Author's Note: A few quick things before we get into the meat of this chapter and get the plot really going here. First off, a bit of an apology from me for taking so long between chapters. There was the holiday weekend and I was out of town and decided to leave the computer at home. Add to that a minor block with how I was going to get out the chapter and my home network being crummy the last few days and it took longer than I wanted it to. Second, I wanted to clear up just which Tenchi canon I'm going to be using here. I'm going to be basing most of what I'm writing on the official OVA canon of series creator Masaki Kajishima. Since this is an alternate reality series where Tenchi is concerned, OVA 3 will be where a lot of the changes will be evident. Only the OVA spinoff series GPX will come into play as Nobiyuki has not remarried sharing a relationship with Kiyone Makubi. Also, any and all new characters showing up in this story will follow the Kajishima tradition of being named after towns, landmarks, and public transportation lines around the Okayama prefecture in Japan. That said, sit back, enjoy, and I apologize if the chapter feels a little pushed or slow.

Revolution, civil war, a hostage situation call it what you will Emperor Azuza Masaki Jurai was a prisoner in his own home. Had he seen the signs Azuza would have been able to see the attack coming. It was an attack that had somehow evaded the trained eyes and ears of Funaho's intelligence department and was able to get by Misaki's highly trained royal guard. For such an attack to do that the individual behind it had to be very well versed in the comings and goings of the Juraian royal family. And, by Azuza's reckoning, whoever coordinated and calculated the attack on the royal palace wanted Azuza's family off the throne.

At first when the robotic suits stormed the royal palace Azuza believed the attack to be an act of war from the planet Airai over a misunderstanding about Jurai's connection to the goddess Tsunami. However, that proved to not be the case when no evidence of ships from Airai could be found in orbit of the planet. The only conclusion to be drawn was that the attack had come from within Jurai itself. The thought that someone had corrupted members of his wives' intelligence department and royal guards angered Azuza as he contemplated who could possibly be behind the attack.

Jurai had four royal houses with four possible suspects in the attack and seeing as the head of his house was very loyal to him in more ways than one Azuza quickly ruled out anyone connected to House Masaki. House Kamiki would never consider rebelling against the royal throne as the daughter of the head of the house happened to be the second empress of Jurai. That left House Amaki and House Tatsuki as the likely suspects in the attack on the royal palace. House Tatsuki was too timid of a house to conceive of such an attack on the palace. They were very willing to do whatever it took to maintain peace on Jurai and that meant going along with the laws and wishes of whoever held the throne. The Tatsuki House was, simply put, very much afraid of what the Emperor and House Masaki would do to them. That left only House Amaki as the likely suspects in the attack.

House Amaki bitterly hated House Masaki for being the favored children of Tsunami. It was clear in council with the way Ikeda Amaki Jurai, a younger royal bonded to a third generation tree, droned on and on about the lack of a proper heir to the royal throne. It was a subject that he mentioned every chance he could get since Yosho renounced his claim to the throne. The House Maski was spread to the four corners of the galaxy and with the emperor's daughters chasing after their older brother succession was a subject that brought about heated debate.

For Ikeda the solution to the issue of who would succeed Azuza on the throne was to do away with House Masaki as the ruling family and let a new house take the throne. Of course, in Ikeda's eyes the only house right for the position was House Amaki. In his eyes House Tatsuki wasn't ruling material because they lacked a strong leader. House Kamiki wouldn't do because they were in bed with House Masaki and their only other child was not a naturally born Jurain. That left House Amaki and Ikeda as the only ones right to rule Jurai.

However, someone did not see things that way. Someone saw great favor with House Masaki and formed a great bond with the emperor, his children, and their descendants. Someone had great plans for her champions. At the moment though, that someone was dealing with robotic suits of her own.

Homecoming

Part Four: Hostages

"Ranko!" Ranma cried out.

They were surrounded. All at once six robotic suits encircled Ranma and Akio where they stood in the yard. At first glance the suits appeared to be weaponless but after living with his family in Okayama for ten years Ranma knew things were never how they appeared. The six hands pointed at father and son each had a small circular opening in it containing a weapon of some type. What that weapon was Ranma did not want to find out.

"Dad, what do we do," Akio questioned the elder Saotome.

"Defense now," Ranma replied as he flared his energy forming his Jurain battle suit.

Akio nodded in acknowledgement of his father's command and called forth the defensive shield of tiny electrified logs Ayeka had taught him how to produce. With a little effort the ring of logs became large enough to encircle both Saotome males. For the briefest of moments Ranma let a small wave of pride in his son's abilities wash over him. However, it was not the time for such things as the attacking robots made their first move.

The robotic suits fired upon the father and son duo. The red sphere shaped projectiles came at them from all sides. The objective of the robots was simple; capture the members of the Jurain royal family with their capture spheres. Ranma batted away a sphere headed for him while Akio's barrier stopped another from getting him. Letting an angered sneer come across his face Ranma rushed the nearest robot. With a swift roundhouse kick to the head Ranma knocked the head off the first robot taking it out of commission.

The second robot rushed for Akio who quickly returned his protective barrier close to his body as he braced for the attack placing his arms in front of his face. The tiny electrified logs protected the small prince shorting out the robot. Whimpering Akio looked up to see the robot lying on the ground at his feet. Scared, Akio moved closer to his father for protection.

"Damn, there's still too many of them. Stay close Akio," Ranma instructed with a small curse as he engaged the third robot.

"I hope the others are okay dad," Akio commented as he watched his father unleash the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken.

The quick combination of punches and footwork took down the third robot breaking it into several pieces. I'm coming Ranko I'm coming, Ranma thought as he engaged the fourth robot while the fifth went for Akio and his protective logs. As the fourth robot went flying back several feet from a kick to its midsection Ranma called forth his own Jurain power channeling it into the Moko Takabisha. The only thought running through the head of the Jurain prince was protect his family.

The scene inside the house was no different. A second group of six robots materialized throughout the house taking those inside by surprise. Ranko had been the first to notice the attacking robotic suits letting out a very loud scream as the two inside the living room made their first attack. The red sphere fired by the robot found its mark and executed its objective capturing the small princess in a mass of paralyzing capture gel. With their first victim captured the two robots split up each heading to join a different pair with in the house, one headed for the women in the kitchen the other to find the two boys on the second floor.

In the small kitchen, Akane and Kasumi did all they could to hold off the pair of robots firing their red capture spheres at them. With not much room to launch a proper counter attack the two women were resigned to using pot lids as protective shields while throwing everything they could at them. The training Ukyo had given Kasumi proved to be helpful but without proper combat experience the housewife and mother was unable to take down the attacking robot.

"Where did these things come from," Kasumi asked as she saw her best paring knife easily deflected by the attacking robot.

"I don't know Kasumi. We've never dealt with anything like this before," Akane replied while sending a roundhouse kick to the second robot driving it back slightly.

Akane silently cursed the spirit of the very first Japanese home designer to create a traditional house layout with a tiny cramped kitchen as the third robot joined the fight. The kitchen was barely large enough for three people and now with five occupying the space a proper fight was most definitely out of the question. The third robot advanced on the sisters knocking their only means of defense out of their hands before sending them to the kitchen floor.

From her position on the floor Akane tried desperately to get in a leg sweep knocking one of the three robots to the floor with her and Kasumi. However, the attack did little to turn the tide as the two remaining robots fired their capture spheres at a screaming Kasumi and a defiant looking Akane. The two sisters were then taken to the living room by the remaining robots.

The moment the robots arrived in the living room they disappeared from the Tendo home taking Akane, Kasumi, and Ranko with them. All that remained in the Tendo home were two young boys and the three remaining robots on the second floor.

Ikeda Amaki Jurai smirked in triumph as the two robots brought Funaho into the throne room hands in shackles. The head of House Masaki, the Jurain intelligence, and first empress of Jurai held a look of defiance upon her face as she recognized who it was that sat in her husband's throne. Ikeda leaned forward chin resting upon his bridged hands as he let out a small triumphant chuckle when the robots stopped in front of the throne.

"Ikeda Amaki. I should have known it would be you behind all of this. You've been trying to get Azuza removed from the throne since the girls left to bring Yosho back," Funaho spat at him.

"My dear lady Funaho, you of all people should know your family lacks a true and proper heir. Your son would rather live on some backwater planet after procreating with an Airain member of the Galaxy Police three times over. His grandsons would rather be married to and procreate with non Jurains. And then you and Lady Seto go and name some human Galaxy Police officer from that same backwater planet as fifth in line for the throne all because the seed of a royal tree happens to power his robot. To add insult to injury, your step-daughters decided to relinquish any claims they may have had to the throne when they followed their brother to all ends of the galaxy ending up on the planet Yosho now lives upon" Ikeda began as he continued to maintain eye contact with her, "Without a named heir, the House Masaki holds no claim to the throne. The grand council of Jurai has let your House sit upon the throne long enough. The time has come for a new emperor upon the throne. The time has come for House Amaki to rule Jurai."

Funaho continued to stare Ikeda defiantly in the eyes as he droned on about taking over the throne from her husband. The young Jurain royal was unaware of the relationship between the members of House Masaki, House Kamiki, and the patron goddess of Jurai Tsunami. Azuza was Tsunami's favored son and his great-grandsons were her chosen champions while at the same time Azuza's youngest child was a part of the great goddess herself.

"Tsunami will not stand for this Ikeda. Her champions will stop you," Funaho remarked in defiance.

"Her champions and your family are, as we speak, being captured themselves by capture bots I requisitioned from the Balta Guild. I'm sorry to say that your days as the ruling house on Jurai are over and there's nothing House Kamiki will be able to do about it if Lady Seto wants to ever see her daughter in one piece again," Ikeda scoffed at Funaho.

Four hundred miles from Nerima on the southwestern tip of the Honsu Island on a small mountainside at the far edge of Kita-ku on the border to Minami-ku overlooking the young city of Okayama a similar battle to the one taking place in Nerima waged on. A group of a dozen robotic suits in a very similar fashion materialized around the temple and home located at the mountain's base. However, unlike Nerima the residents of both the Masaki home and the temple were well equipped and well aware that they had been invaded.

"Something just teleported into the yard," Washu yelled over the sound of her early warning system blaring though the household.

"I'm on it," Ryoko replied before phasing through the second floor to the roof of the house.

"Come on Mihoshi we're going too," Kiyone called out to her former GP Academy training partner and close friend.

"Coming Kiyone," Mihoshi replied following the blue haired woman out the front door of the house.

The battle was already underway when the trio reached the yard. In the distance from within the family carrot fields, Mihoshi and Kiyone could recognize the familiar flashes of a standard issue Galaxy Police blaster. Noike, Mihoshi's one time partner; Misaki's adopted younger sister; and Tenchi's wife of five years, had luckily decided to bring her firearm with her into the fields that day. From the shrine grounds atop the stairs, they saw the familiar spark of both Ayeka and Katsuhito's Jurain power defending against the robotic invaders.

"What the hell are these things," Ryoko wanted to know as she threw an energy blast towards a nearby robot.

"Hell if I know Ryoko," Kiyone called back while firing upon another robot.

Ryoko's attack had taken out the first of the four robots attacking the house. However, the robot Kiyone had targeted dodged her gunfire. Frustrated over the gunfire not hitting its mark Kiyone let out a small grunt as she prepared to fire upon the robot again. Mihoshi, however, stood on the porch to the Masaki house in a frantic tizzy not knowing what to do about the three remaining robots.

Bouncing around in a nervous frantic motion, hands near her mouth, Mihoshi spoke nearly a mile a minute, "Uuuuugh, what do we do Kiyone? What do we do?"

Frustrated that her friend and former training partner had yet to do anything to help repel the attacks Kiyone called back to Mihoshi, "Mihoshi, get your head together and fire at these things. Stop dancing around like a frantic child and act like the GP officer you are."

Mihoshi nodded quickly, took in a deep calming breath, and pulled out her gun firing at the nearest robot. The shot hit the robot between the red "eyes" causing the head to explode rendering it inactive. Kiyone upon seeing Mihoshi acting like the competent officer she had known during their academy days sighed in relief. She had heard about the incident not long after Mihoshi was promoted to first class detective that caused her to make an attempt on her own life. It was the resulting revival by her own family that caused Mihoshi to become more childlike in her actions. Kiyone felt bad for her friend's mental condition and its resulting consequences on her work as a Galaxy Police officer.

"Alright I got it!" Mihoshi cried out in childlike excitement.

"Okay that's two down and two to go," Ryoko commented assessing their situation as she produced her energy sword.

The former space pirate landed on the ground in a ready position waiting for one of the two remaining robots to attack. At the same time, both Kiyone and Mihoshi had their guns at the ready. The group found themselves locked in the classic Mexican Standoff waiting for the other one to make the first move. After what felt like five minutes of standing in the yard and on the porch doing nothing one of the robots made their move.

"Ryoko, on your left!" Kiyone shouted out in warning.

Ryoko made her move spinning to the left thrusting her blade into the chest of the robot. The robot was no more as it fell into two large pieces onto the yard and shorted with a fizzle of its exposed wires. The last remaining robot rushed forth towards Kiyone arm cocked and ready to knock out the police detective turned member of the Jurain Special Forces. Kiyone tried to fire upon the robot but it proved to be much faster than her quick draw ability. All the officer could do to defend herself was duck from the oncoming fist. The moment she did a blast from Mihoshi's blaster took out the robot.

Turning to face the porch Kiyone and Ryoko were faced with a rare sight, a deathly calm and confident Mihoshi. The Galaxy Police officer had moments where she reverted to what she was before the suicide attempt and Kiyone and Ryoko were witness to such a moment. A feeling of pride washed over Kiyone as she smiled at her friend.

"Someone sent these robots to attack the members of the Jurai Royal Family here on Earth. Grab the most intact parts of those robots so Washu can get a close look at them to figure out where they came from," Mihoshi said in a very serious tone.

With a curt nod of her head in understanding Kiyone set to determining the best usable parts for Washu to examine. At the same time Ryoko let out a sigh of relief that Ranma and his family was safely four hundred miles away from the attack in Tokyo or so she thought.

"What were those things," Mousse wondered as he looked over the broken bits of metal lying on the floor of the dojo.

"I don't know," Soun replied as he held a visibly shaking Yuko in his arms.

Looking around the dojo Kuno replayed the battle in his head. The six robots appeared out of thin air as Mousse and Kuno were about to get in a quick spar before breakfast with the family. Akira had been in Sora's room on the second floor of the house to play his Nintendo handheld with his cousin. Only Yuko, who insisted on remaining in Soun's arms, was in the dojo with the four adult males at the time of the attack. The youngest member of the Tendo family had let out a scream when the robots began their attack in the dojo causing Soun to instinctively shield his younger granddaughter with his body.

The three remaining adults did what they could to force the robots to split into easy to manage pairs. Mousse and Kuno each used the weapons they were most proficient in. For the first time in battle Kuno had been forced to use an actual bladed weapon taking the katana he and Nabiki had given Soun as a Christmas present the first year they were married. Mousse, for his part, used a conveniently hidden kusarigama in order to have a more long ranged attack compared to Kuno's close combat method of attack. The two weapons masters along with Genma Saotome's fists and feet were able to hold off the six robots inside the dojo.

Tatewaki Kuno who had spent his life studying the way of the samurai, Shakespearean poetry, and competition kendo had never had the need to use an actual katana in combat. The closest he had come was the bokken the businessman and father had carried with him during his years as a member of both the high school and university kendo clubs. Kuno was no stranger to katanas though, owning several antique and replica blades for the purpose of collecting. Nabiki had once questioned her husband's choice in collectables finding it to be a bit out of the ordinary. Tatewaki explained it was no different than the wealthy man who collected rare books, hand-blown glass pieces, or antique furniture. And while he believed in the way of the sword and all the samurai stood for, Kuno only used their code as a guide for living his life. He never had to take up the life of an actual warrior until that very day.

"Do you suppose this is what Ranma had meant at last night's dinner when he mentioned facing things not of this world," Kuno asked the others.

"If it is, then I can understand why he would want to stay in Okayama for so long," Genma remarked in response.

"I just hope the others are okay Saotome," Soun added just before the sound of two young male voices could be heard coming from the house.

"Dad dad!" the two cousins called out in unison from the covered walkway between the house and dojo.

"There were robots in the house," Sora began.

"And they were tearing up everything," Akira added.

Mousse's face visibly paled the moment the boys mentioned the robots inside the house. They had heard the scream from the house but there was nothing they could do about it as the men in the dojo were engaged in their own battle with a group of robots. The thought that his son could have been taken by the robots brought visible worry to Mousse's face. The thought that something happened to Kasumi, Akane, or little Ranko made the Chinese man's stomach sink. The house was deadly quiet at the moment and that did not sit well with the martial arts instructor and Chinese warrior.

"Where are the others," Mousse questioned his son and nephew.

"There was no one in the house when we came out of my closet dad," Sora replied.

"Yeah all we saw was a robot without a head on the kitchen floor," Akira added.

It was at that moment a loud string of curses came flying from the house. Ranma it appeared had discovered the females in the house were gone and he seemed to know why. Rushing to the house Mousse and Kuno saw just how bad the situation was when the six broken lying about the yard came into view. The reality that Kasumi and Akane were taken hostage by whoever sent the robots sank in very hard.

"They took them. Those bastards have Akane, Kasumi, and Ranko. Whoever has them is going to pay for what they've done," Ranma told them.

In the living room of the Masaki household on the large screen television Washu had linked to the major networks throughout the galaxy and the Earth a tan skinned read headed Seniwan woman appeared on the large screen breaking into the strange penguin soap Mihoshi had been watching at the time of the attack. The graphic below the woman indicated there was major breaking news coming from Jurai. The newscaster's name above the breaking news graphic read as Aida Tamano.

"This is Aida Tamano coming to you from the Galactic News Network. There is news coming out of Jurai at this moment of a coup having taken place upon the planet. At this moment the whereabouts of Emperor Azuza and his wives First Empress Funaho and Second Empress Misaki are unknown. At this moment it is believed that the emperor and his wives are being held hostage somewhere on the Jurain surface. If and when a statement can be made by the Devil Princess Seto Kamiki Jurai or Galaxy Police Grand Marshall Minami Kuramitsu we will bring it to you" Aida reported.

From her seat on the couch Sasami, who was already worried about the attacking robots at the house, rose to find Washu and deliver the bad news. The goddess within her was going haywire with worry over the fate of her favored son and his wives.

"Washu! Someone's taken the palace! We need to get Ranma back fast," Sasami called out into the hidden lab in the hall closet.