Chapter 7

"Several home video recordings purported to capture the event live as it happened and as frightened members of the Kurashiki population watched from the safety of nearby buildings, a silver craft descended through the clouds, blocking out the sun. Witnesses described the object's occupant as 'human-like', although experts and governmental officials are refusing to comment tonight on the possibility that this was a genuine alien abduction. All across the southern regions of the country, panicked families are fleeing their homes, causing massive traffic tailbacks and huge overcrowding on the rail networks. In the midst of all this chaos, several Kurashiki residents were able to identify the abducted man as Tenchi Masaki, a student at Osaka Seikei."

Washu flicked off the television set, and a sombre silence settled over the gathered watchers.

"No doubt, then." It was the scientist that broke the silence. "Sasami did see events as they unfolded. Tokimi's plan has moved into the next stage."

"Why didn't he fight back?" Ryoko demanded, frustration and anger in her golden eyes. "Why did he just let that Tennan jerk take him aboard his ship? Tenchi's no coward – he wouldn't just back off from a fight if it meant his freedom was at stake!"

"Tenchi didn't want to hurt those around him." Sasami said in a soft voice, and glancing at her, Washu could see how pale and troubled the young girl appeared. "Seiryo threatened to destroy Kurashiki and kill innocent Earthlings if he didn't surrender. The Unko is a powerful ship and Earth has no defences. Tenchi gave himself up into Seiryo's custody so as not to bring harm to the people around him."

"That does sound like Lord Tenchi." Ayeka bit her lip. "But we're too late. We came to try and help prevent this…Sasami, if only we'd listened more clearly to you earlier, when you brought Uncle that warning! Then Tenchi might still be here with us!"

"What I want to know is how Seiryo Tennan knew that Tenchi would be in Kurashiki anyway." Ryoko's eyes narrowed to near slits. She got to her feet, flickering and blurring out of view and re-materialising on the opposite side of the room, grabbing Yume roughly by the shoulders and pulling her to her feet. "What did you tell him, you bunch of wires? All that pretence that you cared about Tenchi and wanted to break away from your past – it was all a lie, wasn't it? I knew we couldn't trust you – now Tenchi's God knows where and you're going to regret ever betraying his trust!"

"I didn't do anything of the sort!" Yume's eyes opened wide with indignation and alarm, and she clenched her fists, sending out a wave of repellent energy as she pushed Ryoko back. "Get your hands off me, pirate! I would never hurt Tenchi. I had no idea Seiryo was coming to the Earth to get him today and I don't know how he knew it would be Kurashiki. It had nothing to do with me!"

"And you expect me to believe that?" Light flared from Ryoko's hands as she prepared to launch a new assault on her foe, but Washu was too quick for her and a glittering gold forcefield sprang up between them, effectively ending the conflict before it began.

"We are not going to destroy Lord Katsuhito's home by petty infighting." She said quietly.

"But she knows, Washu! She knew this was going to happen and she's still working for Tokimi!" Ryoko protested. "Why can't you see that? She's trouble and we should never have let her into this house."

"I am not working for Tokimi!" Yume flared up at this. "Believe me or don't believe me, but I had nothing to do with Tenchi-san being abducted. You just want someone to blame, because you weren't there to protect him and now you don't know where he is!"

"But you do, don't you?"

"Contrary to your belief, Space Pirate Ryoko, Tokimi has never told me every single aspect of her plans." Yume shot back. "Even when I was under Dr Clay's instruction, I only knew the parts of it he or Tokimi told me, and I rarely knew the actions of Agent Tennan or what his missions entailed. So no, I don't know where he is. But I promise you, if I did know, I'd be on my way there right now!"

"Enough of this." Katsuhito said mildly from the corner. "Yume, my dear, I don't believe you mean my grandson harm. However, Ryoko may be right. You may well know more than you think you do, when it comes to tracking down his current location. You are the one who has the best knowledge of Tokimi and her recent movements, after all. If you were to stop and scan your databases, perhaps you could come up with some kind of a clue – something which we could work with."

Yume sighed, sinking back down into her corner and burying her head in her hands. At length she shook her head.

"I do not know the answer to your question." She said helplessly. "When Washu-san removed my connection to Dr Clay she also removed any residual data I had linking me to Tokimi's base. Even when I visited it, the coordinates were shielded from me by Clay's technology and Tokimi's magic. And I do not know if Seiryo has taken Tenchi there. I'm no help to you at all."

"It doesn't matter." Washu pursed her lips, a frown touching her lips. "We already know where Tokimi is. That isn't our problem. Our problem is facing her."

"How do we know where she is, Washu?" Ryoko snapped, dropping bad-temperedly back down onto the couch. "If you're holding out on me about Tenchi's location…"

"Since you're not going, there's no point in me telling you." Washu said simply. "I know you and I know you're hot-headed and impulsive. You'll get yourself killed before any of us have even begun…and your style of attack first and think later just won't work in this particular situation. Tenchi is in grave danger…we need the element of surprise and not someone who will lose her cool at the slightest excuse."

"Not going?" Ryoko's eyes opened wide with disbelief. "Washu, this is Tenchi we're talking about! Of course I'm going to go! He needs me and I'm not going to let him down!"

"He needs you to stay alive." Washu said softly. "Killing yourself on his behalf won't help him and certainly won't help you. No, Ryoko. You're not going to face Tokimi."

"But Washu…" Ryoko bit her lip, fighting with her emotions. "You can't be serious. When have I ever let Tenchi down? He'll expect me to come and what will I tell him when he realises I'm not there?"

"Tell him your mother grounded you." Washu said wryly. Ryoko folded her arms across her chest.

"Since when do I ever do what my mother tells me to do?" She returned. "Try again, Washu. If anyone is going to help Tenchi, I am."

"And so am I." Ayeka added from her corner. "Ryoko is right, Washu. Tenchi needs us – all of us. And if Tokimi is as powerful as everyone has said she is, it's going to take all of us to properly defeat her. We can't leave people behind."

"And I can just imagine your uncle and your father's reactions if I was to send their Crown Princess back to them as nothing more than space ash." Washu snapped back. "No, you're none of you listening to me! Tokimi is no renegade Prince of Jurai. She's no space pirate. She's as close to a Goddess as she can be. You can't even imagine the extent to which her magic is able to reach."

"I can." The words were soft-spoken, and every gaze in the room turned to Sasami as the young princess got hesitantly to her feet. "And I think Washu is right. Ayeka and Ryoko can't face Tokimi and they shouldn't have to. It isn't them she wants and it isn't Tenchi, either. It's me who Tokimi seeks, and me who has to face her. That's the only thing that makes sense."

"Not in this lifetime, Sasami!" Ayeka's eyes became big with horror at this suggestion, and she shook her head. "You are far too young to be venturing into battle against unknown forces such as Tokimi! You heard Washu – a planetary goddess! What makes you think that you could do anything to stop her? You're far too young."

"Tsunami is older than any of you." Sasami said reasonably. "And it's her fight. Which means it's mine. You all know that…you've all hinted around it at some point or another. Well, I might be just a child but I'm not stupid and I understand what it means. Tsunami is the only one who is strong enough to counteract Tokimi's magic. And so it's me who has to go and face her. Noone else. Just me."

"I forbid it!" Ayeka said emphatically. "And so would Uncle. You know that as well as I do."

"Uncle is not here." Sasami said softly. "And even if he was, I wouldn't listen. This isn't something for the Emperor to forbid or deny. This is Tsunami's decision. It goes beyond anything either you or Uncle Azusa can do or say."

Ayeka stared and Sasami offered her sister a sad smile.

"I love you more than anything, Ayeka." She added. "But even you can't overrule a Goddess's will."

She moved to the window, glancing absently upwards at the heavy cloud which cloaked her ghostly ship from view.

"Azaka and Kamidake know as well as I do that this is Tsunami's fight." She added quietly. "They slept for as long as they did knowing that one day they would rise again to serve their planet and its Goddess when she needed them the most."

"Sasami, you're starting to scare me." Ayeka bit her lip. "Is this why you left them on board the ship? So they'd be ready to leave in the middle of the night if need be, to fight some dark force in Tsunami's name even if we all told you how dangerous it would be?"

"I've made a decision." Sasami replied carefully. "And I am going to fight Tokimi. The only thing that needs to be resolved is how to find her and who's coming with me."

"Fine words, Tsunami-sama." Washu observed gravely. Ayeka wheeled on the scientist, anger flaring in her dark red eyes.

"I might have known you would support this!" She exclaimed. "You were the one who dragged her into the fight with Kagato…the one who first told her she was connected to Tsunami. Are you trying to get my sister killed, Washu? You might be half-mad but Sasami isn't! She's not Tsunami yet – she's just a child! What can she do to stop someone as powerful as Tokimi?"

"We both know that Sasami was Tsunami from the moment she was born. We both know the legend of Tsunami-kami-sama and I'll bet you know even better than I do how little encouragement Sasami needs to find that connection." Washu responded calmly. "Yelling at me won't change the situation. Sasami might be a child. But Tsunami is not. And she might well be the only hope we have of rescuing Tenchi and stopping Tokimi before she turns her attentions to Jurai itself."

"Which she will do, Ayeka." Sasami sent her sister a beseeching look. "Tsunami's made that much clear to me. It's Tsunami that she seeks…Tsunami's magic. When she realises Tenchi isn't the one she wants, she'll kill him and then come looking for me. Either way it's a fight Tsunami can't avoid…I can either go into it with the element of surprise, or wait for her to try the same tactic. There aren't any other choices."

Determination flared in her gaze.

"I'm not a coward and neither is Tsunami." She added. "We both know what we have to do, so noone is going to talk us out of doing it."

Ayeka sank down against the wall, a sad look on her face.

"I just don't want you hurt, Sasami." She said quietly. "That's all."

"Then we've established that Sasami is going." Washu said briskly. "And so am I. Ryoko and Ayeka are staying here, however – I have a feeling that the Earth might need defences, and you two have always made a pretty ferocious team. Lord Takeru should stay with you, as well…the fewer people who go into Tokimi's range the better. Seiryo Tennan is still an unknown quantity, and someone should be ready here in case he returns."

"What gives you the right to go and not me?" Ryoko glared at her mother, and Washu frowned.

"Tokimi is my sister." She said softly. "And that gives me all the right in the world. Besides, I know where she is."

"Bah." Ryoko snorted. "I didn't think you cared much about family ties. You sure haven't shown much sign of doing so since you announced to the world I was your lab experiment."

"I'm keeping you on the Earth." Washu snapped back. "Ryoko, this isn't a game. Tokimi has killed an entire planet's population. There is only one way I can think of to stop her in her tracks and it's dangerous. Very, very dangerous. I won't put anyone in danger that need not be there."

Ryoko tossed her head, and Washu sighed.

"Fine. Don't listen." She said resignedly. "But stay here, regardless. Tennan may come back. Tokimi still hasn't got a hold of Yume, and she must know we know more about her plans now than she'd like. She might well send her Agent of the law back to this planet to clean up loose ends…we should be ready. After all, if she knew Tenchi would be in Kurashiki, she probably knows a lot more than that."

"I still think that demented droid had something to do with that." Ryoko muttered.

"I did not!" Yume glowered at the pirate. "I wouldn't care if she took you hostage, but I wouldn't do anything to Tenchi-san and you should believe me! Why would I hurt someone who's only ever been kind to me?"

"Because you were built by a psychopath? Because you're a drone? Because you've done nothing but lie since you came into the picture?" Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Pick one."

"I already told you both to stop that." Washu said firmly. "Yume had nothing to do with Tenchi's incarceration. However Tokimi got her information, it wasn't from anyone here. Since Yume arrived with us, I have been monitoring incoming and outgoing transmissions very carefully. Since I removed her connection to Dr Clay, Yume has made no attempt to contact anybody on any frequency. She is innocent. And more, she wants to help."

"So you say." Ryoko scowled. "I'm unconvinced."

Yume shot the pirate an unpleasant look, but made no attempt to respond, and Washu sighed.

"Yume, I'm leaving Kiyone in your care while I'm not here." She added. "I don't think it's safe for you to go too far from the mountains, given the circumstances, and someone will need to keep an eye to the patient. With your inbuilt databases, it makes sense that it should be you."

"I'll do my best." Yume agreed. "Although I could conceal myself from Seiryo Tennan, Washu-san. He only knows me as Zero the shape-shifter…but he doesn't know all of the forms I can or even have ever assumed."

"Perhaps, but if Tennan is operating under Tokimi's control, we have no way of knowing how much he's able to perceive." Washu replied grimly. "Kii people can see through facades and disguises – Tokimi can do it and so can I. There's every possibility that Seiryo also currently possesses this trait. It may be why she was so easily able to track down Tenchi and how he was able to capture him without a struggle. Anyone who knows Tenchi knows that he will always try and prevent bloodshed rather than initiate it…that Seiryo Tennan should also know this makes me suspicious as to how much of Tokimi's magic he's absorbed."

"He's a fool, like ever he was." Takeru pushed open the door of the living room at that moment, leaning up against the doorpost as he caught the end of Washu's words. "Taking on more than he can handle in his quest for ambition and power. He goes beyond his means…as Tennans invariably do."

"Takeru-chan, what brings you in here? Is something wrong?" Ayeka was alert in an instant, and Takeru spread his hands.

"There's nobody outside." He said with a shrug. "But Tsunami-fune is receiving a signal from Galaxy Police Headquarters. Someone by the name Mihoshi Kuramitsu is trying to make contact – and her frequency is so wide that any craft in the local vicinity is bound to pick it up."

"Typical Mihoshi." Ayeka frowned, as Washu got to her feet, anxiety in her green eyes.

"I told her to keep herself out of this…I wonder what she wants." She said softly. "Mihoshi is Kiyone's partner at the Galaxy Police, Takeru-dono – you met her at your wedding to the Lady Ayeka. Discretion has never been her greatest gift, but even she wouldn't risk her own life so carelessly unless it was something important. I wonder if she's found something out – something she thinks we need to know."

"Well, either way, someone had better speak to her." Ryoko pointed out. "Maybe it's something to do with Tenchi…or with Kiyone."

"Either is possible." Washu nodded grimly. "Sasami-chan, will you let me aboard your ship? Since I sent her back to the Galaxy Police, her safety is really my responsibility. I should talk to her if anyone should."

"You don't even need to ask." Sasami nodded, holding out a hand to her companion. "Come with me."

-----

"Washu?"

Mihoshi pressed down on the radio tranceiver button once more. "Washu, can you hear me? Please hear me. Please respond to me...you must have a gazillion gadgets that can reply to me, so why aren't you picking up! This is an emergency! Where are you?"

"Mihoshi?"

At that moment Washu's voice crackled out of the speakers, making Mihoshi jump and fall off her chair. She scrambled to her feet, reaching across to adjust the transmission to visual, and feeling gratified as a grainy image of the scientist manifested itself on the screen before her.

"Washu, there you are! I was trying to get in touch with you!" She said unnecessarily.

"Mihoshi, what on Earth's the matter?" Washu looked anxious. "And why are you sending out such a wide ranging signal? Anyone might pick up this transmission...why didn't you encrypt it?"

"Because I didn't know how to." Mihoshi admitted. "And I wasn't sure you'd get it if I did. I can send a message to Yagami because the frequency is on the computer but I didn't know how to reach you and this was the only way I could think of."

"Well, Sasami's ship is encrypting my return transmission, so hopefully none of this conversation will be picked up." Washu said with a sigh. "But you must be careful, Mihoshi. I warned you of that...we don't know what kind of danger Headquarters might still pose."

"I do." Mihoshi nodded her head. "Washu, Seiryo Tennan has Tenchi and he has him locked up in a secure cell at the very furthest end of the holding bay. There's a whole file detailing all these crimes that Tenchi can't have done. I thought there was a mistake on the system so I went to find out and I saw Agent Tennan locking Tenchi up. He said that word Kiyone said to me - that Tokimi word - and I think he's up to something bad."

"I see." Washu's expression became grave. "Does he know you saw this, Mihoshi?"

"No." Mihoshi said decidedly. "He didn't know I was there. He was busy with Tenchi."

"And what exactly did you hear him say?"

"That he was only there temporarily, until Tokimi was ready." Mihoshi's brow creased in intense concentration as she tried to remember. "And something else...I think the Tokimi person wants to kill Tenchi, but I don't understand why. Tenchi's not a bad guy and it sounded like Agent Tennan knew that. He'd just locked him up anyway. Washu, I think he was the one who attacked Kiyone. He sounded cold and nasty. I didn't like him."

"Yes, I think you're probably right on every count." Washu sighed. "Mihoshi, Agent Tennan is very, very dangerous. He's not acting within his own will at the moment. Tokimi is a powerful force - a sorceress, a witch, a goddess, whatever you want to choose. She's using Seiryo to do her dirty work - and how much of it he's aware of I don't know, but from Kiyone's injuries it seems very certain that she's given him a certain amount of her magical power. This isn't magic that you can just use and forget about. It's soul-destroying magic, and Seiryo is already in this far deeper than is good for him. There are other complications. You have to steer well clear of him, do you understand me? And on no account let him know you're on to him. I mean it. It's not safe."

"I wasn't going to talk to him. Not when I realised he hadn't made a mistake and was just being a jerk to Tenchi." Mihoshi said with a shrug. "But I don't want him to get away with it, Washu. And what about Tenchi? I mean, he's right here...but if he's going to send him somewhere else, then how can any of us help him?"

"I'm not sure you should get yourself any more involved than you already are." Washu warned. "You've already taken a big risk in communicating this much information to us, Mihoshi. Let us worry about Tenchi...you've more than done your share."

"But if Tenchi's in trouble, I want to help." Mihoshi objected. "I know where he is, Washu, and I can get to him too. It's not hard and I might even be able to get him out."

"Mihoshi..."

"I don't want what happened to Kiyone to happen to Tenchi." Mihoshi interrupted.

"Nor do any of us." Washu admitted.

"So I'll do whatever I can to help. I'm a Police Detective, after all. I'm trained to handle things like this."

"Mihoshi, I really think you should..."

"It'll be fine, Washu. I won't speak to Agent Tennan, I promise. I'll just see what I can find out and if I can help Tenchi then I will." Mihoshi beamed. "And then I'm helping Kiyone too, because once we've got Tenchi safe, we can stop this nasty man from attacking anyone else!"

"Well..."

"I have to go. I don't know how long Tenchi will be at Headquarters and I have to try and help him. It's my duty as an officer of the law." Mihoshi said decidedly. "Detective Mihoshi Kuramitsu, over and out."

Before Washu could respond, she had closed the connection, sitting back in her seat as she pondered over the conversation in her head.

"If I don't speak to Agent Tennan then I won't be in any danger." She reasoned. "And he won't still be down at the cells, because Tenchi is locked up and he can't get out by himself. But I could let him out. I mean, I don't have official clearance but Kiyone got Ryoko out of that cell ages ago. It can't be that hard. All you do is press buttons and the door opens...right? How difficult can it be? And noone will be suspicious of a Galaxy Police Detective."

Her mind made up, she got to her feet, humming a soft tune under her breath as she left the radio tower, sauntering down the steps and back along the narrow corridors towards the holding bay where she knew Tenchi was being kept against his will.

"Washu worries too much." She decided. "But she did say she trusted me, when I was on the Earth. And I am the only one here, so I have to do something. Kiyone would say the same thing - that we can't just leave Tenchi here. After all, he's innocent, and innocent people shouldn't get locked up at all."

She pushed open the door of the convict's division, oblivious of the genetic scanners that confirmed her DNA imprint once more as she entered the prison complex. The halls were dark and forbidding, with cells occasionally containing prisoners on each side, but Mihoshi ignored them all, heading purposefully towards the furthermost unit and the most secure temporary cells in which suspects languished awaiting trial.

"But Tenchi isn't going to get a trial." Mihoshi realised, as she reached the final block of cells. "Agent Tennan is a very bad man."

She hurried across the cold steel floor, pausing as she took in the sight of Seiryo's unwilling prisoner.

"Tenchi?" She whispered, and he raised his head, a mixture of surprise and alarm flickering across his expression as he recognised his visitor.

"Mihoshi, what are you doing here?" He demanded, on his feet in an instant. "You can't stay here...you'll get hurt! Agent Tennan..."

"Shh!" Mihoshi hushed him, shaking her head. "I know about Agent Tennan. I saw him bring you here and I heard the things he said."

"Then why are you here?"

"To help you, of course!" Mihoshi looked startled. "Why else? I'm going to try and get you out of here!"

"Seiryo is going to attack the Earth if I put up any resistance." Tenchi grimaced. "And my sword is still down there, where it's not much use to me at all. I don't want people at home getting hurt, Mihoshi."

"They'll be fine. Ryoko and Washu and the others are there and they'll protect Earth from Seiryo Tennan." Mihoshi said firmly.

"You need to contact them. Tell them what you've found out."

"I already did." Mihoshi told him proudly. "When I saw you and Agent Tennan here I ran up to the radio tower and I sent out a signal to Washu. Sasami's ship picked it up. I told her I was going to help you, too...and I am. You shouldn't be a prisoner because you've done nothing wrong. And Seiryo Tennan isn't here, so it's quite safe."

"Be careful." Tenchi begged, then, "Sasami's ship? Sasami is on the Earth?"

"I guess so." Mihoshi looked surprised. "I didn't really think about it. Shouldn't she be?"

"No, she should be." Hope flared in Tenchi's dark eyes. "Ryoko's signal got through then. Good. I think we need as much help as we can get."

"Why does this Tokimi person want you anyway, Tenchi?" Mihoshi started randomly jabbing codes into the panel, hopeful that at any minute she would find the correct one to unlock the cell door. "What did you do to upset her?"

"Nothing. I mean, I've never met her." Tenchi grimaced. "But she thinks I have Tsunami's magic, and so she wants to kill me. She thinks I'm Tsunami, if you can believe that."

"Tsunami?" Mihoshi paused, staring at him as if he'd gone mad. "But Tsunami's a girl. Doesn't she know the difference?"

"Apparently not." Tenchi looked rueful. "Or if she does, it hasn't occured to her."

Mihoshi snorted, looking amused.

"Then she's stupid." She said decidedly. "Obviously Tsunami's a girl, because in all the pictures she's wearing dresses. You don't wear dresses, so you can't be Tsunami. That's just common sense."

Despite himself, Tenchi laughed, nodding his head.

"I agree with your logic entirely." He said with a grin. "It's good to see you, Mihoshi...even in these circumstances, a friendly face is always welcome."

"Well, that's me." Mihoshi beamed at him, then resumed her assault on the control panel. "And besides, this is for Kiyone too, you know. Anyone who hurts her is no friend of mine."

"Kiyone was doing a lot better the last time I saw her." Tenchi assured her. "Washu seems pretty confident she'll recover, Mihoshi. You needn't worry. It's all in hand."

"I know. I trust Washu." Mihoshi shrugged. "But I'm still cross that someone hurt her. And that it was one of our own officers, too. Agent Tennan is a stinky traitor to the Galaxy Police and we're going to make sure he's stopped!"

"I'll be interested to know exactly how you intend to do that."

A cold voice interrupted her rampage and Mihoshi paled, turning slowly to see the man she had observed earlier, watching her with a malevolent look in his sinister teal eyes. She swallowed hard, taking a step away from the cell door as the Agent approached, eying her thoughtfully from head to toe.

"Detective Mihoshi Kuramitsu, I assume?" He asked at length. Mihoshi just stared at him, and Seiryo shook his head slowly.

"You know, this is the last place I expected to find you." He added. "I've spent a considerable part of my day hunting all over the regular division but you weren't in your office, and then I discover you had been using the control tower radio for your own ends. So I went up there, but you weren't there either. It's ironic, don't you think, that I stopped my search in order to come check on my prisoner. I should have known that this is where I'd find you. After all, you are Detective Makibi's partner."

Mihoshi swallowed hard, biting her lip.

"It surprised me very much to find Yagami not far from the planet Earth." Seiryo continued, advancing on Mihoshi with every word he uttered. "And that Tenchi should be so well versed not only in Tokimi's involvement, but also the attack on your poor, interfering colleague. But then it dawned on me - Kiyone Makibi had a partner, a bumbling fool of an officer who knocks out electronics with her drinks and who never submits a report on time. And I got to thinking...is there anyone in the whole Galaxy Police Force who could possibly be that useless?"

He reached out a hand, grabbing Mihoshi tightly by the shoulders and the frightened detective was aware of a faint prickle of energy at his touch.

"What do you mean?" She managed eventually. "What are you talking about?"

"I discounted you because everyone said you were a fool." Seiryo's eyes hardened. "Incapable of discretion or even carrying out your job properly. But I've looked more closely at your record, Detective Kuramitsu. Between you, you and Kiyone Makibi have pulled off some surprising successes. Which leads me to believe everyone has been fooled. You're not as stupid as you like people to think you are. And Kiyone wasn't Washu's only spy in the Galaxy Police. Tell me, am I warm so far? It was you who piloted Yagami to the Earth, not Tokimi. And it was you who told Tenchi and his companions about Tokimi's involvement."

"Leave Mihoshi alone. You have me and that's what you came to get." Tenchi put in at that moment, glaring at the Agent from between the cell bars. "She isn't a spy - she has nothing to do with this. She just saw me in trouble and came to help me, that's all."

"Releasing an Elite officer's prisoner without paperwork is a serious offence against the Galaxy Police, Prince of Jurai." Seiryo's eyes flickered in Tenchi's direction. "Even if she did want to help, I have no choice but to arrest her for her actions."

He ran his fingers over the keypad, and, as the door of the cell swung back, Mihoshi found herself flung against the far wall as the steel barrier whirred shut behind her and Tenchi immediately crouched at her side, anxiety in his dark eyes.

"Are you all right?" He demanded.

"Save your sympathy for your own plight, Tenchi Masaki." Seiryo said blackly. "Detective Kuramitsu deserves none of it. She's failed you, just as she's failed her partner and that nosy scientist Washu."

He fixed Mihoshi with an opaque stare.

"It was Washu Hakubi that you were trying to contact, wasn't it?" He asked softly. Mihoshi just stared back at him, at first unable to find words. Then, at length, she spoke.

You hurt my best friend!" She exclaimed. "And you went after her to kill her so I'm not telling you anything! You should be ashamed of yourself! You're a fraud, not a proper Galaxy Police Officer and now everyone will know about it! They'll come and get you when they know what you did to Kiyone, so there!"

"Will they?" Faint amusement flickered in the depths of Seiryo's eyes, and he raised his hand, glancing idly at his fingers. "And who's going to tell them? You?"

"Maybe." Mihoshi glared back at him. "Nobody messes with Kiyone and Mihoshi!"

"Mihoshi, no!" Tenchi exclaimed, as Seiryo's brows drew together and he flexed his hand in the Detective's direction, a bolt of blueish energy surging forward between the bars of the cage. Mihoshi found herself frozen to the spot, screwing up her eyes in fear as she anticipated the flare's impact, but it never came. Instead she heard Seiryo curse loudly, and as she opened her eyes, she became aware of a glowing white light encircling her, making her vision hazy. She raised a confused hand to her head, realising as she did so that Tenchi had come between her and Seiryo's murderous assault, and that it was the Prince who had protected her, throwing some kind of forcefield up around them both.

"Leave her alone." Tenchi said darkly. "Don't add any more crimes to your list, Seiryo. Tokimi's magic might be strong, but you're not Tokimi."

"And you told me you weren't Tsunami." Seiryo's eyes narrowed to mere slits and he lowered his hand. "But you have the Light Hawk Wings, just as she told me you did. You've been keeping secrets too, I see...but you can't keep secrets from a Goddess. Never mind. If you insist on being difficult, Tokimi will just have to take you both."

He paused, then sent Mihoshi a predatorial smile as the white haze faded and disappeared.

"After all, I might not be Tokimi, but you'll find her power a different kind of problem to deal with." He said softly. "And your pathetic magic won't stand up long against hers, I assure you of that. I suppose it doesn't matter if I kill you, or if Tokimi has that pleasure herself. Either way the result is the same. She still gets Tsunami, and I still get what I want, also."

"Which is what, exactly?" Tenchi demanded. Seiryo shrugged his shoulders.

"Isn't that obvious?" He hissed. "Jurai!"