SHATTERED MIRROR
Part 3: The Screaming Darkness
by Emily "Mink" Koh
***
DISCLAIMER: "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki" is © 1992, Pioneer and AIC.
"Shattered Mirror" is © 2000, Emily Koh. Don't repost without
my permission. Simple enough.
See author notes at end.
***
"Will that teach you not to mess with me?"
With a satisfied sigh, Washu carefully stepped over the three
fallen bodies in the room she had been held in. She looked back
disdainfully at the electric chair behind her. "Such primitive
ways to punish. Well, thank God I've discovered how to convert
the energy of those to --"
Her sentence cut short as she spotted a nearby computer with
open access to the recent case of crimes committed. With a
gleeful smirk, Washu rubbed her hands together and did something
like a skip over to it, her hands flying across the keyboard.
"Interesting. Recent case of crimes... I wonder if Ryoko-chan
is involved?" She looked up and pondered.
Evidently. Kiyone-dono seemed very upset, so something must have
happened recently, she thought to herself.
Ryoko-chan. "That girl is just *so* impulsive -- I don't know what
I'll do with her."
She paused to giggle. "Just like her mom."
A straight list of recent crimes flew down the screen, and
Washu opted for the brief summaries that included a hint of
the involvement of a Class A-1 criminal. Silently, she
opened up a few of them.
"Wanted for murder, obliteration, robbery, et cetera, et
cetera. Common things she's done. So what's the big fuss
about now?" Washu murmured. "Spending all that time being
trapped in that artificial black hole was maddening... I
guess it did lower my social status and my knowledge of the
current events, eh?" she said mockingly to herself.
She frowned. "Very interesting. All taking place near
Jurai, somewhat. A few on Jurai."
She clicked out, then saw a new report suddenly file in.
"Must've just filed this. Lemme check it out... probably no
biggee, like the rest... maybe they arrested her because
she's been doing them one after another?"
She opened the case, and her hand froze midair from the
keyboard.
"What the..."
Her eyes scanned the computer screen again for confirmation.
PENETRATOR: Ryoko
CLASSIFICATION: A-1
Space Pirate/demon?
CRIME: Murder
VICTIM: Princess Sasami
First Order
Princess of Jurai
---
"I can't do it."
"Try again."
Abashed, Tenchi nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean --"
"Silence, Tenchi. Concentrate."
Sighing, Tenchi stretched out his arm, palm facing out, and
breathed in heavily. Slowly, light embraced him and the
familiar mark on his forehead appeared and began to glow.
The gang was outside by the entrance of the Masaki home,
staring at Tenchi with worry.
Using his Jurai power, Tenchi was attempting to force
Kiyone's ship out of the void. Mihoshi had opted to use
her cube to pull out the ship, but since the ship wasn't
hers, the cube had no affect.
"It's working!" Aeka said, overjoyed.
"Is it?" Mihoshi said, her voice sounding far away again.
"Think, Tenchi," Katsuhito said calmly. "Concentrate your
thoughts about the ship. Clear your mind of everything else."
Tenchi breathed in again.
The ship, he thought. Kiyone-san's ship. She took good
care of it, never crashed it like Mihoshi-san did. She was
always unwilling to use her ship to go on outings, for fear
that if Mihoshi was piloting, she'd crash it.
Tenchi felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, but then
suppressed it. He *had* to do this right. For Aeka-san.
Kiyone-san, when we first met her... oh, she was someone we
needed to bring sanity into our lives. She dropped by one
day -- I think reluctantly? -- to bring back Mihoshi-san to
HQ. But... I guess Mihoshi-san realized her heart was here.
Mihoshi turned at Tenchi's intensity, curious -- as if she could
read his thoughts.
Isn't it funny? Tenchi thought. How ironic that they just
received a call saying that the two were transferred to Earth.
I think Kiyone-san was upset. It all took us a while to get
used to her. I think she felt a little jealous over how well
our bonds were that tight. She came about two years and a
half ago, so we were already too close by then.
"Tenchi!" Katsuhito said, alarmed. "You're losing it. Are
you thinking about the ship?"
Right, right. The ship. But... was she jealous? Is that
why she did that to Ryoko? A beat. No. No. Kiyone-san
would *never* do anything like that. She may be obsessed with
promotions and things, but she'd never betray us. She did
develop her relations with us after those years, didn't she?
Of course... that's a different thing to say about Ryoko...
At this, the power swept out of his body, and Tenchi fell to
the ground unexpectedly.
"Tenchi-sama!" Aeka ran to his side, helping him up.
Katsuhito clicked his tongue. "You weren't concentrating!"
"I'm sorry... I'll try again..."
Aeka's voice softened with sympathy when she saw Tenchi's brow
etched with frustration. "Oniisama," she said softly, "it's
not his fault. He's... just thinking about something like
that is bad enough to stir up memories. So don't push it on
him."
"Then... how will you get to Jurai? I have to try harder!"
With a look of admiration, Aeka smiled at Tenchi. "I'm so
jealous of you, you know that? I used to be jealous of
Ryoko-san, too. You two were always so determined!"
"But you are too, what are you saying?"
"I suppose I am... in a way, but not like yours. I'll give
up along the way and come back another day, but you'll keep
trying to perfect it. Oh, Otou-sama would really like you!"
"I don't think he likes me after the whole incident with...
well, your to-be fiancé," Tenchi chuckled.
The two laughed, and it felt good to hear the melodic rings.
"I hate to burst this party," Katsuhito said gravely, "but my
curiosity is beginning to kill me. I know it sounds hardly
like myself, but Aeka, that hologram message sounded utterly
important. It's too bad that we don't have a connection to
the news of the universe to keep us tabbed in with what's going
on. It'd make life much more simpler."
Tenchi nodded. "So. I'll keep trying to get Kiyone-san's ship
out from the void that Washu-san kept it in... um, or --"
Mihoshi interrupted them all, cradling a corpselike body in
her arms, which simply mewed to prove that it was still alive.
"Or we could take Ryo-chan," she whispered.
---
"She's escaped!"
"Where is she? Did she pass here?"
"We're only back-up. Commander Kanna told us not to come in --"
"Commander Kanna is wrong. We'll need all the help we'll need.
This is Ryoko we're talking about, not a punk hacker!"
"Y-Yes, Mari-san!"
"Get in there!"
Kiyone and Mari sighed as the back-up team entered the halls to
the ship transfer area of the checkpoint.
"What a convenient place to get captured," Kiyone said, disgusted.
"Couldn't they have transferred her directly to GP Headquarters?"
"No," Mari said. "We can't confine Ryoko in her own *ship* for
that long. I'm assuming they used the harsh method of towing
her..."
"How did they capture her that easily?"
"From what I heard, they were threatening her with the hyperspace
gates."
"Hyperspace? I thought we were using subspace."
"Subspace for her prison cell. Hyperspace is our threat."
Kiyone gritted her teeth. "This isn't right," she said. "I
can't believe they dragged Ryoko here! Even though GP
monitors this checkpoint, we're doing it near innocent people!
This is... this is..."
"This is our basic checkpoint, for those checking into the Sol
System area or checking out. There's not *that* many people
who enjoy the Sol System area, Kiyone," Mari pointed out.
"Yeah... well... it's not say that there's *no one*!"
"Come on," Mari said, ignoring Kiyone's warnings. "We need to
get to Ryoko! If she escapes... besides, this might be our
chance for a promotion!"
"Ri-right."
---
Elsewhere, someone else had a lot on their mind.
"... How did Ryoko do this? If I could just remember..."
Tenchi put his hands on the two small orbs that circled the large
one in the middle inside the ship Ryo-ohki. Behind him, Aeka,
Mihoshi, and Katsuhito looked on gravely.
"I'm guessing a part of controlling Ryo-ohki took concentration.
I'm assuming, that is," Katsuhito hinted. "And maybe even a
telepathic connection."
With a wry grin, Tenchi looked back momentarily. "All this
thinking will ruin my head!" he joked. Silently, he closed his
eyes for a brief period, and sensed a wave of power sweep into
his veins.
Ryo-ohki, he thought. Can you hear me?
Miya! came the reply. And suddenly, Tenchi could understand
this creature. The controls enabled this.
We have to get to Jurai. At a rather fast speed, I hope you
don't mind. This is very important. But... I know because
of your injuries...
My injuries are the least of my worries, came the translated
reply. Destination: Jurai, isn't it? Let's go.
The ship suddenly came to life, and the entire ship zoomed on.
"Amazing," Katsuhito said. "How did you do it?"
"Communication," Tenchi said. "Heh."
"Truly amazing," Aeka agreed. "I didn't think we'd be able to
get Ryo-ohki to work correctly..."
While the trio talked briefly, Mihoshi pressed her nose against
the glass off to the side, looking at space. How refreshing it
was to see it all! Three years... three years...
She sighed. It was like breathing in fresh air, regaining her
senses. It wasn't so much that she missed it, but it felt like
a missing piece in her life had been found once she was up here.
She tried to remember what had happened on Earth a few moments
ago.
She had found the battered and near-dead Ryo-ohki on the ground,
too weak to even make a call. It was sad that no one could
interpret what Ryo-ohki was saying, because she had been
trying so hard to make them understand. Tenchi had gotten this
hopeful look on his face that Mihoshi deciphered as "Ryoko,"
but hadn't wanted to mention it. Then when Ryo-ohki heard the
gang were in a state of despair and worry, she had offered to
take them to their destination, despite her injuries.
And here they were.
Who knew, maybe they would run into --
Don't think about her. Don't get your hopes high.
Mihoshi felt sick. False hopes. Not good for the soul.
Suddenly, Katsuhito broke her thoughts.
"I'm afraid that we'll need to clarify a few things," he said.
"To the officials." His eyes narrowed and the gang stared at
where he was looking -- a small station ahead.
"What is that thing?" Tenchi murmured.
"A checkpoint," Mihoshi and Aeka said simultaneously.
"This one is the one for those who want to enter or leave
the Sol System," Mihoshi said calmly. "Monitored heavily by
the Galaxy Police."
"No one enters the Sol System *that* much," Aeka noted.
"So why the heavy security? It's not like it's the most
popular place."
"Since this place is so unpopulated, there's criminals
that smuggle things across. So a bit later after this was
discovered, they set up a GP-monitored checkpoint," Mihoshi
said in voice with clarity and such assurance that was so
unlike her trademark airhead self.
Tenchi was surprised at her behavior, but he didn't say
anything. Mihoshi had said at least more than three words
this time, and it was a relief to hear her voice again.
"We'll be suspected, you know," Katsuhito said. "If we're
on Ryoko's ship..."
"But who knows? Maybe Ryoko hasn't --"
Tenchi was going to say that perhaps Ryoko hadn't returned to
her criminal ways, but something stopped him from saying it.
If Ryo-ohki had come to his home, injured... then...
"Disguises," Aeka suddenly said.
"Disguises?" Tenchi repeated.
"Disguises."
---
"Look, more victims."
Ryoko's voice was bitter and full of sarcasm, as she scowled at
the two police officers that had stepped in that had just
discovered the mass of bodies filtered to the side.
"Should I be honored to be in the presence of The Great One?"
Mari asked in an equally sarcastic tone. She ignored Kiyone's
reaction to the dead bodies, and simply glared at Ryoko.
"Certainly," Ryoko said. "And how would you like to die?"
She paused to snicker.
As she advanced on them slowly, Kiyone and Mari stood back-to-
back, as the cyan-haired demon circled them a few times, her
golden eyes glittering with malice and curiosity.
"My, my. If it isn't Kiyone," Ryoko hissed, coming closer.
Kiyone and Mari's hands flew to their laser guns by their side,
but in a flash of light, the two guns were flown by the pile
of dead bodies, as Ryoko swung her laser beam back and forth
which had newly materialized in her hands.
"Ah ah ah," she warned them. "Don't want to get hurt before
you even start fighting, eh?"
"You disgust me," Mari said.
Kiyone remained quiet, studying the familiar person in front
of her. The last she had seen her in person was... oh, give
or take, three Earth years ago. The shock of seeing her again
was overwhelming and she couldn't bring herself to make idle
threats like Mari was.
"I could say the same to you," Ryoko responded. "But as for
now..."
She disappeared momentarily from their viewpoints.
"Wh-?! Where did she go?!"
A beam of light came crashing down on Mari's arm.
---
"Boy, am I relieved to be out of the headlights."
A family -- a man with his four daughters -- stood inside the
bustling checkpoint that was on the borderline of the Sol
System to the other parts of the vast universe.
However, the eye would deceive all if one looked *very*
closely. A thorough inspection would have it that only two
of the four daughters were actually girls. One of them was
a male with a pigtailed wig, and the other one was a small
furry girl with blue streaks in her hair, covering her
appearance with a hood on a cloak.
The checkpoint was crammed, and Aeka was rudely pushed by
a family of four, and she scowled. "Who goes to the Sol
System at this time for vacation?"
"Interesting," Katsuhito murmured. "Mihoshi-dono, didn't
you say it wasn't populated too much here?"
"Must be something big going on," Tenchi answered for her.
"Look at their faces. They're all anticipating something."
"And they're mostly officers, too..."
Ryo-ohki held onto Tenchi's hand tightly, like a girl
holding onto her parent. "Miya," she said fearfully.
"What is it, Ryo-chan?" Tenchi asked kindly. But he knew
he couldn't understand her. "Man. I wish we didn't have
to wear disguises. What was the point of me dressing up as
a girl?"
"So we look more like a family with no son," Katsuhito said
crisply. "I don't know."
"I suggested it," Aeka said, giggling mildly. "Tenchi-sama,
you look pretty good in a girl's outfit."
Tenchi sighed. "I'm flattered," he said. "Anyway, it was of
sheer brilliance that the brief disguise Ryo-ohki-chan used
worked. *HOW* that worked, I'm not even going to ask. I guess
she picked up a few skill of her own."
Conveniently, a GP officer passed the group leisurely.
Katsuhito grabbed him by the arm gently. "Excuse me, sir. I
am not pleased with the conditions at this checkpoint. We
just arrived from visiting a friend of ours in Mars, and now
we're facing traffic in such an unpopulated checkpoint? It's
not a thing I would expect."
"I'm sorry," the officer apologized. "But if you're heading
back out into space, I would do so quickly. Find an open
portal, but I'm sure most of them are either full or out of
order because of too much input."
"What's the rush?" Katsuhito asked.
The officer sighed. "Are you sure you want me to say it in
front of them?" he asked, gesturing towards the girls.
Katsuhito nodded. "My girls are strong," he said.
The officer sighed again. "Well... the truth is, Galaxy
Police has managed to capture Ryoko."
The group was stunned.
"Ryoko?" Tenchi said in his normal voice, cracking.
Aeka nudged him sharply. "Tenko-chan!" she said. "Isn't it
scary? A real criminal! Right by us!" She wailed.
Tenchi mentally hit himself. Idiot! he thought. You're
a girl. Aeka-san's such a good actress. He feigned much
more shock than he really had and said in a voice that was
many octaves higher, "Ryoko? You don't mean... the space
pirate?"
"She was wanted many years ago... wasn't she?"
The officer looked at Aeka strangely. "Years? You mean by..."
"Earth years," Aeka said. Then she caught her mistake.
"Ah, well..." Katsuhito said. "We vacationed on Earth, too.
We pass for Earthlings so easily, that is. And we got so
caught up in the mathematical processes there." He shot Aeka
a look.
"Exactly!" she chimed in.
"Well... Earth years." The officer did a mental calculation.
"Three years seems pretty good, give or take. Anyway, she's
pretty much hot material right now."
"Why is that?"
The officer looked at them suspiciously. "Boy, you have been
on vacation long! She's wanted for serious murder."
"Murder?"
"For Princess Sasami, of course."
At this point, Aeka's knees gave way and she had fallen. In
a quick movement, Tenchi scooped her back up. "Aeka-sa -- I
mean, Aeka-oneechan!" he corrected his tone and addressing.
Numbly, she stood up. Katsuhito quickly said, "Ah, well...
we are Juraians. It's very shocking... to hear news." He
was a good actor, too, but the shock was ample and visible.
The officer shrugged. "Well, you'd better get out of here
fast. She's right by this checkpoint. We plan to wheedle her
into the hyperspace gate and keep her there temporarily. I
think we're transporting her into a subspace cell, too."
"Hyperspace?" Tenchi's head swum.
"Yeah. Well, it slowly dwindles your energy charges there.
You can easily get killed. But we're all guessing that
since Ryoko is a killing machine, she can easily survive
there. She has killer instincts and tactics. And I assume
she's going to deteriorate over time in the subspace cell.
Can't keep life in a subspace cell for too long."
Suddenly, another officer came over. "Sempai!" he called.
"That mad scientist escaped. Help me catch her!"
The officer sighed. "Excuse me." Then he left.
"You heard what the officer said," Aeka said briskly, her
legs still wobbly. "Oniisama. Can you prepare Ryo-chan
to transform at a portal?"
"I could," Katsuhito said thickly, regaining his senses.
Tenchi nodded. "Let's go, then."
But he felt a tug on his arm, and he was dreading her
voice and the confrontation. Mihoshi looked at him with
her innocent blue eyes. "Yes?" he said weakly.
"Didn't you hear what the officer said?" Mihoshi said, her
voice rising slowly with each word. "Didn't you hear?"
"Mihoshi-san!" Aeka said, her voice rising with panic. "We
have to leave *now* or else the portals will close!"
"Didn't you hear?" Mihoshi said, getting louder by the
minute. "Tenchi-san!" she protested.
"Mihoshi-san!" Aeka shrilled.
"Aren't you going to save Ryoko-san?" Mihoshi asked sadly.
---
Washu scowled. "Damn."
The two officers surrounded nearby. "Shouldn't mess with
computers. Don't want you to hurt your pretty little head
now, right?"
Ticked off, Washu growled, "Don't come any closer."
She was pressed against the wall in the room she had been,
and the officers had come in and discovered her going
through their files. The other bodies were still unconscious.
Washu wasn't going to fight for nothing, and she was a
good fighter.
One of the officers said, "It's no use. You can't fight
us. What reason do you have?"
"My daughter's life, that's my reason."
"Oh?" the other said, eyes twinkling. "I'll let you know
that Officer Mari and Kiyone just successfully got her
into the hyperspace unit."
"Wh-what?! What are you planning to do?"
"Simple. Keep her in there until her energy drains for a
while, then at that point, teleport her into subspace."
"Subspace! That quick of an energy and dimension change
can easily --"
The word was on the tip of her tongue.
"Can easily kill, right?" the officer said, laughing.
---
The black gate sealed.
Kiyone felt utter shock, dropping the gate device, as she
slumped next to a fallen Mari, her arm bleeding profusely.
She was suddenly aware of her partner's condition.
"Mari! Hang in there! I'm getting you back to the hospital
unit, all right? Hang in there!" Kiyone yelled.
She scooped up her partner, abandoning the device, and did
not -- correction, *could not* -- bear to watch the final
sealing of the gate to hyperspace. Mari's blood dripped
onto Kiyone's sleeves, and she felt as if she was the one
with pain ripping through.
Ryoko had almost ripped off Mari's arm clean. And then
Kiyone couldn't stand it. It didn't matter how much guilt
she had from back then. Revenge or no revenge.
So, Kiyone had taken the gate device out from Mari's
unconscious body. Opened the gate behind Ryoko without her
knowing until much too late.
Her ears still echoed with Ryoko's screams.
Were they painful screams or vengeful screams?
She didn't care, couldn't care. She rushed into the main
checkpoint, and eyes were drawn to her, gasps popping. A
crowd of officers came. "She's injured!" Kiyone whispered
breathlessly. "God, help her!"
They took Mari's body carefully and quickly, leaving Kiyone
looking stranded at the checkpoint.
Only then, did she notice some people.
Some very familiar people.
---
Mihoshi felt herself crack.
That *was* her. And they were exchanging glances.
Kiyone? Was it Kiyone?
But now wasn't the time.
Mihoshi... Mihoshi knew that she wasn't able to save herself
from drowning in sorrow. At least, not now. Not when right
now was a perfect opportunity to save another's life. It
wasn't time to make up with someone who had abandoned her.
No. Not now.
Because someone important in her life -- another person --
was going to disappear forever if she didn't act now.
So she tugged on Tenchi's arm once again.
"Please? Won't you save Ryoko-san?"
---
The checkpoint was a mess.
People were screaming and leaving, ships were blazing out.
But time was infinitely frozen for Aeka.
This was too much. Too much.
She hated Mihoshi. How *dare* she bring up the subject of
Ryoko? How dare she suggest that Tenchi abandon Aeka on
this important journey? How dare --
She stopped herself.
Ryoko-san.
Oh, my god.
What was she saying?
And then, she did the hardest thing.
She smiled at Tenchi. "Tenchi-sama. You must go. You
*must* save Ryoko-san. My trip... well, I will meet you
in Jurai. I swear. You and Ryoko-san -- we'll all meet
up in Jurai." She smiled tearfully. "You *must* go."
---
Tenchi's hands shook.
God, oh GOD. Why was life so unfair?
He wanted to save Ryoko.
He wanted to help Aeka.
And here, he had to choose.
He *had* to choose. He couldn't let it off like before,
when the two had always asked him to pick.
This was a life-or-death matter.
If he helped Aeka, Ryoko would lose her life.
If he helped Ryoko, Aeka would be in danger no Jurai very
possibly, without his aid.
And... he couldn't...
Mihoshi-san. Dammit. Why did she have to --
And Aeka-san? She was agreeing?
Tenchi... god, he wanted to see Ryoko. So badly. And
he wanted to smile at her, laugh with her, hug her and
tell her never to leave Earth again. It was a swell of
fear and loss. She was so good to him and others.
And Aeka? He couldn't abandon her. He wanted to smile
and laugh with her, too. What would happen to her? It
wasn't... it wasn't...
But Aeka was a stubborn person, Tenchi knew from the past.
And when her mind was set, she was set.
"'Jii-chan!" he instructed. "Please go with Aeka-san.
You too, Mihoshi-san."
"No," Aeka said suddenly. "Tenchi-sama. You need all
assistance you can get. I agree to bring Oniisama and
Ryo-chan with me, but you'll need Mihoshi-san." Her eyes
fell on the familiar officer ahead. "I guarantee it."
Then she smiled tearfully yet again. "We'll meet in
Jurai, won't we?" she whispered.
"I *swear*," Tenchi vowed. "Wait for me there."
Aeka nodded, and turned to Ryo-ohki. "Ryo-ohki-chan!
We have to get out of here as soon as possible. We'll
ram through a crowded gate and just hightail it out.
I'm willing to bet the portals will be closed for a
very long time."
Then she and her two companions left in a rush.
Tenchi looked at Mihoshi-san. "Come on, Mihoshi-san.
I'm guessing Ryoko is... on that ship portal that...
your friend came out of," he said thickly. Kiyone.
Kiyone.
Damn.
And now, he put her out of mind.
Ryoko. Just wait for me. Hold on a little longer.
Tsuzuku (To be continued)...
---
AUTHOR's NOTES
SM was delayed, but it's back. _ Wow. After many
rewrites for the first part, I went back to the original.
Got so much crammed into Part 3 that I'm wondering if it
was too fast-paced or what.
C&C -- please send to mink249@aol.com, please. I love
to read comments and such.
What will happen next? More mysteries pop up, as well
as new ones being solved. Being procrastinator chief
here, don't expect part 4 to be coming up anytime soon.
But then again, maybe it will.
-- Mink, February 17, 2001
Part 3: The Screaming Darkness
by Emily "Mink" Koh
***
DISCLAIMER: "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki" is © 1992, Pioneer and AIC.
"Shattered Mirror" is © 2000, Emily Koh. Don't repost without
my permission. Simple enough.
See author notes at end.
***
"Will that teach you not to mess with me?"
With a satisfied sigh, Washu carefully stepped over the three
fallen bodies in the room she had been held in. She looked back
disdainfully at the electric chair behind her. "Such primitive
ways to punish. Well, thank God I've discovered how to convert
the energy of those to --"
Her sentence cut short as she spotted a nearby computer with
open access to the recent case of crimes committed. With a
gleeful smirk, Washu rubbed her hands together and did something
like a skip over to it, her hands flying across the keyboard.
"Interesting. Recent case of crimes... I wonder if Ryoko-chan
is involved?" She looked up and pondered.
Evidently. Kiyone-dono seemed very upset, so something must have
happened recently, she thought to herself.
Ryoko-chan. "That girl is just *so* impulsive -- I don't know what
I'll do with her."
She paused to giggle. "Just like her mom."
A straight list of recent crimes flew down the screen, and
Washu opted for the brief summaries that included a hint of
the involvement of a Class A-1 criminal. Silently, she
opened up a few of them.
"Wanted for murder, obliteration, robbery, et cetera, et
cetera. Common things she's done. So what's the big fuss
about now?" Washu murmured. "Spending all that time being
trapped in that artificial black hole was maddening... I
guess it did lower my social status and my knowledge of the
current events, eh?" she said mockingly to herself.
She frowned. "Very interesting. All taking place near
Jurai, somewhat. A few on Jurai."
She clicked out, then saw a new report suddenly file in.
"Must've just filed this. Lemme check it out... probably no
biggee, like the rest... maybe they arrested her because
she's been doing them one after another?"
She opened the case, and her hand froze midair from the
keyboard.
"What the..."
Her eyes scanned the computer screen again for confirmation.
PENETRATOR: Ryoko
CLASSIFICATION: A-1
Space Pirate/demon?
CRIME: Murder
VICTIM: Princess Sasami
First Order
Princess of Jurai
---
"I can't do it."
"Try again."
Abashed, Tenchi nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean --"
"Silence, Tenchi. Concentrate."
Sighing, Tenchi stretched out his arm, palm facing out, and
breathed in heavily. Slowly, light embraced him and the
familiar mark on his forehead appeared and began to glow.
The gang was outside by the entrance of the Masaki home,
staring at Tenchi with worry.
Using his Jurai power, Tenchi was attempting to force
Kiyone's ship out of the void. Mihoshi had opted to use
her cube to pull out the ship, but since the ship wasn't
hers, the cube had no affect.
"It's working!" Aeka said, overjoyed.
"Is it?" Mihoshi said, her voice sounding far away again.
"Think, Tenchi," Katsuhito said calmly. "Concentrate your
thoughts about the ship. Clear your mind of everything else."
Tenchi breathed in again.
The ship, he thought. Kiyone-san's ship. She took good
care of it, never crashed it like Mihoshi-san did. She was
always unwilling to use her ship to go on outings, for fear
that if Mihoshi was piloting, she'd crash it.
Tenchi felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, but then
suppressed it. He *had* to do this right. For Aeka-san.
Kiyone-san, when we first met her... oh, she was someone we
needed to bring sanity into our lives. She dropped by one
day -- I think reluctantly? -- to bring back Mihoshi-san to
HQ. But... I guess Mihoshi-san realized her heart was here.
Mihoshi turned at Tenchi's intensity, curious -- as if she could
read his thoughts.
Isn't it funny? Tenchi thought. How ironic that they just
received a call saying that the two were transferred to Earth.
I think Kiyone-san was upset. It all took us a while to get
used to her. I think she felt a little jealous over how well
our bonds were that tight. She came about two years and a
half ago, so we were already too close by then.
"Tenchi!" Katsuhito said, alarmed. "You're losing it. Are
you thinking about the ship?"
Right, right. The ship. But... was she jealous? Is that
why she did that to Ryoko? A beat. No. No. Kiyone-san
would *never* do anything like that. She may be obsessed with
promotions and things, but she'd never betray us. She did
develop her relations with us after those years, didn't she?
Of course... that's a different thing to say about Ryoko...
At this, the power swept out of his body, and Tenchi fell to
the ground unexpectedly.
"Tenchi-sama!" Aeka ran to his side, helping him up.
Katsuhito clicked his tongue. "You weren't concentrating!"
"I'm sorry... I'll try again..."
Aeka's voice softened with sympathy when she saw Tenchi's brow
etched with frustration. "Oniisama," she said softly, "it's
not his fault. He's... just thinking about something like
that is bad enough to stir up memories. So don't push it on
him."
"Then... how will you get to Jurai? I have to try harder!"
With a look of admiration, Aeka smiled at Tenchi. "I'm so
jealous of you, you know that? I used to be jealous of
Ryoko-san, too. You two were always so determined!"
"But you are too, what are you saying?"
"I suppose I am... in a way, but not like yours. I'll give
up along the way and come back another day, but you'll keep
trying to perfect it. Oh, Otou-sama would really like you!"
"I don't think he likes me after the whole incident with...
well, your to-be fiancé," Tenchi chuckled.
The two laughed, and it felt good to hear the melodic rings.
"I hate to burst this party," Katsuhito said gravely, "but my
curiosity is beginning to kill me. I know it sounds hardly
like myself, but Aeka, that hologram message sounded utterly
important. It's too bad that we don't have a connection to
the news of the universe to keep us tabbed in with what's going
on. It'd make life much more simpler."
Tenchi nodded. "So. I'll keep trying to get Kiyone-san's ship
out from the void that Washu-san kept it in... um, or --"
Mihoshi interrupted them all, cradling a corpselike body in
her arms, which simply mewed to prove that it was still alive.
"Or we could take Ryo-chan," she whispered.
---
"She's escaped!"
"Where is she? Did she pass here?"
"We're only back-up. Commander Kanna told us not to come in --"
"Commander Kanna is wrong. We'll need all the help we'll need.
This is Ryoko we're talking about, not a punk hacker!"
"Y-Yes, Mari-san!"
"Get in there!"
Kiyone and Mari sighed as the back-up team entered the halls to
the ship transfer area of the checkpoint.
"What a convenient place to get captured," Kiyone said, disgusted.
"Couldn't they have transferred her directly to GP Headquarters?"
"No," Mari said. "We can't confine Ryoko in her own *ship* for
that long. I'm assuming they used the harsh method of towing
her..."
"How did they capture her that easily?"
"From what I heard, they were threatening her with the hyperspace
gates."
"Hyperspace? I thought we were using subspace."
"Subspace for her prison cell. Hyperspace is our threat."
Kiyone gritted her teeth. "This isn't right," she said. "I
can't believe they dragged Ryoko here! Even though GP
monitors this checkpoint, we're doing it near innocent people!
This is... this is..."
"This is our basic checkpoint, for those checking into the Sol
System area or checking out. There's not *that* many people
who enjoy the Sol System area, Kiyone," Mari pointed out.
"Yeah... well... it's not say that there's *no one*!"
"Come on," Mari said, ignoring Kiyone's warnings. "We need to
get to Ryoko! If she escapes... besides, this might be our
chance for a promotion!"
"Ri-right."
---
Elsewhere, someone else had a lot on their mind.
"... How did Ryoko do this? If I could just remember..."
Tenchi put his hands on the two small orbs that circled the large
one in the middle inside the ship Ryo-ohki. Behind him, Aeka,
Mihoshi, and Katsuhito looked on gravely.
"I'm guessing a part of controlling Ryo-ohki took concentration.
I'm assuming, that is," Katsuhito hinted. "And maybe even a
telepathic connection."
With a wry grin, Tenchi looked back momentarily. "All this
thinking will ruin my head!" he joked. Silently, he closed his
eyes for a brief period, and sensed a wave of power sweep into
his veins.
Ryo-ohki, he thought. Can you hear me?
Miya! came the reply. And suddenly, Tenchi could understand
this creature. The controls enabled this.
We have to get to Jurai. At a rather fast speed, I hope you
don't mind. This is very important. But... I know because
of your injuries...
My injuries are the least of my worries, came the translated
reply. Destination: Jurai, isn't it? Let's go.
The ship suddenly came to life, and the entire ship zoomed on.
"Amazing," Katsuhito said. "How did you do it?"
"Communication," Tenchi said. "Heh."
"Truly amazing," Aeka agreed. "I didn't think we'd be able to
get Ryo-ohki to work correctly..."
While the trio talked briefly, Mihoshi pressed her nose against
the glass off to the side, looking at space. How refreshing it
was to see it all! Three years... three years...
She sighed. It was like breathing in fresh air, regaining her
senses. It wasn't so much that she missed it, but it felt like
a missing piece in her life had been found once she was up here.
She tried to remember what had happened on Earth a few moments
ago.
She had found the battered and near-dead Ryo-ohki on the ground,
too weak to even make a call. It was sad that no one could
interpret what Ryo-ohki was saying, because she had been
trying so hard to make them understand. Tenchi had gotten this
hopeful look on his face that Mihoshi deciphered as "Ryoko,"
but hadn't wanted to mention it. Then when Ryo-ohki heard the
gang were in a state of despair and worry, she had offered to
take them to their destination, despite her injuries.
And here they were.
Who knew, maybe they would run into --
Don't think about her. Don't get your hopes high.
Mihoshi felt sick. False hopes. Not good for the soul.
Suddenly, Katsuhito broke her thoughts.
"I'm afraid that we'll need to clarify a few things," he said.
"To the officials." His eyes narrowed and the gang stared at
where he was looking -- a small station ahead.
"What is that thing?" Tenchi murmured.
"A checkpoint," Mihoshi and Aeka said simultaneously.
"This one is the one for those who want to enter or leave
the Sol System," Mihoshi said calmly. "Monitored heavily by
the Galaxy Police."
"No one enters the Sol System *that* much," Aeka noted.
"So why the heavy security? It's not like it's the most
popular place."
"Since this place is so unpopulated, there's criminals
that smuggle things across. So a bit later after this was
discovered, they set up a GP-monitored checkpoint," Mihoshi
said in voice with clarity and such assurance that was so
unlike her trademark airhead self.
Tenchi was surprised at her behavior, but he didn't say
anything. Mihoshi had said at least more than three words
this time, and it was a relief to hear her voice again.
"We'll be suspected, you know," Katsuhito said. "If we're
on Ryoko's ship..."
"But who knows? Maybe Ryoko hasn't --"
Tenchi was going to say that perhaps Ryoko hadn't returned to
her criminal ways, but something stopped him from saying it.
If Ryo-ohki had come to his home, injured... then...
"Disguises," Aeka suddenly said.
"Disguises?" Tenchi repeated.
"Disguises."
---
"Look, more victims."
Ryoko's voice was bitter and full of sarcasm, as she scowled at
the two police officers that had stepped in that had just
discovered the mass of bodies filtered to the side.
"Should I be honored to be in the presence of The Great One?"
Mari asked in an equally sarcastic tone. She ignored Kiyone's
reaction to the dead bodies, and simply glared at Ryoko.
"Certainly," Ryoko said. "And how would you like to die?"
She paused to snicker.
As she advanced on them slowly, Kiyone and Mari stood back-to-
back, as the cyan-haired demon circled them a few times, her
golden eyes glittering with malice and curiosity.
"My, my. If it isn't Kiyone," Ryoko hissed, coming closer.
Kiyone and Mari's hands flew to their laser guns by their side,
but in a flash of light, the two guns were flown by the pile
of dead bodies, as Ryoko swung her laser beam back and forth
which had newly materialized in her hands.
"Ah ah ah," she warned them. "Don't want to get hurt before
you even start fighting, eh?"
"You disgust me," Mari said.
Kiyone remained quiet, studying the familiar person in front
of her. The last she had seen her in person was... oh, give
or take, three Earth years ago. The shock of seeing her again
was overwhelming and she couldn't bring herself to make idle
threats like Mari was.
"I could say the same to you," Ryoko responded. "But as for
now..."
She disappeared momentarily from their viewpoints.
"Wh-?! Where did she go?!"
A beam of light came crashing down on Mari's arm.
---
"Boy, am I relieved to be out of the headlights."
A family -- a man with his four daughters -- stood inside the
bustling checkpoint that was on the borderline of the Sol
System to the other parts of the vast universe.
However, the eye would deceive all if one looked *very*
closely. A thorough inspection would have it that only two
of the four daughters were actually girls. One of them was
a male with a pigtailed wig, and the other one was a small
furry girl with blue streaks in her hair, covering her
appearance with a hood on a cloak.
The checkpoint was crammed, and Aeka was rudely pushed by
a family of four, and she scowled. "Who goes to the Sol
System at this time for vacation?"
"Interesting," Katsuhito murmured. "Mihoshi-dono, didn't
you say it wasn't populated too much here?"
"Must be something big going on," Tenchi answered for her.
"Look at their faces. They're all anticipating something."
"And they're mostly officers, too..."
Ryo-ohki held onto Tenchi's hand tightly, like a girl
holding onto her parent. "Miya," she said fearfully.
"What is it, Ryo-chan?" Tenchi asked kindly. But he knew
he couldn't understand her. "Man. I wish we didn't have
to wear disguises. What was the point of me dressing up as
a girl?"
"So we look more like a family with no son," Katsuhito said
crisply. "I don't know."
"I suggested it," Aeka said, giggling mildly. "Tenchi-sama,
you look pretty good in a girl's outfit."
Tenchi sighed. "I'm flattered," he said. "Anyway, it was of
sheer brilliance that the brief disguise Ryo-ohki-chan used
worked. *HOW* that worked, I'm not even going to ask. I guess
she picked up a few skill of her own."
Conveniently, a GP officer passed the group leisurely.
Katsuhito grabbed him by the arm gently. "Excuse me, sir. I
am not pleased with the conditions at this checkpoint. We
just arrived from visiting a friend of ours in Mars, and now
we're facing traffic in such an unpopulated checkpoint? It's
not a thing I would expect."
"I'm sorry," the officer apologized. "But if you're heading
back out into space, I would do so quickly. Find an open
portal, but I'm sure most of them are either full or out of
order because of too much input."
"What's the rush?" Katsuhito asked.
The officer sighed. "Are you sure you want me to say it in
front of them?" he asked, gesturing towards the girls.
Katsuhito nodded. "My girls are strong," he said.
The officer sighed again. "Well... the truth is, Galaxy
Police has managed to capture Ryoko."
The group was stunned.
"Ryoko?" Tenchi said in his normal voice, cracking.
Aeka nudged him sharply. "Tenko-chan!" she said. "Isn't it
scary? A real criminal! Right by us!" She wailed.
Tenchi mentally hit himself. Idiot! he thought. You're
a girl. Aeka-san's such a good actress. He feigned much
more shock than he really had and said in a voice that was
many octaves higher, "Ryoko? You don't mean... the space
pirate?"
"She was wanted many years ago... wasn't she?"
The officer looked at Aeka strangely. "Years? You mean by..."
"Earth years," Aeka said. Then she caught her mistake.
"Ah, well..." Katsuhito said. "We vacationed on Earth, too.
We pass for Earthlings so easily, that is. And we got so
caught up in the mathematical processes there." He shot Aeka
a look.
"Exactly!" she chimed in.
"Well... Earth years." The officer did a mental calculation.
"Three years seems pretty good, give or take. Anyway, she's
pretty much hot material right now."
"Why is that?"
The officer looked at them suspiciously. "Boy, you have been
on vacation long! She's wanted for serious murder."
"Murder?"
"For Princess Sasami, of course."
At this point, Aeka's knees gave way and she had fallen. In
a quick movement, Tenchi scooped her back up. "Aeka-sa -- I
mean, Aeka-oneechan!" he corrected his tone and addressing.
Numbly, she stood up. Katsuhito quickly said, "Ah, well...
we are Juraians. It's very shocking... to hear news." He
was a good actor, too, but the shock was ample and visible.
The officer shrugged. "Well, you'd better get out of here
fast. She's right by this checkpoint. We plan to wheedle her
into the hyperspace gate and keep her there temporarily. I
think we're transporting her into a subspace cell, too."
"Hyperspace?" Tenchi's head swum.
"Yeah. Well, it slowly dwindles your energy charges there.
You can easily get killed. But we're all guessing that
since Ryoko is a killing machine, she can easily survive
there. She has killer instincts and tactics. And I assume
she's going to deteriorate over time in the subspace cell.
Can't keep life in a subspace cell for too long."
Suddenly, another officer came over. "Sempai!" he called.
"That mad scientist escaped. Help me catch her!"
The officer sighed. "Excuse me." Then he left.
"You heard what the officer said," Aeka said briskly, her
legs still wobbly. "Oniisama. Can you prepare Ryo-chan
to transform at a portal?"
"I could," Katsuhito said thickly, regaining his senses.
Tenchi nodded. "Let's go, then."
But he felt a tug on his arm, and he was dreading her
voice and the confrontation. Mihoshi looked at him with
her innocent blue eyes. "Yes?" he said weakly.
"Didn't you hear what the officer said?" Mihoshi said, her
voice rising slowly with each word. "Didn't you hear?"
"Mihoshi-san!" Aeka said, her voice rising with panic. "We
have to leave *now* or else the portals will close!"
"Didn't you hear?" Mihoshi said, getting louder by the
minute. "Tenchi-san!" she protested.
"Mihoshi-san!" Aeka shrilled.
"Aren't you going to save Ryoko-san?" Mihoshi asked sadly.
---
Washu scowled. "Damn."
The two officers surrounded nearby. "Shouldn't mess with
computers. Don't want you to hurt your pretty little head
now, right?"
Ticked off, Washu growled, "Don't come any closer."
She was pressed against the wall in the room she had been,
and the officers had come in and discovered her going
through their files. The other bodies were still unconscious.
Washu wasn't going to fight for nothing, and she was a
good fighter.
One of the officers said, "It's no use. You can't fight
us. What reason do you have?"
"My daughter's life, that's my reason."
"Oh?" the other said, eyes twinkling. "I'll let you know
that Officer Mari and Kiyone just successfully got her
into the hyperspace unit."
"Wh-what?! What are you planning to do?"
"Simple. Keep her in there until her energy drains for a
while, then at that point, teleport her into subspace."
"Subspace! That quick of an energy and dimension change
can easily --"
The word was on the tip of her tongue.
"Can easily kill, right?" the officer said, laughing.
---
The black gate sealed.
Kiyone felt utter shock, dropping the gate device, as she
slumped next to a fallen Mari, her arm bleeding profusely.
She was suddenly aware of her partner's condition.
"Mari! Hang in there! I'm getting you back to the hospital
unit, all right? Hang in there!" Kiyone yelled.
She scooped up her partner, abandoning the device, and did
not -- correction, *could not* -- bear to watch the final
sealing of the gate to hyperspace. Mari's blood dripped
onto Kiyone's sleeves, and she felt as if she was the one
with pain ripping through.
Ryoko had almost ripped off Mari's arm clean. And then
Kiyone couldn't stand it. It didn't matter how much guilt
she had from back then. Revenge or no revenge.
So, Kiyone had taken the gate device out from Mari's
unconscious body. Opened the gate behind Ryoko without her
knowing until much too late.
Her ears still echoed with Ryoko's screams.
Were they painful screams or vengeful screams?
She didn't care, couldn't care. She rushed into the main
checkpoint, and eyes were drawn to her, gasps popping. A
crowd of officers came. "She's injured!" Kiyone whispered
breathlessly. "God, help her!"
They took Mari's body carefully and quickly, leaving Kiyone
looking stranded at the checkpoint.
Only then, did she notice some people.
Some very familiar people.
---
Mihoshi felt herself crack.
That *was* her. And they were exchanging glances.
Kiyone? Was it Kiyone?
But now wasn't the time.
Mihoshi... Mihoshi knew that she wasn't able to save herself
from drowning in sorrow. At least, not now. Not when right
now was a perfect opportunity to save another's life. It
wasn't time to make up with someone who had abandoned her.
No. Not now.
Because someone important in her life -- another person --
was going to disappear forever if she didn't act now.
So she tugged on Tenchi's arm once again.
"Please? Won't you save Ryoko-san?"
---
The checkpoint was a mess.
People were screaming and leaving, ships were blazing out.
But time was infinitely frozen for Aeka.
This was too much. Too much.
She hated Mihoshi. How *dare* she bring up the subject of
Ryoko? How dare she suggest that Tenchi abandon Aeka on
this important journey? How dare --
She stopped herself.
Ryoko-san.
Oh, my god.
What was she saying?
And then, she did the hardest thing.
She smiled at Tenchi. "Tenchi-sama. You must go. You
*must* save Ryoko-san. My trip... well, I will meet you
in Jurai. I swear. You and Ryoko-san -- we'll all meet
up in Jurai." She smiled tearfully. "You *must* go."
---
Tenchi's hands shook.
God, oh GOD. Why was life so unfair?
He wanted to save Ryoko.
He wanted to help Aeka.
And here, he had to choose.
He *had* to choose. He couldn't let it off like before,
when the two had always asked him to pick.
This was a life-or-death matter.
If he helped Aeka, Ryoko would lose her life.
If he helped Ryoko, Aeka would be in danger no Jurai very
possibly, without his aid.
And... he couldn't...
Mihoshi-san. Dammit. Why did she have to --
And Aeka-san? She was agreeing?
Tenchi... god, he wanted to see Ryoko. So badly. And
he wanted to smile at her, laugh with her, hug her and
tell her never to leave Earth again. It was a swell of
fear and loss. She was so good to him and others.
And Aeka? He couldn't abandon her. He wanted to smile
and laugh with her, too. What would happen to her? It
wasn't... it wasn't...
But Aeka was a stubborn person, Tenchi knew from the past.
And when her mind was set, she was set.
"'Jii-chan!" he instructed. "Please go with Aeka-san.
You too, Mihoshi-san."
"No," Aeka said suddenly. "Tenchi-sama. You need all
assistance you can get. I agree to bring Oniisama and
Ryo-chan with me, but you'll need Mihoshi-san." Her eyes
fell on the familiar officer ahead. "I guarantee it."
Then she smiled tearfully yet again. "We'll meet in
Jurai, won't we?" she whispered.
"I *swear*," Tenchi vowed. "Wait for me there."
Aeka nodded, and turned to Ryo-ohki. "Ryo-ohki-chan!
We have to get out of here as soon as possible. We'll
ram through a crowded gate and just hightail it out.
I'm willing to bet the portals will be closed for a
very long time."
Then she and her two companions left in a rush.
Tenchi looked at Mihoshi-san. "Come on, Mihoshi-san.
I'm guessing Ryoko is... on that ship portal that...
your friend came out of," he said thickly. Kiyone.
Kiyone.
Damn.
And now, he put her out of mind.
Ryoko. Just wait for me. Hold on a little longer.
Tsuzuku (To be continued)...
---
AUTHOR's NOTES
SM was delayed, but it's back. _ Wow. After many
rewrites for the first part, I went back to the original.
Got so much crammed into Part 3 that I'm wondering if it
was too fast-paced or what.
C&C -- please send to mink249@aol.com, please. I love
to read comments and such.
What will happen next? More mysteries pop up, as well
as new ones being solved. Being procrastinator chief
here, don't expect part 4 to be coming up anytime soon.
But then again, maybe it will.
-- Mink, February 17, 2001