Tenchi and Ranma, together forever!?
An alternative universe, semi fusion saga.

     The Characters from Ranma 1/2, were created by the brilliant
Rumiko Takahashi.
     The Characters from Tenchi Muyo, were created by Hitoshi
Okuda, may his wrist never go limp. 

Louis-Philippe Giroux, has very kindly posted the earlier chapters of
this story at the following address.
<http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/>
If you have not already done so, check out his story,  Lines of
Destiny, at the same location.  It's well worth the time.

What has happened, 
In this universe Ranma has, as a result of a run in with Herb of the
Musk Dynasty,  been trapped as a female from her first dip in the
Nyanniichuan.  She is not aware of Herb's part in this, and believes
she is trapped as a result of falling into several springs right after
falling in the Nyanniichuan..  She has spent the three months prior
to this story getting used to being a girl, and while she is not happy
about it, she has adapted to a certain extent.
     Genma sank into despair,  his son's loss of manhood scuttled
his plans to retire in comfort to the Tendo training hall.  Then, while
looking through some old papers in his backpack, he came across an
old agreement between himself and Noboyuki Masaki that was
drawn up prior to Ranma's birth.  It was a commitment to marry
Noboyuki's son Tenchi to Genma's child if he should happen to have
a daughter. 
     After a brief, very convincing, but completely phony, display of
attempted suicide on Genma's part, Ranma reluctantly agreed to
fulfill her obligation to carry on the Saotome clan's blood line by
marrying Tenchi. 
     Last episode, Tenchi and Ranma faced and defeated the demon
of the Masaki Shrine.  Or did they?



CH 4, Ryo-oh-ki, Death and rebirth.  

     Nodoka Saotome was going over the arrangements for her
upcoming trip when a knock on her front door broke her
concentration.  Setting her tickets down on an atlas of China, she
made her way to the door.  "I wonder who that could be?" She said
with a small frown.  She was not expecting anyone, and her next
door neighbor had already been over for her morning cup of tea.
     Reaching the door, she opened it and smiled pleasantly at the
young man on her stoop.  "Hello.  May I help you?"
     "Saotome-san?" At Nodoka's nod, the boy went on.  "I am most
grievously sorry to intrude on you in this manner, but I have no
alternative.  My name is Kuonji Ukyou, and I need to talk to you
about your son and husband, and a matter of honor." He bowed low,
and waited for her reply. 
     Nodoka's eyes had gone wide at the mention of her son and
husband, and she stepped aside.  "If the matter is as you say, one of
honor, then you must by all means come in.  I am always happy to
hear word of my son and husband, and most especially eager to hear
of any matter of honor concerning them."



     A bedroom in a typical, if rather oversized, suburban family
dwelling.  A curvaceous form slipped silently through one of the
outside walls,  leaving no sign behind to indicate how it had
penetrated a solid wall.  Once in the light, the form was revealed to
be an attractive young lady with coarse, cyan colored hair.  She wore
a look of smug self-congratulation.


     Ryouko smiled in anticipation, this was going to be good. 
Tenchi was going to be so happy to see her.  Her imagination in full
overdrive she dropped to her knees and grasped at the pant legs of an
imaginary Tenchi. 
     "O, Tenchi, you have defeated me in battle.  I have no where to
go, no where to turn. I am," her voice caught in her throat for a
second, " . . . utterly your's, please . . ." Here she lowered her head
and bit a finger, before looking back up, artistic tears running down
her cheeks. "Please . . . be gentle." She lowered her head and gave a
little sob.  Then she quickly stood up and assumed the role of
Tenchi.
     "Ryouko-chan." Ryouko-Tenchi said, a catch in her voice.  She
reached out and gathered an imaginary Ryouko to her chest, stroking
her hair with a gentle hand.  "You are so very beautiful. It will be
hard to resist the great desire burning within me, but I will try to be
gentle."
     Ryouko stood there for a minute, eyes closed, smiling, then she
threw back her head and laughed like a maniac.  "Yes, oh yes, just
like that.  BAHAHAHAHAHAHA" In a quick motion she drew back
the covers on the bed in the corner, and slipped under them, pulling
them back up, and over her head, covering herself completely.  
     Ryouko settled herself down to wait, stifling the laughter that
threatened to give away  her hiding place.  The expression on
Tenchi's face when she had confronted him at school had been
priceless.  She had gotten him back good for treating her like some
sort of monster, and running off and leaving her in that cold dank
crypt.  
     Not that everything had gone quite as planned, she thought to
herself, frowning under the covers.  Tenchi's sister had come as a
complete surprise.  She had no idea Tenchi had one.  There was no
mistaking those Juraian features, however.  She had to be Tenchi's
sister.  Well, that just added spice to the situation.  She was almost
as cute as Tenchi, and what a firecracker. Ryouko worked her jaw
back and forth.  It was still slightly sore from the blow she had
received from the little red head. 
     Imagine, she thought,  someone that young, and untrained in
the power of her heritage, landing a blow that hard.  It was almost as
impressive as the fact that she had managed to figure out how to do
it.  The girl had excellent instincts.
     O, yes, she thought with glee, it was going to be almost as
much fun playing with Tenchi's little sister as with Tenchi himself. 
Maybe after she had worn Tenchi out to-night, she'd pay Ranma a
visit.  A little spice to go with her sugar.
     Ryouko's thoughts were suddenly disrupted as a connection
that had not been active in nearly seven hundred years suddenly
came on line.  Ryo-ok-ki's passive sensors were picking up a Juraian
craft moving into near earth orbit.  Automatic systems analyzed the
signal from the on board beacon that was required by law to be
carried on every ship in space, a law Ryo-oh-ki had somehow always
neglected to follow.  The craft was the Ryuu-oh  registered to the
first princess of Jurai, Ayeka.  
     "Damn," Ryouko swore, "Seven hundred years, and I'm not out
of that damn cave one full week and they're here already, and
Yosho's sister on top of that."  
     So much for fun and games with Tenchi.  She needed to up her
firepower, and quick.  She sent out a command to Ryo-oh-ki,
ordering her to activate and get her furry butt over here now! 
Nothing happened.  Again she sent, this time with all her strength,
again nothing.  She did not have sufficient power to order Ryo-oh-ki
to full activation.  That could only mean one thing, this was not her
Ryo-oh-ki.  She must have been damaged sufficiently in their last
battle to require regeneration.  So it was Ryo-oh-ki's
daughter/sister's auto functions that were feeding Ryouko telemetry.  
     Ryouko swore long and imaginatively under her breath. She
needed the power jewels in  Tenchi's hilt to re-establish the
connections required to order Ryo-oh-ki to full activation.  The faux
one in her earring would not do.  It was fine for drawing power, and
manipulating power on a small scale, like at the school earlier, but
not for this job. Only the originals had the range and power for this.  
     As if on cue she heard someone opening the bedroom door. 
Tenchi, speak of the devil, she thought.  Ryouko resisted the urge to
burst out at him.  She might not have time to play the way she had
hoped, but she could at least do a little flirting, and who knows, it
might make it easier to talk Tenchi into handing over the family
jewels.

     Ranma had been on her way to bed, a very much desired thing
after her busy day, when she had been pulled up short by a cry of
alarm coming from Tenchi's room.  For a second she hesitated,
pulled by the siren call of her warm bed, but then she recalled that
they still did not know for sure what had happened to the demon
girl.  So she turned and hurried towards her 'fiancee's' room.

     "What was that Noboyuki?" Genma asked.  Looking up toward
the ceiling. "Did you hear something?" 
     Noboyuki had indeed heard something, and the last thing he
wanted was for Genma to get inquisitive.  He had gone out of his
way to give Tenchi and Ranma enough privacy to do whatever they
wanted.  The last thing the two lovers needed was Genma
interrupting them at a crucial moment.  If  he had been alone, he
would have been discrete, a little window peaking, being very careful
not to distract them, but alas, he had to sidetrack Genma.  Tenchi
was on his own.  "It's just the house settling.  Come, try this Sake,
it's a particularly good brand, and I'd like your opinion on it."
Genma forgot the noise, and reached for the warm bottle of Sake
Noboyuki was holding out toward him. 
      
     Ranma was about to barge into Tenchi's room, but she stopped. 
No point in rushing into an unknown.  Not when a light around the
door gave indication of a gap big enough for a little reconnoitering.
Lowering an eye to the crack, she peered inside, and blushed
furiously. 

     Ryouko looked up from her position astride Tenchi when the
door slammed open and an outraged voice exclaimed.
     "What the f*** are you doing to him, you old mummy."
     Ryouko stifled her annoyance at the mummy crack, time
enough later to show Tenchi's sister she was anything but dried out. 
Instead she directed a languorous look at the fuming red head. 
"Don't worry cutey, your brother and I are just playing a grown up
game." Both Ranma and Tenchi turned red, and blurted out
     "DON'T call me cutey . . . Brother?"
     "She lying, she wants the sword . . .Brother?"
     Both Tenchi and Ranma exchange puzzled looks, and Ryouko
looked between the two of  them.  "She is your sister.  Isn't she?"
Ryouko asked Tenchi. 

     A split screen formed, on one side was Tenchi's imagination,
on the other Ranma's.

     Over Ranma's head an image appeared, in it, a SD Ryouko and
Tenchi are in the same position the real one's are in, but Ranma-
chan is now Ranma-kun.  Ranma-kun minces over to the pair and
glomps Tenchi.  He says, in a sickeningly kawaii voice, "why no,
Tenchi is my fiancee. We're going to get married and have lots and
lots of Babies, Tee Hee!" Under the thought bubble the real Ranma
shuddered and looked nauseous.  
     "Yea sister, right, I'm his sister.  You bet," she said quickly.
     
     Meanwhile over above Tenchi's head, in his thought bubble, a
SD Ryouko is advancing on a SD Ranma-chan who is cowering in
the corner.  "Well, if she's not your sister, than I guess the sword
won't protect her," SD Ryouko says. She grins an evil, fang filled
smile and raises her sword to start slicing and dicing.  SD Ranma
screams in denial and covers her head with her hands. 
     "Sister!!! She's my sister." Tenchi shouted.  Then a little
quieter when both Ranma and Ryouko stared at him in surprise, 
"he, he.  Of course she's my sister.  What else could she be?"

     Ryouko looked from Tenchi to Ranma, and back again, a
puzzled frown on her face.  Both Tenchi and Ranma big sweated,
and tried to look nonchalant, without much success.  Ryouko was
about to say something, when a new data burst from Ryo-oh-ki put
an end to all unnecessary talk and speculation. 
     "We don't have time for games," Ryouko said. "Tenchi, give
me your balls.  Now!" 
     "Nani, no way!" Ranma cried.  She leaped at Ryouko and
wrapped herself around the larger girl, trying to pull her away from
Tenchi  "No one's going to lose anymore balls around here, not if I
can help it!," she shouted in Ryouko's ear.
     "Aaa Ranma," Tenchi said, blushing fiercely.  "She means the
power jewels in the hilt."
     Ryouko turned and smirked at Ranma, who's face was inches
from her own.  "That feels soooo good Ranma, but we'll have to do
this later.  Right now I have a devil to stop." Ranma looked at her
blankly for a minute, then even as Ryouko looked down at her chest
in a meaningful way, Ranma became aware that she was gripping
something other then hard muscle.  With a rather stunned look in
her eyes, she gave a slight squeeze, and discovered that the large
object she was gripping, while firm, was not in the least hard. 
Following Ryouko's gaze, she looked down to where one of her
hands was currently groping one of Ryouko's substantial breasts. 
     Ranma released her hold as quickly as she could, falling off of
Ryouko's back, and on to the floor.  Feeling very flustered, she tried
to explain. "I didn't mean nothing.  It was an accident. I'd never ..." 
She broke off, blushing furiously, and then said loudly and
emphatically.  "We're both girls dammit!!" Ryouko, despite the
situation, noted Ranma's reaction, and felt quite pleased with it.  Oh
yes, her and this little fire cracker were going to have lots of fun.

     Down in the dining room Genma was happily on his third
bottle of warm sake, while Noboyuki was on his second.  "This is
very good," Genma said, "but I think the first brand was a little
better.  I'd better try some more of that, just to double check."
     "Certainly, we must be sure," Noboyuki said.  He reached for
another warming bottle of sake, but was interrupted by a voice that
seemed to come from everywhere.  It was accompanied by a heavy
thrumming from overhead, and a brilliant light that flooded in
through all the windows.
     "Ryouko-san, come out."
     Both Genma and Noboyuki rushed outside, and froze, staring in
shock at the massive wooden craft hovering overhead.  The voice
came again.
     "Ryouko-san, Ryouko-san.  I know you are in there.  You
cannot get away from me now." Then in a much quieter voice, the
stranger asked.  "Are you sure this is on?" 
     A different voice started to answer, but was cut off halfway
through what sounded like, "yes."
     Genma and Noboyuki continued to stare, still frozen in place. 
They were soon moved however.  A brilliant beam of light flashed
into life and hit a nearby vacant lot.  The blast  that resulted picked
up both of the men and flung them into the side of the house, even as
it blew out all the windows in the neighborhood.  For a minute their
bodies stuck to the wall, like dead frogs on a road, then they slowly
fell forward, to land heavily on the front lawn. 
     Above them Ranma stuck her head out the shattered bedroom
window and screamed at the ship overhead.  "You goddam bitch,
come down here and fight fair.  Even the mummy fought face to
face."
     "Who's a mummy?" Ryouko yelled from inside, and a book
bounced off of Ranma's head almost knocking her all the way out
the window.

     "What'd you do that for?" Ranma yelled, pulling her head back
in the window and glaring at Ryouko.  Ryouko paid no attention to
her.  She was standing there, her eyes closed and her arms stretched
out toward Tenchi.  Tenchi was holding the hilt of Yosho's sword
toward Ryouko, in an attitude of prayer, his eyes closed as well. 
Even as Ranma watched wide eyed, a gem disappeared from the hilt,
and re-appeared on Ryouko's wrist.
     Ryouko opened her eyes, a smile on her lips, a smile that
disappeared as she stared at both her wrists.  "Hey, what's the idea? 
You only gave me one."
     "Uh, hu," Tenchi nodded, a 'what type of fool do you take me
for', expression on his face.
     "Good going Tenchi." Ranma said approvingly.  
     Ryouko laughed out loud at Tenchi's caution, then said, "well,
no matter."  She closed her eyes and held her hands close together. 
After a moment of concentration, she spoke in a soft but intense
voice.  "Come,  Ryo-oh-ki.  Awaken." for  several seconds she held
that pose, then she relaxed and smiled. "She's coming."
     Tenchi and Ranma exchanged glances.  Now that there was no
turning back, they could not help but wonder if they had done the
right thing.  What had they unleashed?
     For a minute, all was quiet, then from overhead the whip crack
of air shattered by the passage of plasm beams, was followed by
distant explosions that came closer and closer until they were
directly overhead and the noise was almost deafening.
     A white light flooded the room.  It seemed to come in not just
through the window, but through the very walls.  Ryouko said, "lets
go kids."  Ranma and Tenchi both let out startled cries as their feet
left the ground, and they started to float toward the ceiling.  They
faded from sight, and a second later, the entire house and part of the
yard followed them.  Overhead, a massive crystalline starship moved
out of the shadow of the even larger wooden ship, and flashed
toward the horizon.

     Saotome Nodoka raised her tea to her mouth and took a sip.  To
look at her, you would never know she was suffering torments.  Or
that it was taking all her efforts to keep her hands from trembling
and revealing her disquiet to her guest. 
     She looked across the dining table at Kuonji-san, who she now
knew was a girl, and not the boy she had first taken her for.  At first
she had not wanted to tell Nodoka the complete story, wanting only
to learn of Ranma and Genma's location.  Nodoka had insisted on
hearing the entire matter, and reluctantly she had complied.  Now
Nodoka was wishing she had not insisted.  Lowering her cup to the
table top, she said.
      "I hope Kuonji-san, that you will understand that I can not
take your word alone for this matter.  I must find and talk to my
husband and son before I can make any determination."
     "That will not be necessary Saotome-san.  I wished only to
learn the location of your husband and son.  It rests on me to satisfy
my own honor."
     "Unfortunately, that is no longer an option.  This matter is
serious, and as Ranma's mother, I must address it." She looked up
and smiled at Ukyou, "besides, I don't know where they are." She
reached down and picked up her cup, while Ukyou looked at her
thunderstruck.
     Ukyou started to simmer in rage.  "You mean Saotome-san,"
she ground out from between her teeth, "that I spilled my guts for no
reason?"
     "I would not go that far dear.  As his mother, hearing this news
of my son was very important to me.  I hope you will accept that
reason for my insistence on knowing the entire story of your
engagement and abandonment by my husband and son.  If it is any
consolation, while I do not know where they are now, I do know
where they were going four months ago.  I was planning on leaving
in two days to go in search of them. They were due at the Tendo
training hall three months ago, at least according to the last letter
Genma wrote me.  I recently visited his old partner Soun Tendo, and
he had heard nothing.  I intend to find them, and when I do, I will
contact you, and we can settle this matter."
     "I'm going with you!" Ukyou said suddenly.
     "I beg your pardon?"
     "If I had managed to find them on my own I would never have
bothered you, but now that I have, I'm not going to lose the first lead
I've had.  Besides, I can't let you go on such a dangerous trip by
yourself."
     Nodoka pulled herself up straight, "I am perfectly able to look
after myself, thank you," she said in a frosty voice, that did not deter
Ukyou in the least. 
     They argued back and forth for a while, and finally Nodoka
allowed herself to be swayed.  Ukyou with a satisfied look on her
face left to get her belongings.  The frown on Nodoka's face
disappeared after she closed the door behind the departing girl, to be
replaced by a smile.  "There now, that should give me a chance to
get to know my future daughter-in-law, and to talk her out of
extracting vengeance on Genma." She looked over at a narrow cloth
wrapped bundle. "That I reserve for myself.  Imagine setting such a
bad example for Ranma. How will he ever become a man among
men with that behavior as an example."  A wistful expression
crossed her face. "Still, imagine Ranma being a heart breaker at such
a young age." 

     Five minutes later a knock sounded on the door.  "Surely
Kuonji-san is not back so soon," she thought.  "Come in dear," she
said out loud.  The door opened behind her, and she turned with a
smile, "my that was quick . . ." She broke off in surprise as her
visitor came into sight, "Akane?  What are you doing here?" 

     Ranma was in the bottom most level of her own private hell.  It
had not seemed like hell when she and the others had arrived.  Then
it had been like some sort of crystal fantasy land.  Everywhere you
looked was crystal, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, and in between
all of that crystal, numerous smaller shards hovered in mid-air. 
Despite herself, Ranma had gawked like a tourist at the Tokyo tower
for the first time. 
     Then Ryouko had ordered her ship to leave, and Ranma
discovered the truth.  At Ryouko's command, a hideous sound had
reverberated through the room, a sound so awful, so horrifying, that
Ranma was currently curled up in ball in the middle of the room, her
arms wrapped protectively around her head, and her face pressed
between her tightly clenched knees.  Her distress went unseen by her
companions, who were looking elsewhere.  Ryouko had her eyes on
the stars, long missed.  As for Tenchi, his eyes were focused in
horror, at the miniaturized house that had been his home, and the
doll like figures of his father and Mr Saotome on the front lawn.  
     "Meow," had been  the sound, and it had come from
everywhere.  Just like before.  Just like in the pit. Above, below, to
the sides, the cries had come, and soon after the sound, the claws and
teeth had come.  The first time she had been thrown in the pit she
had learned, cover your face, protect your eyes.  And so she did, they
wouldn't get her, not this time.
     It had been a long time since Ranma had been this far into her
phobia.  The first few weeks after the pit, it only took the sound of a
cat to throw her out of her mind.  Then she learned that she could
run, run faster than the monsters, faster than their hungry cries, and
so, she kept her mind.  Now there was no where to run.  They were
all around her, everywhere.  She could feel them nudging at her
arms, could hear their soft cries as they tried to get under her body,
tried to shove her hands away from her face.  If she had looked, she
would have seen that it was the small floating crystals that were
nudging her, that the soft murmuring of cat voices was coming from
hard crystal, and not from soft flesh, armed with fang and claws. 
She did not look.  She knew better.  Protect the face.  Guard the eyes. 
She pulled in tighter, clenched her legs and arms, and prayed for
release, for death, for her mother.  Prayed for anything and anyone
who might make them go away.  She only had enough control left to
keep from shamming herself by screaming in blind terror, showing
Tenchi what sort of a coward she really was.
     With her face hidden between her legs, she missed seeing the
tangle field that condensed around Ryouko, holding her immobile
while an upright log appeared and absorbed her.  She did not take
note of the other log that appeared and treated a panicked Tenchi in
a similar fashion.  Even when that log turned and addressed her.
     "Never fear my lady, I will be back momentarily to rescue you."
     She did not hear, did not care.  Her mind dived deeper and
deeper, seeking escape, and at last found it.
     
     Ayeka, first princess of Jurai, looked up as Kamidake, one of
her pair of guardians appeared.  She arched a delicate eyebrow in
surprise when he disgorged a young boy from his interior.  The boy,
an inhabitant of this primitive world from the look of him, slumped
bonelessly to the ground once he was out of Kamidake's tangle field. 
Something fell from his waist as he dropped, and the understated
expression on her face gave way to a much less lady like one. 
      "WHAT IS THAT?!?  She screamed. Forgetting all pretense of
dignity, she hiked up her dress and ran the few feet to the fallen boy. 
Kneeling down beside him, she picked up a short length of carved
wood.  Eyes disbelieving, she turned it over and over in her hands,
before finally clutching it to her bosom. 
     "Yosho." She said softly.  Tears streamed down her face from
her closed eyes.  After a minute she looked up at Kamidake, who had
moved back, and discreetly given her a moment of privacy.
     "Was. . . was there any sign of my brother?"
     "No my lady.  But there was a lady of Jurai on board."
     "A lady . . . of Jurai.  Are you sure?" 
     "Indeed, my scan showed her to be quite clearly of Juraian
descent."
     Ayeka felt an ache in her heart, a lady of Jurai, there could only
be one reason . . . No, it was not possible, she searched through her
mind trying to find some other reason then the unthinkable for the
presence of a Lady of Jurai, and then remembered what Kamidake
had told her earlier about this world. "This is a colony world, most of
it's inhabitants will have Juraian ancestors," she said.  She looked at
Kamidake, praying he would not disagree, but he shot down her
hope's. 
     "She had the genetic traces that are part of the royal familie's
code.  All royal guardians are equipped to register that particular
code string."
     Unable to deny the possibility any longer, Ayeka voiced her
darkest fear. "Is she. . . I mean . . . Yosho's . . .?" 
     " I am not equipped to make that close a diagnosis. It is
possible, however."
     Ayeka closed her eyes, and went silent for a moment, grieving
for what would never be. Then her head came up and she looked at
Kamidake with determination.  If this was her brother's child, then
she had responsibilities to her, especially if she was with 'that
woman'. "Was she a prisoner?"
     "I believe she was my lady, that is why I scanned her.  She was
surrounded and being kept prisoner by some of Ryo-ok-ki's sub
units.  The tangle field had immobilized them, and I assured her that
I would be right back."
     "What are you waiting for?" Ayeka demanded.  "Take this boy
to a holding cell, and go and get her at once!  We can't leave her in
that foul ship one moment longer then necessary!  Who knows what
she has suffered at the hands of that woman!"  
     "HAI!" Kamidake shouted, and faded from sight.
     Ayeka turned to her other guardian, Asaka, who had been
patiently waiting.  "You have that 'woman' secured," she said,
venom dripping from every syllable.  It was clear that if she had not
been a lady, she would have been using far different terms to
describe Ryouko.
     "Hai!"
     "Take her to the small dining nook, we can wait for Kamidake
there." Ayeka practically glowed with satisfaction as she followed
Asaka.  "Your nature has run true, Ryouko.  The stupidity that
allowed the charges against you to lapse, may keep me from
arresting you for your former crimes against Jurai.  But kidnaping a
lady of Jurai has put you in my power. The statute of limitations will
run out on that crime while you are rotting in prison.  You will tell
me where Yosho is Ryouko, oh yes you will, or else, you will be very,
very sorry." Ayeka lifted a hand to cover her mouth as she laughed
long and hard.

     A few minutes later, Ayeka was pacing back and forth
impatiently, "Where is Kamidake? What is taking so long?  How
long does it take to make a simple pickup and delivery?"
     As if on cue, a very battered Kamidake suddenly appeared,
swayed for a second, and then like a felled tree, he leaned far to the
left and fell to the ground with a crash, raising a cloud of dust,
interspersed with splinters of wood. 
     Ayeka looked at him in shock.  His entire right hand side was
gouged and splintered, with heavy curls of wood draped at the end of
each long score mark. 
     "Kamidake!!" Ayeka cried out in shock.  "What happened to
you!?"
     "My apology my lady," Kamidake said in a labored voice.  He
slowly, with aid from Asaka, levered himself upright.  "I will be
fine." he said in a slightly stronger voice, but with a quiver still
present in it.  "The shock was extreme, but my self repair functions
are on line.  Repairs are being implemented."
     "What happened?" Ayeka repeated, "Where is the lady, is she
all right?"
     "I would have to say that she is very healthy, at least in body."
Kamidake said hesitantly. 
     At Ayeka's blank look, he turned slightly to the side, and a
small beam of light sprang from the jewel in the middle of his
forehead, or rather where his forehead would be if he had a head.  It
started scanning right to left at ever increasing speeds until it was
moving too fast for the eye to follow, and it disappeared.  A
hologram image of the interior of Ryo-oh-ki appeared.  The image
slowly scanned across the bridge, past, and then back, as a figure of
a young girl crouched on all fours appeared.  The image stabilized,
and the image of the young girl started to expand as Kamidake
advanced on her.  Her lips pulled back from her teeth in a snarl, and
a second later she sprang.  The image disappeared at that point in a
burst of static.  
     Ayeka blinked.  "Nani?" She turned to Kamidake, "What is it? 
What has that monster done to her?" An angry look filled her face. 
She turned to Asaka, "Get her out here, NOW!!  Kamidake?  Are
you well enough to help Asaka hold her?"
     "Hai!" Kamidake shouted, but as he moved into position a few
feet from Asaka, it could be seen by his less then steady movements,
that he was still unsettled by his experience.  Once in position, they
concentrated, and a field of force extended from each of them. 
When the two fields merged there was a moment of instability, and
Ayeka could see Kamidake strain.  She almost ordered them to
desist, but then the interference stabilized, and the two fields merged
seamlessly,   and Ryouko phased out of Asaka, hanging upside
down.
     "Sorry." Asaka said in a contrite tone of voice.  "I'll fix that
now."
     "Wait!" Ayeka said, then smiling a wicked smile, she added, 
"I like her like that.  Leave her!"

     Ryouko had never lost consciousness, but she knew better then
to forfeit an advantage, so she played dead, and waited for an
opening.  Slitting her eyes, she took stock of her situation.  The fact
that she was upside down caused no distress to a flyer, and she had
no problem adjusting for the different perspective.  Across the room,
a figure that had to be Ayeka, sat calmly sipping tea.  As Ryouko
watched, Ayeka gave a gentle smile, and said.

     "It's been a long time Ryouko.  I've been wanting to talk with
you for a while.  I have some questions for you." Ayeka got up from
her table, and clutching Yosho's sword in her hand, approached
Ryouko.  "Who is the girl on Ryo-oh-ki?  What have you done to
her?  Who is the boy?  Why did he have this sword?" Ayeka snapped
out.  Each question emerging like a bullet aimed at Ryouko. 
     Ryouko's eyes snapped fully open, and she grinned insolently
at the blue haired princess, causing her to take a step backward. 
      "I've done nothing to Ranma." She finally said after a pause to
let Ayeka stew.  "As for your other questions," she flipped her hair
out of her eyes and directed a smirk at Ayeka, "only a bonehead
could fail to know the answer.  I was never one to waste my time
educating fools, so, get stuffed!" Ryouko turned her face from Ayeka. 
Who had reared back in surprise at Ryouko's answer, her mouth
open in shock.  No one had ever spoken to her like that.  An angry
frown crossed her face. She nodded at both Kamidake and Asaka,
and they responded.  High voltage current surged through the tangle
field holding Ryouko, and her body arched in pain.

     Ryouko gasped as pain washed through her body, but she
refused to cry out.  Refused to give this spoiled brat the satisfaction. 
Her resolve waned as the next surge tore through her body. The pain
was too much, too severe, she had to cry out.  Then . . . inspiration! 
She opened her mouth and screamed, not in apparent pain, but in
ecstacy.  "I'm coming, I'm coming!"  She cried, her body trembling
with seeming pleasure.
     Almost immediately the shocks ceased, as the badly flustered
Ayeka ordered the Guardians to cease and desist.  Ryouko grinned,
and mentally marked down one for her side.  She hovered in the
tangle field, and waited for the princess's next move.

     
     Ranma-neko prowled the dim empty reaches of Ryo-ok-ki's
bridge, wailing mournfully.  She was frightened and lonely.  She did
not like this strange place.  The smells were old and musty, and
there was nothing to chase.  Always there had been something to
chase when she had woken before.  This time there had only been
the strange moving tree, and it had vanished before she could do
more then barely sharpen her claws on its bark.  Since then she had
been alone.  

     Deep in Ryo-ok-ki's mind, a segment that had ignored
Ryouko's call, was now finding itself unable to equally ignore the
wailing of the small girl presently prowling her deck.  To think was
to act, and the section that had kept itself separate when the rest of
her mind had woken, merged with the small segment that had been
controlling her body up till now.  Using her inner sensors, Ryo-oh-ki
scanned the interior of her bridge, and what she saw filled her with a
sweet sorrow.  So like her little lost ones.  Unable to leave the small
girl in the pain of loneliness, she over rode the Juraian tangle field
on one of her subunits, and morphed it into a body she had vowed
never to wear again. 

     A sudden shift in the air caused Ranma-neko to whirl, her back
arched in threat, ready to spring.  On the other side of the room a
figure knelt.  Human?  The visual cues were confusing, some said
nice person, source of food, source of ear scratches.  Other cues said
animal, also source of food, but not in the same way.  Distrusting her
eyes, Ranma-neko moved closer, trying to sniff out this newcomers
scent.  If Ranma-neko's other self had been in control of her body,
she would have seen what looked like an attractive woman, maybe in
her early thirties, but with a face completely covered in fur.  The fur
on her face was a light brown and was short enough that in the dim
light of the ship, it might have passed as dark brown skin, but the
heavy mane that covered her head and ran down the side of her head
could never be mistaken for hair. Brown with white highlights, it
framed a face of surpassing sweetness.  So distinctive was that heavy
mane, it made an observer look closer and recognize the facial
covering for what it was. 
     Ranma-neko noted none of this.  Not for her to say, this looks
like a person, but with fur, sharp fangs, and a face with more then a
little feline in it.  She classified other creatures in three categories. 
Threats, to be dealt with as rapidly as possible.  Play and food, to be
chased and tossed, and eventually devoured, and last, and very rare,
soft laps and gentle hands to give comfort and pleasure.
     There were certain things about this particular creature that
made Ranma-neko think it might have a very soft lap.  A stillness to
its body, denoting no fear, no threat.  The eyes following her motion
were soft and gentle, not narrowing in calculation at her approach. 
Finally after following a round about route, Ranma-neko came close
enough to the kneeling figure to risk a cautious sniff.  She registered
the clean scent of a freshly laundered Kimono, and underneath that a
strange smell that was equal parts animal and mineral.  The
kneeling figure made no move and she inched forward, smelling the
hands that lay cupped in its lap.  Extending a small pink tongue she
licked the palm of one of the hands, and tensed as the other one
moved.  She crouched, ready to fight or flee, waiting to see what the
creature was going to do.  Slowly the hand moved toward her, no
threat implied.  It reached her head and softly stroked her cheek,
causing pleasurable sensation's. Ranma-neko pressed her cheek
against the stroking hand and a purr rumbled deep in her throat. 
This was most definitely a warm lap creature then, she thought with
more then a little satisfaction.  
     Lowering her head she nudged the hand that was still laying in
the strangers lap.  When its owner lifted it, Ranma-neko flowed into
the inviting resting place.  Tucking her arms and legs under her
body, and laying her head down on her front paws, she purred in
pleasure, as the owner of her resting place gently stroked her head
and back.  Tired, she let her eyes shut, and as the creature continued
to fulfill its function in life of supplying her with pleasure, she
slipped into sleep.

     With a deadly hiss the thin black whip arced through the air,
then landed with a wicked 'crack' parting the thin cloth and leaving
a thick red welt behind.
     "AAHHHH" Ryouko screamed out in pain.  As the whip lay a
band of fire across her already much abused back.  "Please, mercy,
mercy." She cried out, but Ayeka paid her no mind, only drawing
back the subtle leather lash for another stroke. 
     "Please Princess, my lady, no more, no more, I'll tell you what
ever you wish to know.  Only no more please." The figure hanging
between Kamidake and Asaka, was facing away from Ayeka.  Her
back a mixture of tattered cloth and abused flesh.  Now, after her
entreaty for mercy, she lowered her head and began to weep
piteously.
     "To late for mercy Ryouko-san, you have to long escaped
justice.  For what you have done to my family, you must pay." Ayeka
lifted a hand to decorously cover her mouth as she laughed long and
loud.  Her laughter was abruptly cut short by a voice speaking from
the shadows.
     "Aki-chan, time for bed, but down your toys and come with
mommy."
     A suddenly five year old Ayeka looks up at the tall figure of her
     mother Misaki and pouts, "Do'n wanna."
     "Little girls need there rest, now come to bed right now.  You
don't want to make mommy cry do you?" Little Ayeka flinches as
hot tears suddenly start to rain down on her head, soaking her nice
new dress.  Misaki bends over and picks her up.  As she is being
carried away, Ayeka looks back over her mother's shoulder and sees
Ryouko, free of her bonds and completely undamaged walking away
hand in hand with her brother.
     "Onisan, onisan, don't go, don't leave me," she cries out,
holding her arms out toward Yosho, but her brother does not turn. 
Instead he fades slowly out of sight as she is carried farther and
farther away.  Just before they fade completely from sight, Ryouko
turned back and said.
     "That's a good little girl, you go off with Mommy.  Your
brother and I are going to go and play some grown up games." She
grins at Ayeka, showing all of her sharp and predatory teeth.  She
throws back her head and lets out a full throated laugh, that goes on
and on, as Ayeka is carried away.

     Ayeka tossed on her bed, and Tenchi froze, his hands inches
away from the Tenchi Ken.  Sasami had sent him here to get
Ayeka's controller.  With that, Sasami said, she could send Tenchi
and his home back to earth.  She had not mentioned that Ayeka did
not take it off when she slept. How he was suppose to get the
headpiece off her head he had no idea, but when he had spotted the
Tenchi Ken, gripped tight in her hand, he had decided to recover
that first.  Slowly he reached for the wooden hilt, only to have the
princess roll away from him. 
     This was no good, he had to recover that sword, he carefully
got up on her bed and straddled her body, and once again reached for
the sword hilt.

     Ayeka turned on her side, tossing in her bed, Yosho she
murmured.
     "Yes little sister, what is it?"
     Ayeka sat up in her bed and looked at the doorway to her room,
and the figure standing in it, in incredulous joy.  "Yosho?" She
breathed out, "Is it really you onisan?"
     He laughed.  And her heart fluttered as he stepped into the
room, as tall, and as handsome as she remembered.  "Of course it's
me.  I should be the one who is asking whether it is you or not. You
have grown up to be such a beautiful lady."
     Ayeka blushed, and looked down at her bed spread.  Doodling
with the thin covers with one finger she said, "Do . . .  Do you really
think so?"
     The mattress of the bed heaved slightly as he sat down beside
her.  "How can you doubt it? You are the fairest flower of Jurai." He
leaned forward, she closed her eyes and turned her face up toward
him, pursing her lips.  Then she has a sudden urge to see his face,
opened her eyes, and stared straight into the face of the boy
Kamidake had brought on board, she started to scream, and he
clapped his hands over her mouth.
     "It's not what it seems" He said in a panicked voice. 
      For a second, they held that pose, then she  brought one slim
leg up between there bodies and kicked him away from her.  He
tumbled over the end of the bed, and took off running.
     "Kamidake, Asaka!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. 
The two Guardians appeared almost instantly, fading into sight
beside her bed. 
     "Hai?" they asked in a questioning tone.
     Pointing a finger in the direction Tenchi had taken off in, she
     screamed.  "Put that Intruder to death!!"
     
     Ryo-oh-ki looked down at the small girl sleeping in her lap. 
Emotions she had not let herself feel  in nearly six hundred years
flooded through her.  Gently she stroked the red hair that flowed
down over the girls back, and tried to remember the last time she
had held a child like this.
     "Ken-oh-ki, my little Ken-oh-ki was the last.  So many years
ago.  So many lonely years." 
     "Who are you little one?  Where did you come from?" Ryo-oh-
ki used her hand as a remote sensor unit, and scanned the sleeping
figure as she stroked her.  "Juraian,' she murmured. "Then you are
of Yosho's line.  I do not know if I should hate you, or bless you.  If
not for Yosho, I would not have spent the last six hundred years in
mourning, but I also would not have had anything to mourn, or even
have had the capacity to do so." 
     The girl in her lap twitched, and gave a small cry of distress.
Ryo-oh-ki's slowly stroked the sleeping girl in an effort to calm her. 
Then when her motions grew more frantic, she pulled the small girl
up into her arms and cradled her against her chest.   She was not
entirely successful in her attempts to calm her, but the girl did settle
down a little, and did not seem quite as distressed.

     Ranma was standing in water up to her thighs, leaning back
against a pole.  Without looking, she knew somehow that the pole
was bamboo, and that water she was standing in was a Jusenkyo
pool.  At the moment she was looking at her chest, more specifically
at her hand, which was clutching at a source of mind numbing pain. 
Her hand moved, though she had not willed it to, and she saw that
there was a charred hole in her chest, just below her left breast.  She
looked up, at a log, that was hovering in the air.  Strange Kangi
covered it's front, and a small jewel sputtered and fizzed as the thin
rain that was falling splattered across it. Again without knowing
why, she knew that the jewel was the source of the hole in her chest. 

     "Well, brought to bay at last.  You've led me a fine chase my
pretty barbarian, but the outcome was never in doubt."  Ranma's
field of vision shifted, and she found herself focusing on a rather
foppish figure as he stepped out of some nearby bushes.  He walked
over to the floating log, and gave it a fond pat.  "Imagine old
Jakaaha succeeding where those mercenaries failed.  I really must
thank you for that by the way.  The twins had become, how should I
put this?  An embarrassment.  Sooner or later the attempt on the
empress would have been traced to them, and the Count no longer
wished them in his employ.  You made me a pretty penny when you
disposed of them for me.  Aa, the expression on their faces when you
dropped that mountain side on them. That alone would make me
inclined to be lenient.  But alas, I have my duty, and an empty bank
account to fill.  You know how it is?" He grinned sardonically at her.
     
     Ranma felt more hatred for this strange man she had never
before seen, then she had ever felt for any other living soul.  The
hatred burst through the rather disconnected feeling she had been
experiencing up till then.  She tried to spring at the figure, angry
curses on her lips, but her body did not move, nor did her voice cry
out her insults.  Ranma strained, growing panicked by her inability
to move her own body, but then a presence seemed to lay a hand on
her, and she felt the hatred and anger diminish, and once again
become vague and dream like.  Dream like, that was it, this was a
dream, it had to be.  The last thing she remembered was the crystal
room and . . . her mind shied away from the next thought, and she
focused instead on the dream image in front of her.  He was still
speaking, just where he had left off when Ranma had lost her
temper, no time having passed in this dream realm.
     "In a way it's a pity your going to die.  Now that is," He
qualified.  "Of course you would have had to die eventually, just like
your sister is going to have to die.  But it would have been pleasant
to have your company on the trip back.  I'll just have to consol
myself with all the money your death will bring me."
     Even through the veil that separated her from the events in her
dream, Ranma felt energy drawing in from all parts of her body, and
was conscious of her mouth silently forming words she did not
understand.  Her eyes focused on the face of the man who was
talking, with a terrible fixity, narrowing her own personal world
down to just that face.  He did not notice, or did not care.
     "And then of course there is your sister, a little young I know,
but she will supply a bit of fun before she has to leave us. Oh yes,
this has been a most profitable venture, who would have thought
your father would have been so foolish as to have come here, out of
all the planets he could have hidden on.  No doubt the fault of his
barbarian sensibilities."
     A new voice broke in at that point. "Caution, unknown energy
reading, caution." Ranma realized it was the log when it shifted over
to stand in front of the speaker. 
     "Really, where from?  Surely not from this half drowned little
wretch?  You have got to be kidd....? Wait, what are you doing? 
Jakaaha!!  Stop her, stop whatever that is she's doing with her
hands."
     Up till this point Ranma had been focusing on the speaker, but
now she once again felt the sense of unreality from before as her
hands lifted into her field of view, glowing with an intense white
light, and again she had nothing to do with it.  The jewel in the log
sparked, and a beam of light flashed toward them.  To be stopped by
one of three, serrated edged triangles, that centered on the glow in
her hands. 
     "Impossible, no human can generate the Wings of the Light
Hawk!!" The foppish man cried in fear.  "Kill her, kill her!" He
cried, pushing at the log, trying to shove it toward Ranma.
     "I regret that I am unable to comply with your order sir.  My
energy beam is useless against her shield." The log answered in a
dispassionate voice.
     With visible effort the man controlled himself, straitening his
disarranged clothing.  "No matter," he said in a shaky voice.  "She's
as good as dead, let her waste her energy on a useless defense. 
Generating the wings of the light hawk is a flashy trick, but they
won't save her, or her sister.  I'd love to know how you do that my
dear, but I have a date with your oh so sweet sister.  So I'll be going
now, I leave you to your bath."
     "Not hawk wings." for the first time Ranma answered the
stranger, much to her surprise, because it was not her voice, nor had
she willed it to speack.  A flood of warm thick fluid entered her
mouth, and she recognized the taste from countless bloody noses and
split lips.  But never in this quantity, never this strong, and she knew
that she was dead, it was only a matter of time.  But the knowledge
seemed to be a distant thing, unimportant in comparison to what she
must do now.
     Again her voice said in that bubbly tone that denoted a
punctured lung.  "Dragon wings" 
     The man had jolted when Ranma had spoken, but he sneered at
her now. "Well whatever you say my dear, far be it for me to argue
with your cultural idiosyncracies."  Then his eyes widened as the
serrated wings furled around each other and formed a fat bellied tube
pointing straight at him.
     "Ryuu!!"
     "Master beware!" The log shouted, moving once again between
her and his master.
     "Satsu!!"
     "Don't just stand there, get me out of here!!" the man
screamed, his voice high with panic.
     "Haaaaaaa!!" 
     A storm of light flashed from the end of the tube, blinding
Ranma.  When her vision cleared there was nothing in front of her,
nothing but a floating cloud of red tinged, wooden slivers.  A feeling
of great satisfaction filled her.  She slumped forward, the water
closed over her head, and she slipped down into the darkness.

  
     Ryo-oh-ki had been drifting, remembering other times, other
memories, and other moments she had held small forms in her lap, a
small tear trickled down one furry cheek.  Her private musing were
interrupted when the figure in her lap stirred, thrashed, and fought
against Ryo-oh-ki's hands.  Fearing that her hug was contributing to
a bad dream she released the small girl from the embrace she had
holding her in, and hoped she would be calm when she fully awoke.
     "Where?" The girl finally said in a muzzy confused voice. 
Ryo-oh-ki felt her stiffen, and she knew that the girl was now fully
awake.  She could almost follow the processes of the redhead's mind. 
She would be analyzing the situation, trying to reconcile it with the
dream she had just had.  Ryo-oh-ki's own children had all been
trained fighters, and they would often awake in just this manner
when in a strange place, or after a bad dream.  This girl was in both
of those situations..
       A soft, "Oh man, not again," floated up to her ears, and the
girl rolled off her lap, leaving it empty and cold.
     "Sorry about this," the girl said, getting her feet under her and
standing, but still not looking at Ryo-ki-ki.  What could be seen of
her face was almost as red as her hair.  "I hope I didn't scare you or
nothing. . ." She looked up, and for the first time saw Ryo-oh-ki.  An
expression of stark fear crossed her face, and she leaped across the
room in panic.  "C . . . c . . . cat." She stuttered out in a voice
shaking in fear.
     Ryo-oh-ki stayed still, but inside she drew certain conclusions. 
In a gentle voice, she said.  "I'm not a cat little one, there is no need
to fear me.  Have you ever seen a cat like me?"
     "N . . .no." The girl said in a long drawn out way.  "I ain't seen
nothing like you, ever." She did not come any closer however. 
"What are you?"
     "I am Ryo-oh-ki." 
     "The other demon," The girl said in surprise.  "You don't look
like no demon.  You're strange and all, but you don't look, . . . I
don't know bad, I guess."
     "Thank you." Ryo-oh-ki said, with a smile.  "And what is your
name?"
     "Ranma."
     "Well, Ranma, I'm not really the same creature your ancestor
fought.  That was my mother/sister."
     "Mother/sister?" Ranma asked, a puzzled expression on her
face.  Her face grew even more puzzled as a thought occurred to her. 
"I thought the other demon was some sort of giant flying thing?  I
thought, this," she waved a hand to indicate the room they were in,
"Was Ryo-oh-ki?"
     "It is, and I am," Ryo-oh-ki said.  Before Ranma could voice
the question that was immediately obvious on her face, Ryo-oh-ki
continued.  "I am a, . . . shape shifter would be the best word.  I can
change myself from one form to another, and I can also split myself
into several discreet entities, but if I do that, only one of them carries
my core personality, the others are merely mirrors.  That is what I
am doing now.  I am here." She waved a hand at her body, "but I am
also here." This time her wave encompassed the entire room.  Seeing
that Ranma was still looking blank, she said.  "Do not worry, just
accept that there are two of me at the moment, one small, one very
large.  Now, as to your first question."
     "Huh?"
     "Mother/sister."
     "Oh, that, ya, what'd you mean by that?"
     "It is simple really.  If I am so badly damaged that there is no
hope of repair or healing, I can create a small clone of myself.  It
will be a baby, but it will eventually grow up to be just like me, but
without my personality.  Memories and instincts can be passed on,
but personality is what grows from how you were raised. It was not
me who fought Yosho and his ship, but rather the Ryo-oh-ki who
came before me.  I have all her memories, but I was not raised as she
was, and am not the same person.  So she is not precisely my
mother, and is not quite my twin, so Mother/sister."  Seeing
Ranma's expression, she laughed.  "Don't let it give you a headache,
it will come eventually.  You do not have the knowledge at the
moment to understand completely.  Think of it as a fairy story come
to life."
     Her laughter was not derisive, but was filled with joy and
pleasure, and Ranma felt the last of her fear melt away under its
warm glow.  She moved closer to this strange woman, then for the
first time, realized that there were people missing.  "Tenchi? 
Where's Tenchi?" She said, looking all around the bridge.
     "The sword, I believe it was with the boy the Juraian Guardian
took on board Ryuu-oh."
     "What sword, I'm talking about Tenchi." Ranma said in
puzzlement.  "The guy I came here with." Ranma elaborated. 
"Ryouko brought us on board at the same time." Mention of the girl
demon drew Ranma's attention to her absence as well.  "Damn, that
mummy has him I bet." She turned a fierce gaze on Ryo-oh-ki. 
"Where is she?  Where's Ryouko?  What's she done with Tenchi?"
     Ryo-oh-ki held up a hand to forestall the flood of questions. 
"Just a minute, accessing records." After a minute she lowered her
hand and smiled at Ranma.  "I'm sorry, I was not fully awake when I
picked you up before, I was running on automatic, sort of like animal
instinct. Tenchi, both the boy and the sword,  and Ryouko have been
captured by Yosho's sister, the princess Ayeka."
     "Yosho's sister!?" Ranma said incredulously.  "I thought Yosho
was a just a warrior. How could his sister still be alive?  Was he
really a god? I've heard lots of stories about gods marrying humans,
but I thought those were just stories."
     Ryo-oh-ki smiled at her.  "First, I think I had better clear up
some things.  It will make it easier for you to understand.  Ryouko
and I are not demons.  Ryouko is a an alien, a space pirate, and I am
her spaceship.  Yosho was the crown prince of Jurai.  He fought us
because we raided Jurai and caused much damage.  He chased us to
Earth, and I and his ship both crashed.  I was so badly damaged, I
needed to create a clone, who is me.  I learned later that Yosho
fought Ryouko and imprisoned her in a cave."
     "And Tenchi let her loose." Ranma said, nodding her head. 
"Still, this Ayeka must be one old lady."
     "Juraians live for a very long time, and keep their youthful
looks for most of their lives.  Still, I would guess that if Ayeka has
been pursuing us, she has kept herself in stasis.  She might have
been able to survive the years of searching, but the boredom would
have been unbearable.  She is more then likely still very young."
     "Are Tenchi and Ryouko alright?"
     "Ryouko is, . . . rather drained, but nothing she cannot
withstand.  Strange," Ryo-oh-ki mused, more to herself then to
Ranma, "she has changed. . .  She is not the Ryouko of my
memories.  That Ryouko I never wanted to meet.  That is why I hid
myself away when she called, and let my  memories run the ship."  
     "Tenchi I do not know about. I am linked to Ryouko, but not to
him, and she has not seen him since she was taken to the ship."
Seeing Ranma's worried expression, she hurriedly reassured her. 
"Do not worry, I think it very unlikely Ayeka would harm Tenchi. 
She has reason to be angry with Ryouko, but there is no reason I can
think of that she might want to harm Tenchi. . ."
     Ryo-oh-ki broke off, and a large sweat drop formed on her
forehead.  "It would seem I spoke too soon.  Tenchi has apparently
angered the princess in some manner.  She has just chased him into
the area where Ryouko is being held.  Oh my," Ryo-oh-ki said in a
faint voice, "this is not good."
     "What, what?" 
     Ryo-oh-ki swallowed nervously, "it seems she believes Tenchi
tried to ravage her."
     "Tenchi!?!?" Ranma practically screamed.  "You have got to be
joking?"
     "I wish I was.  This, is not good . . . wait." Ryo-oh-ki suddenly
stiffened.  "Brace yourself Ranma, we're going in." 
     "Going in. going in where!?" Ranma yelled.  She received no
answer.  As soon as Ryo-oh-ki had finished speaking, she had
popped out of existence.  Literally, as the air rushed in to fill the
space she had just recently vacated with a loud bang.  The deck
under Ranma's feet shuddered, and she barely managed to keep her
feet as with a tremendous crash, Ryu-oh-ki lurched upward, and
though Ranma could not see it, drove one of her massive stabilizing
spikes up through the bottom of Ryuu-oh.  The sudden stop that
followed after the rapid upward movement tossed Ranma off her feet,
and before she could regain them, Tenchi and Ryouko appeared in
the cabin.

     "We can't leave her up here Tenchi!" Ryouko shouted.  "She'll
never let us alone.  I"m taking her down."
     "No!  Ryouko you can't!" Tenchi shouted, grasping the girl's
sleeve. Ranma gasped at the venom in the gaze Ryouko turned on
Tenchi.  So different from the way she usually looked at him.  Even
in the attack at the school there had not been that much . . . evil, in
her look.
     "Whose side are you on!?" Ryouko yelled in anger, and maybe
a little hurt. "If you want to be on their side so much, go back to
them.  I'm not stopping you." She turned her back on Tenchi and
ordered, "Ryo-oh-ki, get moving.  Now!!" The artificial gravity kept
their orientation the same, but the stars in the view screen whirled
around, and the image of Earth, which had been below them was
blocked out by the massive form of Ryuu-oh.  Tenchi turned to
Ranma and yelled. 
     "We have to stop her, she's gone crazy!"
     "Ranma," a soft voice said.  Ranma turned, and found a small
crystal floating beside her, the image of Ryo-ok-ki's face in it. 
 "Don't worry, the girls will be fine."
     "What girls?  What the hell is going on?" Ranma yelled 
     Tenchi by this time had reached Ranma, grasping her by the
shoulders to hold himself steady in the now shaking ship, he yelled
in her face.  "There are two girls on the other ship, Ryouko's going
to kill them, she's gone crazy!!" He repeated.
     "No!  She has not!" Turning toward the voice, Tenchi started.
     "Nani?" Tenchi said, staring at the furry face in the crystal.
     "That's Ryo-oh-ki, she's the other demon from the story, only
she's not, she's the daughter of that demon, but she has all her
memories, so they're the same person, only they're not." Ranma
babbled in her hurry to get to the important stuff.  Like, were they all
going to die?  She hated this, not having any control over her own
destiny, having to place her life completely in some one else's hands.
     Tenchi looked blankly at Ranma, trying to figure out what she
was talking about.  Then giving up on that, he turned to the crystal
and demanded. "How can you be sure of that?  I can't just stand here
and do nothing."
     "What can you do!?" Ryo-oh-ki snapped out.  When Tenchi
stepped back as if he had been slapped, she softened her tone.  "I'm
sorry, but there is nothing you can do here.  Please, just trust me. 
The girls will be fine, and so will Ryouko.  I can't explain, don't ask
me to.  Just, please, trust me." She looked at the both of them with
wide brown eyes, moist with unshed tears.  Tenchi melted, and
though Ranma fought the mushy feeling, she too found it hard to
deny those eyes.
     "All right," Tenchi said, "but if anything happens to them . . ."
     "Nothing will, on my honor." Ryo-oh-ki said in a soft voice. 
"Now, you and Ranma should brace yourself, it's going to be a
bumpy ride." There was a deadly serious tone in her voice that left
no time for anymore questions.
     Ranma and Tenchi looked at each other, then dove under the
central consol, that being the only permanent fixture on the bridge. 
They linked arms,  braced their legs against the overhead panel, and
waited.

     Ryo-oh-ki watched them for a minute, then with a sigh, turned
all her attention on controlling the upcoming crash.  She had wanted
to explain to them so badly, why this was happening, but it was a
useless desire. How could she explain to two teenagers, what it felt
like to have memories six hundred years old, that were as clear as
the day they happened?  How could she explain how much pain it
caused, to one by one have all your loved ones ripped away from you
by a foe neither they nor you could fight?  A foe she would never
have to face for as long as she was careful, and kept herself from
damage. 
     Human's were so frail, so short lived, they could not imagine
the burden life could become to one who need never die.  Her mind
flashed back once again, the memories as clear as could be.  There
was her husband Toriki, so kind and gentle, the brother who had
become her lover.  Their children, Ryou-oh-ki so big and strong, so
fierce and angry at times.  Mich-oh-ki, who should have been named
'why', for at times it had seemed like the only word she knew, and
finally the baby, Ken-oh-ki, who had barely started to discover the
wonders of life when he had been taken from her. 
     The Shogun's warriors had not even been attacking them.  A
war with a neighbor had washed over their little village, and left
death and destruction behind it. 
     Oh, she had gotten her revenge.  The dragon that burned the
Shogun's castle to the ground was remembered to this day in the
small village that had been built on its ruin.  She had allowed the
servants to evacuate, but the callous Shogun and his warriors had
provided fuel for the fire. It was the first and last time she had taken
up her Mother/Sister's ways. None of that did anything to eliminate
the void her family's absence created however.  Not even Ryou-oh-ki
and Mich-oh-ki's surviving children could sooth her aching heart. 
She could not bear the thought of watching them grow old and die,
as her husband and children had.  So after burning the Shogun's
castle to the ground, she had retreated to the lake created in her
crash landing nearly one hundred and fifty years before.  There she
had rested, asleep and dreaming, till woken by Ryouko.  That rest
would be denied her now she knew.  Ryouko would not allow her to
sleep, to live in her dreams.  Ryouko was a creature of action, and
Ryo-oh-ki had no interest in that.
     That had left her with only one option.  Which was why she
had taken all the memories she possessed of the former Ryouko, and
had distilled them down to their very essence.  And when that vile
concoction was seething and bubbling, she had shoved it down the
link between her and Ryouko, driving the none too stable former
pirate over the edge.  It was but a shadow over her new personality,
and it would not last long, but it would last long enough to put Ryo-
oh-ki out of her misery.  There was just one other thing to do.
     "Ranma?" She said in a soft voice, for the redhead's ears only.
     Ranma looked up from where she sat beside Tenchi under the
central consol.  She saw a small crystal hovering inches from her
face.  Taking her cue from Ryo-oh-ki, she spoke in a quiet voice. "Is
everything alright?  Nothing's happened to the girls has it?
     "No, they are fine.  I just wanted to ask you something." 
     "What?"
     "Would you help look after my daughter/sister, let her know the
love I grew up with, but that my mother/sister never knew."
     "Huh, sure I guess, I'd be glad to help you raise her, long as
I'm around anyway, long as Pop has this bee up his butt about me
marrying Tenchi I guess.  Don't know how much help I'll be though. 
I'm not good at that sort of stuff."
     "You'll do just fine.  Thank you Ranma.  Good-bye" With that
her image faded from the crystal, and it moved to join the others
circling the central consol.  
     The floor started to jolt and bounce as the turbulence the two
unbalanced ships were generating started to overcome the
compensators.  Ranma forgot the conversation in the more
immediate need to keep from getting her brains bashed out.  In the
distance she could hear Ryouko  laughing like a crazy woman, as
Ryo-oh-ki headed for a crash landing in the ocean.


     Nodoka opened the door, and smiled at Ukyou, "Kuonji-san,
you''re back.  I have a surprise for you." Leading the puzzled girl to
the dining room, she smiled at the small girl with the long black hair
who was sitting there, then turned back to Ukyou and made the
introductions.
       "Kuonji-san, I'd like you to meet the daughter of my husbands
old friend Tendo Soun.  She will be accompanying us.  It appears
you are not the only one needing to seek out my Husband and Son in
the name of honor." 
     Both girls looked at each other, Ukyou with an expression of
surprise, and Akane with a look of distaste so strong, Ukyou was left
wondering what she had ever done to the other girl.
     "'He's' coming with us?" Akane said, the distaste in her voice,
making the expression in her eyes seem mild in comparison.
     "She is indeed."
     "She?" Akane's expression shifted to one of surprise.  She
looked intently at Ukyou, and then leaned back with a much less
daunting expression.  She seemed to be satisfied that Nodoka was
correct as to Ukyou's gender, if her demeanor was anything to go by.
"Well, that's much better, I was afraid I was going to have to spend
two months with a 'boy'!" The amount of venom Akane managed to
put in that one word caused Ukyou to arch an eyebrow in surprise. 
She began to wonder what Ranma had done to this girl.  If it was as
bad as Akane's attitude indicated, would the other girl be willing to
allow Ukyou her vengeance first, before taking her own.  Well, one
way to find out.
     "If you don't like boys, why are you looking for Ranma?"
     The expression of distaste on Akane's face was, if anything,
even more pronounced as she answered.  "I have no idea.  My father
went into this big song of dance about how I had to find this Ranma,
or the Tendo dojo would be doomed.  I either had to go look for him,
or Daddy would have killed himself."
     "He would have committed suicide?" Ukyou asked in shock. 
Even at her worst, she had never considered that option.
     Akane looked disgusted, "No, he would have died of
dehydration." at Ukyou puzzled look, she said.  "Let's just say that
spending my summer vacation tramping around China was much
more tempting then staying home and watching Daddy soak the
floor. So, when do we leave?  And where are we going?"
     Nodoka spoke up. "The last letter I had from my husband said
that he and Ranma had one last destination, and that he would be
going to your father's after they finished there." 
     "Where was that?"
     "A place called Jusenkyo."


     Ranma sat on the roof top and stared out over the valley that
was the new home of the Masaki house.  The small lake that filled
the middle of the valley, was currently filled itself with the wreckage
of two spaceships.  A tear trickled down her cheek as she gazed at
the few small scraps that were all that were visible of Ryo-oh-ki's
remains.  She cursed herself for what had to be the twentieth time. 
"Baka, baka, baka!!  She told you what creating a daughter/sister
meant, why didn't you listen?  You could have stopped her." Ranma
had an ache in her gut, that for once had nothing to do with eating
her Pop's cooking.  She had never had any one close to her die
before.  She had only known Ryo-oh-ki for a few hours it was true,
but she had connected with that strange creature.  Even her Neko
form had liked her.  She knew that for a fact.  Her Neko form was
very picky about who's lap she fell asleep in.  A fact that had no
doubt saved Ranma a lot of embarrassment since she had acquired
the Neko-ken, and even more so since she has also acquired her
other curse.  She shuddered at the thought of waking up to find that
her other self had decided to cuddle up to some guy.  She shook off
the image that thought created.
     She was on the roof, instead of downstairs eating, for a very
good reason.  She wanted no one to see her acting like a girl.  No
one was going to understand why she was crying her eyes out over a
hunk of glass getting smashed, least of all her father.  She just could
not bring herself to face the old man like this.  He would say
something, and  Ranma would have to do something to prove she
was not a wimp.  Right now, she didn't care if she was a wimp or
not.  She only wanted to mourn her lost friend, not fight with her
Pop. 
     A motion near the lake drew her attention.  Wiping  her face
with a sleeve, she looked at  the small figure of a girl who was trying
to prop up the giant disk that was all that remained of Ryuu-oh.  Of
course she had no hope, and the plank she was using soon slipped,
and she landed on her hands and knees in the mud.  As the massive
disk gave a gurgle, and slowly sank into the lake, the faint sound of
crying floated up to Ranma.  A day ago she might have felt derision
for some one crying over a hunk of broken wood.  She no longer felt
the least inclination to mock.

     Ayeka, first princess of Jurai, the flower of the empire, radiant
sun of the imperial court, around whom all the courtiers and lesser
nobles circled, knelt in the mud clutching a shattered plank in her
arms and crying her eyes out.  No one understood, not even Sasami
understood, no one who was not bonded to a ship could understand. 
They all thought she mourned a piece of transportation.  But a part
of her had died with Ryuu-oh. 
     "Here,' a voice said at her side.
     Blinking back tears, she turned and saw it was the wild woman
from Ryo-oh-ki, the one that had mauled Kamidake.  She was very
nearly as grubby as Ayeka felt, and her eyes were red and puffy.  She
was holding out a grubby cloth to Ayeka. 

     "For your face," Ranma said, then explained further.  "You got
mud on it. Ryo-oh-ki said you was a princess, guess you ain't used to
having mud on your face, so here." Once again she offered the cloth
to Ayeka.
     Ayeka normally would have sooner wiped her face with a
handful of leaves, complete with bugs. Right now she could care less. 
She reached out and took the cloth from the red headed girl, and
gave her a smile as she did her best to repair the damage mud and
tears had caused to her face.  
     "You're, Tenchi-sama's sister, are you not?"
     
     Ranma blinked, and took a moment to understand the question. 
So much had happened in the last few hours, she had completely
forgotten the lie she and Tenchi had told Ryouko.  She almost
blurted out the truth, but then she paused.  She had been looking for
an out of this crazy idea of Pop's.  This might be the wedge she
needed.  No reason to clear it up, she'd let it ride and see what came
up.
     "Ya, I'm Tenchi's baby sister." She told the Princess.

     Ayeka winced at the other girl's crude speech, but let
nothing show on her face.  "I understand you have been raised by
men all your life."
     Ranma blinked at this sudden change in topic.  Still, she was
not used to offering comfort, maybe this was how girls handled grief,
by talking about something completely different, that had nothing to
do with the matter at hand.  "You could say that, Pop and I've been
on the road for a long time, seems like forever sometimes."
     "Well, as your Aunt, I would consider it an honor if you would
let me teach you those things that men can't seem to grasp."
     Ranma blinked again, her effort to offer a little comfort was
taking off in a direction she was not sure she wanted to go.  Not to
mention she just seemed to have acquired an aunt.  Her first
inclination was to tell the older girl that she had not the slightest
interest in learning the things guy's didn't know.  Then she looked
at the face of the girl in front of her, smiling through eyes puffy and
red with crying, and did not have the heart to tell her she didn't need
no help in how to be a girl.  That being a girl was the last thing in
the world she wanted to be.  Instead she said, "Sure, that sounds fine,
we'll do that sometime.  You want to come inside?  They're having
something to eat, and I know I always feel better on an full belly."
     Ayeka smiled at the little barbarian if front of her and shoved
herself to her feet.  Her grief already receding a little as she started to
contemplate the things that would have to be done to turn this little
ragamuffin into a proper princess of Jurai.  "I am feeling a little
hungry.  Will you lead the way."
     The two girls walked off toward the house.  Ranma acutely
aware of the eyes of the other girl on her back.  She wondered if she
might not have made a mistake, but dismissed the idea.  After all,
how could a puny little thing like the Princess make her do anything
she didn't want to.
     

Authors notes:
Thanks to Sam Vilsmeier for his suggestion as to a name for the
 attack used by the Drowned girl in Ranma's dream.
Ryuu ( Dragon ) Satsu Death/Kill/Elemination ) Ha ( Wave ) 

Many thanks to my Pre-readers.  They keep me in line, and readable,
I hope.^_^;;
Tzigane
Wade Tritschler
Jim Nutley, 
Green Eyes
 Eimii, and new to the crew
LechLord who has no idea what he's letting himself in for.

Till the next chapter.
T.H. Tiger