Before we start let's get one thing straight: Tenchi Muyo and everything that officially comprises it is owned by AIC and Pioneer. This is unofficial and the story and original characters I create belong to me, so I'd be grateful if you ask before using them in something else. Please, PLEASE don't sue me. I'm only doing this because it feels more productive than sleeping all day! *** Faith, Hope & Carrot Soup - A Tenchi Muyo Fan-Fiction By Nutzoide - Chapter 9: Gathering the Threads Washu looked at them all. "Taishi said Shoji was his 'ace in the hole', but he sure wasn't a match for any one of us. Mihoshi got a good shot, but if Taishi was somehow linked to the main computer systems what will happen when Shoji wakes up and we haven't got him back to himself? If the machines aren't taking prisoners any more what about *him*? God knows what stuff Taishi built into that armour or programmed him to do now!" Ryoko gulped. "We're in trouble." Washu turned to Mihoshi. "Where's the central computer?" Mihoshi looked around before pointing down an adjoining corridor. "Umm... It was this way I think. This way from where we started anyway. Washu-chan, is Shoji going to be okay?" Washu just looked at Kiyone who nodded, "I think she's right. I can guide you from the rec. rooms. There's a ship cannon and some arachnids there though." Washu turned back to Mihoshi. "Just turn your luck up to full Mihoshi, because he's going to need it. I think we all are." Ryoko phased in behind Tenchi and plucked Kiyone from his back, eliciting a scream of pain from the detective. Without a word Tsunami moved over to Mihoshi and took Shoji's limp form from her, much to her confusion. "Huh? What..?" Ryoko managed to settle Kiyone on her own back and Kiyone got her breath back, wincing through the burning in her chest and stomach. "Okay Kiyone, which way?" asked Ryoko as she rose off the floor. "Head for the recreation rooms," she replied painfully. Ryoko nodded. "Anyone who can keep up had better come on, we'll meet you others there." With that she sped off down the corridor, an energy bolt in both hands. Ayeka took Sasami's hand and summoned a force bubble around them, levitating them off the floor before speeding after Ryoko. Tsunami simply winked out of existence with Shoji in her arms, presumably to the rendezvous point, and Washu took off at full pelt after the princesses. Tenchi, Mihoshi and Nagi looked at each other. "So," said Mihoshi, "I guess we have to use our feet, huh?" Tenchi nodded. "Let's go." *** At the head of the speeding group Kiyone held on for dear life as Ryoko flew through the corridors. Behind them they could hear Ayeka and Sasami following them, their force shield bubble tearing up the walls and floor as they ploughed their way through. The zipper they met on the way never stood a chance. Ryoko didn't even need to fire, she just raised the energy bolt in her hand and charged straight into it. The shrapnel just had time to bounce before being blasted into the walls as Ayeka and Sasami came through. In seemingly no time at all they were outside the recreation rooms, and Tsunami was standing there waiting for them. The blue haired goddess was picking Shoji up again. Ryoko stopped, much to Kiyone's relief, and touched down beside her. "Okay?" Tsunami nodded and raised one finger. "Just wait a moment please Ryoko." They waited, Ayeka and Sasami soon appearing. "Well? Come on! We gotta..." *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* Ryoko, Kiyone and Ayeka jumped and tried to steady themselves as the explosions shook the floor, one following another following another. Tenchi and the others had arrived, each with their weapons ready at the sound, to see Sasami and Tsunami standing either side of the door and Ayeka and Ryoko crouching low by the walls, Kiyone hanging onto Ryoko with her head hidden in the other woman's mass of cyan hair. Then, as suddenly as they started the explosions stopped and everyone looked around carefully. "What was that?" Ryoko asked. Tsunami opened the door and walked in, followed by Sasami. "I thought that it would be preferable to destroy the arachnids here before they all activated. There was a control panel over there that already had the access code inputted, so I activated the self destruct on each of them." The others cautiously stepped inside to see the large wasted corridor. The walls were blasted and the floor covered in twisted metal. Smoke billowed out of each of the rooms and Mihoshi stuck her head into one of them to check it out. "Wow, you really blew them up Tsunami. It's all junk!" Nagi looked over to the curious blonde as she popped her head into the other rooms, confirming that they were all very much destroyed. "Already a code punched in?" She looked over to Ayeka. "I see what you mean." Ayeka nodded in resignation. "Sometimes I think Washu really isn't joking when she says Mihoshi is a genius. She just doesn't know it." "Come on," said Washu as she marched through, "where now?" Kiyone guided them through the rest of the way completely unhindered by any more of the security machines, which left both her and Washu very disturbed by the time they reached the large blast doors that led to the final leg of the run. "I guess they expect that the photon cannon here will be enough of a defence. It's absolutely huge!" said Kiyone. "Another ambush?" asked Ryoko, remembering the last one. "I think we can handle that." She summoned three energy bolts in her hand, each spinning round the others like electrons in a non-existent atom. Washu shook her head. "Too many vital systems for zippers here if the control room is through there. It won't be able to fire in that direction either, so that gives us an edge." "Maybe they're all waiting for us at the Yukinojo," offered Tenchi. "Possibly, but not all of them. There should be at least a small guard at each vital system point, and here is no exception." "Well," said Ayeka, "I suppose we can run for it. You two managed last time." Kiyone took a handful of her hair and showed them. The ends were fused together where the cannon had fired at them last time they had tried. "Only just made it, and the blast door on the other side will probably be closed if the ship is on high alert." "Why not just teleport to the next corridor?" asked Tenchi. "You could do that, right Ryoko? You and Tsunami could carry us." The others looked at him blankly for a second, trying to find the fault with such a ridiculously simple plan. Washu blinked. "Good idea. It's times like this you remind me why I like you Tenchi-chan!" Ryoko stalked up and grabbed his arm. "Oi, back off 'Mum'." "Oh, Ryoko, there are some gun turrets on the others side," Mihoshi piped in. "We destroyed them, but they might have gotten repaired, or the spider-robot-things might still be there." "Thanks, but two gems means 'don't mess with Ryoko'!" the ex-pirate replied, grinning. Nagi held up Kiyone's electro-plasma rifle. "Think you can use this?" Kiyone took one hand from around Ryoko and held it out to catch the weapon Nagi threw her. She caught it and balanced it over Ryoko's shoulder, checking the sight from where she held on. "Ready. I'm not sure how big the room is, but it's big." "Don't worry," said Tsunami, "it will be about the same size as the one we encountered." She looked down to Sasami. "Hold onto me Sasami-chan." The young girl nodded and wrapped her arms around the taller woman's middle. The next second both Tsunami and Ryoko disappeared with the slight *whzzumph* that had become a common sound in the past several years and they reappeared in the other hallway several feet from the blast door, their passengers immediately dropping into ready stances. The gun turrets at the other end of the short hall were now no more than small metal stumps, evidently having been removed, but there was nothing by way of replacements. "Okay," said Ryoko, lowering Kiyone carefully to the floor. "We'll get the others." She vanished again, and Tsunami did the same after handing Shoji to Tenchi. They re-appeared with the others a moment later, but with one notable exception. "Hey," said Sasami, being the first one to notice, "where's Nagi-san?" Tsunami looked over to Ryoko, who stepped back making warding gestures when she saw the look. "No way, I'm not taking her! She's spent her life hunting me remember?" Tsunami chuckled lightly and nodded. "I see. Just a second." She teleported out, then returned with Nagi who merely nodded to her. "Thanks." As she walked past her Ryoko could have sworn that the bounty hunter had given her a cold glare, but nobody else seemed to notice. It still made her stomach turn though. She stepped back over to Kiyone and picked her up again, following the others. "That's the control room," Kiyone said as they approached the other door. At the head of the party Ayeka walked though the opened door and stepped into the room. Suddenly she saw the arachnids and dived for cover behind one of the rings of computers as she was met by a ream of blaster fire. "Watch out! There's three of them!" The others scattered and got their weapons out, taking cover behind the doorway and computer banks as the first shots were fired. This was one fight they couldn't avoid. Ryoko was the first to make a move, flying straight up and slinging two force bolts at the machines as Kiyone took a shot from her perch on her back. Kiyone caught the first machine right in the chest, vaporising a layer of armour and causing the smaller arms there to twitch as the spiralling electro- magnetic containment balls hit. Ryoko's blasts though, rather than scoring the armour or ripping open the joints she had aimed for, punched straight through, tearing the two main limbs off. "Alright!" She crowed, and she would have done a victory loop if Kiyone hadn't been hanging onto her. Kiyone made another shot, this time stripping the armour away completely and exposing the area she now knew the processor to be. Ryoko fired off another two handfuls of energy, tearing into the lower torso and exposing the complicated mechanics. Kiyone's third shot was off target, but one of the electro-magnetic balls hit close enough to shut it down. Ryoko formed her sword and touched down next to the immobile machine. "That's strange," said Kiyone. "It didn't even get to fight back." "Well, I got it's guns off," said Ryoko happily, making pincer gestures in the air. She was even more powerful with two gems than she remembered. She swung down and hacked into the machine, just to make sure. To the surprise of both of them Sasami bounded up to them with a broad smile on her face. "I helped too!" she said, striking a very cute pose. She then extended her arms and the machine slid across the floor, Sasami's force field having no problem moving the immobile mass. Kiyone smiled "Thanks Sasmai-chan. I though it was a sitting duck." Sasami beamed back. "You should see what Tsunami is doing!" The pair looked over to the sound of sparking where they had assumed the others were battling. Everyone stood back from Tsunami who had her hands raised in fists, each in the direction of one of the machines, which were floating five feet off the floor, arms and legs flailing wildly as their bodies smoked and sparked. Ayeka's headpiece was glowing faintly and when the body of the left hand machine exploded they could see she was protecting the others with her force shield. The other flailed for a few more seconds before going limp and Tsunami let both fall to the floor with a massive crash. Nagi looked around at the others. They were all going about what they were supposed to do next. Washu was already busy breaking into the ship's computer systems and the others were laying Shoji and Kiyone on the floor to rest. Kiyone was about ready to fall asleep from exhaustion after having to hang onto Ryoko. All Nagi could do was look at Tsunami. She was only the second person who had *ever* managed to instil awe in her and it showed, her normally expressionless face breaking into sheer astonishment. "He... he was right. You are Tsunami. T-*The* Tsunami!" Tsunami looked over from where she was stroking Kiyone's hair, lulling the detective into a pained sleep. "I know you are not a religious woman Nagi, so please do not feel you have to do anything. I am only what you perceive me to be." Nagi swallowed and tried to regain her composure. "R- right." She paused for a second. "If I may ask..." "I can," Tsunami replied, answering before the question was made, "but I will not. I believe elaboration would be better given at another time." Nagi nodded, feeling strangely at peace for the first time in a very long time. "People, we have a problem." Everyone turned. "That doesn't really inspire confidence here Washu," Ryoko tried to quip, but it fell flat under the weight of the statement. "What is it Washu-chan?" asked Ayeka seriously. Washu turned to them. "I can't do anything about Shoji from here. Give me time and I can get the security system down, but whatever's being sent to him isn't coming from here. It's in sub-space, and it's too risky to go with all the interference here. I don't know what's causing that yet, so there's nothing I can do." "Can you free Ken-ohki?" Nagi asked. "I know where they are but they aren't getting fresh air any more, and the schematic said that if that's the case then they're getting sedatives or something else instead. I don't want to wait to find out how much of it can kill a cabbit." "Ryo-chan!" Sasami exclaimed, remembering her kidnapped friend. In all the confusion and action she had forgotten she would be trapped here too. To the surprise of everyone there Mihoshi was the first to volunteer for her role. "I'm staying with Kiyone and Shoji. Someone needs to stay to guard them right? And it's my fault they're both in trouble." Washu nodded, a little heartened by her show of loyalty. "Yeah, and I need to deal with the security. We'll be able to take anything that wanders in." Tsunami stepped forward. "I can get to sub-space if you give me the location, but I am getting rather tired. I haven't exerted myself like this for a long time. I will take one other, but that's it, and I can't ensure that we will be able to get back until I have regained my energy." "Okay, let's go and get Shoji-san back to normal," said Sasami enthusiastically. Tsunami looked down to her apologetically. "I'm sorry Sasami-chan, but I will be taking Tenchi. You have to stay here and help the others this time." Sasami's heart sank. "What? B-but..." "Sasami, this may be very dangerous and if I need to fight I'll need Tenchi-dono's help. I'm not used to doing so much in so little time like this. You have to stay here and help rescue Ryo-ohki. She needs you now." Sasami nodded. "Tenchi nii-chan?" "Yes Sasami-chan?" "Be careful." Tenchi smiled and gave her a hug. "Sure. You too." After a moment she let him go and he walked over to Tsunami, who laid a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready Tenchi?" He nodded and held up the Tenchi-ken. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Washu handed Tsunami an electronic tablet with the information she had downloaded from the ship's computers. "Here's where the lab should be. No map, but there's supply inventories, so you should know the kind of things you'll find. There's also instructions on how to disable whatever is sending him... whatever signal he's under the influence of. Also, make sure you find out exactly what it is he's being sent and any schematics for that armour he's got on. I'll need them." The goddess nodded and both she and Tenchi vanished. Washu looked over at the other four. "You guys head for the cabbits. I'll find out what they're being given and work up an antidote when we get back." Nagi nodded and headed back out of the room. Ryoko and Ayeka looked at each other, then at Sasami. "Are you ready Sasami?" Ayeka asked. Sasami nodded, smiling at the pair and the three of them followed Nagi. Mihoshi sighed and sat down in front of the sleeping Kiyone and unconscious Shoji. Washu turned back to her console and started typing again. "Mihoshi, one thing." "Yes Washu-chan?" "Don't touch the computers." *** It was surprisingly dark when Tenchi opened his eyes. He could still feel Tsunami's hand on his shoulder but he never liked phasing anywhere with his eyes open. It was too disorientating. "Tenchi-dono, we have arrived." Tsunami looked around. "I can feel this place. Come, I can guide us where we need to go." Tenchi blinked, trying to adjust his eyes to the low light. In fact it was low enough for him to see Tsunami's slight glow, usually hidden in the day by even the lowest sunlight. "I guess he didn't expect you to end up here." Tsunami nodded. "Indeed not. I can navigate us through the hallways, and I think I can feel the place that we need to be." She started to walk off and Tenchi raised his hand to stop her. "Tsunami, can we wait a second? I can't see very well in here." Tsunami turned round surprised. "Oh, of course. I'm sorry. I did not think of that. When you are ready we should go though. I estimate there is about a mile between us and the device." Tenchi drooped. "A mile!? We'll never make it in time!" Tsunami smiled. "In time for what? In sub-space time is only as fast as the pocket's creator wants it to be. Washu's lab runs on Earth time for convenience, but here I would estimate we have about two hours before we need to finish our task. Hopefully we should be back in about thirty minutes in their time on the ship, while I will have enough time to rest here once we are done." Tenchi chuckled. "That's rather convenient." Tsunami nodded. "While I am not a scientist I understand the logic. You can finish several days' worth of experiments in only a few hours. For example, creating a cure for a poison or a stabiliser for a hazardous device would be very easy even in the most urgent of situations." "Yeah, so if something goes wrong it's easily fixed. Makes sense." Tenchi looked around again. He could now see the piping that made up the walls and the various machines that lay dormant around the room. "Okay, lets go." The two of them headed out of the workroom. "I don't like this guy's sense of aesthetics though," Tenchi commented. "Neither do I," Tsunami replied. "I have always preferred somewhere green myself." *** Washu was soon broken out of her work when a massive explosion shook the room, almost throwing her off her feet. "What the hell..?" {Sorry Washu,} Ryoko thought-cast to her, her emotional signal a little frazzled, {we forgot about that cannon. We're all okay though.} {Be more careful!} Washu sent back. {Just don't get killed. Any of you. The system's heavily A.I. controlled, so they'll know where you are now.} {Right, thanks for the tip. See you soon.} Washu sat back and sighed. "That girl." Mihoshi looked up at her from her seat by the two sleeping, and partially sedated, casualties. "What happened Washu-chan?" Washu rolled her eyes. "Just my daughter leaping before she looks again." She didn't get any further when another explosion hit, this time sending her to the floor in mid step. {RYOKO!} {It wasn't me, it wasn't me! We didn't do anything, I swear!} Ryoko sent back frantically. {Then why is it still firing!?} Ryoko paused for a bit, evidently talking to someone before answering {It's just shooting through the walls at us. It can't get us though. We're out of its firing path.} There was another explosion and Washu held onto her console to stay upright. {Then just get out of the area. I can't work if it's going to keep up like this!} {Right. We're going.} Washu sat down to wait for the next explosion. *THOOM* Five minutes later she was still sitting there. "Three... Two... One..." *THOOM* "So what do you think the computer wants to do Washu- chan?" Mihoshi asked conversationally. "Well, if it keeps this up it'll breach the hull, and we'll all have to get out pretty quick. Maybe the A.I. figures that'll be easier than trying to kill us with robots." "Well why doesn't it just shoot us here? It wouldn't take very long." Washu sighed. "Because, Mihoshi-dono, we are practically sitting in its brain. If it shoots us it destroys itself, so it can't make sure we're dead. If it has to kill us all it has to survive to make sure it did its job." "Oh." Mihoshi watched as Washu picked up Kiyone's electro-plasma rifle again and carried on tinkering with it. "What are you doing with Kiyone's gun?" "Well," Washu said around the pocket multi-tool in her mouth, "If we came up against any more mechanicals the EM generator in this thing will be more effective than the plasma if I can re-configure it to use that as its main attack. I just need to up the power." "Oh. Why aren't you trying to stop the gun on the computer though?" "Fighting for control against an A.I. isn't easy without all my stuff, and I'd have to stop every time that thing shoots so I don't hit a wrong key. It wouldn't be worth the effort." Mihoshi nodded "Right." Washu looked at her squarely. "You didn't understand a word I just said did you? Three... Two... One..." *THOOM* "Not really. I'm sure you do though, so that's okay." She lay back on the floor. "Do you think Shoji will run away again when he wakes up?" "Who knows," Washu commented idly. "I figure the alpha wave machine played some part in that, but you can't really tell." "I hope he doesn't." Mihoshi ran her fingers through her hair. "I still like him." Washu chuckled. "Even though he nearly killed you?" Mihoshi sat up. "That wasn't his fault though, right? You said so yourself. He was really sweet back home." Washu sighed again. "He was a prat. But I guess he did have his heart in the right place." "Mmm hmm." Mihoshi nodded. They sat in silence for a while, only punctuated by the progressively more muffled booms of the photon blasts as they ripped into another wall or floor. "Washu, are we going to die? I don't want to die yet." Mihoshi seemed oddly calm about it. Washu looked up in surprise. "Huh?" "We beat the bad guy, so we're supposed to have a happy ending right? I don't think this is a happy ending." "We're not going to die bubble brain." Mihoshi gave Washu a sad look and bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be stupid." thought Washu. "Hey, don't cry," she said in a motherly tone, setting the gun in her lap. "I didn't mean it." "But I am," said Mihoshi. "Everybody says so." Washu smiled. "Shoji didn't. And we're not going to die." Mihoshi perked up a bit. "He didn't. He's just an Earthling though." Washu actually giggled at that. "Exactly. He won't even know how to work that control cube of yours, so I don't think you have anything to worry about." Mihoshi started giggling too. "He didn't! He really didn't at all!" Washu smiled to herself. *THOOM* Mihoshi looked up. "How many more walls do you think there are Washu-chan?" "Enough, I hope." The diminutive red-head gave the gun a last prod, shut the circuitry panel and started re-assembling it. "Enough for what?" Mihoshi asked bemusedly. "Enough for us to shut down that thing." Washu glanced at the computer console again. Five more bulkheads to go before a breach. They would be cutting it close. She got to her feet and headed over to the door, the gun in her hands. "Come on Mihoshi-dono. This is a two girl job." Mihoshi nodded and followed her "Okay." They stopped at the blast door and Washu motioned for them to wait. *THOOM* Washu flicked the catch to charge the gun. "Right, we've got two minutes." She handed Mihoshi the rifle. "On my signal run to the other side of the room and fire at the catch on the side of the cannon just behind the loading mechanism. I'll cut the sensor coils." She hit the door activation button. "Go!" The pair ducked under the opening doors and dashed into position, Washu in the near corner with an energy bolt in her hands and Mihoshi by the far door. The cannon never moved from position as they took their shots. Washu managed to take out the lower sensors but Mihoshi's target was obscured by the loading shield and the blue-white pulse blast splashed harmlessly against it. It did however short out the communications relays. Unfortunately that wasn't a good thing. *THOOM* The twin blasts of photon energy tore down the massive hole in the far wall and into the next bulkhead, leaving nothing but a twisted smoking hole where it hit. Washu panicked. "Mihoshi! There's only three more walls left! Take it out quick!" Washu had expected the gun to target them the minute they came in, hence her choice to go for the sensors. Evidently the computer had other ideas. She would have abandoned the idea right then if Mihoshi's scream hadn't caught her attention. "WASHU-CHAN HELP ME!" the detective cried as she hurtled across the room and dove behind a stack of metal crates, a continuous stream of bullets at her heels. Washu looked up to the cannon and saw her target. On the underside was a small housing, the gatling gun spinning full tilt as it tried to shoot its way through Mihoshi's cover. *THOOM* Washu phased up under the cannon and let herself drop, releasing another energy bolt as the gun came round to target her. She was too busy remembering to phase back to the floor to avoid the single bullet that almost parted her hair before the gun exploded. Washu re-appeared next to Mihoshi as she cowered behind the crate. "Mihoshi, go. Two more walls left." Mihoshi nodded and rolled out from behind the crate, targeting the firing mechanism catch. "Washu! It's covered again!" "Then shoot it when it isn't!" The loading shield snapped forward as another photon blast rocketed through the ship and Mihoshi pulled the trigger. The almost transparent electro-magnetic pulse blast hit the catch and the cannon's firing mechanism ceased to function as one by one its systems shut down. Mihoshi breathed a sigh of relief and Washu patted her on the shoulder. "Whew, that was fun!" "That was a bit scary Washu-chan," Mihoshi said, evidently relieved to have it over with. Washu grinned broadly. "Well, now I can start getting that security system down properly. Let's go Mihoshi-dono." Mihoshi nodded tiredly. "Okay." Washu pulled up the metal stool and sat back down at the console in the control room. "Now, let's get you offline shall we?" Mihoshi spent the next minute watching Shoji and Kiyone sleep while Washu worked. It was surprisingly peaceful and she was managing a yawn herself when she noticed Washu tense up. "Hey Washu- chan, what's wrong?" Washu's hands flew over the keyboard as she tried to separate the voice in her head from Mihoshi's. {Ryoko, what is it?} {SHUT IT DOWN! TURN OFF THE ROBOTS!} Washu nearly blanked out when Ryoko radiated a massive surge of pain over the link. "Don't worry Ryoko, Mummy's nearly done," she muttered to herself through her nerves. {Ryoko, which ones? They're all on separate systems. Ryoko... RYOKO!} Washu was near panic again when Ryoko came back in. {WASHU WE NEED HELP HERE! TURN THEM OFF ALREADY!} Washu frantically searched through the database for what she needed. She couldn't try to hack into every automaton control system as fast as Ryoko wanted. "Mihoshi, shoot that computer!" Mihoshi blinked in confusion. "But what..." "JUST SHOOT IT!" In a flash Mihoshi aimed the rifle and let fly at the computer, watching all the lights on that side of the room go out as the pulse passed through them. Washu's eyes flew back to her monitor, thanking the goddess that the gun was directional. She watched as all the code for the A.I. and automaton systems was blanked. {All done Ryoko. Are you all okay? Ryoko?.. RYOKO!} *** Ryoko walked almost bouncily after Nagi as they left the control room. As critical as the situation seemed she couldn't help thinking that it was over already now that everyone seemed to be handling it. And she was going to see Ryo-ohki again! Ryoko would never have admitted it, but she had been very, very disturbed that she couldn't sense her partner any more. That however was about to be remedied. Nagi stood by the blast doors waiting for the rest of them, expressionless as usual. Nagi was another mystery to her, one she was starting to ponder as she headed through the door. "RYOKO! THE GUN!" Ryoko span round to face Ayeka with a worried expression and she heard the cannon whirr round. "Crap, come on!" Ryoko grabbed the princesses in one arm and Nagi in the other as she teleported out. The cannon's blast struck just in front of the blast doors, its programming not allowing it to fire any closer to the control room, but it would have been enough to kill had they still been there. They appeared again in the opposite hallway, the twisted door that had already been blasted offering no protection for them as the cannon turned again. They made a quick dash to get out of its sensor range. "You *idiot*! You stupid *moron*!" Nagi growled, agitated at Ryoko's blatant lack of concern. "Ryoko, how on Earth could you have forgotten that thing?" Ayeka asked, rather calmly considering she had almost been roasted. "Hey I'm sorry, I..." Ryoko stopped when Washu's enquiring mind started to come across the link, rather put out at having her work interrupted. {Sorry Washu,} Ryoko thought to her, deciding that owning up was better than the Washu inquisition, {we forgot about that cannon. We're all okay though.} {Be more careful!} Washu's concern was clear in her reply. {Just don't get killed. Any of you. The system's heavily A.I. controlled, so they'll know where you are now.} {Right, thanks for the tip. See you soon.} "Washu says we need to go. The ship knows where we are." "Terrific," Ayeka deadpanned. They started off down the corridor when another blast ripped into the wall behind them. "What the HELL?" {RYOKO!} Ryoko shut her eyes to try and stop the ringing in her ears as she desperately pleaded her innocence. The others decided to drag her round the corner to finish up her internal argument just in case. Ryoko looked back down the corridor. "I don't think it would have hit us, would it?" It was clear the blast would have missed them, so the cannon must just be using their last known position and hoping for the best. Nagi tapped her sword impatiently as Ryoko finished her conversation. This kind of irresponsibility was going to get her killed if they didn't start being professional about the already dangerous situation. A few seconds later Ryoko spoke again. "Washu says we need to get out of here." "Then let's go," Sasami said, a little shaken, but not in the least bit perturbed by their close call. The quartet walked in silence as Nagi led them through the bowels of the ship, the air heavy with subdued animosity. Sasami looked at them as they walked. The emotion was almost palpable to her. "Ryoko nee-chan, it's okay. Everyone makes mistakes, right?" Ryoko snorted. "Yeah, my whole life's just one big mistake." "Ryoko nee-chan!" Ayeka muttered something under her breath, but the others didn't hear. She silently swore to herself that she wouldn't let Ryoko get her angry again. There had been too much of that already, but her self-deprecating mood really got to her. Ayeka saw more of that side of her than anyone else. But right at this minute what did Ryoko have to be depressed about? If anything she herself should be the depressed one, after everything that had happened. "Be quiet Ryoko-san," she said with restraint. "No-one is hurt and we are near the end of our assignment. This is not the time for your little bouts of self-condemnation." Ryoko was ready with a rebuttal, but the look in Sasami's eyes kept her quiet. It wouldn't do any good. It never did. At the front of the party Nagi tried to reign in her own annoyance. "Keep your mind on the task ahead. Screw up again and I'll leave you behind." Ayeka rounded on the bounty hunter. "And then what? You need us more than we need you right now Nagi-san. It is blatantly obvious your weapon is not up to the task here. Added to the fact you were working for this maniac I can say that you have made a great deal bigger mistake here than any of us, wouldn't you?" Ayeka wasn't expecting the punch that caught her across the jaw. Nagi's fist connected with strength that her usual demeanour concealed, especially with the cloak she always wore. "ONEE-SAMA!" Sasami rushed up to her sister where she sat on the floor, the blow having knocked her off her feet. Ayeka looked up at the bounty hunter in disbelief, and Ryoko ignited her energy sword, bearing her teeth. "Why you.." Nagi looked at them both, a hint of anger in her face. "Don't think you're special just because you're a princess. I could have killed any one of you in an instant. Make no mistake, I am not a member of your little 'Earther' group, and I have no love for your people, princess." "But you're a Juraian." Ayeka said in confusion. "You've even been given the warrior's mark." She touched the twin black spikes across her own cheeks, given by her armour. Nagi had hers permanently, although only on the one side. Each of the four spikes meant something different. Fighter, protector, crusader and killer. Each denoted the duty the soldier had taken. They didn't mean anything more than respect and cosmetic achievement in this day and age, but no-one was given them permanently any more except for the most revered of warriors. The fighter was a soldier, called into battle for the greater good. The protector would lay down their life for their family, friends and people. The crusader would fight alone for the just cause. The killer would use lethal force because sometimes there was no other option. Ayeka looked her right in the eyes, a sad look in her own. "What was your crusade Nagi, and who died for it?" Nagi's facade slipped a little, and it was enough to keep Ryoko from charging. She turned away from them and continued walking. "Don't talk nonsense." Ayeka got to her feet and looked after her, wondering what her story really was. She had a feeling she might never find out. She took her sister's hand and started to follow. "Come on Imouto-chan, let's find Ryo-ohki." Ryoko looked after them all, utterly confused as to what had just happened. Ayeka had touched her battle stripes, and Nagi had evaded the question she had asked about it. Ryoko felt the solid black that covered the far right of her face. She'd never thought anything of it before. After all, it was just a part of the outfit. *** Nagi stopped outside the door. "In here." It was the first thing she had said since they had had the argument. Ryoko nodded and summoned her energy sword as Nagi activated her whip and the princesses put up their force fields. Ryoko phased straight through the wall as Ayeka went through he door, ready for whatever guards there would be outside the cabbits' prison. It was a fairly small room by the edge of the ship, portholes showing the space outside. A single automaton stood by the opposite door, looking like a spindly tripod with three segmented arms sprouting from its small body. The second Ayeka got into the room it quickly scampered several steps forward and one of its arms shot towards her, extending out of the body like a metal bullwhip and smashing against her force field. To the side Ryoko shot one of her force bolts at it, blasting off one of the ridiculously thin legs as it came up to 'catch' the orange ball. However, it seemed perfectly capable of standing on two legs and shot out its other two whips at Ryoko, cracking one just in front of her as she flew backwards and snagging the other around her leg and throwing her to the floor. Behind them both Sasami and Nagi rushed in. The young girl immediately cringed backwards and caught the end of one of the whips as it flew towards her, while Nagi wrapped her whip around the machine's other two legs and yanked it off its feet. The fall didn't seem to affect the machine one bit as it shot one of the legs out on another retractable tentacle and grabbed Nagi's weapon. Sasami had hold of two of the tentacle whips but couldn't really do much more than that, while Ayeka had the third whip in her field and was wresting it away from Ryoko. Once she had it she summoned her combat logs and wrapped them around the body of the machine as they extended to an almost rope like form, trapping the other leg against the body. Nagi managed to blast a hole through the leg that had her, but Ryoko was just glad all the limbs were busy as she hurled two more force bolts at it, shattering the machine's armour casing. After that a swift energy slash with her sword and the machine was no more, the tentacles falling limp where the others held them. After a quick victory cheer they headed through to release the cabbits. What they saw was quite a shock. Far from being gassed or sedated to a premature end the pair were both being held behind the same barrier, sharing a bowl of carrots! Ryoko looked at the pair rather non-plussed "Well, doesn't this just take the cake?" Sasami ran right up to the force barrier they were behind and dropped to her knees, ecstatic to see her cabbit friend again. "Ryo- chan! You're okay!" Ryo-ohki nodded and bounded up to her. "Miya, miya miya." Sasami giggled at the clearly affirmative response and looked over to Ayeka who was by a control panel on the wall. As soon as the field came down Ryo-ohki leaped into Sasami's waiting arms for a huge hug, then clambered up onto her head. The pair looked thoroughly adorable, even with Sasami in her armour, and the others couldn't help but smile. "Nice to see you fur ball," Ryoko said as she radiated relief across the link, and Ryo-ohki did the same. Ken-ohki walked up to Nagi and sat at her feet. "Chau." Nagi nodded. "I hope you behaved like a gentleman." "Chau, chau." Nagi allowed herself a smile, which in turn cause Sasami's to broaden. "Good. Let's go." As the now much happier party turned to leave something caught Ayeka's eye. "What's that?" She said walking over to a small metal plaque lying on the floor behind where the barrier had been. Ryo-ohki miya'd and leaped off Sasami's head, picking the plaque up in her mouth. She walked back to the others and offered it to Ryoko. On it was a rather cute little engraving of Ryo-ohki and Ken-ohki together, along with the words 'Well done.' "I wonder who did it," Ayeka mused. Nagi was brought up short though. "Someone else on the ship. We found their quarters. It was covered in engravings like this, but most of you," she said indicating to Ryoko. "I'd forgotten about that. It's on our way back to the control room. Whoever it is is obsessed with you. That 'daughter' Taishi mentioned." Ryoko nodded. "I... dealt with her already." At hearing this Ryo-ohki's ears drooped. "Miya?" she asked sadly. Ryoko nodded. "She was a bad guy, remember?" "Miya miya!" "I don't *care*!" Ryoko almost shouted back. "She was the bad guy!" Ken-ohki looked at Nagi a little sadly. "Chau chau?" Nagi looked back down, a little critical. "Don't tell me your going soft." Ken-ohki shook his head in denial. "Chau! Chau chiau chau." Ayeka raised an eyebrow and Nagi translated for her. Cabbit language was after all as much mental with their partner as it was verbal. "He wants to go see this 'metal lady'. Apparently she cared for them while here." Ryoko sighed. "The combat arena. She's in the combat arena. Provided those machines haven't carted her away yet." It took several minutes to get back to the arena, and Ryoko was unusually quiet during the trip. Nagi was like she always was, stoic and analytical, but underneath that she was curious as to who this 'metal lady' was, and why she should have had such an effect on Ryoko. The pirate had never had a problem with killing before. Sasami walked along behind them, chatting (as best as one can chat) with the cabbits who trotted along side by side with her. Ayeka was as intrigued as Nagi, but for several different reasons. She knew Ryoko would have had a problem with killing if they were the right kind of person, and it seemed that this one was. The arena was just as Ryoko remembered it, except now including the odd hole or scotch mark for her battle. And near the centre lay Syren, almost completely undisturbed. She lay in a now dry pool where she and Ryoko had been taken down. The only difference was that her head had been put back above her neck. From their distance it was impossible to tell she had been beheaded. The others walked in, but Ryoko stood by the door, holding her own arm uncomfortably. She didn't want to go back in there. She wasn't ready to accept or even think about the things Syren had wanted her to. Syren had been the villain. Syren had attacked her. She couldn't let herself see it any other way. Ryo-ohki padded softly up to the mechanical body and nudged the machine's cheek, or the raised area where the cheek would have been. Syren's head didn't move. Had it done so it might have been even more disturbing for the others. Ayeka looked at her not really understanding what she was looking at. A metal woman who lost a duel. She had to wonder what its personality must have been like to stop Ryoko from approaching. Nagi was very detached about the whole thing, and Ken- ohki was the same. Neither had really known the machine, if it was in fact one you could get to know. It was dead, and that was all there was to it. Ken-ohki only felt for her because Ryo-ohki obviously did and he was very fond of her. More than he knew he should be. Sasami's reaction was in stark contrast to the other two. She was positively terrified. All she could see was her sister, standing above the corpse of a Juraian woman, but as she turned around she was enveloped in a blue glow, and her face was missing. Her dream. Her nightmare. "She has no face. She has no face!" Ayeka turned to her sister in confusion. "Sasami? What's wrong?" Sasami's eyes snapped wide open as she suddenly looked at her sister, "She... my dream... You were like..." Then she ran forward into her sister's arms, tears streaming down her face. "Onee-sama!" The pair stood for a while, Ayeka having no idea why the machine should have such an effect on the young girl. "It's okay Imouto-chan. It's okay, she can't do anything to us now." The pair stood like that for a while, Sasami crying out all the fear she had held since the dream, combined with the adrenaline of her first ever combat role. It was Ryoko who broke the scene when she heard a clack from behind her, followed by another, and another. She whirled around to be met with the pincer blast of an arachnid machine as it closed in, another three following behind it. She cursed and threw an energy bolt at it, blowing off the front of its head armour, then teleported to the centre of the room. "We've got company! Get out of here!" The others all prepared for battle even as they ran for the other exit, but were met by more machines coming in, several of which were types they had not encountered before. "This is not good," Ayeka said, summoning both her force field and her combat logs. "Understatement of the century!" said Ryoko. She summoned another three energy bolts and squashed them down, sending them spinning around each other before firing them off into the hoard. It soon became apparent however, that they would not be able to fight them all off. They just kept coming. Ryoko did the only thing she could think of: she opened her link with Washu. {Washu shut down the security systems! We're in trouble here.} Ryoko was horrified to find she didn't get an answer. The first wave reached them. Ayeka sent her logs spinning in a tight circle around herself, smashing into the machines as Sasami slashed her knuckle blade into an arachnid, trying to join her sister. The young girl hung on for her life as the machine bucked, trying to throw her off and into the mass of metal. Nagi scooped the screaming girl up as she hurtled past, slashing madly with her whip as she forged her way through to join the older princess in the safety of her force field. Ryo-ohki and Ken-ohki had taken to the air and Ryo-ohki was firing her energy balls into the mass of machines, but there was so little she could do against so many. {SHUT IT DOWN! TURN OFF THE ROBOTS!} Ryoko was too pre- occupied to avoid the blaster shots that screamed towards her as she took off and she hurtled back to the floor as her they hit home, burning into her back and legs. Nagi saw her fall and leaped out of the shield to scoop her up, only to have a claw smash into her back and force her to the ground. {WASHU WE NEED HELP HERE!} Ryoko screamed across the link as she was crushed under the weight of both Nagi and the machine pressing down on Nagi's back as it held her down for a shot {TURN THEM OFF ALREADY!} Ryoko phased out and behind the machine, cutting into it with her sword, but that just left her open for the others behind her to fire. She watched astonished as the blaster fire took Nagi in the side as she swung Ryoko around. The shot she deflected with her sword would have caught the ex-pirate in the head. The bounty hunter collapsed and Ryoko summoned more energy bolts, ready for a final stand when the machines, as one, collapsed, as though someone had flicked an almighty off switch. That actually wasn't far from the truth. Ayeka and Sasami looked around them, two standing figures amongst a mass of seemingly dead machinery. They separated and both rushed to Ryoko as she collapsed in exhaustion next to Nagi who was painfully trying to get to her feet. "Ryoko, Nagi are you all right?" "Yeah yeah, I'm fine Mum. It's okay." Ryoko mumbled painfully, trying to soothe the panic-stricken voice in her head. Ayeka tried to get Nagi to stay still as Sasami helped Ryoko to her feet. {No Mum, I told you we're fine. We'll come to you. Nagi's going to need medical help though.} The woman in question shrugged off Ayeka's hand and got to her own feet, her hand holding her side where the worst of the damage had been done. "I'm fine, I've taken worse than this from Ryoko." Ryoko looked surprised as she turned her gaze to the bounty hunter. "I thought they really got you there," she said as she limped up to her. Nagi walked past her to the door. "Remember Ryoko, you owe me now." Ryoko looked after her. Slowly Ryoko followed her, and Sasami rushed after them, asking every now and then if they were all right and whether they wanted to stop for a bit. Ayeka was having thoughts along the same line as Ryoko's. She had seen Nagi go down. She slowly walked after the trio and back to a very expectant Washu. *** Tenchi's feet were beginning to ache as he and Tsunami rounded the last of the corners. "This place is a labyrinth," he commented, a little weary. He knew that they had taken at least one wrong turn, even with Tsunami's supernatural clairvoyance and they must have been going for well over two hours now. "My apologies Tenchi, I believe we are almost there." She was right as well. Tsunami hadn't taken any wrong turns. At least not ones she hadn't meant to take. There are some things even a goddess does not want to do. She opened the final door with a flick of her wrist and entered, Tenchi ready beside her with his weapon once again drawn. The room was small and completely empty except for the computers along the walls and a large humming generator in the centre. Tsunami smiled. "We are here." She walked calmly up to the computer by the generator's side and placed her hands on it. She had used the time on their walk to revise Washu's notes, so she knew exactly what she needed to do. Her consciousness wriggled its way into the machine, exploring pathways and conduits as it made its way in, looking for everything she needed. The data banks with Taishi's mental disruption experiments, the lists of proposed buyers for the cabbit technology, even his collection of Juraian political secrets. She read them all, memorising them so she could transfer them to the data pad Washu had given her. Then she erased the originals. Nobody would need them any more. She would only give Washu what she needed, and Ayeka could have enough for peace of mind. There was no need to bring everything to light. It wouldn't do any good. She found the deactivation device for the generator and shut it down. Tenchi watched as the spinning poles at the machine's core slowed and eventually stopped. Tsunami opened her eyes, seeming a little tired. "That is everything. Shoji will no longer be receiving anything to keep him hostile." "He's really on our side?" Tenchi asked, still a little unsure of exactly what had happened. Tsunami nodded. "The only thing we can blame him for is carelessness. You and the others may decide if any retribution is necessary when he recovers, provided Washu can revive him now." Tsunami sat down in one of the chairs by a computer and Tenchi followed suit. "I think I will need to rest for a while before we return," she said. Tenchi had assumed she would have gone to sleep, but apparently she just needed some time to compose herself as it were. "So... how did he end up with Taishi in the first place?" "As Kiyone-dono said Tenchi: 'only an earthling like him could get himself abducted by aliens.' It would not be difficult to abduct anyone on this planet, provided they were looking the correct way." Tenchi smiled wryly. "I see." The pair sat in silence for almost half an hour. Tsunami seemed to be meditating as she regained her energy while Tenchi lay on the floor and debated how to keep some of the girls from killing Shoji when they got back. He himself would attempt to take out his remaining anger on his grandfather when he next went for sword practice, and naturally get beaten in the most humiliating way possible. He figured that would be a pretty good, if rather unpleasant way to deal with the fact he couldn't really blame the man, even if a part of him still wanted to. One question did find its way into his mind as he lay there though. "Tsunami?" "Yes?" "You knew there weren't any enemies here, didn't you?" Tsunami didn't respond for a little while, but bowed her head. "Yes." "Then why did you bring me here? You know Sasami wanted to come." Tsunami hesitated for a moment. "Because I wanted to speak with you." Tenchi raised his eyebrows. "About what? We chatted most of the way here, but I don't think any of that was it, right?" Tsunami sighed and tried to compose herself. "Tenchi, I did not want to have to tell you this. Over the past few years you, all of you, have come to mean something to me that I do not fully understand. The concept of friends or family was as alien to me as my powers must be to you. When you met, Sasami took a liking to you. She became your friend. One day Sasami and I will become one, and on that day my mortal life will begin. I will not be the first to make this change, but the only other who has does not understand what it meant for her. She chose not to remember her life as a goddess, so she could truly experience humanity. I wanted to make safeguards, because I chose a different method of assimilation. I will become Sasami as much as Sasami will become me. We became the same person as soon as I shared my life with her all those years ago. It is a terrifying prospect to truly become another person, even if you know that person is just another facet of yourself, but I believe it will come out well in the end." She took a slow breath. "Tenchi? Do you want Sasami to die?" Tenchi shot up to stare at her. "Of course not! What do you mean by that? Is she in danger?" "No Tenchi, but she is capable of being killed. And when we join that will not change. I... do not want to die. So I made myself a guardian in preparation for the day my death will become possible. You, just like Taishi said." Tenchi sat stunned as she continued. "I am not proud of my actions, and even when I gave you the Light Hawk Wings I could regret my doing so, even though they have saved your life on more than on occasion. A long time ago I decided that it was selfish of me. You will be able to do as you please. However, Taishi did not lie. I did have an ulterior motive, and... you deserve to know that." Tenchi sat looking at her before he spoke. "That doesn't matter. I don't think anyone wants to die. I won't give up my life just to be a bodyguard, I mean I'm not going to follow you around every minute, or if you leave Earth I can't say I'll come with you, but I'd protect you anyway as long as I could. I will for any of you provided I can. I just don't think I'm the best person to do it." "No Tenchi," Tsunami said as she came over to sit by him, "not the best, but you are the one we chose. You are far more capable than you give yourself credit for." Tenchi lay back on the floor. He couldn't say he really agreed with the goddess, he certainly didn't see himself as anything special, but he could at least accept the compliment. *** Ryoko whimpered under the fingers of the greatest scientist in the universe as she probed the would-be demon-girl for more injuries. "Washu, for that last time, owww! STOP IT! I can heal myself!" "Fine," Washu huffed half-heartedly, "but you'll ache in the morning. *Hmph*, what's a mother to do huh?" Ayeka shrugged, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle of Ryoko being mothered by a 'girl' half her size. "It really is terrible when a little girl cannot accept her mother's love, right Sasami?" Sasami nodded, which only got Ryoko more exasperated. "Then perhaps we should invite your parents over. Then your Mummy can love you all she wants." Ayeka sweatdropped and gave a placating smile. "Mmm, perhaps not." Nagi watched the trio with a little incredulity. This was a side of them she had never seen, and she really didn't know what to make of it. If they weren't so obviously hung up on the Earth boy she might have though they were married! To each other! "Now then Nagi, cloak off please. Let's have a look at that side of yours." Washu snapped another set of prophylactic gloves over her hands. Nagi just looked at her, then unclipped the cloak, revealing the tight fitting armoured bodysuit beneath. There wasn't any point in trying to avoid Washu's ministrations, and she hurt an awful lot, although she could have fooled any of them. "Eeee! Took a nasty couple there didn't you?" Washu asked rhetorically as she examined the blaster wounds. The body suit was still intact but had taken a lot of energy, and the flesh beneath was obviously badly damaged. "Off with the suit too I'm afraid." Rather than wait for Washu's coming offer of privacy in another room she unlatched the blue armour and peeled her arms out of the black under-suit so she could pull it down to her waist. She had no aversion to being seen naked. In fact she had used her allure to catch more than one criminal. "Healthy aren't we?" Washu commented before examining the wounds. Indeed, Ryoko and Ayeka had just enough of a look before turning away to be rather envious of the bounty hunter's athletic figure. "Her breasts are bigger than yours," Ryoko whispered to Ayeka, trying not to feel too depressed. "And in better shape than yours," Ayeka bit back, annoyed at having it pointed out to her. Neither of them was wrong. "If you two are going to argue, could you please not do it right over me?" The pair looked down to see Kiyone coming to as she lay between them. "Should I feel awful?" "Probably," remarked Ryoko. "You've been shot up, flown around and stuck in combat for hours." "Good," said the teal haired patient, "because I do. Did everything go okay?" "Actually everything has gone quite well," Ayeka replied. "It did get a little dangerous at one point, but we are all but done. We are just waiting for Tenchi and Tsunami-sama to return." "What, no Tenchi-*sama*?" Ryoko asked playfully. Ayeka smiled a little sadly. "Tenchi will always be royalty, whatever I call him." Over with Washu and Nagi, Sasami was helping to try and find what Washu had wanted from the small amount of supplies she had been able to get. "No, no more liquids at all. The bandages are here though." "Well, that'll have to do," Washu said. She took another look at Nagi's wounds before wrapping them up. "You're lucky there isn't more damage, but I'm afraid my little assistant here informs me that we are out of painkillers or sedatives, so you'll have to grin and bear it." She put a finger to her lips. "I could bop you on the head I suppose." Nagi gave her a deadpan stare and started to pull her suit back on. "No thanks." Washu looked over to the others. "If Kiyone's awake then Shoji will be up soon too. Tsunami did both of them." Ayeka looked over to Shoji. He was still out, wearing the bizarre armour Washu had been taking a look at every now and then. Apparently he wasn't in any serious danger, but they would have to get it off him soon so Washu could treat him. And lying next to him was Mihoshi, fast asleep curled up against his side. In fact it looked rather cute. Ayeka was amazed how Mihoshi could be so forgiving. Even though she now knew he was not under his own influence when he had fought the blonde detective she still felt a little cautious of him, and she hoped she could remain objective when he came round again. It seemed Mihoshi had none of those problems. "When he wakes up I'll kick his ass," Ryoko said bluntly. Ayeka glared at her, "And of course you have never been under anyone else's control, have you?" Ryoko didn't have a come back for that, but she didn't want one. She could admit Ayeka was right this time. She out of any of them had no right to deal out the retribution. The one person who did was curled up beside him. "He's not a bad guy," Kiyone said, a little tiredly. "But if he runs off again, then *I'll* kill him!" She sighed a little. "I hope he doesn't. I think they actually might work together." "Do I detect a hint of jealousy there Kiyone-dono?" Washu asked as she pottered over. Kiyone chuckled a little. "If I'd wanted him I would have kept him. He's not what I'd be looking for, but he is a nice guy." Ryoko *humph*ed a little, "Tenchi's nicer." Any further discussion was stopped when the man in question moaned, rousing Mihoshi from her sleep. "Shoji!" Mihoshi exclaimed, scrambling to her knees and lifting his head onto them. "OW, damn that hurts!" Shoji said. He opened his eyes and staring back at him were two blue orbs he now knew very well. He had thought he would never see them again. "Oh my God, Mihoshi, I'm..." *CLONK* Mihoshi practically jumped as Shoji's head lolled back again. She looked up startled and more than a little angry. "WASHU- CHAN!! That was so *mean*!" Washu stood there and crossed her arms, holding a pipe wrench that had mysteriously appeared. "We can't have him waking up until we know he's de-programmed, right?" "But he was okay!" "But you couldn't know that," Washu came back. Ayeka looked at the small bump slowly forming on Shoji's head. "He did seem rather more apologetic than last time Washu." Ayeka flinched as a fan hit her smartly on the backside. "Washu-chan." The scientist stood unrepentant. "I'm not taking any chances. If he wants me to heal him up I want proof he's sane." Mihoshi looked ready to burst at the apparent injustice. "But Washu-chan!..." The crescendo of argument was enough to muffle the *wzzumph* of Tenchi and Tsunami's return, making Nagi turn to see what it was. Sasami was the only other person not embroiled in the argument to notice, and she ran up to him, closely followed by Ryo-ohki and Ken- ohki. "Tenchi nii-chan, welcome back!" She hugged him round the middle as Ryo-ohki bounded up and sat on his head, with Ken-ohki taking his perch on Nagi's shoulder. "Did you fix Shoji?" Tenchi nodded, smiling. "Yeah, everything's fine." Then he looked at the quarrelling girls. "Sasami-chan, could you tell them that he's okay now please?" Sasami nodded cheerfully and ran back to the others. Tenchi watched with resignation as she tried to talk over them, with little success. Nagi got up and walked past him, laying a hand on his shoulder as she did. "Tenchi? You have my condolences." Tenchi sighed as she headed out the door. It seemed like things were starting to get back to 'normal' already. "... Thanks." *** To Be Concluded... --------------- *************** --------------- Please send any comments and criticisms to: nutzoide@hotmail.com Or leave them on the archive where you found this story. If it will help me improve, I want to hear it. Also, feel free to visit my website at: www.geocities.com/nutzoides Author's Notes: Well here it is, the penultimate chapter. Only the epilogue to go. I'm very glad I did revise and elaborate this section of the story, because it meant I could use some material I couldn't find a place for before, and that really makes the story feel a bit more well tied up. *** Translation Notes: -chan: Diminutive honorific. The closest English speakers have is 'little' or 'li'l'. Used for children, very close friends or lovers. A term of affection with the connotation of youth. -dono: Translated as 'Lord/Lady' or as 'Sir' in the way a knight would be addressed. Can imply martial prestige. -ken: The name attached is the name of a sword. The Tenchi-ken is the 'Sword Tenchi'. (It can also mean 'technique' or 'fist' when used as a suffix for the name of a move. I won't be using it that way in this fanfic though.) -sama: Formal honorific. Translated as 'Lord' or 'Lady'. Very respectful. -san: Translated as Mr. or Miss. And so on. Can be used for both family and personal names. -sensei: Translates as teacher or professor and can be used as a word on its own. Bokken: A wooden training sword. Chibi: Translates as small with the implication of cuteness. I'm using it when describing a super deformed image of someone. Super deformed is when the character is very small or squashed, chubby and very cute, as seen used in some anime and manga for comic effect. Glomp: A very enthusiastic hug, almost physically throwing yourself at the target to be glomped. Imouto: Meaning 'younger sister' and often used with the '-chan' suffix although other can be used. Kanji: The Japanese naming characters. Kappa: A Japanese water sprite. Karaoke: Popular pastime. Music is played along with the lyrics and you sing the song yourself. Kata: A set of martial arts moves linked together into a sequence for training purposes. Practised solo. Kimono: A traditional Japanese outfit tied round the middle with a wide ribbon or similar length of material called an 'Obi'. Manga: Japanese comics. There are types for pretty much everybody, not just the children and collectors. Miso: Bean paste often used in soup. Comes in several varieties. Mori Tatakai: Literally translates as 'Forest Battle'. I used the Japanese since I designed it as a Jurai thing, not Earth related. Onee-sama / Onee-chan: Meaning 'elder sister'. The '- sama' variation is respected and the '-chan' one is more affectionate. Onii-sama / Onii-chan: As above but meaning brother. Sasami uses the '-chan' variations of both for members the family because she feels affection for them, as family and friends. (They can also be used without the 'O' at the beginning when placed after someone's name, signifying that that person is their 'brother' or 'sister'. Sasami uses this for the family she is not immediately related to such as Tenchi and those she considers family like Ryoko.) Onsen: A public or communal bath. Often associated with a hot spring. Ramen: A noodle broth. Sake: Japanese rice wine. Sashimi: Small portions of raw fish. Sushi: Small portions of raw fish often with vegetables wrapped in rice and a seaweed sheet. Tanto: A Japanese dagger. Often looks very much like a dagger sized katana. The katana is the traditional samurai sword. Tanuki: Smallish Japanese mammal similar to a raccoon (I think). Tanuki statues are often placed outside shops for good luck. Tempura: A form of deep fried food. Teriyaki/Sukiyaki: Japanese sauces/marinades. Wasabi: A hot Japanese horseradish often served on or accompanying sushi. *** Completed: June 20th - 2003 Posted: July 4th - 2003