Disclaimer: X-Man & the Prime Sentinels belong to Marvel Comics, and everyone else belongs to Pioneer.

Summary: X-Man meets the princesses of Jurai.

Notes: I don't know where this came from. I wanted to experiment. The last time I stuck Nate with a bunch of people he didn't know, it worked out pretty well. Heck, he got a girlfriend out of the deal, and it turned into a whole series. This'll probably just be one or two stories, though.


X-Man Muyo! (The Princess's Pal)


"'Save the kids for Jean,' he said. 'Be a hero,' he said. The next time I see Cable, I'm gonna kick his-"

KA-BOOM!

"Halt, mutant! There is no escape!"

Nate Grey looked up to see a huge boot approaching his face. "This is not the time for my powers to be slipping again," he thought as the boot missed him by mere centimeters. "Telepathy's pretty much a memory, and telekinetics are almost at the vanishing point. Only option is escape, and I'll never make it on foot."

"Surrender, mutant!"

Closing his eyes tightly, Nate reached deep within himself. "C'mon, teleport! Gotta 'port, gotta 'port, gotta 'po-"

"Fire!"

* * * * *

An almost evil smile appeared on Princess Ayeka's face as she leaned forward. "Fire!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Azaka and Kamadaki replied. "Firing now!"

The ship on the view screen swerved to the right, avoiding major damage, but taking a shot to the engines.

"She won't last long. Continue the assault!" Ayeka ordered. "This time, Ryoko isn't getting away from-"

"What's this button do?"

Ayeka's eyes widened in alarm. "Sasami, no! Don't touch that button!"

"Uh oh. Sorry..."

* * * * *

The last thing he remembered was trying to teleport away from the Sentinels. But Nate also remembered still being on Earth. So the first thing he realized was that he was no longer on Earth. In fact, he was now staring down at it. The second thing he realized was that it's pretty difficult to breathe in space. Maybe even impossible. The third and final thing he realized before passing out was that his life, for the most part, pretty much sucked. Big time.

* * * * *

"How many times have I told you not to play with the tractor beam?!" Ayeka shouted.

Sasami lowered her head. "Too many."

"That's right! There's no telling what you brought inside the ship!"

"It appears to be an Earthling, princess," Azaka reported.

"But Earthlings can't breathe in space," Kamadaki pointed out. "So why was he even out there?"

"I'll find out when he wakes up. If he wakes up." Ayeka headed for her bedroom. "Just place him in a cell, and make sure he has no weapons on him. I'm going to bed."

Sasami started to follow her. "But Ayeka, what if he's-"

"I think you've had enough action for one night, Sasami. Good night."

* * * * *

"Okay. The last time I checked, trees didn't exist in outer space. But then, I never really checked."

Nate sighed and stared up at the canopy. "Well, heaven isn't quite what I expected. But I guess the big guy would be a nature buff. After all, he made it."

"Oh, you're awake!"

Nate turned around, ready to lash out with a telekinetic punch. Then he remembered his powers were gone. "Who said that?" he called.

"Hey! Down here!"

Nate looked down to see a little girl. "Oh, I get it. You must be the little angel that's gonna tell me my name isn't on the list, right?"

The girl blushed slightly. "Um...not really. This is our ship you got sucked into. That was...my fault."

"So you're the one that saved my life? Guess that means I owe you. Not that I could really do much from inside all these trees, but..."

"Oh, those? I can handle them." She held up a strange object, and the trees instantly parted. Unfortunately, since Nate had been leaning on them, he fell flat on his face. She giggled as he sat up. "I like you. You're funny!"

"Yeah, I'm a real riot," Nate muttered. "Listen, kid, it's been weird, but I should really be getting home."

"No!" She grabbed his hand. "You can't leave yet!"

"And why is that?"

"Because...my sister would be mad! And I'll get in trouble for letting you out!"

Nate was about to argue when he remembered what home was: A place where mutants were feared and hunted down like animals. A place where killing a human was murder, but killing a mutant was justice. A place where Bastion and his Prime Sentinels roamed the streets, destroying the lives of humans and mutants alike. Suddenly, hanging out with a cute little girl in her ship didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"Please stay?" the girl begged, tugging on his hand. "Pleeease?"

"On one condition," Nate said. "It's the only way I'll stay."

"What?" she asked.

"You have to tell me your name."

"My name? Why is that so important?"

Nate smiled and cupped her chin in one hand. "Such a pretty face must have a pretty name to go with it."

The girl blushed, and she struggled to find her voice. Finally, she managed to whisper, "My name is Sasami."

"Then I was right. I'm Nate, by the way."

Sasami nodded. "Nate. Got it."

"I don't suppose you've ever been to Earth?"

"Not that I know of."

"And you're from...?"

Sasami smiled brightly. "Jurai!"

"Okay...never heard of that place. So I'm guessing you're not from around here?"

"Nope. We're only here because my sister was chasing a space pirate."

Nate groaned. "So are we even near Earth right now?"

"Oh, probably not. We passed this planet called Pluto a while back, though. Does that help?"

"Not really. But it does tell me I'm stuck here, which may not be such a bad thing."

Sasami grinned. "Hey, are you hungry?"

"That's another thing. If you're not from Earth, maybe I shouldn't be eating the same stuff you do."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the hallway. "Come on! I'm a really good cook! I make all Ayeka's meals, and she never complains."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm guessing she's not from Earth, either..."

* * * * *

Ayeka's guardians hovered at the foot of her bed, watching the princess sleep.

"Should we wake her?" Azaka asked.

"You know we must," Kamadaki replied. "I'll wake her, and you tell her."

"Not a chance! You wake her, and I'll tell her!"

"There's no way I'm telling the princess that the Earthling is loose!"

"Well, I'm not doing it!"

Ayeka suddenly woke up. "Is it really necessary for you two to argue now? And in my room, no less?"

"Sorry, princess!" Kamadaki quickly apologized. "But Azaka has something to tell you!"

"Traitor!" Azaka muttered. Aloud, he reported, "The Earthling has escaped, princess. However, we believe he's still on the ship."

"Then I suggest you find him and let me go back to sleep. Quickly."

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * * * *

Sasami watched Nate intently as he slowly took a bite. "Well? What do you think?"

"It's not exactly ice cream," he replied with his mouth full, "but I could learn to love it."

"See, I told you I could cook!"

"Okay, sorry I doubted you." Nate swallowed and glanced around. "You're not alone here, are you?"

"Of course not! There's Ayeka, Azaka, and Kamadaki."

"No, I meant someone your age. You know, a friend or a playmate?"

Sasami shook her head sadly. "No, we couldn't bring anybody else with us. That's why I wanted you to stay. It gets lonely sometimes."

Nate reached over and squeezed her hand. "Stop with the depressing talk. I'm not going anywhere."

"You mean it?" she asked, a hopeful look in her eyes. "You're really going to stay here with me? You promise?"

"Yeah, I promise. There's not much left for me back on Earth, anyway."

"Oh, thank you, Nate!" Sasami cried, hugging him tightly.

Nate smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "You're welcome, kid."

"Freeze, Earthling! Return to your cell at once!" Azaka ordered as he flew into the kitchen.

Kamadaki soon followed. "He's holding Princess Sasami hostage! Initiate capture procedures at once!"

Sasami gasped. "No, don't! He's my friend!"

Nate instinctively moved Sasami behind him, forgetting in his haste that his powers were gone, and took the full force of the guardians' blasts in the chest. The impact threw him across the room, where he slammed into the wall and fell to the floor.

"NOOO!" Sasami screamed. She threw herself onto Nate's still form before the guardians could fire again. "Stop it! You're hurting him!"

"You should move aside, princess," Azaka suggested. "Ayeka has ordered us to capture the Earthling."

"You don't have to lock him up! He promised me he'd stay! Just leave him alone!"

"But we can't disobey our orders, princess," Kamadaki reminded her.

"Then...I order you to back off!"

"You know that Ayeka's orders are first priority, as she is the first crown princess. We must obey her." Azaka flew closer. "Sasami, please move away. We don't want to hurt you."

Sasami glared up at him. "You can't hurt me! Ayeka wouldn't let you! She wouldn't want you to hurt my friend, either!"

Before the guardians could come up with an answer, Ayeka stormed into the room. "I am trying to get some sleep here, people! All this blasting and shouting and screaming is not helping!" She paused when she saw that the kitchen was a mess. "Who's responsible for all this?"

"They are!" Sasami said, pointing at the guardians. "I was just having a snack with my friend, and they shot him!"

"Her 'friend' is the Earthling, Princess Ayeka," Kamadaki pointed out. "We were simply trying to capture him, as you ordered, but your sister prevented us from completing the mission."

Ayeka sighed. "Sasami, did you let the Earthling out?"

"Yes, but-!"

"I'm sure I don't want to know. We'll talk about this in the morning. Azaka, escort Sasami to bed, and make sure she stays there this time. Kamadaki, take the Earthling back to his cell."

"No! He didn't do anything wrong! Besides, he's hurt!" Sasami tugged on her sister's hand. "Please, Ayeka! He was trying to protect me!"

Ayeka frowned, but finally gave in. "Fine. Take the Earthling to the infirmary, Kamadaki, but keep an eye on him."

* * * * *

As soon as Sasami washed up the next morning, she went straight to the infirmary. She found Nate resting peacefully in a bed. His jacket and shirt had been removed so that he would heal faster, though the large scar on his chest would remain for quite a while. Most of his ribs were hidden in a thick layer of bandages.

Sasami approached the bed and placed a hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry, Nate," she whispered. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't begged you to stay, you never would've gotten hurt. You were better off leaving when you first had the chance. Maybe I can still convince Ayeka to let you go."

Nate slowly opened his eyes. "Trying to get rid of me already, huh?" He carefully sat up and stretched.

Sasami stared at him in wonder. "Nate...you...you're okay!" She started to hug him, but he stopped her.

"I'm not totally healed, so no hugs just yet. Anyway, I don't break promises to my friends, Sasami. I told you I'd stay, and that's what I'm gonna do. Besides, if the only company you have around here is your sister and those trigger-happy logs, I'd say you need me more than I thought."

"But I don't understand. Don't you miss your home?"

He shook his head. "My real home was destroyed a long time ago. Living on Earth was no picnic, either. I was always running, fighting, or wishing I were dead. Let's just say I'd rather hang out with you."

Sasami climbed onto the bed and sat next to him. "So you're not really an Earthling?"

"Well, yes and no. It's a long story, and one that I don't feel like telling on an empty stomach."

"I can make you some breakfast. C'mon, let's go!"

Nate smiled uneasily. "Um...maybe you'd better bring it in here. I don't wanna get blasted again for not being where I was supposed to be."

"Don't worry! I promise nobody's gonna hurt you again."

* * * * *

Ayeka looked up from her bowl in silence. Sasami was sitting in her usual spot, but the Earthling was also present, though he hadn't touched his food yet. He seemed to be much happier staring at Ayeka, which was starting to get on her nerves. Still, she was a princess, and she was expected to behave a certain way. After clearing her throat, Ayeka looked at her sister. "Sasami, what does your silent friend call himself?"

"His name is Nate, and he can talk just fine," Sasami replied. "He's not stupid, you know."

Ayeka's face reddened a bit, but her natural color quickly returned. "Nate, perhaps on Earth it is acceptable to stare at people, but we Juraians consider it very rude."

Nate smiled. "Oh, it's rude on Earth, too. I'm just trying to read your thoughts."

"Don't be silly! Earthlings can't read minds."

"I'm no normal Earthling, Ayeka. I'm a mutant."

"And what is that?"

"A not-so-normal human gifted with a power that sets him apart from normal humans. On Earth, mutants are feared and hated for their powers. The government has even made it legal to hunt down mutants and destroy them."

"That's terrible!" Sasami cried, clinging to his arm.

"What sort of power do you have, Nate?" Ayeka asked.

"Well, up until about a day ago, telepathy. That's why I was trying to read your mind. I was hoping it had returned by now, but I guess it hasn't."

"So what were you doing out in space?"

Nate frowned. "I was running from Prime Sentinels. They used to be human, until their bodies were invaded by nanotechnology. Now they're just machines with orders to wipe out mutants. Anyway, I was running out of power, so I used the last bit to teleport. My aim was pretty off, so I managed to end up out here. That's when Sasami activated the tractor beam and pulled me in."

Ayeka leaned forward a bit. "So you're asking me to believe that you are a telepath, and yet you have no way of proving it? I've heard more convincing stories from children."

He sighed and closed his eyes. "Sasami, could you leave the room for a minute? I need to talk to your sister alone."

"But why?" Sasami asked.

"Sasami. Please."

Sasami looked helplessly at Ayeka, who nodded. She frowned and slowly left the room.

Nate opened his eyes again. "I didn't want to say this in front of her, but it's the only way to explain my story. I wasn't born like most people. A geneticist created me in his laboratory. He gave me great power, but he only intended for me to be a living weapon, and only for a short time. I'm supposed to die before I reach 21."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "How old are you now?"

"I really don't know," he admitted. "The geneticist also accelerated my aging, so I've only been alive for a few years. I'm probably around Sasami's age, mentally."

Ayeka chuckled mysteriously. "Somehow, I doubt that. Go on."

"I guess my body also knows that it's going to overload pretty soon. When I use too much power too fast, my body literally turns it off. It's a way of extending my life and rebuilding my strength. I know I can't prove any of this yet, but if I wait a few days, my power will come back."

"How long do you plan to stay with us?"

Nate looked uneasy. "Earth really isn't safe for mutants anymore, and I promised Sasami I'd stay here."

Ayeka narrowed her eyes. "I'm afraid I can't allow that. Not only are you a danger to yourself, but now you're endangering us as well! What if these Sentinels of yours decide to come looking for you?"

"They can't travel into space. At least, not yet..."

"That doesn't matter! You're going to die any day now! I won't let Sasami become attached only to lose you like that!"

Nate smiled thinly. "You're a little too late, I'm afraid. She's already saved my life twice and risked hers for mine in the process. I'd call that pretty attached."

"You wouldn't even be here if she had listened to me!"

"I think I'm beginning to see why the kid begged me to stay. If you even bothered to talk to her, you'd know she was lonely. Or is that task below you, Princess Ayeka?"

Ayeka closed her eyes, suppressing the urge to scream. "If you want to remain on this ship any longer, Nate, I suggest you leave my sight."

He shrugged and headed for the door. " I just hope you'll be able to explain to Sasami why you couldn't let me stay with her."

* * * * *

The walk back to her room seemed longer than it ever had to Sasami. She couldn't understand why two of her favorite people couldn't get along. While she hadn't caught all of the conversation, Sasami was able to figure out that Ayeka wasn't pleased with the idea of Nate staying with them.

What was so bad about Nate? He was kind, funny, and very cute, especially when he smiled. Aside from that, he was the first person she'd ever met that only wanted to be her friend. Why hadn't Ayeka noticed any of his good points?

With a heavy sigh, Sasami walked into her room and flopped across the bed. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before her eyes started to close. Just when she was about to drift into a peaceful dream about Jurai, a gloved hand clamped over her mouth.

Sasami's eyes shot open as a strong arm wrapped around her waist.

"Okay, kid," a sinister voice whispered in her ear. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is kidnapping you and holding you for ransom. The hard way is roughing you up, then kidnapping you, just to show them I'm not above hurting you. They'll pay twice as much for that. So which one is it gonna be?"

Instead of answering, Sasami bit down on the hand and was rewarded with a muffled shout. She scrambled off the bed and onto the floor, where she finally recognized the would-be kidnapper. "You're that space pirate Ayeka's always chasing! Ryoko!"

Ryoko smiled. "I see you've heard of me. So you know what I can do to you. And if you ever bite me again, I'll yank that all that pretty hair off your cute little head. Now are you coming quietly, or do I have to rough you up?"

"But why do you want me? I never did anything to you!"

Ryoko sighed. "Look, it's nothing personal, kid. You just happen to be second crown princess of Jurai, and that makes you worth quite a bit. Not as much as Ayeka, but I can tolerate you long enough to kidnap you and send a ransom note." She stood up and formed a ball of energy in her hand. "Don't make me hurt you, Sasami. I'd hate that. Just come over here so we can get this over with."

Sasami cautiously came closer, keeping an eye on the ball of energy.

Ryoko chuckled and let the ball fade away, then placed a hand on Sasami's shoulder. "Good girl," she said just before they vanished.


* * * * *

Nate sighed and shook his head. "You can leave, you know."

"That is quite impossible," Kamadaki replied. "Princess Ayeka has ordered me to keep you under constant watch at all times."

"Yeah, but I am not taking a bath with you watching me, so beat it!"

"Then I suppose you will either take one or begin to develop a disturbing odor."

Nate glared at the guardian. "Look, you talking log! I'm three seconds away from turning you into toothpicks!"

"How do you propose to do that? You have no powers."

Before Nate could answer, Kamadaki crashed into the wall. "Hmm. Looks like my powers are back, pal. Now excuse me while I-"

"Nate, help me!"

Nate blinked, instantly recognizing the frightened voice in his head. "Sasami?"

"Ryoko's holding me in her ship! You've got to tell Ayeka!"

"Yeah, but only if you replace those last two words with 'rescue me.'"

"Nate, no! You could get hurt again!"

"You should've thought of that before you got kidnapped. Hang on, kid. I'll be there soon."

* * * * *

"So you're the second crown princess of Jurai, huh?" the woman asked. "Somehow, I thought you'd be...taller."

Sasami glared at her. "You're not that much taller than me, whoever you are."

The woman smiled. "Then allow me to introduce myself. I happen to be the owner of the greatest scientific mind in the universe. The name's Washu, short stuff."

"If that's true, then why are you working with Ryoko? You should be helping people!"

Washu chuckled. "It's nice to be good, but it's better to be bad. Besides, a good mother watches out for her daughter."

"You are NOT my mother!" Ryoko muttered angrily. "Now could you please keep an eye out for Ayeka's ship? She should be getting that ransom 'note' anytime now."

* * * * *

Nate had just reached the ship's transport bay when Ayeka appeared, a frown on her face. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"Out," he replied, running his hand over one of the escape pods.

"And how do you plan to do that? Or did you forget that you can't breathe in space?"

"I won't need to breathe in an escape pod."

Ayeka smirked. "You need to know the password to access the navigation system."

Nate studied the pod for a moment, then slammed his fist into the side of it. The pod gave a loud beep, then hissed as it opened up. "I'll be back with Sasami."

"Back with...? What are you talking about?"

Before Nate could reply, a tiny computer flew into the room and stopped in front of Ayeka. Washu's smiling face appeared on the screen. "Hi, there! Ryoko, professional space pirate, and myself, scientific genius, have kidnapped your little princess. For her safe return, please surrender immediately, or we'll be forced to do something really bad to her. Have a nice day!"

"Washu!" Ayeka shouted. "You bring my little sister back right this minute!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that, because you haven't surrendered yet," Washu replied. "When you're ready, give us a call, and we'll discuss the terms. Bye now!" The computer went blank, then exploded with a tiny popping sound.

Ayeka turned to see Nate closing the escape pod. "You get out of there right now!"

"Sorry, Ayeka. I'm going after Sasami whether you like it or not. If you really want to help, make sure they don't blow up the pod before I get there."

Ayeka crossed her arms over her chest. "Maybe I should let them destroy you. It'd be a lot safer for us that way."

"Suit yourself. Just be sure to tell Sasami I died for her. That is, if you ever see her again..."

Ayeka sighed. "Fine. I'll do my best. Just don't do anything crazy."

Nate smiled. "Why? You worried about me or something?"

"Never," Ayeka replied as she headed for the door. "It's just that if you do, Ryoko's likely to have thought of it first."

* * * * *

"What's taking her so long?" Ryoko groaned. "We've got the kid! Why is she waiting?!"

"Patience, Ryoko," Washu said. "There's no way Ayeka would abandon her sister. She's planning something."

"You just wait," Sasami muttered. "Ayeka's gonna rescue me and capture you both!"

"Remind me why we didn't gag her before?" Ryoko asked.

"There's no point," Washu replied. "She's going to be here for a while, so she might as well be comfortable."

"She's a hostage!" Ryoko shouted. "She's not supposed to be comfortable!"

Washu narrowed her eyes. "Don't take that tone of voice with me, young lady."

"STOP DOING THAT!"

As Ryoko & Washu continued arguing, Sasami peered out of the window. She could see Ayeka's ship a good distance away. That was when she spotted a small object that was slowly growing larger. As it came closer, she could see that it had a round shape.

Ryoko stopped arguing long enough to spot the object, too. "Could just be a comet, but we better not chance it." She aimed the ship's laser cannons at the object. With a few well-placed shots, it was soon reduced to space dust.

"So what was it?" Washu asked.

Ryoko shrugged. "How should I know?"

"Exactly!" Washu smacked Ryoko across the forehead. "For all you knew, it could've been an explosive, and we'd be that dust out there!"

Ryoko growled. "Look, this is MY ship-"

"Which I built for you."

"That's not the point! I'm the one that kidnapped the kid-"

"I came up with the plan."

"...STOP DOING THAT!"

"Doing what? Acting like the mother I am or making you feel stupid?"

"Uh...that last one. Wait...HEY!"

* * * * *

Teleporting again had been very risky. If he hadn't been close enough, he might have ended up outside the ship, instantly killing himself. Still, the pod had gotten him close enough to make the trip. Now all he had to do was get Sasami and get out. That was the hard part.

Nate closed his eyes, trying to get a fix on Sasami's location. He found her on the bridge, along with people he assumed were Ryoko & Washu. Ayeka was probably preparing to attack right about now, providing him with enough time to find Sasami and-

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Nathan," a voice said.

Nate blinked in surprise. "What the?!"

"Not what, but who!" A hologram of Washu appeared in front of him. "While you've been down here spying on us, we've been spying on you, too! I suggest you be a good boy and give up. I know all about your powers, and I know you don't have enough to defeat us at the moment."

"You may know about my powers, but if you expect me to give up without a fight, you don't know me." Nate flew upward, phasing through the ceiling and appearing on the bridge of the ship.

Unfortunately, Washu was prepared for that. With the press of a button, she activated the ship's psionic inhibitors. "You can try anything you want, Nathan, but this ship is programmed to nullify all psionic attacks. In other words, your powers are useless."

"Which means he's dead meat!" Ryoko flew forward, barreling into Nate with the force of a runaway train. Strangely enough, he faded away just before she smashed into the wall.

"That looks like it hurt," Nate chuckled from behind her. "I guess the ship doesn't consider psionic holograms an attack."

Ryoko shook her head. "Well, try this on for size!" She split herself into two bodies and charged again. This time, five copies of Nate appeared on either side of him. The Ryoko twins paused momentarily in confusion, then fired energy blasts at all the copies.

"Ryoko, stop!" Washu shouted. "You'll hit the ship!"

Washu's warning came too late as a console behind Sasami exploded, knocking her to the floor.

Nate paused when he heard her cry out. Before he could help her, several explosions rocked the ship. "Oh, now Ayeka attacks," he muttered angrily.

"And so do we!" Both Ryoko twins fired energy blasts, hitting Nate's already injured ribs.

Nate grunted in pain, but he flew towards Sasami, determined to get her out quickly.

Washu appeared in front of him and drove her knee directly into his ribs. Nate made a wheezing sound and fell to his knees, gasping in shock. Washu smiled and hit him over the head, knocking him to the floor. "See, being a genius CAN be fun in a fight! Now, stay there while I collect some tissue samples. I've got a feeling your DNA could be very useful to me."

"Don't you think we should focus on avoiding Ayeka?" Ryoko asked, now back in one body.

Washu waved her away and leaned over Nate. "Do whatever you want. I'm busy here."

* * * * *

"Should we fire again, princess?" Azaka asked.

"Not yet," Ayeka answered, biting her lip. "We might hurt Nate or Sasami. Just wait a while."

"You're putting a lot of faith in him, princess," Kamadaki said.

"I don't have a choice right now. Nate may be the only one that can get Sasami out of there."

"Then...what happens if he fails?"

Ayeka shook her head. "He won't. He can't."

"But..."

"I said he can't!" Ayeka insisted. "Everything's going to be fine, and before we know it, he'll have Sasami back with us, safe and sound."

* * * * *

Ryoko gave Nate a swift kick in the side. "He's just a dumb human. What's so special about him?"

"That fact that you even have to ask proves you're a fool," Washu replied. "No normal human could last that long against you, and I've never had step in and help before. He's powerful, and very skilled. He'll make a wonderful addition to the next generation."

"Generation of what?" Ryoko asked suspiciously.

"Well, if everything works out, you could have a little brother."

"What?! You're crazy! Why would you do that?!"

Washu smiled. "Well, since you turned out to be such a bad egg, maybe I can change my luck this time."

Nearby, Nate's eyes slowly drifted open as he heard a gentle voice in his head.

"Wake up, Nate," it whispered. "If you act now, we may still be able to save Sasami."

"Who...who are you?" he asked.

"I am called Tsunami, but there will be time for that later. Right now, you must open your mind to me."

Nate did as he was told, and instantly felt a strange feeling of warmth wash over him. "What are you doing?"

"You will see soon enough."

For some reason, Nate felt re-energized as he stood up. It was then that he realized exactly what Tsunami had done, and the realization made him want to scream.

"Nate, you must remain calm! I assure you, this condition is only temporary!"

"YOU PUT ME IN SASAMI'S BODY?!"

"I had to. Your body has been drained of most of its energy, while hers has not. Now, access the power Sasami has, before Washu and Ryoko notice you."

Feeling more and more strange by the second, Nate reached deep within, not quite sure what he was searching for. Whatever it was, he had a good feeling that he found it when three white blades appeared in front of him (or her) and began to glow.

Washu and Ryoko finally did notice him (or her), but by that time, Nate had figured out how the blades worked. He easily deflected the energy blasts Ryoko fired at him, sending one towards the ship's main console. The resulting explosion knocked out Ryoko, and distracted Washu long enough for Nate to grab his own body and teleport back to Ayeka's ship.

* * * * *

"This," Ayeka said slowly, "is completely impossible and utterly outrageous!"

Nate (now back in his own body) fingered his injured ribs. "I didn't say you had to believe it. I'm not too sure I do myself. All I know is that I am never looking at girls in the same way again."

"Never mind that! You're claiming that you were able to generate three Lighthawk Wings!"

"No, I claimed that three white blades popped out of nowhere, and that's what happened. You're the one that's all upset about hawks and wings." Nate slowly stood up and stretched his arms. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go take a cold shower. I still feel very immoral about this whole thing."

Ayeka grinned. "I'm sure Tsunami had a good reason for it."

"There is NEVER a good reason for that, okay?! Never!" Nate stomped into the hallway, growling to himself. He had just rounded the corner when someone called his name.

"Nate! Wait up!"

Nate closed his eyes and shuddered.

Sasami ran up to him and grabbed his hand. "I wanted to thank you for saving me back there."

"Um...sure, kid," Nate muttered, trying not to look at her. "No problem."

"Are you still upset about being inside me?"

"HEY! Don't say it like that!" Nate nearly screamed.

Sasami backed away in surprise. "Whoa! Sorry."

Nate did his best to calm down, but it was clear that he was still bothered by the experience. "Look, Sasami, weird things have happened to me before, and meeting you has been one of the weirdest ones. But that rescue topped them all, you hear me? It's now number one on my 'Things NEVER to Do Again' list, right before falling in love with clones of my mother from an alternate timeline."

"So does that mean I can't thank my hero with a kiss?"

Nate thought about for a moment, then shook his head and walked away. "Ask me again, in a year or ten."

The End!


Okay, so it was weird. This is what happens when people get bored, so be careful! If I do get any good reviews, I'll think about a sequel. If not, then just be glad you never have to read anything like this again. Unless I get bored again...