not even paying attention to 
them. "Ryoko?" Tenchi shook her lightly.

	Ryoko jumped and looked around wildly. "Huh!?" She focused on Tenchi. 
"What's the matter?"

	"We were going to ask you that," replied Ayeka. 

	"Me?" Ryoko laughed. "I'm fine." She grabbed Tenchi by the arm. "Come on, 
Tenchi. Let's go." She looked up at the sky for a second. There was a twinkle 
above, and Ryo-ohki descended towards them at full speed.

	"MMMMEEEEEOOOOWWWWWW!!!!"

	"Later, Ayeka," said Ryoko as she teleported Tenchi and herself up to the 
cabbit ship.

	Ayeka watched Ryo-ohki ascend to the heavens before marching to the 
capital building. It did not take her very long to reach the space tree and 
extend the Jurai Power shield to the Utera system. She remained in the capital 
building to oversee its clean up until the remaining colony officials arrived. 
Shoytal soon entered the conference chamber with several Juraian nobles in tow. 
Ayeka went through the motions for the next several hours and assured the nobles 
that the colony would receive as much help in rebuilding as the Liberation Force 
could provide. 

	Two hours later Ayeka left the capital building with a headache. "They 
certainly do like to talk," commented Verka. 

	"Yes, even more than Gerin," added Mastir.

	Gerin started to protest, but Shoytal cut them all off. "Will you three 
just quit!" he snapped. "Are you ready to return to the Royal Pride, Princess?"

	Ayeka rubbed her right temple. "Yes, I think that would be a good idea, 
Captain." Just then her communicator started beeping. Ayeka sighed and lifted it 
to her mouth. "This is the Princess, go ahead."

	"This is the Royal Pride, your Highness. We've just picked up some strange 
readings on the long range scanners. It appears that an unknown class of ship 
has just entered the system."

	"Go to yellow alert," ordered the princess. "Hail the ship when it is in 
range, and detain it until I arrive."

	"Yes, Ma'am. Royal Pride out."

	Ayeka was about to place the communicator back on her belt when it beeped 
again. She growled and raised it up. "Now what?"

	"Nice to hear from you, too, chipmunk," came Ryoko's voice over the 
communicator. "Just wanted to let you know that we've taken out the other two 
overminds, and that your boys can come down to clean up at any time. So, if you 
don't need us anymore, me and Tenchi are heading back to Vernial Prime."

	"Wait, Ryoko," said Ayeka. "An unknown ship just entered the system and is 
heading this way. I would like it if you and Tenchi could meet me on the Royal 
Pride immediately."
	"Well, I dunn...," started Ryoko. There was a slight pause on the other 
end. "On second thought, we'll be right there. See ya."

	Ayeka wasted no more time and went straight for the shuttle. Shoytal took 
the helm and flew the shuttle up to the Royal Pride at full speed. The shuttle 
docked quickly, and its passengers disembarked. Ayeka spotted Tenchi and Ryoko 
standing not too far away. They had both let go of their Light Hawk Wings. Ryoko 
wore a clingy black dress with a blue waistband and trimmed in purple. Ryo-ohki 
was perched on her left shoulder. Tenchi was wearing a white, black, and brown 
Juraian uniform he had been given. The prince was constantly pulling at the 
collar and shifting the pants around.

	Just as Ayeka reached them a soldier ran over to the princess. "We have 
contacted the unknown vessel, Ma'am. They have agreed to cooperate and approach 
with weapons and shields powered down."

	Ayeka nodded. "Good. Send them another message that I wish to meet with 
them here on the Royal Pride. When these new arrivals get here escort them to 
the conference room. I will be waiting there with Lord Tenchi, Miss Ryoko, and 
my Guard."

	The soldier saluted and left for the bridge. Ayeka looked at the people 
gathered around her. "Let us go to the conference room and await our guests." 

	The group spent the next ten minutes waiting in the conference room for 
the owners of the unknown ship. Finally, the door slid open and two individuals 
were escorted in by several soldiers. Ayeka's jaw dropped when she saw them. One 
was an old man in white robes leaning on a staff. He had a long white beard that 
fell past his stomach, and he looked around the room with a pair of emerald 
green feline eyes. The second man sported a mop of familiar spiky hair except 
that it was blond, and a set of serious blue feline eyes. He was covered in 
silver combat armor from head to toe. 

	Ayeka tore her eyes away from the pair to snatch a glance at Ryoko. The 
cyan haired woman was in a similar state of shock. Her mouth hung open, and her 
golden eyes were wide. Tenchi was lightly shaking her in an attempt to bring her 
out of the shock. Ayeka got to her feet and walked towards the new pair. Tenchi 
also rose, but it took him an extra second to get Ryoko to stand. 

	The old man took several steps towards Ayeka and bowed his head. "Princess 
Ayeka, my name is Tristu and this is Captain Droan. I bring you greetings from 
the People of the Gem." He looked past the princess at the still stunned Ryoko.

	Tristu shuffled past Ayeka and stopped in front of Ryoko. He gave the 
pirate a once over, took her right hand, and kissed the back of it. "And you 
must be Ryoko. You are just as beautiful as my Lady, even though your chest is 
not as big."

	The shock on Ryoko's face was instantly replaced by pure anger. She 
reached for the old man's neck with murder in her eyes. Tristu's long life might 
have ended right there had not Tenchi's reflexes been so good. The prince 
wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her away from Tristu. Tenchi 
immediately began to try and sooth the now cursing Ryoko. 

	"Just one damn punch!" she cried. "All I'll need is one and the wrinkled 
little perv is gone!"

	Tristu was laughing hysterically while Tenchi was trying to pacify Ryoko. 
"Just like her mother. A temper that could shake the foundations of the 
universe." He laughed again and walked back to Ayeka. 
	
	Ayeka, herself, was smiling at the actions of this old man. "I believe 
that we are going to get along just fine, Lord Tristu. Please sit and speak with 
us." Everyone seated themselves around the oval conference table. Tenchi had 
even calmed Ryoko enough to join them, although he was holding her hand very 
tightly.

	Tristu sat at the other end of the table with Droan standing behind him. 
Ayeka folded her hands on the table. "Now, please tell us about yourself, Lord 
Tristu."

	Tristu smiled and placed his staff across the table. "As I said before, my 
name is Tristu. I have been the High Priest of Lady Washu for the past twenty 
thousand years. By command of my Lady, I have come to offer our assistance 
against the forces of Tokimi."

	"And just how are you going to do that, sir?" asked Shoytal.

	Tristu gave them a smile that strangely resembled one of Washu's. 
"Princess, if you would please alert your fleet here to not react to what is 
about to happen."

	Ayeka was not sure, but something told her to do as the old man asked. She 
lifted her communicator to her mouth. "Bridge, this is Princess Ayeka. Send out 
a message to the fleet to stand down from yellow alert and to hold all positions 
no matter what."

	"Yes, Ma'am."

	Ayeka replaced her communicator and gestured to Tristu. The old man rose 
and walked to the one long window in the room. "If I could direct everyone's 
attention to this window." Everyone in the room moved to get a good view of the 
window. 

	Tristu nodded to Droan. The blond captain touched the gauntlet on his left 
arm. Part of the silver gauntlet slid aside to reveal a communicator. "This is 
Droan. Code Alpha Green."

	Everyone except Tristu and Droan gasped collectively as numerous subspace 
portals opened and a fleet poured into the space above Utera IV. Crystaline gem 
ships of all shapes, sizes, and colors started to take up positions in front of 
Ayeka's fleet. Ayeka turned to Tristu with complete astonishment. "There must be 
hundreds of ships out there!"

	"Fifteen hundred to be exact," corrected the old man proudly. He extended 
a wrinkled old hand to her. "As leader of my people, I extend the offer of an 
alliance with the Juraian Empire."

	Ayeka could not believe what was happening. All her hopes had been 
fulfilled all at once. She now had enough ships to plan a full scale assault on 
Jurai. The leader of the Juraian Liberation Force took Tristu's hand and shook 
it firmly. "Let this gesture seal the alliance between our two races, Lord 
Tristu."

	"Captain Shoytal, I give you command of the Royal Pride," said the 
princess. "Go to the bridge and begin preparations to return to the Vernial 
system. Leave the appropriate number of ships and personal to finish the job 
here in the Utera system. Then send our new allies the coordinates for Vernial 
Prime and order rest of the fleet to set course for it."

	Shoytal saluted her. "Yes, Princess." He nodded to everyone else and left 
the room. 

	"I think this calls for a celebration," suggested Tenchi.

	"I could not agree more, Lord Tenchi," agreed Ayeka. "I have been playing 
around with the idea of giving our forces some time off, but I have not been 
able to find the time or reason to do so. But with this turn of events, I have 
come to a decision."

	She straightened up to her full height and cleared her throat. "By Royal 
decree, I say that as soon as we return to Vernial Prime all free Juraian 
colonies will celebrate a belated Startica since the war did not allow us to 
celebrate it as normal." She turned back to Tristu. "I would be honored if you 
and your people would join us as honored guests, Lord Tristu."

	"It would be our pleasure, Princess," he replied with a twinkle in his 
eyes. "Let it be known that the People of the Gem never turned down a good 
party."

_____ 

	And so it was when the combined space tree and gem ship fleet arrived back 
at Vernial Prime a day later, and the belated Startica Festival began. All the 
colonies that had been freed over the past two months stopped everything to 
partake of the celebration. Even troops who were on duty were allowed to join in 
for a little while. With the Jurai Power shield in place, no one expected that 
the enemy would be able to attack. That was their one fatal mistake.

	Tokimi's Chariot sat at the edge of the Vernial system under its cloaking 
device. The Jurai Power shield had meant nothing to Ziasha since his ship had 
already been inside Vernial when the shield had been extended. So for a week's 
time, the dark warrior had waited patiently for his opportunity to arise. He 
smiled darkly when his men had picked up the transmission announcing Startica. 

	"Prepare the assault force," he told the captain of the ship. "Let them 
have their Festival for a few hours. Then we will descend into their midst's and 
take the goddess child."

_____ 

	This was the first time Tenchi had actually seen Startica. Ayeka and 
Sasami had explained what it was like to him a couple of times, but it was 
something else to actually see it. Trees all over the colony were decorated very 
similar to Christmas trees back on Earth. Much to Tenchi's embarrassment, many 
Juraians had stripped down to nothing and were swimming in lakes, ponds, and 
rivers. There were dances, feasts, and general merry making going on everywhere. 

	Tenchi watched as all his friends took part in the festivities. Ayeka was 
in the promenade at the head of a huge table enjoying food and drink with her 
troops. She had put aside her uniform for the event and wore a ceremonial 
Juraian kimono. Tenchi had also put away the uniform he had been given and wore 
a plain old green T-shirt and blue jeans. 

	Shoytal and the other four knights in Ayeka's Royal Guard were also taking 
the opportunity to relax. The knight captain was seated to Ayeka's right 
actually smiling and talking with other troops. Tenchi briefly wondered if the 
normally gruff knight was at all interested in Ayeka.

	Sasami was in her old green and pink kimono singing and dancing with other 
children around a large, extremely decorated tree. Not far from her Kiyone and 
Mihoshi were doing some dancing of their own with some of the Juraian soldiers 
they had come to know over the weeks. Both women were wearing long dresses of 
green and red. Tenchi did not see his grandfather anywhere, but he assumed that 
the former prince was probably having a good time in his own way. A little 
farther away from the dancing and singing, Tenchi spotted Ukarit. The gangster 
had put up several tents where just about every gambling device or game in the 
galaxy was set up for the people to enjoy. Tenchi just hoped that not too many 
of them were rigged. 

	Mixed in with the Juraians were the People of the Gem. Tenchi could still 
not believe how much they all resembled Ryoko and Washu. Tufts of spiky hair 
ranging from green to blue to black to even orange stuck up from all the crowds. 
From what Tenchi could tell, though, none of them exhibited the same powers as 
Ryoko. On the other hand, they all seemed to share her love for a good party. 

	Tenchi suddenly realized that he hadn't seen Ryoko since the party had 
started two hours earlier. He stretched out with his senses in an attempt to 
locate her. He could definitely feel what direction she was in, but with so many 
people out there it was difficult to pin point her exactly. Tenchi shifted to 
the empathic part of their link. He was startled by the emotions he felt coming 
from her. Instead of the excitement of the event, Ryoko was feeling sad and 
slightly depressed. Tenchi took another look in the direction she was in, and 
easily figured out where she was. Tenchi excused himself from the table and 
started walking out towards the edge of the city.

	Ten minutes later, Tenchi came upon a small one floor, white walled house 
sitting on the edge of a lake. There was no one around because the house a good 
distance from where all the festivities were happening. The house was in fact 
where Tenchi and Ryoko had been staying for the past week. Ryoko had spotted it 
when they had liberated the colony and said it reminded her of their home on 
Earth. So, Tenchi had asked Ayeka if he and Ryoko could stay there. The owners 
had been killed during the first days of the war, so Ayeka had said it was all 
right. Tenchi and Yosho had preformed a ceremony to give the spirits of house's 
old owners peace, and Tenchi and Ryoko had moved right in. 

	It was a nice place with two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, a 
living room/dining room, and a porch that overlooked the lake. As Tenchi neared 
the house, he could see a familiar silhouette sitting in the center of the 
roof's crest. Tenchi smiled softly as he circled around to the porch where he 
kept a ladder leaning up against the side of the house. It only took him a few 
seconds to climb up the ladder to the roof. After a quick balancing act, Tenchi 
seated himself down next to Ryoko, who was looking up at the darkening sky. She 
was dressed in a loose white dress with no sleeves. She wore no jewelry except 
the bracelet he had given her for her birthday.  

	"This reminds me of home," she said wistfully. "Do you think we'll ever 
get a chance to go back, Tenchi?" she asked without looking away from the sky.

	Tenchi put his right arm around her shoulders, and Ryoko responded by 
resting her head on his right shoulder. "Of course we will. We'll stop Ziasha 
and Tokimi, and then we'll all go back home."

	"I miss it, you know," admitted Ryoko. She laughed softly. "Isn't that 
funny? I miss our boring little home back on Earth." She sighed and leaned more 
on him. "I miss our family the way it used to be. I miss Mayuka." Tenchi could 
feel that Ryoko was barely holding back the tears. "I miss our little girl, 
Tenchi. This whole Startica thing just reminds me of when she first came into 
our lives."

	"It'll be all right, Ryoko," he assured her. "We've just got to be strong 
enough to survive till the end." He lifted her head up by her chin. "Now why are 
you letting yourself feel so down?"

	She gave him a small smile. "I think you're making me soft. I never used 
to get this emotional before I met you."

	Tenchi's hand moved to the back of her head. "Tough or soft, I'll always 
love you." He moved in and kissed her before she could respond. The prince felt 
Ryoko return the kiss with a great deal of passion. While the two soul mates 
kissed, a fire works display started to light up the night sky.
_____

	Ziasha stood on a hill one mile from the Startica celebration on Vernial 
Prime. Behind him were several hundred shock troops and demons. Standing five 
feet behind him were two other figures. One was the golden scaled Sezen, and the 
other stood eight feet tall wearing a black robe. 

	"It is time," murmured Ziasha. The power of his Wings was already coursing 
through his body. He had not let go of it since they arrived in the Vernial 
system a week ago. He signaled with his right hand, and the force behind him 
surged forward towards the city.

_____ 

	Ayeka was enjoying herself a great deal. She had forgotten how much fun 
Startica could be. The princess was dancing with Shoytal when she heard screams 
in the distance. At first she attributed them to the party, but Ayeka soon 
realized that they were in fact screams of terror. Suddenly a building exploded 
causing the music and dancing to stop immediately. It did not take Ayeka long to 
see the source of the screams and explosions. A black mass was plowing a path 
right down the center of the city in her direction. 

	"We're under attack!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Everyone 
started scrambling for either safety or weapons to fight with.

	Ayeka quickly took a hold of her panic and used it to focus her thoughts. 
One thing screamed in her mind. "Sasami!" she called out. "Sasami! Where are 
you?" She looked to her right to see Shoytal with his weapon drawn and ignited. 
"Shoytal, we have to find Sasami!" 

	"I think I saw her this way!" He grabbed her arm and led Ayeka through the 
scrambling crowd.

	The screams of fright increased as the first of the enemies neared. There 
were humanoids and demons alike in the attacking force. Jurai Power filled 
Ayeka's being as she released a blast at her foes. The fleeing crowd suddenly 
surged towards the enemy instead of away. That's when Ayeka heard Sasami.

	"Aaaahhhhhhh! Ayeka! Help me!"

	"Sasami!" breathed the princess as she charged in the direction of her 
sister's scream with Shoytal on her heels.

	The two of them broke through the crowd and found Sasami and some of the 
other children. Standing over them was a hooded eight foot tall creature. Ayeka 
powered up to release a blue bolt at Sasami's attacker, but was stopped short as 
a large black body appeared directly in front of her. Ayeka's head shot up, and 
her face went pale as she came eye to eye with the red orbs of Ziasha Corodune.

	"Good evening, Princess Ayeka," he greeted. "So nice to see you again 
after all this time."

	There was a battle roar, and Shoytal leapt at the green haired tyrant. 
Ziasha merely lifted his left hand, and the knight captain stopped in mid air. 
Shoytal had barely enough time to cry out as a black ball of energy shot from 
Ziasha's hand and impacted on his chest. Ziasha had not taken his eyes from 
Ayeka once.

	Ayeka was about to attack, but Ziasha's other hand shot out and grabbed 
her by the throat. He lifted her up to his eye level and smiled evilly. "I'll be 
taking your sister to my Lady Tokimi, now."

_____ 

	Tenchi and Ryoko broke from their kiss at the same time, both their heads 
snapping in the direction of the city. They had both felt the surge of Light 
Hawk Power. 

	"Ziasha," they hissed at the same time.  
	 
	It barely took a thought, and both of them summoned their Light Hawk 
Wings. Ryoko wrapped her arms around Tenchi and teleported them back to the 
city. When Tenchi's senses caught up to his body, he took a quick look at the 
carnage going on around him. His eyes were instantly drawn to Ziasha holding 
Ayeka by the throat. Power flowed across his body as the Light Hawk Armor formed 
and his white bladed Light Hawk Sword appeared in his hands. 

	"Ziasha!" he screamed at his most hated enemy. 

	The dark warrior dropped Ayeka and turned to face him. His red eyes locked 
with Tenchi's, and he raised the black Sword that was now in his hands. Both men 
roared at each other and charged. 

_____ 

	Ryoko was about to follow Tenchi when she heard Sasami calling for help. 
The Daughter of Washu scanned the battle until she spotted the little princess 
being attacked. Ryoko launched herself at full speed at Sasami's attacker. She 
crashed into it, and sent the thing flying into the air. Ryoko landed in front 
of Sasami and encased herself in her Armor and summoned a Light Hawk Sword in 
each hand. 

	The hooded attacker halted in the air and turned to face her. It ripped 
away the hood and cloak to reveal the monster beneath. Ryoko's golden eyes 
thinned. "Son of a bitch," she hissed.
	
	Hovering ten feet from her was the demon that had nearly killed Tenchi. 
Except it looked nothing like it had when she had pummeled the beast into the 
floor. Its entire torso, the right side of its face, and left arm and leg were 
all cybernetic. It ignited a purple beam saber from its left arm and pointed it 
at Ryoko.

	"I have dreamt of nothing but killing you, Daughter of Washu!" it growled 
at her.

	Ryoko was about to shout a come back, when Sasami screamed. The space 
pirate chanced a look back and saw a gold scaled creature in body armor grab 
Sasami. It hissed at Ryoko and disappeared in a red flash. 

	"SASAMI!" cried Ryoko. She darted her head back to see what the demon was 
doing, but the monster had vanished as well. Ryoko cursed loudly and flew in the 
last direction she had seen Tenchi go.

_____ 

	Sparks of power filled the air as the white and black Light Hawk Swords 
crossed. Tenchi pushed away from Ziasha and slashed at the dark man's head. 
Ziasha parried the attack, but instead of countering he back peddled by taking 
to the air. Tenchi was about to press his attack, when he heard Sasami scream 
somewhere behind him. His eyes went wide in fear. 

	"Yes, boy!" shouted Ziasha triumphantly. "The goddess child is mine! Now 
my Lady will come and bless this pitiful dimension with her glorious presence!" 
The dark warrior started laughing insanely. Tenchi could only watch frozen as 
his foe vanished in a swirl of black flames.

	The battle suddenly stopped as the enemies disappeared one by one. Tenchi 
lowered his Sword and looked around. He spotted Ryoko flying towards him. It 
took him only a moment to confirm his fears through their link. Ryoko landed and 
shook her head sadly. The two of them spun around as a female scream of rage 
filled their ears. Ayeka was standing ten feet from them surrounded in blue 
fire. Her dark pink eyes locked with Tenchi's for a moment. Tenchi nodded, and 
the princess let the fire ebb away. 

	Tenchi looked into the eyes of all those who were gathered around him. 
When he spoke, the Knight of Tsunami's voice was filled with deadly 
determination. "It's time to end this once and for all." 


To be concluded...


Notes- the only thing I think needs addressing here is what Ryoko looks like in 
her Light Hawk Armor. I got that description from a picture I saw at the Ryoko 
Forever Fan Club. I believe it was supposed to be some sort of promotional pic 
or something like that from an art book. Anyway, that is where I got that from. 
I did my best to describe it. And just to say it, OAV EP 13 confirms Ryoko can 
summon LHW's with all three gems for anyone who wonders (yeah I know, but I had 
to say it). Any who, the conclusion is coming up. All comments go to 
Roas1@hotmail.com.