Chapter 20: Tokyo Tribulation Part 1

"Wow, Frankie," said Lagoona, "you really had one riptide of an adventure."

"It wasn't that big of an adventure," said Frankie as she sat with her fellow Ghoulfriends in The Steam Vault. Though she had related her end of the events inside The Storybook of Legends to her friends, Frankie neglected to tell of her meeting with Indra and reception of the celestial weapon, merely saying she blasted the vine creature with a large amount of lightning. No, Frankie would keep the existence of the special glove to herself, for she knew her friends would want her to use it, and she had only four uses of it left.

"Seriously, it wasn't much to brag about," said Frankie, "Briar's the real hero of the story."

"I just felt the fear and went for it," said Brair as she, Avery and Tobias looked at Frankie with suspicious eyes. They knew Frankie had the glove but didn't ask about it, since they had more important things to talk about with the others.

"Well, I'm glad you're over your fears, Brair," said Lagoona. She then sighed and looked rather depressed, "if only I could get over my fear."

"Oh, and what fear is that?" asked a delighted Kitty as she lounged nearby atop a bookshelf, "and can I exploit it?"

"You leave her alone!" barked Clawdeen, "it's bad enough we've got Toralei to torment us, we don't need another conspiring cat making our lives miserable."

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood," said Kitty innocently, "just get a rise out of you all, for giggles and stuff." She then vanished, with her smile disappearing last.

"Well, I, for one, do not feel like celebrating," said Lizzie as she irately shuffled her deck, "Considering Ophelia's back in the game."

"I'm new to the game and I already hate Ophelia," said an irate Faybelle, "she ruined my tracking spell!"

"Our tracking spell, Faybelle," said Ginger as she mixed up cake batter in the kitchen area, "she skunked us both."

"I'm still gonna mess her up next time I see her," said Faybelle as her fingers sparked with dark magic, "oh yeah, I'm so gonna go dark faerie on her!"

"Uh-uh, I'm gonna mess her up," said Ramona as she sharpened her claws, "she's engaged to this Irvin guy who's giving you Monsters trouble, right?"

"Right," said Clawdeen cautiously, "so…?"

"So, I'm gonna go all Big Bad Wolf on her," said Ramona as she eyed one of her nails in the light, "I think I'll skin and eat her, then I'll use her face as a mask, then sneak up on Irvin and eat him, after I use her face to freak out Headmaster Grimm, of course."

"You leave him alone, he's suffered enough!" said Raven.

"Uh, Raven? Have you completely gone all string beans and cookies!?" exclaimed Maddie.

"He did kidnap and threaten to torture you," said Cupid.

"As if I'll ever forget," said Raven as she felt her arms, which were still sore from the wounds inflicted by the vile knife. "But I don't hate him; I feel sorry for him, now more than ever."

"What's gonna happen to him?" asked Frankie.

"Giles is making arrangements to house his brother in the permanent care ward of a mental hospital," said Apple, "they'll try to undo the damage that Ophelia did to him. In the meantime, Giles is going to reopen Ever After High."

"And he'll run things just right this time," said Blondie as she wrote up the story on her mirror tablet.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Dexter.

"Now we find the next Star Piece," said Robecca as she stood next to Ghoulia, the former holding one of her father's journals, the later working at her computer, "And I do believe we have a lead on it."

At that Ghoulia moaned something and pointed at the computer screen, which displayed a view of contemporary Earth from space. Beneath the image of the planet was a dimensional designation.

"'Earth C-595,'" said Avery as he and the others looked at the screen. Ghoulia then 'zoomed' the image in, focusing on the islands of Japan.

"My father believed the Star Piece is somewhere on the island of Honshu," said Robecca.

"Good luck with that," said Tobias, "Honshu is a big island, home to the biggest city in the world." At that Ghoulia moaned something in a contradictory tone, pointing at a list of facts she pulled up. "Yeah, I know," replied Tobias, "there are bigger cities, but to me, Tokyo will always be number one."

"You've been there?" asked Cupid.

"I spent two years there learning swordsmanship," said Tobias confidently.

"Well, then, you'll be our guide to this new world," said Rochelle. At that Ghoulia moaned something contradictory. "Oui, je sais," replied Rochelle, "I know likely this world is vastly different than Tobias', but tell me, mon cher Ghoulia, do you know anyone else here who has been to this marvelous city?"

At that Ghoulia looked around in confusion as one by one her friends shook their heads.

"That settles it, Tobias gets to lead the expedition," said Cupid, "now all we need to do is figure out who else gets to go."

"I'll go," said Clair, "I want to go, I mean, I do want to go, but…" she looked over to where Chad was still sitting by himself, drowning himself in misery.

"We'll take care of him and snap him out of his funk," said Frankie, "you just focus on getting that Star Piece."

"You can count on it," said Elissabat, "but who else is going?"

"We really need a better system of picking who goes," said Clawdeen.

"We have a system," said Maddie as she served Raven tea, "Mr. AndrewK9000 picks for us."

At that Raven sighed with admiring annoyance, "Maddie, don't ever change."

"Glad you love me so much, Raven," said Maddie confidently, "which is why I know you'll forgive me for tying you up again."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Raven as she realized she was tied up, bound by the same anti-magic ropes Milton and Ophelia used earlier, "wait a spell, Maddie! What is this?!"

"I'm sorry, Raven, but it's for your own good," said Apple as she, Avery, Tobias, Cupid, Rochelle, Clair and Elissabat, readied to step through the portal.

"You really have pushed yourself too much of late," said Cedar, "I'm no doctor, but you really need a rest."

"And the rest of you need to make sure Raven gets that rest," said Apple. "Dexter, I'm looking at you and the others."

"You can count on us," said Dexter. He then looked at Raven apologetically, "sorry, Raven, but you do need a rest."

"How can I rest when I'm hopping mad?!" exclaimed Raven as she struggled to free herself, "untie me!"

"No can do, Raven," said Lagoona, "you're beached at The Steam Vault for the time being."

"We'll bring you back a souvenir or something," said Clawd as he, Clawdeen and Howleen got ready to go.

"You sure you're up for this, Big Bro?" asked Howleen.

"I know I'm up for it," said Clawd, "I'm sick and tired of moping around the lab. It's time I opened up a new can of butt-whoop!"

"Mind if I join you in the butt-whooping?" asked Ramona as she sauntered over, admiring Clawd's attributes, "it'll give us a chance to get to know each other."

"Back off, girl!" growled Clawdeen, "my brother's been through a major heartbreak! The last thing he needs is some lone floozy trying to pick him up on the rebound!"

At that Ramona's eyes flashed feral yellow as she growled back at Clawdeen, "who are you calling a floozy?! I was just saying hello! If your brother wants to flirt, he can flirt!"

"Not with a troublemaker like you!" growled Howleen, "I can smell your bad intentions in your pheromones!"

"Stay out of my pheromones, pipsqueak!" huffed Ramona, "unless you want to be crushed by wind!"

"Pipsqueek?!" exclaimed Howleen, "why I oughta…?!"

"Okay, stop it!" shouted Tobias, "I'm in charge of the expedition, I say who goes!" he pointed at Ramona, "you're staying," he then pointed at Faybelle, "you're going."

"Wait, you're inviting me to come?" asked Faybelle.

"Well…yes, I am," said a slightly nervous Tobias, "that is…unless you prefer to stay…"

Faybelle then let out a squee of delight as she flittered over to the group preparing to go.

"Guess she wants to go," said Lizzie offhandedly.

"She might as well," said Kitty as she mischievously looked at Raven, "someone with reliable magic needs to go."

"Oh, I am so getting you later, Kitty Cheshire!" said an irate Raven, "I'm getting all of you later! I may not be evil like my mom, but we Queens', we know how to carry a grudge and get revenge!"

"Oh yeah?" asked Faybelle daringly as she, Tobias, Cupid, Apple, Avery, Clawd, Clawdeen, Howleen, Rochelle, Clair and Elissabat, stood ready at the door, "and just what are you gonna do all tied up? Burn my wings off?"

"I'll think of something," said Raven stubbornly as she looked away with her eyes closed.

"Whatever combs your hair," said an unconcerned Faybelle as the door opened, "I'm off on an adventure!" With that she and the others stepped through the portal.

"I'm so sorry, Raven," said Dexter after the door closed, untying Raven once he was sure the portal was disconnected, "I really am, but you have to rest."

"You're not really gonna get revenge on all of us, are you?" Ashlynn asked cautiously.

"No, I'm not gonna hurt anyone," said Raven as she stood up, "but I might just make things interesting for you all in the not too distant future."

"Interesting how?" asked a nervous Hunter.

"Depends on how I feel at the time," said Raven, "It could be sometime today or tomorrow or next week. It could be never," she then smiled with wicked mischievousness, "I guess you'll all have to stay on your toes for a while." She then cackled softly to herself as went to her room, leaving our heroes feeling like they wouldn't get much sleep for a while.

…Shinjuku district, Tokyo, Japan…Earth C-595…

"Ah, now this is civilization at its best," said Tobias as he, Cupid, Faybelle, Apple, Avery, Clawd, Clawdeen, Howleen, Rochelle, Clair and Elissabat, stood at a crossroad surrounded by dozens of people, and not just Normies. Monsters walked freely among humans in relative peace and harmony.

"A world where Normies and Monsters are true friends, it is paradise," said Rochelle.

"And they're not freaking out that we just appeared out of nowhere," said Avery, "I'd say we're off to a great start."

"I'm not one to tempt fate," said Apple, "but if we're really having a lucky day, then I'd love it if we somehow had a lead on where to find the Star Piece."

It was then that a flyer detailing an event flew into Apple's face.

"We can't be that lucky today, can we?" asked Howleen.

"I think we may be," said Tobias as he and the others gathered around Apple to look at the flyer, "there's a major science exposition at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto, right on the Tokyo Bay Waterfront."

"What makes you think the Star Piece is there?" asked Clawd.

"Oh, I don't know," said Tobias sarcastically, "maybe it's the picture of the big diamond on the flyer."

Sure enough, the flyer showed an image of a shining diamond.

"It can't be," said a suspicious Clair, "it can't be the Star Piece, can it?"

"It may just," said Elissabat.

"According to this," said Tobias as he read the kanji writing on the flyer, "today is the day when Violet Baudelaire and Hakubi Washu, two of the world's most brilliant inventors, are unveiling their latest and greatest creation in the main exhibition hall of Tokyo Bight Sight. They must have gotten ahold of the Star Piece and are using it in their invention."

"Then we'd better get there before they use it," said a worried Howleen, "if a Star Piece gave me a weird power I don't fully understand, who knows what this Piece will do on this world?"

"Hang on, I need to find directions to Tokyo Big Sight," said Tobias as he looked it up on his phone, "thank god for compatible technology."

"I wonder who these two inventors are?" asked Apple.

"Your guess is as good as mine, mon amis," said Rochelle.

"I don't know about Hakubi Washu," said Clair, "but Violet Baudelaire, she sounds familiar to me."

"And me," said Tobais.

"And me," said Avery as he pulled out his phone and used a search engine app, "oh, that Violet Baudelaire!"

"Oh yeah, The Baudelaire Orphans," said Clair, "very sad story."

"Uh…" said a confused Clawd, while Clawdeen, Howleen, Rochelle, Elissabat, Cupid, Apple and Faybelle looked equally confounded.

"Don't you girls know anything?" asked Clair to the Monsters and Cupid, "The Baudelaire's!"

"The three Baudelaire Orphans," said Tobias, "Violet, Klaus and Sunny. Their parents were murdered by Count Olaf, the most caustic cockroach to ever crawl on a stage and claim to be an actor."

"To make a very long story short," said Clair, "the three Baudelaire's were hounded by Olaf for the family fortune. Through a series of unfortunate events, Olaf chased Violet and her siblings around the world, tormenting them in an attempt to steal Violet's inheritance."

"They eventually triumphed over their trials and tribulations," said Tobias, "at least on my world."

"And they're a success on this world," said Avery as he read online, "the events we know, happened fifteen years ago. Violet, now age 30, has used her inheritance to not only help various charities dedicated to help orphaned children, but also set up a scholarship for young inventors. She's now one of the richest and most prominent philanthropists in the world. Her brother Klaus, now age 28, he can recall every word he's ever read by the way, also works for the scholarship, while the youngest Baudelaire, Sunny, now age 16, has become one of the most well-known teen fashion models."

Avery pulled up on phone and showed our heroes a picture of a 16 girl with long, blonde hair, blue eyes and displaying a dazzling set of pearly white teeth. Beneath the picture was a caption… 'The Girl With The International Smile.'

"She's certainly no spoiled diva," said Avery as he continued to read online, "Sunny, when not in front of the camera, uses her free time to help the poor, the homeless and other unfortunate people in the world."

"These three sound too good to be true," said Faybelle, "no one is that selfless."

"I guess when you survive a living hell, you have much to be thankful for," said Elissabat.

"Like what?" asked Faybelle.

"To be alive for one," said Elissabat.

"Well, I think they're doing a lot of good for their world," said Clawdeen as she read over Avery's shoulder, "it says Violet helped bring humans and Monsters together."

"What about Hakubi Washu?" asked Cupid, "what's her story?"

"Not a big one apparently," said Avery, "Washu appeared out of nowhere a few years ago, approached Violet with some ideas and together, they revolutionized computers, cell phones and agriculture. They've improved medical and recycling technology, spaced travel and a lot more. But no one knows where Washu came from or much about her personal life."

"But she will be there at Tokyo Big Sight today," said Tobias as he found the desired directions, "And we'll be there to see her."

"I just hope she's willing to listen to what we have to say," said Apple, "and isn't corrupted by the influence of The Star Piece."

"Assuming she's not crazy to begin with," said Clair.

"Well, genius and madness are often mixed a bit," said Apple, "take Maddie for example."

'Example of what?'

Not now, Maddie.

"Oh come on, how crazy can this Washu be?" asked Faybelle.

…Tokyo Big Sight…

"Yep, I'm a mad genius alright!"

"WASHU, YOU ARE THE GREATEST!"

"YES, YOU ARE THE GREATEST, WASHU!"

Misaki Tenchi sighed with annoyance, partly because of once again witnessing Washu's overblown ego enforced by her adoration puppets on her shoulders, but mostly because while Washu stood in the middle of the exhibit hall looking especially pleased with herself, Tenchi was stuck doing all the heavy lifting. It really wasn't that much work, what with Washu 'lending' Tenchi an experimental anti-gravity lifter so he could maneuver all the heavy boxes to where Washu wanted, but why did Tenchi have to do all the work while all his friends got to wander the complex?

"Seriously, Washu," said Tenchi after moving a heavy box, "why do I have to do all the work? Can't we ask Ryoko to share in the moving stuff? Even Ayeka, Sasami and Kiyone can help with the unpacking."

"Ah, but they don't have your natural masculine strengths, my dear Tenchi," said Washu, "as for the others, Ayeka would complain how she's too delicate for such hard work, while Ryoko, the lazy git, she's notorious for getting out of doing any and all hard work. Sasami would want to help, I can imagine Ayeka moaning and complain about Sasami helping," she then did a very good impression of Ayeka, "'a princess shouldn't dirty her hands with heavy lifting, not when there's a strong young man to do it for her.'"

Washu's expression grew deadly serious, "And as for Kiyone, I need her to keep that blonde bimbo, Mihosi, far, far away from my equipment."

"Oh, come on, Washu," said Tenchi, "Mihoshi's not that bad."

"Do I have to remind you of the chaos she unleashed when she messed with my alternate reality generator?" asked Washu.

"That was Ryoko and Ayeka," said Tenchi.

At that Washu looked somewhat embarrassed, "oh, right, it was them," she then smiled innocently, "silly me for forgetting. But enough reminiscing about good times, Tenchi, we've got to get all the equipment unpacked and put together for the demonstration."

"Just what is this thing you've been working on anyway?" asked Tenchi as he started opening boxes and lifting pieces of equipment out with the anti-gravity machine. "And how much of Ms. Baudelaire's money did you waste on it?"

"Every penny Violet gave me for this one invention is a penny well spent!" Washu insisted, "it'll change all of Earth for the better!" she then began giggling like the mad scientist she was, "and once word of it spreads throughout space, it'll change the whole galaxy! The whole universe! I'll be the greatest genius who ever lived or will ever live!"

"WASHU IS GREAT!" said puppet A.

"LONG LIVE THE GREAT WASHU!" said puppet B.

"Yeah, well, things often go wrong with your inventions," said Tenchi, "I hope this time, things won't."

Little did Tenchi know, things would go more wrong than ever before.

'Oooo, great foreshadowing, Mr. AndrewK9000!'

Maddie, please, stop it! I need to get to the next scene!

'Oh! Is this where you introduce Tenchi's friends and the other guest characters from different Anime? Oh, this is gonna be great!'

It won't be if you keep interrupting! Ahem! Anyway…

"Ugh! I'm so bored!" Ryoko as the former space pirate hovered on her side, not caring at all about the stares she was receiving from everyone nearby.

"Honestly, Ryoko," said Ayeka, "one would think you would take this opportunity to indulge in a spot of mischief, instead of simply lying about like a lazy slob."

"Whatever, princess," said Ryoko as she rolled onto the other side, much to the annoyance of the heir to the throne of Jurai.

"Don't you turn your back on me, you overgrown juvenile delinquent!" snapped an irate Ayeka, "this is Ms. Washu's special day, and I won't have you ruin it!"

"Oh, leave her alone, Ayeka," said Sasami as she carried Ryo-Oki in her arms, "Ryoko's behaving for a change." She frowned slightly as she pulled out a carrot for Ryo-Oki, which the cabbit happily munched on, "why are you behaving, Ryoko? Seriously, if I were you, I'd be planning all sorts of pranks and trouble."

"That's the thing, Sasami," said Ryoko, who then vanished and appeared next to the young princess, "I can't think of any trouble to stir up! A whole convention full of nerds and I can't think of a single bit of mischief to pull! Argh! I'm so pathetic!" she sighed with defeat as she held up her right pinky finger, "and it's all my fault for making an unbreakable promise to not bother Washu or Tenchi while they're setting up their little project!"

"And well you should," said Ayeka, "but if you're so bored here, why not go home?"

"And leave you to sneak in on Tenchi and have him to yourself the whole day?" asked Ryoko, "I think not! I'm not letting you out of my sight until we all get home!"

"And then you'll sneak off to be with him the first chance you can get?!" exclaimed Ayeka, "you're a corrupting influence, Ms. Ryoko!"

"Takes one to know one, princess!" snapped Ryoko.

"Oh boy, there they go again," sighed Sasami as she watched her sister argue with Ryoko. "Come on, Ryo-Oki, let's see what they have to eat in the vendors area." At that Ryo-Oki mowed eagerly and they left the area, just as Urameshi Yusuke and Yukimura Keiko walked in, the later on the former's arm and the former looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Come on, Keiko!" moaned Yusuke, "can't we go see a movie or stage play or something? It's boring here!"

"How can you call science boring?" Keiko demanded, "besides, it'll be good for you. You spent all that time training for the Demon World Tournament and then two more years bumming around. It's time you got caught up on your education!"

"I passed the high school equivalency exam," said Yusuke, "and I got a regular job; it's a good job."

"I know," said Keiko, "but you missed out on so much school, even more when you missed on purpose back in the day. Besides, we're meeting Yukina and Kuwabara here."

"Like Kuwabara would go to a convention full of nerds of his free will," Yusuke muttered, only to earn a smack upside the head from Yukina.

"These nerds are changing the world for the better, Yusuke," said an annoyed Keiko, "so at least pretend to be interested?"

"Yeah, whatever," said Yusuke as he felt where he got smacked, "sheesh, you got stronger while I was away."

At that Keiko blushed slightly and held onto Yusuke's arm, "well, I gotta be strong if I'm gonna keep you from running away on another mission. No more fighting demons and saving the world, right?"

"I told you, I talked with Boton and Koenma," said Yusuke, "I'm officially a retired Spirit Detective, so no more cases. Besides, I don't think any casewill beat fighting Yomi. Yep, I'm just ordinary Yusuke again, just a regular guy with a regular job," he then smiled at Keiko, "with a more than regular gal."

Keiko smiled at Yusuke and was about to respond, when someone bumped into her. "Hey! Why don't you watch where you're going, you…!" she said irately, irritated that someone interrupted her romantic moment. But then she smiled brightly as she recognized who it was that she bumped into, "Tendo Kasumi?"

"Oh, my goodness, Yukimura Keiko!" said Kasumi, "at last we meet in the flesh!" she then saw Yusuke, "and who is this dashing young gentleman?"

"He's my boyfriend, Yusuke," said Keiko, "Yusuke, this is my Kasumi; we've chatted a lot on social media."

"Oh, you're that Yusuke," said Kasumi, "the detective intern who was under deep cover for so long."

"Uh…yeah, deep, deep cover," said a slightly nervous Yusuke. He then whispered to Keiko, "just what else did you say about me online while I was gone?"

"Not much," Keiko in a mischievous tone, "just a few embarrassing pictures from when we were kids, and a few embarrassing stories, nothing much."

This left Yusuke speechless as he tried to come with something to respond with, at the same time cursing himself for not learning more about computers and the internet.

"So, what are you doing here, Kasumi?" asked Keiko.

"At the moment," said Kasumi, "looking for my sisters and friends." She then gave a slightly embarrassed smile, "and waiting for the right time to give them the good news."

"What good news?" asked Keiko, "wait, you mean…you and Dr. Tofu…?"

Smiling brightly, Kasumi held up her right hand, displaying a ring with a good-sized diamond. This caused Keiko to squee in delight and hug Kasumi.

"Big deal, it's just a ring," said Yusuke.

"'Big deal? Big deal?!'" exclaimed Keiko irately, "Kasumi's long-time boyfriend has finally asked her to marry him! You really don't know what an engagement ring is? Just what were you doing in Demon World for so long?!"

"I…uh…" said Yusuke sheepishly, "uh…say, who's hungry? The food vendors should be set up by now, let's go!"

"Boys, always thinking with their stomachs," said Keiko as she and Kasumi followed Yusuke through the complex.

"I should know," said Kasumi, "I lived with several with black holes for stomachs. Fortunately, I convinced my father and younger sister to take cooking classes. Of course, they'll always be welcome to dine with me and Tofu once we're settled in, but it'll be a welcome change to cook for just two."

"Which sister?" asked Keiko as they reached the food vendors area, "the blackmailer or the man-hating klutz?"

"Who are you calling a blackmailer?" asked Tendo Nabiki as she walked up, "I prefer the term 'opportunist.' Oh, and I'd stay out of this part of the convention center for a while."

"Why, Nabiki?" asked Kasumi, "oh dear, is it Ranma and Akane again?" Keiko and Yusuke then heard two people arguing in front of a large crowd ahead.

"Nope, not nearly as dramatic," said Nabiki, "but almost as ugly. Shampoo and Ukyo are fighting over the last available vendor stall."

"Oh dear," said Kasumi, "how embarrassing!"

"Wait, two girls are fighting over restaurant space?" asked Yusuke, "this I gotta see!" with that he pushed his way through the crowd.

"Boys," said Keiko, Nabiki and Kasumi together.

Yusuke reached the front of the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sasami jumping over the heads of adults to see, with Ryo-Oki on Sasami's head. But Yusuke's attention was on the two girls in front of a vendor stall; Shampoo of the Chinese Amazons and Kuonji Ukyo, both of whom ready to tear each other to pieces, the former armed with a pair of Chinese war clubs, the later hefting a large metal spatula.

"This is my stall, Shampoo!" Ukyo demanded, "I'm using it to serve Okonomiyaki at the convention!"

"Shampoo reserve stall for ramen!" said the purple-haired amazon, "Shampoo reserved space month ago!"

"I reserved my space two months ago!" said Ukyo, "the convention organizers goofed, and we got double booked, but I reserved first! First come, first served!"

"Shampoo be damned if spatula girl serves her disgusting omelet-pizza at convention!"

"I'll eat crow before I let you serve your dishwater soup here!" said Ukyo, "and I'll eat a murder of crows before I let you serve Ranma again!"

"Shampoo kill Ukyo before Ukyo force one scrap of food down Ranma's throat!" At that both Ukyo and Shampoo prepared to attack each other.

"This is wrong," said Sasami after managing to get in front of the crowd, horrified at the sight of two young women ready to kill each other, "they're friends and they're fighting! Oh, if only this were the world of Pretty Sammy! Then I could show them just how precious their friendship is. Wait a second, I don't need to be a magical girl to solve a friendship problem!" with that she hurried forward and stood between the two girls.

"Stop this! Stop it both of you! Stop fighting!" shouted Sasami as she raised her hands defiantly between Ukyo and Shampoo.

"Look, little girl," said Nabiki, "I don't know who you are, but you really don't want to get involved in this kind of trouble. Believe me, plenty of innocent bystanders get hurt when just Shampoo is on the warpath, and you don't want to know about the rest of the freaks from Nerima."

"Nerima, oh right," said Yusuke, "that place attracts all kind of trouble."

Sasami ignored Nabiki as she continued to lecture Ukyo and Shampoo "Why are you fighting? It's just a vendor stall! So what if you got double booked? Just flip a coin to decide who gets it."

"That…that sounds fair," said Ukyo as she and Shampoo began to calm down, if only slightly, "but I don't trust her to flip the coin."

"Neither does Shampoo!" said the purple-haired amazon, "And spatula girl insult Shampoo's ramen."

"Well, you're always calling my Okonomiyaki garbage!" snapped Ukyo, "and you're always trying to steal Ranma from me!"

"Ranma and Shampoo belong together!" said Shampoo.

"STOP IT!" shouted Sasami at the top of her lungs, "I see now, you both have a crush on the same boy."

"It's no crush!" insisted Ukyo, "Ranma and I were best friends when we were little. I love him with all my heart!"

"Shampoo love Ranma with all her heart!" snapped Shampoo.

"Okay, so you both love him," said Sasami, her confidence beginning to waiver, "but is he really worth murdering each other for?"

"YES!" exclaimed both Shampoo and Ukyo.

At that Ryo-Oki meowed nervously.

"I think you're right, Ryo-Oki," said a worried Sasami, "I may have made things worse."

"Uh, excuse me," said Yusuke to Ukyo and Shampoo, "but are either of you gonna open? My stomach's growling like a demon here!"

"NO!" exclaimed both Ukyo and Shampoo.

Just then Mousse stepped up to Yusuke, "Oh, Shampoo, you've got to calm down! Security's on their way and if you keep fighting, they'll throw us all out!"

"Shampoo over here!" said the purple-haired Amazon, "Mousse forget to put on glasses again."

"Huh?" asked Mousse as he realized his glasses were up his sleeve. He then put on his coke-bottle glasses and realized he was talking to Yusuke, "oh, sorry. Anyway, Shampoo," he walked up to the purple-haired Amazon, "we can set up outside, or better yet," he looked in the general direction of Ukyo, "you can set up outside."

"Yes, spatula-girl set up outside," said Shampoo, "spatula-girl have cart after all."

"I left my Okonomiyaki cart home so I can have the space inside the convention center!" said Ukyo, "I'm not going anywhere!"

"Neither is Shampoo!"

"Good grief! I'm never gonna get anything to eat," said Yusuke.

"There are other vendors here," said an annoyed Nabiki as she rubbed her forehead against an oncoming headache.

"Oh, right," said Yusuke. He then hurried of to another food vendor.

"At least they're trying to settle it like civilized people now," said Keiko as she watched Ukyo and Shampoo speaking in normal tones, having vented enough frustration to calm down somewhat.

"Oh, it's calm now," said Nabiki, "but just you wait. Any second now Ranma and Akane are gonna come in and make things worse like they always do. Or Ryoga or Kuno or someone else in The Nerima Wrecking Crew. Where is Kuno-baby anyway?"

"Why are we here in this crowded place, Kodatchi?" asked Kuno Tatewaki as he and his mentally unstable sister walked through the main hall of the convention center.

"Because your grades are slipping, big brother," said Kuno Kodatchi, "you'll never pass the university entrance exams if you allow your mind to atrophy, such as it is."

"Easy enough for you to say," remarked Kuno, "You've all but guaranteed a spot in a university of your choice on a gymnastics scholarship."

"That's no excuse to neglect my mind," said Kodatchi, "I may be mad, but I'm no fool. Besides," her eyes darted around suspiciously, "my darling Ranma is here with that rhymes with witch Akane! Their engagement is practically falling apart! A few choice words here and a breakup fight there and Saotome Ranma shall be mine!" she then let lose a high-octave laugh that made several nearby people wince.

"Just like you to engineer to break a boy's heart and swoop in to pick up the pieces," said an annoyed Kuno, "you're contemptible!"

"And you're a hypocritical fool!" said Kodatchi, "I'll wager that the instant the engagement is called off, you'll pounce on Akane, if you're not too busy trying to grab that slut of a Pigtailed Girl."

"Ah yes," said Kuno in a dramatic manner, "Tendo Akane or The Pigtailed Girl, that is the question. Both possess different attributes of beauty, strength of body and spirit. Both stir my heart to beat with desire! Oh, why must I be forced to choose only one?!"

"Because we live in a civilized society where bigamy is illegal," said Kodatchi, "my heart made itself up long ago, if only it were as easy for others," she then saw Ayeka and Ryoko arguing, "now take these two; it's clear they're fighting over a boy they both love. If only they had the temperament to let the boy choose for himself, just as I know Ranma will choose me once Akane is out of the picture." She then looked at Ayeka with envious eyes, "though if I were the boy, I'd choose that one, if only because of her luscious hair, why can't I have hair like that? I must know the secret to her hair!"

Kodatchi then realized she was talking to herself, "brother?' she asked, looking around for Kuno, "brother? Where did you…oh no!"

Kodatchi saw that Kuno was right behind Ryoko, glomping the former space pirate with his hands on her bosom, "oh well-endowed lady with eyes like amber! Permit this humble young samurai to shower you with the love of a thousand suns!"

"What?" asked a confused Ryoko as she was startled out of her argument with Ayeka. She then realized just where Kuno's hands were. Her face twisted with rage, Ryoko reached around and threw Kuno onto the floor, "Why you dirty little pervert!? I'll teach you to keep your hands to yourself!" with that Ryoko proceeded to thrash Kuno to within an inch of his life.

"Ummm...what…what is going on?" asked a confused Ayeka as she watched the unfolding beat down.

"I must apologize for my big brother," said Kodatchi as she walked up to Ayeka, "either he was dropped on his head one time too many as a baby or he has Asperger's Syndrome or something like that."

"And that's an excuse to let him grope girls with big boobs?!" exclaimed Ryoko as she held Kuno in a hold that threatened to rip his arms out of their sockets, "I don't think so!"

"Ms. Ryoko! Please!" said Ayeka, "you're drawing attention! The last thing we want is to cause any trouble, especially on Washu's big day. Besides, I doubt he meant any real harm," she looked at Kodatchi, "does he?"

"Oh, definitely not," Kodatchi, "my brother is always falling in love with beautiful girls, but truth be told, he wouldn't know what to do with a woman if one willingly threw herself on him. All in all, he's harmless."

"Harmless?!" demanded Ryoko, "he touched by breasts! If this were Jurai, he'd be on a sex offender list so fast, his head would spin!"

"Yes, we are a bit touchy about appropriate conduct where I come from," said Ayeka in a slightly embarrassed tone. "But I don't believe the boy truly meant to hurt you, Ryoko, so please let him go before you make a mess on the floor."

"Alright," said Ryoko as she released Kuno, earning a gasp of relief as he curled up on the floor, "but he so much as touches me with one fingertip, I'm taking that fingertip from him!"

"He really doesn't know better," said Kodatchi apologetically, "we've tried to teach him to behave, but he always reverts to his bad habits."

"Perhaps you should try medication and therapy," said Ayeka.

"Oh, we tried the usual treatments and drugs," said Kodatchi, "none of them worked. Maybe he needs a different psychiatrist. Me on the other hand, I know I am insane and embrace my own manner of madness, for my madness is part of what makes me special."

"Oh, well," said a slightly uncomfortable Ayeka, "well…you seem stable to me."

At that Kodatchi laughed manically, "oh, you're too kind. Oh, where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Kuno Kodatchi, the Delicate Flower of St. Hebereke School for Girls," she then pulled out a darkly colored rose, "otherwise known as The Black Rose of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics," she eyed her brother still curled up in the fetal position, "and boy with his pride crushed is my elder brother Tatewaki, the so called Blue Thunder and Rising Star of Kendo."

"Well…please to meet you, Ms. Kodatchi," said Ayeka, "I am Ayeka Misaki Jurai, crown princess and her to the throne of The Juraian Galactic Empire," she looked at Ryoko, "and this is the somewhat reformed space pirate Ryoko."

"Yo," said Ryoko as she waved at Kodatchi.

It was then that Makibi Kiyone, an officer of The Galaxy Police and fellow resident of the Misaki household, ran up to Ayeka, out of breath and looking like the end of the world was nigh.

"Ayeka!" panted Kiyone, "thank…goodness…I found…you!"

"My goodness, Kiyone," said a worried Ayeka, "what's gotten you so flustered?"

"And aren't you supposed to have Mihoshi on a leash or something?" asked Ryoko.

"That's the thing," said Kiyone got her second wind, "I lost her."

"YOU LOST MIHOSHI!?" Ryoko and Ayeka both exclaimed in a terrified manner.

"I didn't mean to!" said Kiyone, "it was an accident! She was fine watching a new 3D hologram projector in that ditzy way of hers, you know how she gets sometimes. But then someone bumped into me and tried to steal my wallet! I grabbed the perp and handed him over to security and the next thing I knew, Mihoshi was gone!"

"Oh, this isn't good," said Ayeka, "Washu told us to keep an eye on Mihoshi and keep her far away from her invention. I just know she'll put up an incredible fuss when she finds out."

"I take it your friend Mihoshi isn't one that can be allowed to run freely?" asked Kodatchi.

"Not on your life!" snapped Kiyone, "I mean, yes, she's a bit of a klutz and all, and yes, she's my friend and partner at work and I do kinda love her like a sister, but…"

"She's an idiot!" said Ryoko flat out.

"Far from me to insult a friend behind her back," said Ayeka as she glared annoyingly at Ryoko, "and as much as it pains me to agree with Ryoko's crude description, Mihoshi can be rather foolish at times, and…well…to call the kettle black, letting Mihoshi lose in a convention full of potentially hazardous inventions is a recipe for disaster."

"Then we had better find her before she breaks something irreplaceable, or worse," said Kodatchi.

"Wait, you want to help us?" asked Ryoko.

"Of course, we are friends, are we not?" asked Kodatchi.

"AHHA!" exclaimed Kuno as he stood up straight, apparently no worse for wear despite Ryoko's beatdown, "A quest to find a wayward friend!" He then got down on one knee and took Ryoko's hand in his, "Fear not, divine space goddess, I, Kuno Tatewaki, The Blue Thunder and Rising Star, shall find the fair Mihoshi and return her to thee before she indivertibly ruins a science project or two! Come, ladies! Adventure awaits!" with that he ran off.

"I just beat the crap out of him and he's perfectly fine," said somewhat dumbfounded Ryoko, "I almost tore his arms out."

"My brother," said a somewhat embarrassed Kodatchi, "dumb as an ox with twice the endurance. He does not even know where to start looking, or what Ms. Mihoshi looks like."

"Oh great, two idiots, no waiting," said Kiyone as she, Ayeka, Ryoko and Kodatchi chased after Kuno, "how do you live with him?"

"He is an acquired taste," said Kodatchi, "as are several of my friends, it is a miracle they have not yet destroyed the convention center , but if we run into any of them, they shall be happy to help round up my brother and Mihoshi," she then frowned, "if only another walking disaster would just stay away for once."

…Tokyo Waterfront…

"Are you sure Furinkan High School isn't around here?" asked a somewhat road weary Hibiki Ryoga.

"For the last time, pal, this ain't Nerima!" said Kuwabara Kazuma as he and his Ice Apparition girlfriend Yukina, stood several blocks from Tokyo Big Sight, "now stop bugging us, we're late as it is!"

"Oh, leave him be, Kazuma," said Yukina, "He's just trying to get back home to his friends."

"I know that," said Kuwabara, "but he's been running into us all morning! Seriously, I gave him directions to Nerima like five times already and he keeps coming back!"

"It's all Ranma's fault I keep getting lost!" said Ryoga, "I curse the day he ran out on our duel!"

"Ugh! Again with the Ranma guy!" said a frustrated Kuwabara, "just go away, man!"

"I'm trying, you idiot!" snapped Ryoga.

"Oh, that does it!" snapped Kuwabara as he cracked his knuckles, "you wanna fight? Let's fight!"

"Uh…excuse me?" asked Apple as she and the rest of our heroes walked up, "but is…"

"If you ask me how to get to Furinkin High School, I'll…!" snapped Kuwabara as he glared at Apple.

"You'll what?!" demanded Avery as he, Tobias, Cupid, Clawd, Clawdeen, Howleen, Rochelle, Clair and Elissabat, glared back, "you're gonna take us all on, tough guy?"

"If I have to," said Kuwabara.

"You want in on this, Faybelle?" asked Cupid.

"I didn't come here to get into a petty street fight," said Faybelle as she leaned against a streetlamp, "best of luck to you, though."

"Birthday suit yourself," said Howleen, "more for us."

"Uh…no thanks," said Kuwabara, "I don't fight girls."

"What?" asked Clawdeen, "what do you mean you don't fight girls?"

"That's just it, I don't fight girls!" said Kuwabara, "it goes against my code of honor."

"Honor my eye!" said Clair, "you just don't want to dirty your hands on a delicate female. Well, get this, tough guy! I'm no damsel in distress! I can kick your ass three ways to Sunday with one hand tied behind my back!"

"I still won't fight you!" said Kuwabara as he defiantly turned aside with his arms crossed.

"Then, monsieur, you are a fool!" said Rochelle.

"Yeah, girls are just as kickass as boys!" said Elissabat, "On the other hand, we don't have time for this."

"I agree," said Tobias, "we can't afford to waste time on a mere street punk."

"I ain't no mere street punk!" snapped Kuwabara, "I fought and kicked so much demon ass, you wouldn't even believe!"

"Actions speak louder than words, punk!" said Clawd, "so put up or shut up!"

"You want it, you got it!" said Kuwabara.

"Oh, for goodness's sake!" demanded Yukina, "stop it!" she looked at Kuwabara in a disgruntled manner, "if you're in such a bad mood, Kazuma, then you can just take me home and forget about any dates for a least a month!"

"Oh, Yukina! I'm sorry!" pleaded Kuwabara, "I didn't mean to upset you, I'm just fed up with this guy here," he pointed at Ryoga, or at least where Ryoga was standing, "oh great, now where did he go?" he sighed, "aw forget it, he's not worth getting into a tussle. Let's just find Urameshi and Keiko."

"Wait, are you going to the science convention?" asked Apple.

"We're meeting friends there," said Yukina, "are you meeting friends there?"

"Not exactly," said Apple hesitantly, not completely sure as if to trust a pair of strangers. Fortunately, another was willing to take a risk.

"We're looking for something," said Avery as he pulled out the flier for the convention, pointing at the image of the diamond, "this."

"Oh, that thing?" asked Kuwabara as he and Yukina looked at the flier, "it's supposed to be some world changing invention or something."

"I think it's more than that, Kazuma," said Yukina as he looked at the flier, "remember when I said to you, Yusuke and Keiko that I felt we needed to be here?"

"Oh right," said Kuwabara, "you did suggest we come here, but you couldn't say why."

"Could it be some sort of premonition?" asked Elissabat, "do you sense something about to happen?"

"No, more like remembering," said Yukina, "ever since I saw pictures of this diamond that's going to be at the convention, I've had a nagging feeling that I forgot something very, very important, and that by coming to the convention and seeing the diamond in person, it may uncover that memory.

"But the memory's coming back on its own; it's an old, old legend from Demon World about a powerful artifact that many S-Class demons fought over. The legend said that whoever possessed the diamond would have the power to rule all three worlds; Demon, Spirit and Human.

"Countless demons were destroyed in the wars for control of the diamond, and the chaos spilled over to the other two worlds. Some say that the chaos from Demon World caused the destruction of the Human civilization of Atlantis.

"In the end, King Enma intervened and cast the diamond out of Demon World. With the diamond gone, it was as if a spell was lifted and the killing stopped, and not just in Demon World. For a short time, peace reigned in all three worlds."

"And you think the diamond from the legend is the same one here?" asked Cupid.

"I don't know," said Yukina, "all I know is that we have to be here," she looked at Cupid, Apple, Avery and the others, then at Kuwabara, "we all have to be here."

"Then let's go already and see that diamond!" said Kuwabara. He then held out his hand to Avery, "sorry about wanting to fight."

"Apology accepted," said Avery as he shook Kuwabara's hand, "and yes, let's find the diamond, because if it is what my friends and I think it is, then it's in the hand of a mad genius."

"Is that it, Washu?" asked Tenchi after putting together a futuristic power generator.

"Almost, Tenchi," said Washu as she took out a lockbox that opened to her DNA signature, revealing a brightly glowing diamond. Washu placed the diamond inside the generator and closed it.

"Now it's ready," said Washu as she went to a computer interface on the generator, "or it will be when it's time for the demonstration."

"Just what is this thing anyway?" asked Tenchi.

"Free energy, Tenchi," said Washu as she activated the device with a long set of keystrokes, "free energy. Even in Jurai, they need fuel to power the empire. But that diamond, somehow, and even I don't fully understand it, somehow it contains an infinite amount of potential energy. And I'll prove it at the demonstration. I'll press a few buttons, and my wondrous machine will power the entire island of Honshu!"

"The whole island?" asked an astonished Tenchi.

"And that's only the beginning, Tenchi!" said Washu as her madness took control, "connect my machine to the mainland power grid and it'll power all of Asia! Forget Asia, it can power the entire planet! The whole solar system! Give me enough connections and I'll power the entire universe!"

"WASHU WILL POWER THE UNIVERSE! WASHU WILL POWER THE UNIVERSE!" chanted both of Washu's puppets.

"Wow, that's really neat," said Kuramitsu Mihoshi as she stood next to Tenchi.

"Uh…Mihoshi…" said a frightened Washu, while Tenchi also looked nervous, "what…what are you doing here? I thought you were with Kiyone."

"Yeah, but someone tried to steal her wallet," said Mihoshi, "so I decided to look around on my own." She then leaned over the generator controls, "hey, what does this button do?"

Before Washu or Tenchi could protest, or even before Mihoshi could press a button, Tendo Akane and Saotome Ranma walked into the area.

"P-Chan!" called Akane, "P-Chan!"

"I'm telling you, Akane, that wasn't P-Chan!" said an annoyed Ranma, "it was probably someone's service dog or something!"

"I know I saw P-Chan, Ranma!" said Akane, "you're always treating him like dirt! How would you like it if you were P-Chan and P-Chan treated you like dirt?"

"He already does," said Ranma in a knowing manner, once again tempted to reveal to Akane the ugly truth about her beloved pet piglet, yet his sense of honor and friendship held him back, this time.

"Typical Ranma," said Akane, "selfish to the bone!"

"I ain't selfish, just smart enough to tell the difference between a pig and a dog," said Ranma.

"What does that mean?!" demanded Akane, "are you saying I'm stupid or something?"

"Not at all," said Ranma, "but maybe you should have your eyes checked or something."

"Oh, so now I need glasses, is that it?" asked Akane, "well, let me ask you this, Ranma; if your eyes are so great, how come I got my driver's license, and you completely failed the test?"

"Hey, that last obstacle came out of nowhere!" said Ranma, "and the written test was rigged, I tell you!"

"Hey! Get out of here, you two!" shouted Washu, "this area's off limits until noon!"

"Shut up, this doesn't concern you!" shouted Akane. She looked at Ranma, "where were we?"

"You aced the driving test and I flunked," said Ranma, "the whole thing was rigged!"

"Oh, you're just upset that I finally found the one thing I'm better at than you!" said Akane.

"Hey, I'm as good a driver as you are!" said Ranma.

"I so don't need this," said an exasperated Washu, "Tenchi, help me get these idiots out of here."

"No, let them argue," said Mihoshi as she munched on some popcorn, "it's interesting, like a soap opera or something. Oops!" she spilled some popcorn on the controls, "I'll get it!" she brushed the popcorn off, only to accidentally press a few buttons.

"Mihoshi! Stop it!" said Tenchi.

"No, I'll fix it!" said Mihoshi as she pressed more buttons randomly, "now how do I fix it? Oh, why does science have to be so hard?"

"OUT OF THE WAY!" exclaimed Washu as she shoved Mihoshi aside. Almost faster than the eye could see, Washu typed at the controls for several seconds, before letting lose a relieved sigh as the generator began beeping loudly, "okay, it's powering down," she then glared at Mihoshi, "Mihoshi, you dipstick! You could have triggered a power surge!"

"A what now?" asked Mihoshi.

"You could have overloaded the power grid for the whole island!" said Washu, "the entire of island of Honshu would have gone dark! It would have taken days to get the lights back on! And god knows what kind of damage you could have done to the machine itself?!"

"Uh…sorry?" asked Mihoshi innocently.

"It's alright, Washu," said Tenchi, "Mihoshi didn't mean it."

"Well, I suppose you're right, Tenchi," said Washu, "No harm done. I'll have to start all over again with the power sequence, but no real harm done. Besides," she glared at the still arguing Akane and Ranma, "we've still have these two idiots to get rid of."

"Who are you calling an idiot!?" snapped Akane as she walked over, "and why is this thing beeping so loudly!?" she then kicked the generator with enough force to knock the component with the diamond on its side.

"NOOOOOOOO!" wailed Washu as she ran to the damaged machine.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?!" asked Tenchi, shocked and appalled at both Akane's reckless action and raw strength.

"It was pissing me off!" said Akane with grim satisfaction.

"Just like you, Akane," said Ranma, "acting without thinking! How you got your driver's license without killing anyone is a mystery to me!"

"Shut up Ranma!" snapped Akane, "before I kick you through the roof, and then you can just fly your way back to Nerima!"

Ranma was about to respond in a manner suggesting he'd welcome such a means of transportation, if only to get away from Akane for a while. Instead, he was left speechless at the sight of Washu behind Akane, the mad genius from space exhibiting a wrathful aura.

"You…you IDIOT!" exclaimed Washu at Akane, "do you realize what you've done! You've ruined my generator! Most of those parts were one of a kind! It'll take me years to replicate them! You've set back the cause of free energy by a decade!"

"I don't care," said Akane as she kept her back to Washu and defiantly crossed her.

Washu grabbed Akane, pulled her down and began strangling her, "I'LL TEACH YOU TO CARE, YOU STUPID LITTLE TWIT!"

"Ra-Ranma!" gasped Akane as she tried to free herself from Washu's grip, "he-help me!"

Ranma was about to intervene, when Ryoga burst through the roof, while Kuno ran in at the same time.

"I'm coming, Akane!" shouted Ryoga as he used his trusty bamboo umbrella as a parachute to land softly.

"Help is here, Akane!" shouted Kuno. He pulled out his faithful wooden sword and attacked Ranma. "I shall smite the, foul Ranma for harming Akane!"

"Leave Akane alone, Ranma!" shouted Ryoga as he used his umbrella as a polearm against Ranma.

Ranma delivered a nerve-cracking punch to both boys, "I'm not the one trying to kill her, you morons!" he shouted, turning their heads so they could see Tenchi and Mihoshi pulling Washu away from the gasping Akane.

"Let me go!" shouted Washu as the stout scientist struggled to break free from Mihoshi and Tenchi, "I'll murder the stupid bitch!"

"Ms. Washu!" exclaimed Ayeka as she, Kiyone, Ryoko and Kodatchi hurried into the room.

"What'd she do to set you off?" asked Ryoko after teleporting over.

"She ruined my generator, that's what!" wailed Washu as she began to cry, "it's ruined! My generator would have supplied free energy to the whole world and it's ruined! Years of hard work and billions wasted, and for what? So an ignorant human female could blow off some steam?!" she then bawled her heart out on Tenchi's shoulder.

"Wow, I've never seen her like this," said Ryoko.

"And Mihoshi didn't do it," said an amazed Kiyone.

"Did you really destroy the machine, Akane?" asked an astonished Ryoga, while Kuno and Kodatchi looked at her with astonished eyes.

"I…well…I…uh…" said Akane, whom then glared wrathfully at Ranma, "it's his fault I got angry in the first place!"

"Bull crap!" snapped Ranma, "you started it!"

"If you had just helped me find P-Chan and not complain about failing the driver's test I wouldn't have kicked the machine!" snapped Akane.

"I told you P-Chan isn't here!" snapped Ranma, "right, Ryoga?"

"I…uh…" said a nervous Ryoga, "how would I know that?"

"Oh what difference does it make whose fault it is?" sobbed Washu, "it's done, but that's not the worst part."

"It isn't?" asked Tenchi.

"Far from the worse, Tenchi," said Washu as she looked up at him, "what's worse is the trust Violet Baudelaire placed in me when she invested so much of her fortune in my generator. I promised her free energy for the world. Violet is the first true friend I made on Earth outside the Misaki residence. Violet truly understands me, and I understand her. We're bosom companions, Violet and I, and I failed her! I failed my bosom companion!" she began sobbing again on Tenchi's shoulder.

"Uh…Washu?" asked Mihoshi.

"What, Mihoshi?" Washu asked in a miserable tone, as if saying whatever was the matter, things couldn't get worse. And get worse it will.

"I don't think your machine's broken," said Mihoshi nervously, "not like you think it is."

"What?" asked Washu as she wiped her eyes and looked at the generator, shocked to see energy crackling from the damaged component with the diamond.

"Oh no!" said Washu as she scrambled to the computer interface, horrified at the data on the screen, "no, no, no, no NO!"

"What is it?" asked Tenchi as he and the others gathered around Washu.

"The central component," said Washu, "the reactor that draws on the power of the diamond, it's created an unstable chain reaction, a quantum singularity is forming and as we speak, is collapsing in on itself!"

"What does that mean?" asked Ranma.

At that Washu glared at Ranma, Tenchi and the others, "it means run for your lives! You hear me? RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

"Uh…right," said Tenchi. He looked at the others, "you heard her! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" with that they all ran for the exit, just as Sasami, Ryo-Oki, Yusuke, Keiko, Ukyo, Shampoo and Mousse appeared at the entrance.

"Ayeka? What's going on?" asked Sasami, holding onto the panicking Ryo-Oki as the cabbit sensed impending danger.

"Run, Sasami!" shouted Ayeka as she grabbed her sister by the hand, "don't talk! Just run!"

"So this the biggest convention center in Japan?" asked Yukina as she, Kuwabara, Avery, Apple and their group, stood outside Tokyo Big Sight.

"And we gotta find both Urameshi, Keiko and that diamond in that big place?" asked Kuwabara, "fighting The Toguro Brothers was easier."

"'Never say 'die' when 'live' is so much easier,' as my grandmother would say," remarked Avery as he pointed at the sun. Just then a massive explosion tore through the convention center, knocking our heroes and friends down.

"OH MY FREAKING GHOUL!" exclaimed Howleen as they got up, only to run back to avoid burning debris falling from the sky.

"Wha…what just happened?" asked Yukina.

"Terrorist attack?" asked Avery.

"Whatever it is, there's a lot of hurt people in there," said Apple as she pulled out her trusty first aid kit, "we've got to help them!"

"You're a healer?" asked Yukina, "so am I, and my powers can help put out the fires."

"Shouldn't we wait for the local emergency services?" Rochelle.

"It'll take them too long to get here," said Tobias, "we're here first, so let's go already!" he then looked at Faybelle, "unless you have something better to do."

"Not really," said Faybelle, "helping people isn't exactly my forte, by the way."

"Consider it karma points," said Kuwabara as he and the others hurried towards the burning wreckage.

True enough, Yukina's abilities as an Ice Apparition extinguished the fires, while her healing powers, combined with Apple's medical skills, saved many a wounded soul our heroes pulled from the wreckage and debris, several of which suffered serious burns and would have bleed to death had they had to wait for paramedics and firefighters.

As they got closer and closer to the center of the blast, our heroes found less survivors and more and more killed by the initial explosion and crushed by falling debris. Yet some were found alive, thanks to the werewolf sense of smell and hearing of Clawd, Clawdeen and Howleen.

"Anyone still alive here?!" called Clair as she and Elissabat combed a pile of debris, "anyone?! If you can hear me, yell or tap and we'll find you!"

"Wait! I hear something!" shouted Clawdeen as she stood atop another pile of rubble, "I hear tapping!"

Clawd, Kuwabara, Avery, Tobias and Rochelle hurried over and began pulling debris away. Eventually they heard someone shouting in a voice familiar to one of them.

"Urameshi! Is that you?!" shouted Kuwabara.

"No, it's the ghost of a famous actor!" said Yusuke sarcastically beneath the wreckage, "Who do you think it is, Kuwabara?!"

"Stop teasing him, Yusuke!" said Keiko angrily, "he's trying to save our lives!"

"Yeah, sorry," said Yusuke, "just get us out of here, Kuwabara, we've got a lot of people in here about to run out of air!"

"Then shut up so we can dig!" shouted Kuwabara. Before long he and the others broke through into a large cavity in the rubble where Yusuke, Keiko, Ranma, Akane and her sisters, the Kuno siblings, the two Amazons, Ryoga, Ukyo, Tenchi and his housemates, were all alive. All of them had minor scrapes and burns but other than that were perfectly fine.

"Kuwabara, I could kiss you," said Keiko as our heroes helped her and the others out of the cavity.

"Well, well, don't tell Yukina," said Kuwabara, "but I just helped dig for you guys," he looked at Clawdeen, "she's the one who found you."

"In that case, we're in her debt," said Ayeka as she held Sasami's hand, whom held Ryo-Oki in her other hand, "but ironically, Ms. Ryoko's the real hero here."

"It was amazing," said Sasami, "we all took a wrong turn trying to get out when the generator exploded, so Ryoko used her power to shield all of us."

"Yes, she was astounding," said Ayeka dryly as she looked at the smugly smiling Ryoko, "no doubt she'll hold this over us for the rest of our lives."

"You know me so well, Ayeka," said Ryoko cheekily.

It was then that Apple hobbled over, limping on Clair's shoulder, "anyone need medical attention here?"

"Nothing a few bandages wouldn't fix," said Ranma, "I've survived worse." At that Ryoga, Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyo, Kuno and Kodatchi nodded in agreement.

"What happened to you?"Cupid asked as she hurried over with Elissabat and Faybelle.

"I slipped and twisted my ankle," said Apple, "I'll be alright, there's still plenty of innocent people in worse shape." She looked around the devastated convention center, "but how did this horror happened in the first place?"

"She did it!" said Ukyo as she, Shampoo and Kodatchi pointed at Akane.

"Thanks a lot!" snapped Akane irately.

"It is your fault," said Ranma, "you kicked Washu's generator and it overloaded, or something like that."

"It's far, far more complicated than that," said Washu, "and it's gonna get worse. The explosion fractured the space-time continuum." She pointed at the epicenter of the explosion, a large crater where an insidious red light glowed, "a rift is forming, connecting our world to another dimension. We've got to close it before it gets any bigger."

"Too late!" said Kiyone as the rift rapidly expanded. In a few seconds, it stopped at a size large enough to fit a house. The other side of the rift was too hazy to see clearly, but whatever nightmare world was on the other side, a hellish red glow came through, as well as screams of men, women and children in indescribable torment.

"Okay, well, it's stable for the moment," said Washu, "we still need to close it before anything comes through from whatever that place is."

As if to mock Washu, something came through the portal in the form of a demon-like humanoid with a light blue skin tone, pointy ears, flat dark blue hair, a dark business suit and light yellow eyes with slit neon pinkpupils. Around his neck was a purple rhombus-shaped gem hanging by a gold chain and red cowboy boots adorned his feet that hovered a few inches off the ground.

"Urameshi!" said a Kuwabara fearfully as the demon looked around his new settings, "do…do you sense what I'm sensing?"

"Yeah, this guy's hardcore," said Yusuke nervously.

"He's evil! Pure evil!" exclaimed Yukina.

"Oh, I have my good moments, little Ice Apparition," said the demon in a calm, almost friendly manner, "it's just a side effect of my work, that's all." He then looked at Washu and smiled, "oh, it's you, Little Washu! I told you we'd meet again someday."

"Not soon enough," said Washu defiantly, though our heroes could hear the terror in her voice resonating from her heart, "how'd you do it? How'd you…?"

"Connected this world to mine? I didn't," said the demon, "you did, with one of your haywire experiments I guess. But it doesn't matter how. What does is that a new link was forged, connecting this Earth to The Nightosphere, and as Lord of The Nightosphere, I'm gonna stuff myself silly on the billions of souls this world has to offer."

It was then that scores of hellish demons in all shapes and sizes emerged from the rift. Cackling and screaming with demonic delight, the creatures dashed at and grabbed any live human they could find dragging their screaming victims to the demon in the suit. To our hero's horror, the demon in the suit grabbed a human girl and sucked out her soul.

"I said it before and I'll say it again," remarked Washu, "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

At that our heroes panicked and scattered, running from the increasing numbers of demons. But then Apple found herself alone from the others, and as if by infernal design, twisted her ankle again. She fell down, clutching her wounded ankle, just as a demon landed on top of her.

"And innocent soul," said the hellish creature as it bent down, sticking its abomination of a face in Apple's terrified face, "the most delicious of souls. The Lord of Evil shall dine well today!" It then dragged Apple towards its master, taking Apple to a fate surely worse than death.

…The Steam Vault…

Raven gasped in horror and dropped her teacup and saucer, both shattering on the floor and startling the rest of our heroes.

"Raven! You…you've never dropped your cup and saucer!" said a shocked Maddie, "whatever's gotten you so topsy-turvy?"

"Something's happened to Apple, I can feel it!" said Raven as she stood up. She then looked defiantly at Maddie and the others, "I'm going to Earth and don't you try to stop me!" her hands crackled with magic, "I'm going and that's that!"

"If you sense something terrible is happening, then I'm going with you!" said Dexter, at which the rest of our heroes nodded in agreement.

…Elsewhere…

'Mr. Weis,' Richter texted as he stood between two piles of dust that used to be Orphnochs, one named Morton, the other Jenny, 'I've encountered five of the renegade Orphnochs. Two have been destroyed, while the rest fled to another dimension. I'm am about to peruse.'

Irvin responded almost immediately: 'Excellent work, but be ready to return at a moment's notice. We've a lead on the next Star Piece and may need your talents in deterring the enemy Riders and their companions while the Piece is secured.'

'I await your signal, Mr. Weis,' Richter responded. "In the meantime," he said aloud as he opened a portal to another world, "the hunt continues. They can run, but not forever." He stepped through the portal to resume the slaughter of the fugitive Kaijin.

…The End Is Just The Beginning…