Disclaimer: All characters and units related to the Tenchi Series are owned 
by AIC and Pioneer.  The author owns Sanjou, Zynd, and Vor.  Names, places, 
persons identical to those in the story are purely coincidental.  This 
series is essentially based off the first two Tenchi series (Muyo! and 
Universe), but more
from Muyo!  So please don't hassle me for inconsistencies or varying from 
stories.

Now, with the legal stuff out of the way, it's time to tell the story.

				Time to Party

	The hot, muggy weather of Drisa IV soon was winding down as sunset neared.  
The temperature dropped to the mid-seventies, the water providing an 
off-shore breeze that seemed to make it even more pleasent.  Within the 
hour, night fell, blanketing the beach with it's darkness and allowing the 
night life to begin.  All over the beach, the lights began to flash, the 
clubs began to open, and the party-goers arrived en masse.  Such was the way 
in Drisa IV's night life.
	"Is everyone ready to go?" Sasami queried, head tilted as she peeked into 
the main common room that interlocked the four major suites.  Inside, most 
of the Masaki clan had gathered, minus a few exceptions whom Sasami had 
figured were still getting ready.  Kamidake and Azaka stood at the main door 
to the hallway, on their ever present guard over the Royal Family.  Aeka and 
Ryoko, seen sitting on the couch, were busy ignoring each other as the 
earlier conflict in the day over Mihoshi's outfit was obviously putting a 
dampen in their moods.  Nearby, Tenchi sat, conversating with his dad and 
Zynd about what they expected to do tonight.  Sasami chuckled some, noticing 
that Nobiyuki was giving Zynd and Tenchi words of encouragment.  She'd 
figured that they wouldn't work, as was obvious by Zynd's strange looks.
	"I guess so, Sasami..." Tenchi spoke up, overhearing her words and looking 
around the common room to the rest of the people gathered there.  Only 
Sanjou, Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Washu were missing from the gathering, but that 
all sooned changed as Washuu and Sanjou exited opposite doors.  Sasami took 
note of that and smiled, leaving only two left before they could all leave 
for the party.
	"Now all we have to wait on is Kiyone and Mihoshi..." Sasami said, walking 
over to the couch to sit beside her older sister and wait for the two galaxy 
police officers.
	"I believe they said they'd be in soon..." Washu said, nodding her head 
slowly.
	"Alright, we'll wait..." Sasami responded cheerily, occasionally shooting a 
look to her sister and the demoness Ryoko.
	"We're here!" Mihoshi announced proudly, walking into the room with her 
party outfit on, a brilliant black dress that ended at mid-thigh.  All heads 
turned at her announcement and jaws were dropped, mainly from some of the 
guys.  Sanjou covered Zynd's eyes with his hands, but Zynd peeked through 
the fingers.  Nobiyuki gulped and adjusted his collar some, suddenly 
beginning to feel very hot.  Ryoko and Aeka growled, still mad over the fact 
that Mihoshi had the dress they wanted so bad.  Kiyone followed out after 
her, dressed more casually than her partner.  She was in a white t-shirt, a 
light blue vest, and some khaki shorts.  She didn't feel like dressing up 
for a night on the beach, figuring it wasn't going to be much of a night 
anyhow.
	"Hmmmmm, nice dress Mihoshi..." grandpa said, unfazed by any of the 
mesmorizing effects it held on the rest of the males in the room.
	"Thanks!  Don't I look great in it?" She said, twirling around some, much 
to Kiyone's annoyance.
	"Yes, we all know, Mihoshi..." The blue-green haired officer grumbled, 
moving past the tanned blonde to the couch to take a seat.  It was all she 
had heard for the past hour in their room.  'Kiyone, don't I look great?  
Kiyone, isn't this dress awesome?  Kiyone, want to try it on?'  Kiyone had 
just about had enough of her incessant boasting of the damn dress.
	"Well, I was just saying..." Mihoshi began, tilting her head towards her 
partner.
	"Nobody cares, Mihoshi!" Kiyone yelled, having to turn her head to look at 
the blonde.  Mihoshi blinked and battered her eyes, tears threatening to 
fall.  The entire room fell silent, not really wanting to interject 
themselves into the hostile conversation.  Well, everyone except the 
cool-headed Yosho.
	"Alright then...shall we go?" The gray-haired man said, obvious calm in his 
voice as he rose from his chair.  He began to move towards the main door, 
Kamidake and Azaka moving aside for the Crown Prince, and turning back to 
everyone else.  Everyone blinked and looked towards the elder looking man, 
obvious confusion and amazement on their face.  It was amazing how he could 
act so calm all the time.
	"Yes, perhaps we should go..." Funaho said, Misaki mirroring the same 
thought with a smile towards her nephew, as the two queens rose from their 
seats, also.  Everyone seemed to agree, moving about the room and towards 
the door as Yosho pressed on,  Kamidake and Azaka exiting first to make sure 
it was safe and clear.
	"All clear." Kamidake said, floating outside and to the side to clear the 
way for everyone else.  Everyone filtered out into the hallway of the 
resort, Nobiyuki exiting last and closing the door to their penthouse 
securely.

	The step into the nightlife on the beach literally transformed the Masaki 
clan, everyone's once sour thoughts turning to awe as the grand atmosphere 
seemed to shoo away any misgivings and grumblings earlier.  The beachfront 
was lined with lights and neon signs, attempting to gain a visitor's 
attention, and soon after, their money.  Clubs began to start up, their 
music raging to be heard on the streets and the lines of eager teenagers and 
young people beginning to form for entrance.  Even some older people got 
into those lines, just wanting to have a good time after work and figuring 
they deserved it.  The Masaki group continued by these clubs, though the 
eyes of several of them seemed to be drawn to them immensely, especially 
those of Ryoko and Mihoshi.  However, that all ceased to be when the huge 
spotlights along the beach began to start up, signaling the beginning of the 
massive beach front party they had heard about.
	"Wow! Look at that Tenchi!" Sasami said, hand reaching out and tugging on 
the boy's sleeves.
	"I see it, Sasami...pretty cool, isn't it?" Tenchi responded to the young 
princess, bright smile on his face.
	"Yeah...that's where we're going to be..." Sasami affirmed, nodding her 
light blue head at the older boy, before turning back to the rotating 
spotlights that filled up the night sky.
	"Yep, Sasami, that's where we're going to be..." Tenchi reiterated, before 
feeling a familiar arm snake around his neck.  Ryoko had been overhearing 
and wanted to make sure that Tenchi wasn't being swayed by the younger girl.
	"Promise me a dance, Tenchi?" Ryoko purred just as Aeka caught the demoness 
wrapping herself around her supposed intended.
	"Miss Ryoko!" She said through clenched teeth, her fists curling into balls 
while she narrowed her eyes and glared at the demoness, obviously upset by 
what she saw.
	"What?" Ryoko said teasingly, though Tenchi just sighed and dropped his 
head.  Once again, he was the middle of something he didn't want to be.  
Just then, he felt Ryoko's arm unwrap itself off of him and he blinked, not 
even hearing what Aeka's response to the question was.  Looking up and 
around, Tenchi saw the Queen Misaki's face glaring at Ryoko.  Tenchi 
couldn't help but chuckle, it seemed Misaki was his guardian angel, so to 
speak.
	"I swear, we can't take you two anywhere..." Misaki said, obviously angered 
already by her daughter's and the demoness's constant pointless bickering 
over a boy.  Why couldn't they share him like Funaho and her shared Azusa?
	The two fell quiet for the rest of the walk to the beach party, their heads 
downcast as Tenchi seemed to have renewed some lost energy.  Keeping the two 
from actually claiming him was certainly a good thing.  Besides, he didn't 
want it to ruin for what he had planned for one of them later on.
	Upon entering the beach party front, where hundreds of people had already 
gathered, the music from the DJ blasting on huge speakers around the area, 
the group slowly began to break up.  After settling on a home base, a large 
table that was able to fit their needs, everyone was able to go on their 
way.  Only Masake, Funaho, Yosho, Sasami (Ryo-Ohki on her head), Zynd, and 
the two Juraiian Guardians remained at the table.  Sanjou and Ryoko, having 
spotted the drinks bar, decided to visit that for awhile before heading out 
to the dancefloor.   They figured that the looser they felt the better 
they'd feel.  Tenchi had literally been dragged out to the dance floor by 
the likes of Aeka and Mihoshi, who were insistant that they dance with him.  
Kiyone, sighing and shaking her head, went along to make sure that they 
didn't hurt him in some odd way.  This left Washu, who hadn't been able to 
keep her eyes off the DJ stand, to go and explore it, possibly interjecting 
herself as DJ for awhile this night.  After all, having control over 
hundred's of people's musical choices was a thing an all-poweful genius 
should have, right?

	"What's your poison?" A curvy, raven-haired woman in alluring clothing, 
tight-fitted to accentuate her perfect body, spoke to the sitting Vor and 
demoness.  Sanjou, having caught her appearance from behind before she 
turned around to address him, raised his brow at her.  He couldn't help but 
get this weird feeling that he knew her from somewhere.  That and the fact 
that the tight clothing did well to show off her curves.
	"Err, uh, I'll take the strongest stuff you got.  Two shots." Sanjou said, 
nodding his head to the woman while Ryoko took her seat and spoke.
	"Sake."
	"Two whiskey shots of Drisian Whiskey and a sake..." The woman repeated, 
her honey-filled tones barely heard from the blasting music and loud party 
goers that seemed to inhabit the bar area.  The woman turned around and 
began to work on their drinks, pouring the two shots first before working on 
the sake.  Placing the glasses on the bartop in front of the two warriors, 
the woman smiled some and went to other customers, although she made sure to 
glance at the two occasionally.
	"Ahhh, this is life, isn't it Sanjou?" Ryoko said, raising her glass to the 
man beside her.
	"Eh, it's good to loosen up every now and then..." The Vor returned, 
raising his own shotglass to the demoness's toast.  Then he slammed it back 
and returned it to the bartop, the only sign he gave was a twitch of the 
eye.  Ryoko, seemingly impressed and shocked at the same time, looked at him 
with awe.
	"Wow..."
	"Vor are highly resistant to alcohol..." Sanjou said, grabbing the other 
shotglass and tipping it back as well, slamming the glass back down.  He 
turned to Ryoko beside him and simply shrugged, "A blessing and a curse..."
	"Oh.." Ryoko nodded, before turning her small sake drink up and gulping it 
down with a few intermediate swallows.  "Ahhhhh...yum!" the demoness 
exclaimed, raising a sleeve to wipe her mouth.  Sanjou chuckled and shook 
his head.
	"I assume you'll be here awhile..."
	"Yep...barkeep! two more sakes and pronto!" Ryoko said, looking down the 
bar counter to the curvy black haired woman, who nodded her head and went 
about to get the order done.  Turning back to the warrior beside her, Ryoko 
smiled.  "That isn't a problem...is it?"
	Sanjou laughed and shook his head some more, not in the least bit bothered 
by the fact that the demoness wanted to spend some time with him at the bar. 
  After all, it was the first time they had actually spent time together 
since meeting several weeks ago.  "No...none at all...just don't get too 
drunk..."
	Ryoko smirked.  "and why's that?  going to take advantage of me?"  Her face 
purring with slight seduction and face crimsoning some to add to the moment. 
  Sanjou blinked and restrained himself from busting out laughing, figuring 
it wouldn't be a good idea to upset the woman.
	"Ummm, no." Sanjou began as the bartender placed the two sake drinks in 
front of Ryoko, the latter nodding her head in thanks before grabbing one of 
them and idly sipping it while Sanjou continued.  "But Aeka might..."
	"Oh yeah...almost forgot about that..." She said, turning up the sake some 
and thinking on that situation.  That'd be pretty sneaky of that Princess, 
she thought, but then again, she had a feeling Tenchi would rectify the 
situation.  At least, she hoped he would.  With a small shrug, she 
absent-mindedly turned her eyes to the dance floor.  "I'm sure he'll shrug 
her aside...after all, me and my Tenchi were meant to be together..."
	"Destiny is a dangerous thing, indeed, Ryoko...I'd be careful to assume 
such things..."
	"I'm not assuming!" Ryoko protested, looking at the warrior with a matter 
of fact look.  "I know he is!  Ever since we first met!"
	Sanjou shrugged, but didn't speak.  For anything he said further on the 
subject would just antagonize the demoness and cause her to become upset and 
possibly zap the hell out of someone.  And that was something he really 
didn't wish to see right now, not while he was on vacation at least.  Ryoko, 
upon noticing the silent man across from her, hrumpph'd and downed the rest 
of the sake, grabbing the other bottle and bringing it to her lips.
	"So what about you and Kiyone?" Ryoko said suddenly, catching Sanjou 
off-guard as he blinked his solid yellow eyes at her.
	"What do you mean?"  he asked, obviously confused by the question.  He 
didn't know there was a 'he and Kiyone.'
	"I've noticed the way she looks at you..."
	Sanjou crimsoned some and gulped, not really enjoying where this is going.  
In effect, it was causing him to go over his feelings for the blue-green 
haired officer.  Did he like her?  or did he like her like her?  Clearing 
his thoughts of such things quickly, the Vor cleared his throat and tried to 
act like he didn't notice.  "What way does she look at me?"
	"Like you haven't noticed..." Ryoko smirked, turning up the small sake 
bottle and gulping it down unladylike.  Ryoko wasn't dumb, she'd definetly 
seen the looks Kiyone had shot the man.  They certainly weren't the looks of 
an uninterested lady, she could tell that.  "and you're supposed to be some 
great warrior..."
	Sanjou growled some, eyes narrowing as he tapped his finger on the bartop, 
alerting the barkeep to his attention.  He held up one finger, signaling for 
another shot.  Within moments, another Drisian Whiskey shot was smacked down 
in front of him.  Grabbing it gingerly between two fingers, Ryoko snickering 
some, Sanjou brought it up to his lips and downed the shot quickly, slamming 
the glass back down upon the bartop, returning his attention to the demoness 
seated next to him.  "Just because I don't pick up on signals does not mean 
I'm not a great warrior..."
	"Aren't you supposed to be aware of the surrounding area?" Ryoko returned, 
smirk plastering a face like the liquor she was drinking.
	"Well, yes..." Sanjou began, only to be interrupted by the demoness once 
more.
	"Then how come you didn't notice before?"
	"Well, I have noticed something strange happening with her when she's 
around me..." Sanjou once again began, pausing in to re-enter his thoughts 
and bring up the previous interludes with the police officer.
	"So you have been paying attention..."  Ryoko said, downing the last of her 
sake and placing the small bottle down upon the bartop.  "Well, that's 
good...because I'd have to wonder about you if you didn't..."
	"Wonder?" Sanjou said, head raising to look at the demoness.  "No, no...I 
assure you..."
	"Yeah, yeah, I was just kidding..." Ryoko said, reaching over to elbow the 
warrior in the ribs.  "There's -no- way that could happen, right?"
	Sanjou nodded affirmatively, slipping off the barstool and paying the tab 
of their drinks.  "Yes, that's true."  He directed to Ryoko, watching as she 
slipped off her own chair, the effects of the alcohol barely effecting her 
motor skills.  Sanjou wasn't effected at all, his high tolerance doing its 
work.
	"Then you should ask her to dance..." The demoness spoke, looking up into 
the solid yellow eyes of the Vor warrior.  It was odd how her own yellow 
eyes seemed the same, yet different from the warrior's eyes.  Standing next 
to him, some might forget the fact that she was supposed to be the demon.
	"Hmmm..." Sanjou's head bowed in thought, a hand raising to cup his chin 
and tap it idly as he pondered over the proposition.  It seemed like minutes 
before he ceased his thinking and raised his head, turning to the shorter 
demon.  "Yes,  I believe I shall...where is she?"
	"No, no..." Ryoko said, chuckling some and shaking her head.
	"What?  Why not?"
	"You don't want to do it now...you got to wait for the perfect song..." 
Ryoko explained, figuring the man had lost touch with treating the opposite 
sex just right.  "The perfect slow song..."
	"Ahhhh, I see..." Sanjou said, nodding his head in approval, before his 
eyes shot straight to the DJ stand, where it now seemed Washu was in 
control.  Ryoko followed his glance and blinked.  Great, just what the party 
needed.  Washu...in control of the music.  The demoness just shook her head 
and sighed.
	"Just wait awhile...just so you take her completely off guard..." Ryoko 
said once more, continuing their walk back to the area where the others had 
declared their spot.  Sanjou followed afterwards, head bowed in thought as 
his hands clasped behind his back.

	"Well, well, welcome back you two..." Yosho remarked to the two returning 
warriors from the bar.  Ryoko and Sanjou, having taken the long walk around 
the beach party to talk more some,  merely nodded their heads and looked 
around the designated area where the clan had designated their seats.  Only 
Yosho and the Queens had remained, along with the Juraiian Guardians 
Kamidake and Azaka.
	"Where's my son?"  Sanjou asked, noticing that the young boy was nowhere to 
be seen within the small area.
	"Out there...dancing with the princess Sasami..." The old-looking warrior 
nodded towards the dance floor.
	"Yesssssss, don't they look soooo cute together?" Misaki interjected, eyes 
beginning to tear up as she literally took Sanjou by the arm and forced him 
to look in the direction their two children were dancing in.  Sanjou 
blinked, tilting his head as he noticed his son busting a move with the 
young princess.  He certainly didn't know his son could do that.  'Well, 
well,' he smiled, 'seems the young boy was a chip off the old block.'
	"Uhm, yes, Queen Misaki, they do..." Sanjou said, uneasy in the Queen's 
deathlike grip.
	"Wouldn't it be great if they grew up and got married!?" The woman began, 
teary eyes looking up into the solid yellow ones of the Vor warrior.  "We'd 
be inlaws then!"
	Time seemed to suddenly freeze as everyone in the immediate area turned 
their eyes upon the Juraiian Queen.  Funaho seemed to smile teasingly at the 
comment, aware of how Juraiians would react to such a proposal.  After all, 
she was human and alien to the Juraiians themselves, so it was understood 
why they caused such a upheavel when Azusa married her.  Yosho seemed to 
just stare on complete awe.  It seemed his Aunt was being quite bold in her 
statement.  Ryoko just couldn't help but pick up her jaw and make sure it 
was working.  Sanjou, sweating bullets, began to stutter as he responded to 
such a comment.
	"Uh, yes, well, err, no...I mean..." The warrior felt awkward and helpless, 
one of the few rare times this had ever happened to him in his life.  Why 
did the Queen have to bring up a question such as this?
	"Ohhhh, come on now, Sanjou...it would be sooo cute..." She continued on, 
arm squeezing his own tightly as he looked around for help.  Thankfully, 
Queen Funaho caught the glance and placed her hand upon Misaki's shoulder, 
causing the light blue haired queen to turn and look.
	"Now, now, sister..." Funaho said softly, doing her best to calm the 
mentally unstable woman down.  "We shouldn't be arranging marriages...it's 
up to Azusa and Sanjou..."
	"Oh! That's right! I'll pass it on to him then!" Misaki said, arms 
releasing its vice-like grip from around the warrior's arm, causing the man 
to sigh in relief.  Misaki turned back to the warrior and smiled geniunely.  
"Would you consent to it?"
	Sanjou blinked and felt the sweat bullets returning to stream upon his 
face.  Opening his mouth, he was about to answer when Kiyone, Mihoshi, Aeka, 
and Tenchi came up to the group.  It was Yosho that broke the awkward 
silence by greeting the four young people.
	"Welcome back!"
	"Hiya Grandpa! Did we miss anything?" Tenchi responded, striding up to the 
group and looking around as the rest of the group seemed to be surrounding 
the Queen Misaki.
	"No, Tenchi, you did not...and how was your dancing?" Yosho responded, 
switching the subjects quickly as to avoid the pressing issue of Sasami and 
Zynd.
	"Well, it was fun, grandpa..." Tenchi said, shrugging his shoulders at the 
comment.  He particulary didn't care for it, seeing as he was literally 
dragged out there by the likes of Mihoshi and Aeka.
	"It sounds like it...especially since Washu pirated the music right out 
from under the DJ's nose..."
	"Yeah, once she took over it seemed the crowd got real energetic..." Aeka 
said, head peering over her shoulder to the likes of the red-headed Washu, 
who was busy with her headphones on and bouncing her head to the current 
tune.
	"Yeah! Even Kiyone was dancing like she enjoyed it!" Mihoshi interject 
herself, much to Kiyone's chagrin.
	"Would you be quiet!" Kiyone yelled to her blonde partner, face crimsoning 
in anger.
	"What?  why wouldn't you want them to know that?"  Mihoshi responded as 
Kiyone just glared at her.  It was obvious to the rest of the small group 
that Kiyone, like usual, didn't enjoy Mihoshi speaking on her behalf.  Just 
then, the lights around the dance floor dimmed and Washu's voice blared on 
over a public announcement system.
	"Here comes a slow song, people...so grab the one you really want to dance 
with and share in the moonlight spin with the best DJ there is...The Great 
Washu!"
	Everyone fell silent as the announcement was made while Nobiyuki returned 
to the group.  Ryoko sent an elbow shot to Sanjou's ribs, signaling to him 
that that was his time to act.  With a nod, Sanjou made his move, striding 
up towards Kiyone, who was still glaring at the apologetic Mihoshi.
	"Uh, Detective Kiyone?" Sanjou announced, everyone seemingly turning their 
attention to him at the same time.  Kiyone blinked and looked up at the 
shaven headed warrior, curious look on her face as she wondered to what he 
wanted now.
	"Yes?" She returned his question with one of her own.
	"Um, errr, well...would you care to dance?" He smiled awkwardly, offering 
his strong hand to the blue-green haired police officer.  Kiyone seemed to 
blink and freeze, face almost turning red right there and then in a deep 
blush.  Words unable to fall from her lips, the officer nodded her head and 
took his hand gently, the rest of the world seeming to phase out as she just 
remained looking at him.  Upon grasping her hand, Sanjou seemed to sigh in 
relief and placed it underneath his arm, while he led her out to the dance 
floor.  Ryoko giggled at the scene before her and smiled brightly.  With a 
mental 'thank you' to her mother, Washu, Ryoko watched her experiment 
flourish.  Now it was time for her to ask Tenchi to dance, however, when her 
-and- Aeka both looked to find the boy, he seemed to have disappeared.
	"Tenchi?" They both said, glancing around to make sure none of the other 
girls in the group had beaten them to him first.  However, they noticed 
Mihoshi being asked by Yosho and they blinked, wondering just where he went. 
  Both of their eyes shot out to the dancefloor and their jaws suddenly 
dropped at what they saw:  Tenchi had asked Queen Funaho to dance!
	"What!?" Both of the girls seemed to scream as Nobiyuki passed by the two 
with Misaki on his arm.
	"That's what you get for watching, girls..." Nobiyuki grinned as he lead 
his great aunt out to the dance floor.  Now it seemed as if everyone had 
someone to dance, all except for Ryoko and Aeka, who seemed to mope at the 
very idea of that.  So now they could only sit and watch as the rest danced 
to the slow song.  And to just their luck, Washu had picked a song that was 
extra long.
	"Well, now this is great..." Ryoko commented, parking herself down upon the 
table top and crossing her leg, tail twitching in the air behind her.
	"Well, it's all Washu's fault..." Aeka said, blaming it on the scientist's 
efforts to single-handedly screw up her chances with her intended husband, 
Tenchi.  "If she hadn't picked this song while we were coming back from the 
dancefloor..."
	Ryoko just rolled her eyes and shook her head, commenting inaudibly about 
the constant whining of the Juraiian Princess.  'Great' she thought, 
'everybody is having fun and I'm stuck here with her.'

	"Sasami?"
	"Yeah, Zynd?"
	"What're you thinking about?"
	"Oh nothing really..." The young princess would answer the Vor boy, though 
her thoughts were far from the nothing she had just said.  They were both 
situated on the edge of the dance floor, the slow song continuing to play, 
watching as the couples danced together.  Zynd could see his father and 
Kiyone dancing quite closely, arms wrapped about each other in almost a 
loving manner.  Kiyone had her eyes closed and was smiling, so Zynd figured 
she was having a good time with his father.  This also made Zynd think some, 
as it might lead to him having a new step-mother.  Although he liked Kiyone 
and respected her, it would seem kind of odd to be older than your mother 
while looking more youthful.  'Oh well,' he thought 'As long as dad likes 
her...' and his thoughts trailed off and back to the situation with Sasami.  
"...you?"
	"Huh?"  Zynd blinked his eyes, turning his head back to the light blue 
haired princess that sat next to him.  Sasami giggled some at the boy and 
smiled, repeating the question for the boy, since it was obvious to her that 
his mind was elsewhere.
	"What about you, Zynd?"
	"Oh..." Zynd blushed some, offering an apologetic face to the princess, 
which begot more giggles, as he nodded his head and searched for a fib to 
tell her.  He really didn't want to tell her he was thinking about his dad 
and Kiyone, so he tried to think of something else.  With no luck, he opened 
his mouth just to randomly spew something out when another voice beat him to 
it.
	"Hello Sasami...." The smooth, calculated voice of Kagato spoke out as the 
Princess and Vor turned their heads towards the source of the voice behind 
them.  Sasami gasped as Ryo-Ohki, who had been sleeping peacefully between 
the two, jumped to her feet and hissed at the man, fur ruffling upon her 
back while her teeth bared.
	"Who is that, Sasami?" Zynd said quickly, eyes narrowing as the other two 
seemed to react negatively to the shadowed man.
	"Ahhh, yes...the child of the Great Destroyer..." Kagato returned, stepping 
forth from the shadows to allow the moonlight to hit him full on.  He was 
dressed in splendid clothes, the very same he had worn before in his now 
historic battle with the Juraiian Prince, Tenchi.  His long grey hair, tied 
into a pony tail seemed to glint in the faint moonlight as he bared his own 
smile to the two children who sat before him.
	"What do you want, Kagato?" Sasami said, having gotten to her feet with 
Zynd while Ryo-Ohki continued her hissing, protecting her two young wards 
and friends.
	"What else would an undead man want?" Kagato queried to the young princess, 
though he allowed no response.  It was for dramatic pause, naturally, for he 
was always one for dramatic moments.  "Revenge..." he hissed out in a low 
tone that caused Ryo-Ohki to re-think her strategy.  Sasami and Zynd seemed 
to blink in unison, shooting each other looks.  Zynd turned to look over his 
shoulder back towards the figures of the Masaki clan, but was denied when 
the scream of Sasami hit his ears full on, causing him to return his look 
quickly to the scene before him:  Kagato had grabbed the girl while he had 
tried to get the other's attention.  Zynd, with nowhere to turn and feeling 
helpless, soon began to growl ferally in his throat, eyes narrowing to small 
yellow slits as he felt strange energy begin to flow through his body.
	"Let her go.." He said harshly to Kagato, who had safely tucked the girl 
under his arm and silenced her screams.  Kagato merely smirked and shook his 
head, obviously amused by the sight that he saw before him.
	"Or what, boy?  You will hurt me with that insignificant power you are 
building up?  I think not, for you would fail before even trying..." Kagato 
smiled, just as the being known as Kamikaze appeared behind the young Vor 
boy.  "Care to turn around for a second?"
	"Huh?" Zynd blinked, before turning around for a split second.  However, 
the young boy wouldn't be seeing long as Kamikaze's fist crashed down upon 
Zynd's jaw, knocking the boy out cold.  Sasami wailed in terror for her 
young friend as she desperately tried to get out of Kagato's grasp.
	"Zynd!?"
	"Now, now, Princess Sasami..." Kagato mused, looking down to the 
beleaguered princess underneath his arm.  "It's just a precaution we had to 
take..." He flashed that charming smile towards her, though he knew it 
wouldn't ease her.  "He'll be fine..."  and with that said, Kagato turned to 
Kamikaze and nodded his head, instructing the man to pick the boy up.  
Kamikaze nodded for his answer and scooped the boy up and placed him over 
his shoulder, looking down towards the sound of a hissing animal.  Kagato 
followed the look of the man, noticing Ryo-Ohki, fur huffed and claws and 
fangs extended.
	"Now, now, Ryo-Ohki..." Kagato smirked, holding up a hand as if to silence 
the protective cabbit.  "Run along and tell Ryoko and Tenchi where they can 
find us..."  Kagato turned with a regal flourish, the cloak about his body 
spinning in true form as the man with him stepped past the blinking cabbit.  
Ryo-Ohki, lost for words (literally) and seriously out numbered, meow'd 
softly and simply watched as the two figures took her two young wards away 
from her, simply blending into the darkness.  Without giving second thought 
of going after them, Ryo-Ohki turned on her feet and sprinted off in the 
direction of the masses of dancers, eager to find Tenchi and Ryoko.

	"Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow!?" The cabbit said in one breath, using slight paw 
motions to display where and what had just happened.  Upon Ryo-Ohki's 
gallant sprinting into the crowd of dancers, Sanjou had had this feeling 
that something was definitely wrong.  That bartender woman, whom had 
mysteriously disappeared, was pulling at his mind as he was damn sure he'd 
seen her or heard of her somewhere before.  However, this was all put on the 
backburner once the cabbit had entered hurriedly with a look of emergency 
upon her litle furry face.
	"Whoa, whoa, slow down there, Ryo-Ohki..." Tenchi said, having to kneel 
down upon his knees as the cabbit did her best to explain.  Of course, 
Tenchi never knew what the cabbit was saying, except through sheer luck of 
when Ryoko and Washu were nearby, but then again, he was good at figuring 
out problems with the cabbit.  Ryo-Ohki, on the other hand, became 
frustrated with the young boy and meow'd harshly.  Tenchi blinked in 
surprise and backed off some as Ryoko and Washu came up.
	"What's the problem here, Tenchi?" Washu asked, tilting her head 
suspiciously at the cabbit as it once again began it's meowing to explain 
the situation.  Washu and Ryoko listened closely, the rest gathering 'round 
to see what the cabbit just had to say.
	"Oh really?" Began Washu, nodding her head a few times as Ryo-Ohki 
continued to explain just what had happened.  All of a sudden, Ryoko 
growled, turning her head upwards as Washu frowned heavily.  It was obvious 
to the rest whatever the cabbit had just said, it wasn't going to be good 
news.
	"What did she say?" Aeka asked curiously, Tenchi mirroring that question 
with a nod of his head.  Washu turned on her foot and looked each person in 
the eye, noticing that curiousity.  All except for Yosho, Funaho, and 
Sanjou.  Somehow, she thought, they already knew what had happened.
	"Kagato..." Ryoko burst in, her fists clenching into tight balls as she 
dropped her head and gritted her teeth against that name.
	"Ryoko?" Tenchi said, tilting his head as Aeka and the rest gasped in 
surprise.
	"I thought he was dead!?" Aeka suddenly said in horror as her eyes looked 
around for her younger sister.  "And where's Sasami!?"
	"With him..." Washu finally said, her features going emotionless as she 
dropped her head also and began to formulate how the man had come back from 
the dead.  It was not an easy task, she assured herself, so it could've been 
some type of divine intervention.  "Along with Zynd..."
	Everyone froze in their thoughts and paused, unable to move as the 
situation fully began to sit in.  Sanjou snorted his displeasure and 
narrowed his eyes, unable to stand there while the rest of them pondered 
over the situation at hand.  If Kagato wanted a fight, he was damn sure 
going to get one.  With a step forward, Sanjou kneeled down and grabbed the 
cabbit by its neck and threw it straight into the air.  He didn't have to 
even utter a word, for Ryo-Ohki was thinking the same thing, and the cabbit 
soon transformed, fur becoming hardened crystal-like ship edges.  With a 
long, harsh, meow, Ryo-Ohki the cabbit became the great warship of legend.  
And within that moment, as everyone stared in disbelief, Sanjou's mass 
suddenly changed, becoming a ball of light, as he was transported onto 
Ryo-Ohki's bridge.
	"Sanjou! Wait!" Kiyone cried out and ran up a few feet, her hand extended 
towards Ryo-Ohki as the ship simply hovered there, waiting for something.
	"He's not leaving us, Kiyone..." Washu assured her, taking a step up and 
standing by the officer.  Kiyone looked down towards the red-haired 
scientist and nodded her head, glad she brought her Galaxy Police weapons 
with her this night.  Taking a look back to the others, Kiyone simply stared 
at them for a few seconds, wondering if they, too, were to come.  It was 
Yosho who reacted first, striding forward towards police officer and 
scientist, his hands clasped with the folds of his robes behind his back.  
Tenchi was at his heels, followed by the likes of Aeka and Ryoko.  Mihoshi, 
looking down and realizing she was still dressed in her sleek black party 
dress, blushed some and shrugged her shoulders while her hands flipped out.
	"I'm kind of not prepared and stuff..." The blonde said as the Queens and 
Nobiyuki, followed by the Guardians, passed by her in silence.  'Well, that 
was that,' Mihoshi figured, 'I don't want to be left behind.'  And soon the 
blonde stepped in line with the group, looking up towards the ship of 
Ryo-Ohki hovering above them.  However, nothing happened, which brought a 
strange look from both Ryoko and Washu, who were utterly complexed by why 
they hadn't been transported yet.
	"Well, what's wrong now?" Ryoko grumbled while looking up to the ship above 
them, only to get a response of a few meow's in a strange tone.  Ryoko 
blinked and looked to Washu, who suddenly had a deep smirk upon her face.
	"But of course!" Washu chuckled, stepping away from the group a few feet 
and turning back towards the group to address them.  "Sanjou and Ryo-Ohki 
think two ships are better than one!  Therefore, only the warriors will go 
with them!"
	Yosho, understanding the situation and giving a brief smirk, stayed put 
while the rest looked on at Washu in confusion.  Washu, sensing this, 
dropped her head and sighed, obviously frustrated with how simple it was to 
understand.  "Kiyone, Mihoshi, Nobiyuki, Funaho, Misaki, Azaka, and Kamidake 
come with me..."
	"Oooooh!" Mihoshi said, walking out towards the red-haired scientist while 
leaving the others behind.  Funaho and Misaki walked behind her, the 
Juraiian Gaurdians closely at their heels.  Nobiyuki followed afterwards, 
somewhat glad he wasn't going to have to be in the battle directly.  This 
left Kiyone standing with the rest, looking up towards the ship with 
narrowed eyes.
	'You are not leaving me behind, Sanjou!' she growled in her mind, fists 
clenching at the fact that the Vor would even think of it.  'I am a warrior, 
damn it.'
	"Kiyone?" Mihoshi said, tilting her head curiously at the woman.  "Are you 
alright?"
	"I'm fin---" Kiyone began, just as a light enveloped the group, herself 
included.  The five soon became transformed into light and disappeared 
towards into the belly of Ryo-Ohki.  With another meow, Ryo-Ohki fired her 
propulsion unit and rocketed off towards space.
	"Well, that concludes that matter..." Washu remarked, taking a look around 
to the rest of the group that had been left behind.  Now what ship were they 
going to use?  They certainly couldn't use Yugami, seeing as Kiyone had been 
taken by the rest of them.  Washu frowned some, that is, until the Queen's 
royal ship suddenly burst into view overhead.
	"Let's go..." Funaho smiled, nodding to the rest of the group as their 
bodies seemed become lighter and the planet seemed to disappear, only to be 
replaced by that of the wooden-forest type bridge of the Juraiian warship.

	The five materialized onto the cabbit's bridge, their blinking eyes 
adjusting to the interiors as a figure sat motionless in Ryo-Ohki's captain 
chair.  Not even a turn of the head had greeted them as the cabbit's 
propulsion kicked in, sending the cabbit upwards into space.  Ryoko floated 
over towards Sanjou and offered a brief glance towards his facial features.  
They were entrenched in a stoic glare, stone-like and unemotional.  It was 
obvious to the space demon that the Vor was extremely upset at the current 
situation.  Not even a flinch of movement as Kiyone placed her hand upon his 
shoulder and spoke.
	"Sanjou?" she whispered softly, biting her lip in slight concern for the 
man.
	"...." No answer from the warrior as he continued staring forward, arms 
crossed across his barreled chest.  Oblivious to the world around him, 
except for the task at hand, he was entering the warrior trance.  Kiyone 
sighed softly and withdrew her head, obviously dejected by the man's 
apparent coldness.  With a bow of her head and turn of her feet, the 
blue-green haired police officer padded softly away.  Aeka went to console 
the woman, wrapping an arm around the shoulder of the taller woman.  
Although she couldn't understand the coldness the Vor warrior had just 
shone, she did know that he was worried about his son, so it would 
eventually balance out.  Tenchi and Yosho just watched from the background, 
not wishing to interfere in anything until they were needed.  Both 
understood Sanjou's current demeanor, especially Yosho, for it was fine 
tuning the warrior's senses to barrel in on one thing:  His son.
	As if to break the silence, a seperate screen popped up on the main screen, 
Washu's grinning face the centerpiece.  "Hi there, everyone!"
	"What is it, Washu?" Ryoko said in heavy, droll tones.  She had to rip her 
gaze from the Sanjou-Kiyone scene to look up to the viewscreen which held 
her red-haired mother.
	"Oh nothing...you guys just forgot someone..." She smirked, causing the 
demoness to raise her brow in wonder.  Just what did they mean they forgot 
someone?  Just then, as in answer to her question, a familiar voice erupted 
from within the bridge.
	"Hi everyone!"  Ryoko whirled around to see a tall blonde woman, dressed in 
a police uniform, wave her hand and tilt her head at the space demon.  Ryoko 
groaned and returned her head back to the red-haired scientist, eye 
twitching in disbelief and anger.
	"You're welcome!" Washu grinned and waved to her daughter, offering her a 
wink which the demon despised.  Ryoko couldn't help but growl and promptly 
turn her back, unable to let the scientist see her displeasure and be happy 
about it.  Washu cackled some and then turned her eyes to the warrior 
sitting in Ryo-Ohki's chair.
	"You're set to go...good luck!" She prompted to the warrior and with a nod, 
the viewscreen faded from the bridge.
	"What does she mean?" Tenchi asked aloud, hoping that Sanjou would turn 
around and answer him.  And, much to his surprise and the rest, Sanjou 
whirled around in the strange chair and spoke.
	"Not all of us here have the ability to change into battle clothing 
presently..." The Vor warrior spoke, referring to the likes of Yosho, 
Kiyone, and Mihoshi.  "and one of us currently doesn't have a true weapon.  
So I made a few orders..."  And without as much as small movement of his 
hand, Sanjou opened his palm to reveal three rings and one hilt of a beam 
sword.  Tenchi tilted his head in confusion as he felt his grandfather move 
past him and towards Sanjou.  Reaching out, Yosho grabbed one ring and the 
sword hilt, eyeing it closely for anything peculiar.
	"It's a sword of Jurai..."  Sanjou remarked, moving to his feet to look at 
the old man.
	"But how?" He asked, offering a raised brow.
	"Your mother's ship is very resourceful." Was all the answer Sanjou would 
give as he turned towards the two police officers and held out his palm for 
them to take the other two rings.
	"Ooooh! A ring!  What does it do?"  Mihoshi said, wide-eyed wonderment as 
she looked over the two bands that were upon Sanjou's smooth palm.  Kiyone 
sighed and shook her head, muttering something unintelligible about her 
partner.
	"Just take the damn ring, Mihoshi!" Kiyone finally said, plucking one of 
the rings from the warrior's hand and slipping it on to her ring finger.  
Mihoshi, used to such treatment from Kiyone, nodded her head and took the 
other ring.  Sanjou nodded at the two, failing to notice the red streaks 
underneath Kiyone's eyes, and turned upon his heel as Ryo-Ohki meowed 
suddenly.  Several viewscreens popped up into view, signaling they were 
being hailed.  But by whom?  Just then, the smirking face of Kagato erupted 
into view, his eyes seeming to examine everyone upon the bridge of the ship.
	"Well, well.  All this fanfare?  Just for me?"   A cruel smile lifted to 
show his sarcastic manner for the seemingly ragtag team that was to oppose 
him.  In truth, the man only felt terribly frightened of the legendary Vor 
warrior.  But, he certainly wasn't going to let -him- know that.  After all, 
showing fear to the man's whom child you have captured wouldn't be the right 
strategy, per say.
	"Just you wait, Kagato!" Ryoko growled, shaking her fist at the man.  
"We'll kill you again!"
	"Oh, if it isn't Ryoko..." Kagato smirked, offering a mocking nod of his 
head to the growling demoness.  "And Tenchi and Aeka...my, my, just like old 
times.  But I promise you this, it will not be just like last time!"  He 
laughed, letting the view screens flicker, then finally fade as Ryo-Ohki 
came to sudden stop.
	"What's wrong, Ryo-Ohki?" Ryoko said, astonished to the fact that she 
couldn't see anything but space in front of them.
	"Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow!"  The cabbit returned, causing everyone but 
Ryoko to blink in wonder.
	"Oh damn it..." The demoness muttered, tensing her fingers in and out as 
the others turned to each other with strange looks upon their faces.  Sanjou 
remained seated, eyes narrowed still as he clenched his fists tightly at the 
actions of Kagato.  Ryoko went to the air, hovering above the ground of the 
cabbit bridge as the cabbit ship suddenly jerked forward, causing the rest 
of the standing groups, sans Yosho, to fall to the ground in a heap of limbs 
and clothing.  "Tractor beam..."

	"Well, they're in..." Washu commented as the Ryo-Ohki suddenly vanished 
from view into the depths of space.  The red-haired scientist turned towards 
the Queens and Nobiyuki, giving a slight grin at the situation.
	"Do you think they'll make it through alright?" Funaho responded, her 
smooth hands folding underneath and into the sleeves of her kimono.  To her, 
this did not feel right.  She felt that there was something bigger here, 
something that just didn't stop at the vile criminal of Kagato.  For if 
someone could reanimate one of the most ruthless and powerful villians to 
ever grace the universe, then that same someone could be out there with him. 
  And that truly is what bothered her the most.
	"Yes, Queen Funaho...I do believe they will." Washu said, her own thoughts 
reflecting what Funaho had thought.  There was something strange and amiss 
about this all.  Her prized pupil arisen again, through whatever acts 
possible, was now free to terrorize the universe at his own agenda.  But why 
pick on the same people who defeated you?  Kagato was surely too intelligent 
to use revenge...or was he?  Washu bowed her head some at the thought.  This 
wasn't looking too good for Tenchi nor the others.  There was definitely a 
bad vibe about this...something darker, something bigger, something more 
powerful.  'Let's just hope Yosho and Sanjou get them through this alive...' 
she said through her thoughts to herself, pulling on the apparent wild card 
that might get them through this ordeal unscathed.
	"Fall back then..." Queen Funaho said to a Juraiian officer, adding a nod 
of her head to execute the order quickly.  The Juraiian officer straightened 
and saluted the Queen, turning upon his heel quickly and issuing the orders 
to the rest of the crew.  Slowly, but surely, the grand wooden Juraiian 
battleship veered off from the area where Ryo-Ohki had disappeared.  For 
now, whatever game was about to be played was in the hands of the these 
players now.  'May the goddess protect them...' Funaho last thought as she 
turned from the viewscreen, leaving Washu to ponder over her own thoughts.

	Aeka found herself, along with the other warriors in a large bay as the 
cabbit ship transported them outside herself so she could change back.  With 
a loud, scratchy meow, the cabbit ship returned to its cabbit self, Ryo-Ohki 
plopping down at the feet of Ryoko.  The Juraiian princess looked about the 
dimly lit space bay with wonder, her purplish eyes taking in all the nooks 
and crevices that went along with it.  It was quite eerie and foreign to 
anything she had ever seen in her life, as if a great darkness and evil 
resided in the very core of this ship.  She shuddered at the feeling and 
looked back to the other seven warriors gathered.  Save Sanjou and Yosho, it 
seemed the others had truly felt the same feeling as she.  She noticed 
Kiyone had gone silent and nervous, her lithe fingers stroking the hilt of 
her Galaxy Police Pistol.  Even her partner, the blonde Mihoshi, went 
silent, obviously quieted by the surroundings.  Tenchi shifted on his feet 
and sweated a bit, while Ryoko tensed at the slightest flickering light.  
'This is creepy...' The princess thought, smoothing the fabric of her 
Juraiian warrior suit absent-mindedly.  Everyone had changed in their 
respective warrior suits as they entered the space black vessel, readying 
themselves for the impending battle.
	"Alright...let's move." Sanjou finally said, breaking the long silence that 
enveloped the group as two lights erupted into view, highlighting a large 
passageway that would lead from the ship bay.  The group nodded their silent 
responses, taking up a quite hastened pace after the Vor warrior.  Sanjou 
really had only one thing on his mind, to rescue his son and his friend.  
And to get revenge on the one who had kidnapped him.  A dark scowl upon his 
face as he thought about this, he crossed his strong arms across his 
barreled chest.  Kiyone, having been walking nearby, caught the expression 
and suddenly felt bad, figuring how the man had felt.  After all, his son 
had been kidnapped and he couldn't do anything about it...well, until now.  
The blue-green woman turned to watch where she was going as the hallway they 
were in suddenly erupted with light, causing the group to pause in their 
footsteps and shield their eyes from the immense light.
	"What is it?" cried Aeka as she deflected the light from her eyes, speaking 
loudly to anyone whom could hear her.
	"I don't know!" growled Ryoko as she narrowed her eyes and turned her body 
halfway from the light to try and see anything.
	"Everyone remain calm..." Insisted Yosho as he promptly raised an arm to 
shield the light source from his eyes.  "It should be over soon."  And if on 
cue, the light faded, allowing the dimly lit hallway to return.  The group 
blinked their eyes, attempting to readjust their eyes to the darkness.  
However, this was short lived as several noises came from the area before 
them.
	"Okay, now what's that!?" the tanned Mihoshi announced as she pointed to 
several dark masses down the hallway, each shuffling to move closer towards 
the group.
	"I don't know and I'm not waiting to find out!" Ryoko said as she reared 
her arm back and gathered red energy upon her hand.  "Take that!" she roared 
as she went into a throwing motion and released the energy towards the dark 
masses.
	"Wait a sec--" Sanjou began and lunged forward, attempting to stop the 
demoness.  But he was cut short, Ryoko having been too quick and already 
releasing the energy.  An explosion suddenly rocked the interior of the ship 
and the lights of flame suddenly illuminated the hallway interior.  Ryoko 
grinned her devious smile and stood erect, placing her hands on her hips 
while inhaling, allowing her chest to poke out in the tight warrior suit she 
adorned.
	"You see?  They weren't anything..."  She smirked to Sanjou, who turned his 
head down towards the flaming hallway.
	"Ummm, Ryoko..." Tenchi suddenly spoke, tapping her on the shoulder.  "Take 
another look..."
	Ryoko blinked and exhaled, turning towards Tenchi.  "Huh?"  She said before 
turning her head back down towards her recent flaming destruction.  Ryoko 
dropped her jaw and let her eyes go wide.  Through the flames of the 
hallway, stepped the dark masses, their strange bodies not even being 
touched by the hot red flames.  They continued their shuffling pace, not 
even bothered nor fazed by the explosion that was supposedly sent to stop 
them.
	"I told you..." Sanjou said as he gripped the hilt of his blade and 
extended it before him.  Without the slightest bit of concentration, the 
yellowish flame blade erupted into being, giving a small illumination to the 
area around him.  To his left, the sound of another blade becoming into 
being echoed within the hall as Yosho, still dressed in his shrine robes 
took a step forward beside the Vor warrior and eyed the oncoming dark masses 
down the hall with an emotionless look upon his face.  The ancient Juraiian 
warrior had been in several tight skirmishes and come out alive, so he 
really didn't expect himself to be scared.  Sanjou turned his head towards 
the elder looking man and nodded his head, reflecting the man's thoughts.
	"I'm ready..." Tenchi spoke, grasping the hilt of the tenchiken and 
concentrating closely to activate the blade.  The bluish blade hissed to its 
activation, illuminating the area opposite of Yosho's side in a bluish glow. 
  Tenchi gritted his teeth and haunched down into a fighting stance, 
preparing himself for the battle ahead as Ryoko and Aeka took up form on 
either side of him, Mihoshi and Kiyone doing the same on either side of 
Yosho.  Each warrior settled down for the impending battle, defiant looks 
upon their faces as the dark masses continued advancing upon their ranks 
slowly.
	"Let's go!" Ryoko's voice suddenly boomed as she darted off towards the 
dark masses, her body floating threw the air like a torpedo while a light 
blade activating in her hand almost instantly.  It was all the signal that 
the warriors had needed to begin to attack, Tenchi followed after Ryoko, 
blade extended and voice crying aloud as he charged towards the oncoming 
masses.  Sanjou and Yosho followed at the boy's side, feet moving with 
skillful silence as they flitted across the smooth marble-like floor.  This 
left Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Aeka to pull up the rear, the three moving at 
interim speed to cover the four's back in case some of the dark masses got 
behind them.
	The two encroaching parties met in a fantastic frenzy, the beams from the 
galaxy police pistols ripping through the dark masses with extreme 
precision.  Tenchi jumped and twisted his body, slashing through a dark 
masses's body, turning his body to land and spot another one as the previous 
one hissed and shrieked its demise behind him.  Behind him, Ryoko slashed 
towards another dark mass, but upon finding only air and sliding towards the 
wall, twirled her body around and extended her finger towards the now 
slashing mass, a wicked grin upon her lips.  Yellow energy began to form 
upon that tip of her finger as a beam exploded from it suddenly, impaling 
the dark mass cleanly.  "Later..."
	The shrieks of the fallen dark masses seemed to continously grow as the 
numbers of the dark masses themselves did.  More than once, Tenchi would 
look up (when he had the time) to notice that more and more dark masses 
poured through the flames towards them.  'Just how many are there!?' his 
mind yelled to himself as he lashed out at another dark mass, splitting it 
asunder before turning to look for his next target.  To his left, he caught 
the duo of Sanjou and Yosho slicing and slashing their way through numerous 
dark masses that surrounded them, both warriors working in almost perfect 
harmony as they dodged, attacked, defended, and covered each other's backs, 
allowing the dark masses little hope of ever touching them.  Tenchi looked 
on in awe at the sight, but that was cut short when a dark mass slashed out 
for his form, causing him to duck and roll away while cutting his blade 
towards the mass's legs during the movement to cut its legs out from under 
it.  Tenchi got back to his feet and stood back to back with Aeka, checking 
over his shoulder to make sure it was really her.
	"Busy, Lord Tenchi?" Aeka said while projecting the small wooden logs 
around several dark masses.
	"A bit, Aeka..." Tenchi responded as he took a step forward to give a wide 
arc slash to several incoming dark masses.
	"Perhaps later we'll talk..." responded Aeka as the logs emitted their 
powerful shock to the masses in front of her, allowing them to shriek 
horridly and disappear into their dark oblivion that awaited them.
	"I'd appreicate that, Princess..." Tenchi said as he bolted off, leaving 
Aeka for now as she turned her attention to several other incoming masses.  
But as the boy bounded off, Aeka gave a short glance to him, her cheeks 
flushing crimson with his 'appreciation'.
	Kiyone and Mihoshi fought back to back, each firing rounds of their police 
pistols at the incoming dark masses, shredding them to smaller ribbons, but 
to no avail.  They just kept advancing on the police duo, the more they'd 
destroy, the even more that would advance on them.  "Watch out, Mihoshi!" 
Kiyone yelled as she unloaded her gun a few dark masses that dared to get 
too close.
	"Sorry Kiyone, I'm firing as fast as I can!" Mihoshi said in a sobbing 
voice, tears running down her tanned face at the frustration of the 
situation they were in.  "I want to go home!"
	"Shut up and keep firing, Miho---" Kiyone said before being cut off as 
several dark masses leaped at her suddenly, their dark tendrils shooting out 
towards her fleeting form.  Kiyone stood horrified as she felt the first of 
the tendrils begin to wrap around her arm.  A coldness shot up that arm and 
hit her full on, causing her to stumble backwards, almost atop her whining 
partner, who was oblivious to the situation behind her.  Kiyone just felt 
herself recoiling into her own mind, numbing from the apparent shock of the 
coldness she that was shooting up her arm.  She heard the voice of Mihoshi 
screaming her name loudly as she realized Kiyone's situation.
	"Kiyone! No!" She shrieked loudly, turning around to fire at the masses 
that were attacking her partner.  To her surprise and relief, a yellowish 
blade suddenly found itself slashing across the three deadly masses 
midsections, causing them to shriek horribly and erase from existence.  
Before the two stood the Vor warrior, his head casting a downward look 
towards the fallen Kiyone before wheeling around to face any more oncoming 
masses, extending his blade in challenge.
	"Go to Yosho's aid, Mihoshi, I'll protect her..." He said over his shoulder 
as he spied more masses approaching his position, their numbers seeming to 
increase everytime he checked them over.  Mihoshi nodded her answer and 
streaked away from the warrior, giving her partner one last concerned look 
before charging off towards to find Yosho.  "Aeka! Fallen over here!" Sanjou 
yelled quickly as she raised his hand to the oncoming masses.  Yellowish 
energy streaked out as he moved his hand to every single mass that got in 
near him.  He also raised it towards the area Aeka was, clearing a path for 
her to make it to Kiyone's side.

	"Zynd?"
	There was no response from the boy.  He could clearly see Sasami calling 
out for him, but everytime he tried to open his mouth or wave his arms for 
her to spot him, it just wouldn't get her attention.  He was invisible to 
her, like air in the atmosphere.  Zynd cursed to himself and continued 
trying to catch Sasami's attention, but to no avail.  All she could do was 
look around, all huddled up and tears streaking down her delicate face as 
she took in her current predicament.
	"Zynd?  Help...I need you. Please."
	Zynd's mind screamed with anger and rage as his hands curled up into small 
balls.  He raised them in anger and brought them down upon the ground with 
forced vegeance.  He could feel the sting of his own tears streak down his 
face as he was helpless to aid his dear friend, Sasami.  'Why!?  Oh, why 
can't she see or hear me!?' he screamed inside.
	'That's because you're unconscious and dreaming.' came an unrecognizable 
voice that caused Zynd to pause in his state of pavement pounding and look 
up curiously and in shock around.  What was that?  This voice, so familiar, 
yet unfamiliar.  Zynd blinked his eyes and wiped his tears off on his 
sleeves.  He squinted his eyes to look for the source of the voice, but 
wasn't able to.  He frowned some and shook his head.
	'Yeah right, I'm awake right now.  So who are you?'
	'WAKE UP!' the voice yelled right in Zynd's ear causing him to fall 
back.....
	Sasami held Zynd's head in her lap, comforting the boy since they were 
placed in the cell that Kagato had given them.  It wasn't much, per say, but 
it did have a bed and running facilities.  Sasami sighed when she watched 
the boy, for he seemed to be in pain.  His face contorted in anger and pain 
a few minutes ago and it seemed to her that he was crying, for she could 
catch briefest glint of tears.  She reached down to wipe away the tears with 
her finger when his eyes fluttered open.
	"Sa---Sasami?" he said weakly as she paused in surprise and blinked.  He 
weakly sat up and turned towards her, rubbing the back of his hair with his 
hand as the young princess seemed at a momentary loss for words.
	"Zynd!" she finally gasped and wrapped her arms around his frame, hugging 
him closely as tears began to flood down the sides of her face in extreme 
joy of seeing her friend return.  "Oh Zynd, I thought I almost lost you 
there..." she whispered softly, holding the boy tightly against her.  Zynd, 
seemingly clutched into grasp of the Juraiian princess, could do little to 
nothing else but return to embrace tenderly.
	"It's alright, Sasami.  I'm here now." He said softly, looking for the 
right words to comfort the princess.  "I won't leave you.  I promise."
	Sasami pulled away and looked at him, tears welling up on her eyes causing 
them to sparkle some in the dim light.  "Really, Zynd?"
	"Yes, really, Sasami." Zynd nodded and smiled, "Now let's try and figure 
out how to get out of here..."

	The hallway remained illuminated with light from the fire down the way as 
the two ensuing forces grinded to a halt.  Just as mysteriously as the dark 
masses had come, they simply disappeared, vanishing into the night air with 
a horrific shriek.  Tenchi let go a sigh of relief, glad that the oncoming 
horde was no more.  It had been a bitter fight, but they all managed to 
escape serious injury, including Kiyone.  Tenchi glanced over his right 
shoulder, gazing back towards the galaxy police officer, now sitting and 
leaning against the wall with Aeka hovering nearby and tending to her.  She 
seemed alright to him, but who knew what that touch did to her?  Tenchi 
frowned some at the thought and shook the feeling of it off of his body as 
he turned towards the two forms and began the short trek to them.
	"Hello, Lord Tenchi..." Aeka smiled and spoke softly as she felt his shadow 
standing over hers and Kiyone's forms.  Kiyone looked up to the young boy 
and offered a short smile.
	"Hey Aeka..." he began, greeting her before turning his concerns to Kiyone. 
"How are you feeling, Kiyone?"
	"Just a little weak, Tenchi.  I'll be find, just need to rest some." She 
said, "I should be ready to go in five minutes." Tenchi couldn't help but 
chuckle and smile at the words, Aeka, too.  The two looked to each and shook 
their heads.  Same old Kiyone, always thinking about the job over her own 
ailments.
	"It's alright, Kiyone, take as much rest as you need."  Tenchi finally 
said, offering her own of those Tenchi Masaki smiles that would melt the 
anger and hearts of the girls that lived with him.  Kiyone nodded her head 
softly and grunted some, placing her hands upon the metallic floor and 
pushing herself to her feet slowly.  Aeka moved as well, ready to support 
the woman at a moment's notice.  However, Aeka knew the proud officer would 
refuse any help.  Kiyone righted herself and smiled proudly, glancing around 
the hallway one last time to try and remember where she was.  "Well, you 
seem much better, Kiyone." Tenchi commented, offering a smirk her direction.
	"Thanks, Tenchi.  I can always count on you for support." Kiyone said 
sarcastically, shaking her head before looking around once more.  "I see 
Mihoshi and Ryoko, but where's your grandfather and Sanjou?"
	Tenchi blinked and turned back over his shoulder. "Huh?  What!?" he 
commented as Aeka turned to glance, too.  They did spot Ryoko and Mihoshi 
talking, but they were not seeing the other two in their party.  "Ryoko! 
Mihoshi!  Where's Grandfather and Sanjou!?"  The two looked up from their 
conversation and glanced around, noticing the two that were missing.
	"Err, I don't know, Tenchi." Ryoko said, offering a shrug of her shoulders.
	"Didn't they say something about going further?" Mihoshi said, scratching 
her head some as if trying to remember something.
	"What!?" Tenchi almost yelled, walking up to the pair, Aeka and Kiyone in 
tow. "What exactly did they say Mihoshi!?"  Mihoshi blinked and tilted her 
head at Tenchi, giving him a blank look that just spelled she didn't know.
	"Ummm, I forget, Tenchi.  I mean, they did say something to that effect, 
but I don't exactly remember.  It's just like that time when we faced Kagato 
for the first time and you all left me behind and..." Mihoshi began to talk, 
going into the mode of spewing out random gibberish that would only take a 
well placed interruption to break.  However, Tenchi nor the others, had time 
for it.  Without even saying anything, the four turned towards the blaze 
down the hallway and moved off.  Mihoshi paused and blinked, before 
regaining her senses and trudging off after the four.  "Hey! Wait for me!"

	"Hmmm, this isn't going to be easy."  Yosho said as himself and Sanjou had 
paused before a fork in the spaceship.  The two looked through their options 
and glanced at each other.
	"Yeah, this may be one of the few times I wish Washu was here." Sanjou 
commented with a chuckle and shook his own head.  Yosho chuckled some as 
well, finding the amusement in it.
	"Yeah, if only." Yosho mused as he glanced to the left and right passages, 
still deciding on which way to go.
	"Got any ideas?  Or shall we just pick and go?"
	"Pick and go sounds good."
	"Alright, same here."
	"Meow?"
	"Huh?  What?" Sanjou and Yosho said together and blinked, looking down to 
the ground to see the cabbit form of Ryo-Ohki smiling up at them and mewing. 
  The two hardened warriors looked back to each other and blinked.  In all 
the turmoil and strangeness of this, Ryo-Ohki had managed to find the two.
	"Well, I guess we should get going, then." Sanjou said, offering a shrug of 
his shoulders as he took a step towards the left, Yosho doing the same with 
Ryo-Ohki bounding up behind the two.  The cabbit had snuck off from the 
others while they were assessing the situation with Kiyone.  She felt a 
strong tie towards her two young wards and she wanted to help out in anyway 
possible to free them.  So the cabbit decided to sneak off with the Vor and 
Juraiian warriors, for they were eager to find the princess and boy.  The 
three padded down the hallway silently, Yosho and Sanjou gripping the hilts 
of their beam weapons tightly as they opened their senses to the surrounding 
environment.  It was quiet for the three of them, too quiet.  Not even the 
slightest thing ticked nor clicked while the walked.  It wasn't but ten 
minutes of walking that they finally got somewhere.  A large, open spaced 
room broke before the small group, causing the group to pause and look 
about.  Both Vor and Juraiian looked to each other, their facial expressions 
knowing what was about to come.
	"Welcome, gentlemen..." came a dark voice from within the room, causing the 
cabbit to extend her claws and hiss uncontrollably, the blackened fur rising 
upon its great back.  "I see you made it this far, kudos to you."
	"Yes, well, it's not like those pitiful excuses for soldiers were much of a 
match." Sanjou offered with a smirk, poking fun at the battle fifteen 
minutes past.
	"It wasn't meant to be difficult." The dark voice returned with a 
slithering hiss, it's voice changing just a bit.  Sanjou blinked suddenly, 
turning towards Yosho.  Yosho turned also, having felt the Vor's eyes upon 
him.  The Juraiian's face went downcast as they both truly realized what 
happened.  They had led themselves into a trap.  And just as that had been 
discovered, the doorway behind them suddenly was replaced with a solid wall. 
  The dark voice laughed horribly then, enjoying the disarray his company 
was in.  Oh, how it pleased the great Munashii, the great god from the 
darkness.  This was just how he entitled the end of the Light.  With three 
of them so easily in his grasp, it would just be a matter of time before the 
others would fall.  The cruel laughing ceased as the three settled down for 
the oncoming fight.  "Now, seeing as we have the Great Sanjou and the Mighty 
Yosho in our ring of combat.  I might as well introduce you to your partners 
in dance....."

	Tenchi blinked at the apparent fork in the road.  Only problem was that it 
banked right instead of being a fork.  The Crown Prince raised a hand to 
scratch at his blackened hair, tilting his head in confusion at the sight 
before.  The four other women with him looked at him curiously before Ryoko 
spoke up.
	"Something the matter, Tenchi?"
	"Yeah, why doesn't this look like a fork in the ship?"
	"Huh?" Ryoko said, obviously clueless to the way the layout looked.  The 
demon even turned her head towards the wall to her left and took a guess.
	"Yeah, I see what you mean, Tenchi..." Kiyone spoke up, moving towards the 
wall and placing her hand on it.  The Galaxy Police Officer kneeled down and 
put her hand to the place where the floor met the wall.  She frowned some 
and looked back to the rest, shaking her head.  "I don't like the looks of 
this.  It's as if we're being guided."
	"Guided?  But why?" Aeka asked, tilting her head to Kiyone in question as 
her delicate eyebrows raised.
	"I just don't know, Princess.  But I definitely feel air currents running 
under the wall."
	"What do you think, Lord Tenchi?"  Aeka turned to the young boy, who 
suddenly felt four pairs of eyes on him.
	"Well, if it is intended for us to go right, then we should go right." He 
commented nervously, offering a slight chuckle.
	"Right!" Ryoko said, slamming her fists together and grinning like a mand 
demon.  "Kagato's ours!"
	Kiyone stood from her kneeling position and nodded.  Aeka straightened up 
and nodded hers, also.  Tenchi did, also.  The four warriors then turned to 
Mihoshi, who smiled sheepishly and gulped.
	"Well, uh, I could just say here or something, you know?"
	"Mihoshi..." Kiyone said, offering a twitching glare towards her partner.
	"What!?"
	"Listen up, Mihoshi!" Ryoko growled, moving up to grab the scruff of the 
Galaxy Police Officer's neckline and pull her close.  "You're not squirming 
out of this one, you hear?"
	"Errr, uhm, alright.  Whatever you say, Ryoko." Mihoshi grinned some, 
though she was trembling from the knees down.  Ryoko smiled demonically and 
released her, turning back to the others.
	"Are we ready?"
	"Errr, yeah." They all almost answered in unity, watching at the demoness 
seemed poised once more to take on the likes of Kagato.  The others seemed 
wary, save Kiyone, who was curious and eager to take on the class 1 
criminal.  To her, once he was defeated again, it would only be a matter of 
time before she got her promotion.
	"Then let's go!" Ryoko grinned and left her feet to float down the right 
hallway.  The rest looked to each other and sighed, taking off after the 
pumped up demoness.  'I can't wait to get my hands on you, Kagato.  I will 
kill you.  Yes, if once wasn't enough, then twice will be.' Ryoko thought to 
herself as she floated on ahead, her yellow eyes glancing around eagerly for 
the hated Kagato.

	The four danced around the battle arena with precision grace and speed.  
The hiss of beam swords echoed greatly off the metallic walls as each 
partner struck together in harmonius actions.  Explosions lined the walls 
from various projectiles being throwed by the participants.  Sanjou had 
paired off with the assassiness Sasake, while Yosho had squared off with 
insane-like Juraiian warrior, Kamikaze.  Both pairs had managed to fight an 
even battle, though there were times when it seemed that each would be in 
trouble.
	Sanjou's beam sword hissed and crackled against the likes of Sasake's 
weapon as the two closed in together and attacked.  Sanjou growled his 
dislike for the woman, but she didn't care.  She only reveled in the 
attention she was getting from the great Vor warrior.  She lunged out with a 
sweeping kick that knocked the man from his feet and backflipped backwards 
several times, smirking at the fallen man as he righted himself.
	"Nice move." he commented as behind him, Yosho was outflanking the warrior 
Kamikaze.  Sasake could only chuckle softly and beckon the mighty warrior on 
more, crouching down into defensive position as Sanjou charged once more, 
beam sword held high.  The crackling of their swords echoed once more as the 
two parried, thrusted, and dodged each other's blows.  Sanjou lashed out 
with his sword once, only to find it being deflected aside by the woman 
before she launched a kick towards his midsection, sending him flying 
backwards and into the wall with a heavy 'ugh.'  Sasake could only smirk 
beautifully to the warrior and look up to the place were her master, 
Munashii, sat and smiled.  Sanjou wiped his mouth some and pushed up against 
the wall to stand.  'Damn woman' he thought and narrowed his eyes, pushing 
off from the metallic substance and crouching down into a strange offensive 
positioning that took the woman by surprise.  Sasake would blink and look to 
her master, wondering just what the hell that was supposed to be?  Munashii 
blinked and took a double take towards the warrior, trying to realize why 
the Vor was using a god's fighting stance.
	"Unless..." he muttered softly, before an explosion rocked a part of the 
battle arena.  Munashii turned towards the problem and quirked a brow, 
noticing that Yosho and Kamikaze were involved.
	"Old Fool." Kamikaze spoke harshly towards the former Crown Prince, still 
in his disguise of an old shrine man.  "You will die like the scum you are." 
Kamikaze was blackened from a small explosion set by Yosho's skill with the 
beam sword, but the man seemed less bothered by that than the fact that 
Yosho was still alive.  After all these years, Kamikaze could finally put 
supposed greatest warrior ever on Jurai to sleep.  Yosho slighted his foot 
to the right and leaned back on it, preparing himself for the final charge 
between the two warriors.  Kamikaze grinned cruelly and set his own left 
foot back, leaning forward and ready to spring on the older looking Yosho.
	To their lefts, in the far distance of the arena, Sanjou and Sasake raced 
towards each other, their feet seemingly still as they neared each other 
with their swords aglow and crackling with energy.  Sasake and Sanjou slid 
past each other, their blades slashing through the air with hissing speed 
and crackling energy.  Sasake was the first to turn around after the move 
and offer the cruelest of smirks.  Sanjou merely stayed put until he heard 
the softest of thumps hit the floor.  Sasake had fallen, wounded greatly by 
the maneuver.  Sanjou didn't have the strength to look back as the defeaning 
sound of an explosion impacted upon him and threw him clear across the 
battle arena and into another wall.  With a sickening crunch, the warrior 
fell to the floor, unconscious by the blow.  Munashii had seen enough of the 
Vor warrior's power.  Having seen his prized assassiness become near death, 
the god took it into his own powers to eliminate the powerful Vor warrior.  
Then, much to his surprise, the god turned to his right, having heard two 
other thumps hit the floor.  The god growled as he noticed the forms of 
Yosho and Kamikaze sprawled out some twenty feet away from each other.  With 
all his attention on Sanjou and Sasake, Munashii hadn't seen the Juraiian 
death blows that were exchanged in that melee.
	"Damnable mortals." Munashii sneered as he turned from his viewing place, 
exiting the battle arena and leaving the dead warriors behind.

	"Well, well, we meet again." Kagato grinned deeply to the entering quintet 
of warriors, the signal of their demise being the door slamming shut behind 
them soundly.  Ryoko growled harshly, dropping to her feet and clenching her 
fists so tight that they might've bleed there from the nails digging in too 
hard into the flesh.
	"Shove it, Kagato.  We're here to kill you." she growled gruffly, raising 
her hand as red energy began to form and cackle upon her flesh.
	"Why, dear Ryoko, whatever do you mean?" he chuckled some, those cold eyes 
of his moving over the forms of the other four that accompanied the 
demoness.  "Well, well, Tenchi and Princess Aeka, a pleasure once again.  
And who are the two police officers?" he offered with a smug look, looking 
over the features of Kiyone and Mihoshi quite noticably, causing the latter 
woman to shudder some.  "Ahh, yes, Detectives Kiyone and Mihoshi."
	"I said 'Shove it!'" Ryoko yelled out, throwing her hand forward and 
releasing the ball of red energy towards Kagato.  The ball screamed towards 
the man, exploding on impact upon his regal features.  All was silent as 
Ryoko controlled herself, an energy blade crackling to arise upon her hand.
	Kagato began to chuckle as the dust began to settle, a free hand raising to 
wipe the blackened dust that had collected upon his clothing from Ryoko's 
explosion.  "How touching, my dear.  But I believe you were meaning to do 
this..." he said harshly, extending his hand quickly and unleashing a stream 
of energy towards the demoness.  Ryoko gasped in surprise and tried to move, 
but it was too quick.  The explosion happened right in front of her, but it 
didn't seem to hurt her.  The demoness blinked her yellow eyes as Kagato 
frowned with displeasure.  "Well, well, Aeka, I see your little shield has 
gotten stronger since we last met."
	Aeka merely smirked back to the man, never lowering the shield while Ryoko 
looked curiously to the princess.  She had saved her own life, even after 
most of their bickering.  Then again, they only bickered when it came to 
Tenchi.  "Alright, Kagato!  Time to die!" Ryoko said once more and charged 
out of the shield, Aeka lowering it as Tenchi raced passed her, his sword 
hilt activating the bluish energy blade that always accompanied his master 
key.  Kiyone and Mihoshi took up guards to the rear, holding up their galaxy 
police pistols and taking any pot shots that could be allowed.
	Kagato could only smirk at the oncoming pair.  The incarnation reborn 
activated his bluish energy broadsword and simply awaited the oncoming 
onslaught.  Ryoko and Tenchi each swung their weapons cleanly towards 
Kagato, but they would only find air as he was too quick for them.  Once he 
dodged quickly, he sent an energy wave that blew them both backwards through 
the air, Tenchi slamming into a wall while Ryoko righted herself before 
hitting.  Tenchi sank to the ground with a heavy thud, gasping some as the 
air left his body outright.  A scream of 'Lord Tenchi!' hit his ears full 
on, but it did little to keep him awake.  Slowly, but surely, he succombed 
to the unconscious level of blackness that seemed so inviting at the moment. 
  Ryoko looked down and growled audibly, Aeka almost seemed to lose it, but 
she turned back, her eyes narrowing and her demeanor growing serious by the 
moment.  Tenchi was not to be harmed! Not by anyone!  Aeka growled as Kagato 
was covered with pistol shots, now that he was in the clear.  They had 
little to no effect on the man, but Kiyone and Mihoshi were providing ample 
enough distractions.
	"This ends now!" Aeka seemed to scream, her voice echoing within the room 
where they all laid.  Everyone, save for the unconscious Tenchi, turned to 
see that angered, serious look on the Princesses face.  Never before had 
they seen anything like this before as her body seemed to become enveloped 
in some purplish aura.  Kagato felt sweat beginning to bubble upon his 
forehead and he took a step back, a horrified, fearful look upon his face at 
this transformation of the Princess.
	"Just what the..." he said, words unable to fall from his mouth.  Then, to 
his surprise, small chunks of woods began to take shape around his body and 
froze.  Aeka opened her eyes and glared a hole through the form of the man, 
oblivious to those that were watching breathlessly around her.
	"You will face my full wrath Kagato..." she said with intense hatred in her 
voice towards the man.  Electricity began to crackle within those logs, but 
Kagato still had one last trump card up his sleeve.  Without even having to 
move, the floor right to his left opened up and a platform rised up to greet 
them all.  Aeka froze, causing the logs to disappear.  What she saw there 
scared her.  Sasami and Zynd, bounded and gagged to each other, in the way 
of the used to be logs.
	Ryoko growled audibly and charged once more towards Kagato, watching as the 
man took a side step.  All going to plan, she mused, as the demoness 
reversed her course and swooped in to rescue the bound and gagged prisoners 
of Kagato.  Once she got them out of harm's way, Ryoko turned around in 
mid-air, though her body was still floating backwards, and yelled to the 
Aeka.
	"Aeka! Now!" was all the Princess needed to know.  Aeka narrowed her eyes 
upon the form of Kagato once more and flashed a feral grin.  The logs soon 
began to reform around the man's body once more, causing him to look around 
scared.  However, he just wasn't out of harm's way yet.  Kagato suddenly 
disappeared suddenly, causing the Princess to blink her eyes and look around 
in wonder.  Within moments, Aeka felt the coldness of his arms wrap around 
her as he reappeared behind the Princess and began to squeeze.
	"Well, Princess, what do you think now!?" he laughed cruelly as Aeka 
screamed loudly for anyone to save her.  Her first words were for 'Lord 
Tenchi!', but she knew that they would fall on deaf ears as the boy was 
still knocked unconscious along the wall, Mihoshi having moved to her 
safety.  Ryoko, having placed Sasami and Zynd upon the ground at a safe 
distance and unbounded them, turned at the sound of Aeka's screams and 
looked on in horror.  Kagato was about to absorb her power!  Ryoko growled 
audibly and charged at full speed, floating a mere inches above the ground 
with her eyes locked upon the form of Kagato.
	"Let her go, Kagato!" Ryoko growled towards the man.  Kagato seemed to 
chuckle and squeeze the Princess towards him more, looking up to see the 
charging demon rush towards them.
	"Oh, I'll let her go, Ryo----" Kagato said, before the muzzle of a gun was 
braced to his temple, followed by the clicking sound of a trigger about to 
be pulled.  Kagato looked out of the corner of his eyes to spot Detective 
Kiyone, a cruel grin upon her face and an itchy trigger finger.
	"Yeah, and I'm letting you go, bitch." Kiyone said as she pulled the 
trigger, releasing three shots from her pistol to the insides of Kagato's 
head.  Ryoko screeched to a halt, Aeka screamed, but the man's grip loosened 
around the Princess, allowing her to be free.  Aeka stumbled forward and to 
the ground, turning around and sliding backwards as the form of Kagato 
paused in the air, though his head turned towards Kiyone.
	"Well played, Detective." he coughed, feeling his life flee once more 
before him.  "Very well played, indeed."  and within the next moment, 
Kagato's energy was spent, his form falling to the floor and disappearing 
forever.  Everyone gave out a sigh of relief, falling to their knees in some 
fashion at the demise of Kagato.  Sasami and Zynd ran forward, checking on 
the likes of their heroes.
	"Is everyone alright!?" pleaded Sasami, as she first ran to her sister, 
Aeka, who was still trembling from the cold grip of Kagato.
	"Yes, Sasami, I am quite alright.  Though, Lord Tenchi seems to be 
unconscious." she said softly, raven eyes moving to glance over the groaning 
form of her Crown Prince, her one day hopeful.
	Tenchi stirred restlessly and grabbed his aching head.  "Oh, man, do I feel 
like I was hit by a truck."  he moaned some, blinking his eyes open to 
adjust to the new scenery.
	"Well, you did hit the wall pretty hard, Tenchi.  Kagato really laid you 
out good." he heard Mihoshi's voice say quite close to him.  Tenchi blinked 
upwards towards the source of the voice and found the tanned blonde hovering 
over him with a smile on her face.  "Hello."
	"Err, thanks Mihoshi." Tenchi said, before smiling, then blinking and 
shooting straight up, hand clenched to the hilt of his sword.  "Kagato!?  
Where is he!?" he growled softly.
	"It's alright, Tenchi..." Ryoko said, mumbling a bit since exhaustion had 
finally caught up to her.  "He's dead...again."
	Tenchi blinked and looked around, not spotting the evil man.  "Really?  Did 
you kill him, Ryoko?" Ryoko shook her head no.  Tenchi looked to Aeka.
	"Aeka?" Aeka shook her head no as well.  This left Tenchi quite confused, 
so he looked immediately to Mihoshi, a look of bewilderment upon his face.  
He was about to ask if she did when Kiyone spoke up.
	"I did." the blue-green haired officer said softly, holstering her sidearm 
and collasping on her bottom.  "And we need to get out of here."  Tenchi 
looked to Kiyone and nodded his head, agreeing with the sentiment.
	"Uh, guys...just one question.  Where's my dad, Grandpa, and Ryo-Ohki?" 
Zynd suddenly piped in, having taken noticable detail of the room and 
realizing that the three others weren't with them.  Sasami looked around 
also and failed to notice her cabbit pet and the two others.  Sasami's face 
suddenly grew worried at that, fearing that the worst might've come to the 
three.  Tears were threatening to fall from her delicate face just as the 
others were standing weakly to look around the main room.
	"Meow! Meow! Meow!" came a distant reply as a small shadow darted into the 
battle room where the others were.  Sasami blinked and looked up, her 
reaction followed by the rests.
	"Ryo-Ohki!" Sasami squealed happily, running to meet the cabbit that was 
streaking across the interior metallic floor.
	"Meow! Meow!" the cabbit mewed happily as it suddenly slid across the floor 
as the young princess kneeled.  The two embraced quite closely and fondly as 
the rest of the group looked on with small, happy and exhausted smiles on 
their face.
	"Well, that's one down..." muttered Ryoko as she took a step towards the 
cabbit and princess, who were still hugging, crying, and mewing in joy.  The 
demoness's shadow soon fell over to the two reunited form as a hand was 
placed upon Sasami's shoulder.  "Sasami?  I need to ask Ryo-Ohki a 
question."
	Sasami looked up and nodded her head softly, teal pigtails spilling to the 
side as she shifted her small body to hold the cabbit up to Ryoko.  "Mew?"
	"Ryo-Ohki...where is Grandfather and Sanjou?" Ryoko said softly, tilting 
her head to the small furry cabbit.
	"Meow meow meow!  Meow!  Meow, meow, meow!" the cabbit hurriedly responded, 
squirming and pointing down the hallway from whence it came.  Ryoko seemed 
to jerk straight up and frown, turning back towards the rest of the group.  
Tenchi took great notice in the demoness's reactions and knew there was 
something wrong.
	"What is it, Ryoko?" he asked quite quickly, face filled with worry.  Ryoko 
looked to them all eyes that were threatening to well up with tears.
	"I-I-I..." she began as the rest surrouned her, each with worried looks 
upon her face.  Kiyone choked up, looking towards Ryoko with a determination 
in her eyes, there was no way this was happening.  It just couldn't be 
happening!  Her eyes immediately drifted to Zynd to her side, her hand 
moving to wrap around his shoulder as Ryoko choked up and paused, dropping 
her head so the cyan hair would cover up her features as she spoke.  
"They're dead." she stated, before adding.  "I'm sorry."
	The group seemed to freeze, their jaws dropping in disbelief.  Tenchi felt 
tears begin to well up upon his face, but he refused to cry.  'Not like 
this,' he said in his thoughts, 'Not like this, Grandfather.' he felt anger 
well up in him as he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders and the calm, 
serene voice of Aeka's voice floated to his ears.  "Lord Tenchi..." Tenchi 
choked in some air, his lungs almost failing him from the amounts of emotion 
he was taking in at one time.  To his right, Zynd had buried his face into 
Kiyone's stomach as the boy was most assuredly reacting to the news of his 
father's death.  Kiyone seemed to be crying, too, having grown quite close 
to the Vor warrior in the past few weeks.  Mihoshi cried off behind him, 
Sasami trying her best to comfort her as tears streamed down her face, 
luckily, Tsunami kept the girl from breaking down right then and there, 
soothing the girl's insides with images of calming scenes.  Ryoko just bowed 
her head and raised an idle hand to wipe away a tear. This wasn't the battle 
it was supposed to be.  Nobody was supposed to die except for Kagato.  
Nobody was supposed to leave the family.
	"Let's get out of here." Tenchi finally said, voice void of any emotion as 
he stepped from Aeka's grasp, heading straight for the hallway that brought 
them to this place.  Aeka tried to speak something else to her Lord, but 
couldn't.  She was quite shocked at his actions.  The rest merely blinked 
and followed, their heads downcast while they comforted each other in this 
time of sadness.  Yes, the battle had been won, but the cost for it made it 
seem like a defeat.
	From the darkness, the god from the darkness smiled cruelly, enjoying the 
sadness and angered that poured from the group.  They were morally defeated, 
having lost their greatest heroes.  Munashii almost felt like 
laughing---almost.  It wasn't a total win, however, for he wasn't certain 
that the future had changed.  Something about that group had to be done, 
something totally devastating than the death of the Vor and the Juraiian.  
Munashii would simply ponder this role as the group left to the hangar bay, 
readying themselves to leave his vessel.  "This isn't the end, compatriots.  
The future is mine."

	The trip to the hangar bay was a silent trip, each person having little to 
say in such a down mood.  Tenchi was the only one who had any step in his 
walk.  He walked with a purpose, easily distancing himself from the rest of 
the group.  None had even tried to talk to him since he heard the news, for 
they knew it wouldn't be of any good use.  He had just locked himself into a 
tight emotionless shell that wouldn't be cracked so easily.  He needed time 
and be damned, he was going to get it.  But just how was he going to explain 
this to his great grandmother, the Queen of Jurai?
	The group slowed to a crawl once they reached the hangar bay, the dimly lit 
bay was opening up to their eyes, proudly showing its vastness and enormous 
space that had allowed them to dock successfully with the cabbit ship, 
Ryo-Ohki.  Tenchi paused once he stepped twenty five feet into the hangar 
and turned, facing the down trodden and exhausted group behind him.  
"Alright, you're up, Ryo-Ohki..." Tenchi finally said, nodding to the small 
cabbit who rested on Sasami's head.  The cabbit mewed once weakly and slid 
off, landing with the gracefulness of a feline.  The cabbit bounded quickly 
away from the group, just about ready to jump into the air and transform 
when its keen ears picked up something.
	"Meow?" the cabbit questioned as it skidded to a halt on the smooth 
metallic floor.  Tenchi blinked and gave a stern face that was highly 
displeased.  The rest merely blinked at the cabbit's refusal to change 
forms.
	"C'mon Ryo-Ohki, we need to get out of here!" Tenchi said in frustration, 
clenching his fists tightly into balls and swinging in the air.
	The cabbit ignored Tenchi's request as it perked it's massive ear into the 
air and leaned towards the sounds it heard in the distance.  Ryo-Ohki was 
hearing the slight beating movements of two hearts! The cabbit blinked and 
jumped for joy, turning towards the rest of the group and meowing excitedly.
	"What's she doing now!?" Tenchi yelled, tapping his foot impatiently as 
Ryoko floated forward, followed by the ever present Sasami.  Ryoko looked 
curiously at the cabbit as it meowed and pointed hurriedly into the 
darkness.  Ryoko blinked and shook her head.  Did Ryo-Ohki say what she 
think she saw?
	"Well, I'll be damned..." Ryoko said as Sasami overheard her, pulling on 
the demoness's arm and looking up to her with a curious look plastered upon 
her face.
	"What is it, Ryoko?" she said innocently, following Ryoko's gaze towards 
the darkness.
	"Ryo-Ohki! Go!" commanded Ryoko.  The cabbit snapped into action and leaped 
into the air, her body transforming into the crystalline entity that was her 
counterpart ship.  It seemed like minutes when it only took a few moments.  
Tenchi ran forward and looked at Ryoko.
	"Why is she doing it now?" he asked hurriedly, seeing the look on Ryoko's 
face.
	"Well, it's about time!" came an odd reply from the darkness, causing the 
Juraiian Crown Prince to follow Ryoko's gaze to the darkness.  One of 
Ryo-Ohki's lights flooded the area and illuminated two distinct figures.  
One dressed in japanese shrine robes and one dressed in midnight blue 
coverings.  Tenchi blinked and dropped his jaw, blood rushing back into his 
face as his eyes took in the joyful sight.
	"What you guys doing over there!?" Yosho yelled quite painfully, his arm 
clutched to his side as Sanjou and himself raised up to sitting positions, 
the latter clutching his ribcage.  "Can't you see we need help!?"
	"Oh, they're probably just realizing we're alive, Yosho." Sanjou remarked, 
adding a cough as the group broke into a sprint towards their position.
	"Yeah, yeah, I know." responded Yosho, slinking back down onto the cold 
floor and looking up to the Vor warrior.  "Just wish they'd beam us up first 
before they pounce us."  Sanjou blinked and looked towards the group, his 
face beginning to break out into a sweat as Yosho began to laugh.  As much 
as he enjoyed letting Zynd pounce him, he certainly wasn't looking forward 
to it.
	"Oh, god no..." the Vor muttered, plopping back down onto the ground as 
Yosho continued laughing.  "I just hope Kiyone doesn't jump on me, too."


This ends "Tenchi Revelations: Time to Party" as told by the ChatBastarde.  
Stay Tuned for future installments!