"Of Science And Sorcery"
By Zach Haugen 
Scurvy@wfol.net
Tenchi is owned by AIC and Pioneer
Slayers is owned by Software Sculptors
It's not my fault!  It's not my fault!  I didn't mean to mess up these characters! >:)

Part 5:
Engage!  No need for Ryoko!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Ryoko!"  Tenchi screamed from his cell on Yagami.  "I know you can hear me, Ryoko!  Why are you
doing this?  Ryoko!  Let me out!"

Tenchi slumped to the floor.  Why had Ryoko kidnapped him?  After the Kagato incident, life
around his house had been a little dull, and Ryoko usually 'kidnapped' him, but she never locked
him in a Class B criminal cell on Yagami before.  Tenchi thought back to when she kidnapped him.
Something seemed odd.  It...didn't seem like Ryoko.

A few hours earlier:

Tenchi rolled out of bed and stretched.  He yawned.  *It's too early* he thought to himself.  He
had started to take off his pajamas when he felt another presence in the room.  A shiver spiked
through his spine.  He wheeled around just in time to see Ryoko finish phasing into his room.

"Uh, hi...Ryoko.  Uh, can you come back in a little while, I'm kind of changing right now."

Ryoko made no reply.  Her face was a graven stare, fixed on him.

"Ryoko...come on...you're wierding me out here.  Can't you just leave for a few minutes?  I
really would like you to respect my privacy sometime, you always barge in on me at the worst
times..."

"You shall have the solitude you desire."  Ryoko said in a bland, yet commanding voice.  She 
walked over to his clothes drawer and pulled out an armful of clothes.  "You shall have an
assortment of outerwear to choose from.  I assume you are wearing the opposite at the moment?"

*UNDERWEAR?*  Tenchi thought in surprise.  "Of course I am, Ryoko!  Now put my clothes back!
What's with this act?  All I want is to be alone!"

Ryoko frowned.  "You -shall- have the solitude you desire."

"Then leave!"

"Very well."  Ryoko said as she carried the clothes bundle in her arms over to Tenchi.  She
grabbed ahold of him with one arm, and the clothes in the other.

"Ryoko..."  Tenchi cried, but his plea was cut short when Ryoko teleported out, with him in her
arms.

Kiyone sat back in her chair aboard the bridge of Yagami.  Next to her, Mihoshi was opening yet
another box of Ding-Dongs.  Mihoshi greedily grabbed at one, tore off the package, and proceeded
to stuff the entire chocolate mound into her mouth.  Within seconds, she was reaching for
another.

"Mihoshi..."  Kiyone said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Hmmph?  Ymm Mummt Unmm Twwu?"  Mihoshi mumbled through her Ding-Dong filled mouth.

*At least the snack is named after her...*  Thought Kiyone as she watched her partner reach in
the box to offer her one.  "Mihoshi, you're going to eat them all before we even complete orbit
again.  We're not landing there again to get you more!"

Mihoshi swallowed the remaining treat in her mouth.  "But Kiyone!  They're so GOOD!  I've never
had anything so GOOD!  Nothing in Japan even comes close to this!  We should land in America
more often!  I love the food!  Ooh, those rice cakes Sasami makes sometimes are almost as good
as these, then there's that special sauce that we put on those...noodle things, that's almost as
good...then there's the..."

Kiyone closed her eyes and dreamed of a life without Mihoshi.  That would make the 5th time
today she had to go into her land of bliss just to keep all of the anger her partner caused 
from coming out.  If she didn't block out her partner most of the time, she would never stay
sane.

"...that carrot cake Sasami sometimes makes for Ryo-ohki is good too, then there's the..."

A loud beep stopped Mihoshi in midsentance, and woke Kiyone up from her land of dreams.  A large
light on the instrument panel was flashing, red, then green.

"Let's see..."  Mihoshi thought as she pulled out her GP Referance Manual.  "Red then blue, no
that's not it...Green then purple....Tangerine then rainbow assortment..."

Kiyone pushed a button on the console, the light and beep stopped immediately.  She looked at 
her partner who seemed to be reviewing the referance manual.  "Mihoshi!"

"emerald then ocean blue.....flourescant black then invisible white..."

"MIHOSHI!"

Mihoshi looked up from her manual to look at Kiyone.  "Yes....what is it Kiyone?  Did you say
something?"

"We've got 2 intruders onboard, we've got to seal off the ship!"  Kiyone said as she pointed out
the door.

"Hold on, Kiyone.  I'm still trying to figure out what that sound and flashing light meant..."

"Mihoshi!  Get off that chair and HELP ME!"  Kiyone screamed.

"Help you?  Do what?"  Mihoshi said with a large smile.

Suddenly a dark presence filled the room.  Both Kiyone and Mihoshi turned to see Ryoko standing
by the door.

"Oh, Ryoko.  It was you."  Kiyone said with a sigh of relief.

"It was."  Ryoko replied.

"But Yagami registered 2 intruders.  Did you bring someone else?"  Kiyone questioned.

"Indeed."  Ryoko said as she moved closer to both detectives.

"Uh, Ryoko...is something wrong?  You don't seem yourself..."  Kiyone said as an odd feeling
washed through her body.

"Hmm, I know just the cure for that!  Here, Ryoko! Have a Ding-Dong, they're really good!"
Mihoshi called out as she stood up to give Ryoko one.

Ryoko saw the open path to the control panel and shoved past both Kiyone and Mihoshi aside and
to the floor.  Mihoshi landed on a carpeted section of the bridge, while Kiyone landed against
a wall completely encompassed with metal rivets.

"Hey!  Ryoko!  That's GP property, don't touch it!  And assault on a GP officer can get you up
to 5 years in prison.  Quit the crap!"  Kiyone called out from the floor, pistol pointed at
Ryoko.  Even if it was a friend of hers, NOTHING would interfere with her career.  "Ryoko, I
know you.  If you're thinking about taking this ship, you WILL get life in prison, I don't care
who you are, or if you're crimes have been taken off the record for saving Jurai from Kagato!
Stand back!"

Ryoko was still facing the control panel.  It was just barely in arms reach, but Kiyone's pistol
kept her from touching the controls.  "Can't you guys take a joke?  Geez, Kiyone, you take
everything so seriously!"  She cried out in a teasing tone.

"Ryoko..."  Mihoshi started to sniffle.  "That hurt..."

Ryoko still stood completely still.  "Well, I would come and help you up, but Kiyone here seems
intent on killing me!"  Ryoko jokingly called out.

Kiyone lowered her pistol.  Ryoko saw this out of the corner of her eye, and made her move.  She
lurched forward and pushed the small button marked "Transport". If Kiyone and Mihoshi had set 
it as she thought, they would be gone in a matter of seconds.  Usually, they transported to 
Tenchi's house directly from Yagami, the command should already be loaded.  It worked.

"What the..."  Kiyone screamed, but the sound faded as she was pulled off the ship in a quick
flash of light.

Ryoko sat down at the helm, and plotted the course into the navigational computer.  An alarm 
chirped.  A computerized male voice came over the intercom.  "The destination plotted is still 
unexplored.  Do you still wish to engage hyperdrive?"

"Yes."

Yagami then started to move through space until it was far away from Earth to engage the drive.

Then, in a flash, with Ryoko and Tenchi aboard, Yagami vanished into the distance in a burst of 
light.


Part 6:
Run!  No need for Gourry!
-=-=-=-

Gourry charged towards the dragon, screaming.  As he ran, he pulled out a needle and detached
his blade from his sword.  As he came closer to the dragon, he noticed something was wrong.

Lina stood by the dragon, which had stopped running.  But the dragon was now screaming in pain
and jumping around on one foot.  *Lina's ok!*  Thought Gourry as came even closer.

As he approached Lina, he saw she had her arms folded and appeared to be thinking or something.

"Lina?"

Her head jerked up, she looked around until she found Gourry standing behind her.  She turned 
around to face him.  Gourry could see something was wrong.  Lina didn't seem to be her normal
carefree self.  Instead she seemed...depressed.  

"Lina...are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm...fine, Gourry."  She mumbled.

"Are you sure?"

"LISTEN YOU DOPE, I'M FINE!"

Gourry understood the message.  He backed off casually.  "I'll uh...just..."  He said as he
looked in the air.  "Take care of this dragon, ok?"

"Fine, just get out of here, Gourry."

He turned and ran towards the dragon that had been limping off on one foot towards the back of
the cave.  *I wonder what could have happened to Lina to make her scream like that...*  Gourry
thought as he came closer.  He pulled the hilt of his sword from the sheath as he stopped, only 
a few yards from the dragon.

"Light come forth!"

The shining blade came quickly from the hilt, as it reached the end of it's reach, the outside, a
crystal-like light covering exploded, revealing his legendary Sword of Light.

Then Gourry noticed why the great beast was limping.  It had a hole in it's foot.  A giant,
gaping hole.  As far as Gourry could tell, with everything still light in the cave, it seemed
to be about 3 feet wide and went completely through the foot.  *Isn't this the foot that...
stepped on Lina?*  He thought to himself.  *Did Lina do this?  Then why did she scream?*

Lina sat on a rock at the other end of the cave.  Her head was lowered, she didn't even look up
as Gourry fought the dragon.  *Why didn't the Dragon Slave work?  It's ALWAYS worked for me!  
Have I gone down to a second rate sorceress?  And why didn't the dragon crush me when he stepped
on me?  I never cast a protection spell...then it started limping...did I injure it?  How?"  
Questions raced through her mind, none making any sense.

"I feel like Gourry, I don't understand a thing."  she muttered to herself as she fumbled with
the magic transformer in her hand.  She studied it's smooth surfaces, and the especially 
interesting sphere in the middle.  A flash of light reflected across it's surface.  Suddenly, in
her mind's eye it all made sense.

"Lina?"

She looked up, awakened out of her daydream.  "Yes, Gourry?"

Gourry twiddled his forefingers in anxiety.  "I uh, fixed the dragon problem.  Should we leave?"

Lina stood up and stretched.  "Yeah, we got what we came for.  Let's go."

As they both started through the tunnel leading out, in the back of the cave, the dragon looked
at it's now bandaged foot.

Then it screamed in pain again.

Gourry watched Lina as they came to the end of the tunnel.  She was smiling, at least.  Compared
to that sudden outburst back in the cavern, it was a miricle.  "Uh...Lina?  Are you feeling
better?"

"Better?  When have I ever not been?"

"Every month."

A fist met him in the stomach.  "Gourry, that was -NOT- what I meant.  Now let's move, I want to
make it to an inn before nightfall."

Gourry rubbed his stomach.  "An inn?  The town is 2 days journey from here!  We'll never make 
it back there that fast!"

Lina sighed.  "Gourry, let me show you something.  Stand still."

Both stopped walking, and Lina started chanting a spell.

"By the powers of the meek,
Make this strong man weak."

A strange blue aura appeared around Gourry.  "Lina!  Wasn't that a weakness spell?  Now if we get
in a battle, I can't be your protector!"

"Just hit the wall Gourry."

"The wall?"  Gourry thought for a moment.  *Lina's probably just going to make fun of me when I
don't move a single chip of rock, due to that spell...*  "No way."

Lina frowned.  "Do it before I make you, Gourry."

He looked at Lina, thought for a moment and punched the wall.  An explosion ripped through the
cavern.  Where Gourry's hand had hit the wall, there was now a huge hole.

"Ha!  I -KNEW- it!"  Lina shouted.  "It was only a guess, but when your the greatest sorceress
in the world, you're almost never wrong."  Lina said as she winked at the camera.

Gourry stood there looking at his fist.  *Why am I suddenly thinking the word 'Fujisawa'?*
Gourry thought to himself.  "Lina...uh, what happened?"

Lina smiled.  "It's really quite simple, Gourry.  Whenever I hold the magic transformer in my
hand to channel magic energy when I cast a spell, I get an opposite reaction, just like I told 
you before.  Since I cast a weakening spell on you, you got stronger.  Because I cast the 
Dragon Slave on the dragon, I have an impenetrable shield.  Simple as that.  C'mon, hit me!"

Gourry looked at his fist. "Nah, you're not supposed to hit girls, and if I'm this strong, I 
might really hurt you..."

"HIT ME, Gourry."  Lina commanded.

After many long hours of debate:

WHAM!

Gourry grabbed his fist in pain and screamed.

Lina smiled.  "See, I told you.  Impenetrable!  Nothing can harm me!"

Grourry cringed.  "I don't think your shield hurt me, I think it was your boney body."

He saw Lina's fist just long enough to prepare himself for the impact.  Then his face exploded
in pain.  "Ow!  I still feel the pain from that shield, even if it's you hitting me!"  Gourry 
cried out in pain.

"...almost nothing."  Lina mumbled to herself.  

"Owww..."  Gourry said as he rubbed his sore body.  "Hey, Lina?  Shouldn't we get out of here?
I don't want to spend the night in a cave."

Lina looked at Gourry in surprise.  Had the spell had more effects than strength?  Did Gourry
really realise something before she did?  She pushed the thought out of her mind. "Right.  Let's
go."

After about an hour they reached the end of the cave.  The sun was setting in the distance.  Lina
looked around where they were.  There was a stream running alongside the mountain.  "Gourry,
let's make camp over by the water."

"Only if you catch something for dinner."  Gourry chirped happily.

"Wouldn't think not to."  She said with a smile as she patted her growling stomach.

Suddenly, a flash came from the sky.  Lina and Gourry looked up just in time to see something
come hurtling towards them from the heavens.  But instead of crashing into the ground, it slowed
until it landed about 20 feet away.  A flash of light appeared, and left a strange looking 
woman in front of Lina and Gourry.  The woman looked Lina up and down.

"You are the one they call Lina Inverse?"  She said in a very monotone voice.

"Depends on who's asking.  Who're you?"

"I am Ryoko Hakubi."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End of parts 5 & 6!

Well, they're finally crossing!  It only took..hmm...6 chapters. :)  By the way, the Tenchi 
characters will be in the TV universe, like I said before.  But I will add some things from the
OVA series, such as (hopefully all of these) Tsunami, Goddess Washu, Ryoko as Washu's Daughter,
etc.  Enjoy!  Send your comments to scurvy@wfol.net and visit my homepage at
http://members.xoom.com/scurvy for the latest updates.

More to come!  (Unless I get sued to death.)