Chapter Eleven

"Now where has she gone?"

Ryoko glanced up at her space-ship, a look of irritation on her face. "Ryo Ohki, what did I tell you to do? Before Tenchi and I went to see Azusa, what, exactly, did I ask of you?"

Ryo Ohki miaowed back at her, a mixture of penitence and defiance in her tone, and Ryoko closed her eyes, shaking her head slowly.

"I don't care if she can teleport. I told you to stick with her and you've let me down." She said reproachfully. "That kid knows nothing about this place in this time, whatever she says about it. She'll get herself - and us - into trouble and right now it's the last thing we need. Ryo Ohki, I was counting on you!"

Ryo Ohki mewed again, and Ryoko's eyes snapped open, staring up at the spaceship with a quizzical look in her eyes.

"Tsunami's tree? Is that what you said?" She demanded. "Why on earth? Why did she go there? It's just a tree...nothing special to look at. What did she think, that the Goddess would be there waiting for her?"

She sighed, leaning up against the frame of the ship as she glanced at the jewel capsule in her hand. The cold silver seemed to burn into her palm, and she bit her lip, running a finger over the outer coating. Symbols carved in the corner marked out Washu's name and she hesitated, reliving the encounter with her mother.

So now she knew, she mused. Everything that had not made sense before now clicked into place, building up a chilling kind of logic as she set it all out before her. It was how Washu had known to send the Dark Heart to her, and not Ayeka or Tenchi. It was why the scientist had been so cutting about her abilities, as she recovered from the aftermath of the battle with Haki. It explained...she sighed, glancing up at the sky.

"It explains why I even exist." She whispered. "And I can't do a damn thing about it, either! I'm stuck, Ryo Ohki. Stuck in this stupid gameplan that other people have designed. I could hop aboard you right now and we could take off into Deep Space, but where would I go? You know better than anyone that there is nowhere for me to go out there. No home. No safehouse. Nothing. And no life, either. Not now. Not on my own. I just...I can't leave Jurai without Tenchi, and I know he won't leave if it means turning his back on this planet."

Ryo Ohki whimpered softly, as if sharing her misgivings. Ryoko nodded her head.

"I know." She acknowledged. "I'm thinking like a coward again. It's these gems, Ryo Ohki. I've never been so scared of anything in my life as I am what they can do to me. It's not that they could kill me. I've faced death down before and I'm not afraid to die. You know that's the truth. But it's the rest...the memories, the dark thoughts, the unrelenting waves of magic beating against my brain. They twist me, change me...it takes everything I have just to stop them from taking over completely. I don't have the control and it scares me to think that I may have to use them again. But that's what Washu said, pretty much. And somehow I have to find my nerve. If I'm going to die here, I'm not going to do it as a coward. I'm going to...going to try and remember that thing she said, when we were flying in space. The ones who face their destiny are the heroes? Well, I might not succeed, and I might not be a hero, when all's said and done. But I'm not going to be remembered as a coward and a villain, while the whole world dies around me."

"So here you are."

A voice interrupted her soul searching and she glanced up, seeing Tenchi watching her, Nozomi and Sasami in tow. She frowned, slipping the jewel case behind her back.

"I wondered where you'd got to." She said frankly. Her gaze fixed on Nozomi, and she scowled. "And where, exactly, did I tell you to wait?"

"I got bored." Nozomi admitted. "But I met Sasami-denka, and spoke to...to Tsunami-sama. I understand what we have to do now. Tenchi and I both do, Ryoko-san."

"Great." Ryoko sighed. "I think I'm beginning to get the picture, too."

"Did Washu survive your little tete a tete?" Tenchi asked softly, coming to her side and resting a gentle hand on her shoulder. Ryoko started, then nodded.

"Huh? Oh. Yes. Of course she did." She said heavily. "I'm pretty mad at her, but other things are pressing, so I told her we'd settle the rest up later. Whatever I think about it, Tenchi, I can't keep running away from this. She built me to fight Kagato. That's what I must do."

"You weren't built. You were born." Tenchi said firmly. Ryoko shook her head.

"No...I was built." She said with a sigh. "In a lab, in a unit, with Washu playing God as she meddled with my DNA. I'm just another one of her garbled experiments, nothing more. About time I fulfilled the purpose she created me for, isn't it? After all, I didn't get born like you did. I guess that means I don't get a choice about how I live my life."

"Of course it does." Sasami spoke softly, gazing up at the pirate with soft crimson eyes. "Ryoko, you are still a child of Tsunami. However you came to be. She still recognises you as one of her own - even if the rest of Jurai does not. And she needs your help. She didn't forsake you aboard Karasu, did she? Now you can't forsake her, either. Don't do this because you feel forced into it. Do it because it's the right thing. For Tsunami and for the Universe as a whole. Earth, Jurai - everything. Will you help?"

"Sasami?" Ryoko's eyes flickered with surprise. Tenchi squeezed her hand.

"Sasami is right." He added. "However you came to be, what matters is that you're here now and we have a job we have to do. You and me, Ryoko. Ayeka isn't here, so it's down to us to set things right. Between us, maybe we can do it. What do you say? Will you come with me to Souja and try?"

"It's not just you." Nozomi stood forward at that moment, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm here too, remember. This involves me as much as it does you, because it's my world we're trying to change."

"You're not strong enough to even go near Kagato." Ryoko flickered her gaze over the young girl, then shook her head. "If you can't beat me in a fair fight, you haven't a hope of touching Kagato's magic. I'm not really sure I can dent him any, either, when it comes to that. For you it would be suicide."

"But..."

"Forget it, Nozomi." Ryoko held up her free hand. "I mean it. You're not going to fight Kagato."

She pursed her lips, sending Tenchi a slight smile.

"Tenchi and I will take care of him." She added. "Somehow. Because, obviously, that's the only way we're going to get off this wretched planet and find some peace and quiet on the Earth for once. Sasami, you and Nozomi go back to the palace. It might get nasty, and I doubt Tsunami would want you hurt if it came to the crunch."

"I'll go back." Sasami nodded her head. "But Nozomi has to go with you. Ryoko, she's the only one who can bring Kagato from his tree. She has to go, or the whole trip will be futile."

"Bring Kagato...?" Ryoko faltered, then, "But Washu said it was me...? That I was the one linked to him...that in the legend...?"

"Nozomi's blood is a mixture of Kagato's and the true Jurai line." Sasami said simply, reaching over to grasp first Ryoko's hand and then Tenchi's, placing them together between her own. "To wake him, you need both. Nozomi is the only one who has the right mixture of magic to make it work. That's why Tsunami wanted her here with you all along. Nozomi raised him in her time, too - and she'll do it again, here and now. Won't you, Nozomi?"

"If it's what Tsunami wants from me, yes." Nozomi nodded her head. "And I know that it is."

"Then I suppose it'll be the three of us heading out to Souja." Tenchi reflected. Ryoko shrugged.

"All right." She agreed unwillingly. "But after you've done - whatever you're going to do to raise him, I want you to teleport out of there. Do you understand me, Nozomi? You'll only get hurt, and I don't want you distracting either Tenchi or I when we're trying to focus on our own battle."

Nozomi did not answer at first, and Ryoko shot her a sharp look.

"Nozomi?"

Nozomi raised her amber-gold eyes to her mother's, a haunted look in their depths.

"I don't think Tsunami intends me to fight with you anyway." She said softly. "I don't think I'm likely to interfere in your battle, Okaa-san. You don't need to worry about that. I know my part."

"Good. Then it's settled." Ryoko nodded her head. "Tenchi, grab a hold of me. We're going to Souja, and we're going there now. The sooner we work this all out, the sooner we can go home. Right?"

"Right." Tenchi agreed, tightening his grasp on her hand. "Ready whenever you are, Ryoko."

Ryoko cast Nozomi another look.

"You know where you're going?" She demanded. Nozomi nodded her head.

"Couldn't possibly forget it." She agreed. "I'll see you there. I...want to speak to Sasami-denka first. To...say goodbye. After all, if we succeed, I...I'll go back to my timeline, won't I? Or...you know...I won't be able to speak to her after."

"All right, then." Ryoko agreed. "But don't be too long!"

With that she closed her eyes, focusing on the barren land surrounding Souja's dying tree. When she opened them again, they were mere feet from the high wooden fence that Sasami and Washu had mounted in order to get a better look at the forbidden land on the other side, and she let out a sigh, rubbing her arms absently as a shiver ran down her spine. Tenchi rubbed his temples, getting his bearings. Then he cast her a glance.

"You all right?" He asked. "I know, it's a big ask and it's been thrown at us all of a sudden."

"This isn't your battle, Tenchi-chan." Ryoko shook her head slowly. "You don't have to fight it, you know. It's me who was created for this. Not you. You don't have to face him just because you're associated with me."

"Don't be silly. You should know by now that my fight is your fight and vice versa." Tenchi told her frankly. "I...hey, what have you got there?" As he caught sight of the capsule in her hands. Ryoko started, closing her fingers more tightly around the case, but Tenchi reached for her hand, gently opening her fist. His gaze darkened as he recognised the capsule.

"Ryoko."

"I know. I know." Ryoko sighed, dropping down on the ground and crossing her legs as she placed the jewel case in front of her. "It's stupid, isn't it? I didn't want them anywhere near me and I said that I wouldn't change my mind. But talking to Washu..."

She sighed, shaking her head as if to clear it.

"It seems pretty clear to me that I don't stand a hope in hell's chance of beating Kagato without using them." She admitted. "And much as I hate the idea, I'm not going to throw my life away and leave you to pick up the pieces after me. This is my fight, and if I'm going to fight it, I'm going to be as ready as I can be. But I don't want them, Tenchi. I...I really don't know how well I can handle them."

Tenchi held out his hand for the capsule, taking it and glancing at it.

"So much power trapped inside something so small." He said softly. Ryoko nodded.

"Size isn't everything, I guess that's what they say." She agreed. She closed her eyes, as if giving herself a mental pep talk. Then she glanced at him, gesturing towards the capsule.

"All right." She said quietly. "Open it."

"Are you sure?" Tenchi eyed her keenly, noting the slight tremble in her hands as she held out her arms, palms up to receive the gems. "Ryoko...are you scared?"

"What do you think?" Ryoko snapped. "I've died because of these things once and I don't really have happy memories of the experience. Just get it over with already, will you? Before I lose my nerve completely!"

Tenchi hesitated for a moment. Then, very carefully, he released the catch on the capsule. It gave a soft click, and a dim flare of reddish light began to creep out from around the edges. As he lifted the lid up fully, the three crystals hovered and shone, sparkling with a strange, eerie glow. Ryoko closed her eyes, holding her wrists higher as the stones began to gravitate towards her. As they made contact with her skin, Ryoko let out a cry, and Tenchi fought the impulse to touch her, unsure as to whether his hands would cause her more pain. Another heart-wrenching shriek echoed out across the landscape, as scarlet rays seem to bathe the pirate in blood red light. Then, the brightness faded, and all was quiet once more.

Tenchi tossed the empty capsule to the floor, crouching at Ryoko's side. Her eyes remained closed, her brow creased in intense concentration, and beads of perspiration formed on her brow as she fought to take control of the gems' sinister power. Shivers ran through her body and despite himself, Tenchi could not hold back any longer. He slid his arm gingerly around her, holding her tightly in his arms. She let out a faint whimper, and he ran a gentle finger down her cheek.

"Ryoko?" He whispered softly. "Can you hear me?"

"Tenchi..."

The word was faint and barely coherent, but it gave Tenchi hope and he clung to it.

"Ryoko, you know what you have to do." He whispered. "You have to control your fear of these things or it will control you first, you know that. You are strong enough to manage these jewels, because you've done it before. And you're one of the bravest people I've ever met. You've fought harder battles than anyone I know and still come out the other side. I believe in you, so don't stop believing in yourself. They're strong, I know that. But you have to take control. Like you did aboard Karasu, remember? This battle is just as important...if not more. There's just as much at stake."

Ryoko's eyes flickered open, and she glanced up at him through strange, almost fevered eyes.

"I want to kill him." She whispered. "That's what we have to do, Tenchi. Find Kagato and kill him. All of this is his fault! I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for him and his stupid greed!"

A shudder wracked through her body and she gripped hold of his arm tightly, making him wince involuntarily.

"I can master this." She muttered. "The last time, I was already acclimatised to two gems when the third one hit me. This time it's so much stronger...I wasn't expecting it to be so hard."

"It's not harder than you can manage, Ryoko-chan." Tenchi told her gently. "We both know that."

"Well, Washu said that if you can feel pain, you're still alive." Ryoko drew a shaky breath of air into her lungs, glancing down at her wrists as she did so. "Take it from me, Tenchi. I'm definitely alive. And that being the case...Where's Nozomi?"

"I'm here, Ryoko-san." Nozomi flickered into view at that moment, setting down on the ground and sending the pirate a look of alarm. "What happened? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing I can't handle." Determination coursed through Ryoko's veins, and she set her teeth, forcing the flood of images and sensations to the back of her brain. "Nozomi, whatever you're going to do to Souja, hurry up and do it, will you? I'm ready when you are. We both are. After all..."

She faltered, then struggled to her feet, raising her hand to the imposing fence and sending a barrage of red-orange energy in it's direction, blowing it clean apart, splinters of wood falling all around them like rain.

"After all, we have a Juraian traitor to deal with."