Tenchi Muyo!
______
Disclaimer: This episode of Tenchi Muyo! is
of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Tenchi
Muyo. "Tenchi Muyo!" and all related characters, names, etc. are
©1992-2003 AIC Inc. and Pioneer LDC. All rights reserved.
Note: This story line is a sequel to 'The Choices We Make' by C-kun. I
recommend reading it, it is pretty interesting.
______
The Darkness Within
Chapter 4:
The Trade
______
Ayeka groggily wakes up. Her body is wracked with
pain. She has no idea how long she has been unconscious, but that doesn't
matter to her. She opens her eyes and sees that she is in a small room with no
furnishings and metal walls and a large door in front of her. She also
discovers that she is chained to the wall. The princess struggles against her
bonds, but to no avail. She then tries to summon her Jurai
powers to help her, but nothing happens. She slumps down. "I am a
prisoner," she mutters sadly to herself. "Yosho,
Davis, please be alright."
______
Tenchi is sitting on the command chair of his ship,
piloting it towards Jurai. A flashing red light and a
beeping noise distracts him. He reaches over and
presses a few buttons on the command console and a monitor pops up, showing Ayeka tied up to the wall. She is shaking slightly,
probably in fear or she is weeping. "So she finally awakens," he says
out loud.
He presses a few more buttons on the console and the picture changes to show Yosho tied up in a similar room. He is not moving and
appears to still be unconscious. He reaches over to a lever and pulls it back,
slowing his ship down. He then stands up and stretches. "Well I should
greet my first prisoner to my ship. What kind of captor would I be if I
didn't?" he adds with an evil smile.
______
On Jurai, Azusa paces back and forth
through his throne room. His two wives and Sasami are
near him, watching his every move. He suddenly stops and looks up. "I
won't let that madman take you Sasami," he says
flatly.
"But Father," the princess begins, "I have to let him take me. Ayeka, Yosho and Davis' lives
depend on it."
"Yes dear," Funaho adds, "I do not
like this any more than you or Misaki do, but he has
given us his word that he will not do any harm to Sasami."
"HIS WORD!?" the emperor
bellows. "He has already kidnapped two of my children and now wants to use
them as bargaining chips to get at my youngest? The second his ship gets into
our territory, I will have it captured and that madman will be hanged!"
"Father!" Sasami
screams while running at him. Lady Misaki is quick to
grab her and hold her in place. Tears start to run down the princess' face.
"We can't risk doing that! He said that if we try anything, he'll kill Ayeka and Yosho and Davis! I
don't want them to die! I...I will go willingly with him. Tsunami is with me,
I'll be fine."
The two circles on her forehead begin to glow and Sasami
closes her eyes. "Yes, your daughter will be safe with me protecting
her."
Azusa takes a step back. "L...Lady
Tsunami?" he asks astonished.
Tsunami/Sasami nods her head slightly. "Yes. I
have watched these recent events with much sorrow. There appears to be someone
who has a grudge against the Royal Family. First the house Tenchi
was living in is destroyed and his whereabouts are now currently unknown, and
know two of your children have been kidnapped while traveling through
space."
Funaho bows deeply to the goddess. "Lady
Tsunami, that much is apparent. But what should we do to fight this menace? We
do now know who, or what they may be."
A sorrowful look clouds Tsunami/Sasami's face.
"This mysterious stranger has tremendous, and
also very terrible power. I can feel it coming nearer and nearer as we speak.
He will be here shortly. I can only say this, agree with his demands for the
moment. It seems fortunate that he has chosen to take Sasami
as his prisoner, for I can protect her if she is to be
attacked in any way. When we are exchanged, I will gain knowledge of his plans
and summon my ship and escape back here. The enemy will loose their balance of
power without any hostages and will be free to attack without fear of hostage
endangerment."
The emperor still looks very agitated, but sighs deeply. "I suppose that
you are right. But I still do not like having to go through with this."
The goddess smiles lightly. "Understandable. The love a parent has for
their children is quite strong." As she finished this, the circles on her
forehead start to fade.
"Wait!" Misaki quickly yells, startling
everyone in the room.
The circles glow brightly again and Tsunami/Sasami
looks up at the empress. "Yes?"
"I thought that Sasami said that you and her are assimilated. That should mean that you two are one
and the same. So why is it that you are still two completely different
personalities?"
Tsunami/Sasami smiles again. "Yes, we should
have combined into one, one being and one personality, but Sasami
wanted our personalities to be separate, she thinks of me as a friend and does
not want me to go away." She stops for a moment to giggle. "Though I
will not disappear, only combine with her. I believe that she likes the idea of
having a constant companion with her, so that she is never truly alone. I hope
that that has answered your question."
Misaki smiles warmly at her daughter/goddess.
"Yes it has. Thank you."
The circles stop glowing and Sasami opens her eyes.
"You see? As long as Tsunami's with me, I'm not too worried."
Misaki suddenly runs up and pulls her daughter into a
crushing bear hug. "Oh you are so confident and brave! My little Sasami has grown up so much!"
Azusa and Funaho look at
each other and shrug.
______
The sound of a door opening gets Ayeka
to raise her head. The mysterious cloaked man enters carrying a tray with some
food and water. He puts the tray down beside her and grabs the shackles that
hold her hands. They suddenly open and Ayeka collapses
onto the floor.
While she is pushing herself back up, Tenchi leaves
for a moment and returns with a stool and a cushion. He throws the cushion
towards Ayeka and places the stool down and sits on
it. "Eat," he starts with the deep raspy voice he uses to disguise
himself, "you're weak from the battle."
She plops herself down on the cushion and pulls the tray closer to her. Within
a few minutes, she is eating the food and taking small sips of the water.
"I was quite disappointed in you," Tenchi
suddenly starts, sounding thoughtful. "I thought that you would've put up
a better fight, seeing as how your are the crown
princess of Jurai and all."
Ayeka stops eating and looks up at him, the hatred
clearly etched on her soft, elegant face. She is about to say something, but
stops. Her lower lip starts trembling and tears form in the sides of her eyes.
She gives him a pleading look. "Why are you doing this? What did we ever
do to you?"
Tenchi stammers for a moment. He expected her to lash
out on a verbal tirade on him, not to suddenly act all weak and vulnerable. He
is about to say some comforting words, as the old Tenchi
would, but a voice in his head intervenes. 'Hey! What the hell are you doing?
Don't you remember what she did to you? If it weren't for her going on that
damn vacation of hers, you'd still be on earth, living as normal as you can
with all of them.' It pauses as if to take a deep breath. 'If it weren't for
her, Dad would still be alive.'
That thought brings him back to normal. He clenches his fists and rises off of
the stool, his eyes burning with rage. "What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU
DONE!? I'll tell you what you've done, you destroyed my life!" Ayeka trembles as far back into the wall as she can to
escape his rage, which is increasing with each passing moment. "You and
the 'family' took away everything that meant something to me! I've had to
suffer terribly because of you negligence, and now it's time for
redemption!"
The tears are now pouring freely down her fear stricken face. "Who are you?
What are you going to do to us?"
His face twists into an evil smile, though she can't see it. "I am sending
you and your brother back to Jurai..." he stops
for a minute to chuckle, the anticipation literally dripping off of his tongue,
"...in exchange for your little sister Sasami!"
Ayeka is quick to her feet. "Sasami!? What do you want with her?"
Tenchi shakes his head. "Sorry but I won't tell
you. I've seen way too many action movies to know that you should never reveal
too much to your enemy." He turns around and starts to walk out of the
door.
Ayeka holds her hands in front of her and tries to
summon her Jurai powers again. Just as she feels it
coming to her, a surge of electrical energy suddenly hits her. She screams out
in pain and slumps back onto the floor, feeling drained of energy once more.
The energy stops hitting her just as the sounds of footsteps coming towards her
catches her attention as she slowly raises her head.
"I completely forgot," Tenchi starts, a
note of amusement in his voice, "you shouldn't try to summon any of your
powers on this ship. I've programmed it to detect any Jurai
power coming from my prisoner chambers and neutralize it." He turns and
starts towards the door again.
Ayeka
weakly raises a hand up to him. "Wait," she pleads out, barely
above a whisper.
Tenchi stops and turns around. "Yes?"
The princess pushes herself back up into a sitting position. She is now
breathing very heavily. "What.about.Davis?"
she manages between gasps for air. "You never mentioned what is going to
happen to him."
The Champion of Tokimi begins to chuckle again. "Oh...him. He was of no use to me so I got rid of
him."
Ayeka looks up, now very alert. "What!?
You...you killed him?"
Tenchi shakes his head. "No." The princess
sighs in relief. "He is an innocent. I don't know him and he never did
anything to me. I would never kill anyone I don't know, it's not fun."
Ayeka shudders at those words. "If he is not
dead, then where is he?"
"I sent him back to his home on Earth, and I've given him a great
gift."
"A gift?" she asks, puzzled. "What kind of gift did you give
him?"
Tenchi's eyes glow for a brief moment. "Yes. I
tapped into his mind and altered his memory. He now has no memory of any of
these events..." he stops for a moment to watch her, "...or
you."
The princess is momentarily speechless. "He...he does not remember me at
all?"
"Nope," he replies in a satisfied voice. "To him, you don't even
exist. He is now living with another woman...and quite happily I might add. You
see, I have given him the greatest gift of all, a second chance to live a happy
normal Earth life without you!"
Ayeka covers her face with her hands and begins to
cry.
Tenchi laughs maniacally. "Hurts, doesn't it?
You love him, yet now you are nothing to him, not even a terrible memory."
He stops for a moment when his ship lurches slightly. "We are very close
to Jurai. You should be happy, soon you will be back
home with you brother."
She stands up and uncovers her face, now looking very determined. "You are
a foul, evil man and I will hate you forever and I will not stop hunting you
down until you are destroyed!"
Tenchi
backs up to the doorway, shaking his cloaked head slightly. "Now Ayeka, you may say that you hate me, but deep down, I know
that you love me!" And with that, he leaves the room and closes the door.
______
"Doctor! Doctor! She's waking up!"
"Oh my, she is! Quick, contact Marshal Anderson! He will want to know
about this!"
In her hospital bed, Mihoshi is beginning to awaken.
She shifts around and moans lightly. A single tear forms in the side of her
eye. "Tenchi," she whispers.
______
Back on Jurai, Azusa is sitting on his
throne room, waiting for word of his children's kidnapper to arrive. Just at
that moment, a young Jurian officer comes running into
the throne room. "My Lord!' he begins breathlessly, "an unknown
cruiser requests permission to land on the Royal landing docks. He says that he
has something of great importance to you and the empresses."
The Emperor's eyes narrow. "It is him," he hisses under his breath.
"Give him permission to enter," he says loudly to the young officer,
who nods quickly and then darts out of the throne room. "So it
begins," he mutters out loud.
______
The Vengeance makes a smooth landing on the planet Jurai
on the Royal landing docks right next to the Royal Palace. The
emperor, his wives, Sasami and about a hundred guards
stand on the landing strip, waiting for the mysterious stranger to come out and
finish the bargain.
The ship stays silent for a moment, then a hissing sound is heard and a
platform lowers itself to the ground. Ayeka and Yosho, who finally woke up, walk out, both in shackles. Tenchi, in his cloak, follows closely behind them. Yosho looks up to his family, only to reveal the very large
black eye he has.
The emperor's eye twitches at the sight in front of him, but he remains calm.
He and Sasami take several steps forward.
Tenchi pulls Ayeka and Yosho to a stop a few feet from his ship. "And now we
start," he begins in his low, raspy voice. "Give me Princess Sasami and Prince Yosho and
Princess Ayeka will be freed."
Azusa's eye twitches again. He looks over to Sasami, who gives him a knowing nod. He sighs deeply.
"So be it."
Sasami walks forward up to Yosho
and Ayeka and gives them both a large hug.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," she whispers into their ears.
Ayeka's eyes fill with tears. "Please Sasami, do not do this," she begs of her younger
sister.
The younger princess shakes her head sadly, tears now in her eyes as well.
"I have to. It's the only way that you and Yosho
will be safe."
Sasami wipes her eyes and looks at Yosho, who nods and mutters, "We will get you back no
matter what. I can promise you that."
"Thanks Yosho," Sasami
replies weakly.
Tenchi snaps his fingers and the shackles holding Ayeka and Yosho's hands open.
"You fool!" Azusa suddenly roars.
"You let them free too soon for your own good! Guards! Take this insolent
whelp out!"
The emperor's three children run to their father's side as a hundred guards,
and a hundred more that were hiding from view, advance on Tenchi.
Tokimi's Knight takes a quick look around him and
begins to laugh. "Only two hundred guards? I'm
insulted!" He holds out his hands and a burst of energy comes out, sending
all the guards hundreds of feet off in all directions.
Azusa's blood runs cold as he watches five fiery
black Lighthawk Wings appear in front of his new
enemy. Tenchi slowly floats towards the Royal Family.
"I'll say this once and only once," Tenchi
starts, his voice seething with rage. "Hand over Sasami
now or I will destroy this pathetic planet and everyone who lives in it."
The emperor sags his head in defeat. He knows that
there is no possible way out of this situation. He looks up, the defeat easily
seen in his eyes. "Please," he begs, "take me instead. I will go
willingly, just leave my children alone."
Tenchi puts his hand into the face of his cloak and
scratches his chin. "Under normal circumstances, I would happily oblige,
but I have orders to retrieve the Princess Sasami any
means necessary."
"Orders?" Funaho
asks while stepping forward. "From who?"
Tenchi holds his place. "That is of no concern
to you. I promised that your daughter won't be harmed in any way and I am a man
of my word. I have kept my end of the bargain, so now will you?"
Sasami steps forward and fixes her kimono. "I
will go with you, just leave this planet and it's
people alone." She turns around to say goodbye to her family, when Tenchi snaps a black wooden collar around her neck. The
second it is fastened, she feels weak, her connection
to Tsunami is somehow lost. "W...what is this thing?"
"Precautionary measures," he answers. "I don't want you to go
off summoning your ship or using Tsunami's powers to escape, so I was given
this collar, which blocks off all of her influences. Now come this way."
He moves to the side and beckons her towards his ship.
The young princess nods and waves sadly to her family, felling that all is
lost. Azusa, Funaho
and Yosho are desperately trying to hold Ayeka and Misaki, who are fighting
tooth and nail to get through, back.
Sasami and Tenchi board
onto his ship and it is soon off into space. Just as it leaves Jurai, Tenchi activates the Light
Jump and they soon disappear into the endless array of stars.
______
Just a few seconds after Tenchi's ship leaves sight
of the grand planet, a sub-space pocket appears and the Ryo-Ohki comes out of
it, heading straight for Jurai.
"Alright, we're here!" Ryoko exclaims with
a note of anticipation in her voice. "Let's get down there and show everyone
what we found!"
"Calm down Ryoko," Washu
warned. "We need to get permission first. I for one don't want to be
mistaken for an enemy and get blown to pieces."
"But you can easily get us through all those defenses," Ryoko whines.
The little genius holds up a hand to stop her daughter from going any further.
"I could, but I don't want to be a burden to them. We are all going
through a difficult time right now. We don't need to make it any harder."
The pirate slumps down into her seat. "Okay," she mumbles dejectedly.
______
The goddess Tokimi watches
as all the events unfold in front of her. A belated feeling courses through her
very being. "Tenchi has done an excellent job in
getting my dear sister and he will arrive with her very soon. D3," she
calls out.
The demi-god appears in front of her. "Yes Lady Tokimi?"
"The time has come. Depart from here at once. I wish for you to watch over
the former family of my Champion. I will contact you if you are needed."
"As you wish," the servant nods before vanishing, leaving Tokimi all alone.
______
On board The Vengeance, Tenchi sits in the command
chair, typing the last few coordinates of their destination. Sasami is sitting in the passenger's chair next to him. She
has kept quiet the entire time. Without Tsunami, she feels strange, vulnerable.
The princess finally decides to ask him the one thing that has been bugging her
ever since she first saw him. "I just want to know one thing."
"And that is?" Tenchi asks all the while
still working on the command console.
"Who are you?" she replies flatly.
The Champion of Tokimi chuckles lightly. He coughs a
couple of times. "You know what?" he starts, in his normal voice. Sasami's eyes go wide. "Doing that voice kills my
throat."
Sasami gets off her seat and backs away.
"N...no," she stammers. "It's not possible."
Tenchi gets off of his seat and walks up to her.
"Oh but it is little Sasami." He reaches up
and pulls the hood off of his cloak, finally showing his face.
The princess mutters a quick, "Tenchi?"
before fainting from shock.
______
Sasami slowly opens her eyes. She is moving down a
long corridor going towards what appears to be a grand temple. She notices that
she is not moving on her own, rather she is being
carried by someone and is rocking gently back and forth with each step. The
princess looks up to see that Tenchi is carrying her.
Sasami reaches up and puts a hand on the side of his
face. He stops walking and looks down at her. She nearly cries when she looks
into his eyes. There is so much anger and coldness in them. She can also detect
a hint of pain and suffering hidden deep within.
"Tenchi," she begins in a shaky voice,
"What happened? Why are you doing this?"
For a brief moment, Sasami swore that Tenchi's eyes flickered, showing the warmth and compassion
that they once held so well. He starts to walk again towards the looming
temple. "I am obeying the wishes of my Lady," he answers.
"No Tenchi, how did this happen? How did you
become like this?" Her eyes still hold some of the innocence of her youth.
Tenchi is a changed man, but the few happy memories
of his nearly forgotten past with her still hold a place, however small, in his
heart. "Your sister was the one who started it all," he begins
slowly. "When she left, it started a chain reaction of pain and suffering
for me. One by one you all left me, left me by myself, left to rot in a pool a despair and memories of a life that was once so
fulfilling."
He turns his head aside. Sasami now feels a deep pang
of guilt dig deep into her. 'We did,' she thinks to herself, 'we left him there
all by himself when we all loved him so much. Why?' She looks back to him and
is surprised to see that he is shaking.
"He's gone you know," he mutters sadly.
"Who?"
He turns back to her, eyes shining with tears. "Dad.
He...he had a heart attack a month ago. There was nothing I could do to save
him."
Sasami covers her mouth in horror. "Oh no,"
she whispers.
Tenchi turns away again, ashamed at showing this side
of him to her. She walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder. "Tenchi, are you okay?"
'Those words,' Tenchi thinks darkly. 'Those are the
same words that Mihoshi said to me a few days ago. When she said those words...' an evil smile forms on his face,
'...it was then when I realized my true powers, and that I should not sit
around and stay submerged in the past. It was then that I realized my
true destiny, to be by my Lady's side!' With a quick shrug, Sasami's
hand is removed from his shoulder. He turns to face her.
Sasami begins to fear for her safety when she sees
the twisted smile on his face and the steely cold eyes. "I must bring you
to my Lady. Now please be a good girl and follow me." He begins to walk
towards the temple, which is now just several feet away. She sadly follows him
and they are soon inside. Sasami is amazed by how
grand and spectacular the inside of the temple is. All around her, she sees
endless space. A giant river flows by far behind her, towards a planet with a
large, Jurai type tree growing on top of it, it's vines covering the planet. She has another very strong
sense of déjà vu as she looks at all of this.
Tenchi suddenly stops and looks up. The princess
follows and gasps when she sees a giant, yet amazingly beautiful woman towering
above them. She is wearing an elegant gown and a crown on her head. Green
stripes wrap around her neck up to her face, which finish as two stripes on
each of her cheeks. Sasami was most amazed at the
beautiful woman's eyes, which is a mixture of blue and purple.
The woman looks down and smiles at the two of them. "I am very proud of
you my Champion," she says in a sweet voice.
'Champion, Champion,' Sasami's mind scourers on where
she heard that before. She suddenly remembers, snapping her fingers as she does
so. "Wait," she shouts. Both people turn their attention to the
princess. "Tsunami called Tenchi her Champion
before!"
The woman smiles at her. "There was a time when he once was, but you and
my bratty little sister neglected him!"
"Sister?"
"Yes, Tsunami is my younger sister. I am Tokimi,
the Goddess of Justice."
This sudden flow of information has the young princess taken aback. She looks
up at Tokimi, looking aggravated. "What do you
mean 'neglected'? I never did that to him!"
"Oh but you did," The goddess replies. "When you and the others
abandoned him, you neglected him, whereas I cared for him and nurtured him into
the perfect being you now see." She reaches down and caresses the side of
his face lovingly. The former prince gladly accepts her hand and leans his head
slightly into it. Tokimi's smile widens.
"Tenchi," Sasami
pleads with him, "please, let's just leave here. I want to go back home to
Earth. That's my real home. That's our home."
Tenchi backs away from Tokimi's
hand and looks at his former friend with disgust. "This is my home now. I
destroyed that old one, too many bad memories. Whatever was left of the old Tenchi Masaki you once knew was destroyed with that
house." He raises a hand up to Tokimi. "And
she is my family, the one I wish to be with!"
Sasami lowers her head in defeat. It is then that she
notices that a giant crystal is covering her feet and legs up to her ankles.
The princess looks up in shock. "What are you doing to me?"
Tokimi shimmers for a moment and appears in front of Sasami in her natural height. "I wish for you to stay
awake to observe my master plan unfold, but also to be immobile to not attempt
to escape and try anything foolish." The crystal has now reached Sasami's waist and is slowly climbing up.
The goddess reaches out and takes Tenchi's hand and
grasps it firmly. In a sudden move of boldness, Tenchi
pulls Tokimi into him and gives her a deep,
passionate kiss. Sasami turns her head to the side so
she does not have to see it. She would cover her eyes, but they were at her
side, which is crystallized up to her chest.
After a few seconds, Tenchi releases Tokimi from the kiss and his grasp. "Well now!"
she exclaims with a note of playfulness in her voice, "it seems that my
Champion is quite appreciative of all that I have given to him," she stops
for a moment to eye Sasami, "unlike your
relationship with him. I suppose that now is time for me to return the
favor!" She waves her hand and the room shimmers into an enormous and
elegant bedroom. A beautiful four-poster bed looms in the middle of the room.
Sasami's eyes go wide. The crystal is now moving up
her neck. "What are you doing?"
"Is it not obvious dear sister? Or should I entitle you the avatar of my
dear sister?" She shrugs. "No matter. I am
most appreciative of the loyalty Tenchi has shown to
me and his success in his first mission, and I wish for you to observe just how
much 'appreciation' I have to offer him!"
A slight flush goes to Tenchi's cheeks, but he keeps
his composure as Tokimi pulls him towards the bed as Sasami watches on in horror.
To be continued...
______
Author's notes: I've been having a
fan bug me about a little Tenchi/Tokimi romance so I
thought 'What the hell? Might as well go for it! ' I
really liked writing this one. I hadn't expected on it being as long as it is,
but I got wanted everything to go off nicely. Any way, enjoy! -- lighthawkdemon
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com
