The Light Hawk War

by Chaos Lord

Ranma joins the Tenchi crew to battle a foe more powerful than any that he has faced before.

9. Chapter 8 Marriage and War

The Light Hawk War

By: Chaos Lord

Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to their respective owners. The concepts dealing with the Time Gates the Ultimate Good and Evil and the Forbidden belong to PacMan.

********* Warning *********

This chapter contains people who are not in certain Tenchi products. For this story I am only using what is said in the 1st and 2nd OAV. Any name or events coming from the books or GXP have no bearing for this story.

********* Warning *********

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Chapter 8

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Ranma Saotome was fighting against an implacable foe in his hardest battle to date. For every move that Ranma made his opponent countered with one that placed victory a little bit further from Ranma's grasp. As Ranma stared at his most hated foe he knew that he was fighting a loosing battle and it was really pissing him off.

"Damn stupid bowtie," Ranma exclaimed angrily as he threw his arms in the air. Starring at himself in the mirror Ranma could see that the result of twenty minutes of work had culminated in some slightly rumpled fabric. Hearing some chuckling coming from behind him, he turned around to face the source of the laughter and gave the three men standing inside the entrance to Tenchi's room a menacing glare. To Ranma's despair all three men all had perfectly tied bowties to accompany their black tuxedos. "If you guys are so good will one you help me with this blasted tie? I swear these things were created as some form of torture."

The first two men, his father Genma and his soon-to-be father-in-law Seshou Kuramitsu just shook their heads and shrugged. "Don't look to us for help Ranma," replied Seshou. "Genma and I took the easy way and had Washu make us clip-on ties," to demonstrate this the tall man pulled off his tie only to slip it back on.

Genma elbowed the taller man, "You weren't supposed to tell him that. You have to act all mysterious and wise," he said with a grin.

The third man, Tenchi, started over to help his friend. "I'll help you Ranma. Unlike those fossils over there I know how to tie one of these."

"Oh really," Seshou drolly, "I guess having your fiancé tie it for you means you know how to tie a bowtie. I guess that means we should have done that, ey Genma."

Genma folded his arms across his chest and nodded solemnly, "Quite right Seshou. The way of the bowtie is perilous indeed." At that everyone in the room began to laugh.

As Ranma looked at his father he was surprised that this was the same man who raised him. Over the last two months Genma had been a warm and good man. Some of the weight that had plagued the man's torso had disappeared thanks to the diet Nodoka had him on. His fighting had also gone down, in fact the only arguments that Genma had got in recently were over how the marriage would go down. It was thanks to him that Ranma was wearing a tuxedo and not a kimono or some sort of Juraian getup at his wedding.

As Ranma shifted from his father to his future father-in-law he had to once again think of how amazing the blonde-haired man was. Ranma thought back over the events that led to him meeting Seshou Kuramitsu.

*********

Two Months Ago

Ranma was in front of the shrine moving slowly through one of the katas that Cologne's scroll had described. This one was a slow precise kata designed not to exercise the body but to calm the mind and integrate it into the whole. Unfortunately, this time the kata wasn't working like he hoped, his body performed the steps with skill and poise but his mind wouldn't focus. The reason for this distraction, Mihoshi. Every fiber of his being was focused on her, from martial arts to a leaf falling to the ground, everything conjured up images of his blonde-haired bombshell. "Speaking of Mihoshi," Ranma thought as she crested the stairs and entered the shrine area. When she got close he stopped his kata and focused his attention onto his newly acquired fiancé.

"Ranma can we talk?"

"Sure," replied Ranma. He then led Mihoshi to the shrine so they could sit on the steps. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Us, or more precisely our future." She took Ranma's hands and placed them in her lap. "When do you see us getting married?"

Ranma looked into Mihoshi's blue orbs and at that moment he remembered one of the few things his father said on the subject of women. "Son, there will come a time when a woman will ask you a question for which there is no real answer. When that time come,, the only thing you can do is tell the truth, show no fear, and above all else, hope to she doesn't find anything wrong with your answer." So in one of those rare moments of his life Ranma followed his father's advice and told the truth. "Well, I hadn't really thought about it, but I guess we should get married after the battle."

Mihoshi shook her head, "No, we can't wait until after the battle."

"Why?"

Mihoshi's grip upon his hands increased astronomically, "Ranma I'm scared, no terrified, about the battle. I've seen the way you fight remember? When you fight someone who is really skilled or powerful, you totally focus on the fight. I want you to have something that will remind you that you have things to live for, so you won't take a chance that might get you killed."

Ranma reached up and placed his hand on her cheek to wipe away the tear that formed there, "If you want to get married early then we will. But you should know something, nothing could ever make me forget that I have you."

Mihoshi smiled beatifically and lightly kissed Ranma upon the lips. When their lips parted she jumped up abruptly, "I've got to call my parents," she exclaimed. She then ran away leaving a befuddled Ranma in her wake.

*********

Two Weeks Later

Ranma was in pure heaven. He was laying on a picnic blanket with the remnants of a lovingly prepared lunch discarded to the wayside, and the warmth of the sun beaming down upon him and Mihoshi. As he lay there stroking Mihoshi's long blonde hair he thought about how lucky he was to have such a loving and understanding fiancé as she. Since the two of them had been formally engaged, Ranma had little time to spend with the woman he loved. With Cologne's help he had been training the Senshi vigorously, and when he wasn't doing that he was engaged in some personal training. Along with that he had to continue his tutoring sessions with Washu (something his mother had insisted on), handle the chores he had around the house, and spend some quality time with Mihoshi. Unfortunately the amount of time in a day is short, and with all the tasks he must perform, sufficient time with Mihoshi is in even shorter supply. But she understood and did everything in her power to make time, this picnic was one such moment that she was able to spare for them.

So here they were, just laying on the blanket with nary a care in the world. This blissful state was soon interrupted by a creaning noise coming from above them. Ranma recognized this sound and in his time at the Masaki home grew to fear it. When he first arrived Washu gave him a briefing so that his safety would be ensured. Part of that briefing was on Mihoshi and some of the stuff that she did, like landing a shuttle. The sound was so similar to the one Washu had recorded that Ranma had to check to reinforce the feel of Mihoshi on his chest. She was there and like Ranma, she looking for the source of the noise.

Ranma and Mihoshi's search came to an abrupt end when something struck the water and created a deluge to envelop the couple. When the flood waters receded Mihoshi's head was resting firmly on Ranma's generous breasts. Now you may ask why Ranma was a woman while he was able to control his curse. The answer to that question was a simple one, you see for the longest time Ranma's curse was activated by cold water and over time Ranma's subconscious developed an equation, cold water + male Ranma = female Ranma. Since the time he gained the ability to control the curse it was rare for him to change gender without his desire to but it happened. Usually the cause for this was those times he was so shocked at the water that the subconscious equation kicked in and he changed. This was one of the times and so as the cold waters of the lake struck Ranma's body, SCHPROING! Instant breasts.

When the pleasant sensation of Mihoshi's head on his breasts vanished Ranma looked up to see that said girl was running towards the lake screaming gleefully all the while. Sitting in the middle of the lake was what appeared to be a standard GP-issue long-range shuttle. Since Mihoshi was a member of the GP Ranma ended up learning a little about them. What interested him the most was the ships that the Galaxy Police use in their operations. Ranma had never really been into anything techy, but having the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe as his teacher had some effect on Ranma. He was entranced by the subject of space flight and the fantastic speeds that ships could achieve.

As Ranma walked up to Mihoshi he saw that she was frantically fussing with her hair trying to make it look presentable. When she laid eyes upon Ranma she asked, "Ranma, how do I look?"

Ranma looked down at Mihoshi's feet and started up her body. Her feet were bare and her pants were dripping onto them. Her khaki pants were soaked through and clung to her skin like they were painted on. The pants showed so much that when Ranma's eyes reached her waist he was an able to see her panties clearly defined. Tucked into the pants was a black tank top, which was equally soaked. So soaked in fact that Ranma was able to see that Mihoshi was not wearing a bra and that her breasts were naturally like that. Her hair was undone and plastered to her head and her shoulders. All in all the image Mihoshi presented was very favorable to Ranma, but he knew that if she wanted to make a good impression with someone her attire was not what she wanted to be wearing.

"You look great. If you like the whole wet t-shirt thing that is."

Mihoshi looked down at herself and shrieked. In a flash she had out her cube and was frantically operating it. She looked up at Ranma and said, "Quick! Turn into a guy. I don't want you to meet them as a girl!"

Ranma's body shifted and the smooth curves of his female form were once again replaced by the hard muscle of manliness. "Ok, I'm a guy. Now who are we going to meet?"

"My parents!" With that she found the right combination and her sodden appearance was replaced with a clean, dry Mihoshi wearing a light blue sundress decorated with yellow flowers.

At the same time Mihoshi's clothes changed, Ranma felt a tingle pass through his body. At first he had thought that Mihoshi's cube had somehow transformed him back into a woman but when he looked down he did not see the abundant cleavage of his female side. What he did see was that his attire had changed and instead of wearing a tee shirt and shorts he was now wearing a white Chinese style shirt and matching black pants. From the feel of the material it was silk and now that Ranma got a better look at the shirt he could see a design woven into the material that complemented Mihoshi's dress.

Then what Mihoshi had said finally set in. He was about to meet Mihoshi's parents. Traditionally this was a time that all men feared, the time when they meet the parents of the girl, or woman, they intend to marry. Having seen plenty of television when he wasn't in a life or death struggle at the Tendo Dojo, Ranma was an expert on such matters. There were two primary things that television taught him about this sort of situation; one, parents can smell fear, and two, fathers always carry shotguns.

As Ranma stood there in the clothes that Mihoshi provided, he went over what his beloved told him about her parents. Seshou Kuramitsu, Mihoshi's father, worked with the Galaxy Police as a District Attorney of sorts. According to Mihoshi, Seshou would be called to whatever planet the GP needed a prosecutor and would impartially try the case. To avoid any suggestion of partiality on the part of the GP he was under that aegis of the Galactic Council, a sort of intergalactic UN that ensures peace among the member worlds. Minato Kuramitsu, Mihoshi's mother, was a minor member of the Juraian aristocracy who trained as a pilot. According to Mihoshi, there was no spacecraft that Minato couldn't fly. She was a wiz at the controls and performed maneuvers that other pilots wouldn't think of trying. Unfortunately, Minato had her weaknesses, and it was landing. Minato had a philosophy regarding landing, "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one." This philosophy made her a menace to any who were in the vicinity of her landing sites. Luckily for those people, she usually tried to land in water, which resulted in the deluge that cascaded over Ranma and Mihoshi.

Shortly after Mihoshi changed their clothes the shuttle moved close to the edge of the lake and a hatch opened in the side of the ship. From the hatch a gangplank extended down unto the shore and a man appeared in the hatchway. He walked down the gangplank with a regal manner and as soon as he stepped foot upon the soil he was tackled by Mihoshi who was gleefully yelling, "DADDY!"

With his daughter in his arms, Seshou Kuramitsu spun around laughing happily. "Mihoshi! How's my favorite daughter doing," he asked as he returned Mihoshi to the ground.

"Great Dad," Mihoshi then held out her hand and angled her engagement ring so that Seshou could see it. "This is the ring that Ranma gave me, isn't it beautiful?"

From inside the shuttle came a voice, "Indeed it is. And I assume that the man with you is this Ranma we keep hearing about." From the darkness of the shuttle stepped a tall woman dressed as a some form of intergalactic pirate. From the flowing red cape to the large belt rested at an angle on her hips Minato Kuramitsu looked every bit the part. Instead of walking down the ramp she jumped into the air and at her apex she passed in front of the sun. When she landed before Ranma the pirate outfit was gone and it's place was a simple blouse and skirt that flattered her figure but didn't reveal anything like her previous one.

To say that Ranma was shocked was to say that Mt. Everest was JUST a molehill. Of all her talks about her mother, Mihoshi never mentioned anything like this. It seemed as if Minato was a typical noble, that is she was weird. Ranma's musings were cut short by his internal warning systems and when he looked at Minato he saw that it was justified. Minato's eyes were large and the smile on her face was even larger. One second after he noticed this Minato grabbed him in a hug that resulted in his head planted firmly in Minato's bosom.

********

Mihoshi stood in her room in the Masaki home and admired her reflection in the mirror. For her wedding she was wearing a modern Earth dress that fit her perfectly and would give Ranma something to think about while at the same time being conservative. As she stood there she was assailed by emotions of both joy and worry. Marriage was a big step, one that she more than happy to take but at the same time she was deathly afraid. As an engaged couple she and Ranma were happy and content but she knew marriage may change that. Unlike the people of Earth, her people didn't believe in divorce. No, when a couple on her world decided to marry they had to be completely sure because there was no getting out of. Till death do us part on her world meant just that. So like any who were about to walk down the isle there were second thoughts, but her mind drifted back to the times when Ranma would hold her in his arms or look at her as if she was the only person in the universe and she knew that she was making the right choice.

Looking up from her reflection in the mirror Mihoshi saw her mother leaning against the door. Minato's eyes were red and while she wasn't crying at the moment the tear tracks from a previous crying session were evident on her cheeks. Mihoshi turned to look at her mother, "What's wrong?"

"I can't tell you how happy I am for you. For years it has been my dream to see you meet someone nice and start a family with them. But now that its happened I feel like I'm loosing my daughter."

Mihoshi walked to her mother and embraced her, "Mom I'll always be your daughter and nothing is going to change that." Mihoshi then pulled away to look Minato in the eyes, "Think of it this way, you're not loosing a daughter, you're gaining a son. A son that you can be proud of. I know I am."

Minato smiled at her daughter's wisdom, "You're right. This is a time for joy not tears. Thank you."

Mihoshi turned to mirror to examine her reflection once more. "I should be thanking you and Daddy. You're the reason Ranma and I are dressed like we are."

*********

One Month Earlier

Two combatants stared down each other across the field of battle All the arguments had been made, all the reasons stated. Now they had reached this point.

"Shinto!"

"Juraian!"

Nodoka and Azusa were standing at either end of the Masaki dining room table with their hands on the table staring each other down. When Azusa had heard that Mihoshi and Ranma were planning a wedding, with their parents help of course, he decided to help. Since Ranma was now a knight of Jurai Azusa felt that he should be there. That way Juraian interests, i.e. Azusa's interests, were assured. The discussion over the wedding ceremony soon dissolved into a shouting match between Nodoka and Azusa. Azusa favored a formal Juraian ceremony that would have been several hours long while Nodoka favored a proper Shinto ceremony.

As Nodoka and Azusa argued Ranma and Mihoshi sat and watched, their heads turning back and forth to look at the individual speakers. In imagining the setup for their wedding Ranma and Mihoshi never thought it would end up like this.

The grief they were experiencing must have been evident on their faces since Minato stood and declared, "Why don't we have the wedding naked?!"

The father's Genma and Seshou who were sitting next to Minato were shocked. Genma was so shocked that he began choking, a condition that Seshou was only too quick to fix. Seshou knew that his wife was eccentric at times but he never realized that she would suggest something like that.

Funaho, who had been listening in on the wedding preparations from her spot on the couch, showed little response to Minato's wild suggestion. The only sign she had heard anything was the slight twitch that had formed in her left eyebrow and several hairs that were out if place. These were quickly smoothed back down.

Azusa and Nodoka were horrified with Minato's suggestion, a wedding where all he attendees were naked?! Why, the very idea was scandalous! They looked at each other and after several seconds a silent pact was made between the two of them. For the time being they would set their differences aside so that they could combat this new foe. So with a nod of their heads, Azusa's and Nodoka's path was set.

"Now see hear," Azusa exclaimed.

"Weddings are a time of dignity and honor," continued Nodoka.

"A time reverence and sophistication," added Azusa.

"Having a wedding where everyone is naked," said Nodoka.

"IS SIMPLY NOT ALLOWED," bellowed Nodoka and Azusa together.

Minato folded her arms across her chest, "Well, what would you suggest then? Because at the rate you two are going Ranma and Mihoshi will never have their wedding."

Genma shakily raised his hand. He had a suggestion that he was sure that Ranma and Mihoshi would like but he was afraid how his wife and Azusa would react. Those two could be downright terrifying. "I have a suggestion. Why don't we have a western wedding," he said as he cowered in fear.

Ranma and Mihoshi perked up at hearing Genma's suggestion. A western ceremony was perfect, they were dignified and honorable while being reverent and sophisticated. And as an added benefit you don't have to sit on your shins for untold hours. As a unified front they exclaimed, "We'll do that!"

Genma was happy that his son was happy with his suggestion. "Hopefully," he thought, "Nodoka will see how happy the boy is and agree. Because there is now way in hell that I am going to sit though ANOTHER day long wedding." He looked to the heavens to beseech the gods, "Wasn't my wedding enough?!"

Nodoka looked at her son to explain to him the necessity of having a traditional wedding but when she saw the look on her son's face the objection died on her lips. For you see Ranma was her son and there was no way that she would allow anything that would destroy his happiness, and if a western wedding made Ranma happy then so be it. Nodoka sat down and smiled at her son, "That sounds very good dear."

Azusa got pale. Here was his biggest supporter for a traditional wedding, Juraian or Shinto, and she folded upon looking at her son. Well he wouldn't stand for that. "But I . . ."

"Ahem."

If it was even possible Azusa got paler when he heard the soft noise that he knew came form his wife. Azusa slowly turned his head to look at Funaho and saw the most terrifying thing in the universe, the beginning of a glare. With some people, like Misaki, a glare can be scary and even terrify some lesser individuals. But a glare from Funaho is a soul chilling experience. Those slim few who have been graced by a glare from Funaho have experienced terror filled nightmares for years. At risk to his neck, Azusa whipped his head around to face those at the table and sat down. "A western wedding! That sounds great! Well done Genma! Keep up the good work!"

Everyone at the table had no doubt of what went on between Azusa and Funaho but for Ranma and Mihoshi it mattered little. They were just happy to have the major stumbling block to their happiness out of their way.

*********

Usagi looked over the women assembled in Rei's living room and was proud. Over the two months her Senshi had trained vigorously and each had made her proud. Though they have made little progress with their Senshi powers, every one of them have made great strides in physical combat. But more important than that, they were closer now than ever before. Usagi was roused from her thoughts by a frantic Rei.

"Usagi quick! How do I look," asked Rei.

Though this was the fourth time that she had asked Usagi the same question, she calmly looked at her friend. Rei was wearing a red dress that ended at her knees and had a high neckline. For Rei this was rather conservative but she was able to make it look good. "You look great Rei!" Usagi said with a smile.

"Thanks!" Rei enthusiastically exclaimed. She then calmed down slightly, "Sorry, its just that I love weddings. They're so romantic."

Minako slid up next to Rei and excitedly nodded her head. "You're so right Rei. Weddings are the most romantic thing in the world." She then developed a conspiratory grin, "They are also the perfect place to meet guys."

Before Minako could continue Usagi left to check on Mamoru and make sure that he was ready.

Sitting in a chair with a sour expression on her face was Haruka. She was wearing a yellow dress of the same design as the rest of the Senshi. Thus her sour look. She had wanted to be wearing a tuxedo but Usagi had shot that hope down quickly, especially since she had dragged all the Senshi to buy dresses at the same time. Haruka then sadly thought of the one Senshi who was not there with them, Setsuna. In the time since she tried to attack Ranma, Setsuna had made little progress, and with the Time Gates not responding to her everyone decided that it was better that Setsuna not attend the wedding.

Makoto was antsy. She so wanted to get to the wedding. But not for the same reason as Minako. Makoto wanted to see Shiro once more. Ever since she first saw Shiro she knew that he was the one for her, and in whatever free time she had she worked her hardest to make sure he knew the same thing. Luckily, Shiro seemed to return her interest but they decided to take a page for the book of love that Mihoshi and Ranma were using and take it slow.

Usagi strode back into the room with Mamoru in tow. "Is everyone ready?"

Those who were sitting stood and smoothed their dresses and there was a general rush by all to make sure that they looked fine. Then they all headed out and down the stairs so that they could go to Nerima and their ticket to Okayama.

*********

In the Tendo Dojo, if there was an outsider then they would be witness to a sight that few have seen, Kasumi Tendo hopping on one foot while frantically tying the bow in her hair with her teeth. Normally nothing fazed Kasumi but when something like a wedding cropped up she became somewhat unhinged. You see she, like Rei, loved weddings and since it was Ranma who was getting married then it was even better. When she made it to the living room she saw that Nabiki was already in her outfit for the wedding, but unlike the way she felt Nabiki did not look like she wanted to go to the wedding.

Nabiki sat on the verandah staring out at the koi pond that had seen so much attention since a certain martial artist came to live at the Tendo Dojo. To think it has been less than two years since the time that Ranma was first plunked in front of her. Less than two years of missed opportunities and broken hearts. And now here she sat, alone and in a dress so that she could attend Ranma's wedding. Not to her, but another. "At least," Nabiki thought, "he's with someone that he can love and trust." As a tear traveled down her cheek she whispered, "But I wish it was me."

"You still love him don't you," Kasumi asked as she sat next to Nabiki.

Upon realizing that someone was there to see her Nabiki hastily wiped her eyes of any tears that may have collected on her cheeks. Nabiki was about to issue a denial but upon seeing the serious expression on her sister's face she knew that Kasumi would see through any denial she may come up with. "Yeah. Yeah I do. Why wouldn't I? Ever since he came back he has been more mature and smarter. You've seen how he's been with Mihoshi and the way he's been with Hotaru and Sasami. He is going to be a great husband and father and I threw all that away because I was afraid of a guy that could turn into a girl. What's worse was it wasn't the curse that I was afraid of but how people would react when they saw me act like that with a girl." Nabiki then heaved a shuttering sigh, "Sometimes I wish I could go back and get myself engaged to him."

"If you could, would you," Kasumi asked softly.

"God no! You've seen how he is. He's happier than I've ever seen him. And what he has with Mihoshi is simply beautiful. There is no way I would destroy that just to fill my needs." When she finished she shivered as she tried to suppress the tears that were looming behind her emotional floodgates. As she sat there she felt Kasumi's soft hand on her shoulder. Nabiki slowly turned to look at her sister and was rewarded with one of Kasumi's most brilliant smiles. The kind that made the most depressed look up and see the Sun once more.

"Congratulations Sister. You've just taken the first step on the path to getting over him. And it may be a long time before you're done but I'll be here for you if you need me."

*********

From his place next to Ranma as the best man, Tenchi looked out at the assembled group who were in the courtyard of the Masaki shrine to attend Ranma and Mihoshi's wedding. In the first row on the brides side of the courtyard sat the Sailor Senshi in their terrestrial forms chatting excitedly about the upcoming event. As Tenchi watched them Tenchi marveled at the Senshi. Over the last two months he had been able to get to know these young defenders of the world. To think that such regular girls were gifted with such extraordinary powers. But there was one thing that convinced him that they were able to accomplish all that they said they did, their indomitable spirit. No matter what Ranma, Genma, or Cologne threw at them they kept coming for more. They even withstood Washu's experiments on them to learn more about their powers

Tenchi's gaze then moved from the Sailor Senshi to the row behind them. This row contained one of the most powerful families in the Galaxy, the Juraian Royal Family. The first member to catch his gaze was none other than his future father-in-law and emperor of the Juraian Empire, Azusa Masaki. As usual, Azusa was under a cloud of perpetual grumpiness, the only thing that kept him from being even grumpier was the fact that Ranma and Mihoshi had agreed to have a traditional Juraian ceremony after Jurai was freed from Tokimi's grasp. This brought the amount of weddings the couple had to endure up to four, a western, a Juraian, a Shinto, and an Amazonian ceremony. Azusa's grumpy visage was soon ended by an elbow to the ribs by both Misaki and Funaho. Next to Misaki was a smiling Sasami who was talking to an equally exuberant Ryo-Oh-Ki. Upon seeing Sasami's smiling visage Tenchi's smile grew even larger. Ever since Hotaru came to the Masaki home with the other Senshi she became a fast friend to Sasami and the two of them perked each other up quickly. From the group beside Misaki Tenchi's gaze traveled to the one next to Funaho. First was Yosho in his young form, something that had trouble dealing with. Since they met the Sailor Senshi Tenchi has seen little of his grandfather. For reasons that no one could fathom Yosho spent most of his time with Setsuna, but for the wedding he was alone. Next to Yosho sat the two bright spots in Tenchi's life, Ayeka and Ryoko. During the last two months they had been busy as well, training both themselves and their Senshi allies. As he looked at Ayeka, Tenchi's smile dimmed ever so slightly as he thought about his and Ryoko's combined fears about the upcoming battle. Yes Ayeka was very powerful and skilled, more so than when she first arrived upon Earth. But Ayeka's loves feared that it would not be enough when battling people who could wield Light Hawk Wings.

As Tenchi's gaze moved to the row usually dedicated to the groom's friends and relatives his smile regained it's former brilliance, if not surpassed it. For in this first row sat two of what Haruka had called the Three Stooges. Stooge One, Ranma's father Genma, sat uncomfortably next to his wife Nodoka, who was weeping tears of happiness that her darling boy was getting married. On the opposite side of Genma sat Soun Tendo, the other founding member of the Stooges. Like Nodoka, Soun was crying. Here he was, at an event that would both uphold the spirit of the pledge while at the same time it made his and Genma's plan take a major nosedive. Next to Soun sat an empty chair where the adopted Stooge, Seshou, would sit. The reason Seshou had been labeled a Stooge was a simple one, despite a keen analytical mind, whenever he got around Genma he acted rather stupid. Luckily for everyone else he also acted as a moderator that kept the other two in check. Next to the empty chair sat an extremely uncomfortable looking Minato. Minato was doing something that she hated more than anything else, sitting in one place for a long time while wearing formal Juraian robes. One of the reasons she had liked the idea of a western wedding was that she heard that attendees could wear clothes that were formal casual but Azusa had insisted that as a Juraian noble she had to dress accordingly. So there she sat, bored out of her skull with no one to talk to.

Behind Minato sat the brightly smiling Kasumi who was valiantly trying to cheer up her sister Nabiki. Of everyone assembled for the event Kasumi was the one who has changed the greatest. When Tenchi first met her Kasumi was a quiet shy young woman who was seemingly set in her life but now that there were those who helped her around the house and for her to talk to she has opened up a great deal. And it was that openness that made Tenchi shudder as he looked at Kasumi's smiling visage. Since she had free time on her hands she went on walks and looked around and on one of her walks she found Washu's lab. Once she started asking questions Washu found that Kasumi had a high aptitude for science and took Kasumi under her wing as her protégé. Next to Kasumi sat said genius, Washu was having a discussion with Cologne on several points about Ki and how it could be generated in massive quantities out of virtually nothing. On the other side of Cologne sat a sad Shampoo. Like the Senshi Shampoo has greatly improved since he first met her. Two weeks ago she had actually managed to pull of a Ki blast. Her Japanese was also improved since she started getting lessons from Washu.

Finally Tenchi's gaze landed on the man of the hour, Ranma Saotome. Ranma was a source of constant amazement for Tenchi. Ever since they met the Sailor Senshi Ranma has been in constant motion. Every time Tenchi thought about how chaotic his schedule was Ranma would race by on his way to do something. And more importantly Ranma never seemed to let all that he was doing get to him. Here he is standing in a tuxedo about to get married when there was a battle to plan for.

*********

When the music began playing all were quiet and turned their attention to where the steps down to the house were located. There they were treated to a wondrous sight, Mihoshi Kuramitsu, soon to be Saotome, in her glowingly white weeding dress. Those who attended the ceremony wasn't sure if it was something Washu did or something they conjured up in their imagination, but it seemed as if all the light had left the area only to be replaced by the glowing luminescence of Mihoshi's dress and the woman contained within its silken confines.

The one most amazed with Mihoshi was Ranma. In his relatively short lifetime he has been exposed to some of the most beautiful women in the world, many of whom were sitting in the chairs before him, but never before had he seen such beauty as the woman he was about to marry. As Mihoshi walked closer Ranma gave silent thanks to whomever designed the dress she was wearing. Despite seeing her naked on several occasions, this dress with the poofy skirt and tight torso that added to her already generous bust line made Ranma feel more aroused than he had ever felt before.

As Mihoshi looked down the isle at the man who would soon become her husband she felt her legs try to give way. Luckily she was not alone and the strong grip of her father kept her steady. Stepping upon the dais where Ranma was standing Mihoshi thought how handsome Ranma looked in his black tuxedo.

Mihoshi looked into her beloved's eyes and thought about how they have changed since she first met her. Before they were confident yet tinged with doubt and fear, now the more negative emotions have been replace by love for her. Not only had Ranma's eyes changed spiritually they had changed physically, the pupil had become more cat-like in appearance and when it was dark his eyes would reflect light like those of cats. His eyes weren't the only things that have changed since Ranma began using the Neko-Ken, his ears have gotten longer and pointier making look like the alien from that old American show Star Trek. Along with his ears his canines have also gotten longer and sharper, something he complained about when he occasionally bit his tongue. While these changes might have disturbed someone else, Mihoshi had faith in her beloved to overcome all obstacles in his path.

The priest spoke the words spoken and heard by countless others before and even more to come. The participants exchanged vows of love and honor that could never be broken. The audience cheered the happy couple. And after many years of constant battles and arguments Ranma Saotome was finally married.

As the newly wed Saotome's made their way down the isle among the joyous cheers of their family and friends Mihoshi leaned her head so that she could whisper, "Guess what Washu told me in the dressing room?"

"I don't know, what?"

"She installed that soundproofing I asked for," Mihoshi replied with a lust filled leer.

Ranma looked into Mihoshi's eyes and while never breaking eye contact he picked up his wife and ran towards their room with every ounce of strength he could muster. The only things that those who were now standing saw was the departed couple's dust trail and the bouquet of flowers Mihoshi had been carrying arcing towards them. Upon seeing the flowers many unwed women in the audience began clamoring for them to ensure that they would be the next to marry. Despite their efforts none of them got it, instead it fell into the hands of the one least likely to go for it, Haruka.

When the flowers impacted with her chest Haruka reflexively clasped the object. She slowly turned her gaze downwards and was horrified to see what she had caught. Realizing the significance of what had just happened Haruka quickly looked up to see if any of the women itching to get their hands on the bouquet noticed what she had done. Unfortunately they had and Haruka was on the receiving end of death glares being sent her way by a number of the wedding guests, namely Ryoko, Minako, and most surprisingly Usagi. The look that disturbed Haruka the most was not the glares of the women who were unable to claim their prize but the one coming from her love, Michiru. The way she kept on turning her head to look at the priest and then back at her really didn't sit well with the blonde-haired Senshi of Uranus.

Looking at Haruka's plight Mamoru silently thanked whatever god was listening that Usagi wasn't the one to catch the bouquet. But he was not unsympathetic to what she was going through since he could see the look on Michiru's face and understood what kind of stress she was under, sort of. So he cleared his throat and began to talk in a loud voice, "Everybody listen up!" When the entire crowd turned to face him he was somewhat hindered by the fact that he was now the center of attention but he continued on, "Now that the wedding is over and since I doubt we will see Ranma or Mihoshi any time soon, let's all head over to the reception that the Tendo's were gracious enough to hold at their home."

At Mamoru's suggestion there was a resounding cheer among the teaming throng, "HAZAH!" Usagi was so eager to get to the buffet she was ahead of the throng of people rushing headlong down the steps of the Masaki shrine. Soon the entire area was clear of people except Mamoru and Haruka. The look of gratitude was clear on Haruka's face as she made her way to Mamoru.

When Haruka reached her savior she said, "If I ever rag on you because Usagi gets all hyper about wanting to get married remind me of this. Ok?"

"Hey, no problem. Always eager to help a friend in need." At that the two of them began their trek down to the party.

*********

As Ranma walked up to the door of the room that he shared with his wife he was panting heavily. Not from the simple exertion of running the whole way to the room, at his current level he could run for extremely long distances carrying weights hundreds of pounds greater than the weight of the soft supple curves of his beloved wife. No, the thing that was causing Ranma to be in this state was the gorgeous blonde contained within his powerful arms. Her hands were roaming their way across his body finding erogenous zone he never realized he had, at least as a man.

"Oh, Ranma," Mihoshi huskily said, "you have no idea how long I have waited for this day."

Now that Ranma didn't need to concentrate as hard as he was when he was running he began to give a little of what he was getting and began to caress Mihoshi's round derrière. "Well I don't know about you but I have been waiting since that first time you jumped into my arms." With that Ranma opened their door and entered fully knowing that before they left they would be husband and wife in every shape of the word.

*********

"I don't believe this," said a stunned Hotaru.

In her life, several of them in fact, Hotaru had never seen a party like the one currently going on. She had stayed behind at the Masaki home because Sasami wanted to show her something, but now that she was at the party she was shocked. The party to celebrate Ranma and Mihoshi's union had barely been going but an hour, yet many of the party's attendees were already drunk. Mamoru was being chased around by a tipsy Usagi who was saying something about her being Whip Cream and calling him her Pumpkin Pie. Ami was in a corner blushing and quietly giggling while sitting next the giggling girl was Rei who was staring longingly at the running Usagi. Makoto was calmly talking to Shiro Yamada, one of Azusa's guards, so that wasn't so bad. Minako, on the other hand, was running her hands across the backs of two of Azusa's other guards Yuji and oddly enough Rio. The thing that embarrassed the young girl the most was her parents. It was a little known fact that when Haruka got drunk she became a completely different person as made evident by the fact that one of the straps on her gown was down on her arm and she was acting like a sultry seductress. Luckily the only one her father was trying to seduce was mother. Of Michiru there was little to worry about since whenever she got drunk she went into a trance-like state, Hotaru just hoped that no one gave her a major bump because she might try to fight them.

"You've never seen a party held by Ryoko," replied Sasami. "If everyone wasn't drunk by now then I would be worried." As she finished speaking they could hear the loud raucous laughter of Ryoko as she tried to get Tenchi to down the large bottle of sake she was brandishing.

"But what about Ami? She wouldn't drink alcohol," Hotaru firmly stated. She knew that Ami was too uptight to ever touch the stuff when there were all these people to see her.

"Ryoko probably spiked the punch," Sasami said sagely. She then took a very Ryoko-esqe pose, "A party is never truly started until everyone is thoroughly sloshed."

"Well, what are we supposed to drink?" Hotaru did not want to get drunk and she most definitely did NOT want to act like her fellow Senshi. Before she could think more on the display before her Hotaru instinctively caught something. Looking down she saw that she was holding a bottle of water with the pull lid.

"Here drink this," said Sasami as she was getting a water bottle of her own out of a cooler marked with big letters SASAMI'S WATER. "When I found out about these I had Washu make me some for parties. This way I can drink water and be sure that Ryoko won't put sake into it."

"Do you have anything other than water," Hotaru asked. It wasn't that she didn't like water she just wanted to know what her options were.

"Well, Washu's been working on trying to replicate my favorite soft drink but for some reason it keeps coming out wrong, it's driving her crazy. So until she gets it right we have water," as she finished she held up her bottle as if to make a toast.

Hotaru responded in kind and the two friends joined the party already in progress.

*********

In the room that was shared by the new Mr. and Mrs. Saotome it looked as if a wardrobe had exploded and littered it's contents over the entire room. The focal point for this unbelievable carnage was the bed where the happy couple now resided. Upon the bed lay the sleeping forms of Mr. and Mrs. Saotome, or more precisely Mrs. and Mrs. Saotome because Ranma was currently in his female form. Through the window, which in the newly married couple's haste to consummate their unending love for one another they forgot to close the curtains, streamed the brilliant sunlight of the new morning.

It was this light that began Ranma's return to the land of the conscious. As he slowly woke up he became increasingly aware of the most delightful sensation emanating from his chest. After luxuriating in the glorious sensations for several minutes Ranma opened his eyes to locate their source. Upon opening his eyes Ranma saw that Mihoshi was gently massaging his left breast. Looking at his wife's tanned hand he looked up her arm and into her still sleeping face and smiled. No matter how many times he awoke to see Mihoshi's angelic face lying next to his Ranma knew that he would never get used to it.

"Oh Ranma. How does that feel my love," Mihoshi cooed softly.

Ranma smiled, "She must be dreaming of last night," he thought lustfully. As thoughts of what had transpired the night before entered his mind it only added to the arousal that his wife was generating in him by her massaging of his breast. He also began to feel the heat in his belly like he had the night before but as he was about to waken Mihoshi for another bout of lovemaking another feeling entered his belly. This feeling proved to every bit as powerful as his rising arousal and that feeling was hunger. So now Ranma faced a problem that all Saotome men since the dawn of time have faced, make love to a beautiful and VERY loving wife, or eat.

Luckily Mihoshi, the most wonderful wife in the universe, solved this problem. With half closed eyes and drool running down the corner of her mouth, Mihoshi sat up on her knees and blearily said, "I'm hungry."

With that statement a beam of light seemed to shine brighter upon Mihoshi's naked flesh, and to Ranma's ears it was if a choir of angels were singing. It was in that moment that Mihoshi truly lived up to the name, Saotome.

*********

As Ranma and Mihoshi entered the living room of the Masaki home after finishing their bath they came upon the bodies of several of their friends. From the littered remains of several sake bottles Ranma could tell that after the wedding reception had finished over at the Tendo's, several of the guests had moved to the living room to continue the festivities. The happy couple continued on into the kitchen to scrounge up something to eat but they saw that there was no need for that as Sasami was busy making breakfast.

The young princess of Jurai looked up from the food she was preparing when she heard that someone entered her domain. Upon seeing that it was Ranma and Mihoshi Sasami smiled brightly and walked over to give her friends a hug. "Good morning. How does it feel to be married," Sasami wanted to know more but she knew any sort of questions her mind could create would go unanswered as long as Ranma was still in the room. While they never answered her question Sasami could tell that they felt wonderful in the way that they looked into each other's eyes, saying so many things without uttering the slightest sound.

When Sasami asked her question, Mihoshi turned to look at her spouse to see if he could come up with the words to articulate what they were feeling, for she could not. Instead of a response Mihoshi found herself staring into her husband's blue orbs. She had heard from those women who were married that when it happened she would feel completely different, until now she could never understand that. Mihoshi had slept next to Ranma for months, she had bathed with him, they had even made out. When she had woken up on her wedding day she had been scared but other than that nothing felt different. But today Mihoshi understood what her mother had told her, maybe it was the intense lovemaking or the simple fact that they were married, but she did feel different. For some reason she loved Ranma more than ever, and if the look in Ranma's eyes was any indication he was feeling the same thing. After being lost in Ranma's eyes for a good while Mihoshi remembered that Sasami was in the room as well and looked back at the young princess and saw that she wanted to talk to her while Ranma was not in the room. Mihoshi once again turned to look at Ranma and smiled at her beloved husband, "Ranma you can go and do your morning training, I'll stay and help Sasami with breakfast."

Ranma looked to his wife, "Are you sure?" Before he was married he never thought that he would be so reluctant to leave Mihoshi's side even for training but now that he was married he didn't want to leave.

"Yes I'm sure," Mihoshi said as she hugged and kissed Ranma. "Now shoo, girl talk."

At hearing that Ranma high tailed it out of the kitchen for less dangerous ground, like the inside of a nuclear reactor.

When Ranma was safely away and no one could here them talk Mihoshi turned to Sasami, "So what do you want to talk about?"

Sasami got a wicked grin on her face, "So, what was it like?" Though the it was emphasized just like the other words, Sasami knew that Mihoshi knew what she meant. She was getting older and she had began noticing certain things like boys and sex and since she didn't want to go and ask her mother, that would be way too embarrassing, her friend was the next best thing.

Seeing Sasami's excited state and feeling rather playful Mihoshi decided to play with her young friend's mind, "I slept fine thank you."

Sasami pouted, "That's not what I mean and you know it. So what was IT like?!"

Mihoshi was unable to contain her excitement and had to tell her friend all that she could. "It was wonderful! Oh Sasami, I know parents say that waiting is the best thing and I think they were right. When we made love it was the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced, it was like, for an instant, Ranma and I ceased to be individuals and instead became something greater. And while that feeling is gone a part of him is still here, in my heart, " Mihoshi placed her hands over her heart and sighed in remembrance of all that happened the night before.

At hearing such a romantic event Sasami also sighed and hoped that one day she would be as lucky as Mihoshi. Then she realized what Mihoshi was implying and gasped in shock, "You don't mean?!"

Mihoshi giddily nodded her head in affirmation.

"But how, how did you bond?" The bond was something that all Juraian couples aspired to achieve. It was said that when two people were so in love with each other that their souls literally joined to together in an experience of pure joy. While the feeling lasts for but a moment the effects last a lifetime. The couple's souls never completely separate and creates something that can not be described by words or thoughts. For those rare few that have been privileged enough to achieve this state they are so closely tied that no even the veil of death can separate them. And if what Mihoshi said was true then Sasami had to know how they did it so that she could one day get the same thing.

"Sasami there will people that give this piece of advice and that piece of advice but what I am going to tell you is the most important piece of advice ever. When you finally find a man to settle down with make sure that he has the same curse that Ranma does."

"Why?"

"Because he will know what it is like for us and how we like certain things. I don't know how Tenchi's first time was but I know that part of the reason what Ranma and I shared was so great was that curse. Ranma's knowledge of women allowed us to reach a level of pleasure as great as our intense love for each other and we experienced a joy that I never knew existed."

Sasami looked at her friend in awe, "Wow."

"But enough about us we need to get breakfast going or there are going to be some very upset people," with that the two friends returned to their job.

*********

The meal was done, the bags were packed, and the entire Masaki clan was ready to go into a battle against a foe that no one was sure they could beat. Currently the group was mulling about as they waited for their allies to arrive. The first through the door was Cologne and Shampoo. The two women strode with purpose and regality befitting their status as Amazons until they reached their leader, Ranma.

"Are you sure that you do not wish us to accompany you Ranma," Cologne asked solemnly.

Ranma shook his head, "Yes I am. We're going to be going up against things more powerful than even Saffron. No offense, but I doubt either of you can handle that. What I want you to do is to carry on and make our new tribe strong. Don't worry," he said with his regular cocky grin, "I'll be back."

Cologne raised an eyebrow at his display of bravado. She knew that he was far more powerful than ever before but he was going into battle against beings whose power dwarfed his a hundred fold. Ranma was like a son to her and it broke her heart to know that this time he wouldn't be coming back.

Before Cologne could say anything there was a loud thump that emanated from the portal door. The door vibrated, shook, and made other noises until it flew open and out spilled a mountain of luggage and several of the Sailor Senshi. From in side the blackness of the portal came Rei Hino's shrill voice, "USAGI YOU MEATBALL HEAD! I said open the door then push the luggage through!"

Usagi was about to issue a heated retort but was stopped by hand entering her field of vision. Following the hand to its source Usagi saw that her rescuer was Ranma. She gladly took his offer of help and stood up. "Thanks Ranma."

"Hey always willing to help a friend in need. So what is all the luggage for?"

"You said that we would be gone for awhile and you don't want us poor girls to be without our clothes do you," Usagi asked with a pout.

"Ah. No," Ranma replied shakily.

Stepping over the piles of luggage and being careful not to trip was Mamoru followed by the rest of the group, "So Ranma, how long will we be gone?"

"I can answer that," replied Azusa. "We'll be pushing the Throne's engines to their safest speed so it should take us three days. As for how long it will take once we reach Jurai I don't know."

Everyone was somber at that. They all knew that there was a good chance that they might not be coming back. The ones who had it the worst were the Senshi though, because like every other time they went to do battle they couldn't tell their families that they might not ever seen them again.

The one to break this somber mood was Usagi, "Wait a minute. Didn't you say that when you came here it was so fast that you were here in an instant? Why don't we do that again?"

As Ami raised her hand and began to open her mouth to explain things Washu slid up next to Azusa. A podium appeared in front of her and she was wearing her professor outfit. "It is quite simple. The amount of space between the various celestial bodies is so great that using the chemical based rockets of Earth would make any journey to another planet impractical. That is why most space faring races have come up with other methods of propulsion. Most of these races have engines that allow the ship to travel through subspace. Since the distance between two points is smaller the deeper one goes into subspace thus giving the ship the appearance of traveling faster than light while bypassing the standard rules of relativity in respect to time differential. The Throne's tree is able to use it's vast energy as granted by Tsunami to tear open a hole in subspace so deep that it will take us only three days to reach Jurai, whereas it would take a standard ship two weeks or more. If the Throne is pushed far enough it can tear open a hole in subspace so deep that the distance between Earth and Jurai is effectively zero but to do this the Throne places itself in severe danger." When Washu finished her lecture the podium disappeared and her regular clothes replaced her professors get up. She was feeling quite happy with herself and asked Usagi, "Do you understand now," but her happiness was replaced with despair at the glazed expression on Usagi's face.

"You had me up to, 'It is quite simple'," Usagi sheepishly replied.

Ami grinned smugly in Washu's direction. She knew that Usagi was not going to be able to understand Washu's insanely over-complicated answer and had developed one of her own. "Ok Usagi, try this. First imagine a doughnut."

Usagi began to drool at the thought of a donut. "What kind of doughnut?"

"Powdered," Ami drolly replied. "Now imagine a blue sprinkle on one side of the doughnut, this will be Earth, and a green sprinkle on the opposite side of the doughnut will be Jurai."

Azusa looked very cross at the notion of Jurai being represented by a sprinkle on a doughnut.

"Now imagine that there was a tiny space ship on the doughnut, but it could only go along the outside of the doughnut, it would take them a long time wouldn't it."

Picturing what Ami was describing Usagi shook her head, "Yeah, go on."

"Let's say that the ship was able to dig into the area under the powder, this is subspace. So the deeper you go into subspace the shorter the trip is understand?"

Usagi nodded sagely, "It makes since. And if you go deep enough into the doughnut, er subspace, you get to a point where the amount of time it takes to go to Jurai gets to zero. Right?"

"That's right Usagi. I'm glad you understand," Ami said with a smile.

"Great! Come on Mamo-chan let's get our stuff into the ship," and with that she dragged the helpless Mamoru towards the waiting Throne.

*********

Later On

With all the bags packed and the good-byes said, the force that would save Jurai from its greatest foe boarded the Throne to start their journey. Once onboard, Azusa led the entire group into the heart of the Throne and showed them all its tree. Those who have never seen the magnificent tree stood in awe at its gargantuan size. The tree was easily tree times bigger than Yosho's tree, Funaho, and the entire assembly stood in respectful silence as they felt the age and power of the being that was before them all. Detaching from the rest of the group Azusa walked up to the tree and placed his hand upon its ancient bark.

As Azusa communed with the ancient tree, Usagi, still in a state of awe, remarked, "Its so old."

Washu heard this, "It should be. The tree you see before you is, other than Tsunami, the oldest Juraian tree. When Melkor attacked my home universe, the only one whose followers survived was Tsunami's. They came on this ship and it has been the ship of the Royal Family ever since."

"Woooow," Usagi said with awe. Before she could ask any other questions the tree began to glow brightly and the room was filled with intense energy.

As the tree glowed every Juraian in the room could feel its power as the energy seeped into every molecule of their body, giving them strength and a sense of peace. Those who had keys of their own could feel the energy even more. Tenchi and Ranma, who had just received their keys only two days ago, were amazed at what they could feel. Tenchi was used to it to a certain degree, since he had used the Tenchi-ken, but he had never truly been in sync with it, now though he was getting the full might of the energy and was reveling in it. The power, the absolute peace, it was almost more than he could handle. Ranma on the other hand, was silently weeping. In his life he had felt power untold, but peace was something of a commodity in his life, one that was in very short supply. But the absolute peace and tranquility he was experiencing at that moment overwhelmed him. The only thing that kept him from falling to his knees was his beloved wife's hand whose firm grip kept him in place. At his side Mihoshi also wept, for she could feel everything that he was through their link. And though it was dulled slightly, what she received was very powerful indeed.

From the tree extended a wave of power so awesome that those who were not of Jurai fell down. For those standing outside along the bank of the lake to see their comrades off they were treated to a spectacular sight. The Throne sat several inches above the surface of the lake for some time and then those who could detect varying forms of energy knew something was coming. Then electricity began to arc off the Throne and a keening noise started up and began to increase in intensity as if the very air around them began to protest what was going on. Soon a wave of power burst from the ship as a hole filled with a swirling miasma of colors appeared before it. Without seeming to move the Throne entered the hole and both it and the miasma disappeared without a trace.

Standing upon the dock was Nodoka Saotome who was looking at the spot that the Throne, and her son, just was. "Good luck my son." She turned and faced her husband as his strong arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Don't worry my love," said Genma as he too stared at the spot the Throne just vacated. "Our son will be back," he looked at Nodoka and grinned at her in the way he knew made her fall in love with him so many years ago, "after all he is a Saotome. And a Saotome never looses."

*********

As the various couples settled themselves in for their voyage, Usagi gathered together her Senshi, her family, in one of the Throne's meeting rooms. Those Senshi who represented the planets on the interior of the asteroid belt sat on one side of the conference table starting with Mamoru and ending with Rei, while the Senshi who represented the planets on the other side of the belt sat on the opposite side starting with Makoto and ending Michiru. Usagi stood at the head of the table looking as regal as her friends had ever seen her. But unlike all the other times they had been with Usagi, a cloud of uneasiness surrounded the normally cheerful woman.

"First of all I would like to say how proud I am to be your leader. You've all come a long way in your training and are more powerful than ever. Even better is that you all work better together as the team that I knew you could be." She paused in what she was saying as several people at the table cheered at their leader's praise. Usagi smiled weakly at their merriment for she knew that what she was about to say would upset her friends seriously. "In three days we'll be landing on Jurai to fight Tokimi and whatever forces she has."

"But we don't know what she'll have," replied Minako.

"She's evil. That means she has an army of low level flunkies," Haruka responded flippantly.

"Right. You guys have come so far, I know that you will do well against them."

Rei raised an arm and an eyebrow, "Somehow I'm sensing a but here."

Usagi looked away guiltily, "Well, you're right about that. You see, as you guys are fighting, Hotaru and I will follow Ranma and his crew to fight Tokimi." When she made this announcement the room exploded into chaos. Amidst the various cries of protest and different ways of calling her stupid stood Usagi, at the head of the table never moving or crying as her friends tried to convince her to change her mind. After several minutes of berating Usagi started to talk, "That is ENOUGH," and with that she slammed her hand on the table. The sudden display of anger startled all of the people in the room into complete silence. Never in their entire lives have they seen Usagi display any anger at the level that she just did. "Do you know what will happen if you follow us? DO YOU? You'll all die that's what."

"You don't know that for sure," countered Rei unsteadily. The way Usagi was acting really was beginning to disturb her. This was not how she should act, Usagi should be happy and leave concerns like this to others. Others who are not as pure and innocent as Usagi.

"Yes. I do. Last night the Crystal gave me a vision of what was going to happen. In it you all come with Hotaru and I and we all die. But unlike all the other times we've died only Hotaru and I will come back. The rest of you will never come back and I will loose you."

"But Usako we, I don't want you to die."

"You don't understand," Usagi said plaintively. "Hotaru and I WILL DIE. It won't matter what you do, it will happen. It has to happen if we are going to win. We'll come back but the rest of you won't. So please," she begged, "don't follow us." The strength that she had at the beginning of the whole ordeal finally left her as she slid into her chair and sobbed. The images of what she had seen in the vision were still fresh in her mind. While the method of her friend's demise was not terrible like what Rei witnessed, she could remember the unending sadness that she had experienced as she held the dead body of her Mamoru and knew that he would never be back. She knew that she would never have Rei call her names, eat Makoto's cooking, or be hit on by Haruka, and while it was selfish of her to not want her friends to die because of how it will effect her but she didn't care. Her friends were everything to her and if anything happened to them, anything, she didn't know what she would do.

Mamoru got up and helped Usagi stand. Taking his sobbing girlfriend in hand he walked her to the conference room door. As he neared the door it quietly slid opened to reveal a startled Mihoshi. "Hey Mihoshi, can you take Usagi to her room?" Mamoru then looked at the woman that he held, "Usako, don't you worry. When the time comes we will stay away," his voice was thick with emotion and unshed tears gathered in his eyes, blurring his vision. Then he did the hardest thing ever, "I promise."

Usagi buried herself in Mamoru's warm embrace and with tears still streaming down her face she thankfully whispered, "Thank you." She only hoped that when the time came that they would follow through with the promise that Mamoru just made. Breaking from the loving arms of her loving boyfriend Usagi left with Mihoshi.

Mamoru watched as the love of his life walked away and once she was out of sight he lowered his head in thought and turned back into the conference room. When the doors closed he looked back up and saw a sight that still haunted him to this day. The look that Haruka was giving him at the moment reminded him of the threat she had given him all those months ago and it made a certain part of his anatomy ache with the knowledge of what that woman might do to him.

"How. Dare. You," Haruka hissed. "How can you promise her that we'll stay away? We're supposed to protect her."

"No Haruka. Don't be mad at him," Rei stated firmly.

"Why not! He's just going to let her and my daughter die," Haruka angrily retorted.

"You didn't listen to anything Usagi said, did you? Usagi and Hotaru are going to die and nothing we can do will change that." She then waved her hands to indicate the so-called inner Senshi, "Don't you think that any of us would give our lives to keep Usagi safe from anything that would want to hurt her?" She looked down at the table, "But we can't. Not this time. You weren't there when we died during the battle with Galaxia, but I remember the look on Usagi's face as she held my dying body in her arms." Rei looked up and stared Haruka in the eyes, "Do you know what I saw there? Huh?! A sadness so deep and unending that it still chills my soul. If she didn't have to go on and stop Galaxia she would have killed herself right then. If I want to be worthy of her friendship then I will do anything in my power to make sure she doesn't have to go through that again. If Usagi says that it's the only way for us to win then that is what we do and every one of us will like it."

The room was quiet for a long time as each person weighed what was said on their own moral scale. Once their decision was made they all looked to the others to see if they were alone in their choice, they weren't. And so the Sailor Senshi, champions of love and justice, guardians of the last princess of the long-dead Moon Kingdom, all agreed to let their leader and friend die.

*********

The space above the planet Jurai was quiet, as space was to be, and filled with ships. Ever since Tokimi came to this universe she lacked the necessary facilities to build a fleet, but after the conquering of Jurai this was not a problem. So after forcing Tsunami's chosen to work for her, Tokimi was able to create a fleet of ships to protect her new world. But she soon encountered a new problem, while the Juraians could be forced to work they could not be trusted with the operation of her fleet. The lack of trustfulness on the part of the Juraians was something that Tokimi could not understand. Did she not make them build statues to remind everyone what she looked like. Didn't she address them every day so that they could know her awe-inspiring greatness. But no matter what she did she could not trust them, so Tokimi had to utilize a different source. Her wraiths.

In time unknown, Tokimi was a good person and was loved by all who lived in her solar system. Unlike Tsunami, who has only a small portion of her population that can use her power, all of Tokimi's people could use her power. When Melkor and his army swept through her home, her brothers and sisters placed every resource at their disposal into the effort to stop the marauders. Unfortunately, Tokimi's followers were artisans and pacifists who had never known the evils of war and the terrible destruction man can rain done upon each other and were cast into the void forever. But something of them survived, as each person died Tokimi could feel their pain and terror and she could hear their death screams, but there was some small measure of comfort that could have been gained if not for the fact that her entire civilization had not just collapsed. For you see, as each one of Tokimi's innumerable followers died they left an echo of themselves on Tokimi. For some, the knowledge that all they loved lived on within them would bring them comfort, but not Tokimi. What good were shadows when they couldn't live their lives as they should have? These shadows remained as a constant reminder to Tokimi that she had failed those who loved her and whom she loved. So instead of bringing peace they brought heartache and pain.

From the time since they died these shadows remained locked away so as not to cause Tokimi too much pain. Now though, she once more has a use for them, no matter how painful it was for her. So answering her call Tokimi's shadows appeared before her in the guise of wraith-like echoes of their former selves. Though they appear as shadow each Wraith can manipulate objects in space to a limited degree. This level of control was more than enough to control her new fleet and so they did. Now Tokimi had a fleet of ships crewed by creatures whose loyalty to Tokimi was unquestionable.

The only problem that the Wraiths had was that they were the remnants of pacifists and artisans. That means that they have all the tactical acumen of a shoe. This was the reason that instead of being all spread out so that a single shot couldn't take out multiple ships, they were all clumped together. And so most of Tokimi's new fleet was instantly destroyed in the fury of space being ripped asunder that heralded the arrival of the Royal Throne of Jurai. In the chaos that followed the Throne's entry into normal space, Azusa was able to instruct the Throne to destroy the rest of the enemy fleet.

In the Throne's observation room everyone not necessary to operate the ship gathered to watch the battle. Ayeka looked out into space and was amazed at the look of the ships that the Throne was currently atomizing. Each had an elegance to them that was beyond that of even the greatest of the Juraian ships and though none ever extended a single Light Hawk Wing each remaining ship required several of the Throne's most powerful beams to destroy. Not recognizing the ships she turned to Washu, "Miss Washu, what are those ships? I've never seen any quite like that before."

"No, I doubt you have. Those are ships that Tokimi's people designed and built in our home universe. None survived the slaughter of her people, so that means that she must have used the factories on Jurai to build them."

"How could they be powerful enough to stand up against several of the Throne's most powerful weapons?"

"While Tokimi's people were connected to her power, she would not allow the ships they built to be connected as well. It was Tokimi's belief that while we were here to safeguard our people, we shouldn't do everything for them. Consequently, her people had some of the best engineers around. They were able to create a power source that derived its power from the very fabric of the universe, cosmic strings. Using this technology her ships could do anything that Tsunami's could and in some ways more since they didn't have to worry about the engine as much as you do your tree."

As Washu talked, the Throne finished mopping up the last of Tokimi's forces and began to descend to the planet's surface. In the observation room everyone watched as the stars gave way to clouds. The further down the ship traveled the clouds began to dissipate and allowed all to see the majestic forests of Jurai. At the edge of the forest, those who had never seen Jurai were treated to the glorious sight of the 1st city of the Juraian Empire. This sight was marred by a large golden structure near the imperial palace. It was of a style that none aboard the massive ship could recognize, none that is, except Washu.

"Tokimi."

Mihoshi turned to Washu, "You know what that is?"

"Yes I do. Though Tokimi was not able to save her people, she was able to salvage her palace. Her people built it as the ultimate tribute to their goddess. They designed the whole structure to be self sufficient, and at its core is a cosmic string generator more massive than any they had ever built. What you see is an ark for all the knowledge of an entire civilization." She then looked at Tenchi, Ranma and Ryoko, "If it isn't too much to ask, can you try not to cause too much damage to it? The information it contains is all that is left of a people that are older than Jurai and is priceless. I don't want it to be you main goal, but please try to show some restraint."

"No problem Mom, we'll try to make it not blow up. Right Guys?"

Tenchi and Ranma nodded their heads, "Right."

"Miss Washu, it strikes me that if Tokimi was able to retrieve her palace and Tsunami had this ship, were you able to bring anything to this universe," Ayeka asked.

"Yes, I was. Like Tokimi, I saved my people's greatest achievement, an artificially created mineral life form. They are amazing creatures, if you add genetic material into their structure in the right way you get a ship that is crystalline in appearance, but if you change the method of introduction slightly you get a ship made out of something different. Each ship was more or less equal in power, but they were more durable depending on the method used to introduce the genetic material. I subconsciously used my knowledge of the technique to make Ryo-Ohki, though she is much stronger owing to the fact that she is linked to Ryoko who is in turn linked to the gems."

Before any further questions could be asked the Throne reverberated with its landing upon Juraian soil. Shortly after that Azusa and his wives came walking in, "Well, we're down. On our approach I used the Throne's sensors to detect any signs that Tokimi may have a force waiting to stop us. There seems to be a large gathering of something at the base of that golden building, but other than that nothing. It seems as if the entire city has been evacuated," he finished with some subtle worry in his voice. Though the lack of people did make the battle to come easier since they didn't have to worry about endangering innocents, Azusa worried about the fate of his people.

"Good. That means we can go all out," Haruka stated as she punched her fist into her open palm.

Usagi nodded her head once, "Right. Senshi!" As once each of the magical warriors withdrew their items of transformation. With the display that only magical girls and their male companions could perform, eight woman and a man changed from every day people into warriors of love and justice.

The room was filled with a myriad of light spanning the entire spectrum this light was accompanied by a hail of rose petals. All of this combined into an awe inspiring site, or rather it would have been if Ranma had not been coughing up a storm and Mihoshi was not pounding on his back. During a particularly violent cough several red rose petals flew out of Ranma's mouth. With the foreign objects expelled, Ranma could breath and he stood up to give Mamoru a withering glare. "Listen Cape Boy, I thought I told you never to do that near me."

Said Cape Boy, also known as Tuxedo Mask, nervously scratched the back of his head, "Eh heh heh sorry Ranma." Before meeting Ranma, Mamoru thought he had seen the capacity for human anger when the Senshi beat him up all those months ago. But after meeting Ranma he realized that if Ranma ever got mad at him there would be nothing to stop him from turning him into something unrecognizable to human scientists.

After watching a transformation designed by someone with way too much time on his hands, the rest of the group changed into their own battle garb. While the transformation might not be as flashy as their Senshi friends the result was a group of very dangerous and battle-ready people. Or rather that is what it would be if it wasn't for Ranma. You see when Ranma had first laid eyes on the battle armor that the Juraians use he flatly refused to wear it. Firstly they were too confining and wouldn't let him perform his art like he wanted, and secondly there was no way in hell that he would be wearing anything that had puff balls on it. He might be more in touch with his feminine side now but that was a line that all men should be unwilling to cross. So instead he got Washu to make something for him. What she came back with was a more ornate version of what he usually wears, the shirt and pants had various designs woven into them, but had the same durability and protection as the Juraian armor. The only real difference in his outfit was the kind of bracers he had on. Normally they were simple leather that had some metal plates in them to allow for better blocking. Now his bracers look as if they were made of richly detailed wood with a blue gem in laid. These were his key as given to him by his new tree Ryukaze. Each band provided the more protection than his old ones, could form a foot long blade of energy, and, like the Tenchi-ken, allow Ranma to operate any piece of Juraian technology.

Being the most powerful Juraian in the group, it was Tenchi who was made the leader of the re-invasion force. As he looked at the group Tenchi was afraid, not of the upcoming battle but of sending his friends and family into a situation where someone could wind up dead. "All right, you know the plan. When we hit the ground we all head for Tokimi's palace. Azusa said that as we were coming down the Throne detected something right outside of the palace. Since I doubt our landing went unnoticed this could be a large group of people waiting for us. Once we get into the palace we look for Tokimi and get her to stop this," Tenchi then made an announcement that left a bad taste in his mouth and made him ill, "by any means possible." Though Tenchi didn't like killing, he'll do it if the situation required it, like with the whole Kagato fiasco, but it still left a sour taste in his mouth. In response to his uneasiness the sword that he had tucked in his belt seemed to respond, as if it were trying to cheer him up. The sword was Tenchi's key and identical in every way to Tenchi-ken. The only difference between the two was that the sword linked him to his tree, Ai. Tenchi placed his had on the hilt and raised his other arm over his head. "Ready everyone, then let's go," and with that he left the room.

Tenchi's announcement was responded to with grim nods from everyone in the room. They all knew what Tenchi meant and many did not want anything to do with that but there was nothing they could do. Seeing that no one was going to try and speak out against the obvious edict that they may have to kill Tokimi, the group followed Tenchi.

*********

The capitol city of Jurai was quiet. There were no animals and the air was still, it was as if the city was dead. The entire planet has been like this since Tokimi came to Jurai. Even when people did go out on the streets everything was quiet. To those who lived on the planet, it felt as if Jurai was unhappy with the fact that its goddess was not free. And so the sun never shined on the planet as a thick blanket of clouds made the brightest day a gray and dreary affair. But on this day there was a difference, for the first time in over four months the wind blew on the planet Jurai, and on the wind was the quiet suggestion of hope.

This was the sight that met the group that appeared on the surface outside the city. To those that had the pleasure of stepping foot on the lush green grass of Jurai and tasting its sweet air, the sight before them made them sick. Even those that had never known what the planet normally looked like knew that something was wrong. As they walked down the streets of a city that normally had a million souls just out walking the streets, every one was left with his or her own thoughts. After all that was said and done each person came to the same conclusion, Tokimi must pay. For while there was no physical damage, to the planet it and the people who lived on it the amount of emotional and spiritual damage was incalculable.

As the group approached Tokimi's palace they began to notice something very odd. At the base of the structure was a black mass. With every step that brought them closer to the palace the mass became more and more visible. Upon reaching the base of the palace they could see that the mass wasn't solid as they originally thought but a swirling undulating cloud.

"Well, it looks like no one is here to greet us," said a disappointed Haruka.

As if hearing her complaint portions of the cloud began to consolidate into humanoid forms. To begin with only one or two stepped out of the cloud, but soon a veritable army stood at the cloud's perimeter.

Ryoko turned and threw a glare Haruka's way, "You just HAD to say something didn't you."

Soon the group of shadow people numbered in the thousands and despite their increasing numbers not a single one of the shadowy forms uttered a single sound. After several minutes of just standing there the first shadow to appear stepped out of the line and raised his arm. As if they responding to a silent command every shadow went from simply standing to looking like they were about to charge.

Taking their cue from the army in front of them, every one in the small band readied themselves for the battle to come. Energy blades sprung to life, logs appeared out of thin air, lights from every color in the spectrum grew in intensity, and several people pushed off the ground only to float there defying every rule of gravity that existed. Truly this was a magnificent sight and one that people for years to come would think of and wish that they were there to see it. And so the most powerful group of men and women stood together against a foe none had ever seen to save a world that most had never set foot on.

All this was lost on the Wraiths who stood across from the fearsome group. Had this been an army of regular people, the battle might have be won right then but these creatures knew no fear. For what does one fear when one is already dead? So the Wraiths stood still until the one in front lowered its arm, and then as one the entire horde rushed towards the small band.

And thus did the battle of the century begin.

*********

In Ryoko's opinion the battle was not going well. After slicing through the first several shadows that reached her she was confident that this would be a quick battle. That was ten minutes ago. Now though Ryoko's confidence which was so high before was now merely a shell of its former glory. Every time she sliced through a shadow it would fall to the ground dead, then it turned to mist and went back into the cloud only to have another appear form said cloud. "This is ridiculous," she spit in frustration. "How the hell are we supposed to get in if there is no door," since she was the fastest flyer in the group Ryoko was volunteered to fly around the perimeter of Tokimi's palace to look for an entrance. All she found was gold walls and more shadows. Shooting up to a point far above the hordes of shadows Ryoko looked for the one person who could find a way in, Washu. She spotted her quarry in the space between the cloud of blackness and the golden wall of Tokimi's palace. As Ryoko flew towards her mother she noticed that she was having a hard time seeing Washu's arms as they were moving so fast across her astral keyboard and in and out of multiple back holes.

Washu stood in the safety zone of the battle. There was a gap in the battle between the palace wall and the cloud. This gave her a place that she could work without any interruptions. Being unwilling to do any fighting, she decided to do her part and find a way into the palace structure. This was proving a more difficult proposition than she originally thought due to the palace's unique security system. Only Tokimi's people or others that went with Tokimi's people could gain access to the palace. But did that deter the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe? Hell no. Since it was impossible to enter the palace by opening a Light Hawk gateway, she decided on a more technological solution. Utilizing data that she had collected and developed in her time as a mortal scientist, Washu began to pull parts out of subspace that will allow her to make a man made subspace gateway and thereby circumventing the protections built into the palace's architecture. Feeling a particularly strong gust of wind Washu looked up and saw her beloved daughter floating several feet in front of her.

"Yo! Washu! Find us a door!

"Hold your horses," replied Washu as pulled yet another item out of a black hole that appeared. "Tokimi has a shield that prevents those who wield Light Hawk Wings from teleporting into her palace." As she talked Washu continued to work on the device that she was building. "Therefore we must use a device that I built in my old academy days. Utilizing a highly charged anti-neutron plasma laser the gateway will punch a hole in space and make a wormhole to a point that I calculated to be inside the palace."

As Washu went into great detail about how to make a door Ryoko was getting increasingly angry. This anger only exasperated the anger she was feeling at fighting a never-ending stream of enemies. Soon her anger began to manifest itself visually in the form of lightning arcing across her body. With glowing red eyes Ryoko glared at the gold wall next to her and raised her arm to point her hand at the wall. In the hand formed a crackling ball of energy that she launched at the wall. As the ball impacted upon the wall it caused a large explosion that sent debris far away. Looking at the van-sized hole in the wall in satisfaction Ryoko said, "There. Now I feel better." She looked over to her mother with a large grin that only got wider as she laid eyes upon Washu.

The scientist/goddess stood at where she had been building her gateway. All of her clothes were covered with soot and her hair was blown back. When Ryoko blew the hole in the wall a piece of debris flew into the machinery that Washu had been working on and blew it up. Washu slowly turned her head to glare at her daughter.

"Well, we've got a door now," Ryoko said in satisfaction. "I'll go and get the others," and with that she flew up to get her comrades.

*********

Never in her life had Usagi seen combat like the battle she was in now. As she flew through the unending horde Usagi would hurl her tiara to cut through multiple shadows. She dared not to launch any other attacks so she could conserve her energy for the real fight yet to come. Floating above the chaos of the battle Usagi caught her tiara expertly and placed her weapon back on her forehead, as she did this she saw Ryoko flying towards her.

"Usagi! We got a hole in the wall. Get your guys and head to the opening, I've got to get the others," and with that Ryoko streaked off.

Looking down upon the battle Usagi spied the one Senshi that was to follow her into the palace and flew towards her.

For the hundredth time Hotaru cursed the limits of her power. With it she could only do two things in a battle, erect a wall and vaporize large amounts of enemies. Since the second ability was out due to the fact that there were allies all throughout the cloud and she was not accurate enough not to hit them, she was stuck with her Silence Wall. This was what she was doing at the moment, holding her glaive in defiance as hundreds of shadows hurled themselves at the barrier. Behind the determined young woman were several of her comrades who were resting up some from the battle. Not being as powerful or having as much endurance as their more powerful allies lead the Senshi to develop a different battle strategy than their previous battles. Several Senshi would attack the shadows while the others would be in the relative safety of the bubble provided by Hotaru. As she glared defiantly at the creatures that she was holding at bay, Hotaru spotted Usagi flying towards her. Looking back at the people that were within her sphere of protection Hotaru yelled, "Get ready! I'm going to lower the wall. Ready. NOW!" As she lowered the Silence Wall the horde that it was holding at bay began to advance only to be atomized by a maelstrom of ice, fire, lightning, and roses.

As the bodies of the shadows turned to dust to rejoin the cloud, Usagi landed softly near her friends. She walked to Hotaru, her features seated in a grim mask that none of her friends had ever seen on the normally cheerful girls face. "It's time." Hotaru nodded her head, her face as grim as Usagi's. As the two of them turned to leave Mamoru cried out.

"Usagi!"

When Usagi turned Mamoru could see the twin tracks of tears that made their silent run down her cheeks. Mamoru walked up to his girlfriend and cupped her delicate face in his hands. With his thumbs he wiped away her tears and spoke with a voice heavy with emotion, "When this is over. Will you . . .," he couldn't say anymore as his throat grew tight.

Usagi placed her hands on Mamoru's, "Yes. Yes we will." She pulled his hands away and placed them at his sides, "I have to go now." With that she backed away several steps and then flew backwards, her eyes never parting from Mamoru's until he was too far away to see. As she turned away she whispered, "I love you."

Hotaru, who had been waiting for Usagi and Mamoru to finish gave her comrades a silent wave and began to jump her way in the direction that Usagi had taken. When she had begun her training, Hotaru was very weak and couldn't handle running any appreciable distance, now though things have changed. Cologne and Ranma discovered that part of the Senshi's magical endowments was increased physical strength and endurance. They taught her how to use this energy more efficiently and soon jumping became her favorite method of getting around in Senshi form. She moved as if she was on a high-powered pogo stick and enjoyed the freedom that it presented her as she headed for what Usagi said was their destiny.

*********

Had any of his numerous rivals seen him at this moment they would have thought twice about attacking Ranma. With the blades that his key provided, coupled with his insane speed and immense strength, Ranma was a whirling dervish of death. Had his enemies been of flesh and blood Ranma would fight in a more reserved manner, but since they were merely apparitions Ranma was able to fight to fight to his full potential. It was the most amazing thing, the exhilarating feeling of not holding back, of totally immersing oneself in the art.

The only thing that truly held Ranma back was that he had to keep a constant eye on Mihoshi. While she was a skilled police officer and had participated in several battles, she had done nothing like this. The only thing that kept her in the battle for as long as she was the newly designed gun that Washu had built for her. The gun she possessed now looked exactly like the standard GP-issue but each round had three times the power but used the same amount of battery energy, while the battery had five times the energy capacitance. This made the gun a more effective weapon. Add that to the training that she had been given by Ranma and she was a very effective fighter. The only problem was that she had only three energy caps left and by the looks of the creatures that they were fighting she would need a great deal more.

Luckily this problem was saved in the form of Ryoko flying towards them. The cyan-hared ex-demon floated over the area that the newlyweds were fighting and yelled down at them. "Guys, there's a hole in the wall over that way," she said as she pointed in the direction of the hole. "Go that way, I've got to get the others," with that she flew off.

As Ryoko flew off Ranma went to his wife's side, "Ready, my lady," he said with a sweeping bow.

Mihoshi giggled, "Yes, good sir."

Ranma swept Mihoshi off her feet and began towards the location Ryoko indicated. The whole time he had a smile on his face as he knew that if Mihoshi was still able to joke around then she have a better time fighting than someone that was serious all the time, those were the people who got killed.

*********

If the Senshi were using tactics and the Saotomes were using skill, then the Juraians were pure power. Where others conserved their power, they raged for their fury was unrivaled by any. They were on their home soil to take it back from an invading force and nothing would prevent them from extending their full wrath upon these invaders. Later, there would be those that would ask the question, "How were they able to use so much power for so long?" Well, the answer to this question was simple, trees. All throughout the planet and in sealed docks in the space above Jurai were the powerful trees of Jurai. Like the freedom fighters, they too felt rage at the injustice placed upon Jurai and lent their energy to the cause.

For years Azusa Masaki had felt something lacking in his life. He had three wonderful children; a son that he was proud of, and two beautiful daughters, one of which was graced by their goddess. His wives were strong women that he loved with all his heart. Sure the marriage to Misaki was arranged for him so that the aristocracy would not be in an uproar about an emperor being wed only to an alien, but Azusa loved her as much as he loved Funaho. But despite all of this he felt that something was off. For the hundreds of years that he had been an emperor he had felt this and it was only now that Azusa truly comprehended what it was he felt, confinement. Before he became emperor Azusa went on adventures, which was how he met his beloved Funaho. He had seen the universe and fought many times and now he realized that he missed that. As emperor, Azusa had to sit on the sidelines, never fully participating in battles, for he was the leader of Jurai and couldn't be placed in the kind of danger that adventures would get him into. And so he tortured his children, that he loved dearly, all because he was jealous of their ability to go on adventures. This really pissed him off and only fueled the rage that he now used to fight these creatures.

As Yosho weaved through the chaos of the battlefield with a grace that many martial artists would kill for, little entered his mind, for all of his intellect was focused on the battle. Yosho's concentration had a clog thrown in the works by his father. He had seen the man angry, hell Azusa has stayed that way for as long he has known him, but never like this. Usually, it was the kind of anger one gets when they lose money on a horse or when an old woman drives five miles an hour on a six-lane intrastate. But the anger that he was expressing today was nothing that Yosho had thought his father was capable of and it shocked Yosho to the core.

So shocked was Yosho that he did not notice the shadow who was coming up behind him ready to strike him down. Luckily, Ryoko had just arrived and saw what was about to happen to him and intervened. Of course Ryoko's ideal of intervention was to vaporize the shadow with as much overkill potential as possible. After returning the wraith to its original form Ryoko yelled down to Yosho, "Yo! Old man! Get your head out of your ass and get your family over to the hole in the wall," she said as she pointed at said hole. Once she was sure that Yosho was out of his stupor and had understood her message, Ryoko teleported to her final destination.

*********

One of the most important things one learns about battle is that if one does not concentrate fully on the fighting then you are dead. Luckily, Ayeka never practiced that rule. For years she has fought what some would consider to be life or death struggles, and she always had her concentration split. She had done this in her battles with Ryoko and she was doing it now. The thing other than battle that Ayeka had her mind on was her soon-to-be husband, one Tenchi Masaki. She had seen Tenchi practice before, she still blushed in embarrassment at what happened the first time she had watched him, and every time he practiced he had a look of calm concentration. Every time she had seen him in actual combat his visage was angry. But this time was different, instead of calm concentration or anger Tenchi looked like he was what humans called a Zen state. As he sliced apart his opponents his face was a picture of serenity. All in all it made her rather aroused, and had this not been an actual battle but merely practice, she would have already jumped him. As it was, all she was left with was her lust filled thoughts. This led to frustration, which resulted in some very dead Wraiths.

Flying over to where her fiancés were doing battle, Ryoko smiled as Ayeka unleashed a torrent of energy into a group of shadow people. She recognized the look on her love's face for it was the same one she had on many of her battles with the glorious purple-haired princess. Seeing that one of her dual loves were unoccupied for the moment Ryoko decided to be a little playful. Teleporting right behind Ayeka, Ryoko gently wrapped her arms around Ayeka's lithe frame making sure to cares certain sensitive areas as she did so. "Hello, lover," Ryoko purred.

After blasting a large group of shadows back into nothingness Ayeka panted at the exertion. Sure the trees might be lending their energy to her, but it takes a little while to recharge after such a massive display of power. As she stood there getting her breath back Ayeka felt a pair of arms wrap around her. At first she thought it was a shadow that held her in its grip, but instead of feeling nothing Ayeka could feel Ryoko's warm presence, that added to the places were Ryoko was placing her hands made Ayeka VERY relaxed. When Ryoko purred into her ear it was all Ayeka could do to keep from melting on the spot. In an effort not to something unbecoming one of her station right there Ayeka focused on her anger at the aggressors and forced herself out of Ryoko's tender embrace. "RYOKO! Now is not the time for that kind of thing!"

Though Ryoko should have been hurt at Ayeka's actions she wasn't, she could smell Ayeka's arousal. Instead she took a pose out of Ayeka's book and looked rather mocking, "Oh, I know that," she replied as if she was talking to an inferior. Ryoko then leaned in and took on a sly look, "I was just seeing if you were on guard."

Before Ayeka could retort Tenchi walked up, he had heard Ayeka's initial outburst and came over to see what was the problem. Seeing that there was nothing to be concerned about Tenchi addressed Ryoko, "Ryoko? What's up?"

Getting back to business Ryoko straightened up and looked to Tenchi, her face a mask of seriousness. "There's a hole in the wall, we've got to get inside."

Ayeka and Tenchi looked at Ryoko grimly and nodded. Then the three of them flew off towards the hole.

*********

As everyone reached the location of the hole they waited for the others to arrive. After several minutes Ryoko, Tenchi, and Ayeka finally arrived and they could proceed inside. Before they could do that though, Tenchi spoke up, "Hey Usagi, Hotaru. Where's the rest of the Senshi?"

Usagi had been using the time that she had while waiting for every one to reach the hole to get her friends out of her mind. She had just managed to smile once again when Tenchi asked his question. As soon as that happened her face fell faster than a rock into a black hole. "They're going to stay to keep those guys from following us," she replied with a dead voice.

Hearing the tone in Usagi's voice Hotaru glared at Tenchi. She had seen how Usagi had begun to cheer up and it had made her happy. With Tenchi's question Usagi got depressed again and it really made the Senshi of Saturn angry.

Tenchi was still looking at Hotaru and Usagi when they made their faces. He could understand neither of the looks, but Hotaru's really scared him. Sure, he could open or close black holes, but that takes work. Hotaru has an attack hardwired in her brain that could allow her to destroy a planet. She was definitely not a person whose bad side you wanted to get on. So he looked away and hoped that Hotaru would use her anger to blast the enemy and not him.

Ranma was totally oblivious to the drama that was going on, instead he looked to Washu, the one with all the info. "So Washu, which way do we go?"

Having memorized the palace's schematics from when she scanned it after Ryoko blew a hole in the wall Washu pointed straight into the blackness of the structure. "We go in that direction until we reach a large open area, the Heaven's Gateway. From there it's a straight shot into Tokimi's Royal Hall."

Ranma nodded once as he committed the directions to memory. Looking to Tenchi, Ranma asked, "We ready to go?" Thought Ranma didn't like being subordinate to anyone, he was not going to go in without Tenchi's say so.

Grateful for something to think of other than Hotaru's glare Tenchi eagerly nodded his head. "Yes yes. Let's go. That way," he said as he pointing in the direction that Washu pointed.

The group, following their fearless leader's order, made their way into the darkness. As they passed through the black expanse they experienced freezing temperatures and nothingness, this quickly gave way to warmth and light. To say that the group was shocked upon seeing the inside of Tokimi's palace would be an understatement. Everyone but Washu expected darkness and evil, what they got was light and awe. Upon the walls were images of such beauty that many in the group got somewhat misty eyed. Those who were not swayed by the image's beauty were taken in by the vivid detail presented by the paintings. It was as if the scenes depicted were not simply images but real places with but only glass separating the world and observers.

The first person to say anything was Washu, "There were stories, but nothing like this," she said in an awed whisper. She knew that Tokimi's people were artisans, but she would have remembered something like this. Washu couldn't calculate the skill necessary to achieve such works, let alone the amount of time needed to paint them.

Washu's whisper was the only thing necessary for Ranma's finely honed battle mind to reactivate. Realizing that they were in an enemy facility and their opponent's numbers were unknown the group should not stand in an open hallway admiring the scenery. "Come on everybody! We've still got a fight to fight!"

Everyone roused themselves from their awe and quickly looked around for any enemies, all the while cursing themselves for leaving themselves so open. Of anyone Ryoko, was the most upset, she had seen many beautiful things in her life, most of which she stole as Kagato's slave, but they all paled in comparison to the beauty around her. Looking back at the place where she blew a hole in the palace wall she was glad to see that no damage was done to any of the artwork. With everyone's mind back to the task at hand they headed to Heaven's Gateway and destiny.

*********

Upon stepping into Heaven's Gateway one would find a room that many a thief would call heaven. While it lacked the paintings that adorn the various halls Heaven's Gateway does posses one thing in great abundance, Gold. The entire room is covered in the shiny metal, and not just the standard yellow gold but gold of every color imaginable.

This was the sight that greeted the small band of heroes. That, and a large ovoid ruby that hung suspended in front of the two large doors. Seeing no one in the room Ranma began to walk to the doors. As he was almost there, he jumped backwards to avoid the blast of energy that came from the ruby. Landing just in front of the others Ranma saw that around the ruby appeared the face of an old man.

"Intruders," the face roared. "How dare you defile the sanctity of Lady Tokimi's palace with your presence! For this offense you all shall be put to death!" The head then calmed and looked at Washu, "Excepting of course for you, Lady Washu. Lady Tokimi desires to speak with you." Looking back at the others the head addressed them, "As for you others, you shall be dealt with by these loyal subjects of her Lady."

Below the face two shadows coalesced from nothingness. Out of these shadows walked two men. The man on the left wore a tight red shirt tucked into black pants, his skin was pale and his eyes were dead. The other was younger looking, around Ranma's age, he wore a light blue vest with Chinese pants of a matching color. Around his waist was wrapped a length of pantyhose and his feminine face was cast in a nasty superior smirk.

From the various descriptions given by the royal family and Mihoshi the man on the left was well known. He was Xander, galactically feared serial killer and apparent knight of Tokimi. But the man next to him was known to only one person, Ranma Saotome, "Tarou," said pig-tailed hero.

Mihoshi, who stood side by side to her husband, was frightened. Here was the man who took away her first love, looking every bit as terrifying as when he shot her Kiyone. But before she could sink too far into the grip of terror she heard Ranma utter a familiar name. "Tarou? Wasn't he the guy who almost killed you," she asked in concern.

Without taking his eyes off the arrogant man, Ranma responded to his wife's inquiry, "Yeah. That's him all right." "Hey Tarou! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"What do I always want Femboy? When Tokimi told me you were still alive, I was furious but she offered to help. She told me that if I join her she would give me enough power to beat you and the old freak. It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch but if it will get me my named changed then, OK."

At the rear of the room, Usagi sweat-dropped, "He joined an evil goddess just to get his name changed," she stage whispered to Hotaru incredulously.

Before Ranma could say anything Azusa charged forward, "Enough of this! Die Xander!" The emperor of Jurai flew forward at the psychopath only to rebound off of a force field and land near a wall. As he righted himself he looked up to see Ryoko's snarling visage.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?! He's got Light Hawk Wings, I doubt you are strong enough to beat that!"

"Oh, and you are," asked a quiet voice.

Ryoko turned and saw that it was Xander that spoke, "You're damn right I am." Three spots appeared on Ryoko's forehead and four red Light Hawk Wings appeared. Said wings made a rotation around her as Ryoko floated off the floor several inches. After one rotation the wings made an X shape on the ground below her, leaving a circle in the middle. The red wings, while maintaining their formation, floated upwards. As the Light Hawk Wings made their way up her body a red line of power marked where Ryoko's normal combat outfit ended and her Light Hawk armor began. While it kept the red and black color scheme of her regular combat suit, Ryoko's Light Hawk armor was far from skin-tight. Where Ryoko's normal suit was designed for battle her new armor would look more at ease at some futuristic ball. The sleeve and legs were poofy but the legs were not joined so as to allow more range of motion in the arms. From the gems on her wrists grew ornate golden bracelets and around her neck formed an intricately detailed golden choker that had her gem in its center. As the Light Hawk Wings finished their transformation of Ryoko's clothes they floated above her head for a moment the flew behind her and while still maintaining their formation one end of each wing flew closer to her back while the other pointed away from her. Her wings in place, Ryoko reached behind her and grabbed one of her wings. Even as the wing was becoming a sword, Ryoko flew forward with a yell.

While the girl in red made her display, Tarou was watching Ranma. He had hoped that Ranma would be detracted by the light show but Ranma just kept his focus on him. Getting fed up with the staring match Taro called upon the power given to him by Tokimi. In answer to his call a dark blue wing appeared before him. Grabbing the wing he flew forward at his pig-tailed nemesis.

As Tarou flew forward Ranma pushed Mihoshi out of the way and summoned his own Light Hawk sword. Leaping backwards Ranma's armor materialized over his clothing. It was something he didn't like relying on but after seeing the cutting power of one of those swords there was no way he was going to chance it.

In the battle between Ryoko and Xander, the differences in their fighting styles was obvious to even the greatest of pacifists. Where Ryoko fought with a savage intensity that few could match, Xander was cruelly efficient. Ryoko would come in and Xander would dodge or parry her attacks. Every now and then Xander would initiate an attack, but unlike a normal person, Xander only inflicted minor wounds upon Ryoko. Though through the regenerative powers of the Light Hawk power the wounds healed after several seconds, they were done in places where they would cause the most pain at the least amount of energy expended by Xander. As he watched the battle Tenchi could see what the result would be if nothing changed. At the rate Ryoko was going she would run out of energy long before Xander and she would die. Not wanting to see that to happen to his beloved fiancé Tenchi summoned his armor and sword and joined the battle.

With all those that could use the power of Light hawk Wings now in battle, those "normal" people were left standing with little idea about what to do. Ever the leader, Azusa addressed those around him, "Ok people. While the others are dealing with the big guns what say you to handling that ugly door guard," he said as he pointed at the floating visage of D3. All around him yelled in approval and as one they all charged the elderly head.

The only two that stayed behind were Hotaru and Usagi. Something inside them held the pair at bay, not fear, but the instinctual knowledge that the time was not right for them to strike. But when the time was right they WOULD be ready.

*********

For those fighting the floating face, D3, the battle was not going well. The Juraians, Ayeka, Yosho, Misaki, Funaho, and Azusa, were using every attack in their arsenal. Blades of energy, blasts of power that would level several city blocks, every thing was flung at the intangible form of D3. Soon they realized that the only solid thing about D3 was the jewel in his forehead but this information was not useful to them. All of their energy attacks would bounce off or be absorbed to be used against them via D3's eye beams. Physical attacks proved to be equally useless for the intangible gatekeeper would blast all before they could reach the crimson jewel.

As much trouble as the Juraians were having, Mihoshi was having more. She had no powers so she couldn't dodge D3's energy blasts as easily as the others. Since the only thing in her arsenal was her blaster she could do little damage to her opponent. After dodging a particularly powerful eye-blast Mihoshi cried out in agony as a piece of shrapnel went through her meager armor and sliced her back.

In the fight between Tarou and Ranma neither held the upper hand. One would be on the offensive for a little while and then they would make a small mistake and then was placed on the defensive. But this changed when Ranma heard Mihoshi cry out and felt his wife's pain.

*********

Tarou was getting pissed. Every thing he tried, every cheap trick and under handed move didn't work on Ranma. He had even tried his monster form, but it just slowed him down, and against an opponent as fast as Ranma a decrease in speed was a bad thing. Then, after who knows how long, the impossible happened. Ranma Saotome lowered his guard. Tarou smiled gleefully at the sight and went in for the kill. His dark blue blade rose, ready to deal the critical blow. Coming down toward Ranma's unsuspecting back, Tarou's Light Hawk sword traveled with a speed that few could hope to match. But before the final blow was struck the blade was stopped by cold black metal. The intense focus that Tarou had was shattered and he took a step backwards. Now he could see what had blocked his swing, an ornate looking glaive, and holding said glaive was a pale slip of a girl whose eyes held a intensity and sense of purpose few possessed.

"Not today."

*********

As she watched the fight between Ranma and the one he called Tarou, Hotaru knew that, whatever she was going to do in this battle, it would be there. So she waited in anticipation. Every blow inflicted upon Ranma made her wince, while every impact incurred by Tarou made her cheer inside. All the while a feeling of anticipation grew within her. Like a catapult that was slowly lowered into launch position did it build, waiting for the event to launch it into motion. That event came soon enough when Mihoshi cried out in pain. As soon as the sound reached her ears Hotaru was in motion. Not knowing what her body intended, Hotaru gave in and let her instincts rule, for if she didn't she knew that something horrible would happen. Running to do something at a speed she didn't know she possessed, Hotaru was of two minds. One mind was the warrior, Sailor Saturn, who going to do battle. The other one was Hotaru Tomoe, it was she who noticed that Tarou was raising his sword and her panic made Sailor Saturn all that faster. Upon reaching her destination Saturn raised her Silence Glaive in an attempt to block the descending blade. A part of her boggled at the fact of a blade that could supposedly cut through anything was blocked by her glaive, and the other stared coldly at her opponent. "Not today," she sneered.

*********

"Not today."

At hearing those words Ranma was broken out of his stupor and turned around. What he saw shocked him, Hotaru, no Sailor Saturn, stood with her glaive in a defensive position and a face as cold and hard as he had ever seen. Without turning around she addressed him.

"Go to her."

It was simple, it was concise, it was all that Ranma needed. Ranma flew towards Mihoshi, hopping he was not too late.

"So who are you, little girl," Tarou sneered.

"Sailor Saturn and your opponent." With that simple statement the battle was joined.

As she stood up Mihoshi had a pain filled grimace on her features. This was not working, she was tiring quickly and she had put in the last energy cap for her blaster some time ago. Before she was completely erect she felt some one's firm yet gentle hands helping her up. Without even looking she could feel that the person helping her was Ranma and gratefully accepted said help.

After getting Mihoshi off the ground Ranma placed his hand several centimeters above the wound on her back and focused his power. As one of those who bore Tsunami's Light Hawk Wings, Ranma, like Tenchi, had the ability to heal others. Ranma used this talent to help Mihoshi. As he did this Ranma sent all the feelings of love and compassion he could through the link the two of them shared. Once the wound was healed, he removed his hands from her body and asked, "How's it going?"

"How's it going!? I'll show you how's it going." With that she pulled her gun in line with the jewel on the enemies head and with an inarticulate scream of rage she pulled the trigger.

Click.

Mihoshi looked down her arm at the gun she held and pulled the trigger several more times.

Click. Click. Click.

Pulling her gun in line with her face Mihoshi looked down the barrel of her gun. Seeing no obstructions Mihoshi shook the gun several time and then banged the hilt of the gun against the palm of her hand. She then pulled the trigger on more time and received the same results. So with her only weapon spent Mihoshi hurled the gun at D3 with a fear filled, "Waaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!"

There are times and events where chaos reigns supreme and each sound is louder than the one before that, where a single noise can stop it all. Such was the sound of Mihoshi Saotome's gun as it hit the red jewel with a loud, "CRACK!" At that sound all fighting stopped and all eyes, including those of D3, turned to the jewel. What they saw shocked them, there was a large crack in the surface of the jewel. From the point that Mihoshi's weapon had impacted spread both the large crack and a multitude of smaller ones. With small pinks and tinks, these smaller cracks grew until the entire surface of the jewel was covered with them. Soon another noise was heard in Heaven's Gateway, a low keening noise coming from D3. Very quickly it became the sound of someone in deep agony as both the jewel and D3 were cast into the void, never to be heard from again.

All was silent in the room until Washu, who had been standing to the side recording the battle both for science and prosperity, uttered, "She's a genius!" In the silence of Heaven's Gateway her softly spoke words echoed like a gunshot and spurred all back into battle.

*********

Coming out of his stupor Tarou immediately went on the offensive. Slashing like a madman he hoped to catch his opponent off-guard. Unfortunately, for him anyways, Saturn was just as fast as he and was able to block him. While she could defend herself from the blow, she was still knocked back.

Watching his opponent stagger backwards and fall to one knee Tarou smiled evilly. To the horror of those watching the fight Tarou walked menacingly towards Hotaru's prone form. As he reached her Tarou raised his sword over Hotaru's head.

Since Taro had his back to the crowd it looked liked he jerked as he was looming over Hotaru. But the truth was that as he had been savoring his victory Hotaru slammed the Silence Glaive into his chest. Saturn stood up and put her face close to Tarou's. "Silence. Glaive. Surprise." With that a beam of power erupted from his back and the parts that hadn't been vaporized exploded away from Hotaru to land at various points in the room.

Those who watched were shocked at what Hotaru had done, but no-one was more shocked than Usagi. She had kept an eye on Hotaru's battle and what little she saw damn near scared her. Hotaru was displaying a coldness not seen since the Pharaoh 90 incident. Instead on thinking of what she saw any further Usagi, turned her attention back to the battle between the champions of the three goddesses. What she saw there terrified her. When she made her announcement of her intentions of fighting without her fellow Senshi, Usagi went to Rei and asked her to describe, in detail, the fight she saw between Ryoko, Tenchi, and Xander. A comparison between what she had been told and what she was seeing did not bolster any thoughts of confidence in her. While Ryoko was making less mistakes and the addition of Tenchi made Xander fight, it appears as if being a psychopath was a definite plus when engaging one in combat. Xander by no means had the upper hand, but he wasn't loosing either. Knowing that something must be done, and it was she that would be the one doing it, Usagi pulled out her weapon as granted to her by the transformation into Eternal Sailor Moon and began her dance of death. "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss," with that her most powerful Senshi attack flew at Xander. The main problem with most of her attacks is that while they are powerful they don't work as well on things that are not possessed. This added to the fact that Xander had the armor of someone with five Light Hawk Wings made for little damage inflicted upon his person. What Usagi's attacks did do is distract Xander long enough to allow Ryoko and Tenchi to swoop in and kill him.

With all of their opponents dead, the weary victors gathered to congratulate one another on a job well done. But before they could generate too much fanfare, Washu walked up, her face stern. "Remember, we've still got Tokimi to contend with." Her statement put a damper on everyone's good mood and acted as a trigger for the doors.

Opening slowly, the doors impressed upon all the feeling of entering a holy sanctuary. As they walked into Tokimi's inner sanctum there was a feeling excited weariness. For while they knew that they were nearing the end of their journey, they were also entering the lion's den. As the last person crossed the door's boundaries they slammed shut, locking all within.

Tokimi's sanctum sanctorum lacked the one thing most people would think of a evil ruler having, a throne. What it did have was a large platform and a goddess hanging on the wall. Wait a minute, GODDESS HANGING ON THE WALL!

"TSUNAMI," yelled those that recognized the woman. But before they could get to her, all with Light Hawk powers and oddly enough Usagi and Hotaru felt something. Only one person knew what it was.

"Tokimi," said Washu.

As Washu spoke the room's high ceiling gave way to a beautiful star field. Around the edge of the field were huge versions of the same wraith-like beings that they had fought outside. At the center of the star field appeared a large woman. Though few in the room knew what the woman looked like, they all knew that this was Tokimi, and not because Washu just said so. But the thing that worried everyone the most was the fact that she looked calm and rational.

"Oh look! Visitors. We do get so few of you here." She then looked to Washu. "And my dear sister Washu, look what you have brought me, Serenity's heir and the princess of Saturn. How nice of you." Looking at said individuals she said, "But there is one problem. You killed my knights. Now you must be taught a lesson." Tokimi extended an arm at each of the two girls that she addressed. From her hands lanced beams of pure Light Hawk power.

Tokimi's aim was true and both beams struck the girls dead center in the chest. When the energy struck her chest Usagi exploded in a pillar of pure white energy. At the same time Usagi was struck in the chest a beam hit Hotaru in the same place. As she fell back dark flames trailed off her body and before she could hit the ground her whole body was consumed.

*********

Hotaru awoke to the unpleasant sensation of lying on cold marble. Then the memory of what had just happened hit her and she bolted up. "I can remember Tokimi's words, her shooting at me and Usagi, feeling the blast hit me then . . . nothing," she thought to herself. Soon she began to hear moaning and tortured screams. Looking around she saw that she was in a hall that was made entirely out of black marble. Adorning the walls were torches, their burning glow was low, and they were attached to the wall via gothic sconces that were made of some kind of black metal. As she continued her investigation the sounds that had begun so softly were gaining in intensity. The source of these cries appeared to be the only opening in the room. As Hotaru neared the opening she was blasted by waves of intense heat, a stark contrast to the chilly interior. Upon reaching the opening Hotaru came out onto a balcony and what she saw there was something right out of the bible. Overhead where thick black clouds that seemed to press down upon her. These clouds were being fueled by the large volcano in the distance. Said volcano was very active as reddish-orange lava ran down its sides like water only to form, large lakes of lava that never cooled. Now that she was outside Hotaru could tell that she was in a castle that resided on the opposite side of the valley from the volcano. All along the castle roamed various creatures, the ones who looked like goblins wore armor and carried weapons as they patrolled the walls.

Then Hotaru felt a presence behind her. Turning around she could see nothing, but that did little to alleviate the fear she was feeling. For you see, despite the fact that Hotaru still wore the form of Sailor Saturn, she was without her weapon, the Silence Glaive. But she went back into the castle anyways because that same part of her that told her when to intervene on Ranma's behalf was now telling her that everything was going to be all right. As she walked into the castle she received the blessed relief of its cool air and she noticed something odd. Every time she passed a pair of torches they would change from orange flames to black. Then multiple torches lit up against a wall several feet in front of her. Their dark flames illuminated a large throne, and Hotaru could see that someone was lounging in it. With every step she took Hotaru was able to make out more of the throne's sole occupant. Standing but a foot away from the person Hotaru could see that it was a man who was dressed in all black. He wore large black boots, over these was a pair of black dress pants, tucked into his pants was a black dress shirt that. Around his neck was a silver necklace that had a gold ring on it. Over his shoulders and arms the man wore a long black coat that went all the way down to the floor. He had medium length black hair and a black goatee, both of which were well groomed. The only thing Hotaru could not tell about the man was his eye color, for they were closed at the moment. After standing there for several minutes Hotaru decided to break the oppressive silence, but before she could utter a word the man's eyes opened and pinned her with an intense green-eyed stare.

"Hello Hotaru. Welcome to Hell."

*********

Authors Notes: And with that I end this chapter, aren't I evil.

But seriously folks here is chapter eight of LHW, and I deeply apologize for its lateness. Since some of you have probably not visited my site, I feel it necessary to explain the lack of story updates for the past few months. First of all I have been on summer vacation away from college and have been in little mood to much of anything. Secondly, I do not know if any of you have heard or seen the anime entitled Dai-Guard, but I was bitten by the fandom bug and I had to have a model of the mecha the show was named after. After a long search process I found that there were no models of this wonderful piece of fictional machinery, so I set out to build my own. Now I don't know how many of you are into modeling, but this task was made difficult due the fact that I have to design every part before I can build it. This has taken up a good portion of my unused time and left little time for my story. If you would like to see my work so far head over to . But I did work on it some and here it is. Good news, since I am going back to college this September, chapters should be coming out much faster.

Some notes about the last paragraph. If any of you noticed the similarities between hell and Tolkien's Mordor then good job. About the man in the chair, I said his eyes were green, but I think I should clarify it more, think Sephiroth's eyes. Also, while I didn't say his name I think you all know who the guy in the chair is. If you don't, hit yourself in the head with the most convenient blunt object. As for the reason why poor Hotaru has been sent to Hell. Well you'll just have to wait until the next chapter.

Now, on to the complaints, I know that some of you will be upset with the way I have created Mihoshi's parents. You're probably thinking, "Why not use the mom that was in GXP?" There were two reasons for this: one was that as far as OAV's 1&2 Mihoshi's parents are not stated, and reason two is that from what I have heard about the GXP mom that character just does not fit with my personal beliefs about OAV Mihoshi and her family. Since it is seven o'clock in the morning, I can't think of any other complaints but if there are any more please CALMLY send me a message containing your grievance and I shall endeavor to answer it.

So until next time,

Chaos Lord

King of the Wicker People