Disclaimer

I am a poor starving artist with no intentions of making money off of this. I own absolutely none of the characters herein, and have created this sheerly for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of anyone who reads it. Please don't sue me.

"Orbital insertion plotted."

"Execute."

"Starting reactivation cycle."

"Stasis systems stable; two lifeforms, still viable."

"Beacon location finalized."

"Continue orbital insertion."

"Stable orbit reached; complete reactivation cycle."

"Good morning, Princess."

Ayeka opened her eyes, shook her head slightly to clear it. She looked up at the screen in front of her.

"The beacon...it is Funaho's beacon!"

She stepped out of her stasis booth, now fully awake.

"Yosho, my brother..." She smiled. "It will be good to see you again."

This Side Down

Part Eight

No Need for More Sisters

"Good morning, Tenchi."

"Yaah!"

Tenchi bolted from his room, dressed only in boxers, and ran down the stairs.

"Tenchi, what on earth--"

Nabiki stepped from her room, to see a scantily-clad demoness fly down the hall. She rubbed her eyes, looked again. "Great. Just what we need at this hour of the morning."

Akane came out of her room, mallet ready to strike. "Damnit, Tenchi! Flirting with that demoness again!"

"I'm not! I'm innocent!"

Ryoko smiled. "Really? You mean you didn't want me to crawl into bed with you?"

Akane twitched.

Tenchi waved his hands in the air. "No, not at all!"

"Well, then, why did you grab me?"

Akane lost it. "Die, Tenchi!" She heaved the mallet at his head.

"Ack--"

CLONG

Unfortunately, Ryoko was directly between Tenchi and Akane. She turned slowly, glowered at Akane.

"You little..."

"What's that noise?"

The combatants stopped, looked at Nabiki, then listened.

There was a low-frequency rumbling/purring noise from outside the house. The foursome ran out of the house and looked up.

Ryoko groaned. "Kuso...Not her."

Tenchi eyed the demoness. "Who?"

"Ayeka."

"Princess, we have detected a second beacon, in close proximity to the Funaho. It appears to match the signature of Ryo-Ohki. In addition, Prince Yosho's personal beacon is not responding to hails."

"Ryo-Ohki! That means that Ryoko must have defeated Yosho!" Ayeka stared at the screen, then darkened. "He may still be alive, merely imprisoned somehow...we must capture Ryoko."

"There is a problem, Princess...the Statute of Limitations on Ryoko has only five more seconds left to run." The screen before her changed to show Ryoko's police record, including a mug shot of said demoness, fingers raised in a V.

"What!"

DELETED

"Never mind that! Descend to twenty thousand feet and begin scanning for Yosho and Ryoko."

"Ayeka? Who's that?"

"Another demon, far more powerful than myself. You have to give me your balls."

"What? No way! I need these."

"Stupid! I mean the power balls, on the Master Key."

"...the sword. Right." Tenchi raised the sword. "And why do I have to give them to you?"

"So I can summon Ryo-Ohki."

"Ryo-Ohki...the dragon that you rode when you came to Earth! Forget it!"

"Are you brain dead? Do you think we stand a chance against this thing? We need Ryo-Ohki!"

Nabiki finally spoke up. "Uhhh...Tenchi, you know the saying, 'Takes one to know one', right?"

Akane nodded. "You'd better do what she says."

Tenchi looked at the sword, then nodded. "I guess so. What should I do?"

Ryoko smiled. "Just concentrate on the sword, and will the power balls to me."

Tenchi nodded, and concentrated. One of the power balls glowed and vanished, to reappear on Ryoko's wrist.

"Hey! That's only one!"

Tenchi nodded. "So it is."

Ryoko grimaced. "Well, it may still be enough."

She raised her arm above a head, and traced a great circle. "Come, Ryo-Ohki!"

"MIYA!"

Akane gasped, and pointed out over the lake. "Tenchi...look!"

Tenchi looked, and boggled.

The mirror-still surface of the lake was broken by four large brown spars. The surface of the lake began to roil, and a massive object, seemingly crystalline, hove into view.

A blast of power ripped from the demon hovering over the house, slamming into Ryo-Ohki. The smaller...creature? Ship? Dragon?...wobbled in flight, then slid cleanly across the sky to come to rest directly between Ayeka and the house.

Ryoko nodded. "Time to go." She snapped her fingers.

Tenchi stumbled, trying to get his bearings. He looked around, and saw Ryoko, Akane and Nabiki...in the middle of a large number of floating crystals.

"What on earth...?"

"Not exactly, Tenchi." Ryoko smirked. "Welcome to the bridge of the pirate vessel, Ryo-Ohki."

"Pirate vessel...You mean this is a spaceship?"

"More or less." Ryoko turned to face one of the crystals. "Ryo-Ohki, take us to seventy thousand, and arm all primary batteries."

"MIYA!"

The spaceship leapt skyward. Tenchi and the sisters stumbled against the force of the liftoff.

A small viewscreen popped up, showing the face of a woman. "Ryoko, surrender now, and this does not have to become unpleasant."

"Ayeka, anything involving you is automatically unpleasant."

Tenchi leaned over to look at the woman. She was quite young, and very attractive, with long purple-dyed hair, two small purple triangular marks on her forehead, and ornate robes. "You know, Ryoko, she looks a lot less like a demon than you do."

"Be quiet while I'm driving." Ryoko waved a hand, and the screen vanished. "Ryo-Ohki, target a burst at Ryu-Oh. Six guns, full power. Fire."

Lances of energy bridged the gap between the two ships. From Tenchi's vantage point, the sound of the guns was deafening, though not half so bad as the sound of the spaceship's yowling.

Then the deck fell out from underneath him. He rolled to his feet and grabbed a crystal column. "What happened?"

Ryoko scowled at her readouts. "Return fire from Ryu-Oh. All power lost."

"All power...does that mean we're going to crash?"

"No such luck." Ryoko's scowl deepened. "Graviton beam from Ryu-Oh has us under tow."

"Graviton beam. You mean a tractor beam?"

"Yep."

Nabiki tapped a crystal. "So what can we do?" She recoiled in surprise as the crystal formed a small, furry face.

"Nothing." Ryoko spread her hands, and several thousand volts began to arc around her. "We're being boarded."

"Huh?"

Two large logs formed on either side of her. One of them spoke.

"Ryoko, do not try to resist. We are here to escort you to Princess Ayeka for questioning."

"Like hell." Ryoko threw a lightning bolt at one of the logs, sending it flying. The other snared her with its own lightning bolts, immobilizing her. Both the log and the demoness faded from view.

The other log stabilized and floated toward Tenchi, Akane and Nabiki. "Do not resist, and you will not be harmed."

Tenchi snarled, and raised the sword hilt. Nabiki lay a hand on his arm.

"Tenchi...you can't win."

"I'm sure as hell gonna try!"

Akane put her hand on his shoulder. "Tenchi, don't be an idiot! That thing just took out Ryoko. We probably can't even dent it." She looked at him, eyes wide. "I don't want you to get hurt..."

Tenchi lowered the sword. "All right." He turned to the log, which was still floating expectantly. "You win. We won't resist."

"An excellent choice." Lightning flared out, and before Tenchi could cry out his betrayal, everything turned black.

"Tenchi!"

"Tenchi!"

Hands pulled at his shoulder, but he knew he still had ten minutes before breakfast, so he rolled over and ignored them.

"Tenchi!"

WHACK

"Ow!" Tenchi sat up, rubbing his head. "What was that for?"

"You scared me!" Akane set down her mallet and grabbed his hands. "You wouldn't wake up!"

"So you figured hitting me in the head would wake me up?" He looked around. "Where are we?"

Nabiki answered him. "We're in some kind of cell. I don't know how we got in, because there's no door, and we were all unconscious when we were brought here."

Tenchi looked around. It seemed like they were underneath a willow tree, save that the branches were much thicker, and embedded themselves into the ground. The ground underneath him was firm, and grass was growing in it. He looked out between the bars, and saw more trees growing in the distance, a fountain, and what looked like it might be a stream. In fact, the illusion of a massive park was almost perfect. It only broke down when he looked up, and saw the massive, sweeping, ribbed roof.

"We've gotta get out of this thing." He reached for his sword, but came up empty. "My sword is gone!"

"Let me." Akane raised her mallet, and swung with all her might at one of the branches.

WHACK

"Ow." Akane dropped the mallet and shook her hand. "Vibrations. Ow, ow, ow."

"Here." Nabiki pulled out a knife. "Let me try."

"Nabiki...you carry a knife?"

She grinned. "All-purpose general cutting tool." She turned and started to work on one of the bars. "Yep, this stuff's tough, all right. But I'm..." She stopped, took a step back. "Uh, Tenchi, this stuff is growing back as fast as I can cut it."

"We're sunk." Tenchi sat down with a sigh. "Guess we better get comfortable. Who knows how long we'll be in here."

"Hi there!"

"Huh?" Tenchi looked up.

Standing outside of their prison was a small girl. She wore an ornate robe, and judging from her face and height, she was a few years younger than himself. Her hair was long and blue - he was somewhat inured to odd hair colours by now - and swept back into two long ponytails. On her forehead were two small triangular markings. The expression on her face was sweet and innocent, but there was a glint in her eye that spoke of mischief.

"My name's Sasami. What's yours?"

He grinned. "I'm Tenchi." He waved behind him. "These are--"

"Akane." She stepped forward and bowed. "Pleased to meet you."

"And I'm Nabiki."

Sasami bowed back to the threesome. "Pleased to meet you all! I've never met any aliens before."

Tenchi started. "Aliens? Then you must be part of this ship's crew."

"Nope!" She giggled. "I'm a passenger. This is my sister's ship, and the Guardians are her crew."

"Oh. So your sister would be Ayeka?"

"Yes! She's the Princess Ayeka, Heir Presumptive to the throne of the Juraian Empire."

Nabiki leaned forward. "So you're a princess, too?"

"Yes, though I'm not likely to inherit anything." She pouted. "Unless both Yosho and Ayeka refuse the throne, or die, or something like that."

"Yosho..." Akane looked thoughtful. "Tenchi, isn't that that hero that fought the demon Ryoko?"

Sasami answered for her. "Yes! He's my half-brother, and Ayeka and I came to your planet to look for him."

Tenchi sighed. "I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. Yosho fought Ryoko eight hundred of our years ago. He's long dead."

"Nope! Wrong! As long as he stayed close to Funaho, he should still be alive!"

"Funaho?"

"His ship!" She waved a hand around her. "One of the Juraian Royal Trees, just like this one."

Akane knelt before the princess. "But if he's your brother, then you'd be really old, too, right?"

"Well, I was just a baby when he left to fight Ryoko - I was only four! - and I've spent a lot of time in suspended animation."

"Ah."

"So I'm only six hundred of your years old!"

Akane's jaw fell open.

Sasami laughed and twirled. "Staying with Ryu-Oh has kept me young!"

Tenchi leaned forward. "Listen, Sasami. I don't have anything to do with Ryoko attacking your planet or anything. Your sister scooped us up because we just happened to be nearby when she came looking for Ryoko. Could you possibly let us go? We're harmless. We just want to get back home."

Sasami considered it, one hand on her chin, deep in thought.

"No."

Tenchi sweatdropped. "C'mon, Sasami!"

Akane leaned forward. "Please, Sasami? I really miss my sister and father..." She clasped her hands under her chin and her eyes grew big and round, brimming with tears.

Tenchi blinked. Uber-kawaii was not, as far as he knew, in Akane's book.

"Oh, all right! But only on one condition."

"What condition?"

Sasami pointed at Tenchi. "You have to get my sister's tiara. She's asleep right now, and it's on her nightstand. It'll be a great prank! Is that a deal?"

"Ummm...sure."

Sasami drew a small silver device from under her robe and touched it to a branch. The branches parted, allowing the threesome to step out.

"Her bed is this way." Sasami led them off down the garden path...

"There it is."

The princess Ayeka's bedchamber was underneath a spreading tree. A large four-poster bed, that looked like it had grown out of the ground, dominated the sheltered area. Next to it was a nightstand.

Tenchi ran as stealthily and as quickly as he could to the nightstand. He grabbed the tiara, and was about to leave when his eye fell on something lying next to the princess.

"My sword!"

He reached out to pick up the sword, but the girl rolled over on top of it. He scowled, and thought for a moment. He then picked a small twig off the ground, and used it to tickle the girl's ear. She grimaced, and rolled over again. Tenchi grinned, and reached for the sword.

Ayeka rolled over a third time, trapping his hand under her body. Well, actually, trapping it under her torso.

Oh, and was it mentioned that the princess' sleeping gown was best described as diaphanous? No, that's giving it way too much credit.

Tenchi flushed.

Off in the bushes, Akane scowled. "What is he doing? The pervert's molesting her or something."

Sasami giggled. "Oneechan is really restless when she sleeps."

Nabiki frowned down at the girl. "You knew something like this would happen, right?"

"Who, me?"

Tenchi held very still, like a deer trapped in oncoming headlights. Aside from the trickle of blood running from his nose, he was completely motionless.

How am I gonna get her to roll over? Can't reach the twig again...

Sasami stood up out of the bushes. "Hey, Sis!"

"Ack!"

Ayeka's eyes snapped open, and she squawked. Quite understandably. Tenchi pulled his hand free and turned to run.

Only to run smack into one of those giant floating logs.

"Do not resist. Your attempts to assassinate the princess have failed."

"I wasn't trying to assassinate her!"

Ayeka grabbed a robe and pulled it around her. She stormed towards Tenchi and slapped him full along the face.

"Ow!"

"How dare you, you peasant!" She stopped, noticing for the first time the sword hilt in Tenchi's hand.

"How is it you can hold the Master Key?"

"The what?"

"The Tenchi-ken, the Sword of Heaven and Earth."

Alarms started going off, and another log materialized at Ayeka's side. "Princess, the criminal Ryoko has escaped."

The floor tilted crazily underneath their feet. Ayeka cursed, turned and ran.

Nabiki and Akane ran up to Tenchi. "What on earth is going on?" demanded Nabiki.

Sasami looked up. "Offhand, I'd say that Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki are attacking Ryu-Oh."

Tenchi opened his mouth to comment, but the world dissolved into a sickening spiral of crimson, and he found himself back on the bridge of the Ryo-Ohki.

Ryoko grinned at the three Terrans. "Hi! Miss me?"

Nabiki ground her teeth. "With every bullet..."

The deck pitched crazily under their feet. Ryoko grinned.

"We have successfully rammed the Ryu-Oh. Now we'll drag them down."

"What?" Tenchi grabbed a column for support. "Are you mad? We'll all die!"

"Yes! Glorious, isn't it?"

Akane staggered, trying to maintain her balance. "Yep. She's mad."

A viewscreen flared to life before the pirate. "Ryoko! Release us, or we'll both die!"

"I don't care!" Ryoko snarled at the princess. "You've taken everything I've ever cared about away from me! You've destroyed every hope I ever had! Now it's payback time!"

"What are you talking about?"

But Ryoko was beyond words.

Tenchi frantically hit buttons on the column he was holding onto. "Gotta do something, or we're gonna crash..."

The world went black.

Ryoko is not herself. She is being acted upon by an outside influence. Please, she needs your help. Please do what you can to help her. My sacrifice will be the first step in her healing, but she will need all the support she can get...

Tenchi blinked, his eyes clearing. He found himself lying on the ground outside his grandfather's house, a cold compress on his forehead.

"Tenchi, are you all right?"

"Huh?" He sat up, and looked around.

Sitting in the lake were the massive forms of the two spaceships, slowly sinking. The princess Ayeka was doing her best to pull Ryu-Oh out of the lake, but to no avail. Sasami was helping Akane to sit up. Ryoko and Nabiki were still out cold.

Kasumi smiled tentatively. "It seems we have company."

"Great. Just great."

Kasumi stood, and walked towards Ayeka.

The princess sat back on the ground and dropped her face into her hands. "I can't believe it! I'm shipwrecked on a backward, primitive planet, with no-one knowing where I am, and no way to send a message home!" She sobbed once. "What am I going to do?"

Kasumi laid a hand on her shoulder. "You could join us for dinner."

Ayeka blinked, looking up at Kasumi, and grinned. "Thank you...I'd like that."

Sasami walked over to Tenchi. "Wasn't it a great prank?"

Tenchi couldn't help it. He laughed.