"Masaki! I know you're here. Why don't you come out and play?" Nagi yelled up to the treetops. "Nagi," Hakubi hissed quietly. "Who?" Ryoko asked. Before Hakubi could answer, Nagi spun around and sent a wave of energy at them with her energy saber. Hakubi quickly picked up Rye- Ohki and jumped away with Ryoko just before the tree he had been sleeping on, as well as the ones next to him, were cut into splinters. Ryoko landed a few feet in front of Nagi with her energy sword in had. Hakubi set down a little ways off to her side. Both where in their battle armor and ready to fight. Rye-Ohki jumped out of Hakubi's hands and took his humanoid form. "I see you have released her at last." Nagi smiled, as she looked Ryoko over. "Who are you?" Ryoko asked icily. "I'm your replacement. Since you foolishly got caught, Kagato needed a new champion to carry out his plans. He found me, and I've been a better space pirate Ryoko than you could have every done." "Don't make me laugh. Who would think you were me?" "Everyone in the universe, except for him," Nagi pointed her sword at Hakubi. "What do you want, Nagi?" Hakubi asked calmly. He hadn't even made his energy sword yet. "I have a score to settle with you," Nagi said to Hakubi. "I don't want to fight you. I just wanted to get you to bring Kagato to me." "Too bad." Nagi lunged at Hakubi. Both he and Rye-Ohki jumped out of the way of her saber. She ready for another attack, but jumped to the side, avoiding a sneak attack by Ryoko. "Let's see how good my replacement really is," said Ryoko from behind Nagi. Ryoko attacked again with her energy sword. Nagi parried it and jumped away. Ryoko kept on attacking, but Nagi would only block her strikes and jump away, leading Ryoko out of the forest. Hakubi ran after them, with Rye-Ohki trailing behind. Nagi led Ryoko to the lake and stopped at its edge. "Get me if you can," Nagi taunted. Ryoko yelled in frustration and tried again to hit Nagi. She jumped away as before, landing with her back to the rising sun. "Not good enough," Nagi laughed. From out of the sun, Ken-Ohki flew overhead, teleported Nagi as he went by. Nagi's laugh still echoed in the valley as the ship flew upwards. "Ryo-Ohki! After them!" Ryoko closed her eyes and concentrated. From beneath the lake, Ryo-Ohki stirred. Her crystals came to life and floated upright. With a loud meow, Ryo-Ohki burst out of the lake, water streaming down her sides. "Ryoko, wait!" Hakubi yelled out, just as Ryoko teleported into her ship. "Damn it!" Ryo-Ohki flew off to catch Ken-Ohki, leaving Hakubi behind. "Rye- Ohki!" Rye-Ohki understood what he needed to do and jumped into the air, transforming to a ship. Hakubi quickly teleported into Rye-Ohki and they flew off after the two space pirates. They followed the two ships out of the atmosphere and past the moon. 'Is that the Vengeance?' Rye-Ohki asked, when a large, gray ship came into view. "No, that's the Soja." Ryo-Ohki followed Ken-Ohki up to the Soja. Both ships stopped and nothing happened. "Ryoko, what is going on?" Hakubi asked over the communicator. 'Ryo-Ohki tells me that she had teleported into the Soja after Nagi.' Rye- Ohki answered. "She can take care of herself. Scan the ship for Miss Washu." Rye-Ohki neared Ryo-Ohki and stopped next to her. 'I can't find her.' Pictures and schematics of the Soja streamed across a view screen. "Try a trans-dimensional scan. She was in the reversed side of the ship, remember?" Hakubi asked as he quickly read over the scan data. Rye-Ohki scanned the ship again and found her. 'Got her!' He showed the exact location of Washu on a diagram of the ship. "Great, can you teleport me over there?" Hakubi studied the diagram, and noted that she would be at the bridge of the mirror ship. 'Yes I can, but I don't think I can teleport you back out.' "That's OK. I thought about that already and have a plan." Hakubi sat down in his command chair and closed his eyes. A second later, the double of himself got up out of the chair. The original Hakubi still sat in the chair with his eyes closed. "Rye-Ohki, I split myself more unevenly this time. My original body doesn't have enough power to do anything, so you'll have to keep an eye on him." 'Are you sure this is a good idea? The last time you split yourself, you couldn't concentrate enough to beat even me,' Rye-Ohki mewed in concern. "Don't worry. With one half here, doing nothing, I can concentrate solely on this body. Now teleport me over there." Rye-Ohki complied and teleported Hakubi to the Soja. Hakubi had successfully made it to the mirror side. He looked at his hands, and noticed that the ring on his right hand was now on his left. Or maybe that was his right hand now? Either way, Hakubi ignored it and ran down the ship. Ryoko chased her replacement down the ship. She constantly kept up a stream of fire and destroyed most of the surroundings as they went along. Nagi laughed and continued to lead her to the center of the Soja. Nagi finally made it to the center and stopped. "Giving up at last?" Ryoko asked. Nagi only smiled and attacked. Her energy saber flashed as she struck repeatedly. Ryoko had a hard time defending herself. She teleported away and threw a ball of energy at Nagi. Nagi shot a blast back and intercepted the attack. They both jumped away from the resulting explosion and faced off again. Hakubi continued to run down the ship, meeting no resistance. He continued running and hit a dead end. Hakubi felt along the wall for a switch or something but didn't find anything. He was about to blast through it, when the wall opened like a curtain being pulled back. Hakubi stepped through and continued on his way. It wasn't long till he found Washu. Hakubi ran up the steps, past two large stone snakes and finally reached Washu. He slowly approached the crystal and tapped on the side. "Miss Washu, can you hear me?" Behind his back, the two large snakes that were once stone, turned around and lunged at him. Hakubi saw some movement behind him reflected off the crystal and spun around. He saw a huge mouth about to engulf him and teleported behind the two snakes before he could be eaten. The snakes turned around again and attacked. Hakubi flew into the air and dodged one snake coming right at him. He quickly cut its head off with his energy sword as it went by and spun around to throw his sword at the other snake. He hit it right in its open mouth and the sword continued upwards and burst out of the back of its head. Both snakes dropped to the ground dead. Hakubi flew back over to the crystal and tried to cut it open. His sword refracted off the crystal walls and did no damage. Hakubi examined the crystal more closely and noticed that Washu wore a large medallion on her chest that had the image of the two snakes he had just disposed of engraved on it. Hakubi wondered to himself. Hakubi tried to stab through the crystal again, but the sword couldn't even scratch it. Ryoko and Nagi both panted heavily after they had jumped away from each other after another attack. They were evenly matched. They charged each other again and their swords met. "You're lucky I just restored myself, or else I would have plenty of power to get rid of you," Ryoko grunted as she struggled with Nagi. "A defective model like you will never be able to beat me!" Nagi grunted back. "I've seen enough," a voice said from behind a curtain. The curtain pulled back and Kagato stood on the other side, next to his organ. "Kagato!" Ryoko hissed. Ryoko was distracted long enough for Nagi to jump way and catch her in her energy whip. "Got you!" Nagi yelled out. Ryoko struggled to free herself of the whip but it bound her too tightly. Nagi sent an electric charge down the whip and Ryoko screamed in pain. 'Ryoko is in trouble!' Ryo-Ohki yelled to Rye-Ohki. 'What?' Rye-Ohki had been trying to find a way to teleport Hakubi and Washu out of the mirror side and didn't follow Ryoko's battle. 'Ryoko is in trouble. You must help her. You can turn into a humanoid and help her. You must help her!' Ryo-Ohki thought back franticly. Rye-Ohki turned his scanners towards Ryoko and saw her kneeling in front of Kagato with Nagi standing over her. 'Damn it! Take care of him for me.' Rye-Ohki teleported Hakubi to Ryo-Ohki and teleported himself over as a humanoid, a second later. He was about to go the Soja when he had an idea. He grabbed the Tenchi-ken from Hakubi's belt and ran off. Rye-Ohki thought to himself as he ran down the ship. He followed the same path that Ryoko and Nagi had taken earlier. Any defenses that would have tried to stop him had already been destroyed. He quickly reached the battle and saw Nagi send wave after wave of electricity at Ryoko. Without thinking, he jumped at them and cut the whip in half with a loud hiss. Surprised by the new attacker, Nagi jumped aside. Rye-Ohki stood in front of Ryoko, who had collapsed to the ground, with the ignited Tenchi-ken. "And what do we have here?" Kagato asked, amused at the new sight. Rye- Ohki held the sword up to him and hissed. "Where's your master, creature? You cannot be the rightful owner of that sword." Rye-Ohki hissed again and attacked. Hakubi walked completely around the crystal a few times. He saw that is was completely symmetrical and it total encased Washu. He stopped in front the seal and looked at it again. It was just a few inches below the surface. Quoting a phrase he had heard his grandmother once use, Hakubi thought, Hakubi reached back and punched the crystal, directly over the seal. A large crack spread where he hit it. Hakubi hit it again. The crack got wider and deeper. He hit it another time, and this time the seal cracked. Washu's eyes snapped open, startling Hakubi, who stumbled backwards and tripped over the tail of a dead snake. "So you're Tenchi Hakubi Masaki, eh?" Washu asked as she reached down to help him up. "You seem to be in the wrong timeline." "Miss, er, Little Washu, I'm so glad to see you," Hakubi said as he got up. "Everyone is," Washu replied with a smile. "So what are you doing here instead of being out there, helping my daughter?" "I've come to get you, of course." 'Rye-Ohki, get us out of here,' Hakubi thought to his cabbit. He didn't receive a reply and tried again. Washu saw the confused look on his face and knew what he was trying to do. "Telepathy doesn't work here. You're trapped here like me now." Washu created a view screen on the floor and saw the ensuing battle on the other side. "Is that who you're trying to contact?" Washu asked and pointed to the screen. Hakubi looked at the screen and saw Rye-Ohki being flung back at a wall. Rye-Ohki hit it with a crunch and slid down. He slowing stood up and lifted the Tenchi-ken. The blade flickered and disappeared. "What in the... What mess did he get into now?" Tenchi saw his cabbit try to ignite the Tenchi-ken again, and failing. "Too bad," Washu commented as she watched Rye-Ohki's frustrated attempts to ignite the sword. "How's he able to use the master key?" Kagato's image came to view and Hakubi saw him approach Ryoko, ignoring Rye- Ohki, who was no longer a threat. "Crap! I'm coming!" Hakubi was about to teleport away, but Washu grabbed a hold of his armor. "Apparently you weren't listening. No one can leave this side of the ship until Kagato is destroyed." "But I'm not really here," Hakubi replied with a mischievous smile. He concentrated for a split-second and vanished. "Sly devil," Washu said to herself, understanding what Hakubi had done. Hakubi awoke aboard Ryo-Ohki. "How'd I get here?" he asked out loud. Ryo-Ohki's crystals floated in front of him and jumped up and down, meowing loudly. "I'm going, I'm going." Hakubi jumped out of the chair and teleported over to the Soja. "I'm glad you're here Ryoko. Now I can get my gems back." Kagato laughed and approached Ryoko as she lay on the floor exhausted. She stirred a little and croaked, "These are mine, you bastard." "Tisk, tisk, such naughty language." Kagato taunted. He picked her up by the neck and threw her into a wall, hard enough for her to crater it. She fell to the floor, defenseless. Rye-Ohki hissed in rage and jumped kicked Kagato in the head, sending him to the floor. Rye-Ohki had given up on using the Tenchi- ken and was fighting with his hands now. Kagato got up and glared at the cabbit. "Nagi, get rid of this, thing." Nagi leapt out of the shadows, where she had been resting. Without a weapon, Rye-Ohki could only dodge Nagi's energy saber. He ducked and rolled away a few times, but Nagi was too fast for him to even consider a counter attack. Nagi shot a burst from her saber and hit Rye-Ohki in the arm. He yelped in pain and jumped away. Nagi fired again. Rye-Ohki tried to get out of the way, but was hit in the leg and fell to the floor. He got up onto his knees as Nagi came closer for the kill. 'Duck!' Hakubi suddenly ordered through their mental link. Without thinking, Rye-Ohki instantly rolled away as a beam of purple energy burst out of Nagi's chest, leaving a large hole. Nagi went limp and collapsed to the ground. Rye-Ohki peeked over her fallen body to see Hakubi standing not far behind with his palm still pointed at her. From the side, Ryoko gave a weak laugh. "So the mystery man appears," Kagato announced, not caring that his servant had just been killed. "You leave these two alone," Hakubi ordered. "You seem pretty powerful," Kagato noted. "More powerful than you can imagine." Hakubi walked up to Rye-Ohki to make sure he was all right. Kagato laughed at the remark. "So, are you one of Washu's early experiments?" Kagato had noticed that there was some resemblance between the new man and Ryoko. "I'm no experiment of Miss Washu. Just a relative." Rye-Ohki motioned for Hakubi to check on Ryoko instead, and stood up painfully. Again Kagato laughed. "A long, lost relation. How wonderful! And are you the rightful owner of that?" Kagato pointed to the master key that Hakubi had just picked up. "I guess so." Hakubi put the sword back in his belt and approached Ryoko. "I'm sorry, but this one is mine." Kagato floated between Hakubi and Ryoko. "You've taken away one servant already. I can't let you have both of them." "More like your slaves," Hakubi spit back. Hakubi took another step forward. "Come now, let's be gentlemen about this." Kagato stood his ground. "I'm going to take Miss Ryoko and Miss Washu out of here." "Not likely. You see, I not going to let you." Kagato formed his green energy sword and raised it. "Have it your way." Hakubi formed his own energy sword and they squared off. Off on the side, Rye-Ohki had gotten Ryoko up, and they leaned against each other for support. "Kick his ass, Hakubi," Ryoko cheered. "This is going to be fun to watch!" Washu said to herself from the mirror side. She got herself a bag of popcorn from somewhere and started munching. Kagato leapt at Hakubi, swinging for his head. Hakubi easily blocked the attack and sent a ball of energy at Kagato's stomach with his free hand. But Kagato teleported away before we would have been hit. As soon as he materialized, Hakubi sent a hail of energy at him. Kagato's shield deflected all the blasts and he fired an energy blast back. Hakubi dodged the large beam streaking towards him and rolled away. "You're not bad," Kagato noted as he flew towards Hakubi. Hakubi jumped and met him in midair. They crossed swords repeatedly, neither giving an inch. Kagato created a large ball of energy and threw it. Seeing an opening, Hakubi immediately teleported behind Kagato and lunged forward. Kagato teleported out of the way, leaving his cloak behind as Hakubi's sword stabbed through it. Realizing what had happened, Hakubi teleported away just as Kagato materialized behind him. He reappeared above Kagato and shot a large beam of energy at the top of his head. Just as Kagato looked up at him, the beam connected and he was slammed into the floor. Hakubi quickly landed, ready for another attack. Kagato slowly got up. His face was scarred from the attack, but instantly healed. Kagato growled and charge. Hakubi also raced forward. Hakubi waited till the last second and jumped up and over Kagato's swinging sword. He flipped over Kagato and shot a large blast at the back of his head in midair. This caught Kagato by surprise and the energy exploded in a large cloud of fire and smoke, rocking the ship. "That got him," Hakubi muttered. From out of the smoke, Kagato surged through, unharmed. He slammed into Hakubi with his shoulder, sending him into the nearest wall. "Little pest!" Kagato yelled. "I'm quite impressed with Washu's lineage. I'm actually going to need some more power to finish you off," Kagato said as he raised his arms. Electricity crackled all around him. "I'm glad you're still here Ryoko," Kagato laughed. The floor underneath Ryoko glowed as electricity danced over it. The gems in Ryoko flared green and green lightening burst out of them. She screamed and fell to the floor, pulling Rye-Ohki down with her. "I can't move!" Ryoko screamed out. "I'm being drained!" Rye-Ohki painfully untangled himself from Ryoko and tried to pull her up. He was not strong enough and fell down again. From all over the room, energy sparked and crackled. Kagato drew in all this energy, laughing the whole time. "Now I can get rid of you all with ease!" Kagato created a larger energy sword and dove for Hakubi at lightening speed. Hakubi blocked the attack and tried to get away. Kagato met him at every angle and attacked relentlessly. Hakubi desperately blocked as many attacks as he could, unable to catch them all. They were moving so fast that Ryoko had a hard time following the battle. " I'm tired of his little game!" Faster than the eye can see, Kagato grabbed Hakbui and threw him at a pillar. Hakubi smashed into it, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His armor was tattered and torn, with blood freely flowing from the multiple cuts he had received. "Wow!" Washu whistled from her side of the ship. She had seen everything from her view screen. "I wonder who will win now?" "I still don't understand how a relation of Washu could be so powerful and suddenly show up now, hundreds of years after I had imprisoned her," Kagato pondered out loud. "I guess there is only one way to find out." "And how's that?" Hakubi grunted as he pulled himself out of the hole he had made in the pillar. "By studying you!" The floor underneath Hakubi suddenly came to life. Tentacles of green goo burst upwards and grabbed Hakubi's arms. Soon his lower body was encased in the goo. "This is how I capture my dear professor, you know," Kagato added. Hakubi struggled to free himself, but that only entangled him some more. The goo reached his neck and in a surge, moved to engulf his head. "No!" Hakubi yelled. In a flash of blinding, white light, Hakubi called his light hawk wings. Five wings formed around him and threw off the goo that surrounded him. He stretched his arms as the light hawk wings circled him, forming his light hawk armor. From the reversed side, Washu was so excited she almost wet her pants. "A man that can create light hawk wings without a ship!" She jumped high into the air and clapped her hands excitedly. "I didn't believe what he said to Ryoko before, but it's all true! I must get him to be my guinea pig!" "Interesting," Kagato said to himself, watching Hakubi form his light hawk armor. "You still think you can win?" "I know I can!" Hakubi answered with determination. He grabbed a wing in front of him and formed his sword. "This ends now!" Hakubi raced forwards, ready to cut Kagato in half. Kagato simply teleported away and fired. Energy filled the room, destroying pillars and cratering the marble floor. Rye-Ohki crouched in front of Ryoko, forming a shield to protect them from the tremendous amount of energy being expelled. "You can get him Hakubi," Ryoko weakly called out. Rye-Ohki meowed in concern and increased the power to his shield. 'Ryoko is getting very weak, and I don't think I can keep this up either!' Rye-Ohki desperately thought to Hakubi. Hakubi answered with a war cry and charged through the wall of energy being thrown at him. He burst forward with his light hawk wings in front of him, heading strait for Kagato. Kagato fired again and again, trying to stop Hakubi to no avail. At the last second, Hakubi dropping his wings and lunged forward. Kagato's eyes went wide as he felt the incredibly sharp blade slip into his stomach. Hakubi gritted his teeth and twisted. He pulled the sword upwards, exiting Kagato's body at his collarbone. In a flash, he spun around and cut cleaning through Kagato's waist, leaving an afterimage of light where his sword had passed through the air. "Nice!" Kagato said quietly. Hakubi stepped back and watched as Kagato fell to the floor in pieces. As soon as his body hit the ground, it turned to dust and blew away, like leaves caught in the wind. "Shit!" Ryoko gasped, surprised at the sudden end to the fight. Next to her, Washu appeared from the floor. "Are you two all right?" Hakubi asked with concern as he walked towards Ryoko and Rye-Ohki. "Don't worry about them," Washu answered, "With my help, they'll be find in to no time." Rye-Ohki meowed happily and limped to Hakubi. When he was close enough, he transformed back to his cabbit form and tried to jump into his arms. With his injured leg, Rye-Ohki only jumped half way, but Hakubi caught him before he would have hit the ground. "Settle down. You're hurt pretty bad," Hakubi told his cabbit as it purred in his hands. "Um...Hakubi, you're hurt pretty bad too," said Ryoko as she got up with help from Washu. Hakubi looked down at his body and saw a large red stain spread at his side. Hakubi let his light hawk armor dissipate and returned back to his normal armor. The side of his armor was ripped open and a large gash could be seen. "Well, what do you know..." Hakubi asked out loud and collapsed. "Hakubi!" Washu and Ryoko both yelled in unison. Washu rushed over and quickly examined him. "He'll be fine, only exhausted from the fight and blood loss. Let's get him back to Ryo-Ohki as soon as possible." Rye-Ohki took his humanoid form again and helped Ryoko carry Hakubi. "I'm fine, really," Hakubi said as he was carried through the ship. "You've done enough for today," Washu silenced him, "Just rest for now." They reached Ryo-Ohki and Washu quickly treated all their wounds. Hakubi sat in a floating chair with a large bandage on his side, and a band-aid on his jaw. In his lap sat Rye-Ohki, with small bandages on his arm and leg. Ryoko took the command chair and Washu stood over her shoulder. "Ryo-Ohki, let's go back to Earth," Ryoko commanded. Ryo-Ohki started to move away from the Soja when Ken-Ohki suddenly opened fire. Ryo-Ohki rocked from the unexpected attack, spilling her occupants out of their seats. From over the speakers, a long hiss was heard. "Ken-Ohki wants revenge because you killed Nagi," Ryoko translated. "I had no choice. She was going to kill Rye-Ohki!" Hakubi tried to explain to the enraged cabbit ship. Ken-Ohki didn't bother to listen and fired again. Ryo-Ohki tried to dodge the attacks as she rocketed towards open space. "We can't out run him, and he's more powerful than us!" Washu yelled over the explosions. "Damnit! So close!" Ryoko screamed in rage. One of Ken-Ohki's blasts hit a spire and sent Ryo-Ohki spinning. "Rye-Ohki, go for it!" Hakubi yelled out. Rye-Ohki made his way to the side of the ship and tried to steady himself to phase through the wall. But before he could do it, a barrage of laser fire filled the view screen and struck Ken-Ohki. "What?" Ryoko asked in surprise. A second wave of fire appeared out of nowhere and hit Ken-Ohki, causing multiple explosions on his crystal hull. Ken- Ohki fired back at the source of the lasers. He hit light hawk wings. From behind the shield, a Jurain vessel appeared. "Tsunami!" Washu yelled, surprised that the most powerful Juraian ship would be in this remote sector. "Shit!" Ryoko yelled, "That's not what we need right now! Ryo-Ohki, get us out of here fast!" "No! It's all right," Hakubi told the others, grinning like a fool. Tsunami fired again and again scored multiple hits. Knowing that he was out gunned, Ken-Ohki turned and sped away. "Run you little bastard!" Ryoko yelled at the fleeing ship. With Ken-Ohki out of the picture, Tsunami turned towards Ryo-Ohki, with all ten light hawk wings raised. "Are you sure of this?" Ryoko asked, sweating. "Don't worry. Open a channel." Ryo-Ohki did as she was told and opened a communication channel. "Thanks for the help Mom!" Ryoko fell out of her chair in surprise. "Mom?" she asked. "Ten-Chan! Are you all right?" Sasami asked as her image came up on the view screen. "We're all fine," Hakubi replied. "Ryoko, Washu, I'm glad that you are all right as well." "Have we met?" Washu asked. "Oh, that's right, you don't know me. I'm Princess Sasami of the Juraian Empire." "So you're this guy's mother? How's it possible that you know him?" "Let's just say I was enlightened," Sasami replied, hiding a smile. "But that is not important right now. We detected the Soja and sent the fleet after Kagato, and they are not far behind. If they detect Ryo-Ohki or Ryoko, they will want to arrest you. Head back to Earth and I will stop them from landing on the planet." "I understand," Ryoko replied. "Thanks for the help, but I don't want you to get into any more trouble over me," Hakubi told his mother with concern. "Don't worry about me. I can handle my father and Ayeka wishes you luck on your mission," Sasami said with a smile. "Thanks for the help, Princess. Maybe we'll see each other again," said Washu. "Let's go," she told Ryo-Ohki. Ryo-Ohki meowed an affirmative and head back to Earth. "Hmm, interesting," Washu said to herself as she examined the closet door in front of her. Ryo-Ohki had landed in the lake without anyone noticing and Hakubi had brought Washu to the lab door. "You say my lab is behind this door?" "Well that's where it was before. And there's no reason for this door to be in this field unless it's still here," Hakubi answered. Washu shrugged her shoulders and opened the door. Nothing happened like before, and Washu closed the door. Hakubi groaned in despair and sat down on the ground. "Simple lock I made a long time ago," Washu explained as she started to knock a strange pattern on the door. When she finished the code, she opened the door. This time it opened into her lab. "Yes! It worked!" Hakubi cheered. "Of course it works," Washu replied. They entered the lab and the door disappeared behind them. The lab was completely dark; there wasn't a single sound other than them. "That's not good," Washu commented. She created her computer and pushed a few keys. The lights came on and a humming was heard deep within the lab. "Nice," Ryoko commented sarcastically. The lab was barren. All the trees and streams that Hakubi remembered were gone. All the glass enclosures and machines were also gone. The only thing remaining in the lab was a large machine that sat in the center. A red light slowly blinked on its control panel. "My lab!" Washu cried in shock. "What happened to my lab?" 'My money is on Mihoshi,' Rye-Ohki commented to Hakubi. Hakubi ignored the remark and walked up to the machine in the center of the room. "What's this thing do? I don't remember it being here before." "Neither do I," Washu added. She walked up to the control panel and typed a few commands. "The control panel seems to be broken, but something must have happened to it to initiated its emergency shutdown." Washu brought up her computer at her side and punched in commands. The screen flickered for a second and then filled with flashing colors and streaming data. "The main computer core is still here, and I'm searching for my last entry," Washu explained. Hakubi watched as the dates flew by. "That's impossible! I couldn't have possibly entered these logs. I was in that damn crystal!" "Then this lab is from my timeline," Hakubi explained. "Look at the entry titles." Hakubi pointed to a few of them. One was labeled "Tenchi" and another "Ryoko and Tenchi together?" "What is the very last thing recorded?" Washu scrolled to the bottom and read the last log title "Time Machine." She opened the log and started reading. "Cool! I made a time machine!" "So that's what screwed up and messed up the whole timeline!" "Hey! Don't mock my latest invention. It just needed more testing." Washu read some more. "And I was going to test it on someone named Tenchi." "You didn't?" Hakubi asked in disbelief. "How should I know?" Washu replied. "Check this out. It's the last thing recorded by my cameras." Washu pressed a button and the screen of her computer expanded for all to see. The camera recording played and everyone saw the incident. "So what happened to Tenchi?" Ryoko asked. "I really don't know? But I have an idea." Washu popped a panel off the time machine and started to replace the burnt circuitry. "What a mess," she muttered to herself as she worked. A few minutes later she had the machine running again. She typed a few things into the control panel and ran a diagnostic. "Looks like the targeting and scanning sensors really did work and the machine locked onto Tenchi. But that ditz Mihoshi accidentally started the machine and caused a chain reaction that did something to Tenchi." "What?" Hakubi asked anxiously. He was going to finally going to know what had really happened to cause the timeline to shift. "Looks like the machine transported Tenchi somewhere." "Where?" Ryoko asked "To nowhere," Washu said sadly. "It scattered his atoms throughout the universe." "That can't be," said Hakubi. "In this world, it's like Tenchi never existed past childhood, but we clearly saw him with you in the camera recording as a teenager." Washu pressed a button and brought up a more detailed diagnostic. "It says here that the machine malfunctioned and sent a time portal back a decade or so and then transported Tenchi. He must have been a child when he was transported, effectively erasing him from existence since then." "Then we go back and stop it from happening. This is a time machine isn't it?" Ryoko asked. "Yes, but it is not working properly. It will take me a while to completely fix it, and then I still won't know if it will safely teleport you back in time." "Will this help?" Hakubi asked. He pulled a bloody puffball off his armor and formed it into the remote. "You gave me this to return to my own time when I went back to stop Kain." He handed the remote to Washu and she looked it over. "Yes, this will definitely help. The problem with the machine seems to be that it can't keep a stable portal, that's why it teleported Tenchi to nowhere. This remote is from a unit that must have solved this problem, and I can use it to help fix the machine." "Great! What do we do first?" Hakubi asked excitedly. "First, you are going to rest and heal along with Ryoko and Rye-Ohki. I'll get you when I'm done." "Fine, I could use a nap." Hakubi looked around the empty lab. "Um, where can I find a bed?" Washu gave a sigh and typed into her computer. Two doors appeared. One labeled Ryoko and the other Hakubi. "Now you two get some rest." Ryoko reluctantly opened her door and entered. Hakubi picked up Rye-Ohki and followed her example and entered his room. Many hours later, Washu woke everyone up. "I got the machine working. I tested it on some rocks and it seems to work fine, but I didn't test it on anything organic." "Well, I guess we'll be the test then," Hakubi replied. He placed Rye- Ohki on his shoulder and walked up to the machine. "I'm ready whenever you are." "Hakubi," he looked at Ryoko who had spoken. "I know that we got off on the wrong foot, but I want you to know that I respect you and wish you luck," Ryoko said quickly. "Thanks, Grandma," Hakubi replied with a smile. Ryoko walked up, next to Washu and watched as she opened the portal. "You'll need this," said Washu as she tossed Hakubi the remote. "I'm going to send you back a little before when the first portal opened and took Tenchi." From a subspace pocket, she pulled out two black discs and handed them to Hakubi. "These discs will neutralize the portals. You will have to be within one foot of the portal for it to work. Just push the button and you're ready to go. These portals are very unstable so be careful when you're near them, or they might suck you in too. I made these things pretty durable, so you can just throw them near a portal to neutralize it. Once you've neutralized the first portal, you will have to go forward in time to stop the accident from happening in the first place, or else we'll be stuck in an endless loop forever." Hakubi gulped at the thought. "I set the remote to bring you forwards to the day of the accident. Use the other disc to stop the machine. Just place it anywhere on the machine for it to work properly. Got it?" "Got it." Hakubi placed the two discs in his pocket. "One more thing," Washu pulled a little data crystal from a pocket. "Give this to me after you stop the machine. The remote can only open a portal to one pre-set time. This will help you get back home." Hakubi took the crystal and put it in another pocket. "I understand." Washu pressed a red button on the machine's control panel and a familiar black portal opened in front of Hakubi. 'D‚j? vu, huh?' Rye-Ohki asked as they stepped through the portal, backwards in time. Above a grassy field near a lake, a black portal opened. From it stepped a man with a cabbit on his shoulder. Expecting there would be ground underneath him, Hakubi fell out of the portal. "Ow!" Hakubi grunted and grabbed his side. He got up and dusted himself off. The portal above him silently closed. "That needs to be fixed." Rye-Ohki climbed back up to Hakubi shoulder and looked around. 'What now?' "We need to find Tenchi right away. Best to split up. You check the forest and I'll go to the shrine and the cave. I don't know how much time we have, so let's hurry!" Rye-Ohki jumped off his shoulder and quickly hopped into the forest. Hakubi ran to the shrine steps and flew up them instead of climbing. In no time he reached the shrine. Nothing had changed, but he didn't have time to notice such things. He quickly went to the shrine office and pounded on the door. A moment later the door opened. "Lord Yosho, I must find you grandson Tenchi immediately," Hakubi said quickly and bowed. "Yosho? Who are you?" Yosho asked, suspicious of this new man. "It doesn't matter who I am, only that your grandson is in grave danger and I must know where he is to save him," Hakubi said, still with his head bowed. "Raise your head young man." Hakubi did as he was told and looked directly at Yosho with his slightly cat-like, yellow eyes. Yosho recognized those eyes immediately and the saw the resemblance in his face and hair. "What does a demon like you want with my grandson? Are you a spawn of that Ryoko?" "I did not come here to harm you or your grandson," Hakubi pleaded and kneeled before Yosho. "My whole universe is at stake here. I must find Tenchi." Yosho looked down at the strange man, not quite sure what to do. Something on Hakubi's belt caught the sunlight and flashed. Yosho looked down and saw the Tenchi-ken. "Where did you get that sword?" Yosho asked, shocked that this demon could wield the master key. Hakubi pulled out the Tenchi-ken and held it in front of him. "This sword is not the same as the one holding Ryoko prisoner. It's just a replica," Hakubi lied. "I think it's time for you to tell me everything," Yosho commanded, not believing him. "I'm telling the truth. It's not the same sword. The Tenchi-ken is still in the cave with Ryoko." "Is that so?" With a thought, Yosho called the Tenchi-ken to him. The sword flashed from Hakubi's hand and into Yosho's. "This is the real Tenchi- ken. Now tell the truth!" Yosho ignited the sword and pointed it at Hakubi. 'Hakubi! Over here! I found them. The portal is here too!' Rye-Ohki shouted in his head. Hakubi snapped his head to the left, where he felt Rye-Ohki's presence, ignoring Yosho for the moment. Yosho was about to speak again when Hakubi vanished. He reappeared high in the air and streaked off towards Rye-Ohki. "Oh, no. He's found them," Yosho said to himself. Yosho leapt off the shrine porch and charged into the forrest. Rye-Ohki had been searching the forest when he caught the scent of Tenchi and someone else who smelled nice. He quickly followed the trail to a little clearing where he found the baby Tenchi with his mother Achika. Just as he was going to call Hakubi, the portal formed above them. 'Hakubi! Over here! I found them. The portal's here too!' Rye-Ohki shouted. Rye-Ohki instantly transformed into his humanoid form and broke through the bushes to Achika. The portal had created a large vortex with an incredibly strong wind. He reached Achika and held on to her, before she would have been sucked into the vortex. Achika screamed as the suction increased, pulling everything else into it. Rye-Ohki grabbed a tree with one hand and Achika with the other. But the suction was too great and Tenchi was ripped from Achika's arms. Hakubi saw the black portal appear and flew faster towards it. He heard a woman scream and saw and small bundle being sucked into the portal. Hakubi thought to himself. He quickly pulled out the neutralizer and thumbed it on. The little object was almost at the portal and looked like a baby. Hakubi did a quick calculation in his head and teleported. He appeared between the portal and Tenchi. Flying against the suction with all his might, Hakubi gently caught Tenchi as he flew by. Quickly, he turned around and threw the neutralizer at the portal. It was instantly sucked in and exploded in a large flash of blue light. Hakubi shielded his eyes with his free arm, turning away to shield the baby as well. The light subsided and the portal was gone. Hakubi looked down at the little person he had caught and smiled. There was little Tenchi, slightly dazed, but unhurt. Slowly, they descended. The little baby flailed his arms and tried to garb the cyan part of Hakubi's hair that was flapping in the wind. Tenchi giggled and tried to touch the yellow eyes that reminded him of someone he had seen before. Hakubi moved his head away and laughed at the lively baby in his arms. He landed softly and was met by a worried Achika. "Thank god you came when you did!" Achika took Tenchi from Hakubi and hugged him. Rye-Ohki came up to the group and tried to get a look at the baby. Achika screamed and jumped away. "Get away!" Rye-Ohki clenched his fists in anger and stomped off to the other side of the clearing, meowing angrily. She remembered someone holding her down, and realized that it must have been that strange creature, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. You just startled me." Rye-Ohki looked at her and smiled. He transformed into his cabbit form and jumped up to Hakubi's shoulder for a better view. "Are you all right?" Hakubi asked. "Yes, I'm fine. What was that thing?" "It was an out of control science experiment of a friend of mine. I'm glad we stopped it before anyone got hurt." Achika looked at the strange man and his strange pet. "You're not from around here are you?" Hakubi smiled, "No we're not. My name is Car Rote and this is my pet Carry-Ohki." Hakubi bowed after he introduced themselves. "My name is Achika Masaki. This is my son Tenchi. It is a pleasure to meet you." Achika bowed in return. "You didn't say where you're from?" Hakubi was about to say a name of some random city, when Yosho entered the clearing. "Achika! Get away from that man!" "Father! That man just save our lives!" Tenchi clapped his little hands together and cooed at Hakubi. "He did?" Yosho stopped in his tracks and put the Tenchi-ken back in his belt. "Is that so?" "Yes. Do you two know each other?" "No, we just met. And we must be going now." Hakubi turned to leave, but Achika stopped him. "Surely you can stay for tea. It is the least I can do to repay you." Hakubi smiled and acquiesced. "Car Rote, eh," Yosho mumbled, as they drank tea in the shrine office. "So you say you are from Tokyo?" "Yes that's right. I'm a guard of the Emperor, but I'm off duty right now and on vacation," Hakubi replied, hoping that Yosho would catch the implication. "The Emperor? You must be very talented," Yosho commented. "I have my ways." While the conversation was going on, Rye-Ohki slowing approached Tenchi in his cabbit form. Ryo-Ohki had told him horror stories about babies, and he wanted to see if they were true or not. Under the watchful eye of Achika, Tenchi slowly reached out to Rye-Ohki. He touched the cabbit's head and drew his hand back quickly, as if he touched the blade of a knife. Rye-Ohki just sat in front of Tenchi and waited. Slowly Tenchi reached out again. This time he let his hand stay on Rye-Ohki's head and started to pet him. Rye-Ohki purred with delight and moved closer to Tenchi. Tenchi carefully picked up the little cabbit, as if he was made of the finest crystal. He put him in his little lap and stroked him. Rye-Ohki purred louder and rubbed against Tenchi happily. "What a funny little creature you are," Achika commented as she watched her son pet Rye-Ohki. The time passed and it was now late into the afternoon. "Thank you for the tea, but we really must get going," Hakubi told the others. "I believe you forgot this," Yosho handed Hakubi the Tenchi-ken. "It is the real master key, but in a way it is not. You have done nothing but kept your word, and I was wrong to take this from you," Yosho whispered into Hakubi's ear. Hakubi reached out to receive the sword but hesitated. "It belongs to you now. Take it." "Thank you," Hakubi replied and bowed after receiving the sword. "Come back anytime. You'll always be welcome!" said Achika as she gave him a hug and patted Rye-Okhi. Tenchi cooed with delight as Hakubi gave him one last hug. "Who knows, maybe my job will bring me to the neighborhood again in fifteen years or so," Hakubi said with a laugh. He bowed one more time to everyone and walked down the steps of the shrine. 'Achika is going to die in a few years isn't she?' Rye-Ohki sadly thought. 'Yes,' was all Hakubi replied, knowing that they could do nothing about it. They walked back to the lake in silence. Hakubi took one last look around, and took out the remote and opened the portal. "Here we go!" Hakubi yelled out as he jumped into the portal, ready to put an end to this horrible accident. "What a beautiful day!" Kamidake told his counterpart. "Yes indeed. Another wonderful day!" Azaka agreed. It was a normal day in the life of a teenager named Tenchi Masaki. The two rivals for his love, Ryoko and Ayeka, fought in the morning as usual, and Tenchi scampered away to the fields to avoid them as usual. But in his rush, he forgot his lunch. Tenchi thought to himself as he peeked through the back door. He tiptoed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "Tenchi!" a voice called out. Tenchi jumped a foot in the air. He turned around and saw Sasami standing in the doorway. "I was just about to prepare lunch! If you would just wait a few more minutes." "Oh Sasami, it's just you." Tenchi gave a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I'm kind of in a rush, so if you don't mind, I'll have my lunch to go." "Sure Tenchi." Sasami skipped into the kitchen and started to pull a few things out of the refrigerator. "Miss Washu wanted to see you. Why don't you talk to her while I'm making your lunch?" "Good idea Sasami. Just don't tell your sister or Ryoko where I am." "OK Tenchi." Tenchi peeked around the corner to see if anyone was there. When he was sure no one was sleeping on the couch or napping on a beam, he slid along the wall to the staircase and ducked into Washu's lab. Outside, near the lake, a black portal opened. Out of it flew Hakubi, heading for the house at breakneck speed. 'I'm not going to waste time like before. We're going strait to Washu!' Hakubi told Rye-Ohki, who clung to his shoulder. He zipped past the two guardians, leaving them in a cloud of dust. Ignoring their salutations, he phased right through the front door, deftly avoiding a wall and headed for the lab. Pulling the door open, he practically threw himself inside. "Washu! What's happening?" The room was getting brighter and for some reason, Tenchi felt himself get lighter. He looked down at his feet and swore he could see right through them. He raised his hands to shield his eyes from the blinding light, just in time to see the plastic carrot he was holding fade away. "Washu!" Hakubi quickly flew to the ensuing chaos. 'Get Tenchi away from that machine!' Hakubi ordered Rye-Ohki. Rye-Ohki jumped off Hakubi and transformed into his humanoid form in midair. Hakubi reached into his pocket and pulled out the remaining neutralizer. The room was getting brighter and it was hard for him to see. He turned on the neutralizer and threw it blindly at the time machine, just as Rye-Ohki tackled Tenchi from the side. There was a loud metallic clang, and the room went black. "Is everyone all right?" Washu asked in the darkness. "Ah! Washu! One of your creatures escaped and it's attacking me!" Tenchi cried out, followed by a confused meow. Hakubi laughed out loud and created a ball of energy in his hand for illumination. "Wah! A monster!" Mihoshi screamed. Washu instantly created her own energy sword and used it for light. "Car! What are you doing here?" Washu asked. "Car? Then this furry thing is Carry-Ohki?" Tenchi asked confused. Rye- Ohki gave a series of meows and helped Tenchi up. "Oh it's only you," Mihoshi sighed. "Are you here to stop another monster from destroying the universe?" "Yes I am," Hakubi answered. "She is approximately 4'4'' tall and has red hair with green eyes. Her name is Washu Hakubi." Washu typed a few things into her computer and turned the lights back on, ignoring the conversation. "Oh, what a coincidence that this criminal has the same name as you, Washu." "It is me you dolt!" Washu yelled at Mihoshi. "Well in that case, as a Galaxy Police officer I place you under arrest." "That's not necessary. Carry-Ohki, why don't you take Tenchi and Miss Mihoshi out of the lab so I can talk to Miss Washu alone." Rye-Ohki took Tenchi and Mihoshi's hand and led them out of the lab. "My you've grown," Mihoshi noted as they left the lab. "If you want the antidote, I have it in the other lab," said Washu as she pried open the time machine to repair it. "You never stop, do you?" Hakubi asked the little scientist. "Not when Mihoshi breaks everything. She almost sent us to who knows where! Luckily I turned off the power to this section of the lab before it could happen," Washu said proudly. "Sorry, but you can't take the credit for saving everyone this time." Hakubi pulled off the black disc that was stuck to the side of the machine. "This is what stopped the machine. Your little experiment erased Grandpa from the timeline and seriously messed up the rest of the universe. You have no idea what I had to go through to get here." "I have an idea," Washu remarked, looking at his torn armor and heavily bandaged side. "Who did that?" she asked and pointed to his side. "Kagato, but he's gone now." Washu arched her eyebrows at the mention of Kagato. "I was told to give you this." Hakubi pulled out the data crystal and handed it to Washu. "Next time you play around with time, try to use more precautions, like sending Mihoshi to the moon." Washu quickly put the crystal into her computer and played the message. "Hi there!" Washu spoke from the screen. "If you're listening to this, then Hakubi did his job and stopped our wonderful machine and needs a ride back home. That ditzy blonde made quite a mess." The screen changed to a diagram of the time machine. "But the real problem isn't Mihoshi but here." A section of the diagram highlighted red. "The dimensional stabilizer is out of whack and needs to be realigned and contained in a separate unit. And here's how to do it." The screen flashed images of schematics and technical readouts. Washu carefully studied the images and shook her head in disbelief. "It was such an little thing that needed to be fixed. I'll have this sucker ready to go in a few hours, why don't you go outside and wait. I'm sure Tenchi will want to talk to you," Washu told Hakubi. He nodded and walked out of the lab, leaving the scientist hard at work. Their arrival caused quite a stir in the household and everyone was in the living room when Hakubi exited the lab. "What's going on?" Kiyone asked Carry-Ohki. "What did that mad scientist try to do to you?" Ayeka asked Tenchi. "Want a kiss to make it all better?" Ryoko seductively asked Tenchi. "Get away from him, you monster!" Ayeka yelled at Ryoko. "Miya!" Ryo-Ohki exclaimed at the sight of Rye-Ohki in his adult form. She immediately transformed into her adult form and sat next to him, hugging his arm. "Would anyone like some more tea?" Mihoshi asked the group. "Meow, meow, meow?" Rye-Ohki tried to tell everyone, who were speaking at the same time. Hakubi smiled at his friend's predicament and waited a minute before he decided to save him from the barrage of questions. "What's up?" "Car! There you are. What in the world is going on?" Kiyone quickly asked. "Yes, do tell. Why have you come back here?" Ayeka asked as well. "Just a little problem with Miss Mihoshi and Washu's time machine," Hakubi told everyone coolly. "A what?" Ryoko asked. "A time machine, silly," Mihoshi answered. Everyone stared at her. "I'm hungry. When's lunch?" With perfect timing, Sasami walked into the living room to announce that lunch was ready. "Car!" Sasami blushed, "Are you going to stay for lunch too?" "Well, I guess so, if it's no trouble for you," Hakubi answered, blushing himself, not quite used to talking to his mother as a child. "It's no problem. I fixed too much by accident anyways." Sasami reached for Hakubi's hand and led him into the dining room. "Come and eat everyone," she called out to the others. Rye-Ohki tried to extricate himself from Ryo- Ohki's grasp to no effect. She had learned from Ryoko's mistakes and wouldn't let go. Rye-Ohki gave up and half carried her with him as he made his way to the table. The meal went by peacefully. Hakubi told the group about his latest adventure in the Syrean system and his run in with Kagato in the alternate universe. "I never realized how important Tenchi is," said Kiyone after hearing Hakubi's story. "After Kain, I bet Kagato was a piece of cake," said Ryoko. "Not really," Hakubi replied as he rubbed his bandaged side. he thought to himself. "I can't believe I actually married that Seiryo fool," Ayeka muttered. "Things changed for the worse, and that's why I came back here to prevent the accident," Hakubi told everyone. "Well, I for one, am glad that you showed up when you did," Tenchi spoke up, "I don't like the idea of being erased from the timeline." Suddenly, the back door flew open. "Tenchi!" Yosho yelled out, "I told you to stay at the shrine all day today, and here I find you sitting at home." "I'm sorry Grandpa." Tenchi quickly got up and bowed. "I'll go there right now." Yosho looked at Hakubi and Hakubi gave him a small wave. "That's not necessary anymore. You can stay here if you want." Hakubi got up and walked to Yosho. "It's nice to see you again, Lord Yosho," Hakubi said as he bowed. "It is good to see that you are in good health," Yosho replied as he bowed. "Fifteen years exactly," He said to Hakubi in a whisper. "It's all over now. He's safe," Hakubi whispered back. "Grandfather, would you like some lunch?" Sasami cut in. "No thank you, I already ate at the shrine," Yosho replied as he patted her head. "In that case, I'll clear the table now." Sasami picked up some dirty plates and headed back to the kitchen. "I'll help," Hakubi offered. He picked up the remaining plates and brought them to the kitchen. "I think Sasami has crush on Car," Ryo-Ohki told Rye-Ohki. Rye-Ohki spewed out the carrot juice he was drinking, almost choking. "You got to be kidding!" "She always blushes when he looks at her and she stared at him all through lunch." Ryo-Ohki nodded her head and reached for another carrot from the bowl they had been sharing. "I think he likes her too." "No way. Hakubi already has a girlfriend, he doesn't know it yet, but he does," Rye-Ohki replied, thinking about how Hakubi and Kiyone seemed to be going steady. Not to mention that Sasami was his future mother. "Really? Who is it?" Ryo-Ohki asked. Rye-Ohki looked at Ryo-Ohki and then to Ryoko. He knew that anything he told her, Ryoko would eventually find out. "I can't tell you," he said quickly. "What? Why not?" Ryo-Ohki made the cutest face she could muster. "I can't. It'll mess things up." He tried not to look at her, but he couldn't help himself. "Come on, you can tell little 'ole me," Ryo-Ohki pried. "No, I can't. He'll make me eat stale carrots if I do." Ryo-Ohki increased the cuteness to a dangerous level. "No, I can't! Ah!" Rye-Ohki transformed into his cabbit form and fled. "Hey, come back here! Who is she?" Ryo-Ohki yelled as she transformed as well and chased after him. In the kitchen, Hakubi was helping Sasami wash the dishes. "Car?" Sasami blushed. "Yes?" Hakubi asked back. "I never got to say thank you for rescuing me and Ryo-Ohki. It's just that you were hurt and all and I was so worried," Sasami trailed off "You don't have to thank me. You being alive is the most important thing to me, and I would have done anything to rescue you." Sasami face matched her eyes as she blushed a bright pink. Rye-Ohki quickly darted into the kitchen with Ryo-Ohki close on his tail. She saw Sasami's red face and mewed, "See! I told you so!" as she chased him. "Ryo-Ohki, Rye-Ohki! Stop running through the kitchen! You'll get hurt," Sasami ordered the two cabbits. Rye-Ohki slid to a stop and caught Ryo-Ohki as she slid out of control past him. "What did she call me?" he asked to anyone who could understand him. The moment she said his name, she noticed the slip and slapped her hands over her mouth. "I guess Tsunami left more memories than she should have," Hakubi said as he dried a plate. "It's all right, I'm sure Tsunami knows what she's doing. Just don't tell the others." Hakubi smiled at Sasami. She quickly nodded her head and went back to washing. "And since both of you are here, you can help with the drying." The two cabbits transformed into their humanoid forms and picked up a dishtowel. "What was that about?" Ryo-Ohki asked Rye-Ohki. "Nothing, nothing at all," Rye-Ohki quickly replied. "Really?" Ryo-Ohki asked. "Really," Hakubi cut in. He gave Ryo-Ohki a hard stare and she dropped the subject. "Cheater," Ryo-Ohki said to Rye-Ohki. Rye-Ohki smiled and continued to dry dishes. After they had finished, Hakubi went into the lab, to see how Washu was doing. "Almost done?" Hakubi asked. Washu was typing into her computer and didn't bother to turn around. "It'll be finished it a few minutes. Just making a few minor adjustments." "Wow, that was fast." Hakubi walked up behind Washu and looked at the screen. "Piece of cake when you're the greatest genius scientist in the universe." Washu type a few more lines, and finished. "It's all done. Let's get the others so you can have a proper send off." It wasn't long before everyone was gathered in the lab. They stood next to the time machine and watched as Washu manipulated the controls. "Is this really necessary?" Mihoshi asked and she raised her hands which where handcuffed together. "Yes!" Kiyone yelled back, tugging on a leash that was tied to a collar on Mihoshi's neck. "I guess we will see you in the future," said Tenchi. "You can bet on it," Hakubi replied. Rye-Ohki gave Ryo-Ohki a little hug and hopped onto Hakubi's shoulder. Washu pressed a button and the time portal opened. They said goodbye one last time and he stepped through. The End! Epilogue: Hakubi made it back to his own time successfully. Only Washu and his mother seemed to know what had happened and they left it that way. Washu had moved the time machine into another dimension so it would be safe from tampering and Mihoshi. Everything was back to normal, except for one last thing. 'What are you going to do with this?' Rye-Ohki asked Hakubi as he picked up the Tenchi-ken from the alternate time off his dresser. "I don't know," he replied. "You can keep it." 'Really?' Rye-Ohki asked excitedly. 'You sure about this?' "Sure you can have it. You used it when you fought Kagato. You just need practice and you'll be as good as Grandpa." 'Won't having two master keys cause a problem?' Rye-Ohki turned the sword over in his hands and wiped some dust off it. "Not really, since no one will know that it is a master key. Understand?" 'Yeah I get it. We'll just say Washu or Tsunami made it for me.' Rye- Ohki placed the Tenchi-ken in his belt and transformed into his cabbit form. The Tenchi-ken went into a subspace pocket and disappeared. He hopped onto the bed and looked at the clock. 'Hey, hurry up, or we'll be late for our double date. You don't want to keep Kiyone waiting, do you?' "Don't you have to get ready too?" Hakubi asked back. 'Nope.' Rye-Ohki jumped off the bed and transformed into his humanoid form, complete with formal Juraian robes. "Nice," Hakubi commented. "Let's go." They walked out of their room, letting the door slide shut behind them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Like it? Hate it? Send all comments to tm_fan1023@hotmail.com. I really like feedback. Being that the topic of this story most likely came up before, just e-mail me and let me know if I used any ideas another author used in their previous work. If it's a valid complaint, I'll make the necessary changes, or pull the fic entirely. Remember, "Feedback is good!"