----
 Afura looked up at the peak from her campfire as she cleaned up her night 
time meal. It had taken several days without her powers to reach this point 
in the mountains. The whole time she had followed the old traditions, 
refusing to use her powers or outside help. She was sore and tired, it had 
been a long climb and she wasn't as used to the thin air of the higher 
altitudes as she had been months earlier.

"Tomorrow" She whispered as she looked up at the peak. -Tomorrow I face the 
Demons in the cave and....- She dozed off before she could complete the 
thought. She wasn't sure that she wanted to consider the possible outcomes.
----

Ryoko blinked into existence, and could feel the passage of time from her 
teleport to the moment that she had just come to. Her surroundings were alien 
and that confused her even more. As had the rage and bloodlust that she had 
seemingly just felt and now didn't.

"Yosho, what did you do to me?" She asked aloud, only to hear her voice echo 
around her.

-What needed to be done. You were reverting to what Kagato had made you, and 
I couldn't allow that. Tsunami and I spent far too long to let that happen.-

"What are you talking about. What did you do to me?" She asked, scared that 
she might already know the answers.

-Eliminated Kagato's programming nothing more. I had to enlist the aid of 
'others' to do it in my current state, and they have a price for such things-

"State? What are you talking about? Where are you?"

-I'm dead, held to this plane of existence only for a short time by my link 
with you and your gems. Ryoko, we don't have time for an explanation. Look 
around you with your spirit sight, what do you see?- She looked as she was 
told and 
gasped at the sight.

"Spirits, thousands of them! All around me. Yosho, what do you want me to 
do?" She felt the spirit shift with her gems as he quickly explained what was 
needed of her.
----

Afura pulled herself up onto the ledge and stood. It had been a long hike up 
the peak, but now she was here. The cave of Demons. It was with a reluctant 
step that she entered the cave. She could hear her footfalls echo through the 
passageways as she walked further into the crystalline passages.

-Okay, I'm here, now what?- she asked herself as she rounded a corner. Any 
further questions or doubts were interrupted by the explosion of the wall in 
front of her.

The blast shattered the wall and threw her backwards. She grunted in pain as 
she hit the wall behind her. A shock of pain ran down her back and hips as 
she hit the wall. She fell to her knees and looked up at the new hole in the 
wall in 
front of her.

A figure emerged from the dust and smoke. For a moment it wavered as it 
calmly walked forward. Afura could make out the glimpse of Cyan hair and 
golden cat's eyes for a moment before the smoke curled back around it again. 

It shimmered and changed shape as it emerged. She looked on stunned by what 
greeted her as the figured resolved into a woman. She looked at the tall 
white haired woman and met her deep blue eyes.

"You!" She yelled in disbelief, "it can't be you!"

"What else did you expect to find in the Cave of Demons, Afura" the woman 
asked, "other than a Demon god?" Ifurita raised her powerstaff and pointed it 
at the astonished priestess.
----

"Hey you!" Tenchi was roused to full wakefulness by a rough prod. He looked 
up to see a guardsman on the other end of the staff that was jostling him. 
"This ain't an inn kid! Move on!" 

Tenchi staggered forward across the bridge, covering his mouth as he yawn. 
For a week or more, he had done odd jobs with a caravan to get to the city. 
The night before he had gotten what little funds the caravan master had owed 
him and 
walked to the gate. Tired and without a clue on how to enter the city, he had 
fallen asleep waiting for the city gates to open. He looked over the bridge 
at the city beyond.

"So this is Floristica," he said to himself. The city had the elaborate 
nature like that of an Arabic story. -I wonder if the others are there? I 
hope at least that there is some word on them.- The caravan master who had 
discovered him in the forest, had been certain that his kin would be there.

He soon found himself in a bazaar, bustling with business and stalls of all 
sort. He looked at one stall, a food stall, as his stomach issued a massive 
growl. The merchant heard and held up a bag of fruit. He rubbed thumb and 
finger 
together. Tenchi sighed and pulled out his small purse of coins as he set 
about the task of bartering for his breakfast. He finally settled on a small 
bag of fruit for several of his meager supply of coins.

As he walked away, months of living with Ayeka and Ryoko made him look back. 
Some instinct told him that something bad was happening behind him. He saw 
several guardsmen making their way through the crowds. Towards him. One of 
them was talking to the merchant that he had bought his breakfast from.

Suddenly the sweet taste of the fruit didn't sit with him so well as the 
merchant answered the guard's question by pointing through the crowds right 
at him. -That tears it- he told himself as the guards all starting moving 
towards him, -I'm out of here!-

He bolted down the crowded street at a full run, with sounds of running feet 
behind him. Dodging down one street then another, he weaved randomly through 
the crowds trying to get away. As he came around one corner, he skidded to a  
halt as another squad of guards came into sight. -Great, now what?-

A pair of tanned arms emerged from the shadows behind him and pulled him into 
the half concealed alley behind him. One hand came across his mouth as a 
voice whispered in his ear.

"Don't move!"
----

Afura stepped back a pace, still half in shock at the sight of Ifurita. Her 
heart was in her throat. The wind in the cave started to build as she 
staggered backwards towards the entrance.

"Don't you think that it is a little too late to get away Afura?" Ifurita 
asked in a taunting tone. "You only have one thing left to do. And that is to 
die!" 

"NO!" Afura screamed and called for the wind, desperation and fear lending 
strength to her call. The wind rushed forward to fill her world, wild and 
savage, uncontrolled. 

The cave shook under the passage of the air, and Ifurita was pushed back 
under the rush of wind. The wind picked up speed, bringing all the small 
debris in the cave.

-No! Not like this!- She screamed to herself as she fought for control. The 
control she sought slipped out of her grasp and the winds grew in intensity. 
The objects lifted by the wind were growing in size and the gap between her 
and the 
objects diminished.

Present and past blended together into a melange of images.

"I'll stop you!" screamed Sheyla as she blasted out with a fire bolt that 
melted the rock of the cave at Ifurita's feet. The demon god stood firm, 
untouched by the attack. Then she retaliated with a fiery blast that blinded 
Afura for a second. Sheyla's scream of pain was thankfully brief. Her vision 
cleared to reveal the crisped corpse lying at the entrance of the cave.

"Sheyla." Afura whispered in shock. To one side, Miz screamed in outrage and 
lashed out with the force of a tidal wave. To no avail. Ifurita stood unfazed 
by the wall of water that crashed over her and with a simple hand motion 
reversed the flow of the water with such force that Miz hardly had time to 
scream before being washed away. 

The last of her that Afura saw was as she impacted with the cave wall with 
thunderous force. She cringed at the sound of the senior priestess' neck 
snapping. Then Miz was gone, washed away by the wall of water that she 
created. Ifurita turned back to face her.

"And then there was only you little priestess, all by yourself.." All the 
fear and repressed rage exploded as her fragile control shattered. Ifurita 
fell back under the hail of rock. Afura snarled in fury and lashed out at 
her, all pretense of control gone. The cave shook under the onslaught of the 
wind. 

It came with the force of a hurricane rippling items from the ground and 
hurling them down the cave. Afura reached deeper within, desperate for 
control and more power.

Ifurita staggered backwards a step and the wind grew more intense.  The 
ground shook at the passage of the wind, and still more came. Ifurita was 
forced back again.

Afura fought within herself to bring the power under control. Fear and 
desperation tore away the center that she needed for control. Afura tried to 
pull all her power back within and the fear twisted and warped it. Wind came 
and more came with every passing second.

The whole world shock under the passage of the wind. The cave creaked and 
moaned like a beast in pain, while Afura fought with herself. Buffeted by the 
wind and the rocks that it brought, it was all that she could do to remain 
standing.

Suddenly, the realization hit her in a rush of serendipity. Afura shook at 
the simplicity of it and smiled. She gestured with a hand. The wind died to 
nothingness and she stood in the cave with her enemy.

The silence was deafening as she stood there gasping for breath in the wake 
of her exertions. She hurt all over, her injuries just now making themselves 
known. Ifurita walked forward out of the smoke.

"What's the matter, Afura? Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Yes, I am." 

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"What will happen, will happen. I was wrong to be afraid of fighting you, but 
I will never let that fear poison me again. All that can happen if that I 
will fail or succeed."

Ifurita smiled and for a second her image wavered and then vanished entirely. 
 To be replaced by the hawk faced stranger that she had seen. Who promptly 
sat down beside her. The stranger smiled and patted her on the shoulder in a 
comradely sort of way.

"Not a bad little rumble, I'm called Ryoko. I assume that you are Afura 
Mann?" Afura started to reply, but the pain rose up and washed away all 
reality before she could.
----

"They can't see us as long as you remain quiet!" Hissed a voice by Tenchi's 
ear. The hand over his mouth slowly withdrew, "if you want to avoid capture, 
follow me." The shape retreated further into the shadowy alleys, and Tenchi 
reluctantly followed her.

Through back alleys, and side streets, Tenchi followed the slim figure and up 
onto the rooftops of the city, finally arriving at an empty street plaza. The 
figure turned and pointed to a small building as she pulled back her hood to 
reveal a pretty face, if she had bothered to wash it.

"I couldn't let you get taken by the guards, you don't look like a dangerous 
type of criminal to me."

"I haven't done anything!" Tenchi answered as she pulled aside a curtain and 
stepped into the decripid building.

"Yeah, that is what they all say..." He heard her drop to the floor with a 
crash and a groan. Turning quickly he discovered a haggard looking guard 
standing over the body of his savior. She was out cold.

Tenchi looked at the woman who had befriended him. The guard had laid her out 
for sometime from look of it. It must have been a really hard blow. The guard 
stepped over her, swinging his staff as he did so.

Years of training under his grandfather had honed reflexes and instincts that 
most people would never conceive of. He ducked under the extended staff and 
grabbed the wrist that was holding the staff. Then all it took was a slight 
jerk 
forward to pull the guard off balance and channel his momentum into a wall.

He impacted with the stucco wall with a wet smack and went down hard. He 
didn't get up. Tenchi pulled the small purse of coins that he had left with 
him and tossed it down the to woman. The sound of approaching feet told him 
that 
he didn't have much time.

"Sorry about this," he said before turning and running away. The guards 
caught sight of him just as he turned the far corner of the street and took 
up the chase once more.
---

Rune looked up as the messenger ran up to her and quickly bowed. Something 
about his desperate manner told her that this wasn't going to be something 
that she wanted to hear.

"Your highness, we have spotted the fugitive that you wanted captured. The 
Fifth company of the city guard is mobilizing as we speak. We should have him 
within the hour."

"Fugitive? What fugitive?" The slight headache that she had been having all 
day long now threatened to blossom into a full migraine.

"The one that you told Captain Merric to capture and bring to the palace." 
She shook her head and cut him off.

"The Captain was supposed to find and ESCORT Tenchi Masaski to the palace. 
He's to be considered a Diplomat of the first order and nobility."

"Oh crap.. I mean... that is, with your permission, highness." The messenger 
took off at a full run when she nodded. Rune wondered if the situation could 
get any worse as she watched the man run away.

She didn't know Tenchi's luck. Tenchi Masaki wasn't know for making good 
impressions. Ryoko, Ayeka and Kagato for example. Sheyla-Sheyla was about to 
make that list.
----

Tenchi came around the corner at a full run, only just keeping his balance as 
he did. He barreled through a group of people and pushed through at full 
speed. Just as he made it through crowd, he tripped and reeled forward. 

He crashed into a tall athletic woman, and together they tumbled to the 
ground. Tenchi landed on top, and for long seconds was frozen in place. His 
hands flexed reflexively as he straddled her. The redhead glared up at him 
and spoke 
through clenched teeth.

"Would you mind getting off of me?" Tenchi suddenly became aware of the sound 
of approaching guards and moved quickly got up and dashed off.

"Sorry about that!" he yelled to her as he dodged between the people on the 
street.
-----

Sheyla lay on the ground, angry and embarrassed beyond words as the guards 
pelted by. She had snuck out of the palace the night before to get a good 
drink alone without Miz or Rune interfering. 

The last thing that she had expected was to knocked down and fondled. Sheyla 
lay there and replayed the whole incident in her mind, clouded by her 
hangover, and got angrier. The gems flared to life as she sat up.

The crowd on the street parted unbidden as she stood and looked down the 
street at the back of the fleeing teen. Her hand rose and a ball of flame 
formed in it. She gestured towards him.

"Die!"
----

Sasami settled down in the mound of pillows that the servants had put out for 
her in the garden. Ayeka and Makoto helped the servants to setup of the 
picnic meal that Sasami had organized. The little girl had enough of indoors 
and 
solitary meals, and had insisted on a little company. Ura curled up in her 
lap as the servants finished assembling the meal and retreated.  The cat 
pleasantly reminded her of Ryo-oki.

They had just settled down to eat and had been joined by Miz when it 
happened. All of them looked at the cloud of smoke that followed the 
thunderous roar and watched in disbelief as a small building collapsed.

The two groups looked at each other. Ayeka and Sasami on one side and Makoto 
and Miz on the other. 

"Tenchi" the two sisters said together, with an air of certainly that had 
come from long experience.

"Sheyla." Miz and Makoto said with same amount of experience to judge from. 
Each of the twosome looked to the other group in surprise. 

Then Ayeka, Miz and  Makoto bolted from the room at a full run, leaving 
Sasami alone with the remains of lunch and Ura. She settled back into the 
mount again and rubbed Ura absentmindedly. The cat purred, happy for the 
attention and 
snacks that were forthcoming.
-----

Some deep down survival instinct told Tenchi to get out of the way at the 
last moment. He half hopped, half jumped out of the way just a second before 
the blast tore through the empty building.

-Why does this type of thing always happen to me?- he asked himself as he 
took a quick look back down the now clear street. The tall redhead that he 
had run into stood in the middle of the street alone. The bustling crowds 
that he had such 
trouble getting through were gone. The reason why was immediately evident by 
the fiery aura around her.

-Why me?- He thought to himself as he dodged another of the fiery blasts and 
bolted down a nearby street. A wash of heat at his back announced that his 
latest pursuer was gaining. He risked a quick look back and wished that he 
hadn't. 

The redhead was gaining, wreathed in flames, and Tenchi didn't like the look 
in her eyes.

Turning back around, he was stopped short by what he saw. What he had hoped 
was a backstreet had turned into a dead end alley. The woman slowly stepped 
into sight, haloed in a blinding aura of flame. Tenchi took an involuntary 
step 
back, only to be stopped short by the wall at his back.

"I don't suppose that an apology would do?" he asked weakly.
----

Ayeka followed the others at a full run. Makoto had the lead with Miz close 
behind. They all hurried towards the burning building in the bazaar district 
and it was child's play to follow the devastation from there.

Makoto disappeared into the fleeing crowds and the two women were hard put to 
keep up with him. As all three of them came around the turn, they saw Sheyla 
scream out and throw a monstrous wave of fire down the alley.

"Sheyla don't! That's Ayeka's kinsman." Miz screamed as the blast detonated 
in the alley. Sheyla snapped out of the rage and looked down the alley in 
shock.

"Oh no! I didn't mean to go so far," she said to Miz. Ayeka glanced down the 
smoking alley and saw something in the wreckage and ruin that lifted the 
horrible weight that had lain on her shoulders.

-The Wings of the Light Hawk!- She gave a small cry and bolted past Miz 
before the priestess could stop her.

"Tenchi!" she yelled as the wings vanished and he staggered out of the smoke 
and haze. She caught him as he collapsed, and she quickly checked him over. 
Aside from a few minor scrapes and burns he was fine. She looked up to the 
approaching trio with a smile. "Makoto, Miz and Sheyla, I would like to 
introduce my kinsman, Tenchi Masaki."

"Charmed, I'm sure." Sheyla growled.

"Sheyla behave!" Miz snapped.

"What did I do?"

"We've met before." Makoto said as he helped Ayeka. The others looked at him 
with wide eyes.
----

Afura awoke to find her wounds bound and a nice fire burning nearby. Her gear 
was laid out neatly and a small pot of stew bubbled nearby. The stranger 
looked up from the fire and smiled.

"Ryoko, right?" Afura asked as she sat up. Ryoko nodded and brought over a 
bowl for her.

"Sorry about the cave, I couldn't help it. There were so many spirits in the 
cave, and I got lost in the rush." Afura waved her apology away as she 
reached for the spoon.

"It was what was needed to be done. For us both, if I am right." She looked 
up at the mountain. "I definitely gained something out of my experience. 
Didn't you?" Ryoko looked up at the mountain and shook her head.

"No, I didn't. I lost something that I never really needed." The rest of the 
meal lapsed into uncomfortable silence as the two women ate and contemplated 
what had happened in the cave hours before.

----

Tenchi awoke to find Ayeka resting in a chair beside his bed, her face lined 
with pain even in sleep. He looked at her for long minutes. -What happened to 
you?- He asked the sleeping woman who had evidently stood watch over him for 
most of the day. As he watched her, she stirred and awoke.

She immediately looked to the bed, and smiled when she saw him awake. The 
smile sent a chill down his back, and a thrill in his gut. She jumped into 
the bed and wrapped her arms around him, holding him with a desperate 
strength that 
surprised Tenchi.

Her back shook as he returned the hug, and it took him a few seconds to 
realize that she was crying. Finally she looked up at him and he knew 
instantly why she was crying.

"Grandfather." he asked in a trembling voice. Ayeka merely nodded, still to 
shaken to speak. He held her for a while she cried herself out. Finally she 
looked up at him, and he saw the need in those deep purple eyes for the first 
time. 

Ayeka swallowed nervously and seemed uncertain of what to say for a few 
seconds.

"Tenchi, ... I .. love you." and before he could reply she impulsively kissed 
him. From there, not much had to be said, he reflected later.

Sometime later, Tenchi found himself holding a sleeping Ayeka. This time, the 
pain was gone, and he had to admit that the weight on his shoulders was a lot 
lighter. He ran his hand through her hair and savored the scent that she 
wore. 
Ayeka stirred in her sleep and murmured his name. She looked up at him, still 
half asleep as he swallowed nervously trying to find the right words.

"Ayeka, I love you." She placed a gentle hand on his lips and smiled.

"I know Tenchi, I've always known." 
-----

Ryoko phased into existence on the ledge, and gently landed. She took great 
care on where she stepped, Afura had been quite clear in the fact that the 
entire ridge was unstable following Yosho's last battle.

Finally she found a suitable piece of crystal in an nearby column. She 
conjured a blade and set to work. Several well placed slashes had were all it 
took to bring it into a suitable shape. 

Then she stepped into the cave and brought out Yosho's crystallized form out. 
With great care, she shattered the crystal that held him. The crystal winds 
had perfectly preserved him, she was glad to see. She picked up his body with 
reverence that was due to a fallen comrade and laid it on the column.

A quick flash of her power, and Yosho was forever entombed in a column of 
crystal. She looked at the face of a warrior at peace and smiled.

-It's not much Yosho, but it's the best that I can do. Rest in peace old 
warrior.- Then she phased back out of sight, returning to the campsite she 
shared with Afura.
-----

Tenchi slipped out of the bed and left Ayeka sleeping soundly alone in it. He 
pulled the covers up over her and smiled at the sight of her face. The pain 
and guilt were gone. He stepped out onto the terrace and relished the warmth 
of the 
morning sun.

It was good to be alive, he thought to himself. Then an image appeared in his 
mind, Ryoko in one of her rare gentle moods. -What am I going to tell her?- 
He thought. Suddenly life had become more complex again.

"Hello, Tenchi." A voice from his past said, pulling him out of his thoughts. 
He turned and looked at the slender young man in sitting on a nearby bench.

"You look like hell Makoto." He said simply to his old friend, and smiled as 
he held out a hand. Makoto gripped the hand and shook it.

"It hasn't been easy for me over the last 6 months. I've had a lot on my 
mind." Makoto looked over Tenchi, hungrily it seemed. -What do you want, 
Makoto.- Tenchi was surprised at the changes that he saw in his childhood 
friend. Makoto 
fidgeted nervously under his scrutiny. "I never intended to bring anyone 
across, I only wanted to bring the Key over. Do you have it?"

"No, it must be with Ryoko." Tenchi said, surprised with the ease that he had 
just lied to an old friend. -I can't trust you yet,-he thought as he watched 
Makoto stagger off, bent under the weight of another failure, -you aren't the 
Makoto that I knew.-

Ayeka wrapped her arms around him as he watched Makoto walk away. He rubbed 
his hand across her clasped hands, savoring the smooth gentle hands.

"Why didn't you tell him that I had the key?" She asked quietly as Tenchi 
walked back into the bedroom and sat on the bed. Ayeka settled back a nearby 
chair. 

"I want to help him, but I don't know if I can trust him. Grandfather told me 
that key holds great power, but till I saw the ruins left from six months ago 
I didn't believe it. Makoto can fire the Eye, and he is trying to bring back 
this Demon god. That is a lot of power for one person to wield."  He sighed, 
his mind was awhirl with a thousand questions, "I see him, and one moment I 
see the friend that I grew up with before Mother died. Then the next moment, 
I see this wild-eyed stranger. It's his eyes, they scare me, Ayeka."

Ayeka pulled out the Key from the concealed place she had carried it since 
Yosho's death and ran her hand across it. Feeling every ridge and ripple on 
it's surface. She could feel that vast power within it, sleeping, merely 
awaiting Tenchi or another suitable owner to call it forth. She brought her 
hand up and ran it across her headpiece, recalling the experience that she 
shared with Makoto.

"He's sincere," she said quietly, "I know that much, but I have to agree with 
your assessment. He's unstable, torn up with grief and guilt." Ayeka felt 
like she had betrayed the gentle youth who had befriended her in the garden 
that night. She understood what Makoto was going through, having lived 
through it as she had. But she was still able to judge him and find him 
wanting. -I wonder if it would be so easy to do so if Tenchi had been lost to 
me?- She asked herself as Tenchi dozed off again. "I guess we will have to 
just wait and see."
-----

Nanami eased the door open, most of the guards didn't pay much attention to 
the prisoner in this wing and the council's state of agitation made it easy 
to slip through most of the ones that remained. Gossip and gambling, not 
guarding, were 
far more enjoyable.

She slipped from shadow to shadow with practiced ease, born of many visits. 
She opened the cell door, taking care not to make too much noise as she 
pulled the door closed behind her. Most of the guards had as much as said 
that there was 
no real reason to keep the door locked, but they were still expected to keep 
it lock and the key wasn't too easy to get ahold of.

This prisoner didn't want to leave. He had voluntarily accepted his 
imprisonment. Nanami had heard of him in the course of palace gossip and felt 
compelled to seek him out.

Fauric looked up from the scrap of paper that he was drawing on with a piece 
of charcoal. His normal intense look of concentration broke into a sincere 
smile. The smile banished the few wrinkles that showed on his bearded face. 
He 
brushed a stand of silvered hair back as he turned around to face her.

"Ah, k'Chara, you came to visit again." He put down the paper and pulled out 
another one, gesturing to one spot in the cell. "Sit please, I am almost 
done."  She pushed away the clenching feeling in her stomach and sat down to 
pose for 
him.

He started drawing rapidly, occasionally looking up to motion for her to move 
in some slight manner. He spoke as he drew, taking care never to move from 
his post. She still was wary of him and ready to bolt at the first sign of 
trouble.

"Rumors usually don't make it down here till they are long past interest, but 
I have heard that one of the Lost have returned." Nanami nodded, then 
realized that he was still looking at his drawing and started to tell her 
friend what had 
occurred.

"...and that is pretty much it," she finished, looking out at the window of 
the cell and realizing how much time had passed. Time with Fauric never 
really seemed to matter, she didn't feel any of the weight or guilt with him. 
She stood 
and reluctantly walked to the door, "well I had better get going...."

"k'Chara?" Nanami looked back into the cell, both at ease and uncomfortable 
with his name for her.

"Please don't call me that, don't make me into something that I'm not." she 
said in a husky whisper from the doorway. Fauric looked at her for a moment 
with that intense gaze of his that sent shivers through her. It was like he 
saw her true 
self, and wasn't fooled by the facade she had put up.

 "Don't think you are a monster because of what you are, it's what you do 
that matters." She took that with her as she left.

Fauric looked up at the sky, his gaze resting on the Eye. It was painted 
blood red by the setting sun. On nights like this, he couldn't help but be 
reminded of the past. 

"Yes indeed, what you do is more important that what you are..." he said 
silently to himself as he relived the past again. He looked down at his hand 
and regarded the pale blue skin with a strange amount of curiosity. "Far more 
imporant is the deeds than the doer." he whispered as his mind conjured 
memories of the past.

------
The wall exploded inward, scattering guards everywhere, and Ryoko glided 
inside the palace through the hole that she had just made. Afura's pale form 
on her shoulder, Ryoko looked around before deciding on a direction.

-Got to find help quickly.- She thought desperately as she dashed away. She 
flashed through a crowd of guards, flitting from one vast chamber to another, 
looking for someone who might be able to help. Ryoko came out of a vast 
hallway 
and into a garden. -Is there anything but gardens in this place?- She saw a 
couple in robes in the garden. -A likely candidate for someone in authority.- 
She flew up and landed in front of the couple, gently placing Afura on the 
ground.

"I need help.." she said as she turned, "Tenchi? ... Ayeka?" Ryoko said with 
disbelief.Before she could react to the new circumstances, the ground beside 
her exploded as a blast went off near her. She turned and saw two women 
standing nearby, a tall slender redhead and a blue haired woman as well.

"Freeze!" yelled the redhead as she brought a flaming hand to bear on her. 
Ryoko was surprised as Tenchi and Ayeka rushed up beside her.

"Sheyla, she's a friend!"  Tenchi yelled.

"I got a hurt woman here." Ryoko said as she picked up Afura and brought her 
into sight. Both the women cried out as the injured priestess came into 
sight. The older one dashed forward and took Afura from her, dashing out of 
the room 
quickly. Calling for help the whole time. The redhead looked at Ryoko as 
Ayeka and Tenchi started asking her all manners of questions.

"I won't forget this.." Sheyla whispered as the golden eyed stranger slowly 
explained what happened to her since coming to El Hazard.

-----