Kagato and Saber had escaped, but not for long. The two renegade Teknomen, Glave and Edge were in hot pursuit. Darkon
had sent Saber to Earth, which meant that he intended to make a move soon. The trees whipped past the Teknomen in flashes
so quick none of them even saw them. When Edge didn't see a tree, her great speed simply knocked it out of the way. Glave
looked back and shook his head.
"Try not to do that. We don't want to cause too great a disturbance."
"Nice thing for you to say. Im new at this. And there's no one out here to see us anyway."
"Just try to avoid the trees." Glave sighed. He doubted she would, but he had to say it anyway. He winced as another tree
collided with Edge and consequently got cut in half.
"Hey Glave, how did you absorb Kagato's energy blast like that? You said that you needed information on it before you could
do that." Edge looked at him pensively. This, well she guessed that Partner was the best word, was certainly not telling her
everything.
"After your battle with him, I was able to collect enough information to absorb that blast. Of course, there was only a 62%
chance that It would work..."
"Your telling me that you hurled yourself in front a the equivalent of an atomic bomb and YOU DIDN'T KNOW IF IT
WOULD WORK???"
"Yes."
"Your impossible Glave."
"No worse than you."
...
Washu looked speculatively at Tenchi and Ayeka as they lay on the tables. That fight with Kagato would have ended in
tragedy if those two had not gotten there in time. Tenchi had suffered from first degree electrical burns with scattered second
degree all over his body. Her dermal regenerator was working to repair the damage as fast as possible. Ayeka had suffered
from a cracked collarbone, the huge rent in her shoulder from the previous fight reopening, and several hairline fractures.
Jurians healed quickly, so she would be back on her feet in a few days.
Sasami, on the other hand, was just beginning to regain consciousness. Washu had no idea what had injured her. She had to
keep poor Sasami under sedation, due to the fact that she still seemed to be in tremendous pain. The poor girl...
Washu punched up the replay that a camera on the outside of the Masaki house had gotten of the fight. There was Kagato,
the insane bastard. She watched as Edge and Glave once again deflected Kagato's energy blast that would have killed Tenchi,
and the arrival of the Teknoman Saber.
Washu considered several things. Who was the Darkon that Kagato had mentioned? And what did he want with Tenchi?
And how had he gotten control of Kagato? None of this made any sense!
An alarm sounded. Flashing lights shot up all over the lab, and Washu shouted "Spacecraft on final approach!!! A
transmission is coming in over Galactic Emergency bands." She ran to her main terminal and began to cycle through the
frequency's, attempting to isolate the transmission.
Tenchi and Ayeka staggered over to Washu's main computer terminal as Kiyone and Mihoshi ran into the room. "Who is it?"
asked Tenchi, still dizzy from the fight..
"Hang on..." Washu said, twirling nobs and dials on her computer. "Im trying to decode the signal...GOT IT!!!"
-I repeat this is Empress Funaho on the Jurian battleship Tsunami. I am trying to reach Washu and Tenchi Masaki.-
"FUNAHO? ON TSUNAMI????" Tenchi and Ayeka were stunned. "Funaho, this is Tenchi. What happened?"
"Tenchi, Funaho here." Tenchi's great-grandmother's voice sounded dead, without emotion. "Jurai was attacked by unknown
forces of some biomutants spiders. We were holding out until a group of men in some type of battle armor arrived and began
destroying our ships. Azusa attempted to defeat their leader, but was killed in the fight." Funaho let out a strangled sob. "The
leader of these monsters took Misaki prisoner, and the whole of the Imperial bodyguard died trying to get the dying Azusa to
his ship. I managed to escape, but one of the monsters was about the kill me. Then Tsunami flew in and rescued the surviving
Jurian soldiers and I. That mosterous leader opened fire on us, and I fear the Tsunami was hurt more severely than she has told
us..."
A second voice cut in. It was one of a young woman, but was obviously strained. "Please, Empress, do not concern yourself
over my well being."
"Well, we'll have a look at you when we land. Tenchi?"
"Yes?"
"Tsunami is coming in to land in the lake outside your house. The remaining Jurian battle ships with us are going to take up
station outside the orbit of the moon in order to defend Earth."
"But Funaho..."
"Please Tenchi, there isn't much time."
"Yes, I know."
"Were commencing final approach. We'll Land by this evening."
...
Tenchi heard a pair of thrusters fire outside the house. He spun around, afraid that Kagato had returned. Kagato was not
there, however. Glave and Edge stood in the yard, talking to each other. Tenchi quietly slid the door open and stepped
outside.
"Damn!!!! Those two got away." Edge was furious.
"Saber is good at going to ground. I doubted that we would be able to catch him, but I thought that we'd at least have a
chance of catching Kagato." Glave looked thoughtful. (As much as a person wearing a Tekno Weapons System can look
thoughtful.) "We should inform Slade of this development. If Darkon sent Saber here, he is making a move in this dimension."
"We cant let him do that!!! If all the stories of what happened to the original Earth Darkon attacked are true, it would be
criminal to let anyone else go through that."
Glave sighed. "Worse, the Jurians are obviously compatible with Darkon's Teknopods."
Edge was shocked. "What???"
Glave sighed. "I know. If he can conquer this galaxy, then he will be able to continue his plan to crush our galaxy. We cant
let that happen."
Edge then spoke with a slight tremor in her voice. "Why do they want Tenchi?"
"I don't know. Blade could be pursuing his own personal agenda, or could be operating under orders from Darkon. I wish I
knew... It would make this fight alot easier."
Tenchi then decided to speak up. "Who is this Darkon, any ways?"
Edge whirled, obviously having not noticed that Tenchi was there. Glave simply turned.
"I believe that we'll have to explain that at another time. Apparently, there is a Jurian battleship coming this way." Glave then
started walking towards the near by lake. "Do you want to greet Funaho, Tenchi?"
Tenchi gulped, and ran after the two Teknomen.
...
Tsunami did not so much land as commit a controlled crash. The mighty battleship came to a unsteady hover above the lake
beside the Masaki house, and then dropped like a rock. The massive wave caused by the drop smashed against the shore.
Other than that, there were no adverse consequences to Tsunami's landing.
As of yet.
Tsunami drifted to the shore nearest to the Masaki house. Arriving with a sight bump, she set about disembarking her
passengers. A hatch opened on the side of the ship, and Funaho stepped outside. She looked around, blinking in the bright
sun. A smile broke out across her face as she spotted Tenchi and the Girls. The smile immediately dropped off as she saw that
all of them were wounded.
"Tenchi! What happened to you?" Funaho managed to burst out.
"Its a little hard for me to explain, Funaho." Tenchi sounded reluctant. How could he tell them that they were still in danger.
"Funaho, what happened to those Jurian soldiers Tsunami had rescued?" Ayeka queried.
"Those brave souls are on board the few remaining Jurian craft, now in orbit around the moon. Ayeka, please, what is going
on?"
"Lady Funaho, I am afraid that even they do not know the entire story." Glave's voice cut through the silence left by the
question. "I am terribly sorry about what happened to your husband, Lady. He was very brave, attempting to defeat that
Venemoid."
"Venemoids. Is that what these things are called?"
"That is the name given to the empire that spawns them."
Tenchi cut in now. "And this Darkon is the leader of these monsters that destroyed Jurai?"
Glave nodded. "I was suprised to learn that he personally lead the attack on Planet Jurai." He turned to Funaho. "Im sorry
about your husband. But there is no known person who can defeat Darkon in one on one combat."
A tear ran down Funaho's cheek. "He was trying to save Misaki..."
Ayeka and Sasami both turned to Funaho. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MOTHER?!?!?!?" Ayeka shouted.
"She was taken prisoner by the leader of the invaders."
The voice of a young woman came from the door of the ship. "Tenchi. Its good to see you again. I regret that it is under such
adverse condition."
Tenchi turned towards the ship. "Tsunami..." His voice trailed off as he saw her.
Tsunami was clutching the door frame. One side of her long robes were soaked in blood, along with the one of the sleeves.
Bruises stretched all over her face, and she shook all over. Sasami raced over to her, and helped her down the ramp. Using
Sasami as a crutch, Tsunami turned to Glave. "Its been a long time."
"That it has been. Are you all right?"
"For the time being. I have seen what will happen in the next few minuets. My only wish is that she could have enjoyed a few
more years without me having to interfere with her life."
Glave's head suddenly snapped up. His eyes glowed intense blue. "Edge, get ready!"
...
Far above the Earth's surface, as series of object thought to be meteorites began to move. Then with no warning, they
plummeted towards Earth.
...
"Spider crabs!" Glave's voice snapped through the stunned assembly. Reaching around, he pulled his namesake weapon from
the holster on his back and shot into the air, Edge following. "Tsunami, you have to protect them from any of these mutants that
get through."
Tsunami only nodded, pain lining her face. Tenchi turned his head skyward as a series of dots began to appear. There were
hundreds of them!!! And they were all heading right here.
Glave and Edge shot high into the air. "We have to let as few as possible get through!!!" Edge yelled. She twisted her hands
nervously around her twin bladed sword. How could they stop so many of them...
Glave only smiled beneath his helmet. "Conserve your big guns for the tight packed formations. Hit em fast, and they'll never
see you coming."
With that, Glave fired his afterburners and flew strait into the spider crab horde. He seemed to be a flash of light as he weaved
and dove. By the time that Edge had reached the battle, he had killed three of the creatures. By the time Edge killed one by
slicing it in half, seven had fallen beneath Glave's lightning fast strikes.
From the ground, the effect was spectacular. It began to rain a freak rain of spider crab blood and body parts. Beams of
energy from Tsunami destroyed any parts large enough to case trouble for the people on the ground. Then, the pyrotechnic
show began as Glave and Edge opened fire at full power on the crabs.
But, as Edge had said, there were too many of them. Spider crabs forced themselves past the two Teknomen as they were
fighting others. Tsunami's guns lashed out, destroying many. Tenchi's newly created Light Hawk Wing flashed from the
ground, smashing many Spider crabs to pieces with the first blow. Ayeka deflected others with her shield. And still, despite all
their effort, several got through.
One spider crab slammed into Tsunami as her energy beams raked it. On the ground, both Tsunami and Sasami screamed
and collapsed. Tenchi noticed that they both had blood soaking into their clothes from their backs.
Another crashed into a nearby mountain. And another destroyed itself in the lake. Glave saw the devastation, and knew that
the next spider crab was on a collision course for the group of defenders. He spun to open fire, but as he did so, he caught
sight of the leader of the attack.
Mammoth even next to its house size cousins, the dominating spider crab watched with pleasure at the ruin and destruction
below it. Soon, the boy would be in its possession, and Darkon would be pleased. Then, its master would be lord over all.
Glave had other plans. Leaving the falling spider crab to be ripped to pieces by Edge, he shot through the upper atmosphere
to comfort the huge spider crab. No words were exchanged. Glave seemed to be an insect throwing itself against a mammoth,
but fountains of blood exploded forth each time he struck it. This wasn't going to work!!! he screamed inside his head. He
needed to destroy it now. With that, Glave flew a mile away to begin his preparations.
The spider crab was now ignoring him, watch its children plunge to the planet below. It never noticed the booms on Glave's
back slide around to his arm. It never noticed the energy that leapt between the bars of this awesome tuning fork pointed
directly at it.
Lining the creature up in his sights, Glave shouted "TEKNO CANNON!!!"
Energy surged up the weapon is his hand, and a beam of plasma several times his height surged forth. The destructive beam
reached out with hungry fingers, and blasted into the spider crab. Portions of its armor began to disintegrate, and its
death scream filled the air. Finally, unable to take any more, it simply ceased to exist.
A shudder passed through Glave, as he realized he had exhausted his energy supply. The world began to spin, and he sunk
into darkness, falling forever...
Things were not much better on the ground. Ayeka had feinted from the exhaustion of deflecting the creatures. Tenchi and
Funaho stood vigil over a silent Washu who tended to Sasami and Tsunami. The spider crab that had rammed Tsunami's ship
body had caused massive amounts of damage. Apparently, that damage also affected Tsunami's human body, as well as
Sasami. No one noticed as Edge snatched the unconscious Glave out of the air and dropped him to the ground with a loud
clang.
"Tenchi..." Tsunami's voice was barely audible. "I fear that my time is short..."
"Tsunami, your going to make it. You have to." Tenchi held her hand as another wave of pain wracked her body.
"I'm not sure that I can... I'm not strong enough to fight back this pain..." Tsunami's body seemed to waver, as if she was
fading out of existence.
"Tenchi..." Tenchi turned as Washu spoke to him. "There may be a way to save her. But it will require tremendous sacrifice
on your part and on Sasami's part."
"How Washu...?" Tsunami's voice was little more than a whisper.
"Because you assimilated Sasami, you will both one day unite with each other. Individually, neither of you can survive the
damage that you've taken. But if we can unite you, you may be able to survive. Unfortunately, this will mean that Sasami will
cease to exist, as well as both of your individual minds. You will merge, but it may be awhile before you can synchronize your
thoughts."
Sasami turned to Washu. "Im willing to do it."
Tsunami turned to look at Sasami. "Are you sure, sister of my heart?"
"Yes."
...
During this time, Edge was busy trying to revive Glave.
"Wake up, Damn you, WAKE UP!!!"
Seeing that shouting was ineffective, Edge yanked off Glave's helmet. She stopped as she saw his face. Wires seemed to
incorporate themselves into his skin, making him seem robotics. His eyes were a solid blue, and glowed slightly. Edge pressed
her hand to her helmet. Was this what she looked like?
Shaking her head to clear it, she began to slap Glave's cheeks in order to wake him up. Gently, of course. If she hit him too
hard she could break his jaw very easily.
A hand laid on her shoulder. She jumped and turned to see a young man with black hair and a rather pronounced scar on his
left eye in his mid-twenties standing in front of a giant blue and white robot.
"Your Edge, aren't you? Is Glave all right?"
"Who's asking? And I'm not sure if he's all right or not."
"Names Slade."
"Slade???" Edge rather ineffectively tried to snap to attention. "Glave used his cannon on a master spider crab, and exhausted
his power. What should we do?"
Slade turned to the robot, waving off Edge's salute. "Don't do that, I don't stand on formality. Pegus, activate interlock
chamber."
The robot answered. "Affirmative."
Turning around, a large portion of the teknobot Pegus's back rose into the air, revealing an area about the size of a large man
inside.
Edge placed Glave inside the area. The back portion of the teknobot closed, and a few seconds passed. The the area
opened again, and Glave fell out. He was in his late twenties, and had a pronounced streak of white in his black hair. Slade
caught him as he fell from the chamber.
"Well friend. Seems you exhausted your power."
Glave blinked rapidly, adjusting his eyes to the light. Then he finally managed to focus his vision on Slade.
"Boss! Glad your here. You got my message, didn't you?" Glave tried to stand, and fell down on his knees. "Man, that took
more out of me than I thought."
"Rest for a minute Glave. Yes, we received your message. Darkon is definitely trying to conquer this dimension. My question
is, why?"
"Don't know. Wish I did."
Slade turned to the gathering around Tsunami. "What's going on over there?"
Glave paled as he saw who was on the ground. "No..."
...
An intense blue glow had surrounded Tsunami and Sasami. Both of them had lost consciousness several seconds after the
process had started. Tenchi stood over them, feeling his power flow out of him to feed the merging.
Both Tsunami and Sasami had become faint outlines by now. The energy that flowed from them began to collect in an area
several feet above them. Finally, with a brief flash, both Tsunami and Sasami vanished into the swirling vortex of energy that
hovered above them.
"Tenchi! You must keep Tsunami in mind as this is going on. She's going to use your memories to rebuild her body, and if you
falter, we could lost both of them!"
Tenchi struggled, remembering Tsunami as he had seen her. He hear Washu gasp in dismay. He opened his eyes to see the
energy begin to disperse.
"Were losing her Washu!!! What do I do???"
"Im not sure there is anything we can do. She seems to be unable to recreate her body."
A vague voice issued from the energy cloud. "Tenchi, please..."
"Tsunami!" Tenchi tried as hard as he could to remember her, but no matter what he did, the energy seemed to continue to
disperse. Suddenly, it stopped, and began to fall into one point.
"I remember..." Tsunami sighed in relief. Tenchi watched as her form began to solidify.
"Thank you Glave." Tenchi jerked upright as those words issued from the solidifying Tsunami. He turned to see a young man
with a shock of white in his hair supported by another young man and Edge. Where had they come from?
"Your memory seems to have turned the trick." Washu looked at the trio speculatively.
Tsunami suddenly fell towards the ground. Tenchi raced forward and caught her, gently lowering her to the ground. Tsunami
looked up at him and giggled. "My, how valiant..." Her eyes slowly closed, and she relaxed in his arms. Tenchi gently laid her
head on the ground.
"She seems to have fallen asleep. That probably exhausted her." Washu then turned to the two young men and the
Teknoman. Edge had her free hand clenched tightly. "You fellas have a lot of explaining to do."
Slade looked at Washu. "Seems at this point that you deserve to know at least part of what is going on. Lets get inside and
I'll tell you."
"That's so considerate of you. My dear, take off that heavy armor and please join us like a civilized being." Washu glanced at
Edge.
"Yes, I would like to know who you are." Funaho had stepped next to Washu.
"Um, what's going on?" Tenchi looked very confused as Edge seemed to glance about indecisively.
Finally, Edge shot a look at Glave, who nodded. Edge sighed, and suddenly seemed to glow. Then, with a flash, she was
gone.
In her place stood a figure that made Washu's and Tenchi's mouths drop open. It couldn't be! There was no way!!!
Ayeka staggered to her feet and said, "Um, we thought you were, well, Dead..."
Three heads shook in agreement.
"Um, Hi." Ryoko looked slightly sheepish. "Perhaps I should have gotten back here sooner..."
End of Part 5
