[Warhammer comes out again.] 
WH: With no regard to where it comes from, vengeance destroys the 
avenger, the avenged, and the guilty.

Teknos Warhammer presents
The Balance
Part 5
A Tenchi Muyo fic
Written by Christian Clark

At the remains of the Masaki household, Nobuyuki wanted to start crying, 
but after getting used to all of the chaos happening, it didn't seem 
surprising. He sighed and started to clean all the rubble from his 
extensive manga collection. A finger from nowhere tapped his shoulder; 
he turned to see a woman that looked rather similar to the Galaxy Police 
Officer, but she seemed to be into wearing blacker clothing. And it 
seemed she grew a pair of black angel wings. She spoke nicely, "Excuse 
me, could you be so kind as to tell me where little Washu and Sasami 
are?" 

Without thinking, he replied with a smile, "Oh sure, just go into that 
door over there. The only door that's standing."

She smiled and patted his head. "Thank you." With that she ran past him 
and crashed through the door. 

Sighing, Nobuyuki was glad that his home wasn't rebuilt, because the 
likely hood of it staying up was next to nothing. A few minutes later, 
he heard a rumbling from inside the door and figured that one of Washu's 
experiments blew up. At that same time, he saw a woman that looked very 
much like his late wife materialize from nothing with Tenchi's sword in 
her hand and run into the door. {That's it. As soon as I can, I'm gonna 
retire.} He thought in resignation. 

*************************************************

Moments ago, Washu's lab was orderly, clean, and in one piece. Now, on 
the other hand, is a different story.

Ryoko, Ayeka, Mihoshi, and Sasami all were waiting for the answer that 
they sought from Washu, not only concerning the whereabouts of Tenchi, 
but how to stop the Raven. Yet that meeting was stopped when a voice 
spoke kindly, "Hello. Did ya miss me?" 

They all turned in time to see a wave of black powered energy rip past 
them all and into the other levels of the lab where the explosions that 
followed sent everyone this way and that. "My lab! My beautiful, 
beautiful lab!" Washu cried in horror through the smoke. And it got even 
worse when she felt the back of her neck being forcefully grabbed and 
lifted to see a smiling Raven. 

"So, are we ready for today's lesson in payback?" Without leaving room 
for an answer, the Raven cocked her fist back and slammed it into 
Washu's stomach, sending her to the other side of the room they were in. 

Elsewhere, Ryoko was trying to pull herself out from beneath a rather 
large piece of equipment. Looking about she saw that Ayeka was fine 
beneath her shield and didn't even need to guess where Mihoshi was. Not 
even the devil of luck himself could match the amount of pure fortune 
that Mihoshi had. "I'm too late!" A voice from behind said. Ryoko turned 
to see 	a very familiar woman� in fact it was one she last saw when 
Tenchi was a baby. 

"Achika?" Ryoko whispered. The former turned to the latter and replied 
urgently,

"Under normal circumstance, I would be more than happy to explain what's 
going on, but in the meantime, we must get Mihoshi, Lady Ayeka, Tsunami, 
and Washu out of here and somewhere else at once!"

"Well, I'd love to help, but the fact of the matter is that this Raven 
is quite a bit out of my liege!"

Unfazed, Achika brought out the tenchiken and pointed the hilt, which 
had the remaining two power gems to her. "I believe these are yours. A 
'gift' from your mother I believe. It should help even the stakes a 
bit."

Ryoko couldn't believe what was going on, but she didn't argue as she 
extended her arms forward and concentrated on both gems. From beyond 
what normal eyes could see, a pair of blue streams came from her hands, 
floated through the air and into the sword hilt, took a hold of the 
gems, and brought them back. Once gem emerged onto her left hand and the 
other appeared on her forehead. The sheer amount of power she got from 
all three was beyond description. Every cell of her being was flooded 
with that same power. She felt unstoppable. She had enough power to 
create and destroy planets as she pleased. Her black and red suit 
appeared about her, only with the addition with a half-plate suit of 
armor on her upper body. From the center on outward on both eyes, the 
black markers on her face appeared. She wavered a bit, holding her head, 
"Whoa� what a rush�"   

Achika chuckled as she brought her own power into the tenchiken and 
extended it to the size of a claymore. "Our first priority is to rescue 
your friends and get them out of here, then you can hold off the Raven 
as long as you so wish. Just DON'T kill her."

That request made Ryoko blink. "Why? She's been attacking us and what 
not! So why?"

Achika sighed, "Because, the Dark Raven is the epitome of Chaos. Without 
her, the universe itself would collapse on one side without chaos to 
keep things stable. That's why you have to hold her off until we can 
come to some kind of consensus on what to do."

Drawing an improved energy sword from nowhere, Ryoko grumbled, agreed, 
and began to search for her missing compatriots. Achika shook her head 
and went into another direction. 

Meanwhile Washu gripped her stomach and figured it would be best if she 
did not eat anything for a while. She shoved a once working particle 
accelerator off her person and looked about for any signs of escape or 
help. Then she noticed a stirring beside her feet and saw that Sasami 
was trapped underneath a large tank. Thankfully, the material was 
featherweight and did not hurt her that much. Pushing the tank aside, 
she pulled the quivering Sasami from the rubble. 

"Wh� why is she doing this Washu? Why is she so mean?" Sasami said on 
the verge of tears. 

The Raven's icy voice answered for her. "Because it's a little thing 
called punishment that you, Washu and Tokimi are LONG overdue for, 
Tsunami." Surely enough, the Raven appeared in front of them both, her 
cruel smile not at all diminishing. 

Washu moved Sasami behind her, like a mother lion to her cub, and hoped 
for the best, although it was not likely. Sasami cried in fear, "I'm not 
Tsunami! I'm Sasami! So leave me alone!"

Raising a fist, black energy began to develop into a sphere that 
collected about the Raven's fist. Her sinister grin got even darker when 
lightning began to crackle about her forearm. "Nice try Tsunami, but the 
kiddy act won't work with me. And don't you two worry, I have no 
intention of killing either one of you. The universe needs you as much 
as it needs me. But in the meantime, I going to redefine suffering and 
use you two as examples!"

She flew back and released a tidal wave sized blast of pure dark energy 
that would easily demolish an armada. Yet, it did not even touch the 
helpless Washu and Sasami as Ryoko had intercepted the blast. Ryoko knew 
she could not stop the blast, so she did the next best thing. She 
refracted it away from its targets to elsewhere. As always, there was 
massive collateral damage. 

The Raven's eyes widened in disbelief as Ryoko dashed through the air 
landed her fist into one of her cheeks, sending her away, and giving the 
other two Megami the time they needed to escape with Achika. 

Emerging from the rubble, the red marks on her cheek faded from view as 
the Raven witnessed her new opponent. "Interesting� No one's ever been 
able to hurt me like you have. Only the Creator knows how long I've been 
itching for a good fight!" She pulled out her black blade and pointed it 
at the powered up Ryoko. "If you amuse me, I just might let you live, if 
not� well, let's hope that I am happy once this fight's over."

Pulling up her own energy saber, Ryoko growled back, "Then I'll be more 
than happy to bore you to death!" 

*************************************************

Back in the impenetrable void that Tenchi and Kiyone were in, the recent 
discovery of Kiyone's inevitable disintegration. The latter could not 
believe that the Dark Raven was the only reason she was living and 
without it, she was going to die. However, it was happening regardless. 

Tenchi, not at all wanting to see his friend just die, paced about the 
room, trying to come up with a solution. Yet, his inspiration had run 
dry. He looked at the melancholy police officer and wished that there 
were something he could do. Iczer-4 was doing everything he could to try 
at slowing the deterioration process, while Iczer-6 was trying his best 
to lighten the mood with silly questions. Although the sentiment was 
appreciated, it did nothing to help. 

"Hey! What are you nits doing?" Another male voice screamed from the 
darkness as it stormed through it revealed yet another male Iczer. His 
physical appearance would have lead one to believe he was just leaving 
his teenage years and into adulthood. His dusty yellow body suit and 
armor, wild dirt brown hair, and fiery orange eyes showed a rather 
obvious impulsiveness, but still held some intelligence, if only a bit. 

Iczer-4 turned and shooshed the newcomer. "Brother, be silent or else 
our sisters might hear you and get us into more trouble."

Blinking, he looked at Kiyone and Tenchi. Then comprehension dawned, 
"Ah! I see. This is the guy who the Raven kidnapped and this dame's the 
one the Raven hid with. I get it now." His brothers, on the other hand, 
were not convinced. 

With narrowed eyes, Iczer-6 questioned, "Then, you know WHY this guy was 
kidnapped?" After several seconds of an uncomfortable silence, Iczer-5 
admitted his ignorance. Which came as of no surprise to his brothers. 
Meanwhile, Tenchi and Kiyone looked on nervously as the brothers tried 
to enlighten their newest guest. 

"Then, what do we need to do in order to help her?" Iczer-5 asked. 

"The answer is easy, the trick to doing it is what's hard." Iczer-4 
replied. "If the Raven will voluntarily refuse with Lady Makabi here, 
then the deterioration will stop and the genes will rebuild to their 
normal state. Yet, now that she is free, it is unlikely she will want to 
rejoin with Lady Makabi."

"I wouldn't worry about it that much." A female voice said from the 
exit. They all turned to see the older sister of the male Iczers, 
Iczer-2. Her blue body suit and black armor protected the well-kept body 
within, yet even as powerful as she was she could not defeat time. The 
lines on her face and the graying hair on her head, where as the rest 
was red, was showing signs of her extensive age. 

Tenchi stepped forward. "What do you mean by that?"

Without looking at her brothers or her guests, she continued, "Whether 
she knows it or not, the Megami sisters linked the Raven much closer to 
Kiyone than she thought. She should be experiencing the side effects of 
her freedom about now."

*************************************************

Back in Washu's subspace lab, Ryoko had never fought with such passion 
as she ever had before. All throughout the battle that had lasted for 
well over an hour, she figured the Raven was just toying with her. After 
another break up between them both, Ryoko charged once more, hoping to 
find a chink in the Raven's armor. 

The Raven stood her ground and took a defensive stance, ready to 
confound Ryoko once more. Yet, after an hour of fighting, she had gotten 
rather bored with Ryoko's poor excuse for a battle plan. Therefore, 
during this attack, Ryoko would know how a kabob felt. She was about to 
thrust the sword forward, then suddenly, her legs gave out. 

The Raven was tilting as Ryoko's saber pierced her left shoulder. The 
scream nearly broke her eardrums as the Raven grabbed her wrist and 
tossed her as easily as child would toss a paper doll. Ryoko crashed 
through several piles of machinery before coming to a stop. 

The Raven looked at her legs as she tried to stand up but found it 
fruitless. She figured a different mode of transport was needed if she 
wanted to continue. Her black wings emerged and she began to float a 
foot or two above the ground, using her power to levitate her body. She 
was forced into the ground as Ryoko landed on her back with quite a bit 
of momentum on her side.  

"So, you give up yet?" Ryoko asked with a grin, and all she got in 
return from the Raven was a hateful glare and an energy blast that sent 
her through the ceiling. 

"Not yet." She hissed, giving chase to Ryoko. 

The defender figured that Achika had already gotten Sasami and Washu 
away and made a break for the exit� if she could find it that is. The 
Raven pierced the floor in front of her and fired another blast that 
sent Ryoko into the nearest wall. The Raven nearly gave chase but the 
pain in her shoulder had suddenly increased several times, causing her 
to fall. Clutching the wound, she thought,  {what's going on? I should 
have beaten her by now!}

Shaking the thought of fighting Ryoko, she realized that Washu's 
daughter was just delaying her, allowing their escape. Her face 
contorted with rage at the thought that Washu had outwitted her once 
again. She screamed at the volume of a sonic boom and exploded through 
the door.

Emerging from the rubble, Ryoko growled, threw a pipe off her back and 
grumbled, walking to the door, which lead to the exit, "Hold her off she 
says� I don't get paid enough for this� I don't even get paid for crying 
out loud!" 

*************************************************

True to the words of Tokimi, Valna had been able to warn Jurai of the 
Raven's inevitable attack. What they did not expect was that the Raven 
had lost a considerable amount of her power in teleporting to the 
nearest moon of Jurai.

Grasping for air the Raven looked at the fleet that had amassed around 
their homeworld. That still was not going to stop her. She now knew that 
she was going to die, all because of her want of revenge. It was going 
to end here and now. It appeared that the Megami had won, despite how 
hard she tried to stop them. {Well, if I am to die here and now, at 
least I won't go alone. Get ready Tsunami, we're going on a trip 
together.}

*************************************************

"Sister!" Iczer-1 said as she ran through the darkness beside Iczer-2, 
who was returning to her room after leaving her brothers and guests. The 
first Iczer was also in the stages of near death from time, but she 
remained strong. [Sister, the Raven is trying to attack Jurai! We have 
to save her. Or else she'll die.}

Sighing, Iczer-2 nodded, but interjected a thought of her own. {You do 
realize that our time has grown short. Moreover, we are not as strong as 
we used to be. If we were to try to save the Raven, we would most likely 
die from the power that Jurai has developed.}

Iczer-1 nodded and replied, {if that is how we are to die... in the 
service of our creator, then I have no qualm about it.}

Iczer-2 smiled and hugged her sister; {you were always one to put others 
ahead of yourself. Just like with Nagisa.}

Starting for Jurai, Iczer-1 retorted, {And what of you and Yajin? You 
loved the poor boy, although you never admitted it.}

Her sister laughed slightly as her speed picked up, {I know. It hurts to 
remember poor Yajin. He was the only one who saw the real me. I miss 
him. Hey sister, maybe we'll meet our respective partners if we do 
happen to perish.}

Despite the fact that their chances of survival were next to nothing, 
Iczer-1 smiled, {I'd like that.}

*************************************************

In the prison were the male Iczers and their guests, the formers winced 
and clutched at their chests. Tenchi picked up Iczer-6 and asked, 
"What's wrong?"

With tear filled eyes, Iczer-6 weakly answered, "Pain...  my sisters are 
in pain. They're hurting. They're dying."

Iczer-5 tried to pick up his older brother, "Come on, we got to help 
them!" Iczer-6 nodded and they both made their way to the exit, but were 
stopped by the only Iczer left. 

"Stop." Iczer-3 said with a downtrodden face. "Please, it will do them 
no good. Even if you were to get to them in time, time has taken from 
them the power to continue. They both knew this was to be their last 
battle. I begged them not to go, but they wouldn't listen and I couldn't 
stop them." She looked to her brothers. "Let them go. They always did 
know what they were doing."

Iczers 5 and 4 could not respond to her words. They hated the feeling of 
being helpless when ones they loved were suffering. Iczer-5 grit his 
teeth, hating the fact that there was nothing he could do about it. 
However, there was something he could do, but it would be going against 
the wishes of his sisters. In a rage, he ran past Iczer-3 and into the 
darkness. 

"Wait! What do you think you're..." she would have run after him, but 
Iczer-4's hand grabbed her wrist. 

"Let him do this. If he were to stay here and do nothing, he would hate 
himself as long as he would live. Not even you would want that. Let him 
go." He said wearily. Iczer-3 did not want to listen to him, but the 
words of his younger brother struck true. She simply looked to the 
darkness and wished her brother the best of luck.

Back in the bed, Kiyone screamed in pain and clutched her arm. Tenchi 
ran back to her side, but stopped when he saw that Kiyone's hand was 
beginning to break apart slowly. Iczer-4 went to her side and rechecked 
his findings. His face paled when he discovered why this was happening, 
but he would say nothing. 

"Bother! What's happening?" iczer-6 asked with evident worry. The others 
looked up to him as he walked past her and to the window. 

He did not bother to turn to them as he said, "The injuries the Raven 
sustains are also transferred to her as well. They seem to increase the 
rate of disintegration tenfold." In a whisper, he continued, "I give her 
less than an hour."

*************************************************

On Earth, Achika had told everyone the truths of all that has been 
happening. Most specifically about Washu's true origins. 

"Of course! No wonder that old fart Clay was so determined to get me!" 
Washu said as she bapped her fist into her palm. "It also makes sense 
that someone as smart as I would be a goddess."

The others sweatdropped at Washu's already bloated ego getting larger.

Yet, Ryoko proclaimed as soon as Achika told them of the Raven's attack 
at Jurai. "Well then, if the Raven's at Jurai then that means I can get 
her back for what she did to me! On top of that, NO ONE takes my Tenchi 
away from me and lives!" Ryoko said as she began to use a complex 
teleportation maneuver. 

"Ryoko! Wait!" Achika screamed, figuring that Ryoko would not let the 
Raven live if what she heard from Valna was true. The Raven was 
weakening, and that was trouble. Without the Raven, the universe would 
fall apart at the seams unless she was fused back together with Kiyone. 
The trouble was making the Raven listen to reason, but with her as mad 
as she was now, it was not likely. 

"Excuse me Achika-san, but isn't there anything we can do?" Ayeka asked. 
Achika took a single look at the princess and shook her head. According 
to her estimates, their time would tun out as soon as the sun would set 
that day. 

"Wait, Achika. As a Megami, what can I do?"

Blinking, Achika responded, not at all thinking about what to do with 
them, "Well, Tokimi is capable of controlling realities, Tsunami has 
power over life and death, and you have power over time and matter. Why 
do you ask?" 

Washu ran up to Achika and hugged her. "If I act ANY way like I did 
before I came down here, I know I have a lab at your home. Take me 
there!" Not arguing at all, Achika turned to the others and said, "You 
all wait here, the Raven will not attack."

Before Mihoshi, Sasami, or Ayeka could say anything, the other two 
vanished into a sphere of light.

*************************************************

The Raven's wings had proved to be of no help as Juraian energy blasts 
tore away layer after layer of defense. Trying to make a suicide run to 
the home world had proved useless. Now, she was going to die in her own 
foolishness and with nothing to show for it.

A pair of arms encircled her waist and flew away from the onslaught of 
blaster fire. She opened her eyes to see her first creation; Iczer-1 
bloodied and without much strength left, was taking her from the danger. 
She looked over Iczer-1's shoulder to see Iczer-2 was firing back and 
blocking multiple attacks from the fleet that had converged on them. 
Although the odds had increased slightly, it still looked hopeless for 
the Raven and the two Iczers. 

"NO!" A male voice screamed from the distance, which turned out to be 
Iczer-5, tearing through any Juraian cruisers foolish enough to be in 
his path. Their missiles and cannons all missed as his orange colored 
light destroyed any ships in his path to his sisters. 

Picking up Iczer-2 in one arm, he grabbed Iczer-1 who still had a grip 
on the Raven and flew as hard as he could. Iczer-1 screamed to her 
brother, despite how grateful of his intervention, "What are you doing 
here!"

Iczer-5 snarled, "What does it look like I'm doing you morons! I'm 
saving your lives!" he was cut off as he saw an energy wave come 
straight at him. With all the weight he had on him, he used it to dodge 
the blast and see where it came from. 

There, floating half a mile away from them, Ryoko stood, with nearly 
unimaginable power seething about her person. Her stone cold gaze made 
the object of her distaste know what was to happen. Dropping off his 
sisters and creator, he pulled out a beam halisen* from nowhere and 
smirked, "Finally, I get some action."

Yet, his joy was short lived as Iczer-1 cut him off, "No, you must 
return the Raven to Lady Makabi and now. Or else we're all finished!"

He looked at his sisters and though he didn't want to just run from a 
fight, he nodded since he was the only one strong enough to take her 
back, "Alright, but you two better promise me that you'll come back. You 
got me?!"

While pulling out her beam sword, Iczer-2 smiled and said, "Of course we 
will. We haven't lived this long just to die right here."

Iczer-1 threw her sister a glare, but turned back to her brother and 
nodded. "We'll be right behind you."

With that, Iczer-5 took the unconscious Raven and warped out to their 
home. 

With that done, Iczer-1 pulled out her own weapon and said to Iczer-2 
without turning to her sister, "You do realized that I don't like 
lying."

Before rushing to fight Ryoko, she retorted with a smirk, "Well, I guess 
that's what separates us now, isn't it?" With their last ounce of 
strength, both Iczers 1 and 2 charged, knowing that their end was near. 

*************************************************

In the homeworld of the Megami, Achika and Washu appeared in what looked 
like a lab that would put Washu's old one to shame. Everywhere as far as 
the eye could see, there were experiments yet to be completed, books 
that needed to be read, and so much more that made Washu's heart go 
pitter-pat. "Such wonderful schematics! Such expert designs! I think I'm 
going to faint!" Washu said loosing her balance, despite the grin she 
had on. Achika helped Washu to stand back up and brought her to the 
heart of the lab where Washu's help would most likely be best. 

"Ok... if I know me, I should have some sort of program made so that I 
can relearn what I forgot." She said, bringing up her laptop. Several 
files opened later, Washu felt a shock from not only her laptop, but 
from the large supercomputer in the heart of the lab. 

"Washu-san!!" Achika cried, picking up the weary and steaming Washu. 

When the scientist exhaled, her breath was a steady stream of steam. 
"Whoa� what a rush." She said with awe about her own prowess. She then 
knew about everything that happened before she came down, about her 
powers and her children in this world. It was staggering to know that 
she was more productive in this area than in her mortal form. It made 
her happy, very happy. 

With that, she hopped up to her feet and ran to the elevator, which led 
to the upper levels of the lab. Running into a tube, she summoned a 
circle of light below her feet and it carried her up to where she wanted 
to go.  Achika flew up behind her and screamed,

"What is it you're planning?"

"Now that I know what I can do, I want to be able to stop time as it is 
for a while."

"What?!"

"If we can stop the process in which both Kiyone and the Raven are 
falling apart and refuse them together once they see reason, we can save 
the universe as it is!" 

"But what if the Raven doesn't want to?"

"She will. I know her better than she knows herself! She has no desire 
to end existence just for petty revenge. Just trust me on this one!"

"Very well then. Is there anything I can do?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Summon Demi and Wren. I need their help for 
this one."

 Achika nodded and flew back to the exit of Washu's lab as quickly as 
she could. 

When the elevator reached the apex, it ended up in a room that was 
filled with clocks as far as the eye could see. Clocks from Earth, 
several lost civilizations, and newer ones all adorned the walls and a 
few hung in the air with nothing to hold them. "Of course. I should have 
known." She walked up to the largest clock-head, another version of 
England's Big Ben and walked behind the face to see the gears that held 
all time in this certain dimension. The reason why she needed the help 
of two of her older children, was that the computers which held the 
gears in place would have to be changed every second, something that 
anything mortal would be next to impossible. She turned when she heard 
that her company had arrived as she hoped. 

Coming through the elevator, a nine and a half-foot male android clad in 
gray armor and black cloth ran to her. Behind him, another android, less 
than half the height of the first ran after him. Wren, the larger of the 
two, did not exactly have the appearance of a human, despite the black 
hair and human face, but the metal plates on the sides of his head 
showed what he really was. 

Demi, the shorter one of the two, looked more human than her 
counterpart, but her green hair and rather short stature made her still 
stand out. She pulled off her orange cloak and began to hook up her body 
with wires that emerged from plates in her skin to the console.

"It's been a while Mother." Wren said, poking his head through the door. 
"It's good to have you back."

Washu smiled back at her 'son' and replied, "Remembering things like 
this is nice, but now, I want you to keep circulating the circuits on 
this computer right here."

Walking past her, he took a seat in front of the super computer behind 
the clock-face and started to type, "What exactly are we planning to 
do?"

"A complete temporary chronological halt." She said, not at all caring 
about the reactions she got. 

"You can't be serious!" Wren said, standing up from his seat. 

Washu glanced at him briefly and said, "Quite serious. Now get back to 
work, unless you want the universe to turn on its side."

Wren did not like this, but he had no choice in the matter, so he 
returned to his seat and began to rewire the computer for the correct 
program run. What they were doing was beyond dangerous. They all knew 
that, but it was something that had to be done. The lives of billions 
hung at this moment, and unless all the factors came into place, then 
all would be lost. 

Demi continued to reprogram the computers for the necessary power 
transfer yet knew that the slightest mistake could easily blow her away, 
into nothing. She never knew true fear, she was not programmed to fell 
fear. Yet, as part of being Washu's daughter, she had to grow and 
experience things that all living things did. So, now she was feeling 
apprehensive of having an entire dimension on her shoulders. 
Fortunately, she was not alone. 

*************************************************

Iczer-1 collided with a husk of a lost ship after having been struck 
several times by Ryoko. She clutched her shoulder, feeling the blood 
escape from the wound that had developed there. She looked up to see 
Iczer-2's neck was caught in the hands of the demon that had easily 
outclassed them. 

"Where's Tenchi?!" Ryoko screamed, increasing the grip she had on 
Iczer-2's neck. Despite how much she beat them both, she had been unable 
to find Tenchi or the Raven. So, she did the next best thing, she would 
get the truth from those who helped the Raven take Tenchi from her. 	

Iczer-2 sneered back and hissed, "Not even if I did know!" with Ryoko's 
attention taken, she developed a powerful shot in her palm and forced it 
into Ryoko's stomach, sending her away and releasing the second Iczer's 
neck. She let the life giving air fill her lungs again and knew it 
wouldn't be likely if she got out of that again, should Ryoko get her 
again. 

At that, time Iczer-1 took this chance to fly after Ryoko and press 
their advantage. It was fortunate for them the fleet had backed off, but 
the sheer amount of power Ryoko had over them, made the fleet seem like 
a more appealing foe. Tearing through the husk of the ship, she didn't 
have time to dodge as Ryoko's energy saber pierced her heart. The other 
five Iczers froze when they felt the life force of Iczer-1 fade into 
nothing. 

Ryoko pulled back Iczer-1 a bit and threw the deceased Iczer at her 
sister. Iczer-2 stared in shock as she saw the lifeless body of her 
sister float up to her. Without thinking, she slowly reached forward and 
held the corpse as close to her heart as she could. Iczer-2 never wanted 
to admit it, but having Iczer-1 as a sister was one of the best things 
that ever happened to her. And now she was gone. 

Iczer-2 wiped the tears from her eyes and glared at her sister's killer. 
Without bothering to escape, she yelled incoherently and flew straight 
at Ryoko, with murder in her eyes. 

Iczer-2 never had a chance.

********************

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