Here it is, "The Sum of All Memories," the sequel to "Tenchi Muyo: Empire." As I'm writing this, Gensao hasn't even put "Empire," on his archive yet. This isn't a criticism, I'm just trying to show how soon after the first story the second one came out. I'm a big Tenchi Muyo fan. I've seen the OAV's, but not all of the TV series or Shin Tenchi Muyo yet. Blame that on my minuscule bank account. But I do work in school computer lab which gives me a great deal of time to write, something I love to do anyway, so expect more fan fics from me. (I only discovered fan fiction a few weeks ago and thought it was a great idea!) Now then, (clears throat) Tenchi Muyo is the property of A.I.C. and Pioneer L.D.C.. I don't own these characters, just the writing. Please don't sue me. It won't get you anywhere as I have no money. So there. Places, everyone! Places! Curtain up, and.... The Sum of All Memories: Prologue: Form of the Mind Tenchi Masaki brought the apprentice light sword up and just barely blocked the blow hurled down at him by the elder Masaki. He ducked under another swipe and tried for a shot of his own at his grandfather's midsection. Yosho brought his sword, the Tenchi-ken, around and knocked the blow aside. Tenchi tried to step back, tried to get some distance between himself and his attacker. Yosho wasn't going to have any of it. He stepped forward and made a thrust for Tenchi's face. The young boy brought the green light sword up and turned the jab, but Yosho used the block to his advantage and knocked Tenchi's sword aside. Instead of going for a killing blow, Yosho made a quick cut at his grandson's sword hand. Tenchi tried to avoid the blow, but wasn't fast enough. His sword hand flew from his wrist. Tenchi screamed and covered the cauterized stump with his other hand. He fell to his knees, screaming in pain. Yosho stood over him and sneered. "Pathetic," he snarled. "You're not getting any better, boy." Tenchi didn't respond. He couldn't even look up at his grandfather. "You're lucky these aren't sonic blades, if they were, you'd be bleeding to death now." He tapped the communicator on his wrist. "Kagato," The voice of Yosho's chief lieutenant came over the speaker. "Yes, My Lord?" Yosho smiled cruelly. "My grandson has been ..._disarmed_ again. Clone him a new one. He'll be down directly." "Yes, My Lord." Yosho looked down at Tenchi. "Well, boy, what are you waiting for? No one's going to _carry_ you down to the lab." Tenchi struggled to his feet, his burned stump in his left hand. Washu woke up screaming, clutching at her right hand. After a minute, the screaming subsided and was replaced by quiet sobs. In the privacy of her bedroom in her lab at the Masaki home, no one heard her. Chapter 1 Message in a Bottle Tenchi Masaki poked at his breakfast but made no real effort to eat it. He knew the others were watching him, but he didn't care. He simply wasn't hungry. The rest of them ate in silence. For once, Ryoko and Ayeka weren't fighting one another, they were busy watching him. Sasami was watching him as well. Mihoshi seemed to sense the tension and was subdued. Washu was nowhere to be found. She had been spending more and more time in her lab in the three weeks since Tenchi's return from the Empire of Jurai. Tenchi finally gave up and rose from his chair. It was time to go to the carrot fields. They weren't going to tend themselves. The girls watched him leave. Ryoko sighed. Ayeka just shook her head. "Ayeka, what's wrong with Tenchi?" Sasami asked worriedly. "I don't know, Sasami. I just don't know." "He's been like this for three weeks now," Ryoko pointed out. "Ever since that whole alternate dimension thing. Ya' think maybe we got the wrong Tenchi?" Ayeka and Sasami straightened in their seats. "You think this may not be _our_ Tenchi?" Ayeka asked. Ryoko looked thoughtful. "I don't know...but I'm definitely going to find out." With those last cryptic words, she vanished. "Ryoko! Where are you going?!" silence met her. Ayeka balled her hands into fists and growled in annoyance. "I bet she's up to something," she muttered and left the kitchen. Sasami watched the two leave and shook her head. She sighed and turned to do the dishes. When she was done, she noticed a basket sitting on the kitchen counter. "Uh-oh, Tenchi forgot his lunch." The little, blue-haired princess took off her apron, grabbed the basket, and ran outside. Tenchi had just begun working when he heard someone call his name. He turned and saw Sasami running up to him carrying his lunch. Tenchi smacked himself in the forehead at realizing he had forgotten the one meal he would have before dinner. Sasami stopped in front of him, panting for breath. "Tenchi!" "You forgot your lunch!" "Thank you, Sasami. Did you run all the way from the house?" "Yeah," "Well, then, sit down before you have a heat stroke!" The two sat under a nearby tree. Sasami took the bottle of water Tenchi offered gratefully and drank several gulps before handing it back. Tenchi was silent. Sasami had always been taught that the quickest way to get an answer was to ask a question. Ayeka and Ryoko didn't seem able to do this, so it fell to Sasami to find out what was going on. "Tenchi, what's wrong? You've been so...I don't know....sad ever since you got back from that other dimension." Tenchi debated with himself over what he should tell her. "It's hard to explain, Sasami," he said simply. It was as if a lightbulb went off in Sasami's head. She smiled mischievously. "I bet I know what it is," she said, "I bet you met a girl in that other dimension, and you're sad that you can't see her anymore!" Tenchi looked down at her in surprise. Finally, he said, "How did a little girl get so intuitive, huh?" Sasami just shrugged. "If Ryoko or my sister ever find out, they'll go ballistic!" Tenchi nodded in agreement. Washu had said something similar the night he got back. "So...tell me about her!" Sasami pleaded. Once again, Tenchi had to ask himself how much he should say. He had given the girls an extremely edited version of what had happened. He knew that they could be extremely emotional at times. When Mihoshi had found out that her double was an Imperial officer responsible for millions of deaths, she had cried openly. Tenchi knew that the others would react differently if they heard that Sasami had died, Ayeka had tried to kill him, and Ryoko... ....married him. So, he gave them a watered down version. He knew the truth would set Ayeka and Ryoko off. Sasami wasn't old enough to sit by impassively as Tenchi described her double's death at Imperial hands. That left Washu, and she had also been melancholy lately. The pink-haired scientist said she hadn't been getting much sleep lately, but Tenchi suspected something else. He just wasn't quite sure what that was yet. He leaned against a tree trunk. "It was a very bad time for me, Sasami. I was in a universe at war with itself. People were dying, and it was my double who was responsible. They wanted to kill me, and for awhile, it looked like they were going to have their chance." Sasami listened closely as he said this. "Yet, through it all, there was one person who stood out. A glimmer of light in a very dark place, I guess you could say. She was....incredible." His voice became sad. "And I didn't realize how incredible until it was time to go." "I'm sorry, Tenchi, I didn't know." He smiled at her. "Don't worry, Sasami. Things are how they should be, now. I miss her, yes, but I didn't belong in that dimension. The only thing I really regret is that I had to leave before I could find out what happened. I don't even know if she's still alive." She took his arm. "I'm sure she's okay, Tenchi. She sounds like a good person. What was her name?" Tenchi smiled down at her. "I have to get back to work, and you should be getting home." He stood up. "Thanks for bringing my lunch out to me, Sasami, I appreciate it." "Your welcome, Tenchi. I'll see you later." She stood up and left, leaving Tenchi alone. He picked up the hoe he had been using and started working again. That's when he heard it, a familiar whine from behind him. He dropped the hoe and turned, grabbing the Tenchi-ken from his belt as he did. He had started carrying it wherever he went nowadays. Tenchi saw nothing, but still heard it. He walked forward a little until he could see over a rise. Looking down he saw a green light emanating from just next to the main road. He watched as a lone figure stepped out. Tenchi approached cautiously. When he was close enough, he could make out the man's clothing. He wore a red uniform with a gray cape. Three black circles were sewn into it. He was facing away from Tenchi, looking around. Tenchi racked his brain, trying to remember everything the other Ryoko had taught him about Imperial uniforms. Finally, he had it. A gray cape meant an Imperial courier. He brought the sword up, but kept it unignited. "Hello?" The courier turned at the hail and paled at the sight of Tenchi. He saluted and bowed quickly. "Tenchi Masaki?" he asked. Tenchi nodded. "That's right." The courier smiled. "Then I bring you greetings from Her Imperial Majesty." Tenchi wasn't quite at ease yet. "That would be..." The courier blinked. "The...Empress Ryoko of the Empire of Jurai." Tenchi's heart soared. It had worked. The plan had worked! He lowered the Tenchi-ken. "Oh...sorry, but I've had bad experiences with Imperials before." The courier waved it aside. "I know, I've been fully briefed on you and your involvement in last year's...unpleasantness." "There's a gentle euphemism," Tenchi muttered. The courier cleared his throat. "I'm Lieutenant Cor'val of Her Majesty's Couriers. I have two letters for you." He reached into a simple leather bag. "One from Her Majesty, the Empress, and one from the Prime Minister." "Prime Minister?" As far as Tenchi knew, the Empire didn't have a Prime Minister. "Yes, sir." He handed Tenchi two plastic tubes, each had a screw-on top. Tenchi's hand shook as he took them. He stared at them for a long moment before he realized that the courier was staring at him. "Oh, I'm sorry," Tenchi told him. "I'm being rude. Would you like something to drink or eat. I only have a small lunch, but I'll share it if you're hungry." The courier smiled. "I could do with some water. For some reason, trans-dim travel makes me thirsty." Tenchi and the Imperial walked back to the tree Tenchi and Sasami were just talking under. He handed the courier a bottle of water and watched him take a drink as he looked around. Tenchi undid the cap on the first scroll and took out a piece of paper that felt a lot like wax paper. There was nothing on it. Tenchi blinked. Suspecting a trap, he turned to the courier. The Imperial seemed to notice the problem. "Oh, sorry, sir. It's telepathy paper. Just put the palm of your hand on it and kind of let your mind go blank." Tenchi obeyed. At first, he felt nothing, then, all of a sudden, he was overcome with a feeling of warmth and affection so intimate, he blushed. Then he heard Ryoko's voice in his mind. Tenchi blinked as the message ended. The courier smiled. "Telepathy paper's got quite a kick, eh sir?" Tenchi nodded in agreement and opened the second letter, repeating the process as before. This time, he smiled as he recognized who the sender of this letter was. Tenchi looked up at the courier. He looked back and asked, "Any reply, sir?" "Just that I'm thinking about them too, and that I look forward to Ry...Her Majesty's visit." He started to think out loud to himself. "A week. That should give me enough time to set up a spare bedroom and prepare Ayeka and Ryoko for the shock." The courier cleared his throat. Tenchi looked at him. "Begging your pardon, sir, I'm rather new to this whole transdimensional travel thing. This is my first delivery outside my universe, after all, but isn't there some kind of time differential between our universes?" Tenchi blinked and then it clicked. "You mean the Empress will be here in one week, _Imperial time?!_" "Yes, sir." Tenchi did the math in his head. One week in the Empire of Jurai was equal to about six hours in local time. Not much time to work with. He turned back to the courier. "Thank you, sorry to run out on you, but I've got a lot of work to do before she arrives." The courier smiled and nodded. "No problem, sir. I should go now, anyway." He turned and started walking down the hill back towards the road. Tenchi didn't watch him go, instead, he ran full speed back to the house. There was a lot he needed to do, and not much time to do it in. Even so, he was grinning ear to ear. Chapter 2 An Announcement Ayeka was walking down the hall to her room when she heard noises coming from the room she was passing, Tenchi's room. She blinked. Tenchi was out in the carrot fields working, so who was... She grimaced and threw open the door. Just as she had suspected, there was Ryoko, ransacking the place. "Ryoko! What do you think you're doing?!" Ryoko looked up, miffed at the interruption. "What does it look like I'm doing, Ayeka? I'm investigating." "Investigating?" the princess cried. "It looks more like you're destroying Tenchi's room!" The space pirate turned to her in annoyance. "Look, the only reason we found out that the Emperor wasn't Tenchi was because _I_ realized he was using some of Kagato's sword techniques. So, while a certain princess we all know and love was playing kissy face with a war criminal..." "RYOKO!" "...Washu and I were able to come up with a way to trap him." She overturned a desk drawer, emptying the contents out onto the bed. "The point I'm trying to make is that we may not be so lucky next time. If this Tenchi _is_ an imposter, we may not know it until it's too late, unless...we take drastic steps now." Ayeka seemed to consider this. Tenchi _had_ been acting strangely lately. Ryoko studied her for a long moment. Finally, without a word, Ayeka walked over to his dresser and began rummaging through the contents of the top drawer. Ryoko went back to work on the desk. Sasami was sitting in the living room, reading one of her favorite girl's comics, when the front door flew open an Tenchi came barreling inside. She put the book down and looked up at him. She saw the change in him immediately. He was grinning broadly. "Tenchi, what's up?" "Sasami, where's Ryoko and Ayeka?" "I think they're upstairs. Why?" "Could you find Mihoshi and Washu and meet us downstairs in five minutes? I need to talk to everyone." Sasami closed the book. "Sure!" She ran off to Washu's lab to retrieve the greatest scientific genius in the universe. Tenchi started upstairs. Washu was slumped over her computer, asleep. She tossed and turned as the nightmares gripped her. She mumbled, sometimes coherently, sometimes incoherently, but the one thing that could be understood immediately and throughout her mumbles was the fear and pain she was feeling. "No....please....don't...." she mumbled. "At least let the children out.....please...I'm begging you." She was roused from her sleep by a knocking at her door. She bolted up in her chair and wiped a tear from her cheek. she asked herself. She had tried drugs in order to put her into a deeper sleep, but the nightmares always found her. The knocking came again. "Come in, it's open." The crab bell on her door clonked as Sasami came inside. "Ms. Washu, Tenchi wants to see us out in the living room. He's got some kind of announcement." Washu was still trying to blink the sleep from her eyes. "An announcement?" "Yeah," Sasami's face fell as she looked closer at Washu. The pink-haired genius' eyes had dark circles under them, and she appeared to be morose and depressed a lot lately. "Ms. Washu, are you okay?" Washu nodded. "Yeah, Sasami, I'm okay. I've just been working long nights lately." Sasami didn't seem convinced, but nodded anyway. "Okay, well, I have to find Mihoshi. I'll see you outside!" The little princess turned and left the lab. Washu turned back to her lab and saw the memory simulation helmet lying on the work bench. <"You're wrong, Washu. It _is_ going to hurt. A lot."> The dead emperor's words echoed in her ears. He had been right, she realized. It still hurt. Tenchi reached the top of the stairs and started down the hall. He was still trying to word how he was going to tell them about their coming visitor. He was going to Ayeka's room first, given that it was closer, and was about to knock when he heard voices coming from _his_ room. Tenchi walked further down the hall and opened his door. Ryoko and Ayeka looked up at him with expressions similar to that of deer caught in the headlights of a speeding truck. Ryoko was on his bed, sifting through the contents of several of his desk drawers, while Ayeka stood stock still in front of his dresser with a pair of his underwear in her hands. "TENCHI!" they cried out in unison. They had not been expecting him back for several hours. Tenchi stood there a moment in shock. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. A second later, he opened it again, only to close it again a moment later. The girls watched him do this for several seconds. Finally, he shook his head and managed to get coherent words to come out of his mouth. "Okay...I don't know what you two are doing...but I'm going to _assume_ you have a perfectly logical reason for it." He spoke slowly, partly in anger, partly in absolute shock. "Either way, I need to see the two of you downstairs. Okay?" The girls nodded. "Okay," he whispered, and left, closing the door behind him. Ryoko looked over at Ayeka. "Hey, Princess, you gonna buy those undies or are 'ya just brows'n?" "Huh?" Ayeka looked down at her hands and shrieked as she realized that Tenchi had just caught her fondling his underwear like a pervert. Ryoko stood up and laughed. "Good one, Princess," she said and vanished through the floor. Ayeka growled and made for the door, asking herself _how_ exactly she had let Ryoko talk her into ransacking Tenchi's room. When Tenchi made it downstairs, he found Sasami, Mihoshi, and Washu waiting for him. Ryoko dropped through the ceiling a second later and landed on the couch. Ayeka came racing downstairs and nearly bumped into him. "Lord Tenchi, I want to apologize for what happened upstairs..." "What happened upstairs?" Mihoshi asked. Ayeka turned and saw for the first time that everyone was there, staring at them. Ryoko laughed. "Ayeka was rummaging through Tenchi's unmentionables," she said in a syrupy sweet voice. Everyone stared at the princess, who turned a deep shade of red. That red turned to purple as she turned on Ryoko. "WELL YOU WERE GOING THROUGH HIS DESK!!!" "Sure," Ryoko said calmly, "But it's not as if I was fondling his stationary." Ayeka's color returned to red. She was about to return the insult when Tenchi interrupted the argument. "That's enough! I have something very important to say, and we have a lot to do in a short time." That got everyone's attention. Ayeka sat down next to Sasami. Ryoko leaned forward in interest, noticing his change in mood for the first time. Tenchi took a deep breath and continued. "I just received word that a friend of mine is coming for a visit. She'll be here in about six hours, and I want everything to be perfect." The reactions were mixed. "A visitor?!" Mihoshi asked, clapping her hands in delight. "Six hours?" Washu asked, who thought that was a little soon after sending word for a person to visit. "'SHE?!'" Ryoko and Ayeka asked in unison. ('Nuff said.) "'She?'" asked Sasami, remembering their conversation earlier and seeing his change in mood. She wondered... Tenchi addressed Sasami. "Sasami, would you set out another plate for dinner tonight?" He thought for a minute and amended this, saying, "Better make it three, just in case." He remembered that the Empress of Jurai would probably be shadowed by Imperial bodyguards. Sasami nodded and smiled. He turned to Mihoshi. "Mihoshi, could you fix up the spare bedroom, please?" Mihoshi gave him a Galaxy Police salute and rushed upstairs. Washu watched all this with amusement. Given Tenchi's newfound enthusiasm, she had no doubt in her mind who was coming. "Gee, Tenchi, you sound as if your wife were coming home after a long trip." Tenchi went rigid. Washu smiled at the knowledge that her guess had been confirmed. Ryoko and Ayeka also went rigid. "What are you talking about, Washu?!" Ryoko growled. "Yeah, what do you mean by that?!" Ayeka followed a second later. Washu folded her arms over her chest. "Why, nothing, nothing at all. It was just an observation." This seemed to mollify Ryoko and Ayeka. Tenchi, however, wasn't done. "Ryoko, Ayeka," he took a deep breath, "I know I'm probably wasting my breath, but I want you to both promise me that you won't insult her, threaten her, or in any way make her stay unpleasant. All right?" Ryoko and Ayeka turned in shock. Ryoko was suspicious. "Exactly who is this girl, Tenchi?" "Well...er...that is..." he searched for something to say, but suddenly asked himself why he should say anything at all. He had just caught the two of them rummaging through his room! They had both been taking _a lot_ of liberties lately. What business of it was their's? Why should he have to explain his every action to them? He rallied. "Why don't the two of you search my room and find out for yourselves?!" Ayeka blushed, Ryoko frowned, and Tenchi stared them down. Finally, he said, "Promise me." "I promise," Ayeka told him. Ryoko just nodded. "Good." With that, he walked out the door. "Can you believe that?!" Ryoko asked. "Be quiet, Ryoko. You had that one coming," Washu told her. "How do you expect Tenchi to open up to either of you when you make it obvious that you don't trust him?" Ayeka acted as if her feet were suddenly the most important thing in the world. Ryoko, however, was not quite ready to back down. "How do we know he's not an imposter?! He's been acting weird lately, Washu! What if he's a double? How are we supposed to know if we don't investigate?" Washu stared at her daughter and sighed. "Let me tell you this Ryoko," she said quietly, "Right now, the two of you are the most important women in Tenchi's life. How long do you think it's going to stay that way if you keep doing stuff like this? It used to just be the constant bickering and fighting that got on his nerves, but now you're _searching his room_?! The both of you need to take a step back and reexamine how you're going about getting him, otherwise, you're going to lose him. This girl you're so afraid of isn't the cause of the problem, she's a symptom." Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked out, leaving the two girls feeling like absolute fools. Chapter 3 The Arrival Five hours later, the entire group plus Nobuyuki, who had returned from work, and Lord Katsuhito walked to the patch of road that ran alongside the carrot field. The sun was just beginning to set behind them. Tenchi looked around and nodded when he found the spot where the courier had appeared. They waited in silence for several minutes. "Uh...Is this where her bus is stopping?" Nobuyuki asked Tenchi. Tenchi only smiled. "Something like that," he told him. They waited for twenty minutes. Tenchi kept checking his watch. Ryoko laced her fingers behind her head and said, "Maybe she missed the bus." Suddenly, there was an explosion of green light directly in front of them. They all jumped back and brought their hands up to shield their eyes from the light. Tenchi looked directly at it as did Ryoko. She had seen it before. The portal had only been open a few seconds when two figures appeared at the edge. Their red armor glistened in the green light of the portal. Their assault rifles were up in a firing position. Ryoko growled and brought her hand up to engage her light sword, but a quick look from Tenchi stopped her. He stepped forward and saluted in the Imperial style, placing his fist over his heart. The Marine on the right nodded curtly and stepped back through the portal, the other came to attention, his rifle no longer pointing at them. The Marine who left reappeared a second later, taking a position on the opposite side of the portal as his comrade. A moment later, someone else came through the portal. Ryoko and Ayeka's jaws nearly hit the floor. Washu had to admit to being surprised as well. She certainly hadn't expected this! Sasami and Mihoshi were confused, their eyes going wide in puzzlement. Nobuyuki and Katsuhito, used to such surprises after a year of living with the girls, took it in stride. The Marines seemed to stand straighter at her approach. She stopped just before them and spoke. "Thank you, Sergeant, that will be all." The Marine who had stepped back through the portal a moment before, executed an about face along with his comrade and marched back through the portal. Just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone again. Tenchi stepped forward, saluted smartly, and bowed low from the waist. The woman, who wore a simple outfit similar to Ryoko's and held a leather travel bag, took a step toward him and embraced him. Ryoko and Ayeka stepped forward to break them up, but Washu grabbed them both by the arms and held them with a strength neither of them expected from the little scientist. The two finally separated. Empress Ryoko of Jurai smiled. "It's been far too long, Tenchi," she said. Tenchi smiled. "It's only been three weeks." "Try eighteen months," the Empress told him. Tenchi made an annoyed face. "I keep forgetting the time difference." Ryoko smiled. "So, uh...how long can you stay?" Ryoko's smile faltered just slightly. "Only three days. The crown doesn't have as much power as it used to, but I'm still needed as a figurehead. Three days here is all I can afford, three months back in the Empire." Tenchi had been hoping for more. "Well then, we'll simply have to make the most of it." Ryoko's smile returned to her face and she nodded. Tenchi suddenly realized he was forgetting the large group of people who were staring at the two of them. "Oh, yeah." He turned to them. "Everyone, may I present the Empress Ryoko of the Empire of Jurai. Ryoko, this is my family." He introduced her to each one. Nobuyuki smiled and kissed her hand. Katsuhito, seven hundred years out of the royal court of Jurai bowed in the Jurain fashion. Mihoshi shook hands with her. The Empress seemed a little hesitant at first, but when Tenchi assured her that Commodore Mihoshi was three weeks dead, she smiled and eagerly shook hands with the detective. "When we searched the Risano and found out that Mihoshi wasn't aboard, we feared she might've gone underground to start some kind of military coup," she told Tenchi. "There are a lot of Commodores back at the capital who will be ecstatic to hear she's dead." She turned to Mihoshi. "No offense." "None taken," Mihoshi said with a smile. Next was Washu, who bowed. "How do you do?" She was staring at her daughter's double strangely. Sasami was next. Ryoko kneeled down next to her and shook her hand with a smile. Tenchi introduced her to Ayeka next. The Jurain princess curtsied somewhat stiffly. "Your Majesty," Ryoko nodded, "Your Highness." Finally, they got to Ryoko, who was staring daggers at the Empress. "I doubt introductions are necessary here," the Empress said, smiling somewhat uncomfortably. She extended her hand. Ryoko stared at her for a hard moment than took it. "How do you do?" She squeezed. The Empress smiled and returned the squeeze, foot pound for foot pound. Tenchi seemed uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. The two Ryoko's released their handshake. The Empress turned to Tenchi expectantly. "Well," he said, "You're just in time for dinner." "Great, I'm starved. I forgot how bad food aboard ship could be after a year at the palace. I could use a home cooked meal." Tenchi's smile got brighter. "Well, you can thank Sasami for that, I can't even make toast without someone getting hurt." The Empress laughed at this. It sounded nothing like Ryoko's patented cackle, but softer, more demure. The kind of laugh one expects from a proper young lady. Ryoko wanted to break her in half when she heard it. Ayeka would have gladly helped her. Tenchi and the Empress were oblivious to them however as they started back toward the house. Ryoko and Ayeka fell into step behind the rest of the group that followed them. Ayeka watched the two of them walk, not quite hand in hand. She was still in shock. Ryoko was silent as she floated alongside her. She must have voiced this opinion out loud, because Ryoko answered her. "No way," she hissed. "I could probably stand losing to you, Ayeka, but I'll be damned if I'm going to lose to _myself_!" Ayeka suddenly laughed. Ryoko turned on her. "What's so damned funny about this?!" Ayeka had to wait until she could talk again before answering. "It's just that of all the people who could've come through that portal, I never would've guessed it would be a refined version of you. Think about it. All this time, we've been waiting for Tenchi to choose one or the other. You had a reckless sense of fun, and I had beauty, refinement, wealth, power..." "The point, Ayeka, the point." "The point is, that that double of yours has all of those things, and now, all of a sudden, we have to compete with the best parts of ourselves _along with each other_!" Ryoko had to stifle a laugh. The princess had a point. Life at the Masaki household had just become more complicated than either one of them ever would've thought possible. From the front of the group, Ryoko leaned over to Tenchi. "I get the feeling you weren't totally up front with them about us." Tenchi sighed. "At the time, it seemed to be the smart thing. I figured they'd just use it as one more thing to fight over." "Then they don't know that..." "Washu knows, but it's hard to hide anything from her, anyway. She hasn't told anyone else so far." "I see," she said. She was troubled, he could hear it in her voice. "Something wrong?" "Tenchi, I know that when it happened, it was just a political maneuver, something to cement my claim to the throne. I...never intended to hold you to anything, and I still don't. I want you to know that. Officially, I'm the wife of the late Tenchi Masaki, Emperor of Jurai. You have no reason to worry..." "It's okay," he said. Looking down at her right hand, he saw the gold wedding band she wore there. Jurains, according to tradition, wore it on the middle finger of the right hand. He had kept his in a box in his room. Luckily, Ryoko and Ayeka didn't find it during their search. He frowned at that. Imagine, he had to actually hide mementos from them now. He had to admit, he had taken perverse pleasure at seeing their expressions when Ryoko stepped out of the portal. "I won't tell them," she said. "I don't want to be any trouble." "You're not trouble." He sighed. "But thank you all the same. I can picture the kind of devastation that would occur if you did." Ryoko grinned. "So can I." There were times that Tenchi had to remind himself that this woman had all of Ryoko's powers and abilities. It was then that Tenchi noticed something about her, something he had seen before but hadn't registered. "You're walking," he said in wonder. She looked up at him. "Well, yeah," Tenchi shook his head. There were other differences between the Empress and Ryoko. The Empress wore her hair back in a pony tail now, for instance. Her eyes, while the same color as Ryoko's, were softer, less...vicious. Nobuyuki watched the two converse and mentally jumped for joy. He recognized his son's tone and body language. He had behaved similarly while he had courted Achika. He had always been fond of both Ryoko and Ayeka, and now it seemed his son had found the best of both worlds. He began to think of names to call his first grandchild. Katsuhito was walking next to Washu. He turned his head and looked down a the scientist. "This is an unforeseen turn of events, is it not?" Washu only nodded. He studied her closely. "Are you all right Little Washu? You look tired." She sighed. "I am tired. I haven't been getting any sleep lately." "Bad dreams?" She nodded. "Is there anything I can do?" She smiled. "Thank you, Lord Katsuhito, no. I'll be fine." When they got back to the house, Sasami went straight to the kitchen to start dinner. Tenchi and Mihoshi showed the Empress to the guest room while Ryoko and Ayeka stayed downstairs in the living room and sulked. Washu went straight to her lab. The Empress took a look around her room, placing her bag on the dresser. "It's a little small," Tenchi said in apology. She smiled. "It's fine, Tenchi. It's...intimate." Tenchi coughed. Her smile got brighter, but it was a warm, inviting smile, not the sly smirk Ryoko often flashed him. "Well, dinner'll be ready soon. I'll let you freshen up." "All right." Tenchi left, but Mihoshi stayed around. Ryoko didn't mind. "So, you're a detective in the GP, huh?" She opened her bag and reached inside. Mihoshi nodded. "Yeah, I'm assigned to patrol this solar system. It's a noncombative area, so it's usually pretty quiet here." Ryoko nodded. She rummaged around in her bag. It was a special dimensional bag designed by her mother. The inside of the bag was an artificial dimension that could hold any amount of mass she wished. She pulled out two outfits, a yellow sun dress and a red outfit like the one she was wearing. She debated on which to wear for dinner. She was an Empress, after all, and represented the Imperial house. She had to look her best. she asked herself. She couldn't argue with that. She turned to Mihoshi. "Which one, do you think?" Mihoshi "hmm'ed," in thought, and pointed at the yellow one. "I think so, too." She put the red outfit in the closet and continued to unpack. Mihoshi watched for a few moments and then spoke. "So...how did you and Tenchi meet?" "I saved him from execution," she replied simply. "You, know, the usual." "I see," Mihoshi said, not seeing it at all. Ryoko sat on the couch and fumed. Imagine, her double! It was bad enough she had to put up with Ayeka, but now she had to compete with _herself_?! How dare he?! Ayeka sat across from her and entertained similar thoughts. It was bad enough she had to put up with one Ryoko, but now she had to compete with _two of them_?! How dare he?! They looked up at Tenchi as he came down the stairs. Ryoko teleported, reappearing an inch from his face. "All right Tenchi, if that is indeed your real name, what is this!?" Tenchi crossed his arms over his chest. "I told you, she's going to be staying for a few days." Ayeka decided to try a more subdued approach. "Tenchi, that's not what we mean. Who is this woman to _you_?" His expression softened at the sadness in Ayeka's voice. "She's my friend, Ayeka. I spent three weeks with her in the other dimension. I promised I would show her our world one day. That's why she's here." "So the two of you aren't..." "Aren't?" Ayeka blushed, but went on. "Aren't _seeing_ one another." Tenchi paused. They had kissed back on the AD7, and before that at the short wedding ceremony that had made Ryoko an Empress, but he still didn't know exactly _how_ he felt about her. Still, he felt he had to be honest. "I _care_ for her a great deal, Ayeka. If you're asking me if we've...well...you know, then, no, we haven't." Ryoko glared at him. "I don't get it. What does she have that I don't got?" "It's not that, Ryoko. It's...I can't explain it." "Tenchi?" The three of them looked up to see the Empress descending the stairs in a yellow sun dress, Mihoshi right behind her. He smiled up at her. Ryoko and Ayeka's glares shot from him to the Empress and back again. Sasami saved them from a potentially dangerous confrontation by announcing dinner. They all walked into the kitchen and sat down. Ryoko and Ayeka were quick to grab chairs on either side of Tenchi. The Empress looked disappointed, but didn't make a scene. Tenchi took a quick look around the table and asked, "Where's Little Washu?" Sasami poured some rice onto his plate as she answered. "She said she wouldn't be eating tonight. I think she's sleeping." Tenchi was worried. Washu had been complaining about lack of sleep ever since he got back. It had to be connected, but how? Did the memories she scanned from his double have something to do with it? From next to Tenchi, Ryoko spoke up. "Now that we're all here, maybe we could hear what really happened three weeks ago." Tenchi sighed and started the story from the beginning, how he was kidnapped, how Kagato tried to use him as a patsy, how Ayeka wanted to execute him without a trial. He omitted the part about Tsunami's death; he still didn't think it was a good idea to tell Sasami how her double died. When he got to the execution, he let Ryoko take over. As she promised, she left out the wedding and a few other parts they knew Ryoko and Ayeka wouldn't be able to handle without destroying something. Ryoko and Ayeka weren't stupid, however. They knew the two of them were leaving pieces out of their story, they just couldn't prove it, so they listened. Tenchi paid close attention as Ryoko got to the part of the story he hadn't been around for. "For a minute," she said, "It looked like Ayeka was going to destroy the entire fleet just for the hell of it. Luckily, Mom and I managed to convince her that it was more advantageous to accept our surrender." "What have you done since then?" Tenchi asked. "Well, the first thing Ayeka did was to take her pound of flesh out of the Empire. We lost half our territory, and we're treaty bound to keep our fleet at quarter strength. She also made sure that the Emperor or, in my case, the Empress, had checks and balances against them. That was okay with us. Mom and I restructured the government so that the Senate actually had more power than the monarch. Since then, we've been getting by. Things have settled down now. The Jurains deal with us more as a wary ally than an enemy now, and no one's starving. All in all, the surrender went over better than it could have." Tenchi stopped listening. He was looking out into the hall at Washu's lab door. He stood up. "Will you excuse me for a few moments?" He walked to the door, leaving the girls alone. Washu made a few last adjustments to her latest invention. It was something she designed for Tenchi, a fencer droid. It was designed for training the young Jurain prince. She hadn't tested it yet, she would have to wait for Ryoko or Tenchi to help her. She could create a light sword, but that was about all. She had not received any formal training, so she would have to wait for someone who had in order to test its abilities. Or did she? She looked at the droid. It was basically a big metal skeleton with a light sword attached to each hand. She reached out with her hand and created a light sword. It burned bright red in her hand. She studied the blade, then, almost on instinct, she stepped back and gave the verbal command to activate the droid. The android came to life in front of her and activated the sword in its right hand. It took a tentative step toward her and assumed an en guarde position. She matched his position without thinking and waited. The droid made a thrust toward her head, which she turned easily and countered with two slashes of her own. The droid blocked the shots and tried for an overhand slash. As the droid raised the sword above its head, she stepped forward and slashed the sword through its torso. She took another step forward and pulled the sword out of the droid's body, spinning around and slashing it through the back with one clean movement. The droid fell to the floor in three neat pieces. Washu blinked in shock. Her light sword disappeared. She heard clapping from behind her. She turned and saw Tenchi standing next to her door, applauding. "That was great, Little Washu!" She turned back to the broken droid, still surprised that _she_ had done that. "Uh, thanks," she whispered. She shouldn't have been able to do that. She had programmed the droid to be able to give Ryoko and Tenchi a rough time, and she had beaten it in less than a minute! She shook her head. The programming must have been faulty. a voice in her head told her. What frightened her was the fact that it didn't sound like _her_ voice. She turned back to the young prince. "Is there something I can do for you, Tenchi?" "I was wondering why you weren't having dinner with us," he told her. "I just have some work to do. I'll eat later." Tenchi looked at her, worried. "Washu, are you okay?" "Of course." He wasn't convinced. "You've been depressed and exhausted for three weeks. That's about the same time you experienced my double's memories. That's no coincidence. What's happening to you, Little Washu?" She didn't answer, instead she turned from him. He could see her shoulders begin to shake. "I don't know, Tenchi," she said quietly, wiping away a tear. "I just don't know. I'm the greatest scientific genius in the universe, and I have no idea what's happening to me. I've been having nightmares for three weeks, and now..." she shook her head, "Tenchi, I can create a light sword like Ryoko, anyone can, It's a twenty minute procedure with one of my inventions. But you have to learn, study, and practice, in order to use it well." She turned to him, tears in her eyes. "I've never taken a single lesson in my entire life, and I beat that droid in less than a _minute_! I close my eyes and all I can see is _his_ face!" She took a step toward him and embraced him, clinging to him as if her life depended on it. "Help me, Tenchi," she whispered. "Please, help me." He wrapped his arms around her and held her while she cried. "It's okay, Little Washu, we'll think of something," he told her quietly. He searched for something, anything that would help her. "You must have run tests on yourself, right?" She nodded. "Okay, we'll start there. Let's go over them step by step." Conversation died the second Tenchi left the table. Sasami and Mihoshi tried to fill the gap with talk of the weather and other inconsequential topics, but this could only go on for so long. Ryoko looked up at her double. What did Tenchi see in her, anyway? Sitting there aloof to the world. Sure, she was beautiful, she was walking around in _her_ body, after all. She had the others fooled, but Ryoko could see she was just as stuck up as Ayeka. She had certainly managed to charm Sasami and Mihoshi quickly enough. As if thinking about them was a cue, Sasami addressed the Empress. "So, Ryoko, am I in your universe?" The Empress was brought up short. She covered it well, but Ryoko saw it in her eyes. She didn't want to talk about Sasami. She wondered why. The Empress regarded Sasami carefully, then said, "No, Sasami. You're not." "Oh," Sasami said. She seemed disappointed. The Empress didn't meet her gaze. Suddenly, the Empress was startled by something tugging at her leg. She looked down and saw a...hairy little girl? She leaned down and looked at her. "Hello, there. Who are you?" Sasami giggled. "That's Ryo-Ohki." "RYO-OHKI!?" Sasami nodded. "Yup. Isn't Ryo-Ohki in your world, either?" The Empress picked up the girl form of Ryo-Ohki and sat her on her lap. "Well, yes. There have been six, as a matter of fact. One of them is back on the Soja, waiting to bring me back to the capital after my vacation. The other five were shot out from under me during the war, but Ryo-Ohki is a cabbit, not a...a..humanoid." "This one is," Ryoko said. Ryo-Ohki jumped off the Empress' lap and began to sing. The Empress smiled and clapped her hands at the end of the song. She muttered something under her breath. "What was that?" Ryoko asked. She looked over at her double. "I was just saying, 'So that's what he meant.' Tenchi said he was sorry for me when Ryo-Ohki was destroyed during our escape from Jurai. At the time, I thought it...odd." Ryo-Ohki miya'd. Tenchi looked over the spreadsheets Washu had provided him. It was a chart of her brain waves, one from six weeks ago and one from one week ago. It didn't take a neurologist to see the differences in the graphs. Washu had composed herself and was sitting at her computer again, waiting while Tenchi tried to absorb the data. He turned to her. "Could he have passed on some kind of mental disorder through the link?" "I don't think so. Most mental disorders are caused by chemical imbalances, and even so, we weren't really linked. The computer made a copy of his memories and I experienced them through the helmet." "Chemical imbalances or by traumatic events." Tenchi pointed out. "Yes, the experience was bad, but it wasn't the kind of long, drawn out trauma that could cause these symptoms." Tenchi shook his head. "I was referring to _his_ traumatic experiences. You lived them, remember? Wouldn't it affect you the same way it affected him?" Washu paused. The Emperor _had_ displayed signs that he was mentally unstable. If that was the result of a trauma _he_ experienced, then it was possible she was becoming unstable in the same way. The consequences of such a thing would be...enormous. "We have to purge those memories, now," she whispered. Tenchi nodded. "It would be for the best." "I'll get to work on it. Thank you, Tenchi." "It's no problem, Little Washu. Are you sure you're okay now?" She smiled up at him. "Now that I have a better idea of what's wrong, I can do something about it. I have to check into this theory, and you should get back to your guest." Tenchi's eyes went wide. He the clock on the wall and jumped. He had been in here working with Washu for _three hours_! "G'night Little Washu!" he said and ran out the door. The scientist watched him go and sighed. Tenchi bolted out the lab door and into the kitchen. No one was there. "They all went to bed," a voice from behind him said. He turned to find the Empress standing there, leaning against a wall. Tenchi turned red from embarrassment. "I'm sorry I ran out like that, but something came up, and..." She smiled. "You don't have to explain, Tenchi, I know my visit was out of the blue." She took step toward him. "What do you have planned for the rest of the night?" Coming from his Ryoko, that question would've been so loaded with sexual innuendo, it would've given him a nose bleed. Coming from this Ryoko, it was only a friendly question. "I thought about taking a walk outside. Would you care to join me?" She smiled. "Delighted." They walked through the forest near the Masaki shrine, talking, watching the stars, and generally enjoying one another's company. What they didn't know was that a certain pirate, with a certain princess in tow, was shadowing them, rematerializing behind a tree every fifty feet as the two walked. Ayeka elbowed Ryoko in the ribs. "Warn me when you're going to do that, will you?" "Hush!" the demon hissed in reply. "I can't hear what they're saying!" They weren't saying all that much at all. They were deliberately keeping the talk as innocent and neutral as they could. "So, what happened that took you from dinner?" Tenchi paused. He had told Washu he wouldn't tell the others, but the Empress had known the Emperor. She might be able to give him some insight into his character. Briefly, he told her what was happening to Washu. She whistled in awe. "You're right, Tenchi, his memories are the cause. There are things that happened to him that still frighten me. Things you don't even want to know. I'm not saying he wasn't an evil man. He most certainly deserved to die, but there are times when I remember him and can only feel pity." Tenchi didn't say anything. Finally, she turned back to him. "I have a confession to make." "Oh?" She nodded. They had stopped on a grassy hill overlooking a clearing. She sat down, Tenchi followed a moment later. Their two watchdogs rematerialized on a tree branch about thirty feet away from them. Ayeka almost cried in surprise at finding herself in the air, but managed to suppress it. They listened closely. "Tenchi, I didn't come here for a tour." She paused. He waited for her to continue. "I came for you." Ryoko growled low in her throat. Tenchi took a breath. "I see." "I don't want to pressure you, or make you feel trapped. The gods know you get enough of that here," "That bitch!" Ayeka hissed at the Empress' comment, obviously aimed at them. "But I do want you to know that...that I..." Suddenly, there was the sound of a crash and two feminine voices crying out in surprise. They turned to the source and saw Ryoko and Ayeka standing up after falling out of a tree. Tenchi frowned. "Jeez," he said. Ryoko, it seemed, felt no guilt about spying on them. She marched right up to the Empress and stuck her finger in her face. "You, what?" The Empress frowned. She had had it. She was tired of the looks, the accusations, the interrogations. What business of it was theirs? She took a breath, and with a courage and finality she didn't have before, she said it. "I love him." Ryoko's eyes couldn't possibly convey more hate than they did at that moment. The Empress continued. "I love him, and I want to be with him. Is that so wrong? Is it so wrong for someone who's known nothing but sadness and death to want to be with someone who makes them feel loved and cared for? I fell in love with Tenchi Masaki over a year ago, and in that time, my feelings for him have not changed." Ryoko growled. She activated her light sword and brought it up. "All right, bitch! It's time to settle this once and for all!" "No," Ryoko faltered. "What?" "I said, 'no!' Tenchi's not a prize to be won like a trophy. He's not property. I wouldn't want him to be. I know what that feels like all too well." This last sentence was said in sadness. Kagato had made Ryoko a gift to the former Emperor to curry favor in the Imperial court. Ryoko smiled. "So, you're not going to fight?" "That's what I said." "Good, that makes it easier." She swung the sword, only to find that the Empress had disappeared. Ryoko blinked and then screamed up at the sky. "You can't get away me that easily!!" She vanished. Tenchi and Ayeka had watched the exchange, speechless. They looked up at each other and blinked. "Uh-oh!" they said in unison, and started running for the house. Ryoko rematerialized in three different places until she found the Empress in her room, unpacking. "You've got alotta nerve, sister!" Ryoko said, bringing the light sword up. The Empress looked at her in surprise. "Gods above!" she cried. "Am I like this in _every_ dimension?!" "You can't have him!" Ryoko screamed. "That's not your decision to make!" The Empress shot back. "Well, it sure as Hell isn't yours, either!" She brought the sword up and was disappointed again as the Empress dissolved through the floor. Ryoko growled in frustration and followed her. She found the monarch in the kitchen, sipping at a cup of tea. Mihoshi, Sasami, and Nobuyuki were groggily coming down the stairs, wondering what was going on. Tenchi and Ayeka came running into the house, out of breath. Ryoko brought the sword up again. "Stand and fight!" she cried. "Why? Killing you is just going to make him upset!" "I don't care what you think, you're not getting your hands on _my_ Tenchi!" "_Your_ Tenchi!?" The Empress put the tea down. "_Your_ Tenchi!" she repeated in disbelief. "You don't own him, Ryoko. I don't even take such liberties, and I'm..." she broke off in midsentence, just barely catching herself. It wasn't fast enough. "What?" Ryoko asked. The Empress Ryoko looked over at Tenchi and gave him a look that seemed to say, "I'm sorry," then turned back to Ryoko and displayed the back of her hand to the space pirate. Ryoko blinked. What? Was she giving her some kind of insulting gesture? If that were the case, Ryoko had a few of her own to show the Empress. It wasn't until Ayeka began shrieking that Ryoko thought it was something more, something worse. "What?!" Ryoko asked her. Ayeka, a haunted look on her face turned to the pirate. "Are you dense, Ryoko?!" she cried. "Look at her hand!" Ryoko looked and saw nothing but well manicured fingernails and two gold rings, one on the middle finger and one on the ring finger. "So what?" Ayeka shook her head and sighed. "On Jurai, the middle finger of the right hand is reserved for _WEDDING RINGS_!!!" She looked over at Tenchi, who was wishing he could be anywhere else than where he was right now. "Oh, Lord Tenchi, why? Why?!" Sasami, now wide awake, heard this. "You mean Tenchi's married?! Wow!" Mihoshi began to cry. "Why wasn't I invited to the wedding?!" Nobuyuki whooped in glee and began thanking the various Kami for any involvement they may have had for getting his son married to the beautiful empress. Tenchi started to explain. "It was part of the deal I made with Washu. They needed a legitimate Empress who could assume the throne after I 'died.' It didn't mean anything!" Ryoko's sword disappeared. Tenchi took her by the shoulders. She hung her head. "It meant something to her," she said quietly. Tenchi blinked. The Empress made no effort to deny it. "It didn't mean anything to you then," Ryoko told him, still not meeting his gaze. "Does it mean something now." Tenchi, once again, felt he had to be honest. "I...I don't know." Ryoko began to shake. She began to scream in rage and grief, fighting against him. Swinging her fists in the air. "Ryoko! Ryoko, stop!" She didn't stop. He reached out and grabbed her wrist just as she was letting an energy blast loose... The whole house was rocked by an explosion. When Ryoko opened her eyes and looked around, the kitchen was gone, not wrecked, _gone_! The Empress and Ayeka were thrown back and were beginning to recover, shaking their heads and checking for broken bones. The others had seen what was happening and had gotten under cover in time. Tenchi was... Tenchi? Tenchi?! She looked around and saw him lying on the ground at her feet. His face was burned and charred. What was left of his clothing was in ashes. His eyes were closed. Ryoko stood there dumbfounded for a moment. She heard voices around her, but they didn't register. She could only see Tenchi. Then, she saw herself materialize at his side. No, it wasn't herself, it was _her_. The Empress cried out. "Sasami! Get Washu! Quickly!" Sasami ran to Washu's lab and began pounding on the door. "Is..is he.." Ryoko couldn't get the words out. The Empress refused to look at her. "He's alive, there's still time." Ayeka was leaning over him now. "Lord Tenchi! Please answer me! It's Ayeka!" Sasami rushed into the kitchen, Washu in tow. "Now, what's going on...Tenchi!?" The scientist pushed to the front and began to examine Tenchi. "Help me get him into the lab. What the Hell happened?" "There was an accident," the Empress said quickly. "He took the full force of a power blast." "Then he's lucky he's breathing at all," Washu said as the Empress picked Tenchi up and started carrying him to the lab. Ryoko followed them, still in shock at what she had done. she asked herself. Tenchi came to groggily. His head hurt. Counting his arms, legs, and every other part of his body that ached, that brought the count up to a hundred and six. He opened his eyes and saw Washu looking down at him. "Little Washu?" She smiled. "Well, well. He's up. Not a bad three minute's work for the greatest scientific genius in the universe." "Ryoko?" Her smile lost some of its intensity. "I assume you're referring to _my_ daughter?" He nodded slowly. Washu sighed. "She's missing. Ayeka and Ryoko are looking for her. She did this, didn't she?" He groaned. "I had it coming, I guess." She sighed. "How are you?" he asked. "I'm okay," There was something in her voice that told him something was wrong. "What is it?" She sighed again. "I can't purge the memories, not without brain damage. They're too deep in my psyche to erase with a machine." "With a machine?" "Yeah," "So, there is another way?" She stared at him for a hard moment. "No." Ryoko leaned against the tree, Funaho, and wept. She had never hurt Tenchi before, never. Oh, she had flirted with him that night at the school, but she was never going to actually hurt him. He almost died tonight, because _she_ lost control. Maybe she should go. Just leave Tenchi to her double and go. She could always become a space pirate again, live the exciting life of a perpetually wanted criminal. She shook her head. That's not what she wanted anymore, not what she ever really wanted. She felt, rather than heard, someone rematerialize behind her. She didn't turn. "Go ahead," she told her double. "Kill me. I certainly deserve it." It's what she would've done if someone else had harmed Tenchi. The Empress sighed. "I don't want to kill you, Ryoko. I've already seen more blood than any one person has a right to see. I came to see if you were okay. Tenchi's awake." "I'm sure he doesn't want to see the monster that almost killed him." "He's been asking for you." Ryoko laughed. "For you, you mean." The Empress took a step forward. "You know, Ryoko, I envy you." This surprised Ryoko. She turned to her double, searching her face for an insult or sarcasm, but finding none. "What do you mean?" The Empress sighed and sat on one of Funaho's massive roots. "You get to live with this Tenchi. You've met mine. He was a cruel, maniacal, despot who delighted in the torment of others." She laughed. "He told me he loved me, you know, but it was a lie. He enjoyed bringing me up just so he could squash me again. Over and over and over. And being the fool I was, I believed that he really did love me, that it was something else that caused him to treat me the way he did. I even thought it was _my_ fault, that it was something I was doing." She looked up at Ryoko, who was listening intently to the Empress' story. "You met a Tenchi who was kind and gentle, but most importantly, a Tenchi who was capable of feeling love. I have no doubt that you love him. Aside from our experiences, we're the same person. You fell in love with him for the same reasons I did." Ryoko could only nod. "I'll be leaving in two days. I came here to tell Tenchi that I loved him, because the idea of going through life without him knowing how I really felt galled me. He can't come back with me because the Jurains would surely kill him if they saw him, and I can't stay here because I'm still needed back at the capital. I didn't mean to bring any trouble or cause any pain, but when you started claiming him like you had a right to him....I...I lost control. I'm sorry." Ryoko laughed. "What?" the Empress asked. "I attack _you_ and nearly kill Tenchi, and you're apologizing to _me_!" The Empress laughed. "I guess it is funny." Ryoko's laughter trailed off. "Just to tell him you love him, and that's it?" Her voice held a tinge of disbelief. The Empress smirked and said something that convinced Ryoko right then and there that they really were more alike than not. "Well, that and a quick tumble in the sack. After all, we're both living, breathing humanoid types, I figured what we wanted had to be the same thing." Ryoko should've been outraged, instead she laughed, the Empress right along with her. "Come on, let's go see Tenchi." Lord Katsuhito entered the subspace lab and walked to the bed where Tenchi was rapidly recuperating thanks to one of Washu's inventions, which was floating above him, covering him with beams of light that were spontaneously healing his wounds. Nobuyuki was standing nearby. Katsuhito looked down at his grandson's motionless form. Tenchi's eyes were closed, he was asleep. The priest turned to Washu, who seemed to anticipate his question. "I had to put him out, for the pain. My dermal regenerator is effective, but the experience can be rather painful." Katsuhito nodded. "He will be all right, then?" Washu said nothing. "Little Washu?" He turned. She was staring at him. "Are you all right, Washu?" Washu continued to stare. Katsuhito was asking if she was all right, but she heard his voice uttering other things. "Washu?" She blinked, barred her teeth like a wild animal, and screamed. Katsuhito was taken completely by surprise. Washu formed a light sword in her right hand, bent at the knees, and lunged at the priest. "MURDERER!" she screamed as she brought the sword down. After nearly being killed by the Emperor posing as his grandson, the elderly priest had become more wary than he had been before, so he was better prepared when Washu suddenly attacked him. Her light sword struck his force shield. The shield crackled, straining to keep from buckling under the force of Washu's attack. Katsuhito tried to calm her. "Washu, snap out of it!" Washu wasn't listening. "YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED MOTHER!" Katsuhito's shield was beginning to weaken. Thinking quickly, he looked to the table where they had piled Tenchi's clothes. The Tenchi-ken was among them. He tried to call the sword to him, but couldn't get the needed second of concentration to get it to come to him. Nobuyuki, unnoticed before now, came up from behind Washu and picked her up by her waist in a massive bear hug. Washu screamed and elbowed him in the stomach. Nobuyuki grunted in pain and released her. The mad scientist turned and, to the surprise of both Masaki's, executed a snap kick to the stomach that sent Tenchi's father stumbling into one of the trees in Washu's lab. Nobuyuki had been lucky that Washu preferred the petite form of a little girl. Had she been taller, the kick would've struck his face or neck, and might have killed him. The brief seconds of distraction his son in law had provided, gave Katsuhito time enough to concentrate and call the Tenchi-ken to him. Once in his hand, it blazed with a blue light. He brought it up just in time to block another of Washu's attacks. He fought defensively, always blocking, never attacking. He wanted to talk Washu down, he had no desire to see the short scientist dead, but he couldn't continue this forever. Her attacks showed no sign of letting up. Katsuhito was about to give up and counter attack, when someone appeared next to Washu and grabbed her wrist as she was bringing the sword down for another attack. Ryoko stood there, straining against her mother's murderous strength. Washu didn't look at her, she was still trying to attack. Ryoko held her there for a minute, saying nothing. Finally, the light sword disappeared, and Washu collapsed unconscious. Katsuhito deactivated the Tenchi-ken and took a deep breath. "Thank you, Ryoko." She looked into his eyes. If he was angry for what happened to Tenchi, there was no sign of it there. She nodded. "What happened?" Nobuyuki asked as the Empress helped him to his feet. "I don't know," Katsuhito replied, bending over Washu's unmoving form. "One minute she was fine, the next she was attacking us." "Did she say anything?" Ryoko asked. Nobuyuki replied. "She kept shouting, 'You killed her. You killed mother.'" There was a quick hiss of indrawn breath from the Empress. "Are you sure that's what she said?" "Well...yeah." The Empress looked down at Washu. "Then we have a problem." Tenchi's eyes fluttered open to reveal Ryoko leaning over him. "Tenchi?" "Ryoko? Are you okay?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "You idiot, that's my line." He smiled. He turned his head and saw Washu lying on a nearby table, asleep. "What happened to Washu?" "She went berserk and attacked Yosho." "What?!" She nodded. "Her majesty over there filled us in on what you told her. Did Washu find a way to purge those memories?" He shook his head. "No, she said they're in too deep." "Too deep for a machine," Ryoko's voice said, but not from Ryoko. He looked past the pirate to see the Empress standing there. "There is another way." Ryoko looked at her and nodded. "The link. The telepathic connection I have with Washu. I could go in and destroy the memories that are doing this to her myself." Tenchi blinked. "Can you really do that?" Ryoko took a breath as she considered the enormous task ahead of her. "It'll be difficult, but I can enter Washu's mind. I've done it once before, but then, I had her permission and help. This time, it'll be trickier." "How?" "Washu can enter my mind any time she likes. She controls the link, but if I can establish my own link with her, now, while she's not consciously aware of it, I can get in. Our two minds will be as one." "As two," the Empress interrupted. "I'm going with you." Ryoko and Tenchi looked at her in shock. Ryoko shook her head. "I'm the only one who can establish a link with her." "But I can control it. In this world, Washu controls the mental link between the two of you. In my world, the link I share with my mother is mutual. She can enter my mind, and I can enter hers." She took a step towards Ryoko as she went on. "We're the same, remember. I can link with Washu just like you can. Besides which, you need me. I have a feeling Tenchi isn't going to make it easy for us." Ryoko realized that she was referring to the Emperor. She nodded solemnly. "All right. Let's do it." "You're going now?!" Tenchi asked, alarmed. The Empress nodded. "The longer we wait, the more control Tenchi will have over her." "Besides," Ryoko said, "There's no use putting it off. She's here, she's asleep, let's just do it." "Wait," Tenchi said, painfully trying to sit up. "I'm coming with you. I can use that helmet of hers to..." He groaned and collapsed back down onto the table. He took a couple of deep breaths as he tried to banish the pain from his head and chest. "I'm sorry, Ryoko," he gasped painfully. She took his hand and squeezed it. "Don't worry. We'll take care of it. You just rest." She and the Empress turned to go. "Ryoko," She turned back to him. "Be careful." She nodded and faced the Empress. "Is there anything you want to say?" She shook her head. "No, I'm just going to assume he was talking to both of us." She smiled. Ryoko found herself smiling as well. "Then let's get to it!" In the dark vastness of Washu's mind, two figures materialized, both identical except for the cut of their hair, both floating in space, both nude. The two Ryoko's looked down at themselves. The one with spiky hair raised an eyebrow. "Well, this is unexpected." The one with the pony tail nodded and closed her eyes. There was a flash of light around her. When it subsided, she was wearing a red uniform and cape, complete with three black circles arranged in an inverted triangle. The spiky haired Ryoko watched, impressed. "Not bad." The pony tailed one turned to her. "Just concentrate. You're in the sum of our three combined minds, now. You have some say on how this reality appears to you." Ryoko nodded and concentrated. There was a flash and she was dressed in the tight-fitting combat suit she had worn when she fought Kagato. She smiled at her accomplishment and turned back to the Empress. "Now what?" "Now, we start searching before he realizes we're here." "Wait a sec," Ryoko stopped her. "We're in _Washu's_ mind, remember? We just have to find the Emperor's memories and erase them." The Empress looked at her. "Ever hear a saying that goes, 'A man is nothing more than the sum of his memories?'" Ryoko nodded. "Same premise. His memories are here, that means _he's_ here, and you can bet he won't take kindly to being erased." They were caught off guard when the blackness of empty space suddenly changed to an immense ball room. The two found themselves floating just above the floor. Suddenly, gravity burst into existence, and the two Ryoko's fell to the floor in a heap. When they looked up again, the room was crowded with dancing couples in various formal wear. Ryoko looked up and saw Ayeka standing on stage in a violet evening gown, singing. "_...If there was a man, I could dream of, I'd dream about a dream, Come true..._" Ryoko was suddenly yanked off her feet and onto the dance floor by someone in a tuxedo. She was about to punch the guy when she saw it was Tenchi. "Tenchi?" "Shh," he hissed. "It's me. I used Washu's memory simulation helmet. I just got here. The Emperor's here, somewhere, but I haven't found him, yet. Be inconspicuous." She nodded and started dancing. Tenchi's head darted from one side to the other, searching. Ryoko rested her head on his chest and sighed contentedly. This had to be a dream. She blinked. Wait a minute! Tenchi could barely move last time she saw him! They had just gotten here, themselves, there's no way he could've figured out how to use the helmet and get here so quickly. She took a quick look around the ball room and saw her double through the crowd, dancing with another Tenchi in a tuxedo. She blinked, then growled. He was _delaying_ them! She shoved Tenchi away from her and activated her light sword. Tenchi's eyes showed only shock as she spun around and sent the blade through his neck. His head fell from his shoulders, but disappeared just before striking the ground. No one seemed to notice. They continued to dance, and Ayeka continued to sing. She turned and shouted. "Ryoko! It's a distraction! That's not Tenchi!" She couldn't see much in the crowd, but suddenly, a light sword flashed into existence ahead of her. She could just see the blade above the heads of the dancing couples. She watched as it came down sharply onto something, or someone. Ryoko made her way through the throng and found her double just as she was extinguishing her sword. "Thanks, he had me for awhile." Ryoko nodded. "Let's get out of here." The two pushed their way toward the huge double doors that seemed to be the only way out. As they neared them, two men who were standing next to the doors turned to them. Ryoko gasped. Two more Tenchi's stood there in tuxedoes. One of them extended his hand. "Are you ladies unescorted, tonight?" Ryoko curled her fingers into a fist and belted him right in the nose. The other frowned. "Well, that was hardly necessary," he said, but did not interfere as they walked out the door... ...and onto a college campus. The Empress looked around. "This place is familiar." Ryoko saw that most of the buildings were made of glass. Despite its high-tech design, there was a great deal of green from the trees and grass that surrounded the buildings, giving it an almost park-like appearance. The place was empty, however. The Empress suddenly remembered. "The Academy of Science. This is where Mom taught before the war." Ryoko took another look around. She had heard of the Royal Academy, of course, but had never seen it. "Are you sure?" The Empress nodded. "Pretty sure." Their heads turned as they heard noises from just over a grassy hill. They walked over this rise and saw an adult Washu playing in the grass with an infant. At first, Ryoko thought it was little Taro, but then she saw that the child had blonde hair and green eyes. The two were sitting cross-legged on the ground, playing peak-a-boo. Ryoko took a step forward. "Mom?" The adult Washu turned to her. "Why, hello there. Are you new here?" Ryoko gave her a blank look, but the Empress stepped forward. "Yes, ma'am. We're looking for one of the upper classmen. His name is Tenchi Masaki. Can you direct us to him?" "Tenchi Masaki?" The adult Washu seemed to consider this. "He's around here, somewhere. I just saw him a few minutes ago." Suddenly the baby in her lap began to cry. She hugged the child and made a few soothing noises. "There, there, little one." Ryoko and the Empress looked around. It seemed that what was left of Washu's mind wasn't going to be much help here. "Any idea how we get out of here?" Ryoko asked her double. The Empress shook her head. "Let's try that way," she said pointing to one of the glass buildings. Ryoko didnt' see any reason not to go in that direction, so she followed the Empress. They came to a tower made of glass and white marble. It was elegant to a degree that could only be called, "art." There was a plaque on the door. It said, "Office of the President." Ryoko smirked. "Where else would the little egomaniac hide himself?" They tried the door, but it was locked. "Stand back," she told the Empress. She pointed her hand at the door and waited while the energy ball formed. When it had reached sufficient strength, she let it fly. There was a mammoth explosion, but when the dust cleared, the door was still there. "Well, that didnt' seem to help, any." The Empress commented. She took a few steps back and looked up. "He's probably up there, laughing at us." Ryoko floated a few feet off the ground. "Then let's go up there and get in on the gag!" She shot straight up. The Empress flew after her. The two Ryoko's reached the top and hung there for a moment. There was a pane glass window on the top floor. This time, Ryoko didn't bother with an energy bolt. She flew headlong into the glass, shattering it. She hit the floor rolling, and when she stood up again, she found herself in an immense hall with Roman columns lining the walls. An ornate throne sat at one end of the room. The Empress rematerialized next to her and gasped. "The Imperial throne room on Carissian," she muttered. They turned in shock as someone behind them began clapping. Tenchi stood there in a red uniform similar to the Empress'. He was wearing that smug grin Ryoko learned to hate so much while he was a prisoner in Washu's lab. Ryoko stepped forward. "You're him." His grin got wider. "That's right, and _I_ own this body now. If you leave now, I'll let you go free." "Nothing do'in, pal!" He shrugged. "Fine." He pulled the Tenchi-ken from his belt. "But I should remind you that if you die here, your minds will be erased. You _will_ die." Ryoko and the Empress activated their light swords. "Skip the threats!" The Empress told him. "Yeah, let's get to the action!" Ryoko piped in. He held his hand out and wagged his finger at them. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said. "We can't very well fight here." He waved his hand theatrically, and the throne room vanished to be replaced by a roof top. Wherever they were, it was night, and this roof top was _very_ high up. It was clear of obstacles and anything that might get in the way. There were two crescent moons shining in the night sky. Tenchi looked up at the moons, then at the lighted cityscape around them. He smiled at the Empress. "It's a nice memory, don't you think, Ryoko." The Empress grimaced. Ryoko was mystified. Tenchi saw her puzzled expression and explained. "This is where Ryoko and I first kissed. If you're interested, the bedroom where I first nailed her is downstairs." The Empress growled and lunged at him. The Tenchi-ken was in his hand and ignited in an instant. He turned the hasty thrust and brought his knee up into her stomach. She grunted in pain and dropped to one knee. Before he could follow up on the attack, Ryoko was on him. He shifted his attention to her and blocked the two slashes she threw his way. Ryoko tried a backhand slash, but was disappointed. Tenchi vanished. She felt him rematerialize behind her. She turned just as he was bringing his blade down on her head. Ryoko flinched, but the blade didn't connect. The Empress' own blade had shot up to block it. "We're not finished," the Empress growled viciously. She punched him in the face with her other hand. He stumbled back, covering his mouth with his left hand. He removed it and spit a bit of blood onto the floor. "Well, Ryoko, I have to hand it to you. You've always been...passionate." The Empress didn't answer him. "Well," he said, bringing the Tenchi-ken up. "Where were we?" Tenchi and the others stood in the lab and waited. Lying on three separate tables, Ryoko, the Empress, and Washu slept in a trance-like state. Tenchi was up and around now, leaning on an old cane his grandfather found for him. He looked at the sleeping women worriedly. "How long have they been out?" "An hour," Katsuhito answered. Tenchi began to fidget. "How will we know if something's happened to them?" Once again, Katsuhito had an answer. "They'll stop breathing." Tenchi delivered a roundhouse kick to the chin that knocked Ryoko ten feet through the air. He didn't take time to relish the victory, his former pet was attacking now from the opposite direction. He parried two blows expertly. The Empress spun around to deliver a backhand, but when she turned to deliver the blow, the blade found only dead air. Tenchi had ducked and spun around, lashing out with his foot in a leg sweep that took the Empress off her feet. As she fell, she dematerialized, reappearing behind him. He was ready for that, however and delivered a kick to her midsection that knocked her down. Then Ryoko was back on him, probing his defenses with her light sword. Fighting Kagato had been easier than this. The perpetually wanted criminal had been powerful, yes, but only a mediocre swordsman. He knocked aside one, two, three blows, then reached out and grabbed her by the neck, throwing her to the floor. The Empress tried an overhand slash, but once again, found only air. Tenchi dematerialized and reappeared behind her. When she had tried this, he had anticipated it and kicked her. Tenchi however was a little more lucky, or else the Empress simply wasn't as good at it, because when she tried a similar defense to kick him, he caught her leg and threw her to the ground. Ryoko came to her defense, forcing the former Emperor to defend himself. A second later, the Empress rematerialized next to her on her right. Tenchi spun out of the way to get some fighting room. The battle seemed to pause for a moment. Then, Ryoko brought her sword up in a feint. Tenchi went to counter it and almost lost his head when the Empress slashed at him with her own blade. He spun around just in time to avoid it and kicked her in the face again. She was knocked to the floor. Ryoko tried another backhand slash, but was struck in the pit of her stomach by Tenchi's boot. She fell to the floor, out of breath. The Empress was on the ground ten feet away, unconscious. Tenchi looked down at her and smiled. She brought her sword up to attack, but in a sitting position, it was a fight with only one possible outcome. Tenchi blocked the feeble blow, and with a flick of his wrist, Ryoko's swordhand flew from her wrist. She growled, more in frustration than pain. She was used to being disarmed in such a way. She glared at him while he smiled down at her. "Well," he said, "I did warn you." He brought the sword up. Ryoko braced herself, but the blow never came. Instead, the Emperor began to howl in pain. Ryoko looked up and saw the tip of a red light sword protruding from his chest. She looked over at the Empress and saw her just coming around. The Empress shook her head and looked up at the howling Emperor in shock. Tenchi, screaming, fell to his knees, revealing an adult Washu standing over him at the other end of the light sword that had impaled him. She grimaced at him as he screamed. "Will you just die already!" she screamed. The scientist pulled the light sword from his chest and whirled around. The blade hummed as it scythed around, taking the Emperor's head off. A pillar of light erupted from the stump of his neck. His head was gone, but screaming could still be heard. Finally, the pillar of light expanded, enveloping him. His screaming died away, and when the pillar finally disappeared, the Emperor was gone. Washu looked down at the place where the Emperor, or the Emperor's memories, had died. Ryoko stood up and faced her. Washu flashed her a smile. "Thanks, Ryoko! You provided the distraction I needed to purge those memories myself." Ryoko blinked. "What?" Washu nodded. "Mmm hmm. I couldn't destroy him, all by myself." The Empress joined them. "What happened?" she asked. "So, that's what happened," Washu told the ditzy detective. "His memories were beginning to form their own separate personality that was beginning to overwhelm my own. When Ryoko and Ryoko went in and confronted him, it gave my personality enough time to regroup and destroy him. They were a distraction. Get it?" Mihoshi 'hmm'd' in thought than said, "Nope, not a bit." Washu sighed and reached up, patting her on the shoulder. "Don't ever change, Mihoshi, okay?" The detective smiled broadly. "Sure! No problem!" The two were standing out in the fields near the main road. Washu had been trying to explain what had happened to the GP detective for the past two days. Mihoshi, as usual, hadn't a clue. Katsuhito, Nobuyuki, Ayeka, and Sasami were waiting with them. Tenchi, the Empress, and Ryoko hadn't shown up yet. "So, do you remember anything at all?" Katsuhito asked. Washu's face was a little pained. "Bits and pieces, but not enough to really affect me. The past two nights were the best nights of sleep I've had in weeks." They all turned at the sound of laughter coming up the path. Tenchi, flanked by the two identical women, walked up to them. The Empress was laughing at Ryoko as the pirate told her how she had once tied Ayeka up and went to seduce Tenchi. The two of them had gotten along well ever since they and Washu had woken up together on the lab tables after the Emperor's memories were destroyed. The Empress wiped a tear from her eye. "Really?!" Ryoko was doubled over, hanging onto Tenchi to keep from falling. "Yeah, you should've seen it!" She shut her mouth and began mumbling, mimicking how the princess had sounded bound, gagged, and furious. Even Tenchi had to grin at that, which made Ayeka absolutely livid. "Well! It's about time the three of you showed up! We can't have Her Majesty be late back to her dimension!" Ryoko waved it off. "Don't worry, little princess, we were just making a few comparisons." Ayeka frowned. "I don't think it's appropriate to compare Lord Tenchi with that Emperor!" The Empress looked at her and smiled. "We weren't comparing Tenchi's, actually." "What?" Ryoko grinned. "Yeah, we were comparing Ayeka's." "WHAT!?" The Empress smiled and nodded. "Ryoko's given me some excellent insights into your character. I should do very well at the negotiation table at next month's summit meeting on Jurai." Ayeka turned on Ryoko. "How dare you?!" "What do you care?!" Ryoko shot back. While the two of them fought, Tenchi took the Empress aside. "Do you really have to go so soon?" She wanted to stay, he could see it in her eyes. "If it weren't for the damn time differential, I could, but I've already been gone three months. I can't stay any longer." "Do you really have to go at all?" She couldn't meet his gaze. "One thing this experience has taught me is that the Emperor may be dead, but his influence is still present. The evil he's done is still there, and I have to stamp it out once and for all." Tenchi put on a brave smile. The past two days had been great. Ryoko and Ayeka had kept an eye on them, but they really didn't need to. The feelings they had and the bond they shared had been enough for them, but they both knew that nothing could ever become of it. Their lives rested on different paths. "Will I ever see you again?" She took his hand and then kissed him. They didn't notice that Ryoko and Ayeka had stopped fighting and were glaring at them, intently. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. "Maybe," she said. "Expect me when you see me." She gasped as she remembered something. "I have something I wanted to give you." "Don't you think you've given him quite enough already?" Ayeka ground out between clenched teeth. No one paid any attention. The Empress reached into her bag and pulled out a small crystal, about the size of a golf ball. She handed it to him. "What is it?" he asked. "It works on the same principal as the telepathy paper, only a little more intense. I just thought you might want a reminder one of our fondest memories." He took the crystal sphere and closed his eyes. The rest of the group watched as he smiled and blushed. The Empress was blushing too. Ryoko and Ayeka also turned red, but it was out of jealous anger. Ryoko, however, said nothing. She found she genuinely liked her double, and since she was leaving anyway, what was the harm? Tenchi's eyes opened. Before he could say anything, there was a flash of green light and the portal opened. Tenchi and the Empress stared at each other for a moment. "Ryoko?" They all turned to see Washu's double, wearing a red uniform and white cape, standing at the portal's edge. "Daughter, it's time to go." "Hello, Washu," Tenchi called out. Washu smiled at him. "Well, well, if it isn't His Majesty, himself." She turned to Ryoko as she joined her mother at the edge of the transdimensional portal. "How was your trip?" "Nice," the Empress said, simply. Washu nodded and turned to look at her double. "Hello, greatest scientific genius in _this_ universe!" "Greatest scientific genius in _any_ universe!" Washu shot back. The other Washu laughed and turned back to the portal. Together, mother and daughter stepped through it. A second later, it collapsed, leaving the Masaki family alone in the night. Tenchi sighed and turned to start back to the house. He was surprised to find Ryoko and Ayeka blocking his way, their arms over their chests. "W...what?" he asked. "Tenchi," Ryoko started threateningly. "What's on that crystal Ryoko gave you?" "Huh?" "Yes," Ayeka added. "What made you blush like that?" "It's nothing," Tenchi said. "Nothing, huh?" Ryoko said, not buying it. "Nothing made you blush like an idiot and shuffle your feet?" "What are you talking about?" "That's right! I saw it, too!" Ayeka threw in. The rest of the family watched this for a moment and then started back to the house. "Sasami, what's for dinner?" Washu asked. "Grilled fish and vegetable tempura," Sasami replied casually. Washu had been able to rebuild the kitchen. "Ooooh!" Mihoshi licked her lips. "How long 'til dinner?" "Not long, Mihoshi, not long," Sasami reassured her. As they walked, they could still hear the arguing voices behind them, drowning out the sounds of chirping insects, hooting owls, and anything else one might hear on a pleasant, peaceful night. Things were finally back to normal. Author's Notes: So, what'd 'ya think? I thought this story would be a nice way to wrap things up. The song Ayeka was singing in Washu's mind is, "If There Was a Man," by the Pretenders. Possible sequels? I'm not sure, but anything's possible. Probably not, though. I'm going to be writing a crossover fic for my next piece, so be sure to look for it. Mail your comments to doscher009@hotmail.com Thomas J. Doscher