Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo and all the characters in it belong to AIC and Pioneer Corp. I'm not making any money off this fanfic either.
Authors Notes: And so we move onto chapter five. As always, I appreciated the feedback I received, as it inspires me to write more. I had a nasty case of writers block on this chapter, but I managed to work through it. Chapter 6 is nearly finished, and I hope to have it up within a few days.
Bang the drum slowly
Chapter 5: Living on the edge
Far outside the galaxy, far outside the reach or knowledge of Jurai or any of the other kingdoms which inhabit the Milky Way galaxy, lies a small planet near a black hole. The planets name is Bonkowa, and it is a place that has harbored a bountiful amount of life for eons. Yet in it's entire history, it has never been host to any life as unique as two people named Tenchi Masaki and Ryoko Hakubi. While the two of them ended up on this little planet quite by accident, their arrival did not go unnoticed by the other intelligent species residing on Bonkowa.
Deep within the planet sits underground cities so vast that they can house millions upon millions of people, almost none of them ever venturing to the planets surface. Within one part of the planet is a location known by only a select few individuals, it is the home to the those who rule this empire, it is the heart of the government. Within these secret rooms are the men and women who make the decisions that decide the fate of millions of lives, and on this day, they are dealing with an issue that could change the future of their kingdom for generations.
With quick purposeful steps, a lone figure marched down an empty corridor to his destination. Were one to look at him, they would probably never guess what sort of authority he wielded. His weathered, gaunt face held an emotionless stare as he quickly walked right past two burly guards who knew full well of his identity. The pale skinned man strode into a grandiose room which was a far cry from the sterile, plain walls of the hallway leading to this room. Paintings adorned the wall, and a crytaline chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting it's glorious light across the entire expanse. In the rooms center was a large wooden table, which seated the various members of the empires government, and currently all but one of the seats was occupied.
"Lord Dinaka, please be seated." said a strong bearded fellow at the head of the table.
The older man nodded imperceptibly. "As you wish, Mister Chairman." he respectfully replied while sitting down in the well cushioned chair.
The man who was the chairman of the council stood tall as he looked over his assembled officials. "Ladies and gentlemen, as I'm sure you're aware of by now, the operation to contain the two foreign intruders was a total success. The two detainee's are currently being held pending their interrogation, which Lord Dinaka will be in charge of. Now, the two captives have already had blood and tissue samples taken, and if you didn't read the advanced copies of the reports, they are in front of you right now. I will allow Lord Balai to summarize what we know so far about these two individuals."
As the chairman sat down, a large, portly man sprung to his feet and cleared his throat. "On the afternoon of the 18th meta-cycle, our high sensitivity radars detected the arrival of an incredible energy. At first, we believed this to be either some form of attack by the M'kha, or an anomoly in our devices. Yet with further studies using our more advanced equipment, we discovered that this signal was being emitted by what seemed to be one individual, who was accompanied by another person who had a far lower energy reading. In council decision number 1893793, it was decided that these two represented a threat to the government of Jhanel. In a subsequent vote, it was decided that these two were to be captured and analyized based upon the possible knowledge which could be gleamed from them. In council decision number 1893794 we chose to use our solar energy satellite array in conjuntion with land based receivers to see if we could drain this power. We were more successful than we had hoped, and our efforts made their capture an easy task."
His chubby fingers picked up a small stack of papers stapled together and thumbed through it. "I have here the preliminary data on these two figures, one male and one female, and I must say none of us were quite expecting what we found. Despite early suspicions, it seems evident that they are not agents of the M'kha, what race they do belong to is as of yet, unknown. Our first major surprise was that neither of them were emitting the intense energy signal we detected. It was in fact, a gem that is located upon the left wrist of the female which we detected. The gems origins and makeup are unknown, as we haven't yet removed it from the woman. Despite the success of our array system in draining this gem, we were surprised to discover that there seems to be some sort of untapped power still residing within it."
Pausing for a drink of water, he then went on, "While we now know that the gem was the primary source of power that was detected on the 18th, we also know that the individuals themselves have unusual traits and abilities. And that brings us to our next major surprise. When we did a workup on the blood samples from the female, we were amazed to discover that she seems to be an artificial construct combining two species of creatures. The result of this artificial combination gives the female incredible strength and agility, along with impressive regenerative abilities. Now the male on the other hand, seems to be a relatively normal person. He is of mixed race, his ancestors apparently breeding with a rather similar race in the past. Yet we did notice he emitted an energy reading which held similarities to the gems, but the extent of his power is also unknown." Bowing his head quickly, he sat down as he finished.
No sooner had he finished, did a younger man with short cropped blond hair motion that he wished to be heard. The chairmain nodded his head silently, giving his assent. The young man flipped through the report to re-read a paragraph before standing up. "Since we seem to be making the assumption that these two are not members of the M'kha, what are the protocols for their treatment going to be?"
The chairman stroked his beard for a moment before replying, "We are still uncertain as to whether or not their intentions are peaceful. Yet even if they are peaceful, I believe we must still deal with them as a hostile threat. For as we all know, the M'kha have recently begun a substantial military buildup and have also commenced in maneuvering their forces in preparation for an assault. These individuals we have captured may provide a vital edge in the likely battles that are to come. Already, our top scientists are working on a means to weaponize the massive energy we have marshalled from that gem. So I want no measure left off the table in these interrogations, do whatever you must if you think it could aid us in the war that is to come."
***
As the thick fog of unconciousness slowly lifted from Ryoko's psyche, she became acutely aware of a dull throbbing pain at the back of her head. All of her memories had not yet surfaced in her groggy state, so she was quite shocked to discover some cold metallic shackles were clamped along her wrists and ankles, keeping her pinned against a wall. Her golden eyes quickly fluttered open as drowsiness gave way to fear. She was surrounded by darkness, thick and oppressive, it enveloped her completely.
Quickly, her heart rate and breathing increased substantially, which was soon followed by a burst of panic. This was all too familiar to her, her mind was rapidly assaulted with chilling memories of the cave, and her mothers laboratory. Yet through all this, a voice of reason spoke out in her head, telling her to just calm down and try to figure out her surroundings based upon her other senses. While her ears were unable to discern any sounds besides that of her own breathing, her nostrils picked up the noxious scent of burnt flesh. It was a smell she knew by heart, for her energy sword always seared the flesh as it sliced through someone, producing the most foul of odors.
As rationality began to win over her early fright, she tried to recollect just how she ended up in this place. It only took a moment to piece together the events which led up to her predicament, which led to a new surge of fear and anger. They must have gotten Tenchi as well. If they've hurt him, I swear I'll tear those bastards limb from limb. Closing her golden eyes, she inwardly bemoaned her current situation. It's pretty ironic. I'm one of the most powerful creatures in the galaxy, yet I've probably been taken captive more often than anyone else. That's the story of my life though, another battle lost. Her lips curved into a wry smile as she thought of the phrase she told Tenchi that night on the school. Can't anything go right in my life? It's not enough that I had to be the servant of a lunatic for 5,000 years and compete with an army of other women for the only man I've ever loved, no, I also have to be captured and chained up like an animal as well. Her sarcastic thoughts did little to ease the fear and anxiety she was feeling.
A sensation of utter helplessness washed over her, just like so long ago onboard the Souja during her years of working with Kagato, just like during the battle on that same ship that would take place many millenia later, just like the time she hung limply in her mothers lab, alone in the dark. She hated these powerless feelings, she was powerless for too long, and it was only in the last year did she finally gain a sense of control over her life. But now once more, someone else held all the cards and controlled her fate.
No sooner had she thought that, did a glaringly bright spotlight suddenly beam down upon her. It was concentrated enough so that only herself was illuminated, the rest of her mysterious cell was still shrouded in darkness.
"So, the sleeper has awoken." A voice which seemed to come from all directions said. Ryoko whipped her head around in a frenzy to see if she could identify just who had spoken that to her. She could neither see nor smell the voices owner, so she assumed whoever it was must be outside the room, and that there must be some speakers in her cell transmitting what he says.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Dinaka, an agent for the government of Jhanel, you need not know any more than that. Now what might your name be?" he asked dryly.
She snarled in contempt at the mysterious voice, staying silent all the while. After a moment of silence, the man called Dinaka spoke once more, "Not feeling very talkative I see, that's understandable."
Feeling a surge of rage boil through her, Ryoko strained against the bonds that held her. "Listen up, I don't care who you are, or what you want. You better release me and Tenchi or else..."
"Or else what?" he interrupted, pausing a moment before continuing, "As you recall, you were unable to defend yourself against our strike force earlier. Now what makes you think you stand any better chance against me while you're restrained?" a hint of arrogant pride crept into his voice as he finished.
"You're the bastards who have been draining my power." she stated with seething hatred.
"Very perceptive of you. I must say our array of solar energy collecting satellites did a marvelous job when adapted to draining you, they outperformed our estimates."
She kept her mouth shut while staring ahead, squinting her eyes due to the almost blinding light pouring on her.
"Still refuse to identify yourself? That is not a wise choice."
Despite the warning, Ryoko still remained silent. A faint buzzing sound caught her attention, and a moment later, blinding pain erupted all throughout her body. Ryoko's body convulsed violently as torrential energy currents assaulted her. She howled out once in agony as the burning pain now rocketed throughout her entire being. During this torture, she invariably recalled the many times Kagato had performed a similar type of punishment upon her. Despite her familiarity with the type of assault, it was nonetheless excruciating, and every second it went on felt like a lifetime.
Finally, the high voltage torture subsided, leaving an exhausted and pain wracked Ryoko in it's wake. "Maybe now you'll be a little more forthcoming. I recall inquiring about your identity earlier." he reminded.
Panting slightly, she lifted her head up with an expression of unrestrained hatred on her face. "My name is Ryoko." she said in something akin to a growl.
"Much better. Now, that young man who was with you, what about his name?"
She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "His name is Tenchi Masaki." she murmured.
"Where are the both of you from?" he asked neutrally.
"Earth."
If she could have seen him, she bet he probably raised an eyebrow after hearing that. "There is no such record of any planet known as Earth in our databanks." he said coldly.
"Miss Ryoko, I will ask you once more. Where are you from?" Dinaka asked slowly.
"Earth." she answered again while gritting her teeth.
Dinaka let out a sigh. "Are you going to explain where that planet is or must I once more resort to more unpleasant means of forcing your answer?"
Quickly trying to prevent another session of electrocution, she quickly said, "Maybe the reason Earth isn't in your databanks is because it might be in another galaxy for all I know."
"What do you mean by that?" he asked curiously.
Relieved that he seemed to be considering her words, she continued, "We came to this damn planet through some sort of a wormhole. We were flying along in a ship, when there was an accident which caused a near engine failure, and then we started getting sucked towards a black hole. I had left the ship in order to repair it, but I ended up getting pulled into the wormhole." she answered non-chalantly.
"Do you expect me to believe that you managed to survive the gravitational strains of a wormhole?" he asked mockingly.
She paused for a moment as she considered her response. She knew that she couldn't tell them about Tenchi's ability to form light hawk wings, for the amount of torture and experimentation they would do to him would be too much to handle. Ryoko could plainly see that these people would use any means in order to get what they want. Using some fast thinking, she finally said, "Yes, I do." she replied in a cocky manner.
"That gem of your does contain quite a bit of power." Dinaka admitted.
"You bet your sorry ass it does!" she boasted with pride.
"Tell me, why have you not tapped in fully to the gems power?" the voice inquired.
Ryoko's eyes widened as she struggled to understand what he meant. "What are you talking about?" she asked slowly, curiousity evident in her voice.
"Our analysis of your gem indicated that it had untapped stores of energy, quite complex and unique as well."
Furrowing her brow, Ryoko stared ahead blankly while comprehending just what the implications were. "I never knew about that." she muttered more to herself than to Dinaka.
After a moment, the Jhanel agent broke the silence, "I suppose your creator would know the answer to my question." Ryoko's eyes widened in shock as she heard his remark.
"Oh don't act so surprised. Our tests revealed that you were an artificial construct, created in a lab somewhere. Was your designer also the maker of that gem?"
Doing her best to shrug her shoulders, she tried to maintain an air of calm around her. "From what I understand, she doesn't know the origin of my gems." she answered in a casual manner.
"So there are other gems like the one you have?"
She nodded her head silently.
"Where are they?" he quickly asked.
She expected he would be rather interested in that. "They're onboard that ship I was on, and who knows how many light years away that is." was her lazy reply.
"Why are they not embedded on you as this one was?" he asked in a manner suggesting he wasn't amused with her flippant attitude.
That question made Ryoko pause in contemplation for a moment. Why hasn't Tenchi given me back my other gems? Her more self confident side brushed off the question, insisting that the only reason Tenchi hadn't yet returned her gems was because she hadn't asked him to yet. Yet those deep seated insecurities would not be quelled so easily, and silent fears raged within her.
Noticing that she had been silent for quite some time, Ryoko cleared her throat and adopted a more neutral demeanor. "The owner of the gems has yet to give them to me." she robotically replied.
"So is it your creator who owns the gems? Is it that boy you were with, is he your master?" the voice asked.
Ryoko inwardly seethed with anger but retained her outward appearance of neutrality. "I am my own master." she said with pride. She hated the implication of being subservient to someone else, she spent 5,000 years being a servant to Kagato, and would be damned if she would ever be someone elses slave again.
"If you are your own master, then why are you not in possession of the other gems? Nevermind, you need not answer that question. I understand that it must be difficult for you to accept your position as an inferior being." Dinaka casually remarked.
"SHUT UP!" Ryoko screamed. She was sick of the voice, sick of its arrogant pride and mocking mannerisms, it reminded her so much of how Kagato acted. "Why dont you come out and fight me you damn coward!" she challenged.
"Miss Ryoko, I am only seeking to obtain information from you." the voice said in an innocent manner.
She snorted in contempt and closed her eyes in an attempt to calm her raging anger and fear. Silence hung thick in the air, something she was quite thankful for at the moment, seeing as how infuriating that voice was. Yet this brief respite was short lived, for a low whirring sound soon caught Ryoko's attention. Snapping her eyes open, she paled upon seeing a large robotic arm retracting from the roof, lowering itself towards her. Instead of a human like hand at the end of it however, it seemed to be something like a swiss army knife, with many different tools all bundled neatly together.
"There is one other thing I wish to obtain from you." Dinaka said slowly, just before a scissor device protruded from the mechanical arm.
Gulping loudly, Ryoko watched in nervous anxiety as the scissors moved towards her left wrist, near the placement of her gem. Delicately, the blades caught ahold of her dress' fabric surrounding the ruby red gem and slowly snipped away. Ryoko let out a slightly relieved breath as it appeared to be making an effort to avoid hurting her. Once a small square piece of fabric around the gem was cut away, the scissors retracted within the robotic arm.
The next tool that emerged however, sent her fears spiraling higher than ever before. A lethally sharp scalpel gleamed in the spotlights rays, and ever so slowly, it moved closer and closer to her skin. As the cold blade made contact with her, Ryoko tightened her eyes shut in preparation for what she knew was to come. Methodically, the razor sharp knife pierced the skin, sinking into her flesh deeply, causing her to let out a strangled gasp of agony. That gasp turned into a full fledged shriek as the blade began to move, the slicing causing a river of blood to issue forth from Ryoko.
Normally, her body would be quickly healing the wound over, but her regenerative abilities had been weakened by the gems draining. So now the incision lingered, causing agonizing pain to lance throughout her arm, prolonging her ear splitting screams. After what seemed like an endless amount of time, the scalpel completed it's incision around the gem, and with one final gouging motion, the gem was extricated from her wrist, bringing forth one last shriek from Ryoko.
Now coupled with the excruciating pain was a heavy exhaustion brought about by her power source being removed. Too tired to even scream anymore, she hung limply in her shackles while the blood ran down her arm like a river, soaking her dress crimson in its path. After a moment of panting heavily, the last reserves of her energy faded away, causing her to slip into a deep sleep, just like she had done 700 years earlier after her battle with Yosho.
For a time, the only sound echoing throughout the room was that of Ryoko's slow breathing and of her blood dripping down to the floor. Yet this quiet scene changed as a metallic door slid open, revealing the pale form of Dinaka standing in the doorway. Walking purposefully over towards the comatose space pirate, he quickly retrieved the stained gem held in the robotic arms clutches. Without a second glance, he turned on his heel and strode out of the cell, which soon became blanketed in total darkness as the lights were shut off.
Outside of Ryoko's dank prison cell, Dinaka marched quickly down a complex weave of hallway paths. A younger, heavyset man with long red hair jogged up towards him. "Hello Lord Balai." Dinaka greeted stiffly after turning his head around briefly to see who was approaching him.
The chubby fellow slowed down until he matched his companions pace. "Lord Dinaka, may I..." his query was cut short as Dinaka interrupted him, "Here's the gem." he said while turning to face his larger companion as he reached into his pockets. He produced the small brown pouch and handed it over to Balai. "There you are, I'm sure you'll want to rush that back to the lab." Dinaka commented.
Balai seemed to almost radiate with eager anticipation as he gazed within the bag and at the shiny gem. "Oh yes, I'll be doing that right away." Looking back up at his older friend, he cocked his head to the side. "Do you think this gem really contained enough power to counter-act the gravitational forces of a wormhole?"
"No, I do not. I think she was lying, trying to protect someone." he answered plainly.
The portly fellow shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand..." Before he could go on however, Dinaka interrupted, "The truth shall be revealed in due time."
Balai exhaled loudly before asking, "Do you think you'll really get much information from him?"
Dinaka thought the question over for a moment. "The chemicals in his system will keep him in a rather groggy state for some time, but he should be able to tell me what I need to know. And if he resists me...well I know ways to bring him out of his shell." he remarked with a hint of a smile on his face.
***
"Am I...home?" Tenchi asked to himself in bewilderment. He was standing at a worn out dirt path, surrounded by tree's swaying in the winds. He frowned while shaking his head. "Is this real?" he whispered.
Deciding upon exploration rather than contemplation, he embarked upon the same path as he did every day coming home from school. Nothing seemed out of place, all the same old towering tree's in all the same old places. Slowly, his fears ebbed as the familiarity of his surroundings sunk in. He knew this must be some illusion, or a dream, but it seemed to be safe enough.
"Welcome home, Tenchi." a sweet voice came from behind him.
Whirling about on his heel, he saw the source of the voice to be that of Ryoko. She was standing proudly, with her hands on her hips while a beaming smile stretched across her face. Her modest green dress which was set with golden trim and a red sash fluttered in the brisk breeze that swept across the land. There was something about the look on her face, something utterly...radiant. There was no mischievous glint in her eyes, no seductive smirk, no sly remarks, only a quiet smile which exuded a content quality.
With a light giggle, she phased right in front of him and proceeded to drape her arms gently around his neck. His heartbeat quickened while his feet seemed to turn to lead as she brought her face closer and closer to his. His mind briefly wondered why he hadn't run yet or shoved her off, but those thoughts vanished along with any others as she brushed her soft lips against his in a feathery kiss that made his pulse skyrocket. All of his nerves danced with a vibrancy he never knew could exist.
After only a brief moment, she moved her lips up to his ear. "I missed you." she whispered to him.
He realized this must be some sort of dream, but it seemed so real, he could even feel her incredibly warm breath bathing his ear. His mouth began to move about in a vain attempt at speaking. "I...wha..." was all he could manage.
Keeping her arms around his neck still, Ryoko moved backed so she could look at his face. "Come on darling, my soup is getting cold, let's walk back home now." she cheerfully suggested.
His only reaction was to nod his head dumbly while gazing at her. Removing her arms from his neck, she took his hand in hers while slowly walking along beside him, her eyes drifting up towards the clear blue sky. With her gaze still turned upwards, Ryoko sighed contentedly. "It was on a summers day like this, wasn't it Tenchi?"
Tenchi tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"
A large smile grew on Ryoko's face. "When you took me out on a walk on this path and finally said that you loved me. I remember I nearly fainted when you told me, and you were so nervous you were stuttering like crazy." she chuckled at the recollection.
Tenchi could only gape in shock at what she told him. Before he had much time to think anything over, she started talking again, "It's hard to believe sometimes that we've come all this way. When I think back to my past, and the life I used to lead, I never thought I could be this happy."
Tenchi blinked in shock at the woman before him, unable to form any response to her. Ryoko let out another sigh before shaking her head and looking into his dark brown eyes. "Enough reminiscing, let's focus on tonight. I thought maybe we'd have a little candelight dinner, watch the full moon rise, drink a little sake, and then..." her sly smile left little doubt as to where her train of thought was heading.
Blushing slightly, Tenchi scratched his head while looking off towards the swaying tree's. "This is sure some nice weather we're having, isn't it?"
Ryoko nodded her head in agreement. "Hanako wanted to stay out all day and run around, but she only lasted a half hour before she needed to take a nap." she laughed softly as she finished.
"Hanako?" he asked in confusion.
"Our daughter, silly." she said playfully while jabbing him on the shoulder.
"Our daughter..." he whispered to himself in awe. Stopping in his tracks, he disengaged his hand from hers while he searched about his pockets furiously. Finding a plain brown wallet, he hurriedly flipped it open and immediately gasped at what he saw.
The photo that stared out at him showed himself sitting on the family couch, flanked by a grinning Ryoko who had her arms wrapped around his waist while pressing her cheek against his. But what really stunned Tenchi was the fact that there was another person in the picture, a little girl with long black hair and orange colored catlike eyes. She couldn't have been more than five years old, and her face looked much like his mothers did in her younger days, but the characteristics of Ryoko were also readily apparant.
Tenchi's feet continued to walk on as his wide eyes were transfixed upon the image of his family. His smile was so full and proud in that photo, and the joyous expressions on Hanako and Ryoko's faces lept out at him. So engrossed in this photo was he that when a loud clap of thunder echoed across the land, he almost didn't even notice it.
Looking up, he noted with confusion that Ryoko had stopped following him, and was standing in the middle of the path. Her expression lost all of it's joy and mirth as she stared up at the ominous dark clouds that were rolling in. Tenchi cocked his head to the side in puzzlement as he gazed at the now seemingly melancholy woman. "What's wrong?" he asked with concern.
With slumped shoulders, her stare remain fixed upon the approaching storm clouds. Tenchi took a glance up at them and was startled by the fact that they were nearly black in color. It was a gorgeous day merely moments ago, but now it looked as if the sky itself was going to pour upon them. "Ryoko, we better hurry back to the house before it rains." He also wanted to hurry home to see the little girl in this photo, he wanted to see Hanako in person.
Finally turning her eyes towards Tenchi's once more, Ryoko still stood in the middle of the path, not moving an inch. "It would've been nice, wouldn't it?" she asked softly while gesturing towards the picture in Tenchi's hand.
"What are you talking about?" he asked in bewilderment. The wind had picked up force as the suns rays were now blocked by the imposing cloud cover, but much to his confusion, Ryoko remained still.
As a lone tear streaked down Ryoko's cheek, the cyan haired womans form slowly faded away, as if she were nothing more than an illusion. "RYOKO!" he screamed out in shock and terror.
Lightning struck a nearby tree to his left, sending a jolt in his nerves. The sky was now totally blanketed by the storm clouds, as the winds picked up to gale force. He didn't understand what was going on, something was terribly wrong with everything now, and he needed to get out of here. As he was about to return the photo clutched in his hand to his wallet, his breath caught in his throat when he saw that the picture now showed only total darkness.
Slowly, Tenchi's mind began to stumble into conciousness, the chemicals in his system making the journey quite arduous. His bloodshot eyes opened halfway, while his mind swirled in a dizzying dance of confusion. Fighting the urge to empty his stomachs contents, his foggy mind focused on his surroundings. Why can't I move? Where am I? This light is so bright... he thought while squinting his blearly eyes.
"Hello Tenchi, how are you feeling? I presume you must be feeling rather unwell at the moment, due to the chemicals we used to subdue you earlier." a mysterious voice asked him.
The speakers words sliced through the dizzy haze of confusion that permeated in Tenchi's mind. Blinking his eyes rapidly, Tenchi looked about lazily for the owner of the voice. "W-who are you? Where...are you?" he muttered.
"My name is Dinaka, and I work for the government of Jhanel. My location is none of your concern."
"What happened?" he whispered to himself as he struggled to piece together the events that led up to his captivity. Memory fragments slowly filtered in, he recalled the camp fire, Ryoko's emotional outburst, Ryoko...The cyan haired womans face dominated his thoughts for a moment, as a sudden fear lurched within his chest.
"Where is she?" he asked suddenly, his voice holding a surprising amount of lucidity.
"I take it you mean your companion, Ryoko?" Dinaka inquired innocently.
"Where is she?" Tenchi was now demanding more than asking.
"She is alive, and within our jurisdiction."
Tenchi let out a long ragged breath. "Let her go." his voice tried to sound imposing, but came out sounding more like a plea than a demand.
He could almost see the smirk on Dinaka's face. "Such nobility on both of your parts. However, I'm afraid it's gone to waste, for she isn't going anywhere."
Tenchi closed his bloodshot eyes and let out a long sigh. "She's done nothing wrong, neither of us have."
"Your opinions on this matter are not relevant." Dinaka firmly replied.
Tenchi wasn't very surprised by Dinaka's answer. When his drug hazed mind finally remembered Ryoko, he had hoped against hope that she somehow managed to escape. But now it seemed that once again the two of them were being forced to deal with another apparent villian. He briefly pondered whether there would ever be a respite from these seemingly constant dangers. But those thoughts fled quickly in the face of the stark reality he was looking at now.
He strained to discern his location, but beyond the harsh glare of the spotlight shining down upon him, he could see nothing but darkness, darkness like in the dream. The memory of that bizarre dream nagged at his swirling subconcious, but he couldn't make heads or tails of it or the other dreams he had been having as of late.
"I have a few questions I'd like to ask of you, Tenchi. First off, where are you from?" Dinaka asked politely.
"Masaki shrine, outside Okayama." he mumbled.
"What planet is that on?"
"Earth." he quickly answered.
"How did you come to this planet?"
Tenchi blinked a few times before replying, "We were going to Jurai, when we encountered some problem. There was a black hole, and the ship was getting pulled in. Ryoko went to fix the ship...and then something happened to her. I went out to rescue her." he tiredly replied.
"You rescued her?" Dinaka asked incredulously.
Tenchi nodded his head. "With the light hawk wings." he said simply. In a more sharpened state of mind, Tenchi may have chose a different answer to the question, but the chemicals in his system made complex reasoning rather difficult.
Dinaka's curiosity was piqued. "What are these 'Light hawk wings' you speak of?"
The worn out young man shrugged his shoulders. "Not really sure exactly. They're...manifestations of power." he said slowly.
"How do you summon these wings?"
Tenchi groaned while shaking his head. "I don't know, most times I can never tap into them. But sometimes when there's trouble, I can just...feel them within." This talk of the light hawk wings had given Tenchi the brief idea of attempting to summon them now to aid him. However, his foggy state of mind made focusing on even simple things a chore.
"Listen to me, boy. I will not hesitate to take any means neccessary to get the answers I seek. If you think you can hide the truth from me, you are sadly mistaken." Dinaka threatened in a low tone of voice.
The Jhanel agent returned to a more polite manner of speaking as he asked, "Tell me Tenchi, does this power truely reside within yourself?"
Tenchi nodded his head silently in response. A long moment went by, where the only sound was the unsteady breathing of the drugged young man shackled to the wall. Finally, Dinaka spoke up, "The council shall discuss these matters amongst itself for the moment. I shall return later." And with that, the glaring spotlight shut off, leaving Tenchi in the darkness once more.
The oppressive blackness that blanketed him gave him ample time to ponder his current situation. He was becoming more lucid by the moment it seemed, yet whether that would really make a difference was still unknown. He let out a ragged breath and closed his eyes. How are we going to get out of here? Ryoko's powers seemed almost gone, and I'm in no shape to do anything. There has to be someone who can help us.
Yet Tenchi's heart was full of doubt. While he had been in his fair share of trouble in the past, things seemed bleak this time. What did I do to deserve this? That thought brought about a recollection of a similar query made by Ryoko the night before. She had asked the question of why she had to have lived such a terrible life. What was it I said in response? Oh yeah, 'Sometimes we have to go through hardships in order to find the good things in life.' and that 'Maybe everything happens for a reason.' He scoffed at himself now at the memory of his fortune cookie style of replying to such a complex issue.
Alright, then what's the reason for me being shackled like this? So I can find some 'good things' in my life? What good could possibly come from this ordeal? With another sigh, he chose to avoid these philosophical problems for now. Sleep seemed tempting to the worn out young man, but his anxieties wouldn't allow such a comforting luxury. Tenchi had the sinking feeling that the only luxury he was getting was perhaps a little more time to live.
***
In the beautific hall where the government of Jhanel convened in times of peace and war, a rather impromptu meeting was hurriedly being assembled. Instead of the entire council being present, this time only the top members of the empire were seated.
The imposing council chairman rose diligently and cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "Councilmen of Jhanel, we are convened here so urgently to deal with a threat to our nation and people. I was just informed moments ago, that the M'kha empire has officially launched eight detatchments of their royal armada towards our planet. Before cutting off communications with our government, they officially declared war on our people. Councilmen, I called you here because you are the best this nation has to offer, and your advice is needed."
After the chairman seated himself, Dinaka quickly stood from his chair. "Permission to speak, sir."
"Granted."
"I have assertained information from one of the captives that could be vital for victory in this new war we have entered. As has been discussed earlier, no trace of any space vessel the two could have traveled on was ever detected or recovered. In my interrogations of the captives, I was told that they traveled here not by spacecraft, but by wormhole. It was alleged that one of them possessed the power to counter-act the immense gravitational vise-grip of a wormhole."
Murmurs of disbelief rose from those assembled.
The chairman motioned for all quiet down before nodding to Dinaka. "Thank you chairman. As I was saying, it was said that one of them possessed this power. At first it seemed the female known as Ryoko was the most viable candidate, seeing as how it was her energy signal we first detected and which seemed the strongest. Yet through my interviews, I have come to believe that it is the male known as Tenchi who contains this power. He had admitted it under my questioning, and given his rather intoxicated state, I doubt he was lying to me. Even though Ryoko's gem does seem to have some sort of untapped power, I do not believe Ryoko has ever utilized this, and the energies she does tap into are far from adequate to pull off such a feat as to allow wormhole travel."
"But the male's powers seemed so insignificant compared to hers." the defense minister insisted.
Dinaka nodded his head. "Indeed, at first. However, the male is quite different. His energy is not produced by an object like a gem, it resides within himself, his own body. The significance of this may be greater than even I yet realize. Whereas unlocking the mysteries of the gem may take ages, stimulating his body to summon forth this power would be far easier."
"And how shall we do this?" The council chairman inquired.
"The key is the female, for Tenchi cares deeply for her. In my interview, Tenchi implied that this vast power, something he calls 'Light hawk wings' seem to be easier to summon forth during times of distress. So, we merely use Ryoko as the catalyst to entice his full potential to come out. And when it does, our receivers shall drink his power from him until a mere shell of a man remains." His lips curved upward into a devilish smile as he finished.
After a moment silent contemplation, the council chairman nodded his head. "Very well Lord Dinaka, you have my consent to do what you must."
Pausing to take a sip of water, he continued, "Seeing as how Ryoko's powers reside in the gem which is in our possession, she herself is now expendable."
End of chapter 5