The characters in this story and the events of all the Tenchi Muyo shows are property of their original creators and all those affiliated with them. I have neither created them, nor do I own them. Any new characters as well as the events within this story are created by me and my sister, so they are our property. This story is written for fun and as an homage to the world of Tenchi.
Chapter 10 - Risky Confrontation
"Can you go any slower? At this speed we won't reach the hangar before next year," the squad commander shouted back over his shoulder at the six men following him.
He was going to keep trying to urge them to run faster, but his communicator thwarted his plans with a series of low bleeps. Without doing so much as to slow down his step, he grabbed the device from his belt and activated it.
"This is squad commander Twang," he stated mechanically.
"Security control here. Have you reached hangar three yet, commander?" a voice asked from the speaker, sounding just a little anxious.
"No, but we are almost there. What is it, security control?"
"We have reason to assume that one or more of the prisoners from section ten are headed for hangar three right now..."
"That's not good news at all," Twang interrupted.
"Listen commander. We need you to keep those criminals occupied until reinforcements arrive and we need those ships in space as fast as possible. We are having pirate activity out there."
"Understood," Twang confirmed just as the hangar doors came into sight.
"And one more thing, commander. There is a good chance that you will encounter the space pirate Ryoko. Preventing her escape has topmost priority. We are counting on you. Security control out."
Twang deactivated the communicator and put it back into position on his belt. He decided that it would be no use to push the men anymore now, since they had almost reached their destination anyway and if those information were reliable they would need all their power soon enough.
However, Twang did not slow down in the least until he finally reached the gate. His men arrived right behind him and they had to wait only a second for the doorway to slide open wide enough for them to slip through.
Once inside, Twang immediately went over to the next control panel, locking the entrance behind them. Having done this, he finally turned around to face the men, who were already awaiting his instructions.
First he addressed the three pilots, whom he had been ordered to escort to the hangar. They were easily discernable from the other three by their considerably more confined weaponry.
"What are you waiting for! I want those ships out of here as fast as possible! Get going already!"
Consciously ignoring the commander's harsh address, the three pilots nodded simultaneously and hurried off towards the two mighty patrol ships which occupied the rather huge hangar.
"Okay, now listen," Twang continued, now addressing the three heavily armed men. "Apparently some of the level ten criminals have escaped and are headed here at the moment."
Although they tried to hide it, the commander knew his men well enough to notice the anxiety his revelation caused them. He couldn't blame them for it. After all he didn't feel any different.
"Take positions in front of the door!"
Like they had only waited for the order, the three officers instantly unholstered the plasma rifles, they were carrying on their backs, removed the safety and took positions in a semi circle around the gate. Pleased with their quick reaction the commander followed their example.
"Remember, who- or whatever is going to come through this door is going to be extremely dangerous. It is possible that we will be unable to stop them on our own, so we will need to buy enough time for the reinforcements to arrive," Twang explained the situation once more.
"Yes, sir!" the three officers shouted as one, making their commander hope for the best.
As endless seconds passed, Twang started to take into consideration an entirely new possibility. Of course he knew that this was probably no more than wishful thinking, but maybe the reinforcements would arrive first. Or maybe the escapees had decided to take a different route. Just maybe his man wouldn't have to fight a battle, they had no chance of winning.
The commanders hopes were routed, however, as the security mechanisms of the hangar door started shorting out all of a sudden. Unrestrained electricity crackled all over the gateway and disabled one circuit after another. Then it became death quiet again. It was almost possible to smell the tension of the officers.
"Be prepared!" Twang announced, insuring himself with a nervous side-glance that his men were still in positions.
Just as the tension became unbearable, two flashes of red, too fast for the eye to follow, penetrated the door. Twang realized their meaning almost instantly.
"Watch out!" he shouted, as a small portion of the gate was forcefully dislocated from its original position and hurled inwards. Luckily none of the men had been standing in the path of the heavy piece of metal.
Twang averted his eyes to the gateway and his worst fears were proved with what he was seeing. Standing there, in the newly created opening which was just large enough for an average human to fit through, was the space pirate Ryoko. A red energy dagger in each hand, she grinned wickedly at the men in front of her.
"Hi guys!"
"Fire!" Twang shouted, acting on his own order immediately together with the rest of his men.
The powerful blasts of the plasma rifles caused even more of the door to collapse, but they never hit their intended target. Twang's men were perplexed to find the spot, which had just been occupied by the pirate suddenly vacant.
"Looking for something?" they heard a teasing voice from behind.
As one the four men whirled around and found the pirate standing dangerously close to them. They were just about to open fire once more, but they were interrupted by a noise from behind again. This time it was a sudden battle cry, which caught their attention.
The man, who was unfortunate enough to stand closest to the hangar door, turned again, prepared to use his weapon against the new intruder, but it was already too late. He had just completed his turn and was about to squeeze the trigger as the pirate reached him and slammed his own weapon into the side of his head forcefully. With a low grunt the officer sank to the ground.
Although the surprise attack had worked out quite well, Tenchi still found himself faced by one more officer and, maybe more important, by his rifle. There was only one reason that he was still alive and that was that he had his own weapon pointed at the man in return.
By then, Tenchi realized that acting in the heat of the moment might have gotten him exactly into the situation he had been trying to avoid. He couldn't shoot the man. In those eyes, which held only contempt and a slight hint of fear, however, there was no such hesitation. Just by looking into those eyes, Tenchi knew that if he relented even as much as to show uncertainty, this man would shoot him.
Out of the corner of his eyes and over the wide shoulders of his adversary, he could observe Ryoko successfully dispatching one of the remaining two officers. Most fortunately without killing him. However, the sound of the voice of the man in front of him recovered his full attention.
"I will gladly give my life to bring you to justice, pirate scum!"
At these words, Tenchi felt something shatter inside of himself. All of a sudden he didn't have the strength to hold the blaster anymore. Slowly his arm went limp at his side and finally the blaster clattered to the ground.
"I am no pirate," Tenchi said, more to himself than the officer.
"Huh?" The man obviously didn't know what to make of this unexpected development.
"I said, I am no pirate!"
Speaking these words Tenchi's head shot up, his eyes meeting those of the officer once more. The renewed fire within them made the man flinch, which was all the diversion Tenchi needed to send him to the ground with a left hook.
The squad commander fell right next to him, struck down by Ryoko. Without wasting a second the pirate advanced upon Tenchi with fire in her eyes.
"What do you think you're doing! I told you to stay behind!"
"Did you think I was just going sit by idly, watching you fight against four armed officers?" Tenchi defended himself.
"I've handled much worse odds," the pirate stated simply, taking his explanation as an insult to her fighting ability, since she was not quite used to the concept of someone being worried about her loosing a battle.
"They had plasma rifles," Tenchi pointed out much like this explained everything.
The only answer he received was a look from Ryoko, which told him exactly how much importance she attached to this fact. At the moment, however, Tenchi was quite comfortable with her taking him for a fool. That was because he didn't want to tell her that the other reason he had decided to join the battle was the hope of being able to reduce causalities. By now he had realized that this was indeed foolish and he had ended up almost killing one of the men by himself.
"Don't do this ever again. You might have gotten yourself killed."
Tenchi was a little surprised at the hint of concern this statement held, but he didn't have any time to keep track of the thought as a thunderous roar suddenly emanated from the center of the room. Quickly he checked the source and realized the meaning of the sound.
"They are starting up the engines!" he shouted over the noise, pointing into the direction of the two patrol ships stationed in the hangar.
"Damn, we need to hurry! Hold on!" She extended her hand towards him, obviously expecting him to grab on.
Yet Tenchi hesitated. The memory of dropping down a bottomless shaft was still vivid in his mind. He had no wish to be the victim of one of Ryoko's wicked plans one more time. Then again, whatever the pirate was planning, he didn't really have a better idea. Being well aware that he was going to regret it in a second, he reluctantly took Ryoko's hand.
She gave him an approving look, which made him feel very anxious and, unbeknownst to him, caused him to blush a little. Then they both disappeared into thin air.
Upon reappearing, Tenchi realized that he actually seemed to be getting used to teleportation little by little. This time his disorientation lasted only a second and, with genuine surprise, he realized that the surroundings had changed from the GSP hangar to the bridge of a spaceship. More specifically, a Galaxy Police standard patrol ship. Somehow Ryoko had managed to teleport them directly onto the bridge of one of the patrollers.
The pilot seemed to be too busy operating the controls in order to get the ship to lift off, as to take notice of their presence. Tenchi decided that a stealthy approach would be just right in this situation, but unfortunately Ryoko had other plans.
"Hey!" she shouted all of a sudden, making Tenchi flinch and the pilot almost die by a heart attack.
His eyes wide in terror, the officer whirled around in his chair, frantically reaching for his blaster.
"Don't you think that it's awfully rude of you to greet your guests like this?" Ryoko had meanwhile left Tenchi's side and planted himself in front of the pilot, making a sour face with her hands put on her hips.
"I... I... uhm...," the officer stuttered in response. He was unable to reach his weapon as his fear kept him from thinking straight.
"Such inadequate behavior needs to be punished immediately," the pirate told the unlucky officer in her most menacing voice.
The man opened and closed his mouth several times, but no sound would emerge.
"Cut it out, Ryoko!" Tenchi demanded. He had no idea why the pirate had to torture the man like this.
"Spoilsport," Ryoko mumbled under her breath, before she returned her full attention to the man in front of her, who had by now regained enough sense to carefully reach for his weapon once more. "Sorry, but the show 's over. Good night."
That said she backhanded him out of his seat and directly to the floor. Shocked, Tenchi stepped up to check the condition of the man immediately. He was eased to find that except from some bruises and being unconscious the man seemed to be unhurt. Defiantly he looked up at the pirate.
"Why did you have to do this?"
Ryoko was annoyed at the question. "What did you expect me to do? Asking him nicely if he was going to fly us out of here?"
"Perhaps this wouldn't have been such a bad idea, we might have been able to avoid drawing suspicion," Tenchi was quick to point out his thoughts.
"Don't give me that crap!" she put a stop to any further argument.
Tenchi realized Ryoko was about to seat herself in the pilot's chair.
"What are you doing now?" he asked, straightening himself up.
"What does it look like? I'm flying us out of here."
"And just how are you going to do this? I guess I'm right with the assumption that you never piloted a GP patrol ship before."
"It can't be that difficult," she stated, trying to cover his objections.
"That's not the point. If we want to get out of here we can't risk drawing any suspicion right now. I'm familiar with the controls. You should let me navigate, at least until we are out of here," Tenchi reasoned.
"You are not suggesting that I put my fate into your hands by letting you take control of this ship, are you?" she remarked sarcastically.
Tenchi was taken aback at her disability to trust.
"You would still be sitting in that cell of yours, if we hadn't risked everything to help you out, so I think you should at least trust me that far."
For a moment it seemed like she was just going to ignore his reasoning, but then she finally phased over right into the co-pilot's seat.
"Fine. Do what you want," she told him gruffly.
"Thank you." Where others might have said this in mockery, Tenchi really meant it. He was glad to receive this kind of trust from an independent person like Ryoko.
Without further words he took his seat and proceeded in the check up for the start. The other ship had already left the hangar, so they needed to hurry if they wanted to avoid unwanted attention.
Finally after what seemed like a small eternity, Tenchi completed the check up and the ship lifted off from the ground very slowly. Just as he had retracted the pins, Ryoko started cursing.
"Shit! We're hailed by the hangar control."
"That's just the standard procedure. Let me speak to them." Tenchi tried to hide his own nervousness as much as possible. If they made a mistake now, everything might have been in vain.
"Are you nuts! You can't talk to them!"
"Yes I can and I must or else they might shut us in," Tenchi explained with some urgency in his voice.
"Oh alright. If you want to get us killed, I'll be the last person to object." She touched a few buttons and soon they heard a slightly agitated male voice.
"Yukinojo, this is hangar control, please come in."
Tenchi tried to keep his voice steady despite his nervousness as he spoke, "This is Yukinojo. All systems set. Requesting permission to start."
"Everything all right over there, Yukinojo? It seems like there has been a fire fight near the gate. Are you positive that you haven't taken any damage?" the voice asked with some concern.
"Positive hangar control. All systems checked. I'm ready for take-off." Luckily the officer had no way to see that Tenchi's forehead was beaded in sweat by now.
"All right. You have starting permission, Yukinojo. Your objectives are to follow the pirate ship, Ashrow, together with the Kaminari and to determine their destination. Proceed stealthily and do not enter combat with the pirates. Do you understand?"
"Understood. Follow the pirates to their destination and collect data. Don't get involved in combat with the pirates."
"That's right. Good luck, Yukinojo. Hangar control out."
Tenchi couldn't help but sigh in relief and slump in his seat a little as Ryoko finally closed the connection.
"Not bad. You could have fooled me," the pirate conceded.
"Yes, I guess I could have even fooled myself," Tenchi mumbled as he carefully made the ship accelerate out of the Grand Space Prison's hangar.
"We better do as they told us for now. I want to be as far away as possible once they notice that something is wrong," he explained after they had returned to the complete freedom of space.
"Same here. I'm fine as long as you just make the engines roar."
And Tenchi did. Only a second later, the Yukinojo had vanished into hyperspace.
The royal gardens of Jurai were indeed an impressive place. Some even considered them as one of the most beautiful sights in the galaxy. But of course these assumptions were mostly based of rumors, since not everybody was allowed into the royal palace. As with most things of high esthetic value only people of the highest social classes, namely the royal family were allowed to enjoy the magnificence of the gardens. With the exception of those who were lucky enough to be entrusted with the task of maintaining the gardens, the royal family were the only ones who knew that the rumors were true. It really was a place of exceptional beauty.
The emperor himself often took a stroll through the gardens, in order to try and lift some of the everlasting political pressure off his mind for some hours. This time, however, Azusa was not going to find the longed for distraction.
Calmly the emperor walked down one of the many paths surrounded by the most exotic flowers and plants. Even if he didn't show it in public, his thoughts were still occupied with the Holy Book affair. He was well aware that constantly worrying about it wasn't going to get him anywhere, especially not if everything was taken care off already, but he couldn't help feeling uneasy at the absence of the ancient item. In the wrong hands it had the potential to bring disaster over Jurai. How was he supposed not to worry in such a situation?
Luckily, Ryoko would be handed over to them by the Galaxy Police soon. The whole affair didn't make Jurai appear in a positive light, but if it was going to help him restore the book, Azusa was going to do everything. As soon as they had Ryoko, they were going to get her to tell what she knew about the book's whereabouts and then she was finally going to be punished for all the crimes she had committed.
These thoughts and the sight of the garden should have put his mind at ease, but he still felt troubled. Somehow he had a feeling that it wasn't going to work out like this. Things had been set in motion, which couldn't be stopped anymore. He just hoped that they wouldn't lead into disaster.
It was then that he spotted a man standing further ahead on his path, which was rather unusual, since with the enormous size and the few people allowed in here, one did not normally meet someone on accident.
As he closed up to the man, however, Azusa realized that this encounter wasn't by accident at all. The man in front of him was nobody else than the head of Jurai's external affairs, Preceptor Kunrin.
But not until Azusa had almost reached him was it that Kunrin finally noticed his presence and turned around to greet him.
"Your majesty." He bowed deeply before the emperor.
"Preceptor." Azusa gave him a curt nod of approval, upon which Kunrin straightened up again. "I take it that you have not gone through the hardships of coming to the royal palace just in order to enjoy the flowers," the bearded emperor more asked than stated.
"As much as I would like to tell you different, I can't. I have actually come here searching for you, majesty," Kunrin affirmed.
"So you have news about Ryoko? Will she be handed over as planned?"
Even before he answered the preceptor's expression made Azusa realize that he wouldn't like what he was going to hear.
"Judging by the current state of affairs she will not be handed over at all."
Though he had tried to prepare himself, this statement still managed to cast a dark shadow on Azusa's face.
"Would you be so kind to tell me the meaning of this?" the emperor asked, impatience resonating in his voice.
"Of course, your majesty. From what I have been able to gather, there has been an incident at the Grand Space Prison just a couple of hours ago."
Azusa's expression darkened even more and so did his voice. "What kind of incident?" he demanded harshly.
"It seems like a pirate fleet has attacked the prison and a small group of them succeeded in boarding. They caused a major uproar, in which they were able to set free Ryoko..."
"That's ridiculous!" he was interrupted by the enraged emperor. "The Grand Space Prison is supposed to be the most secure institution of the Galaxy Police. How is it that a bunch of pirates can just walk in there and free their most dangerous prisoner?"
"According to the GP, the pirates proceeded really clever and with a lot of luck, but I think this just serves to show their absolute incompetence once more," Kunrin explained, not trying to hide the despise in his voice.
"What happened to the pirates and Ryoko? Did they escape?" Azusa asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Unfortunately, yes. The pirates managed to make a close escape and Ryoko simply vanished. They assume that she abducted a patrol ship." As he had spoken these words, a thoughtful expression appeared on Kunrin's face. "What's really interesting is the fact that it is said that Tenchi Masaki has been one of the pirates and that he has disappeared together with Ryoko once again."
"Masaki again? This boy is really starting to become a nuisance," Azusa growled.
If it was the intention of Masaki to hurt the empire, he was really doing a good job. He had appeared out of nowhere and made himself a name by helping Ryoko to steal the Holy Book and now he had succeeded in freeing her from the Grand Space Prison. Azusa couldn't help but to feel that there had to be more about this boy than just a GP turned traitor. Nevertheless, if they acted quickly now, maybe everything was not lost.
"So you say they escaped with a Galaxy Police patrol ship?" he asked with caution.
"Yes, that is what I heard," the preceptor affirmed.
"That means that right now we can easily overpower them in speed and combat strength. They can't have gotten too far yet, if we mobilize the fleet immediately, we still might be able to spot them."
"Actually I have come here to request permission to do just that," Kunrin revealed his purpose.
"I grant you full authority in the matter. Just bring back Ryoko and maybe this Tenchi Masaki. They are our only clues at the whereabouts of the Holy Book right now."
"Thank you, majesty. I will do my best." He thought for a moment, then he addressed the emperor once more. "What do we do if the Galaxy Police gets in the way of our investigations again?"
Azusa believed that the GP would be conscious enough not to interfere after they obviously failed to keep their promise of handing over Ryoko.
"I don't think that they will cause any problems, but if they do... make it clear to them that this is now our case and that we are serious about it, but do not provoke them too much. I probably don't need to tell you that a conflict with the Galaxy Police is the last thing we need right now."
"Understood," Kunrin stated with a curt nod.
Actually he had hoped that they were finally going to show their place to those obtrusive GP. He couldn't understand why such an ineffective organization was allowed to interfere with Jurai's business at all. But this wasn't the time to disagree with the emperor's word, for Kunrin knew his emperor well enough that he could see him seething behind the calm fa?de he had put up at the mention of Ryoko's escape. He had learned in the past that reasoning with the emperor in such a state was pointless.
"The fleet will be ready before the night falls. Of course, I will personally inform you if we make any progress, your majesty." He bowed deeply once again at the last words and was excused by a nod from the emperor.
As soon as the preceptor was gone, Azusa gave up on his mask of calmness and allowed his emotions to come to the surface. An emotional emperor wouldn't be able to gain the trust of his people, but even the leader of such a powerful nation was still just a man and as such he couldn't suppress his emotions forever.
For endless seconds, Azusa just stood there, fighting against his fury towards Ryoko, his anger against the GP and his worry about the safety and stability of Jurai. Finally, he was able to regain control and put his mask back into place. He had been right. It wouldn't be easy to restore things to their former order. The Holy Book had been awakened and now it almost seemed like it was resisting being put back to sleep. It was longing to be used and Azusa's only worry was who was going to be the one to use it.
The bridge of the Yukinojo was submerged in tensed silence. Tenchi was sitting in the pilot's chair, flying the ship as if it were his own. In the depths of his mind he somehow tried to convince himself that this ship was actually the Yagami and that he was still on patrol.
The rear of the Kaminari could be seen on the view screen and some of the tactical controls indicated the presence of another ship in an ever growing distance. As incredible as this appeared to him, the Ashrow would get away, if the Kaminari didn't somehow manage to increase speed. But that was impossible. Just like the Yukinojo they were already at maximum speed.
"I guess you can stop the ship now."
Tenchi whirled around in shock. His eyes met the cyan haired woman and her presence reminded him of what he had done. Using his knowledge about the GP procedures, he had helped the most dreaded space pirate of the universe to make her escape.
"Hey, Tenchi! Are you listening? I said stop the ship!"
He stared at Ryoko absent-mindedly for another moment, then he did what she said.
"We are out of hyperspace now," he stated.
"Good," Ryoko said. "Then let's get away from here as far as possible. Looking at the rear of a GP ship makes one feel rather rough, don't ya think, Tenchi?"
But before Tenchi was able to give an appropriate answer he was startled by a buzz from the com.
"It's the Kaminari," he murmured, his worry clear in his voice.
Ryoko just shrugged in indifference. "I don't think they will give up pursuit of the Ashrow. And if they do..." The space pirate phased right next to Tenchi and whispered with a wide grin, "... they will get to know the firepower of their own ships."
"No!" Tenchi shouted and jumped out of his seat. "You are not going to kill any more people!"
Surprised by Tenchi's sudden outburst, Ryoko stepped back a little. Seeing the anger burning in his eyes vanquished her grin immediately.
"Stop talking nonsense. What would you do, Tenchi? Surrender, now that we've almost made it?"
Tenchi just kept staring at her in fury. "There is always a way of solving problems without killing people," he said with determination, but Ryoko simply swept the words aside with her hand.
"Oh spare me with that naive rubbish. One would think you had learned your lesson. There are a lot of dark minded people out there, who wouldn't hesitate a second getting rid of a troublesome enemy. Standing against one of those you only have two choices. Kill, or be killed. What's more important to you, your conscience or your life?"
Some of Tenchi's fury died away at her reasoning, but he had enough anger left to continue the discussion.
"You didn't have to kill Trake. Maybe he was evil, yes. Still, it would have been easy for you to just knock him unconscious, but you simply killed him. Why?"
Since Ryoko didn't answer right away, Tenchi continued. Desperation had meanwhile replaced the anger in his voice.
"I can't understand why this was necessary. He didn't even threaten your life. So why did you kill him?"
"Because I didn't want you to die."
Although Ryoko had spoken those words quite audible, Tenchi ignored them.
"Did you think you would do me a favor killing him, or do you just enjoy having the power to decide about life and death? I've seen how you tortured him. You enjoyed it, didn't you? And that's the problem with you. You kill just for fun. You don't even regret it, do you?"
Ryoko sighed. "Are you finished now?" She yawned theatrically, but got serious again right away. "But that's strange. If you are so well informed about my habits, why did you come to my rescue in the first place?"
"I... uhm...," Tenchi stuttered and avoided Ryoko's gaze. But quickly he remembered that he wasn't supposed to be the one shoved into the defensive. He looked her in the eyes with all the resolve he could muster and spoke in a firm voice. "Answer my question first. Do you regret the death of the people you have killed?"
Ryoko sighed again and shook her head. "You're really persistent, Tenchi." She gave him a serious look and continued. "There are only very few things I regret and the death of some scum certainly isn't part of it. But I'm no monster, you know. I've never ever killed someone for money or without a reason."
"But..."
"No buts." Ryoko raised her index finger. "Remember the rules. I've answered your question, so you have to answer mine now. Why did you come to my rescue?"
Tenchi hesitated. He turned away from Ryoko and watched the empty space. But of course the answer wasn't out there.
"Seems like you've been right. The Kaminari has kept up pursuit," he murmured.
"Tenchi?" Ryoko asked, obviously still waiting for an answer to her question.
"I...," Tenchi started. "I... I don't know why." He turned back to her to see a surprised expression on her face. The answer was hidden within those beautiful golden eyes, but he had to deny it.
"What?" Ryoko gasped. "But you have to know what you are doing."
Tenchi looked at her, deep in thought. "Maybe I don't," he whispered and slowly walked up to the main screen.
Ryoko watched him carefully, unable to understand the meaning of his unusual behavior. He stopped directly in front of space, his back turned to her.
"It's been my primary objective to get you into jail all this time. And then, when someone actually arrested you, I am the one to help you escape... that doesn't make much sense, does it?"
"You're absolutely right, Tenchi." Ryoko nodded and made some steps into his direction, but stopped as Tenchi spoke up again.
"But the worst of the whole thing is..." He took a deep breath. "... that I'm starting to regret what I have done."
There was a moment of absolute silence. But before it became unbearable Ryoko appeared at Tenchi's side and said in her most cheerful voice, "Nah Tenchi, come on. Stop moping. I would have gotten out of there by myself anyway. You just helped me to do it a little faster."
He looked at her, knowing that she was wrong. As soon as she would have been in Juraian custody, there would have been no escape. Still, he remained silent.
"I guess it wasn't such a bad idea to leave you on a planet inhabited by pirates after all." Ryoko hovered slowly backwards just above the floor and like this forced Tenchi to turn back to her. "The last time I checked, Burak's gang was no more than a small group of smugglers. Who would have thought they'd be though enough to start such a rescue operation. Did you spur them on?"
Tenchi was quick to shake his head. "No, I had no choice but to follow them. Otherwise they would have killed me. You knew that, right?"
"Well..." Ryoko shrugged. "Other planets other customs."
A gloomy expression suddenly too its place on Tenchi's face. "So you wanted me to die," he stated and nodded slowly.
"Oh, Tenchi," Ryoko shouted and came flying over, stopping right in front of him. "You're so emotional today." She took his hand and started floating around him, forcing him to spin with her. "Of course I didn't want you to die. You are way too precious to me, so cheer up."
Tenchi tried to get out of her grip, but she whirled even faster.
"Stop it, Ryoko. That's not funny!" he shouted and much to his surprise the pirate stopped.
"I thought it was," she said. "Anyway, we're both free now, so..." A soft moan made her stop in mid sentence.
"He's coming to," Tenchi said and pointed at the GP pilot, who was still lying on the ground, dazed.
"Then we should take him somewhere he can rest some more," the pirate replied and before Tenchi had a chance to protest, she was already gone together with the man.
He stared at the place the man had occupied for another moment, then he returned to the pilot's chair and took a seat.
Chaos ruled supreme inside his head. Why had he done it? He was unable to figure out what he had thought would happen after he set her free. Maybe he hadn't thought that they would be successful and subconsciously just taken this as a chance to end this once and for all. Deep inside, however, he knew that this wasn't the truth. He had gone on this mission only with the purpose of saving his and Ryoko's life. But why would he want to save the life of one who only used it to take the life of others? There were a lot of things he had to think about, but now wasn't the right time. He felt exhausted and tired.
Slowly he moved his hands over the controls. If they stayed here any longer, they would be spotted soon for certain. They had to go on. Tenchi was about to enter the new coordinates, as he hesitated. Where should they go?
"We are flying to the Karana system," Ryoko's voice rang out from behind him.
Tenchi was surprised. "Why? What do you want there?" he asked.
Ryoko took her place in the co-pilot's chair and gave him a dark look. "I want to get back what was taken from me."
Several seconds passed until Tenchi was able to understand what she was getting at. As he realized the meaning of her words, his eyes grew wide.
"You mean... the holy book... was stolen from you?" he asked a little bit confused.
"Well..." Ryoko tilted her head slightly, much like she thought carefully about what she was going to say next. "I brought the book to my client, but instead of payment I got some poisoned arrows and awoke in a prison cell. So you could say it was stolen from me."
Tenchi nodded, seemingly deep in thought. Ryoko wondered what he was thinking about and decided to satisfy her curiosity by asking a suitable question.
"What are you mulling about?"
"About nothing," he answered automatically. It was apparent that the pirate didn't believe him, so he quickly added, "I guess I'm just a bit tired." And smiled in apology.
Ryoko returned the smile and as Tenchi became aware of the situation, his face obtained a red touch and he hurried to return his attention to the controls in front of him. Swiftly his fingers rushed over the surface of the control panel and only a few seconds later, he leaned back in his seat slightly.
"I've set course for the Karana system. We should get there in about six hours," he explained, trying to sound as indifferent as possible.
"Good," Ryoko replied, silently wondering why the ex-GP officer had agreed with her plan so quickly. From what she had learned up to now it was kind of unusual for him to cooperate with her without any discussion. But it didn't matter anyway. All that mattered was to show this dark guy that he had gone too far and to retake her loot. Maybe her other client was still interested and she was going to get her payment after all.
"Well..." Tenchi stood. "I have activated the auto-pilot, but maybe you want to take a look at the controls in the meantime. I'm going to take a nap," he explained and made his way to the door.
"Nice dreams, Tenchi," Ryoko said in a sweet voice, making him turn one more time, before the door finally closed.
Tenchi kept standing there for another moment, then he continued on his way. Slowly he walked through the single corridor, which connected the bridge with the sleeping quarters and the engine room. He had only made a couple of steps as he suddenly heard a metallic sound. It didn't take him too long to confirm the engine room as the source, but until he realized what or who was producing the sound, almost a minute passed.
Swiftly Tenchi approached the engine room, but stopped in front of the door. He had his doubts that it was such a good idea to lock the GP-pilot up in the heart of the ship of all places. The sound ceased and Tenchi decided to take a look if the man was alright.
Like he had hoped and expected, the door was unlocked. Carefully he entered the comparatively small room and immediately spotted the GP-pilot, who was sitting in the far corner. Ryoko had tied up his hand and feet and attached him to a supply pipe, in a way which made it almost impossible for him to move.
As Tenchi got closer, the man raised his head and looked at him.
"Are you finally going to kill me now?" he asked, faking indifference.
Tenchi stopped and shook his head. "Nobody is going to kill you. We just..." he searched a few seconds for the right words. "... have to keep you here until we get a chance to drop you off or find another ship."
The man's smile made it clear that he didn't believe what he just heard. "You are Masaki, right?"
Tenchi didn't manage to hide his surprise completely. "You know my name?" he asked, trying to remember the man's face. He was almost a hundred percent certain that he never met him before.
"You are on the most wanted list. Everyone who's at least a little interested knows your face."
"Hm..." Tenchi nodded. He turned around and was about to leave, feeling that this man was only looking for someone to direct his frustration at.
"Changed sides, eh... Masaki?" the man shouted after him. "You might have made a good Ryoko hunter. Too bad that you weren't able to resist her charm."
If the pilot had been able to see Tenchi's face, he would have seen that his words did have quite an effect. They stirred many different emotions within the young man's mind all at once. Fury, anger, sorrow, desperation and finally indifference.
"What I have done is none of your business," he squeezed out. "I'm still on the side of justice."
With these words he reached the door and stepped outside as it opened for him. He could hear the man shouting behind him, "And just what kind of justice might that be?" Then the door closed.
As if he was chased by the words, Tenchi hurried to reach the sleeping quarters. Once there, he dropped himself down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Somehow everything had turned out different from what he had imagined. He had risked his life in order to save Ryoko, but she wasn't even showing the slightest hint of gratitude. Of course that was just the way she was and he had known it. So why had he hoped that she might have changed? Throughout her absence he had created another image of her inside his head. A nice, friendly, mysterious Ryoko, who knew what was right and wrong. It had been this Ryoko he had felt concerned about. It had been her he wanted to rescue, not the person whose first action in freedom was a killing act.
Tenchi sighed and closed his eyes. Probably he was too tired to analyse things objectively right now. Maybe he should just stop worrying and go to sleep. Soon he might be able to restore the book and thus get the chance to finally do something right. With this thought he fell asleep.
It was about noon, but could have as well been midnight. There were no windows for the daylight to pass through. The room itself was only dimly lit, giving it a somewhat dark atmosphere.
Currently it was occupied by only a few men. Still, the air was saturated by smoke, which served to contribute a mysterious touch. If it hadn't been for the music, he actually might have liked the place. It was that kind of deafening techno sound, which was especially enjoyed by those people who wanted to forget about their senseless lives. But he was not here to forget.
Even though the pounding basses made it almost impossible to hear the approaching steps, he knew that someone was coming from behind.
A chubby man pushed past the cramped tables and crossed the small stage, on which the attractive body of a scantily clad female dancer moved to the rhythm of the music. His vision slightly blurred by all the smoke, he made his way towards the strange guest, who had been sitting there for quite some time already and obviously neither seemed to be interested in the girls, nor in the liquor the establishment had to offer.
"There you go. An Angry Pirate's Dream." The man put the glass he had been carrying the entire time down on the table. But under his long hood, the guest remained silent and didn't even give him a glance.
"Now, you're not the talkative type, are you?" The barkeeper was hoping to catch another glimpse of the mysterious man's face. "Well, guess it's none of my business... as long as you pay, that is," he said a little discontented and walked away.
Kagato watched him disappear in the smoke next to the bar from beneath his hood.
Something must have went wrong. He was supposed to meet an informant here, but the man wasn't showing up. Had the information he was about to receive not been of such major importance, Kagato would have long since left this place.
His gaze came to rest upon the glass, which was still standing in front of him, untouched. The liquid inside was of a poisonous green color and gave off a smell, which indicated high proof alcohol. Kagato pushed the glass aside and once more scanned the room thoroughly, but still careful to not draw any attention.
There were only five other men present in the small bar currently. Three of them had been playing cards all the time and the other two barely managed to hold their selves on top of their stools, their minds totally shut down by alcohol. Nobody had entered or left the bar since he had taken his place near the door. The appointment had been over an hour ago and unpunctuality wasn't normally a characteristic of the man he was waiting for.
However, if he left now, he most certainly wouldn't get the necessary information in time to make any final preparations. So he simply had to wait.
A little annoyed that things were not going as planned, Kagato took the glass and gulped down some of the liquor. It wasn't the first Angry Pirate's Dream he'd ever drunk and surprisingly not the worst.
Suddenly he heard a voice behind him.
"Hi."
Kagato didn't react. He just kept sitting over his liquor, unmoving, the hood drawn deep into his face. The voice was definitely not that of his informant and he didn't like getting into useless conversation.
"I've never seen you around here. How do you like it?"
Something in that female voice stirred memories within him, but he withstood the temptation to take a look at the woman, who was standing next to him by then.
"Well, I hate this place. My dream is to get out of here one day. Where do you come from?" she asked right out.
Kagato raised his head a little and answered slowly. "I'm coming from a place you couldn't imagine in your worst nightmares and I'm sure you don't want to go there."
The young woman made a resigned sound. "I understand," she said just a little disappointed and as she walked away, she could feel the gaze of the visitor resting on her.
A strange mixture of emotions welled up inside of Kagato. The same delicate figure, the same long black hair, the same sadness in her voice. 'No!' he tried to reseal the images of the past, but it wasn't easy. He couldn't help but to see her sad face in front of him and hear the hated voice of his father, which told him that her place wasn't at his side.
Kagato took the glass and tried to wash away his memories together with the burning liquid. He was going to make the one who was responsible for her death pay. That was what he had sworn back then, but that had been long ago. He had started a new life and he had managed to forget about his painful past.
The door behind him was opened. Kagato took another gulp before he turned around slowly.
The man who had just entered was wearing military boots and was obviously trying to hide the rest of his Juraian uniform under a long coat. As he recognized Kagato, he quickly approached him. Even before he had seated himself opposite the pirate, he already started talking nervously.
"Sorry, I wasn't able to make it any sooner. The whole military is in an uproar. Ryoko has escaped. An hour ago a small pirate troop has overcome the security systems of the GSP and freed Ryoko. She has escaped with a GP patrol ship."
"Bad news," Kagato said calmly. "Where is she heading?"
"Uhm..." The man seemed to have difficulties understanding what Kagato was asking for. "Nobody knows exactly. Those GP idiots have taken her ship for one of theirs at first and not given pursuit. But it's said she has taken off in the vague direction of the Karana system."
Kagato nodded. Perhaps Ryoko would seek out the place in which she had hidden the book.
"What's the military going to do about it?"
"Well, a few minutes before I left someone told me that Preceptor Kunrin was going to request permission to take up pursuit with half of the fleet. But it might as well be just a rumor. I doubt that the emperor would be so reckless to endanger the entire security of Jurai just because of a single pirate."
"There is more to this than just the life of a pirate," Kagato said and stood up.
"What do you mean?" the Juraian asked, but Kagato just took a small bag out of his coat and threw it onto the table.
"Nothing you have to worry about. Pay my drink. I have to go."
With these words he left the dumbfounded man and only a few seconds later the bar
Tenchi was confused. He was standing in the middle of the narrow corridor, which connected the bridge of the Yukinojo with the other rooms. It was rather dark and unusually quiet. Tenchi couldn't remember how he had gotten here, or what exactly his purpose was.
Suddenly a scream of mortal terror echoed through the hallway. Tenchi flinched in shock.
The scream repeated itself and this time it was full of torment. Without thinking he turned around and hurried towards the engine room, where the screams had originated. He opened the door, rushed inside and stopped in terror. The sight he was granted was too gruesome for his mind to process immediately. Only one thing he knew for certain. He had been too late.
"Why did you do this?" Tenchi shouted, his voice cracking.
Ryoko rose up from the bloody remains of the GP pilot and slowly turned towards him. An evil grin appeared on her face, which was covered with red splashes.
"I did it, because I felt like it," she said slowly as she approached Tenchi.
He retreated. Never had he feared Ryoko like this.
He only managed a couple of steps, however, before he felt the cold wall of the room blocking his path. Apparently Ryoko didn't fail to notice his fear, since her smile became more pleasant as she got closer to him.
"I have the absolute freedom..." She stepped up to him and slowly brought her right hand up to caress Tenchi's face with her blood-stained fingers. "... to do everything I want," she finished in a sweet voice.
Tenchi wanted to push her off, but he had lost control over his body. He stood there, petrified, and felt Ryoko spreading more and more blood on his face.
"It's no use to fight against me, so stop struggling," she whispered into his ear.
Tenchi gave up his resistance and all of a sudden the panic and fear he had felt changed into a much more pleasant feeling. Her touch wasn't intimidating anymore, but warm and gentle. He lost himself in her beautiful eyes, unable to find any hint of spitefulness or cruelty. In front of him was standing a stunning woman with a smile that made him melt away.
Just as he felt his body reacting to her presence, the scene changed.
It was completely dark now. But Tenchi knew that there wasn't any threat in this darkness. It was more of a black cloak, hiding all that not supposed to be seen.
He himself was lying in a soft bed now, awake and yet aware that he was dreaming, but not alone. Next to him he felt the warm skin of Ryoko, sending shivers down his spine. She was sleeping peacefully. 'What's this?' he thought and sat up.
Suddenly he felt like he was being watched. Somewhere in the dark that was cutting him, Ryoko and this forbidden part of his mind off from the rest of the world, there was hiding someone, watching his every movement. Tenchi looked around, but the more he tried to see through the darkness, the more substantial it seemed to become.
"Who are you?" he shouted out to the darkness, but instead of an answer he heard Ryoko's voice.
"Hey Tenchi, wake up," it roared through the internal com. Tenchi sat up, still a little dazed. "We've reached our destination." A look out of the room's space pane proved her statement. They weren't moving in hyperspace any longer.
He supported his elbows on his knees and tried to rub the leftovers of sleep out of his eyes. What might his subconscious have been trying to tell him with such a dream? He thought for a while, got rid of a couple of ridiculous options and finally concluded that he might have been too harsh on Ryoko in their talk. After all she had no responsibility for the situation. He had rescued her and now he had to deal with the consequences. But since there was no way to change what had happened, it was of little use to reproach himself or others for it. Tenchi was surprised himself at how objectively he was seeing things now. Maybe a little sleep had been necessary after all.
He stretched his limbs thoroughly, restored the original state of his resting place in no time and left the room. On his way to the bridge he decided to cooperate a little better from here. After all he and Ryoko had a mutual mission now, one objective and they would only reach it if they worked together.
If one was alone on the bridge of a space ship, out of hyperspace and far from any solar system, it was almost possible to hear the silence of infinite space. Where a planet, or even a large space station, bustling with life might have stood their ground against this silence, a single ship, especially one as small as the Yukinojo, was just engulfed in it.
Although she could feel the silence around her, the pilot of the GP patrol didn't pay it any heed. People were usually frightened and some were even suffering from panic attacks in outer space, like some kind of space sickness, but to her the silence had become a second nature over the years.
Ryoko had more important matters to worry about. First of all that much like she had expected and feared there was nothing to be seen out there other than the twinkling stars in the distance and the slightly larger globe of Karana. Now the pirate would have been less concerned if she knew for sure that she had remembered the coordinates correctly.
She was startled out of her worries as she heard the door open. Someone entered and stepped up to her from behind, but she didn't turn around. By now Ryoko was able to identify Tenchi by the sounds of his movement. She heard him come up closer, but then he suddenly stopped, remaining in what he probably thought was a safe distance. What should have been a playful grin turned into a sad smile. He was still scared of her.
"There's nothing out there," Tenchi couldn't help but to state the obvious, after Ryoko showed no reaction to his presence.
"I know, but this doesn't mean anything. The last time I met him I couldn't see him either. He's probably out there, hiding somewhere."
A few seconds of silence passed, in which Ryoko kept staring at the screen as if she was expecting to find something in the emptiness out there like this. Finally Tenchi wasn't able to contain his doubts at the weird acting any longer.
"Are you sure these are the right coordinates? I mean, there's nobody here. And if you couldn't see him, how do you know that he didn't meet you with a ship and left right away anyway?" Asking these questions, Tenchi grew increasingly agitated, as he realized that he had been left out on important information once more.
Ryoko finally turned her seat around to face him. The look of annoyance on her face made Tenchi forget about his own anger very quickly.
"No, I don't know if these are the right coordinates. Remembering them wasn't exactly my top concern as I was anesthetized and locked up in a cell for over a week. And yes, he might be gone already, but right now this is all we have."
Suddenly it became very obvious to Tenchi, that Ryoko actually seemed to be just as clueless as him. He started to regret his earlier outburst.
"I'm sorry, but even if he were out there, how are we supposed to find him, if we can't see him with the bare eye?" Tenchi yielded just a little.
"How should I know? He just teleported my entire ship into his hangar the last time and I didn't even notice at first." Ryoko was getting quite upset at the apparent hopelessness of the situation.
Tenchi, meanwhile, being a little better at keeping in his emotions, realized the importance of her last statement after he thought about it for a second.
"So there might be a chance that he still keeps the Souja around in this hangar?" he asked, still half in thought.
"Yeah, that's right," the pirate confirmed.
She was shocked about how she could have totally forgotten about her ship. But the thought of being able to reclaim it together with the book renewed her vigor.
"Maybe we should try to search for the Souja's energy signature. Even if the systems are shut down, if we know exactly what we are searching for, we should be able to find it," Tenchi explained his plan. It was actually a part of his training, he remembered. Searching for hiding ships by their energy signature, if it was known to them, was actually a common practice of the Galaxy Police.
"That's it, Tenchi!" Ryoko's eyes grew wide in excitement as she slammed her fist in her open palm.
As a somewhat funny grin appeared on her face, Tenchi started to feel very uneasy. It seemed like she was going to latch onto him every second now. But the dangerous moment passed and Tenchi was glad that she wasn't able to see the tension leaving his body as she turned around to face the controls again.
Another second passed without her doing anything.
"Uhm... I don't know how to do it."
Tenchi had some trouble suppressing a snicker at the bluntness of the statement, but he managed, knowing that it wouldn't have been taken lightly on him.
After having seated himself in the co-pilot's chair, he started preparing the Yukinojo's scanners for the search. Now he was glad that he had always taken the training at the academy very serious, so he remembered the necessary routines by heart. It took him only a minute to complete the process.
"You know the Souja's energy signature?" Ryoko asked, a little taken aback.
This time Tenchi wasn't able to keep in a chuckle at her unusual naivety.
"Every GP ship has a data bank with information on the most important criminals, including data on their ships," he explained. "You are at the top of the list."
"Oh," was all that Ryoko managed as an answer.
At best the scan was going to take a little while, so Tenchi decided that he might as well try and gather some more information.
"So who is this guy we are looking for anyway?" he asked, trying his best to get rid of the unusual tension he still felt conversing with the space pirate.
"I don't know either. I didn't have the chance to do any research about him. Only one thing I know for sure." Her expression became dead serious as she faced Tenchi, making it all the more difficult for him to shake off his tension. "He's very dangerous. I had a bad feeling about him right from the start and it seems like I've been right. There's definitely more to this guy than meets the eye."
"He was the one who opened the dark portal back at the alpha base, right?" Tenchi asked, feeling a little uneasy at the thought that they might be going to face a man who held such power.
"Yes, that was definitely him."
The conversation was cut short by an acoustic signal catching Tenchi's attention. He directed his attention at the controls in front of him and accessed the results of the scan. Though it had been his idea, he hadn't really expected to find something, so he was quite surprised at the data.
"That's strange. The scanners have discovered a matching energy signature right in front of us. But there is nothing at these coordinates."
"See, I told you he was invisible," Ryoko exclaimed, not making a secret of the fact that she relished having been right.
"But that's impossible!"
"We'll see. Now give me the coordinates," the pirate suddenly demanded.
"What are you going to do?" Tenchi asked, alarmed at her sudden change in tone.
"You'll find out soon enough. The coordinates. Now!"
Tenchi couldn't help but to feel that he wasn't going to like what she was going to do, but he didn't have any ideas by himself, so he just submitted the location of the energy signature to her station.
A feral grin appeared on the pirate's face and almost made Tenchi regret his decision. Then her hand smashed down on the controls, making the Yukinojo fire a barrage of plasma blasts. Tenchi was about to protest, as his eyes fell on the view screen.
"What the...?"
The blasts Ryoko had fired hit something in mid flight and released their energy in circle waves upon impact, revealing a structure, where nothing had been but the emptiness of space. Within seconds the energy reaction spread and it became obvious that what had been hidden in front of them was in fact another space ship. Quite huge a space ship, indeed.
The hull was pitch black, so it was difficult to see any details, but it was of circular design, with a spherical dent in the front, adorned by two curved spikes. Obviously the ship was constructed after some kind of predatory insect. What was truly impressive, however, was its size, which easily compared to that of a Galaxy Police cruiser.
Ryoko whistled appreciatively. "Cloaking technology. Now that's what I call a neat ship."
"But I though it was impossible to completely hide a ship of that size," Tenchi exclaimed, still not fully trusting his eyes.
"Thought so as well. This guy is full of surprises."
The both stared at the dark ship for at least another minute, before Ryoko finally dared to speak again.
"We better go look for a way inside of there, before he realizes that he's been spotted."
Tenchi's mind was slow to come into gears again after this awesome discovery, but he still noticed that something was not quite right here.
"Now wait a minute. That's a space ship, right? Don't you think it's a little strange that he would sit around here for over a week?" he stated his concerns.
"Why waste the energy and fly around, if nobody is able to find you anyway?"
"Don't you think it might be a trap?" Tenchi asked, bothered by her ignorance.
Ryoko just rolled her eyes. "Of course it's a trap. I told you this guy was dangerous. With him it's possible that he knew we were coming for him all along. That's why you will stay here."
"What? You can't be serious."
"But I am. This guy is somewhere over there and if I have to fight him to get back the book and my ship, I will. You would only be a hindrance to me if it came down to combat."
She regretted the harsh words almost the instant she spoke them, but it was the truth. There was no way she could guarantee Tenchi's safety over there.
"I can take care of myself and whatever you say I'm not going to let you go in there alone."
Tenchi's voice carried even more determination than he had originally intended. Even though there was not much gain in it for him, letting her go search for the book on her own just didn't seem right.
For a moment, Ryoko considered the thought of just tying him up, but quickly decided against it. It was risky, but as she saw the determination in Tenchi's eyes, she realized that, for whatever reason, he really wanted to do this together with her. She couldn't possibly say no to him like this.
"Alright, let's search for a place to dock. I want to make this guy pay for messing with me."
The corridor was darker than a starless night. As he stepped out of the narrow access tunnel, Tenchi instantly regretted not having brought a flashlight. He had always thought it silly for people to fear the darkness, but in the face of the ultimate absence of light in front of him, he was suddenly able to understand them a lot better.
Ryoko, meanwhile, didn't seem to be intimidated by the darkness in the least. Without hesitation she left the tunnel and the little that was left of the Yukinojo's light and entered the dark ship.
"That's good. Maybe he didn't expect us after all," Tenchi heard the disembodied voice of the pirate.
There was a hissing sound and Ryoko became visible again, bathed in an aura of red. She had activated her energy sword, much to Tenchi's relief and terror. Illuminated by the pale glow of the deadly weapon the pirate almost looked like she was drenched in blood, making him momentarily remember his dream from before.
"Are you going to stand there all day?" Ryoko asked and the image disappeared.
As Tenchi followed her kind invitation, he couldn't help but to wonder if it perhaps hadn't been such a good idea to accompany her. Stepping up to her he remained careful to stay out of the range of her sword.
Without further words, Ryoko turned and started walking into one of the two directions the corridor offered, leaving Tenchi no choice but to follow her close by if he didn't want to loose himself in the darkness.
"How do you know this is the right direction," he asked after a while, a little unnerved by her unusually silent behavior.
"I don't, but we have to start looking somewhere," Ryoko explained to him without slowing down.
It was then that Tenchi realized the reason for her curtness. She was all tensed up. Obviously she felt the danger emanated by this place as well and it seemed to bother her even more than him. As he stole another look, he noticed that there were beads of sweat on her forehead. He decided not to attempt any further conversation and so they continued down the corridor in silence for some minutes.
Finally they reached an open doorway, leading into a slightly larger chamber. Ryoko entered right away, but Tenchi hesitated. Somehow he almost felt like the darkness was watching him. Or someone was watching him from out of the darkness. He turned around, but wasn't able to see anything.
"Creepy," he murmured to himself and turned to enter the chamber behind Ryoko.
He was quite perturbed to find that the pirate was nowhere to be seen. However, there was some light emitting from somewhere within the room.
"Ryoko?" he wasn't able to keep his worry out of his voice completely.
There was no answer. Taking it as a hint at her location, he carefully headed into the direction of the source of light in front of him. However, this proved to be more difficult then he had thought. There were several large cylindrical objects blocking the path and he kept bumping into them on the way.
After he had finally managed to cross most of the ridiculously small distance, that bad feeling that had inhabited his guts for some time now, became even worse. The color of the light that had guided him, wasn't red, it was a bright green. Whatever was the source of it, it definitely wasn't Ryoko.
"Hey Ryoko!" Tenchi tried one more time, but again it was in vain.
Scanning the room for any sign of the pirate, he stepped out of the shadow of another of those cylinders and right into the glowing green light. Instinctively he turned and discovered its source almost directly in front of him.
"Ack!" His eyes wide he staggered back from the horrifying sight that presented itself to him.
It was another of those cylinders, but this one was filled to the top with a glowing green substance. Suspended within was a perfectly preserved skeleton. This would have been enough to give Tenchi the scare of the century, but exactly in this moment the light in the room was turned on. Just a few minutes ago he had yearned for some light, now he almost wished for the darkness to return. The other tubes weren't empty either, only filled with less fluorescent liquids. Each one of them held the bones of a humanoid.
When Tenchi was finally able to calm his nerves a little and took a closer look at his discovery, he noticed that each of the skeletons seemed to be of a different species. Some he recognized, others were foreign to him. It really was quite a freak show.
"Over here, Tenchi!" His sight was blocked off by the tubes, but this time the voice was definitely Ryoko's.
Even with the light restored it took him a moment to find his way through the jungle of the deceased. As he finally emerged from it to the side of the chamber, Ryoko was already waiting for him.
"What have you been doing in there?" she asked, the concern plain in her voice.
"I've been looking for you... didn't you hear me calling?" He was genuinely confused, both at the fact that she had worried about him and that she hadn't heard him shouting.
"No, I didn't hear anything," she answered, giving him a strange look. As it became apparent that he wasn't going to explain himself, she just asked what was on her mind, "Well anyway, what do you think about this?" She made a gesture to the center of the room with its tubes.
"It's a freak show," Tenchi stated his earlier assessment.
"If you think this is twisted then take a look at this." With these words she handed him some kind of data pad she had been holding the entire time.
From the way it looked it seemed to be quite old, but obviously it was still functional. As Ryoko gave him an encouraging nod, he activated the pad and started reading. It was some kind of project log:
"Recently I was able to acquire an excellent Juraian specimen. It is of royal blood, so naturally it has a lot of potential. This is going to be a promising project."
"First experiments brought mostly positive results. Actually the specimen already shows a higher response rate than any previous project. This is most unusual."
"I have figured out that the Juraian mind seems to be perfect for my purposes. I have successfully increased the specimen's physical abilities and his response rate is incredible. Complete mental control seems possible at any given time."
"Unfortunately, the specimen has fallen into mental degradation. At this rate he will be left in a state of permanent mental disorder. I will dispose of him as soon as I made some final tests."
"The final tests have revealed a major flaw in the routine of mental processing. Any further experiments are pointless. A more indirect method of mental processing is required. I will start to do research as I shut down this lab. However, I am still positive that Juraians are the most promising specimen." This was the last entry.
Tenchi was taken aback. From what he understood of what he had read, the guy who had written this had been messing with the minds of his so called specimen. This was horrible.
"Quite the lunatic, I would say," Ryoko stated dryly.
"Do you think this is the same guy who has tricked you?" Tenchi asked, still unable to believe that someone was capable of such experiments.
"Yup, that's definitely him."
Suddenly it dawned on Tenchi what this maniac might want with the holy book. Maybe he thought that by reading it he would get a better understanding of his favorite specimen. He had no idea what was written in the book, but the Juraians had to have a reason for all the safekeeping.
"We have to stop him," Tenchi spoke his thoughts aloud.
"Yeah, I still have an account to settle with him too. But in order to do this, we need to find him first," Ryoko tried her best to sound carefree.
Though that wasn't how she felt at all. She didn't know why and how, but she could sense his presence like an omnipresent fog which tried to suffocate her. Like when she had faced him in person the first time, even doing the easiest things was becoming a major strain to her. He had to be nearby and despite her faked confidence, she didn't know if they would be able to defeat him if it came down to combat.
"Let's go on," she said, pointing at a nearby door.
Tenchi just nodded and walked over to the controls, which he operated. Surprisingly they proved to be still functional as the door opened with a hiss. Ryoko indicated for him to stay behind and entered the next room a little more carefully. The light from behind her was quickly turned back to darkness by this chamber, so she wasn't able to estimate its dimensions, but she had a vague feeling that it was huge. Tenchi entered right behind her and the door closed after him, allowing the darkness to engulf them.
This time even Ryoko, who really had cat-like eyes, wasn't able to make out anything anymore. Just as she was about to activate her sword in order to remedy this condition, there was a bright flash of light, blinding them both for a second. As their sight returned, they were stunned to find themselves standing in the middle of a beautiful green plain, which stretched up to the horizon in all directions. Where just had been nothing but darkness was now a blue cloudless sky, letting the bright rays of the local sun bath the plains in light.
"What's this?" Tenchi asked, dumbfounded.
"An holographic experimental chamber," a deep voice answered from behind.
Ryoko turned and Tenchi whirled around to find a white haired man in a blue robe with a green cape.
"That's him!" the pirate snarled with a side-glance at Tenchi.
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to greet you sooner, but you arrived faster than I expected and I still had some preparations to complete," he explained with a smile.
"Where's the book and the Souja?" Ryoko demanded, having to fight hard for the words in face of his incredible power.
"Oh, your ship..." he said as if he had forgotten about something important. "... you are going to get it back soon, of course. But there are some things I need to do first." He turned to face Tenchi. "You won't mind to assist me, young man?" he asked with a smirk and made a step towards the object of his attention.
"Keep your hands off Tenchi!" Ryoko screamed and released a powerful energy blast at the dark man.
Unfortunately the blast was deflected by a force field before it could do any damage to its target. Still, it made him stop his advance on Tenchi, who seemed to be completely paralysed, and face the pirate once more.
"So you really want to fight me for him? How utterly entertaining," he laughed. "I have waited a long time to finally get a chance to estimate your abilities first hand."
"You won't be disappointed." Seeing Tenchi in danger had given Ryoko the mental strength to fight him off and now, she decided, it was finally time for payback.
With a scream that would have sufficed to subdue most enemies, she launched herself at him, activating her sword in mid-flight. As he didn't make a move to defend himself, it almost seemed like she would be able to neatly cut him in half, but a glowing green energy blade appeared in his hand the last instant, blocking her attack.
Ryoko was still having difficulties concentrating, but nevertheless pressed her attack. Through the haze that still prevented her from thinking straight, she realized two things. He was extremely strong, but definitely not skilled. The only reason she hadn't been able to get a hit in on him yet was that his mere presence diminished her fighting ability.
Their close combat continued and Ryoko's exhaustion started to overgrow the intensity of the battle. She wasn't used to fighting physically and mentally at the same time. As she wasn't quick enough to withdraw after an attack, her opponent used the opportunity to strike her down by hitting her hard in the head with the handle of his blade.
Her vision blurred as she looked up to him and she prepared herself for the killing blow. But it never came. Instead, the dark man was hit by blaster fire. Even though it didn't penetrate his force field, he still turned around, leaving Ryoko alone for the time.
"Don't you think you are overestimating yourself, boy?"
"I will not let you hurt her." Tenchi's voice held an unknown confidence.
"Interesting indeed. But maybe you should worry more about yourself." With these words, he raised his hand and Tenchi was hit by some unseen force.
The impact was hard enough to make him lose consciousness even before he hit the ground. Ryoko had watched the entire scene in terror.
"Tenchi, nooo!" She pushed herself up. "You bastard!"
With all that was left of her strength, she phased directly behind the dark man and rammed her sword through his chest. Much to her surprise he dissolved immediately. Once he was gone, she fell to her knees, wanting to check Tenchi's condition, but finding herself unable to.
"I am impressed. My studies are not doing your true powers justice," the terrifying voice spoke from everywhere and nowhere all at once. "However, it needs more than just power to defeat me."
Ryoko was struck in the back by something, making her collapse to the ground completely. The last thing she saw before consciousness started leaving her was a dark shadow appearing next to Tenchi's unmoving body.
"Tenchi," she whispered. Then the world around her was cast into blackness.
Chapter notes:
Originally it was planned for me to write most of this chapter, but since I encountered some kind of writers/language block, my sister helped out quite a bit. She wrote Tenchi and Ryoko's discussion, the part with Kagato and the very first part of the last scene. I pulled off the translations and the rest of the chapter.
Now I want to thank all those who have taken their time and written me reviews or feedback. Without your input and encouragement it wouldn't have been possible for us to write this chapter like we did. I mean to have noticed that thanks for reviews usually result in lesser reviews, but I still had to do this, because it really meant a lot to me. Just maybe you are going to prove me wrong with my theory.
Now that I'm already at it, special thanks to those who have helped me out by proof-reading: Andrew, Serathim, Georsama and Ledzepfan.
See you in the next chapter. Hopefully soon.