Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies

Prologue: A Definite Need for Tenchi

By Alex "The Semi-Great Enigma Curtindolph

Summery: Tenchi must save the world, again, with a little help from a knight.

Disclaimer: "Tenchi Muyo!," its characters, and any related images, written or otherwise, are the properties of AIC/Pioneer. Their use is not, nor is it intended to be cannon, and no monetary compensation was given for the creation of this work. All other characters are the creation of Alexander Curtindolph and Luis Angelo Rojas III, and are not to be used

without proper credit in any work. Thank You.

Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies

Prologue: A Definite Need for Tenchi!

It had been raining in Okayama, Japan for the past three days. Liam didn't mind, however. It suited his mood. He had been standing in the middle of the street since seven in the evening, with his rain-soaked red hair in his emerald-green eyes. The lips of his freckled face were curled into a sinister sneer as he gazed at the empty streets of the city. From the darkness, a figure stepped into the light of a nearby streetlamp. Liam remained in the shadows, just in case.

It had been over three days since he left his home world of Chima in search of the Shadow Demon, Beelzebub. Liam remembered his grandfather telling him that Beelzebub was one of the most powerful demons ever created. It had been sleeping in a windy cavern that was a three-day journey away from William Castle, his home. Now that he had been awoken, and was under the control of a man other than the one who created him, Liam knew that he had to be stopped.

Liam had no armor as he usually did when entering battle. He simply wore a green tee shirt over an oversized, black, turtleneck sweater with khaki pants and orange hi-top sneakers. 'I have to be inconspicuous,' he thought, 'so nobody here gets suspicious and finds out I'm an alien.' He wore a pair of leather gloves with metal plates covering the back of the hands and knuckles. Imbedded into the metal plates were round, crimson jewels. He pressed the jewel on his left gauntlet and it began to glow. The shimmer of the gem spread throughout his hand and increased in brightness. With a dull flash of red light, a sword appeared in his hand.

The sword was incredibly long. The blade itself was as long as Liam was tall, and fashioned in the style of a broad sword. The hilt of the sword was an orb made of emerald, from which two, slightly abstract dragon wings protruded, one on each side. The wings were made of gold. The handle of the weapon was made of the same metal as the blade, covered with leather that was tied onto it with a scarlet rope with a tassel. Liam grabbed the sword tightly and looked out once again to the figure in the streetlight.

It indeed was the Beelzebub. His coarse, white hair was drenched with rainwater. It fell on his face in such a way that it contoured his pale- yellow head. His eyes were as black as coal, and stared into the darkness where Liam stood for many a long, grueling second. No other parts of his figure could be seen, as a terry-cloth cloak covered it.

"Come forth from the shadows, Great Knight of Draconus," the insect man beckoned. "Come, and accept your fate, in the name of the most high, and omnipotent deity, Tokimi."

Liam stepped out of the shadows and into another streetlight, five yards away from Beelzebub. On his right shoulder was a small, white animal. It had elongated cat's ears and the bushy tail of a squirrel. Its body was similar to that of a rabbit. Its orange eyes looked into the dark pupils of Beelzebub and remained there for several moments. Around its neck was a red collar with a amethyst at its center, cut into a small triangle with rounded corners.

"You may as well give up, Beelzebub," the creature said, with a voice like that of a sarcastic Californian man after breathing in a dry gallon of helium. "We gotcha surrounded."

"Really?" teased the Shadow Demon. "By whom, may I ask?"

"By them," said Liam. At that moment, Beelzebub could sense four other silhouetted figures advancing towards him. He knew that he only had one chance of escaping alive, and that he had to take it now. The Calgio would not be pleased with him taking such a foolish risk, but it had to be done. He lunged forward towards Liam and his gremlin, West. He bared his long talons and sharp fangs at the duo as he prepared to attack. West hopped off of Liam's shoulder and landed on his hind feet. The boy grabbed his massive broadsword and shifted himself into a fighting position.

"Bring it on, bug boy," taunted Liam, although he was secretly pumping himself up for the confrontation that was about to begin. "I'll squash you flat."

It was raining in the mountainous region northwest of the city of Okayama, and Tenchi, the dutiful young man that he was, knew that he could not tend to his grandfather's fields as he planed to. He sat looking at the gray, dreary sky out from the living room window of his house. His life had become so complicated since all of these alien women moved into his house. He needed to get out, to get away from the seemingly orchestrated anarchy that dwelled underneath his roof. Taking care of the fields and going to school were his only respites from the five girls that constantly vied for his affection. Two in particular were a daily threat to his sanity.

He turned his head to the couch where Ryoko and Aeka sat. They were a lesson in extremes. Ryoko, with her feral golden eyes and spiky cyan hair, was the ever-predatory huntress. She would use every tactic possible to attract Tenchi, like a Venus flytrap lures insects with its sweet smell. Aeka, on the other hand, was a more defensive person. Her proper upbringing would never allow her to be as straight forward as her rival. Instead, the violet haired princess would use her purity, if one could call it that, to persuade Tenchi that she was the one for him.

Each of the aforementioned ladies sat at opposite ends of the couch, and was about to turn on the TV to watch soap operas. Aeka's sister, Sasami, was in the kitchen washing up the last of the dishes. The residential scientist, Washu, was in her sub-space laboratory, doing Kami knows what. Mihoshi, the clumsy Galaxy Police officer, had just come downstairs to watch with the others. Since it was a Sunday, and there was nothing to do, Tenchi reluctantly decided to watch the show with them as well. He took one last look at his faint reflection in the window. He looked into his own brown eyes and said, "Man, I'm bored."

The sprightly, blue haired Sasami came and sat next to Mihoshi on the couch, and Tenchi sat next to her. 'She's the only one who won't hit on me,' he thought to himself.

"Hey, Sasami," he said, "what are you watching?"

"Oh, hiya, Tenchi," the little princess said, quietly, "Jinroe is about to tell Misako that she is her father."

"But, weren't they going out together?" asked Mihoshi.

"No, baka," said Ryoko from the other side of the couch, "that was Takashiro." Tenchi decided to simply stay quiet and watch the show, in the hopes that everything would become clear. As Jinroe began to tell his recently discovered father the truth, there came a knock at the door. Tenchi looked to see that none would answer the door. He sighed as he got up from his seat.

"I'll get it," he said as he walked to the door. He saw that clearly nothing except nuclear Armageddon would pull those women away from the screen.

A tall young man with long brown hair stood at the door. His hair was tied into a braided ponytail in the back, which was held together by a blue ribbon. He wore an orange long sleeved shirt with a v-neck, and loose brown pants held up with a thin, yellow sash; all of which were wet from the constant rain. In his arms was Liam, pale and cold from exposure to the harsh elements. The young man hoped that someone was home. The poison that Beelzebub had injected Liam with last night would take effect soon if it wasn't treated quickly.

The door opened to a teenaged boy about his age. He had short, spiky, black hair with a short ponytail in the back. He wore a worn brown sweater and jeans. What struck the pony tailed boy as odd, however, was that he wore no shoes in his house. It didn't matter to him, though. Someone answered, and perhaps he could help.

"Pardon me, sir," the pony tailed boy said, "my name is Pierce, and my friend, Liam, is in dire need of medical attention. Could you help us?" All the other boy could understand was the word help. He looked at Liam and placed a hand on his forehead. It was cold, and felt as though it was getting colder. The boy said something in Japanese, a language that Pierce did not comprehend. When he saw the confused look on his face, he motioned for Pierce to come in. Pierce bowed his head in thanks and entered the house.

As he entered, Pierce noticed several strange women sitting in front of a glowing box with moving pictures flashing on it. 'That must be this television that Liam told me about,' he thought. His view shifted to the girls. The closest to him wore several colorful robes, one on top of another, which were tied together by a violet sash. Her red eyes were glazed over from viewing the odd box. The incandescent glow of the 'TV' washed over her long, purple hair Seated to her right on the sofa was a blonde woman with a very thorough tan. Her large blue eyes were welling up with tears. 'Whatever she is watching,' thought Pierce, 'it must be very engaging for her to cry over a box.' She wore a pink jersey shirt and khaki pants.

His focus then shifted to the small girl who sat over from the blonde. 'What sort of child has blue hair?' the young man asked himself. Her hair was, indeed, blue as the sky at noon, and was tied into a long pigtail on either side of her head. Her eyes were almost the same color as the violet haired woman at the other end of the couch, but softer. Her clothing was almost the some as the same woman, whom he believed was a relative of this girl, except that she wore pants underneath the robes. Perched atop her head was a rabbit. At least, he thought it was a rabbit. Its ears were as long as its body, and its feet were longer than average. The head of the creature looked like that of a cat, and it would occasionally give a soft meowing sound.

He decided not to focus on these women unless he needed their aid and turned to the young man who had let him enter his home. He seemed to be pleading with these women, and making no progress. The young man gave an exasperated sigh and turned to Pierce. He inclined his head, as if to say, "Follow me." He turned and walked up a flight of stairs behind the couch. Pierce heaved Liam further into his arms and followed. He walked up the stairs and followed his host to a room to his immediate left. Pierce then laid the boy in the bed in that room.

"You stay," said the boy, in what little English he knew, "I'll get towels and help." He then left the room. Pierce sat at the head of the bed and looked into Liam's face, hoping for any sign of recovery. "I'm sorry about last night, Liam," he said. "I should have been able to stop Beelzebub from hurting you, but I couldn't. I have failed you."

Liam began to stir and opened his eyes. He looked at Pierce with weak, understanding eyes. "It's okay," he said softly, "I just wish that West was here. He's the only other one of us that knows Japanese."

"He would also use a magic spell to eliminate the poison Wasp the Beelzebub injected into you," said Pierce, who was relieved that Liam was awake.

"I hope so," Liam said. "We need to get back out there and stop that Shadow Demon. The others are scattered between Okayama and Tokyo, and who knows what Wasp may have done to 'em. I don't know how long they could last against him. 'Specially with that other guy controllin' him… What was his name? Calgio?"

"Yes," replied Pierce. "The only way is to find the boy named Tenchi who was in Rose's dream."

"I hope we can find him," said Liam as their host returned with several towels. He handed one to Pierce and then gave one to Liam. He said something to Liam in Japanese and Liam responded in kind.

"What did he say?" asked Pierce.

"He said that he's glad I'm okay and that help is coming," answered the boy. At that moment, a girl with long red hair entered the room. Her eyes were almost as green as Liam's. She wore a green sweater with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of shorts. Her hair was tied in the back with a purple cloth that was similar to a turban. She looked at the teenager lying on the bed and said, "Ohayo, guinea pig." This sent a cold chill down Liam's spine.

"What did the woman say?" inquired Pierce.

"Somethin' that makes me wish I were well," Liam said nervously.

"Washu, stop scaring him like that," said Tenchi. He looked to the young man that stood in front of him, and then to the young man lying on his bed. He wasn't certain of whether they were friends or foes, but considering all of the adventures and misadventures that he had since the girls moved in, he wasn't about to take any chances. He kept one hand prepared to use the laser sword Tenchi-Ken, just in case. "Anyway," he continued, "Only this boy speaks Nihongo," he pointed to the red headed boy on his bed, "so I don't know what's wrong. Do you think that you could?…"

"Create a universal translator so we could understand each other?" finished Washu. "Sure, just gimme a sec." She held her arms in front of her and a holographic laptop computer appeared suspended in the air ahead of her. She began to type rapidly, much to the surprise of their guests. The tall visitor said something in awe and the bed-riddled one seemed to agree.

"Actually," said Tenchi, "I was gonna say 'scan the boy to see what was wrong,' but I guess that'll work, too." The two young men then looked to Tenchi, quite surprised.

"You mean, what that woman did doesn't strike you as strange?" asked the taller one.

"No, I'm used to it…" Tenchi replied, absently. He quickly did a double take as he looked at the teen with a ponytail. "You just spoke to me, didn't you?"

"It is just now that I am able to understand you," he answered.

"The translator is now activated," said Washu proudly. She turned to the redhead. "Now, what's wrong?"

"I got poisoned fighting this guy named Beelzebub," answered the boy, "and I guess I stayed out in the rain too long."

"I see," said Washu. She started typing on her holo-computer again. "Ah," she said after about thirty seconds, "this ought to do it." She pressed a button on her console and a small, black hole appeared next to her computer. She reached into the hole and pulled out a hypodermic needle filled with a red serum. She administered the serum into the boy's arm. In seconds the color returned to his freckled face. He slowly sat up in the bed and dried himself off with the towel Tenchi had laid out for him.

"Wait, isn't Beelzebub a myth?" asked Tenchi.

"What is myth in this world is real in ours," answered Pierce.

"And what world is that?" queried Washu. Tenchi was silently praying that the answer was not Jurai. He did not want to house any more aliens from there. He was pleasantly surprised when the redhead said "Chima." Washu began typing again and then suddenly stopped. "There's nothing on this Chima in my files," she said.

"Why're you looking for our planet in your files, Miss?…" asked the boy.

"Washu, LITTLE Washu," the diminutive scientist proclaimed. "I'm looking for your planet because I thought I had heard of it a long time ago, But no information is coming up in my files."

"Perhaps your files are incomplete," suggested the taller one.

"No way!" protested Washu, "I am the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe! I have files on everything. If I don't have it, then it must not exist. Unless…" She began to type on her computer again, when a knock came at Tenchi's door.

"Tenchi-sama, we have a visitor," the voice announced. It sounded like Aeka. "I don't know who he is, but he says he is looking for a young man named Liam."

"That's me," said the redheaded boy. "Ask her what this visitor looks like."

"Okay," replied Tenchi. "Hey, Aeka, what does the visitor look like?"

"Um, he has red eyes, long ears, scars on his face, and a tail like a dog," Aeka answered.

"That's Manji, Pierce," said Liam. "He musta been worried about me. I gotta talk to him." He got up from the bed quickly, and hobbled to the door. Before he could reach it, however, he tripped on his own feet and his nose swiftly became acquainted with his host's floor. "Owwie."

Manji had been sitting next to Ryoko on the couch for five minutes. He looked up at her, and silently made note that she looked like one of his kind. Her yellow eyes were like a cat's. Her hair was long and spiky, in the weirdest color of blue he had ever seen. Her ears were long, like his, and she had elongated canine teeth similar to his fangs. She was dressed in a blue and green striped one-piece dress with a tight black undershirt. A tail stuck out from the back of the dress, but Manji wasn't sure whether it was real or not.

She continued to gaze at him as well. She stared at his deep crimson eyes and the scars that ran down his left eye and criss-crossed at the crown of his nose. His skin was as dark as cocoa butter, and looked just as smooth. His tanned face was crowned with locks of spiky brown hair, arranged in such a way that his face resembled a disfigured porcupine. He wore an oversized green turtleneck sweater and loose gray pants. His boots were caked with mud and soot. On his forearms were metal guards attached to his leather gauntlets. Two cylindered tubes ran the length of the arm guards, and the end of two pointed blades were seen sticking out of the cylinders. He continued to look at Ryoko and said, "While we are waiting for Liam, would you like to fight me?"

Ryoko was a bit stunned. She had suspected that this dog-boy was trouble, but instead of simply starting a battle, he called her out like a little child at school. He smiled at her and pressed the matter further. "I need to get stronger so we can fight the demon. I can sense that you are very strong. I would love to fight with you, if I may."

"What demons?" asked Aeka as she came down the stairs. "The only demonic creature we know of is sitting next to you sir." Ryoko was about to rebut that comment with an insult of her own, when Manji intervened.

"She's not a demon," he said. "If she were a demon, my claws would have glowed red, and then I would have to kill her. But, there is one in the city. We had to leave because it was too powerful. We need the help of a man called 'Tenchi.' It should be reported on, what is it called? The news?"

Ryoko changed the channel from the soap opera to the local news.

Click. "In our top local story, police officials are baffled as to how a swarm of large wasps, ants, dragonflies, and other insects have entered the city of Okayama unnoticed. The Japanese Self Defense Force has tried to capture and destroy the mutant insects, but to no avail. Residents are advised to stay at home and lock all of their doors until given further notice. For more on the subject of entomology, here's… Click.

"Those insects are drones for Beelzebub," said Liam as he came down the stairs, aided by Tenchi and Washu. He sat down on a cushion in front of the couch laid for him by Sasami. She then gave him a cup of tea to warm him a bit more. He looked at the group of women that sat in front of him. Ryoko and Aeka gave him cold stares of distrust. He knew he would have to straighten things out, especially if this Tenchi was the one he was looking for. "Okay, I guess you want some answers now," he began, "so, whadda you wanna know?"

Ryoko was the first to interrogate him. "Who th' hell are you three?"

"My name is Liam DuBarre. I am the Great Knight of Draconus," said the auburn haired boy.

"My name is Pierce Giann. My race is golem. I am a member of the Saga, a group of people who are destined to protect the Great Knight," said Pierce, who sat to Liam's left.

"My name is Manjimaru," said the wolf-boy to Liam's right, "I am a demi-wolf, and a member of the Saga."

Aeka was the next to ask a question. "What are a golem and a demi- wolf?"

"Golems are humans who can turn their skin into an organic, rock-like substance," said Pierce.

"And demi-wolves are like were-wolves. They aren't quite human, or quite wolf," answered Liam. "But they don't change in moonlight." Aeka mumbled something under her breath before Manji could continue.

"Because I'm part wolf," he said, "I can hear and smell things most humans can't. I am ten times stronger than normal people and I can run much faster. By the way, Who is Ryoko, and why did the purple haired woman say that she could pass for my mother?"

Needles to say, Ryoko was livid at the remark. She stood on her feet and pointed at the Juraian princess. "You said what?! I will kill you, Princess Grape-Head!"

Aeka rose from her seat and yelled, "I only said it because it's true, you wretched beast woman!"

Manji was rolling on the floor laughing, holding to his sides in fear that his lungs would burst from the humorous situation that played out before him. "Those two are so funny!" he managed to say between chuckles.

"True," said Washu, "but after a while their routine gets a little tedious." A hole appeared in the floor in front of her. She reached in and pulled out a big, wooden mallet.

WHAM!

BAM!

"Now why are you here?" asked Washu, as Ryoko and Aeka rubbed their heads in pain.

"Because we are looking for this guy named Tenchi," answered Liam.

"I'm Tenchi," he answered, "Why do you need me?"

"Because we're not strong enough to defeat this demon, Beelzebub." The others looked confused. Liam sighed. "Okay, um, see, three hundred years ago, our world was filled with wars and fighting.. A sorcerer name Xander Tyrann wanted to stop the wars. He came up with this theory. The reason there were so many wars was because there was evil. He believed that all people were good by nature, but they become evil because of this dark energy that possesses people. He called this force, 'Il Calgio," which means, 'The Shadow.' He thought if you got rid of the Calgio in peoples hearts, that you would get rid of the wars and stuff."

"Did it work?" asked Mihoshi.

"Well, first he had to see if his theory was true. So he went before the Illuminati with his theory. The Illuminati are, like, the major guild of magi, or magic users. They approved of his idea and allowed him to perform an experiment. He took the corpses of several hundred people and animals and turned them into creatures that were able to suck out the Calgio in people. He called them Shadow Warriors. He sent them to a small town where there was a lot of crime, telling them to suck all of the Calgio out of the bad people. It worked. All of the people in that town became nice, but there were a few problems.

"For one, after a few days, those people would go back to doing' what they did before the Warriors extracted the dark energy. Two, the Warriors would also take a bit of their target's memory. This made them sentient beings, like humans, kinda. Xander found out and changed his plan. He felt it would be safer if they fed the darkness into him. He was wrong.

"All of that dark energy warped his mind. When he changed, the creatures changed with him, from Warriors into Demons. When he returned to the Illuminati, they told him that his experiment failed, and that he would have to stop it. That broke his heart and drove him mad. They told him that his tests proved another theory given by William DuBarre, his nephew and apprentice sorcerer: that although people are good by nature, they naturally can do bad things. Also, Will's theory stated that when people did bad things, their souls produced the energy called Calgio. Xander decided that since humans themselves were the source of evil, the only way to get rid of evil is to kill all humans and human-like beings.

"With his warped mind and army of Shadow Demons, he had the motive and

power to fulfill his greatest dream, the elimination of evil, via mass genocide. He sent

his demons into all of Chima to destroy mankind. William saw Xander's madness and

formed armies to fight against the dark force. During one of these battles, a meteor fell and absorbed the demons. The Illuminati saw this and had the land's greatest weapon-smiths create weapons and armor from the metal in the meteor. They made two sets of armor and twelve weapons: The armor and sword of Draconus, the armor and sword of Aquillas, a spear, a saber, a war hammer, a pair of ninja swords, two boomerangs, an axe, a fighting staff, a magic scepter, a set of claws and a pair of pistols. The armor of Draconus was given to William, and the other weapons were given to the strongest warriors in his army.

"William's forces went out and destroyed many demons. When Xander found out,

he created four super-powerful Demons and sent them abroad. The Demons were to sleep

for three centuries. Meanwhile, the twelve warriors went to Xander's castle and did battle

with him and defeated him. Before Xander died, he placed is soul, memories, and dark

power into fifteen orbs and scattered them abroad the world. The Illuminati knew that this meant that Xander would return to finish the job. So they told the twelve warriors to pass the weapons down to their children, and they would pass them down to their children, and so on.

"So," Liam concluded, "Xander came back about five years ago. And guess who had the 'honor' of inheriting the Armor of Draconus and fighting him?"

"What does that have to do with me?" asked Tenchi.

"Well," asked Liam, "do you remember those four demons I told you about?" There was a moment of silence, but everyone nodded. "Well, one of them has been awoken by some guy who says he wants to destroy the 'Imperial Family of Jurai,' whoever they are. And he's brought that demon here to Okayama looking for them…"

NEXT TIME: Tenchi and the gang meet more of Liam's guardians, and Beelzebub comes after Sasami! What does he want with her? Who does he work for? Why are we asking these ridiculous questions? Find out the answers to two out of three of the queries in "Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies – Chapter One: No Need fro Killer Bees!"

Questions, comments, corrections and flames will all be accepted. Send them to semi-great_enigma@37.com. Thank You.

_Enigma.