Tenchi Universe- Paternity (NSFW parts)

[Zigra]

Prologue

The sun had risen over the Masaki house and shrine. It was time for everybody to wake up and come together for breakfast. As was usual, Sasami prepared the meal and everybody gathered in the dining room. It was a nice and peaceful moment.

"This meal is nice and all," Aeka said, "but I have just one question."

In perfect unison, Aeka and Ryoko suddenly stood up and pointed in the same direction.

"WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE???!!!" they both shouted.

They both pointed in the direction of a brown-haired beauty that sat next to Tenchi and was arm-in-arm with him. This woman was a familiar face to all of them, for they recently went through a rather major ordeal that she was the cause of.

"I will be staying with all of you from now on." Haruna announced.

"But, I don't get it. Didn't your spirit move on and get over Tenchi?" Kiyone asked.

"That's what I expected to happen. However, what actually occurred is that when Yosho cut open the tree containing my illusionary world, instead of causing my spirit to move on to the afterlife, it completely resurrected me." Haruna explained.

"Anyway, now that I'm back, and since Yosho is too old by now, I want to go back to copulating with Tenchi once more." Haruna went on, "I wish to have lots of children with him!"

"YOU LEAVE TENCHI ALONE!!!!!!" Ryoko and Aeka roared in unison, "AND JUST WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY COPULATING 'AGAIN'?!!"

A drop of sweat appeared on the side of Tenchi's forehead.

"Oh dear." the Masaki boy whispered to himself.

Yosho and Noboyuki looked at each other and nodded with mutual approval. Tenchi had finally become a man.

                                                                    * * *

In a dark secluded alleyway behind the streets of Okayama, a tiny tremor struck. At the epicenter of the tremor, bolts of electrical energy shot off in all directions, seeming to come out of nowhere. At the heart of this energy burst, a glowing orb manifest. It and the energy surge vanished as quickly as they appeared.

Standing where the glowing orb once was, a lone nude figure knelt. Coming to his senses, he stood. He wasted no time. The newcomer ran from the alley, and and looked at his surroundings. He was in the right place. But was it the right time?

A lone middle-aged woman came strolling down the sidewalk. She was startled when, all of a sudden, and young-looking boy with an unusual hairstyle and no clothes darted out in front of her.

"Tell me, lady, what year is it?"

"Ummm, well, it's 1999."
The boy sneered and then ran off, leaving the woman extremely confused.

'I'm in the right time period. Now I just need to find him.'

Yes, the one who could lead the boy to the power he sought. The one named Tenchi Masaki.

[Zigra]

Chapter 1

Slowly, the boy regained consciousness. Bit by bit, his memories came back to him.
The boy's mother constantly warned him not to go out as late as he was prone to do. In his last memories, he had once again disobeyed her and snuck out of the house at night to go party with his friends.
At some point on his way to meet them, he got the sense he was being followed. However, he just brushed this feeling off and continued on his way. When an arm wrapped around his neck from behind and put him in a blood choke, he didn't have time to think before all went black.
The first thing he noticed when he came to were the voices. Some manner of chanting. Once he took it in, he didn't like the ominous sound of it.
The boy tried to move. That was when he realized that his arms and legs were being restrained by chains.
Then he saw it. By instinct, the horrible thing caused him to scream. A gargantuan ape monster. Its features, particularly its huge jaws and crooked teeth and its sagging feminine breasts, were hideously deformed. To top it all off, the back of the monster's head was covered in unusual spikey punkish hair.
Once the boy got over his initial fright, he soon realized that the monster was made completely out of stone. A statue. He only had a few seconds to take this in before a hooded figure loomed over him. The boy's eyes widened when he saw the gleam of the dagger that the figure held. He had no chance to scream before the dagger was plunged into his chest.......

                                                                      * * *

"So, what are we gonna do about about this? We can't just let her do whatever she wants with Tenchi!" Ryoko whispered.
Ryoko and Aeka were huddled in a shed behind the house discussing the situation with Haruna.
"It won't be easy to get rid of her." Aeka whispered back, "I don't think Grandfather Yosho will approve of us doing anything bad to her, and she certainly seems to have Lord Tenchi under her spell."
Aeka thought about it for a moment.
"What we need to do is convince them that she's up to no good. We need to...."
The two them suddenly each felt a hand touch their heads.
"Now now, what could you two be out here doing all by yourselves?" a voice said, "I certainly hope you aren't up to any trouble."
The two of them looked up. They had no idea how Haruna figured out they were both out here. They also didn't know how she was able to sneak into the shed without even opening the door.
"I think you two better get yourselves on back to the house before the others start getting concerned about you." Haruna said.
There was a bit of a threatening tone to Haruna's voice. And then Aeka and Ryoko both felt it- a mammoth surge of Jurai Power emanating from Haruna the likes of which the two of them couldn't hope to match.
"Yes, Lady Haruna!" the two of them said, sweat drops forming at the side of their heads.
As the two of them hurriedly exited the shed and made their way back to the house, they didn't realized that they were being watched from afar.
"Oh yeah, shake that sexy thang, Aeka!" the watcher said as he viewed them from his binoculars.
He pulled himself away from such thoughts and plotted his next move.
'It's too risky to go in while everybody is still awake. I'll have to do my search at night.' he thought to himself.
While he made his plans, he didn't realize that he was being watched.

                                                                * * *

"Well well well, it looks like we have a guest." Washu said, looking at her monitor.
"I think before I let the others know, I'll sit back and see what this newcomer may be up to..."

                                                                * * *

A short while later, it was about time for Sasami to prepare lunch for the household. As she got all the cookware ready, and prepared to grab all the needed food ingredients, she felt a hand upon her shoulder.
"Now, Sasami, you know a mere child shouldn't be doing such work by herself."
Sasami turned her head back to see Haruna standing behind her.
"I can take over from here." Haruna said, "Now scoot, skedaddle."
With Haruna gesturing her to leave, Sasami slowly and hesitantly made her way out of the kitchen. She made a slight grimace as she looked back and saw Haruna already setting to work.


                                                               * * *

As everybody waited in the living room for Haruna to finish preparing their meal, they all couldn't help but notice the unhappy look on Sasami's face.
'Wow, Haruna managed to piss off even Sasami.' Ryoko thought to herself.
Yosho felt that the mood in the room should be lightened a bit, and he knew just how to do it.
"Sasami, why don't you tell everybody about your new boyfriend?"
Sasami's cheeks became as pink as her eyes as everybody turned and looked at her in surprise.
"Grandpa!!! That was suppose to be a secret!!!" the girl cried.
"What do you mean, Honorable Grandfather?" Aeka asked, her eyes wide.
Yosho adjusted his glasses before he explained.
"For the past month or so, there has been a handsome young boy about Sasami's age who has been visiting the shrine regularly. It seems that he and Sasami have taken quite a liking to each other."
"That's wonderful, Sasami." Tenchi said with a smile, "What's his name?"
"Sai. His name is Sai." Sasami said, her face still flushed.
"Now, Sasami, you know such a thing cannot be." Aeka said, "It is not your place to get romantically involved with an Earth commoner."
"Oh, you're one to talk!" Ryoko snarked, "This is coming from the girl who tries to hang all over Tenchi!"
"Oh, ho ho! I'll remind you that Tenchi has royal blood in his veins and is no mere commoner!" Aeka shot back.
"Yeah, a lot of good that does you!" Ryoko said with a smirk.
"What was that?!" Aeka shouted.
"You know what I mean." Ryoko said, "We all know that it wasn't exactly you that Tenchi was thinking of when he was in Haruna's world. I think the real reason you don't want Sasami to get involved with this other kid is because you're jealous that your little sister has been getting more action than you'll ever get!"
"HOW DARE YOU!!!!!" Aeka roared.
Aeka's battle logs began to manifest around the room while Ryoko began to charge up an energy blast from her hands. Everybody in the room prepared for the impending explosion.
"Well, what do we have here? Are you two getting in trouble again?"
Everybody turned to see Haruna at the entrance of the living room.
"You girls better start behaving yourselves. You wouldn't want me to discipline the both of you." she said. While the look on Haruna's face was pleasant, they could all feel the energy swelling within her.
"Oh, we're fine! No problems here!" Ryoko and Aeka said in unison as they quickly settled down.
"Now, then, lunch is just about ready, so you you can all get settled at the table." Haruna announced.
As they all made their way to the dinner table, Washu made a quick glance at something in the palm of her hand. Kiyone took notice of it and quietly moved up to the scientist.
"I noticed you've been checking your monitor a lot in the past hour." Kiyone whispered to her, "Is it anything we should know about?"
"Maybe." Washu whispered back, "I don't want to say anything until I know more, so don't tell anybody anything yet."
With that, Washu left Kiyone both confused and more curious than before.


                                                                   * * *

Night had fallen. Tenchi was about ready for a good night's sleep. Even though Haruna kept Ryoko and Aeka out of their usual trouble, he still felt tired. He figured it must be the stress of having all the girls upset at him for letting Haruna stay. It was something they would have to deal with, because it wasn't like Tenchi to turn somebody away.
'I'm sure they'll get use to her eventually.' he thought.
He lay down and pulled his covers over himself. It was long before he started to drift away. It was not to last. He didn't know how long he was out before something pulled him awake. Something or someone grabbed the collar of Tenchi's shirt and violently shook him out of his slumber. He awoke to see eyes in the dark glaring at him.
"Tenchi Masaki." the figure said, "Tell me, where is the Graygem of Gargath!"
"Wha....what are you talking about? Who are you?" the Masaki boy asked in a daze.
"Don't play dumb with me, asshole. I know you kno...."
The door to the room burst open and the lights were switched on. Washu and Kiyone stood in the doorway and Kiyone pointed her gun at the intruder.
"Stop right there, or I'll...." Kiyone began to say until the sight before her gave her pause.
The figure that sat on top of Tenchi was a young boy, approximately in his early teens. His grey-green spiked hair and his gold eyes were eerily reminiscent of Ryoko, but that's not what gave the two women pause. What gave them pause was the fact that this boy who was on top of Tenchi was completely nude.
"Oh....my. I guess that explains why Tenchi has never chosen a girl." Washu said.


                                                                    * * *

The commotion had woken everybody in the household up, and soon they were all gathered downstairs in the living room, surrounding the boy (who had been given some of Tenchi's old clothes) who sat on the couch with his arms crossed and a disgruntled look on his face.
"This boy was doing what with Tenchi??!!" Ryoko and Aeka cried in unison.
"Hey, don't start accusing me of any gay shit!" the boy said, "I just didn't have the opportunity to grab any clothing when I came here!"
"So, kid, who are you and what are you doing here?" Kiyone asked.
"And why are you so devilishly handsome?" Ryoko asked in turn.
"I....can't say." the boy answered.
As this exchange was going on, Washu looked over the results of the tests she ran on the newcomer. Her eyes widened as she took in the information before her.
'Oh my. Things could get rather....interesting...around here if I told everybody what I just discovered.' she thought.
"Well, now, since it seems this boy is a long way from home and with nowhere to stay, I say he stay with us for now." Yosho suggested.
"Father is right. We've certainly never turned a stranger away before." Noboyuki added upon seeing the disapproving looks of the girls.
But...what room will he stay in?" Aeka wondered aloud.
The boy grinned as he eyed the princess hungrily.
"I think I'll stay with you for the night, sweet cheeks." he said to her. The look he gave her made her feel very uncomfortable.
"Actually, I was hoping he would stay with me at least for tonight." Washu suggested, "I think he and I will have much to discuss."
"Eh, heh, yes, I think that would be best." Aeka said as the boy continued to eye her.
"It's settled then, our newcomer will stay with Washu for the night." Tenchi announced.
"Damn." the boy said under his breath.
As Washu grabbed the new guest by the arm and dragged him off, Kiyone and Mihoshi received a signal on their wristbands. A message from Galaxy Police HQ. The two of them nodded at each other and then told the others that they needed to go to the Yagami for some business.

                                                                 * * *


Aboard the Yagami, Mihoshi and Kiyone read the report from HQ. Mihoshi's eye swelled with tears. Another child killing. This time on the Martian colony, just a planet away from where the two of them were. It had all the markings of the string of killings done by a cult that was growing in influence across the known galaxy.
The Cult of Oryo had struck again, and now it appeared they were right in Mihoshi and Kiyone's backyard.

[Zigra]

Chapter 2

"Well, this really blows." the boy muttered.
Deep within Washu's extra-dimensional laboratory, the newcomer to the Masaki household found himself in an awkward position. He was bound up and hanging from a wall while Washu ran tests on him. The scientist grinned as she looked over her readings.
"So, kid, what should I call you?" she asked in a slightly snide manner, "Ryoko Junior? Or Tenko, perhaps?"
The boy grimaced at that last one.
"AH HA! I thought so!" Washu exclaimed, "I always knew that Ryoko planned to give the kid she had someday with Tenchi that name. Although, I would have thought that she'd reserve it for a daughter rather than a son."
The boy, Tenko, sighed.
"Alright, bitch, ya got me. I suppose you also figured out that I'm not from this time period." he said.
"Indeed!" she replied, "It was all too easy for a genius like me to figure out!"
Washu's two mini-bots appeared on her shoulders.
"You are brilliant, Washu!" Bot-A exclaimed.
"You are magnificent, Washu!" Bot-B cried out.
'Dear fucking God. All those stories my mother told me about how annoying this woman was are true.' Tenko groaned in his mind.
After a few seconds, Washu finally calmed down a bit.
"So, now, Tenko, let's get down to business. Why did you come back to this time period?"
"Huh, like I'd tell you."
Washu crossed her arms and tapped her foot in slight frustration.
'Sadly, it looks like this brat takes more after his mother than his father.' she thought.
"Very well, then. If you don't want cooperate, you can stay here for the night." she told him.
Tenko remained silent as Washu walked out of the laboratory and left him hanging. As the lights were switched off, he smirked.
"Like I don't already have a backup plan....."


                                                                 * * *

Morning came. Everybody (minus Kiyone and Mihoshi, who said they had an assignment,) was gathering at the table for breakfast, when Washu suddenly burst in. She was breathing heavily, and had a look of urgency on her face.
"He...he escaped...".
"You mean...?" Tenchi began to ask.
"Yeah!" Washu replied, "Our newcomer got away from the...accommodations...I made for him!"
"That...can't be good." Tenchi said, suddenly thinking about the awkward position he had found himself in with the kid last night.
As Washu opened her mouth to speak, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Haruna said.
She walked out of the dining room to answer the door. The rest of them paid it little mind and continued eating. That is, until Haruna called out.
"Oh! Aeka! Sasami! I think this is for you!"
The two princesses looked up in surprise and then got up to see what Haruna might be talking about, and, out of curiosity, the others joined them. When the others came to the main entryway, they all saw Sasami and Aeka standing there, almost frozen. Then they all saw what had the princesses frozen in their tracks.
The pair standing at the door were an attractive couple, Tenchi mused. The man looked barely older than Tenchi, with slick sky-blue hair that was tied back in a ponytail. But, it was the woman who made Tenchi's eyes widen even more. The purple-tressed beauty was a dead ringer for Aeka, right down to having the same hairstyle. The only differences were that this woman was a bit taller, and more...endowed..in the chest area.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Sasami cried, finally breaking the silence. She then ran up to the blue-haired man and gave him a big hug.
Aeka walked up to them and gave a formal bow.
"Mother, Father, this....is certainly a surprise." the first princess said.
"Come now, Aeka, why don't you give us a hug as well?" the mother said, "It's not like I'm going to rip your face off of anything like that!"
Aeka nervously approached the pair, and, after a bit of hesitation, finally gave in and embraced her mother.
"Well, then, it looks like we have even more guests." Haruna said, "Why don't you two join us and formally introduce yourselves?"
"We'd love to!" the father said excitedly, "We have quite a bit to discuss!"
Tenchi sighed. Yet more colorful house guests, he thought to himself. He wondered what his grandfather, who had been strangely silent this morning, had to say about this. But, when he turned and looked around for Yosho, the Masaki patriarch was absent.

                                                                     * * *

"Damn! It's not here, either."
Tenko was getting more and more frustrated. He searched all over the the grounds of the Masaki Shrine, yet he could not find the item he was looking for. The cave he stood in now was the last place he could think to look.
"Looking for something?"
Tenko turned his head back and glared at the source of the voice.
"Yosho Masaki. Figures you'd show up to try and stop me."
Yosho calmly adjusted his glasses.
"If you're looking for the Graygem, it is no longer at this residence." Yosho told the boy, "And my grandson knows nothing about it, so you can leave him alone on the matter."
"Well, then, I'm guessing you're not going to give up the information on its whereabouts peacefully." Tenko smirked.
A swirl of orange energy manifested around Tenko's right hand, taking shape into a large energy blade. It was enough to unsettle Yosho a bit. The Masaki patriarch could sense that this power the boy wielded was something beyond the normal Jurai Power, possibly a mixture of the latent power within Tenchi mixed with that of Ryoko.
"Well, now, Great-Grandpa, shall we begin?"

                                                              * * *

"My name is Zyggi Jurai." said Aeka and Sasami's father.
"I am Aeka Jurai I" said the mother, "My first daughter was named after me."
"Wow, this is a bit funny, because Aeka and Sasami never told us about you guys, and we never thought much about it." Tenchi explained.
"Yes, I think Aeka here is a bit embarrassed about us." Aeka I said with a chuckle, "We also were out of contact for a long while due to being in hiding from Kagato."
"But now, we're here on an important matter." Zyggi announced. He stood and then walked over to Sasami. "Sasami, my dear, we've gotten your letters telling us about your new boyfriend, and I just want to ask you.....how can you go off with some other guy when you are betrothed to me??!!"
A long silence. Aeka buried her face in her palms. Aeka I smiled cheerfully. Sasami sighed and kept her composure.
"....the Hell?" Ryoko finally said.
"Now, Papa, you know that I was only a tiny little girl when I said I'd marry you someday." Sasami explained, "I didn't entirely understand what I was saying back then."
"Oh, Sasami, my love, you break my heart." Zyggi cried with tears forming in his eyes.
"Hold on just a minute, here! Sasami is your daughter, and she's only 9! And you're already married" Tenchi yelled.
"Juraian noblemen can marry more than one woman." Aeka I explained, her cheerful smile never breaking.
"Still! She's your daughter and she's still a child!" Tenchi shouted.
"And look at just how cute she is and imagine what a sweet piece of ass she's going to grow up to be! Can you really blame me?" Zyggi cried.
"YES!!! YES I CAN!!!!" Tenchi growled.
"You're all so mean!" Zyggi sobbed.
'Sheesh. I guess that explains why Aeka has never spoken of these guys.' Ryoko thought.
"Well, Dear," Aeka I went on, moving in closer to Aeka, "if Sasami won't marry you, you've always got Aeka, here. If you're married to the both of us, you'd be able to live out a twin fetish!"
"Hmm, you've got a point, there." Zyggi said, perking up a bit, "And I'll bet Little Aeka likes taking it in the butt just as much as you do."
Aeka's lip began to curl in a snarl, but she managed to keep her composure. The others determined that she must be use to this sort of thing.
"Now, Mother, Father, you know I already have somebody in my life that I love." Aeka said as plainly as she could.
"Come now, Little Aeka, we all know that Tenchi loves that other woman." the older Aeka replied.
Ryoko snickered.
"You see, 'Little' Aeka?" Ryoko chimed in, "Even your mom and pop know that I..."
"Yes, we know that Tenchi loves Haruna." Zyggi added.
As Haruna began to blush, and Tenchi's eyes grew wide, Aeka and Ryoko began to pummel Zyggi while Aeka I and Sasami laughed lightly.
"Well, this has sure been entertaining." Noboyuki, who until that moment had been watching the whole thing silently with amusement, said to Washu.
"Yes, it certainly is..." Washu began to say before the sound of a massive explosion coming from outside drew away everybody's attention.
"Shit, I almost forgot about that little dick!" Washu grumbled.

                                                              * * *

"Are you ready, Mihoshi?" Kiyone whispered to her partner.
Mihoshi nodded in the affirmative, but Kiyone could see the fear in the blond woman's big eyes.
The pair had received a tip at where a holding of the Cult of Oryo on the Martian colony might be located, and their job was to stake it out. When they watched the compound and saw somebody carrying in a sack with something struggling inside, they knew they had to sneak in, even though back up may not come for a very long time.
The two of them had succeeded in getting to a back entryway in the compound. With both of them prepared, Kiyone kicked down the door. She and Mihoshi had no idea what hit them before the world went black.

[Zigra]

Chapter 3

When everybody from the Masaki household arrived at the scene of the explosion, they all came upon the scene of Yosho lying on the ground unconscious and with charred skin, and Tenko standing over him with a grin on his face.
'Geez, for being Jurai's greatest warrior, Yosho sure gets his ass kicked a lot.' Ryoko thought.
Haruna, Zyggi, and the two Aekas all looked at each other and nodded. The four of them circled Tenko, while Tenko simply smirked at them all with a "bring it on" look. All at once, glowing symbols appeared on the foreheads of all four individuals circling Tenko. The Jurai Power. 
Tendrils of energy appeared from thin air and began to wrap themselves around and bind Tenko, yet he didn't look the least bit concerned. Just when it looked like they all had him, he stretched his arms outward, and the tendrils broke apart. His four would-be captors found themselves thrown backwards several feet by an invisible force.
"I don't have time right now to deal with all you bitches." Tenko said as he began to float up in the air.
"And I'll see you sometime later, sweet cheeks." the boy then told Aeka as he winked and blew her a kiss. Aeka let out and "ooo!" as she felt something peck her on her bottom with a pink heart appearing above it.
With that, Tenko flew away and then phased out and vanished in a manner identical to Ryoko's phase-out ability. Tenchi and Haruna (who had just got back to her senses) ran over to Yosho and Haruna held the patriarch up and managed to get him to wake up.
"The Graygem. He's after the Graygem." Yosho muttered.

                                                                     * * *

Kiyone gradually regained consciousness. 'What happened, and where am I?' she wondered. She looked over and saw Mihoshi, who was out cold, lying in a chair next to her.
"Good to see you awake and well." came a voice that Kiyone soon realized was quite familiar. Sure enough, she looked up and saw Nagi's expressionless face looking down on her.
"Wh...where..." Kiyone began to say.
"You are aboard Ken-Ohki. Long story short- I rescued you and Mihoshi from that cult. It was quite a close call for both of you."
"Why.....?"
  "There is a huge bounty out for Daa'goth, the leader of the Cult of Oryo. It's a bounty that I'm determined to collect. Recently, I was following a lead that suggested Daa'goth may be in that compound you were trying to raid. The lead turned out to be false, but it was indeed a compound held by the cult, and when I got there, I found them about to do some....unsavory...things to you and your partner."
Kiyone rubbed her head, which she found to be aching rather severely.
"Where are you taking us?" Kiyone asked.
"Back to Earth. I need to confront a certain old rival of mine about something regarding this cult."

                                                                       * * *

"So just what the hell is this Graygem?" Ryoko demanded to know.
Yosho was resting in his bed. He had finally recovered from his injuries, thanks mostly to a drop of water from Aeka's tree-ship, Ryu-Oh. The elder Masaki now realized that he had some explaining to do.
"This story goes back far into Jurai's history." he began to explain. "Centuries ago, an emperor of Jurai, my ancestor, received a strange visitor. He was an unusual creature, looking mostly human, but was very short in stature and very stocky. The creature called himself a dwarf, and he claimed to be from a world called Krynn in a different universe from our own.
"We do not know how this dwarf managed to cross over into our universe, nor how he returned to his own universe once his task was finished, but he came to us with an item that he said was of great importance. He called it the Graygem of Gargath. This gem was said to contain the essence of a powerful and evil entity of otherwise unknown nature. The dwarf said that the gem was too dangerous to be kept on his own world any longer. Because he sensed great power in the Juraian people, he wished to entrust the gem to us.
"Fully confident in our Jurai Power, the emperor agreed to take the gem from the dwarf's hands, after which the dwarf disappeared, presumably to his home universe. However, what we didn't know, and the dwarf may not have, either, was that the gem had tiny, barely visible cracks. The cracks were just enough so that the evil entity inside could seep out tiny fragments of its essence and being. Centuries after we had acquired the gem, one such small fragment of the entity escaped the gem and formed itself into a creature of pure darkness that began to ravage the entire galaxy."
Yosho paused to allow that last part to sink in.
"You mean......Kain?!" Tenchi concluded aloud.
"Indeed." Yosho continued. "Even worse, it appeared both we and the dwarf overestimated the Jurai Power. As you know, the last Jurai Emperor, my father, did finally capture and imprison Kain with the help of the Galaxy Police. But he did so at the cost of his own life. My Jurai Royal Council soon realized that if a mere tiny fragment of the evil entity in the Graygem could tax the Jurai Power to such an extreme, that the full power of the entity would be far beyond what the Juraians could contain. So, it was decided to take the Graygem to a remote part of the galaxy and bury it.
"Because I was in a state of grief over both the loss of my father as well as the loss of my former friend Kagato, I volunteered to take the Graygem with me and go into voluntary exile. Together, I and my fiance', Haruna, left Jurai with the gem and came to Earth."
"However, the Graygem was not finished causing devastation and grief." Haruna interjected. "Around the time Yosho and I came to Earth, I fell terminally ill. Both Yosho and I knew that the power of the gem was the thing that was killing me. It could be that the entity inside the gem was trying to reap vengeance on us for trying to bury it."
"And it didn't stop there." Yosho continued. "You may remember, Tenchi, that time when you and your friend, Seina, were children, and Seina got himself lost in a nearby cave, and then when we found him, it seemed like he had an aura of bad luck surrounding him. What I could never bring myself to tell you was that Seina had accidently stumbled upon where I hid the Graygem and touched it. His aura of bad luck was due to a curse brought upon him by the gem.
"At that point, I realized that I could not let the gem endanger my family and our friends any longer. I managed to find a special place to keep the gem where I'm certain its power cannot harm anybody any longer, nor can it ever be found again."
"And speaking of people who are trying to find it, what's the deal with that handsome little asshole?" Ryoko asked.
Washu began to whistle and turn her eyes to the side. An obvious gesture telling everybody that she had the answer.
"Alright, Washu, spill the beans!" Ryoko demanded.
"Well......you see....umm...." the scientist coughed out, "That boy is....eh heh, your son with Tenchi from the future, Ryoko."
  If it weren't for her super-human Juraian stamina and constitution, Aeka would have suffered both a cerebral aneurysm and an aortal aneurysm at the same time. The princess exploded with anger and grabbed Washu by the collar.
"YOU LIE!!!!!! LORD TENCHI WOULD NEVER WILLINGLY SLEEP WITH THAT WOMAN!!!!!!"
"Eh, sorry, Aeka, but the DNA tests confirm that he is indeed their offspring. And my quantum readings told me that he's not from our time period." Washu explained.
"That would explain why he overpowered us. He has both Tenchi's Jurai Power and Ryoko's power as well." Haruna remarked.
"Well well well, I guess we now know who the better woman will be, don't we, Aeka?" Ryoko chuckled.
"Oh, this is so horrible!" Aeka sobbed. "That monster woman has stolen another man from me!"
"Wait, you mean you two have fought over another guy in the past?" Tenchi asked.
  "Yes, yes indeed!" Aeka cried. "In my early high school years, there was a young man whom I came to love very dearly. I watched him from afar for so long. One day, I decided that I would visit his house to confess my feelings for him...."
The flash of memories manifested in Aeka's mind. She approached the house of her love, a bouquet of flowers in her arms. Just as she was about to knock on the front door, she heard an alarming sound. It was like that of a massive cry. Aeka realized the cries were coming from her love. He must have been in trouble. She quickly kicked down the door and ran upstairs to the source of the cries. She arrived at her love's bedroom, and burst through the door.
There was a long silence as Aeka took in the sight before her. The man she loved lay back on his bed completely naked. And he wasn't alone. On top of him was Aeka's long time rival, Ryoko, who was also completely naked....and riding him in reverse. Aeka realized that the man she loved was having sexual intercourse with her hated rival, and the sight of her entering the room wasn't enough to make them stop. She had arrived just in time as the man she loved climaxed inside Ryoko......
"Hold on just a minute!!!" Ryoko growled, interupting Aeka's story. "That's not what happened at all!"
"Oh?" Washu asked.
"Yeah! What really happened was this-" Ryoko began. "Back in my early high school years, I was torn between two different men. I loved them both dearly, but for a long time I couldn't decide which one I would choose. Finally, I got it in myself to make a decision. These two guys were roommates, so I decided I would visit their house and confess to the one I chose..."
The flash of memories manifested in Ryoko's mind. She approached the house of her two loves, a bouquet of flowers in her arms. Just as she was about to knock on the front door, she heard an alarming sound. A series of cries. She realized that the cries were coming from inside the house, and that the two guys must be in some sort of trouble. She kicked down the door and ran upstairs to the source of the cries. The cries were coming from an upstairs room. Ryoko burst into the room
There was a long silence as Ryoko took in the sight before. The two men she loved were on the bed naked. And they weren't the only ones. Sandwiched between them was Ryoko's long time rival, Aeka. The two men were in the middle of having double-sexual intercourse with Aeka, one guy penetrating her vagina, and the other penetrating her anus. The sight of Ryoko bursting into the room was not enough to make them stopped. Ryoko watched in horror as the two men climaxed inside the princess all at once.....
"HOW DARE YOU TELL SUCH LIES!!!!" Aeka roared, interupting Ryoko's story. Aeka then heard the sounds of clapping, and she turned to see both her parents giving her an applause.
"That's rather impressive, Aeka!" Zyggi said with a smile.
"I'm so proud of you, sweetie!" Aeka I said with tears of joy in her eyes.
"You see what your lies have done?!" Aeka yelled at Ryoko.
"I just thought that maybe your mommy and daddy should know the truth about their precious little girl!" Ryoko shot back.
"This is why it is incomprehensible that Lord Tenchi would ever have anything to do with a degenerate like you!" Aeka yelled.
"Oh, believe it, sister! We already have plenty of evidence that Tenchi is gonna enjoy me just fine!" Ryoko retorted.
Aeka I leaned in towards Haruna.
"I guess they still don't realize that, as the heir of Juraian royalty, Tenchi can marry both of them and then some." she whispered.
"Obviously not." Haruna whispered back with a light chuckle.
Tenchi sighed at the typical display before him. His thoughts then turned back to the boy from the future who is supposedly his son. Even though this boy had caused quite a bit of trouble and didn't seem to have the best intentions, Tenchi found a part of himself hoping that the kid will be alright wherever he is.

                                                                  * * *

  Night had fallen, and there were no further appearance of the boy named Tenko that day. Zyggi and Aeka I were given a new guest room inside a dimensional pocket to stay in for the night. Yosho had completely recovered from his injuries. All seemed fine for now.
That was not to be for long. Ryoko, sleeping upon her ceiling beam, suddenly sensed it. Her. What was she doing here now? Not wishing to get the rest of the household involved, Ryoko quietly flew down from her beam and phased out, leaving the house. She called Ryo-Ohki to her, as she might need the cabbit's help if this situation turned ugly.
When Ryoko appeared outside the house, she was soon joined by Ryo-Ohki. The two of them flew a ways from the house until they saw it. Ken-Ohki. Ryo-Ohki was overjoyed at the sight of the cabbit-ship she loved, but Ryoko was far more weary, knowing that if Ken-Ohki was here, then she most likely was here as well. Sure enough, Nagi soon phased into being a short ways from Ryoko.
"What the hell do you want?" Ryoko demanded to know.
"We have something we need to talk about." Nagi said, "It's about you and your relationship to the Cult of Oryo."

[Zigra]

Chapter 4

"The Cult of what?"
"I see you are a bit out of the loop." Nagi commented. "That's rather ironic, considering this cult has a lot to do with you."
"Go on." Ryoko said.
"What we know about this cult is that they first appeared on the scene right around the time you started living on Earth. Their leader is said to be an individual by the name of Daa'goth. For awhile, few people paid attention to them because most people were too engrossed with that whole deal of you Aeka, and the Masakis on the run from Kagato and the Galaxy Police.
"Since Kagato's downfall, the cult has grown in power and influence, and people are starting to pay more attention to them. Even though they practice in secret, their numbers are increasing throughout the known galaxy.
"But what is most disturbing about this cult is that they are said to do such unsavory things as kidnap children for human sacrifices. The Galaxy Police has tried to shut them down on numerous occasions, but the capture of Daa'goth and the rest of the cult's leadership has thus far eluded them."
"So, what the hell does any of this have to do with me?" Ryoko demanded to know.
"Take a look at this." Nagi said, pulling out a holograph cube. Ryoko looked at the cube. It displayed the image of a statue. The statue was molded in the form of a hideous chimpanzee-like monster with spiky hair that Ryoko noted was identical to her own.
"Handsome devil!" Ryoko said cheerfully.
"That would be a statue of Oryo, the cult's god. I'm guessing you noticed the hair." Nagi commented, earning a joyful nod from Ryoko. "Others have noticed it as well. It seems that the cult reveres you as Oryo's avatar."
"Well, I admit that they've got good taste." Ryoko remarked, eliciting a sigh from Nagi.
"There's more. Apparently, you have a double out there somewhere in the galaxy." Nagi went on. The scene in her holograph cube shifted and Ryoko looked at it to see an image of what appeared to be herself getting hammered in some alien tavern. "That image was taken two days ago on Talerus VI."
"Wait, I've been..." Ryoko was about to say.
"I know. You've been living on Earth the entire time since Kagato's defeat. That's how I know the woman in this image must be a double. But the cult doesn't know that. My sources say they are after this woman, thinking she is you, to try and "acquire" her as their living idol."
"Eh, they can have her for all I care." Ryoko shrugged. "What exactly do you want from me in all this?
"I came here to see if you happened to know anything about this mystery woman." Nagi explained. "However, it appears I have wasted my time. Come Ken-Ohki!"
Silence followed Nagi's call. While Ryoko and Nagi had been talking, their cabbits ran off together. And now Nagi and Ryoko both wondered where they went to.
"Ryo-Ohki, where the hell are you?" Ryoko called out.
A short time after that, the two cabbits came out from the nearby woods. Ryoko and Nagi noticed that both cabbits had a very satisfied look on their faces.
"God, I think I'm gonna be sick." Ryoko muttered while Nagi gave a mild "hmph".
Feeling very refreshed, Ken-Ohki took to the air and morphed to his ship form. Nagi floated up towards him.
"You may want to continue to lay low. I really don't think you want this cult's attention." Nagi advised before she transported herself aboard Ken-Ohki.
As Ken-Ohki took off, Ryoko pondered the information Nagi had given her. The more that she thought about it, the more curious she was about that mysterious double. Not only did that woman look exactly like Ryoko, but she even wore the same exact clothing.
"Heh, probably just some wannabe imposter trying to look like me because she knows I'm so awesome." Ryoko finally told herself aloud. "Nothing to concern myself with."
All that mattered now, in Ryoko's mind, was her life with Tenchi. The rest of the universe could just stay far far away for all she cared.

                                                                   * * *

Morning came as usual to the Masaki house. Since Sasami was no longer in charge of preparing breakfast, she decided she would do some morning chores at the shrine. While she was sweeping away dust and leaves she heard the sound of footsteps coming up the shrine stairway. Her heart raced as she recognized those footsteps, and then she saw him.
"Hey, Sasami!"
"Sai!" She dropped her broom, ran to the boy and put her arms around him. The boy was quite bishonen, with an almost girlish face, blue eyes, light brown hair that bordered on blonde that was short and slightly scruffy. The two of them remained in a tight hug for several seconds.
"Well, now, isn't he a cutie." Sasami looked up to see her mother's warm smile looking down on them. Her face suddenly turned as pink as her eyes as Aeka I came over and patted them both on the head.
"I came out here to tell you that breakfast is ready," Aeka I went on, "but now that I see you've got company, why don't we invite him to join us?"
Sai's eyes widened, and he smiled brightly. "I'd love to!"

                                                                     * * *

The meal was set, and everybody welcomed the new guest.
"I'm really pleased to finally meet all of you!" Sai greeted them cheerfully.
"And we're all glad to finally meet you." Tenchi said warmly.
Only one individual in the room seemed displeased with the newcomer. Zyggi sat across the table, his arms crossed, a scowl upon his face, and a vein about to pop out of his forehead.
"Umm, is something wrong, Mister Jurai?" Sai asked nervously. Zyggi then stood, slammed his hands on the table, and looked at Sai menancingly.
"Look here, kid, you may have charmed Sasami with your girly face, but I'm telling you right now that I'm gonna be the one to induce my little girl's first queef!". His outburst earned him a spank across the bottom from Aeka I.
"Now, dear, we've discussed this before. Sasami is free to choose whomever she wants to be with. However....." Aeka I stood and walked up to Sai. She put her arms around him and began caressing his hair. "....if you need any...special training....in the bedroom, I'll be more than happy to show you a few of my special moves."
"Hey! I've got an idea!" Zyggi announced. He rushed over to Aeka and pulled her from her seat and brought her to Sai. "Here, you can have my oldest daughter instead! I have it on good word that she knows just as many "special moves" as her mother does!"
The others at the table sweatdropped as Aeka began to savagely beat her father. Sai, still in Aeka I's embrace, smiled at Sasami awkwardly. Sasami just returned his gaze and giggled lightly. Sai now realized that all the wild stories Sasami told him were true.
"So, Sai, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself." Yosho said, finally breaking the awkwardness.
"Well, one thing I'd like to say is that I enjoy inventing things." Sai said cheerfully. "In fact, I actually came here this morning to show Sasami something I whipped up last night."
The boy pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small metallic figure molded in a vaguely humanoid form.
"Allow me to introduce my new A.I. system!" he announced cheerfully.
"Bah, that's nothing!" Washu scoffed. "Let me show you some true genius, kid!"
Washu's computer console manifested before her. The door to her laboratory opened, and something walked out and strolled into the dining room. The thing was the spitting image of Washu.
"Allow me to introduce my latest and greatest achievement, Mecha Washu Mark 3!" Washu proudly announced. "Sorry, kid, this is how a truly great scientific mind roll!"
"You are a genius Washu!" said her A bot, appearing on the her right shoulder.
"You are magnificent, Washu!" said her B bot, appearing on her left shoulder.
The pleasant and cheerful smile that Sai had been sporting most of his time there suddenly turned to a wicked grin. He quietly pressed something inside his pocket. The eyes of the small metal figure turned red. Then, it began to break apart. More than just breaking down into tiny pieces, the figure began to break down and form a grey cloud. Then the cloud grew larger as it approached Mecha Washu.
The robot had no time to react before the cloud entered its ears. The robot then clutched the sides of its head, as if in pain. It cried out, and then sparks began to rain out from its head. Finally, Mecha Washu fell to the ground, smoke rising up from its body.
"You see, my A.I. is actually a cloud of nanomachines." Sai explained. "Upon my command, they can come apart to do any task I give them, from repairing computers and machinery, to even dismantling machines, as I have just demonstrated."
"Oh, Sai, you're so smart!" Sasami cried out happily as she hugged Sai (joining her mother, who never let go her embrace of the boy).
"You are a genius, Sai!" said Washu's A bot, appearing on Sai's right side.
"You are brilliant, Sai!" said Washu's B bot, appearing on Sai's left side.
Washu fell to her knees. "It....it isn't fair!" she cried.
"Tell me about it!" Zyggi, who had also fallen to his knees sobbing at the realization that Sasami's new boyfriend was much cooler than he was.

                                                                    * * *

Kiyone and Mihoshi stood before Director L'sar as he took in the information they gave him. Shortly after Nagi had rescued them, the bounty hunter was kind enough to drop them off at the nearest Galaxy Police headquarters, and now Kiyone felt she had to face the music for her failure. However, what she heard next surprised her.
"I have a new assignment for you two that I think you will find interesting." the Director announced. Kiyone and Mihoshi looked at each other in bewilderment. "Our latest intelligence suggests that the Cult of Oryo may have gained a foothold on Earth. And not just anywhere on Earth. They are reported to be in Japan."
There was a long silence as the two officers processed the information. Kiyone realized that things were going to go to Hell soon.

[Zigra]

Chapter 5

Tenchi sighed as he entered the carrot field. Things were sure getting wild, even more so than usual, with Aeka's folks now staying at the house. Tenchi was more than happy to start work on his daily gardening chores just to get away from it all for a bit.
Ryo-ohki hopped along next to him. If it weren't for her, he would have had no warning of what was to come. He turned and looked down as the cabbit began to hiss at something. She was looking up towards the sky as she did so. Tenchi looked upwards, but saw nothing, at least at first.
"Well, I guess that little furball has blown my cover." came a voice from the sky.
A large part of the sky above them began to fluctuate, much like waves of water. Then something began to appear in its place. A ship de-cloaking. Tenchi only had a little bit of time to note that the ship appeared to be Juraian in design, very similar to Aeka's Ryo-oh, before a shaft of light latched on to him, and he found himself floating upward.

                                                                * * *

Tenchi soon found his arms and legs bound up against a tree. Now that he was inside the ship, he could tell for sure that it was Juraian. The vast room was nearly identical to the bridge aboard Ryo-Oh. Soon, he was approached by a figure dressed in Jurai royal garb. Even though the figure was clearly a young boy around age 13 or 14, that long purple hair, tied back in double ponytails, and those red eyes looked all too familiar.
"Tenchi Masaki." the boy began, "Let us cut to the chase. Where is the Graygem?"
"Ugh, not again." Tenchi muttered under his breath. "Look, kid, I don't have this Graygem, and I have no idea where Grandpa put it!"
"Oh, hoo hoo!! You need some extra convincing, do you?" the boy said, suddenly pulling out a whip. "Well, then, let the fun begin!"
Tenchi cried in agony as the boy whipped him again and again and again. The boy made his "hoo hoo!!!" laughs the whole time. Just when Tenchi thought he couldn't take any more, the ship's alarm sounded, sparing him further pain.
"My lord, a ship approaches. It is Ryo-Ohki." said a log guardian who was much like Azaka and Kamidake only with purple letters drawn on it. Soon, an image appeared on the large screen at the far end of the bridge. The screen showed Ryoko's angry face.
"GIVE MY TENCHI BACK, YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!!" the pirate growled. Ryoko was soon pushed away to reveal the other members of the Masaki household standing behind her, with Yosho at their lead.
"Now, good boy, you should know that my grandson does not have the Graygem, nor does he know of its whereabouts." Yosho explained to Tenchi's captor. "The gem is in a far away place where you will probably never find it."
"So.....that...that's it, then." Tenchi's captor said, falling to his knees. "My whole mission is a failure."
Suddenly regaining his confidence, the boy then stood once more.
"Well, then, if I cannot have the Graygem, then life is not worth living! It is time for us to all die together! Zakane, prepare to ram Ryo-ohki!"
Everybody gasped at the boy's order. Before they could react, the boy's ship sped towards Ryo-ohki and collided with it. As both ships went down, the boy let out his "hoo hoo!!!" laughs the whole way. The ships finally crashed down into the lake near where Ryo-Oh was planted.

                                                                * * *

"Oh, woe is me! My poor Ryo-Oh Junior lies in ruins!"
Everybody was gathered in the living room listening to the newcomer whine while Washu examined him. Ryoko was less than impressed with the boy.
"Hey, ya little punk, it's your own damn fault that your ship got trashed! Not to mention Ryo-Ohki now has to regenerate all over again because of you! So quit your crying!" she yelled at him.
"Now, Ryoko, you shouldn't be so harsh to a child!" Aeka said, suddenly embracing the boy. "Especially a boy as handsome as this one."
"So, umm, Washu, is this....kid....who I think he is?" Tenchi asked with slight embarrassment.
"Yup. The DNA analysis confirms it. He's Aeka's and your son, Tenchi." Washu announced.
"Oooo hoo hoo!!! So it looks like your aren't the only one who Tenchi enjoys in the future, Ryoko!" Aeka chortled, hugging the boy even tighter, causing Ryoko to snarle.
"Oh, I'm so glad to hear that I'll be a grandmother!" Aeka I exclaimed. "Tell me, child, what is your name?"
"Aechi! My name is Aechi!" the boy proudly exclaimed.
"Tenko. Aechi. Well, I guess this future family won't be winning any awards for originality." Washu muttered.
"Well, I'm also proud to know I'll be a grandparent in the future!" Noboyuki said with a great smile. "And I'm also proud to know that my boy, Tenchi, will be such a stud!"
All Tenchi could do was sigh, while Ryoko and Aeka glared at each other.
"Heh, you can brag all you want, princess, but I'm damn sure Tenchi will be with me first!" Ryoko declared.
"As if! I'm sure Tenchi preferred to marry royalty, and will only be keeping you around as a cheap dime store whore!" Aeka sneered.
"I'm pregnant."
As Aeka and Ryoko opened their mouths to argue further, they paused in stunned silence. Then all eyes turned to Haruna, the one who had just spoken.
"It's true." Haruna went on. "Even though I'm less than a month along, my Juraian intuition told me I was with child, and I had Washu confirm it last night. I'm carrying your child, Tenchi."
Aeka and Ryoko suffered the anime effect of turning completely white as everybody took in Haruna's announcement. Yosho then stood.
"I am very happy for both of you. Now, if you will all excuse me, I have some duties to attend to at the shrine." the patriarch said before quietly walking away.
There was a long silence. It was soon broken when Washu noticed somebody was missing.
"Hey, Aechi is gone!" she told everyone.

                                                                 * * *

At the sight where Ryo-Ohki and Ryo-Oh Junior had crashed, Aechi quietly searched for Ryo-Oh Junior's seed. He sensed somebody approaching before they even spoke.
"Heh, looks like you couldn't get your hands on the Graygem!" Tenko smirked.
"Do not get cocky, brother. It's not like either of us had any success." Aechi retorted.
"Still, bro, I gotta admit, your mom has a sweet little ass!" Tenko remarked with a hungry grin.
"And your mother has lovely breasts." Aechi said dreamily.
"Ya know, while we're in this time period, we could take the opportunity to have a little bit of fun." Tenko said.
"Oh, what did you have in mind?"
Aechi then listened as Tenko spelled out his plan. Devious grins soon appeared on both their faces.

                                                                     * * *

Haruna spent time alone washing dishes. Everybody seemed to be giving her the silent treatment now, and she realized she had nobody to blame but herself. Between the circumstances of her unborn child's conception, coupled with the manner which she made her announcement, she couldn't blame the others for being upset.
"Would you like to talk?" said a voice from behind her. It was the elder Aeka.
"What is there to talk about?" Haruna answered glumly.
"Well, I know my daughter and her friend Ryoko can get extremely jealous, but the manner in which they reacted seemed to go far beyond that. In fact, nobody in there, not even Tenchi, seemed to be happy with this news, and I don't know why. I only have vague knowledge of what went on between you and Tenchi, so I was wondering if you would like to open up a bit about this."
Haruna sighed. She supposed that now would be as good a time as ever to get this off her chest. She began to tell Aeka I the story of how she, in spirit form, drew Tenchi into a pocket world she had created. She explained how she had created false memories for Tenchi, and how she began a romance with him from those false memories. And, most of all, she explained what she did with Tenchi when engaged in this "romance" and how her unborn child was conceived through that.
"I see. That's quite a doozy." Aeka I remarked.
"Yeah. At the time, I merely saw myself as taking a companion to both ease my loneliness in that tree, and to replace Yosho. But, since then I've come to understand that what I did could be seen as a form of rape. It amazes me that Tenchi, Yosho, and Noboyuki allow me to stay with them after what I did. And Yosho, god, the way he reacted back there tells me that he still has lingering feelings for me that he won't openly admit, and I have no idea what to do with that."
"Well, I'm not going to say that what you did isn't that bad, because it is." Aeka I said. "However, I do believe that Tenchi will be able to forgive you in time. Just think of all the terrible things Ryoko did during her criminal career, and yet Tenchi forgives her and, apparently, even loves her. I'm sure he will do the same for you."
"That's right." said a familiar male voice. Tenchi then walked into the kitchen. "Haruna, you have to understand that, even though you had altered my memories, you didn't alter my feelings. I chose to do what I did with you, and I'm going to choose to be with you now. And I'm sure Grandpa will eventually come to accept that."
Haruna's eyes swelled with tears. While Tenchi sounded entirely genuine, she wasn't sure if she was ever going to believe what he just told her. Still, she was glad that she had Tenchi's acceptance despite all she had done, even if she didn't deserve it. She quickly embraced the Masaki boy as Aeka I smiled.

                                                              * * *

Ryoko sat alone and glum in the onsen within the pocket dimension created by Washu.
"Goddamn Haruna." she muttered.
Suddenly, the lights in the onsen went out, and Ryoko could detect somebody's presence.
"Who's there?!"
"Do not be so sad, Ryoko. You know I still love you the most."
It was Tenchi's voice. While Ryoko couldn't see him that well in the dark that was definitely Tenchi's voice.
"In fact, Ryoko, I love you so much, that I wish to make love to you here and now!"
Ryoko's heart began to race. Was this for real? Reality then began to set in as Tenchi stepped into the water and pressed his naked body against Ryoko's. He's so big! Ryoko thought.
"Tenchi, don't you want to turn the lights on first?"
"No. I think it is far more romantic to make love in the dark."
With that, they embraced and kissed.

                                                               * * *

Aeka sat alone and glum in her bedroom.
"Stupid Haruna." she muttered.
Suddenly, the lights went out, and Aeka could sense somebody's presence.
"Who's there?!"
"Don't feel so down, babe. You know I still love you the most."
  It was Tenchi's voice. He was talking strange, but that was most certainly Tenchi's voice.
"In fact, Aeka, I'm feeling pretty hot right now. Why don't you and I get a little down and dirty."
Was this for real? Was Tenchi actually asking Aeka to do....that. She had her answer as he came up to her and pressed his nude form against her. He's so big! she thought.
"But, Lord Tenchi, do you not wish to have the lights on?"
"Nah, I think it's sexier to do it in the dark."
With that, they embraced and kissed, and they lowered themselves to Aeka's bed.

[Zigra]

Interlude- Making Lewis Skolnick Proud

"Awww, yeah! Suck it harder!"
Aeka was really going at it. Her head moved back and forth as she worked Tenchi's big and powerful schlong in and out of her mouth. She also revealed her lack of a gag reflex as she was able to move his dick deep down her throat.
"Yeah, now suck my balls!" Tenchi moaned a deep "aww" as Aeka obliged. When he felt fulfilled by that, Tenchi then got behind Aeka and slowly pulled off her panties. He sucked hard on her butt cheeks as she closed her eyes and let out a silent 'yeah'.
Tenchi rolled over on his back and came up under Aeka with his face. He licked her vagina hard. Next, he began to stick his tongue deep inside her vagina and worked it in an out, essentially fucking her hard with his tongue. As he did so, Aeka moved her hips side to side to gain more pleasure from the experience.
After a good long while of that, Tenchi stood. He lifted Aeka up and turned her upside down. He continued his work of giving her vagina hard licks. While he did so, Aeka, turned all the way upside down, resumed her deepthroat sucking of his wang. A perfect 69.
Getting their fill of mutual oral sex, Tenchi put Aeka with her back down upon the bed. He moved in and quickly entered her vagina with his penis, causing her to arch her head back and moan. At first, he worked slowly, moving in and out. He gradually moved faster and faster, until finally he pounded her hard and fast, causing her to cry out in ecstasy.
They turned each other over, and now Aeka was riding his huge weapon like the most wild and eager of cowgirls. She did that until at last it happened- Tenchi felt the orgasm juices flow from her vagina all upon his dick. However, he was not finished yet. His sword now heavily lubricated, he pulled his penis out of her vagina, and then moved it back a little. She let out a quite "yes" as she felt something stiff slowly jam its way into her anus. Once it was inside, Tenchi thrust upward with all his might, and Aeka moved her hips downward in response.
Tenchi turned Aeka on her back once again, with her legs upward, and then he began to righteously pound her cornhole, causing her to moan wildly. "Aww, so nice!" he said as he fastly worked in and out.
After Aeka's glorious assgasm, Tenchi then put his penis back into her vagina and fucked her hard in the missionary position. He finally reached a boiling point as he worked it fast and hard until it finally happened- he came and ejaculated deep inside her.
Once he emptied it all out, he rested on top of her. Their tongues joined in a kiss as they cooled down.

                                                                            * * *

Meanwhile, in the onsen Ryoko was having some fun of her own. If it could be called fun.
"Oh hoo hoo!" she heard Tenchi laugh sadistically. Ryoko found Tenchi's Tenchi-ken shoved into her asshole. The whole time, the Tenchi-ken electrocuted her. She wasn't sure whether she enjoyed this or not.....

                                                                             * * *

In her laboratory, Washu observed the two scenes that unfolded from her monitor. When things had started, she at first felt the need to stop it and reveal the truth to Ryoko and Aeka. However, as things progressed, she realized that the two of them were enjoying themselves far too much, and she didn't have the heart to stop that.
"Well, at least I've got it all on record now." she chuckled.

[Zigra]

Chapter 6

"There, all done!"
Naoko had finally finished the last of her day's work. It was about time to get ready to go home. She then felt her boss, Noboyuki Masaki, looking over her shoulder.
"Getting ready to go home?" he asked.
"Yup."
"Say, Naoko....." he began to say anxiously.
Here it came at last. Naoko had been expecting this for awhile. After all the occasions that Noboyuki flirted with her, it was only a matter of time before he tried to ask her out.
"Do I want to go out for a drink, perhaps? Of course, Mr. Masaki, I'd love to."

                                                          * * *

They met at a nearby coffee shop. As they sat at a table outside, Noboyuki tried to think of ways to break the ice. One would think that a woman who has worked for him for two years would be easy to talk to, but the truth is that Noboyuki didn't know a whole lot about Naoko. He knew that she was very skilled at her job, but he knew nothing about her personal life.
"So, Mr. Masaki, how is your son doing?" Naoko asked, knowing she had to break the ice first to get things moving.
Noboyuki chuckled a bit, feeling some relief. He began to tell her how much of a ladies man Tenchi had become. Of course, he left out such details as the fact that these girls were all aliens, or the fact that he had gotten one of them pregnant.
For her part, Naoko had secrets of her own. Secrets that the Masaki family could easily relate to. She let Noboyuki go on because she didn't really feel like getting into her own past with him just yet, and, not knowing what he was hiding, she assumed that he wouldn't believe her anyway.
Neither one of them realized then that Naoko's past was going to come back to her in a bang, nor did they realize that they were being watched.

                                                                    * * *

A lone figure observed the pair from a nearby alley. Though she tried to disguise herself as one of the natives of this world, there was no question that the woman of the pair was the figure's target. It was time to make a move. And the figure wasn't the least bit concerned about how many of the natives would be caught in the crossfire...

                                                                     * * *

"You know, Naoko, you've worked for me for a couple years now, but I still know very little about you." Noboyuki said, now feeling confident enough start prying.
As Naoko opened her mouth to speak, her head quickly darted to the side, as if something suddenly caught her attention. While yelling for everybody around her to run for cover, she quickly grabbed Noboyuki from across the table and then the two of them hit the ground. Naoko made them roll to the side as something hit the table they were at. She covered him from the shrapnel as the table exploded.
When he came to his senses and realized what had just happened, Noboyuki looked up at Naoko who was still on top of him. To his amazement, she seemed just fine, despite having been hit by shrapnel. Before he could say anything about it, his attention was drawn to a figure approaching them from across the street. A black humanoid robot with red glaring eyes. If it weren't for the things he's seen in his own life, he would have been shocked out of his wits.
"We need to get out of here!" Naoko told him as she lifted him up. Noboyuki didn't have to be told twice. Naoko led him down a nearby alleyway, hoping to draw their assailant away from the large crowd.
"What is that thing?" Noboyuki asked as he ran, seeing as Naoko seemed rather familiar with their attacker.
"It's a drone-warrior of Gaia," she answered. "and I'm afraid I'm not in a position to stand against it."
"I....already have you covered." Noboyuki said, causing Naoko to look back at him questioningly.
As the robot started gaining on them, a blast of orange energy hit it from above. Noboyuki looked up and with great joy and relief saw Ryo-ohki's ship form above them. Right before he and Naoko made a run for it, Noboyuki pressed a button on his watch that informed the others at the Masaki household that he was in trouble. After Tenchi's last abduction, each member of the family was given these transmitters in case of such an emergency.
When the robot still continued moving, Ryo-ohki hit it again. She kept on blasting it until at last the robot was ashes. Then, Tenchi and Ryoko beamed down from the ship.
"Dad, are you alright?!"
"Yeah, son." Noboyuki then looked at Naoko. "But, I think we all need to sit down and do a little explaining."

                                                               * * *

Naoko sat in the Masaki house living room and sipped some tea she was served. It was nice to finally get to do that after her drink at the coffee shop had been so unceremoniously interrupted.
"As Miss Washu's tests will surely show, I am not human, at least not in the conventional sense." Naoko explained. "I am an artificial lifeform called a bioroid. As you may have also guessed, I am not from Earth. I am from a world called Geminar, in a galaxy far beyond the Milky Way galaxy.
"How and why I came to Earth is a bit of a long story. I was transported here after a war on Geminar was tearing my civilization apart. You see, bioroids like myself were created to pilot great machines called mechanoids. These mechanoids were used for wars between nations. However, because the production of bioroids used up much of the world's resources, one nation tried to create a mechanoid that could think on its own. That mechanoid was known as Gaia.
"But, as often happens in these situations, this new mechanoid was more than its creators had bargained for. Gaia turned against its creators. And it did more than that. It created an army of mechanoids of its own in an attempt to conquer all of Geminar.
"Gaia also saw bioroids like myself, who could control its kind, as an abomination, and wanted us wiped out. It became obsessed with destroying us utterly. My creator used an invention of his to open portals to other worlds to save what bioroids that he could. I was sent to one of these portals to Earth, where I tried to carve out a new life while keeping my true nature and identity a secret. However, it looks as though Gaia's obsession with destroying the bioroids is so great that it is willing to travel across the reaches of the universe just to do so."
"Well, you will be safe with us." Yosho said. "And since my son-in-law seems to have taken a liking to you, I don't think he will object to you staying here."
"Thank you for your kindness." Naoko said while Noboyuki blushed.
Tenchi sweatdropped a bit. 'At least this woman won't be hanging all over me for a change.' he thought as Ryoko and Aeka cuddled him on both sides. For some reason, the two of them had been even more clingy with him than usual in the past day, and he had no idea why.
"Now, if you'll excuse us, I would like to speak to Noboyuki alone." Naoko said.

                                                              * * *

Noboyuki and Naoko walked around the shrine grounds together. As Naoko admired the scenery, Noboyuki admired her in turn. He had a hard time believing that this woman whom he had his eye on for awhile now was going to be living in his home. His excitement was broken when the two of them came upon a place on the grounds that Noboyuki knew all too well.
"This....is where your late wife's ashes are kept?" Naoko asked uneasily as she looked upon the small shrine dedicated to Achika. Noboyuki nodded silently in the affirmative. Naoko then made a silent prayer for Achika.
"Noboyuki, I.....I know I could never replace Achika and.....I mean....I know how you must feel and I...."
Noboyuki put his arm around Naoko's shoulder. "You don't have to worry, Naoko. You see, I kinda had a thing for you for a long time now, and I'd love it if we could make something of that. And you need not worry about Achika's ghost. I know my late beloved, and I believe she would want me to move on with my life, which I haven't done until now."
"And you don't mind that I'm not actually human?"
"Come on now, Naoko, you should know better by now. My late wife and her father are aliens, and I've got three alien girls fighting to become my daughters-in-law. Your past history doesn't bother me the slightest bit."
Naoko smiled and rested her head upon Noboyuki's shoulder.

                                                     * * *

A figure observed the pair. Although he was miles away, he could see them plainly with his own eyes. He was far enough away that Washu's security devices wouldn't detect him.
The figure grinned. He would observe the pair for a little while longer. He still had enough lingering emotions for them that he rather liked seeing them once more and wanted to watch them for awhile. Then, come morning, he would make his move....

                                                          * * *

The evening and night passed without incident. Well, save for the fact that the Masaki residence's  new guest chose to sleep in Noboyuki's room, which Noboyuki himself was all to eager to accept. The rest of the household found that rather salacious, which Ryoko thought was awesome, and Aeka strongly disapproved of (which was hypocritical of her considering something she had secretly done about a day beforehand).
As the morning arrived, everybody was gathering for the usual breakfast, when the doorbell suddenly rang. Since her usual activities had been taken over by Haruna, Sasami took it upon herself to answer the door. What she saw when she opened the door surprised her.
The young man looked a lot like Tenchi, save for being more thinly built and having an almost baby-ish quality to his face. Sasami's first thought was that this could be another son of Tenchi's from the future. That is, until the man introduced himself to her. Her eyes widened as he explained who he was. She was too surprised to stand in his way as he walked inside, simply staring at him as he walked passed her.
When the young man entered the dining room, the household fell silent. As they stared at him, they had the same initial thoughts that Sasami had. But, before anybody say anything to the young man, he looked at Noboyuki and Naoko and smiled. He then ran towards them and gave them both a big hug.
"I'm so happy to see you again!" he told them as he held them.
"Umm, who are you?" a confused Noboyuki asked.
"Oh, excuse me, I should introduce myself." the man said as he relaxed and stepped back. "My name is Kenshi Masaki. I am your son from the future, Noboyuki."

                                   

[Zigra]

Chapter 7

Kenshi approached his parents. Naoko wanted to reach out and embrace this child of her's from the future, but her senses told her something was wrong. She felt it even before Ryo-ohki started hissing angrily at Kenshi, and even before Washu cried out in warning.
"Look out! He's....!"
Before another word could be uttered, Kenshi's skin instantaneously changed and took on the substance of liquid metal. Soon, his appearance completely changed to that of a humanoid machine with a skull-like head.
Instinctively, Ryoko jumped up and fired energy bolts at the robot. In less than the blink of an eye, the robot vanished from her vision. Before she knew what happened, she felt a thud against the back of her head as the robot knocked her unconscious from behind.
One by one they stood to challenge it. Tenchi, Yosho, Haruna, and even Aeka and her parents, all prepared to fight the attacker. They soon found, however, that this robot was more than a match for them all. It seemed that this machine knew all about Juraian combat techniques, but was able to take them to a whole new terrifying level. As each individual attacked him, he was able to not only match their moves, but to even brush off their attacks. Even when Tenchi attacked with the Tenchi-ken, the robot simply grabbed a hold of the energy blade like it was solid matter, and then tossed Tenchi aside.
When the last Juraian fell, the robot moved in for the kill. However, Washu erected and energy barrier around her fallen friends to try and prevent the robot from harming them further. But, even this seemed futile. The robot started tearing into the barrier at an alarming rate, and soon would break through it completely.
"Stop!!!" Naoko cried. The robot turned to face her. In the heat of battle, it had forgotten why it had come here in the first place. "I know you came here for me! So, I'll go with you if you leave them alone!" she told it.
Without hesitation, the machine strolled over and lifted Naoko up and carried her over its shoulder as Noboyuki and Sasami could do little more than watch. Soon, in a burst of green energy, they were both gone. The household was then left in the wreckage.

                                                            * * *

Later, after everybody licked their wounds, there was much discussion over what had just occurred. Washu tried to explain what she had learned in the short time she took readings of the attacker.
"It was very unusual. He was both human and machine all at once. But, he wasn't a cyborg in the traditional sense. No, it was more like the organic cells within his body had somehow fused with mechanical cells, like he was the perfect blending of a man and machine. I've never seen such advanced technology before"
"He said he was my son." Noboyuki said glumly. "Was it a lie?"
"No, I don't think so." Washu answered. "You see, according to my readings, his flesh and blood aspect was indeed a mixture of your and Naoko's DNA.He really is your son. It seemed to me that the non-organic elements of his body may have been added sometime later in his life. Meaning someone, or something, transformed him into this entity."
"Gaia." Tenchi uttered aloud, realizing certain physical similarities between Kenshi's robotic form, and the machine they saved Naoko from earlier. Washu nodded.
"So, what do we do now?" Haruna asked. "If our Juraian combat techniques and the Jurai power is no match for this entity, what or who can stop him?"
"I think I know somebody who might be able to help us." Sasami spoke up. Washu and Zyggi grumbled in unison as they realized who she spoke of.

                                                             * * *

Naoko watched with a mixture of fear and wonder as the being that called itself her son worked at a console. She could sense her own blood flowing through the being's veins, so she understood that he was indeed her son. She also knew exactly who turned him into this monster.
"Tell me, Kenshi, how did Gaia do this to you?"
"Well, it's certainly a long story. Going back to the beginning, when you and Dad conceived me, you had this belief that I would be some type of champion for your homeworld of Geminar. As I grew up, you and everyone else groomed me to be such. With my inherited bioroid abilities, combined with the Juraian combat and survival training I got from Grandpa and Big Brother, it really did seem like I would be the champion you dreamed of.
"So, upon my fifteenth birthday, Washu finally figured out a way to reach Geminar, and coincidently it seemed as though I was ready through all my years of training. I was sent away to this strange world to fulfill your hopes. And, for awhile, it seemed I would. Even though it had changed much since your time, hundreds of years having passed since you were sent away in your stasis pod, I not only adjusted to life among the people of Geminar, but I actually became a great hero to them all just as you had hoped. I was better than all of them at everything they knew how to do. I had many adventures with new friends I had made. And I had even gained my own battle harem of women who were head over heals in love with me.
"It turns out that that last example would be my downfall. There was one girl in my harem, Yukine, who always seemed a little off, though I was too naive to pay attention to it at the time. She displayed a very inhuman lack of emotions and a lack of presence. Most assumed she was just shy, but I would soon find out otherwise.
"It turned out that Yukine's inhuman mannerisms were because she indeed was not human. She was a minor mechanoid of Gaia, sent to acquire me. Eventually, she struck. In the dark of night, she killed all the girls in my harem in their sleep, and then took me captive before I knew what was going on. I don't remember much after that, but I know that I was taken before Gaia, and Gaia....changed me.
"However, I know now that it was all for the better. Now, in my new body, I understand Gaia's superiority, and I understand my destiny to help my god achieve his power over the universe."
Naoko looked at her son with unfathomable sadness. Not only for what had been done to him, but the realization that it was her fault.
"Kenchi, what I don't understand is, why have you come back in time now?
"Well, you see, Mother dear, Gaia sent me back for two purposes. The first is to prove my loyalty by bringing back your head. The second is to acquire an item that exists in this time period."
The first one perplexed Naoko. "So, if you are suppose to kill me, why haven't you done so yet?"
A sudden sense of hesitation hit Kenshi, the first Naoko had seen from him.
"Because....I now believe that Gaia will prefer that I bring him a live trophy!"
Naoko nodded. It was as she suspected. Kenshi couldn't kill her because he still has a lingering love for her. Meaning some part of her son was still alive within the machine.
"As for the item I spoke of," he went on, "it's an item of great power that Grandpa Yosho has hidden away. So far, two other individuals have come to this time period seeking it. But, unlike those two, I know exactly where Grandpa hid it...."

                                                               * * *

The Masaki clan stood at the doorway of a rather ordinary house. Sasami eagerly rang the doorbell. The front door opened, and a familiar face greeted them. Sai smiled as he saw Sasami. He was about to run up to embrace her, when, in the blink of an eye, somebody else ran up to give him a big hug.
"Oh, Sai! I missed your adorable face so much!" Aeka I said as she pressed Sai's face against her bosom, causing the others to sweatdrop in embarrassment.
"Little fucker." Zyggi muttered under his breath.

                                                                * * *

Everybody was gathered in the living room of Sai's house as Sai's mother offered them all snacks and drinks. Sasami explained the situation to Sai, and the boy considered her words.
"Gee, I would like to help, but I don't know if my nanites will be any good against such advanced technology as what this cyborg is made out of." Sai said.
"You have to at least try!" Sasami pleaded, "You're the greatest scientist I know!"
'Screw you, Sasami.' Washu thought to herself.
"I agree with Sasami." Sai's mother chimed in. "I have the highest faith in your brilliant mind and your inventions. I'm sure you have what it takes to help your friends against this robot monster."
His mother's encouragement was all Sai needed to hear. "I'll do it." he said.
  "I'm glad you can help." Tenchi told him with a smile. "Now, Ryoko, are you still able to track Kenshi's ship?"
"Yes." she answered. "He's not even trying to cover his tracks from us. Probably because he believes we can't do anything to stop him. He's on course for Catian, planet of the cat women. Why would he be going there?"
Yosho turned pale. "We have to stop him right away!" the elder Masaki announced.

                                                            * * *

Naoko looked out the ship's window as a planet came into view. Not having much knowledge about the Milky Way galaxy, she had no idea what planet this was, or why her son had come here.
"Wait her, mother." Kenshi ordered her, sarcastically, knowing she couldn't actually go anywhere. Without any further words, Kenshi teleported away before Naoko's eyes, leaving her alone.

                                                                  * * *

Down on the planet below, there was a special shrine below one of Catian's greatest cities that was dedicated to the great cat goddess of the planet's people. The shrine was very mysterious to most. Legends and rumors abound speaking of various manner of demons and ancient abominations that were supposedly imprisoned in this shrine. One of the more interesting rumors was that a little over a decade ago, a Jurain prince secretly gave the shrine masters some mysterious artifact of unknown power for safe keeping. Of course, most people on the outside dismissed such urban legends.
Whatever lie inside the shrine, it was heavily guarded. Not so much to keep what ever was inside in, but to keep curious individuals from going in and disturbing whatever was inside (there was an old saying about cat people who were too curious). The two cat women who guarded the front entrance weren't expecting anything big to happen that night. They certainly weren't expecting somebody to teleport in front of them from out of nowhere.
As Kenshi appeared before the two guards, they immediately held up their weapons and were about to tell him to halt. They didn't get a chance. As the guards opened their mouths to talk, Kenshi rushed towards them. He punched the one on the left in the head, causing her skull to cave in. The other guard fired her weapon at Kenshi, but the energy bolt simply bounced off of him. He turned around and grabbed her by the neck. Slowly, he crushed her throat, smiling the whole time.
As he made his way through the shrine, more guards appeared. And, one by one, Kenshi slaughtered them. He marveled at the sheer cruelty of what he was doing. Since he knew exactly where the item he was looking for was located, it would have been a simple task to teleport right to that spot. However, the idea of getting to kill the shrine guardians just for fun thrilled him.
With everyone in the shrine, from armed guards to helpless shrine maidens, all dead, Kenshi soon found his way to the heart of the shrine. A huge metal door blocked his path, but it was nothing for him to just kick it in. Right then, he beheld it. A large jewel floating in midair at the heart of the chamber, glowing a dull gray color. The aptly named Graygem of Gargauth. This is where Yosho made his feeble attempt to hide the the gem after it had caused him and his family so much grief. And now, Yosho's failure would be realized, as Kenshi would soon have the gem and present his master with its power.
He took a step forward, and then paused. Something wasn't right. He could feel inhuman eyes watching him.
"Show yourself, goddess!"
A spectral image appeared above the gem. It took the form of a cat with light orange fur. The cat soon changed form into a human-like girl with light orange hair, and with cat ears and a tail. Eris, the cat goddess of Catian, had appeared to keep the gem from Kenshi's hands.
"The Graygem must not be disturbed." the goddess told him. "I cannot allow you to take such a dangerous object to the outside."
Kenshi's reflexes were lightning-fast, but that didn't help him here. His attempt to dodge Eris' strike failed, and he found massive claw marks across his chest. The nano-technology that should have healed his wounds was not working. He had to think fast, because he doubted this goddess was going to show him any mercy.
He soon had an idea. He was no match for Eris, but there was someone else very close by who was. It was only a matter of getting Him to awaken. He let Eris come at him one more time. He allowed her to strike him once more, and as she did so, he threw a small blade at the Graygem. The blade made a tiny, barely visible scratch in the gem.
Kenshi fell to the ground from his wounds. Eris was prepared to finish him, when her attention was turned towards the gem. Something was seeping out through the scratch Kenshi had made. A small black oozing shape dripped to the ground. Eris watched with a mixture of horror and wonder as the shape grew larger and larger. She knew that this must be a fragment of Him. She had to do what she could to prevent this fragment from escaping out into the universe.
But, it was no use. Her divine claws, which could tear apart the mightiest of devils, simply went through the growing mass as if it wasn't actually there. The goddess screamed as the mass enveloped and consumed her.
Kenshi stood and faced the mass, which left him unharmed. He bowed towards it, as if to honor it.
"Nameless One. Void. Chaos. Father of All and Nothing. I shall soon grant you freedom if you join with my master. Until then, I understand that the people of this planet have done you wrong by holding you prisoner. I offer them to you as a sacrifice. Be free to eat your fill."
As the mass continued to grow rapidly, Kenshi vanished.

                                                               * * *

In Kenshi's ship, Naoko continued to watch the planet below with great concern. She had no idea what her son was doing down there, and didn't know whether she should hope for his safety, or pray that whatever evil plot he had to be thwarted.
Something caught her attention. A small black speck on the continent below. Small to her vision, but she figured that it had to be at least the size of a city. Then, much to her alarm, the black mass began to grow larger. It kept expanding until it was no longer small to her eyes, and soon it covered the entire continent.
Kenshi reappeared aboard the ship. Naoko turned her attention to him as she saw him stumble. She rushed towards him and noticed that he was bleeding. She tried to help him up, but he only smirked at her.
"Heh, you wouldn't be helping me or feeling any pity for me if you realized what I had just done."
Naoko wondered what he could be talking about, and then she thought about that expanding mass she saw. She ran back to the window and looked outside. She gasped in horror as she saw that the black mass had now completely enveloped and consumed the planet. Just as horrifying were the tentacle-like tendrils that reached out and squirmed for miles. The mass was alive!
"Now that I've got what I came for, it's time to return to Geminar!" Kenshi announced.
Before he could return to the controls, the ship quaked. Something had just struck it. Kenshi looked at the viewing screen and saw something he was all too familiar with. A ship that was shaped like Ken-okhi, but colored dark grey like Ryo-ohki. Ren-ohki. The screen then switched to an angry face which glared at Kenshi.
"Alright, asshole, hand over the Graygem!" Tenko growled.

[Zigra]

Chapter 8

Huddled in the shadows, a lone figure observed his targets. The group gathered around a large stone idol in the forest. A hideous thing this idol was, carved in the image of a deformed-looking ape with spiky punk-hair upon its head. The figure watched in disgust as the group, apparently all men, opened the front of their robes to reveal they weren't wearing anything beneath them, and then they each grabbed a hold of their junk. The figure wanted to vomit as they all began to masturbate furiously to the idol.
He had had enough. The figure quietly circled around the trees surrounding the idol until he got a good view of the robed men from the front. Pulling out a Galaxy Police pistol that he had acquired in the galactic black market, he then took aim. And his aim was impeccable. A shot rang out, and suddenly the leader of the robed men doubled over in pain, holding the charred region of his crotch where his junk use to be. More of the men suffered the same fate before they had the chance to react.
The last of the men turned and ran, not seeming to care that their schlongs were hanging out in the air as they ran. The lone figure pursued them. They soon found that their attacker, whoever he may be, was too fast for them. He ran ahead of them and soon cut them off. All but one of the runners suffered the fate of the fellows that they left behind. Only one of them was spared. That man tried to run in a different direction, but the figure caught up to him and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. The man found himself being forcibly pulled up to face his attacker.
"Your idol! Where is she?!" the figure yelled. The man he interrogate just whimpered pathetically. "Speak up! I know your idol has entered this universe once again! Tell me where she is, or the way I castrate you will be far more painful than what I did to your friends!"
When all he heard were more whimpers, "Very well, then." was his only reply. The figure pulled out a dull knife. A piercing scream rang out through the night.

                                                               * * *

"Well, hello, nephew." Kenshi greeted Tenko. "I see you are still just as handsome as your mother." There were multiple layers of stealth insults in that last comment.
"Cut the crap and give me the Graygem, Uncle Kenshi!"
"I think not. You'll have to take it by force if you want it, and I doubt you'll be up to that challenge."
"You can get cocky all you want, Uncle, but I'm not taking you on alone. This time I've brought friends with me!"
Behind Ren-Ohki, a massive vortex opened up. Out of it came Ryu-Oh Junior, followed by a fleet of ships whose designs resembled black birds. Kenshi smirked.
"So, the little brats have struck up an alliance with the Tengu." Kenshi muttered.
While this scene was unfolding, Naoko had other concerns on her mind. Namely, the black planet-sized blob down below Kenshi's ship whose tendrils were not reaching out in their direction......

                                                           * * *

Aboard Ryo-Ohki, Sai sat next to Sasami, his anxiety running high. In his lap, he held the tiny toy-like figure which, in reality, was a colony of his special nanites. During the whole trip, he pondered whether these nanites could truly be a match for this cybernetic entity that Sasami's friends spoke of. True, they could make short work of Washu's creations, but this being sounded like it was on a whole other level. They would soon find out.
"We're approaching Catian now." Ryoko announced.
Everybody rushed to the viewing screen. There was a collective gasp at the image that appeared upon it. The entire world of Catian had been absorbed or consumed by a black mass with tendrils reaching out for miles. Yosho's heart sank. He knew full well that it was his responsibility for what happened to the people of Catian, as it was him who had entrusted the Graygem to their priestesses.
"I've got a lock on Kenshi's ship. He's....got company." Ryoko said. The viewing screen showed Kenshi's vessel surrounded by a Ryo-ohki-like ship, the Ryu-Oh Junior, and a fleet of ships that none in the group recognized.
"Who in the world are they?" Aeka wondered aloud.
"No idea." Ryoko answered. "Their design is unlike anything I've encountered when traveling the galaxy."
"Look there, at Kenshi's ship!" Sasami shouted.
Ryoko zoomed in on Kenshi's ship on the viewing screen. Something was coming out of it at the top. It was Kenshi himself. He stood proudly upon his ship's hull, and morphed into his cyber form. Apparently, standing in the vacuum of space didn't bother him one bit.
Kenshi made an incredible leap from his ship into the void towards the Ryo-Ohki-like ship. As he did so, the fleet opened fire upon him. He dodged every shot with smooth expertise until he reached his target. He latched onto the Ryo-Ohki-like ship and began to rip apart its hull.
"MYAAA!!!!" Ryo-Ohki cried out, as if she realized the ship being attacked was a close kin of her's.
"We've gotta do something!" Sasami cried. "That poor cabbit will be killed if we don't!"
Sai's mouth contorted. He realized that it was probably now or never to use the nanites. "Get us as close as you can, Ryoko!" he said with sudden conviction.
Ryoko gritted her teeth and did as she said. Ryo-Ohki flew in closer to the site of the battle. They all found that they had far more to dodge than just the fire from the ships. The tendrils from the black mass began to reach out and grab whatever they could. They watched on the viewing screen as several ships in the fleet her grabbed and pulled inside the body of the mass. Ryo-Ohki had to maneuver quickly to avoid the same fate.
Finally, they arrived near the other cabbit-ship. Ryo-Ohki let out a loud "Myaa!!", and the other ship did the same. Suddenly, an image appeared on Ryo-Ohki's viewing screen. They all recognized the face of Tenko.
"Uh, yeah, I could use a little help, here!" he told them. They all looked at Sai and nodded.
"Here goes." he said, nearly breathing a sigh. He held up the nanite-figure, and Ryoko teleported it off the ship.
Outside, Kenshi continued to tear into Ren-Ohki. Then, he felt something. Another presence. He looked up, and his eyes widened a bit as she saw a grey cloud approach him. He did not know what exactly it was, but he had the strange feeling that it could be a threat to him.
Kenshi prepared to flee back to his ship. He only made it part way when he realized that the cloud was moving faster than him. It wasn't long before it caught up to him. He found himself enveloped by the cloud, and then something odd happened- the cloud was actually seeping inside him.
Kenshi groaned in pain. He felt as though something was eating away at him from the inside. He could feel the cybernetic aspect of his being slowly shutting down. Lightheadedness overtook him, and his sight grew dim. At last, he closed his eyes, and was left floating unconscious in the void. Ryo-Ohki, Ren-Ohki, and Ryu-Oh Junior surrounded him.

                                                                 * * *

Later, aboard Kenshi's ship, the whole group, along with Tenko, Aechi, and one of the strange new race known as the "Tengu" stood above Kenshi's unconscious form. Off at the other side of the room were the two cabbits, Ryo-Ohki and Ren-Ohki, the latter having been revealed as the former's son from the future, nuzzled close together.
"Will he be alright?" Naoko asked, unable to mask the worry in her voice.
"I....don't know." Washu answered. "Sai's nanites seem to have successfully shut down the cybernetic aspect of his body, but it also caused him to go into a coma. I have no idea how much we can help him."
That wasn't their only concern, either. Right about the time Kenshi slipped into a coma, the black mass entity stopped moving as well, and nobody had any idea why. Right now, Tengu ships were surrounding it and scanning it for clues.
The Tengu. Creatures right out of Japanese Buddhist myth. In the myths and folklore of Japanese Buddhists, the Tengu were a race of bird men who lived in the mountains and loved the play pranks on Buddhist monks in order to draw them away from the path of Enlightenment. And now, one of these creatures stood before them all. Tenchi approached it. The one before them resembled an anthropomorphic raven, with a beaked avian head, black feathers covering its bipedal body, and a pair of tremendous wings coming out of its back. Though it was mostly avian, the creature had a single mammalian trait- a long white beard flowing down from beneath its beak.
The creature also bore a strange trait in that the very makeup of its body was unlike anything the group had seen in this universe. All Tenko would tell them about it was that it was a "live action" being.
"So, umm, what's the deal with you guys?" Tenchi nervously asked the present Tengu.
"It's a long story, Dad, though it ties into why we are after the Graygem." Tenko began to explain. "As Great Grandpa probably told you, the Graygem houses a strange, destructive entity. Knowledge about this entity is limited, but it is believed that this entity existed before our universe and many others like it came into being. We don't know how, but at some point this entity became trapped in the Graygem. We do, know, however, that tiny cracks in the Graygem allow aspects of this entity to escape into reality. Grandpa probably told you that Kain was one of these shards.
"As for the Tengu, the history of their race is closely tied to this entity. You see, the Tengu originate from an alternate universe, a live-action one. The Tengu, in their home universe, originated from a star system called Aldebarran. They shared this star system with an insect-like race called the Byakhee. This was not exactly a peaceful co-existence. The Tengu waged a millennia-long war to exterminate the Byakhee, but the war remained at a constant stalemate.
"The Tengu eventually came up with an idea. They were going to summon the living planet Ghroth, one of the so-called "Great Old Ones" that dominated their universe, and have Ghroth destroy the Byakhee homeworld. The Byakhee were helpless, so they turned towards desperate measures of their own. Deep within the lake of Hali on their homeworld, their dwelt a monstrous entity which they referred to only as the Unspeakable One. It just so happens that the Unspeakable One was a shard of the Graygem entity that had entered their universe and slumbered in the lake of Hali on their homeworld.
"The Byakhee awoke the Unspeakable One and pleaded for his aid. He accepted their pleas in exchange for the total servitude of their race. They did as demanded, and the Unspeakable One used his power to divert Ghroth's course and send him towards the Tengu homeworld. The Tengu homeworld was flung into their sun by Ghroth's power, and the Tengu were forced to flee."
"The Byakhee would suffer greatly for their pact with the Unspeakable One." the Tengu man said, finally speaking up. "When the Unspeakable One demanded total servitude from them, they did not comprehend what he meant. They soon discovered that it meant the total loss of their free will. The Byakhee found themselves becoming the mindless slaves of the Unspeakable One and they remain such to this day.
"As for my people, we were scattered across our home universe. We saw it as penance for our hubris in trying to wipe out another race. Some of us chose to dwell upon our universe's Earth, where they would become the Tengu of Asian myth, opponents of the Buddhist faith of which the Unspeakable One had his tendrils deep within. Others, like myself, chose to wander not only our universe, but other universes in search for clues of how to combat the Unspeakable One. Our search has finally led us to this universe, where we discovered the origins of the Unspeakable One and the existence of the Graygem which his true body lies within."
"And now we have it!" Tenko said excitedly, as he and his half brother looked upon the gem now in their possession.
"I would take great care in how you handle that, young Tenko, for...." the Tengu began to say before he was interrupted by a warning signal. A ship was approaching. Ryoko went over and turned on the screen. It was the Yagami.
"Hey, everybody! Long time no see!" came the cheerful voice of Mihoshi over the intercom.
"Hey, you guys." Kiyone chimmed in. "We went to Earth looking for you, but we found you had left in a hurry, so we tried to come and find you."
"Glad to hear from you two." Tenchi said with a smile. "We'll  come aboard and try to explain everything to you."

                                                                    * * *

The group came aboard the Yagami, and found Kiyone and Mihoshi waiting for them. Mihoshi was prepared to give them all her usual cheerful greeting, when something happened to stop her in her tracks. The Tengu man. As the Tengu laid eyes on Mihoshi, a feeling of horror overtook him.
"By Yog-Sothoth! It's you!" he cried.
The group looked at Mihoshi with confusion. Their confusion only grew when they saw a twisted smile appear upon her face, and her eyes begin to glow red.
"I suppose the cat is out of the bag." she chuckled in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kain....