I'd like to apologize to anyone who sent me C&C and I didn't respond. I 
try to respond to any and all C&C, even if only to thank them for taking 
the time, but sometimes life happens and I forget. Again, I'm sorry.

Disclaimer: The concepts of Ranma 1/2, The Senshi, MKR, and Utena are 
the creations of their respective creators. No money is being made from 
this and no such intent should be inffered.

Author's note at end. C&C, public or private, is always welcome.

****
Saotome stared at Ryoko. The blue haired woman sat in her chair, legs 
crossed, green eyes appraising them all. In her lap was a small bundle 
she had taken from the freighter's bridge locker.

"Where to begin?" She mused, as those jade orbs met Saotome's eyes. "At 
the beginning, I suppose. Kiyone, would you show us the wedding photo? 
The second one."

Behind Ryoko, an image formed. Taken from high point, the image was of a 
happy couple, a man and woman surrounded by friends. Both wore formal 
attire. Eight or nine girls stood around the woman, while several 
others, men and women, stood next to the guy. It was wedding photo, he 
realized. But the clothes were different

"That's Lady Mercury," Utena gasped, pointing at one of the women 
standing next to the bride. She was dressed in a blue gown and her short 
hair seemed almost blue.

"Lady Mars!" Hikaru said, pointing at another. This woman was tall and 
slender, with space black hair and dressed in a red gown. "And back 
there..." She stared at the image, her gaze locked on one of the taller 
women. She was green haired and wore a black gown. Slowly, she turned to 
look at the woman seated in one of the comfortable chairs. Although the 
clothes were different and the woman in the chair cradled a staff in one 
arm, it was obviously the same person.

"Not my best photo, I admit," Setsuna said.

While Utena and Shidou gaped, Saotome, for his part, found his attention 
drawn to the other half of the holo. Gathered there was a red-haired 
girl who reminded him vaguely of Washu, the lady he and Ryoko had met on 
Chas. Then there was two women who looked like Kiyone and Mihoshi, and a 
tall woman with golden eyes and cyan colored hair in spikes, and 
finally--

"That's me!" Saotome shouted, springing to his feet and pointing. The 
boy, well, young man in the picture stood towards the front, arms 
crossed. His mouth was a thin, flat line, his blue eyes cocky. He wore a 
red tunic and black, loose pants. His black hair was tied back in a 
braid and he stared into the camera with smug confidence.

"That's your ancestor," Ryoko said, but her voice was different. Older, 
a bit harsher. Turning to look at her, he saw that she held a red 
jewel--one of her earrings--in her left hand. Her tunic sleeve had 
rolled back, revealing an orange-red gem set into her wrist. It glowed 
faintly. "His name was Ranma. Ranma Saotome." Her fingers clamped shut 
around the earring and the gem set into her wrist flared brightly. For a 
moment, Ryoko seemed to blur as though out of focus, and then there was 
someone else sitting in the chair. "The same as you."

The newcomer wore Ryoko's clothes, but she was taller and leaner without 
losing any curves. It was what his father called "terrible beauty." She 
shifted in her seat, and her entire manner changed, smoothly becoming 
lithe and hungry. Dangerous. She lifted a hand and rubbed her cheek. 
"I've worn that body for so long. Feels weird."

"Who?" Saotome asked and then stared at the image again. She was, he 
realized the same one in the image.

"Ommmmminous Hummmm." Saotome twisted around to stare at Shidou and the 
weapon in her hand.

"You promised us the truth, Ryoko, not some fancy show," Shidou snapped.

"This is the truth, Hikaru," Ryoko shot back. "I'm going to tell you the 
truth and the truth is that your life and Utena's, has been one great 
big fat lie. It started fifty-one thousand years ago. Just after dinner. 
Tenchi had just been accepted into the local university and we were 
celebrating. That's when he told us he had an announcement."

****
Ryoko's eyes snapped up from wrestling with a stubborn cork. Something 
in his voice, then she watched as Ayeka's hand grabbed Tenchi's and felt 
her heart sink in her chest.

"I...I've made my choice," Tenchi said.

A cold anger began to burn in Ryoko's stomach.

"I know its going to hurt some people, but I've come to realize that I 
can no longer dance around the subject. I am a man, and a man has to 
make choices." He smiled at Ayeka. "I've made mine. Ayeka has consented 
to be my wife."

With an animalistic howl, Ryoko lunged the length of the table and then 
pulled up short as the glow of the Tenchi-ken snapped into existence. 
Ryoko stared down the length of the blade and into Tenchi's eyes. 
"Tenchi..." she whispered. "I...please..."

"I'm sorry, Ryoko," Tenchi said. "I had to choose. Don't do this. 
Please."

Ryoko stared over at Ayeka, who wrapped her arms around Tenchi and gave 
Ryoko a smirk of triumph.

Ryoko shrieked in agony and then flew upwards and phased through the 
ceiling and out of sight.

*****
Hours later, Ayeka entered the room she shared with Sasami and Ryoko to 
find Ryoko perched on a bookcase, sake bottle in hand and several empty 
ones scattered on the floor. Empty golden eyes watched her as she 
gathered up both her bedding and Sasami's.

By Juraian tradition, a betrothed couple had to share a room provided 
there was a supervisor to ensure that nothing untoward happened. In this 
case, it was Sasami. Kiyone could have done it. In fact, she was the 
logical choice. But she and Mihoshi lived down in the city and it simply 
was far too impractical for her to make the journey up to the shrine 
nightly to supervise Tenchi and Ayeka. So the duty fell to Sasami.

Bed sheets in hand, Ayeka turned to the door and then froze as a harsh 
voice rasped behind her.

"How?"

Ayeka turned. Ryoko was looking at her fully, and she felt a shudder of 
dread pass through her as she met those cold and empty golden orbs. It 
was like looking at death itself. "Education, Ryoko," Ayeka replied. 
"While you were drinking in front of the TV, I helped Tenchi with his 
homework. We fell in love right under your nose. Tenchi prefers a woman 
with breeding and culture. I made an effort to understand him. You never 
did." Then she turned and swept out of the room.

For at least an hour, Ryoko remained where she was, staring at the 
bottle in her hand, and then her lips twisted into a snarl and she let 
the bottle fall to the floor even as she was phasing through the floor.

****
One week later...

"Sasami?" Nobiyuki Misaki said coming into the kitchen with the last of 
the groceries. "How come you didn't get any sake or beer?"

"We have plenty," Sasami said as she stacked food in the fridge.

"What?" Nobiyuki rushed to the pantry and opened it. Then he just 
stared. Before him was at least twenty bottles of sake and several cases 
of beer.

"Wow. That's strange."

"Uh-huh," Sasami said. "Ryoko's stopped drinking for some reason."

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her around lately."

"Yeah," Sasami said, and set out celery and carrots. "She's been 
spending all her time with Washu in her lab. She told me to bring meals 
to her in there. Every time I do, she has her nose in a book."

"A cheap romance novel, no doubt," Ayeka said as she entered the kitchen 
with a basketfull of apples.

Sasami just shrugged.


Another week passed before Ryoko emerged from the lab and sat down to 
breakfast. When she did, she wore a light blue sweater and black stretch 
pants. The spikes of her hair had been smoothed flat and then tied back 
and she was carrying a small backpack. She said not a word, but merely 
rushed through breakfast and then flew through the wall.

"Irony is the sweetest revenge," Washu said as she sat down and began 
eating. She glanced up at Ayeka, snickered, and then said nothing more.


In mid-summer, a letter for Ryoko arrived and that was unusual in the 
respect that none of the girls existed as far as the rest of the world 
was concerned. However, it was just one more puzzle piece in the enigma 
Ryoko had become.

She had stopped drinking or watching soap operas. She had thrown out her 
collection of novels and was home only on Sunday. For the other six 
days, she disappeared at first light and returned well after dark. On 
Sundays, she was often visible seated on the roof, reading or doing 
something on a notepad. This went on until well into August when just as 
inexplicably, she stopped doing that too and simply lounged in the 
living room doing nothing but watching documentaries and the news.

It was at lunch when Sasami handed came into the dining room. "The 
postman just brought this for you, Ryoko," she said, handing Ryoko the 
letter.

The envelope was pristine white, and stamped with official looking 
stamps. Ryoko dropped her spoon and tore into the letter as though the 
contents were a matter of life and death.

"What is that?" Ayeka asked.

"It's a letter, Princess," Ryoko replied as she took out the crisply 
folded piece of paper within and looked at it.  She smiled triumphantly 
and replacing the paper in the envelope, laid it face down on the table 
and began eating.

Ayeka just goggled. It was the first time Ryoko had spoken to her in 
almost four months. "Which says what?"

Ryoko ignored her.

********
"What were you up too?" Setsuna asked.

"Getting an education," Ryoko replied. "I thought that if I could get a 
degree or something, maybe I could...I dunno. Seduce Tenchi away from 
Ayeka, or be his second wife or something. I spent all that time with 
Washu having her tutor me and then later, at cram school for most of 
that summer." She looked up at the ceiling. "I don't remember what my 
degree was though. Something about business. Anyways, somewhere along 
the way, it stopped being a way to try and win Tenchi back. I was 
actually enjoying it."

"Your degree was in business law," Kiyone said. "Specifically, antitrust 
and fraud prevention. Ryoko Hibki enrolled at Golden Katsurugi 
University from Galactic Standard Year one nine nine two nine oh three 
through Gee Ess Why one nine nine nine five oh five, breaking all 
records for completion of requirements. This was following an extensive 
investigation into whether or not you cheated and as no evidence was 
found, you were awarded the degree. You then passed bar on Gee Ess Why 
one nine nine five nine one one at ninety two percent."

"Bar?" Ryoko blinked. "I was a lawyer?" She shuddered.

"You are then listed as vice president of legal affairs," Kiyone 
continued,  "for Misaki and Son Architecture and Design, established Gee 
Ess Why one nine nine six oh two oh two as well as attorney of record 
for the formation of Cabbit Catering Limited on Gee Ess Why one nine 
nine six oh five. Following that, you assumed position of chairman and 
president of Cabbit Catering alongside Sasami Misaki, Chairman and chief 
chef and Kasuhito Misaki, Chief Financial officer. Both companies were 
united under Juraian Limited Enterprises on Gee Ess Why one nine nine 
nine eleven two nine whereupon your positions at both firms was 
eliminated."

"Ayeka?" Saotome asked.

"Yeah," Ryoko nodded. "I remember now. I guess the idea that I was 
working alongside her husband to be and her little sister was too much. 
She and her mother formed a company, bought out both firms and then 
kicked me out."

"What a bitch," Shidou said.

"It didn't matter though. We had to leave earth anyway since Tenchi and 
Ayeka were to get married on Jurai. We were gone for three months and 
then we came back, and found a surprise."

****
"What do you mean, frozen?" Ayeka demanded of the yacht captain. 
Considering the ship was as large as one of the Terran supercarriers, 
yacht might have been an understatement.

"Frozen, princess," the captain replied, spreading his hands helplessly. 
"And the planet is surrounded by some sort of energy field. As near as 
we can determine, everything on Earth is in a state of frozen stasis."

"Breach the field," Ayeka commanded. "We will not be--"

"Not possible, I'm afraid."

Everybody spun. Standing at the rear of the bridge was a tall, 
green-haired woman in strange clothing and holding a key shaped staff 
that was topped with a garnet orb.

"Who are you?" Ayeka demanded.

"You may call me Pluto."

"May?" Ayeka shrieked, lunging forward. "You cannot, will not, give me 
permission to--"Ayeka froze in mid-lunge, frozen like a statue.

"She is unharmed, I simply moved her a little out of synchronization 
with the time stream." Pluto walked forward. "I wouldn't," she said to 
one crew person as she passed them. The crew person blinked and then 
took their hand out from under the console. She stopped before Tenchi 
and stared at him for a moment before giving him a short bow. 
"Congratulations on your nuptials, Prince Tenchi. However, I must ask 
you, all of you, to leave this system immediately. This star is no 
longer Jurai's."

"What?" The captain demanded. "Sol is Juraian territory."

"An abandoned colony," Pluto corrected. "It was only the prince's 
foolish bravado that signaled Ayeka's ship and alerted Jurai to the fact 
that the world was still populated. By then, genetically, the humans had 
very little ties to their former mother world."

"The marriage of Prince Tenchi and Princess Ayeka rebinds the worlds. 
This star is Jurai territory."

"No. It is not a Juraian colony and has never been. Sol and its planets 
were earmarked for a greater destiny when the universe was first formed. 
The colonists were helpful in that regard. Jurai should be thanked. But 
you must leave."

"We will not--" The captain started and then froze as Setsuna 
interrupted, speaking in cold, harsh tones.

"You will leave this system and not come within one light year of it for 
the time it takes Earth to complete one thousand and twenty orbits 
around Sol. I will give you ten hours to leave, after which, I will 
destroy this ship."

"Are you insane? The princess is on board. Jurai will descend on this 
system in force."

"And I will destroy them too. In the grand scheme of things, Captain, 
the only people on this bubble of glass and steel that are of any value 
to the universe is Tenchi and the reformed space pirate. The rest of you 
are irrelevant. You have nine hours and fifty-five minutes."

Then she was gone and Ayeka lunged forward, pin wheeling her arms as she 
tried to maintain balance.

In the years to come, her failure to do so was never mentioned.

****
"How did you know what was going to happen anyway?" Ryoko asked 
suddenly, turning to look at Setsuna. "And for that matter, how come you 
never told the rest of us?"

"I was told not to," Setsuna replied.

"By who?"

Setsuna merely smiled and sipped her drink.

"Hold on," Shidou said. "Ayeka? Jurai? I've never heard of either of 
them."

"Of course you haven't," Ryoko replied. "The Church wiped them from 
history. Now shut up and listen." She took a deep breath. "Ayeka and the 
captain protested, but Tenchi was the crown prince and he had made up 
his mind. We left Sol and returned to Jurai. Azusa, Ayeka's father, was 
all for taking the colony back by force, but his wives were made of more 
sensible stuff. A thousand and twenty Terran years wasn't really all 
that long a time, and they pointed out that if the legends were true, 
Pluto wouldn't have been bluffing."

"Legends? What legends?" Shidou asked.

"Legend has it that Sol was once home to a place called the Moon Kingdom 
which ruled the galaxy for a period known as the Silver Millennium. No 
one knows where they came from, but supposedly, every race in that 
galaxy is descended from them.  Their power was...formidable."

"Not all the galaxy was descended from them," Setsuna replied. "They had 
an extensive colonization program and little qualms about genetic 
alteration to colonize otherwise inhabitable planets. Hence why a great 
many races are genetically compatible with Terjurai."

Utena made a noise in her throat.

"In any case," Ryoko said, "Azusa died shortly before Pluto's edict ran 
out, so Tenchi was emperor when Jurai returned to Sol. By then, I had 
pretty much accepted that Tenchi was devoted to Ayeka and would never 
see me as anything more then a friend." She looked at the image and 
sighed. "So I became a guardian. There were worst things to be."

****
"In the Maker's name," Ayeka breathed as the Tsunami dropped out of 
hyperspace and entered the Sol system, steaming towards the star at 
eighty percent of lightspeed. Though they were still in the outer 
system, the Tsunami's sensors were already picking up a beautiful web of 
crystal surrounding Terra. It gleamed in Sol's light and Terra itself 
was a jewel of blue, white, and green.

"It's beautiful, Majesty," Kiyone agreed. She and Mihoshi both wore the 
uniforms of the palace guard and Mihoshi was holding the hand of 
Princess Mayuka and otherwise keeping her occupied and out from 
underfoot.

"Your highness," an officer said. "We are receiving an invitation for 
you, Empress Ayeka, and your retinue. It names them all."

"It's a trap," Kiyone advised. "We never should have come here."

"We were told to stay away for all this time," Tenchi said. "I want to 
know why. Ryoko, ready Ryo-Oki."

"Tenchi, have you lost your mind?" Ayeka demanded. "These people are 
Barbarians!"

"That planet is my home, Ayeka. I may be the Juraian Emperor, but I will 
know why they claimed it for their own. Captain, take us in." With that, 
he strode off the bridge.

****
"Broken," Kiyone said as Ryo-Oki sailed into the crystalline web. She, 
Tenchi, Ayeka and Ryoko were the only ones on board.

"What do you mean," Tenchi asked.

"Look." Kiyone pointed at one of the web strands visible on Ryo-oki's 
viewscreen. This close, they could see that the strand was pockmarked 
with jagged holes.

"Wow," Tenchi said, "what do you suppose happened?"

"In all honesty, I'd say they were attacked," Kiyone replied.

****
Following a navigational beacon, Ryoko set Ryo-Oki down on a landing pad 
near to a palace of crystal. "Welcoming committee," she said, pointing 
at the veiwscreen. There was a haze of white light and then Tenchi the 
four were standing on the pad, Ryo-oki joining them in her human form a 
moment later.

Standing at the edge of the pad were eight people. Seven of them were 
female, one was male. With one exception, the women all wore gowns, the 
man in an outfit that was a cross between robes and armor. A sword hung 
at his hip. He stood next to two of the women. One a young woman with 
long pink hair who was dressed in a pink gown. The other was a very tall 
and slender woman. Her pale blond hair reached almost to her ankles and 
she wore a sleeveless gown of pure white. She carried a moon shaped 
scepter and behind them were five other young women. Four of them wore 
gowns of blue, red, green, and orange, respectively, while the fifth, an 
athletic well built redhead stood slightly apart, staring at them with 
an expression that was neither welcoming nor hostile. She wore a red 
tunic and black pants.

The woman in white stepped forward. Pure goodness radiated off her and 
despite themselves, Tenchi and his friends found themselves relaxing. 
"Greetings, Emperor Tenchi of Jurai. I am Neo-Queen Serenity. Welcome 
home."

"Thank you," Tenchi said as he bowed. "My wife, Empress Ayeka, and this 
is Kiyone, Ryoko, and Ryo-Oki."

"My husband and daughter, Endymion and Chibi-Usa," Serenity replied. 
"And this is Mokoto, Rei, Ami, and Minako." She indicated each of the 
women as she named them.

"Ranma. Ranma Saotome," the redhead said.

"We have prepared a luncheon," Serenity said. "This way, please."

As they followed Serenity and her group into the palace, Ayeka leaned 
over to her husband. "Tenchi, they are speaking Japanese, yes?" When he 
nodded, Ayeka frowned. "In Japanese, Ranma means 'Wild Horse'. It's a 
boy's name. She is not male."

"I noticed," Tenchi replied. "Let's keep our eyes open for now."


As they walked across the grounds, they noticed teams of laborers 
working on plants or setting up fountains. Ugly black marks were on the 
stone walkways and as they drew near the palace, they could see that 
portions of the palace had been devastated.

"Air attack," Ryoko said quietly to Tenchi. "That damage was caused by 
something firing at it from above, and recently, too."

"A unfortunate side effect," Serenity said stopping and turning to face 
them. "I was forced to make an unpleasant decision to ensure 
that...certain other things happened the way they were supposed too."

"What things?" Ayeka asked.

Serenity shook her head. "It is of no matter, Empress Ayeka. It is 
something we had to deal with...and we did." There was a note of 
finality in her voice and Ayeka wisely chose not to pursue the matter 
further.

Serenity led them into the palace and into a dining room. Somehow, the 
pristine white made the room seem comfortable, rather then austere. A 
dining table with just enough seats for all of them was laid out with a 
wide array of food.


After the first course, Serenity daintily wiped her mouth with a napkin 
and looked at Tenchi. Her expression was one of someone in the mood for 
plain talk.

"As you have no doubt guessed, Emperor, Crystal Tokyo is the resurrected 
Moon Kingdom--"

"We will not submit," Ayeka growled. "Your ancestors may have ruled the 
galaxy eons ago, but that is no longer true and--"

"You misunderstand me, Empress," Serenity said. Her words were 
diplomatic, but her tone was as edged as a rapier. "I have little 
interest in expanding beyond this system without need. What I am 
interested in, is making friends." The blue-haired woman passed Ayeka a 
small box. Opening it, Ayeka found a single crystal shard. "Implant 
chip. Almost invisible, highly adaptable. Spinal injuries, sensory 
deficiencies. All correctable with this."

"And you are simply giving it to us?" Ayeka asked.

"No, but we are looking for markets."

"Markets, eh?" Ayeka looked down at the chip and when she looked up, her 
smile was knife-edged thin. "Why don't we talk about that?"

****
"So that's how it started," Ryoko said as she leaned forward and poured 
herself a glass. "Crystal Tokyo and Jurai, by virtue of their trade and 
such, became close friends, or at least as close as separate nations get 
without actually merging. Eventually, they started collaborating on ways 
of fusing their wildly different technologies. Jurai used a sort of 
organic energy system and Crystal Tokyo used a combination of mineral 
structures and channeled cold fusion. That sharing of information was 
how Prometheus came to be. Then Washu came up with Helios."

****
"No." Ami's tone was flat. The blue haired scientist stared across the 
table at Washu. Serenity and Tenchi regularly met to consult with each 
other over various topics and often their associates came with them.

This was one of those times, and the diminutive scientist had just 
unveiled a plan for a ship the size of Earth's moon. "I'll grant you 
that a synthesis of Juraian and Crystal Tokyo technology would be 
interesting," Ami continued, "but there are no controls, no way to 
prevent this...creation from being misused. The amount of firepower you 
are suggesting, and the weapons you claim you've designed specifically 
for this project, would upset the balance of power in the Galaxy. Not 
only that, the fiscal investment would be enormous with no foreseeable 
payoff other then to prove that its possible."

"Oh you don't have to worry about that," Washu said happily. "I already 
built it!"

"What? Everyone gathered around the table gasped.

"Nano reconstruction," Washu said. She tapped some keys on a remote and 
the conference room's screen showed a huge silver sphere hovering in 
space near a double red star. "That's Fowler's Star," Washu said. "I 
used the moon of the fourth planet there to make it."

"Why does Fowler's star sound familiar?" asked Chibi-Usa. Then she 
snapped her fingers. "Wasn't that where they found that aboriginal race? 
The ones who had built their religion...around their moon...Oh, God."

Washu made a dismissive gesture. "Like they needed it. This is far more 
productive. Watch. There's an incoming asteroid headed right for the 
planet--well, I sent it towards the planet--but still." She tapped keys 
and at that point, somebody sneezed loudly and Washu jumped. On the 
screen, the sphere fired and the planet was changed into so much dust 
and debris. Serenity cried out, hugging herself as she all but curled up 
into a fetal position on her chair.

"Oops," Washu said. "On the other hand, the ship hasn't suffered so much 
as a scratch and it was right there practically at ground zero."

****
"That's when we found out that Serenity was open to the ebb and flow of 
the universe," Setsuna said. "It turns out that her powers drew on the 
harmony of light and dark energies. An entire planet wiped out like that 
was basically the equivalent of breaking her ribs."

"She was in a coma for three days," Ryoko said. "She might have died had 
it not been for Ami's quick thinking." She smiled unpleasantly. "And 
when Serenity came out of it, she was raging mad, which I found out 
later was a rarity. Serenity had power, and lots of it. She could do 
just about anything she wanted. She stripped Washu of her machines and 
powers and put her to work building terraforming machines with Ami 
breathing down her neck at every turn." Ryoko laughed harshly. "I wanted 
to kill her, but Tenchi talked me out of it. Washu couldn't put in so 
much as an extra gear without being grilled on why she did it. She was 
absolutely miserable."

"Which reminds me," Setsuna said. "Why were you so shocked and horrified 
by Fowler's star? You were the one who took on Jurai and won. A lot of 
people were killed that day."

Ryoko shrugged. "First of all, I had help. I couldn't have done it with 
Ryo-Oki. Secondly, Jurai was not a bunch of primitive aborigines. I 
attacked Jurai because no one had ever done it before. To take on a 
modern-at the time-planetary defense system is one thing. But to blow up 
a planet populated by primitives and then so causally shrug it off? 
That's contemptible and cowardly. I've killed yes, but I never just 
shrugged those lives off. Washu couldn't even comprehend why we were so 
mad at her."

"But what about Ranma?" Saotome asked. "Where did he come into this? Why 
was he there?" and then with a sudden flash of insight, he leaned 
forward. "And what does this all have to do with me?"

"I'm getting to that," Ryoko said. "He was the lover of one of the 
Senshi and apparently owed Serenity some kind of life debt." She sighed. 
"He wasn't the talkative sort. In any case, Serenity and Tenchi had to 
figure out what to do with Helios. In the end, they mothballed it and 
all was quiet for about five hundred years or so. Then they were invited 
to a peace treaty signing in a system named Benidict on the their navy's 
flagship the Arnold. The system had been fighting a huge civil war for a 
thousand years or so and they finally got a pair of leaders with the 
right combination of brains, peaceful desires and charisma to convince 
their followers that being friendly was a good idea." There was a slight 
catch in her voice and then it steadied. "Serenity and Tenchi were very 
well respected across the Galaxy, but everyone has enemies."

****
The reception area was huge, filled with people. As the guests of honor, 
Tenchi and Serenity sat in thrones at one end while their spouses 
engaged in that pastime know as "Mingling" the strange and fascinating 
art of moving through crowds holding single sentence conversations and 
somehow making the other person believe that you had just become their 
friend, at least for a moment.

Ayeka, Ryoko decided, was better at it then Endymiyon, who seemed to be 
a little out of his depth as the chiefs of staff from both host parties 
escorted him around. Ayeka, on the other hand, needed no escorts as she 
slid effortlessly from dignitary to dignitary, shaking hands and 
ferreting secrets. Ryoko sauntered behind her anyways, keeping her eyes 
open for suspicious behavior as Tenchi has asked her to do before the 
reception.

It was more of a feeling then anything else that made her look towards 
the doors. Standing by it was a man that made Ryoko gasp. It was like 
looking at a mirror. He raised an eyebrow in what could only have been 
an invitation to come over. The reformed space pirate glanced over at 
Ayeka. The Empress had stopped moving and was chatting happily with the 
Preceptor of the Knights of Jurai. Ryoko hesitated. She had promised 
Tenchi, but seeing her own twin was just too weird. She glanced back at 
Ayeka. The Empress was safe enough and Ryoko knew she could handle 
herself.

Turning, Ryoko began making her way towards the doors, but when she got 
there, the man smiled and then phased through the wall and into the 
hallway beyond. With a flicker, Ryoko vanished and reappeared in the 
corridor. Lying near the door were two charred skeletons in the uniforms 
of Benidict security. One of them lay with its finger pointing down the 
corridor. Instinct told her that whoever had done this had done so with 
no more thought then one might swat a fly. Golden eyes narrowed and she 
headed off down the hall in the direction the finger pointed.

Eventually, she came to a stairwell. Pinned to the wall by a steel beam 
near the down staircase was another Benedict in the livery of the ship's 
crew. Also dead. Ryoko made her way down the staircase. Two decks later, 
she found another Benidict, this one holding open a door with it's body, 
its badly mutilated head lying nearby, facing one direction down the 
corridor.

"Interesting game," Ryoko called out. "But I was never one for follow 
the leader. How about you show yourself?"

A soft chuckle, felt rather then heard made Ryoko's skin crawl. Then a 
sharp scream of horror. "Damnit," Ryoko hissed, and took off in the 
direction of the scream. But she found only another body, one finger 
pointing off down a passageway.

For what seemed like an hour, Ryoko followed the grisly trail, the 
atrocities of the murders growing more and more horrific. It was 
starting to turn even Ryoko's stomach.

Finally, she came to an observation lounge and there the man stood, back 
to the window. Scattered around the room, were people in various 
positions of talking, walking, eating or drinking, all of them dead.

"There you are," he said. "I was starting to wonder if you had taken a 
wrong turn."

"Nah, the directions were pretty clear," Ryoko replied, doing her best 
to ignore the horrific tableau.

"Good. I would hate to think the invitation led you astray. Perhaps 
distraction is a better word."

"Distraction--Tenchi!" Ryoko launched herself upwards but in a flash, 
the man had tackled her and they both hit the floor, scattering the 
bodies, some breaking apart as they fell and/or hit the floor.

"You were the only real obstacle," he told her, clasping his hands 
around her throat. "The Juraian Knights are a joke and Serenity left her 
Senshi back in Sol." His grip tightened. "Janus was concerned about you 
the most though. For some reason, you're quite the threat. I personally 
don't see it myself, but orders are orders."

"Then learn to open your eyes," Ryoko gasped out and her hand smacked 
him in the side of the head discharging enough energy into his skeleton 
to shatter a small moon. He merely blinked and smiled, showing fangs.

"Well now."

Ryoko's fist sent him flying and she leapt after him.

Their battle raged throughout the lower decks of the Arnold. No quarter 
was asked, and no quarter was given. Bulkheads and deck plates alike 
gave way under furious blows and impacts. Eventually, one of those was 
hull plating and the two combatants tumbled out into space. Free of the 
confining space inside the Arnold, the fight truly began in earnest, 
raging across entire light-hours within the Benedict system, sometimes 
coming perilously close to the ships parked near the Arnold.

Finally though, Ryoko's swords cleaved him in two.

"Perfect," he whispered as he began to dissolve. "He killed a shadow you 
know."

"Huh? Ryoko demanded. "What do you mean? Who killed a shadow?" But he 
had already gone. "Damnit," Ryoko swore and turned back to the Arnold, 
just in time to see it vanish in a blaze of white light too terrible to 
be called an explosion. "Maker!" Ryoko gasped and then braced herself as 
the wave of force crashed outwards, shattering the smaller ships nearby 
and tossing others around the way a child tossed around a toy in its 
bath. "No," Ryoko breathed. "Please, no."

Then, from the haze of atoms, a glowing sphere emerged. It was the 
Lighthawk wings, but not Tenchi who was generating them. Instead, Ranma 
Saotome was the one, and behind, him, Tenchi held Serenity in his arms. 
Endymion and Ayeka were nowhere in sight.

****
"It was the first time anyone other then Tenchi had managed to generate 
multiple Lighthawk wings and certainly not a human." Ryoko refilled her 
glass. "The attack destroyed the peace in the Benedict system. They 
wound up exterminating each other. Ayeka's sister Sasami held me 
personally responsible for her sister's death. She broke her bond with 
the Juraian Battleship Tsunami somehow and fled. Tenchi and Serenity 
assured me that they did not hold me responsible for what happened and 
that I had every right to do what I did. But my heart told me different 
and I couldn't bear to face Tenchi. I took Ryo-Oki and headed for the 
edges of civilized space and there...I gather I led quite the life. I 
remember arriving on some mining colony and the next thing I knew..."

****
Ryoko's mouth was on fire and her belly felt like it was being chewed 
apart by maggots. She was lying on her back in alleyway and above her, a 
man she had never seen before grunted drunkenly as he pumped himself 
inside her. He finished and left. Ryoko made a face. Somehow she was 
sober. She'd have to fix that.

"Interesting way to spend the morning."

Ryoko spun. Leaning against the wall was Kiyone. She wore a white 
uniform trimmed in red with red boots.

"Kiyone?" Ryoko rasped out.

The other woman bent down and scooped up a rag and threw at her. 
Reflexively, Ryoko caught it, or tried too. "Cover up," Kiyone said as 
Ryoko picked the rag up from off the ground. It had been a dress of some 
kind at one point, but the color was gone and it reeked of strange 
smells.

"Thanks," Ryoko said sourly as she put it one and started to leave but 
Kiyone grabbed her arm. "Let go of me, Kiyone."

"Sorry, Ryoko, but its taken me quite a bit of time to find you. I 
really don't want to do it again."

"Damnit," Ryoko snarled and swung a punch at Kiyone, but the other woman 
stepped back out of the way and the punch missed.

"That was your best shot?" Kiyone snorted. "What happened to the class A 
space pirate who gave hardened bounty hunters nightmares?"

"She died. Go away, Kiyone." Ryoko started to leave again and Kiyone 
stepped in front of her and pushed her back.

"No, Ryoko. You're coming back with me."

"I'm not, Kiyone."

Kiyone pushed Ryoko again and Ryoko made a grab for Kiyone's hand, but 
she easily dodged the grab. "Look at you," Kiyone said. "Your reflexes 
are shot." Ryoko lashed out with a kick. "You're slow." Kiyone shoved 
Ryoko's leg up and she fell on her back. "And your sense of balance 
sucks." She crouched next to Ryoko. "What kind of life is this, Ryoko? 
Drinking day in and day out and fornicating with Maker knows what or 
who? Certainly, only the Maker knows what you've picked up after five 
centuries."

"I deserve it," Ryoko muttered. "I failed Tenchi. Besides, I don't get 
diseases...can't. I'm not leaving."

"I'm here on Tenchi's orders, Ryoko. You're a Senshi, regardless--"

"Senshi? I was imperial guard. The Senshi are Serenity's people."

"Were. They're merging. It's going to be a lovely wedding."

Ryoko goggled at Kiyone. "Wedding?"

****
It took several rejuv baths, more nutrient injections then she wanted to 
think about, and a fifty hour nap, but Ryoko was finally able to think 
straight without a haze clouding her thoughts. Her appearance was 
another matter though. The face that stared back at her from the mirror 
was splotchy and gaunt, yellowish eyes sunk in their sockets and her 
hair was flat and almost colorless. Ryoko had always had a vain streak 
and even after mistreating herself, she found that she was still 
concerned about her appearance. Already her body was mending itself, 
erasing the damage. Ryoko had found that if she looked closely enough 
and watched long enough, she could watch the splotches slowly fade and 
her skin return to its former condition.

By the time they arrived in Sigma Delta, Ryoko looked the same as she 
always had, something which unnerved her just a bit. Ryoko had always 
known that  she could regenerate damage, but to exactly and precisely 
how she had looked before she had gone off on her...binge? That was just 
too weird. Only if you looked into her eyes, could you see the effects 
of the binge.

Shaking her head to dispel such thoughts, Ryoko exited the ship and 
looked around. The city around them was a mixture of crystal and the 
organic like steel and wood that was the hallmark of Juraian 
architecture. At the edge of the landing pad, Tenchi waited and Ryoko 
walked towards him and stood there in awkward silence. Then without 
warning, he grabbed her, hugging her tightly.

"I'm glad Kiyone found you," he said. "I didn't want to get married 
without you."

"Me?" Ryoko asked, puzzled. "Why me?"

"Ryoko, ever since I stumbled into that cave two thousand years ago, 
only once have you left my side. You've shared every major occasion in 
my life and I can think of no one better to stand at my side when 
Serenity and I are married."

"But I--I let Ayeka die. I failed you."

"No. You must never think that. Never that." He grabbed her by the 
shoulders and shook her. "You had a choice to make, Ryoko. You can't 
blame yourself for what you didn't know."

"But--"

"No, Ryoko," Serenity said. Ryoko blinked and then realized that she 
must have been there already. "Tenchi does not blame you, nor do I. 
Ayeka and Endimyon died fighting the assassins. For Endymiyon at least, 
that was how he wanted to die, as a warrior."

"I like to think that's how Ayeka wanted to go as well," Tenchi said. 
"You knew her, Ryoko, could you really see her just fading away in old 
age?" Ryoko thought of the fiery princess with whom she had fought 
multiple times. Under other circumstances, she might even had called 
Ayeka a friend.

"No," she said at last. "But I still can't forgive myself."

"That takes time," Serenity said, laying a slender hand on Ryoko's 
shoulder. "In time, you will forgive yourself. You belong here, Ryoko. 
You are family. Our, family.

And Ryoko began to cry.

****
Ryoko sighed as she toyed with her glass. "The wedding went off without 
a hitch, which was a bit of a surprise, all things considered. Saotome 
was named Royal Champion for his service at Benedict. I got the title of 
Emperor's Guardian. Merging the governments took a little bit longer, 
including deciding on a name. Eventually, though, it was decided to name 
it--"

"Terjurai!" Shidou burst out. "Crystal Tokyo, made up of Terrans, and 
the Juraians. Am I right?" Ryoko nodded and Shidou got up and began to 
pace. "So wait, I think I know where this is going. Terra was a former 
Juraian colony, right? So the two races were genetically compatible 
despite the time they were apart, right? I mean, the colonists evolved 
and adapted to Terra, but they were still genetically compatible, yeah? 
So with one government, the two races started merging. But then what? 
You said that Utena's, Saotome's and my life were all lies."

"Perhaps that was an exaggeration," Setsuna said. "As you both know, the 
Senshi are divided into seven houses. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, 
Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn. Each one is named for one of the original 
Senshi who served as Serenity's guard. After training, each new Senshi 
is placed in the house that most closely matches their personality and 
that of the original Senshi."

"But there were nine Senshi."

"Sailor Moon and her alter ego, Usagi, died so that Serenity could do 
what she had to do. For that, no house is named for her so that her 
sacrifice is remembered. As for myself, I chose a different path. No one 
will travel the path that I did. Even if only in name."

"What do you mean?" Shidou pressed.

Setsuna sighed. "I wear the uniform and have the name, but my powers 
come from a different source then the crystal. In any case, Serenity's 
power began growing at an alarming rate. She grew more and more distant 
as she concentrated more and more on controlling her power. Eventually, 
she became catatonic. But before she did, she swore that she would 
awaken and left behind a series of procephies and guides for when that 
happened and how to deal with happens afterwards.

Tenchi, who was getting on in years, wasted away, but not before 
ensuring that both Serenity, Helios, and Prometheus would be safe. It 
was also decided that no one could know the truth. So, ever since, 
substitutes have been selected and trained to impersonate the Royals, 
creating the fiction that Emperor Tenchi and Holy Serenity were truly 
immortal. So long as they lived, the Empire would never die. The Church 
came into being around that time, intended as an aid to maintain the 
fiction. Somewhere along the way though, the Church started believing 
its own dogma and grew into a political force all its own. It rewrote 
the history books to back up its claims and everyone just forgot the 
truth." She gave a sly look to Ryoko. "With a few exceptions."

Ryoko took up the tale. "About fifty or so years ago, an ambitious young 
priest stumbled upon the wreck of starship known as the Sohnjha, the 
property of a ruthless, amoral space pirate named Kagato. Somehow, he 
got the Sohnjha working, albeit as a mode of transportation only, and 
renamed himself Kagato, after the ship's former owner. As he rose 
through the ranks, he began devoting resources to fully restoring the 
Sohnjha and when done, he called it Churchworld, convincing his 
superiors that a mobile headquarters was the best thing. Soon after, he 
became High Priest. That's when he started..." She looked at Utena, 
who's eyes blazed with restrained fury. "We'll call it meddling."

"So you're saying that since Serenity went catatonic, we've been serving 
an empty throne?" Shidou asked. "Figures."

"Not empty," Setsuna corrected. "Held in trust." She cocked her head at 
Shidou. "You don't seem very surprised."

Shidou let out a snort of laughter. "Finding out that I've been serving 
a figurehead all this time just proves that the universe has a sick 
sense of humor. Right, Utena?"

Utena made an odd noise that was either shock or a strangled snarl.

"Right," Shidou said with heavy sarcasm. "Okay. So Kagato's power hungry 
and now he wants the Imperial throne as well. What do these procephies 
have to do with it?"

"The prophecies told of when the time for Serenity's--the real 
Serenity's return to wakefulness," Setsuna said. "That time is now. The 
time has come for the last of the Horses to take up the key and waken 
Serenity."

Memories were flashing through Saotome's head. Things he had forgotten 
or...or had been forced to forget.

"And that person," Ryoko said as she unwrapped the bundle in her lap to 
reveal a sword hilt, "is you, Saotome. This is the Tenchi-ken. Take it 
and let's get this show on the road."

"No," Saotome said.

***********************************
Author's note:
Whew! Sorry if that was to long, but I've been itching to get that stuff 
told since the beginning. If anyone has ways to simplify, streamline, 
and otherwise make this make more sense, I'd appreciate it.

-Steve "Komodo" T.
http://livejournal.com/users/pandoras_closet
http://livejournal.com/community/aberdawnknights



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