Tenchi Muyo and characters are property of AIC and Pioneer. Gundam Wing and characters are property of Sotsu Agency, Sunshine, and TV Asahi. Command and Conquer: Tiberian Dawn, Command and Conquer: Red Alert, Command and Conquer: Red Alert Counterstrike, Command and Conquer: Red Alert Aftermath, Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun, and Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun Firestorm are property of Westwood Studios. Starcraft and Starcraft: Brood War are property of Blizzard Entertainment. Author's notes: I like Kiyone I am a crappy writer -Falcon01 (battle.net name) Determined Retribution Chapter One It was a normal, sunny summer day in the Misaki household. Ryoko and Ayeka were actually getting along for once. Kiyone and Mihoshi were on an "extended" break. Sasami was in the kitchen, whipping up some breakfast, and Washuu actually took some time away from her lab. Washuu was still typing with her holographic laptop-display board. But soon, a strange blue face appeared on her screen. "HUH?!?" Washuu yelped in surprise. "I am Cabal...hello...erm..." the strange face addressed Washuu. Everyone turned to the scientist, as she shrugged. She held her chin in her hand, deliberating if this was some virus or something, but she dismissed it. "I'm only the world's greatest scientific genius!" She proclaimed in pride, you could have sworn you have seen it in her green eyes. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Cabal laughed. Kiyone wondered aloud, "is that Kain's even more evil twin?" The Artificial Intelligence agent stopped laughing, and faced everyone, and many holographic displays appeared in the main room with Cabal's glowering face onscreen. Washuu turned angrily on Mihoshi, "DID YOU #%^@ WITH MY LABORATORY SYSTEMS AGAIN?" Cabal resumed laughing, "foolish human, do you not realize that I will have you all for cyborg recruitment? MUHAHAHAHAHA!" At that, they heard some decloaking noises outside of the house, and to everyone's horror, they saw a gigantic base appear out of what seemed to be thin air. At the doors, were groups of six-foot Cyborgs armed with vulcan armcannons. "HELP ME!" Sasami was screaming from the kitchen. Everyone dashed in, and saw a Cyborg attempting to seize the frightened little girl. "Washuu, what's going on?" Mihoshi asked. Kiyone interjected, "#%^@ that, Mihoshi! SHOOT THEM!" At that, the aquamarine-haired detective took out her GP blaster, and fired at the staggering Cyborg. "Resistance is futile, human!" Cabal scoffed, as another Cyborg shot Kiyone in the back of her knee once. "AAAAAH!" She hissed as she dropped onto the floor. Ayeka brought out her little logs, and they started to zap the newcoming Cyborgs. Everyone made a dash for Washuu's lab, but it was only a broom closet. "WHA?!?" Washuu screeched. "Fools! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I am in control now!" Cabal gloated. Everyone ran outside, only to be surrounded by more Cyborgs. Ryoko cursed under her breath. "Ryo-ohki!" She screamed. The cabbit obeyed, and transformed into its ship form...only to be stunned by a blast from an EMP cannon. "MEOW!" Ryo-ohki screeched in surprise. The Cyborgs moved in, first roughly seizing Kiyone and Mihoshi, and then Ayeka and Ryoko. Tenchi valiantly fought the Cyborgs to save Sasami, but they confiscated the Tenchiken, and quickly subdued him. Sasami gave into fear, and began to cry. Then the Droppods arrived. Chapter Two Mihoshi was the first to notice, as her blonde hair was blown back by their approach. "What's that, Kiyone?" She pointed at the Droppods, but her wounded partner was too busy with the pain accompanying the shot in the back of her leg. The craft slammed into the ground, as glass canopys opened. Armored marines hopped out and began to fire at the Cyborgs with their pulse rifles, taking cover behind their ships. A large VTOL had come into view, coming for a landing next to the rescuers. A hatch hissed open, and several soldiers clambered out and some men carrying cases with red crosses on them. The two Medics came by Kiyone, and sedated her. They began to work hurriedly, and they began to take her into the waiting Orca Transport. One of the soldiers called out, "c'mon, let's go!" On the hull of the craft, a weary Tenchi noticed that there was an insignia that had a large hawk. In stenciled, white letters, he saw the letters, "GDI." Everyone, including the rescuers, climbed into the hold of the Orca Transport. The ship was very tidy, with a few spots of dust and dirt, but nonetheless, clean. Hours later, Kiyone found herself in some type of infirmary. "Where am I..." she asked to whoever else was in the room. But there was no answer. With a grunt of effort, she sat up, and looked at her surroundings. Mihoshi was sitting there, with a sad look of guilt in her face. She was so distracted, she didn't even notice that Kiyone had awoken. "Mihoshi..." at the sound of her partner's voice, Mihoshi turned into a ball of uncontrollable energy. "KIYONEIWASSOWORRIEDITHOUGHTYOUWEREDEADI'MSOSORRYKIYONE..." Mihoshi blurted in a tidal wave of words as she moved to Kiyone's side. Kiyone put a hand on the blonde's arm, reassuring her that she'd be okay. "Don't worry about it, Mihoshi." "I see our patient is awake." A woman spoke. Kiyone turned her attention, to the door, and saw a slightly older woman than herself (Kiyone, duh!). The blondish woman walked towards Kiyone, "hello, I'm Dr. Boudrea. You're in a GDI medical facility." But soon, Kiyone's communicator was beeping. As she activated it, a static image of the Marshal appeared. "Kiyone, the Galaxy Police headquarters is being att-" before he could finish the sentence, two Cyborgs appeared from behind, and fired their cannons. The Marshal was turned into a bloody corpse. "NO!" Kiyone gasped. Boudrea looked at the tiny display piece with a look of curiousity. "What is that?" She asked the detective. But Kiyone was staring dumbfounded at the little device. But that expression soon turned into a joyful one. "YES! THE GALAXY POLICE IS GONE! I'M NOT MIHOSHI'S PARTNER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Boudrea was a bit shocked, but wasn't surprised as Kiyone tried to stand, but fell back on the cot she was on. "I suggest that you try to contain your boundless excitement. You are still under treatment." The doctor calmly reminded her. At that, Tenchi walked in. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt anything!" He apologized. Boudrea shook her head, "no, you weren't interrupting. You can talk to her if you want to." She left the room. Tenchi walked up to Kiyone, asking, "Are you okay, Ms. Kiyone?" Kiyone blinked. She never thought that Tenchi cared a whole lot about her. "Yes." She looked at him, dumbfounded. Then she noticed that he was wearing one of the marine uniforms. "Tenchi...are you with GDI?" Tenchi looked down at himself. "Yeah, I decided this would be better than being fought over by Ayeka and Ryoko. I'm in one of the Light Infantry garrisons." Kiyone sat up, not noticing that she hadn't any clothing on. Tenchi's initial reaction went into the extreme, as his nose began bleeding. Kiyone looked down and went back under the covers. "Sorry, Tenchi." She apologized. Just then, a Light Infantry soldier walked in, without his helmet, and tapped Tenchi on the shoulder of his body armor. "Hey, man. Let's go. Don't forget that we had patrol duty today." The man gently reminded him. "Well, I hafta go, Kiyone. Bye." Tenchi turned about, and walked out the door with the marine. Kiyone sighed to herself, and looked over at Mihoshi who was in a daze. Kiyone shook her head, "it's gonna be a long day..." Chapter Three Tenchi donned his helmet, as did the other marine. Tenchi looked at the man, "so what was your name, again?" "Name's Jim." The man loaded his pulse rifle, as Tenchi grabbed his. The younger man continued, "I'm not exactly a veteran, but I'm a seasoned recruit." Tenchi grabbed the Tenchiken, but Jim shook his head. "A sword without a blade isn't gonna do much, Tenchi." But Tenchi told him, "you'll see." The two walked outside of the Barracks, and walked off in the direction of the first waypoint. "So what are we looking for?" Tenchi asked Jim. Then the older man turned his head, "we're looking for Noddies, and for hostile Tiberium-based life forms. THERE'S ONE!" Jim aimed his pulse rifle, and fired his entire magazine at some jellyfish-like thing that floated around. "SCREE!" The thing was REALLY pissed off. "RUN!" A terrified Jim yelled. But it was too late, the thing had nearly enveloped the man, as electrical discharges flew in the air. Jim was stunned, but Tenchi ran at the creature. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He yelled as he slashed the thing with the Tenchiken, and it went limp. Jim blasted his way out from under the Tiberium Floater with his pulse rifle. "Damn, that thing looks like hell under there." Jim gestured his rifle at the dead thing. Tenchi only nodded his head. Jim snapped to at something unheard by Tenchi. "What is it, Jim?" Tenchi swept his rifle around, looking for anything that might be a "Noddy." "Sssshhhh..." Jim looked around the icy, barren area, and pointed at something. "There, ya see that?" Jim aimed his pulse rifle at it, setting it into its secondary firing mode; a charge-laser. "Wha? Huh?" Tenchi looked. He noticed that a patch somewhere kinda looked like light was being distorted or something. Jim wasted no time, and fired at the human-sized patch of wavy/distorted light. Tenchi looked on, and heard a scream and a gurgle. He heard something decloak, and a soldier fell to the snow where Jim had fired. "A Noddy." Jim growled, as the two moved towards the apparently dead soldier. "Must've been a Chameleon Spy..." At that, they heard assault/pulse rifles cock. As they turned around, they saw a sizable force of NOD soldiers. Terrifying NOD Light Infantry, comparatively even scarier-looking NOD Rocket Infantry, and several Attack Bikes and Attack Buggies. Amongst them were an Engineer, two Tick Tanks, and what seemed to be hijacked GDI Wolverines. The powered assault armors stepped forward, their vulcan cannons aiming at the two GDI marines. One NOD Light Infantryman moved forward, followed by two others, apparently a sergeant. "Stand, and identify yourselves in the name of Kane!" The other soldiers had their weapons aimed at Tenchi and Jim. Some of the Rocket Soldiers aimed their rocket launchers at them. Jim shook his head, and dropped his weapon. "Jim, what's...who are these people?" Tenchi asked. Before Jim could answer, two pairs of hands pulled them off their feet before the NOD soldiers could shoot Tenchi. Tenchi got knocked out when he fell, as did Jim. Chapter Four "Where...where am I?" Tenchi groaned, as he sat up rubbing his head. He looked around, and a dozen faces were looking at him from all around him. "Tratos, one of the blunts are awake." A woman said. Two more figures entered the subterranean room. As the two stepped forward from the shadows and into the dim light, he could see their facial features at best. They had green crystals growing on their faces, and they seemed like they were incredibly strong. "Greetings...welcome to our den." The man said. He looked very old, but also a man in a high position in this society. Jim came to, and muttered, "Shiners..." "Huh?" Tenchi looked at the Mutants looking at them with cautious and alert eyes. "Long story, Tenchi." Jim answered. The old man introduced himself, "I am Tratos, the guardian of the Forgotten." He gestured at the accompanying woman next to him, "this is Umaagon." The woman glared at Tenchi, as he nervously waved, a bullet of sweat formed on his head. He looked at Tratos and inquired, "what happened to us?" The grey- haired man answered, "those NOD soldiers were going to shoot you. We intervened, by making you fall, but we didn't intend to knock you unconscious. We then killed them, and stole their weapons, supplies, and their vehicles." In the civilian shelter areas, Ayeka, Ryoko, Sasami, and Washuu were sticking in a group. There were only several armed guard patrols, wandering in the icy, cold streets. They finally came across the room/apartment/bunker they were assigned to. Ayeka commented, "my, it sure is dirty in here." It was no lie either. It looked like the Orca Transport they flew in on. Except, there was nothing except seven cots, two couches, a TV, and a door leading to a bathroom. Washuu sat on a couch, and fell over like a stiff piece of wood. "Washuu?" Sasami went over to the scientist. "My lab..." Washuu muttered in despair, "my lab is gone...taken by some AI agent that has a lower IQ than I do..." Ayeka put her hand on Sasami's shoulder, "Sasami, I think we should leave her alone for awhile," she spoke to her little, blue-haired sister. Sasami nodded, and started looking around. She found a stove, an oven, and other things you'd usually find in the kitchen. She also found some pots and pans, etc. Sasami began cooking, trying to take her mind off of the new scary life they had to go with. "I wonder where Tenchi is..." Ryoko stared off into space. A convoy of mix-matched vehicles moved towards the civilian colony. They stopped at the edge of the sensor range, as Jim and Tenchi hopped out of the Amphibious APC that the Forgotten had put them in. "Hmmmm..." Jim was holding his chin, holding his helmet under his free arm. Then, an explosion rocked the rumbling vehicle. "WHOA!" Tenchi yelped as he was tossed across the interior of the Amphibious APC. [THUD] He hit his head, and passed out. Off in the distance, a few NOD soldiers and several deployed Artillery units watched over the Mutant convoy. A sergeant looked through his binoculars, and muttered into his comlink, "fire at will until they are destroyed." At that command, the Artillery units aimed their cannons, and fired their 155mm rounds with thunderous gunfire and suppressed, but still bright, flashes. At that fortunate time, an Orca Fighter patrol was in the air, and they noticed the Artillery units firing on the hapless Forgotten. One of the wingmen shouted, "lieutenant, shiners!" Another pointed out, "and they're being shot at by NOD Artillery platforms." The officer deliberated a few minutes, and ordered, "let's get 'em, boys!" The nimble and maneuverable VTOLs darted in and unleashed a salvo of missiles. The third wingman, who was flying an Orca Bomber, came in for two passes on the artillery. The explosive bombs impacted and cratered the area where the artillery was. Now everything was smoldering, burning hulks of metal. "Hey, Tenchi! Tenchi!" A voice roused the young man up. Tenchi sat up, and looked around. "Huh? Where am I? Actually, for that matter, WHO am I?" The stranger had a look of horror on his face, and the man gestured towards the door in back of him, "c'mon, we gotta get outta here." They both bolted out of the overturned Amphibious APC, and dashed for the civilian colony. Chapter Five "Tenchi!" Kiyone gasped as he was seen into Kiyone's room. He was battered, and bruised, and even bleeding. Tenchi looked puzzled, "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Kiyone's eyes went wide. "Tenchi, it's me! Don't you recognize me?" She asked him in despair. He considered it, and shook his head. Jim cursed under his breath, "thought so...he's got amnesia." Kiyone began to sob, as Tenchi looked on, geniunely confused. Jim, as the stranger introduced himself to Tenchi, waved him over. "What is it, Jim?" Tenchi asked. The younger man looked at Tenchi, and told him, "looky here...your name is Tenchi Masaki, and you and me are partners. You have amnesia...that girl," he gestured to the sobbing, aquamarine-haired woman, "is Kiyone. You knew her before you got conked on the head." Jim tugged at him, and led Tenchi to be checked into the infirmary. He just sat there, trying to remember what in the world was going on. He still went out on patrols with Jim, but he was just confused. Now, he was on guard duty within the civilian colony, walking out on the cold, icy streets. "I'm on Antarctica..." he remembered Jim telling him where Tenchi was. "TENCHI!!" A cyan-haired woman ran up to him, and hugged him. Tenchi blushed, while Jim just slapped his helmet visor. Tenchi asked the woman, "excuse me, but do you know me?" The woman looked shocked, and looked into his eyes with her own yellow, almost feline, eyes. "Tenchi?!? Don't you know who I am?" She said in a mushy voice. Tenchi indicated that he did not. At that, the woman dematerialized. Tenchi looked surprised, as much as Jim did. "Who was that?" Tenchi asked. Jim just shrugged, as they continued to patrol until they were recalled for the day. Ayeka walked into the apartment, to see Ryoko lying face- down, sobbing into her pillow on her cot. Ayeka walked up to her semi-rival and asked, "what's wrong, Ryoko?" Ryoko answered, "Tenchi...doesn't...remember...me...he...has... amnesia," she said in-between sobs. Ayeka looked surprised, "WHAT?!? HE HAS AMNESIA?" She shrieked. Ryoko sat up and nodded, tears streaming down her face. As the day progressed, that woman, Kiyone was out of the infirmary, and could somehow manage to walk with crutches. Her friend Mihoshi had to help her though. Five days had come to an end since Cabal had taken over Washuu's lab. Tenchi lay in his cot, looking at a picture that he had of his dead mother Achika, and a picture with him, Kiyone, Mihoshi, and some other girls he couldn't identify. "I really wish I could remember who they all were. They seem pretty nice." He sighed to himself. He closed his eyes and slept. Chapter Six Tenchi awoke, with a throbbing headache. "Aw...my head." He muttered. He looked, and saw Kiyone sitting in the corner of room, looking at him with her bright, beautiful, aquamarine eyes. "You're awake...Tenchi..." She gazed at him. Tenchi looked around, and saw Jim standing with his arms folded, in his armor. "Do you remember anything, now?" the brown-haired man asked. He pointed at one of his pictures in curiousity, "who's that?" Tenchi looked, and answered casually, "that's Ayeka." Kiyone's eyes shone, and she hobbled over and hugged him. She spoke happily, "Tenchi, you got your memory back." Mihoshi ran over, and started hugging Tenchi with the strength of a boa constrictor, "TENCHI! I GLAD YOU GOT YOUR MEMORY BACK!" Jim cleared his throat, and Mihoshi noticed how uncomfortable Tenchi was. "Sorry." She apologized. Tenchi was gasping for air, and coughed, "that's okay, Ms. Mihoshi." Jim walked out the door, looking over his shoulder, "I'll leave you three alone. I'll tell them you recovered, Tenchi." The tall man walked out and into the corridor. "Lord Tenchi..." Tenchi saw Ayeka, Sasami, and Ryoko standing by the door. "Hi...Ms. Ayeka...Sasami...Ryoko..." He greeted them nervously. Ryoko began hugging Tenchi, "Tenchi! Do you remember me now? C'mon, Tenchi! You can't forget me!" Ayeka's left eyebrow began to twitch. Klaxons began blaring, as explosions rocked the colony. [crash] Glass windows on a building shatter as an artillery shell smashed into a living quarters building. At the GDI base, soldiers and machines alike began to pour out of the automated gates, as they moved to protect the civilian colony. Jim ran back to the room, and yelled, "TENCHI! WE GOTTA GET TO THE BARRACKS AND GET OUR GEAR!" Another explosion rocked the infirmary building as Tenchi ran out the door. GDI Light Infantry and Disc Throwers were already attacking some of the deployed Artillery units, followed by Medics. Several GDI Wolverines joined the fray as well. Tenchi and Jim joined in, to destroy the NOD units. But the units belonged to a different side. Instead of red, their color is blue, but they have NOD technologies. One word flashed in Tenchi's mind: Cabal. Tenchi, under the cover of several marines, ran at the artillery units, still concentrating on firing on the civilian colony. He took out the Tenchiken and ignited it, the blue energy blade glowing brightly in even the morning light. As he did so, Cyborgs had their weapons trained on him. Chapter Seven They fired their vulcan armcannons, almost hitting Tenchi. He sliced two Cyborgs into halves, as he deflected an incoming shot. All of the GDI marines there were amazed at the boy's ferocious technique. Some even briefly applauded. Tenchi ran at one of the Artillery units, and slashed at the barrel. It tipped over, and fell, crushing the adjacent artillery unit. Soon, Titans, Juggernauts, Wolverines, and Amphibious APCs filled with twenty men per APC, arrived on the battlefield. The soldiers poured out of the open mouth of the APC, as Juggernauts began to deploy themselves and firing salvo after salvo of artillery shells. Tenchi never saw the one that landed next to him. Tenchi was flung quite high in the air, and dropped onto a field of crystalline forms. His eyes shot open, "TIBERIUM?" He was in a field of one of the most deadliest and dangerous types of Tiberium: blue Tiberium. It was VERY volatile, and a simple disc grenade would cause a large chain reaction. Jim ran in, and rushed Tenchi out of the field. Jim looked very tired and weak, and he had a bullet hole on the shoulder of his body armor. As a group of Medics and Light Infantry approached them, Jim fell over, and died on the spot. "Jim?" Tenchi kneeled over and shook his partner's shoulder gently. "JIM!?!" Tenchi shook him desperately. The Medics pushed Tenchi aside, as the Light Infantry looked around for any potential threats. Later that afternoon, Tenchi was to be transferred to Yugoslavia. The girls didn't take it too well. "WHAT?!?" Ayeka and Sasami cried. "You're leaving all of us?" Mihoshi asked with sadness in her eyes. "To go to the frontlines in Yugoslavia?" Kiyone looked the most worried of them all. "Yes..." Tenchi nodded. He held his sack of personal belongings over his armor-padded shoulder. He held his M16 MKII like a suitcase. "TENCHI-I-I! NO! DON'T GO! STAY WITH US!" Ryoko cried. Tenchi only shook his head, and left them all standing and crying. Sasami asked her older sister, "Ayeka, why is he leaving?" Ayeka was speechless. Mihoshi began sobbing, streams of tears flooding out of her blue eyes. Kiyone pondered to herself, "why?" Washuu was still moping about the lab and how miserable she was without it. Tenchi reported to the airfield at the GDI base, and checked in. As he waited, he looked at the dropship that towered at about fifty feet tall. He also noticed the Orca Fighters, neatly parked and waiting for pilots to take them into the air. As he boarded, he saw one of Jim's friends that he was introduced to. "James?" The blonde man turned to Tenchi. "Heyy! Tenchi! Howya doin'?" The older man greeted Tenchi. "You're going to Yugoslavia too, James?" Tenchi asked eagerly. The tallish man nodded. "Yeah. I heard about Jim..." His friendly expression turned briefly grim. He waved over another younger man, "Tenchi, I want you to meet a friend of mine." A tallish marine with longish black hair moved forward and extended his hand, "this is Falcon." The newcomer put on a grin, as Tenchi shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Falcon." Tenchi politely greeted the man. James looked at his chronometer, and said, "we'd better get moving. The transport is gonna take off in ten minutes." The group moved off towards the waiting dropship, joking and conversing about where they came from and what not. The trip to Yugoslavia wasn't very interesting, but it was long. It took about twelve hours for them to arrive. All the passengers tramped out of the Dropship in columns, holding their belongings and rifles. Tenchi checked into his barracks building, but was soon assigned to support another garrison under heavy fire. Tenchi and another garrison set out to find their pinned comrades. A soldier whispered into his comlink, "sir, I think I've found them." A Light Infantryman waved people over to look down from a ridge. "FIRE! FIRE!" One of the trapped soldiers screamed. The remaining soldiers to be recovered were fighting a swarm of Cyborgs. Numerous pulse rifle shots sounded in the chasm. Then Tenchi and the rest intervened. "Fire, boys!" The officer commanded. The entire garrison lined the top of the chasm, and fired their rifles at the occupied Cyborgs. Only to find in horror that Cyborg Reapers were behind them. Tenchi looked back, and screamed, "WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE THINGS?!?" Another soldier looked back and yelled, "REAPERS, SARGE!" Several soldiers opened up on the arachnid/humanoid figures as a strange fluid came down on Tenchi. "ACK! WHAT IS THIS?" Tenchi struggled uselessly at the gooey substance. Everyone else just fired at the things until they started leaking Tiberium crystals and toppled over and exploding. Some of the other soldiers walked over to Tenchi, examining the substance that was keeping him immobilized. "Hey, what is that crap, sarge?" They turned their attention, and ran off into the fray, shooting more of the Cyborgs. Tenchi continued to struggle for his life, many thought running through his head. "The causes of death out here...Tiberium poisoning...shot by Cyborgs..." (Jeez, they keep getting longer and longer!) -Falcon01 Chapter Eight All of the girls, except Sasami, brought up their registration forms to the GDI recruiting station. The officer at the desk looked at the determined girls with a what-the-heck-are-they-up-to look. They wanted to rejoin Tenchi, so they were trying to join the GDI Marine Corps and be transferred to the front. "I hope we see Tenchi, Kiyone!" Mihoshi blurted out to her partner. Kiyone had recovered, but there were only a few problems with her leg. Ryoko beamed, "I'll finally get to see Tenchi after all these weeks," her yellow eyes shining. Ayeka had an identical expression on her face. Kiyone just walk-hobbled silently with the group as they made their way to the waiting Dropship. Tenchi finally broke free of his web prison, and collapsed spread-eagled out on the mud, panting for breath. "Finally..." He gasped. As he looked around, the backup medics were on the scene, helping with the soldiers. Soon, two Dropships landed along with many Orca Fighters. The hatches of the Dropships opened, and an all-too familiar group of voices yelled out, "TENCHI!" Ryoko was the first to get to Tenchi, and hugged him. "Tenchi, it's good to see you!" Ayeka grabbed his arm. Ryoko had his other arm. It almost turned into a tug-of-war game with Tenchi, only Tenchi moaned, "stop...it...[ungh]" He passed out on the spot, while Ayeka and Ryoko tugged on his unconscious form, Kiyone and Mihoshi sneaked in, and dragged him out. Tenchi was in a barracks building, but something didn't feel right... "WHAT?" He bolted up, and looked around. He saw all of the girls, in undershirts and pants, sitting on their bunks and gazing at him with affection. "Ayeka? Ryoko? Kiyone? Mihoshi?" He blinked and rubbed his eyes. "What are you guys doing here?" "We enlisted, Tenchi." Mihoshi sang out. Kiyone shrugged and slumped into her bunk. Then, as speaker crackled, "attention, in twenty-four hours, we will be carrying out an assault on Cabal's Core. Get lots of sleep everyone." Tenchi looked around, and said, "well, we'd better get some sleep like the guy said!" A bullet of sweat formed on his head as he laughed nervously. "Okay..." Mihoshi trailed off, then fell sidewards on her bunk. Kiyone lay under her covers, sleeping quietly. Ayeka was also asleep, while Ryoko was snoring quite loudly. "Ha!" Tenchi muttered to himself, as he crawled under his covers, and slept. The next day, everyone was shipped up into the Philadelphia, and they were briefed by General James Solomon. "Alright, men. You'll all be waiting aboard the Philadelphia here. You will be loaded into Droppods." He regarded the some few one-hundred and fifty brave men and women, including Tenchi, Kiyone, Mihoshi, Ayeka, and Ryoko. "You will be sent down in waves of ten," the aged man said in his deep voice. "Now we will destroy Cabal, and later, we will defeat the Brotherhood of NOD." He gave them a stern look, and told them, "good luck to all of you..." The assembly moved out and got their gear ready. As everyone waited in a large room where they could just wait for their turn to leave the space station. Tenchi, Falcon, Ryoko, Mihoshi, Kiyone, Ayeka, Ryoko, James, and two other soldiers were the tenth wave. Mihoshi was off confusing the other two marines, "...and-this-is-Kiyone-my-best-friend-in-the-whole..." The two soldiers tried to keep up with her and just kept nodding. Tenchi, Falcon, and James were joking about how they'd treat Cabal when they saw him. "I'll charge-laser the bastard to death!" James guffawed. Then they heard, "wave ten! Wave ten! Report to the Droppod bay immediately!" A female tech was informing them. They ten soldiers ran to the bay, as they hopped into the things, and strapped in. "Good luck, Tenchi, old boy!" James gave Tenchi a thumbs-up sign. The protective shield came down, as they felt themselves boosted into space and towards the Earth's surface. They hit the ground with a jolting [crash] and the canopies opened. The two soldiers hopped out, and fired their charge-lasers at two oncoming Cyborgs. Tenchi yelled, "HERE WE GO!" He hopped out of the Droppod and used his charge-laser to blast apart a Cyborg. They all saw their objective. "Wow, Kiyone...what is that?" Mihoshi looked on in wonder. Kiyone just gaped, as did Ayeka. But Ryoko had other ideas. "HEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAH!" She yelled, as she fired a large bolt of orange energy, but only to find it was blocked. One of the soldiers looked at her, and said, "the bastard Cabal is protected by a Firestorm Generator." He pointed to a large building that looked more like a power plant. Ryoko angrily tried to phase through, but Cabal's Obelisk zapped her. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHH!" Ryoko cried out in agony, and lay on the ground unconscious. "RYOKO!" Tenchi cried out as he blasted another Cyborg. James gaped, "GOOD GOD! A NORMAL PERSON WOULD'VE BEEN VAPORIZED BY THAT!!" "Long story..." Tenchi reloaded his rifle. But a Cyborg Reaper appeared, its hideous, glowing eyes looking at Ayeka. "Ms. Ayeka!" He tried to warn her, but the stuff had already imprisoned the princess. "ACK! WHAT IN THE NAME OF TSUNAMI IS THIS?" She shrieked. Mihoshi was just going trigger-happy with her rifle, blasting apart Cyborgs and Cyborg Reapers. "WAA-HAA-HAA-HAA!" She cried in fear. Kiyone was doing okay, just falling over now and then, avoiding fire. One of the soldiers yelled, "I heard the Firestorm is off!" "Let's rush on three..." the other soldier told everyone else. After two counts..."THREE!" Everyone ran forward to attack Cabal's Core. The Obelisk of Light buzzed to life, and vaporized the first soldier. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" The man screamed in utter terror and pain. All that was left was a charred makr on the ground. The capacitators began to rapidly recharge, as the second soldier just strapped his C4 onto the Obelisk, but he was zapped as he was trying to leave. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He cried out. Tenchi, Mihoshi, and Kiyone made it to the Core as the Obelisk was blown to scrap with a thunderous, ground-shaking explosion. "EEEEEEEEE!" Tenchi screamed as he was hurled ten feet forward. Mihoshi ran up to the Core, trying to remember what to do. "Let's see...I got here, now what do I do? What do you think, Kiyone?" She looked at her partner, to find her crawling on the ground towards Mihoshi. Kiyone was severely wounded and bleeding without her helmet. "Mihoshi [pant] help me [pant pant]!" Kiyone desperately gasped for air, as she was being pursued by a Cyborg Commando who was firing plasma charges through the air. Mihoshi aimed her weapon, and fired her charge laser at the giant hulking humanoid. It stopped, but started advancing towards the hapless Mihoshi. "WAAAAAAAAAAA! I don't wanna die!" She began running away. The Cyborg Commando laughed devilishly in his mechanical voice, "you cannot escape me!" He fired several rounds from his plasma armcannon at the fleeing detective. Kiyone had finally crawled to the Core, panting for breath. A dazed Tenchi hobbled over to her, and helped her stand, "Ms. Kiyone, are you all right?" She smiled, and took out her C4 explosive pack. "Now...to...[cough] [cough]" Kiyone coughed up some blood, as Tenchi looked at her with terrified and concerned eyes. "Ms. Kiyone...hold on! The Medics will be coming soon! I'll try call for..." Kiyone shushed him weakly, and gasped/cried desperately, "I LOVE YOU, TENCHI!!" She went limp in his grasp, and she crumpled to the ground, blood dripping from the sides of her mouth. Tenchi, with tears in his eyes, took up her limp form, and began to radio for medical assistance. He took Kiyone, he dirt-caked aquamarine hair blowing with the slight breeze. He gently laid her body next to a now freed Ayeka, who tried tending to Kiyone. He picked up Ryoko, and deposited her next to Kiyone in the same, careful manner. "I will avenge everyone..." He choked out. His tears were visible even from outside the helmet. He dashed towards Cabal's Core, strapped his, Ayeka's, and Kiyone's C4 explosives packs onto the thing, and ran for his life. He dove next to Ayeka and held her down, shielding her from the explosion that destroyed the Core. Epilogue Tenchi was back at the Misaki household. Washuu was her usual self, conducting experiments to keep out alien computer programs like Cabal. "It'll be foolproof!" Tenchi just sat in total silence, and looked over at a sleeping Ayeka, and a Kiyone that was trying her best to smile, but she fell asleep. "I guess everything is back to how it used to be." Tenchi smiled at a very nervous and shaky Mihoshi. Sasami was in the kitchen cooking dinner, as Ryoko was put under treatment in Washuu's lab. Tenchi sat next to Kiyone, and softly kissed her forehead... And Tenchi woke up, with bullets of perspiration on his face. "It was only a dream..." He walked to where Kiyone and Mihoshi were sleeping in the Masaki house, and sat next to the beautiful, aquamarine-tressed nymph, sleeping peacefully in the morning light... Well, hey! I like Kiyone, damnit! She's the bomb! Anyway, got any questions or comments or suggestions, just e-mail me at: yoneshiggoo1@hawaii.rr.com -Falcon01