All I can say is "Thank God for the sent message file!"  I have no idea
which version of the fic this actually is, but I THINK its good enough
for government work.  Or something.  Anyway, if you missed it the last
time I released it (did I even do that officially?  or am I fooling
myself again?) here it is.  Chapter 3 is actually in the works, believe
it or not.  If anyone wants to volunteer for prereading, step forward
now (like before Friday evening EST) and give me a quick read through.
I know the quality of this series isn't up to that of the later stuff
I've done, but it does have a decent plot (well, what I actually
remember of it :)

Suggestions and C&C always welcome though this version may or may not
reflect past C&C on this chapter.


Chapter 2

        In the pale predawn light, a small shadow landed gracefully on
the balcony and gently nudged open the half-closed doorway.  Creeping
silently, it carefully made it's way  across the room toward the
luxurious bed in the far corner.  With another graceful leap, the shape
was on the bed where it investigated the sleeping form briefly and then
settled down to wait.
        Outside,  the first fingers of dawn touched the horizon and the
sky became a montage of brilliant reds and oranges.

        Makoto awoke slowly, fighting a losing battle with his body's
decision to wake up every step of the way.  Fragments of dreams still
floated through his mind, filling it with disjointed images of Ifurita.
He sought, in vain, to capture one final glimpse of his love but found
only the cold light of late morning.  He was already awake.
        During his time in the palace, so many long months, every
morning
proved to be exactly the same as the the one before it.  Every morning,
that is, except this one.
        He could hear a faint, rhythmic noise that shouldn't me there.
It almost sounded like... breathing.  With a sinking feeling of dread
born of being the survivor of multiple assassination attempts, Makoto
slowly opened his eyes.
        A pair of brilliant green eyes started into his, not more than a

couple inches away.
        Makoto screamed and rolled to the side, getting throughly
tangled in the sheets and falling out of bed.  He landed with a painful
thud and
froze as something imacted on his chest.
        "Ma-ko-to! Ma-ko-to!"  The voice suddenly hit home and Makoto
began to laugh.
        With one hand, he groped around until he managed to free his
eyes from the entangeling sheets.  The other hand absently stroked the
armor cat, much to her delight.
        "Ura!  You shouldn't do that.  I almost had a heart attack!"
Makoto gasped out between fits of laughter.
        "Ura miss Ma-ko-to.  Ma-ko-to o-kay?"   Ura leaned into the
scratching and started to purr.
        "Yeah, Ura, I'm fine."  Makoto was fully awake by now and
decided that he might as well get some breakfast.  It was only a matter
of minutes before he was dressed in clean clothes and making his bed.
Of course, there were servants to do such menial tasks, but something
about making his bed reminded him of home.  A lump under one of the few
blankets that had managed to maintain its position during his morning
escapade caught his attention and he lifted aside the covering to find
the Power Key Staff.
        Strangely, the events of the previous day, as wonderous as they
were, had been far from his mind after a good night's sleep.  Until now,

that is.
        The truth about his situation settled on Makoto slowly.
        <I can go home.  I can rescue Ifurita.> A broad smile crept onto

his face as he grasped the Staff in his hands.
        <Makoto: Staff, what is your present charge level?>
        <Staff: Internal charge is at 64%>
        <Makoto: Is that sufficient to activate function designated
Gateway?>
        <Staff: Affirmative.>
        <Makoto: Then activate...>
        "Ma-ko-to?"  He let his eyes see something other than the Staff
in his hands for a moment.  Ura was sitting on the bed looking at him
questioningly.
        "Ah!  I almost forgot that I have appointments to take care of
before I can go!  Thanks, Ura."  Makoto gave the armored feline another
scratching and walked to the door, which he found to be locked when he
reached out to open it.
        A few knocks later, a key slid into the lock and the doors were
opened to reveal two guards who quickly sprang to attention and saluted
Makoto.
        "Can I ask why I was locked in?"  Makoto was mildly irritated at

this point.  He didn't like to be locked up, especially without some
warning, at least.
        "Mr. Mizuhara, sir, Chief Servant Londs ordered it.  He said
that the only ones allowed in were Mr. Fujisawa and himself.  Absolutely

no
females."
        "Did he happen to give a reason for these orders?"
        "Umm," the guard shuffled his feet nervously, obviously
regretting being the one to speak.  "He said that some of the female
occupants of the palace might try to umm... disturb your rest.  After
Ms. Jinnai tried to sneak in disguised as a chamber maid, he decided
that you'd rather wait until today to see her."
        "Chamber maid?"
        "Yeah, we thought it was kind of strange, she wanting to clean
your room at almost midnight, after all.  Then she tried the potted
plant
disguise."
        "Oh yeah," chimed in the other guard, "Then she tried to climb
in through the window, but she ended up in Princess Fatora's room.
Which
one of them was doing the screaming again, Nobbs?"
        "I think it was the Princess first, then Alielle, and then
Nanami
started," the guard grinned.  "And after THAT, she tried to get us to-"
        "I get the picture," Makoto interrupted. Apparently, she wasn't
as over him anywhere near as much as he'd hoped.  He would have to visit

her before he left, too.  Last, if at all possible.  "Either of you
happen to know where Dr. Schtalubaugh is right now?"
        "He should be in the Royal Laboratories at this time of day."
        "Thank you," that was yet another person that he had to see
before he could get out of here.  He suddenly remembered something, "At
ease, men."
        The two guards gratefully slipped out of attention as they
watched Makoto walk past and down the hallway in the general direction
of the Royal Laboratories.  Ura bounded after him happily.
        One guard turned to the other and whispered, "Colon, I really
wish that Mr. Mizuhara didn't insist on carrying THAT around with him.
It gives me the creeps."
        The other guard nodded and whispered back, "You're telling me, I

was on duty when that... monster attacked.  She almost killed me."
        Both frowned and fell back into silence as the closed and locked

the doors.  Then one resumed his position and the other left to find
Londs and inform him that Makoto was awake.  After breakfast, of course.

        Makoto was determined not to get stuck on another alien world.
If he missed again, he wanted the power to get back to El-Hazard to
recharge and try again.  That's where Dr. Schtalubaugh came in.
        He found the good doctor hidden behind a tall mound of dusty
tomes studying a handful of the relics that Shayla had found in the
Desert of Bleached White Bones.  Makoto blushed slightly as he realized
how crazy it must have made the man having Makoto hog so many new
treasures.  It had payed off in the end, though.
        "Doctor?"
        "Ah?" his wizened head raised from the instrument he held in one

hand. "Makoto!  I'm so glad you stopped by.  You really MUST fill me in
on how the Staff worked out.  Come in, and sit down!  Would you like
some tea?"
        "Um... no thanks, I just need to get use the Lightning Lab for a

little while.  I'm kind of in a hurry."
        One of the Royal Laboratories contained the power plant of a
flying barge that could generate quite a bit of electricity.  It came in

quite handy in certain experiments, but after a few... mishaps became
known as the Lightning Lab.  A man walking in a thunderstorm with an
iron
umbrella and a couple sets of golf clubs has better odds of survival
than a new student in that particular lab.
        Most of the room was taken up with a single bench, and half of
the bench was occupied by the enormous engine.
        "So, I just flip this switch to turn on the current?"  Makoto
indicated a small lever set to one side of a pair of electrodes on the
open half of the bench.  Of course, he knew how to use the generator
after all this time, but it payed to make sure that no "modifications"
had been made.
        "Yes, of course," Dr. Schtalubaugh nodded.
        "Okay, I'm going to leave this here," Makoto indicated the Power

Key Staff that he then placed on the lab bench.  "Don't let anybody
touch
it, no matter what."
        "I understand.  I will see that no one disturbs it," the Dean
called over his shoulder as he left the room.  Pressing matters called
for his attention elsewhere.
        <Makoto: You CAN absorb electricity, right?>
        <Staff: Affirmative.>
        <Makoto: Okay, I'm going to leave you here.  Absorb power till
you have a full charge then just allow it to conduct across you?>
        <Staff: Absorption mode active.>
        <Makoto: Oh, if anyone but me moves you, hit them with something

low-power.>
        <Staff: Please specify attack function.>
        Makoto thought for a few seconds then made a wild guess.
        <Makoto: Stun Dart?>
        <Staff: Stun Dart ready.>
        Makoto grinned and attached the electrodes to opposite ends of
the staff.  As he left the room, he flipped the switch and closed the
door behind him.


        Ura was waiting from him in the hallway.  She had standing
orders from Makoto to never enter the lab unless it was an emergency.
The last time she's gone in there, he'd had to watch her stumble around
without
whiskers for a week.  Cats and science don't mix.
        She gave Makoto a slightly questioning look as he returned to
the
hallway, but immediately fell into pace behind him as he began to make
his way toward the guest wing.
        They walked through many corridors on the way to the other side
of the palace, and a steady stream of servants and guards greeted Makoto

pleasantly.  Apparently he was a bit of a hero to the palace staff, but
he wasn't sure exactly what it was they were honoring him for.  As far
as he could figure it, it was either for entering the Eye of God and
coming back or for being able to survive Nanami's assault last night.
        Not too long after leaving Dr. Schtalubaugh, they were at the
guest wing where the priestesses were resting.  They were in a large
suite (the one always used by the priestesses) with three rooms off a
central parlor.
        When Makoto entered, he found Afura Mann and Saphon Sauri, the
new water priestess, lounging on the low couch and speaking quietly.
        Afura sprang up and give Makoto a hug, an almost
uncharacteristic show of emotion for her, but Saphon merely gave him a
brief nod.  She was
young, only about seventeen, but she had been a priestess for almost two

years and had always been cold to the men in the palace.  So far as
Makoto could tell, she was trying her best to avoid male contact in case

she liked it too much.  Probably insecure in her choice of profession
that required chastity.
        They chatted amiably for a little while before Saphon excused
herself to attend a meeting with some dignitary or other, leaving Makoto

and Afura alone.
        Afura got a thoughtful look on her face and just stared at
Makoto
silently for a moment.
        "You need to go talk to Shayla-Shayla before you leave again."
        "Yeah," Makoto frowned because he knew that she was right.  Last

time, he had intentionally avoided her as much as possible before he
left, but it filled him with regret later.  "I'm sorry about last time,
but I just couldn't face her."
        "It's okay.  I think that it will help her let you go, in the
long run, even though it hurt her a lot."  Afura's expression softened a

bit.  "Hey, she knows that she can't win you over.  But she wouldn't be
our Shayla-Shayla if she gave up, now would she?"
        Makoto grinned.  "Yeah, you're right."  He looked toward the
only
closed room.  "Is she still in bed?"
        "Uh-huh.  Alielle's probably still in there, too.  Shayla took
that stress yesterday a bit worse than she should have and she was a bit

feverish.  Alielle stayed up with her all night, and I looked in on her
a few hours ago and saw her sleeping in a chair beside the bed."
        "Two girls that won't give up," his grin widened.  "Even when
they know that they won't win."
        "You never know... Alielle might be wearing her down..."
        He laughed.  "I really doubt that, somehow."
        "Well, after a man like you breaks her heart she just mi-" Afura

stopped when she saw the hurt expression on Makoto's face.  She had
really touched a nerve.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean for it to sound like

that.  Shayla's a strong woman and will be just fine."
        Makoto was a bit shaken.  He didn't like to hurt people's
feelings, and Afura had hit one of his biggest fears about Shayla dead
on.  No one should have to suffer because of him, especially when it
could mean such a drastic change in character.
        Of course, it was just meant to be a joke and didn't actually
MEAN that he had ruined her life.  With a considerable amount of effort,

he summoned up a weak grin.  "Yeah, I know.  She'll be just fine."
        Afura looked hesitant to continue the conversation so he stood
up. "I'll just go see her now, then."
        The air priestess nodded solemnly.  Ura chose that moment to
petition her for a bit of affection, somehow sensing that Makoto was
going somewhere that she wouldn't be wanted or needed.  Part of Afura's
earlier smile settled back into place as the cat nuzzled her hand.
        <Why can't men be as easy to get along with as cats?> she
thought
wistfully.


Chapter 2
      Part 2

        The sun was shining brightly through the window on the other
side of the room, casting most of the objections inside into
silhouette.  A lump in the bed seemed to indicate that Shayla-Shayla was

still in bed
asleep.  After a moment of adjusting to the bright light, Makoto spotted

Alielle as well.  She was on the opposite side of the bed with her arm
draped across Shayla.  Worse yet, she was seemed to be nude.
        Things would probably have been fine if his conversation with
Afura hadn't fixed the idea in his head that it was HIS fault if Shayla
and Alielle... well, you know.  As it was, he fainted.
        When he came to, Alielle, now dressed (well, what she considers
dressed), was leaning over him with a concerned expression on her face..

        "Are you okay?"  She asked, totally ignoring the way her
outfit... revealed things when she was leaning over like that.  Makoto's

face turned red and he stammered out something unintelligible.  "Hey!
Snap out of it."  Alielle patted his face firmly, not quite slapping,
almost caressing.
        He calmed down and managed to get out: "You were in bed with
her?"
        She nodded, but continued before Makoto could pass out again. "I

fell asleep in the chair beside the bed and woke up partly on it.
What's
that have to do with anything?"
        "You... You mean, you and Shayla didn't... you know..." his face

was REALLY red at this point.
        Alielle giggled.  "I wish!"
        "Hey, if it was innocent, where were your clothes?"
        It was Alielle's turn to blush.  "Well this stupid thing got a
rip in it yesterday and I played with the stitching..."
        She was wearing one of her skimpy little concubine outfits and
he could see that the stitching on one shoulder was totally undone.  In
fact, the only thing keeping up the scrap of cloth that Alielle passed
off as clothing was the way she had her arms crossed, hugging it to her.

        "Fell off you?"
        Alielle nodded happily, though still slightly embarrassed by it.

        Makoto sighed in relief. <Why am I so upset if she did?  They're

both free women.  But somehow...>
        She grinned and leaned closer, "When you're done here, Fatora
wants to see you.  She's got something she wants to ask you."  Her grin
was far too mischievous for Makoto's liking..
        <This isn't good,> thought Makoto. <What does SHE want from me?>

        With one last giggle, Alielle was out the door.
        "Shayla?"  Makoto asked softly as he closed the door behind him
and turned to face the bed.
        Shayla's pulled the covers off her head and sat up.  "I thought
that she'd never leave."
        "You were awake?"  Makoto raised an eyebrow.
        "Yeah, but if SHE knew that I was awake, I'd have to fight her
off with a stick again."  A slight frown flitted across her features.
        Makoto nodded knowingly.  He was in her situation, many times
over. "Let me guess, you really like her, but not �in that way', right?"

        Her face softened again, but her eyes held a strange gleam.  "I
could always give in to her, I mean, after a man like you broke my
heart, I'm not sure that any I could ever love another.  I mean, you've
ruined me for all other men!"
        Makoto stared dumbfounded.  Part of him started to crumble, and
tears welled up in his eyes.  He collapsed onto the bed and let the
sorrow and misery of his crimes overcome him.  Suddenly, he felt arms
encircling him.
        "Hey, Makoto, snap out of it, I was only kidding!"
        He looked up at her face and saw a nervous grin.  If she was
trying to be funny, she'd picked the wrong joke.  Then realization
dawned on him.
        "You heard... ah, my conversation with Afura?"  Makoto blushed.
        Shayla nodded.  "You two weren't exactly whispering, you know."
        He started to study the patterns inlaid in the ceiling.  "Ah,
well... you know..."
        She sat up and pulled him closer to her.
        "Makoto, listen to me," her voice was firm and steady, like she
was forcing herself to go through with a prepared speech against her
better judgement.  "You know that I fell in love with you.  And I still
love you, but what you've got to realize is that it's MY responsibility,

not yours.  You're not responsible for how I feel, or the fact that you
don't feel the same way."
        "Shayla, I..."
        "No, let me finish.  If I ever, gods forfend, give in to
Alielle, it's because I want to.  You're not responsible for what I do.
You've got to understand that."
        Something about the situation hit Makoto and he realized
something. "You really like her, don't you?" Makoto hadn't realized that

Shayla could be this... deep.
        She nodded slowly.  "As a friend, that's all.  I just wish she
wouldn't get all weird on me all the time."
        Again, Makoto felt a pang of sympathy, but he knew that this
wasn't the only issue that they needed to get out in the open.
        "You know that I'm going back to HER today."  It was a
statement, not a question.
        Again, she nodded slowly.  "For the last few years, I've been
denying that I could lose you to... HER."  She paused and took a deep,
shuddering breath.  "But, finally, I've decided I want you to be happy,
even if I can't have you."  Again, the grin returned.  "No matter what
Afura says, I'm not THAT selfish."
        Makoto was hugging her before he even realized that he was
moving. "Friends?"
        Shayla returned the embrace and smiled as tears rolled down her
cheeks.  "I'll try."
        "Hey, I'm going to be back in a week to pick up Mr. Fujisawa so
he can get back to his job before anyone misses him... you're welcome to

tag along if you want.  I'm sure that there are lots of great guys in
Japan!"
        Shayla giggled.  "So, we've been �friends' for a whole minute
now and you're trying to set me up on dates?"
        Makoto grinned nervously.  "Hey, what're friends for!"
        "Causing trouble, that's for sure."  But he could tell that she
was thinking about it.  "I'll consider it, just don't make any plans
before I get there, okay?"
        Makoto nodded and pulled himself free from the hug.
        "I've got to go see Fatora before I go.  Guess I'll see you in
a week?"
        Shayla nodded and watched him walk out the door.
        "Just because we're friends, Makoto, don't think that I've given

up on you," she whispered to the empty room.


        A while later, Makoto was making his way through the hallways
once again with Ura at his side.  When he reached the royal audience
chamber, a guard informed him that Fatora wanted to speak to him in her
chambers.
        <This just keeps looking worse and worse,> he thought.  Fatora
only wanted to talk to him in private when she had a REALLY big scheme
going.
        Ura, of course, curled up in the hallway for a nap.  Makoto had
declared that the cat wasn't needed in the princess's presence, mostly
because they didn't exactly like each other, and fighting females,
regardless of species, made him nervous.  The guards at the door let him

into her suite, which he found to be rather dark for that late in the
morning.  He had walked inside several paces when the doors banged
closed behind him causing him to spin around in surprise.
        Fatora was leaning with her back against the doors, her hands
behind her back.  There was a soft click as the doors were locked, and
she secreted the key within her rather scant gown.
        "Ah... Fatora?  What are you doing?"
        "Oh, just making sure that you don't leave before you've heard
me
out."  There was a predatory look in her eyes as she stalked toward
him.
        "Ah... exactly what do you want from me?  Quit looking at me
like
that!"  Makoto stumbled backward, away from Fatora.
        "Geeze, you're freaking me out!"  Fatora grinned evilly and he
moved back faster.  With a thud, his back met the wall and he turned to
look for another way out.
        He scrambled along the wall a few paces when he stumbled and
fell onto something soft.  The sound of a match striking made him look
up and he found that Fatora was lighting a few candles scattered around
the room, giving it a glow that could be called romantic.  That is, if
it wasn't so frightening.
        Fatora began to walk lazily toward Makoto again.
        Makoto, for his part, found that he was laying in the middle of
a large bed, with a rather beautiful woman walking toward him.  He
froze.
        "Ahhh... what do you want?"
        The princess stopped at the edge of the bed and leaned forward,
exposing a generous amount of flesh.  "I want you."
        Makoto tried to roll away, but Fatora pinned by the simple means

of sitting down on top of him.  He tried to push her off, but she just
grabbed his hands and pinned them to the bed  above his head.  She
leaned forward, her breasts forming twin pools of heat on his chest.
        "Makoto, I need an husband," she whispered softly into his ear.
"You're a big strong man, and smart, too.  The perfect father for a
future princess of Roshtaria."
        "Wha... what about Alielle!?!"  His mind, however, was racing
into other directions, <Forget Alielle, what about Ifurita!?!>
        "She knows all about this.  Besides, I promised her that she
could try to seduce you if I liked it."  With that, she gently nibbled
on his ear.
        Makoto was torn.  His two main instincts when faced with such
situations where freeze and run.  Right now, they were fighting for
control of his body while his mind just watched it all with a kind of
stunned horror.
        The need to flee finally won out, and Makoto summoned every
ounce of strength he could and pushed Fatora off him.  "Geeze, what's
gotten into you?"
        He leaped to his feet and ran to the door.  "It's locked."
Fatora's voice sounded from behind him.  To be sure, he tried the
handle.  Yep, locked.
        Slowly, he turned around and caught sight of the key.  Fatora
held it in one hand, her other hand pulled open the top of her gown,
what there was of it, anyway.  "Come and get it," she grinned as she
dropped the key into her cleavage.
        "Let me out of here."
        "Aw, I am I that scary?  Come on, I really need your help here.
I'm getting ready to turn twenty, and tradition says that I MUST have a
husband."
        "You don't have to marry anyone!  Especially," Makoto added,
"not ME!"
        "You're my only hope," she dropped the seductive act.  "Galus
was the only man of sufficient rank that was even remotely attractive.
If you won't marry me, I'll end up with one of those old goats.  Most of

them look like Dr. Schtalubaugh only worse.  There isn't any choice, my
sister won't... since Galus... The law requires that one of us carry on
the line, and since she won't, I have no say in this.  For the good of
the kingdom, I've got to find a husband.  And my only hope is to find
one before one is chosen for me."  She looked close to tears.
        Makoto was really confused now.  He slowly walked toward the bed

again.  Fatora launched herself at him again, but this time, she just
cried into his arms.  Gently, he stroked her hair and murmured soothing
nothings, totally at a loss on what to do.
        After a few moments, the sobbing trailed off.  "Thanks," Fatora
said into his chest.  "I really needed that." She paused a moment then
continued in a more level voice, "Will you PLEASE marry me?"
        "Ifurita..."
        "We're both allowed to have a concubine or three," Fatora smiled

sadly.  "Marrying me won't ruin your relationship with Ifurita or
anything. Come on, Makoto, I want to do what's right for Roshtaria and
it's not like it's going to cost you anything.  Please, just help me out

here!"
        "I'm not sure that I can... my entire life is going to change
today..."  In spite of himself, Makoto knew that he was being dragged
into this.
        "Please, just say yes.  You don't have to go through with it,
just say that you'll marry me so that I can have some more time..."
        "How about we wait on this.  I'll be back in a week or so for
Mr.
Fujisawa, we'll discuss this then?"
        <Maybe,> she thought, <He's not so sure that he DOESN'T want
me.  We'll see, Makoto, we'll see.  Your dream girl is going to become
reality again and that means that she can be beaten.>



        The conversation with Nanami didn't go so well.
        "Makoto, don't go!"
        "I'll be fine.  The Staff got be back here once, I'm sure that
it'll work next time, as well."
        "You don't know that.  You could land on some strange world and
I'd never see you again."  She had her arms latched firmly around him
and
was speaking into his chest.  "I'm sorry that I threatened to push you
in last time, just don't leave me again!"
        Makoto didn't really know what to do.  Generally, he only had to

deal with one or maybe two hysterical females in a day.  Today was
turning out to be a record breaker, it seemed.
        "I'll come back.  I swear it."
        "What if you CAN'T come back?"
        "I will.  That's all there is to it."
        She just sobbed into his chest quietly for a little while.
        "Hey," he said in a soft voice, "I'm coming back in a week to
get Mr. Fujisawa so he can go back to work before they miss him.  You
should
come back, to see your parents again, at least."
        Nanami nodded.  "What about my brother?"
        "I don't know, but I'm certainly not going to invite him back
with us. He's just gotten worse since we got here."
        Again, Nanami nodded slowly.  "I'll go back with you."
        <And when we're back home,> Nanami thought, <you'll remember how

much you care about me.>

--
Tim Williams
http://www.angelfire.com/tn/twillia/

"This time, we're leaving nothing to the imagination.  We tried that
last time, and, in our opinion, it didn't work." -- Henry Rollins,
"Driveby Shooting"