(Steve Stachowicz)
gerrek@hotmail.com
(Matthew Frey)
mafrey@charter.net  

Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/shores/2307

                      Swords of Destiny Chronicle VII

 	                         The Rescue

                                   By

                          Eric Thorsen and Stacko

LEGAL STUFF:

** The characters and concepts used here are the property of those people and 
companies holding the copyrights to the respective storylines, series, and 
movies. The only exceptions are those created by the demented minds of authors 
of this story. The use of this material should be seen as the sign of respect 
that it is. Besides, suing either of us would be a waste of time since we don't 
have any money to begin with.

				
				*	*	*	*	*

	While Scott was leaving the Tsukino's, Chibi-Usa and Hotaru had followed Sasami up to 
the bedroom.  After the bedroom door was closed, they walked over and sat next to Sasami.  
After a bit of silence, Chibi-Usa was the one that broke the silence.

	"Are you all right, Sasami?"  Chibi-Usa asked.

	"Yeah."  Sasami said quietly.

	"We're sorry for what had happened; we really didn't want you to relive what happened 
to you while we were having this sleepover."  Hotaru said.

	"That's all right, Hotaru.  I knew I wouldn't have been able to hide what had happened 
to me for long."  Sasami replied.

	"From what we already know, and from what we heard Scott tell Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino, 
what happened really didn't happen on Earth did it?"  Hotaru asked.

	"Yeah."  Sasami said nodding her head.  "An old enemy of our family came back for revenge 
and I was just one of the few that he kidnapped and tortured."

	"Since we really don't want you to relive what you went through, can you tell us on how 
Scott rescued you and the others?"  Chibi-Usa asked.

	"I don't see why not, besides, Scott wasn't the only one who helped with the rescue, he 
had help."  Sasami said.

	"Was one of them that tall man that informed him about having to go to your place?"  
Hotaru asked.

	"Was his name Jim or James?"  Sasami asked.

	"I think that was it."  Chibi-Usa said.

	"Yeah, he was one of them.  But since I was on Kagato's ship, most of what I'm going to 
say is what Scott and Jim told me."  Sasami replied.

	"That's okay."  Both Hotaru and Chibi-Usa said.

	"Well, it started after my friends and I were kidnapped ..." Sasami started talking.

				#	#	#	#	#

	It was a beautiful spring day and Ryo-ohki was bounding through the carrot patch with 
cheerful meows for everyone. Tenchi was busy shoveling dirt for the new vegetable patch. Sasami 
and Mihoshi were planting seeds in the freshly hoed rows of dirt.  Sasami looked up from her 
work and wiped her brow. She took a moment to survey the day's accomplishments. She watched 
Tenchi on the far side of the field. He was busy digging. Off in one corner of the garden, Ryoko 
and Ayeka were having a screaming match. 

	Sasami sighed. "So what else is new?" she thought.

	Ryo-ohki hopped up with a fresh carrot in her mouth. "Meow, meow, meow!!!" she said 
loudly. Sasami looked down and frowned.

	"Have you been eating the fresh carrots again Ryo-Ohki? Tenchi won't be very happy 
about that."  Sasami said as Ryo-Ohki looked at her forlornly.

	Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed above their heads. Everyone looked up to see a giant 
spacecraft hovering over the field. Without warning, a blast of green light engulfed them all. 
Tenchi yelled out Sasami's name. It was the last thing that Sasami heard before she lost 
consciousness.

				*	*	*	*	*

	Ryo-Ohki finally managed to get the basket of carrots that fell on her, off of her.  She 
started looking around and found that everyone was gone.  The stuff that they were using was still 
there, but everyone was gone.  She remembered that she sensed an incoming powerful ship, but it 
was too late.

	So she started heading back to the house to get help.  She was in so much of a hurry, that 
when she got to the door, she ran right into it.  After shaking her head to regain her bearings, she 
walked through the door.  She then made her way to Washu's lab.

				*	*	*	*	*

	Washu was in her lab, working on an experiment.  She was so into it that she jumped 
several inches when an alarm went off.  Because of that, she had hit a wrong button, causing the 
item she was working on to short and smoke.

	After she had put out the fire, she went to check to see what set off the alarm.  When the 
readings showed up, she was shocked, from what they told her.  She suddenly was worried, 
because the readings told her that several teleports happened.  It was then that Ryo-Ohki entered 
her lab.

	Ryo-Ohki was meowing so fast, Washu had trouble understanding her.  Washu had to 
calm down Ryo-Ohki before she was able to get what Ryo-Ohki was saying.  It was at that point 
that she was able to get the story of what happened.  When Ryo-Ohki was done talking, Washu 
frowned.  If what Ryo-Ohki was telling her was true, then they were in trouble.  Because Kagato 
was alive and it looked like he wants revenge.

				*	*	*	*	*

	Jim had returned from his grocery shopping for Sasami.  When he entered the house, he 
got a feeling that something was wrong.  There was no Ayeka or Ryoko fighting over Tenchi, 
there was no Sasami in the kitchen cooking, no Ryo-Ohki trying to steal carrots from Sasami, and 
no Mihoshi watching TV or sleeping on the couch.  He went and set the groceries in the kitchen 
and went looking around the place.  He first went into Washu's lab to see if she was in there.  He 
got lucky and found her in there with Ryo-Ohki.  When Washu saw him, she gave him a relieved 
smile.

	"I'm so glad you are here."  Washu said, very much relieved.

	"What's wrong?"  Jim asked as he hugged Washu reassuringly.  "Where is everybody?"

	"I'm afraid we got some serious trouble."  Washu said gravely.

	"What is it?"  Jim asked, noticing the tone that Washu used.

	"Kagato is back."

	"What!  How?  Tenchi killed him."

	"Either we are facing a clone, or Tenchi killed a clone."

	"Both don't sound good.  What are we going to do?"

	"What do you think?  We got to rescue them.  If what I know is true about Kagato, he 
wants revenge."

	"With only the two of us?"  Jim asked and suddenly Ryo-Ohki was mewing angrily at 
him.  "Sorry, the three of us?"

	"Is there anyone you can trust to help us?"

	"There is only two other's that know about Yosho and Jurai."

	"There is!"  Exclaimed Washu in surprise.

	"Yes."

	"Are they like you?"

	"Yes.  One of them would be considered my teacher, and the other was a student of his 
when we first met."

	"Do you know how to get a hold of them?"

	"One of them, yes, the other no."

	"Do you think he'll help us?"

	"I'm sure of it."

	"We are going to need all the help we can get."

	"Okay."  Jim looks at his watch and frowns.  "It's late where he is, but I'll give him a call."

				*	*	*	*	*

	Scott had a quite life going for him now.  He had changed his name to Devon Knight a 
couple of years ago and was staying at his cabin in Wisconsin.  He was taking some time off from 
any type of work and was just relaxing for a while.  Since it was late at night, he was sleeping 
peacefully.  It was then that the phone started ringing and Scott grumbled about taking the phone 
away as he got out of bed and made his way to the phone.

	"Hello?"  Scott asked sleepy.

	"Scott?"  Came the reply over the phone.  Scott was surprised to hear that name, 
considering that everyone knows him as Devon around here.  It was then that he recognized the 
voice.

	"Jim?"  Scott asked.

	"Yes."

	"You know what time it is here?"

	"Some time around midnight."

	"What do you want?  It better be important."

	"It is.  Tenchi and a few of our house guests were kidnapped an hour ago."

	"What!"  Scott exclaimed, now fully awake.  "Do you know who done it?"

	"We are thinking it is Kagato."

	"Didn't Tenchi kill him?"

	"I guess we were wrong.  Washu said it was him."

	"Washu?"

	"Um, she is my girlfriend."

	"You got a girlfriend already?"

	"Yes I do, but we have more important things to discuss."

	"Ok, ok.  The airport doesn't start running until six."

	"I'll come and pick you up in Ryo-Ohki."

	"Ryo-Ohki?  Isn’t that...?”

	"I'll explain everything when I pick you up.  Can you be ready in a half an hour?"

	"I guess."

	"I'll see you then."  Jim said and then hanged up.  

	Scott hung up the phone and went to get ready.  He got dress and packed a small travel 
bag and waited outside.  Eleven minutes later, he heard a strange sound and looked up in the night 
sky.  Shortly, a crystal looking thing started hovering about above Scott.  Then a beam of light 
shot down and surrounded him.  The light intensified so Scott had to close his eyes.  When he 
opened them, he found himself somewhere else.

	He looked around and found himself in a dome like area.  He saw several floating crystals 
and a lone chair in the center.  He saw Jim sitting in the chair, so he walked over to him.

	"Welcome to Ryo-Ohki."  Jim said when Scott got near.

	"Nice."  Scott said as he looked around again.  Then one of the crystals floated over and 
an image of a furry creature appeared inside of it and started meowing.  "Hello, and what is this?"

	"Say hello to Ryo-Ohki."  Jim replied.

	"Whoa.  Well Hi there Ryo-Ohki."  Scott said and then pets the crystal.  Ryo-Ohki starts 
to purr then.

	"Glad you can help."

	"Tell me what's going on."

	"I'll let Washu explain it more when we get back.  But here is the abbreviated story from 
the beginning."

	So Jim started explaining somewhat of what happened from the very beginning until 
present time, as they flew back to Japan.

				*	*	*	*	*

	By the time they got to the Masaki shrine, Scott was surprised on what has been 
happening in the last year.  He was surprised to see the Masaki house near the base of the lake.  As 
they got near the house, they hovered right above of it, and then a bright flash occurred and Scott 
found himself on the porch.  He looked around and found Jim standing next to him with a furry 
animal on his shoulder.

	The furry animal looked to be a cross of a cat and a rabbit.  It had feet like a rabbit and 
long, floppy ears, a feline looking face, and a rabbit's tail.  It had a nice brown coat with white 
paws.  It looked at Scott and meowed a few times.

	"Let's get going.  We're wasting time."  Jim said as he started walking to the house.

	"Okay."  Scott replied as he followed Jim.

	They headed inside the house and Jim made his way over to a door under a set of stairs in 
the living room.  Scott was about to comment about heading into a broom closest.  It was then that 
Jim opened the door.  When Scott looked in, it looked like he was looking into a void.  Jim 
walked in and Scott followed.

	Scott found himself in a room that he knew was bigger than the whole house itself, than 
the closet it was supposed to be.  He continued following Jim through the maze of contraptions 
until they came across a young girl with long red hair.

	"I'm back."  Jim announced.

	"Good."  The young girl said.  "We haven't got a moment to lose."

	"What's going on?"  Scott asked, somewhat confused about the young redhead.

	"You haven't told him?"  The young girl said in surprise.

	"I only told him a basic story of what happened.  I figured you would be able to explain it 
better."  Jim said, somewhat embarrassed.

	"All right, here it goes...” The young girl said, as she started to explain what had happened 
from the beginning.

				*	*	*	*	*

	"Okay, let me get this straight."  Scott said after Washu had finished her explanation.  
"Yosho has two younger sisters’ here that are visiting, a police officer from outer space, and the demon 
that I helped capture, who is now free and is being good, and Tenchi, who was shy with any girl 
he met, has all of them after him.  Then we have you, if you hadn't showed me that trick of yours, 
I would be asking Jim where his preference of female ages lay."

	"Hey!"  Jim said, feeling insulted.

	"I know.  I have fun teasing him about it."  Washu said, smiling slyly.

	"Hey!"  Jim said, now feeling doubled teamed against.

	"So what do we got to work with?"  Scott asked, trying to quickly change the subject.

	"What do you mean?"  Washu asked.

	"To rescue our friends, what else."  Scott said.  "Who is all on the rescue team, much less 
how we are going to get to this Kagato person."

	"You see who we all got to work with."  Washu said calmly.

	"Oh boy."  Scott said, feeling a little doom arriving.  "So what do you got planned?"

	"Well, according to my readings...”

				*	*	*	*	*

	After Washu had explained the plan, Scott, Jim, and Washu got ready to leave.  Scott and 
Jim had put on their trench coats and their swords.  Scott had noticed that Jim had a new sword.  
Jim told him that he got the idea of it from a movie.  He showed Scott the timer and what happens 
when the timer runs out.  Scott jumped a little when three blades shot out of the hilt.  Jim told him 
that it was a gift from Washu.  Scott smiled at him and they went to meet Washu on the pier.

	They found her waiting there with Ryo-Ohki standing at her feet.  When they got to her, 
she picked up Ryo-Ohki and threw her in the air.  What happened after that, gave Scott a big 
surprise.  It looked to Scott that Ryo-Ohki was turning into crystal and growing.  It kept growing 
until it looked like the ship that brought him over.  Scott was just staring up at Ryo-Ohki, when 
Jim walked up beside him.

	"Interesting sight, isn't it?"  Jim asked Scott.  Scott could only nod in reply.  "Let's go."

	The same column of light from before shoots down and surrounds the three of them.  
When the brightness disappeared, Scott found himself inside Ryo-Ohki again, with Jim standing 
next to him, and Washu sitting in the pilot’s chair.

	"So, do you know where this Kagato person is?"  Scott asked Washu.

	"Yes, I went scanning when Jim was coming to pick you up.  We are a few hours behind 
him."  Washu started explaining.  "We should be able to catch up to him in no time."

	"Is there enough time for me to get some sleep?"  Scott asked.

	"I don't see a problem.  Why do you ask?"  Washu asked.

	"I've only had two hours of sleep and I'm very tired.  Coming from a different time zone 
does catch up with you quickly."  Scott replied.

	"Ah yeah.  That would be correct.  Here you go."  Washu said as she pushed a button and 
suddenly a bed appears at the far end of the ship.  He was momentarily surprised at seeing a bed 
just appear out of nowhere.

	"Uh, thanks."  Scott said as he walked over to the bed and took off his jacket and setting it 
at the foot of the bed and crawled in and went to sleep.

				*	*	*	*	*

	Scott woke up to a person shaking him.  He opened his eyes and found Jim standing next 
to him.  He sat up and faced Jim.

	"What's going on?"  Scott asked.

	"We found Kagato on long range scanners.  So we should reach him shortly."  Jim 
replied.

	"How long was I out?"  

	"A little over two hours."

	"Okay.  So what are we going to do?"

	"We know Kagato will be able to detect us soon, so me and you are going to sneak 
aboard, while Washu runs a distraction."

	"Sounds good to me.  Just like the old days?"

	"Yeah, just like the old days."

	So Scott got out of the bed and headed over to where Washu was and looked out the view 
screen.  He got a dazed look as he realized that he was in space again.  Washu noticed it and 
brought it to his attention.  He just smiled at her and told her he was feeling a little nostalgic.  She 
smiled back and they continued on their way.

	Within a half an hour, they saw the ship Kagato was using.  Jim made a comment about it 
being smaller than the Soja.  Washu replied to him that there was only one Soja and Tenchi 
destroyed it.  So Kagato had to use what he could.  Scott could only stare at the ship.  The ship to 
him was humongous and Jim and Washu were saying it was a small ship.  Scott just shook his 
head.

	"Let's get ready to go."  Jim said as he walked over to Scott.

	"All right."  Scott replied.

	Jim led Scott to the back of the ship and as they neared Kagato's ship, they were in cased 
in a crystal.  Jim calmed Scott's nerves down and when they did a fly by, the crystal disappeared 
from inside Ryo-Ohki and reappeared inside Kagato's ship.

	Jim and Scott phased out of the crystal and drew their swords.  They looked around and 
found that they were in a passageway.  Jim pulled out a little device from his pocket and turned it 
on.  Jim waited a moment and then said they should go left.

	While they were heading to the left, Scott asked him about the device and Jim told him 
that it was something Washu made up to locate any Jurai power.  Scott looked on amazed and 
followed Jim through the numerous passageways, avoiding any guards that they came across, and 
the different levels when the device started beeping.  They looked and found themselves in front 
of a door.

	They looked around and found the door controller.  They both looked at it and realized 
they couldn't open it by normal means.  Jim reached into his pocket and pulled out another device.  
He placed the device over the controller and pushed a button.  After a few minutes, the controller 
beeped again and the door slowly slid open.  What they saw shocked the both of them.

	Inside the room, they saw a lone, unconscious, person lying on a table.  The person was 
female and was young at that.  She didn't have a single bit of clothing on her except one hair band.  
They saw that she had little cuts all a long their legs, arms, and belly, with a blood trail going from 
those cuts.  Her hair was at one time, done up in two ponytails, but one came undone and was 
laying over her.  Her hair had some dried blood in areas.  It was then that Jim recognized who the 
person was.

	"Sasami!"

				*	*	*	*	*

	Consciousness returned to Sasami slowly.  What first came to her was pain throughout her 
body.  Mostly coming from between her legs, her chest, and her jaw.  She slowly opened her eyes 
and blinked a few times to clear her sight and get use to the bright light.  When her vision cleared, 
she saw someone in front of her she didn't expect to see.

	"Jim-san?"  Sasami asked uncertainly.

	"Hey Kiddo."  Jim replied smiling.

	"Jim-san!"  Sasami shouted.

	Sasami started crying and went and hugged Jim tightly, in fear that Jim was another trick 
by Kagato.  Jim went and wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair and tried to sooth her.  
After a little while, Sasami calmed down some.  She wasn't crying out loud, but tears were still 
running down her face.

	"I hate to stop this, but we are in a hurry.  I don't know how much longer Washu can 
distract the Kagato person, and we still have to find the others."  Scott said to Jim and Sasami.  
Sasami looked over and saw someone she didn't know and quickly became afraid.  She tried to 
back away, but Jim was in her way.

	"Its okay, Sasami, he's a friend.  He's here to help."  Jim said, trying to calm down 
Sasami.

	"Hello, Sasami.  My name is Scott."  Scott said to her with a smile.

	"He-hello, Scott-san."  Sasami said after a bit of reassuring from Jim.  It was then that she 
noticed her state of undress.  She gasped and curled into a ball.  She hissed in pain as she touched 
certain areas on her body that was still sore.  It was then that she noticed that she had bandages 
covering most of her wounds.

	"Here."  Scott said to Sasami.

	Sasami looked up and saw Scott had removed his shirt and was handing it to her.  She 
hesitantly reached out and took his shirt.  She quickly put the shirt on, hissing when she stretched 
too much or the shirt touched sensitive areas.  After the shirt was over her head, and was through 
the sleeves, she went to stand up.

	The moment se stood up, her legs gave out and she started falling.  She would have ended 
on the floor, if Jim hadn't caught her.  Jim held onto her until she was able to stand on her own.  
When she was standing, she made sure the shirt covered her and offered her thanks.

	"No problem, Sasami."  Scott said.

	"You guy's were the ones that bandaged me?"  Sasami asked.

	"Yes, we did out best, but some of the wounds we couldn't bandaged."  Jim replied.

	"Oh, thank you."  Sasami thanked them, blushing at what they meant on certain areas on 
her body.

	"Let's fix your hair and let's get going."  Scot said.

	Sasami noticed that she was missing a hair band and her hair had dried blood in it in 
certain areas.  Scott came over and gathered her hair and made one ponytail.  When they were 
done, they left the room.  Jim was in the lead, with the tracking device, and Scott was holding 
Sasami's hand as they followed Jim.

	As they were walking down a lower level passageway, alarms started going off.  Then 
robot guards started running down the passageway.  They turned around and saw more robotic 
guards coming down at them.  They realized that they were in trouble when the guards started 
shooting at them.  Jim and Scott dove to adjacent passageways, with Scott taking Sasami with 
him.

	"Jim!"  Scott shouted.

	"I'm all right."  Jim said, holding his arm, where a stray shot hit him.

	"What are we going to do now?"  Scott asked.

	"You and Sasami will have to find the others.  I'll keep them busy so you can get away."  
Jim yelled back, as the robot guards were getting nearer.

	"James!"  Scott yelled.

	"It needs to be done.  You know it as much as I do."  Jim said smiling.  "Just like the old 
days."

	"All right."  Scott said defeated.

	"Here, you'll need these."  Jim said as he tossed two items over at Scott.  Scott quickly 
placed them in his pocket.

	Jim then pulled a gun out from his jacket and started shooting at the guards.  Scott picked 
up Sasami in one arm and started running down the passage.  As Scott turned a corner, he heard 
Jim's scream of pain and then silence.  He ducked into a room and checked to see if it was safe.  
When he saw that it was, he set Sasami down and locked the door.  He then sat down next to her 
and caught their breath for a moments rest.

				*	*	*	*	*

	Jim returned to consciousness with a splitting headache.  The last thing he remembered 
was watching Scott run off with Sasami and him shooting at the on-coming robots.  It was then 
that he got hit with a lucky shot that apparently knocked him out cold.

	He looked around and found himself secured to a weird contraption.  He tried to break 
free, but he was too securely in it.  He then heard a sliding noise and looked forward and saw that a 
window was on the wall across from him.  On the other side of the window was Kagato.

	"Kagato!"  Jim yelled.

	"Hello again."  Kagato said calmly.

	"What do you want?"  Jim asked angrily.

	"Isn't it obvious.  I want revenge."  Kagato replied.

	"Bastard."

	"I must say, it was a surprise that you got on board with my detection.  Now where are 
your friend and Princess Sasami?"

	"Like I will tell you."

	"Looks like we are going to do this the fun way."

	Jim heard a panel sliding open from above and suddenly a weird black ball hovered down 
in front of his face.  Then two antennae’s came out of the sides and Jim saw sparks emanating at 
the ends.

	"Now the fun begins."  Kagato said laughing as he pressed a button.  Electric current goes 
from the ball and into Jim.  Jim started screaming in pain as the electric current goes through him.

				*	*	*	*	*	

	Scott and Sasami were still in the room resting.  It was then that Scott heard crying 
coming from Sasami.  He scooted next to her and placed his arm around her and held her close.  
After her crying stopped, Scott asked her what was wrong.

	"I don't want to be caught again.  I don't want Kagato to do what he did to me again.  I 
can't stand it if he gets a hold of me again."  Sasami said and started crying again.

	"He won't get a hold of you, I promise you that."  Scott said as he pulled her close to him.

	"How can I go on?  He tortured me, abused me, and violated me."  Sasami said between 
sobs, defeated sounding.

	"You mustn't lose your confidence in yourself."

	"I'm afraid."

	"Can I tell you a story?"

	"Okay."

	"This is a story about a person named Gerrek Bontrager and the hardships he had to 
endure during his life."

	Scott started telling her of Gerrek's life from beginning to almost present day.  Doing a lot 
of editing to make it sound like it happened in one lifetime.  Talking about his loves, deaths of 
ones he cared for, and what he did to cope with it all.  When he was done talking, he looked over 
at Sasami and saw that she still had tear's running down her face, but didn't have the defeated look 
anymore.

	"That is so sad to hear."  Sasami said, sadly.  "How did he deal with killing that little 
girl?"

	"He never really has."  Scott replied.  "It has haunted his dreams since then.  He regrets 
what he has done, his entire life."

	"How can he live on with that guilt?"

	"He tries to help by being there for when people need him, and to be strong when he has 
to be."

	"I don't know if I can."

	"Yes you can."

	"How can I?"

	"How did Tenchi do it when his friends were in trouble?"

	"He was brave and got the job done.  He cared for all of us."

	"Now they need you to be that brave.  They need your help, I need your help.  Can you do 
that?"

	"I'll try."

	"That is all I ask of you.  Now let's go find your friends."  

	"Okay."

	Scott reached into his pocket to get what Jim had tossed to him.  The first item he pulled 
out was a cloth wrapped bundle.  He got a confused look to his face as Sasami noticed it and 
looked at the item.  He unwrapped the bundle and found it to be a sword hilt made out of wood.  
The bottom section had two red gems in it.  The handle part had a woven pattern going up it.  He 
had this nagging feeling that he had seen it before.  It was then that he heard Sasami gasp.  He 
turned to look at her and saw her staring at it.

	"It's the Master Key!"  Sasami exclaimed.

	"What's the Master Key?"  Scott asked confused.

	"It's a relic that the Royal Family of Jurai can only use.  It belongs to Tenchi now."

	"I though I remembered this thing.  It's named the Tenchi-Ken."

	"How did you know?"

	"It belonged to Yosho when I first met him."

	"You know Yosho?"

	"Yep.  And I'll tell you all about it when we rescue the others."

	"Okay."

	"And since you said only Royal family can use it, here you go."  Scott said as he places 
the Master Key in Sasami’s hands.

	"But, but...”

	"I can't use it, and since I know you are Yosho's little sister, he would be mad at me if I 
didn't give you at least some sort of protection."

	"But I don't have anywhere to put it."

	Scott thinks for a moment, and then takes his belt off and wraps it around Sasami.  Scott 
fails to notice her blush at what he was doing.  After the belt is secured, he grabs the sword and 
slides it into the belt.  After that, he grabs the other item in his pocket and turns it on.

	"Let's go."  Scott said smiling.

	"Okay."  Sasami said.

	Scott and Sasami headed out of the room and headed to where the device said to go.  
They had to be extra careful since the guard patrols had doubled.  They had to hide more often 
than they wanted too.  They made it down two levels and in front of a door that they were sure 
was where their friends were being held.

	Scott checked around the door and found the controller.  Since he didn't have the device 
Jim had, he tried to see if he could open it up.  He started to randomly push buttons and on his 
fifth try, he got lucky.  The door slid open and Scott and Sasami ran in.

	After the door closed, they looked around the place and gasped in surprise at what they 
saw.  The people they were looking for were in there.  All of them were naked, had signs of being 
beaten, abused, and were unconscious.  Scott looked around and didn't see Jim.  Sasami was 
running over to check on her sister and friends.  Scott helped out and started waking everyone up.

	As Scott was finding something for them to wear, he suddenly felt the tingling in the back 
of his head.  He quickly turned around to find the source.  It was then that Scott looked up and 
saw Kagato and Jim floating above them.

	"Look out!"  Scott shouted, but was cut short when Kagato threw Jim into Scott.  As Scott 
struggled to get back to his feet, he noticed that Jim was dead.

	The others stood up, wobbly, in a defensive stance when Kagato floated down.  Kagato 
looked at the gathered people around and smiled evilly at them.  He then floated over to Sasami 
and smiled more when he saw her back away from him in fear.

	"I'll talk to you later."  Kagato said as he back handed her and sends her flying into a wall, 
knocking her out.  He turned and saw Scott standing with his sword in a high guard.

	"You'll pay for that."  Scott growled out.

	"I hardly think so."  Kagato said.

	"Only one way to find out."  Scott said as the others got into ready stances behind him.

	"One thing you should know."  Kagato said.

	"What's that?"

	"I set everything up, so you could bring Sasami back to me."

	"What do you mean?"

	"I let you find your friends.  I was the one that opened the door so you can come in here."

	"Let's fight."  Ryoko shouted as she charged up her sword.

	"If all of you are so eager to die, then let's fight."

				*	*	*	*	*

	"Sasami."  Came a soft feminine voice in the darkness.  Sasami somewhat stirred.

	"Sasami."  Came the voice again, and Sasami stirred more.

	"Sasami."  Came the voice again, this time Sasami woke from the darkness and 
recognized the voice.

	“Tsunami?”  Sasami asked weakly.

	“Yes, Sasami.”  Tsunami replied.

	“I’m scared, Tsunami.”  Sasami said as she saw she was floating in a white void.

	“You need to be strong, your friends are in trouble, and they need your help.”  Tsunami 
said as she changed the white void to the scene of where everyone was fighting Kagato.  All of the 
others are in very bad shape.  They had several bruises, cuts, and were bleeding in other areas.  
Sasami saw that Tenchi was using Jim’s sword, and Scott had a broken arm.

	“But how can I do it?  How can I help?”  Sasami asked, with despair in her voice.

	“Scott gave you the means, you can do it.  I believe in you.”  Tsunami said as the scene 
started to go fuzzy on Sasami.

	Sasami regained consciousness and looked around.  The fight in front of her was pretty 
much the way that Tsunami had showed her, and her side was losing quickly.  She watched as 
Kagato kept attacking Scott with his energy sword and was amazed that Scott’s sword was able to 
block Kagato’s sword.  She heard Kagato ask the same question that was on her mind.

	“How can your sword withstand an energy sword?”  Kagato asked, almost shouting.

	“A rare type of metal.  There are only six like it.”  Scott replied, grinning.

	“Doesn’t matter.  You will die anyway.”  Kagato said flatly.

	Kagato fired an energy blast that caught Scott in the center of his chest and sent him 
flying.  He landed roughly and wasn’t moving.  His sword went flying and landed near Jim’s 
body.  From the way that Scott landed, Sasami knew that he was dead.

	Kagato then started towards the others and they knew they were in trouble.  Just as Kagato 
was about to attack, Sasami felt a warm glow near her waist.  She looked down and saw the 
Master Key glowing.  She looked back up and knew what she had to do.  She just hoped it would 
be enough.

	“You all have been troublesome to my plans.  It is time for me to kill you all.”  Kagato 
said as he started charging up an energy blast.

	“NO!”  Screamed a female voice as a blue shaft of light suddenly stuck through Kagato’s 
chest.

	“Well, it seems the little princess has fight in her after all.”  Kagato said, smiling.  Sasami 
was surprised at that comment that she lost her concentration on the sword and the blue shaft of 
light fades away.  Kagato then turns around, smiling at her.  “Now it’s time I take my prize then.”

	As Kagato started to reach for the scared Sasami, a voice from behind him stopped him.

	“Don’t even think about touching her, Punk.”  

	“What!”  Kagato turns around and sees Jim standing there, smiling, with Scott’s sword in 
a ready to attack pose.  Before Kagato could do anything, Jim swung the sword and cut through 
Kagato’s neck.  Kagato started to turn to dust starting from the cut.  “I see there was something 
about you that I missed.”  Kagato then fades out completely.

	Sasami runs up and gives Jim a strong hug, while crying.  Jim drops Scott’s sword and 
hugs back.

	“Hey kiddo, it’s all right now, Kagato’s gone.”  Jim said as he tried to comfort her.

	“But your friend is dead.”  Sasami said quietly between sobs.

	The others had gathered around after putting on what they could scrounge for makeshift 
clothes.  Ryoko, Ayeka, and Tenchi had sheets wrapped around them.  Mihoshi had on Scott’s 
jacket.

	“Don’t worry kiddo, everything’s going to be fine.”  Jim said calmly.

	“But …” Sasami started to ask a question but was interrupted.

	“What are you talking about?”  Ryoko asked angrily, while interrupting Sasami.  “You 
expect him to come back alive like you can?”

	“As a matter of fact …” Jim started to say when everyone heard an intake of breath near 
them.

	Everyone looks in that direction and saw Scott sit up and look around.  When Scott could 
finally see the group, they were all staring at him except Jim.

	“Good to see you back on your feet again, Kumquat.  Also looks like we won.”  Scott 
said smiling.

	“Yeah we did, with you sleeping there, Punk.”  Jim replied.

	Just then, a blue blur shot towards Scott and tackled him.  When everyone realized what 
happened, they saw Sasami hugging Scott in a grip like her life depended on it and crying loudly.  
Scott got a good grip on Sasami and stood up.  He walked over to the others and smiled.

	“Let’s get out of here and go back home.”  Scott said.  Everyone agreed and left the ship 
to go back to Earth.

				*	*	*	*	*

	After they got back to the Masaki shrine, Washu was busy at work healing everyone.  
Most of everyone just had minor cuts, scratches, and burns, so Washu had an easy time healing 
them.  Sasami had the worst injuries, from what Kagato did to her, but Washu was able to repair 
the damage and make Sasami look like nothing happened to her.

	After everyone was done with Washu, they sat in the living room to heal and recover.  
Everyone noticed that Sasami wouldn’t let Scott out of her sight.  She would hang onto Scott like 
he was her lifeline to something.  After the snacks were gotten, Jim and Scott told their story of 
how they first met and how they first met Yosho.  In trade, they told Scott how everyone arrived 
on Earth and how Jim and Washu fell in love.

	After that, Scott stayed at the house for a while, as everyone tried to recover.  Ryoko and 
Ayeka would talk together privately about their relationship with each other, after what Kagato did 
to them.  Kagato had Ryoko under mind control again and used her to rape and abuse Ayeka, 
while being aware of what her body was doing.  Tenchi and Mihoshi were talking to a similar 
situation.  Kagato had a device that would send volts of electricity at them if they didn’t do the 
things Kagato wanted to his satisfaction.  That left Sasami by herself to deal with the ordeal that 
happened to her.

	Scott had asked her to tell him what had happened to her, to help her ease her trauma.  
Sasami finally told Scott how Kagato had used spinning blades to cut her clothes off, metal 
tentacles to rape her, and stick metal pins into sensitive areas of her body and then tears them out.  
Scott held onto her as she cried as she remembered what had happened to her.

	Scott stayed at the house for another week, and saw that it was slowly returning to a 
normal routine, from what Jim had said.  Ryoko and Ayeka still kept arguing over Tenchi, but 
they don’t end it in fighting anymore.  Tenchi and Mihoshi had formed a brother/sister 
relationship with each other.  Sasami got back into her routine at the house, but Scott could see 
that her confidence had left her.  So one day after breakfast, Scott took her for a walk and to have 
a talk.  Their walk ended them up at the Holy Tree, Funaho.  They sat by the tree, leaning their 
backs on it to rest.

	“How are you feeling Sasami?”  Scott said as her placed his arm around her.

	“I am feeling fine.”  Sasami replied as she leaned into him.

	“You just seem to be a little down, lately.”  Scott said.  “Why is that?”

	“I just feel left out, I guess.  I’m still a little kid to everyone’s eyes.  They just don’t seem 
to have time for me.  When you are here, you are spending most of your time with me, and that’s 
been the happiest times I’ve had recently, but it won’t last.”  Sasami started to explain.

	“Why won’t it last?”  Scott asked.  Having a vague idea what the answer was going to be.

	“You’ll be leaving soon, and there will be no one left here to be with me.”  Sasami said 
sadly.

	“That can not be helped, I’ve enjoyed being with you Sasami.  It’s been a great time, and I 
haven’t had too many of them lately.”  Scott started saying.  “For not being to lonely, what don’t 
you try other stuff to do.  I’ve only seen you do household chores; I’ve hardly seen you playing 
with anything else.  Now that you know you can use the Master Key, why don’t you ask Yosho to 
show you how to use it, or do some martial arts?  It will give you something else to do.  If Yosho 
won’t help you, I can help you with basic training if you want to.  It’s up to you?”

	As Sasami was thinking about what Scott had said, he looked out towards the pond to 
give her a moment to think.  As he looked out, he looked at their reflections in the water.  It was 
there that Scott noticed something wrong.  He could see his reflection just fine, but when he would 
look for Sasami’s reflection, he saw a grown woman in Juraian clothing.  He started looking back 
and forth between Sasami and the woman.  Sasami could tell that something was up when she felt 
the different posture in Scott.  She looked up and him and saw him looking at her and then the 
water.  When she looked in the water, she understood what was going on.

	“Hello, Tsunami.”  Sasami said.  Scott looked at her in confusion.

	“Hello, Sasami.”  Came a female voice from the direction of the pond.  Scott looked at 
the water in alarm when the woman in the water suddenly was standing on the water.  “Do not be 
alarmed, I mean no harm, I am a friend.”

	“Who are you?”  Scott asked, still somewhat tense.

	“As Sasami had said, I am Tsunami, the first tree of Jurai.”  Tsunami replied.  “To answer 
your question that you are thinking, over seven hundred years ago, I assimilated with Sasami to 
save her life.  She was dying from a fall, so I assimilated with her.”

	“So that is why you look like her?”  Scott asked, somewhat relaxing.

	“Yes.  When Sasami grows older, she will look like me.  So you can either call her Sasami 
or Tsunami, it’s your choice.”  Tsunami said.

	“So what did I do to deserve a visit with a goddess of Jurai?”  Scott asked.

	“I wanted to thank you for your help in rescuing Sasami and the others, Scott 
Schwartzstern, or should I call you Gerrek Bontrager?”  Tsunami said.  Scott heard Sasami gasp 
and he turned to look at her.  She was staring up at him.

	“You … you’re …” Sasami stuttered.

	“Yes, Sasami, I’m the Gerrek from the story I told you.  My real name is Greek 
Bontrager, First Prince of the Kingdom of Minerva, of the Silver Millennium.”  Scott said to 
Sasami with a small bow.

	“You’re a Prince?”  Sasami asked in surprise.  Scott just smiled at her and turned back to 
face Tsunami.

	“So now that we know about me, what is it you would like?”  Scott asked.

	“I would like to ask a favor of you.”  Tsunami asked.

	“What would that be?”  Scott asked.

	“There are a lot of people that would like to gain possession of me, and since I am 
assimilated with Sasami, they will be after her.  So what I am asking is for you to watch over her, 
like be a guardian, a protector.”  Tsunami said.

	“What must I do?”  Scott asked.

	“To make sure that you protect Sasami to the best of your ability.”  Tsunami replied.

	“Very well, I accept the honor to protect Sasami to the best of my ability.”  Scott said.

	“Please stand then.”  Tsunami said.  Scott then stood up and Tsunami came closer to 
Scott.  She then placed a finger on Scott’s forehead.  “Prince Gerrek Bontrager, I name you as 
Knight Protector of Princess Sasami of Jurai.”

	The sigil of Minerva appeared where Tsunami was touching Scott and then faded while 
three lines appeared pointing down to form a solid triangle.  Shortly the lines faded and Tsunami 
took her finger away.  Scott looked at Tsunami, he saw her smiling and when he looked down at 
Sasami, he saw her staring at him with an amazed look.

	“Sasami.”  Tsunami said.

	“Yes?”  Sasami asked.

	“Would you like to do a favor for me?”  Tsunami asked.

	“Sure.”  Sasami replied.

	“Take Scott up on his offer.  Learn how to use the Master Key and some unarmed fighting 
styles.  You may need to use them soon.”  Tsunami said.

	“Okay.”  Sasami said.  Surprised that Tsunami wanted her to learn how to use the Master 
Key.

	“Take care, Scott, and you, Sasami.”  Tsunami said as she started fading.  

	“Good bye.”  Sasami said.

	“Until later.”  Scott said.

	Once Tsunami fully disappeared, Scott looked into the water and saw her there smiling at 
them.  Scott took Sasami’s hand and led her back to the house.  Sasami was smiling for the first 
time in weeks.  She knew about Knight Protector’s, but didn’t see that many.  Now she had one of 
her very own, and it was the person she was beginning to care for. 

	When they got back to the house, Ayeka and Yosho were surprised to find out that Scott 
was a Knight Protector for Sasami.  When Scott had asked Yosho to start training her in the use of 
the Master Key, he was a little unsure at the beginning until Scott mentioned that Tsunami wanted 
Sasami to learn about it, so he complied to do it.

	So for the next few weeks, Sasami was learning how to use the Master Key and some 
martial arts.  Scott had decided to move to Japan for a while.  He had bought a place in Tokyo in 
the Juuban ward.  Sasami was a little unhappy to he wasn’t closer, but Scott explained he had to 
check up with the Nashimoto Shrine he owned.  Sasami relented when Scott said that he would 
visit her every chance he got; also he told her she could come and visit at times.

	When Nobuyuki heard about the place that Scott bought, he drew up some architecture 
drawing for remodeling the place, as a saying of thanks for all the help he has done for his family.  
Scott approved of the drawings and had Washu remodel the building.  Scott then said his farewells 
and told them he would visit them as often as he could.  Sasami was the hardest to say farewell to, 
but she understood and promised that she would visit when she could.  With that, Scott left to 
begin his life as Scott Schwartzstern again, the Antique Dealer in Tokyo.

					#	#	#	#	#

	When Sasami had finished telling them how Scott had helped rescued her from her fate, Hotaru 
and Chibi-Usa felt sorry on hearing what had happened to her.  They saw that Sasami had taken a depressed 
look to her as she was telling her story.  Knowing that they didn't want their friend depressed, they 
figured that they better tell her some things that have happened to them.  Hotaru started telling Sasami 
what happened to her parents and how she was given custody to Haruka and Michiru.  She also decided to 
tell Sasami how her fellow classmates were treating her because of her healing ability.  Sasami told 
her she couldn't believe how her classmates would hate her because of her abilities.

	Chibi-Usa not wanting to be left out, started telling what was really bothering her.  She started 
telling Sasami on how she was really from the future, and the reasons she was in the past.  She started 
telling how she first came to the past to retrieve her mother’s crystal to help her mother in the future.  
She explained on how that turned out and how it resulted.  She then explained on when she got older, how 
she had to deal with suitor's wanting her hand in marriage, and how she really found out that most of them 
only wanted one of two things from her, either a handle to the throne, or to be able to get into her 
panties.  She had really used the excuse of needing to come to the past in order to train to be a better 
Sailor Senshi, than having to deal with the many suitors.  When she was done talking, even Hotaru was 
surprised at what was reveled.

	Sasami was actually surprised that she was feeling better after hearing her new friend’s problems.  
After the solemn mood was over for the evening, Sasami had grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at Chibi-
Usa, yelling out "pillow fight!".  Chibi-Usa was surprised at the sudden hit by the pillow, and then smiled 
evilly when she heard 'pillow fight'.  She grabbed the pillow and then all three of them were in a big 
pillow fight, forgetting what had brought them to a gloom mood.  So all three of them enjoyed the rest of 
the evening and the sleepover.

The End For Now.

    Source: geocities.com/zciwohcats