Chapter 12: Revenge
Princess Aeyka turned to say goodbye to the boy she loved. She could not touch him. She could not hug him. He was encapsulated in pure evil and she vowed to save him. She removed the wooden hilt of the Tenchiken which had been resting inside her kimono and placed it on the floor. Aeyka realized she was clutching something else in her left hand. It was the note Tenchi had asked her to give Ryoko.
"I'm sorry, Lord Tenchi. With what I am about to do, I am not sure I will see her to deliver this."
She held up her left hand. The princess had crumpled the note up into a sweaty ball in her desperation to help Tenchi and she had forgotten she still clutched it. Ayeka slowly unfolded the paper and read the characters hastily inscribed upon it:
"Ryoko. I don't have very much time to write to you all the thoughts flying through my head. If you are reading this, I may not have survived to say goodbye to you. I want you to know that you are most special to me and that the memory of the night we shared, the night of my graduation, has carried me through whatever lies ahead for me. Please take care of my family and especially Ayeka, for I know my death will be hard on her. I do love you, Ryoko, please remember that."
Ayeka's heart sank and she fell to her knees. What did he mean by 'the night we shared'. She knew exactly what he meant. How could he, how could they? She gazed up at the boy. Tears welled up in her pink eyes, so many tears she could not clearly see him. She wiped her eyes and gingerly tucked the note into her dress.
"Tenchi, you, you love HER!"
Ayeka had a decision to make. She could save Tenchi only to allow him to return to that demon-woman's arms…or…she could fail and he could die and Ryoko would not have him.
No. She raised her hand up and placed it on the field that held the boy. Tiny sparks leapt through her fingers and she winced and the pain, but did not remove her delicate hand. No. She could never let him die. She let out a cleansing breath and removed her singed hand.
The princes wiped her eyes again. She untied her obi and removed her kimono revealing an under dress that would allow her more stealth. She sincerely wished she'd had more time before she was kidnapped off of Ryo-Ooh to take the ring that allowed her to transform into her Juraian armor, but this would have to do. She picked up the sword and walked toward the exit, glancing lovingly back at Tenchi.
"Guard!"
The doors whizzed open and one of Zephr's guards appeared.
Whack! With ease, Ayeka subdued the guard and ran out of the room, not waiting so say goodbye to Tenchi again.
***
Zephr sank down lower, submerging his body in the warm water of the onsen. He was still confused by the battle plan ahead. He wanted to die the moment he saw Ayeka's face as Tenchi was placed in the extraction chamber. Zephr hated what he was made to do. Think, he must think of a way for everyone to get out of this alive, including his people. And that damn Kenji. The boy shuttered at the thought of that evil man. He rested his back against the sides of the pool and quickly drifted off into slumber.
"Hehehehe," laughed his uncle in his dream. "You are a sight for sore eyes, my boy!" The old man hugged Zephr and ushered him into the house. "It seems that a year in the military academy has done you some good. Look how much you've grown!"
Zephr smiled with love at his kind old uncle. Since both his parents died when he was a baby, this man was his whole family. The boy looked around the property and frowned at how ramshackle the once beautiful farm had become.
"Let me get you some tea, my boy. Oh how I've missed you!"
"Uncle, what happened to the farm?"
"Oh, nothing you need worry about, my boy, nothing at all…"
"Uncle!"
"Zephr, you know how hard it is to run this place when you were taken away…"
Suddenly, he is no longer in the warm arms of his uncle but his soul has been whisked away to a dark, cold habitat.
"You fool!" The booming voice of the Goddess Tokim reverberated through his dream. "You have the gems right under your nose and yet you sleep!"
"Tokimi?"
"Get me those gems and that boy may yet live!"
Zephr startled himself awake.
"What does she mean?" He swam forward and grasped a floating dish which held a flask of sake. He poured a small glass and raised it to take a sip. That was when he felt it.
It was like the same sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach which he felt as he battled Tenchi, as he felt when he walked past Yosho. All his senses sparked to life. The gems. He felt those gems Tokimi wanted, that must be it. That was not all he felt. His heightened sense of touch enabled him to feel a slight variance in water pressure and movement, slow, but steady directly behind him. He pretended not to notice and set the glass down on the tray and nonchalantly pushed the tray to the far side of the bath. Someone was standing right behind him.
A blue flame whizzed past his right ear and he instinctively dodged the blade in a split second. Zephr submerged himself into the water and shot his body upward after he had grasped the ankles of his attacker. Princess Ayeka was taken by surprise as she was pulled under and through the boy's legs, ultimately now in front of him facing away. The energy sword, having been knocked from her grasp, extinguished and slowly settled to the floor of the onsen pool.
"Ayeka!"
She whirled around. Her lavender hair lay in dripping locks about her head. She breathed heavily and with each exhale, Zephr felt her utter hate for him. Her white dress clung to her wet form, leaving nothing to the imagination as her key, the tiara she wore, shone with fire as she faced him. Her pink eyes scanned the water for the sword.
"Stand down, now! Don't be foolish Ayeka!"
"You! You will DIE!" Her eyes glowed unnaturally as her true Juraian powers surfaced. Dozens of tiny wooden cylinders encircled her enraged form and as she outstretched her arms, hundreds of tiny threads emanated from the cylinders and leapt upon Zephr's body. He became engulfed in the brown threads and they meant to squeeze the life from him.
The dark prince struggled against the threads, thrashing water in Ayeka's lovely face. The princess lowered her arms and the cylinders descended into the depths of the onsen water, dragging the thrashing boy under the water as well. As he struggled underwater, the girl's attention was now to find the sword. She turned her back to Zephr and began searching for it under the water. Her hand finally grasped the well worn wooden hilt of the Tenchiken just as a monstrous splash echoed through her ears. She turned and was eye to eye with her enemy.
Zephr had summoned the power of his light hawk wings, which had burnt the threads from his body. He now levitated in front of her holding his own red sword of light and wearing billowing robes of black. Ayeka, although stunned, was not intimidated. She flexed her wrist and the Tenchiken ignited, sending puffs of steam through the air as it came in contact with the water. She was not above levitation herself, and raised her still wet form from the pool until both foes were now at equal ground.
"Please, Ayeka, I don't want to harm you." Zephr pleaded with honest eyes.
"You should worry more about yourself!"
She drew back the sword with both hands and flew into the air, coming down for a death strike. Zephr's sword stopped her attack and he pushed her off with such a force to make her fly back, landing now, on solid ground. She ran at him to attack again. The warrior and the Princess fought furiously. Ayeka, never gave in, never letting him know how she was about to break. Zephr held back, never using his full strength, but looking for an opportunity to end this fight without killing her. He couldn't understand why not killing her was so important to him. They were both exhausted and stared each other down, panting.
"How DARE you! You are holding back!"
"I am just making this a fair fight, Princess."
"I've learned something…" She steadied herself for another attack and ran toward Zephr. "Nothing in life is FAIR!"
She struck at him with such a force, he was thrown to his back. Ayeka leapt into the air and raised the blue sword in both hands high above her head. She landed upon Zephr, straddling him. She gazed into his brown eyes and brought the sword down.
Suddenly, a red beam of light exited the Princess's chest just below her right shoulder. Zephr saw this as if in slow motion. He saw her pink eyes turn red with rage. He saw the blue blade coming closer to his chest. He saw her garment sizzle and spark as the laser blast penetrated her. The Tenchiken extinguished and she fell limp upon him.
"You are so right, Ayeka…" Kenji now stood in the open doorway holding his blaster still pointed at the Princess. "Life, most certainly, is not fair."
Princess Aeyka turned to say goodbye to the boy she loved. She could not touch him. She could not hug him. He was encapsulated in pure evil and she vowed to save him. She removed the wooden hilt of the Tenchiken which had been resting inside her kimono and placed it on the floor. Aeyka realized she was clutching something else in her left hand. It was the note Tenchi had asked her to give Ryoko.
"I'm sorry, Lord Tenchi. With what I am about to do, I am not sure I will see her to deliver this."
She held up her left hand. The princess had crumpled the note up into a sweaty ball in her desperation to help Tenchi and she had forgotten she still clutched it. Ayeka slowly unfolded the paper and read the characters hastily inscribed upon it:
"Ryoko. I don't have very much time to write to you all the thoughts flying through my head. If you are reading this, I may not have survived to say goodbye to you. I want you to know that you are most special to me and that the memory of the night we shared, the night of my graduation, has carried me through whatever lies ahead for me. Please take care of my family and especially Ayeka, for I know my death will be hard on her. I do love you, Ryoko, please remember that."
Ayeka's heart sank and she fell to her knees. What did he mean by 'the night we shared'. She knew exactly what he meant. How could he, how could they? She gazed up at the boy. Tears welled up in her pink eyes, so many tears she could not clearly see him. She wiped her eyes and gingerly tucked the note into her dress.
"Tenchi, you, you love HER!"
Ayeka had a decision to make. She could save Tenchi only to allow him to return to that demon-woman's arms…or…she could fail and he could die and Ryoko would not have him.
No. She raised her hand up and placed it on the field that held the boy. Tiny sparks leapt through her fingers and she winced and the pain, but did not remove her delicate hand. No. She could never let him die. She let out a cleansing breath and removed her singed hand.
The princes wiped her eyes again. She untied her obi and removed her kimono revealing an under dress that would allow her more stealth. She sincerely wished she'd had more time before she was kidnapped off of Ryo-Ooh to take the ring that allowed her to transform into her Juraian armor, but this would have to do. She picked up the sword and walked toward the exit, glancing lovingly back at Tenchi.
"Guard!"
The doors whizzed open and one of Zephr's guards appeared.
Whack! With ease, Ayeka subdued the guard and ran out of the room, not waiting so say goodbye to Tenchi again.
***
Zephr sank down lower, submerging his body in the warm water of the onsen. He was still confused by the battle plan ahead. He wanted to die the moment he saw Ayeka's face as Tenchi was placed in the extraction chamber. Zephr hated what he was made to do. Think, he must think of a way for everyone to get out of this alive, including his people. And that damn Kenji. The boy shuttered at the thought of that evil man. He rested his back against the sides of the pool and quickly drifted off into slumber.
"Hehehehe," laughed his uncle in his dream. "You are a sight for sore eyes, my boy!" The old man hugged Zephr and ushered him into the house. "It seems that a year in the military academy has done you some good. Look how much you've grown!"
Zephr smiled with love at his kind old uncle. Since both his parents died when he was a baby, this man was his whole family. The boy looked around the property and frowned at how ramshackle the once beautiful farm had become.
"Let me get you some tea, my boy. Oh how I've missed you!"
"Uncle, what happened to the farm?"
"Oh, nothing you need worry about, my boy, nothing at all…"
"Uncle!"
"Zephr, you know how hard it is to run this place when you were taken away…"
Suddenly, he is no longer in the warm arms of his uncle but his soul has been whisked away to a dark, cold habitat.
"You fool!" The booming voice of the Goddess Tokim reverberated through his dream. "You have the gems right under your nose and yet you sleep!"
"Tokimi?"
"Get me those gems and that boy may yet live!"
Zephr startled himself awake.
"What does she mean?" He swam forward and grasped a floating dish which held a flask of sake. He poured a small glass and raised it to take a sip. That was when he felt it.
It was like the same sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach which he felt as he battled Tenchi, as he felt when he walked past Yosho. All his senses sparked to life. The gems. He felt those gems Tokimi wanted, that must be it. That was not all he felt. His heightened sense of touch enabled him to feel a slight variance in water pressure and movement, slow, but steady directly behind him. He pretended not to notice and set the glass down on the tray and nonchalantly pushed the tray to the far side of the bath. Someone was standing right behind him.
A blue flame whizzed past his right ear and he instinctively dodged the blade in a split second. Zephr submerged himself into the water and shot his body upward after he had grasped the ankles of his attacker. Princess Ayeka was taken by surprise as she was pulled under and through the boy's legs, ultimately now in front of him facing away. The energy sword, having been knocked from her grasp, extinguished and slowly settled to the floor of the onsen pool.
"Ayeka!"
She whirled around. Her lavender hair lay in dripping locks about her head. She breathed heavily and with each exhale, Zephr felt her utter hate for him. Her white dress clung to her wet form, leaving nothing to the imagination as her key, the tiara she wore, shone with fire as she faced him. Her pink eyes scanned the water for the sword.
"Stand down, now! Don't be foolish Ayeka!"
"You! You will DIE!" Her eyes glowed unnaturally as her true Juraian powers surfaced. Dozens of tiny wooden cylinders encircled her enraged form and as she outstretched her arms, hundreds of tiny threads emanated from the cylinders and leapt upon Zephr's body. He became engulfed in the brown threads and they meant to squeeze the life from him.
The dark prince struggled against the threads, thrashing water in Ayeka's lovely face. The princess lowered her arms and the cylinders descended into the depths of the onsen water, dragging the thrashing boy under the water as well. As he struggled underwater, the girl's attention was now to find the sword. She turned her back to Zephr and began searching for it under the water. Her hand finally grasped the well worn wooden hilt of the Tenchiken just as a monstrous splash echoed through her ears. She turned and was eye to eye with her enemy.
Zephr had summoned the power of his light hawk wings, which had burnt the threads from his body. He now levitated in front of her holding his own red sword of light and wearing billowing robes of black. Ayeka, although stunned, was not intimidated. She flexed her wrist and the Tenchiken ignited, sending puffs of steam through the air as it came in contact with the water. She was not above levitation herself, and raised her still wet form from the pool until both foes were now at equal ground.
"Please, Ayeka, I don't want to harm you." Zephr pleaded with honest eyes.
"You should worry more about yourself!"
She drew back the sword with both hands and flew into the air, coming down for a death strike. Zephr's sword stopped her attack and he pushed her off with such a force to make her fly back, landing now, on solid ground. She ran at him to attack again. The warrior and the Princess fought furiously. Ayeka, never gave in, never letting him know how she was about to break. Zephr held back, never using his full strength, but looking for an opportunity to end this fight without killing her. He couldn't understand why not killing her was so important to him. They were both exhausted and stared each other down, panting.
"How DARE you! You are holding back!"
"I am just making this a fair fight, Princess."
"I've learned something…" She steadied herself for another attack and ran toward Zephr. "Nothing in life is FAIR!"
She struck at him with such a force, he was thrown to his back. Ayeka leapt into the air and raised the blue sword in both hands high above her head. She landed upon Zephr, straddling him. She gazed into his brown eyes and brought the sword down.
Suddenly, a red beam of light exited the Princess's chest just below her right shoulder. Zephr saw this as if in slow motion. He saw her pink eyes turn red with rage. He saw the blue blade coming closer to his chest. He saw her garment sizzle and spark as the laser blast penetrated her. The Tenchiken extinguished and she fell limp upon him.
"You are so right, Ayeka…" Kenji now stood in the open doorway holding his blaster still pointed at the Princess. "Life, most certainly, is not fair."
