Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Tenchi characters. This 
piece of writing is basically illegal, but I'm not making any money off 
it, so please don't sue me 'coz I'm broke. (Why do all fanfic authors 
say that?)
   This is my first Tenchi fanfic; it uses the TV continuity, and is 
set about five years on from the end of the series.
   Enjoy!


A Mirror up to Life - Part 1.

The mirror was huge, ornate, and polished to a shine. It stood by the 
window, covered by a thick, purple cloth that was only removed when she 
wanted to see into it.
   Such an occasion was now. The sun was just setting, casting a blaze 
of jealous fire over Gytull, the largest, busiest city on the whole of 
Tao-Veer, and painting the walls of the snow coloured palace a burning 
orange.
   The mirror was adjusted ever so slightly so that the last rays of 
sunlight reflected off the glass of the window, and illuminated her 
face. The image in the mirror was of a beautiful woman, seemingly in 
her late twenties, but her intense black eyes betraying her true age. 
For she was old, possibly the oldest being in the universe.
   She raised two slender fingers, laden with jewel-studded rings, and 
brushed away a lock of hair that had fallen over her eyes. The figure 
in the mirror had hair that fell to the ground in silken black tresses, 
flowing so naturally down her back it looked almost liquid. And yet, 
the person standing before the mirror was a tired, worn woman, with 
aqua coloured hair cut in uneven strings that were just long enough to 
brush her skinny shoulders.
   She sighed and stepped away from her reflection with great 
reluctance. The mirror seemed darker without the radiance of her beauty 
shining in it. She loved mirrors, for they showed her true face. For 
fifteen years, she had gazed upon her image each evening, and the face 
shown to her had not changed or aged in all that time. That was one of 
the advantages of being dead, she supposed.
   There was a cautious knock on the door, as if the knocker rather 
hoped that no one was in. She grunted in exasperation. Reaching out a 
hand, she twitched the cover back over the mirror. The room looked 
somehow bare, now that she had closed the window into her true soul.
   Striding across the room, she swept a cloak off the foot of the bed 
and flung it around her shoulders, taking care to pull the hood up 
around her face. When it was on, the garment covered her thin figure 
entirely.
   "Enter," she barked. The sound that issued from her throat made her 
wince slightly. In fifteen years, she had never quite got used to the 
harsh, rasping voice of her chosen body.
   The door slid open, revealing one of the boys who worked at the 
palace. She was always seeing them scuttling around the place, and paid 
them little attention. This one was gawping at her, glassy-eyed, a 
mixture of fear and curiosity on his face.
   "Well?" she murmured, raising a slim green eyebrow.
   The boy blinked and seemed to get his thoughts in order. "Oh, yes, 
erm. the Emperor requests he speaks with you, ma'am."
   "Does he now?" she said, half to herself. For a moment she stood 
still, staring into nothing. Then she herself blinked and came back to 
earth. "Very well," she said, haughtily, "he may speak with me."
   She swept past the boy unceremoniously. She didn't need him to show 
her the way to Cezute's chambers. She allowed herself a small smirk. 
That drunken old fool. If it weren't for her, he never would have 
become Emperor of Tao-Veer. He certainly served her purpose, though. He 
was no more than her puppet, a weak mind she could control. The real 
ruler of the planet was herself - Lady Layuki - the Changer.
   She had always had a real knack for politics. In just a few short 
years, she had risen nearly to the top, and gained wealth and power. 
Now she was running an entire planet, even if in name she was merely 
'Chief Advisor to His Majesty'. And she had used her position to the 
full. Tao-Veer had one of the best armies in the world, and had seven 
nearby planets under control. All taken by force. And she intended to 
take a good many more.
   And yet - it was not enough. All of her work, all the striving and 
plotting, seemed like a silly little game to her. It wasn't what she 
truly wanted, not by a long shot. These petty political squabbles and 
long, dreary wars weren't the reason she had fought to come back from 
the dead. She was after the greatest prize of all. And soon, that prize 
would be hers. It was all a matter of patience - not to mention a 
little help from her long dormant powers to speed things along.
   She laughed. Not the insane, shrieking laughter traditionally 
associated with evil maniacs, but the delighted little chuckle of 
someone who knew something that other people didn't.
   As she laughed, it seemed as if the very shadows were scrambling to 
get out of her way.
* * *
Iquera was a small, cloudy planet mainly made up of marshland. The few 
areas of habitable land were crammed full of tall, narrow buildings, 
grubby and slightly damp from the perpetual mist. Most people wondered 
why anyone would even bother going to war with Iquera; they had no 
strategic importance, no valuable natural resources, no military to 
speak of. And the water tasted like urine.
   Nevertheless, the neighbouring planet of Tao-Veer seemed to think 
that Iquera was worth the effort. The war had been on for all of eight 
days, and considering the relative size of the armies of Tao-Veer and 
Iquera, it was a marvel that they'd managed to drag it out that long.
   Although Iquera had been dealt all the bad luck a planet can have, 
in regards to climate, temperature, terrain and atmosphere (permanent 
smell of fish), they were incredibly lucky when it came to allies. The 
planet Jurai had recently crowned a new Empress, whose first act after 
making the coronation speech had been to extend the hand of friendship 
to every single nearby planet. Iquera had leapt at the offer in the 
same way a drowning man grabs at a life belt. Jurai was wealthy, 
powerful, and had the best fleet of warships in the galaxy. Currently, 
an army was been built on Jurai to aid their troubled comrades on 
Iquera.
   "It makes you think, doesn't it," reflected Oryise, top-notch fish 
merchant in Fenda, Iquera's minute capital city.
   His companion, Kuskub, paused in the act of filling a foul-smelling 
pipe with swamp weed to stare at him. "Makes you think what?" he asked, 
a man unaccustomed to thinking.
   "What it's all about," Oryise said, spreading his arms wide in a 
philosophical gesture.
   Kuskub looked around. All about him, people were squeezing their way 
along the narrow streets, getting on with their daily lives. None of 
them looked as if they were contemplating What It's All About.
   "War, I mean," Oryise explained.
   Kuskub relaxed somewhat. Now they were back on safe ground. He knew 
all about war. A load of buggers going out and shooting at another load 
of buggers. Plain and simple. People had been going on about nothing 
else for over a week now. A planet like Iquera had very little to 
gossip about.
   "What do you think of it all, then?" said Oryise, a little testily. 
He was getting fed up of the one-sided conversation.
   Kuskub pondered as he sucked on the revolting pipe. "Load o' 
buggerall," he said at last.
   The two men fell into comfortable silence once again. They each felt 
the warm, glowing feeling inside that comes from knowing that people 
are working hard and doing their jobs and you are standing against a 
wall doing absolutely zilch.
   They each found it a little unfair, therefore, when at that 
delightful moment in time, the bomb alert went off. Something like the 
bomb alert going off had the potential to really ruin the morning.
   "Now, would you believe it?" moaned Oryise, half to himself.
   Kuskub became dimly aware that, for some reason, it had just got 
darker. And colder. He shivered beneath his fur jacket. Yes - 
definitely darker and colder. That was strange.
   He slowly raised his head to stare up at the sky, and saw why.
   An enormous Tao-Veeran warship was positioned just about the city. 
It loomed above like a massive, deadly spider. It was so close it 
seemed in danger of bumping the tops off one of the freakishly tall 
buildings.
   As the siren screamed, along with all the people on the road as they 
scattered like sheep, Kuskub turned to Oryise. "How the hell did it get 
so close without no one seeing it?" he bellowed above the racket.
   The fish-merchant didn't answer. He just stared up at the ship, his 
mouth and eyes wide, his skin the colour of porridge.
   Kuskub followed the line of his friend's eyes, and saw that, at the 
base of the ship, what looked like a huge, thick pipe was extending 
itself from the smooth black metal body. At the end of the pipe, a tiny 
red glow was swiftly expanding to a bright, burning fireball of 
scarlet.
   Oryise licked his dry lips. "Oh, sh -"
   Before he could get any further, there came a boom that seemed to 
defy the laws of sound and be felt in the chest rather than heard in 
the ears. A split-second after the noise, the fireball roared down like 
a laser, striking in the middle of the city and blossoming out. Where 
it passed, building melted where they stood and people were reduced to 
ashes instantly. The entire city had been demolished within ten 
seconds.
   A full minute after the shot had been fired, the warship rose up 
into the sky, through the atmosphere, and vanished into space. Five 
other ships shortly joined their fellow, leaving other cities in a 
similar state.
   Fenda, once the capital city on a planet, had been reduced to a 
charred, smoke-filled nightmare. Most of it was still on fire. Just by 
looking at it, it was obvious that no one had survived.
   From her room at the palace on Tao-Veer, the Changer stared into her 
mirror, chuckling quietly to herself.
* * *
Prince Yosho settled back, cross-legged, on the small mat in the middle 
of the floor. It was customary for him to sit here every day at noon, 
just to enjoy the stillness and a cup of tea. The grey-haired old man 
took a sip from the china cup he held in a wrinkled hand, and thought 
fleetingly of Jurai, the planet of his birth. It was a long time since 
he'd last visited. Five years, if his memory served him correctly. That 
had been the Kagato incident, of course.
   From outside the window, he noticed an unusually bright star in the 
sky. As he watched it, it appeared to move closer, and a distant 
humming noise seemed to accompany it.
   Yosho drained the cup and stood up. His back twinged slightly, as 
ageing muscles protested at the rapid movement. Yosho frowned to 
himself. He had once been a champion swordsman, still was, in fact. He 
had trained his body to be in top shape all the time. The mild pain in 
his back reminded him of how time was getting on. One day, he would be 
unable to wield a sword at all.
   He heard a loud crunch as something huge settled behind the house, 
followed by footsteps making their way round the side of the building.
   "Come in, its not locked," Yosho called.
   The door slowly opened, squealing on its hinges. Yosho was reminded 
that it needed oiling. It seemed he was becoming forgetful in his old 
age.
   In the doorframe stood a young man in his early twenties, with neat 
black hair cropped short. He was dressed in simple robes of the same 
style that Yosho wore. In his belt was a narrow sword-hilt, with no 
blade, and he wore a circle of gold upon the fourth finger of his right 
hand.
   Yosho acknowledged him with a nod. "Your Highness."
   "Grandfather," said Tenchi Masaki, inclining his head in a little 
bow. He still hadn't made one step inside the house. He had also, Yosho 
observed, developed a little habit of sliding the golden ring up and 
down his finger whenever he was nervous. This he was doing now, looking 
as if he couldn't quite decide whether to wear it or not.
   "Please come in," said Yosho politely. "Tea?" He held up the teapot.
   A few minutes later, both men were seated on opposite sides of the 
table, each clasping a cup of steaming hot tea. An awkward silence hung 
over them. Whereas Tenchi looked embarrassed in his surroundings, 
swivelling the cup round and round in his hand, Yosho looked perfectly 
contented to sit there all day.
   At last, Tenchi spoke. "So, how are you, Grandfather?"
   "I am no better and no worse than when we last saw each other, your 
Highness," Yosho answered calmly. "How long ago is that, now?"
   "Six months, I believe."
   The silence resumed. Tenchi looked as if there was something he 
needed to say, but couldn't quite get the words out. "It's very 
pleasant on Jurai," he said all of a sudden.
   Yosho did not answer.
   "I was expecting a bit of trouble because of my Earth heritage, but 
nobody seems to mind about it. Ayeka says they're grateful because of 
what happened. you know, with Kagato." he trailed off.
   Yosho pursed his lips and gazed thoughtfully into his teacup. He 
seemed to be considering something. Finally, he asked abruptly, "How is 
Ryoko doing, Tenchi?"
   Tenchi was taken by surprise, both by the question and the fact that 
Yosho had moved back onto a first-name basis. "I - I don't know," he 
stammered, feeling foolish. The answer didn't sound enough, so he 
added, "She hasn't contacted me or anyone else. I think she just left. 
for good."
   "I thought as much. Do you ever think about her, Tenchi?"
   Again, Tenchi was caught off-guard. "Not really. I mean, when she 
disappeared like that, not even saying goodbye. I just tried to forget 
she ever existed, to tell you the truth. Sasami mentions her from time 
to time, but Ayeka doesn't like to talk about her."
   Yosho resumed his pensive staring into the teacup. "Yes - how is 
Ayeka, by the way?"
   "Fine. She's great," Tenchi babbled, relieved to be back on a safer 
topic of conversation. "She's very excited of course, about the wedding 
- always talking about her dress or who we're going to invite." Without 
realising it, Tenchi had slipped into the moony, love-struck gaze he 
always seemed to adopt when talking about his fianc‚e. "We've put the 
date for three months time." His face flushed slightly. "Grandpa - I 
know you don't really like being on Jurai, but - I would like it if you 
came to the wedding. I mean, it would be an honour."
   Yosho looked up sharply at his grandson. Tenchi shuffled his feet, 
going an even deeper shade of red.
   Then the prince's face broke into a smile. "I can think of nothing 
that would delight me more than to be present at your wedding, Tenchi. 
Of course I will attend. And so will your father."
   Tenchi grinned broadly for the first time since he had arrived on 
Earth.
   The conversation then, naturally, turned to the current dispute 
between Tao-Veer and Iquera.
   "The UP tried to intervene, but it looks like they're not going to 
relent," said Tenchi, as Yosho poured him another cup of tea. "I don't 
understand what Tao-Veer's interest in Iquera is, anyway. But the way 
they're fighting is brutal."
   Yosho nodded. "From the way Tao-Veer is behaving, I'd almost think 
that revenge was the main issue here."
   "Ayeka says they must be stopped at all costs. Washu's has an idea 
for a new kind of ship, one that could be mass-produced. She says it 
will be nearly three times as powerful as the tree ships." Tenchi 
chuckled as a memory returned. "She's employed six guards to keep 
Mihoshi out of her lab."
   "Mihoshi called me a couple of days ago," said Yosho. "She seems to 
think I will be lonely if she does not contact me every five minutes. 
She says work in the Galaxy Police is very slow at present."
   Tenchi felt a stab of guilt at losing contact with his family over 
the last half a year. He could argue that he had been very busy, but 
still. "Well, Mihoshi is a very considerate person. I wish I were able 
to see her and Kiyone more often, but there's so much to take care of 
on Jurai." Even as he said it, Tenchi resolved that he would stop off 
at the GP and visit his two friends, first opportunity he got. Maybe 
Ayeka and Sasami and Washu would come, too. It would be like a big 
reunion.
   Except without Ryoko.
* * *
Empress Ayeka stood back, hands on hips, put her head on one side and 
subjected the creation to a critical look. A bald man and a smiling 
woman whose smile was beginning to look strained watched her eagerly.
   "Hmm," Ayeka murmured. "Well, I think -"
   Her teenage sister chose that moment to burst through the door and 
gallop up to the Empress, long blue bunches whipping the air. "Ayeka -"
   "Not now, Sasami," Ayeka replied, an annoyed frown creasing her 
pretty forehead.
   "But sis -"
   "In a minute!" Ayeka turned back to the man and woman, who each had 
a feral gleam in their eyes. "I suppose its -"
   Sasami knew what would get her sister's attention. "Its about 
Tenchi!"
   Ayeka spun around so fast she almost tripped on the hemline of her 
skirt. "What about Tenchi?" she yelped.
   "He said he'd be back by four and its eight minutes past four now!"
   Ayeka's expression froze on her face.
   "Well, what if a Tao-Veeran ship got him, huh?"
   Ayeka took a deep breath and thought of sunshine, furry animals and 
meadows in the springtime before deeming herself calm enough to answer. 
"Tenchi was invited to stay for another two days. And besides, if he 
ran into trouble, Sasami, he would contact me. Now don't disturb me, 
please! I'm in the middle of something very important."
   Sasami noticed for the first time the wedding gown that Ayeka had 
been agonising over. It was a simple style that combined both Earth 
costume and Juraian. Its shape was that of an Earth dress - figure 
hugging around the waist, with the skirt blossoming out like a petal of 
a snowdrop. There was a definite Juraian touch, though - instead of the 
pure white of wedding dresses on Earth, this one was a deep red-purple, 
the colour of the royal teardrop. In addition, balanced on a stand was 
a circular golden head-dress that fitted around the forehead, trailing 
a strand of silk that matched the gown in colour.
   "It's beautiful," whispered Sasami, feeling tears come to her eyes 
without knowing why.
   Ayeka smiled. "I quite agree. This is perfect."
   The two dressmakers beamed, bowed, and carefully lifted the dress on 
its dummy between them. The dress would stand in a glass case, where it 
could not be damaged, until the wedding. It was customary on Jurai for 
the bride not to try on her dress until the day she was married.
   Sasami sneaked a glance at her sister's face. Ayeka seemed oblivious 
to the world around her; a faraway look was in her eyes. Sasami had 
become used to seeing her sister in a world of her own. She knew that 
at times like these, Ayeka was thinking of her future life with Tenchi.
   Unexpectedly, Ayeka bent down and gave Sasami a hug. It was a new 
sensation for the young princess, but a pleasant one.
   "Thank you for worrying about my Tenchi," Ayeka whispered.
   "Aw, come on." Sasami grinned.
   They just stayed where they were for a few moments. Sasami leaned 
her head on her sister's shoulder and relished the sense of security 
she felt. "Hey, d'you think Jurai could be attacked?" she murmured 
sleepily.
   Ayeka frowned. Sasami guessed she'd been wondering about that 
herself. "It is possible," she at last conceded. "We would win, of 
course, but we would not escape unharmed. Parts of the cities would be 
destroyed. Many people would die."
   Sasami nodded slowly. Most kids her age were freaked out by the idea 
of death, but she had never managed to summon the terror that her peers 
felt so easily. Maybe because she didn't see death as an ending. She 
thought back to Kagato, dead but living in the 'Dark Side' - whatever 
that was. And then there was Mirai, the ghost who had befriended her 
all that time ago. She was dead, but the princess had seen her, heard 
her speak. She was, in a way, alive.
   Ayeka sighed wistfully. "Look at me. Going on about wedding dresses 
when I should be thinking of how to protect my people from attack." She 
sounded rather sad.
   Sasami suddenly felt incredibly angry. Ayeka should be spending all 
her time worrying about her wedding, but instead she had to rule an 
entire planet and prepare for possible attack from a hostile empire. It 
wasn't fair. But there was nothing either of them could do about it.
   Ayeka at last disengaged herself from the hug and stood up, brisk 
and efficient once again. "Well, I'd better talk to Miss Washu, see how 
the new ship design is coming along. Tenchi will be back in a couple of 
days - now Sasami, don't worry. He'll be fine."
   She gave a last, preoccupied smile, and left the room.
* * *
In the early hours of the morning, a light was in the window of the 
Juraian palace laboratory.
   The other members of the science team assigned to developing the 
'super-ship' had long since gone to bed, as had the six heavy-set 
guards positioned at each entrance to stop a certain bubble-headed 
Galaxy Police Officer from getting in. Now the palace was in darkness, 
making the many rooms and corridors quite frightening to walk through - 
for anyone with an over-active imagination, at least.
   However, the petite, redheaded woman working so late in the lab had 
no need to fear the dark, because she knew full well that anything 
lurking in the shadows had more cause to be afraid of her than she had 
of them. The self-proclaimed number one genius scientist in the 
universe usually carried more than enough little gadgets about her 
person to take care of the most deadly of attackers.
   Washu frowned, tapping her pencil against her teeth, as she regarded 
the sheet of paper in front of her. On it was printed several 
fiendishly complicated equations in neat, copperplate handwriting. Only 
a handful of people on Jurai could fully comprehend it all, but she 
only needed to understand it herself to get her work done. Normally, 
she would be inputting this information onto her laptop computer, but 
the actions of said Galaxy Police Officer had caused a blackout in the 
science lab, which inexplicably had affected even the machinery that 
wasn't connected to the main electricity circuits. This, unfortunately, 
included Washu's computer. So now she was working 'the old-fashioned 
way', with only a candle for lighting.
   Truth be told, she found it all a little insulting that Empress 
Ayeka had insisted on taking almost total control of the 'super-ship' 
project, even down to choosing the team of researchers to work on it. 
Washu suspected that the Empress was trying to steal her thunder. But 
no matter - the ship would be completed, devastating laser weapons, 
reinforced shields, cloaks and all. And she would be right there to 
bask in the praise and admiration of the whole of Jurai.
   "So in your face, Ayeka," she said out loud.
   The candle perched on the edge of the table she sat at was in danger 
of burning out. It was the only light source she had on, but it 
illuminated the room as brightly as day after the adaptations she had 
made to the wax.
   Footsteps sounded far away, amplified by the hard, shiny surface of 
the floor.
   Washu turned to the monitor on the wall, and switched it on. A 
miniature map of her floor of the palace came up. Tiny red dots 
representing guards strutted up and down the bit of corridor assigned 
to them. None of them were outside the lab. And everybody else in the 
palace had been in his or her rooms since ten p.m. - a new law passed 
by Ayeka since Jurai had become under threat of war.
   An intruder, then, and it sounded as if he or she was coming this 
way. A huge grin lit up Washu's face. She casually picked up from her 
workbench a deceptively innocent-looking device that was capable of 
disintegrating a man from thirty paces, and toyed with it meditatively. 
She very much doubted that she'd have to use the gun - several traps 
had been set out along the corridor - but it paid to be sure.
   "Let me see," she crooned softly, "they should be reaching the 
collapsing ceiling pretty soon."
   There was a distant thud that nevertheless shook the walls of the 
lab, followed by a steady rush of dirt falling through the air. For a 
few seconds after that, there was silence. Then the footsteps started 
again, coming ever closer.
   Washu sat back in her chair. This one was a tough cookie. So far, no 
thief had managed to make it past the first trap. Well, this one would 
be hard pressed to survive the next one. She hummed an annoying little 
tune. "La la laaaaaaaa, Laser beams, laa la."
   A sudden explosion of light flashed up the corridor and through the 
cracks in the door, accompanied by several sizzling noises of vast 
amounts of energy being discharged.
   "Oh dear," said Washu in a tone of fake sadness, "that'll be one big 
bill to rebuild those walls." A bill that she wouldn't have to pay.
   The unmistakable sound of the footsteps started up again, very close 
now.
   Washu's grin didn't look quite as smug as it had to begin with. "The 
fifteen-thousand-volt invisible barrier will do the trick," she 
announced to the empty room, but her voice held a slight wobble of 
uncertainty.
   The sound got louder and louder as the mystery person got ever 
closer.
   "They should be reaching the force-field in three. two. one."
   There came an eerie silence. It sounded like whoever-it-was was 
fiddling with a gadget of some description. Suddenly, a minute humming 
noise that had been a background noise since the field was put up 
stopped abruptly. Now the silence rang, like just after a bell has been 
struck and the sharp, clear note dies away.
   And then the footfalls were coming towards the door, and quick 
fingers were pushing in the code on the keypad outside.
   The grin evaporated completely as a horrible thought struck down 
into Washu's brain like lightning. Surely the intruder couldn't be -? 
But if it were, wouldn't sirens be blaring through the building right 
now? Washu stared at the screen, little red capillaries showing in the 
whites of her eyes. According to the monitor, nobody was outside the 
room. She doubled her grip on the gun, and raised it to the door, ready 
to fire.
   The door was slowly, ominously sliding open.
   It couldn't be.
   "Mihoshi?" Washu squeaked in terror.
   A huge gust of wind blew the window right open, causing Washu to 
make a frantic leap to stop her precious papers from blowing away. At 
the same moment, a convenient crash of lightning outside illuminated a 
tall, slim figure standing in the doorframe. The dark silhouette took a 
step forward a split-second before Washu gathered her thoughts and 
shouted, "Don't move!"
   It was too late. Startled by the yell, the midnight visitor jumped 
slightly, just before her foot could find strong purchase on the floor, 
and her legs skidded out from under her. As she shot towards the 
ground, in her panic she grabbed a hold of the nearest surface, which 
happened to be a computer console that was under repairs. Several wires 
were yanked out in a shower of sparks, and a jet of smoke hissed out 
from under the control panel.
   Detective First Class Mihoshi landed painfully on her behind. 
"Ouch," she moaned tearfully.
   Washu closed her eyes and clenched her fists. "One, two, three."
   Mihoshi cast a guilty look over to the wrecked computer, which was 
making distressed beeping noises, and stood up, rubbing her back. "Ooh, 
sorry about that, Washu." She leaned forward. "Hey, what are you 
doing?"
   ".four, five, six, seven."
   "Are you alright, Washu?"
   ".eight, nine, ten!" Washu snapped. She fixed her maddened gaze upon 
the bumbling detective. "Yes, Mihoshi, I'm just wonderful! On top of 
the world! And may I say that your appearance has done nothing but 
elevate my feelings of joy and goodwill to all humanity!! I am so happy 
you decided to waltz in here and destroy a valuable piece of equipment, 
by the way!! Thank you very much indeed!!!"
   "Oh, you're welcome," said Mihoshi good-naturedly, completely 
oblivious to the sarcasm.
   The little scientist's left eyelid began to twitch. She took a deep, 
steadying breath and tried to speak rationally. "Now, Mihoshi - don't 
move! - is there a reason you're here? Make it a good one, mind."
   Mihoshi managed to tear her gaze away from the fascinating machinery 
lining the walls and focus on what Washu was saying. "Well, uh, you 
see, work is kind of slow right now in the Galaxy Police, and I've been 
feeling kind of bored."
   Washu raised an eyebrow, but did not interrupt.
   "So I kind of figured, out of all the people I know, who'd be the 
happiest to see me? And of course I immediately thought of you!"
   The eyebrow disappeared into Washu's hairline. "Really? Well, that's 
nice. and, uh, weird. You thought of me first, huh?"
   "Oh yeah. Right after Kiyone and Tenchi and Sasami and Ayeka and 
Nobuyuki and Yosho. And quite a lot of other people you don't know."
   Washu smiled dryly. "Ah. And you thought that four in the morning 
was the best time to pay me a little visit?"
   "My watch is broken."
   "I see. Come to think of it, how on earth did you get past those 
traps?"
   "Oh, the guard on the gate gave me a funny cloaking thing to get 
past those security beams, and a pass for the electric field, and a 
teleporty thingy to dodge the other stuff." Mihoshi gave a high-pitched 
little giggle. "It was pretty fun, actually!"
   Washu spluttered something incoherent. After Mihoshi got her to 
repeat it twice, she made out the words, "The guard just gave you a 
pass, just like that?"
   "Well, at first he wasn't going to let me through, but after I said 
who I was and that I was going to see you, he burst out laughing and 
handed the stuff right over."
   Washu's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "This guard - thin, ratty man? 
Moustache like a wire brush?"
   "Yeah, I think that was the guy."
   Washu nodded glumly. "It figures."
   Her thoughts flashed back to an occasion last month, when she'd run 
into that man. She had been walking towards the palace gates, planning 
how she could halve the amount of fuel the super-ship used in a light-
year, and he had been on guard duty. She was well aware of the man's 
reputation for pressing his intentions on every woman in the palace, so 
she intended to ignore him totally. He leered at her when she 
approached, so she had stuck her nose in the air and marched past him. 
Without warning, he had then grabbed her from behind, pinned her 
against the wall, and attempted to remove her tonsils with his tongue. 
This was far from being the most pleasurable experience of her life, so 
she had reacted by activating a minute power pack concealed beneath the 
skin of her right hand, and electrocuting him in a sensitive area. As a 
result, he had been hospitalised for several weeks, and unable to do 
what he loved the most for even longer. It didn't surprise her in the 
least that he was taking revenge by inflicting Detective Mihoshi on 
her.
   She sighed. "Well now, Mihoshi, I appreciate your visit, of course." 
She crossed her fingers behind her back. "But I'm actually pretty busy 
right now, so if you could call back some other time -" 'When I've had 
time to change the password for getting in here,' she added in her 
head.
   Mihoshi wasn't listening. Her eye had been caught by the symbols 
upon the piece of paper the scientist had been working on. "Wow!" she 
exclaimed, leaning forward. "What's all thi -"
   She didn't get to finish her sentence. When she had leaned forward 
to get a better look at the pretty shapes, her sleeve had caught on the 
edge of the table. She carelessly tugged herself free, but in doing so 
violently jarred the whole table.
   The candle wobbled. It swung right out so it was precariously 
balanced right on the edge of the dish it was fixed to. For a long, 
drawn-out second, it remained perfectly still, impossibly balanced on 
the rim like a circus act. Then at last, followed by two horrified 
pairs of eyes, it gave one last jolt and upended itself on the desk. 
The specially engineered extra bright, hot flame came into contact with 
the paper, and a whole day's work cheerfully burst into flames.
   At that point, Mihoshi made her only wise decision that day and beat 
a hasty retreat. As she tore up the corridor as if all the demons of 
hell were after her, a shriek of pure rage rang out behind her, enough 
to make anybody's blood run cold.
* * *
A little mud-and-brick building stood alone in the middle of the swamp, 
the only evidence of mankind for miles around. The Iqueran government 
couldn't have picked a more god-forsaken, out-of-the-way spot for an 
army camp if they'd tried. Yet, all over the planet, similar camps to 
these had sprung up almost overnight. They were the last lines of 
defence for a planet that was in ruins.
   Raucous men's voices raised in song drifted out into the night. 
Despite the fact that there were forty of them packed into a tiny 
cabin, despite the wind and rain that had just started up and blew 
through the thin walls and broken window, chilling them to the bone, 
they were trying to stay cheerful. After all, what else could they do? 
At least no Tao-Veeran soldiers were likely to attack a place like 
this.
   Inside the cabin, which was hot and dirty due to the presence of so 
many unwashed bodies, a young woman sat by herself in a corner, 
squatting down on the grimy floor. In one hand she held a wicked-
looking knife, in the other a blunt stone. She was running the stone 
along the blade with a satisfying scraping noise, paying no heed to the 
other people around her. A little animal lay asleep by her feet, 
occasionally twitching its long ears or its bushy tail as it dreamed.
   The woman's narrow, cat-like eyes followed the path of the stone 
mechanically. Those two golden orbs were as blank and emotionless as 
the sullen sky above the cabin. Although she was very attractive, with 
spiky cyan hair and a thin but tough figure, it was the kind of cold, 
inhuman beauty of a statue. This was somebody to be admired or feared, 
but never someone to pity - or to love. In spite of the lack of space, 
a little circle of empty floor had formed around her, as the men in the 
room squashed up even more to avoid coming into contact with her. 
   Ryoko remembered being happy, not so long ago. Back when she'd had 
friends, adventures, a new life on a warm, friendly planet. She ceased 
sharpening the knife for a moment and tilted her head back, her brow 
creasing as old memories resurfaced.
   She is standing in a meadow, in the middle of a hot, lazy summer. 
The corn has grown to her waist, and tickles her hands as she brushes 
through the eaves. Where she is standing, the sounds around her become 
magnified. The rustles as the corn stalks move aside for her. The 
throaty chirps of insects. The sizzle as the sun beats down, causing 
her to wipe beads of sweat from her forehead.
   Suddenly, a new instrument joins the symphony of summer sounds. 
Someone else is walking through the cornfields. She recognises the 
sound this person makes when he walks; steady, slow but sure-footed.
   She turns, and sees a young man making his way towards her. His head 
of dark hair bobs up and his deep brown eyes focus on her, his face 
tanned by the heat. He raises a hand and waves, and she waves back, 
love swelling up in her chest.
   "Ryoko!" His voice, so familiar and so welcome.
   "Come sit with me, Tenchi!" she calls back, rushing forward to meet 
him. He offers no resistance as she wraps both arms around his waist, 
pulling him down into the corn. A laugh escapes her lips as he stumbles 
and they both fall, to land lightly on the soft earth.
   "Why must you always tease, Ryoko?" he chides her with a mock glare.
   "You know you like me to tease," she replies, lying on her back to 
stare up at the sky. A few clouds scuttle across the sun; apart from 
that, a brilliant, sapphire blue dome encompasses her whole world - the 
only world she could want.
   She sighs in pure contentment. "Tenchi. I wish these days would go 
on forever."
* * *
   "60 of Iquera's major cities have been destroyed. There have been an 
estimated 50,000,000 Iqueran casualties so far, compared to a mere 
4,000 on our side. The military bases on Iquera are holding out, but 
they are small and need not be considered a threat."
   The Changer listened with half an ear while Cezute, Emperor of Tao-
Veer, droned on and on. For the past half and hour, ever since the 
overweight, cowardly Emperor had started talking, she had been staring 
out of the window. But not, however, to admire the view. The windows in 
the debriefing room were always kept gleaming, and the reflections they 
gave were just enough for her to see her splendid true features once 
again. She nodded from time to time, just to pretend she was listening, 
while she gazed, mesmerised, at her beautiful face.
   "Since Jurai has intervened, our losses have tripled, and our troops 
driven out of most of the land we have conquered. However, a 
substantial part of our army has been dispatched to Iquera this 
morning, and I am confident that the Juraians will be forced back to 
their own planet."
   The Changer smiled, and flicked back an annoying lock of teal-
coloured hair from her forehead. It didn't show up on her true 
reflection, of course, but she could feel it brushing past her eyes, 
and it irritated her.
   Cezute frowned. "Did you hear any of that, Lady Layuki?"
   "Of course," the Changer lied unashamedly. She didn't need to know 
any of this, anyway. The outcome of the attack on Iquera had been 
obvious right from the start. Or at least, it had been until those damn 
Juraians stepped in.
   "I have no doubt that Iquera will be conquered within a week," said 
the Emperor pompously. He had a very patronising tone when he spoke to 
her. "But I fail to see what possible good can come of waging war on 
Jurai. It outstrips us in military, weapons, strategic position, size -
"
   The Changer swung around from the window to face him, her expression 
terrible. Cezute stuttered off into silence, suddenly afraid.
   "I have my reasons for taking Jurai," she intoned, calmly yet 
menacingly. "Personal reasons, I hope you understand? Reasons which are 
mine alone." The murderous look in her eyes melted away to be replaced 
by cunning, which didn't make her any less terrifying. "Of course, 
being the Emperor of the most powerful planet in the known galaxy might 
be considered a bonus for you, your Highness." She smiled devilishly.
   Cezute swallowed nervously, his Adams' apple bobbing up and down, 
making him look like a turkey. "O - of course, m'lady." Then his 
expression changed, too, his eyes gleaming slyly. "Incidentally, you 
might be interested to know that I have some information for you."
   The Changer eyed him suspiciously. "What information would this be?"
   "Concerning the whereabouts of a certain woman."
   The Changer's brown eyes narrowed dangerously, a sure sign that her 
patience was failing her. "Just why would I be interested in that? Who 
is this person you refer to?"
   Cezute knew he had her interest. He walked slowly to the end of the 
long table, and just as slowly sat down. Out of the corner of his eye, 
he saw the detestable woman clench her fists in exasperation at the way 
he was taking his time. The sight of her anger both amused and 
frightened him.
   He flicked on the small, portable database he always carried with 
him, and watched as the image of the woman that would so interest Lady 
Layuki flickered onto the screen. Then he turned the little database 
around so it was facing the Lady.
   He watched her closely as she stalked across the room, high heels 
clacking on the marble floor. There was a pregnant pause, during which 
he studied her face. At first, she subjected the photograph to close 
scrutiny. Then her lined, hazel eyes widened in recognition and shock. 
She stepped quickly backwards as if the sight on the screen had 
scorched her face. Grasping the back of a chair for support, she 
gasped, "Where did you get this picture? Who is she - where is she?"
   "She is a Detective First Class in the Galaxy Police. I gather you 
know who she is already," replied Cezute smoothly.
   The Changer gaped, incredulous. The attractive, stern-faced woman on 
the screen, staring out from serious chocolate-coloured eyes set 
beneath long, aqua hair was indeed familiar to her. "Kiyone?"
   "That is she."
   For a while, the Changer could do nothing but gasp and splutter. 
Then a wicked, feral grin spread across her face, her eyes a mirror of 
her mouth. "This is perfect," she breathed.
   "I imagined you would be pleased to see her again. After all, she is 
- an old friend, shall I say."
   The Changer shot him a scornful smile. "Not to me, she wasn't. But 
this is just incredibly fortunate for me." She gave a cruel laugh.
   Cezute frowned, perplexed. He could understand Lady Layuki's 
excitement at the possibility of being reunited with someone so close 
to her - presumably - but the way she was talking sounded so.
   "Can you contact her?" barked the Changer abruptly.
   "I believe so."
   "Do it. Do it today. Summon her here, understand?"
   "Of course."
   Lady Layuki almost twirled across the room, coming to a stop before 
the window. Just as suddenly as she had become ecstatic, she calmed 
down to regain her pensive staring out of the window. From extreme to 
extreme.
   Cezute sat still for a few minutes, but she didn't seem about to say 
anything, and he had already told her all that he felt necessary. He 
stood up as quietly as possible, and tiptoed towards the door. About 
halfway there he realised that he didn't have to be quiet, so he strode 
the rest of the way, stamping slightly in annoyance.
   Just as his hand touched the handle, Lady Layuki half-turned. He 
could just see one closed eye, and the dispassionate red tinge of her 
mouth. She had been stunning when he first met her. He remembered 
briefly part of the reason why he had given her the position she held.
   "Launch an attack on Jurai and Iquera," said the Changer, her voice 
completely devoid of emotion. But not a full attack; just enough to 
distract them."
   Curiosity grabbed the Emperor by the throat. "What for?"
   "You would do well not to question me," said the Lady icily. Now go. 
Give the order to your soldiers now, then contact Kiyone."
   Clamping his lips firmly together to remove the possibility of him 
questioning her, Cezute nodded curtly and backed out of the door.
   When he was gone, the Changer surveyed herself critically. The faint 
image in the window was as entrancing as ever, but that was only to be 
expected. Despite her attractiveness, she felt nothing but fatigued and 
stiff. And old.
   She ran a slender finger down the side of her face. Her skin was 
dry, and she felt the faint suggestion of tiny wrinkles. She knew that 
she didn't have much time left before she started to deteriorate. A 
hint of fear touched her heart. She sighed wistfully. She had got 
fifteen years wear out of this body. For the first time ever, she 
wished she could see what it looked like. Her own, perfect reflection 
gazed back at her, displeased.
   As she turned away from her suddenly unwelcome face, pain throbbed 
momentarily in a muscle in her back. It brought her thoughts back to 
the inevitable time when this body would take no more, and she would 
return to the realm from which she came. That time was very, very soon.
   Lucky she had found Kiyone, really.
* * *
The room was silent, dark except for a small flicker of waning sunlight 
shining through the gap between the curtains. Nobody was allowed in 
here. To someone unfamiliar with Juraian customs, it would seem strange 
that entry for this room was so strictly prohibited. It was barely 
bigger than a broom cupboard, and far, far emptier. The only item in 
the room was a tall glass case, and inside that case was the object of 
Princess Sasami's quest.
   The young princess had been let in once the automatic scanner 
identified her as being of royal blood. Now she eased the door quickly 
shut behind her and immersed herself in darkness, her heart thudding 
against her ribcage. Her face burned with guilt - royalty she may be, 
her being here felt wrong all the same.
   Sasami crept up to the case, her mouth dry. The glimmer of light 
from the curtains caught the edge of the glass and displayed the dark 
red of Ayeka's wedding dress. How the princess had longed to see it 
again - to touch that gorgeous soft material, imagine herself wearing 
it in maybe five years time. Feeling like a heinous criminal, Sasami 
eased the door to the case open. The hinges were so well oiled that 
they offered not the slightest sound. Not even daring to breathe, she 
reached out a tentative hand to brush the skirt with her fingertips.
   A deafening noise erupted throughout the room - a siren. Sasami's 
thoughts raced; the foremost one was that she had been caught. With a 
little scream of shock, she spun away from the case and clapped both 
hands tightly over her ears, hoping to block the wall of sound pounding 
on her eardrums. Nothing seemed to stop it getting through her skull 
and drilling into her brain.
   The princess took a few steps forward, then stopped in total panic. 
Her throbbing head, coupled with the darkness, and her terrible fear 
and confusion, had thrown vivid purple spots dancing in front of her 
sore eyes, as a result of which she couldn't tell which direction she 
was facing, or where the door was.
   "I - I'm blind!" she shrieked, but nobody could possibly hope to 
hear her over the din. She stumbled, tripped and fell backwards with a 
scream, expecting to hit the solid floor hard. However, something soft 
broke her fall. She realised that she had landed on the dress. Her 
relief was short-lived though, as the impact of her body caused the 
garment to slide off its stand and envelop her in a crush of thick 
satin.
   Sasami's next scream was cut off as a wedge of material muffled her 
mouth. She clawed her way out from under the dress and gasped when she 
at last emerged, drawing in lungfuls of fresh air. Suddenly remembering 
what she'd done, she burst into a wave of frightened sobs.
   "Oh no, I've ruined it!" she wailed. "Ayeka will never f-forgive me, 
and it was s-so beautiful, and I d-destroyed it!" Sasami made a futile 
attempt to wipe away the tears that were covering her face. Then she 
hauled herself to her feet and ran wildly towards where she imagined 
the door to be. She had apparently guessed right, for her groping 
fingers found a handle. She twisted sharply, and burst out into the 
corridor.
   The princess stopped and stared at the sight that met her eyes. Men, 
women and children were tearing up the passage in utter panic, most of 
them screaming, all of them with a definite direction in mind. They 
were all headed for the cargo bay. Somehow the lights had been cut, so 
the terrified Juraians were all bathed in the eerie red glow of the 
alarm, which was flashing on the wall, emitting a mournful wail.
   Sasami suddenly realised that the noise that had scared her wasn't a 
burglar alarm after all.
   It was an air raid alert.
   Sasami took a deep breath, put the dress out of her mind, and 
followed the stream of people in their mad rush. The instant she 
stepped into the crowd, she was carried along by a tide of bodies. The 
corridor was so packed that she soon found herself wedged firmly 
between a short man with a severe moustache, two running children, both 
bawling, and a tall blonde woman in a Galaxy Police uniform -
   "Mihoshi!" Sasami suddenly exclaimed.
   The woman running by her side looked down, and the princess saw that 
her face was streaked with frightened tears as well. "We're being 
attacked!" Mihoshi cried, her blue eyes wide.
   A stab of pure fear entered Sasami's heart. She swallowed to choke 
down the huge lump that had crept up her throat, and clutched the 
policewoman's hand. Mihoshi squeezed it tightly, and pulled her along, 
shoving people out of the way. Seeing her usually simple, ditzy friend 
helping her to safety made Sasami feel less afraid, somehow. A tiny 
smile of hope touched her lips, and quickly vanished when a very fat 
woman holding a baby in her arms collided with her heavily, knocking 
all her breath out.
   A particularly loud scream from behind her caused Sasami to look 
around to see where it came from. A little boy who couldn't have been 
older than three was stumbling through the passage, being bumped from 
all sides. "Mummy!" he wailed again.
   Sasami looked around for a sign of the child's mother, but saw 
nobody looking for a son. She hesitated only a second before reaching 
down and swinging the boy up onto her shoulder. He was surprisingly 
heavy, and caused the thirteen-year-old girl's knees to buckle 
slightly, but she gritted her teeth and kept running. She ran for what 
seemed like hours, although in reality the whole dash from beginning to 
end had only lasted a few minutes.
   Eventually, the crush of people eased up, and then Sasami and 
Mihoshi emerged into the large, airy cargo bay, blinking in the sudden 
light.
   A petite woman with brown hair hurried past, going frantic. 
"Matthao!" she called at the top of her voice as she anxiously scanned 
the crowd.
   The boy on Sasami's shoulder looked up and saw her. "Mummy!" he 
cried, stretching both his little arms out towards the woman. She saw 
him and gave a shout of joy before sprinting towards them. Sasami set 
the child down and watched him run to his mother without giving her a 
second glance.
   Next she turned to Mihoshi. "Where's my sister and Tenchi?"
   "Ayeka's up at the front, and Tenchi been notified of the attack. He 
should have set off a while ago," panted the GP officer, placing one 
hand on her head to stop her cap from being lost in the scrum.
   Sasami let go of her friend's hand, and made her way to the other 
end of the spacious cargo bay. However, every time she took a few steps 
someone jostled her, sending her the other way. She looked all around 
her, but most of the people about were taller than her, making it near 
impossible to spot her sister.
   "Sasami!" cried a familiar voice.
   "Ayeka!" the princess called back, running in the direction the 
voice had come from.
   She soon found her sister. Far from looking the neat, respectable 
Ayeka she was used to seeing, the woman that met her in the middle of 
the room had her clothes messed up, her hair in disarray and her makeup 
smudged. However, the authoritative tone was unmistakable.
   "Sasami, follow everybody to the stasis units. You'll be safe there 
until the attack is over. Hurry!" She began to push her younger sister 
towards the row of tall, clinical-looking stasis pods lining the walls.
   Before Sasami could collect her thoughts, she was being gently 
helped into the chamber and seated in the middle of a row of people. 
Ayeka flashed her a quick smile and disappeared again.
   Sasami gave up trying to assert any semblance of control over her 
present situation, and slumped down, suddenly inexplicably tired. It 
felt as if her entire body had been drained of energy, and she'd only 
just noticed.
   The racket in the cargo bay got quieter and quieter as more and more 
people reached the stasis units. Finally, there was only a muted 
undercurrent of talk that Sasami found oddly lulling. She tried to make 
herself comfortable on the broad bench she was seated on and closed her 
eyes.
   A moment later, the door was closed.
   A moment after that, there was a bright flash inside the chamber, 
and everybody froze where they were, locked in perpetual smiles, 
frowns, or half-finished conversations.
   Ayeka paused during her check of the right-hand units to peer at her 
little sister. Sasami's eyes were closed; were it not for the fact that 
her chest wasn't moving with breath, the Empress would have sworn she 
was just sleeping. She looked small and alone amongst all the people, 
but she appeared to be smiling.
   Ayeka smiled too, very briefly, before turning around, her eyes 
narrowed. Tao-Veeran ships were above her palace, attacking her people. 
She faced the remaining people in the room. The small crowd was 
composed of knights, scientists, technicians and military leaders, all 
the best in their field.
   "Report!" she barked, trying not to let her anxiety show through in 
her voice.
   A General Muyati ripped off a smart salute. "Our fleet is engaged in 
battle with the enemy. Over thirty percent of the attacking ships have 
been destroyed. However, damage has been done to the city. The palace 
has not yet been hit -"
   As if to prove that one should not tempt fate, a sudden bright, blue 
light flashed through the room. All the people present shielded their 
eyes to avoid being blinded by the intensity of the glare. They could 
also hear an ominous humming noise that was steadily growing louder and 
higher-pitched.
   "What is -" Ayeka began.
   She got no further than that before a deafening explosion rocked the 
room, sending everyone flying. Ayeka landed on her back, and gasped. A 
vast hole had been torn in the roof of the room, caused by a shot from 
one of the Tao-Veeran ships. The bolt must have passed through every 
floor in the palace to reach this basement room.
   Ayeka had only half a second to take this in. The border of the hole 
was crumbling in, releasing huge slabs of stone and concrete. All 
around her was a frantic scramble as people tried desperately to get 
out of the way.
   Ayeka struggled to her feet. "Everybody stay calm!" she shouted, but 
nobody seemed to hear. Ayeka's thoughts fled to Tenchi. He would be 
travelling back to Jurai now. If he had run into any Tao-Veeran ships 
on the way -
   Ayeka would have pursued this thought further, but at that moment 
something heavy struck the back of her head, and everything went black.
* * *
The waning sunlight caught the edge of a cruel, curved blade just 
before it slashed down to hack away at the undergrowth.
   A woman was making slow but determined progress against the 
veritable mountain of shrubs, trees and creepers that barred her way 
and covered every inch of the island. She wore dark, skin-tight clothes 
and sturdy leather boots beneath a dull cloak and hood that blew behind 
her in the wind. Secured at her belt were several weapons of varying 
lethality. A wisp of silvery hair caught in the wind, blowing around 
the left side of her face and temporarily obscuring two triangular 
tattoos that ran from her hairline to the centre of her cheek. Loping 
at her side was a mangy white cabbit, its eyes the same shade as the 
flickering lamp that its mistress carried in her free hand.
   She sliced the sword cleanly through the air with the skill of a 
professional, for that was what she was. A professional with an agenda 
to take care of. Hack, slash, and she moved another few inches along 
the ground, her cabbit effortlessly keeping pace. They had been 
travelling like this for hours, but they showed no signs of tiring.
   One last patch of greenery died beneath the sword, and at last she 
saw what she was looking for. A small cabin turned green and sickly by 
the fumes of the swamp, from which loud male voices were mangling a 
popular song.
   The woman's eyes narrowed. Ryoko was inside. She could tell.
   "Should we pay someone a visit?" said Nagi softly, her steady gaze 
never shifting from the building.
   "Miaow," answered Ken-Ohki.
* * *
She stands by the side of the lake, peering into its clear depths. The 
water is so still that it shows her reflection perfectly. Her hair is 
particularly scruffy that day, from the effort of all the yard work 
she's been doing. A few traces of dust still linger on her cheeks. Her 
golden eyes, however, are as bright as ever. For once, she has dressed 
in something conservative, a long, grey dress, several years old, which 
she wears specially for chores.
   A second reflection joins hers, staring into the water. A young man, 
slightly taller than she is, wearing loose, dark clothing. He wipes a 
bead of sweat from his brow, still out of breath - evidently, he's just 
been training.
  "Admiring your beauty?" he asks teasingly.
   Her lips tilt in a smile. "Why bother when I can get you to do it 
for me?"
   Tenchi bows low. "As you wish, mademoiselle."
   She laughs delightedly. Even if he is partly joking, she knows that 
the words her lover speaks hold a solemn conviction.
   Tenchi looks a little more seriously at her. "I think I ought to get 
back to the house. I need to get cleaned up from that practise."
   She looks him up and down. He really is quite grubby, his clothes 
slightly stained with dirt. Katsuhito had probably knocked him over at 
one point. An idea suddenly comes to her, and she grins mischievously 
at Tenchi. "Why bother going back to the house, when we can -"
   Without finishing the sentence, she seizes Tenchi around the waist, 
and takes to the air, floating out over the lake.
   "Don't you dare!" he admonishes.
   Her grin seems to widen just for a moment, before she lets go. 
Tenchi lands in the water with a satisfying splash. She giggles 
quietly, before lowering herself so she is hovering just above the 
surface, trying to see where he has gone.
   Without warning, he rises up from underneath, laughing, grabs her 
hand and pulls her in after him. Now they are both immersed in the 
refreshingly cool water. She feels it all around her, soothing her. She 
feels Tenchi pressed against her, his closeness, so irresistible.
   She kisses him, lightly at first, then with urgency. His arms come 
up around her back to hold her gently. They both rise to the surface, 
never letting go of each other -
   "Hey, wake up!"
   At last, the urgent voice and the incessant shaking got through to 
Ryoko. She awoke abruptly, already feeling the dream slipping away. 
Again, she found herself exposed to the harsh reality of her true 
situation. Those memories, that kept resurfacing while she slept, kept 
her going, kept her alive. Now that she was awake once more, bleakness 
settled over her heart.
   She turned to see who had awakened her, her face utterly 
emotionless. It was one of her fellow soldiers. Like most of the other 
men in the cabin, he was skinny and wiry, with a vast amount of facial 
hair. Most of the Iqueran species had this in common, as well as a 
thick, green, scaly skin. This man had apparently been trying to get 
her attention for quite some time. "We're being attacked!" he cried, in 
a thick Fendish accent.
   "Oh," said Ryoko disinterestedly. "About time, too." She threw the 
rough, scratchy covers off herself and stood up. Ryo-Ohki mewled in 
protest as it found its source of warmth gone.
   The male soldier who had warned her had already vanished outside to 
join his comrades. Already, Ryoko could see several bodies outside the 
door, most of them Iqueran. The military base was going to get 
slaughtered.
   She shrugged. Fine by her.
   "Come on, Ryo-Ohki," she muttered, before heading out into the 
battlefield.
* * *
Nagi peered through the battle. She knew that Ryoko was somewhere in 
this scrum, but picking her out of the chaos would be impossible. In 
that case, she'd just have to trust to luck.
   She absentmindedly drew her sword and thrust out to her right. A man 
who had been about to shoot her through the heart stopped dead as 
Nagi's sword ran him through. She yanked on the hilt, and the blade 
came out cleanly. The man gagged, then toppled over harmlessly. Nagi 
nodded to herself, then strode out into the field, not giving the body 
lying at her feet a second glance.
* * *
As expected, the fight was bloody, brutal and swift. A Tao-Veeran 
warship was positioned far above the atmosphere, plainly visible but 
too far up to hit with an energy bolt from a gun.
   Ryoko quickly took in how many of the enemy there was. About fifty 
or so, she calculated. Not too many, but still enough to outnumber the 
troops from the Iqueran base, and also with superior weapons. Quite 
skilled fighters, too. Five years ago, she would have decided she would 
enjoy the challenge. Now, she just didn't give a damn whether she died 
or not.
   Ryoko concentrated, and an energy sword formed in her hand. The beam 
was strong and powerful. One of the things she had done during her 
recent time as a space pirate was work to improve her physical 
condition, and the training exercises she had put herself through 
really showed. She flew into battle at a shocking speed, twisting the 
blade around to decapitate a passing soldier. He died without uttering 
a sound. Seconds later, two more soldiers shared a similar fate - one 
stabbed cleanly through the heart, the other torn almost in half as the 
humming blade sliced through his stomach.
   In the past, Ryoko had been an exceptionally skilled warrior, but 
she had an important flaw - her fiery emotions. She lost her temper at 
the drop of a hat, sometimes making her irrational and careless in 
fights; and that could be taken advantage of. Now, she left no opening 
for retaliation. Her fighting was flawless. To the enemy, it was like 
being attacked by a robot that cannot be tricked or exploited, but with 
the skill and experience of a person. She almost danced through the 
field, swinging the sword at her opponents, never failing to miss her 
mark.
   Ryo-Ohki sat on Ryoko's shoulder, warmed by her hood. She regretted 
that she could not aid her mistress, but she could only do so in 
spaceship form, and if she transformed, the Tao-Veeran battleship above 
would instantly mow her down. Suddenly, her ears pricked, and she sat 
up, nose twitching, and alert. She sensed another of her kind nearby. A 
creature familiar to her. Surely it couldn't be -
* * *
A man came running at Nagi, his gun trained on her head. He looked 
half-crazy with his bloodstained hair and clothing. His mouth was open 
wide as he screamed a battle cry.
   Nagi scowled in exasperation as she drew a knife and threw it into 
the attacker's throat. She was getting fed up of losing her throwing 
knives like this. It wasn't as if she was part of this war or cared 
about its outcome. But she had to find Ryoko as fast as possible. She 
couldn't run the risk of one of these soldiers killing her first.
   Suddenly, a man nearby gasped, his eyes going wide and glassy. Nagi 
recognised the look of someone who had just departed this world, and 
she stepped nimbly out of the way so the body would not land on her.
   As the soldier fell forward onto the ground, a spiky-haired woman 
with a cabbit on her shoulder pulled her lightsword out of the man's 
back. She spared the body one last glance before turning away. But in 
that instant, her eyes met Nagi's, and the two women's gazes locked.
   Ryoko gave a gasp of horrified recognition. "You!"
   Ryo-Ohki miyaed in delight at seeing Ken-Ohki. Nagi's cabbit purred 
deeply in response.
   Nagi had grasped the hilt of her sword and pulled it from its 
scabbard in the space of half a second. She pointed the tip of the 
blade at her enemy's throat, barely breathing heavily. She had 
contemplated this moment, of meeting Ryoko and finally killing her, for 
nearly twenty years. Yet, somehow, she couldn't bring herself to give 
the quick thrust of her arm that would destroy Ryoko once and for all. 
She shook her head slightly in confusion. This was what she wanted - 
wasn't it?
   For her part, Ryoko just continued staring at her old adversary as 
if she were in a stupor. How could she expect Nagi to realise that 
seeing her was like seeing a ghost? For so long, she had tried to deny 
that any of her old life ever existed. Ayeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, Kiyone, 
Washu - and Nagi - were all but shadows to her now. Apart from Tenchi; 
she couldn't shut him from her memories, even if she'd wanted to. He 
existed purely to remind her of why she was doing all this in the first 
place. Why she bothered to continue living. Because as long as there 
was Tenchi, there was hope. If there was even one, tiny chance he might 
still -
   A sharp, stinging pain exploded in her right shoulder. Ryoko cried 
out in anger - seeing Nagi had distracted her from the battle. Her 
lightsword formed again, she spun around to deal the killing blow to 
whoever had harmed her; but before she could execute the swing, 
something pierced her in the stomach. She doubled up in pain, coughing 
a mouthful of blood onto the ground. One of the enemy had finally got 
her. He looked like the commanding officer in that he wore two small 
studs on his collar, identifying him as a higher rank. He had run a 
long, thin sword through her side. Luckily the blow had not fallen any 
nearer to the centre, or it might have struck a vital organ. However, 
she was now bleeding profusely, and a light, giddy feeling had suddenly 
swum to her head. The officer who stabbed her was raising his hand for 
the final strike. Ryoko closed her eyes in acceptance of her fate. 
Through the fog in her brain, she hoped that wherever Tenchi was, he 
was remembering her.
   She was expecting to feel some pain, but was mildly surprised when 
none came. She forced her head up, and saw the soldier staggering back, 
mouth opening and closing like a fish, with a curved sword thrust 
through his chest. Oh, Nagi had killed him. Wonder why.
   She slowly fell over backwards, to be caught in a thin but strong 
pair of arms. She was then lifted onto a shoulder almost tenderly. Ryo-
Ohki leapt up to join her, meowing frantically.
   She heard Nagi's voice whisper fiercely in her ear, "Don't think you 
can avoid our duel like this, Ryoko. Nobody is going to have the 
satisfaction of killing you, but me."
   Ryoko tried to speak in answer, but all that came out was a low 
moan.
   Then, she descended blissfully into unconsciousness.
* * *
The purple cover had been removed. The mirror, clear and smooth as when 
it was new, seemed to glow with radiance.
   The Changer rubbed her hands together, an unpleasant smile on her 
thin, cracked lips. The smile made her mirror image look cruel and 
sinister, but on the fading form of her chosen figure, she looked 
terrifying. Her teeth looked slightly sharper in the dimmed light of 
her room; her eyes appeared sunken and animalistic. Her face contained 
such a mixture of anticipation and malice to make anybody tremble.
   For once, Lady Layuki was not examining her reflection. Rather, she 
looked beyond that, into the world within the mirror. For a mirror 
could reflect everything; it could see through time and space and into 
the souls of men. At least - if it was used correctly, by somebody with 
enough power. And she had power, all right. For fifteen years had she 
harvested that power, storing it, never wasting a single drop, all so 
she could achieve this one purpose. That purpose had been clear to her 
ever since she had witnessed the death of her faithful servant, Kagato, 
at the hands of the boy, Tenchi, and those two wretched girls whom had 
aided him. The Empress Ayeka - not as if she was worthy of the title - 
and that slut of a space pirate, Ryoko.
   The Changer's eyes narrowed in contemplation. With a wave of her 
hand (the gesture was not necessary, but it felt more traditional to 
her), the image in the mirror wavered and flickered like a holographic 
projection, the glass bulging and rippling like water. Then, the 
reflection divided itself into two clear sections, right and left. The 
left side showed a huge and lavish bedroom, while the other displayed 
the interior of a spaceship. Both of the figures shown within the two 
rooms were instantly recognisable. The Changer leaned forward, her 
smile widening. Yes. yes, it was working.
   She felt a thrill of exhilaration. This was the first time she had 
used her phenomenal powers since - well, since she had been alive. The 
sensation coursing through her was almost divine. In a dreamlike state, 
she raised both arms so they were each pointing at a different 
reflection. Then, with a scream comprised of triumph, fear and greed, 
the Changer plunged both arms into the mirror.
   Instead of cracking and slicing her arms to ribbons, the glass 
instead parted smoothly to let her in. She stood with her arms sunk in 
up to the elbows, an expression of absent, hypnotic, terrified joy upon 
her face.
* * *
She was alone in a world of shadows - of images. She turned, and saw a 
million billion reflections turn with her. But they were not her 
reflections. They showed people, so many different people. All of them 
doing ordinary things.
   She stepped up to the nearest glass, and stared at the little girl 
standing there. The child gazed at her through solemn rose-coloured 
eyes that matched the gown she wore perfectly. She wore a garland of 
yellow flowers in the long, purple hair that fell around her shoulders, 
almost to the ground. As the Changer watched, she became aware of 
something else. Not so much a picture, but more of a - feeling. An 
unknown emotion. Something the Changer had never experienced before, 
and it frightened her. What was it? The answer arrived in her mind, 
unbidden. Love. Love for another person. Something she had never felt, 
or if she had, the feeling was long buried within her memory, too lost 
to ever be retrieved. The Changer's breath quickened in fear. Who was 
this child, who seemed to know even more than she did?
   Her heart pounding, the Changer edged away, to free herself from 
those deep eyes. Soon she found herself running as fast as she could, 
through the halls of mirrors. The girl followed her through the 
reflections like a shadow. But as she ran, the girl changed. She grew 
taller and more mature, losing the childish innocence in her gaze, to 
be replaced with enlightenment and understanding. Soon it was a young 
woman, with her beauty in full bloom, effortlessly keeping pace.
   The Changer decided she'd had enough. Why should she run from these 
vague images? They could not harm her, trapped as they were within a 
reflection. She stopped dead, then swung around to face the mirror 
beside her.
   Except that the girl had gone. In her place was an empty 
nothingness. The whole mirror was utterly black.
   Curiosity had now regained some hold over the Changer. She stepped 
nearer, until she was almost nose to nose with the glass. Right in the 
middle of the darkness, she could faintly discern a tiny speck of - 
well, actually she couldn't tell what it was. But something was 
compelling her to find out.
   Without quite knowing how, the Changer had stepped through the 
mirror and into the dark. At once, utter blackness engulfed her. It 
wasn't just the colour as the feeling of blackness - of a joyless void. 
She didn't seem to be standing on anything, but there was no sensation 
of falling, or of moving at all.
   She could still see the thing she had spotted in the middle of the 
blackness. It was a long distance away, but she could discern its shape 
as being humanoid. The Changer took one step towards it -
   - And suddenly it was there, in front of her. A yelp escaped the 
Changer's lips, but no sound issued forth. A thick, muffled silence 
hung all around her.
   What seemed to be a young female, probably in her early twenties, 
was curled up in the foetal position. Spikes of cyan hair poked out 
from behind the figure's spindly knees. The girl was shivering 
piteously. Occasionally her shoulders would heave as if a sob was 
forcing its way to the surface.
   The Changer stared down at this wretched creature and felt no 
sympathy. She felt nothing at all but contempt. She knew who this was - 
Ryoko, the woman who had been partly responsible for the failure of her 
last plan. The woman who she was attempting to destroy. The initial 
fear of this strange place had now evaporated, leaving the Changer free 
to remember her plan. Yes, better to fulfil her task now. She was aware 
that her mere presence in this world was draining her precious energy 
away.
   She raised a hand, and reached out with her mind until she tapped 
into the flow of power within her - part Juraian, and part. something 
else. A small energy ball formed in her palm, then extended outwards 
until she was grasping a long, white sword by the hilt. She gazed down 
upon the helpless woman at her feet for one last time, and a grimace of 
disgust twisted her mouth.
   "Goodbye, Ryoko," she said, soundlessly.
   Just as she prepared to bring the sword down, the girl looked up.
   The Changer gasped as a terrible, unimaginable pain filled her head. 
The sword flickered, then vanished. She dropped to her knees in agony, 
clutching her head as thousands of Ryoko's emotions assaulted her, over 
and over again.
   Betrayal. Despair. Anger. Hatred. The misery of years throbbed 
through her in the space of a second. Her heart was broken, time and 
time again, as she felt the anguish of a love taken away.
   As she rolled over, feeling as if her head would explode, she saw 
Ryoko stand up and stare down at her, in a reversal of the roles from 
ten seconds ago. Except that Ryoko's face held pity, even regret.
   "You do not deserve the second chance at life that you gave 
yourself," she said, in a voice laden with sadness.
   It did not even come as a surprise to the Changer, in her agonised 
state, that Ryoko was talking and she could hear it. "P-lease," she 
gasped, tears streaming down her face, "ma-ke it - s-s-to-p, I beg 
you."
   Another figure came to join Ryoko. The Changer recognised her as the 
purple-haired woman from the mirror that she had seen earlier.
   "You took a life that you might live," said the newcomer in a calm, 
melodious voice. "For that, you must pay." She and Ryoko exchanged a 
look, then nodded. They stepped towards each other and joined hands.
   As the Changer watched in torment, the two figures began to blur. 
Their joined hands appeared to melt into a flesh-coloured liquid, which 
extended up their arms through their entire bodies. They seemed to flow 
into each other, the two forms combining to make one.
   At last, the Changer stared, wide eyed and shaking uncontrollably, 
at the figure now standing before her. An aura of incredible power 
emanated from its very being.
   "You looked into our souls, and you feared what you found there," it 
said, in a strange double-voice, like an echo. "You attempted to erase 
us, but you failed. You will never be able to break our spirit."
   The headband upon the creature's forehead began to glow, and a vivid 
green ball of Juraian energy started to condense in the outstretched 
hands. Suddenly, the energy changed into a lightsword. The sword was 
raised high in the air, leaving a trail of after images that made the 
eyes water.
   And then it stabbed downwards.
   The Changer grit her teeth, ready for the end, but at the same time 
she saw the sheet of glass that she had originally come through 
hovering just inches away. The sight gave her a tiny shred of hope. 
Raising herself painfully onto her knees, she swung both arms round in 
a double-fisted swipe, and smashed the mirror.
   Everything exploded in transparent shards all around her, some even 
passing through her body as if she were nothing more than a ghost. The 
creature that had nearly killed her stopped short, the blade of the 
lightsword inches from her head. Then it evaporated like mist.
   She blacked out.
* * *
It wasn't until hours later that Cezute wondered why Lady Layuki hadn't 
turned up for a debriefing, and sent a couple of guards to go and get 
her. They found her in her room, unconscious, surrounded by shards of 
glass from the smashed mirror. She didn't have a mark on her.
* * *
Ryoko's eyes slowly fluttered open. Immediately, she was forced to 
close them again, as a ray of sharp light nearly blinded her. She tried 
to move her head, and again was forced to give up, as a throbbing pain 
suddenly swelled inside her skull. Actually, that was pretty strange, 
since she didn't remember being hit on the head.
   What had happened? She tried her best to remember. There had been a 
battle, and someone had stabbed her in the side. Yes, that was it. But 
why was there no pain at all in that area? And why, for that matter, 
had she not been killed by the blow?
   Nagi.
   The answer arrived in her brain like a shaft of light. Nagi had 
rescued her. Had carried her to safety, through the battlefield. That 
presumably meant that she was the bounty hunter's prisoner. Great.
   She groaned wearily, moving a hand to her head, and her fingers 
touched soft cotton. A bandage had been wrapped around her forehead.
   "Her Highness is awakening."
   The sentence made little sense to Ryoko, in her current state of 
confusion. About the only thing she picked up on was that the voice was 
not one she recognised.
   "Thank god - Ryoko, are you alright? Can you hear me?"
   The second voice she knew instantly. Her eyes flew wide open, and 
her heartbeat quickened, thudding in her chest like a drum. Was it - 
surely it couldn't be -?
   "Tenchi?" she mumbled through lips that felt like cotton wool.
   He rose into her field of vision like an impossible, wonderful 
illusion. It was Tenchi, looking exactly how she remembered, with his 
hair worn short and spiky, and that little ponytail at the back still. 
His eyes held the same kind-heartedness and tenderness that had made 
her fall in love with him to begin with. His face radiated nothing but 
concern and worry - for her. Her mind was in a whirl. Her Tenchi? Here? 
With her?
   No, she corrected herself. Not her Tenchi. That was a part of her 
life that had ceased to exist long ago. And yet, what was that she saw 
shining in his eyes? Was it - love? No, she had to be just imagining 
it.
   At that moment, Tenchi smiled. He lifted a hand and gently stroked 
the side of her face, brushing back the hair with his fingers. That 
single caress brought back so many memories, of moments just like that, 
back when they were together. Ryoko felt the desire to push him away, 
to hurt him the way that he had hurt her back then, but she found that 
she simply couldn't move. She could only lie there, relishing the feel 
of his touch on her skin.
   "Alright, give the Prince some room," came the gruff voice she had 
heard earlier. A shuffling noise marked several people backing away.
   Only then did Ryoko notice her surroundings. She was lying on what 
was quite possibly the most comfortable surface she had ever 
encountered. Her head was cushioned on fluffy pillows, while the rest 
of her body lay on a bed so luxurious and deep she was actually sinking 
into the mattress. On a sudden whim, she tested her wounded side with a 
hand. No pain whatsoever came. She blinked in surprise. She knew that 
the Juraians were advanced, but even their technology could hardly have 
completely healed a wound as severe as that in such a short space of 
time.
   She raised her eyes to Tenchi's face again. So many times, she had 
imagined what it would be like to meet him once more. In each fantasy, 
she had speculated how he might react to her presence. Would he be meek 
and apologetic? Or calm and controlled? Or maybe even angry with her 
for leaving?
   But this was nothing like any of her dreams or wonderings. This was 
her Tenchi, just as she remembered from the earlier days, when she 
looked into his eyes and knew that he loved her more dearly than 
anything else in the world. And somehow, she got the feeling that 
everything was going to be all right. Her love was back, and he still 
cared about her. There were so many things she wanted to tell him, 
every question and uncertainty rushing to her lips at once.
   It was a bit of a surprise to her, therefore, when the words that 
she eventually blurted out were: "Where's Nagi?"
   Tenchi's forehead scrunched up in a puzzled frown. It was an 
expression she knew well and treasured, usually seen when Washu was 
trying to explain her latest invention to him. "I'm sorry? Why do you 
want to know where Nagi is, beloved?"
   That word. 'Beloved'. He had never, ever called her that. It was a 
word he had reserved for Ayeka, and nobody else. Icy fury rose up 
inside her breast like a vapour that burned with cold. Yet, her eyes 
remained blank. She stared at Tenchi with as much indifference as she 
could muster.
   "No reason. I was just curious as to the whereabouts of the person 
who saved my life." She sat up, wincing only slightly at the lances of 
pain flying through her skull. In her now partly upright position, she 
got a chance to see more of the room she was in. It was, without a 
doubt, the most lavishly furnished room she had ever been privileged to 
see. Everything was tasteful and light and softly coloured, and it 
seemed to have been positioned so the sunlight beamed gloriously in 
through the window. Ryoko found it totally overwhelming - she had never 
been inside a place such as this.
   Several men and women stood at the other end, all of them regarding 
her with polite stares. Several were dressed in the uniform of Jurai's 
military, while a few were obviously maids.
   "How did I get here?" Ryoko asked, voice croaking with the dryness 
in her throat.
   Immediately, two maids glided smoothly across the thick carpet, and 
set about pouring her a glass of water. At the same time, a man in 
smart, red uniform stepped forward. "You were carried here, Your 
Highness. After you were struck on the head by falling debris, we first 
took you to the infirmary. After your injury had been seen to, you were 
transported up here, for your comfort."
   "Oh," said Ryoko, distantly. The fog inside her head was beginning 
to lift. As she accepted the glass of water and began to swallow 
greedily, it occurred to her that the man who had just spoken had said 
something rather strange. Quite apart from that stuff about her being 
hit in the head with falling debris, of course, which was rubbish. But 
- something he had called her? What was that? Oh yes - he had called 
her 'Your High -'
   A maid reached over and thumped Ryoko respectfully yet vigorously on 
the back, while the other started to mop up the water that had just 
been sprayed over the sheets. When she had almost got her breath back, 
the one-time space pirate choked out the words, "Did you just call me - 
Your Highness?"
   "Ryoko, are you feeling alright?" asked Tenchi, bending over her 
with an anxious expression.
   "I'm perfectly fine, damnit!" shouted Ryoko, pounding a fist into 
the mattress, where it failed to make a satisfying crash and instead 
made a rather muffled whump. "Its everyone else who seems to have 
flipped! Are all your memories totally scrambled or something? I am the 
space pirate Ryoko, understand? I am nobody's Highness!"
   While everybody in the room reeled from this, Ryoko dived forward 
and grabbed Tenchi by the collar. She slowly brought his face forward 
until it was barely an inch from her own. "Don't you even remember who 
I am?" she growled, her voice low and guttural. "I'm your ex, Tenchi 
Masaki! Remember? I'm the one you dumped! In favour of that little 
prissy bitch Empr-"
   The Empress. Ayeka. 'Beloved'.
   Ryoko's face slackened. Her eyes went wide in horror. Her mouth 
opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out. Everybody in the 
room stared at her, a mixture of fear and fascination in their 
expressions. Nobody seemed overly anxious to come near her.
   The man in the red took charge. "Her Hi - er, Her Majesty is clearly 
unwell. She has obviously not recovered from the blow to her head, and 
must be taken to the infirmary at once."
   Ryoko glared at him. "I am not unwell!" she snapped, struggling out 
from underneath the thick bed sheets. "At no point was I hit in the 
head. I was in the middle of a battle, and Nagi was there. We were both 
on Iquera, and she -" she grimaced "- rescued me. No doubt for her own 
gain. Now, I demand to know what the hell is going on!"
   "Ryoko."
   It was Tenchi who had spoken. Ryoko swung around to face him, her 
expression unconsciously softening.
   "Ryoko, I - I don't know what's going on, either. But won't you 
please come to the infirmary so we can find out? For me?"
   Ryoko was determined to refuse. She would find out what had happened 
by herself, just like she always had for the past five years. But 
somehow, the sight of Tenchi's worried, compassionate face left her 
powerless to resist. She lowered her eyes, and nodded her head 
sheepishly. "Alright, Tenchi." Her voice was barely audible. "I will do 
it - if you want me to."
* * *
Nagi looked through the storage cupboard until she found what she was 
looking for. Bandages. She collected a large roll, and made a mental 
note to get some more; she was running short.
   She whistled a grim little tune as she strode back to the cargo bay 
where she had left Ryoko. It had seemed like the safest place to leave 
her. The space pirate had been in pretty bad shape when Nagi had 
brought her aboard Ken-Ohki, but hopefully her higher-than-average 
healing rate should have kicked in, making the bounty hunter's job much 
easier.
   Besides, she thought, the sooner she recovers, the sooner we can 
have our duel. She had to admit that it seemed a little ironic to be 
helping Ryoko get better so she could try to kill her.
   The door to the cargo bay hissed open as Nagi approached. She 
marched up to the recumbent figure lying in the corner, wrapped in 
blankets that were already bloodstained. As Nagi approached, her rival 
groaned and began to stir. "What - what happ-ened." moaned a low voice.
   Nagi stared down at Ryoko. The space pirate was almost completely 
hidden beneath the sheets, but her shortish spiky hair was visible. 
Nagi grimaced. Ryoko seemed to be worse off than she'd thought. Her 
hair was utterly coated in blood, so thickly it made her cyan locks 
look - purple?
   Hold on a second. That wasn't blood, her hair was purple! Nagi 
whipped the covers off, just as 'Ryoko' opened her eyes. The bounty 
hunter found herself looking into not the golden, feline eyes of her 
one-time rival, but two rounded, rose-coloured orbs that could only 
belong to -
   "Ayeka?" Nagi spluttered.
* * *
Sasami pressed her ear closer to the keyhole. She couldn't really hear 
anything very much. There had been a bit of shouting a few moments ago, 
but now, the voices had descended into muffled obscurity. "Please be 
OK, Ryoko," she whispered to herself.
   Suddenly the door opened, exposing the princess listening at the 
keyhole like a common spy. She stood up, face reddening with guilt. "Oh 
- I was just. um."
   "S - Sasami?" came a hesitant voice from someone near the front of 
the crowd. Ryoko edged her way to the door. Her head was bandaged up, 
and there were a couple of bruises on her face, but apart from that she 
looked just fine.
   "Ryoko!" Sasami exclaimed in joy. She embraced the woman before her 
in a crushing bear hug, easing off the pressure when she remembered 
about her injuries.
   Ryoko hugged her back after a moment's pause. It was a bit of a 
shock seeing Sasami again. The last time they had all been together on 
Earth, the younger princess had been just a little girl. Now she had to 
be at least thirteen. She was so different, and not just in physical 
appearance. Ryoko instantly saw that Sasami was a wiser and more mature 
person then she remembered.
   "Oh, sister, you had me really worried. Don't you ever get knocked 
out again, you hear me?" Sasami said jokingly. When she looked up 
again, though, Ryoko had a strangely distant look on her face, as if 
her mind was somewhere else entirely.
   "Sister." Ryoko whispered, as though she'd never heard the word 
before.
   She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Tenchi smiling 
down at her. "Come on," he said gently, "lets get you to a doctor."
* * *
   "Well, how are you feeling?" Washu asked briskly, as she bustled 
across the room in a white doctor's coat.
   Ryoko looked thoughtfully at the petite, red-haired 
scientist/doctor. Washu was the one person she'd met after all this 
time who didn't seem to have changed one bit. She had all her usual 
confidence, brazenness, and attitude towards the world that nothing in 
it was cleverer (or cuter) than she was.
   In response to Washu's question, Ryoko gave the honest answer. "Like 
shit."
   The little scientist arched an eyebrow. "Hey there, Empress, you may 
want to watch the profanities in front of the kids."
   "I am not a kid!"
   Ryoko glanced up at the door. A telltale lock of blue hair 
identified the person hiding behind it as the younger Juraian princess. 
"Sasami, what are you doing here?" Ryoko wearily asked.
   Sasami shuffled reluctantly from her hiding place, her face turning 
a bright shade of crimson. "I was just coming to ask if everything's 
okay, Ryoko," she replied, casting her eyes down to the floor. "You 
were really spaced out just then."
   Despite the waves of tiredness and nausea coursing through her body, 
Ryoko managed a smile. To her, Sasami had always represented the kind 
of person she had always wanted to be. She had often thought it a shame 
that Ayeka could never be more like her sister. Except - Sasami seemed 
to believe that she, Ryoko, was her sister. It was all very confusing. 
One second she had been slung helplessly over Nagi's shoulder like a 
rag-doll, then she had closed her eyes, and when she woke up, she 
seemed to have got Ayeka's life by mistake. She wondered what might 
have happened to the real Ayeka. Perhaps the former Empress was feeling 
just as confused and lost as the former space pirate. Well, wherever 
Ayeka had got to, it was now surely Ryoko's responsibility to play the 
big sister.
   "Don't worry, kiddo, I'll be just fine," said Ryoko with a jaunty 
grin. "I'll be up and at 'em before you know it."
   Sasami gave her a puzzled look, but that soon disappeared with a 
smile. "Okay then, Ryoko. I'll come see you later, alright?"
   "Sure."
   And with that, the princess vanished out of the door.
   Ryoko smiled to herself. Sasami was the one bright spot in this 
whole weird mess she had got into. Well, that and Tenchi, she supposed. 
She was trying her best not to think about him.
   Washu cleared her throat pointedly. The redheaded scientist had an 
impatient look on her face. "Hey, Your Majesty, you gonna be wanting 
that brain scan any time soon?"
   Ryoko growled low in her throat. "Whatever, Washu." She lay back on 
the hospital bed. It was nothing near as comfortable as the one in her 
- Ayeka's bedroom. She really had to stop automatically switching 
Ayeka's possessions for her own, or she'd start to believe that she had 
been the Empress all along, and her life before any of this happened 
was just a dream.
   She closed her eyes as Washu began to prepare the equipment.
* * *
Ayeka, the Juraian Empress, sat up and groaned as she clutched her 
injured side. She examined the damage quickly, and sighed in relief. 
"Just a flesh wound," she muttered to herself. Then she looked up and 
saw Nagi. She leapt to her feet, eyes narrowed dangerously, so they 
resembled Ryoko's narrow, cat-like eyes, only a different colour. "What 
the hell am I doing here, Nagi? Don't give me any shit about saving me. 
This must all be some sick plot of yours. Going to kill me while I'm 
hurt? Or am I just your prisoner? Going to turn me in and collect the 
reward, are you?"
   Nagi realised that her mouth was open. She shut it quickly, then 
opened it again to retort, "Don't flatter yourself, princess, I 
wouldn't waste my time taking you prisoner. Where's Ryoko?"
   Ayeka's lips tilted in an unladylike sneer. "Probably living it up 
in her palace on Jurai. What do you want to know for?" At that moment, 
her brain caught up with her ears. She looked at the bounty hunter, her 
brow furrowed. "Did you just call me princess?" She shook her head in 
mock sorrow. "Nagi, I think you're cracking up. Too much time alone, 
out in space, could be bad for your mental health. I mean, hell, look 
at me for proof." She spread her arms wide and grinned. "What's the 
matter? Cabbit got your tongue?"
   Had it been Ryoko taunting her like this, Nagi would probably have 
lost her temper. But she still hadn't recovered from the shock of 
seeing Ayeka, so she said nothing. Her mind was reeling. She frowned, 
and tried to get her thoughts in order. OK, what are the facts? Ryoko 
has vanished. Ayeka is here, acting extremely out of character. She 
seems to believe Ryoko is the Empress of Jurai, which is weird, to say 
the least.
   From this logical train of thought, one inevitable conclusion 
arrived in Nagi's mind.
   "I think I need a drink," she muttered.
   Ayeka scowled. "Well, aren't we going to blow each other into tiny 
pieces like you always want to do? Come on, Nagi, don't hold back. I 
can whip you with just one injured side, no probs." Then she grinned 
maliciously. "Or are you afraid of me?"
   "Sod off," said Nagi distantly, clutching her forehead. She really 
needed a drink.
   Ayeka snarled in rage. She held out a hand and concentrated. To 
Nagi's considerable astonishment, a glowing orange lightsword appeared 
in Ayeka's outstretched palm.
   "What the hell -"
   Nagi got no further, because at that moment Ayeka leapt forward, 
swinging her sword around in a smooth arc. Without even pausing to 
think, Nagi backflipped away out of reach. In mid-air she seized her 
sword hilt and slid the blade out from its sheath with a silken hissing 
noise. At last she completed the flip and landed firmly on both feet, 
sword bared and ready.
   Both women regarded each other with some respect and a lot of 
mistrust. "Alright, princess," Nagi said with a grin, watching Ayeka 
flinch in anger from the word, "let the games begin."
   "Gladly," spat Ayeka, forming an energy ball in her hand and hurling 
it as quick as lightning. To her surprise, instead of dodging the 
blast, Nagi stood her ground, holding her sword vertically in front of 
her body. The energy ball struck the edge of the blade with a small 
explosion. Nagi was thrown backwards as if her body weighed nothing.
   Ayeka grunted in satisfaction. But then her face stiffened in rage. 
The force assaulting Nagi's sword had in fact served to propel the 
bounty hunter through the air, from where she found the wall with her 
feet and pushed off, using the metal wall like a springboard. She shot 
at Ayeka like a bullet from a gun, two throwing knives already in her 
hands and aimed at the Empress.
   Ayeka hurriedly dimmed her lightsword and cartwheeled off to one 
side. She hissed in anger as one of the thrown knives grazed her 
shoulder, causing a shallow cut. The other embedded itself harmlessly 
in a cabinet, which buckled slightly under the rough treatment.
   Ayeka landed a bit clumsily, stumbling as she hit the ground. She 
heard a swish of moving air behind her, and ducked down. Nagi's sword 
passed over her head, detaching the ends of a couple of purple hairs, 
but leaving Ayeka unharmed. "You'll have to do better than that!" she 
taunted, springing back to her feet.
   "Whatever you say," said Nagi, rushing forward. At first, Ayeka 
thought the bounty hunter was making another attempt to slice her 
through with her sword, and quickly formed her own lightsword to block, 
but then Nagi ran right past her. Ayeka blinked in confusion, but then 
she saw Nagi heading for the cabinet that had gotten hit by her knife.
   "Catch!" Nagi yelled, giving the cabinet a hefty kick. It groaned as 
its supports gave way; then it fell ponderously forward. Right towards 
Ayeka. The purple-haired woman shrieked in alarm. She and Nagi both 
knew that there was no time for her to move out of the way.
   So she disappeared.
   Nagi's jaw dropped. "How the hell did she do th -"
   There was a bright flash of orange, and the cabinet fell apart in 
several pieces. Nagi stared at the wreckage in shock. The severed edges 
looked badly melted, as if something had burned through them.
   "Hey, Nagi!"
   Nagi turned around.
   "Catch!"
   Nagi ducked just in time to avoid being skewered by the throwing 
knife that Ayeka had pulled out of the cabinet right before it was 
destroyed. She growled with fury, and drew her own dagger to counter.
   Ayeka grinned, panting slightly from exertion. Without a word, she 
bent down and scooped off the floor the other knife that Nagi had 
previously thrown at her - the one that had cut her shoulder. A drop of 
her blood was still visible at the point. She smiled mockingly at Nagi, 
extended a pink, cat-like tongue and slowly licked the ruby-coloured 
liquid from the metal blade. Nagi gritted her teeth, and tightened her 
grip on the dagger.
   Both fighters charged at each other silently. For the next ten 
minutes, the only sound in the cargo bay was the repetitive clashing of 
blade on blade. Whilst Nagi's face was a mask of concentration, Ayeka's 
held a teasing, almost playful expression, as if this battle was only a 
fun game to her.
   "Getting tired?" she called in a singsong tone, dancing round Nagi's 
thrusts with the dagger.
   Nagi answered her question by lashing out with a foot and kicking 
Ayeka's legs out from under her. The Empress landed unceremoniously on 
her behind with a cry. Before she could recover, Nagi launched herself 
forwards and tackled Ayeka round the middle. Both women skidded across 
the floor, landing with Nagi on top, trying to reach Ayeka's throat 
with her dagger. Ayeka had brought up her own knife to block the 
stroke, and now they were locked in that position, both struggling to 
push the other's blade away, neither succeeding.
   Nagi grunted in exertion. At the beginning of the fight, she had 
assumed she would have no problems winning, but Ayeka was surprisingly 
strong. Funny, she had never looked strong in the past, with her thin, 
elegant frame and refined speech. To Nagi, the princess of Jurai had 
always looked as fragile as a glass statue. And yet, that air of 
delicacy seemed no longer present. Oh, she was still graceful, but it 
was a fighter's grace, not a princess' grace. And why was she able to 
generate a lightsword? It made no sense to the bounty hunter.
   She pressed down with her dagger as hard as she could, trickles of 
sweat running down her face. This time, she succeeded in forcing 
Ayeka's own blade closer to her throat. The Empress' eyes widened in 
sudden fear.
   "Not so confident now, huh?" panted Nagi.
   "That's where you're wrong," Ayeka hissed back. Suddenly, she 
brought her knee up sharply into the bounty hunter's stomach. Nagi 
flinched in pain, and her grip on her dagger weakened. Ayeka was able 
to flick the knife from Nagi's unresisting fingers. She then headbutted 
her opponent in the face. Nagi reeled backwards, blood flowing freely 
from her nose. Ayeka took the chance to spring lithely back onto her 
feet, the playful expression gone for good. No more games. It was time 
to end this, once and for all. She formed her lightsword, and swung at 
Nagi's chest in a blow aimed to cleave her in two.
   Except that, instead of flesh and bone, Ayeka's sword met with sharp 
metal.
   Nagi had managed to draw her own sword and block the shot.
   Ayeka screamed in wild rage.
* * *
The house is still and quiet. As the world prepares to descend into 
cool night time, the only light in the building comes from a small 
candle. Its flame illuminates the table, draped with an elegant white 
cloth, that it is balanced on. Two empty plates are laid at opposite 
sides as evidence that some rather fancily prepared food has just been 
consumed.
   The young woman sitting at the table leans back and sighs 
contentedly. "Ah - I never know how Sasami manages to prepare such 
delicious food. Anything I make I'm always afraid to serve, in case it 
gives everybody food-poisoning" She notices the gaze of her companion 
riveted on her. "What is it?" she asks. "Did I spill something?"
   The dark-haired young man seems to start, as if jerked out of a 
trance. He laughs guiltily, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, no. I 
was just thinking."
   "About what?"
   He reaches over the table and takes her hand. "Just wondering 
whatever caused somebody as amazing as you to fall in love with 
somebody like me."
   Coming from anyone else, that would have been the corniest line in 
existence. But Tenchi manages to make it sound so - so sincere and so 
honest, it would never ever even occur to her to doubt him. "You know," 
she answers, squeezing his hand tightly, "You're the best thing that 
ever happened to me. I want you to always remember that."
   "Ryoko."
   "Sometimes I try to imagine my life before you came, and I can 
barely remember any of it. You're my whole world, now, and I couldn't 
bear for that to change."
   "I promise you, Ryoko, it never will."
* * *
Ryoko sat lost in her thoughts. It had been two days since being 
released from the hospital. Washu was still analysing the results from 
about twenty different brain scans, but until she found evidence to 
suggest otherwise, Ryoko was declared medically healthy. Everybody had 
written off her 'strange behaviour' when she first regained 
consciousness as stress.
   Ryoko had to admit the gardens of the palace of Jurai were a sight 
worth seeing. She recognised the spot where she and Ayeka had first met 
as children. What was the story she had given to Tenchi? She, a sweet 
innocent little girl, had been calmly making a wreath out of red 
flowers, when this spoiled brat princess had turned up and stolen it. 
Of course, Ayeka's version of events had been the exact opposite. 
According to her, she was the innocent one, and Ryoko had been this 
hyperactive little bitch.
   Ryoko chuckled to herself. As she recalled, neither of them was 
totally free from guilt. She had sneaked into the gardens, only to bump 
into Ayeka. The princess had been wearing a rather fetching red wreath 
in her hair, and she, Ryoko, had tried to snatch the thing off. 
Needless to say, Ayeka had held onto it like grim death. The whole 
argument had escalated into several rounds of hair pulling, finally 
reaching its climax when they both pushed each other into the pond.
   It was that very pond that Ryoko's gaze was fixed on now. The water, 
so still and flat on the outside, but teeming with life and bustle 
beneath the surface, seemed to reflect Ryoko's state of mind at that 
moment perfectly.
   What am I doing here? she thought. She was undoubtedly on Jurai, 
unless somebody had concocted an incredibly elaborate hoax - so how had 
she got from Iquera to here in such a short space of time? Was this all 
some twisted scheme of Nagi's? If so, it was a funny way to get her 
revenge.
   She twisted a lock of hair round her finger. Although she was 
definitely still Ryoko, some aspects of her physical appearance had 
altered. Some were subtle, like her skin tone becoming darker, but some 
were downright weird. Like her hair inexplicably growing past her 
waist, or her height decreasing by two inches. She was beginning to 
see, in herself, an uncanny resemblance to Ayeka. Maybe as time went 
on, she'd gradually metamorphosise into the Empress, and no trace of 
Ryoko would be left at all.
   She knew that she and her ex-rival were different species entirely; 
Ayeka was Juraian, while she was - actually, she didn't know what she 
was. Her parents had never told her. She had never had a proper home. 
Her birth had taken place on a space ship, for crying out loud.
   But now, she bore most of the characteristics of a typical Juraian. 
It was freaky.
   Running footsteps sounded along the path nearby. Ryoko picked out 
the sound and identified it as Sasami long before the young princess 
appeared round the corner. At least that meant her hearing was as sharp 
as ever.
   "Hey, sis! I finally found you!" Sasami flopped down on the bench 
next to her 'sister', panting from exhaustion. "I think I must've run 
through the whole palace. Tenchi's looking for you. He looks worried 
about something."
   "Oh," Ryoko replied mechanically. She stared down at her lap. She 
knew that avoiding Tenchi like the plague, as she had been doing for 
the last two days, was perhaps not the best way to improve matters. But 
hell, she of all people knew how stubborn she could be. Why fight it?
   "Have you and Tenchi fallen out or something?" Sasami asked, 
anxious. "You acted so strange around him when you woke up, and now 
you're avoiding him. Is something wrong?"
   Smart kid, Ryoko thought to herself. "Tenchi and I are - well -" Oh 
damnit, how am I supposed to put this? she raged internally. How was 
she supposed to look Sasami in the eye and say, 'Sorry kiddo, I'm 
afraid I'm not your sister, and in fact I vanished out of your life 
five years ago without even saying goodbye?'
   "You know, he really misses talking to you," Sasami chattered 
conversationally, totally oblivious to Ryoko's tortured thoughts. "He 
was so worried when he got the message saying you were hurt. Washu 
fixed up a dimensional portal for him so he could get home straight 
away. He had to cut short his visit to Earth, of course, which was kind 
of a shame, but maybe you can both go visit Earth again after the 
wedding. Wouldn't that be fun, Ryoko?"
   Ryoko felt as if her whole body had turned to ice. "Wh - what 
wedding?" she stammered, trying to sound casual and failing miserably.
   Sasami looked at her as if she'd just sprouted an extra head and 
declared she was a cabbage. "Why, your wedding to Tenchi, of course!"
   Ryoko gripped the edge of the bench in a desperate attempt not to 
pass out. The garden was swimming before her eyes. Sasami's voice 
sounded eerily distorted, as though they were having this conversation 
from opposite ends of a tunnel.
   "You planned this months ago, Ryoko! You've been talking about 
nothing else for - for I don't know how long, a really long time! You 
were really upset when this whole stupid war started, because you had 
to push back the date of the wedding 'till after the fighting was done. 
You remember? Ryoko? Ryoko! Hey, Ryoko, why are you crying?"
   Ryoko tried desperately to hold in her tears, but she may as well 
have tried to hold back an ocean with a roll of tissue paper. She 
lowered her head into her lap and sobbed hysterically. Her whole life, 
she had almost never cried in front of anybody else. She always had to 
be the tough one, the strong one; she wore that image like a mask. The 
only person who had ever seen her with the mask off was Tenchi. He had 
been the one person who could see her for who she truly was, and she 
had always loved him for it. And what had he done? He had proposed to 
Ayeka! He had planned to marry that spoilt, priggish, snobby, vain, 
spiteful -
   "Ryoko! Ryoko, it's all right! I'm here, please don't be upset, 
don't cry. Oh, Ryoko. What's the matter?" Sasami was holding Ryoko like 
a mother would her child, cradling the older woman against her shoulder 
and rocking her gently back and forth. It was a strange reversal of the 
roles they had always assumed when they lived on Earth - now Sasami was 
the strong one, and Ryoko was the scared little princess, lost and 
alone. She felt like a child all over again.
   So she clung to Sasami, who suddenly felt like her own dear sister, 
and cried and cried.
* * *
The Changer snarled viciously, and punched her bedroom wall hard. It 
hurt like hell, but at least it gave vent to some of her feelings.
   She had failed. Utterly and disastrously. Granted, she had escaped 
with her life, but she hadn't done what she intended to do, which was 
to kill those two little bitches, Ryoko and Ayeka. They had somehow 
combined their powers against her, but how? She was more powerful than 
those ridiculous Juraian nobles, more powerful than her pawn, Kagato - 
and she was certainly more powerful than those two pathetic little 
girls. She had used up a considerable amount of her energy, and could 
feel it taking its toll upon her body. More than half her power gone, 
just like that - and what had it achieved? Nothing. She needed Kiyone 
to get here, and fast. Cezute had put off contacting the Detective, 
claiming it was to do with a communications problem, but the Changer 
suspected he had just done it to spite her. Well, more fool him. She 
may have experienced a minor setback, but she would still be able to 
achieve her prize. It would just take a little longer, that was all. 
And when she had it. well, she doubted she'd need Emperor Cezute around 
anymore.
   With that thought to cheer her up, the Changer sank onto her covers 
and fell into a dreamless sleep. Her last conscious thought was 
wondering when her mirror would be repaired.
* * *
It had often been said that Mihoshi Kuramitsu was easily amused, and 
this was true. Show her some bright flashing lights or pretty shapes 
and she could entertain herself for hours. However, as it was often 
just as truthfully said, she was also easily bored.
   "I'm so booooooooored!" the blonde detective wailed dramatically.
   Several people nearby looked up briefly at her, then resumed their 
conversations as before. The noise level in the caf‚ did not waver. 
Mihoshi slouched back in her seat with her lower lip stuck out, toying 
with her chips.
   Mihoshi, or 'the Walking Disaster', as most of her fellow officers 
called her behind her back and thought she didn't know about it, would 
be the first person to admit that she wasn't the brightest individual 
the Galaxy Police had ever known. But that didn't mean she was totally 
unobservant, and right now she was observing the way that people in the 
same area of the room as her kept glancing furtively in her direction. 
She was also hazarding a guess as to why that should be. The answer she 
reached after a couple of minutes was, she was positive, the correct 
one - Kiyone Makabi.
   Or rather, the absence of Kiyone Makabi. The two detectives always 
ate lunch together in this caf‚, as did a lot of the other officers, 
since it was conveniently positioned almost next-door to the GP 
headquarters. Today had been no different, and they had come in 
together for lunch as usual. Kiyone had ordered a small lentil stew and 
a salad, while Mihoshi had gone for her traditional eggs, bacon, 
sausages, beans, chips, and white wobbly things she had never dared to 
try and identify. But today, no sooner had they sat down with their 
trays than a GP lieutenant had come in and made a beeline for them. 
After a hurried whispered conversation with Kiyone, which was more than 
a little awkward, since almost every pair of eyes in the room had 
instantly fixated on them, Kiyone and the lieutenant had left the room 
rather quickly. Mihoshi had overheard the conversation, of course. She 
really hadn't meant to, as she was not the type of person to eavesdrop, 
but her hearing was more acute than the average person's was. The tone 
of the lieutenant and Kiyone's voices had filled Mihoshi with a sense 
of alarm and secrecy. The actual words she overheard, however, only 
filled her with bewilderment and confusion. As it had already been 
mentioned, Mihoshi was not particularly bright, and was very used to 
feeling both bewildered and confused, but that never stopped her from 
trying to figure it out, all the same.
   Her lips moved silently as she repeated the phrase over and over. 
"The day of fear has come to the enemy."
   What enemy would this be? If it referred to a criminal, maybe she 
and Kiyone would be assigned to capture him! Mihoshi began to cheer up. 
Finally, an end to this continuous boredom - but wait a minute. She 
mentally backtracked for a while. What was this 'day of fear'? That 
didn't sound like a good thing at all.
   "Hmm," said Mihoshi, nodding her head in a wise manner, or at least 
a manner that she hoped looked wise. "A crane of tea has come to an 
enigma."
   At that moment, the door opened, and Kiyone stepped through.
   Every conversation halted in mid sentence. Every head swivelled 
towards the detective, whose face was slightly flushed from 
embarrassment. Kiyone stood up ramrod straight, almost vibrating with 
concealed excitement.
   Mihoshi paused with a spoon of ice cream halfway to her mouth whilst 
saying thoughtfully, "Pay for beer and come to the elephant," when she 
wondered what everyone was staring at. She looked up, saw her friend, 
and burst into a happy grin. "Oh, hi, Kiyone!" she shrieked, waving 
frantically.
   This turned out to be a mistake, as she was waving with the hand 
that still held the spoon. A large lump of strawberry ice cream 
performed a graceful arc as it flew through the air, followed by thirty 
pairs of eyes, and finally landed with a splat on the head of a man 
sitting at a table five rows along.
   The unlucky man yelled in surprise and jumped about a foot in the 
air, knocking the loaded tray out of the hands of Kiyone's lifelong 
enemy, Mitsuki, who was passing behind him. The redheaded woman flushed 
in embarrassment and anger, and proceeded to yell at the unfortunate 
man whose only crime had been to sit in the wrong place at the wrong 
time. To the secret delight of a lot of people in the room, Mitsuki got 
so carried away she stamped her foot hard, right into the sad remains 
of what would have been her lunch. Her left boot was splashed with 
tomato sauce, soon followed by the rest of her as the slippery mixture 
caused her to fall over with a scream, right in the path of a man 
wearing full sports kit and carrying a Gjkmnyt ball.
   Gjkmnyt is a ball game that is as hard to play as it is to 
pronounce. There are fifty players on each of the three teams, and 
eight balls. The balls are about the size of a tennis ball, and are 
designed specially to bounce up to fifty feet with little force 
required from the players themselves.
   So when the man carrying the Gjkmnyt ball stumbled over one of 
Mitsuki's splayed limbs, the small globe spun out of his hands and 
bounced off the floor with the force of a coiled spring.
   Everybody in the room instinctively ducked. The only exception was 
Mihoshi, who was mesmerised by the pretty red ball, which seemed to 
leave a crimson trail behind it as it ricocheted off the ceiling, two 
tables, the wall, and then started to zoom towards her, the air humming 
at its passage.
   Mihoshi realised at the last moment that the red ball, pretty as it 
was, was now shooting towards her face like a speeding bullet. She 
screamed in terror and dived backwards, throwing her arms up in the air 
and sending her spoon flying. The Gjkmnyt ball whizzed over her nose, 
missing by about a millimetre, and shattered the window behind her that 
led into the kitchen, where it was caught neatly by a cook with great 
presence of mind and a handy reinforced-bottomed pan.
   A cheer went up - the mayhem was over. Mihoshi's spoon, which had 
really started the whole incident, soared proudly across the room. It 
caught the light as it reached the highest point of its curve, gleaming 
like a medal of victory - then it began to descend gracefully to earth.
   About halfway down, the few people watching it realised that it was 
about to hit the brand new super-power snack machine.
   There was a loud clang as it struck and disappeared somewhere inside 
the machinery. Then a grinding thunk, followed by a low, ominous groan.
   The even fewer number of people who weren't frozen in terror and had 
a sense of self-preservation started to run towards the exit, and the 
luckier ones even made it to the door before the machine blew up 
spectacularly.
   A tense minute later, everybody picked themselves out of the 
several-inches-deep layer of melted chocolate that had coated every 
surface and everything. Nobody spoke.
   Kiyone Makabi stood a lone figure by the door, in the same position 
she had held from the moment the whole disaster began. Her uniform was 
coated in sticky brown substance, her face resembled a mud-mask, her 
expression was frozen in horrified rage. "I didn't see that, I didn't 
see that." she muttered continuously under her breath.
   Mihoshi emerged from her place of sanctity beneath the table. As 
chance would have it, she was the only person in the room who had 
escaped the ballistic taste explosion. She was not even splashed.
   She waved cheerfully to Kiyone, seemingly oblivious to the 
distressed state of the caf‚'s interior, nor the furious glares of its 
occupants.
   "Wow! What do you think were the odds of that happening, huh?"
* * *
Inside Ken-Ohki, there was a humming sound and a cooked smell to the 
air, both given off by the two locked blades.
   Nagi spat out a mouthful of blood onto the floor. Its sharp, copper 
taste still lingered unpleasantly in her mouth, although it wasn't 
nearly as bad as the dreadful pain in her stomach and face. Her eyes 
narrowed in resolve. This bitch was going down. 
   Ayeka had to admit to feeling some surprise. Her opponent's sword, 
made of mere metal, should have melted at the touch of her laser sword, 
like wax under a blowtorch. But it appeared to be holding fast against 
her. Possibly the blade had been constructed of some material with 
extreme resistance to heat? Or else it was protected by a shield of 
some kind?
   "Not too bad, little girl," Nagi observed. She spoke from between 
her teeth, gritted in concentration. "So, now that we have a chance to 
talk, how come you are able to generate a lightsword, hmm? I hadn't 
realised the Juraian nobility possessed that particular skill. If it 
comes to it, how the hell did you get on board my ship?"
   Without warning, Ayeka sprung lightly to the side, causing the 
bounty hunter to stumble slightly forward as the pressure bearing upon 
her sword was released. Nagi regained her balance just in time to block 
an expert overhead slash from Ayeka that would have cleaved vertically 
through her skull had she reacted any slower. Their swords locked 
again, but this time Nagi broke the hold. She stood firmly on the 
ground to ensure she wouldn't lose her balance, then kicked sharply 
upwards. Her foot caught Ayeka on the wrist, causing the purple-haired 
woman to fall back with a yelp.
   For another good five minutes, it was a frenzied display of sword 
techniques, with both women ducking, dodging and weaving, while all the 
time looking for that opening that would enable either of them to 
thrust forward with their weapons and kill the other. At last they were 
facing each other, neither one making a direct move to attack. They 
circled each other warily, like lionesses, swords held at the ready.
   "So, you never answered my questions," Nagi said, her voice low and 
quiet. "How did you end up on my ship, and why do you have these new 
abilities? I might think you'd just been training hard, but you never 
before seemed a serious fighter to me. You know, I recognise your 
fighting style. Have you been taking lessons from Ryoko, perchance?"
   Ayeka growled, softly and savagely. "Cut the crap, Nagi," she 
snarled in a vicious tone most unbecoming of a Juraian noble. Indeed, 
anybody seeing her at that moment would never have associated her with 
a high station, much less as the Empress of the most powerful planet in 
the Galaxy. Splashes of crimson adorned her clothes and skin, both her 
own blood and Nagi's. "You know full well I've always had these 
abilities. And I don't know where all this shit about being a Juraian 
noble is coming from."
   Nagi was getting fed up, both of the long fight, and of the 
confusing conversation. "Are you suffering from a personal identity 
crisis?" she exploded. "Last I heard, you were the Empress of Jurai, 
and you were getting married to that wuss you and Ryoko were always 
fighting over! To Tenchi, remember? Exactly what the hell is going on 
here?"
   For a moment, Ayeka's face showed nothing but pure, unadulterated 
rage. Nagi blanched slightly, as she was gripped by an unfamiliar 
sensation - fear. Then, the moment passed, and the fury in Ayeka's gaze 
melted away. The expression that took its place was, somehow, even 
worse. Sadness so painful it made a lump come to Nagi's throat. The 
lightsword wavered, then died completely.
   "You spiteful bitch," Ayeka whispered unemotionally, her fists 
clenched tightly. "Why did you mention him? Do you really hate me that 
much? God, he's the reason I'm even here! I just wanted to get away 
from everybody, I couldn't bear to look them in the eye again, 
especially not her," here her mouth twisted, as some of her old anger 
returned, "not Ryoko, that utter slut of a princess. Always calling me 
'loose' when all the time she was going to steal him from me - steal 
Tenchi." A tear formed in her eye and began to make a path down her 
face.
   Nagi stared at the lost young woman. Despite her years as a ruthless 
bounty hunter and yes, killer, she somehow felt almost moved to pity. 
With a sigh, she replaced her sword in its sheath. It occurred to her 
that this was not the wisest course of action, but it was done now, so 
what the hell.
   "Hey, listen," she said, as gently as she could, which was not very. 
"I don't know what happened with you and Ryoko and Ten - uh, you-know-
who, but I do know that we don't have to fight. Hell, I never even 
wanted to fight you - its Ryoko I'm after, you're of no interest to me 
- and I wasn't trying to get to you by mentioning Te - I mean, you-
know-who. Honest."
   Ayeka looked up, and the two women's eyes met. Nagi saw so much pain 
reflected in those eyes, so much anger and regret - and suddenly, 
Ayeka's gaze flickered. Just for a split-second, but that was all the 
time Nagi needed to know what she was about to do. Her hand shot down 
to the handle of her sword, and she was already drawing it as Ayeka's 
lightsword flashed into existence. Nagi brought up her sword 
frantically to block, but Ayeka moved impossibly fast. Nagi felt the 
air around her part to accommodate Ayeka's blade, as the laser sword 
began its descent onto the bounty hunter's scalp.
   Nagi twisted frantically to the side. She felt the air around her 
boil as the lightsword came dangerously close to her face, but she 
managed to dodge. Just as she was congratulating herself on the 
manoeuvre, a terrible burning pain struck her arm, and she yelled in 
agony as her skin blistered with the heat. She dived down to avoid 
Ayeka's next swing, and hit the ground hard, turning the action into an 
awkward roll.
   Ayeka leapt, not giving the bounty hunter a second to recover. Nagi 
looked up and saw the Juraian woman flying at her through the air, 
teeth bared in a snarl, wielding her sword above her head. Nagi acted 
purely out of reflex. She flung herself backwards, letting Ayeka pass 
harmlessly over her, and ending so she was lying on her back with her 
legs coiled up, her knees touching her chest. Then, she kicked upwards 
with both legs.
   Ayeka felt the blow to her stomach like a cannonball. She dropped to 
the ground and doubled up, wheezing, both arms wrapped around her 
abused mid-section. The lightsword vanished abruptly, leaving her 
defenceless. Nagi sprung to her feet, breathing heavily but unharmed, 
apart from the nasty burn on her right arm. In a second, the tip of her 
sword was at Ayeka's throat.
   Ayeka licked a narrow trail of blood from her chin, and grinned 
without humour. "Looks like you won," she said softly. "Fine. Take your 
revenge. I guess you earned it."
   Nagi regarded her thoughtfully. She could tell that Ayeka meant what 
she said; she was ready to die. Maybe even longing to die. Nagi raised 
the sword, and brought it down, held vertically with the blade pointing 
upwards. With all the force she could muster, Nagi brought the heavy, 
metal hilt down on Ayeka's head. The Juraian Empress sagged at the 
impact, her eyes glassy with surprise, then toppled over, unconscious.
   Nagi stared at the prone body a few seconds longer, then replaced 
her sword in its scabbard. She bent down and slung Ayeka over her 
shoulder, trying not to jerk her around too much, and carried her back 
to the pile of blankets in the corner. She decided it would be 
pointless locking the door. If Ayeka's recent display of skills was 
anything to go by, she could just teleport right out again. Hopefully, 
they would have reached their destination before she regained 
consciousness.
   "Ken-Ohki?" said Nagi.
   "Meow," came the gruff reply.
   "Set a course for the planet Jurai."
   Ken-Ohki meowed the affirmative. The ship turned slowly around, then 
set off at a comfortable speed.
   Nagi arched her fingertips, and frowned to herself. Something very 
strange was going on, and she knew that it sure as hell wasn't any of 
her concern to do anything about it. However, if Ayeka seemed to 
believe that she was a notorious space pirate, presumably that meant 
Ryoko would be found sitting on the throne of Jurai.
   It was time to pay the royalty a visit.
* * *
   "For gods' sake, what is the matter with you? Can't I leave you in a 
room for ten minutes without you running up a charge list a mile long?" 
Kiyone ranted as she dragged her ditzy partner down to her ship, wiping 
the mess off her face with a tissue. With any luck, they'd have taken 
off in the Yagami before an angry, chocolate-coated mob decided it 
wanted to have a word with them.
   Mihoshi's eyes began to pool with crocodile tears. "I'm so 
sooooooorry!" she sniffed wretchedly. "I really didn't mean to, I was 
just pleased to see you were back, and the explosion was really scary 
and that ball nearly hit me in the face and I didn't get to finish my 
foooooooooood!" By the end of this list of grievances, Mihoshi was 
bawling her eyes out. She grabbed the tissue off Kiyone and vigorously 
blew her nose. The action left a large chocolate smear all over her 
face, but Mihoshi didn't seem to notice.
   Kiyone rolled her eyes. She was hard pressed to find sympathy for 
her partner, even if Mihoshi hadn't really done anything wrong. But 
that never mattered - things just happened around Mihoshi. The bubble-
brained detective was more dangerous than the entire Juraian fleet 
combined. And usually the person it was dangerous to was Kiyone.
   She fumbled in her pockets for the keys to Yagami, and found them in 
a pool of chocolate. Fuming silently, Kiyone unlocked the door and 
stomped inside, muttering every curse she could think of under her 
breath. Mihoshi followed, considerably subdued. She didn't mean for 
things to get so chaotic, it just happened. She had never understood 
it, or even tried to understand. She knew that the bizarre accidents 
were an important part of her character, and one she would never want 
to change. But when it made Kiyone mad like this -
   "Kiyone, please forgive me," Mihoshi whimpered.
   Kiyone sighed, rolling her eyes. She knew from experience that 
Mihoshi would never change, no matter how much she yelled. It would 
save a lot of annoyance and hassle to just forget about the whole 
thing. "Sure, Mihoshi, I forgive you," she grumbled, pouring herself 
some coffee from a flask she kept under her seat.
   "Oh, thank you!" Mihoshi squealed, throwing her arms around her 
partner and spilling the hot coffee, eliciting a yelp from Kiyone. 
"You're the best friend I ever had, even if you do shout a lot! I'm 
going to start making it up to you right now. Here, borrow this tissue 
to get that coffee off you. You should be more careful with hot drinks, 
you know."
   Kiyone satisfied herself by glaring fiercely at Mihoshi while she 
dabbed at her leg with the tissue. "I'm going to have a shower," she 
announced, wrinkling her nose as she took in the state of her uniform. 
She stood up and picked her way through the piles of Mihoshi's comics 
that lay scattered around the floor. Just before she reached the little 
shower, she paused to add, "Don't touch anything!"
   Mihoshi saluted, and sat ridiculously straight and still in her 
chair. A few minutes later, she heard the muffled sound of running 
water from behind a door. She picked up one of her comics, and flicked 
idly through it.
   "Kiyone," she called out after a while.
   "Yes?" came the reply.
   "What were you doing back there when you went out the room with that 
guy?"
   Kiyone stiffened. She had almost forgotten about that. Her heart 
thumped loudly as she tried to suppress the waves of excitement welling 
up inside her. "Nothing important," she called back in a voice that was 
slightly higher-pitched than usual.
   Mihoshi fidgeted in her seat. She wondered whether to tell Kiyone 
she had overheard her whispered conversation with the lieutenant in the 
caf‚. On the one hand, she'd get to find out what was going on, but on 
the other, Kiyone might get mad at her again.
   She decided to be bold. "Kiyone, I heard what he said to you before 
you left."
   The sound of the water stopped. Kiyone's head emerged rapidly from 
the door, her hair wrapped in a towel. "You did?"
   Mihoshi stared down at her lap, shuffling her feet guiltily. "Yeah - 
I didn't mean to, I'm sorry."
   Kiyone sighed in a resigned way. "No, its okay. Maybe its better 
that you heard."
   Mihoshi frowned. "What's going on, Kiyone? I didn't really 
understand that stuff he said."
   "I'm not sure I can tell you."
   "Please, Kiyone, I'm dying to know! Its very mysterious and 
exciting, I mean, its not every day a shady-looking guy walks up and 
tells you that you have a call from a tray of veal and have to go see 
an enema immediately!"
   "I know, Mihoshi, but I -" Kiyone froze in mid-sentence. Her 
eyebrows met in the centre of her forehead as she replayed the last few 
seconds of conversation in her head. "Say what?"
   "See?" Mihoshi announced triumphantly. "Even you don't get it, and 
you probably know what an enema is, which is more than I do!"
   Kiyone used one of Washu's 'dealing-with-Mihoshi' tricks and counted 
slowly to ten. "Mihoshi, what he said was I have a call from Tao-Veer 
and have to go see the Emperor immediately."
   Mihoshi's eyes lit up in sudden understanding. "Oh! That makes a lot 
more sense."
   "Well, quite."
   "Because why would he offer you a tray of veal when we were already 
eating lunch?"
   Kiyone slapped a hand over her eyes.
* * *
Tenchi lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The soft covers 
beneath him were doing a wonderful job of easing the painful knots in 
his shoulders, just like a massage. It was something of a relief to be 
able to rest as he was doing, after the hectic turn his life had 
recently taken. The war, the wedding plans, Ryoko's injury.
   Ryoko. She was occupying his thoughts more than anything else was. 
He rolled over onto his side, a small sigh escaping his lips. She had 
been acting - differently towards him since he came back. Almost 
hostile, in fact. As if he had hurt her in some way, hurt her deeply; 
but he didn't see how. He had been so happy since they'd been together; 
he felt complete in a way he had not felt since -
   No. He would not think about that - about her. That was in the past. 
Ryoko, he had to focus on Ryoko. The thought of losing her terrified 
him more than the thought of fighting a war or going up against another 
Kagato. And besides, he didn't think he could bear having his heart 
broken. Not again. He would sooner die than have to suffer the agony 
all over again. The feeling that something was squeezing his chest, 
suffocating him, little by little. The feeling that a white, hot fire 
was burning in his stomach and only one person could make it better. 
Back then, he had thought that if he could only see her again, touch 
her skin, see that smile that seemed to light up the day, feel her lips 
on his, one more time.
   Tenchi was interrupted in the middle of his remembrances by someone 
knocking on the door very softly, as if the person on the other side 
didn't want to disturb him - or was just reluctant to enter. He raised 
his head and called out. "Come in, its not locked."
   The door opened slowly. Tenchi saw a slim, feminine hand with 
elegant nails resting on the handle. His gaze travelled up one slender 
arm, and finally came to rest on a face.
   "Ryoko," he breathed. He wanted to go to her, but some instinct made 
him stay where he was, as if she were a frightened animal, and any 
sudden movement on his part would make her run away. It came as 
something of a shock to see her - she was meant to be ignoring him, 
after all. She was biting her lip as if nervous, and her eyes were cast 
down to the floor and looked slightly red and swollen, as if she had 
been crying.
   "Um, Tenchi," she mumbled, one hand still clutching the doorknob 
like a lifeline. "Listen, something really weird has happened to me and 
I don't understand why, or how. But I've been thinking a lot, and I 
know that everybody's concentrating on the war and nothing else. So I 
don't think I should go around making a fuss about - I mean, there are 
more important things to take care of. My problem can wait." She 
cleared her throat, feeling like an idiot. She knew she should have 
planned out what she wanted to say beforehand, but her thoughts had 
been all over the place and she couldn't concentrate. Tenchi was 
staring at her in total bewilderment, and she didn't blame him.
   "I'm not sure I understand," Tenchi confessed, scratching the back 
of his head in a typical 'Tenchi pose'. "Your - problem? If there's 
something wrong with you, Ryoko, of course I'm going to try and help 
you. Don't even think I won't consider it important, because I will."
   The troubled look on Ryoko's face eased up a little, and she 
actually managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Tenchi. I'm not dying 
or anything. I'm just - well -" Her voice stuttered off into silence. 
She couldn't continue. She simply couldn't tell him that she wasn't the 
woman he'd asked to marry him. For crying out loud, girl, what did you 
mention dying for? said a voice inside her head. Now he's going to 
think you're dangerously ill or something.
   Tenchi stared at her in concern. "What is the matter? You've changed 
so much since I left for Earth. What is it that's troubling you? Tell 
me, and we'll get through it together. That's what being married is all 
about, right?"
   Tenchi was pleasantly surprised when Ryoko suddenly ran forward and 
hugged him tightly. "Tenchi." she whispered into his shoulder. He 
wrapped an arm around her waist, marvelling at the daintiness of her 
figure. With the other hand, he tenderly stroked her hair. They just 
held each other like that, neither one of them saying a word. They 
didn't need to - that embrace conveyed more than words ever could.
   Ryoko couldn't help wondering, though, why she was postponing 
finding out what had happened to her in favour of fighting a war that 
did not concern her. Was it an act of kindness on her part, to help the 
people of Jurai?
   Or was it just an excuse to be with Tenchi once again?
* * *
   "So, where are we going?" asked Mihoshi for the fourth time.
   Kiyone resisted the urge to scream. "I told you. We're going to the 
palace on Tao-Veer, because I need to see the Emperor." How can 
anybody's memory be so poor? she wondered. It was only two days ago 
that I first got the message. And she still keeps asking me questions 
about veal.
   She sighed and ran a hand through her teal-coloured hair. As she did 
so, she told herself firmly that her hand was not shaking, despite the 
evidence of her senses. The truth was, she hadn't got a wink of sleep 
last night, and had probably consumed more caffeine than was good for 
her. Now she was so on edge she was shaking uncontrollably. "It's not a 
big deal," she snapped out loud. "I mean, so what if I'm visiting my 
home planet for the first time in ten years? So what if the flipping 
Emperor himself wants to talk to me? I can totally handle it."
   "Absolutely," chimed in Mihoshi, who had no idea what her friend was 
talking about.
   Kiyone whipped around in her seat and stared at Mihoshi. "What?" she 
barked.
   Mihoshi bit her lip in concern. She had noticed instantly that 
Kiyone's eyes were red-rimmed and puffy from lack of sleep, and her 
skin was far paler than usual. In short, she looked like death. That 
was hardly healthy when visiting foreign Emperors, or in any other 
circumstance, for that matter. Mihoshi decided that what Kiyone needed 
was cheering up, despite years of experience proving otherwise. "You 
can absolutely handle it," she said perkily, an inane grin plastered on 
her face. "You could handle anything, Kiyone."
   Kiyone wiped her eyes and blinked. "Handle what?" she growled.
   Mihoshi began to panic. "Um - I don't know."
   "Well, shut up, then!"
   "Whatever you say!"
   Kiyone turned back to the controls of the Yagami, muttering under 
her breath. Even Mihoshi was able to tell that now was not the time to 
talk. So instead, she settled down into her padded chair, and stared at 
the stars outside her window. They had always held a fascination to 
her; they were so bright and fiery, yet so cold and lonely at the same 
time. There was no pattern to the way they lay in the sky, and no limit 
to their numbers. Once, she had dreamed of flying past every star and 
learning them all by heart. Of course, now she knew that was 
impossible, but it never stopped her from just dreaming - what would it 
be like to touch a star?
   She actually had a pretty good idea what would happen - she would 
burn to a curl of smoke before getting close. She had learned that 
lesson the hard way, during the Kagato incident, when the Yagami had 
been hijacked and they almost hurtled right into a star. Only Washu's 
quick thinking had saved them all from an untimely death.
   She glanced back at Kiyone quickly. She could only get a back view 
of her friend's slumped figure from where she was sitting. Several 
wisps of aqua hair hung limply over her shoulders, while she took a sip 
from her coffee flask.
   "What is an enema, anyway?" Mihoshi mumbled to herself.
* * *
The Changer's eyes seemed to glow in the dark. As she lay upon her 
sheets, staring at the ceiling, a tingling sensation started at the 
base of her spine and travelled up to her neck, setting her hair on end 
and making her shiver.
   "She's coming," she whispered.
* * *
With a whoosh of aerodynamics, the Yagami touched down smoothly in the 
spaceport at Gytull. A moment later, the doors slid open and Kiyone 
Makabi stepped out, blinking in the harsh sunlight. She had been 
cramped up in that space ship for almost a day, and she was overjoyed 
at the chance to finally stretch her muscles. As she stood alone, a 
girl who had grown into a woman and finally returned to the place of 
her birth at long last, a breeze blew gently in her face, wafting her 
long hair back.
   The dramatic effect was somewhat spoiled when Mihoshi tripped out, 
laden down with suitcases, bags and cameras, and trod squarely on 
Kiyone's foot. "Wow, it sure is busy, isn't it?" she said brightly 
while Kiyone hopped up and down, rattling out a long list of swear 
words. Mihoshi turned to her partner and caught her arm just in time to 
stop her from falling ungracefully onto her behind. "What do you think, 
Kiyone?"
   "I think I'm going to murder you."
   Mihoshi laughed. "Oh, Kiyone, you crack me up." She looked around 
her, gawping openly at the people milling around, which Kiyone found 
acutely embarrassing. "So, where are we going?"
   Kiyone groaned. "To the palace, Mihoshi, the palace. Please try to 
remember that. I must have told you about six times already."
   "Right."
   As they walked along the street, looking for a taxi, Mihoshi kept 
repeating, "the palace, the palace," over and over again, like a 
mantra. In fact, she kept saying that even after they had caught a taxi 
and Kiyone had told the driver where they wanted to go.
   As they sped past houses, shops, parks and people, Kiyone found 
herself amazed by how little of the scenery she recognised. She had 
grown up in this neighbourhood. It had been a pretty nice place for a 
kid, really; it still was, she could tell just by looking. But had had 
certainly changed.
   "It's hard to believe I'm really home," she murmured.
   "The palace, the palace, the palace -"
   "Shut up, Mihoshi."
   "Oh, sorry."
   They passed the rest of the journey in silence. When at last the 
taxi-driver announced, "Here we are, ladies," Kiyone stumbled out of 
the car as if in a dream. This was the palace she remembered. Its walls 
were as white as snow, just catching the blaze in the sky as the sun 
set.
   "Excuse me." The driver sounded annoyed, as this was the third time 
he had tried to catch her attention. "That'll be ten credits, please."
   Kiyone still had a comatose expression on her face, so Mihoshi 
rummaged in her purse and produced a coin, which she pressed into the 
driver's hand. "You'll have to excuse her," she said loudly, nodding 
her head in Kiyone's direction, "she's travelling down memory lane."
   "Shut up, Mihoshi," Kiyone said automatically.
   "Sorry."
   The taxi drove away. The two women stood on the pavement while 
people bustled around them, both lost in their own thoughts.
   "Guess we'd better go in," mumbled Kiyone numbly.
   "Mmm," agreed Mihoshi, nodding her head with a wise expression. 
"Where are we going, again?"
* * *
A pike came down, blocking the two detectives' way. "Identify 
yourselves," barked the guard at the inner door.
   Kiyone studied the man for a couple of seconds. He was new at the 
job, and over-excited, she could tell. Trying to make a good 
impression. It wasn't necessary for her to analyse everybody she met, 
but she tended to do it automatically. It was part of her instincts as 
a GP detective.
   She produced her ID card. "Kiyone Makabi, Galaxy Police Detective 
First Class." The capital letters fell smoothly into place. "I have an 
appointment with Emperor Cezute."
   Mihoshi bounced forward enthusiastically and shook the man's free 
hand. "Hi! I'm Kiyone's bestest friend Mihoshi, and I came with her 
'coz she's really nervous about seeing the Emperor, and she grew up in 
this neighbourhood and it's the first time she's come back in, like, 
forever. Are you the enema?"
   The guard was fazed, to say the least. "Er. what?"
   "The enema," Mihoshi repeated patiently. "Only Kiyone won't tell me 
what it is, and I thought it might be you. I don't suppose you've seen 
a tray of veal lying around?"
   The guard was actually quite a pleasant young man who certainly 
didn't deserve this fate. He licked his lips nervously. They'd never 
warned him about this sort of thing in military school. He peered over 
the scary blonde woman's shoulder to see her 'bestest friend', who was 
shaking in silent fury. She was trying to speak, but no coherent words 
were coming out.
   The guard nodded thoughtfully. Obviously both these women were 
mentally unstable and ought to be locked up. On the other hand, Kiyone 
Makabi had a genuine ID and he had been notified of her appointment, 
and it wasn't any of his responsibility to take out dangerous lunatics.
   That process of logic having been applied and found to make sense, 
the guard raised his pike and saluted respectfully. "You may come 
through, Ms. Makabi," he said in relief.
   Kiyone, still purple in the face but beginning to calm down, nodded 
courteously and stepped past. Mihoshi tried to follow, only to find her 
way barred with the pike again. "I'm sorry," the guard said quickly, "I 
can't let you through."
   To the man's alarm, crocodile tears began to pool in the woman's 
eyes. "But I have to," she whimpered, "Kiyone brought me along 
specially."
   "I'm afraid you don't have an appointment," the guard explained. 
"Security is very tight at present, because of the political 
situation."
   Mihoshi's lower lip trembled. "But how will Kiyone cope in there 
without me?"
   The guard peered over his shoulder. Kiyone had long since vanished 
up the hall. Judging by the sound of her footsteps, she had left her 
partner behind at a run. "I, er, I think she can handle it just fine," 
he hazarded.
   It was like magic. The tears vanished, a giant smile appeared. "Oh, 
you're absolutely right," beamed Mihoshi. "Kiyone has always been able 
to take care of things. I mean, there was the one time when she -"
   "Why don't you take an seat in the hall," the guard interrupted 
quickly.
   "Thanks!" Mihoshi practically skipped over to the row of chairs 
lining the wall, and flopped down, dumping her many bags at her feet.
   The guard shuddered. Perhaps he should file a complaint. Perhaps he 
was in the wrong career.
   Mihoshi peered up and down the hall, looking for anything that 
resembled a tray of veal.
* * *
Kiyone took several deep breaths. She straightened her cap, brushed 
down her uniform, tried to tidy her hair, swallowed a few times to ease 
the dryness in her throat, and at last knocked on the door.
   There was a short pause that felt like an eternity. Then the door 
slid cleanly open with a whoosh. Kiyone stepped through, trying to walk 
in a manner that made her seem efficient, controlled, and anything 
other than how she was really feeling. A man who was presumably the 
Emperor sat behind a desk, facing her. He was slightly overweight, and 
going bald. He was dressed very extravagantly, bedecked in fur and gold 
and velvet. The effect was of a very tasteless Christmas tree. Kiyone 
saluted smartly.
   "Ms. Makabi," Cezute said with a nod. "Please be seated."
   Kiyone smiled politely and took the chair facing the Emperor. 
Despite her nervousness, years of Galaxy Police training were taking 
over. She examined his face, all the while noting minute little 
details. Cleft in his chin. Wrinkles in the corners of his mouth. A 
smile that did not quite meet his eyes. A bit of a lecher, given the 
way he was staring at her.
   Cezute coughed stiffly. "Detective Makabi, I have called you here 
because there is a matter I wish to discuss with you. As you surely 
know, your record in the Galaxy Police is outstanding. You are one of 
the finest officers there are, yet due to several unfortunate mishaps 
beyond your control, you have been held back instead of promoted ahead 
as you deserve."
   "I am flattered by your high opinion of me, Your Majesty," Kiyone 
replied, keeping her expression neutral. Inside, though, she was 
burning up with curiosity. What was he getting at?
   Cezute gave another smile that somehow lacked sincerity. "Detective 
Makabi, I have a proposition for you that I believe you will find - 
intriguing, shall we say." He leaned forward, a little closer than 
Kiyone felt comfortable with. "I would like to offer you the position -
" he paused dramatically, "of General in charge of the army of Tao-
Veer."
   Out of all the reasons the Emperor might have called her here, that 
one had never even occurred to Kiyone. She gripped the arms of her 
chair, feeling as if she was falling through endless space. A General? 
Why her? Outstanding record or not, she was merely a detective. Surely 
one of the higher ranks would have been a more suitable choice.
   Still. this was a promotion and a half and no mistake. In charge of 
the army of a whole planet - that would make her almost as important as 
the Grand Marshall himself. General Makabi. she could picture it now. 
It would be a lot of responsibility, but God knew if anyone could 
handle it, she could. A bit of an awkward time to take the promotion, 
of course, in the middle of a war and all -
   The war. Kiyone's fantasy ended abruptly. A war against Jurai meant 
a war against Tenchi, Ryoko, Sasami and Washu, four of her best 
friends. If any of them were to get hurt or die in an attack, she would 
be responsible. Would she be able to bear that? And what about Mihoshi 
- they would no longer be partners. Kiyone had always acted as though 
getting rid of Mihoshi would be the best thing that ever happened to 
her, but she knew deep down that she and her bubble-headed partner were 
inseparable and a darn good thing too. If she had to name the one 
person who she would protect with her life, it would be Mihoshi, beyond 
a doubt. They were closer than friends, they were more like sisters.
   "Detective, I must urge you to come to a decision."
   Kiyone's head jerked up. She had been so lost in her thoughts, she 
had almost forgotten about the Emperor sitting opposite her. "Er -" she 
stammered. "Well, its all so sudden, um, Your Highness - don't you 
think that a more superior officer might do a better job -"
   "Detective," Emperor Cezute interrupted. "This is a once-in-a-
lifetime chance. If you refuse my offer, I will not ask you again. Do 
you understand?"
   Kiyone nodded. "Yes sir.
   "Well then?"
   Kiyone took a breath. "With all due respects, Your Majesty, I don't 
think I can make an informed decision straight away. May I please 
request some time to think about it?"
   The Emperor looked annoyed for a second, but then he nodded. "Very 
well. You have a week. I look forward to seeing you again, Detective."
   There was a slight leer on his face as he said the last part. Kiyone 
suppressed a shudder. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
* * *
In the palace hall, a peculiar discussion was taking place. It ran as 
follows:
   "'Scuse me."
   "I beg your pardon?"
   "Is that veal?"
   "Er - no, ma'am."
   "Oh, I just wondered. Kiyone's supposed to be talking to the enema, 
so I'd better find the tray of veal for her, to save time. Are you sure 
its not veal?"
   "I'm very sure, madam."
   "Oh well, never mind. Just between you and me," (conspiratorial 
wink) "I don't really like veal, anyway."
   "Er - that's nice."
   Mihoshi looked up at the sound of slow footsteps approaching, to the 
considerable relief of the unfortunate boy who had just been delivering 
a little snack up to the Emperor and hadn't expected to have to deal 
with any Mihoshi-babble.
   "Kiyone!" Mihoshi squealed happily, running up to her friend and 
squeezing her round her middle. For once, Kiyone didn't push her away, 
a sure sign that she had too much on her mind. She started to walk 
towards the gate in a daze, Mihoshi being dragged along behind.
   "Did you find the enema?" Mihoshi asked curiously.
   "What? Oh, sure. Why not."
   "What did it look like?"
   "Fat and tasteless."
   "Oh dear. I'm glad I didn't find it first. I think I found the tray 
of veal, though. Its right over - oh, where did he go? He was here a 
second ago. That's a shame."
   "Whatever."
* * *
Several minutes after Kiyone left the room, Cezute said softly, "What 
do you think?"
   The Changer emerged from the shadows, her feet making no noise on 
the carpeted floor. "She'll come around," she replied almost casually. 
She smiled as if thinking of something amusing. "She won't have any 
choice."


So what do you think? I was going to have Ryoko and Ayeka switch 
bodies, but that's been done loads of times before.
   Next chapter. Nagi and Ayeka arrive on Jurai, to a less-than-warm 
welcome, the attack against Jurai commences, and something strange 
happens to Washu.
   Any and all C+C appreciated. Preferably something more constructive 
than 'you suck'. I'm only 15 and still learning.
   Send comments to: Joanna@Mackenzie76.freeserve.co.uk.