Tenchi was trying to find someone, but he couldn't remember who. The hallway was dark, murky, and he could feel eyes on his back, even when he turned to find nothing, the halls behind him as dark and empty as the halls that stretched before him. His feet upon the carpetless ground were the only sound he could hear, his nerves too high-strung to even hear his own voice. Somewhere, he could hear water dripping slowly, as if from an invisible leaking faucet or an icicle hanging from the roof. But he didn't see that either and he kept walking.

Then a whisper. . . Tenchi... . .

Tenchi whirled around on the balls of his feet, his sword suddenly in his hands with a sharp blast of ozone as the blue sword sliced through the air, casting a dull glow over the hallway. Tenchi panted, his shoulders heaving slightly, but his brown eyes found nothing and he turned again to continue his walking.

. . Tenchi.. . .

This time, feeling a bead of sweat roll down his cheek, Tenchi lashed out, sweeping his sword in a side arch, half-expecting it to hit something or to see something recoil from the Sword the Could Slice Through Rock, but nothing happened. He inhaled deeply, held it, then exhaled, the echo of his own breath ricocheting down each end of the hallway until it was swallowed up by the soundless abyss. Tenchi found himself missing Ryoko and Ayeka; even their bitter words and arguments would be easier to bear than the deafening silence of this place.

"TENCHIIIIIII!!"

The scream split the air and sudden blinding white light forced Tenchi back a few steps, the yellow line of light disappearing back into his sword's hilt and an arm shooting up to block out the blinding light. He could dimly make out a figure as he squinted, his eyes watering up from the blast of light, and it wasn't until the light vanished again to a indigo-hued glow that he realized who it was.

Achika Masaki, amber eyes wide and frightened and her jet black hair whipping in imagined wind, stretched out her fingers, trying to reach her son, Tenchi even as she was pulled back. "Tenchi!" she wailed, her voice strained as she fought the ghost-pale hands that held her back, the shards of darkness that clung to her skin like black paste. She was as she had been when Tenchi had gone back into the past to save her from Kain, young and beautiful, nearing adulthood as she worked through her last years of high school.

"Okasan!" Tenchi leaped forward, trying to grab her hand and missed. He could see the three slitted eyes as they began to appear on the mask-like face of Achika's captor and he reached to activate his sword again only to find it was no longer in his hand. Cursing softly between gritted teeth, he dug his heels into the cold earth before shooting forward, arm whipping about again to try and grab her hand. "Ooooohhh-kasan!" he screamed, his voice cracking as he missed again.

"Tenchi!" Achika wailed, her voice more pleading than afraid as globs of darkness started to overtake her, her smooth, paled skin disappearing as they were engulfed until only her face and shoulders were visible. "Tenchi-chan!"

"Okasan! No, okasan! Don't go!" Tenchi leapt forward, grabbing her shoulders and trying to pull her out, her amber eyes wild with fear as they

stared deep into his dark brown pair. Tears and sweat met each other as they ran down his cheeks, feeling soaked to the bone and shivering with a chill no wind could cause. "Let her go! Okasan! Okasan!" She was slipping from his grip. "'Kaasan!"

Achika stared at him, her face drained of color and then it twisted, becoming broader in shape with a narrower chin, her hair turning smoother and her eyes older, darker, and angularly shaped. A pair of gently pointed ears peeked out from her onyx-shaded hair and she met his gaze, no longer his mother, yet he fought desperately to free her anyway even as he lost her. Then her lips parted, a birdlike trill escaping from them and, for a moment, he understood what she said.

"Rayek," she whispered and then, Tenchi started to fall. He clawed wildly at nothing, his clothes whipping and threatening to shred, hearing the wind whistle by his ears even as he felt his control slipping again. He shouted for his mother, then everything went black until a dull yellow glow from his lamp woke him up.

Tenchi shot up with a gasp, shoulders heaving and slick with sweat.

Ryoko was on his bed, seated on the edge, and her features were twisted with concern, slipping to her feet to take his shoulders in her hands. "Tenchi, are you all right?"

Tenchi blinked, staring at her dumbly. Tonelessly, he whispered, "Ryoko-san?"

Ryoko met his gaze evenly, her eyebrows coming together. "That's me, honey.. what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Tenchi pulled away from her, burying his head in his hands. He noticeably shivered, his knees drawn up so that his blanket fell down. "I saw my mother," he whispered after a moment, lifting his head to meet her worried gaze. Ryoko was rarely this gentle, often blunt and seemingly uncaring, but now she watched him quietly, regarding him with dark yellow eyes. "She was oung again.. a high school student again, like.." He trailed off.

"..like when we went backwards in time to save her," Ryoko finished up, her lips pursing. After a moment, she reached over, touching his shoulder. "We should talk about this, Tenchi. Later." She regarded him steadily. "For now, go to sleep."

Tenchi nodded dumbly again, allowing the space pirate Ryoko to push him backwards onto the bed slowly.

Ryoko's eyes twinkled dimly and she offered him a crooked smile that was a blend of mischief and wistful fondness. "Need any company?"

Tenchi blinked, starting to sit up quickly and Ryoko laughed, pushing him backwards. "Just teasing, silly. I'll leave you alone tonight." She winked, then bent over, kissing him gently, but quickly, for his eyes widened and she could sense the protest coming on. She stood, silencing him with a smile, and lifted up into the air a few inches. "Sweet dreams, koibito," she murmured softly before turning, phasing through the wall and disappearing.

Rayek leaned against a magic-hued marble wall, an arm folded so that his fist rested against his forehead, his upper arm against the wall. His hair flowed freely down his back, hesitating just below his waistline, and his eyes were dark amber as he looked over the motley rescue party that they had collected.

Cutter stood tall and strong, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, New Moon, his chin lifted to meet Timmain's silver-blue gaze, the whites of her eyes a pale yellow. At his side, always, his lifemate and once Rayek's lover, Leetah stood, her arm wound about his, her flashing green eyes looking out from her lightly chocolate toned skin, a wild assortment of auburn curls barely held back by her golden headdress. In her hair perched Petalwing, a colorful sprite-like Preserver who had insisted it come along, now singing softly to itself as it proceeded to pick apart the infinitesimal tangles in Leetah's hair. Behind them stood Rayek's own daughter, whose childhood he had missed out on because of a foolish mistake; Venka, her amber eyes, which she had inherited from Rayek

himself, bearing a wisdom he would never achieve. And next to her, to his disgust, was Two-Edge, a halfling being whose dam was Winnowill herself, his lineage that of half-elf and half-troll. Two-Edge was as intelligent and clever as he was mad, and Rayek felt something in him harden as he remembered that Two-Edge had attached himself to his daughter.

Together with Rayek, Timmain, Suntop, and Skywise, they made up the group that was going to somehow retrieve Winnowill. They had flown over nearly all of the World of Two Moons, Abode, to collect them; Venka and Leetah the other two powerful magic-users that could subdue Winnowill; Cutter, for all his forgiveness, still felt a pang of distrust with Leetah alone in the Palace with Rayek, and insisted he come along; Petalwing, simply because it was a pest and wanted to come; and Two-Edge, Winnowill's tortured son, came to stay with Venka, but his intellect would hopefully come as an asset as well.

Ekuar, when they had stopped at the Wolfriders' Holt to collect Cutter, Leetah, and Petalwing, had been persuaded to stay. Rayek had not wanted his mentor to get caught in the middle of the fray, a fight that could very well bring them up against a foe even more dangerous than Winnowill herself, and so, had asked that the talkative rock-shaper remain there until his return.

Timmain smiled down at Cutter, speaking a few words to her descendant, then tilted her chin up slightly to look over at Rayek, who had not yet revealed himself to the new arrivals at the Palace. The High One's brush against his mind was gentle, long since made so that she no longer intruded upon an elf's Self, ** We will need your mind as a guide, my child. You were the last one to be in contact with Winnowill before she disappeared. **

Rayek folded his arms over his chest uncomfortably. ** Indeed, ** he answered shortly, his nerves too far worn for him to underline his sending with his usual reverence as he lifted himself into the air a few inches and glided into the room.

The Airwalker saw the smile spread across Leetah's face as he entered the room, pulling away from Cutter slightly to take a step towards Rayek. Venka's chin lifted, placing a hand on Two-Edge's shoulder as her gentle amber eyes followed Leetah's to rest on her father's form. Cutter's eyes visibly softened from crystal blue to a liquid blend, though his eyebrows lifted as his lifemate pulled away from him. Petalwing gave a happy squeal of, "Hello-hello Sharpdark Highthing!" and Two-Edge gave him the barest of nods, the half-blooded Master Forger's lips thinning. Rayek felt something, a shadow of an old life perhaps, thrill and his chin lifted as all eyes fell on him. His send was clear, strong, drawn on the attention of the others and the pleasure of being in the center of attention once more. ** Greetings. **

That was all Leetah had to hear as she moved forward quickly, Cutter behind her as her auburn curls flew, wrapping her arms around him in embrace the moment his feet touched the ground. "Rayek!" she cried happily. "It has been too long, my dear friend."

"Much too long," Rayek agreed softly, his eyes soft, liquid gold as the healer's embrace recalled memories he would rather have kept down deep inside him. Pulling away from her gently, Rayek's eyes turned to Cutter's. For a moment, serpent yellow met lupine blue, then Rayek found his hand clasped in Cutter's, the Wolf Chieftain smiling at him politely. "My eyes see with joy, Black-Hair, and my hands touch with joy," he said softly and his smile turned amused. "As surprising as it may seem."

Rayek's grin was crooked and awkward, but he grinned all the same. "Shade and sweet water, Wolf Chief," he returned the greeting, placing his hand over Cutter's and squeezed. There was still rivalry between them, but it was tempered by life and experiences shared, and though Rayek and Cutter acknowledged each other with smiles, they would never be more than acquaintances. There was too much friction.

The next in line was Venka and for a moment, she only stood there, her hands clasped in front of her. Then she smiled, reaching to give him a light hug, nowhere near as loving and intimate as Leetah's, but the father-daughter relationship between the two had always been strained; Rayek had missed out on five hundred years of her life, how could he expect for it to be all hugs and kisses afterwards? But the hug, though light, was something new and he returned it with a sort of awkward fondness. "Venka.."

"Father," she murmured into his shoulder. "I worried about you."

Rayek felt his cheeks color slightly, but he smiled, breaking away from Venka with a bit more gentleness than he did Leetah, cupping her shoulders in his hands as he settled his amber-gold gaze on her. "Did you find..?"

Venka shook her head. Some time ago, she, Two-Edge, and a Glider named Aroree had left to search the Frozen Mountains to find Venka's mother, Kahvi, who had disappeared many turns ago while Venka and the Wolfriders slept an eternal sleep until they were awakened millenniums later at the reappearance of the Palace. "No.." her voice was small, then it strengthened somewhat. "But we will."

Rayek nodded once and stepped away from his daughter. He wasn't all that sure that he wanted Kahvi to be found; Venka's mother and he had what might be called a 'fling'; Kahvi was never one to attach herself to someone else and Rayek longed to find himself a lifemate, which Kahvi was not. But that wasn't the issue at hand. "I assume they have already informed you of the situation," he addressed the group as a whole, 'they' being Timmain, Skywise, and Suntop. He earned a few muted nods and a gruff 'Aye' from Cutter's direction. "Then we shall begin."

The entire entourage of elves and one half-blood followed Rayek into the Scroll Room. His yellow eyes found the two familiar poles, standing higher than even Timmain, their assortment of gently hued colors giving it the name of the Scroll of Colors. Rayek's long lashes fluttered slightly, a single bead of regret appearing at the corner which he wiped away quickly. He remembered a time when he would stand for hours on end, arms spread as the knowledge and wisdom of the Scroll of Colors, the ultimate diary of all things elven, filled him. He was a different person then, still young with much to experience, despite all that he had experienced already. He felt Venka's hand slip into his and grip tightly, offering him strength.

He looked at his daughter through the corners of his eyes and managed a faint smile. A different person, he had not had a daughter.. then. Rayek lifted his head, feeling the magic that ran through the veins of the Palace, and the magic that filled his companions. Timmain's hand slipped into his free one, slender and impossibly soft. Without warning, her mind filled his, an icy touch that was somehow cooling and assuring, like sweet water poured down a parched throat. He felt as Skywise and Suntop reached out, calling to the Spirits and magic that inhabited the Palace, the Scrolls slowly rising up to turn, gold-hued colors spilling forth between them.

The elves were the strength, Timmain was the guide, and Rayek was the map. His thoughts rekindled that last moment with Winnowill, her pleading eyes, her fear-strained voice, and he reached out for her, calling. Winnowill...

The Palace shook, but none lost their balance as the great monolith glided up a few inches from the ground, hesitated, then vanished into the starry night.

Ryoko perched on the very edge of the roof of the Masaki home, the wind catching the flimsy material of her night clothes and whipping them back from her. It was cold, but she paid it no notice, hugging her knees to her chest as she remembered the first time they had gone up against the galaxy-class criminal, Kain. They had traveled back to 1970 to save Tenchi's mother, the Lady Achika, from being killed. She remembered when she had attacked the Galaxy Policy agent, thinking him to be Kain in disguise, only to find that he himself was after Kain. His words, soft and eery, still haunted her sometimes, late at night, though she would never tell the others; it would ruin her reputation as being tough, and Ayeka would never let her live it down.

"Kain is a being who hates the House of Jurai," he had said. "One hundred years ago.. after he went on a rampage of murder and destruction across the known universe.. the House of Jurai cooperated with the Galaxy Police in capturing him. Then, a week ago, he made the GPHQ vanish and he escaped.. and he's come to this world and time to take revenge and swallow up the Jurai."

Ryoko had argued, "But that doesn't have anything to do with Achika!"

"Yes, it does," he answered, his tone faintly dry. "The current Jurai Emperor has nothing to do with his captivity, but Kain hates his guts. Kain lives on anti-Jurai energy. So he's out to revenge himself on anyone who has that opposing energy. So, of course, Yosho and Lady Achika are some of those people.

Kain had originally been defeated by a combination of the subspace net and Jurai energy, then again when he, Achika, and Nobuyuki had been trapped in subspace. Achika, channeling more power than thought could be held without blowing her across the galaxies, had defeated him and escaped just before Kiyone had fired the dimensional cannon, ultimately killing Kain. Ryoko knew, she had been there when it happened. Hell, she had been the one carrying Nobuyuki after Kain injured him.

But then there was Tenchi's dream. Kain had his mother again, he said, and this strange woman.. Rayek? He had said that she had called that word, that -name-, but didn't think that it was her name. Ryoko mulled over this, her thoughts far off, not even noticing as the sun rose and climbed towards the sky until high-pitched squealing caught her attention.

"Myow! Myow-myow meee-yow!" Ryo-Ohki, an adorable creature that was something like a cat-bunny and also turned into Ryoko's spaceship, bounced up to her, blinking her large eyes at her. The others swore that all the cat-bunny spouted was plain gibberish noise, but Ryoko understood and blinked at Ryo-Ohki as she tousled her hair affectionately.

"What? Sasami's made breakfast already?" Ryoko blinked again, tilting her and finally noticing the sun was up. "Wow. That kid doesn't waste time, does she?"

Ryo-Ohk only mewed, clamping Ryoko's sleeve down tightly between her teeth and yanked. "Myow!" Sasami had promised her carrots as long as she could bring Ryoko to the table before her breakfast got cold.

"All right! All right! Sheesh." Ryoko lifted up into the air, consequently bringing Ryo-Ohki, still attached to her sleeve, with her. "Patience is supposed to be a virtue, I hope you know." Ryo-Ohki growled menacingly around the cloth. "I'm going!"

Sasami beamed as Ryoko flew through the door, Ryo-Ohki on her heels. The eight year old scratched at her nose before giving her double-tied hair a shake, her grin wide enough to stretch across the lake in front of the house. "Ohayo, Ryoko-san!" she greeted cheerfully. "I'm so happy you could make it."

"Yeah, yeah.." Ryoko mumbled, plopping down in her usual spot next to Tenchi.. only Tenchi wasn't there. "Hey, where's Tenchi?"

Sasami blinked, her eyebrows coming together as she realized Tenchi wasn't there. "I.. I don't know!" her lower lip jutted out. "I made a good breakfast for everyone. Why isn't he here?"

Ayeka sniffed, nibbling on a bit of a biscuit. "Hiding from Ryoko and her disgusting table manners, most likely. Not that I blame him."

Ryoko sneered at the Jurai Princess. She wasn't in the mood for this. "Bite me, Ayeka."

Ayeka only smiled prettily, her comment lost as Mihoshi, an addle-brained Galaxy Police Detective and a stereotypical blonde, cut in, saying around a mouthful of food, "Tenchi didn't feel well, Sasami, so he stayed in bed. I don't think he's going to school today either."

Sasami nodded quietly. "What about Dad?" she asked, then, "And Grandpa?"

Mihoshi paused, pressing a finger against her cheek as her blue eyes darkened as she thought - a very difficult task for her, don't you know.. "Nobuyuki had to go to work early; he's got a big project that he's gotta finish right away or his boss will fire him!" Her voice was awed, getting fired was

like being damned for all time to her. "And Grandpa left for the shrine already. He said he'll have a big lunch later."

Ayeka, having heard nothing past the fact that Tenchi was ill, asked quickly, "How is Tenchi? Is he all right?" Mihoshi shrugged, stuffing her

mouth full of food without an answer, and Ayeka leapt to her feet quickly. "Sasami-chan, why don't I go bring Tenchi's breakfast to him? It would be such a shame for him to miss this beautiful culinary masterpiece on account of being ill."

Sasami beamed. "Sure!"

Without another word, Ayeka, scooped up the breakfast laying in wait at Tenchi's place and darted up the stairs to Tenchi's room.

Ryoko's eyes followed her, knowing very well that this was all an excuse so that Ayeka could spend some time with -her- Tenchi, and grunted, taking a noisy gulp of her o-cha. "Bitch."

Ayeka balanced the tray of food on one hand unsteadily and used the other to tap a soft, polite knock on the door. When no response came, she called softly, "Tenchi-sama?"

A yawn. "Hai.. Ayeka-san?"

Ayeka smiled, reaching for the knob. "Hai. It's me," she responded softly as she stepped inside, closing the door with her foot as she held the tray with both hands now, much more steadily. Mihoshi said that you weren't feeling very well, so I brought you some breakfast."

Tenchi looked quite well except for the fact that he looked as if he hadn't slept the entire night and his shoulders were bent as if beneath a great weight. He brightened slightly though, and smiled, getting up off of his bed. "Ahh.. arigato, Ayeka-san. Thank you."

Ayeka's smile was as bright and shiny as the sun itself. "Of course, Tenchi-sama," she gushed. "Think nothing of it."

Tenchi's smile was polite if nothing else, saying nothing in response as he reached for the cup of o-cha first on the tray, lifting it to his lips. He was about to take a nice sip of it, hoping that it would help to soothe his aching head and maybe help him get to sleep, but he ended up spilling it all over his tunic when the door to his room was flung open with a noisy bang and Mihoshi darted in, her blonde hair all in a ruffle.

"Tenchi-san! Ayeka-sama! Come quick, come quick! Ryo-Ohki says that a ship is headed this way!"

Seven elves and one half-elf's magic sang as one, the Palace moving through time and space. Somewhere, a different magic replied, softly, pulling the Palace from its path and turning it in a different way. They could not go the way they wanted to, for even the Palace was barred from the realms of subspace, so the Palace and the Spirits that inhabited it turned it a direction to those that could help. Rayek dimly realized that something was amiss, but by the time he had realized it, the Palace was already hitting reentry.

"Meow! Meow-meow myow!" Ryo-Ohki hopped back and forth, tripping over her own feet as she looked skyward. Indeed, a star brighter than the others had already begun to come into view, but the others seemed blind to notice it. "MEOW!" she squawked, frustrated. "Myow-myow MEOW!"

Ryoko shook her head, folding her arms over her chest. "I don't see it, Ryo-Ohki," she argued crossly. "You must be imagining things. Maybe Sasami fed you one too many carrots."

Ryo-Ohki growled. "MEEEEEE-YOW!" she snapped back, sitting back on her hind legs as her eyes fixed on the slowly growing dot of light in the sky.

Ayeka frowned, squinting slightly. "Wait.. I think I see something.."

"Oh, shut up!" Ryoko snapped, irritated. "You're just taking the cabbit's side to get at me, Ayeka!"

Ayeka shot Ryoko a look, but they were both interrupted as Tenchi stepped forward, brown eyes widening. "No, look!" He pointed. "There is something!" Indeed, there was something. No longer a speck of light, but something large and definitely falling faster than the eye could watch. A bead of sweat appeared on Tenchi's brow as he realized something about the falling object. "Oh no!"

It was falling towards them.

The elves had long since snapped from their magical state, now clinging to each other or bits of the Palace as the Ship plummeted through the atmosphere to the Earth below. Something had gone wrong, terribly wrong, and now the gravity of this world was too strong for them to break free.

Timmain's concentration was shattered as she swept Suntop and Skywise beneath her like a mother hen, silver-blue surrounded by yellow growing large and wide with fear. They were falling. They were going to crash. Timmain wasn't afraid of death, but she was afraid of the pain that would come before death. And they were going to die.

"Everyone, get back in the house!!" Tenchi's voice was hoarse and strained, but even he was rooted to the spot. They could only stare as the crystalline egg-shaped.. thing fell, faster and faster, towards them.

"Tam, I don't want to die!" Leetah clung to Cutter, tears bleeding from her eyes.

"Hold on, beloved," Cutter whispered back, his strong arms wrapped around her to hold her close and tight. "Just hold on."

The crystal ship hit the lake in front of the house with a terrible splash, the water arching high into the sky to crash down again in the lake and land again. The ship fell to the bottom, churning up dirt and debris, then floated up again, buoyed by magic. Ryoko's shield was already up around her and Tenchi and, coincidentally, Ayeka as well, for both ladies were clinging to the Masaki youth, the water splashing against the golden shield and bearing them no harm. Mihoshi, finding some wit in the dull brain of hers, had at the last moment swept up Sasami and Ryo-Ohki and fled back to the house; all three now stared through the windows, pale and nervous.

Inside the Palace, Rayek's eyes opened through a red haze, somehow remembering that he had been holding Venka moments ago, but now she was no longer there. The pain was unbearable; something was.. broken.. inside of him. He gasped, trying to stand up, but it didn't work, so he fell back against the cool ground. His eyes closed.

So this is death.