Disclaimer: I still don't own any right to Tenchi or any related paraphernalia. I already have plenty of bills, so don't sue me-you won't get much.
A\N: Last time the ship Tenchi was taking back to Earth was highjacked and Ayeka and Sasami were kidnapped. After meeting up with Katsuhito, Azaka and Kamidake they rescued Sasami and are on their way to rescue Ayeka. These ('') are for characters thoughts.
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As Tenchi and the rest were headed to the bridge he started to worry over what they might want Ayeka for. 'Why would they keep her separate from Sasami? It doesn't make any sense. I just hope she's O.K.'. The group found the captain's quarters and decided to stop in there to make a plan. After checking it out for surveillance or traps everyone filed in and sat down.
"O.K. guys, we need a plan. There's probably another ambush near the bridge and we don't really know what the admiral might have up his sleeve, so we have to be very careful."
"If I may Lord Tenchi? I believe that Kamidake and I can take any number of the guards ourselves, Sasami should find somewhere to hide while we fight and you and Lord Katsuhito should confront the admiral on the bridge. As soon as we've finished off the guards we will come in to assist you. Is that an acceptable plan?"
"Hmm… yes, I think that'll work quite well. Grandpa, do you have any idea what the admiral might have up his sleeve?"
"I'm afraid not Tenchi. There is no known power in the universe stronger than the Jurai power and he must know we think this to be true, whatever his trick is it will probably take you by surprise. We must be very careful."
"I agree grandfather, let's get moving."
The group proceeded to the entrance to the bridge and was surprised to find no one guarding it. After searching the area they found an air vent for Sasami to hide in. After making sure she was safe and secure the rest of them entered the bridge. What Tenchi saw brought him to tears, but he held them back so he could concentrate. Hanging there in front of them was the unconscious form of Ayeka in some kind of transparent tube. She appeared to have been beaten as she had many cuts and bruises. After tearing his eyes from his beloved he looked around the bridge and found the admiral to be the only occupant, much like last time they had met.
"What have you done to Ayeka you bastard!"
"Calm yourself prince, if you want to see your precious princess alive."
Tenchi made a visible effort to restrain himself. He didn't want Ayeka to get hurt just because he lost his temper; it was bad enough he hadn't been there to protect her in the first place.
"O.K. admiral, just tell me what you want."
"Ahh… what delicious revenge this will be. I want to test my greatest warrior against you; I call him the Life-Draining-Warrior! He grows stronger every time he absorbs a person's life energy, just as he has absorbed the princess' life energy."
"Alright, I'll fight this Life-Draining-Warrior, but if I win you must let Ayeka go and give her back her life energy."
The admiral slowly grew into a large hulking monster before their very eyes. "Oh, she'll get back her life energy if you defeat me, all the life energy I've ever taken will be returned to my victims… if you can actually defeat me… HA HA HA! Now that's what I call funny"
Although a little shaken after seeing the transformation, Tenchi steeled himself for the fight ahead. As he took a kendo stance he addressed his companions. "Don't interfere in this fight, if I lose, then you may engage this monster, not before!"
His friends didn't look surprised to hear this and agreed. "As you wish Lord Tenchi."
Having prepared himself, Tenchi turned to face his opponent; only to see the admiral rushing him already. Tenchi was barely able to dodge in time but got away with only a scratch. When he landed he activated the Tenchi-ken and prepared to receive his opponent when he remembered that he could control the ship with his sword.
Thinking quickly he addressed the ship. "Juraian ship, restrain the admiral now!"
The admiral was promptly held in numerous vines and became immobile. "If you surrender all the life energy you've stolen, I will allow you to live admiral."
"Are you crazy kid? I need that energy to survive, besides, this fight is far from over!"
Much to everyone's disbelief, the admiral began to mutate again. This time he became an even uglier brute. He had foot long claws on his hands and feet and for all intents and purposes appeared to be a scaly grizzly bear, only twice the size. With this new form he easily shredded the vines holding him and began to charge an energy blast to hurl at Tenchi.
Having come out of his daze from seeing this transformation Tenchi saw a horrible monster about to throw a huge amount of energy at him. He tried to dodge, but as he leapt to the side the ball of energy tracked him as if it were a heat-seeking missile. His last thought before the blast engulfed him was his extreme sorrow at not having saved Ayeka.
"Well that was easier than expected, do the rest of you wish to waste your lives as well or shall I absorb your life energy now?"
"I think it's time for me to end this. I will have no more mercy for you now you bastard!"
Much to everyone's surprise they saw Tenchi, not only did he not have a scratch on him; he also had three rotating blades of light in front of him. As everyone looked on he formed one wing into armor and another into a great sword, leaving one to act as a mobile shield.
"The Wings of the Light Hawk, I thought those could only be employed by ships."
"Don't you remember the legend from when we were kids Kamidake, the one of a man who could take on the aura of Tsunami only if his mind and soul are pure? This has to be what it was talking about!"
"Amazing, I knew my grandson was more powerful than myself, but I had no idea he could do this… Absolutely amazing."
Meanwhile, the admiral attributed Tenchi's survival to luck and dismissed this new power he appeared to have; after all, he held more power than any single royal Juraian, even Kagato. "Your tricks won't save you earthling, you still can't compare to my power and I will kill you slowly to teach your friends a lesson in humility."
Tenchi faced the man… thing that had kidnapped and harmed the woman he loved and lost any doubt as to whether or not he would have to kill another evil person. He held no more mercy for this mutated monster and decided to end this here and now. "Prepare to die admiral, for I will have no mercy for you this time."
"As if I need it, this is over now!" The admiral charged Tenchi in anticipation of slashing him with his claws. He was quite surprised when Tenchi threw his sword at him as if it were a boomerang; when it hit it severed his left arm, circled around him and removed his right arm before returning to Tenchi. Seeing his opponent defenseless Tenchi rushed him and thrust his sword through the heart of the beast. Before the admiral even had a chance to look down Tenchi finished the job and decapitated him. As the body fell to the floor dozens of streams of light left its body, Ayeka absorbed the first of these energy streams. What surprised everyone was that Tenchi absorbed almost half of the energy streams.
"What on Earth… why is any of the energy coming to me?"
"Perhaps the energy from his deceased victims is attracted to the power of Tsunami Lord Tenchi."
"Most interesting… I wonder if you will keep all this energy you are absorbing Tenchi."
"I hope not grandpa, I don't want to use energy from people that had it stolen from them. I hope Tsunami can return it all to its rightful owners."
"I'm glad you learned the concept of honor so well Tenchi, I wouldn't want you to become corrupt like the admiral did, all over the use of power, what a shame."
After the barrage of energy was over, Tenchi came to his senses and realized that Ayeka was still trapped. He rushed over to the tube she was imprisoned in and inspected it to figure out how to get her out. Not finding any obvious exits he used his light hawk sword to create one. He climbed in and released her restraints, gently lowering her to the ground. As he cradled her in his arms an idea came to him; if these Light Hawk Wings were the aura of a goddess, perhaps they could heal as well. He reformed all three wings and sent them to surround Ayeka.
"Please Tsunami, let this work. Ayeka, my love, wake up. Please wake up."
"Ten… chi…? Is… that you?"
"Yes Ayeka, please stay with me."
"I knew you would come for me Tenchi, I knew you wouldn't leave me."
"I would never leave you Ayeka, I want to stay with you forever. Are you feeling better now?"
"Yes actually, is Washu here? I don't know of anything normal that could heal me so quickly."
"Actually you were healed by the Wings of the Light Hawk."
"How is that possible, no ship can generate the wings in so tiny a scale, and I didn't know they had healing properties."
"Well… you see… I created the Light Hawk Wings and then I used them to heal you."
"You did? I didn't think any person could create them. I've only heard of people creating them in legends, but I always thought they were just fairy tales for children."
"Well, I guess it's true now. Let's get back to our ship and go home now."
Tenchi helped Ayeka up, and seeing that she was fully healed he dispersed the Light Hawk Wings. Everyone made it back to the shuttle and safely back to the ship. Tenchi constantly stayed by Ayeka's side the whole journey until they got back to Earth. Everyone was glad when they got back and the house was set back up where it used to be. Tenchi moved back into his old room by himself, despite the protests of his dad. Ayeka took her old room alone while Sasami got Ryoko's old room; she had always wanted a room to herself and now there was plenty of space to spare. Nobuyuki moved into an apartment in the city so he could be close to his job, though he still visited regularly. Katsuhito, of course, took up residence at the shrine again. Everyone was glad that they had a chance to calm down for a while, little did they know that they would shortly get a visitor that would really stir things up…
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A\N: For those that don't get my comment about the house, they had to take it with them in space in the series and from where I started off they hadn't been back to Earth yet. Next chapter Ryoko and maybe Washu will finally be coming back. Please vote, even if by email, if you want me to hook Ryoko up with someone else or not, I need to start thinking about it now so I can set it all up and create someone good for her. Any insight to Ryoko's character would be appreciated, I know that she probably isn't as forward as she seems on the surface, but I understand Ayeka's character much better than Ryoko's. I want to be kind to Ryoko, so to help me not screw it up please advise me on how you think she'll handle Tenchi and Ayeka without killing anyone; not that I was planning on her doing that anyways. Thanks, and remember, all ideas are appreciated and carefully considered.
-metallica_wedo