Fifteen
"Ryoko! What happened?"
Tenchi's voice seems to lighten her face a bit as she tries to stand up. Tenchi runs over to her and kneels down, holding Tenchi-Ken in one hand and setting his other hand under her arm. He helps her stand and she holds her throat, taking deep breathes.
"Where is Jaaku?" Kiyone had a tone of worry in her voice as she and Mihoshi ran up next to Tenchi. Ryoko still hasn't answered as Ayeka and Sasami also run up, followed behind by Washu walking casually. "Where is Jaaku!?" Kiyone demands again and Ryoko slowly looks up at Tenchi.
"Oh Tenchi, I could help him. Dargon even blocked every attack Jaaku had." Tenchi looked back at her and still held her up.
"But where is....."
"Look!" Ayeka interrupts Kiyone and points at the column of light. All heads turn to it as it starts to shrink small and smaller. Two figures can be seen now as the light starts to completely fade away. The first is the huge mass of Dargon, and the second is a much different looking Jaaku. His black body suit is gone now and is replaced with a charcoal gray vest-style top that sticks out slightly at the shoulders and is tied together with a belt, resembling an ancient Earth samurai top. Thin, black boots come up to his knees and fold over the baggy, white pants covering his waist. A large dragon is embedded on the breast of his vest and his orange eyes are firmly closed. Shibo-Ken-bo has a grayish color to is now and hangs loosely from his hand.
Dargon looks at all the new people with a bemused look, "It looks like we have new friends, eh Jaaku?" Jaaku doesn't move at all and everyone looks at him.
"Jaaku!" Not even Kiyone's voice breaks him from his position and Ryoko slides her hand from her throat.
"Dargon, you sleaze, let my brother go!"
Dargon laughs softly and peers at her with those mismatched eyes, "No." The whole group tense up and don't really know what to do. Then a person that Dargon vividly remembers walks out in front of them all with her small hands clasped behind her back. Dargon winces a bit and stares at the small girl in front of him.
"Hello, Dargon."
"H-Hello, Washu. Y-y-you look very beautiful. It's good to see you again." Everyone blinks at the huge man and can't help but think he sounds like a small child before the little Professor.
"Why, thank you, Dargon. You still stutter when you are around me. It's a bad habit." Washu says quietly and Dargon just stands there, not saying anything. "Now, return my son, Dargon. He does not belong to you."
"I...I'm sorry, Washu. I can't." Dargon says almost softly and looks down at Jaaku. He whispers to him quietly, "Jaaku, I want you to go kill Washu. Do it now." Jaaku's eyes suddenly open and stare at them all. The is an empty glare to them and they all plead with him with their eyes. Shibo-Ken-bo snaps up into his other hand and the main blade erupts from the end of it. His foot slides back a bit as his eyes lock on Washu but she just stares back at him, not moving at all. Before anybody can make a sound, Jaaku is in a straight line for Washu. The speed is so great that everyone else could only bulge their eyes before Jaaku arrives at his small creator. He raises the glowing hilt above his head and starts to bring it down with the intent to kill her, when she opens her mouth and says one word softly.
"Jaaku...." Her eyes never leave his and even under the total control of Dargon, the blade came to a stop a few centimeters from her head. Everyone else stands there in shock just staring, including Dargon. Jaaku stands staring at Washu, holding the blade of his hilt right at her head but she just stares back just as calmly.
"W-what are you doing?! I said destroy her!" Jaaku winces a bit but still has that empty look in his eyes.
Washu closes her eyes and still speaks very softly, "Put it down, Jaaku." As if obeying, he slowly pulls the hilt from her head and lowers it to his side. "Thank you, my little Jaaku."
"T-t-this is impossible! He is under my total control!"
Washu looks at Dargon, halfway hidden by Jaaku and glares at him, "It's not his mind that is stopping him, it's his heart. Not even you can control that, Dargon. Now let him go."
Dargon lets out a low growl and raises his palm up. A flash of light surrounds Jaaku and suddenly he disappears into the sky. The other look around for him but Washu just stares at Dargon. "Very well, I will do this myself. I will destroy you all, even you, Professor."
"Now that's not a nice thing to say about somebody you wanted to marry, Dargon." Washu flatly and grins a bit at him.
"What?!" Everyone else says and peers at the huge man. Under his mask, his face is going red from embarrassment and anger at the same time and he yells back at her.
"And you scorned me! I will never forgive you, Washu!" Dargon started to take heavy steps towards them all and they all got ready for a fight. Washu just smirks smugly at him and watches. Just as he gets within striking distance, the light column grows in brightness ten fold. All of them, even Dargon, look at the column as a familiar figure appears in it. The name was choking in Ryoko's throat and a soft laugh came out of the column.
"Really, brother, you must learn to control your emotions." Kagato slowly floated out from the column and came to rest on his feet softly, smiling to all of them. "Well, hello everyone. It has been such a long time. How have you all been?" He bows a little and extends his arm to the side. Mihoshi, Ayeka and Ryoko all glare at him in terror but Tenchi just grips his sword in his hand tightly. It was Washu who was the first to speak back.
"Kagato, it has been. So you didn't die on the Souja. That's really a shame." Her voice was almost a half mocking, half friendly, joking tone and Kagato stood straight, smiling at her.
"Ah, Professor, it is good to see you haven't lost your sense of humor. Riling up my dear brother must be so amusing to you."
"Well, ya know, if I weren't so darn cute, he'd realize I really am just a mean person." She says in her smug tone and sets her hands on her hips, laughing at Dargon.
"Yes, I agree. He really is just a young fool." Kagato looks at Dargon with a slight smile and Dargon looks down, fuming. "Anyway, I guess you would all like to know why I am back. Well, it should be obvious. So if you would, just hand over Tsunami." Tenchi steps forward and confronts him with Ryoko stepping in from behind also. Ayeka stands behind Sasami and places her hands on her shoulders. Even Ryo-oki glares at him from atop of Sasami's head.
"You can't have Tsunami. Just return Jaaku to us and leave. I don't want to fight you again, Kagato." Kagato glares at Tenchi intently and ignores everything he just said.
"Well, if it isn't the boy with the same name as the master key. Tenchi, am I correct?" Tenchi just nods slightly and Kagato sneers happily. "Ah, the boy who can create the Light Hawk Wings. I would be delighted if you could do that again." Tenchi glares at him, then rubs his head sheepishly and gets a slight grin.
"Yeah well, it kinda comes and goes. Miss Washu has been trying to help me create them again but it's only when I need them." Kagato tilts head slightly and nods, a dark plan brewing in his mind.
"Is that so? Well then, I will just have to make is necessary." Tenchi blinks at him and a green energy sphere appears in his hand. Kagato raises it at Tenchi and smirks a bit, "Well, show it to me!" The energy flies into Tenchi and rams into three white blades of energy.
Tenchi slowly blinks and then lets out a sigh, "Oh man, I knew this was gonna happen." His eyes snap back to Kagato and he raises his hands. The energy blades run down the length of his arms and change his clothing to a brilliant white color. Two flaps of cloth wave out behind him and one blade float to the front of him. His hand grasps around it firmly and the blade transfigures into a long, white sword. He holds it out ready to do battle and everyone blinks at him, still amazed at the ability. Washu, meanwhile, has her portable panel in front of her and is type on it very quickly.
"Yes! Yes! It's a trans-demetric energy exchange!" She laughs maniacally to herself and stares at the panel, temporarily forgetting what is going on.
Kagato starts to clap loudly and cheers, "Yes! Bravo, Tenchi. It is truly a remarkable ability. Now, let's see how well you all fair this time." Ryoko steps up next to Tenchi and holds out two crackling hands, ready to take revenge on Kagato. Ayeka stays back with Sasami, to keep Kagato from finding out her relationship with Tsunami. Mihoshi and Kiyone both stand in the back with hands on pistols, ready help at any moment. Dargon crosses his huge arms and peers at them all, waiting to see his brother do some damage. Over all of it, Washu's maniacal laugh echoes in the air.
High above the Earth, swallowed in the belly of the huge, black ship, a lone figure is standing in a lone room in the middle of the ship. In sort of a stasis cove, the relaxed body of Jaaku stands motionlessly. Shibo-Ken-bo sits along his back and he just stands like a statue, his eyes lightly closed. Through his head, however, a storm was ravaging his mind. Images of all the people he had ever met in his life flash through his head. The people who's lives he's ended, the people who's lives he had spared, the people he met and became friends with. All of it was not phasing the mind control Dargon had placed on him for the two crystals in his clasps were glowing brightly and keeping the control on full. Suddenly, images of Tenchi, Ayeka, Sasami and Mihoshi filled his mind and his physically winced. The way Tenchi befriended him, even at the news of what he was, made the crystals flicker a bit, but then they made it back to full strength. Then Kiyone flooded his mind. The way she constantly conflicted with him, the way she tried to arrest him at every opportunity, the night they spent in the hot springs. The crystals start to go dimmer now but only a little. Jaaku's neck twitches a bit and a few of his fingers move in the cove, but he falls serene once again. Then, the image of Ryoko drowned out everything else. He even got a small smile in the corner of his mouth as he remembers his love for her. Everything about her made his existence complete and for that reason, he would do anything it took to keep her safe. One more image breaks into his mind and shatters the image of his love. Dargon, smugly laughing and holding Ryoko by the throat. That is the image that breaks the chain. Jaaku's face twists into a grimace, then his eyes shoot open. At that precise moment, the two crystals in the clasps around his wrists shatter into nothing more than dust. Jaaku stares into the darkness before him and takes in deep breaths, a tear welling up in his left eye. A moment later, his teeth clench and once again his body tightens into a fit of rage.
He spoke softly, to himself and to the ship, "Dargon...."
In a flash of blue light, he disappeared from the cove and left the darkness to itself. A few hundred meters outside of the ship, he appears and floats in space, peering down at the blue globe. His whole body is cold and empty but he slowly turns back to the black hull of the Hexum. He stares at it, seeing a small reflection of himself as a tiny dot on the hull. He reaches around and takes Shibo-Ken-bo from his back, then holds it out in front of him. Those orange eyes narrow at the sight of it and the main blade of his hilt erupts into its full size. Jaaku's hands tighten around the hilt and his whole body starts to glow brightly, giving off a bright orange hue onto the Hexum's hull. The blade of his hilt starts to grow even bigger than usual and starts its way to the side of him. Soon, the blade reaches a size so great, it dwarves the huge ship in front of him and Jaaku slowly pulls back the blade horizontal to the ship. Jaaku lets out a silent scream into dead space and makes one, great slash across his plane. After the swift motion, Jaaku slowly turns back to the Earth and holds his hilt upright, the huge blade pointing up from him and into space. Behind him, the Hexum has a huge glowing slice right along the middle of it. In a silent explosion, the great ship slides into two pieces and shatters, making Jaaku nothing more than a silhouette in front of it. As the dying explosion starts to fade, Jaaku stares at the Earth and has a moment of calmness in the silence of space. The huge blade of his hilt starts to shrink until it disappears into the hilt and he slowly lowers it down once again. After one more moment staring at the Earth, a blue flash consumes his body and sends him into the final battle.