Tenchi Universe: No Need for a Team-Up!
Rowan Seven
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except for the original ones. The characters you do recognize are copyrighted by their respective companies. I'm not making any money off this fanfic. ^ ^ indicates thoughts. ~ ~ indicates telepathy.
Chapter 7: A Peaceful Interval
"Thanks Ken-ohki," Ryouga said gratefully to the nearby floating crystal, intently watching the three forcefield generators positioned in front of him. The two of them were currently in the ship's training room, a place where Ryouga had found himself spending an awful lot of time the past two days. When he wasn't training he was reading up on the galaxy, realizing that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity though if his directional curse didn't weaken he'd have plenty of chances to get acquainted with the modern universe up close and personally soon enough.
~You're welcome, though I would appreciate being told why you wanted these shield projectors set up here,~ Ken-ohki replied, curiosity and a tinge of concern evident in his telepathic voice.
"Practice," Ryouga answered, closing his eyes and slipping into a state of concentration. ~Using the Breaking Point Technique on energy shields is still new to me, and before trying it on one that surrounds an entire planet I'd like to get some experience as well as try something new out. Now, please activate the forcefields.~
~Sure thing,~ Ken-ohki telepathed back as, with a mental command, the three generators suddenly hummed to life, a reddish barrier of energy surrounding each one.
Ryouga, his senses stretched to their limits, carefully examined the breaking points. Singling one out, he slowly extended one of his fingers and struck it. With a flash of light it exploded, sending small balls of crimson energy across the room. A few struck Ryouga himself while the others hit the floor, ceiling, and walls. Fortunately for all, Ken-ohki had been smart enough to use incredibly weak forcefields. The energy that had been released was hardly enough to disperse a stun beam let alone break a wall or injure someone with Ryouga's constitution.
Ryouga opened his eyes, frowning somewhat due to his slightly singed clothing. ~Ken-ohki, please tell me what the status of the forcefield generator is,~ he asked.
A second later Ken-ohki answered, sounding a tad surprised. ~Physical damage is insignificant and was probably caused by the sudden shock of the forcefield detonating more than anything else. Mechanically, this device is in good shape and could easily be reactivated if not for one thing: power. Knocking out the forcefield has somehow completely depleted the generator's powercells.~
"That's good, right?" Ryouga asked, speaking aloud again.
The crystal raised and lowered itself vigorously in the motions of a nod. ~Definitely. If the same thing happens when you knock out Hitno-rai's shield then we won't have to worry about the Jurains setting up a new one for at least a week, and by then we'll be long gone. That's one concern of mine gone.~
"And of mine," Ryouga added, focusing on the second forcefield generator now. "I'm going to try it one more time, and I want you to tell me if the same results occur," Ryouga said, closing his eyes again though this time he opened them a second later. With his usual cry of, "Bakusai Tenketsu," he struck the second generator's breaking point.
BOOM!
Once again, crimson balls of energy flew across the room and struck the walls and ceiling though since he was more prepared this time Ryouga wasn't hit as much.
~Same results,~ Ken-okhi finally said after taking a moment to run a scan. ~Once again the powercells are utterly depleted.~
Ryouga nodded. He still didn't know why the breaking point drained forcefields, but at least he knew that they did. This was more than he knew yesterday so he considered it an improvement.
Shaking his head as if to clear it, Ryouga backed up a couple of steps from the next and last forcefield generator and blinked, identifying its breaking point. Cautiously, he raised his right hand and concentrated.
^I can't believe I never thought of this before,^ Ryouga thought a bit angrily to himself as he focused, reliving the train of thought that had brought him here. He'd been reading up on what he could of Hitno-rai and was learning about its forcefield when it had dawned on him that, in its current form, the Bakusai Tenketsu would require him to actually touch the forcefield in order to destroy it. Not fancying going for a space walk in the middle of what promised to be a pitched battle, he'd decided to consider adaptations.
It was then that releasing the sliver of ki needed to hit the breaking point precisely as a miniature ki blast occurred to him. There was no reason that he knew of why performing the breaking point technique from a distance wouldn't work just as well as close-up, and upon review he was upset at himself for not thinking of this earlier. True, in his battles he'd typically used the Bakusai Tenketsu's training benefits more than the actual technique itself, but that was a poor defense.
"Bakusai Tenketsu!" Ryouga suddenly shouted, gathering ki into a ball smaller than a centimeter, using the same method that he used to create a ShiShiHoukoudan but not going quite so far and generating less power into it. The small ball of ki, jut like he'd hoped, appeared in his hand. Taking great care in aiming, he released it and watched very carefully as it quickly traveled the distance between where he was standing and the forceshield generator.
BOOM!
For the third time that day globes of crimson energy were scattered throughout the training room as Ryouga grinned proudly. ^Take that Ranma!^ he thought smugly, ^You're not the only one who can adapt techniques.^
~That was…different,~ Ken-ohki intoned, pointing out the obvious.
"Yeah, I know," Ryouga answered. "This way, when we arrive at Hitno-rai, I won't have to go outside the ship in order to bring the shield down. I can just shoot a blast out through an airlock, making my task much safer."
~Ah, Nagi ought to be pleased. This will make it much easier to get past the defenses. Anything else you've been working on?~ Ken-ohki asked.
Ryouga shook his head. "No, mostly I've been practicing with my enhanced umbrella. With its new abilities there's a lot more that I can do with it, and I have a feeling that I'm going to need every trick and advantage I can acquire for Hitno-rai."
~Been reading up on the power of Jurai, I take it?~ Ken-ohki telepathed.
Ryouga blinked. "How'd you-"
Ken-ohki chuckled. ~Your intensity and worry didn't make it _that_ hard to guess. Knowing that you'll be going up against the power of Jurai tends to have that effect on people. Heck, even Nagi respects and tries to stay away from the Jurai royal family.~
Ryouga frowned upon hearing this. "Tell me…is Jurai power truly as strong as your database claims?" he asked a tad apprehensively.
Ken-ohki hesitated for a moment before responding. ~Yes and no,~ he finally answered. ~In most, it never amounts to much more than forcefield generation and enhanced spiritual sensitivity. In others, it can make a warrior without peer. In certain rare cases, however, the Power of Jurai truly lives up to its reputation, bestowing enough strength to destroy armies and make planets tremble. However, due to his extremely old age, I don't think Prince Kenji will pose much of a problem. He probably falls somewhere between the first two categories.~
"You're the expert, but for some reason I doubt we'll be so fortunate. Things never go easy for me," Ryouga said in return.
~…And knowing Nagi's luck, you might be right.~ Ken-ohki replied. ~Still, there's no use dwelling on it. We'll find out just how strong this Prince Kenji is once we arrive, and all we can do in the meantime is plan, prepare, and practice.~
"Thanks Ken-ohki. And who knows? Maybe your assessment will be accurate after all. Say...Ken-ohki?" Ryouga asked a tad hesitantly.
~Yes?~
"Do you think you could guide me to my room after another hour has gone by? I'd rather not get lost and *cough* stumble into Nagi's quarters." Ryouga requested, his cheeks a light red.
Ken-ohki chuckled. ~Sure thing. I'd prefer not to see this partnership end before it's even had a chance to begin, though Nagi's reaction would probably be _quite_ amusing. See you in an hour then.~
******
Nagi was dreaming again.
"Ryoko, prepare to die!"
As she swung her charged sword at her opponent, she was also wondering what she'd done to spawn such weird dreams lately. She didn't even remember ever being in the city she now found herself in.
"Too slow _again_, Nagi!" Ryoko taunted with a cocky smile, teleporting several feet to the left.
Nagi felt her rage grow, lashing out wildly as a result and wondering why she was doing so. She never let her temper get the better of her in a fight. "Just you wait Ryoko! When I get my hands on you-"
"_If_ you get your hands on me, and that's looking more and more unlikely by the second!" Ryoko arrogantly interrupted, irritatingly dodging and teleporting away from all of her strikes.
That was when it began to rain piglets.
"Arrgh! What are these creatures?!" Nagi yelled, intently scanning the skies and trying to dodge the small black animals as they fell.
"How should I know? This is _your_ dream after all, and I'm dead to boot!" Ryoko pointed out, the smell of smoke wafting up from around her as the pigs collided with her forcefield, squealing from the intense heat as they slid across it to the ground.
Nagi's eyes flashed. "You're not dead! I won't let you be dead! You're merely hiding out while your wounds heal, and once I find you we'll fight again and things will return to normal! You're not de-" A bombardment of pigs landing on her interrupted her rant and knocked her down.
Ryoko gazed down at her sadly and with pity. "Do you truly believe that, Nagi? You saw my wounds and can accurately guess how seriously I overexerted myself to reach Jurai. Even _I_ have my limits, and in the condition I was in there's no way I could've survived that."
Nagi violently pushed the pigs off her and stood back up, standing mere inches in front of Ryoko. "It doesn't matter what you say! This is only a dream, and you're merely a fragment of my subconscious! Besides, the Arcadian said you're alive!"
Suddenly and without warning, Ryoko was pushed aside by a small, spiky red-haired blur pushing a lecture stand. It stopped where Ryoko had been standing revealing…
"Yes, it's me, Washu, the greatest scientific genius in the universe! Mwahaha!" Washu crowed. Her two puppet look-a-likes appeared on her shoulders.
"Yes, the greatest in the universe!" shouted Washu Puppet-A.
"You're so smart, Washu!" added Washu Puppet-B.
Nagi grabbed Washu by the scruff of her neck and placed her blade centimeters from Washu's throat. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, the two puppets disappeared. "You have one minute to tell me what you're doing here, and it better be good! I'm not in the mood for any more of this lunacy!" As Nagi spoke this, several of the piglets sprouted white wings and flew away.
Washu clucked. "You're acting rather out of character, Nagi. I don't think I've ever seen you so worked up before. Then again, with Ryoko dying, your refusal to accept the truth, your obsessive behavior these past few months, and a new mental bond I suppose it's perfectly reasonable for you to be so stressed out-"
"Thirty seconds," Nagi growled.
Frowning slightly, Washu faded out of Nagi's hold and reappeared behind her lecture stand. Nagi blinked. "How-" she began.
"This is a dream, Nagi. Anything's possible," Washu answered. "Anyway, as for why I'm here…you're deliberately misunderstanding something. The Arcadian never said that Ryoko is alive."
"But-" Nagi started to say.
"No buts!" Washu shouted, waving her left hand and muting Nagi. "Back to my dissertation, the Arcadian merely agreed to tell you where Ryoko is. He, it, she, or whatever pronoun accurately describes such a being never said anything as to the state Ryoko is in. You might end up finding a corpse."
"She's right, you know." Ryoko said, reappearing next to Washu. This time, however, she had a hole in her chest that was bleeding profusely. "There's a good chance that when you find me I'll be a stiff and lifeless carcass. What will you do then?" As if to enunciate her point, Ryoko suddenly collapsed, dead.
"…" Nagi tried to speak.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Sorry about that," Washu said sheepishly, waving her left hand again and restoring Nagi's voice.
"I…don't…know! Are you happy now? I don't know what I'll do if Ryoko's dead, alright?!" Nagi admitted at last, glowering at Washu. "But in the meantime, I will not accept that she's dead. As long as there's a chance she's still alive, I won't give up. She's my prey, and this hunt won't end till I have her body, one way or another."
"I didn't know you cared," Ryoko rasped sickly and sarcastically, blood still flowing from her wound.
Washu kicked Ryoko in her chest. "Hey, shut up! You're supposed to dead!"
"I'm getting better," Ryoko commented.
Washu shook her head. "Oh no, this is _not_ going to turn into a Monty Python sketch. We already have LucasArts upset at us. There's no need to anger the British as well."
"Darn, that means we'll have to fire the Knights of Ni. Sorry Azaka and Kamidake, but it looks like you won't have a cameo appearance in this dream sequence after all," Ryoko apologized to thin air.
A lot of muttering and grumbling was heard before being overshadowed by a loud and piercing shout, "Where in the universe am I now?!!"
Ryouga suddenly entered the dreamscape, umbrella open and with piglets bouncing off it. Nagi noticed that he looked rather on edge, as if the sight of it raining piglets bothered him on some level.
When he spotted Nagi, his mouth opened in surprise. "What are you doing in my dream?" he asked.
Nagi blinked and with just a trace of anger in her voice replied, "What do you mean 'your dream'? This is _my_ dream!"
It was Ryouga's turn to blink and look confused. "What are you talking about? This _has_ to be my dream! I doubt you have nightmares like this, and I also distinctly remember falling asleep."
Nagi drew closer to him. "Perhaps, but you're not the one who has had to deal with this insanity for nearly an hour! I was here first so unless we're somehow sharing a dream…" Nagi's voice trailed off as illumination dawned.
^Our dreams…they've been bleeding off into each other!^ Nagi realized with dismay, clenching her left fist and wishing that Arcadian was here so she could throttle it. The idea of sharing her dreams with anyone was extremely disturbing to someone as private and secretive as herself, and if her dreams the past few days had been influenced by Ryouga's life as she now suspected, then he probably had been dreaming her experiences as well meaning that he might actually know a bit about her past, something that she tried her very best to keep buried.
"Who's your friend, Nagi? He's *cough* cute," Ryoko teased weakly, halting Nagi's train of thought.
Washu answered for her as Ryouga blushed crimson. "He's her new and temporary partner, Hibiki Ryouga! Apparently Nagi misses you so much that she's actually agreed to team up with someone, and in exchange for breaking into Hitno-rai and turning the infamous Prince Kenji in to the Galaxy Police Nagi will learn where your body, regardless of its vital signs, currently is. Isn't that sweet?"
"Oh, I'm _so_ touched!" Ryoko said before breaking into a coughing fit.
"Er…maybe this is your dream after all," Ryouga conceded, not having leapt to the same conclusion as Nagi. "I certainly don't remember ever meeting these two before."
"I'm Washu, the greatest scientific genius in the universe!" Washu introduced herself. Gesturing at Ryoko, she added, "And this female with the ambiguous lifesigns is the Space Pirate Ryoko. Say hi Ryoko!"
Ryoko remained silent and motionless.
"Hmm, I guess she's dead again," Washu concluded after a moment's observation. "She changes states more often than Shrodinger's cat!"
Nagi eyed her surroundings with growing agitation. "I don't have to take this," she muttered at last. "I'm going to wake up!" And she did.
End Chapter 7.