Galaxy Patrol (one on one)

[dragonrazor]

As Tanis maneuvered the ship towards the island nation of Japan in the dark hours of the early morning, flashes of light traveled between two points on the ground near their destination. Tanis frowned, enhancing the image using the ship's sensors, and then his own. The scan information from the weapon system supplied the names of the two fighters, and Tanis rolled his eyes. Ryoko and Ayeka at each other's throats over some petty argument. 'AGAIN', the records supplied. As Ryoko was sent flying, he looked at Sari, and stood up from the pilot's seat, offering it to her as he moved towards the boarding ramp. He opened it, and walked down until he could see the battle. As the ship came closer to the ground, he jumped down. Ryoko had climbed out of the lake again, looking rather angry. He landed between the two just as they started to launch particularly large energy blasts at each other.

The Zero's defense system activated instantly, a wall of clear, hexagonal plates forming on either side of him. When the attacks struck the walls, they had the same effect that Sari's attack had the previous day. Each attack was reflected at their user, sending them flying, as the weapon system that was Zero took hold, transforming Tanis' clothing into armor plating. He turned to regard each of the people nearby, and then looked up, motioning Sari to set the ship down nearby and deactivate the cloak.

He turned to look at Ryoko, and spoke calmly. "Ryoko, daughter/construct of Washu. It is suggested that you surrender now. Our orders are merely to bring you in alive. State of consciousness was unspecified. Besides, we wouldn't want you luring Kagato here. We're enough of a lure, considering we got away from him before."

 

[SilverHawkette]

Ryoko growled and was about to launch an attack towards Tanis as a feeble attempt of making herself feel better, but Maruka walked up alongside Tanis and held her blade near Ryoko's comfort zone.

In her blue armored suit, Princess Maruka looked more like a mini mecha-fighter than anything compared to normal. "Back down, Lady Ryoko. They're just doing the universe a grand favor in sending you back and keeping Kagato from surprising us again." Maruka said, as the blade of her sword began to glow a dark bluish aura.

Sari stepped out of the ship and sighed heavily, with Myo-Oh sitting firmly on her left shoulder. "Honestly, Mother. Shouldn't you have learned by now that with the combination of Ayeka's attack on top of the Mirosan guardians' barriers, you didn't stand a chance?" Sari questioned, as Ryoko turned to her voice, then changed moods fairly quickly.

One minute she was angry to the point of wanting to destroy something, the next she was as docile as a lamb to slaughter and lunged for Sari. In no time flat, Sari was in Ryoko's grip and begging for breath, since Ryoko was hugging her a bit...tightly.

 

[dragonrazor]

It wasn't until Ryoko wrapped her daughter in a bearhug that Tanis relaxed. His stance changed immediately, and he turned away from the scene, walking over to the gathered grouping. He surveyed them until he saw Yosho among them, and bowed slightly. When he rose again, he looked less like a war machine and more like a person. He spoke in a quiet tone. "My apologizes for any damage sustained. Zero's defense systems are...a bit overpowered, honestly. Is there anything I or the Galaxy Patrol can do to make amends?"

 

[SilverHawkette]

"My baby! My baby has come home to see her Mother!" Ryoko yelled, as Maruka de-transformed back into her royal garb, just as the Mirosan guards down-powered their barrier around Ayeka. Sari did her best to fight her way out of Ryoko's tight embrace, but it wasn't looking like it was going to be an easy fight.

"Thank you, Mirima and Asuku. I appreciate your assistance along with Azaka and Kamidake protecting me." Ayeka said, as she bowed towards the totems. Miriam and Asuku's jewels in the center of their tops blinked brightly. "No thanks necessary, Princess Ayeka. We were only doing our duties." Asuku and Mirima replied in unison.

Yosho bowed his head towards Tanis and smiled. "It seems that Ryoko's at peace for a moment now that Sari has come. Granted, I'm sure it was to take Ryoko back to prison, but at the moment, this is enough. And don't worry about any of the destruction caused. Maruka was well-prepared for it." Yosho stated, just as Maruka's space ship de-cloaked itself from above the Masaki household, then disappeared from sight again.

 

[SilverHawkette]

Tsubushi appeared, once again, then in a flash of white light, a small black and blue furred cabbit appeared beside Maruka and meowed proudly. Myo-Oh's ears perked up, then quickly bounced of Sari's shoulder and charged for Tsubushi as fast as her short legs could carry her.

"M-Mother, will you cut it out? I need to breathe too ya know!" Sari yelled, as she teleported away from Ryoko's tight grip and re-appeared next to Maruka, who was doing her best to keep a straight face.

Ryoko, not having anyone to hold onto at that precise moment, fell over in surprise, and managed to knock herself out. Everyone sweatdropped and laughed in minor hysterics.

"Sari...you and your friend here must be starving. You must come inside and tell us all about how you are doing at the headquarters!" Ayeka said, as she quickly grabbed Sari's hands and drug her back towards the house. Maruka re-sheathed her sword, then followed behind Ayeka and Sari. Sasami, Washu, and Tenchi all breathed heavy sighs, then followed in suit.

"Ryoko will be fine on her own, Tanis. She never runs far when Sari's here. So please, come in and eat and introduce yourselves to us properly. We would gladly enjoy it." Yosho stated, as he smiled, then turned to go join the breakfast festivities.

 

[dragonrazor]

Tanis watched in silence as the events unfolded. At Yosho's insistence, Tanis slowly followed everyone inside. He chanced a glance at the others, studying them for a moment, then shrugged, taking a seat as he was shown to a living room. He did, however, have the sense to pick up Ryoko and carry her inside, almost the way a husband would his new wife. He set her down on the couch, and compared Zero's readings to his own first impressions of the family. He frowned at the realization that it was breakfast time. He made a note to have Zero adjust the clock accordingly, as he had no clue how long they'd be there. He also had the weapon system link to the ship to keep an eye on things.

 

[SilverHawkette]

Sasami, Kiyone, and Mihoshi were all in the kitchen preparing breakfast, while Yosho, Sari, Ayeka, Tenchi, and Washu were in the living room, enjoying the now rising sun as it's first rays of light entered through the windows.

"So....you're enjoying the headquarters, Sister?" Maruka questioned, even though she could never quite understand why her half-sister went on to be a police officer when she could have easily followed in their grandmother's line of work in assassinations and bounty hunts. Of course, then again, her current punishment was being a bodyguard for Ayeka, Sasami, and Tenchi.

"Yes, very much, Maruka. Of course, there are days when I wish to be back on Mirosa, but it's good for me to be at headquarters." Sari replied, as she smiled at her older sister.

Maruka turned her head towards Tanis and looked him over immensely before making her judgement call. Granted, for being from Earth, he did have somewhat cute attributes like Tenchi, but he seemed to be a bit more guarded than he should be.

"So, Lord Tanis, tell us about yourself. What do you think of our fair Sari so far?" Yosho questioned, as he watched the three cabbits play fight in the center of the living room.

 

[dragonrazor]

Tanis probably looked a bit distracted. The sudden questions from Yosho caught him offguard, and he turned faster than should have been possible to regard the old man. He frowned for a moment, the scanners flickering slightly as something seemed overlaid. The words, like before, came out of his mouth before he could stop them. "You don't actually look like that." He winced as he realized how that sounded, and looked away. He saw the glance from Maruka, and then turned back to Yosho for a moment. "I have...never been referred to by any title aside from Slacker before. I had a bit of an accident before being accepted to the Galaxy Patrol. The accident involved Kagato, though I didn't know his name at the time. I ended up becoming the carrier for some sort of alien weapon system. I guess that's why I am here. Zero thinks it likely that Kagato will not stop until he has acquired the power to defeat Ryoko and Tenchi."

 

[SilverHawkette]

Maruka, Washu, Ayeka, and Tenchi all gasped in shock. Yosho smiled kindly, then reverted to his younger self, so as to make Tanis more at ease with himself and the surroundings that he was in.

"There. I hope that is to more your liking." Yosho stated, as everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ah. So you're the human that acquired the Zero Amadaru System? No wonder my scanners couldn't pick it's energies up on Earth anymore. You had it this whole time." Washu commented, as Maruka and Sari both looked at each other and sighed. They knew what was coming.

"This is quite interesting. I think I may have to run a few performance tests on you, Tanis. Just to make sure that you are the true inheritor of this....system." Washu commented, just as Sasami and the girls brought out a huge gourmet breakfast and sat it on the table.

 

[dragonrazor]

Tanis raised an eyebrow, turning to the young girl who addressed him, then narrowing his eyes. Unlike Yosho, this one gave so many conflicting readings that all that came out was a question. "What exactly are you? All of Zero's readings on you are in conflict. Height, weight, skin tone, eye color, nothing makes any sense in the data. For that matter, it keeps telling me you're not actually here."

Then he held out his hand, and in it appeared a long, glowing green energy blade. He concentrated, and the blade changed shape and size. Then it vanished, to be replaced in succession by a few dozen different guns, followed by medical equipment, scanners, and so on. "I've been practicing a lot."

 

[SilverHawkette]

Washu chuckled and then nodded her head. "Indeed, I am not here. I'm attending a conference on Ryoko's failures at the Science Academy. I'll be gone a few days. This is my clone so that I may keep an eye on everyone at home. Even though, with Maruka present, I shouldn't have anything to worry about." Washu's clone stated, as Maruka nodded her head after being mentioned.

"There's a seminar on Mother's failures? Wow. I didn't think Mother was that popular." Sari thought out loud, as Mihoshi walked towards her to hand her her breakfast, when Mihoshi managed to trip and spill the entire contents of breakfast all over Maruka.

Maruka blinked, and sighed heavily. "I'll be right back." Maruka said, as she disappeared from sight.

 

[dragonrazor]

Tanis raised an eyebrow at the clumsiness of Mihoshi, which was renowned throughout the galaxy. There was nothing at all in her path, and yet she still managed to trip. He wondered briefly what kind of cosmic circumstance could cause such a thing. That thought was quickly pushed aside as Ryoko finally awoke again. Tanis looked down at the barely awake space pirate, and cleared his throat. "My apologies, Miss. Officially, you are under arrest. Unofficially, however, we are not here, so until we receive orders to return you to prison, please try to remain out of trouble."

 

[SilverHawkette]

Ryoko yawned, then lightly glared at Tanis and was about to jump up and protest loudly, until Sari walked over and sat on the arm of Tanis's chair and sighed.

"Relax, Mom. Tanis speaks the truth. I was sent here by Commander Mizusu because Warden Ayimaru requested it of her." Sari explained, as Ryoko sat up and rubbed her head.

"So, they managed to talk my daughter into coming in and arresting her own mother..again. Politics. Never will understand them." Ryoko muttered, as Sari looked at her mother sadly, but then turned to Tanis.

"Wait a minute. You said unofficially we can stay here until we get orders to go back, right? Sweet! I can show you around then." Sari said, excited, as she clapped her hands fastly.

"Show him around everything, Sari. And make sure to leave nothing out." Yosho suggested, as Sari nodded her head. "You know, a walk around does sound quite inviting. Mind if I come along too, Sari?" Ayeka asked, as Sari turned and smiled even bigger. "Of course, Ayeka! I would love it if you helped me show Tanis around." Sari exclaimed, as Ayeka laughed.

"Just to make sure that he's not outnumbered by any surprises, I'm coming along too." Tenchi remarked, as he sweatdropped.

 

[dragonrazor]

Tanis raised an eyebrow at the sudden company for such a small task. However, he supposed a bit of recon WAS in order. He nodded slowly, standing to his feet. He regarded the princess slowly, then shrugged, and started for the door, saying nothing. It was immediately obvious to him that Yosho knew far more than he let on. The Juraian prince, belying any outward lack of care, seemed to have a plan already, which gave Tanis a bit of comfort. It meant that he hadn't dulled any over the centuries. He stood out on the porch, waiting on his, for lack of a better term, entourage, and looked down at how he was dressed. He concentrated for a moment, and his clothing slowly morphed into the garb of a Shinto disciple.

 

[SilverHawkette]

Maruka re-appeared, dressed in her royal attire and looked at Tanis mildly confused. "Oh, right. The Amadaru System. Forgot you acquired it." Maruka muttered, just as Sari, Ayeka, Tenchi, and the three cabbits walked out onto the porch.

"Wow, Tanis! Nice apparel change. Probably should change out of my police gear too, huh?" Sari questioned, as she closed her eyes, then in a bright, white light, she was wearing the near exact royal attire that Maruka wore, except she had a tiara on her head.

Myo-Oh, Tsubushi, and Ryo-Ohki all meowed at once, then jumped on their respected owners and meowed again.

"Now, you guys be careful. If anyone gets hurt, you make sure to let us know." Sasami said, as Ryo-Ohki nodded her head.

"Don't worry, Young One. I highly doubt any of us can get hurt." Maruka stated, as Tsubushi nodded her head.

"That's right, Sasami. No worries. We got everything handled." Sari remarked, as Tench sighed. 'With those two in tow, one can only wonder how well things can be handled.' Tenchi thought, as he sighed, then jumped off the porch and started to lead the way towards the Cave of Memories, which is what Maruka called it, since it held so many memories of how Ryoko came to be there, how she was released, etc., etc.

 

[dragonrazor]

Tanis raised an eyebrow at the confused look on Maruka's face. Then he looked at the others, shrugging at Sari's question, and turned his attention to studying his surroundings. He only heard bits and pieces of the conversations between the various royal figures, and fell into step quietly behind Tenchi, who led them through the countryside and up the path to the old shrine cave. His thoughts ran along similar lines to Tenchi's, but he said nothing as the young prince explained everything around them. He was more focused on their surroundings, and when he stopped suddenly, tilting his head and listening more intently, he had forgotten about those behind him. Until, that is, the two young women bumped into him and almost crushed him to the ground in the process.

It was a few seconds before he managed to extricate themselves, and he went back to scanning their surroundings. He could have been mistaken, but he could swear that he'd heard something that shouldn't have been there. Zero's readings only indicated minor fluctuations in the various energy fields of the planet, all normal, in that area, however.

He frowned, then shrugged, and started back up the path, having to catch up to Tenchi again.

 

[SilverHawkette]

"Good thing I was floating instead of walking. You okay, Sari? Ayeka?" Maruka asked, as she landed to help her sister and Ayeka stand up again. "Yeah, we're fine. You okay, Myo-Oh?" Sari questioned, as Myo-Oh shook the dust from her fur and mewed in reply.

"I'll take that as a yes." Sari answered, as Tsubushi's fur was lightly raised and her growling seemed to take affect. "What's the matter, Tsu?" Maruka questioned, as she looked at her cabbit's foot, as it was pointing in the direction of the nearby cave.

"Tsubushi heard something coming from the cave. But, I don't see what could be in there. Nothing has been able to take residence there even after Mother was released. I can even see the barrier around it still." Sari said, as the nearly invisible barrier became apparent to her eyes.

 

[dragonrazor]

Tanis stopped again, turning to look at the small cabbit, before following the creature's gaze to the cave. Something WAS in there. No doubt about it, as Zero's scanners lit up like a Christmas tree. He moved towards the cave, stepping off the path and in that direction. He examined the barrier as he came to a stop before the mouth of the cave, and frowned. He looked all around, his scanners still detecting an enormous amount of energy. But it wasn't the scanners that he listened to. Somewhere back in his mind, he felt in danger. It was that sense he listened to, as he slowly made his way back to the path, and towards the others.

 

[SilverHawkette]

Sari and Maruka both looked at each other, then grabbed for their swords, but when they saw Tanis walking back towards them, they relaxed their grips on the hilts.

"I think we should go exploring!" Myo-Oh exclaimed, as she jumped up onto Sari's head, sitting right behind the tiara. Tsubushi nodded in agreement and meowed loudly.

"I think not. Who knows what's in there?" Tenchi stated, as he sweatdropped heavily, as Ayeka nodded in her agreement with Tenchi.

"Lord Tenchi speaks the truth. Who knows what lies in that cave? I say we go around and leave it be." Ayeka replied, as Tenchi nodded rapidly.

"Well, I'm game for exploring the cave." Sari said, as she jumped up into the air, and then pulled a glowing sutra from the front of her top and then floated over to the barrier. In no time flat, the barrier turned into a mirror-like surface, which allowed Sari to enter the barrier. As soon as she and Myo-Oh entered through the space, it closed up behind her. From the inside of the barrier, it looked a bit darker and remorseful than what it appeared on the outside.

On the outside of the barrier, it showed Sari as a younger version of herself. Almost close to nine or ten years old, with Myo-Oh still on her head.

"Hmm...an illusionary shield. This can't be good. Whatever is in there, might go after Sari's weaknesses." Maruka observed, as she walked over to the barrier and tapped it with her right knuckle, but was shocked and sent backwards twenty feet from the barrier.

 

[dragonrazor]

Tanis frowned, seeing Sari enter the cave. He watched as one of the princesses was flung away from the barrier, and considered options. As the others started to worry, he knew their options were severely limited. He looked at the others for only a moment, then moved to the cave. He felt the barrier trying to prevent his entrance. That only served to annoy him. He concentrated, the armor of Zero appearing again, and managed to slowly make his way through the barrier. He turned back to survey the cave, his eyes adjusting to make it look like it was daylight even in the dark depths of the cave, and frowned again. He'd expected to see some sort of control mechanism at the entrance. The lack of such a mechanism indicated it was found farther in.

So he followed the only logical course. He turned and began to follow Sari through the cave.

 

[SilverHawkette]

"Sari!" Ayeka and Maruka yelled in exasperation, as they knew that whatever was in the cave, had to be fought by Sari and Tanis.

"Oh, dear. This can't be good. Do you think we should go back and get the others?" Ayeka questioned, as Maruka sighed heavily, then unsheathed her sword, then with extreme strength, shoved the blade deep into the ground and began to chant lowly.

In a few moments after the chants, lightening began to spark out of the clear, blue sky and strike at the barrier, attempting to destroy it from the outside. Tsubushi had a feeling that the barrier would give away eventually, so as a pre-caution, he erected a barrier around them.

~Cave of Memories~
"This place is giving me the creeps. This is definitely one of worst places we could have picked to explore, Sari." Myo-Oh remarked, as Sari's tiara glowed to allow them the light needed to go deeper into the cave.

"Oh, Myo-Oh. How do we know that there is anything here? For all we know, that barrier could have been put up by Yosho years ago." Sari questioned, as she looked back at Tanis, then continued on down the path.

 

[dragonrazor]

"The probability of that is minimal. Zero's sensors indicated that this barrier is here specifically to prevent any but the two of us from entering this cave." He walked behind her, scanning everything. Suddenly, he jumped forward, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her to the side as a pit opened up where she was about to step. He set her down on solid ground, and then stepped in front of her and started to lead the way.

"I am probably in danger here. That was why I walked away."

 

[SilverHawkette]

"Not as any more in danger as I am. And....thank you." Sari said, as she blushed minimally, not sure what else to say.

'Wow. Whatever he is wearing...smells really good.' Sari thought, then shook her head free of her thoughts. 'Now isn't the time to develop a crush on your partner, Sari.' Sari scolded herself, as she followed closely behind Tanis, keeping her left hand on her sword just in case there were any other surprises.

 

[SilverHawkette]

Myo-Oh's fur raised a few notches, as she began to growl deep in her throat.
"Princess...something is up ahead. I would like your permission to transform, if I may." Myo-Oh requested, as she looked down at Sari's yellow eyes.

"Permission granted. Just try not to throw Tanis off, okay? I don't think Zero would like it too much if you caught him off guard." Sari remarked, as Myo-Oh nodded her head, then launched herself ahead of the two officers and closed her eyes to concentrate on the transformation.

A white, hot light engulfed Myo-Oh and thrust her into a glowing cocoon for what seemed like minutes. In no time flat, Myo-Oh's cabbit form was exchanged for a five-foot tall panther, with flaming paws and tail, and sabre-teeth.

"Like I said, Myo-Oh's form is way more advanced than Ryo-Ohki's. This is one of her more powerful forms, other than her ship form." Sari informed, as Myo-Oh roared, then sat on her haunches proudly.

 

[dragonrazor]

Tanis stepped back, an oversized scythe appearing in one hand and resting over his shoulders as he watched the cabbit transform. Then he raised an eyebrow, and shrugged. He turned his attention back to their surroundings, and frowned, wondering why he was getting conflicting readings in several areas of the cave wall. "There's something not right about this cave. Almost as if the cave is both here and not here."