Ep 13 – Startica, Part 2

 

I finally decided to change this silly header. *snicker*  Anyway, everybody

knows the copyright information so I'll just forgo that.  The story is

approaching the end.  I predict another 3 chapters give or take 2, and that'll

be it.  It's been a lot of fun writing this little saga (which is surprising, since

I have a hard time writing a 6 page term paper!) and I hope you've enjoyed

reading it too.  I MAY do a second series or continuation of the story, or I

may not end this at all.  It all depends.  Send all hate mail / fan mail to

russael@mediaone.net.

 

Notice!  New Website is going up for the Tenchi fans!  Come check it out at

http://russael.cjb.net and sign the Guestbook, letting me know you were

there.  The fanfic will also be posted there, as will it be on the TMFFA,

AND on www.fanfiction.net.

 

            For the family's third and final time, the sunlight of dawn chased

away the shadows for the last day of the Startica festival, and the last day of

everybody's vacation.  Even though they had been on the planet for three

days, it seemed way less than that.  Time had just flown by, leaving

everybody in the dust.  However, it was very satisfying for everybody to

finally kick back and relax, and just enjoy each other's company on such a

gorgeous planet.

            Everybody had gotten up fairly early and made their way to the

breakfast table.  Everyone, except for Russ, who had seemed to vanish into

thin air once more.

            "You have got to be kidding me!  Where is he now?" Aeka

snapped, sitting at the table and glaring at the empty seat.  "I can't believe

he misses meals like this.  It's really rude."

            Sasami rolled her eyes and leaned toward Misaki.  "Here we go

again," she whispered, then started giggling.

            Already in a bad mood, Asuza was not about to put up with his

daughters complaining.  "Be quiet!  All you ever do is whine and moan

about where he goes.  Who cares!" Glaring hard at Aeka, he sat up

straighter.  "No barbarian of that kind should ever even have the privilege

of living with the crown princess of this planet let alone even consider

courting her!"

            Everybody immediately became deathly quiet, turning their

attention to the meal in front of them and trying not to look at the king, who

had his eyebrows furrowed together and had an aura of rage about him. 

Aeka stared at her father like he had suddenly sprouted a third eye, and she

failed to come up with a suitable retort.

            Caught completely off guard by his nastiness and meanness,

several tears welled up in Aeka's eyes as she stared hard at her father,

letting the rage build higher and higher until it nearly reached the breaking

point.

            "How dare you speak about him like that!  You don't know

anything about him!" she shouted, the tears now streaming down her

cheeks.  "What is your problem with him anyway?"

            "He's less than a peasant here.  He is nothing.  He has nothing to

give to this kingdom or to you, which would even qualify as an offering,"

he dictated, as if giving a speech.  "You will not become involved with him! 

You will only see him for what he is, and that is just a dirty piece of trash."

            Staring wide-eyed, the tears continued to drip from the bottom of

her chin.  "That's not fair!  I see him for what he is, and that is a kind,

caring, considerate and an incredibly nice man!  I like him for who he is! 

Why must you meddle in this and treat him like you do?"

            "You know what I see?"  Asuza began, staring hard into her

daughter's saddened eyes.  "I see a man who has no morals, is rude,

conceded, has nothing to offer, takes up space, and is a waste of flesh.  He

is so privileged to even know you, yet he continually shoves it in your face

since he doesn't care.  You think he's a nice man?  Hah!  There are

hundreds of suitors out there who could benefit you, care for you, love you,

and contribute to the empire as well," he decreed, slamming his fist down

on the table, causing a few droplets of miso soup to splash out of his bowl. 

He stood up from his chair.  "But you can't see that, can you?  You've been

blinded by this piece of trash and have been seduced by him."  Asuza sat

back down and continued.  "You're only seeing what you want to see and

nothing more!  You can't see past the front he is laying down for you, can

you?  No!  Of course you can't.  I don't know what that man has said to you

to make you behave like this, but I can assure you that he is not the man you

think he is, and furthermore…"

            "SHUT UP!" Aeka screamed, her face beet red.  "How dare you

say anything like that about him!  You two haven't even SPOKEN to each

other!  How can you draw conclusions like that!  The first thing you did

when you met him was glare at him and turn away!  You've been nothing

but rude to him, so it's no wonder he doesn't like you!  That's all you've

done this entire time is badger and beleaguer him.  I've had enough!  He's

more of a man than you'll ever be!  I hate you!"  She immediately turned

and ran to the door, sobbing uncontrollably.

            Asuza just let her go, and turned his attention back to his breakfast,

despite the horrified looks by both his wives, and a very sad face from

Sasami.  The only sound in the hall was the door slamming behind Aeka,

and the occasional scrape of silver on china from those who were still

finishing their breakfasts, and a few sobs from the little princess.

            Misaki stood up slowly, wiped her mouth off with a napkin, and

turned toward her husband with a vengeance.  She bent down slowly,

placing her hand on top of his head and turning it toward her, looking

directly into his eyes, so he could see the burning inferno in her own.

            "Get up.  You and I are going to talk about our daughter," she

demanded quietly, through clenched teeth.  "Now."

            Looking back at her coolly, and with a slight hint of fear, he shook

his head, despite Misaki's iron grip on top of his hair.  "After breakfast."

            Raising her eyes to look at Funaho, she motioned for her to stand,

which she did.  Turning her attention back to her husband, she put her face

directly in front of his once more.  "Not later.  Now.  Get up, and you're

coming with both of us."

            Sighing in resignation, he rose from his seat, amidst the stares from

around the table.  "Please excuse me.  My wives and I have something to

discuss.  We will be back momentarily."

            Misaki shook her head.  "We'll be gone for about an hour.  Please,

find something to do after breakfast, and we'll come and get you once we're

done.  I'd recommend waiting within the palace."

            Nods from the various people sitting around the table gave her the

acknowledgement she was looking for, and she regally, quickly, and

roughly, led her husband out of the dining hall, trailed by Funaho.  Asuza

looked very nervous at hearing how long this conversation was going to

take.

            Tenchi turned toward Ryoko.  "What do you think is going to

happen?" he whispered quietly.

            "I'm not sure you want to know, Tenchi.  Jurai customs are quite

strange in comparison to what goes on back home," she replied, turning

away from Tenchi and looking fearfully at the door that the royals had just

exited.  "I almost pity the king right now."

            "Even after how he made Aeka cry?"

Ryoko became thoughtful for a split second, and an evil grin

presented itself on her lips.  "Lets just say that he's going to get what he

deserves."

            "I thought so, but what about Aeka?  Where did she go?"

            "Come on, Tenchi.  Let's go find her," Ryoko suggested.  "I'm

sure she needs a friend right now."

            Tenchi nodded and stood up, and Ryoko did the same.  Azaka and

Kamidake also rose from their seats, and approached the two.

            "We'd like to accompany you as well, if you don't mind,"

Kamidake asked.

            "Certainly.  You two probably know Aeka better than the both of

us," Ryoko agreed.  "Do you know where she went?"

            "Not at the moment.  But we have a couple of pretty good guesses. 

She probably either went to her room, out into the garden, or possibly into

the theater.  Most of those places are currently empty, and it would be a

good place for her to be alone," Azaka said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. 

"Let's go."

 

            "Nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety-five…  Nine thousand, nine

hundred, ninety-six…  Nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety-seven…" Russ

grunted, performing pushups in the garden, where he was currently alone. 

The weather was so nice outside that he figured he might as well train in the

outdoors, where he would be able to enjoy the scenery, the soft grasses, and

the pleasant temperatures.  He had been exercising since he got up this

morning, which was before everybody else.  It was still dark outside when

he began his routine under intense gravity.  Increasing the gravity by ten a

day had really begun to push him to his limits, and he could feel it making

him stronger and stronger.  But just because he was on vacation didn't mean

he could take a vacation from his exercise.

            "Nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety-eight…" he growled again,

the salty perspiration dripping off of the end of his nose like a leaky faucet. 

Since it was still early, there was hardly anybody out and about, and it was

very quiet and peaceful, except for a few insects that buzzed around his

head and the call of some early morning birds.

            "Nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety-nine… Ten thousand!" he

said triumphantly, and then he collapsed onto the grass, breathing heavily

and giving his body a quick break.  Rolling onto his back, he looked up into

the brightening sky, where the sun had already crested the distant horizon. 

He closed his eyes and could feel sleep tugging at him from the back of his

mind, but he knew he would need to continue, and it was only the beginning

of the day.  It was still quiet, aside from some elderly people who had left

their homes and were already walking the streets.  The soft scraping of their

shoes on the ground and their idle chatter just barely to made it to Russ,

where he continued to lounge, near a flowerbed.  The sounds of four people

walking down the nearby pathway finally reached his ears, and their voices

reached him a moment later.  Listening to the conversation for a moment,

he immediately recognized all four individuals.

            Grunting and straining to get himself into a sitting position, he

looked over top of the short flowers and saw Ryoko, Tenchi, Azaka, and

Kamidake coming down the path, slowly, but looking quite concerned at

each other.  A moment later Ryoko noticed Russ sitting on the ground and

watching them, and she quickly began to make her way over to him, while

everybody else followed her.

            "What's up guys?  Is something wrong?" Russ asked, noting

everybody's appearance.

            "Hey Russ.  What are you doing out here?" Tenchi asked, looking

down at Russ's sitting form.

            Russ smiled.  "I was exercising.  Instead of doing it in the training

room, I decided to do it here.  It's nice and comfortable out here, plus the

scenery is nicer."

            "I see.  Have you seen Aeka yet this morning?"

            "No I haven't," Russ answered, watching everybody's changing

expressions.  "Why?  Is something the matter?"

            "Well, no.  Not really," Tenchi began.  "But she got into a fight

with her father at breakfast today."

            Russ's eyebrow twitched slightly and he unconsciously clenched

his hands into fists.  "What happened?"

            Ryoko looked at Tenchi, and then back down at Russ.  "It was

about you and Aeka again.  The king basically hates your guts and he

doesn't want his daughter having anything to do with you," Ryoko said,

drawing a look of shock from all the bystanders at her bluntness.  "She ran

out of the hall and took off, and we've been looking for her, to keep her

company and console her."

            Russ shook his head.  "Man, what should I do?  Most of you guys

want me involved with her, and her father wants just the opposite.  And to

be honest, I don't WANT to become involved.  You guys know that.  If you

do find her, tell her that her father is right."

            Staring at him in utter disbelief, Ryoko nearly fell over.  "You

WHAT?!  I'd never do such a thing to her!  You don't even know what he

said about you!"

            Nodding his head, Russ shifted positions to a more comfortable

posture.  "I don't need or want to know.  Her father is a jerk and I don't

want anything to do with him.  He can blow all the hot air he wants.  I know

what I am and so do you guys.  And I do not want to become involved.  Not

yet.  Maybe not ever."

            Ryoko and Tenchi both facefaulted at hearing what he had to say. 

"I can't believe it.  Why?" Tenchi demanded.

            "Look who's talking," Russ retorted, becoming peeved.  "You've

got no room to say anything, lover boy.  How long did it take you to

become involved?  Hmmm?"

            Tenchi looked nervously over at Ryoko, who looked a little hurt. 

"It took me a long time to finally realize what I've been missing out on.  I

don't want anybody else to go through that."

            "It's my choice and my life.  I live it how I want," Russ said,

glaring at the two of them.  "I do not want a girlfriend.  Maybe when I'm a

hundred and ten, but not now."

            "Russ, come on.  You're being ridiculous.  You're worse than I

was," Tenchi said, folding his arms over his chest.  "I didn't want to hurt

either of them.  In the end, it was Ryoko who finally made me realize who I

wanted."

            Russ rolled his eyes.  "Whatever.  If you find Aeka, do whatever

you have to do to cheer her up, but don't say anything like, 'It'll be okay. 

Russ will still be waiting for you.' or something along those lines.  She's a

princess and I'm nothing.  And even though I treat her normally and as a

friend, I haven't forgotten that she IS royalty.  What do you think would

happen if she married me and had to come back here to perform her

duties?"

            "Things like that only matter to the king, Russ.  Not everybody

else," Azaka said from behind Ryoko.  He sidestepped a little and brought

himself into full view.  "What the king says and what she wants are two

entirely different things.  Do you really want to hurt her feelings?  Are you

so stubborn that you won't even open yourself to any kind of relationship? 

I don't get it."

            Russ sighed to himself.  "Give me a break you guys.  So what

you're saying is that I should become involved, even though I myself do not

want to, just to make someone else happy?  That's going a little too far in

my book."

            "What irks me is the fact that you won't even try it!" Ryoko

growled.  "She's such a wonderful person and you just slammed the door in

her face before she even got her foot in it.  It's amazing that she's still

pursuing you."

            "I wish she didn't," Russ replied.  "I like being friends.  I do things

for others because they're my friends.  What's so great about a relationship

anyway?"

            "You have no idea because you've never tried it," Kamidake said,

making his presence known.  "You have no idea what you're missing,

especially with a beautiful, wonderful, and talented person like Aeka."

            "That's probably true.  But the answer is still going to be no," Russ

answered, standing up with great effort.  "Now, if you don't mind, I have to

get back to exercising."

            "I'd rather have you come with us.  You said you were a friend to

her, right?  And she needs a friend right now.  Would you please come with

us and help us find her?" Tenchi asked, grabbing Russ's arm as he turned to

walk away.

            Russ stopped and turned toward them, looking at all four of their

faces, which all read the same thing.  Rolling his eyes once more, he

growled a few rude phrases to himself in his native language and turned the

gravity machine off.

            "Fine, let's get this over with."

            "Thanks Russ.  It'll really mean a lot to both her and us, and it'll

prove to her father that you really do care."

            Russ ignored him as he followed Tenchi down the path, trying to

find Aeka.

 

            Sometime later and back onboard the Star Destroyer, Tom and his

crew were still hustling about, prepping the Escort Transports for departure,

which would allow the other half of his crew to join in the festivities.  Fuel

hoses were brought out and connected to the massive fuel reservoir on the

transports, cleaning and maintenance droids scooted around inside the

massive hold, checking and re-checking all the necessary systems for

problems, and the pilots were in the process of putting on their flight suits.

Tom held up a roster and made an announcement over the ship's

communication system that the second group was to report to the hanger

bay for departure.  The remainder of the crew was to remain onboard and

keep the ship running properly, and to basically remain on standby just in

case something happened.

            Returning to the bridge, Tom sat down in the captain's chair, and

let out a huge sigh.  Yesterday was quite an adventure for him.  He had

never seen so many games or different varieties of technology that was for

sale during the festival.  It reminded him exactly of Christmas… but in the

month of July.  A particular pale-faced girl remained on duty, and she

elected to not go down to the planet for some unknown reason.

            "Is something bothering you, Sakuya?  You're free to go down and

visit the planet.  Please go and enjoy yourself.  Engel here can take care of

your duties just for today," Tom invited, hoping to get her to take a

vacation.

            She shook her head slowly.  "No thank you.  I'm fine here.  There

are some other things that I want to take care of."

            "Come on.  Something is bothering you.  What's wrong?  You

look depressed," Tom pressed, wondering why she refused to budge from

her seat.

            Turning toward him, she looked at him with sad, green eyes.  Her

pale face showed nothing but depression and sadness, but her voice

remained calm and steady.  "It's okay.  I just need to keep busy and I won't

think about it, sir."

            Scratching his head a moment, Tom became thoughtful.  "I've

never seen you like this before, Sakuya.  It all started when we picked up

Russ and his friends.  Since then, you've acted kind of weird.  I thought it

was only a fluke and that you were having an off day.  Would you please

tell me what's wrong so we can maybe find a solution?"

            Sakuya's eyes widened slightly at the mention of Russ's friends. 

She instantly thought of Tenchi.  An image of him popped up in her mind,

but was replaced by another one of Ryoko draping her arms around him. 

Ryoko looked at her and gave a sadistic little smile, and she could almost

hear her chuckling to herself.

            "Sakuya?  Hey, come on now.  Look, if I take you down there

myself, would you go?  Please?" Tom asked, seeing her changing

expressions.  She snapped out of it a moment later.

            Once again shaking her head, she declined his invitation.  "No

thank you.  I'd rather remain here.  Fairs or festivals never really appealed

to me.  I don't like huge crowds of people."

            Tom shook his head and sighed.  "If that is what makes you happy,

then you can stay."

            "Thank you, sir."

            Smiling, he shook his head.  "Don't worry about it."

            A small explosion flashed out of the corner of Tom's eye, and he

quickly turned toward it, squinting at something outside of the windows.

            "Did you see that?  Give me a status report on what's going on out

there," he ordered, standing up and trying to get a better view.

            "Scanning," Sakuya responded.  "Sir, it appears that a small

shuttlecraft is out of control, and is being chased by a couple Galaxy Police. 

I think the shuttle is trying to get away from them.  They're heading this

way.  They're being very reckless."

            "I see.  Well, if they come this way, we'll lend our assistance," he

said, sitting down at his chair and keying a few commands on the armrest. 

He turned on the communications system once more.

            "Attention.  This is the captain.  We're going to yellow alert.  All

gunners are to proceed to your designated turrets.  Arm all ion cannons and

arm all tractor beams.  There is a shuttlecraft that is evading the Galaxy

Police.  If they come within range, open fire with ion cannons only.  We

only want to disable them, not destroy them."

            A warning klaxon sounded and the warning lights around the entire

warship flashed yellow.  A few more moments later, Tom could see most of

the turrets begin rotating from the bridge.  Quickly diverting power from the

engines to the weapons, all sixty ion cannons began charging up.  It didn't

take long, and the shields were brought up.  The transports that were

supposed to be leaving were still waiting in the hanger bay, ready to depart.

            Watching the shuttle on a monitor, he could see that whoever was

piloting it wasn't very good, or he was just completely out of his mind. 

Narrowly missing other vessels in its flight path, it continually dodged side

to side, up and down, and basically all over the place, trying to evade the

GP fighters that followed it.  Every few moments he could see weapons fire

from the GP, but they continually managed to miss the small and agile

shuttle.

            It continued to approach the Gray Wolf, but the pilot made a few

critical errors.  Nicking one vessel that was parked in orbit, he spun out of

control and slammed into another Jurai Warship, which was parked two or

three kilometers in front of Tom.  If it weren't for the shields on that craft, it

would've been completely annihilated.  However, the Jurian Warship

wasn't so lucky.  A small explosion erupted from the point of impact, and

as a result, knocked it out of stationary orbit.  Slowly, it began to fall toward

the planet surface.

            "Jesus Christ!  If that ship hits the planet, hundreds of people could

be killed!  Broadcast a message to the Jurians now!  Tell them to get their

ground based defenses up or something so they can blow it up before it hits

the ground!" Tom shouted, directing his communications officer.

            The small shuttle entered firing range, and hundreds of blue bolts

of energy began streaking from the turrets mounted on the warship.  Over

three quarters of them impacted the shuttle, and it quickly shut itself down

and began to drift, letting the momentum of its erratic course continue to

move it forward.  A moment later, several tractor beams locked onto the

ship and held it in place.  The GP fighters surrounded the derelict vessel,

and one docked with it.

            "Great, we got them.  Did Jurai acknowledge the message or

what?"

            "Yes sir, but they don't have any ground based defenses!  They

always relied on their ships or some other kind of airborne assault

weaponry!  And all of that is currently disabled!"

            "Oh my god.  I hope someone does something or hundreds of

people are going to meet a very gruesome demise."

 

            Sitting on the palace steps, Misaki, Funaho, Aeka, Russ, Tenchi,

Ryoko, Azaka, and Kamidake all sat quietly, not saying much of anything

to anybody.  It was quite a contrast to the bustling activity on the streets of

Jurai, where the Startica festival resumed in full force.  People were

smiling, laughing, and completely enjoying themselves and the company of

their friends, as they walked from booth to booth, or shopped at the various

stores.

            Aeka's eyes were red from crying, and she sat silently with her

head down, despite Ryoko and Tenchi's attempts to make her feel better. 

Russ sat at the foot of the steps, his chin resting in the palm of his hand with

his elbow resting on his knee, resembling the statue of The Great Thinker. 

He too remained as silent as Aeka, lost in thought.

            "Aeka dear?  Your father didn't mean what he said.  He was

simply in a bad mood and he unfortunately took it out on you.  We…

discussed it with him, so I don't think there is going to be any more

problems," Misaki said, squeezing her daughter's tense shoulder.  "There is

no need to be sad anymore.  You came here to enjoy yourself, so do it. 

Don't let anything your father says bother you."

            Aeka slowly lifted her head and looked into her mother's caring

eyes.  Her cheeks were still wet from weeping.  "I know, but he does it so

often.  How can anyone not be hurt after going through something like

that?"

            "I understand, Aeka.  But it's okay.  Everything is just fine now. 

Would you please enjoy your last day before you have to go home?  I know

you guys are planning on leaving this evening, and I'd really hate for you

guys to leave in a bad mood, or have some other event make you not want

to come back next year.  I'd never forgive myself if that happened," Misaki

said to Aeka, pulling her into a tight embrace.

            Aeka finally cracked a smile, as if a tremendous burden was lifted

from her shoulders.  "I'm okay now, mom.  Thank you for everything.  I

love you.  You're the best mom anyone could have."

            Misaki blushed slightly and crushed her daughter in one of her

famous bear hugs.  "That means so much to me to her you say that.  I love

you too, Aeka."

            "We all love you as well, Aeka.  You're a part of our family, and I

wouldn't have it any other way," Tenchi said, grasping her hand and giving

it a tender squeeze.

            Ryoko smiled and nodded her head.  "I feel the same way.  You've

become like a sister to me.  Your happiness means as much to me as my

own."

            Aeka's eyes widened at hearing this revelation, and she smiled,

letting a few more tears stream from her eyes.  "Thank you… all of you. 

For everything."

            Out of nowhere, an alarm began wailing in the distance, and

several more joined it a moment later.  Russ's head snapped up from his

daydream and looked around, then back at Misaki.

            "What's going on?  What is that?"

            "That's the air raid siren.  But why is it going off right now?  There

aren't supposed to be any tests for another three days."

            Sasami ran out of the palace, and she looked extremely worried as

she approached the group.

            "Mom!  Thank goodness I found you.  A ship was knocked out of

orbit and it's falling toward the planet!  It's going to crash into this general

vicinity!  We have to take cover!" she shouted, now pulling on Misaki's

arm.

            "What?!  What about the anti air defense grid?  Why aren't they

trying to blow it up?" Misaki demanded, standing up and looking down at

her daughter.

            "All of that has been disabled for the Startica festival!  They turned it

off because there was so much traffic and they were worried about the

automated defenses firing on suspicious vessels!  Come on, mom!  We have

to take cover now!"  Sasami shouted in panic, continuing to drag her mother

to the door.

            "Where is the ship?" Russ asked, looking skyward.

            "It's supposed to be right above us," Sasami said, looking up.

Everybody else turned his or her eyes to the sky and searched for

the falling warship.  Sasami gasped and began pointing toward a glowing

red dot in the air.

            "There it is!  I can see it!" she yelled, allowing more panic and fear

to enter her voice.

            Russ also noticed the falling vessel, and he clenched his fists. 

"Does that ship have a crew onboard?"

            "Only a skeleton crew.  Just enough to run the ship," Misaki told

him.

            "Then why aren't they trying to regain control?"

            "There must be something wrong with the engines, otherwise they

probably would've been able to.  We're going to have to destroy that ship. 

There isn't anything else we can do."

            Russ looked back toward the group and smiled.  "I've got this one

covered."

            Everybody turned and watched him stand up, sprint about ten feet

away from the group and leap into the air, a green fireball of ki exploding

around his body.  He rocketed off into the sky being followed by a green

vapor trail, marking his flight path.

 

            Flying at near top speed, the ground below him got incredibly

small, but the falling vessel got quite large really fast.  Stopping himself in

mid-air, he began flying backwards as the ship caught up to him.  Getting

directly in the ship's flight path, he pressed his hands to the hull and began

to try to slow the vessel down.

            "OOOOOWWWWW!" he screamed, quickly withdrawing his

hands and blowing air on his smoking palms.  "That thing is damn HOT!"

Looking back at the ship, he encased his hands in a shield of ki,

and once again placed both his hands on the hull.  Pressing with incredible

strength, he began to slow the ship's fall.  He didn't use all of his force,

since he knew he couldn't stop the ship instantly or everybody inside would

be killed.  It would be like slamming into the ground.

            Gradually applying more and more force, he finally reached a level

of resistance to slow the ship down fast enough to keep from smashing into

the ground, but not kill everybody inside.  It felt like three times earth's

normal gravity inside the ship, and nearly everybody was pressed to the

floor, unable to stand and move around.

 

            "He's crazy!  What is he doing?" Misaki yelled, looking at the red

dot begin to grow larger and larger.  "He couldn't possibly be strong

enough to hold up a ship of that size!"

            "Believe me," Tenchi began.  "He is way more than capable of

doing what he's doing."

            Misaki just shook her head.  "Unreal.  And we could actually SEE

his energy!  I've never seen anything like that before either."

            "My energy is blue, your highness," Azaka said, tapping his staff

on the ground.  "All my energy blasts are blue that I shoot."

            "Mine are all red," Kamidake added, standing next to his friend. 

"But I don't think it really matters what color it is.  I've never seen someone

charge up and fly like that before."

            "He also has a transformation that we haven't seen yet," Washu

said, stepping out of the palace and drawing a bunch of curious stares.  "He

says he's something called a Super Saiyan.  I have yet to know what that

means, but apparently it is some sort of transformation he's capable of."

            "What does it do?  Do you have any idea, Washu?" Misaki

inquired.

            "My only guess is that it makes him stronger, or gives him access

to his maximum power.  He had given me a scouter a few weeks ago, and I

measured everybody with it.  What the scouter does is takes a measurement

of your life energy and gives it a number.  The higher the number, the more

power you have.  However, some are capable of hiding it from scouters or

other energy detectors, like him," Washu explained.

            "What was his number in comparison to one of you?" the empress

asked, genuinely curious.  However, she kept her eye on the growing red

dot in the sky.  It almost started looking like a ship at this time.

            "Ryoko came in at about two thousand, which is really impressive,

even since she didn't have all her gems."  Washu stopped and let that sink

in, letting everybody get a little anxious as she put on her most serious look. 

"Russ came in at over four million, seven hundred thousand.  That was over

two weeks ago, and since then, I think he's gotten much stronger.  And not

only that, that's only his BASE power level.  He has several abilities to

increase it many times above that.  He used some technique called a

Kaioken attack at a multiple of three, and his power rocketed to over twelve

million."

            Misaki stared at her in disbelief.  "That's not possible.  You mean

to tell me that he's…" she paused a moment, working the math out in her

head.  "…Over two thousand, three hundred, fifty times more powerful than

RYOKO?!" Breathing heavily, she tried to let this sink in.

            Having horrid flashbacks of Ryoko's original attack on Jurai and

the massive destruction she caused, led her to believe that the number was a

fluke.  "That number can't be right.  It's just not possible.  Ryoko was the

most destructive force we ever encountered at the time.  Um… no offense,

Ryoko."

            "None taken," the space pirate answered, a slight hint of pride in

her voice.  Pride not because of what she did, but because she was

considered very strong.

            "Believe me, it is very possible.  He's radically powerful, but he

manages to hide it easily," Washu continued.  "When he did the Kaioken at

level 3, I came down with a tremendous headache."

            "So what I felt WAS real," Azaka said, aloud.  "When I shook his

hand on the first day you arrived, I felt it.  It was incredibly powerful."

            "And that was the tip of the iceberg too," Washu told him. 

Looking at the sky, she noticed the vessel still continuing its descent. 

"Look!  The ship is still coming down, but it isn't glowing anymore.  I hope

he's okay.  He's trying to slow the ship down without killing everybody

inside."

 

            "Slow down, you piece of crap!" Russ shouted at the spaceship,

which was no longer glowing red hot.  He since then placed his bare hands

on the hull and continued to apply a tremendous amount of force, and

continually slowed the ship.

            Suddenly realizing that he miscalculated his descent velocity and

how much distance he really needed to stop the ship, he applied more

pressure to the hull.  Not straining or stressing in the least, he watched the

ship carefully, making sure no parts or pieces fell off of it.

            However, several cracks began to form around his hands, and they

began to snake around the outer hull of the ship.

            Russ's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.  "OH CRAP!  Too

much pressure!  Come on, baby.  Hold together for me now!" he

encouraged, continually applying a tremendous amount of force to the

already overstressed hull of the ship, moving his hands to a different

position.  "Just a little more!"

            Now only a mile above the ground, he could see people scurrying

around, trying to clear the way of where the ship would impact the ground. 

However, clearing out enough space for a three hundred, seventy-four meter

long ship would take time, and unfortunately, it was something that the

people didn't have.  Some just stopped in the middle of the street and

watched the spectacle, not afraid in the least, or realizing that they may as

well see their death coming.

            The ship began to shudder and shake violently, as it now was

trying to fall to one side or the other, since its center of balance was thrown

off by its very slow descent factor.

 

            Finally only about fifty feet above the ground, he finally got the

ship to stop in mid-air, just above the palace steps, where everybody

continued to watch with awestruck eyes.  The massive warship just hovered

there, as if it were in operation.  It began to tip and fall away from the

palace, and everybody could see Russ dart away from the front of the ship

to directly under it, and he caught it easily, quickly finding the center of

balance.  Fortunately, the wood was extremely strong, so it didn't buckle

around the single pressure point generated by the saiyan.

            Casually holding the ship over his head, he lowered himself and

the warship to about ten feet above the ground and slowly began to fly off

to the landing pad that was occupied by his Tie Defender.  Everybody

quickly leapt up from his or her sitting positions and ran to the waiting pad,

keeping pace with Russ.

            A few short moments later, he hovered over the pad, and he

descended to the ground.  The concrete around his feet from his point of

impact shattered, unable to withstand such a tremendous amount of weight

in such a small area.  Russ looked down at the two holes and the hundreds

of cracks that appeared, and he shook his head.

            "Aw man, I forgot about that.  Oh well."  Leaning back a little, he

swung forward and threw the ship some ten feet away from him, where it

hit the ground with a thunderous crash.

            Finally able to get a closer look at the ship, Russ could see the

damage that was done and why it couldn't fly.  The shuttle in space had

crashed directly outside of an engine exhaust port, where most of the thrust

to keep the vessel aloft was generated.  It had collapsed in on itself and then

exploded, taking the engine with it, and unfortunately, even though the ship

had two engines, it could not stay in orbit with just one.  Not only that, but

the power plant for the ship was in that general vicinity, and when the

engine detonated, it knocked out the power plant.  The wood around the

damaged site was still smoldering, and it looked like a complete wreck. 

Russ figured that it would probably be docked and in repair for quite a

while.

            Everybody ran up the steps to the landing pad and got a look at the

damaged ship, and at Russ.  Misaki continued to stare at him in disbelief, as

Russ hadn't even broken a sweat, and he didn't even look like he had

worked himself at all.

            "You saved the ship and everybody in this general vicinity, Russ,"

Misaki said, approaching him slowly.  "You have my humble thanks and

appreciation.  That was incredible though.  How did you become so

powerful?"

            Russ blushed.  "I'm not that strong.  I'm sure Azaka or Kamidake

would not have had a problem holding up a ship of this size.  The legend

had said that they had the power to destroy stars.  Isn't that correct?"

Azaka smirked.  "That legend was greatly exaggerated.  We're

strong enough to destroy a small fleet of ships of this size, but not much

more than that."

            "So Russ, what is this thing I hear about you being called a Super

Saiyan?  I've heard that was a legend too," Misaki pried, standing in front

of him.  She looked into his black eyes and tried to see if he'd lie to her.

            "Been talking to Washu, I see," he responded, looking over at the

red haired super genius, who chuckled and waved her hand, giving her best

sadistic smile.  "It's simply a transformation that allows me to use my full

power.  I almost never transform since I don't need to."

            "Could you transform so I can see?  I'm sure everybody else would

like to see it," Misaki pleaded.

            Russ smiled and shook his head.  "I'm sorry, but it takes a huge

amount of energy just to transform.  I also don't like transforming all that

much.  I hate showing it off," he frowned.

            "Aw, come on.  Please?"

            "No."

            Misaki frowned again and stood up straight.  "If you don't show it

to me, I won't have my cooks feed you.  How's that for incentive?"

            Russ just grinned.  "Not good enough, I'm afraid."

            Everybody facefaulted, knowing how much Russ could really eat

when he was hungry.  Misaki just became more determined.

            "Okay, if that isn't good enough, how about this.  I won't permit

you to date or court Aeka in any way, shape, or form, so long as you live,"

she decreed, thinking that she had him on the ropes.  Azaka, Kamidake,

Ryoko, and Tenchi all broke out in sweat drops, as they knew that this was

probably a huge mistake.

            Russ frowned at Misaki.  He stared directly into her amethyst eyes,

trying to determine her serenity and her confidence.  He decided to call her

bluff.  But, if it wasn't a bluff, then it was what he was hoping for in the

first place.  Even though Aeka was undoubtedly the perfect match for him,

at least as far as he could see, he could not bring himself to say yes.

            "I'm sorry.  I will not transform, no matter how you threaten me.  I

do not respond well to any kind of threat, whether it is against my life or

something of a lesser cause."

            Misaki's eyes widened, and she stared at him in disbelief. 

            "What?" she asked, still unable to comprehend what he just said.

            "I said no," he answered, putting on his poker face and giving her

an emotionless gaze.

            "You'd give up Aeka over simply transforming yourself into a

Super Saiyan?"

            Russ nodded.

            Aeka looked at him in shock, and nearly fainted.  She began to

tremble slightly, squeezing her hands into fists.  She gazed hard into Russ's

face, which was still turned toward her mother, who had the same exact

expression on her face as Aeka did.  She let out a quiet sob, then stopped

herself, and continually repeated the same question to herself over and over

again.

            "Why?  I don't understand!  Why?" Misaki nearly yelled, letting

her temper flare slightly.

            "Because I don't want to.  Because it's better this way.  Because I

don't want to see anybody hurt as a result of my actions.  Because a

relationship is too soon.  Do I need to keep going?" Russ asked, standing

tall, not faltering to any kind of persuasion.

            "But…" Misaki began.

            "No.  I'm sorry."  Russ looked at everybody's saddened faces and

they just looked on him with pity and sorrow.  "I'm sorry to have invaded

your lives and give you this kind of grief.  I never wanted or expected this

kind of thing.  When we get back home, I'll move out and find some other

place to live.  I'll manage somehow.  You guys would probably do better

without me around."

            Sasami's eyes went wide, and she began crying.  Running over to

him as fast as she could, she threw her little arms around Russ's waist and

buried her face in his shirt.  "Please don't go!  I'd be so sad if you did! 

You've been such a great friend to me and I don't want to see you go!"

            Russ looked down at the little princess with surprise, and he looked

up at the rest of the group once more, taking in each of their expressions. 

            "Please, Russ.  Please stay with us.  Everybody has been so much

happier since you've been around.  You're such a nice man to talk to!"

Sasami continued, hugging him tightly.  She continued to sob quietly into

his clothes, until she felt a hand come down on top of her head, ever so

gently.  Looking up into Russ's face, she became hopeful, and her eyes

sparkled, despite the streaming tears.

            Carefully, Russ removed Sasami's arms from around his waist, and

he knelt down, looking up into her face.  "Do you really want me to stay?"

            "I do!  Yes I do!" Sasami yelled, desperation in her voice.

            "I do too," Aeka added.  "Please."

            "Me three," Ryoko demanded.  "And if you leave, I'll find you and

kick your ass," she added.  "And I owe you for moving in, as well."

            "I think I speak for everybody here when I say that we want you to

stay with us," Tenchi said, stepping up to Russ.  "We will stop pressuring

you about Aeka.  Will that be fair enough?"

            The Saiyan looked at him with surprise, and he nodded his head. 

"You got yourself a deal."

            Again, Sasami grabbed Russ around the neck in a warm hug,

eliciting a chorus of "Aww" from everybody.  But there were way too many

voices to be just Russ and the group.

            Suddenly noticing a massive crowd of people around the platform

and several dozen other people who stood near the warship, Russ's face

turned blue and he fainted dead away.

            Aeka couldn't help but laugh, and she felt happy and contented,

and very satisfied that Russ would remain with them.  However, she felt an

incredible sadness, since she now could see that he had no interest in any

kind of everlasting love for her.  He was set in his ways, and it was almost

too much to bear.  But, there was always the possibility of him changing his

mind, and that was enough to give her hope.  However, she kept her false

smile on her visage as the crowd of people swarmed around everybody,

congratulating Russ on a job well done.

 

            Back in the Royal Training Room, several hours after the incident

with the Jurian Warship, Russ continued his exercises in solitude.  Straining

under intense gravity, he performed a rigorous routine of sit-ups,

handsprings, and other various aerobic exercises.  The floor could barely

handle the amount of weight pressing down on it, and it continually cracked

and creaked under him.

            Finally finishing his routine exercises, he began to spar by himself,

punching and kicking into the empty space.  The sounds created by him

echoed around the room, making a considerable amount of extra noise, but

it didn't bother him all that much.  His stereo system sat nearby, kicking the

soundtrack of the Saber Marionette series that Tom had given him earlier. 

He continued to punch into the air at a rate of speed that couldn't be seen by

a normal human, and then he changed over to kicking.

            After becoming bored with doing this for a while, he began to fly

around the room, sparring against an imaginary foe, as he zanzokened

across the room and back again, within the blink of an eye.  Several

afterimages marked Russ's place as he appeared and vanished again, but

they faded into oblivion after a moment.

            Salty perspiration continually ran off of his body as a result of

pushing himself to his limits.  Continually changing styles of fighting,

techniques, and other ways of fighting, he finally landed on the floor in the

middle of the mat, and then fell over from exhaustion.

            He lay there for several minutes, breathing heavily and feeling the

cold mat on his stressed body.  Rolling onto his back, he stared at the

extremely high ceiling and relaxed, listening to the last third of Soshite

Itoshiki Omoi from Saber Marionette J.

            "You are as strong as Washu says, aren't you?" a voice asked from

out of nowhere.

            Russ turned his head to the source of the voice and smiled slightly,

noting the empress who stood some ten feet away.  He nodded an

acknowledgement.

            "But there was something that you had said yesterday that caught

me off guard.  You can't form an energy weapon like a sword, can you?"

Russ struggled to sit up, and with great effort, he managed to prop

himself up to face Misaki.  Reaching over to his stereo, he turned it off. 

            "That's correct.  I've tried, but it blows up in my face whenever I do it."

            Misaki chuckled.  "You're just trying to squeeze a ball and hope it

forms into a weapon, right?"

            Wearily, Russ nodded again.  "Yeah.  Is there some sort of other

trick to it?"

            "Yeah.  You have to focus your ki into the weapon.  Just squeezing

an energy ball will always blow up.  Here.  Watch me," she said, moving

over to the training mat.

            She stood about eight feet away from him, and she focused a little

of her power into the palm of her hand, where a ball of blue energy began to

glow.  She squeezed, and a sword about four feet long appeared, humming

quietly with radiant energy.

            Russ smiled.  "Reminds me of a lightsaber out of Starwars," he

said.

            Misaki looked at him in confusion.  "What's Starwars?"

            Russ's eyes bulged and he fell over.  However, he then

remembered that he wasn't talking to an earthling.  "Starwars is a movie

series back on Earth.  It's a science fiction film, but it's wildly entertaining. 

That massive ship in orbit is based off of the Star Destroyer you see in that

movie series."

            "I see.  And this was a weapon in it?"

            "Sort of.  The blade was made from energy, but the hilt was a

physical item."

            Misaki nodded.  "We also have our keys that act as a hilt, but some

of us can form a blade without it."  She then began exercising with her

sword, casually performing the swordplay routine that Yosho had taught

Tenchi so many times before.  The shimmering weapon hummed through

the air and around her body in a beautiful and very precise flow of motion, a

result of thousands of years of practice.  She finished and extinguished her

weapon.

            "Now, do you understand what I did?"

            Russ shook his head.  "Could you form the sword once more?"

"Sure."

            Again, the blue ball appeared in her hand, and when she squeezed,

it formed into the blade once more.  However, this time, Russ felt a change

in her energy, which he didn't see or feel before.  But now he had a pretty

good idea of how it worked.

            "My turn," he said, dragging himself to his feet, still under a huge

amount of gravity.  Forming a small green ball of energy in his hand, he

squeezed it, and then placed the new power he felt from Misaki into it.  The

ball flashed and then formed into a very crooked weapon, but it didn't

explode.

            Misaki chuckled to herself as Russ concentrated very hard, doing

his very best to keep the blade in existence.  He held it there for a few

seconds, and then he released his hand, which extinguished the abomination

that could only loosely be called a sword.

            "Very good!  Try it again, but this time, focus it into a straight line. 

Remember, with an energy blade, the sword can cut from any angle, unlike

traditional weapons which are either one or two faced."

            "Yes ma'am," Russ responded, once again allowing his energy to

flow into the palm of his hand.  Once again he squeezed, applying his

newfound technique to his energy, and it formed into a perfectly straight

blade, about five feet in length.  It hummed quietly, and Russ smiled in

satisfaction.

            "Swing it around a few times to get the feel of it," Misaki

suggested.

            Russ slowly brought the sword up and swung it down, and to his

surprise, it had a little weight to it.  Swinging it in a wide arc in front of

him, he brought it back down in a diagonal slash, then across his front once

more with a horizontal slash, returning the sword to his right side.

            "This is quite amazing and easy too.  I'm surprised this thing has

some weight to it.  I thought it wouldn't have any resistance at all."

            "If it didn't have any resistance, it would be harder to control. 

Once you master it a bit more, you'll probably learn how to remove the

weight factor from it, or add more," the empress told him, smiling.

            Russ released his hand, allowing the sword to vanish into

nothingness.  Feeling emboldened a bit, he formed another ball of energy

into his palm, this time coloring it blue.  He held his hand out in front of

him, and squeezed.  This time, the ball flashed and produced two blades,

each about three feet in length - A perfect staff.  It hummed quietly and the

glow from the blue blade changed the color of Russ's clothes slightly. 

Misaki smiled and nodded her head.

            "Excellent.  You're a quick study."

            Russ grinned and released the staff, which vanished.  "Thank you. 

I appreciate you showing me how to do that little trick.  It'll be most helpful

in my battle against Zorpheus."

            Misaki smiled and nodded her head.  "You're welcome.  Now, it's

your turn to teach me something."

            Russ looked at her in confusion.  "Teach what?"

            Misaki grinned.  "Did you forget what you told me two days ago?"

Thinking back to the day before yesterday, he quickly ran through

the events in his mind and all the confrontations with Misaki.  Still coming

up blank, he looked at her meekly.  "I'm sorry, but I've got a bad memory. 

What was it that I promised to show you?"

            "That dance you did with Tom."

            Russ's eyes went wide for an instant, and then he smiled.  "I did

promise that, didn't I?  I had forgotten.  I'm sorry about that.  Well, sure. 

Let's get to work.  The song that was played was November, by a group

called Mythos.  I'll see about getting you a copy of the song."

            "No need.  I already have it," she said, smiling.

            Russ nodded.  "Okay then, lets get started."

 

            Finally, after another long day of play, the sky finally began to

darken once more, signaling the drawing close of the Startica Festival. 

Everybody was happy and contented, and had greatly enjoyed themselves

over the last couple of days.  There were no major catastrophes aside from

the one Russ averted, so the GP had it easy this year.  They were in the

process of patrolling around the planet, checking to make sure all the ships

that were departing could get out of their confined spaces.  Fortunately, all

the vessels that parked around the Gray Wolf had departed, so it would be

easy for Tom and company to leave the planet.

            Back inside the palace throne room, Asuza sat with both his wives,

flanked on either side by Azaka and Kamidake, awaiting the last and final

arrival from the group who had spent their vacation on Jurai.  He was

scowling, and had other ideas for both his daughters.  However, he kept it to

himself, and didn't let either of his wives know about it.  It was high time

Aeka grasped the duty of being the Crown Princess of Jurai, rather than

living with the lowly commoners on a backwater planet such as Earth.  He

didn't bother dealing with Yosho, since he had made up his mind a long

time ago, and he knew that Yosho would stick to it.  He was too old to be

talked to.

            He still recalled the day Yosho left Jurai to hunt the Space Pirate

Ryoko.  After immense destruction and terror struck into the hearts of the

Jurai people, Yosho took it upon himself to leave the planet and chase

Ryoko until he either captured or killed her.  And for some reason, Asuza

knew that he wouldn't return when he departed.  Nothing was ever said

about it, but it was a gut feeling, and he left it at that.  Funaho was really

depressed after he left, but she did a remarkable job of hiding it and

continuing on with her life.  Aeka should take her as an example and buckle

down, and accept her duty as the Princess of Jurai.  He'd make sure of that

this time.

            The King of Jurai lost his train of thought when the throne room

doors swung open, revealing the entire group of Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka,

Sasami, Washu, Kiyone, Mihoshi, the log Azaka and Kamidake, Ryo-Ohki,

Nobuyuki, Yosho, and lastly, Russ.  They all made their way down the

long, red carpet, and their footsteps echoed around the massive room until

they came to a stop in front of the King.

            "We're ready to head back home now, Father," Aeka said, bowing

her head.  "I hope you and mother will be well once we're gone.  We had a

very nice visit, and we'd like to come back next year."

            "Aeka!" he began, in his commanding tone.  "I want you to remain

here.  You've been shirking your duties as the Jurian Princess for long

enough!  Just how much longer do you plan on ignoring your obligation?"

            "I am not ready to be the princess.  I do not want to be the

princess!  I've enjoyed my life back on Earth, and if I could, I'd live that

life forever!" she shot back, glaring hard at her father.

            "Enough!  The finance I have chosen for you is still here, waiting

for you," he said, gesturing to a set of curtains.

            Everybody turned to stare in the direction the king pointed to, and

when the curtains pulled back, Aeka shuddered, and everybody else just

stared in amazement.

            That pink haired retard stepped out from behind the curtain, his fan

in his right hand, and that insufferable laugh of his rang in her ears.

"I take it you remember who I am, Princess?  I must say that you

look stunning this evening."

            "Serio!  I thought Tenchi vanquished you!  How can you be

alive?!" Aeka demanded.

            Serio smirked.  "That boy could never have defeated me, if it

weren't for that tidal wave knocking me off of that platform.  But now I

have another chance, since Tenchi is now occupied with… someone else,"

he said, glaring at the two.

            "How dare you!" Aeka shouted.

            Again, he laughed arrogantly.  "Do you really want to go back to

that hellhole, instead of remaining here with me?  I've got so many ships to

offer Jurai, and I can offer you, my darling, even more."

            Aeka's eyes went wide and she shuddered violently.  "You will do

no such thing!  My heart is with someone else entirely, even though he

hasn't returned it yet."

            Russ's face immediately went several shades of crimson, and he

swallowed a growing lump in his throat, loudly.

            Asuza arose from his chair and glared down at his disobedient

daughter.  "The challenge will remain the same.  You can have your wish,

if, and ONLY if, that barbarian can defeat Serio in a duel!"

            Letting out a breath, she smiled, but a cold, evil, heartless smile.  "I

don't think that will be a problem this time, Father."

            Aeka turned around and made her way over to Russ, who looked at

her curiously.  She stopped in front of him, grasped his hand, and looked

into his eyes, while her own eyes begged, pleaded, for him to help her.  Her

face looked desperate, and he knew what she wanted.

            "I take it you want me to fight him, Aeka?" Russ asked, looking

into her saddened face.

            "Please.  This is the only way I can remain with Tenchi, you, and

his family.  I don't want to be anywhere else.  I know you do not want to

return any kind of love, at least, not yet, but… please help me," she said,

unable to say those three little words.  "And you did promise me that you'd

help me."

            Funaho and Misaki both looked at each other, and then nodded

their heads.  "If Russ defeats Serio, then you may go home with them."

            Serio laughed again.  "That is what I have to fight this time?  He

looks even more of a pushover than Tenchi was.  At least Tenchi has a

higher level of energy than he does."

            Russ's fists clenched as he fought to keep his power level from

going up, as he was trying to keep it that of a normal human.  Looking back

down at Aeka, he nodded his head.

            "Okay.  I'll fight him, since it is your ticket home," Russ said, and

then smiled.

            "Humph.  This is going to be quite easy.  He hardly has any power

to speak of," Serio said, stepping off of the platform and onto the floor,

standing about fifteen feet away from Russ, directly in front of the King. 

Everybody else quickly stepped off to the side, giving them plenty of room.

            Serio looked into Russ's eyes and offered him the same offer he

made Tenchi.  "Do you wish to concede?  That would be a wise decision,

even for a stupid idiot like you," he laughed.  "But if you fight, I'll make it

easy on you.  I won't use my maximum power.  But you're most likely to

be killed anyway."

            Russ smirked, as he used his senses to judge his opponents power

level.  Keeping his poker face on, he didn't give away what he thought.

            "You may begin when ready," Russ invited, not taking up any

stance at all.

            "You're dumber than you look," Serio insulted once more. 

"Prepare yourself."

            Russ just stared at him, waiting for him to make a move.  He

waited for nearly a minute, and he finally lost his patience.  He began

tapping his foot impatiently, and then he placed his hands on his hips.  As if

to prove his point further, he forced a yawn and then folded his arms over

his chest.

            "This is rather boring," Russ muttered, looking at Serio's pink hair. 

"Why haven't you made a move?  And where in the world did you come up

with that cotton candy hairdo anyway?"

            Serio looked at him in horror.  "What!?  Don't you dare insult me,

you ignoramus."  He clenched his fists and began to power up.  His body

began to glow red, but there was nothing much more than that.  After nearly

a minute, he finished, and a brilliant orange sword came into existence in

his right hand.  Looking at Russ, he smirked.

            "Afraid of what you see?"

            Russ shook his head.  "No.  But I've got a deal for you.  If I can

power up higher than you, will you concede and walk away?"

            Serio looked at him in surprise, and then started laughing.  "You

power up more than me?  You've lost your mind."

            Russ continued to give him the poker face.  "Well?  Do you

agree?"

            Serio extinguished his sword and waved his hand carelessly. 

"Sure.  But I know I have this match won already.  I'm not even at my full

power."

            "Then power up to your maximum.  Let's see what you're made

of."

            Serio glared at him, then did as he was told.  Again, red energy

outlined his body as he continued to raise his ki higher and higher. 

Everybody could hear him grunt and strain, as the glow became more

intense.  A light breeze came from him, and a very slight shaking of the

room could be felt.  Everybody who could sense a power level was

watching Serio, curious as to how high he could go.

            It took him nearly three minutes, but when he was done, the glow

around his body was enough to change the lighting of the room to a reddish

color, and a strong breeze came from him.  The king grinned triumphantly,

figuring that he had won.  But of course, Russ had yet to show anything of

his own.

            "Ahhh, lets see if you can match this," Serio challenged.

Russ looked at him and judged his power.  "Impressive.  I'd say

you're at about four thousand.  Not too shabby."

            Serio glared at him.  "Power up, you moron.  Lets see if you can

put up or shut up."

            Russ shook his head.  "I can't even compliment you without you

taking offense to it.  Sheesh."

            "Stuff it, already.  Power up and quit stalling," the king demanded.

Russ glared at him, and clenched his fist.  "I hope this building can

withstand a heavy earthquake," he said, spreading his feet.

            Asuza looked at him curiously, but maintained his glare.  Misaki

and Funaho looked at each other worriedly, and slowly began to back up.

            "You wanted to see me power up.  Don't run away now, your

highness," Russ called, noticing Misaki continuing to back off.  She

regarded him with a look of surprise, but she sat down on her throne, next to

her husband.  "Azaka, Kamidake?  Shield them as best you can."

            The two knights looked at each other, their foreheads beading in

perspiration.  Now they'd see what they were originally up against in that

training room, and they'd see how much he was really holding back.

            Taking in a breath through his teeth and letting it out in a primal

howl, Russ began to prep himself for a massive power surge.  Tensing every

muscle in his body, and taking in another deep breath, his voice continued

to echo around the hall, and everybody watched him.  Aeka had a slight grin

on her face, knowing what he was about to do, and how he was going to

blow the socks off her father and that arrogant fop, Serio.

            A huge, green fireball exploded around Russ's body, enshrouding

him in flames, and blowing every single bystander off of their feet.  The

wind from his energy was enough to knock paintings off of walls and cause

everyone to shield his or her face from the hurricane of dirt and other

objects that began flying around the room.  The floor under Russ cracked

and shattered, causing several chunks of the marble tile to hover in the air

and break apart, swirling and mixing in with the other debris.  He looked

exactly like Vegeta did when the prince powered up to fight Recoome.

            Then, the earthquake began.  It started only slightly at first, but it

continued to intensify, until the floor shook with such ferocity that nobody

could keep his or her footing.  But Russ didn't stop, despite hearing several

people scream in panic.  He continued to grunt and strain, pushing his

energy level to its maximum.

            The king watched Russ through his arms, wondering what kind of

freakish person he really was, being able to generate this astronomical

amount of power.  It was unbelievable.  Never, ever, had he expected any

one individual to generate enough power to surpass himself, let alone the

entire Jurai fleet combined.  This man made his own energy seem

insignificant, and he was the most powerful man on Jurai.

            The king knew he was the most powerful being on the planet. 

Azaka and Kamidake both knew it too.  He didn't need any kind of

protection, because nobody was powerful enough to challenge him. 

However, this man shattered every single expectation that they ever had. 

And he wasn't even warmed up yet.

            Misaki kept her face shielded, and she finally had her question

answered.  He was overwhelmingly powerful.  He went way beyond her

expectations, and now she knew why he kept it hidden.  It was frightening

to be in the presence of such energy.  He kept it low to be treated normally,

but he could call on his power whenever he needed it, like now.

            Azaka and Kamidake did their very best to shield the king and

queens, but even they could barely stand up against a force as intense as

this.  Their forcefield continued to fizzle, and they were able to block only

less than half of the junk flying around the room.  They both grunted and

strained, and as they could sense his energy keep rising, they began to

wonder when he'd stop.

            After only thirty seconds of powering up, Russ shifted himself into

high gear, and doubled his rate of energizing himself, causing a massive

shockwave which peeled away more of the floor and began to bring the

palace down around him.  Bits of the ceiling began to break apart, the flying

debris had destroyed the finish of the wood pillars, and the walls were being

pelted with the marble chips that continued to swirl around Russ.

            The roar of his energy was deafening, and they could barely hear

themselves scream.  However, they could hear Russ perfectly clear, as he

yelled at the top of his voice, straining to take his ki to new heights.

            Moments later, which felt like hours to the bystanders, the shaking

subsided, the wind died down, but all the debris remained floating in mid-

air.  The roar of energy was still present, albeit much more quiet, and

everybody was finally able to uncover his or her faces.

            The entire throne room was blanketed in an eerie green glow,

generated by the man who stood directly in the middle of it, his energy still

burning brightly around him.  Marble and wood chunks still floated lazily

around Russ, held up by some unseen force.

            His face was frightening.  His hair was swirling around and

standing up, his clothes flapped in the wind of his energy, and his face

spoke words that didn't need to be said.  Everybody just sat and stared,

except for Aeka.

            The palace doors swung open and the throne room became flooded

with Jurian guards, who immediately stopped and stared at the spectacle in

the middle of the place.  They had their weapons at the ready, but they knew

just by looking at him that they didn't stand a chance, but they were willing

to die for the king anyway, to protect him and to serve him.

            Carefully, slowly, Aeka made her way around the debris, and

slowly approached Russ, who turned his head toward her, and nodded

casually, a slight grin presenting itself.  He nodded his head forward,

indicating to her to have a look at something.

            Turning to what he found so interesting, she couldn't help but

smile.  Serio was planted into the stairs leading up to Asuza's throne.  His

body made a perfect imprint of himself in the steps, and they could see him

lying there, his eyes looking like corkscrews as he moaned

incomprehensible phrases.

            "Looks like I win," Russ said, letting out a deep breath and

allowing himself to relax.  His green ki vanished and all the debris fell to

the ground with a loud clatter, sounding like a heavy rain for about two

seconds.

            Slowly, everybody returned to his or her feet, but everybody

continued to stare at the Saiyan in absolute astonishment.  King Asuza

looked at him in complete horror, and for the first time in his life, his face

expressed fear.  He looked at the Saiyan as if he were a god, and not some

lowly commoner anymore.  He realized that he made some major mistakes

with him.  It was good for his sake that Russ had fair control over his

temperament or he could've been killed easily, and nobody could've

stopped him.  Not even Tsunami or the lighthawk wings.

            Misaki and Funaho both looked at him in amazement, and they

were unable to think of anything to say.  They could sense his energy level

and they almost couldn't believe that it was real.  It was scary being in the

presence of such power.

            "I think that I should have you know, that what I just did was only

my base power level.  That means I wasn't using any energy enhancements. 

To be perfectly clear, I can go much higher than what you just felt," he said

coolly, staring into the Emperor's eyes.  "And I'm stronger than I was two

weeks ago, when I first met the family."

            "That's impossible," he whispered.  "He's just too impossible."

            Russ heard him.  "I assure you, it is very possible.  I can destroy

this planet and the ENTIRE solar system with the power I possess.  But I'm

not going to do that," Russ told him, continuing to glare into Asuza's eyes. 

"I think it's time I give you a little advice, and you better listen to it.  Never

judge a book by its cover.  You misjudged me, big time, and it came to bite

you in the rear, in the end.  Look at this room."  Russ waved his arm around

the place, which was utterly destroyed.  The floor was cratered around

Russ's feet, which completely ruined the marble flooring.  The walls were

trashed, and every single painting and ornamental item that had been on

those walls was obliterated.  The wooden pillars were nearly destroyed, and

some of them looked like Swiss cheese, as a result of the flying debris

passing right through the wood like putty.  The ceiling had massive chunks

fall out of it, leaving gaping holes throughout it.  All the remaining pieces

of debris were scattered throughout the room.

            The king looked at his once beautiful room and shuddered.  He'd

have to condemn the room until it was repaired, but that was insignificant in

comparison to what could've been done.  Looking back into Russ's eyes, he

couldn't find any emotion left in them, and it scared the daylights out of

him.

            "This room was destroyed simply by me powering up.  What do

you think would've happened if I focused an attack on you?  To put it

simply, you would've been annihilated.  Oh, and one other bit of advice. 

Show more respect to those who are your subjects.  You were extremely

disrespectful to me when we first met.  I wanted to kick your butt since the

day I met you because you're arrogant, insulting, and in my opinion, a

person who is unworthy of remaining the King of Jurai."

            Again, the king looked at him with a mixture of surprise and

horror.  "How dare…"

            "Shut up," Russ interrupted him.  "This is exactly what I'm talking

about.  You need a serious attitude adjustment.  You could take quite an

example from both of your wives, since they are far more respectful than

you will probably ever be."

            Funaho and Misaki looked at him in surprise and they both

realized that he was probably right.  They'd have to console the king and

find a way to make him more respectable, and a nicer man.  Perhaps if he

were in the presence of Russ more often...

            "I'm sorry about destroying the room," Russ stated flatly.  "I hope

you get it fixed up sooner or later.  But anyway, it's time for us to leave.  I

appreciate all the hospitality that you extended to everybody and myself." 

Russ gave a slight bow, and stood up straight, relaxing himself and allowing

his power level to fall to that of a normal human once more.

Everybody else dusted their clothes off and stood next to the

saiyan, and also bowed.

            "I'll see you next year, Mother and Father," Aeka said, standing

next to Russ, bowing her head.  "I hope you will be well this coming year."

Misaki and Funaho both made their way down to the floor, being

careful to sidestep Serio, who was still out cold.  They made their way over

to the group and they began to say their goodbyes, exchanging hugs and

kisses to everybody.

            Carefully, stealthily, Russ slipped out of the throne room, being

careful to shut the door behind him.  However, someone did notice him.

            "Aren't you going to say goodbye, Russ?"

            Stopping in his tracks, he slowly turned and faced Misaki, who

frowned at him.  "I'm sorry, but I've never been good at goodbyes," he

answered.

            "Now is as good as time as any to start."  Slowly moving over to

Russ, she placed her arms around him and gave him a warm, caring

squeeze.  "It was nice meeting you, Russ.  I hope you come back next year."

            Russ stood flabbergasted and he scratched the back of his head, but

smiled warmly.  "Thank you for having me.  It was nice meeting you."

            "You were right about your power," she said, drawing a curious

look from Russ.  "You ARE godlike with that kind of energy.  I don't know

how you hide it, but I'm glad you're using it to protect Aeka and her

family."

            "That's what I'm here for."

            Misaki smiled.  "Take care of Aeka, Russ.  I'll be counting on it."

Russ blushed, but nodded his head.  "Yes, your highness.  I shall

do my best."

            Misaki hugged Russ once more, giving him a gentle squeeze. 

However, the sound of another pair of footsteps stomping on the ground

became present a second later.

            "What are you doing, Mother?!?!"

            Turning around, the Empress smiled.  "No need to get jealous!" 

She released Russ and grabbed her daughter in a hug.  "I was just saying

goodbye."

            Russ became several shades of red and had a huge sweat drop on

his head.  Aeka looked surprised, and then she relaxed, shaking her head.

            "Well, it's time to go," Russ said, noting everybody else exiting

the condemned throne room.  They all made their way over to Russ, and the

entire entourage made their way out of the palace to the landing pad, where

an assault transport was already waiting for them.  Tom stepped out onto

the ramp and waved his hand.

            "Well, did everybody have a good time?" he asked, as Russ

approached.

            "Sure did.  Are we ready to get underway?"

            "Yeah.  All your bags and belongings have been loaded already, so

we're set to go.  And Russ," he said, lowering his voice to a whisper. 

"What did you do?  I've heard a lot of bystanders talking about an

earthquake.  Did you power up or something?"

            Russ gave him a grin that told him exactly what he needed to

know.  Tom grinned in amusement.

            "Well, everybody, hop onboard and we'll get ourselves out of

here," Russ said, gesturing to the ramp way, and everybody made their way

into the hold of the ship.  Misaki and Funaho both remained at the edge of

the landing pad, waving their hands and having tears in their eyes.

            "Bye everyone!" Misaki yelled as the door sealed itself.

            Russ turned and waved one last time, as he climbed into his fighter

and started it up.  Sealing the hatch behind him, he sat in the leather seat

and sighed deeply.

            The roar of the ATR became extremely loud as a lot of dust and

dirt came out from under it, and it slowly lifted itself off into the air.  Russ's

Tie Defender lifted off as well, the landing gear retracting back into the

body of the fighter, and he moved forward, flying over the heads of both the

empresses, and then swinging around to follow the ATR, which had already

begun its accent.

            Remaining on the pad, the mother of Aeka and Sasami, and the

mother of Yosho both continued to wave, until both ships vanished from

sight.  They looked at each other and smiled.

            "We're going to have to go visit them sometime soon, since they

came to visit us," Funaho said, wiping away a tear.

            "I think that's a great idea.  But, how will we get there?  It would

require almost a month of vacation time to go."

            Funaho thought a moment, then nodded her head.  "I think it would

be worth it, don't you?"

            "Yes.  Yes indeed," Misaki responded, clasping her hands

together.

            Turning back toward the palace, both the empresses of Jurai made

their way to the air traffic control room, and they sat down at one of the

available terminals, drawing a bunch of curious and worried looks from the

various staff members.  It wasn't often that they had the opportunity to even

see the rulers of the planet, let alone be in the same room with them.  They

watched them punch a few keys, and they brought up an image of the Star

Destroyer in orbit.  They zoomed in on it, and they watched both the ATR

and Russ's fighter both enter the hanger bay of the massive warship.

            "That thing is huge, sis.  This is the first time I've seen it," Misaki

whispered.

            "Me too.  What kind of ship is that?"

            Thinking a moment, her eyes lit up.  "Russ had said that the ship

was based off of a movie called Starwars, back on Earth.  I think it's called

a Star Destroyer."

            Again, several other staff members chuckled, thinking that was a

ridiculous name for a ship class.

            "We're going to have to find a copy of that movie and see it for

ourselves," Funaho declared.  But she silenced herself when the massive

warship began to turn and move away from the planet.  "Well, it looks like

they're getting underway."

            They both watched the huge ISD move a little distance away from

the planet, which happened to be the end of the planetary system, and it

stopped in place for a few moments.  Several GP vessels began to approach

the ship, thinking that something had gone wrong.  However, a moment

later, a bright flash from its engines and a streak of light later, the ship raced

out of the star system in less than a second, and then it vanished from sight

as it entered hyperspace.

            Both Misaki and Funaho looked at their screen, which was trying

to track the ship, but it was gone.

            "That thing must be going so fast that our sensors can't detect it,"

Misaki said, punching a few more keys on the console.

            "They did say that it can get from here to Earth in about twelve

hours.  I'd say that's moving pretty darn fast.  I don't even think the

checkpoint even realized that a ship had flown right through it with them

moving at that rate of speed."

            Misaki nodded.  "Well, lets go back to the throne room.  We

should help with the cleanup."

            "Right as always.  We've got our work cut out for us this time."

Both empresses laughed as they left the terminal and made their

way back to the great hall.

 

            Onboard the Star Destroyer, the first thing Russ did was head off

to his quarters and went to sleep, even before he fell over and hit the bed. 

Aeka and Sasami watched him crash-land onto the mattress, and they both

giggled.

            "He completely wears himself out every single day.  I don't know

how he handles himself like that," Aeka whispered.

            "I know.  He's so strong though."

Aeka nodded, undressing herself, preparing to get into her

nightgown.  "But, he does have the right idea.  We may as well go to sleep

and be rested for when we get back home.  There isn't a whole lot to do

onboard a starship."

            "There are plenty of things to do on this ship though.  But I am

tired.  We'll probably still have a few hours to do stuff when we wake up,

since I doubt we could sleep twelve hours."

            "I know Russ can," Aeka giggled.

            Sasami smiled.  "I can always order a can of whipped cream from

the replicator," she cackled evilly.

            "Sasami!  You promised that you wouldn't pull any pranks on each

other during this trip, and I expect you to hold to it."  Aeka glared down at

her sister, as she wrapped her gown over her slender body and tightened the

obi.  "Besides, if you do, he'll probably go berserk, and I won't stop him

either," she added.

            Sasami looked worried for a moment, but she nodded her head. 

            "Yeah, you're probably right.  I'd probably wake up on the hull of the ship

or something, knowing what kind of pranks he likes to play."

            Both Aeka and Sasami tossed back the covers to their futons, and

they both lay down, pulling the comforter up to their necks.  They both let

out a yawn at the exact same time and stretched themselves, allowing their

bodies to relax for a nice and restful slumber.

            "Aeka?"

            "Yes?"

            "Are you… still upset over what father tried to do today?" Sasami

asked, worried for her sister.

            Aeka looked at the gray ceiling and sighed, closing her eyes slowly

and re-opening them.  "I just don't understand why father feels he must

interfere in these things.  All he ever manages to do is make me upset, and

make everybody else around him upset too."

            Sasami rolled over onto her side, so she could see her sister. 

            "Well, you know what mom thinks, right?"

            Aeka shook her head.  "No.  Actually I'm not sure what she thinks

about the whole thing.  I know she got upset with father, but he continually

tried to prove a point.  I know that I've been lax in my duties as the first

princess, but why must he force me to chose someone that would benefit the

empire, but make me miserable?"  Sighing deeply, she continued.  "But

anyway, you're a little young to understand such things.  Not yet, anyway."

            Sasami grunted, her face becoming cross.  "I may be little, but I do

understand some of it.  But what you don't know is how much mother really

wants to see you and Russ get together.  She knows the relationship

between you and Tenchi has been resolved to friendship, and she knows

that Russ is completely available, and is the same age as you.  Mother

doesn't care about what father thinks.  She wants you to be happy, and

that's all that matters to her."

            Aeka let out a tiny gasp, and then rolled onto her side, facing the

little princess.  "Are you sure, Sasami?  Did mother tell you this?"

            "Yes.  She wants to see you happy more than anything, and so do

I.  I really like Russ.  He's like a big brother to me.  He's always sweet and

kind, and a little mischievous like me," Sasami giggled.  "But he's stubborn

too.  But anyway, I'm glad he's staying with us.  That makes me very

happy."

            "Me too, Sasami.  He's so much like Tenchi, but a lot more easy-

going.  Tenchi was always uptight and very strict, and at times, quick to

anger.  He always got mad at Ryoko and myself whenever we'd get into a

fight, whether it be over him or not.  Russ, on the other hand, seems to take

it in stride, as a way of life.  He just minds his own business.  I think I like

that about him more than the strictness with Tenchi."

            "I see you noticed that too.  Tenchi hardly ever had time to do

things with me or anybody else, since he was always busy doing chores

around the house.  Russ has actually taken time out of his training when he

saw me playing by myself to play a game with me," Sasami described,

remembering a game of catch that was played about a week ago.

            "You're right.  Tenchi really hadn't done much of anything with

us, in terms of enjoying ourselves and having fun.  For the most part, he

only got involved when one of us was in trouble.  He'd always come to

rescue us," Aeka sighed, remembering how he risked his life to save her

from the Kagato that impersonated Yosho.  "But Russ would do the same

thing, wouldn't he?"

            Sasami smiled.  "He already is.  He's here to protect us."

            Aeka thought a moment and smiled.  "You're right.  He is here to

save all of us, isn't he?"

            Nodding her head, Sasami yawned and stretched herself under her

blanket.  "He also comforted me when I had that bad dream back on Jurai."

            "That's right!  You never told me what it was about, did you?"

Aeka asked, becoming concerned.

            "No.  It was really scary, and I don't know why I dreamt it.  It was

about Kain," Sasami said, her voice almost a whisper.

            Looking at her sister in surprise, she reached out from under her

blanket, took Sasami's hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze.  "It was only a

dream.  Kain is dead.  We killed him, remember?  We used Washu's

Dimensional Cannon and blew him away," Aeka said quietly.  "He won't

ever bother us again."

            "Yeah, you're right, but it was still creepy.  Russ woke up and

made me feel a lot better.  I'm glad he was there with me when I had that

dream."

            Aeka smiled.  "I'm glad too, Sasami," she said, rolling onto her

back once more, getting herself more comfortable.  "Let's get some sleep."

            "Yeah.  Goodnight, Aeka.  I love you."

            "I love you too, Sasami.  Goodnight."

 

            "Come on, Ryoko!  Don't you ever give up?"

            "But Tenchiiiiii!!"

            "You're being ridiculous, now cut it out, okay?  I'm too tired to do

that again."

            "You're such a spoiled sport!"

            "I am not!"

            "Are too!"

            "Am NOT!"

            "Yes you are.  You don't want to, because you know you'll lose."

            "Ryoko, we've played five games already.  Give it up!  You'll

never defeat me at chess."

            Both Tenchi and Ryoko were hunched over a traditional

chessboard, with Tenchi's black army giving Ryoko's white pieces a good

trouncing.  Ryoko's defensive line lay in ruins, and nearly all of her pieces

were sitting off to the side, having been taken by Tenchi.  Only about a

quarter of Tenchi's pieces sat on Ryoko's side of the board that she had

captured, and they were all pawns.  Her king was completely surrounded,

and Ryoko knew that she had lost.

            Ryoko continued to pout, folding her arms over her chest and

turning away, an extremely peeved look on her face.

            "You must cheat or something.  There's no way you could've

beaten me this many times without losing once without cheating!" she

muttered, still not looking at Tenchi.

            Tenchi shook his head and rested his elbow on the table, and rested

his chin in his palm.  "Grandpa is a good teacher.  And I don't cheat.  You

would've saw me do it if I had."

            "Humph!"

            "Now who is being a spoiled sport?"

Ryoko turned her nose up at him and repeated her discontentment.

            "Come on, Ryoko.  We should get some rest.  We had a long day

today, didn't we?"

            "I'm not talking to you."

            Tenchi facefaulted.  "Aw, give me a break, Ryoko!  If you're

going to be like this, we won't play anymore."

            "Fine!  See if I care!" she quipped, phasing out of existence and

reappearing some distance away in her evening attire.  Or rather, lack

thereof.

            Tenchi's eyes bulged a moment and a trickle of blood appeared at

the edge of his nostril as he turned away.  Ryoko frowned at him.

            "Don't tell me you're still embarrassed of me, Tenchi."

            "It's not that.  I'm just still not used to seeing you… naked.  I wish

you wouldn't do that."

            "We're born naked, Tenchi.  And we're naked under the covers

too.  What does it matter anyway?  It's just you and me."

            Tenchi scratched his head and thought hard, trying to come up with

a reasonable answer to her question without provoking her further. 

However, fatigue mixed with a racing heart did wonders for ruining his

concentration, and only one thought came to mind.

            Standing up slowly and turning toward Ryoko, he casually made

his way across the room, until he stood directly in front of the space pirate. 

She looked at him curiously, but she was swept off of her feet as Tenchi

lifted her into the air and cradled her in his arms, a warm, caring, loving

smile on his lips.

            "This isn't quite the answer I was looking for, Tenchi."

            "Would you…"

            Ryoko silenced him by pressing her lips to his, wrapping her arms

around his broad shoulders, squeezing him tightly.  "But I like it."

            "Would you like to… you know… head off to bed now?"

            Ryoko smiled widely and she nodded her head.  "Anytime, Tenchi. 

Whether it is day or night.  I'm always here for you."

            Carrying his beloved to the bedroom, they both slid under the

covers, continuing to hold each other close.  And, of course, getting ready to

do this and that kind of thing.

            Ryoko turned out the light with the flick of her wrist, and the

sounds of sensual pleasure muffled by the comforter were the only sounds

in the room for the night.

 

            Some eight hours later, Russ had woken up in a very cramped and

awkward position, as he had fallen out of bed sometime while he was

asleep.  One of his legs had somehow gotten caught around the bedpost, and

it remained in mid-air throughout most of the night.  It was ice cold and

Russ knew that when the blood started flowing again that he was going to

have that creepy feeling all over his leg, and he hated that kind of thing.

            Quickly jumping in the sonic shower, he shed his clothes and

generated a fresh and clean karate gi, this time coloring it a steel gray.  He

turned and left his room, noting Aeka and Sasami still asleep on his floor. 

Cautiously, he exited his room and made his way down the corridor to the

lift, where he stepped inside.

            "Holodeck one."

            The lift quickly sped down its track to his requested level, and it

came to a stop a few short moments later.  He made his way down the

hallway to the holodeck, and he discovered that it was already occupied. 

Keying a few commands on a nearby console, he identified that the

occupants were, surprisingly, Tenchi and Katsuhito.  He keyed another

command, which opened a comlink with the interior of the room.

            "Hey guys, it's me.  Mind if I come in?"

            "Sure," Katsuhito answered.

            The large double doors divided themselves and slid back into the

wall with a hiss, revealing a large clearing, covered in grass and surrounded

by trees, in much the same scenario as the training grounds back at the

Masaki home.

            "What are you guys up to?" he asked, as the doors closed behind

him and disappeared.

            "We're training again.  Grandpa insists that I do some catching up,

since I haven't practiced for a few days," Tenchi responded, nursing a lump

on his head.

            Russ grinned.  "I hear that.  I know what it's like to become rusty

after not training.  But anyway, mind if I watch?"

            "Hey Russ, why don't you train with Tenchi here for a little while? 

I'd like to see how he fairs against you," Katsuhito invited, lowering his

bokken.

            Tenchi regarded him with a look of stunned horror.  "Grandpa! 

You know I can't even touch him!"

            "Better for practice!  If you face someone who is superior to

yourself, a lot of times you will progress a lot faster," Katsuhito instructed,

tossing Russ the wooden sword.

            Russ caught it easily and grinned, swinging it a couple of times to

get the feel of it.  "Don't worry, I won't be as rough as your grandpa is,"

Russ grinned evilly, taking up a defensive stance, looking like a samurai

warrior.

            Tenchi mumbled his discontentment as he hefted his own weapon

and taking up the stance Katsuhito had shown him many times before.  It

was the most effective position for defending against an unknown attack,

since it left almost no part of the body venerable.

            Russ watched him curiously, and out of nowhere, he released his

stance.  He stood up straight and looked off to the side somewhere.

            "I think we need a bit of music to spice things up a bit.  Computer,

play Spybreak Short One from The Matrix."

            A courtesy beep and a slight pause later, the music began.  Russ

grinned as he took up a new stance, but drawing a very weird look from

both Katsuhito and Tenchi.  The music was quite loud, and the two

opponents would have to shout at each other in order to hear each other.

            "Go!" Russ yelled, charging Tenchi and swinging the bokken in a

wide arc, aiming for Tenchi's neck.

            He saw it coming and he ducked, and swung his own sword in an

upward stroke, missing Russ by a few inches.  Russ countered by spinning

around and swinging the sword in the same spot once more, keeping time

with the music.

            This time Tenchi blocked the stroke, and took a swipe at Russ's

chest, missing once again and countering a third blow aimed at his neck. 

However, Russ didn't stop, and he kept up a smooth, steady offense, going

with the flow of motion and music, swinging toward Tenchi's neck for a

fourth time.  By this time, Tenchi was expecting it and he ducked, and then

thrust his bokken toward Russ's leg.  However, he missed again as Russ

casually spun with the blow, and once again brought his sword down in a

smooth sweep, and he cracked Tenchi in the back of the neck, causing him

to fall over with his face in the dirt.

            Tenchi quickly looked up at Russ, who was bringing his sword

down for the finishing blow, but Tenchi rolled out of the way as the sword

impacted the ground.  He regained his footing quickly and began another

offense, swinging his sword toward Russ's own neck, which missed as the

saiyan ducked and thrust his own sword toward Tenchi's chest, which again

impacted, knocking him back a few feet.

            Sprinting forward a few steps to catch up to Tenchi, Russ speedily

swung his sword at his opponent's leg, smacking it hard and leaving a large

welt, and he quickly withdrew the sword, and swung it again at Tenchi's

other leg, missing it as Tenchi did a backflip to get away from the persistent

saiyan.

            Mounting his own offense, Tenchi quickly took a jab at Russ's

chest, but Russ rolled with the blow and whacked Tenchi in the ribs with his

own bokken.  However, Tenchi closed his arm around the sword, but Russ

was quick to push him off of it, and resume his intense attack.

            Beginning an all new offense, Russ began to swing the sword all

over his body, taking jabs and swiping the sword at various parts of

Tenchi's body, most of which connected, leaving bruises and welts

wherever the sword smacked him.  He made an overhead swing, which was

blocked, but he continued the flow of motion and spun around, swinging the

sword at Tenchi's ribs again, which connected, making Tenchi howl in

pain.  However, Russ did not stop, and he continued his flow of motion,

spinning around again and making his sword impact into Tenchi's leg,

knocking him over.  Still not finished with his attack, he changed his handle

on the sword, now handling it like a knife, and he drove it straight toward

Tenchi's head, which narrowly missed as it impacted the ground.

            Tenchi rolled away and sprung back to his feet, trying to nurse the

fresh injuries and mount an offense against a whirlwind style maneuver by

Russ.  Blocking nearly every blow that came near him, he desperately tried

to find an opening in Russ's offense, but he was moving in such an irregular

pattern that it was impossible to tell what he was going to do next.  It was so

much easier fighting his grandpa, where he'd do the same moves over and

over again, even though most of the time he couldn't block them because of

his grandfather's superior strength.

 

            Katsuhito watched in amusement, as it looked like more of a dance

than a fight from Russ's perspective.  He watched how Russ countered

nearly every move Tenchi made, which was quite impressive, since Russ

wasn't using any of his energy to enhance his speed.  Russ watched

Tenchi's face and Katsuhito realized that he was able to read what Tenchi

was about to do, just by the motion of his eyes or a change in a facial

expression.  It was quite interesting to watch.

            Tenchi, on the other hand, was watching Russ's arms and legs, and

not paying any attention to his face, or what he could possibly be thinking. 

His defense was very sloppy, even sloppier than when he spars with

himself.  Of course, Russ was performing moves that he had never done

himself, and that made it far more difficult to fight against.  He realized that

he was going to have to show Tenchi some new techniques to improve his

fighting ability.

 

            Tenchi once again took a swipe at Russ's leg, which was blocked

with a smooth, flowing stroke from his opponents own weapon.  However,

he stumbled backwards a few more feet when Russ's right hand planted

itself square on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

            "Hey, I thought we were only using weapons!" he shouted, gasping

for air.

            "My hand IS a weapon!" Russ shouted back, continuing his fluid

offense and taking a quick jab with the sword at Tenchi's face.

            Moving to the side quickly, he swung his sword down at Russ's

leg.  "It's not a bokken!  You're supposed to fight with the sword only!"

            Russ lifted his leg over Tenchi's weapon, and he spun around,

sweeping his leg against Tenchi's, tripping him.  "Your whole body is a

weapon!  Use it!"

            Tenchi quickly sprung back to his feet, blocking an overhead strike

from Russ, doing his best to win a quick test of strength.  Russ didn't

waver, but he released his weapon, allowing it to fly back toward Katsuhito,

who was still sitting on a boulder.

            Grinning, Tenchi took up an offensive posture, set to attack. 

"Ready to give up?"

            Russ looked at him in amusement and shook his head.  "I can fight

without a weapon," he stated, placing both of his hands in front of him and

preparing for a fight.

            Tenchi looked mildly impressed, and he began by swinging his

sword at Russ's arm, but he again missed as the saiyan leaned back a bit,

letting the blade whip by him.  However, he was unable to counter a quick

sprint forward by Russ and a punch to his chest, which again sent him to the

ground, gasping for air.

            He lay on the ground for a moment, stunned, until he saw Russ

leap over him, preparing to drive his knee into his chest.  Rolling out of the

way, Russ impacted the ground and he leapt back to his feet, ready to

continue.

            Tenchi made a swipe at Russ's leg, but he again moved just out of

reach of the sword, and he again sprinted forward, closing the distance

between Russ and himself.  Sidestepping a fist that was aimed for his head,

Tenchi made a move to hit Russ in the head with the bottom of his sword,

but he missed, as Russ ducked out of the way just in the nick of time. 

However, he didn't see the uppercut coming, and he was sent flying back

several feet, flat on his back.

            Russ leapt into the air, trying to plant an elbow into Tenchi's chest,

but he missed when Tenchi just barely rolled out of the way, and he

impacted the ground with a heavy thud.  Springing back to his feet, he spun

around and brought his foot up to Tenchi's head, trying to roundhouse him,

but he narrowly missed.  However, he continued to spin, and this time made

an attempt at a leg sweep, which caught Tenchi off guard, and he again fell

over onto his back.

            Tenchi quickly returned to his feet, as he knew that lying on the

ground was the absolute worst place to be in the middle of a fight.  Holding

his sword steadily and shaking with the adrenaline rush of battle, he charged

at Russ who had just completed his spin and returned to his feet, and he put

all of his strength into a thrust for Russ's stomach.  However, he missed, as

Russ had simply moved to the side, watching him go flying from the

momentum of the blow, and he again fell onto the ground.

            Once again, Tenchi sprung to his feet, angry determination on his

face, and a blank poker face on Russ's.  Swinging the sword in an overhead

stroke, he missed once again as Russ quickly moved to the side, but he had

the wind knocked out of him when Russ's knee smashed into his gut,

causing him to double over.  He was sent to the ground once again from a

double axe-handle planted on his back.

            Slowly, Tenchi returned to his feet.  His clothes were tattered and

dirty, and so was Tenchi.  He was breathing heavily and sweating profusely,

as he once again hefted his sword, preparing for an attack by Russ.  It was

time to play the defensive game and wait for Russ to make a mistake.

            "Go faster, Tenchi.  You're much faster than this," Russ said,

beginning a slow flurry of punches, most of which were hitting Tenchi on

all parts of his body.  He didn't hit hard, but hard enough to leave a small

bruise.

            Tenchi quickly jumped back, but Russ had leapt forward, and he

resumed his punching frenzy.  However, this time, Russ hit him

considerably less, as Tenchi was dodging at an increased rate of speed.

"Excellent!  Go faster, Tenchi!  Use your energy!  You're still

faster than this!" Russ yelled, now adding kicks to his punches, and

increasing his own speed a very slight amount.

            Tenchi continued to dodge, moving his body faster than he had

ever done before, and amazingly, he could feel his energy enhancing his

abilities, in much the same way the lighthawk wings had.  Thinking quickly,

he remembered the words of Tsunami.  'Trust in your own power,' the blue

haired goddess had said, while onboard the Tsunami.  This must be the

energy she was talking about.  But he never expected it to enhance his

abilities in this way.

            Russ continued to punch and kick at a rapid pace, not allowing

Tenchi any time to mount an offense, and he kept him moving backward. 

Even Russ was impressed by how much faster Tenchi was moving.  He had

already progressed beyond that of any normal human, and he knew Tenchi

had even more potential than this. 

            Deciding to change the game a little bit, he caught Tenchi's sword

in his hand, and yanked it away from him.  Tossing it away over his head,

he continued his onslaught, punching and kicking.

            "Time to fight without a weapon!  Come on!" Russ encouraged,

not letting up in the least.

            Tenchi increased his speed far beyond anything he had ever done

before.  His mind was racing, and he could see everything clearly.  Russ

never seemed to speed up, but he knew that they were both moving at a

phenomenal rate.

            "I'm no martial artist!  Just a swordsman!" he yelled, dodging

another fist aimed for his chest.

            Russ caught a punch by Tenchi and threw him over his shoulder,

but Tenchi somehow caught himself and regained his balance, and landed

on his feet.  Russ sprinted forward, and continued punching and kicking in

various places, nearly all of which were missing.  Deciding to change that,

he increased his speed a little more, until about half of his punches and

kicks landed.

            Fighting at his hardest, Tenchi did his very best to dodge all the

blows from Russ.  Strangely enough, most of the blows that connected

didn't hurt as much as they did before.  And he realized that his energy was

making him stronger.  He felt a tinge of excitement as he continued to fight

Russ, dodging at such a high rate of speed and looking for an opening in

Russ's defenses.

            Seeing one, he brought his foot up toward Russ's chest, but he

again missed as Russ had sidestepped it, spun around, and then knocked his

other leg out from under him, causing him to trip and fall once more.  He

regained his footing at stared hard at Russ, but the saiyan was just smiling. 

The song was drawing to a close, letting Tenchi finally relax as he fell over,

breathing heavily.

            "I'm extremely impressed, Tenchi.  You were moving fast enough

to dodge punches that would've sent any normal human flying.  Excellent

work," Russ said, extending his hand to Tenchi, who was sweating

profusely.

            Smiling, he grabbed Russ's hand and hauled himself to his feet. 

His face was dirty and covered in sweat, and his lightweight t-shirt was

drenched under the arms and down his back.

            "It'll take you some time to get used to using your energy to

enhance your own abilities.  The stronger you get, the more energy you can

have, and you can use that energy in any way, shape, or form you want.  If

you need to use it to increase your strength, you can.  If you need to use it to

make yourself go faster, you can do that too.  Katsuhito over there knows

how to do that, which is why he continually beats you up so easily.  But

now, since you used your energy for this kind of thing for the first time, you

may be a much greater challenge to him the next time you spar," Russ said,

glancing over at the master, who smiled and nodded his head.  However,

Ryoko was sitting next to him, and her eyes were nothing but twinkling

stars as she watched Tenchi.

            "Tenchiiiiii!" she yelled, flying over to him and crushing him in a

hug.  "You were amazing!"

            Tenchi smiled.  "Thank you, Ryoko.  How long were you

watching?"

            "I teleported in some time ago, since I woke up alone.  I wanted to

go find you," she pouted.

 

            Russ smirked and shook his head, ignoring he rest of the

conversation has he made his way over to Katsuhito, who was still relaxing

on the boulder.

            "He'll be a much greater challenge to you once he learns how to

control his energy in this way.  How come you never indicated to him that

he could do that?" Russ inquired, sitting down on a smaller rock, about a

foot away.

            "I was waiting for him to discover that power on his own.  He

already had exhibited some remarkable powers when he fought against the

first Kagato, but he still lacks the discipline to control or manipulate it

properly."

            "That's the point of training him.  But you should've at least

indicated to him that using his energy is a good thing.  Every time I've seen

you two train, he does it all on his own, and you use some enhancements of

your own to continually defeat him."

            Katsuhito grinned.  "I know.  But now that he knows he has this

power, it'll be interesting to see how well he progresses with it."

"True.  Well anyway, once you two finish, I'm going to play a

game here in the holodeck," he said, standing up and stretching.

            "We were just finishing up when you came in.  I just wanted to see

how well he'd stand up to you.  It surprised me that you managed to get him

to start using the Jurai power."

            Russ nodded.  "I call it ki, but it sounds similar.  But it seems that

your Jurai power relies on some external source."

            "Correct.  Our trees are directly linked with us, and those are the

things that give us power."

            "I see.  My energy is my own.  Nice thing about it is that nothing

can cut me off from this power.  But I'm sure Washu would be able to

figure something out.  After all, she is the universes greatest scientific

genius!" Russ laughed.

            "Yes indeed," Katsuhito answered.  "Tenchi!"

            Trying to turn his head which had his lips still glued with Ryoko's,

he shrugged his shoulders.  Katsuhito shook his own head.

            "We're done for today.  Russ wants to use the holodeck now, so

lets get out of here," he said, walking toward the doorway.

            Somehow, Tenchi managed to nod his head, despite Ryoko

continuing to kiss him and display her affection.  Russ turned away, trying

to keep from staring.

            "Ugh, enough already," he muttered, never thinking that it could

be him doing that one of these days.  "Computer, access the program Unreal

Tournament."

            "Affirmative," it answered, as the landscape faded away, and was

replaced by three ultra tall buildings, each with platforms and ramps placed

all over each of the skyscrapers.  None of the buildings were connected,

though.  Russ, Ryoko, Tenchi, and Katsuhito all stood on the tallest

building, on top of the helicopter pad.

            "Computer, set game parameters as follows.  For mutators, use

Instagib, the speed relic, the vengeance relic, and the redemption relic.  For

bot difficulty, set it to godlike.  For bot parameters, load up 'Russ anime

set' and use a maximum of sixteen players.   Set time limit to ten minutes

per round, and set to default maps.  Game type is going to be deathmatch."

            The computer gave a courtesy beep, and all the weapons, med kits,

and powerups vanished from all the buildings.  A long, slender weapon

appeared in midair next to Russ, and he grabbed it, resting it in his right

hand.  Three strange looking objects appeared in random places throughout

the level.  One looked like an hourglass, another looked like a floating skull,

and the last one looked like a spiked wheel with an eye in the middle of it.

            Tenchi, Ryoko, and Katsuhito all looked around the place in

astonishment, wondering where they were.  Breaking his kiss with his lover,

they both continued to gawk at how high up in the atmosphere they were. 

Looking down, they couldn't see the ground.  It just seemed endless.

            "What the heck is this, Russ?" Tenchi asked, still flabbergasted.

            Turning toward him, he grinned.  "This is based off of an earth

videogame called Unreal Tournament.  I always had a ton of fun playing it,

and you guys don't have a computer, so I wanted to get in a few games

before we reach home.  Except this is a bit different than playing on a

computer with a keyboard.  Here, you're actually IN the game, and it

creates a whole new dimension of gameplay.  It's a ton of fun."

            "How is it played?" Ryoko asked, looking interested.

            "Well, with the instagib mutator, it's a lot like laser tag.  Have you

ever played that?"

            "No."

            "Uhhh," he mumbled.  "Well, we take this enhanced shock rifle

here," he said, waving the orange weapon around, "and shoot the other

player.  If you hit them, they explode.  Quite messily, I might add.  The

more you kill, the more points you get.  Quite simple.  The object of the

game is to kill the most while dying the least," Russ explained.  "However,

I always seem to manage to kill the most, but die the most too," he laughed.

            "Sounds like fun," Ryoko said, letting go of Tenchi.  "Mind if I

play too?"

            "Uhm, I suppose.  But I recommend you sit this first game out.  I

have the computer players at maximum difficulty, and since you're a new

player, you'd probably get really pissed off real fast going against them. 

Besides, it'll also give you a chance to see how the game is played."

            Ryoko nodded her head.  "Okay, whatever you think is best."

            "The computer will ignore you, and you can move freely

throughout the level.  You don't need to worry about falling either.  You

can just walk anywhere you please."

            Tenchi and Ryoko looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders. 

Katsuhito had left the room a little while ago, unnoticed.

            "Well, time to rock and roll," Russ said, moving over to one of the

available starting positions.  "Computer, add bots."

            A loud, booming voice echoed around the arena, as it introduced

each of the characters.  "Vash the Stampede from Trigun!"

            The red-coated man appeared and quickly took up a starting

position, holding his rifle at the ready, having the light reflect off of his

glasses at just the right angle to make them glow yellow.  The computer

continued to introduce the characters, and they all took up random starting

positions.

            "Wolfwood from Trigun!  Lina Inverse from The Slayers!  Gourry

from The Slayers!  Amelia from The Slayers!  Zelgadis from The Slayers! 

Xellos from The Slayers!  Heero Yui from Gundam Wing!  Duo Maxwell

from Gundam Wing!  Wufei Chang from Gundam Wing!  Gene Starwind

from Outlaw Star!  Spike from Cowboy Bebop!  Iria from the movie, Iria! 

Akito Tenkawa from Martian Successor Nadesico!  And lastly, Ryoko

Subaru from Martian Sucessor Nadesico!"

            Each bot appeared as it was announced, and all the bots took up a

random starting position, out of sight from each of the other players. 

Tenchi looked at all the characters, recognizing about half of them, since he

had seen the anime that they had come from.  Vash the Stampede was tops

on his list, and he became curious as to how the bots were going to perform.

            A device appeared over all the bots heads, and another one

appeared next to Russ, which he promptly put on.  This device was the

HUD for the game, and it would indicate everything that he needed to

know, and who he killed, or was killed by.  The little screen was green, and

it varied in color per bot.

            Once again, the loud announcer's voice boomed.  "Three… Two…

One… GO!"  And in less than a second, the entire area was washed in

orange laser fire, and it wasn't long before Amelia was the first to explode.

            "FIRST BLOOD!" the announcer roared, congratulating Gene

Starwind for annihilating her.  A few seconds later, she reappeared in a

different part of the level, and resumed playing, a pouty expression on her

face.

            Russ was racing down the ramp, looking to get under the landing

pad, but he ran into Lina Inverse, and he quickly took aim and fired,

vaporizing her and watching the chunks fly.  However, Spike came up

behind Russ and shot him in the back, causing him to explode in a gory

mess.

            Tenchi and Ryoko both looked horrified, as it had looked real. 

However, Russ reappeared in one of the buildings and he sprinted off to go

find himself another victim.  They simply turned, looked at each other, and

facefaulted, leaving their feet straight up in the air.

            Quickly running up a ramp way, he approached the top, looked to

his right, and spotted Zelgadis.  Pulling the trigger before he turned around,

he turned him into slag.  In less than a second, Spike appeared on a platform

across from him, and Russ zapped him too, watching him disintegrate.

            "DOUBLE KILL!" the announcer boomed.

            Seeing Gene Starwind run around the corner from the helicopter

pad ramp way, Russ instantly pulled his trigger again, blasting Gene into

slop.

            "MULTI KILL!"

            Lina Inverse respawned directly in front of Russ, and she fired her

rifle, but missed.  Russ once again took aim and pulled the trigger, killing

her off.

            "ULTRA KILL!" the announcer congratulated.

            Out of nowhere, Amelia shot Russ in the back, killing him.

            "DAMMIT!" Russ roared, after he respawned and nearly getting a

monster kill out of the whole thing and going on a killing spree.

He respawned inside the building, and was blasted to bits by Heero

Yui, before he even had a chance to take aim.  Respawning again, this time

on top of the helicopter pad, he was killed off again by Ryoko Subaru.

 

            Tenchi and Ryoko watched him play the game for the entire ten

minutes, watching him getting his butt kicked at certain points, and go on a

killing spree once.  They were both grinning, as they could see Russ get

extremely irritated, since he would be killed, sometimes up to five times in

a row before he respawned in a room where nobody was around.

 

            "Five… Four… Three… Two… One…" the announcer boomed,

signaling the end of the match, and shining a spotlight down on the winner,

Russ.

            On a nearby monitor for everybody to see, and on all the HUDs in

the game, it displayed the results.  Number one on the list was Russ,

nicknamed Rustball, with sixty-six kills, and of course, maximum deaths,

which tallied seventy-nine.  Number two was Spike with sixty-one kills, and

number three was Gene Starwind, with sixty kills.  However, at the very

bottom of the list, was Vash the Stampede, with zero kills, and zero deaths.

About ten seconds later, the Morpheus level vanished and replaced

itself with the Gothic level, and a new variety of bots appeared, some of

them selected from the previous round.

            Russ continued playing for another ten minutes, until he became

irritated and getting killed at an average of eighty times a round.  The level

reset back to Morpheus and he jumped over to the tallest building, and saw

Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka, and Sasami all standing around, smiling.

            "You're pretty good at that game, Russ," Ryoko congratulated. 

"Can we play now?"

            Russ nodded.  "Sure.  I'll set up some new parameters for us to

play.  Sound good?"

            "Yeah!" Sasami agreed excitedly.

            Russ laughed and entered the parameters to the computer, and once

again took up a starting position.  However, Russ couldn't help but wonder

why Aeka would have a taste for this style of game.  She didn't seem like

the type at all.  Fortunately for them, they were already dressed for action

and excitement, and they didn't need to go change clothes.

 

            For the next hour, they continued vaporizing each other, each

player turning the other into so much slag.  Everybody was laughing and

having a good time, especially Aeka, since she had an uncanny ability for

shooting Russ in the back.  The bot difficulty was set to novice, so it was

easy pickings for everybody.

            Everyone exited the holodeck, all smiles and laughing warmly,

having enjoyed themselves immensely.  They had never played a game like

it before.  It was so action packed and fast paced that it filled them with

immense excitement and joy.

            Everybody did quite well.  Russ came out on top, and Ryoko was

in second place.  Tenchi got third, Aeka got fourth, and Sasami got fifth. 

The bots took up the other positions, having been nothing but target practice

for the human players.  The standings continually repeated itself throughout

every single round, except for two, in which Ryoko had fallen a position,

and Aeka moved up.  It nearly started a fight between the two girls, over

who was actually better, but Russ broke it up fairly quickly by vaporizing

Aeka and Ryoko, making them respawn in a different part of the level.

            Exiting the holodeck, everybody was smiling, and congratulating

each other on a job well done.

            "Well, did everybody have fun?" Russ asked, wiping off his

forehead with a towel.  He tossed a clean towel to everybody, so they could

wipe themselves off from the exercise.

            "I've never had so much fun in my life!" Sasami said excitedly.

Tenchi smiled.  "That was a lot of fun.  I've never done anything

like it before."

            Russ turned toward him, grinning.  "You've lived an isolated life,

haven't you?  Judging by your reaction when I started the game, you

must've never even heard of Unreal Tournament."

            Tenchi just smiled and scratched the back of his head.  "I've heard

of it, but never seen it.  I've heard my friends at school talk about it from

time to time."

            "I see.  Well, I'm glad you all enjoyed yourselves.  I did too."

            It was at that moment that the deck shook from an intense

rumbling sound, which echoed down the corridor and making everybody

look around in amazement.  Russ became a curious shade of red, and then

started laughing.

            "Breakfast time!" he said, cheerily.

            Everybody facefaulted, then followed Russ to the cafeteria to get

something to fill his or her stomachs.

 

            About three hours later, the Imperial Star Destroyer Gray Wolf had

exited hyperspace and quickly made its way to planet Earth, sending out a

jamming signal so the orbital satellites could not detect and identify his

ship.

            Tom had come down from the bridge to the hanger bay, shaking

everybody's hand once more and giving Russ a warm hug, inviting him to

come back sometime soon to chew the fat.  As a going away present, Tom

had given Russ all three volumes of Saber Marionette J, the boxed set of

Saber Marionette J Again, Saber Marionette J to X, and Saber Marionette R,

so he could see the whole thing in its entirety.

            Everybody's luggage was brought into the bay, and the men had

started loading it onto one of the ATRs, but they stopped when Ryoko

ordered Ryo-Ohki to transform into a spaceship.

            A loud meow and some other weird sound effects later, the

crystalline ship hovered just above the floor, nearly touched the ceiling. 

Tom and his crew stared at the vessel in astonishment, and they grew even

more amazed when the entire mountain of luggage vanished from their

hands.

            Russ couldn't help but laugh, and he told Tom what had happened. 

Shaking his head and muttering something about getting too old for that

kind of thing, he bid them farewell and left the bay, as everybody except

Russ was transported onboard.

            Climbing onboard his new starfighter, Russ started it up, preparing

to follow the cabbit down into the atmosphere.

            They were guided out of the hanger bay by the many tractor beams

throughout the hold, and they were released when they were clear of the

massive starship. However, a galaxy police patrol ship sped their way, and

they immediately recognized it as Mitzuki's vessel.

            "I see you guys made it home.  It's about time.  I think I have

cobwebs becoming attached to me from lack of activity," she grumbled

through the open comlink to Ryo-Ohki.

            The Star Destroyer pulled out of orbit and made its way out of the

solar system and then entered hyperspace, on its way back home.

            "We told you that you could kick back and relax here, didn't we?"

Kiyone retorted, flashing her a wicked smile.  "We always have plenty to do

around here."

            "Is that so?  Like what?  Dusting your ship?" she shot back, a few

of her hairs getting out of place.

            "Hey!  You know I dealt with Kagato before," Mihoshi yelled,

getting irritated.

            "Oh yes, the great Kagato, defeated by the worlds largest klutz,"

Mitzuki muttered, glaring at both GP officers.

            Kiyone clenched her hands into fists, and began grinding her teeth. 

"Go home, Mitzuki.  Your shift here is over.  You are OFFICIALLY

relieved of duty, now GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" she yelled at the

very top of her voice.

            Everybody who had been onboard Ryo-Ohki had suddenly begun

to perspire, and they began to conform to their own little nervous habits. 

Tenchi began biting his fingernails, Aeka fumbled with her kimono, Ryoko

looked off into the other direction, trying to look busy, and the others did

various things. 

            "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Nobuyuki mumbled to

himself, and then cracked a slight smile.

            Mitzuki looked completely astonished, unable to come up with a

suitable retort before the comlink was cut off to her ship.

            "DAMMIT!  I can't STAND that woman!" Kiyone roared, way

beyond the level of pissed off.

            "Oh, don't worry about it, Kiyone!  She's going back to

headquarters and we won't have to look at her for a while, okay?" Mihoshi

pleaded, hoping to calm down her partner.

            Still seething, she managed to stop grinding her jaw and sit back

down on the plush chair, just as Ryo-Ohki sped through the atmosphere. 

The ship began to shake slightly and the temperature inside increased by

nearly ten degrees, and the ground began to take on more and more detail as

they approached their home.

            Five minutes later, everybody transported off of the cabbitship, and

Ryo-Ohki turned back into the cute, cuddly cabbit that everybody loved. 

Russ landed near the lake and sealed the hatch to the fighter, and made his

way over to the group.

            "Washu?"

            The red haired girl turned around, looking at him with brilliant

green eyes.  "You need something?"

            "Yes please.  Do you have a place where I can put my fighter?  I

don't want it to be seen by anybody," Russ fretted, looking back at the Tie

Defender.

            "No problem.  You can use the subspace garage thingy that Kiyone

and Mihoshi used to use before they upgraded to the Yagami," she said,

pressing a button on her suddenly present keyboard.  A black hole opened

up out of nowhere and swallowed up the fighter, and then it resealed itself.

            "Okay, great.  Now how do I get it back out of there?" Russ asked,

looking worried.

            Washu handed him a small, one button remote controller.  "Just

press the button and your fighter will be ejected from subspace.  Pure and

simple."

            "Thanks a lot, Washu.  I appreciate it," Russ said, giving a slight

bow.

            "Think nothing of it.  You were very kind to all of us in taking us

to Jurai.  Anyway, I gave Tom's engineer some new technology, and I think

that's going to keep them busy for a while."

            Russ grinned.  "I'm sure he appreciates that as well."

            Washu grinned.  "Yes he does.  They should have the transporters

installed soon.  I explained why he was never able to beam through the hull

of the ship.  As it turns out, he never put any emitters on the outside of the

ship.  Once he does that, he'll be using the transporters rather than those

bulky transports of his."

            "Wow, cool.  I'm sure he really appreciates that."

Washu smiled and nodded her head.

            "Well, what should we do today?  We've got the whole day ahead

of us, since we fell asleep onboard the ship.  Anybody have any ideas?"

Russ asked, looking full of energy.

            Everybody turned and stared at Russ, as if he were crazy.

            "Not everybody had gone to sleep, Russ," Nobuyuki grumbled, his

eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.  "But that's exactly what I'm going to

do.  I got to go to work tomorrow," he said, pushing open the door and

walking inside, followed by everybody.

 

            Russ remained outside, looking dejected.  He hung his head and

made his way over to the lake, preparing to exercise once more.  However,

before he began, a meowing noise became present from behind him.

            Turning around, Russ smiled.  "Hi, Ryo-Ohki!" he said, sitting

down on the soft grasses and allowing the cabbit to jump onto his lap. 

"You don't have anything to do either, I take it?"

            The little cabbit meowed a no, and rubbed her head on Russ's

hand, encouraging him to pet her.

            Chuckling quietly, he did, causing her to purr softly.  Russ looked

up into the sky and sighed.  "Man, what's with me anyway?  Trouble

follows me wherever I go.  It really had a stranglehold on me while we were

on Jurai.  I don't get it," he sighed, scratching under the cabbits chin.

            Ryo-Ohki looked up into Russ's eyes, which were downcast and

sad.

            Russ continued.  "But still, I have to keep looking forward.  I can't

let things like that get me down or I'll go crazy.  It's just that things like that

happen so darn often," he explained, not realizing that the cabbit understood

every single word that he was saying.

            Meowing words of encouragement, she managed to get Russ to

smile.

            "I should stop dragging my feet and forget about that stuff.  That's

what you're saying, right?"

            Ryo-Ohki shook her head, and tried to explain it to him once more,

without having much success.

            Russ looked at her and thought a moment.  "Well, what the hell. 

Hold still, Ryo-Ohki.  I'll try reading your mind.  Maybe that way I can

understand you."

            Gently placing his hand on the cabbits head, he concentrated,

letting his mind be flooded with the images and sounds of the little cabbit.

            After several moments, he withdrew his hand and smiled.  "I still

don't get it."

            Ryo-Ohki facefaulted and fell off of his lap, meowing something

incomprehensible.

            "Oh well.  Thanks for trying to cheer me up.  I guess I'll go relax

by those trees or something.  It's a beautiful day," Russ said, standing up

and making his way over to the edge of the forest, where he found himself a

nice, comfortable spot under an oak tree.  He set his stereo down on the

ground and sat on the soft grasses, between two roots, and he leaned his

back against the trunk of the tree.  "I may as well enjoy the day for what it

is," he said, turning on the stereo and resuming the soundtracks of the Saber

Marionette series.  He closed his eyes and let his imagination wander. 

Dozing off a short while later with Ryo-Ohki on his lap, they both dreamt of

something pleasant, but they were unsure of what it was.